Anglo-Dutch giant Unilever Plc will hike its stake further by 22.52% to 75% in Hindustan Unilever by paying 20.6% premium or Rs 600 a share

Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 WHY INDIA SLOWED: RAGHURAM RAJAN   India probably was not fully prepared for its rapid growth in the years before the global financial crisis, says Raghuram Rajan. One example, new factories and mines require land. India's land titling was fragmented, the laws governing land acquisition were archaic, and the process of rezoning land for industrial use was non-transparent. To the extent that democratic responses to institutional incapacity will contribute to stronger and more sustainable growth, India's economic clouds have a silver lining. But Rajan warns that if India's politicians engage in point-scoring rather than institution-building, the current slowdown may portend stormy weather ahead. read more

 

LEAD STORIES

UNILEVER TO SPEND $5.4 BN TO HIKE STAKE IN HUL TO 75%  Anglo-Dutch giant Unilever Plc will hike its stake further by 22.52% to 75% in Hindustan Unilever by paying 20.6% premium or Rs 600 a share. read more

HSBC HITS BIG, STRIKES DEALS WORTH $7 BN IN LAST 3 MTHS  HSBC closed big deals like GSK & Jet-Etihad in last 6 mths making it the banker of choice for EU MNCs planning to consolidate their presence in India. read more

SENSEX RISES 116 PTS; HUL SOARS 17% TO RS 583.60  Sensex slumped 120 pts in the morning & later regained 116 pts to end at 19,504.18 on back of Unilever's open offer for HUL & FM's clarity on TRC. read more

GOVT CUTS TAX ON INTEREST IN GOVT, CORP DEBT FOR FIIs  Govt will cut tax from 1st June on interest payments to foreigners on govt & corporate debt to 5% from up to 20% for a 2-yr period to bridge CAD. read more

TOP STORIES • Rupee at 2-wk high, gains 43 paise at 53.80   • Petrol price slashed by Rs 3/ltr effective midnight   • Cyrus Mistry rejigs Tata Group Executive Council   • Coal Scam: SC's censure throws UPA into a crisis   • Coal scam: Addl solicitor general Harin Raval quits   • Finance Bill passed without debate   • Baring Asia in talks to invest $240 mn in Lafarge India   • RCom, Aircel tie up to improve 2G GSM network   • I-T searches at Ekta, Jeetendra's premises   • FII investment crosses $11 bn mark in Jan-April 2013   • Rolta to raise over $200 mn via overseas bond issue   • Sterlite's Q4 net jumps 51% to Rs 1,925 cr (YoY)   • Godrej Consumer Q4 net up 73% at Rs 334 cr (YoY)   • ONGC lead bidder for $6 bn Mozambique gas assets   • Investors find India as a 'tease' market: Citi   • Sarabjit 'clinically dead'; family to return on Wed   • 1984 anti-Sikh riots: Congman Sajjan Kumar acquitted   • Musharraf banned from contesting elections for life   • Now, compare your salary with industry peers online   • BlackBerry CEO questions future of tablets   more stories TOP VIDEOS Need To Resolve Structural Issues; Gold Crash Helps: Subir Gokarn, Former RBI Dy Governor & Director Of Research, Brookings India   Offer Of Rs 600/Share For HUL Fair; Won't Raise It: James Allison, Head - Investor Relations & M&A, Unilever   Unilever May Not Get 22.5% In HUL At Rs 600/Share: Ramesh Damani, Member ,BSE

AT A GLANCE BSE 19504.18 +116.68 NSE 5930.2 +26.1 TURNOVER Rs. 147,791 cr BSE CASH Rs. 2,299 cr NSE CASH Rs. 12,468 cr NSE F&O Rs. 118,703 cr BULLION GOLD 26953 -198 SILVER 44875 -409 CRUDE NYMEX 93.44 -1.06 BRENT 102.98 -0.83 FOREX $ / Re 53.8 -0.43 £ / Re 83.459 -0.52 € / Re 70.771 -0.19 EVENTS TO WATCH 1 May HSBC India Mfg PMI for April CCEA To Consider IKEA Proposal IPL 6, Match 41, Sunrisers Hyderabad Vs Mumbai Indians, Hyderabad IPL 6, Match 42, Delhi Daredevils Vs KKR, Delhi 2 May Hearing of SEBI's petition against Subrata Roy ECB's Governing Council Meet IPL 6, Match 43, Pune Warriors Vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, Pune

EXPERT VIEWS

"We have no plans of de-listing the company. HUL is a flagship company in India, and we believe it is attractive to keep it listed. It attracts hundreds of thousands of retail shareholders, who are important to our business."

James Allison
Head -- M&A & Investor Relations, Hindustan Unilever

"Why should we co-operate with the government when they refuse to co-operate with us in any manner...If I am stopped from speaking from the platform of Parliament and informing the nation why we are obstructing the functioning of the House, and that too by the Congress president, then we have no reason to co-operate."

Sushma Swaraj
Senior BJP Leader

"In five years I don't think there'll be a reason to have a tablet anymore, maybe a big screen in your workspace, but not a tablet as such. Tablets themselves are not a good business model."

Thorsten Heins
CEO, Blackberry

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