Mahindra goes all out in used car segment

Mahindra & Mahindra on August 2, 2007, re-branded its used car division, AutomartIndia Ltd. as First Choice. The company also unveiled its first innovative multi-brand used car superstore in Mumbai, which promises to offer a new and refreshing buying experience for its customers. The business is a three way joint venture between Mahindra Group, HDFC and Sah & Sanghi. These entities plan to tap the first mover’s advantage in the organised used car market in India through this venture and the game plan is to roll out six such stores in the next 18 months.

Chocolaty times ahead for Nestlé
Nestlé India, a unit of Nestlé Sa – the world’s largest food and beverage company, has recorded profits of Rs.956 million, an increase of 19%, in its second Quarter earnings. With continued focus on nutrition, health & well being, the mantra for the change of fortunes of Nestlé, the company recently entered the probiotic milk market with Nestlé Nesvita Dahi. The launch will help Nestlé, the maker of Maggi noodles and Nescafé, cash in on the growing health awareness in India and from the fact that 50% of the company’s sales are generated from the dairy segment. The probiotic product market stands at $14 billion globally, and with the Indian consumer increasingly becoming health conscious, Nestlé wants to lap up the first mover’s advantage, as Yakult Danone India & Mother Dairy have also announced plans to enter this segment.

The Asian Juggernaut Rolls On
More good news for the Third World. Th e latest Ernst and Young European Attractiveness Survey, 2007 says that emerging economies will almost certainly overtake the developed economies by 2050. The survey states that India & China will become increasingly popular destinations for global investments. In contrast, North America & Europe will become less and less popular. According to the Ernst and Young Survey, the emerging economies are the five BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China & South Africa) plus Indonesia, Turkey & Mexico. A few years ago in 2003, Goldman Sachs had launched the new Asian mania by forecasting that China & India will become the largest and third largest economies of the world respectively by 2050.

Puravankara gets stuck in bad weather
The volatility of the stock market has forced Bengalooru based real estate firm, Puravankara Projects, to revise its Initial Public Offer (IPO) price and extend the issue closing date to August 8 from the earlier August 3. The issue price has been adjusted from Rs.500-525 per share to Rs.400-450 per share keeping in view the instability of the stock markets across the globe. Earlier in May 2006, Air Deccan’s issue price was altered due to such volatility. In the future if this instability continues, it can take its toll on he issues like Omaxe that re due for listing next week.

Indian aviation faces the crude reality
With a sharp increase in global crude oil prices to over $78 a barrel, Indian airfares will see an increase by Rs.50-100 per ticket as fuel surcharge. Fuel cost in Indian aviation comprises of about 42% of the total operating cost and increase in the prices of the same has led companies to ultimately pass it on to the consumers. This is the second time this month that fuel surcharge has been increased. Paramount Airways, a Chennai-based airline, has already increased fuel surcharge by Rs.100, while other airlines including state owned Indian, are yet to decide the exact increment.

CDMA+GSM; best of both worlds in one
Amidst the strong growth in subscribers and increasing valuations, innovation is one factor, which is constantly providing newer avenues of growth to Indian telecom sector. Latest innovation to hit the market is the dual SIM Smart World Phone by Samsung & Tata Indicom, which allows the users to have two SIM cards slots inside one phone. To the delight of the customers, the phone also boasts of a touch screen, handwriting recognition technique, fi le viewer and advanced organising capabilities at a competitive price tag of Rs.11, 999. Well, apart from the moolah for the mobile manufacturers, the phone, due to its dual SIM capability, is no less than a bounty for the operators.

Banking on SBI’s new fortunes
State Bank of India is likely to undergo sea change as the government, which now happens to be the dominant shareholder, in an unprecedented move is willing to infuse capital to the bank. This will certainly provide greater flexibility on the part of the bank to raise funds; help power its growth plan and fuel its acquisition drives. The first quarterly result of the bank has been a robust one, wherein it reported a 78.5% growth. The banking major is expected to close the year with Rs.50 billion in profits.

War is passé; let’s heal thy neighbour
Following Pakistan Government’s approval to allow import of anti-cancer drugs from India, Dabur Pharma stepped in and started supplying these drugs to Pakistan. The company’s move is an attempt to expand overseas, in the developed as well as emerging markets. Atco Pharma & AJ Mirza Pharma are the two Pakistani pharma companies that have got permission from their health ministry to start importing. Apart from Pakistan, Dabur is also exporting drugs to Turkmenistan. Dabur has been riding high this year under guidance of the new generation of Burmans, with a net profit of Rs.1.3 billion in the first quarter as against Rs.66 million in the same period in 2006.

Snowy abode to turn aqua soon
The ‘Paradise on Earth’ proudly announced the commencement of a ‘paradise’ under water in the Bagh-I-Bahu area in Jammu & Kashmir. This exotic aquatic world is the largest underwater aquarium in the subcontinent. The aquarium-cum-awareness centre harbours about 550 species of fish in its 24 aquarium caves and fully geared laboratories & museums. The phase I of the project has generated Rs.200,000 within the first week of its inauguration. Phase II of the project, where a sea world will be constructed is underway. Aft er Singapore, it’s now India’s turn to get the dough rolling in with this promising tourist attraction.

Olay Olay for P&G in India!
With the launch of the $1-billion-plus beauty brand, Olay, global FMCG giant, Procter & Gamble (P&G) has entered the Rs.21 billion skincare market in India. Initially the company will target the anti-ageing products market with its anti-aging cream, Olay Total Effects. The anti-ageing products market in India is currently pegged at Rs.600 million and has doubled in the last three years. The company, which has roped in the sensational Sushmita Sen as the brand ambassador for its Olay range of products, is likely to face stiff competition from established players like Pond’s, L’Oréal & Kaya. Incidentally, out of the 100- odd brands in P&G’s kitty, the company has just launched nine brands in India.

It’s Disney time for Lenovo
The trend of targeting kids has become one of the favourites for marketers. Joining the fray is Lenovo, as it launches, Lenovo 3000 H. This is a limited edition, where the desktop is themed on ‘Power Rangers Mystic Force’. The superheroes would be featured in the background of a colourful red skin. 3M’s technology, 2 Control tac has designed the graphics. Microsoft Vista Home Basic edition would be pre-loaded in the desktop. With a starting range of Rs.40,100, this Disney desktop would be launched in different phases. The first phase is slated for Mumbai, Lucknow, Kolkata, Bengalooru, Chandigarh & Delhi.

Apollo embarks on a major expansion
It seems as if Apollo Hospitals don’t want to leave any chance to cash on the healthcare boom in India. In order to further consolidate its position, the healthcare group has recently chalked out a massive Rs.7.1 billion expenditure plan to set up hospitals in Mumbai and Chennai. While, the Group would invest about Rs.6 billion for its Mumbai expansion, the sate-of-art orthopaedic hospital in Chennai with 200 beds would engulf the rest of the investment corpus. The Group has even tied up with Western Hospitals for setting up these ‘centres of excellence’ at various places in Mumbai. Quite a handful, isn’t it?

Playing for a cause!
The contribution of sports to society is much more than what meets the eye

Mankind’s sojourn with sports is perhaps as old as his rendezvous with the very concept of civilisation. Even in the pre-historic era, rival kingdoms oft en used sports as a medium to get a momentary respite from relentless conflicts. From the Greek civilisation onwards, sports started getting institutionalised as a key activity. It was the Greeks who introduced the concept of Olympics, the resonance of which can be felt till this millennium. With the onset of 20th century & the two World Wars bringing about paradigm shift in the way the world would henceforth function, sports have become a crucial reflection of the changing geopolitics & the dominance of few countries in the world. Emergence of USA & USSR as the only two superpowers, got frequently reflected by their medal tallies in the Olympics. While the Cold War continued & both sides remained hamstrung by the concept of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD), it was the Olympics (both summers & winters) where USA & USSR started settling scores. More oft en than not, most of the medals went to either of the two parties or their satellite nations.

Gradually sports also became a leveling factor between the Whites & Blacks & other races like Asian & Hispanic. It is in sports where Africa as a continent has been able to garner much of the respect which it has been deprived of in other fields. While they continued their dominance in every kind of sports, especially in football & athletics, incidentally in most of the European nations & in USA, the ethnic Africans (brought centuries back for slavery) started dominating & representing the country in every possible game. USA is as much known today for Bill Gates & Steve Jobs as it is known for the icons like Aurther Ash, Michael Jordan, Carl Lewis & Tiger Woods. The mother of all ironies is that most of players of the 1998 FIFA World Cup winning French team which showed its elegance even in the 2006 World Cup are not ethnically French but Africans. How many actually know that Zinedine Zidane is ethnically an Algerian? In the recent past, China has become the talking point of sports and that it’s hosting the 2008 Olympics, is a reflection of its increasing economic prowess. Last but not the least, is the fact that sports in essence are a reflection of the state of the health of the society. No prizes for guessing that India with its ranking of 126 in the UNDP HDI takes solace in an occasional silver or bronze medal, while those who are highest in the medals tally, top the UNDP list too.