Rupee falls further on strong dollar demand

 
Continuing its slide for the sixth straight day, the rupee on Wednesday lost 17 paise to trade at a fresh two-month low of 63.88 in early trade on strong dollar demand from importers amid weak local equities.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the local currency opened lower at 63.88 a dollar from its previous close of 63.71.

Forex dealers said besides sustained demand for the US currency from importers and a lower opening in the domestic equity market also put pressure on the rupee but dollar's weakness against euro in the global markets capped the fall.

The rupee had depreciated by 47 paise to close at 63.71 against the dollar in the previous session. Meanwhile, the BSE benchmark Sensex fell by 53.97 points, or 0.27 per cent, to 20,227.94 in early trade on Wednesday.

Vodafone bets big on India 3G, to invest Rs 7,100 cr

 
Vodafone has drawn up ambitious plans to invest 700 million pound ( about  Rs 7,100 crore) in India during the next 2- 3 years mainly on rolling out 3G networks.

This amount will be in addition to  Rs 4,000- Rs 6,000 crore annual investments the company has been making in recent years, Vodafone India CEO Marten Pieters said on Tuesday.

The investment will be part of the cash- rich British company's Project Spring under which the Vodafone Group will invest 7 billion pound by March 2016, to establish stronger network and service differentiation in major global markets.

"The Indian investment is about 10 per cent of pound 7 billion in the next 2- 3 years. It depends also on what is available. The investment will be above the normal level of investment we would have done so it's like a catch up investment," Pieters said.

Riding on a strong growth in data usage and voice calls, Vodafone India said it has posted 13.5 per cent jump in revenue at  Rs 20,476.3 crore for the first half ( April- September period) of 2012- 13.

The company had logged Rs 17,581.3 crore in revenue during the same period in the last fiscal.

Pieters said, India has become the third largest contributor to the UK- based Vodafone Group's services revenues.

" We are also focused on growing the use of mobile Internet. Our data continues to contribute strongly to business, accounts for 9 per cent of service revenue in Q2, 2013- 14 fiscal," said Pieters.

He said most of the subscribers in India would use  Internet via mobile phones but the company doesn't have 3G spectrum in all the circles.

"We will try to get spectrum in all the circles next year. We count on pending approval for spectrum trading and the fresh 2100 Mhz auction in 2014," he pointed out.

On revenue growth, he said it is driven by hardening of rates, exponential growth in data and good subscriber base. "These, however, were partially offset by the effect of seasonality and regulatory changes," he added.

"The service revenue has grown 13.5 per cent to Rs 18,481 crore during the 6- month period from  Rs 16,282.6 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal, but our data revenue has grown much faster at 76.5 per cent. The data growth has been driven by high smartphones usage, he added.

Vodafone India's operating profit or EBITDA ( earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) improved by 30.6 per cent to  Rs 6,519.1 crore in H1, 2013- 14, compared to  Rs 4,993 crore in the same period of last fiscal.

Pieters said the environment in the country is more positive these days as the regulatory clarity is emerging. However, at the same time he pointed out that that all is still not fine on the regulatory front.

Meanwhile, Vodafone Group chief Vittorio Colao at a meeting in London on Tuesday said the company will only consider an IPO in India once the $ 2- billion tax dispute is resolved.

"We don't have to do it… because we don't need the money. We need to resolve the tax issue first," said Colao.

Colao added that there was " no real change" to discussions on the tax dispute. " We have had talks and continue to have talks. It's complicated and honestly, we have to see where it goes."

Vodafone posted a 13.5% jump in revenue at  Rs 20,476.3 cr for the first half of 2012- 13.

Apple's new retina display iPad Mini hits stores without fanfare

Apple Inc has begun selling its new iPad Mini, the one with its famed retina display feature, without the usual fanfare.

The company usually announces the availability date in advance, allowing loyal customers to line up at stores overnight to be among the first to buy one. This time, Apple quietly issued a news release on its immediate availability.

Supplies also are limited. People had to order them online to pick them up at Apple's retail stores. This suggests the company may be having problems producing enough iPad Minis.

Apple CEO Tim Cook acknowledged during a conference call two weeks ago that "it's unclear whether we will have enough for the quarter or not."

The new Mini is the first version of the smaller iPad to feature the high-resolution display that Apple calls Retina. It also includes a power-efficient A7 chip, along with faster wireless and expanded LTE cellular connectivity.

The new iPad Mini is available in silver or gray. Wi-Fi-only models will start at $399 for a 16-gigabyte gigabyte model while cellular-capable models will start at $529 for the 16-gigabyte model. It's available in the US and several other markets.

Sensex trading flat on IIP, inflation data

 
Extending its losing streak, the BSE benchmark Sensex on Wednesday fell 53 points in early trade on sustained selling by funds after weak cues from CPI and IIP data .

The retail inflation measured in terms of consumer price index (CPI) rose to 10.09 per cent in October, entering double digits after seven months. Meanwhile, industrial production grew by two per cent in September, mainly on account of better performance by power and mining sectors.

The 30-share index fell by 53.97 points, or 0.27 per cent, to 20,227.94 in first five minutes of trading. The Sensex has lost 957.45 points in past six sessions.

 At 10: 42 am, the Sensex was trading 40 points higher at 20,318 points.

Stocks of power, capital goods, metal, consumer durable and banking sectors declined due to profit booking.

Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty fell by 19.90 points, or 0.33 per cent, to 5,998.15.

At 10:42 am, the Nifty was trading 6 points higher at 1024 levels.

Brokers said sustained selling by funds amid weakening trend on other Asian bourses mainly influenced the trading sentiment. In the Asian region, Japan's Nikkei Index was down 0.09 per cent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index shed 1.31 per cent in early trade. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.21 per cent down in Tuesday's  trade.

RCom stock rises on Q2 earnings

 
Reliance Communications on Wednesday rose after the firm reported  over six-fold jump in its net profit at Rs 675 crore for the quarter ended September 30. The company had reported a net profit of Rs 102 crore in the corresponding period last financial year, it said in a statement on Tuesday.

The company said the net profit includes Rs 441 crore from a write back provision.

"The company has, during the quarter, reassessed the requirement of maintaining balance of Rs 441 crore of provision for business restructuring created pursuant to the schemes of amalgamation approved by High Court in financial year 2006-07 and as determined by the board, credited to other income as no longer required," it said.

At 11: 00 am , RCom stock was trading 4.37 per cent higher to Rs 134.80 on the BSE.