The upcoming auction by Federal Communication Commission for the 700MHz spectrum license is a much watched policy action since this would give the consumers a variety of choices for downloading any applications irrespective of the network or devices.

Google is definitely a major contender here and would certainly like to enter the mobile phone world and the asociated Ad revenues which goes along with it.

Who wins ? Consumers says Google. U bet ! Read the complete story.

Chris Sacca, Head of Special Initiatives posts at Google’ official blogite

Consecutively for the last three years Forbes Asia awards has been given to India CEOs. Ratan Tata, Nandan Nilekani and now KV Kamath. The common factor is that these gentlemen are looking at exponential growth for their busineses.

Rediff.com reports

Forbes Asia has named K V Kamath of ICICI Bank  as the Businessman of the Year for 2007.

The chief executive of the bank since 1996, the 60-year-old Kamath was picked for building ICICI Bank into India’s most valuable bank and one of Asia’s top banks.

Kamath’s win puts him in the company of fellow countrymen Nandan Nilekani of Infosys Technologies , last year’s winner, and Ratan Tata, the 2004 businessman of the year.

His selection means Indian executives have won the accolade three of the last four years.

Under Kamath’s watch, ICICI Bank’s market capitalisation has risen to $31 billion compared with $1.6 billion in 2002 when the original corporate lending institution merged with its commercial banking offshoot. By this measure, it is among Asia’s top 10 banks and is bigger than Singapore’s DBS Group and Korea’s Kookmin Bank.

The bank has attracted big stakeholders such as Singapore’s Temasek Holdings and CLSA and Merrill Lynch funds.

The bank’s assets have grown 40% annually in the last three years to $93 billion, propelled by a boom in Indian consumer credit where ICICI has a dominant one-third market share.

The bank has also built up its customer base to 27 million — in 2006 alone, it added an incredible 8 million. “That’s more than the population of Singapore,” noted Kamath in an interview with Forbes Asia. The bank today has a foothold in 18 countries including the United Kingdom, Canada, Russia, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates. Read the rest of this entry »

Citigroup has got timely capital infusion. As they say great companies raise capital all the time and this may certainly give investors some confidence that the management is making its first steps in the right direction. Though there could be a lot of cleaning required, the foremost important decision for the board is to appoint the next CEO for the group.

Forbes.com reports

Citigroup is still in search of a chief executive, but it has found an angel.

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority is sinking $7.5 billion into the largest U.S. bank, shoring up its capital after billions in write-offs related to subprime mortgages.

The state investment fund will receive securities that will be convertible into no more than a 4.9% stake in Citi, the financial services giant said Monday night. It is a sizeable investment at a time when many investors and pundits are calling for major changes at Citigroup , including a possible breakup of the company.

One of Citi’s largest individual shareholders, Saudi Arabia’s Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, who is said to hold about a 4% stake, has pressed for tighter cost controls at the company since last year. Chief Executive Charles Prince quit earlier this month as Citi faced another $10 billion to $13 billion of additional write-downs in mortgage security holdings and after losing the confidence of the board and major shareholders.

It is important for all BRIC countries to learn the power of branding. The importance of value addition and branding is so largely applicable that the value of the company largely lies in its products and brand value. Recently Tata Tea and Beverages has moved out of plantation and started building brands by acquiring Tetley and focussing on productising and branding their own tea and other beverage products.

Arab Times reports

When Starbucks opened in Brazil a year ago, the US giant knew it would be tough selling coffee in the world’s biggest producer of its raw material ‘caffeine beans.’

What it didn’t bank on was how bittersweet its path to success would be — nor how much more its appeal would rely on its perceived snob value than on the quality of its espressos, lattes, Frappuccinos or cakes.

Last month, the Seattle-based chain opened its seventh store in Sao Paulo, Brazil’s biggest city that still features a few of the extravagant mansions of the 19th-century coffee barons who built the foundations of its wealth today.

The high prices of the brews on offer — a basic cup of coffee costs six reals (3.40 dollars), three times more than in normal Brazilian cafes — have done nothing to shorten the long lines at the counters.

Quite the contrary: monied Brazilians flocking to Starbucks see the stores almost as exclusive clubs for the privileged in a country where displays of wealth are usually an invitation to being mugged.

‘The social level of people here is pretty high,’ said one customer, Monica Korosue, a 28-year-old technology consultant sipping out of a cardboard Starbucks cup in the newest outlet in the chic Jardim Paulista neighborhood.

She agreed with her husband, 34-year-old Mauricio Silva, that Starbucks’ recipe for success in Brazil was in creating ‘a refuge for the elite.’

She said the market appeal of the stores in Brazil reflected ‘valuing American culture.’

But Buck Hendrix, Starbucks’ manager for Latin America, attacked the widely held perception of the company as a US icon.

‘It’s not an American thing. It’s a Starbucks thing, that transcends culture,’ he told AFP in a telephone interview from his office in Miami.

He also shrugged off the elitist tag for the Brazil stores, preferring to describe them as commuter stopovers carefully designed to be ‘warm, comforting, welcoming.’

That secure cosiness was Starbucks’ real contribution to Brazil’s already well-served cafe scene, he said.

‘Brazil knows more about coffee than any other country in the world,’ he said. ‘We think we have a lot to learn from Brazilians about coffee.’ Read the rest of this entry »

Its the time for Railways to raise capital as part of the infrastructure building of the nation. China Railway is raising USD 5.5B from the Shanghai capital market. Soon I guess the Indian Railways will think of something like this. It is the best way to make the public participate in the jewels of the respective countries.

Forbes.com reports

From the late Qing Dynasty to the communist era, raising funds to build railroads has been a huge hassle in China. Now thanks to capitalism, the state-owned railroad builder China Railway Group is raising $5.5 billion almost effortlessly through a dual listing in Hong Kong and Shanghai.

China Railway Group, the world’s third-largest construction contractor by contracting revenue, is raising 22.4 billion yuan ($3 billion) from the issue of 4.675 billion shares in Shanghai after pricing the stock Thursday at 4.80 yuan per share (65 cents), at the top of its indicated range.

The offering of A shares, as yuan-denominated stock trading on the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges is called, received orders from Chinese investors totaling 3.383 trillion yuan ($456.5 billion), surpassing the 3.378 trillion yuan ($455.9 billion) record set by PetroChina (nyse: PTR - news - people ), according to China Securities Journal. PetroChina tapped 66.8 billion yuan ($9 billion) in its IPO in Shanghai last month, making it China’s biggest IPO so far.

China Railway Group will also issue 3.326 billion so-called H shares in Hong Kong priced somewhere between 5.03 to 5.78 Hong Kong dollars (64 to 74 cents) per share, raising up to 19.2 billion Hong Kong dollars ($2.5 billion). The international tranche of China Railway’s new issues in Hong Kong has been more than 15 times oversubscribed, according to a market source. The company began public subscriptions in Hong Kong Friday and will finalize the H share IPO price next week. Read the rest of this entry »

Britain’s major union in its statement today has preferred the Tata bid for the sale of Rover and Jaguar. Tata, M&M and private equity player One Equity are in race for this sale. Looks like India Inc is getting into top gear.
Economic Times reports

The Tata Group has emerged the front-runner for Jaguar and Land Rover with workers of the two UK carmakers, being sold by Ford, backing its bid. Unite, Britain’s main trade union in the auto sector, on Thursday issued a statement saying the Tata Group is their preferred choice to take over Jaguar and Land Rover should they be sold.

While such approval is not binding in any way, Ford would prefer to conclude the deal with the union’s go-ahead, as it will continue to remain a large employer in the UK.

However, highly-placed sources say there are differences of opinion within Unite—the union that represents the workers of Jaguar and Land Rover. “There is no consolidated view coming out of the unions yet and different factions are supporting different bidders,” said a source close to the development. While the Tata bid is being backed by 60 senior shop stewards, Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M), the other Indian entity in the race, has reportedly found favour with Unite joint general secretary Tony Woodley.

The Unite statement said shop stewards agree that Tata fits their category, but a source close to the development says M&M presentation to the union struck a chord with Woodley. The source maintained that notwithstanding Unite’s statement, there is no unanimity among its rank and file on the issue.

The official statement released by Woodley, on Unite’s behalf, made it clear that if a sale does take place, the union would support a “partner with an established presence and background in manufacturing’’. This would mean the two marquee brands will go to an Indian entity as the only other bidder is private equity player One Equity.

Unite is Britain’s largest trade union and was formed in May this year following a merger of amicus and the Transport and General Workers Union. The three bidders met the convenors of the plants and Woodley on November 20.

Unite’s statement said that based on reports from their representatives who attended the meeting where the bidders made presentations and to serve “the best interests of the union members…the stewards agreed that Tata best fits these criteria.” Unite said that as the union has signed a confidentiality agreement with the company, that is all that they can comment on at the moment.

“Anand Mahindra’s presence at that meeting with the unions made a difference for M&M,” said a person in the know of the negotiations. The Tata presentation, on the other hand, was headed by Tata Motors MD Ravi Kant who assured the unions that there would be fresh investments in the brands. Read the rest of this entry »

With all the growth happening in BRIC, rising concerns are also on Climate change, environment pollution, usage of more cleaner form of energy. The current East Asia Summit in Singapore is discussing some of these issues along with trade agendas of the participating countries.

China View reports

The Third East Asia Summit (EAS) concluded here on Wednesday, with leaders from 16 EAS nations signing a declaration on climate change, energy and environment issues.

Concerned about the adverse impact of climate change on socio-economic development, health and the environment, particularly in developing countries, EAS member countries vowed to carry out individual and collective actions to address climate change, improve energy efficiency, and reduce deforestation.

The Singapore Declaration on Climate Change, Energy and the Environment was signed Wednesday afternoon by the 16 leaders of EAS in the Third East Asia Summit at the Shangri-La hotel.

“East Asia’s dramatic transformation is the biggest growth story of our times. Powered by the rapid emergence of China and India, the region is on the move and surging ahead,” said Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the Third East Asia Summit.

“The most serious long-term challenge confronting all of us today is climate change,” he said, “This is why we have chosen the inter-related themes of ‘Energy, Environment, Climate Change and Sustainable development’ for our discussion.”

EAS member countries recognize that rapid economic development poses new challenges in dealing with greater energy consumption, regional and global energy security concerns, the declaration said.

It stressed that all countries should play a role in addressing the common challenge of climate change, based on the principles of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and leaders of the ASEAN member countries, and those of Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand attended the summit.

The EAS involves ASEAN member countries, namely, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, as well as six other countries, namely, China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand. Read the rest of this entry »

The sub prime issue is entering the mainstream economy and its no longer just a wall street issue. Every aspects of economy is going to get affected. At this juncture big cos like Citigroup are having a leadership issue as well. It will take humongous effort from the new leadership to steer the boat in the right direction.

Greg Morcoft of Market Watch Reports

Goldman Sachs analyst William Tanona on Monday recommended that clients sell Citigroup shares, because the bank’s financial problems are likely to grow, and spread beyond current write downs for subprime mortgage losses and into its consumer business like credit cards and retail banking.
He said, those issues, combined with an ongoing search for a new CEO and growing concern about possibly having to trim its dividend preclude any “quick fix” for the shares.
“The lack of leadership at this point in Citi’s storied history could not have come at a worse time. With deteriorating consumer and housing metrics, Citigroup is facing mounting pressure across many businesses,” Tanona said.
He estimates that the firm will end up taking a total of about $15 billion to write down the value of collateralized debt obligation (CDOs), a type of derivative debt security popularized in recent years and used to market mortgage loans to investors.
CDOs are a bit like mutual funds that hold asset-backed securities. The products are then sliced up and sold to institutional investors. Some CDOs have been big buyers of subprime mortgage-backed securities. As subprime delinquencies surged this year, rating agencies have been downgrading some CDOs and their market value has slumped.
Citi has already announced plans to write down as much as $11 billion in CDO exposure to date.
Citi shares fell almost 6% $32.

Citi shares have fallen 40% so far in 2007, and almost 30% in the last several months, but Tanona said further declines are likely as earnings slow. Read the rest of this entry »

All BRIC economies are focussing on investment in infrastructure. There is unprecedented urgency to spend on roadways, railway, airports, power, real estate,..etc. This gives a good demand for Steel and other metal industries. Investors are surely having a good ride on some of these stocks.

Moscow Times reports

As Muscovites wrap up warm this week with the onset of winter, investors are still looking for exposure to this year’s big story, the government’s infrastructure spending.

President Vladimir Putin last week backed plans to plow $191 billion into the power and railway sectors, and $53 billion of that for transportation, by 2011.

But it is the metals sector that is tugging on investor sentiment, and since Putin first started talking in July about the government’s plans to sink lots of cash into the infrastructure of the country’s Olympic bid-winning city, Sochi, steel stocks have enjoyed an impressive run.

Renaissance Capital investment bank said Friday that the increased spending plans would be good for rail stocks and the suppliers of railways, particularly steelmaker Evraz.

“It’s not a massive amount of money,” said Tom Mundy, equity strategist at Renaissance. “But it’s certainly enough to draw attention to the story again. The key question is when will the companies actually see this filter down.”

While the bank identified a couple of transportation picks — Far East Shipping Co. and Rhythm — steel, and Evraz especially, remains the obvious entry card for most investors. Read the rest of this entry »

The hottest real estate market is in India. With many foreign funds buying into Real Estate equities and the recent ipos of all the big real estate companies there, organisized housing is available for those needed in the country. The development is not only happening in major cities but it is even in C category cities like Cochin, Nasik, Indore, Coimbatore, Jaipur, Faridabad, Vaizag, Nagpur, Mysore. The valuation of these companies are land bank based,..which is like MF industry,..

PTI News in Rediff

India’s booming real estate sector has more than doubled the number of billionaires from this space in just 12 months, with DLF’s Kushal Pal Singh emerging “the world’s richest real estate developer.”Among 54 Indian billionaires identified by Forbes magazine, there are seven real estate developers with a net worth of over a billion dollar each.

A year ago, there were just three billionaires from this sector - K P Singh, Ramesh Chandra and Rajan Raheja, who have now been joined by Rakesh Wadhawan of newly listed HDIL, Niranjan Hiranandani of London-listed Hirco, Parsvnath Developers’ Pradeep Jain and Omaxe’s Rohtas Goel.

Singh, the wealthiest in this space, has been ranked as the fourth richest Indian with a net worth of $35 billion, according to ‘Forbes’ India’s 40 Rich List’ for 2007.

“Kushal Pal Singh is fourth on the 2007 India Rich List with a net worth of 35 billion dollars, making him the world’s richest real estate developer,” Forbes said.

Singh’s wealth appreciated over 250 per cent after his company, DLF, went public in June this year and the stock has surged 60 per cent since then, it added.

Unitech’s Ramesh Chandra ranks 8th with a net worth of $11.6 billion, followed by Wadhawan at the 26th spot with a wealth of $2.35 billion.

Raheja and Hiranandani, real estate developers from the financial capital of India - Mumbai, rank 30th and 31st with a net worth of $2.15 billion and $2.1 billion respectively.

Although there are 54 billionaires in India according to Forbes, 14 of them could not make the cut for the ‘India’s 40 Richest’ list which required a minimum wealth of $1.6 billion.

Pradeep Jain of Parsvnath Developers ranks 46th with $1.25 billion net worth, while Rohtas Goel of Omaxe is positioned at 48th place with $1.2 billion. Parsvnath and Omaxe are based in India’s capital New Delhi.

Of the seven real estate companies that have entered the Forbes’ list, DLF, Omaxe and HDIL got listed in the stock exchanges this year, while Parsvnath entered the stock market last year.