India drives up StanChart profit

Standard Chartered Bank’s (StanChart) Indian branches have posted a 71 per cent increase in operating profit to $690 million in 2007 from $403 million in 2006.

India, is now the second largest contributor to the bank’s global operating profit with a 17 per cent share after Hong Kong’s 34 per cent. India not only is the bank’s biggest business, but is the only market that saw accelerated growth in 2007.

“The rise in profits is largely driven by growth in the wholesale and consumer banking businesses. The wholesale and consumer banking businesses contribute around 65 per cent and 35 per cent respectively to the bank’s revenues. The bank’s middle market business has seen a 131 per cent increase in revenue. The small and medium enterprises, with a client base of around 10,000, wealth management and personal loan business have also seen healthy growth,’’ said Neeraj Swaroop, regional chief operating officer, India and South Asia, Standard Chartered Bank.

StanChart India’s wholesale banking business contributed the biggest change in global profits. Wholesale banking in India saw a 91 per cent rise in profits to $626 million on an 82 per cent increase in income. The bank has added more than 1,000 clients over the last three years and has more than 100 clients generating income of more than $1 million.

The consumer banking business in India crossed $1 billion income for the first time in 2007, growing 60 per cent to $1.3 billion. Operating profit in the consumer banking business was down to $63 million in 2007 against $76 million in the previous year.

Loan impairment in this business was up to $77 million against $46 million. Loan impairment for the bank has risen to $90 million in 2007 as against $39 million due to a wider deterioration in the unsecured consumer lending environment and increased portfolio impairment provision in unsecured lending and credit cards as the portfolio size increased.

The bank’s mortgage business increased to $1,638 million in 2007 from $1,492 million in 2006 and the small and medium enterprises business increased to $920 million as against $567 million.

Expenses increased to $528 million as against $375 million. Investment in people, premises and private banking increased expenses. Other significant costs included investments in branches, service centre centralisation, ATMs and technology. The bank has applied for 40 new branches and 300 ATMs.

Shop till you drop and then check in

Until now, you have shopped in five-star hotels' premium retail outlets. Now what about doing some shopping in a mall and enjoy the hospitality of a good hotel in the same complex? A successful business in countries such as Dubai, Singapore and Thailand, the mall-hotel concept is all set to script its India story.

The model goes like this-retail outlets on the first two floors, upper floors are eatery- the hotel comes up on the top floors. The aim is optimum utilisation of available space in complex, given the escalating real estate prices and lack of good locations at affordable prices. Moreover, with Commonwealth Games in 2010, when there will be a surge in hotel demand, the concept makes sense.

Developers in not only Tier-I cities, but also in Tier-II and Tier-III cities are going all ga-ga over malls-hotels. Parsvanth Developers Ltd has plans to set up mall-hotels in Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Mohali, Lucknow and Seelampur. It has already begun construction work in Mohali, Hyderabad and Ahemdabad.

While Ambience Group eyes Delhi and NCR and Vizag, Ansal API will complete its project in Greater Noida this year and Lucknow in 2-3 years. The target customers are domestic, international and business travellers.

Mostly, it is the one developer that develops both the mall and the hotel, but the operations and management rights lie with the hospitality partner. Emaar MGF has tied-up with partners Formule I, Premier Inn and Marriott. While DLF has joined hands with Hilton International Company, Ambience Group has tied up with Leela Group.

"It is a worldwide phenomenon, however, it is a relatively new concept in India. Until now, almost all the hotels have a floor or area dedicated to retail, which has been limited to a few luxury boutiques. But this concept allows an optimum usage of FSI complementing the components (commercial plus hotel), which may be unviable for a stand-alone project," said a source in DLF.

These hotels within malls are a mix of five-stars, four-stars, three-stars and budget hotels. Privacy is the biggest factor while planning the structure of the hotel and the mall. According to BP Dhaka, spokesperson & COO (MP), Parsvanth Developers Ltd, "While the mall and hotel will be interconnected, the entry exit and safety privacy of hotels occupants will be of utmost importance to us."

India, China to drive auto growth in 2008

Daimler predicted on Thursday that India, China and Russia would provide the main impulse for growth in the automotive sector in 2008, in the face of flat demand in Europe and a depressed North American market as a result of falling house prices.

Posting net profits of 3.985 billion euros ($5.8 billion) for 2007, up from 3.783 billion euros ($5.52 billion) in 2006, Daimler said it expected a moderate increase in revenue from the 99.4 billion ($145 billion) euros recorded in 2007.

"From today's perspective, all operations should contribute to this growth. The regional focus of expansion is likely to be mainly in the growth markets of Asia and Eastern Europe," it said.

The company announced an increase in its dividend to 2 euros from 1.50 euros currently.

Operating profit, measured as earnings before interest and tax (EBIT), rose sharply to 8.7 billion euros ($12.7 billion) from 5 billion euros ($7.3 billion). A charge of 2.2 billion was booked to selling off the Chrysler division during the year.

Daimler said it anticipated margins in its core Mercedes-Benz Cars division to rise to 10 per cent by 2010, from 9 per cent currently. The division accounted for 4.75 billion euros in EBIT in 2007.

Margins in the Daimler Trucks division were expected to rise to 8 per cent by 2010, from 7 per cent currently. The division accounted for 2.12 billion euros in EBIT last year.

The company's share price rose on the news to hit a high of 55.85 euros, before falling back to 54.28, one per cent up on the opening.

Like other German auto manufacturers, Daimler has suffered from the rise of the euro against other major currencies, which makes its vehicles more expensive in foreign markets, and from a general economic slowdown worldwide.

Daimler's bus division could likely see sales stagnate however, the company acknowledged.

Auto part firms thrive on sourcing deals

The multi-billion dollar auto component sourcing industry in India has brought relief to many domestic component suppliers in the form of improved margins and long-term supply contracts.

Global auto majors such as Daimler, General Motors, Ford, Volkswagen, Renault, Nissan and Honda have been buying higher quantities of components from India, which has resulted in the margins of component firms improving 8-10 per cent.

As of the last financial year, auto component sourcing has touched $3 billion in India and is expected to double by next financial year-end. Many such auto majors have set up an India purchase office, which buys inexpensive Indian components to cater to their huge overseas plants.

Such sourcing has provided Indian players with the opportunity to charge a premium that varies between 5 and 10 per cent. Many foreign car makers prefer to make engineering changes to the components before incorporating them in their engines and other parts.

Some of the more common components sourced include axle bar, propeller shaft, crank shaft, cylinder heads, bearings and cylinder blocks. Foreign firms get a 25-30 per cent cost advantage through such deals.

M Radhakrishnan, joint managing director, Autoline Industries, said, “We are supplying original equipment makers (OEM) such as GM, Ford, Nissan and Honda. Not only have the margins improved due to premium pricing, but volumes have grown significantly, too. These players get a benefit of 20 per cent cost reduction for our products.”

According to projections made by the Auto Components Manufacturers Association, global sourcing from India will increase to $20 billion by 2014.

Daimler India sourced components worth $2.2 billion from India last year and this year the figure is expected to swell by 20 per cent or $440 million.

Many component manufacturers say that though there are servicing (fabrication) costs involved, which tend to raise the overall cost, it is compensated through premium settlements by OEMs.

Praveen Gupta, chief executive, auto and engineering business, Yash Birla Group, said, “Direct supplies to tier I players do involve high margins, stable demand and volume. We are looking to expand our reach beyond our tier II customers such as Cummins.”

Experts believe that strong negotiations on component prices by Tata Motors for the Nano, which lead to a squeeze on margins for suppliers, will be tackled through sourcing deals.

Indian PC shipments grow 20 per cent

The desktop and notebook market grew 20 per cent year-on-year, with 6.5 million units shipped into the country in 2007, as compared with 5.4 million units in 2006, according IDC’s latest India quarterly PC tracker.

Notebook shipments accounted for more than 27 per cent of the total PC shipments for the first time in a calendar year.

Notebook PC shipments touched 1.8 million units, as against 0.98 million units in 2006, which show acceptance of laptops as the preferred choice for first-time PC buyers, according to Kapil Dev Singh, country manager, IDC India.

Piyush Pushkal, manager, PC research, IDC India, said: “With consumer desktop shipments reporting flat growth, the higher overall growth of the consumer client PC segment signals maturing of the market. The consumer PC category is shifting from desktop-centric to being notebook-centric.”

While the notebook PC market grew 81 per cent in 2007 year-on-year, the desktop PC market grew by 7 per cent as it shipped 4.7 million units in 2007 as against 4.4 million units in 2006.

The study said there was a need to encourage development and widespread adoption of communication and convergence to spur future growth.

“These low-end notebook PC-type gadgets are not likely to increase PC penetration in India significantly. To increase PC penetration, the ecosystem needs to offer an affordable internet infrastructure, local applications, Indian language content, e-commerce and education. The PC-type gadgets are likely to function only as secondary computing devices in existing PC-owning households,”

Carmakers on expansion drive in smaller cities

Improved road connectivity and high penetration of retail finance has triggered car makers to go on an expansion drive of increased dealerships in smaller cities. The car financing industry reckons the number of dealerships to be opened in tier 2 and 3 cities to be around 300 in the next one year.

Honda Siel Cars India in the next one year would open its outlets in 39 newer cities where it has not had a presence. “We see a huge potential in these markets. We are adding 40 new cities to our map by 2009 from the present 51,” said Mr Jnaneshwar Sen, Senior General Manager, Honda Siel Cars India. Comparing fiscal 2007-08 to 2006-07, he said that the company has expanded its share from 15-22 per cent in Ludhiana, 26-33 per cent in Karnal, 44-57 per cent in Ghaziabad for its model Honda City. In the case of Civic, the market share in Agra increased from 62 to 81 per cent; in Indore from 23 to 38 per cent.

Led mainly by its small car Spark, in case of General Motors too, the maximum growth occurred in the smaller towns and cities where it witnessed an over 100 per cent growth in 2007.

“In the last calendar year we grew by 74 per cent, of which the C and D category of cities contributed 120 per cent. Our sales outlets, which increased from 89 by the end of 2006 to 107 dealers in 2007, were largely in these cities,” said Mr Ankush Arora, General Manager, Marketing, General Motors. By the end of 2008, the company plans to expand its dealership network to 190.

The Maruti Suzuki General Manager - Marketing, Mr Mayank Pareek, said the company stepped into smaller villages and cities through a focused marketing campaign targeted at panchayats, and teachers with a good disposable income. He attributed the growth to increased road connectivity thanks to the development of the Golden Quadrilateral and the availability of finance.

“On an increasing portfolio, the contribution of the C and D category of cities has increased from 10 per cent to 35 per cent in the last two-three years. We expect the ratio between the metros and non-metros to be 60-40 respectively in the coming years,” said Mr Rajan Pental, Senior Vice-President, Auto Loans, HDFC Bank.

General Insurance sector logs growth of 12 per cent in January

The General Insurance industry grew by about 12 per cent during January with robust performance by private players like Reliance General and Cholamandalam. The 16 non-life insurers collected Rs 2,520 crore premium in January 2008, against Rs 2,253 crore in the same month last year, according to industry data. During the month, nine private sector general insurance companies garnered Rs 990 crore against Rs 811 crore in the same month a year-ago.

Reliance General increased its premium by 47.5 per cent to Rs 149 crore, Cholamandalam MS General Insurance premium grew by 65 per cent to Rs 48 crore in January. The largest player in the segment, ICICI Lombard collected Rs 278 crore against Rs 275 crore in January 2007. At the same time, four public sector non-life insurance companies collected Rs 1,467 crore against Rs 1,391 crore in the corresponding month a year ago.

In percentage terms, while the public sector could increase their premiums by just 5.4 per cent, nine private sector players clocked premium growth of 22 per cent. During the month, market leader New India Assurance premium collection grew by 6.7 per cent to Rs 451 crore as compared to Rs 422 crore in the year-ago period. However, Oriental Insurance posted a negative growth of 1.9 per cent to Rs 327 crore against Rs 333 crore in the same month last year. Private sector players' market share stood at 40 per cent as compared to the public sector's share of 60 per cent in the month.

Indian apparel brands eyeing Chinese mart

After sourcing from China, the Indian apparel brands are set to design a retail road map in the dragon nation.

The brands like Koutons, Lilliput and Spykar are exploring joint venture and inorganic growth opportunities to tap the Chinese market.

The kidswear brand Lilliput is entering China through a newly formed joint venture firm Lilliput Kidswear China.

Sanjeev Narula, managing director, Lilliput said, “ The company has identified West Asia and China as focused markets for international expansion. We already source 20 per cent of the merchandise from China and now plans to open 6 stores through the joint venture.”

The move is a part of the industry initiative to not only look at China as a sourcing hub but also a potential apparel market.

Rahul Mehta, president, Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI) said,” Indian firms have never thought of China as an export market but we have realised that there is a good scope for Indian brands to compete in the Chinese market. CMAI intends to take a delegation of at least 10-12 brands to China in order to explore the market.”

The Indian companies are spotting opportunity in China’s vast manufacturing capability and the equally strong purchasing power. For instance, Koutons has hinted at acquiring manufacturing units to gain production scale for its Chinese operations.

D P S Kohli, chairman, Koutons said, “Unlike the common perception of China manufacturing cheap goods, there are some good volume producers as well.

Apart from setting up a sourcing office, the company is also looking for a manufacturing base for cost efficiency and drive synergy between India and China.”

While Lilliput will position the brand at a higher retail price than in India. The brand’s average retail price in India is $13 (about Rs 520) but it will price Lilliput at $22 (Rs 880) in China.

AAI lines up US$ 3.13 billion airport revamp

The country's aviation infrastructure will get a massive investment dose over the next five years. Airports Authority of India (AAI) has planned to set aside Rs 12,434 crore for the upgradation and modernisation process.

For the three metro airports in Kolkata, Chennai and Trivandrum, AAI has earmarked 43% of its planned outlay, while the rest will go into upgrading other non-metro airports and modernising the existing aeronautical facilities.

Of the Rs 5,332.13 crore earmarked for the three metro airports, Chennai has got the highest share — Rs 2,462 crore — for revamping the existing airport while the Kolkata airport will be modernised with a total outlay of Rs 2,417 crore.

Another Rs 452 crore will be spent on the Trivandrum airport. AAI has floated tenders for the modernisation of these metro projects, which are likely to be at par with India’s busiest Mumbai and Delhi airports, which are currently being re-developed by major private players.

Sources in AAI said the process to scale up two of India’s most profitable airports — Kolkata and Chennai — to world standards has already started with adequate funds put in place for the next five years.

“A major portion of the funds will go into starting new facilities like integrated passenger terminals, constructing new runways and launching hi-tech communication services. These services will be developed to global standards and several foreign partners will be roped in by AAI for construction and on turn-key basis,” said an AAI official.

It’s not just about new terminals and cargo facilities; AAI will be investing a substantial part of Rs 1,743 crore into modernisation of aeronautical communication systems at more than 125 airports managed by the authority.

The outlay will be spent installing new communication navigational systems for air traffic control (ATC) in inland and oceanic areas using satellite mode of communication at these airports for faster transfer of aircraft and cargo.

A part of the investment will also be made at the Delhi and Mumbai airports where AAI is providing ATC services.

With the upgradation of infrastructure, AAI will be able to cater to passenger traffic of 10 crore passengers per year and will be capable of handling cargo traffic of over 50 lakh tonnes annually.

Beverage firms to flood market with health drinks

This summer, the beverages market will move a little more away from its carbonated drinks. Stretching the health and wellness plank, beverage makers have lined up five-six new health drinks in the coming months, more than in any other category.

Health drinks such as Ribena, Lucozade and X-35 Body fuel may soon become the household names, as PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, Amul and GlaxoSmithkline are planning to introduce these drinks.

"The penetration levels of aerated drinks in India are quite low compared with other developing and developed markets. Carbonates are expected to register relatively moderate volume and value growth as consumers are increasingly opting for healthier beverages such as fruit juices and fruit-based drinks, and even bottled water," said Harminder Sahni, managing director of Technopak Advisors, a retail consultancy.

Thus, the Rs 7,200-crore carbonated drinks category are expected to face the heat of the rising competition this summer from categories falling under the health umbrella. At present, these categories are juice and juice-based drinks, energy and sports drinks, malted beverages, probiotic drinks and bottled water.

PepsiCo India is eyeing a larger share of the Rs 1,200-crore juice and juice-based drinks market. "These drinks are the fastest-growing category in the beverages market and over 50 per cent of the volume is to come from the category this year," said Sanjiv Chadha, chief executive officer, PepsiCo India.

The company is also planning to expand its juice drink Tropicana Twister in three more flavours this year. It is also working towards increasing its share of the drinking water market.

Coca-Cola too is widening its portfolio. "Our entire brand portfolio has been designed to satisfy the various needs of the consumers -- be it hydration, energy, enjoyment or simply having fun. As part of the same endeavor, we are exploring a wide variety of beverage opportunities such as juice and juice-based drinks, energy and sports drinks, flavored water," said Atul Singh, president & CEO, Coca-Cola India.

According to an industry analyst, the gross margin in the fruit beverages and the bottled water categories are high, which is incentive enough for beverage makers to strengthen their portfolios.

GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Health Care is tempted to enter the category. Zubair Ahmed, managing director, said: "We plan to bring in Lucozade Sport for athletes and Ribena - a Vitamin C-based fruit drink into the market soon. However, there are regulatory challenges at present and the stability of products is to be tested."

Home-grown FMCG company Dabur has launched a malted food drink, Chyawan Junior, and plans to expand its Real juices and Real Twist portfolio.

Yakult Danone India is busy nurturing the newest kid on the beverage block, probiotic drinks. The nascent category has already struck a chord with the Indian consumer to become a Rs 200-crore market. Dairy company such as Amul and Mother dairy too have entered this segment with probiotic lassi.

Gati to invest US$ 100 million in expansion

The company plans to expand warehouses, build up IT capabilities and enter new business areas
New Delhi: Logistics and supply chain management company Gati Ltd will invest $100 million over the next 18 months to expand operations in the domestic and overseas markets as it expects to become a Rs1,000 crore firm by 2008-09.

The company plans to spend $100 million for expanding warehouses, build up IT capabilities and entering new business areas.

“We would complete the planned investment of $100 million by June 2009 to expand our warehouses and other services. The company intends to touch a top line of Rs1,000 crore by the end of the proposed expansion,” said Mahendra Agarwal, managing director, Gati Ltd.

He said the company, which operates a July-June fiscal, closed 2006-07 with revenues of Rs460 crore.

Gati plans to fund the proposed expansion through a mix of internal accruals and debt. The company has already raised $40 million, while the remaining $60 million would come from internal accruals.

The company had tied up with Air India to launch AI Gati Zipp service in November last year. It would soon expand its fleet size by adding third aircraft next week. Air freight carriage presently contributes 15% to Gati’s turnover.

Gati on Monday entered into a strategic alliance with Amsterdam-based parcel service provider General Logistics Systems (GLS), to start its operations in Europe.

The company, which covers 594 out of 604 districts in India, would act as the strategic partner of GLS in India.

“The alliance with Gati is specially designed to provide both GLS and Gati customers the advantages of size, reach, flexibility along with infrastructure to provide unmatched service levels in India and Europe,” said Saadi Al-Soudani, managing director, GLS.

Honda to expand dealership network in 3 years; double capacity

Preparing for its planned foray into the compact car segment in India, Japanese auto major Honda on Monday said it will be expanding dealership network across 90 cities in the country in the next three years.

The company will also expand its production capacity to 1,60,000 units by the end of next year.

"In preparation for Honda's planned foray into the compact car segment, we are expanding our dealership network to 160 in 90 cities in the next three years," Honda Siel Cars India President and CEO M Takedagawa said at the inauguration of its new unit here.

The company currently has a network of 80 dealers in 51 cities and will be taking up the number to 100 in 2008-09.

HSCI's facility here will have a capacity of 1,00,000 units, up form the current 50,000 units. It has invested Rs 400 crore in the capacity expansion. With this investment, HSCI has invested a total of Rs 1,620 crore since it started operations in India in 1997.

The company, which is currently constructing a second manufacturing facility in Rajasthan, expects to start production there with an initial capacity of 60,000 units.

India to have first green hotel in Hyderabad

For the new-age green consumer and those who believe in sustainable tourism here is a good news. After eco-friendly hotels, India will have it’s first green hotel — The Park Hotel in Hyderabad. The investment in this 280-room hotel, scheduled to start operations by mid-2009, will be around Rs 350 crore, 15% higher than a regular hotel. And it might not be a good idea for smokers to book a room in the hotel as 90% of it’s area will be non-smoking.

Another Park Hotel property lined up in Pune, for which the group recently acquired 90,000 sq ft, will also be built on the lines of green buildings. “For the Hyderabad property, we will be seeking US Green Building Council’s (USGBC) certification. We will be targeting at least LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environment Design) gold rating for this hotel.

However, for the Pune project we will be only going for a LEED certificate and not gold or a platinum rating,” says Deepak Bali, V-P, projects, The Park. There will be designated smoking lounges in the property and more than 90% of the property space will be non-smoking.

Also, there will be separate air-handling systems for smoking and non-smoking areas. Explaining the difference between ratings, founder of Spectral Consultancy Services, an engineering consultancy, Prem C Jain, says, “While at a green certified building, energy is marginally saved, in platinum rated buildings energy, is saved till the last drop.”

There are around nine eco-friendly hotels in the country with ECOTEL certification such as Lotus Suites in Mumbai and Uppal’s Orchid in New Delhi. An eco-friendly hotel is constructed using recycled materials, whereas a green building aims at saving energy. “Though the initial cost of construction is almost 15% higher for a green hotel, we will be able to recover that through efficiency in operations. A green hotel saves 34.7% of the energy costs,” added Bali.

According to Spectral Consultancy Services, The Oberoi Group also has two green hotel projects in the pipeline — in Hyderabad and Goa. However, an e-mail query sent to the hotel remained unanswered.

India has 17 green buildings and around 170 are registered with Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), awaiting LEED certification Though an exact fix is not available, globally there are very few certified green hotels such as San Francisco-based Orchard Garden Hotel. But according to IGBC’s estimates, there will be at least 100 green hotels worldwide in the next two years.

World's largest hedge fund firm now in India

Renaissance Technologies, the world’s largest hedge fund firm handling assets worth $35.4 billion (Rs 1,41,600 crore), has received approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to operate in the Indian stock markets as a foreign institutional investor.

Renaissance is the latest — and the biggest — among several hedge fund players that entered India following a liberal approach taken by the Indian regulator on hedge fund participation in the booming Indian stock market.

Others that recently entered include Vikram Pandit-founded Old Lane, DE Shaw (the world’s fifth-largest hedge fund with $29 billion or Rs 1,16,000 crore worth assets) and Och-Ziff Capital Management (the seventh largest with $28.6 billion or Rs 1,14,400 crore in assets), according to the Sebi website.

Renaissance, founded by 69-year-old Jim Simons, is based out of Manhattan, the US, and is perhaps the most interesting hedge fund. It has more than 260 employees — many of them are PhDs and not conventional analysts from management schools.

The hedge fund major’s Medallion Fund uses trading algorithms to invest across the world markets.

It returned more than 50 per cent in the first three quarters of 2007, according to a Bloomberg report. It had about $6 billion (Rs 24,000 crore) in assets as of July 1.

Renaissance’s returns stand out as the turmoil in the US credit markets and the meltdown in stock prices across the world took a knock on many hedge funds. Bear Stearns, for instance, saw two of its mortgage-related hedge funds falling into bankruptcy.

Others such as Goldman Sachs’ Global Alpha Fund, which competes with Renaissance’s funds, lost more than 25 per cent in the same period.

The approval, which was given in January, follows efforts by Sebi to get hedge funds and other overseas investors to register and participate directly in the Indian markets instead of through Participatory Notes or P-notes, which are offshore derivative instruments used by investors that are not registered with Sebi to invest in Indian securities.

Sebi had tightened the rules for trading through P-notes in October last year to arrest the surge in foreign inflows.

“It is good. At the end of the day, it is money and Sebi has made the inflow of money into our markets more transparent,” said Prabhat Awasthi, head of equity research and managing director (equities) at Lehman Brothers.

According to Hedge Fund.net, which tracks the hedge fund industry, January was tough for hedge funds that have emerging market strategies, though many believed that India and China’s fast growing economies could withstand shocks to other parts of the international business system.