NEWS ANALYSIS
Rajesh Desai
METALS & MINING
Nalco yet to resume operations at Odisha mine
· National Aluminium Ltd, the Bhubaneswar-based integrated PSU aluminium maker, is yet to resume operations at its bauxite mine at Panchpatmali in Koraput district of Odisha. Mine operations stopped on November 17 in the absence of mine lease renewal. A temporary work permit for a year also eluded Nalco as the forest advisory committee of the Union Ministry of Forest and Environment could not approve it at its meeting on November 27.
· According to company sources, “the process for issuing the temporary work permit has been initiated, but the approval and resumption of work at Panchpatmali may come about sometime next week.”
· The 30-year mining lease for the asset expired on November 16. Nalco had filed application for renewal in October 2010 and in February this year; it also had filed an application for temporary work permit. Meanwhile, Nalco’s stock of bauxite is fast depleting and can last for a week. Panchpatmali, the only mine of Nalco, feeds it refinery at nearby Damanjodi, also in Koraput district.
· If the mine operation stoppage lingers beyond seven days, then operations at the refinery will have to be stopped. Meanwhile, Angsuman Das, Director (Commercial), has been asked by the Ministry of Mines to continue with additional charge of CMD of Nalco “till further orders.”
NMDCs $1.2-b IPO likely on December 13: Sources
· The governments share sell-down in state-run miner NMDC to raise roughly $1.2 billion is likely to be launched on December 13,three sources with direct knowledge of the situation said on Thursday. The government,which owns 90% of NMDC,plans to sell a 10% stake in the company.
TELECOM
Bharti Infratel Ltd., the mobile tower unit of Bharti Airtel Ltd., could raise up to $821 million in India's largest initial public offering in two years, according to a term sheet seen by Dow Jones. The offering, if it goes through, will be India's largest since Coal India Ltd.'s $3.43 billion IPO in November 2010 and the $878 million IPO of Ramky Infrastructure Ltd. in October of the same year, according to data from research firm Dealogic. Bharti Infratel's sale of 188.9 million shares are being priced in a range of 210 rupees-240 rupees each, which would raise between 39.7 billion rupees and 45.3 billion rupees for the company. Order-taking for key anchor investors will start Dec. 10, and other investors will start buying in the following day, according to the term sheet. Bharti Airtel, India's largest mobile phone services company by revenue and users, and other investors in the mobile tower unit are looking to capitalize on a recent improvement in foreign sentiment toward India. This comes after the federal government in September announced steps aimed at encouraging foreign investment in sectors like retail and insurance.
BANKING
RBI to buy Rs 12,000-cr worth bonds to ease liquidity pressure
Tight liquidity in the banking system has prompted the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to announce the purchase of government securities aggregating Rs 12,000 crore through Open Market Operations (OMOs) on December 4.
“Consistent with the stance of monetary policy and based on the current assessment of prevailing and evolving liquidity conditions, the Reserve Bank has decided to conduct OMOs through multi-security auction,” the RBI said in a statement.
The banking system has been facing liquidity tightness since the second week of November, with banks collectively borrowing over Rs 1-lakh crore on a daily basis.
Regards,
Team Microsec Research
Microsec Capital Limited
Tel: 91 33 30512100
Fax: 91 33 30512020
CA. Rajesh Desai