Indian Stocks - Bears on a Roll

Monday began with the Sensex tumbling by 7.4%, the most in almost four years. All 30 Sensex stocks declined exacerbated by a sell-off from local investors as fears of the US entering a recession affected markets across the globe. European, Latin American and Asian markets across the globe tumbled. Commodities were hit and sugar and cement fell sharply. The BSE Metal index was down 13.3%. BSE Realty index (down 12.8%), BSE Oil & Gas index (down 11.9%) and BSE Power index (down 10.9%) also fell. Mid-caps were not spared and the BSE Mid-Cap index was down 11.3%. About 138 stocks advanced on the BSE, while 2,658 stocks declined and 13 stocks remained unchanged.
Tuesday was no better with the Sensex falling by 5%. Commodity prices too tumbled and Asian markets fell. The BSE and NSE halted trading for an hour.The US market was shut on Monday because of Martin Luther King Jr. Day (a holiday). On Tuesday, the US markets tumbled soon after opening and the Federal Reserve implemented a rate cut.This helped the Indian market pick up the next day.On Wednesday, the Indian market snapped a 7-day slide. All 13 industry indices posted gains. The market initially rallied only to turn choppy but closed positively.Despite the rally on Wednesday and starting off Thursday well, the bulls fell as the market wiped off all early gains. The market was extremely volatile gyrating almost 1,000 points between its days high and low. Weak cues from the Asian markets did not help. French bank Societe Generale SA made a statement that they were seeking fresh capital because of a record trading loss, added to bad global sentiment and the $120 billion of write-downs and losses reported by financial firms across the globe.On Friday, the bulls were back with a vengeance. Friday started with a bang with a lot of activity. Banking, power and realty stocks were the star performers. All Sensex and Nifty stocks closed in the green. BSE Bankex, BSE Capital Goods, BSE Auto, BSE Metal, BSE FMCG, BSE Oil & Gas and BSE IT all closed higher. Small caps too rose but mid-caps rose higher. BSE Midcap and BSE Small Cap closed higher.

Reliance Power oversubscribed 24 times on Day 3

The public offering of Reliance Power was oversubscribed 24 times on the third day of issue despite bearish secondary market trends. The Rs 11,700-crore IPO, the country’s biggest ever so far, has already set a few records as far as bids, number of application and value of shares are concerned. Reliance Power IPO has received bids for Rs 2,48,000 crore (as on 9.15 pm on Thursday); the previous best Mundra Port issue managed bids worth Rs 2,03,708 crore. Pipping Reliance Petroleum issue to second place, Reliance Power has logged 30 lakh applications so far. The retail portion has been 8.2 times oversubscribed. If one ranks top IPOs (by number of applications received) in recent times, Reliance Power (as on 1900 hrs on Thursday) would lead the tally with about 27 lakh applications. Reliance Petroleum (19.5 lakh applications), NTPC (14.4 lakh applications) and Power Grid Corporation (12.7 lakh applications) fall in second, third and fourth spot, respectively. The issue, till third day, has deposited about Rs 2,45,000 crore by way of application money. A Reliance ADAG official expressed happiness over the response from qualified institutional buyers and retail investors despite the sharp losses in the Sensex over the past few days.

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Reliance Power - Mega IPO back on track

Reliance Power obtained on Wednesday a stay from the Supreme Court against a writ petition filed by an investor association, which had moved the Gujarat High Court to stall the mega IPO. The apex court stayed the interim proceedings in the high court, but the Rajkot Jilla Grahak Suraksha Mandal (RJGSM) along with Jagrut Grahak Suraksha Mahila Mandal, which filed the writ petition expressed a resolve to take the matter to the apex court. RJGSM is one of the 22 Sebi-recognised investors’ association in the country. Gujarat has four such associations. Other associations have, however, not joined hands with RJGSM. The high drama around the upcoming public issue, so far country’s biggest, involves high-profile players. They include former Gujarat chief minister Chhabildas Mehta, former Congress MP Ramjibhai Mavani, retired Justice SK Dubey and Justice TS Doabia among others. The writ petition filed on Wednesday was the fourth such attempt by the group to stall the IPO. The group first approached local authorities raising concerns over the interests of Reliance Energy shareholders, pricing of the issue, timely completion of the power projects, returns to investors . The group later communicated not only to Sebi but also to the London Stock Exchange, where Reliance Energy’s GDR is listed. They also wrote letters to institutional investor LIC, which was a 11.75% holding in Reliance Energy as on September 31, 2007. Copies of some of the communications are available with ET. On Wednesday, the Mavani-led RJGSM pleaded to the high court to prevent Anil Ambani from launching the public issue. However, the company got a Supreme Court stay against any proceedings over its IPO in the high court. Speaking to ET Mr Mavani said, “We are not against the Reliance Power IPO. However, we certainly disagree with some of the provisions and clauses, which are neither in the interests of the shareholders of Reliance Energy, nor the subscribers of Reliance Power. We will not stay quiet. RJGSM would soon knock the doors of the Supreme Court after consulting the legal experts.” He added that the power projects bagged by Reliance Energy should not be transferred to Reliance Power without any consideration. He has sought the reassessment of the price at which ADAG is offering Reliance Power shares to the retail investors. Earlier, Mr Mavani and individuals like Pradeep Nambiar, Bhupendra Singh and Ramachandran Nair had also approached the Bombay High Court. On November 1 2007, the Bombay High Court directed Sebi to hear the complainants. Following this, SEBI’s wholetime members TC Nair and VK Chopra heard the complainants on December 4, 2007. RJGSM and other complainants had sought one more hearing before the Sebi gave its final nod to the public issue. However, SEBI gave final clearance to the company in the last week of December.

Reliance Power IPO: You can pay in phases

Reliance Energy is going all out to woo retail investors for the upcoming initial public offer (IPO) of its subsidiary, Reliance Power. After deciding to offer shares to retail investors at a 5% discount to the price band of Rs 405-450, the Anil Ambani Group entity intends to provide this investor segment with a “staggered payment” option in this IPO. Accordingly, retail investors need to pay only 25% of the total investment amount at the time of submitting the application and the rest at the time of allotment on first call, a source familiar with the development said.

By availing this option, the investor does not have to lock in the entire amount for which he has applied in the IPO. This means, if a retail investor intends to apply for 100 shares at Rs 450 per share (Rs 427.50 after discount), he would need to pay only Rs 10,687.5 (25% of Rs 42,750 while applying and the rest during allotment, as against the lumpsum of Rs 42,750. This option brings a level playing field for retail investors vis-à-vis qualified institutional buyers(QIBs), who are allowed to bid in an IPO with just 10% margin while submitting the bids in a public issue. Prominent public issues, which enabled the staggered payment options in recent times include ICICI Bank and Reliance Petroleum.

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NEW FUND OFFER FROM BIRLA SUNLIFE - SPECIAL SITUATION FUND

Birla Sun Life Special Situation Fund is the latest offering which will follow an investment strategy that would take advantage of Special Situations and Contrarian investment style. The fund has defined Special Situations as potential gains from merger, acquisition, demerger, restructuring, divesting, buy backs, new funding etc. The fund may also invest in companies that are currently out of favor, overlooked or ignored for poor results, product failures, factor affecting the industry, political interventions, etc. The fund plans to invest 80 percent of the proceeds in equity and the remaining 20 percent in fixed income securities.

Scheme Details
Issue Opens: December 17, 2007
Issue Closes: January 15, 2008
Fund Category: Open-End, Equity Scheme
Benchmark Index: BSE 200
Minimum Investment: Rs. 5000
Entry Load: 2.25 per cent for investment of less than Rs 5 crores
Exit Load: For investment of Rs. 5 crores, an exit load of 0.50 per cent will be charged if the units are redeemed out within six months from the date of allotment.

About the Fund Manager
A. Balasubramaniam is the designated fund manager for the scheme who has a total experience of 15 years in the financial industry and is working with Birla Sun Life AMC for the last 10 years. Prior to joining Birla Sun Life AMC, he was working with GIC Mutual Fund Currently, he is managing Birla Advantage Fund, Birla MNC, Birla Mid Cap, Birla India GenNext, Birla MIP, Birla MIP II Savings 5, Birla MIP II Wealth 25, Birla Sun Life MIP, Birla Balance and Birla Sun Life'95.
Birla Sun Life AMC Birla Sun Life AMC started its operation in the year 1994. Currently they are managing assets worth Rs 31,370 crore. The fund house's 21 equity fund offerings contribute over 26 per cent to its total asset under management. Out of its thirteen rated equity funds, two are rated 1-star, three are rated 2-star, two are rated 3-star, five are rated 4- star while Birla Sun Life Frontline Equity enjoys a 5-star rating.
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Retail investors get discount in Reliance Power IPO

Reliance Power is eyeing a mop up of Rs 10,530-11,700 crore at the lower and upper price band of the mega initial public offering.
The 26-crore equity IPO opens between Jan 15-18 in the price band Rs 405-450 per share of face value Rs 10 each. Retail investors will get a discount of Rs 20 per share on the issue price which will be decided through book building process. However, the public offer is only for 30 per cent of the issue.
The company will not be making a pre-IPO placement, said Anil Ambani, chairman of Reliance Power at a press meet here. The company expects to list by the first week of February, he said. Net issue would constitute 10.1 per cent of the post-issue paid up capital. Outstanding shares post issue will be 226 crore equity shares.

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