This week's most important India investor news

By Vipin Agnihotri

The India Street is always interested in giving you news that you can use for investment purpose. We not only give you detailed news but also our expert opinion as well. Find below news regarding Indian companies.

DLF constructs costliest land deal

DLF has done it again. The real estate giant has just paid a staggering Rs 16.75 billion for 38 acres of land in Delhi. In my opinion, this is one of the most expensive deal in the country so far beating Unitech’s Rs 15.82 billion purchase of 300 acres of land in Noida last year.

It is worth mentioning in this regard that the property better known as Swatantra Bharat Mills & DCM Silk Mills was jointly owned by DCM Shriram Consolidated (DSCL) and the Lohia Group, which had an equal share in the property. After this acquisition, DLF’s total landmark in New Delhi now stands at whopping 65 acres.

ITC has gobbled an Australian agri-biotech company

The Indian conglomerate ITC Ltd has gobbled an Australian agri-biotech company- Technico Pty Ltd. Although, the amount of the deal has been kept under wraps. In my opinion, the deal is going to strengthen ITC’s food division. According to sources, the deal was implemented through the investment arm Russell Credit, a fully owned subsidiary of ITC.

Point to be noted here is that Technico offers mass potato supply chain management and uses the exclusive Technituber technology, which is known to transform the global seed potato industry. Technico has its business spread around Canada, China, the Middle East and India.

Bajaj de-merger scheme won approval of shareholders

The de-merger scheme, as mooted by Rahul Bajaj has finally won approval of shareholders and unsecured creditors of Bajaj Auto Limited (BAL) with an astounding majority. Accordingly, the group will now split into three separate entities along with the creation of two new companies.

It is worth mentioning in this regard that Bajaj Auto will be de-merged to create Bajaj Auto Limited, Bajaj Holdings & Investments & Bajaj Finserv Ltd; these companies would focus on auto business, wind power & financial services. Furthermore, the shareholders of BAL would become shareholders of the new companies and would be issued shares in the ratio 1:1 for the two new companies.

From our Friends

99acres.com Announces a Strategic Partnership with Properazzi.com

99acres.com, on of India’s top real estate portals with a database of more then 1500 builders, 20,000 brokers, 40,000 individuals, and over 200000 properties, announced a strategic traffic partnership with Properazzi European Group SL. Properazzi.com is a property search engine and the largest property portal of its kind in Europe. As a search engine that aggregates property listings from real estate professionals and other property sites, Properazzi hosts 4 million properties, of 49 countries, in 32 languages

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Big companies queuing up to invest in Uttarakhand

By Vipin Agnihotri

Big companies such as Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto, Hero Honda, Ashok Leyland and Nestle are queuing up to invest in the state of Uttarakhand. In terms of statistics these companies have invested around Rs 30,000 crore in the state since 2003.

The irony is that state doesn’t have any more land in industrial estates. There is a long waiting list of companies, but state can’t accommodate everyone. If experts are to be believed, the industrial estates of Haridwar, Udham Singh Nagar and Dehradun have emerged as the main industrial centres.

In the last few years, Uttarakhand has clocked a state domestic product growth rate of 10 percent, placing it among the high growth states in the country. In my recent visit to Uttarakhand I notice that State Infrastructure and Industrial Development Corporation (SIDCUL) has most utilized unused government land for the purpose. The supply of such parcels of land has now run out.

Because of this, government can either turn away investors, or it can start doling out agricultural land. Initial signs are that government will divide land into three categories. First and foremost is the extremely fertile land, which they will not touch. Second one is the ordinary land. Last one being the government land. On the basis of what kind of Industries state needs, government will decide whether to give it to companies or not.

On other fronts, too, there are challenges that need to be addressed. In my opinion, basic infrastructure needs an urgent overhaul. No one will argue with the fact that the supply of power has not kept pace with demand in Uttarakhand. At this moment of time, the state generates 950 MW of power, against a peak demand of 1,200-1,300 MW. An investment of Rs 11,000 crore is expected to be made in the sector over the next few years to ramp this up to 3,500 MW.

In addition, there is an Rs 2,200 crore ADB funded project to overhaul and build roads in the state. The states urban centres also need large doses of investment. The lack of trained manpower is another issue. The government is working overtime to address this by inviting companies to adopt Industrial Training Institutes.

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