Indian Stock Market

MVL Telecom is going to be a new entrant to a already competitive mobile handset business in India. MVL telecom is being set up by MVL Group which has interests in Real estate and consumer electronics.

Press release from economictimes:

Property developer and consumer electronics maker MVL group plans to invest Rs 400 crore to manufacture and sell mobile handsets in the country under its own brand, a top company executive said.

It would join a host of local handset makers who have created strong mass-market brands of their own in the domestic market. The privately owned group has formed a separate entity, MVL Telecom, to spearhead its foray into handsets business and plans to roll out its products soon.

Prem Adip Rishi, chairman, MVL group said, “Our handsets would be competitively priced.” MVL plans to sell products priced in the range of Rs 1,400 to Rs 5,000. MVL Telecom will be the first Indian mobile handset company to launch the push mail feature through MVL Connect that would do away with the fixed cost for data charges. The customer would need to pay only the service provider’s data downloading charges.

To begin with, MVL will source handsets from China’s Foxconn. But it plans to invest around Rs 400 crore to set up a manufacturing plant and a research unit besides a service centre in Gurgaon.

The company will create its sales network in the top 20 cities of the country within the first quarter of launching operations and plans to extend reach to tier II & III towns thereafter.

Tata Advanced Systems has unveiled plans to form a partnership with the European defence and aerospace consortium EADS to bid for the Indian Army’s $1 billion advanced tactical communications system project.

The project is expected to be announced later this year.

Tata Advanced Systems, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Industries, along with Tata Consultancy Services and Tata Power, is joining forces with EADS Defence & Security (EADS DS), a global defence Lead Systems Integrator, Raytheon and Precision Electronics.

The proposed $1 billion Indian Army tactical communications system is intended to replace its current AREN system using the latest and most sophisticated technologies making it a fully mobile communication system.

The new system would put the Indian Army at par with the most sophisticated tactical mobile systems currently being developed for deployment around the globe.

Ratan N Tata, chairman, Tata Group, said: “The Tatas recognise the significance of this project of national importance and therefore with a view to leveraging the capabilities of several Tata companies, we propose to implement the project through a new umbrella company – Tata Advanced Systems Limited. We believe that the above approach will synergise the group’s relevant capabilities for the project and provide a single interface for the Indian Army.”

Stefan Zoller, CEO, EADS Defence and Security, said: “EADS Defence & Security and Tata can design and deliver one of the most sophisticated battlefield communications systems in the world, and at the same time, will make a significant contribution to India’s high tech economy.”

In another development, Tata Advanced Systems announced that it is jointly exploring opportunities with Urban Aeronautics from Israel for marketing and manufacturing unmanned aerial vehicles based on UrbanAero’s patented Fancraft technology for the Indian market.

A Tata Advanced Systems spokesperson said: “Tata Advanced Systems is pleased to be associated with Urban Aeronautics, which is developing innovative unmanned vehicles based on its patented Fancraft technology. We believe these unmanned vehicles can have multiple applications for defence and civilian applications in India.”

Source: Business Standard

Latest Buzz in Videocon Industries :

Videocon Industries is spinning off its myriad energy businesses—stretching from coal fields in Indonesia to oil and gas blocks in Brazil—into a separate company, in an attempt to help unlock shareholder value.

The Dhoot-promoted Videocon, which currently gets a conglomerate discount thanks to the bunch of diverse businesses under its roof, will spin off six different units into a separate company called Videocon Natural Resources (VNRL).

The move will result in two entities operating in two separate industries. The flagship Videocon Industries will retain a substantial stake in the new entity and continue to operate in the consumer electronics and retail sectors.

VNRL will be an independent energy company with a large and growing presence in conventional and non-conventional energy. Its assets will include oil and gas blocks in Brazil and East Timor, coal blocks in Indonesia, and other conventional and non-conventional energy assets in India and the world.

But the spin-off will not include Videocon’s stake in the hugely-profitable Ravva oil field for now. “The unbundling will help Videocon Group to be re-rated in the market. Each business will get focused management effort,” said an official at Edelweiss Capital.

“There is tremendous growth opportunity in the energy space, both globally and in the domestic market, and we want to be a part of it,” Videocon chairman Venugopal Dhoot told. He refused to divulge further.

Investment banker Morgan Stanley is advising the company on the restructuring. The move is expected to help the energy business acquire substantial investor interest of its own, especially at a time when energy prices and demand are soaring.

Surging crude oil and gas prices have helped fatten profits of oil and gas companies and sparked a world-wide frenzy for new assets. Companies from Chile to China and from Australia to Iceland are scouring the world to buy oil and gas blocks.

Company officials believe that the energy business is getting buried in Videocon Industries with attention largely focused on the electronics business. Consumer durables contribute over 80% of the total turnover but energy contributes about 50% to profits.

“Focus on the energy businesses will offer significant upsides for Videocon provided the company makes sustained and significant investments in the area,” said the head of a large brokerage firm.

Videocon Industries shares are expected to go up on rumours of De-Merger