Stock Watch

In order to raise between $200 million and $300 million, L&T Finance Ltd. is planning to hire five investment banks to handle a proposed initial public offering.

As per the sources, the Companies, which are expected to be hired by the non-banking finance company, include JM Financial Ltd., Citigroup and HSBC. The supporting bankers, which will be hired by the L&T Finance for the planned IPO, are expected to include Barclays and Credit Suisse.

Tata Motors’ new plant in South Africa will start rolling out the company's commercial vehicles by the end of the current financial year, the company said in a press conference in Mumbai on Friday.

Speaking on the occasion Managing Director (India Operations) of the company Prakash M Telang said that the plant would roll out around 3000 to 4000 units per annum to start with and it would scale for its capacity later depending on demand. The plat would manufacture both light and medium commercial vehicles in the begging and might move in to manufacturing of Tata's world trucks later.

The chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan stated in a press release that trading agricultural commodities in future should be restricted in order to control the frequent rise in its prices. The annual plan size for MP was approved today for the year 2010-2011.

The chief minister mentioned that efforts were being made on the development strategy of the state in order to include more focused attention on the improving the facilities for drinking water. Efforts were also being made for agricultural facilities.

German car major Volkswagen Joerg Mueller told TOI that the companies were trying to thrash out areas where partnership and joint strategies could be worked out for Indian market while the company is in advanced stages of negotiations with Maruti Suzuki for joint engagements on a number of areas, which are still evolving, and these talks would formalized in a few months.

It is said that during yesterday's session on account of Government's restriction on cotton exports, Kapas futures on Indian commodity exchange observed a sharp fall.

The dynamic April 2010 deal made a low of 595.40 and settled at Rs. 600.80 per mound, with a negative change of 2.12%.

Kapas futures are likely to uphold its pessimistic trend during the day on Government's verdict to defer registration of cotton exports till more notice to sustain textile industry.

It has been reported that the futures of the India Jeera has ended weak and the reason was pointed to the fact that the demand from the jaded spot demand had done quite a job at bringing the prices down.

Although the weather has tremendously improved from its previously bad state which was prevailing in the past weeks and even though the necessary stocks were available, the prices are expected to be weak as there was not sufficient physical demand for the commodity.

As per beliefs shared by the Finance Ministry in its mid-term review, food prices are not likely to come down anytime soon, especially since the Government is now expecting the supply-side restrictions to continue over the short-term on the back of a decline in summer farm output because of poor monsoon and floods in some parts of the country.

Solvent Extractors Association (SEA) announced that India's edible oil imports are expected to touch the 8 million tonne mark, up by 27%, as compared to 6.3 million tonnes in the same period of current year.

The oil year runs from October to September.