LEADERSHIP CHANGES IN PAST WEEK

LEADERSHIP CHANGES IN PAST WEEK

SUBODH BHARGAVA CHAIRMAN OF VIOM NETWORKS DECIDES TO QUIT

Subodh Bhargava, chairman of Viom Networks, has decided to quit, citing his "discomfort about the speed at which the business was growing".

 This will be the second high-profile exit from the company in recent months after Arun Kapur, the former chief executive, quit late last year.

 MANAGEMENT  REJIG AT INFOSYS

Infosys announced that two of the company's top leaders - B G Srinivas and Ashok Vemuri - would interchange their positions.

Srinivas, global head of manufacturing & engineering business, would take over as the new leader of the company's financial services & insurance business.

Vemuri, present global head of its financial services & insurance business, would now lead the company's manufacturing & engineering business.

The changes are effective from April 1, the NASDAQ-listed IT major said in a statement.

MANISHA GIROTRA TO  JOIN  STANDARD CHARTERED

Manisha Girotra, the 42-yearold former India head of UBS, is poised to join British bank Standard Chartered to head its investment banking business that has slid in the league table last year amid overall fall in transactions, said two people familiar with the development.

Girotra, the public face of UBS for nearly a decade in India, would work with the regional merger and acquisition teams of Standard Chartered in Singapore and Hong Kong.

DHANLAXMI BANK CEO AMITABH CHATURVEDI QUITS

Amitabh Chaturvedi, MD and CEO of Dhanalakmi Bank has put in his papers.

Mr Chaturvedi joined the bank in October 2008. His resignation comes within months of Reserve Bank of India approving his extension as chief of the bank for three years till October 2014.

FALGUNI NAYAR QUITS KOTAK MAHINDRA BANK

In a Latest in the series of top level exits in the banking circle in India, Falguni Nayar has quit Kotak Mahindra Bank.

Sources at Kotak confirmed that Shanti Ekambaram who is heading the Wholesale Banking at Kotak Mahindra Bank will take over from Falguni as the MD of Kotak Investment Banking.


Shanti Ekambaram is now expected to oversee the firm's activities in equity raising, private equity placements, M&A and corporate advisory.

RAJESH LADDHA TO REPRESENT PIRAMAL ON VODAFONE BOARD

The Piramal Healthcare group will get a board seat after its purchase of additional 5.5% in Vodafone India, but the company will still remain aloof from ongoing management of the country's second largest GSM telecom operator, said Ajay Piramal. 

The group has nominated its Chief Financial Officer, Rajesh Laddha to represent it on the Vodafone board, said the chairman of the Piramal group.

GOOGLE'S SHAILESH RAO QUITS, JOINS TWITTER AS VICE PRESIDENT FOR ITS INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS

Shailesh Rao, managing director (media &platforms) at Google's Asia-Pacific operations, has left the world's biggest Internet search company to set up Twitter's international business. 

Rao, 41, will join Twitter as vice-president for its international operations. 

PHILIPS INDIA APPOINTS ADA RATNAM AS PRESIDENT OF CONSUMER LIFESTYLE BUSINESS

Dutch electronics major, Philips on Monday announced the appointment of Ada Ratnamas the president of its consumer lifestyle business in India.

Mr Ratnam, who was earlier the head of the lighting systems and controls business of Philips India, will take over charge from Anjan Bose who will retire on March 31, 2012. Mr Ratnam joined Philips in November 2004. 

VOLVO'S MD AKASH PASSEY MOVES AS VP TO OVERSEE GROWTH IN EMERGING MARKETS

The world's second largest bus maker Volvo Bus Corporation has promoted its India head and managing director, Akash Passey to senior vice-president, Region International of the company to oversee growth in emerging markets of India, China, Asia Oceania, Middle East and Africa .

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ECONOMY UPDATE!!

NEW YEAR CHEER IN JOB STREET, HIRING RISES ACROSS SECTORS

Reversing back the sluggish trend witnessed in the previous month, positive hiring activity was witnessed across all key industry sectors in January over December 2011.

The Naukri Job Speak index - an indicator of online job demand - for January 2012 stood at 1,121, which is 4 per cent higher than the December 2011 index and 16 per cent more than the January 2011 index.

A sectorwise analysis shows that ITeS, oil & gas and telecom witnessed the strongest hiring trends, where recruitment improved by 19 per cent, 18 per cent and 16 per cent respectively, the report said.

City-wise, New Delhi maintained strong hiring trends where hiring improved by 10 per cent compared to the previous month, followed by Bengalore (9 per cent), Chennai (8 per cent). 

Kolkata, Mumbai maintained steady hiring levels while both Hyderabad and Pune saw the index moving up by a minor 6 per cent respectively in January 2012 over December 2011, the report said.

SLOWDOWN HITS INDIA'S GROWTH, GDP TO SINK TO 6.9%

The economic growth is likely to fall to a three-year low of 6.9 per cent in 2011-12, mainly due to sharp slowdown in manufacturing, agriculture and mining sectors, against 8.4 per cent expansion in the last fiscal.

Agriculture and allied activities are likely to grow at 2.5 per cent in 2011-12, compared to a robust growth of 7 per cent in 2010-11, according to the Advanced Estimates released  by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO).

Manufacturing growth is also expected to drop down to 3.9 per cent in this fiscal from 7.6 per cent last year.

INDIA SHINING: PER CAPITA INCOME TO CROSS RS 60,000!

Reflecting general rise in living standard, India's per capita income is estimated to grow above Rs 60,000 per annum or over Rs 5,000 per month, said the government data.

"The per capita income at current prices during 2011-12 is estimated to be Rs 60,972 compared to Rs 53,331 during 2010-11, showing a rise of 14.3 per cent," said the Advanced Estimates of National Income released by the Central Statistical Office (CSO)

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MERGERS AND ACQUISITION UPDATES

MERGERS/ ACQUISITIONS/STAKEHOLDING CHANGES  IN PAST WEEK

FLIP KART ACQUIRES LETSBUY, FASHION RETAILER MYNTRA; RAISES RS 100 CRORE

Online retailer Flipkart bought Letsbuy, and specialized fashion retailer Myntra

Flipkart, one the country's biggest online retailers, has acquired smaller rival Letsbuy in a cash and stock deal without specifying the value of the transaction. But people familiar with the matter said it was worth around $20 million. 

24/7 INC ACQUIRES MICROSOFT’S BUSINESS

Microsoft Corp and 24/7 Inc, an agreement to merge the former’s natural user interfaces (NUIs) and data analytics at cloud scale (Big Data) with 24/7 Inc.

The agreement includes 24/7 Inc acquiring Microsoft’s interactive self-service assets (clients, people and technologies). It also includes an R&D partnership, long-term IP licensing and Microsoft taking an undisclosed equity stake in 24/7 Inc.

24/7 Inc is based in Campbell, Calif., and has about 9,000 employees in India, Philipines and other centres. The company was launched in the year 2000 and has raised over $20 million from Sequoia Capital and other investors, according to co-founder and Chief Executive PV Kannan.

TEMASEK SELLING 1.4 PC STAKE OF ICICI BANK

Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings is selling 1.38 percent stake in India's No. 2 lender ICICI Bank in a deal to Raise up to $303 million.

Temasek held 39.83 million shares of ICICI Bank, or 3.46 percent, as of end-September, via its unit Allamanda, according to Thomson Reuters data.

ICICI Bank shares are being sold in the range of 924 rupees to 937.75 rupees each and Goldman Sachs(GS.N) is the sole bookrunner, the term sheet showed. 

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News Update -I.T/ ITES/ BFSI Sector

NEWS LINE

FEBRUARY 10, 2012: LINKEDIN'S 4Q REVENUE DOUBLES

LinkedIn is reporting a strong fourth quarter as the online professional networking service added 14 million members. Its net income and revenue beat Wall Street's expectations. 

LinkedIn earned $6.9 million, or 6 cents per share, during the final three months of the year. That compares with income of $1.6 million, or 3 cents per share, a year earlier.

Revenue more than doubled from the previous year to nearly $168 million. 

FEBRUARY 9, 2012: COGNIZANT STUNS ALL WITH A 23% GROWTH GUIDANCE FOR 2012

In the world's biggest outsourcing market US, Cognizant Technology Solutions is now only $50 million behind Tata Consultancy Services, according to the October-December quarter revenues earned by these companies. 

Cognizant’s 2012 revenue growth forecast of 23% is almost double of NASSCOM projections.It widened its quarterly revenue gap with Wipro by another $150 million.

FEBRUARY 8, 2012: IT EXPORT GROWTH TOO SLOW, says NASSCOM

Indian I.T exports are set to grow more slowly –in a range of 11-14%-for the year ending March 31, 2013, industry body NASSCOM has forecasted .

Sluggish global GDP growth and European crisis are set to be the main causes of the phenomenon.

February 7, 2012: INDIAN IT COS IN US PAID $15BN IN TAXES IN LAST 5 YRS

The Indian IT industry in the US has contributed $15 billion in taxes alone in the last five years, Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai said, stressing on the need to eliminate discriminatory actions.

Mathai, on his first bilateral visit to the US in his capacity as the foreign secretary, expressed hope that the economic challenges in the US would not lead to protectionism and concerns of the Indian IT industry will be addressed.

FEBRUARY 7, 2012: GENPACT Q4 PROFIT BEATS EXPECTATIONS

Business process and technology services provider Genpact Ltd posted a quarterly profit above analysts' expectations, helped by an increase in revenue from global clients, but forecast full-year revenue largely below Wall Street estimates.

Genpact forecast 2012 revenue of $1.84 billion to $1.88 billion, while analysts were expecting $1.88 billion.

Fourth-quarter net income attributable to shareholders rose to $61.1 million, or 27 cents a share, from $46 million, or 20 cents a share, a year ago.

FEBRUARY 6, 2012: MARKETS END HIGHER LED BY BANKS

Key share indices ended higher amid a volatile trading session, led by bank and capital goods shares.

The 30-share Sensex ended at 17,707 up102 points and the 50-share Nifty ended at 5,362 up by 36 points. 

The Sensex and the Nifty reached an intra-day high of 17,830 levels and 5,390 mark, respectively. 

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