Wipro Appoints Senior VP to Board of Opera Solutions

Wipro has appointed one of its senior vice president to the board of Opera Solutions, as the company looks to balance its services-led growth model with hyper-automation model. Jeff Heenan-Jalil, the global head of Wipro Advanced Technologies & Solutions took the board seat on July 2 and will help the country’s third largest information technology company “foster and accelerate” its partnership with New Jersey-based data analytics firm to help win more clients and improves margins. “This (appointment of Jeff) is a part of overarching strategy being implemented by TK (TK Kurien, CEO Wipro) as the company tries to balance its services-led model with hyper-automation model,” Arnab Gupta, founder and executive chairman of Opera Solutions said.

Standard Chartered to invest in Sterlite Power Grid

Power transmission solutions provider, Sterlite Technologies has entered into an agreement to raise Rs 500 crore through equity infusion from Standard Chartered Private Equity for funding its existing as well as new projects. “Sterlite Technologies has entered into agreements with Standard Chartered Private Equity for an equity investment of Rs 500 crore in Sterlite Power Grid Ventures Ltd (SPGVL),” a release issued said. SPGVL, a subsidiary of Sterlite, focused on the development and operations of power transmission projects, will issue convertible securities to Standard Chartered Private Equity for a minority share, it said.

OIL completes acquisition of stake of Russian oil block

Oil India Ltd, the nation’s second largest explorer has said that it has completed acquisition of 50 per cent stake in an oil block in Russia for $85 million. OIL bought the stake from Ireland-registered, Russia- focused firm PetroNeft Resources plc in License 61 in Tomsk Oblast in Russia. The deal includes a three-stage payout including $35 million in cash up-front, $45 million in exploration and development spending and a performance bonus of up to $5 million. “The total commitment from OIL will be $85 million including $45 million for development capex. The effective date of the acquisition is January 1, 2014,” the company said in a statement.

Dena Bank seeks Rs 1,200 crore fresh capital from government

State-run lender Dena Bank has sought Rs 1,200 crore capital infusion from government in the current fiscal, a top bank official has said. In the interim Budget, the government had earmarked Rs 11,200 crore for capital infusion in public sector banks during 2014-15 and the new government has ruled out allocating more funds this fiscal for banks. “We have asked for Rs 1,200 crore capital from the government but how much we will get we don’t know,” bank’s executive director R K Takkar said. The bank’s total capital adequacy ratio stands at 11.14 per cent while the tier-I capital adequacy ratio stands at 7.43 per cent.

GMR raises Rs 1,500 crore through QIP

GMR Infrastructure, the infrastructure developer, has raised Rs 1,500 crore through QIP which saw active investors interest from globally renowned players. According to information available from the market sources, the QIP saw high interest and attracted total investments worth Rs 2,300 crore almost double the required sum. GMR had initiated the process to raise Rs 1,200 crore but finally went ahead and closed the issue at Rs 1,500 crore. GMR will be ploughing in the sum to strengthen its networth which under high leverage at as much as close to 4 times under a debt of Rs 40,000 crore.

Alstom T&D bags Rs 27.7 cr order

Alstom T&D India has said that it has bagged a contract worth Rs 27.7 crore from Himachal Pradesh Power Transmission Company to supply a 66 kV gas-insulated substation (GIS) for evacuating power from new generation sources to Kinnar district in the state. “The project aims to transmit power from new generation sources to the Kinnaur district in Himachal Pradesh, paving the way towards harnessing 23,000 MW of hydro power potential in the state,” said a release. The scope of the contract includes design, engineering, manufacture, supply, testing, and commissioning of the 66 kV GIS, substation automation and control system.

Ford India sales up 36%

Ford India has reported 36 per cent increase in total sales at 11,935 units in June this year. It had sold 8,771 units in the same month of last year, Ford India said in a statement. Domestic sales were up 1.58% at 7,258 units in last month, as against 7,145 units in June last year. “The government’s decision to extend the excise duty concession is a welcome move and will certainly uplift consumer purchasing sentiments as we head into the festive season over the next few months,” Ford India Executive Director (Marketing, Sales and Service) Vinay Piparsania said in a statement. The company said it exported 4,677 units last month.

SAIL Chairman visits ISP to review Projects work

SAIL chairman C S Verma visited IISCO Steel Plant (ISP), Burnpur. His visit was aimed at galvanising the projects team to expedite the modernisation and expansion work. During this visit, he reviewed the modernisation and expansion work of ISP, where the 1st BOF converter is expected to start by end of this month and the 4060 cu.m. Advising the collective he said, “I would want to see commissioning of units at ISP happen at a much faster pace. ISP collective must redouble its efforts to achieve its post modernization target of producing 2.9 Million tonnes of Hot Metal.” Chairman, SAIL, accompanied by Director Technical, SS Mohanty, Director Projects and Business Planning, TS Suresh and Executive Director In charge, ISP, IC Sahu, visited the Basic Oxygen Furnace (BOF), Continuous Casting Plant (CCP), Oxygen Plant and Blast Furnace – 5 and reviewed the progress of work at the site.

IndusInd Bank Q1 net up

Private sector lender IndusInd Bank reported a 26 per cent increase in net profit to Rs 421.06 crore for the quarter ended June. The fee income was up 38 per cent to Rs 486.5 crore as compared with Rs 351.6 crore in the same quarter of the previous year. Net interest income or the difference between the interest earned and interest expended was up 18 per cent, at the end of the first quarter at Rs 800.7 crore as compared with Rs 679.5 crore in the same period last year. S V Zaregaonkar, chief financial officer at IndusInd Bank, said, “This was on the back of slow growth in the consumer finance advances which grew by only nine per cent on a year-on-year basis and only two per cent if you compare it to the last quarter.”