Hero Motocorp Sales Enhance

Hero MotoCorp, the country’s largest two-wheeler maker, has posted the highest sales of 6 lakh units in October. The sales in the month of October for Hero MotoCorp was 1.4 lakh units which is more than the average sales in the July to September quarter, 1.15 lakh more than the last six months average. “We have crossed the landmark 6 lakh unit sales for October. As despatches are still continuing in the evening, the final tally for the month will be well over 6 lakh. This is a clear reiteration of the trust that our customers have reposed in our products,” said Pawan Munjal, MD & CEO, Hero MotoCorp. Munjal says, the sentiment is positive for the Hero brand and the company is likely to carry forward this momentum for the rest of the year. For Hero MotoCorp, the sales in April to September were flat at 2,911,107 units.

Vodafone Chops Mobile Data Charges By 80 Per Cent

Vodafone India, the Indian arm of the UK-based telecom major Vodafone Group and India’s second largest mobile phone operator, has slashed the mobile data charges by 80 per cent. Customers of Vodafone who opt to pay for the internet depending on usage rather than in a fixed pack will now pay 2 paisa per 10 KB even while roaming in India, the company said in a statement. Previously, the rate was 10 paisa per 10 KB. Vodafone cut tariff by 80 per cent in Karnataka, UP West and Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to 2 paisa per 10 KB from 10 paisa per 10 KB in order to ‘make internet access affordable for customers who use mobile internet in a limited way’. It has offered packages which included a flat 95 per cent cut on data charges and up to 78 per cent cut on voice calls, while on roaming.

Spicejet Appoints New COO

SpiceJet has appointed Sanjiv Kapoor, a former leader of the airline practice at Bain & Co and director at Temasek Holdings, as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) to head the budget airline at a time when it’s on the lookout for a strategic investor and ways to shore up its finances. India’s second-biggest low-fare carrier by market share has appointed Kapoor and is likely to be elevated to the position of CEO shortly or act as de-facto CEO. Kapoor who joined SpiceJet three months after its last CEO Neil Mills left, was chosen from five shortlisted candidates. Kapoor originally from Kolkata, graduated from US’ Ivy League Dartmouth College in 1990 and then got his business management degree from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

DLF Cuts Debt By Rs 861 Crore

DLF Ltd, India’s largest real estate developer, reduced its net debt by Rs 861 crore to Rs 19,508 crore in the September quarter. The company is now targeting to bring down its debt to 17,500 crore by the end of March. During the quarter, DLF received Rs 525 crore from the sale of its windmill business and Rs 130 crore from the sale of its stake in the insurance JV. “We have two big deals and a few smaller ones that are in the pipeline. If those and the Aman transaction are concluded, the (debt deduction) target will be achieved,” said Ashok Tyagi, Chief Financial Officer, DLF. The firm is currently working on deals worth at least 3,500 crore that are expected to close this fiscal. These include the sale of land in Hyderabad for 500 crore and refund from the Delhi government for the Dwarka land.

Lenovo In Talks To Take Over Blackberry

Lenovo Group is in talks with embattled BlackBerry on a merger possibly worth 4.7 billion dollars. Lenovo has long been rumoured as an active bidder for BlackBerry, which has been losing ground to Apple Inc and Samsung. In mid-October, the Wall Street Journal reported that Lenovo signed a nondisclosure deal to examine the books of the Canadian smatphone maker. The mergers and acquisition are always useful tools for the business to expand, and the company was open to deals that can boost their business, Yang Yuanqing, chairman and chief executive officer, Lenovo, said in a statement.

NTPC Unveils 100tr Air Conditioning Pilot Plant At Ramagundam

AK Jha, Director Technical, NTPC Ltd,   inaugurated a “100 TR, Waste Flue Gas Air Conditioning Pilot Plant”, at Ramagundam Thermal power station. Thomas Joseph, Executive Director (NETRA), Subhasis Ghosh, GM (I/C-Ramagundam) were present on this occasion. The pilot plant is designed in-house by NETRA, the R&D wing of NTPC. The system is a green house gas free air conditioning system, utilising waste heat from flue gas of a 500MW coal based power plant at Ramagundam STPS. Four control rooms of the power station have been air conditioned from this system. This system consumes less power compared to the conventional AC system.

Central Bank Of India Joins Hands With Central Warehousing Corporation

Central Bank of India has joined hands with Central Warehousing Corporation and a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed to strengthen their relationship. On behalf of Central Bank of India, the MoU was signed by B Mondal, CGM, Delhi Zone and on behalf of CWC, the MoU was signed in the presence of Vishwa Ranjan Gupta, Director (Finance), CWC and executed by G P Singh, DGM (F&A). As per the agreement, Central Bank of India will provide banking services to Central Warehousing Corporation and open the accounts of different offices of Central Warehousing Corporation spread across the country.

Videocon Strikes Gas In Brazilian Offshore Block

Videocon Industries last week said a well drilled to confirm oil discovery in its Brazilian offshore block has struck 200 feet of high-quality hydrocarbon zone. “The Wahoo-5 appraisal well at (block) BM-C-30 drilled the eastern flank of the Wahoo structure and encountered more than 200 net feet of high-quality pay in a pre-salt reservoir, with a total hydrocarbon column now established at 460 feet,” company said in a statement. Pradeep N Dhoot, Dubai-based director of global exploration and production business of Videocon Hydrocarbon Holdings, said: “The notable success of the appraisal well Wahoo#5 in the BM-C-30 Campos Block has further added to the hydrocarbon resources already indicated in the said block.”

HSBC Posts $5.1 Billion Q3 Profit

Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) reported a 10 per cent rise in third quarter profits, helped by tighter cost control and fewer losses from bad loans and conformed it was being investigated as part of a global probe into currency market trading manipulation. The bank said that the underlying pre-tax profit was $5.1 billion for the three months to September 30–up 30 per cent on a statutory basis–with strong markets Hong Kong and British markets together accounting for more than half of earnings and offsetting a fall in Latin America profits.

TCS Wins Core Banking Contract From US Firm

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India largest software service exporter, said the US-based financial services firm Zions Bancorporation has chosen its core banking software TCS BaNCS. Zions Bancorporation consists of a collection of banks in select Western US markets with combined total assets exceeding $ 50 billion. “Zions Bancorporation has chosen TCS BaNCS for its core banking transformation programme to achieve standardisation, centralisation and straight through processing across the enterprise,” TCS said in a statement. The solution provides a 360 degree view of its end-user customers, it added. The transformation will be completed in phases, with the management expecting significant improvements in operational efficiency and customer experience and reduced operational and financial stemming from older legacy system.