Bangalore , Monday , Jul 14 , 2008 : When 26-year-old Nirup was asked by his company to get ready for a stint in Hubli-Dharwad, he decided to hunt for a new job. "What can I do in Hubli after office hours or during weekends? If I remain in Bangalore, I can spend time visiting shopping malls, multiplexes and pubs," Nirup explained to Business Standard while insisting that the BPO he currently works for in Bangalore should not be named. Nirup's is not an isolated case, there are several others of his ilk who are not keen on shifting to tier II and tier III cities for lack of a proper social infrastructure like shopping and entertainment facilities. Though BPO companies have the first-mover advantage while acquiring land in these tier II and III cities, industry experts admit the biggest challenge is attracting skilled employees to these locations. At present, the total direct employment provided by India's IT-BPO sector is 2 million, of which over 90 per cent is captured by the seven leading cities of Bangalore, Mumbai, NCR, Hyderabad, Pune, Chennai and Kolkata. According to the recent Nasscom-A T Kearney study on `location road map for IT-BPO growth', the share of sectoral employment in the top seven locations will decline to around 60-75 per cent over the next decade and that will subsequently result in the rise of tier II and tier III cities'. "But that cannot be achieved by only installing physical infrastructure like power lines and mass-transport system in tier II and tier III cities. Efforts should also be made to create an ecosystem that comprises social infrastructure with the trappings of metropolitan life," contended Saurine M Doshi, partner A T Kearney India. In fact, the Nasscom-A T Kearney assessment of 50 leading locations for IT-BPO sector had pointed out that a lack of recreational facilities was also a handicap for the tier-II and III cities. For instance: while cities like Mangalore and Hubli-Dharwad were favoured by companies in terms of cost advantage, they fared badly in terms of social environment and location attractiveness. Though Hubli-Dharwad got an IT park a few years ago, it failed to make an impact because of the lack of social infrastructure. Youngsters who hail from that region prefer to enjoy modern lifestyle in Bangalore than lead a ‘no-frills life' there. It is a problem faced by the industry across the country, said H R Binod, Infosys senior vice president (commercial and facilities)
BSE News
Monday, July 14, 2008
Market ends lower in choppy trade
Stocks ended volatile session with losses for the second straight day on sustained selling in IT and select blue-chip stocks. Ranbaxy Labs suffered over 10% on high volumes. The S&P CNX Nifty was up marginally. Fresh selling at day’s high in mid-afternoon trade derailed a sustained recovery from lower level in the day. Volatility was high in the later half of day. The market breadth was weak.
IT pivotals tumbled hit by sharp fall in American depository receipts (ADRs) on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Friday, 11 July 2008.
European stocks surged, boosted by a US plan to rescue embattled mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and by a fresh surge of acquisition activity. Key benchmark indices in UK, France and Germany rose by 0.97% and 1.43%.
Political uncertainty will continue to weigh on the domestic bourses in the near term. The government is holding a two-day special session of parliament on 21 July 2008-22 July 2008 to seek vote of confidence after it was reduced to minority following withdrawal of support by Left parties on 8 July 2008. The government hopes to retain power due to backing from Samajwadi Party, a regional party in Uttar Pradesh.
The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 101.13 points or 0.75% at 13,368.72, as per provisional closing. The Sensex gained 87.36 points at day's high of 13,557.21 hit in mid-afternoon trade. At the day’s low of 13,270.40, the Sensex slipped 199.45 points in late trade.
The S&P CNX Nifty held firm and was up 2.40 points or 0.06% at 4,051.40, as per provisional closing.
The market breadth was weak. On BSE, 1587 shares declined, 983 advanced and 73 remained unchanged.
The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 4191 crore as compared to Rs 3073 crore by 14:30 IST
Oil, India's biggest import, was trading above $143 a barrel, but below a record high of $147.27 hit on Friday, 11 July 2008.
Among the 30-member Sensex pack, 15 advanced while the rest slipped.
India’s largest pharma company in terms of sales Ranbaxy Laboratories tumbled 10.83% to Rs 473.90 on 28.61 lakh shares. It was the top loser from Sensex pack. The stock was hammered on reports the US government has levelled serious allegations against the company. The US department of justice (DoJ) has said that there was evidence to suggest that Ranbaxy used active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) from unapproved sources, blended unapproved API with approved API, and used less-than-approved API at its Paonta Sahib (Himachal Pradesh) plant in its drugs, resulting in the sale of subpotent, super- potent or adulterated medicines in the US market.
In a statement, Ranbaxy strongly denied the allegations raised by the US Department of Justice (DOJ). The company also stated that its business in the US continues as normal. Ranbaxy also said the company's deal with Japanse drug maker Daiichi Sankyo is binding and final and remains on track.
IT stocks extended Friday’s losses after IT bellwether Infosys Technologies said on Friday, 11 July 2008, at the time of announcing Q1 June 2008 results that the business environment was tough. The stock plunged 6.95% to Rs 1559.90, after declining 7.18% on Friday, 11 July 2008.
At the time of announcing the Q1 results, Infosys revised earnings and revenue guidance upward for the year ending March 2009 (FY 2009). Infosys has forecast 24.4% to 26.6% growth in earnings per share as per Indian GAAP at between Rs 98.79 to Rs 100.51 in FY 2009 over the year ended March 2008 (FY 2008). It has forecast a between 27.5% to 29.5% growth in revenue at between Rs 21278 crore and Rs. 21622 crore in FY 2009 over FY 2008.
TCS (down 3.63% at Rs 770.10), Satyam Computer Services (down 7.60% at Rs 410.65), and Wipro (down 1.48% at Rs 406.20), slipped. The ADRs of Infosys (down 13.30%), Satyam Computer Services (down 9.17%) and Wipro (down 2.82%) slumped on the NYSE on Friday, 11 July 2008.
ITC (down 3.53% to Rs 168.30), HDFC Bank (down 3.23% to Rs 1033), and Hindalco Industries (down 2.90% to Rs 150.70) edged lower from the Sensex pack.
India’s top tractor maker Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) surged 4.50% to Rs 554.90 on 25,411 shares. It was the top gainer from Sensex pack.
India’s largest state-run oil exploration company in terms of market capitalisation Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) galloped 3.60% to Rs 879.85. The company is reportedly in talks with British firm Imperial Energy Corp to form an alliance which could include it buying an equity interest in the UK-based firm. If ONGC manages to strike a deal with Imperial Energy, it will strengthen the ONGC's overseas presence.
India’s largest private sector firm by market capitalization and oil refiner Reliance Industries rebounded from day’s low of Rs 1992.35. It was now up 2.11% at Rs 2059 on 12.03 lakh shares.
India's largest state-run bank by net profit State Bank of India vaulted 3.51% to Rs 1265.10 after touching a low of Rs 1205 in early trade. The bank is likely to report double-digit net profit growth in the Q1 June 2008, Chairman O.P. Bhatt told media reporters on Friday, 11 July 2008.
India's largest private sector bank by net profit ICICI Bank recovered from day’s low of 573.25. It settled with loss of 1.88% to Rs 580.40. Its American depository receipt (ADR) lost 7.4% on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Friday, 11 July 2008.
World’s sixth largest steel producer in terms of annual capacity Tata Steel surged 3.11% to Rs 686.90 on reports the company is looking at acquiring an iron ore mine in Western Australia to supply iron ore to Corus' plants.
NTPC (up 3.71% to Rs 167.90) and Ambuja Cement (up 2.61% to Rs 82.60) edged higher from Sensex pack.
Larsen & Toubro, the country’s largest state-run engineering firm in terms of outstanding order book position advanced 2.19% to Rs 2408.80, after sliding to a low of Rs 2320.20
India’s largest state-run engineering firm in terms of outstanding order book position Bharat Heavy Electricals fell 3.35% to Rs 1470.40 despite reports of the company is looking to acquire a locomotive manufacturing facility in Europe.
Debutante KSK Energy Ventures settled at Rs 190.50 on BSE, a discount of 20.63% over the initial public offer price of Rs 240. The stock debuted at Rs 220, a discount of 8.33% over the initial public offer (IPO) price. It hit a high of Rs 234.80 and a low of Rs 176 in the day.
Among the side counters, Selan Exploration (up 20% to Rs 216.80), Suzler India (up 13.81% to Rs 777.90), Saurashtra Cement (up 20% to Rs 32.85), surged
Most Asian markets, which opened before Indian markets, were trading lower today, 14 July 2008. Key benchmark indices in Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan Taiwan and Singapore were down by between 0.23% and 1.21%. However China’s Shanghai Composite gained 0.76%
US markets ended volatile session on Friday, 11 July 2008, with the Dow Jones falling below the 11,000 level for the first time since August 2006. Growing concern about the health of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac send bank shares to an 11-year low. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped 128.48 points to 11100.54 and the Nasdaq Composite shed 18.77 points at 2239.08. The Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 13.90 points to 1,239.49.
India's industrial production rose 3.8% in May 2008, much lower than revised 6.2% growth in April 2008, the government data released on 11 July 2008 showed. Industrial production growth for April 2008 revised downwards to 6.2% from earlier 7%.
The market slumped on Friday, 11 July 2008 as spiraling crude oil prices and weak economic data dampened investor sentiments. The 30-share BSE Sensex lost 456.39 points or 3.28% at 13,469.85 and the broader based S&P CNX Nifty was down 113.20 points or 2.72% at 4049, on that day.
The BSE Sensex rose 15.85 points or 0.12% to 13,469.86 in the week ended Friday, 11 July 2008. The S&P CNX Nifty edged up 33 points or 0.82% to 4,049 in the week.
Inflation based on the wholesale price index surged to a fresh 13-year high 11.89% in 12 months to 28 June 2008, above the previous week's annual rise of 11.63%, government data released on 11 July 2008 showed. This is much higher than the Reserve Bank's tolerance limit of 5.5% set for the current fiscal.
Source: Capital Market
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