Investment In India | "News Roundup: Blackstone-backed Nuziveedu Plans Rs 900Cr IPO"

By:Team VCC

Source:  http://www.vccircle.com

Category : Investment In India 

Blackstone-backed Nuziveedu Plans Rs 900Cr IPO - India's largest seed company Nuziveedu Seeds (NSL Seeds) has begun the process of entering the capital markets to raise around Rs 900 crore. The Hyderabad-based seed producer has appointed five investment banks which include Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, JM Financial and ENAM Securities. The proposed initial public issue due to be launched early next fiscal will include a primary and secondary component. Private equity major Blackstone had invested around Rs 250 crore in the company in 2008 by way of convertible instruments. (Economic Times)

AmRest Eyes Acquisitions In India - American private equity major, Warburg Pincus-backed restaurant operator AmRest Holdings SE, one of the largest franchisees of KFC and Burger King globally, may explore acquisitions to tap into India's burgeoning food services market. Poland-based AmRest operates around 665 fast-food and casual dining chains across Central and Eastern Europe and in the United States. AmRest is open to acquiring local franchisees of a global restaurant chain or a domestic food services brand. The company which is the largest KFC franchisee in Europe. (Times of India)

Tata PE Takes 10% Stake In Ginger Hotels - Tata Capital's private equity fund has acquired a 10% stake in Roots Corporation, which runs budget hotel chain Ginger. The stake-purchase in Ginger was completed by the $550 million Tata Opportunities Fund and it marks the one-year-old fund's debut investment. Tata Opportunities Fund, spearheaded by Mukund Rajan, is a third party private equity fund in which several global institutions are investors. The deal had valued the loss- making Ginger Hotels at around Rs 1,000 crore. (Times of India)

TCG Real Estate Plans $300M Second Fund - TCG Real Estate is firming plans to raise a second fund of at least $300 million (Rs1,560 crore) as it enters the final leg of investments from its first fund. It is planning both a domestic and an overseas fund. The firm recently invested Rs200 crore in two residential projects in Mumbai from its $300 million India Property Fund, which began deploying capital in 2007. The fund is jointly managed by TCG and Vornado Realty Trust​, a US-based owner and manager of commercial real estate. (Mint)

BPL Fails To Salvage Pledged Land Bank - BPL Ltd, a former consumer electronics major and now a publicly held Bangalore-based healthcare equipment maker, has lost an attempt to salvage part of its 350-acre land bank pledged with Deutsche Bank in India. BPL, founded by T P G Nambiar, failed in talks to raise money from New Silk Route (NSR), the $1.2-billion private equity major. The company pledged its land bank to various financial institutions, which was later consolidated with Deutsche Bank. (Business Standard)

GTL Lenders Want Personal Guarantee - Lenders to the GTL group have sought a personal guarantee from the company’s promoter, Manoj Tirodkar, as part of the negotiations for corporate debt restructuring (CDR). Tirodkar is reluctant to agree on the extent of guarantee sought by the 25-member consortium of lenders, led by IDBI Bank and ICICI Bank. The package, expected to be finalised after on Tuesday’s meeting, has now been pushed to next month. (Business Standard)
NEI Plans First Overseas Acquisition - CK Birla Group firm, National Engineering Industries (NEI), said on Tuesday that it is planning its first overseas acquisition in its core business of bearings manufacturing. This will help it expand its international presence. It is looking at companies in Europe and the US, which have an annual turnover of Rs 100-500 crore. NEI, which sells bearings under the NBC brand to a majority of domestic automakers, expects to further penetrate the global markets. (Business Line)


Source:  http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6269059779339500306#editor/target=post;postID=8565230243678092490

Investment In India | "Samsung Electronics expects to post 30-40% growth in sales next year"

By: S Ronendra Singh
Source: http://www.mydigitalfc.com
Category: Investment In India

Samsung India

Samsung Electronics that has one of its largest manufacturing facilities in Chennai and largest research and development (R&D) centre at Bangalore plans to launch features-rich mobile devices including 7.7-inch tablet personal computer. In an

interview with

S Ronendra Singh, Samsung’s,

Jung Soo Shin shared company’s plans.

Excerpts:

n How would you sum up 2011 for Samsung Electronics in India?

Our major thrust was on product launches. With support from our research and development teams in both Bangalore and Noida having more than 6,000 engineers, specific products were developed not only for Indian market but also worldwide. It was helpful to introduce such products range. We believe in keeping strong momentum to be a company that leads in technology. It is the prime reason to keep introducing major products every year just like we introduced LED television three years back. Similarly, we followed that with 3D, smart television, smart phones in 2011. We are strongly fighting with Apple and we are the biggest patents holder in US in technologies like semiconductors and mobile phones.

n Are you confident to achieve projected 40 per cent growth in given uncertainty in global economy?

Our position is strong. Of course there has been impact and we are not doing as expected. But, even then we are stronger than before and overall we have grown. Rupee depreciation has hit us all and that is why we increased our products’ prices by 3-5 per cent last month. Achieving 40 per cent growth would also be tough now, but we are sure to achieve more than 30 per cent growth. We have similar expectations for the next year too (30-40 per cent).

n What kind of products are you working up on at your R&D centres in India?

Our R&D facility at Noida is the global centre for developing features-rich devices, whether it is smart phones, tablets or other computer peripherals. For the Indian market, we are developing devices with focus on low-cost market to beat other local manufacturers with local unique selling proposition. We want to participate in all categories that Indian electronics market has.

n How do plan to beat other manufacturers offering cheaper handsets?

I don’t think we need to do a lot. Those companies are directly importing products with higher duties of around 17-20 per cent and that would be expensive for them in long run. On the other hand, we plan to expand our production capacities to three million mobile phones per month from one million units by next year. We would create market for products in India like we have 7, 8.9 and 10.1-inch tablets on offer. In the next couple of months, we would launch 7.7-inch tablet PC creating a diverse range. Even for other products like home appliances, computers and printers, we would do the same.

n What investment plans do you have to achieve targets?

As you are aware, we target to achieve $10 billion revenue in India over next three years up from $3.5 billion in 2010. To achieve that, we are expanding our Chennai facility to export mobile phones and home appliances to West Asia and Africa from early next year. India will be our hub for exports. We will invest over Rs 350 crore at Chennai plant over next three years.


Source: http://www.mydigitalfc.com/news/samsung-electronics-expects-post-30-40-growth-sales-next-year-653

Investment In India | "FIIs take fancy to Jubilant Foodworks"

By:Chandan Kishore Kant / Mumbai 
Souce: http://www.business-standard.com
Category: Investment In India


Foreign investors more than double their holdings in the company over five quarters.

Last February, when Jubilant Foodworks hit the equity markets, few could have foreseen its potential as a multi-bagger. But, on the very first day, it rose 60 per cent – from its issue price of Rs 145 to 229 – belying critics’ views. In the next one year, the share price tripled.

The good performance has continued. Despite some correction in recent months, the company continues to do better than broader indices. From an all-time high of Rs 1,021.80 on September 6, it is down almost 25 per cent to 768.50. But for investors in this company, the going could not have been better.

No wonder, investors have kept their faith in the stock. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs), who have been bearish on many counters this year, have continued to show their interest in this company.

During the last five quarters, FIIs have more than doubled their holdings in the company from 17.39 per cent in June 2010 to 35.84 per cent last quarter. During this period, domestic institutions have reduced their holdings to around a tenth from 10.74 per cent to a mere 1.28 per cent. Moreover, in the first half of the current financial year alone, FIIs increased their holdings by over 11 per cent as new investors entered the counter.

“Jubilant has caught the fancy of foreign investors, irrespective of the visibly higher valuations,” said a chief investment officer of a foreign fund house on the condition of anonymity, adding that the valuations had been high because there weren’t similar companies in the Indian listed space.

An international parallel is Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc, the world’s largest franchisee of restaurant chain McDonald’s, in terms of sales as well as number of outlets. The stock was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in April and received huge investor attention.

This Argentina-based company, which wanted to raise $ 874 million by issuing 62.5 million shares in the price band of $13-15, finally ended up raising $1.25 billion by issuing 73.5 million shares – 11 million more than the original plan. Even the issue price was raised by 21 per cent to $17. BofA Merrill Lynch, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley acted as lead managers in the deal.

Even new players in the market have shown appetite for the Jubilant stock. New entrants like Goldman Sachs Investments, Morgan Stanley, Variable Insurance Products and Pioneer Asset Management, collectively picked up nearly seven per cent stake in the first half of 2011-12.

As India’s population and consumption rises, with affordability for packaged fast foods increasing, it’s an opportunity for investors, say market experts. Valuation of such businesses at an initial stage can get exorbitant, and may not necessarily be attractive at a point of time, they add.

In India, Jubilant Foodworks is the market leader, with a 50 per cent market share, in the formal pizza market (Domino’s Pizza); and a 70 per cent share in the pizza home delivery segment. It has expanded its portfolio by entering into an alliance with Dunkin’ Donuts to develop the latter’s operations in India.

Jubilant added 100 new outlets over the last 15 months. Patrick Doyle, president & CEO of Domino’s Pizza Inc, who was in India as Jubilant crossed the 400-outlet mark, said: “The India operations are doing very well. The amazing growth of Domino’s India has set new records for us globally. This will certainly inspire other countries to emulate the India story.”

“Food retail chain is a great business. It has a lot of potential. And, Jubilant has a strong franchisee element, besides global brand equity. The management quality is good, the business is strong and is growing at a sustainable rate for the longer term. It’s a scalable business,” says the vice-president of another foreign house.

In 2010-11, the company clocked revenues of Rs 678.33 crore, with net profits of Rs 72 crore. In the second quarter, it posted an increase of 47 per cent in its revenues, while its profitability grew 28.4 per cent to 23.67 crore, compared with Rs 18.43 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. On the Bombay Stock Exchange, shares of Jubilant Foodworks closed strong, up 4.92 per cent at Rs 768.50, in spite of a weak overall market on Wednesday.


Source: http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/fiis-take-fancy-to-jubilant-foodworks/455728/

Investment In India | "Renault may invest 1.5 bn euro for small car project in India"

The French firm is in preliminary talks with the Gujarat govt to acquire at least 100 acres

By: Amrit Raj
Source: http://www.livemint.com
Category: Investment In India

New Delhi: French car maker Renault SA​ is likely to invest €1.5 billion (Rs. 10,335 crore) in India for its small car project and is in talks with the Gujarat government to build a factory in that state.

Renault and its partner Nissan Motor Co. are planning to build a new small car in India as part of a strategy to boost sales in the world’s fast growing emerging markets, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on 23 November.

The French firm is in preliminary talks with the Gujarat government to acquire land for the project, said two people familiar with the development, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

“The company held a closed-door meeting with top government officials a couple of weeks back,” said a Gujarat government official. “They are exploring possibilities of setting up a plant here.”

Although the company is yet to make a formal proposal, it has indicated a “massive” investment, the official said. “They want land near Vadodara, which has a proximity to ports there,” he said. “Their focus is on exporting cars from here.”

The official said the company has been scouting for at least 100 acres for which it aims to invest more than Rs. 2,000 crore in the first phase.

In total, the company is planning to invest €1.5 billion and build a factory to produce at least 400,000 cars every year, said another person with direct knowledge of the matter.

“The investment includes setting up a new plant, the project development cost and developing a vendor base near the plant,” this person said. “The car is expected to be rolled out by 2015.”

Marc Nassif, managing director of Renault India, said in a phone interview on Sunday, “It’s very, very premature. It is not decided yet,” he said. “However, we are bullish on the Indian market.”

An email sent to Rachel Konrad, the spokeswoman of Renault SA, on 28 November, remained unanswered. Another email sent on 30 November to Gerrad Detourbet, who will be heading the project, did not elicit any response either.

The company has appointed Detourbet, head of Renault’s entry level division, to oversee the new project. “Detourbet, the man behind creating the Logan, Renault’s best-selling low-cost car globally, will soon move to India,” said the second person.

However, Nassif said the company is still not making profits in India and is dependent on global operations for investments. “Till you press the final button, nothing can be said,” he said. “Gerrad is taking over and let’s see how things work out.”

Nassif said the company sees an opportunity in the entry level segment and would like to position itself accordingly. “Maruti Suzuki sells cars positioned at a difference of every Rs. 20,000-30,000. So, why can’t we do it?” he said. “We would like to position our cars in the range between Rs. 2-4 lakh.”

The small car market will soon be a global phenomenon, given the changing market dynamics, an expert said, adding that India would continue to be a focus in this segment.

“The Indian market will remain a small car market for years to come. But small cars will be important for global markets, with consumers getting more and more concerned about environmental changes,” said Abdul Majeed, auto practice leader at consultancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. “This is the right time for them (Renault) to invest in India. If they do not do this investment now, it will get difficult for them.”

The second person cited earlier said Detourbet comes to India with a clear mandate from the car maker’s headquarters to develop a quality car at the lowest price possible. “He (Detourbet) spent an entire day driving (Maruti Suzuki India Ltd’s) Alto, (Hyundai Motor India Ltd’s) Santro and (Ford Motor India Ltd’s) Figo, and Alto was an obvious choice,” he said.

The small car will be designed by Renault’s design team in Mumbai. “The entire project will be worked out of India,” this person said. “The idea is to make and sell the car in India, and export it to other markets where there is a demand for such cars.”

“We have a small, but strong team of at least 15 people there (design team),” said Nassif. “They are capable of taking on any project.”

WSJ had said, citing Renault’s spokeswoman, that the project has no bearing on an earlier project studied by Renault and Indian motorcycle maker Bajaj Auto Ltd to develop a car that would retail for $2,500 (Rs. 1.3 lakh today) and compete with the Nano made by Tata Motors Ltd.

The vehicle being studied by Renault and Nissan “will certainly cost more than €2,500”, the newspaper quoted Renault’s spokeswoman as saying.

Source: http://www.livemint.com/2011/12/05232955/Renault-may-invest-15-bn-euro.html?h=B

Investment In India | "Intel Capital homes in on three Indian start-ups for investment "

By:Lokeshwarri S. K.
Source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com
Category: Investment In India

Intel Capital

Intel Capital, the venture capital arm of Intel, has announced a series of investments totaling $40 million in technology start-ups.

All the investments were in Asian companies, and three in India. The companies originate from China, India, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, underlining rising entrepreneurial spirit in the Asian economies.

The announcement was made at Intel Capital's annual global summit.

Intel Capital is a technology oriented venture capital fund that has been investing in India since 1998. Its notable Indian investments include those in Sharekhan; Yatra.com; Policybazar; Nipuna, which offers BPO and other services; Futuresoft, a telecommunications product and services company; India Infoline; Sasken and NIIT.

The three latest additions to the India portfolio are Happiest Minds Technologies — promoted by Mr Ashok Soota, founder of MindTree — TELiBrahma Convergent Communications and Fashion and You.

Happiest Minds Technology, according to Mr Ashok Soota makes products that result in ‘happy' customers, is engaged in providing cloud services, software products engineering, infrastructure management, security testing and consulting services.

TELiBrahma Convergent Communications is in mobile applications space. According to its founder Mr Suresh Narasimha, the company is growing at 300 per cent year on year over the last three years. Its product uses Bluetooth and WiFi technologies for advertisers and retailers. It has tied up with leading automobile and FMCG companies in the country to promote products among mobile users.

Fashion and You, promoted by Mr Harish Bahl, is an e-commerce venture. According to Mr Bahl, they are among the largest fashion retailers through Internet out of India, with 1,50,000 transactions done monthly.

The ongoing turbulence in global financial markets does not seem to have impacted Intel Capital, which is going ahead with its investment plans. The President of Intel Capital, Mr Arvind Sodhani, stated that as venture capital funds are long-term investors, these short-term fluctuations do not affect them. In fact, he added, such disturbances provide opportunities for making investments at a better price.

In 2011, Intel Capital has made worldwide investments of about $472 million in 136 companies. The fund has made 31 exits this year out of which six companies completed IPOs and 25 were bought by other companies.


Source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/info-tech/article2632989.ece

Investment In India | "Wal-Mart Waits With Carrefour as India Wins Instant Gain: Retail"

By: Malavika Sharma
Source: http://www.bloomberg.com
Category: Investment In India

Wal-Mart India

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) and Carrefour SA (CA) waited seven years for access to India’s $400 billion retail market. They may have to wait almost as long to make a profit in the world’s second most populous nation.

Expensive real estate, a warehouse shortage and congested roads will force foreign retailers to spend about 20 billion rupees ($382 million) on supply systems, said Anand Ramanathan, associate director at KPMG Advisory Services in India.

India on Nov. 24 said it will allow overseas companies to invest up to 51 percent in retail stores selling more than one brand. The decision, which ends at least seven years of debate, may benefit local merchants, such as Pantaloon Retail India Ltd. (PF), that foreign retailers need as partners. The market will almost double to $785 billion by 2015, London-based Business Monitor International estimates.

“It will take at least two to three to five years before we see the full impact of this change in policy,” said Saloni Nangia, senior vice president at Technopak Advisors Pvt. “While all these retailers would invest in the supply chain and food processing, it’s going to take time, so this expectation that things would transform very soon or overnight won’t happen.”
Head Start

Overseas retailers such as Tesco Plc (TSCO) and Metro AG may not be able to set up more than 10 stores each in the first year and may take at least five years to break even because of infrastructure and real estate hurdles, Ramanathan said. “I don’t think any of the foreign players is looking at a return over the next five years,” he said.

Shares of India’s three biggest retailers jumped in Mumbai trading on news about the changes. Pantaloon climbed 13 percent on Nov. 24, the day after a government official said the cabinet may ease restrictions, and rose a further 16 percent the day after the news was confirmed. The stocks fell back on Nov. 29 when lawmakers demanded the policy be reversed. Still, Pantaloon is up 9.5 percent since Nov. 23, while Shopper’s Stop Ltd. (SHOP), India’s No. 2 retailer, has gained 2.1 percent and Trent Ltd. (TRENT), the third-biggest, has advanced 3.7 percent.

Local companies have a “positive” outlook because they may get chosen as partners by retailers seeking to do business in India, said Nangia. They also have a head start over foreign companies that were barred from multi-brand retailing in India and restricted to wholesale ventures before last week’s decision.
Possible Credit Boost

The easing of rules may improve Indian companies’ credit profiles as they gain access to equity and improved liquidity, Fitch Ratings India Pvt. said in a statement today. The effect would be moderated by the need for investment in logistics and increased competition in the long term, the statement said.

Pantaloon, which began as a men’s clothing retailer in 1997, operates as many as 498 supermarkets and department stores and more than 17 million square feet of retail space, according to the company’s website. Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL), India’s largest public company, has more than 1,200 stores through a subsidiary.

India’s retail industry will get investments of $8 billion to $10 billion over the next five to ten years as overseas competitors enter and local companies spend to keep pace, according to billionaire Kishore Biyani, Pantaloon’s founder and managing director. “It’s still going to be a while” before a foreign retailer can catch up, Biyani said in a Nov. 18 phone interview.
Bharti Venture

Wal-Mart has 14 wholesale outlets through a joint venture with Bharti Enterprises, Germany’s Metro owns six and France’s Carrefour announced the opening of its second wholesale store on Nov. 28.

Less than $1 billion of Wal-Mart’s $422 billion sales last year came from India. The company has plans to aggressively expand its India operations, Scott Price, chief executive officer for Asia, said in March.

The chains face the challenge of finding affordable locations and the competition may intensify as newcomers enter, said Nangia.

As the industry grows, “spaces won’t be available where the customers are,” said Biyani. The nation’s largest retailer on Nov. 10 reported a 36 percent drop in fiscal first-quarter earnings because of interest costs on borrowing to increase retail space. India has the highest interest rates among Asia’s major economies.
Rising Overhead

Real-estate costs for retailers have risen at least 2 1/2 times since 2006, according to Kumar Rajagopalan, chief executive of the Retailers Association of India. Merchants in India pay 9 percent to 10 percent of revenue in rent, he said. The global average is 3.5 to 4 percent, Rajagopalan said.

Retailers such as Carrefour, the world’s second-biggest, and Tesco, the U.K.’s largest supermarket chain, face infrastructure that lags China’s and Brazil’s. “There are still very frequent power outages in a number of cities and the roads need a hell of a lot of improvement in terms of operating an efficient supply chain,” said Bryan Roberts, director of retail research at Kantar Retail in London.

That means the global chains need to build trucking and distribution systems in India, where government estimates show 40 percent of fruit and vegetables rot before being sold because of a lack of cold-storage facilities and poor transport infrastructure.
Infrastructure Needs

India’s roads are of “very poor quality” and local trucks cover less than 400 kilometers (249 miles) a day, compared with the 700 to 800 kilometers covered by trucks in the developed world, Transport Corporation of India Ltd. said in a 2009 report. Vehicular speeds can be limited to under 15 kilometers an hour in business areas of some cities.

Indian consumers also tend to buy groceries in neighborhood shops. Organized retail operations -- professionally managed chains, as opposed to family-owned independent stores -- account for just 5 percent of the retail market, according to the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India. “It’s a country in which infrastructure is not fully developed,” said Rajagopalan. “For any individual to travel to a large store is not the easiest of things.”

Political pressures remain. Shops and markets across India were shut today as traders supported a daylong strike demanding the government scrap its decision on foreign investment.
Faster Growth

States have a say in allotting licenses and West Bengal may not allow foreign investment in retailing, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said in televised comments Nov. 28.

Foreign firms “still need to be cautious about rushing in,” said Kantar’s Roberts.

Arti Singh, an India spokeswoman for Bentonville, Arkansas- based Wal-Mart, didn’t respond to calls. Carrefour India spokesman Mohan Shukla said it was too early to comment on retail plans.

Developing countries still offer faster growth for companies like Wal-Mart, whose international sales grew 20% in the quarter ended Oct. 31, compared with 3.8 percent in the U.S., according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Wal-Mart, which entered China in 1996, has in the past decade increased its stores in the world’s most populous nation to more than 350 from eight. Third-quarter sales grew 16 percent in China, with 6 percent growth for stores open more than a year, according to a Bloomberg transcript of its Nov. 15 earnings briefing.

“Their story in India is not short term,” said KPMG’s Ramanathan. “These companies will not be able to face their boards if they decide not to enter India.”


Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-30/wal-mart-waits-with-carrefour-as-india-s-stores-win-instant-gains-retail.html

Investment In India | "Restaurant chain AmRest brings La Tagliatella to India"

By:Shailaja Sharma
Source: http://www.dnaindia.com
Category: Investment In India

AmRest Holdings SE, the largest restaurant operator of chains such as Starbucks, Applebee, KFC and Burger King in Central and Eastern Europe, is setting shop in India for its fine dine Italian restaurant, La Tagliatella.

It is looking to open 5-10 outlets between Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Pune in 2012 with an investment of €2 million (Rs13.89 crore) per outlet, Henry McGovern, chairman of the advisory board, AmRest Holdings, said.

“India is a quickly evolving country with a huge emerging middle-class. The good news for us is that the Italian food is highly accepted in India, and that’s what attracted us. There is a lot of opportunity at the higher end that we think no one really has fulfilled,” McGovern said. The Italian restaurant has adapted its menu for India, adding a broader vegetarian list and sauces that are free of beef stock.

The company that runs 665 restaurants in two segments — casual dining (La Tagliatella, Applebee’s and Pizza Hut) and quick service (KFC, Burger King and Starbucks) — across US, Spain, Hungary, Russia, Czech, Poland, France, Bulgaria and Serbia is looking to be a multi-brand restaurant company in India and is in talks with some brands, McGovern said but refused to share details.

“We will become a multi-brand operator in the country. I am not sure when that will be at this point,” he said.

Under AmRest Restaurants India Pvt Ltd, which will be headed by Snehal Kulshreshtha as its country head and managing director, the company will test different retail formats for La Tagliatella across malls, high streets and standalone stores. Cities like Chandigarh, Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Indore, Agra, Jaipur, and Kochi will also be on the company’s list to open stores, Kulshreshtha, said.

McGovern said in India AmRest will start sourcing raw materials and other supplies locally in a year’s time from operations. Very soon, he said, the company will also set up a research and development centre in India, but did not specify the location. AmRest acquired the La Tagliatella trademark and franchise business from Restauravia in Spain this year. In 2008, it had acquired the second-largest franchisee of AppleBee’s chain in the US.

Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/money/report_restaurant-chain-amrest-brings-la-tagliatella-to-india_1619170

Investment In India | "Fidelity Growth Partners Announces Investment In XCyton Diagnostics"

BY: BHAWNA GUPTA
Source: http://www.vccircle.com
Category : Investment In India 

The Bangalore-based diagnostics company is also backed by Kiran Mazumdar Shaw in her personal capacity.

Fidelity Growth Partners India, the private equity arm of global asset management giant Fidelity, has announced that it has invested in Bangalore-based privately held medical diagnostics company XCyton Diagnostics Pvt Ltd.

Although the company did not disclose the deal value, VCCircle had first reported on Nov 28 that the deal involves investment of up to Rs 20 crore.

XCyton is a product development company, founded in 1993 by B.V. Ravi Kumar, a physician-scientist-turned-technocrat. Currently, it offers diagnostic services for sepsis, central nervous system infections like meningitis and acute encephalitic syndrome and trauma or surgery-induced eye infections.

The company’s syndrome evaluation system (SES) platform allows for simultaneous identification of up to 30 pathogens in a six-hour test cycle for critical infections, where the time span from diagnosis to severe disability and often death, is less than 72 hours.

“XCyton’s technology is a paradigm shift from all conventionally used tests including blood cultures that typically detect a single pathogen and take more than 48-72 hours to deliver results. Moreover, these tests have inadequate sensitivity. XCyton’s six-hour turnaround, coupled with simultaneous pathogen detection, serves an unmet need, not only in India but also globally,” said Ravi Kumar.

Birthstone Capital was the operating partner and sole financial advisor to XCyton for the transaction. Incidentally, Birthstone, a private equity firm that specialises in operational style of investing, is also an investor in the firm.

Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, chairman and managing director of Biocon Ltd (the country’s leading biotechnology enterprise), is also an investor in XCyton in her personal capacity.

In 2007, XCyton received funding from Amvar Ventures Pvt Ltd, a sister concern of Nadathur Holdings – an investment firm established by N.S. Raghavan, founder and former managing director of Indian IT giant Infosys.

“XCyton’s service offerings are well positioned to reduce the high mortality rates associated with several critical illnesses,” said Raj Dugar, senior managing director at FIL Capital Advisors (India).

Fidelity Growth Partners India seeks to invest anywhere between $10 million and $50 million across a broad range of sectors in India. The firm has also invested in Mind Shaper Tech and Transpole Logistics, among others.

Source: http://www.vccircle.com/500/news/fidelity-growth-partners-announces-investment-in-xcyton-diagnostics

Investment In India | "Lenovo looks at expansion"

By: BS Reporter / Chennai/ Hyderabad
Source: http://www.business-standard.com
November 04, 2011, 0:24 IST
Category : Investment In India

Chinese computer and electronic device-maker Lenovo is looking at expanding its manufacturing operations in India after it had shut down its second unit in Himachal Pradesh a couple of years ago citing decline in sales.

Currently, the company has a manufacturing unit in Puducherry. This came as part of the acquisition of IBMs global PC business by Lenovo in 2005.

Company officials recently met senior officials of the Andhra Pradesh government weighing the state as one of the options to locate an assembly line.

“The investment they have indicated is about $10 million for the proposed assembly line,” a state government official told Business Standard. If it chooses AP, then the unit would to be located in Sri City, the private multi-product SEZ cum industrial park, closer to Chennai, according to the official.

The company is expecting to increase Indian sales through the newly launched products such as Idea Pad among others.

Though the infrastructure and land is readily available in Sri City, any extra incentives from the government may not be available because only those upwards of Rs 200 crore investment are considered as mega projects for the purpose of offering tailor-made incentives by the state government.

The unit, otherwise, will have to provide direct employment to 2,000 people to be eligible for additional incentives, the official said.


Source: http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/lenovo-looks-at-expansion/454462/

India opens up to Walmart

By: Equity Master
Source: www.equitymaster.com


From the start of the winter session, the Indian parliament has been witnessing a complete logjam on account of various burning issues such as inflation and corruption. Amidst all this, the cabinet approved a new policy for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in retail.

What is this policy all about? Why is the government so keen to bring this policy now? On what grounds is it facing so much opposition, not only from the opposition party but also from its allies?

Well, the history of FDI in retail goes back to 1993 when the then finance minister had changed the law to permit FDI in retail trade. Since then, the policy witnessed several changes. At present, FDI in single-brand retail is allowed up to 51% with Government approval. However, FDI in multi-brand retail is totally restricted. In the new policy, approved by the cabinet, complete restriction on FDI in multi-brand retail was lifted. According to the new policy, foreign players can own a 51% stake in multi-brand retail. At the same time, the new policy allows 100% FDI in single-brand retail.

This move would certainly attract foreign retail giants such as Walmart, Carrefour and Tesco to invest in the Indian retail sector. After all, as a fast emerging economy, India presents a huge opportunity on account of its 1.2 bn population. As per estimation, Indian retail market is worth US$ 450 bn a year.

But the moot question remains why we need FDI in the retail sector. Who will gain from all this? It is no secret that India lack in terms of infrastructure and needs a good amount of investment to boost the utilisation of its existing resources. Development in infrastructure would enable the farmers to sell their agricultural produce directly to the big retailers, not to the local mundi. This is likely to fetch them better pricing for their produce. At the same time, due to abolishment of several intermediaries, retailers would be able to offer the products to the final consumers at lower prices. Hence, both farmers as well as consumers would be benefited. That is the key underlying rationale for FDI in retail. Another point is that this move would generate a good amount of employment across the country. It will help existing Indian retail companies to expand with the technical as well as financial support of foreign retail giants.

If all is well with this policy, then why so much hue and cry! Well, this is a definitely a bad news for smaller family-managed businesses (kirana shops). They will not be able to withstand the competition from the big players. They would be forced to shut down their shops. In turn, there would a loss of a large amount of employment opportunity as well. This policy would also hurt the micro, small and medium domestic industries. They fear that after some time, big retailers would start displacing the entire supply chains of the products. And, if not properly checked by the government, their businesses may get severely hurt. According to industry experts, to keep things in balance, the provision for 30% compulsory sourcing from Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the draft policy should also be gradually increased.

In the policy, the government has allowed FDI in multi-brand retail in cities only with population of 1 million, and for the rest of the country, the current policy regime will apply. Only 53 cities out of nearly 8,000 towns and cities in the country meet such a requirement. Hence, at present, it is not going to affect all kirana stores across the country.

The biggest threat of this policy may prop up in the long run. After the forced extinction of existing retail system to a large extent, big retail players may start abusing their dominant positions in the market. They may not offer good prices to the farmers and lower prices to the consumers, which are being advertised by the promoters of the new policy.

Policy makers have been debating this for more than 15 years. And all these concerns definitely demand a good discussion. However, considering all the reforms this new policy can bring, it would be unfair to oppose it just for the sake of opposing. With proper checks and balances, this policy may go a long way in the development of the Indian retail sector.


Source: http://www.equitymaster.com/tm/tm.asp?date=11/28/2011&title=India-opens-up-to-Walmart

News Roundup: Alexandria Real Estate Looks To Invest $1B In India

BY: TEAM VCC
Source: http://www.vccircle.com


Alexandria Real Estate Looks To Invest $1B In India - Alexandria Real Estate Equities is setting the stage for a $1-billion rollout in India. The US-based NYSE-listed multi-billion-dollar real estate investment trust (RIET) focuses on owing the real estate and related infrastructure for the healthcare sector, is understood to be in advanced stages of owning at least 15 multi-specialty hospital properties in India. Alexandria is in fairly advanced discussions with major healthcare players in India in an effort to either take over the real estate assets on which the hospitals stand or make significant inroads in putting up greenfield projects. (Business Standard)

Source: http://www.vccircle.com/500/news/news-roundup-alexandria-real-estate-looks-to-invest-1b-in-india

Kraft Foods bets big on India, says emerging mkts will drive growth

By: Reuters
Source: http://www.reuters.com

* Plans to become one of the top 5 food cos in India

* Have increased investment by over 70 pct in India post Cadbury India biz buyout

* To focus on biscuits, chocolates, gum, candy in India

MUMBAI, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Kraft Foods Inc, North America's largest packaged food maker, is betting big on the Indian consumer's rising spending power as it firms up plans to become one of the top 5 food companies in the country in the coming years, in an effort to offset sluggish growth in the developed markets.

The global buy of Cadbury has added popular brands such as Dairy Milk and Bournvita to Kraft's India portfolio helping it propel growth in the world's second fastest growing major economy.

It retails brands like Oreo biscuits and fruit flavoured drink Tang from its own portfolio in the Indian market.

"In India, in particular we have witnessed exceptional growth..Year-to-date we are up almost 40 percent in this country," Chairman and Chief Executive Irene Rosenfeld told reporters on Tuesday.

"The growth rates that we have seen have been well in excess of what Cadbury had been generating primarily because we have chosen to invest in a lot of critical areas such as sales, marketing..," Rosenfeld added.

The company, however, stated that the current growth rate might be difficult to sustain in the long-term.

Kraft Foods has increased its investment in India in the areas of advertising & promotion, sales, capex by over 70 percent since it acquired Cadbury India's operations, Rosenfeld added, without giving an absolute investment number for the year-ago period.

The consumer goods maker, which plans to focus on the biscuits, chocolates, gum and candy categories in India, competes with consumer giants such as Nestle and Hindustan Unilever among others.

The company which is heavily focusing on the emerging markets of India, Brazil, Russia, China and Indonesia has seen developing markets contributing 14 percent revenue growth and an operating income growth of 34 percent on a compounded annual rate for over the past couple of years.

Kraft Foods, which acquired Cadbury 21 months ago, for $18.5 billion, said it was open to acquisitions in emerging markets and stated that it does not immediately plan to get more of its international brands into India.

"Over time we will get more brands...But there is so much untapped opportunity for our base businesses, we will look to focus on that first," Rosenfeld said.

On the integration, post the Cadbury acquisition, Rosenfeld also said that the firm was on track also to achieve $750 million of cost savings from its integration with Cadbury and will achieve 70 percent of that by the end of 2011.

Recently, Kraft announced its plans to split its business and give its investors a chance to bet on a snacks business which is growing fast in emerging markets, or opt for stable dividends offered by a slower growing grocery business that includes Oscar Mayer lunch meat and Kraft cheese.

Earlier, this month is it posted a third quarter net revenue of $13.23 billion , up from $11.86 billion and raised its full year outlook.


Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/22/kraft-foods-india-idUSL4E7ML24K20111122

Lenovo set to topple Dell as No. 1 in India

By: Thyagaraju Adinarayan
Source: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com


CHENNAI: The quadrangular battle - fought among the global brands Dell, HP, Acer and Lenovo -- in the Indian PC market is intensifying, as they are switching positions too often. The four enjoy over 51% market share in India.

Indian player HCL comes at a distant No. 5 with a dwindling market share of 5.6%. It is the only company in the top 5 to register a decline in sales, though the industry grew by 13%.

"International players have better brand value, better marketing strategies and channel partners, which drives sales for them," Gartner's principal analyst Vishal Tripathi said.

Dell, with a market share of 15%, is the top PC maker in India. Dell wrested the pole position from HP three quarters back, but may lose the slot to Lenovo in the next quarter. "Lenovo may lead the market soon," Tripathi said. His reasoning is based on the huge order (9 lakh PCs) Lenovo won from the Tamil Nadu government.

Dell, which manufactures 18 lakh units in India, said it will continue to be the market leader. Though Dell India's revenue is fairly small compared to the global turnover, the company expects to gain more foothold as there is much more space left for growth in India, said the company spokesperson Minari Shah.

HP, which was dislodged by Acer last quarter, regained its second position with 13.3% market share as the news about hiving off PC business fell apart.

HCL's market share fell to 5.6% in the September quarter from 6.6%, sequentially , according to Gartner Research. HCL's computer retailing business is hammered by the economic slowdown and lesser government investment in computing and office automation business. Earlier this month, the company had posted a 74% decline in net profit for the September quarter.

The combined desk-based and mobile PC shipments in India totalled nearly 31.5 lakh - the highest ever - in the third quarter, a 13% rise from last year.

Globally, HP was the largest vendor with a 17.7% market share in Q3. Lenovo moved into the second spot with a 13.5% market share. Dell had an 11.6% share.


Source: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-11-17/hardware/30409582_1_indian-pc-market-market-share-lenovo

The many ways into emerging markets

By: Bloomberg
Source: http://www.business-standard.com


While some travellers are wary of visiting emerging-market countries, they feel very differently about investing money there. Some $19.5 billion cascaded into emerging-market equity mutual funds in the first nine months of 2011, following a $46 billion flood from U.S. investors in 2010, according to the Boston Consulting Group. In both periods, emerging-market fund inflows exceeded those of any other fund category save for core bond funds.

Everyone, it seems, knows that emerging markets are where the growth is these days. The International Monetary Fund expects such economies to grow at four times the rate of "advanced economies" this year. Far less obvious, though, is the best way to profit from their growth. Some of the trendiest investing options have serious drawbacks.

One of the most popular routes into less developed markets is the MSCI Emerging Markets Index. It tracks 822 emerging-market stocks and is the basis for many mutual funds and exchange-traded funds, including the $45 billion Vanguard MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (VWO). As with many market capitalization-weighted indexes, the larger a company gets in the index, the more it dominates returns.

That becomes a problem when many of the fortunes of the big companies are tied more to global trends than to local growth, says Matthew Rubin, director of investment strategy at Neuberger Berman. The top stock in the MSCI Index is South Korea's Samsung Electronics, which got 42 percent of revenues in Europe and the Americas last year. It's not that export-led growth is bad, it's only that you're not getting the diversification away from developed markets that you think you are.

Investors wanting access to trends such as the growth of a middle class in countries like China, India and Brazil must invest in smaller companies with a local focus, says Rajat Jain, a partner and senior research analyst at Litman Gregory Asset Management. In October, Jain's firm announced plans to gradually boost its clients' emerging-market exposure from five per cent to 20 percent. In a report, the firm noted that in its "subpar recovery" base case scenario, emerging-market equities should still generate low double-digit returns.

One way to get a more direct connection to a local market is via a fund such as the Van Eck Market Vectors Brazil Small-Cap ETF (BRF). The 2.5-year-old fund's small-cap focus — it's made up of 74 Brazilian companies with an average market capitalization of $1.8 billion—prevents it from being dominated by huge companies such as Petroleo Brasileiro SA, the $171-billion oil company known as Petrobras. In the past two years, Van Eck also launched an India Small-Cap Index ETF and a Latin America Small-Cap Index ETF.

Greg Peterson, director of research at Ballentine Partners, prefers Dimensional Fund Advisors' Emerging Markets Small Cap Portfolio (DEMSX). He likes how the fund's holdings must qualify as value stocks based on criteria like price-earnings ratio, and says the fund's expense ratio is "relatively low" at 0.78 per cent.

Small-cap emerging-market stocks, of course, can be more volatile than their big-cap brethren. And those brethren have been pretty volatile lately. From August 1 to October 4, the MSCI Emerging Markets index plunged 28 percent.

Smart managers of actively managed funds can purposefully buy stocks with lower volatility, notes Morningstar senior fund analyst Karin Anderson. And, some of those managers have the freedom to buy developed-market stocks with high emerging-market exposure, another way to potentially damp volatility. Anderson cites American Funds' New World Fund (NEWFX), which, along with many emerging-market stocks, includes among its holdings Swiss food company Nestlé and Danish drug maker Novo Nordisk.
That's a strategy also employed by David Herro, chief investment officer for international equities at Harris Associates. For him, it's a way to buy exposure to emerging-market stocks at a time when he thinks prices are expensive.

Rather than own expensive shares of a Chinese brewing company, Herro invests in Heineken, a Netherlands-based brewer. Heineken gets two-thirds of its profits from outside Western Europe, including 23 percent from Africa and the Middle East. Investors have "overpriced" emerging-market stocks while they have "underpriced companies located elsewhere that do business in emerging markets," Herro says.
Actively managed international funds can be costly. One of the best-managed funds, says Morningstar's Anderson, is the Oppenheimer Developing Markets Fund (ODMAX). That said, its 1.35 per cent expense ratio is about as high as investors should ever go, she says, and is about four times the 0.35 percent fees on the Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Index Fund.

To try and meet investor demand, investment companies are getting creative. Firms are coming up with many more new products that try to capture emerging-market growth with increasing sophistication, says Brent Beardsley, a partner at the Boston Consulting Group. One, the ASG Growth Markets Fund (AGMAX), was introduced October 24. It holds emerging-market stocks while using derivative contracts to reduce the fund's volatility. About a quarter of its portfolio is in derivatives tied to global stocks, bonds, commodities and currencies. It is co-managed by Andrew W. Lo, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor.
Such products are coming out because "there are more people chasing opportunities than there are opportunities to invest in," says Beardsley. The number of good companies listed on stock exchanges isn't rising as fast as investors' enthusiasm, he notes.

That means emerging markets remain a place where investors need to be cautious-no matter how fast their economies are growing.

Source: http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/the-many-ways-into-emerging-markets/456218/

Xerox Revamps India Team

By: CRN Network
Source: http://www.crn.in


Xerox strengthened its India leadership team to extend leadership in the business process and document management outsourcing segments. Xerox has appointed Konstantin Klein, Managing Director for Xerox India. Klein replaces Andrew Horne, who has taken a new role in Developing Market Operations for Xerox.

Klein brings diverse experience in management, sales & marketing and channel operations to his new role and is responsible for business operations in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and the Maldives.

He said, “Xerox has transformed over the last few years–we have always delivered high quality technology that enables our customers to achieve better productivity and savings, and have recently invested in delivering truly benchmark solutions and services that further differentiate us from the rest of the market. Post the ACS acquisition, Xerox is extremely well positioned to address BPO, ITO and document outsourcing services to take us to the next level. We are committed to investing in India’s future as a leading exporter of innovation.”

Xerox also appointed Vishal Awal, Executive Director, Services, Xerox India to effectively address the fast growing services opportunities in South Asia region. Awal joins Xerox with more than 20 years of experience in business development, key account management and global services business management roles in North America, Europe and in Asia Pacific regions. Prior to joining Xerox, he was the Vice President and Head of Customer Unit (CU), Erickson India.. Awal was instrumental in ushering in managed services/outsourcing trend within the telecom industry in India. At Xerox India, Awal will be responsible for driving the company’s growth in the document management and business process outsourcing services markets.

Other changes include Xerox India’s Technology & Channels portfolio will be headed by Vipin Tuteja, Executive Director, Technology, Channels and International Business, Xerox India. Tuteja will be responsible for Xerox India’s office and production printing businesses and his experience of working with Xerox will help strengthen Xerox India’s partnerships and grow the channel operation, which are critical for the company’s growth and expansion. Tuteja will work with the newly appointed regional business heads in South, Central and North & East regions to expand Xerox’s pan India presence. The appointments include; Rajiv Luthra as Regional Head—Central, M Venkat Rao, Regional Head—South & Arvind Chabra continues as the Regional Head- North & East.

Xerox has also strengthened the marketing function with the appointment of Vivek Chandel, Executive Director—Marketing, Xerox India. Chandel has over 20 years of experience in Marketing & Business Operations in organisations like Tata Tele-Services, Bharti Airtel and Escotel. Prior to joining Xerox, he was the Chief Operating Officer for Tata Teleservices for UP West and Uttarakhand.

Manmohan Kalsy joins in as Executive Director, Human Resources, Xerox India. Kalsy has over 21 years of experience in the HR function across manufacturing, consumer goods and telecom sectors with companies like DCM, Gillette, PepsiCo & Hutchison. Prior to joining Xerox India, Kalsy headed the HR function for the India captive shared services at Vodafone and was a part of the global business transformation team.

“With this infusion of senior talent and expertise, Xerox India aims to capture new opportunities in the fast-growing document management, services, graphic arts, production printing and office printing markets,” added Klein. “The robust and hard-working team at Xerox India will continue to deliver world-class technology, service and solutions to our customers, partners and other stakeholders,”added Klein.

Source: http://www.crn.in/Hardware-025Aug011-Xerox-Revamps-India-Team.aspx