SEBI asks 15 brokers to `cease and desist' from F&O contracts
Mumbai: A SEBI order asks 15 brokers, including Indiabulls Securities among others, to `cease and desist' from undertaking Futures and Options contracts on the National Stock Exchange, as they appear to be in violation of SEBI trading guidelines.

The regulators order has come after the examination of trade transactions at NSE between January and March 2007. It said that the sample transactions tend to create a false and misleading appearance of trading in the market.

SEBI has cautioned the brokers against making such transactions till further orders.
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Biggest ever ADS issue by India Inc sees Sterlite raise $2bn
Mumbai: Sterlite Industries, part of the London-based Vedanta Resources group, has raised over $2 billion through the listing of its American Depository Shares (ADS) on the New York Stock Exchange. The ADS is the biggest-ever overseas selling of shares by an Indian company.

The ADS, listed on the US bourse on Tuesday under 'SLT' symbol, and was priced at $13.44 or Rs547.80 per share. The minimum price for the ADS, before the listing, was pegged at $13 per share.

Post the NYSE-listing, Sterlite Industries is now valued at $9.2 billion.

The underwriters for the Sterlite ADS issue were Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup Global Markets.

Post-issue, promoters' holding will come down to close to 60%, from the current 79%.

The funds raised will finance the LSE-listed Vedanta group's foray into energy sector, including the $1.9-billion greenfield power project in Orissa with a capacity of 2,400 MW and expansion of its aluminium and zinc facilities in the country.

The power project will be implemented by subsidiary, Sterlite Energy.

The ADS included a Japanese public offering, where 11.5 million shares will be allocated to the country's investors. Nomura Singapore was the underwriter for the Japanese offer, which though didn't include listing of the shares.
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UCO Bank mulling stock broking services for clients
Kolkata: The UCO Bank is mulling offering stock broking services to its customers by way of a value-add to the services that it already offers.

The bank is mulling offering such a service after realising that there was a need amongst a section of its clients for such a service, given their need to transact in the stock market.

The UCO Bank, according to its chairman-cum-managing director, V. Sridhar, will consider all options in this regard, including a tie up with stockbrokers in order to provide the best possible solutions.
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Birla Sun Life MF launches "Capital Protection Oriented Plan"
Mumbai: The Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund, has launched the Birla Sun Life Capital Protection Oriented Plan, a capital protection oriented scheme.

The scheme will invest in high quality fixed income securities, maturing in line with the tenure of the scheme, and seek capital appreciation by investing in equity and equity-related instruments.

The fund's portfolio will comprise of high quality debt instruments that would mature to the initial value of investment. The rest of the portfolio would be invested in a diversified basket of growth stocks.

"Birla Sun Life capital Protection fund is an apt fit in the low to moderate risk-taking investor's portfolio (investors who look at investing primarily in fixed deposits or small savings), said Mukul Gupta, CEO, Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund.

The fund offers two plans with 3-year and 5-year investment horizons respectively. The 3-year plan can invest up to 16 per cent of its corpus in equity/equity-linked instruments while the rest (84-100 per cent) will be held in debt and money market instruments.

Conversely, the 5-year plan can invest up to 23 per cent of its corpus in equities/equity-linked instruments and the balance 77-100 per cent in debt and money market instruments.

The new fund offer closes on July 6 and the minimum invest amount will be Rs5,000 and in multiples of Re1, thereafter.

SBICAP Securities receives RBI approval for portfolio management services

Coimbatore: SBICAP Securities Ltd has received a licence from the Reserve Bank of India to offer portfolio management services to its investors. The product is likely to be made available for investors by September.

The minimum investment required for availing of this service would be Rs5 lakh, either in the form of cash deposit or securities of equivalent value for discretionary and non-discretionary trading.

The fee structure under PMS is yet to be decided.

According to managing director, V Gopinathan, when the company began its operations, it focused on institutional players. However, in the last two years, it has turned towards retail players and has opened 34 branches across the country.

The company plans to expand its branch network to 50 by the end of the current fiscal and would have 15 franchisees offering its bouquet of services.
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Spice Communications IPO expects to raise Rs523 crore
Mumbai: Spice Communications Ltd, a New Delhi-based cellular operator, is coming out with an IPO, which intends to raise around Rs523 crore at the upper end of the price band, of Rs41-46 per share.

According to the offer guidelines, a major portion of the issue proceeds would be used towards repayment of debt, payment of license fee for national (NLD) and international long distance (ILD) communication segments and payment to vendors for network equipments.

At least 60 per cent of the net issue shall be allotted to qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) on a proportionate basis. A further 10 per cent of the net issue shall be available for allocation on a proportionate basis to non-institutional bidders, while 30 per cent of the net issue shall be available for allocation on a proportionate basis to retail bidders.

The equity shares shall be listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange. The issue will constitute 16.39 per cent of the fully diluted post-issue equity share capital of the company.

In March last year, Telekom Malaysia has picked up a 49 per cent stake in Spice Communications Private Ltd for $178.85 million (Rs733.28 crore).

For the six months ended December 2006, the company had posted a net loss of Rs41.81 crore on net revenues of Rs394 crore.

The IPO opens on June 25 and closes on June 27.

Enam Financial Consultants and USB Securities Pvt Ltd are the lead managers to the issue.
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ICICI Bank issue subscribed 2.74 times on opening day
Mumbai: ICICI Bank's follow-on public offer of about 9.88 crore shares was subscribed 2.74 times on the first day of the issue, according to data from the NSE Web site.

Bids were received across the price band of Rs885-950 for the issue, which closes on June 22.

The qualified institutional investor's portion was subscribed 5.4 times, while the retail individual investor's portion was subscribed 0.0064 times (number of shares bid was 2.11 lakh). The bank has offered part-payment option and a discount of Rs50 per share for retail subscribers.

The non-institutional investors' portion was subscribed 0.96 times.

The maximum number of bids was received at the lower end of the price band.

ICICI Bank plans to raise up to Rs8,750 crore (excluding greenshoe option) through the offer to meet its capital requirements.

The bank also expects to raise an equal amount through American depository shares.

ICICI Bank's shares went up 2.89 per cent to close at Rs944.40 on the BSE today, up from the previous close of Rs917.85.
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