Mumbai: India’s capital flow almost tripled in fiscal 2008 than the capital it received during the same period last fiscal, the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) said in a recent report. “In the first nine months of 2007-08, the net capital flows rose to $83 billion (Rs3.6 trillion) from $30 billion the country received during the corresponding period of the previous year,” the report said. The country maintained the trend of attracting funds, it said, adding the flow also boosted the country’s forex reserves.
PTI
Network18 wraps up Rs91 cr for Homeshop 18
Mumbai: Media conglomerate Network18 Media and Investments Ltd on Tuesday said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange, or BSE, it has completed equity funding of $21 million (around Rs91.14 crore) for Homeshop 18, its home shopping network business.
Out of the said amount, about $16 million was raised from SAIF Partners, a private equity firm that provides growth capital to companies in Asia and about $5 million was raised from Capital 18, an affiliate of Network18, the company said. HomeShop18 is the group’s online and on-air retail marketing and distribution venture, which launched the country’s first 24 hour Home Shopping TV channel on 9 April. The channel that allows customers to call and book order has over 200 reputed brands on board, including Motorola, Whirlpool, Philips, Sanyo, Tata, AIG, Disney, Gitanjali Gems and Tanishq.
PTI
Ballarpur Ind raises coated paper price
Mumbai: Papermaker Ballarpur Industries Ltd will hike coated paper prices by Rs2,000 a tonne, effective 15 July, for the second time this month, a senior official said on Tuesday. The company had increased prices on 1 July. The increase in the coated variety—used in premium magazines, photographs and packaging—is due to high input costs and to maintain international price parity, chief general manager Anil Pahwa said. With this hike, the price of coated paper will be Rs48,500-49,000 a tonne.
Reuters
Novartis buys 25% of Alcon’s eye care unit
Frankfurt:Novartis AG took a 25% stake in Nestle SA’s Alcon Inc. eye care unit in the first step of a transaction aimed at giving Switzerland’s second-largest drug maker majority ownership. Novartis purchased the stake from Nestle, the world’s largest food company, on Monday for about $10.4 billion (around Rs45,136 crore) in cash, $200 million less than the figure stated in April when they first announced the transaction, Basel-based Novartis said in a statement.
The maker of the Diovan heart pill agreed to buy 77% of the world’s biggest eye-care company, gaining contact lenses and treatments for glaucoma.
Bloomberg
Reliance Retail to open optical chain stores
New Delhi: On Tuesday, Reliance Retail Ltd said it will launch the first outlet of its optical chain stores Vision Express, under a joint venture with Pearle Europe, by September this year in Bangalore. “We have already got the necessary approval from FIPB (foreign Investment Proposal Board) . The first outlet will be opened by September,” Reliance Retail president and chief executive (Lifestyle) Bijou Kurien said on the sidelines of the FICCI Ladies Organization symposium on retail here.
PTI
SC asks govt to help decongest Capital
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday linked the strain on the Capital’s infrastructure to unchecked migration and asked the government to find a way out for decongesting the city and preventing people from other states from settling here.