Alibaba.com sees US,India,Japan as key markets

Hangzhou, China: China’s largest e-commerce company, Alibaba.com, views the United States, Japan and India as its three key overseas markets for global expansion, its chief executive said on Friday.

Alibaba.com is the listed unit of Alibaba Group, in which US search engine Yahoo Inc owns a 40% stake. The firm runs an online platform that connects thousands of sellers in China with buyers overseas.

“Those are the three countries outside China that are critical to Alibaba.com’s success,” David Wei told Reuters in an interview in Hangzhou, where the company is based.

Wei said that Alibaba.com was targeting those three countries because all three are important to the company’s core base of sellers in China.

Alibaba.com currently has about 2 million users in the United States and 1.5 million users in India.

“Investment in the countries is to further improve our presence in China,” Wei said. “If we have to make an investment ... there is no limit on the investment. If we need a big investment, we can always finance it.”

Last month, Alibaba.com reported its strongest quarterly profit in two years. The firm had $1.15 billion in cash and bank balances.

To grow in those markets Alibaba would use partnerships, acquisitions and organic growth, Wei said.

Last month, Alibaba.com made its second US acquisition this year buying Auctiva, a site that provides listing and marketing tools. The firm had bought e-commerce platform Vendio earlier in the year.

Alibaba.com said last month it was keen on more acquisitions to add technology or already proven commercial applications to the firm’s lineup and had more deals in the pipeline.

To tap into India, the company is preparing to invest in opening a customer service center that could eventually have up to 100 workers to serve Alibaba.com’s paying sellers there, now numbering around 5,000.

Web commerce in China has surged as buyers tap the Internet for better deals from more suppliers in the nation’s highly fragmented distribution networks.

Alibaba.com competes with Global Sources Ltd in China’s 1.6 billion yuan business-to-business (B2B) online marketplace industry. In the first quarter, Alibaba.com had 74% of the market by transaction value.

Strategy

Hyundai unveils its first electric car

Hyundai Motor, South Korea's No.1 carmaker, unveiled its 
first pure electric car on Thursday, with a goal of commencing
mass production of the vehicles in 2012.

The "BlueOn," based on its i10 hatchback, will be powered
by batteries madeby SK Energy with a capacity of 16.4 
kilowatts per hour, Hyundai said in a statement, without 
disclosing prices for the vehicle.

The BlueOn can run 140 kilometres on a single charge
and features a maximum speed of 130 kilometres per
hour, it said.

Hyundai will produce and supply a small number of 
electric vehicles to government agencies this year and 
next before commencing sales to thegeneral public in
2012, by which it plans to manufacture 2,500 units, Hyundai said.

Hyundai said it was early too say in which markets the BlueOn 
would be launched first.

"We are taking a baby step. There is no infrastructure such as 
charging stations in Korea and many other countries,"
a spokesperson said.

There are a number of electric vehicles in the works
by other automakers, but their high cost and the limited
range are cited as the biggest hurdles for
their widespread adoption.

Japan's Mitsubishi Motors Corp was the first major car
maker to roll out pure electric cars. Its i-MiEV electric car
was introduced in Japan in August.

Nissan Motor Co plans to introduce a mass-market 
electric car in the United States in December. 
Ford will have an all-electric version of its 
Focus available in late 2011.

The government said on Thursday that South Korea 
plans replace 20 percent of the country's passenger 
cars with electric vehicles by 2020 with a goal
to lead the emerging market.

Food inflation accelerates to 11.47%

Food inflation went up to 11.47 per cent for the week ended August 28, on the back of increase in prices of cereals, fruits and milk.

This is the second consecutive week when food inflation has shown an upward trend, after a brief period of moderation in July and first half of August. Food inflation was 10.86 per cent during the previous week ending on August 21.

On a yearly basis, cereals prices rose by 5.07 per cent driven mainly by higher prices of pulses, rice and wheat compared to the same period last year.
While pulses became dearer by 13.44 per cent, prices of rice and wheat rose by 4.74 per cent and 7.04 per cent, respectively, during the week under review on yearly basis.

Among other food items, milk prices soared by 17.60 per cent during the week compared to the same period last year, while that of fruits went up by 10.34 per cent. Prices of vegetables, however, maintained a downslide in line with trends during the past few months.

While vegetables overall saw a decline of 9.38 per cent on an annual basis, potato became cheaper by over 50. Onion prices also slid by 10.32 per cent.
Food inflation has been in double-digit for most of the year, except a fortnight in mid-July when it had plummeted to single digit level.

The overall inflation, which also includes rate of change in prices of manufactured goods, fell to single digit at 9.97 per cent in July after a gap of five months. The figures for August will be released later this week.

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Goldman Sachs fined $27 million in UK

Britain's financial regulator has hit Goldman Sachs International with a 17.5 million pounds (US$27 million) fine for failing to notify U.K. authorities about an investigation in the United States.

It was the second-largest fine ever imposed by the Financial Services Authority, eclipsed only by the 33.32 million pounds fine announced in June against J.P. Morgan Securities Ltd. for mishandling clients' funds.

The British agency's investigation began in April after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed civil fraud charges against Goldman Sachs for allegedly misleading buyers of complex mortgage-related investments in 2007. Goldman settled the charges in mid-July by agreeing to pay US$550 million — the largest penalty against a Wall Street firm in the SEC's history.

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Sensex surges to 32-month high

A benchmark index for Indian equities jumped 133 points Thursday to touch the highest level in over two-and-a-half years as a rebound in Asian stocks boosted sentiments at the markets.

The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) jumped 0.71 percent or 132.95 points to 18,799.66 points, the highest closing level since Jan 2008.

The country's benchmark index closed in the positive for the fourth successive day. The index has gained 3.08 percent or 561 points in the last one week.

At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty advanced 0.57 percent or 32.20 points at 5,640.05 points.

Of the 30 stocks trading in the Sensex, 18 advanced while 12 declined. The major gainers on the Sensex were Mahindra and Mahindra, up 3.16 percent at 655.40, SBI, up 3.05 percent at 2,982.50, HDFC Bank, up 2.67 percent at 2,240.45 and ICICI Bank, up 2.48 percent at 1,050.75.

Major losers included Cipla, down 1.68 percent at 306.45, Tata Motors, down 1.58 percent at 1,015.50, Reliance Infra, down 1.30 percent at 1,009.90 and ACC, down 1.13 percent at 9,80.15.

Most Asian markets advanced with Japan's Nikkei rising 0.82 percent at 9,098. Hong Kong's Hang Seng closed 0.37 percent higher at 21,167.

However, the Chinese Shanghai Composite index fell 1.44 percent to close at 2,656 points.

The European bourses opened in the positive. The FTSE 100 was trading 0.77 percent higher at 5,471 points.

The German DAX was ruling 0.46 percent up at 6,192 points and the French CAC 40 was trading 0.61 percent higher at 3,699 points

Record car sales in August

Monthly car sales in India zoomed to an all-time high in August, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) reported Thursday. Sales in the past month climbed 33 percent to 160,794 cars from 120,681 a year earlier.

The August sales outshined July's record of 158,674 cars.

Earlier Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, TATA and Ford had reported robust growth figures for the month of August, with Maruti touching an all time high sales rate of 23.6 percent at 104,791 vehicles as against the same period last year.

Lower borrowing rate new car launches and an expanding economy are said to be the reasons for the robust growth.

SIAM also reported a 32.38 percent cumulative growth in the Indian automobile industry which stood at 7,063,063 vehicles for April-August 2010 over the same period last year.

"Passenger cars grew by 34.32 percent, Utility Vehicles grew by 22.56 percent and Multi Purpose Vehicles (MPVs) grew by 50.68 percent in April-August 2010 over same period last year," said SIAM in a statement.

It said the commercial vehicles segment registered a growth of 44.75 percent in the period of April-August as compared to the same period last year.

"Medium & Heavy Commercial Vehicles (M&HCVs) registered growth at 65.91 percent and Light Commercial Vehicles grew at 29.68 percent," the statement said.

SIAM also reported a 20.15 percent of cumulative growth in the Three Wheelers segment. While in the passenger three- wheelers grew by 23.84 percent and goods carriers grew at 5.46 percent in the same period.

The Two wheelers segment also registered a 27.22 percent growth rate in the period, which included Scooters, Mopeds and Motorcycles at 44.45 percent, 24.18 percent and 24.41 percent respectively.

SIAM said the industry's exports in April-August grew at 48.42 percent.

India drops to 51st position in global competitiveness ranking

Geneva: India has slipped by two places to 51st in the World Economic Forum's global competitiveness rankings, while rival China has managed to improve its standing to 29th.

    

As per the WEF's Global Competitiveness Report 2010-11, released Thursday, Switzerland is No. 1 in the world in terms of its ability to provide the most competitive environment on several fronts.

Sweden, another technology powerhouse in Europe, ranks second, followed by Singapore and the United States, which both fell by two positions from their ranking last year. The African nation of Chad figures at the bottom of the list of 139 countries.

   

The global competitiveness rankings are viewed as a barometer of the business climate in 139 countries and mirror the assessments of leading businessmen on a range of political, social, and economic parameters.

     

Though Switzerland has "[state-supported] monopolies in key sectors, it maintains overall economic stability and largely open trade and investment policies," said Margareta Dryeniek Hanouz, senior economist and director of the WEF, who is also the co-author of the report.

    

India has been pushed down to 51st position from 49th due to its poor performance in a range of social sector areas such as education, health and infrastructure.

   

Though India has performed well in complex financial sector areas, attaining the 17th rank globally in terms of its financial markets, 44th in business sophistication and 39th in innovation, it has failed to improve the basic drivers of competitiveness, the report said.

   

"There are two Indias," said Thierry Geiger, an associate director at WEF, who also authored the report.

"While there is widespread poverty, poor health and education facilities and poor infrastructure in rural India, the other India is experiencing rapid growth," he said.

    

He praised China, which climbed up to 27th position from 29th last year, for making a dent in poverty and for improving overall access to education and health, suggesting that India is far from making a noticeable impact in these two areas.

    

Consequently, life expectancy is 10 years shorter in India as compared to China and Brazil.

Despite high economic growth, India continues to be plagued by budget deficits, high public debt and high inflation. In contrast, China has over USD 2 trillion in forex reserves and a sound macro-economic environment.

    

The WEF, which is a non-governmental organisation, is largely known for its annual Davos show of captains of industry and business and political leaders.

   

In the face of a growing economic crisis in the western world, the WEF has increasingly promoted "compassionate capitalism" as an economic model, analysts said.

Nissan India to export Micra from September

Nissan Motor India would commence shipping of its popular hatchback car 'Micra' to overseas markets this month, a top company official said on Wednesday.

"We will start shipping Micra models to overseas markets European, Middle East and African markets from our plant in Chennai from this month," Nissan Motor India Chairman and Managing Director Kiminobu Tokuyama said.

The company, which introduced the Micra in the Indian market in July, has received 3,600 bookings so far, he said, adding that their Chennai plant is serving as a global hub.

Nissan Motor India registered total sales of 1,249 units in August 2010. In the same month last year, it sold 22 units.

The company had earlier said it started nationwide sales of Micra on July 15 and has sold 928 units that month.

Nissan Motor India besides Micra currently retails luxury sedan Teana, premium SUV X-trail and sports car 370Z as completely built units in the country.

Tokuyama was here to take part in the two-day conference 'CONNECT 2010', organised by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)

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Akai enters mobile market with 10 new models

Akai India on Tuesday forayed into the Indian mobile market with the launch of ten new handsets with a price tag between Rs. 1,800 and Rs. 8,000.

The range will appeal to consumers across all segments, with a special focus on the youth, and are currently available across 8,000 retail outlets in the country. The company plans to ramp up the number of retail outlets to 20,000 by end-September, 2010, the company said in New Delhi.

The company will import the handsets from Akai's factory and from Europe.

"We have introduced a range of phones that will cater to the requirements of all segments of consumers across categories. We hope to become a prominent player in the Rs. 700 billion mobile handset market in the coming years," Akai India Managing Director Pranay Dhabhai said.

Asked about Akai's plans to enter other business verticals, Dhabhai said, "We are looking into other verticals like inverters, netbooks, accessories for mobile phones (and) fixed line wireless phones."

In the basic models, the company has offered features like a Dual Sim, long-lasting battery and large high resolution QVGA screen, while the high-end models include a full touch 3-D user interface, wi-fi, wireless FM with recording, compatibility with social networking sites and e-book compatibility.

The company will launch 3G models by the end of this year, Dhabhai said, adding that its handsets are undergoing trials.

On sales of the company's headsets, Dhabhai said, "Sales from next month, that is, October, are expected to be a lakh per month and by the end of first year of our operations, we expect to have 3 per cent of the total mobile market share."

Akai will make a significant initial investment for setting up the back-end infrastructure for its mobile models and will set up a Level 4 service centre in Gurgaon for repairing mobiles.

"In Gurgaon, we are looking for a centre to repair mobile chip with an investment of about Rs. 5 crore to Rs. 10 crore. It is in the planning stage. By early next year." Dhabhai added.

The company sees after-service as an area that is not focused on by local brands and has invested heavily in setting up a complete service network across India.

The company has 465 service centres across the length and breadth of the country, of which 218 service centres are dedicated for mobile phone back-up services, right from basic servicing to component level repairs.

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Employers upbeat over hiring in 2010: naukri.com

The majority of employers in the country anticipate the creation of new jobs in the coming months of this year, according to two surveys released on Tuesday.

Painting a robust hiring scenario in the country, two separate surveys by global staffing firm Manpower and job portal naukri.com showed that employers are planning to hire at a robust pace this year.

Manpower's Employment Outlook Survey stated that globally, India is the most optimistic in terms of recruitment intentions for the fourth quarter, after China and Taiwan.

Naukri.com, in its latest Hiring Outlook Survey, revealed a positive outlook for the second half this year, with 73 per cent of the more than 700 employers interviewed predicting the addition of new jobs.

About 55 per cent of the respondents expected replacement hiring, three per cent expected a freeze and 2 per cent even anticipate layoffs, the naukri survey stated.

"The job market remains robust in India as a result of strong domestic growth and recovery in key global markets. But employers in other countries are reporting strong hiring forecasts as well," Manpower India Managing Director Sanjay Pandit said.

India's net employment outlook -- an indicator of employers' hiring intentions -- stood at 38 per cent on a seasonally-adjusted basis for the next three months. For the third quarter, the outlook stood a little higher at 41 per cent, the Manpower survey stated.

The naukri.com survey revealed that across sectors, most recruiters pegged attrition levels at under 20 per cent, with the exception of IT-enabled services.

"Employers began recruiting at a steady pace in the first half of 2010 and confidence levels were high. The findings indicate sustainable new job opportunities in remainder of the year and job seekers can look forward to a favourable hiring environment," Info Edge Senior Vice-President - Marketing and Corporate Communications Sumeet Singh said.

In terms of sectors in India, the Manpower survey stated that public administration and education has the highest net employment outlook of 45 per cent, followed by services (40 per cent) and finance, insurance and real estate (34 per cent).

Transportation and utilities and the wholesale and retail trade sectors each have an outlook of 22 per cent, it added.

"Once you combine strong domestic hiring along with improved international opportunities, we see one of the best scenarios that Indian job seekers could have imagined," Pandit said.

Of the 36 countries surveyed by Manpower, 28 showed positive hiring trends for the next three months. As many as 5,395 employers in India participated in the survey.

For the fourth quarter, China has the highest outlook of 47 per cent, followed by Taiwan (40 per cent).

Interestingly, for the third quarter of 2010, India was the most optimistic when it came to hiring intentions.

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Govt Plans IOC, ONGC Stake Sale In March Qtr

India is considering selling 10 per cent in Indian Oil Corp and 5 per cent in Oil and Natural Gas Corp in the March quarter, a deal that could fetch the government about $5.6 billion at current prices.

"The oil ministry has taken an in-principle decision, we have to go to the cabinet now," Oil Secretary S. Sundareshan told reporters on Monday.

The sales will be part of a government plan to sell stakes in about 60 state-run firms over the next few years, as India moves to cut a stubbornly high fiscal deficit and garner funds to spend on schemes for the poor.

The government expects to raise about $8.6 billion in the current fiscal year that ends next March through such sales.

Sundareshan said the oil ministry had also allowed refiner Indian Oil Corp to sell an additional 10 percent of the expanded share capital.

Asked if the share sale of the two firms would happen by the end of this fiscal, he said, "hopefully". The government owns 78.92 percent of Indian Oil Corp and 74.14 percent in ONGC.

At 0925 GMT, IOC's shares were trading at Rs 425.35 ($9.15) a piece and ONGC was at Rs 1350.5 a share.

Sundareshan also said the Asian Development Bank had written a letter seeking to exit from gas firm Petronet LNG.

Petronet was founded by state-run firms IOC, ONGC, Bharat Petroleum Corp and GAIL (India) that together own 50 percent stake.

"They (ADB) have made an offer in the past. They have said again. Their policy is to exit after a company is functioning," Sundareshan, who is also chairman of Petronet, said.

He said the state-run companies may not exercise their right of first refusal for the ADB holding.

"It is a private company. If they (state-run firms) raise the stake it will cease to be a private company," he said.

France's GDF Suez holds 10 percent and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) holds 5.2 per cent stake in Petronet while the balance 34.8 percent is held by the public.

ArcelorMittal, Indiabulls in JV talks for steel projects

ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steel-maker, is in discussions with Indiabulls Group to form a joint venture company for scouting and mining iron ore in Rajasthan and setting up a steel plant.

"The discussions are on (between ArcelorMittal and Indiabulls to form a JV company). ArcelorMittal is pitching for a majority stake in the JV company," a person in-the-know
of the development said.

"There are indications of iron ore in Rajasthan. It is a mineral-rich state. The JV company would seek to locate and develop it. Then, a steel plant would be developed in the state," the source said.

According to the source, the JV would be between an ArcelorMittal subsidiary or an investment arm of the Mittal family and an Indiabulls Group firm.

ArcelorMittal Chief Financial Officer Aditya Mittal is said to be the brains behind the proposed venture, which aims at tapping the market for steel in North India, where there is no integrated steel plant.

"Promoters of ArcelorMittal and Indiabulls share a good relationship and the new venture would further their partnership," the source added.

Through LNM India Internet Ventures, it is said that L N Mittal already holds an 8.79 per cent stake in Indiabulls Power, which is developing various power projects across the country.

State-owned SAIL has already discovered iron ore deposits in the desert state.

The proposed investment in the JV could not be immediately ascertained. An ArcelorMittal spokesperson did not revert to a query on the cost of the proposed venture.

ArcelorMittal had in July said it expects to start work on one of its proposed Rs. 1.3 lakh crore India projects in early 2011.

The world's largest steel-maker, accounting for 8 per cent of global production, announced plans to set up projects in Jharkhand in 2005 and in Orissa a year later. In June this year, it signed an MoU with the Karnataka government for a Rs. 30,000 crore steel project.

"We believe that in 2011, in one of the projects, we will break the ground, we don't know which one... It is our hope that it should be in the first quarter or the second quarter," ArcelorMittal Chairman and CEO L N Mittal had said.

The company is in the process of acquiring land for construction of a 12-MTPA steel plant in Jharkhand. The company has proposed a plant of similar size in Orissa.

The company has already been allocated iron ore mines in West Singhbhum district of Jharkhand, where it is awaiting clearances to mine more such deposits. However, it is facing regulatory hurdles and protests over land acquisition in the state. Most recently, it had to move out of the Khunti-Gumla area to a new site near Bokaro on account of such problems.

Last year, ArcelorMittal had entered into a co-promoter agreement with Uttam Galva to produce steel.

Read more at: http://profit.ndtv.com/news/show/arcelormittal-indiabulls-in-jv-talks-for-steel-projects-95586?cp