Nepal’s Ncell Axiata has revealed it has expanded its LTE network to cover two more cities – Lahan and Dhangadhi.
The operator’s 4G network now spans 21 cities, giving Ncell the widest 4G coverage in the market at more than 15% of the population.
Ncell launched 4G mobile broadband in the 21 cities last week. The company is giving customers the ability to acquire a 4G SIM with the same mobile number for just 1 rupee ($0.0098).
The new SIM will be bundled with 1GB of 4G data valid for three days, as well as a buy 1 get 1 free offer providing the equivalent of double the 4G data for any data packs. The offer will also be bundled with a 30 day subscription to the Yonder Music digital music library.
As well as the two new cities, Ncell’s 4G network covers Nagarkot, Banepa, Dhulikhel, Pokhara, Damauli, Biratnagar, Birtamode, Damak, Dharan, Bharatpur, Hetauda, Birjung, Bhairahawa, Butwal and Nepalgunj, Kolhpur and Birendranagar.
“We are very much delighted to announce introduction of 4G service in Lahan and Dhangadhi, bringing more people into access of new technology based high speed mobile connectivity,” Ncell corporate services director Pranay Acharya said.
“By making the 4G service accessible to more than 15% of population, we have been able to swiftly deliver on what we have committed, contributing towards the goals of National Broadband Policy and Digital Nepal.”
Expansion to other parts of the country is already underway.
Rice prices gained this week in India as Bangladesh continued to lap up the staple grain from its neighbour, while prospects of deals with the Philippines saw rates climb for the first time in three weeks in a relatively quiet Vietnamese market.
In Vietnam, benchmark 5 percent broken rice rose to $400 a ton, free-on-board (FOB) Saigon, ending a three-week flat trend within the $390-$395 range, and boosted by prospects of deals with the Philippines, traders said.
“Prices edged up on market talk that the Philippines would invite tenders to buy 250,000 tonnes at the end of January,” a trader in Ho Chi Minh City said.
However, trading remained thin due to depleted stocks in the world’s third-largest rice exporter, while Vietnam’s major winter-spring crop would be ready only by the end of February, traders said.
Vietnam plans to sell close to a 23 percent stake in the country’s main rice exporter Vinafood II through an initial public offering.
Top exporter India’s 5 percent broken parboiled rice prices rose by about $2 per tonne this week to $423-$427.
Traders from Bangladesh are aggressively buying new-season crop since prices in Bangladesh are still elevated, said an exporter based in Kakinada in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.
India’s rice exports likely jumped 22 percent in 2017 to a record 12.3 million tonnes as Bangladesh ramped up purchases after flooding damaged its crops.
As of the end of December, farmers in India had cultivated winter-sown rice on 1.88 million hectares, 44 percent higher than a year earlier.
Prices were also higher in another major Asian exporter, Thailand, with the country’s benchmark 5 percent broken rice gaining to $395-$410, FOB Bangkok, from $393-$396 last week on an appreciating baht and lower supplies.
The baht has gained 1.6 percent versus the U.S. dollar so far this year and been Asia’s best-performing currency.
“Rice prices have increased due to a stronger baht, lower supplies due to the effects of floods, as well as a recent 200,000-tonne export deal with Indonesia,” a Bangkok-based rice trader said.
The Ministry of Commerce forecast Thailand to export 9.5 million tonnes of rice, worth $4.7 billion, in 2018.
“I think this target is achievable. It’s lower than last year’s record figure of over 11 million tonnes probably due to a stronger Thai baht and bad weather conditions affecting supplies,” said another trader based in Bangkok, adding, “Demand has remained fairly constant.”
Thai prices are likely to be on an upward trend over the next few weeks, traders said.
Demand for physical gold remained lacklustre across top Asian centres this week as buyers were put off by a rally in prices, but an approaching Chinese New Year could reignite appeal for the yellow metal.
Gold prices rose for a third session on Friday to hit their highest since September, with a slump in the U.S. dollar helping drive bullion towards its fifth straight weekly gain.
High prices are weighing on physical demand for gold, but demand is expected to rise ahead of the Chinese New Year, according to Brian Lan, managing director at dealer GoldSilver Central in Singapore.
In top consumer China, the range for premiums broadened to about $5-$8 an ounce from $6-$7 last week.
The Chinese New Year holiday will kick in by the middle of next month.
There is not too much demand currently and if prices come down to the $1,300 level, demand and premiums will increase, said Ronald Leung, chief dealer at Lee Cheong Gold Dealers in Hong Kong.
Premiums of 60-80 cents an ounce were being charged over the benchmark in Singapore this week, while in Hong Kong, premiums ranged between 60 cents and $1.20, against 70 cents previously.
Demand remained subdued in India, the world’s second largest consumer of the metal, as well, since jewellers and retail buyers were postponing purchases due to a rally in local prices to the highest level in 1-1/2 months.
Jewellers need to buy gold for the next month’s jewellery exhibition, but they are postponing purchases due to the price rise, said Mukesh Kothari, director at bullion dealer RiddiSiddhi Bullions in Mumbai.
“They will wait for a week or so for price correction. Then they have to make purchases.”
Local gold prices jumped to 29,550 rupees per 10 grams, the highest level since Nov. 20, 2017.
Dealers in India were offering a discount of up to $2 an ounce this week over official domestic prices, unchanged from last week. The domestic price includes a 10 percent import tax.
Jewellers were keeping a lower inventory as some people are speculating the government will reduce import duty in the budget on Feb. 1, said a Mumbai-based dealer with a private bank.
India’s gold imports surged 67 percent in 2017 from the previous year to 855 tonnes, provisional data from precious metals consultancy GFMS showed.
Meanwhile, in Japan, public selling volumes rose, causing sellers to keep offering discounts of 50 cents, unchanged from the previous week. (Reporting by Nithin Prasad in Bengaluru, editing by David Evans)r
Indian jewellery chain Malabar Gold & Diamonds today added 11 showrooms across six countries to its network.
Taking its retail store count to 208, the showrooms include AMK Hub in Singapore, Ampang Mall in Malaysia and Warangal in Telangana, India. Other showrooms are in malls across the UAE. The brand has 90 showrooms in India, and last year opened 27 showrooms internationally.
As well as another 50 showrooms in different formats internationally, the Malabar Group plans to add more manufacturing units this year, says chairman MP Ahammed. “This will fuel our vision to become the top jewellery retailer in the world.”
The company will expand into new countries such as Brunei, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the US, says Malabar Gold international MD Shamlal Ahammed.
The expansion will generate more employment and enhance such initiatives as the government’s Made In India, says Malabar Gold & Diamonds India MD O Asher. The group has earmarked 5 per cent of its annual profit for CSR activities in five key areas: housing, health, environment, women’s empowerment and education.
Foreign investors will be allowed to own 49 per cent of Air India when it is privatised, opening the path for companies such as Singapore Airlines to take a stake in the country’s flag carrier.
The Indian government announced it would allow foreign companies to take a non-controlling stake in the struggling company as part of long-running plans to sell it off.
The cabinet in New Delhi last year gave its approval for a sale, but ministers have been grappling for the past few months with how exactly to do so.
One of the most politically sensitive decisions has been whether to allow foreign companies to bid for part or all of the airline.
While many officials think it will be difficult for domestic carriers to swallow the company whole given it has $8bn of debt, some politicians are reluctant to see what they view as a prized national asset fall into foreign hands.
Many still talk of the role the airline played in helping to airlift nearly 200,000 Indians from Kuwait before the war in 1990.
A parliamentary panel this week reportedly recommended the government find “an alternative to disinvestment of our national carrier which is our national pride”.
Atul Anjan, national secretary of the Communist Party of India, said of Wednesday’s decision: “Air India is not merely an air carrier, it is our national pride.”
Despite Air India’s status in the country’s national consciousness, it has struggled in recent years to keep up with no-frills domestic airlines and better resourced international ones.
The company has made losses for almost the entire past decade, and received a Rs422bn ($6.6bn) government bailout in 2012.
Government officials are hoping several foreign companies might enter the bidding for the company, but so far only Singapore Airlines has indicated possible interest.
Last week Leslie Thng, chief executive of Vistara — an Indian joint venture between Tata and Singapore Airlines — said the two companies were open to making an offer.
Kapil Kaul, chief executive in South Asia for the Centre for Asia-Pacific Aviation, said: “I would expect a significant interest from foreign airlines, though the offer and conditions attached will determine the level of participation in the bids.
“What’s more, this is a major reform and national economic policy decision — not just limited to aviation. It sends a very important signal to the global investors.”
At the same time, ministers also decided to make it easier for foreign retailers to set up in India, without having to partner with local companies.
The cabinet in New Delhi said foreign investors would no longer require government approval to invest more than 49 per cent in an Indian single-brand retail business.
It did not decide to do the same for retail chains who sell more than one brand, a move that would have allowed major chains such as Walmart and Carrefour, both of which have previously operated in India, to open their own stores.
Indian operator Idea Cellular said Thursday that its board has approved plans to raise up to 67.5 billion rupees ($1.06 billion) in the sale of new shares, in a bid to strengthen its capital position ahead of completing its planned merger with Vodafone India.
The company, which is poised to merge with Vodafone’s India unit to create the country’s biggest mobile carrier, will raise 32.5 billion rupees by selling shares to its controlling shareholder the Aditya Birla Group (ABG) and raise the remaining 35 billion rupees by selling shares to institutional investors or a rights issue, the company said.
As a result, ABG will buy a minimum of 2.5% of the merged entity from Vodafone, or such higher stake as required in order for ABG to ultimately own at least 26% of the merged entity.
The purchase of the 2.5% interest by ABG follows the increase in its ownership in Idea to 47% from 42%, as a result of a fundraising by the Indian carrier.
Under the original merger agreement, ABG is expected to reach a shareholding of 26% in the merged entity.
Vodafone will receive minimum proceeds of 19.6 billion rupees from such sale and its ownership in the combined entity is expected to be approximately 47.5% at the completion of the merger.
The companies said such changes to the capital structure were already contemplated in the scheme of arrangement for the merger. Vodafone’s stake in the combined entity in excess of 45.1% will not be subject to any lock-up.
The merger of Vodafone India with Idea Cellular — the country’s second and third-largest mobile operators, respectively–was announced in March 2017. The proposed deal has already been approved by shareholders and creditors and the Competition Commission of India, but still needs clearance from the Department of Telecom and the National Company Law Tribunal.
The companies expect to complete the merger in the first half of calendar 2018.
Chinese smartphone makers Oppo and Vivo, which together have a 17% share of the market in India, have slashed trade margins by over 40%, leading to a backlash by neighbourhood stores and mobile phone retail chains.
Industry executives said Oppo and Vivo have lost about 10,000 sales outlets each. Both had about 70,000 outlets each in the country before the margin cuts and the number of stores selling their phones may fall further, they said.
Chains including Sangeetha Mobile, Big C, Lot Mobile, Poorvika, Mobiliti World and Hotspot have stopped selling the two brands or reduced focus on them, three senior industry executives said. These chains have a combined network of over 1,300 outlets.
Oppo and Vivo, both founded by Chinese billionaire Duan Yongping, cut the margin offered to large chains to 14-15% from 23-25%, the executives said. They reduced it to 5-6% for standalone stores from 15-16%.
Sangeetha Mobile has stopped selling Oppo and Vivo in Tamil Nadu due to margin issues, managing director Subhash Chandra said. “The two brands have different margins in different states, which is a problem for multi-state retailers,” he said.
There is now no sales push for Oppo and Vivo, the CEO of a leading chain said.
An Oppo India spokesman confirmed the margin changes and the drop in number of outlets. The spokesperson said some stores were no longer able to sell handsets after the goods and services tax was introduced — he did not elaborate. He also said Oppo has changed its strategy to focus on mid- to high-end models and some stores had to be shed when their sales didn’t match expectations.
These adjustments are being done across markets by different smartphone industry players… All these decisions have been taken keeping in mind health of the company. We believe the company will now be healthier and efficient,” he said.
A Vivo India spokesperson said its retail network has not shrunk and the company plans to add outlets this year.
“Last year, we witnessed good response from the market which contributed towards increase in revenue and market share. As per Counterpoint Research, Vivo V7+ commanded 40% share in ?20,000-25,000 segment in November 2017. We plan to further build on the growth momentum this year,” he said.
The two brands have been forced to reduce margins in India because they are under pressure to become profitable, the CEO of a retailer said. “They are replicating the strategy adopted in China of slowing down the high investment after reaching a certain scale. But India is a different market and their share is already coming down,” he said.
Both have drastically scaled down their huge marketing investment in India over the past three months in outdoor, television and print advertising, executives said.
Vivo had a 9% share of India’s smartphone market in the third quarter of 2017 compared with 5% a year earlier, according to Counterpoint Technology Market Research, a Hong Kong-based firm that tracks device shipments. Oppo’s share increased to 8% from 4% during this time, Counterpoint said.
Oppo currently manufactures phones in India through third-party vendors and is setting up its own unit in Greater Noida near New Delhi. Vivo has an assembling unit in Greater Noida with a capacity of 1-million smartphones per month, according to its website.
Vivo India posted a loss of ?111.66 crore in 2016-17, according to regulatory filings, while sales grew six-fold to ?6,173 crore. Oppo’s earnings figure was not available, although its sales surged seven-fold to ?7,974 crore.
Oppo and Vivo were among the fastest-growing smartphone brands in the third quarter of 2017, Counterpoint said.
The industry executives said Oppo and Vivo’s pace of growth and market share will be under stress this year, which will change the pecking order of Chinese brands in the Indian market with Xiaomi and Lenovo-owned Motorola filling the space.
It launched its own portal in India, marking its entry into the e-comm business.
Ford India’s combined domestic wholesales and exports in December recorded 29,795 vehicles, compared to 23,470 vehicles in the same month last year, registering a growth of 27%.
The company sold 5,087 vehicles in domestic wholesales, compared to 5,566 vehicles the corresponding month last year. Exports in December stood at 24,708 vehicles, against 17,904 vehicles a year ago.
Ending the year with sustained growth, the combined domestic wholesales and exports in CY 2017 stood at 262,784 vehicles, compared to 238,098 units in CY 2016 – recording its highest production and wholesale volume ever.
“The year 2017 saw the Indian automotive industry overcome challenges precipitated by the implementation of GST, increased inflation, after-effects of demonetization, rising crude prices and volatile regulatory environment to register growth,” said Anurag Mehrotra, president & managing director, Ford India.
“At Ford, we remain committed to India as one of our most important markets, and are focused on the strategic pillars like strong brand, right products, competitive cost and effective scale, to build a profitable business.”
Ford’s efforts on delivering differentiated customer experience and surprisingly affordable service cost continue to win customers. The introduction of several industry-first service initiatives such as service price promise and parts price promise are enabling Ford customers to know the exact costs of routine repairs, parts, and maintenance, even before they walk into a dealership.
With two of its world-class plants, Ford continues to deliver on the Make in India promise with the commencement of KA+ exports to mature markets like Europe and New Ford EcoSport to North America.
UK food-delivery startup Deliveroo is preparing to launch in India.
Valued at US$2 billion, the company is hiring a country head along with a full team, insiders say, according to The Times of India. It will go head to head with local players like Swiggy and Zomato as well as comparatively new entrant UberEats. Ola has also re-entered the category by acquiring Foodpanda from Delivery Hero.
Founded in 2013 by former investment banker Will Shu, Deliveroo works in 140 cities across 13 countries, including Hong Kong and Singapore.
Handmade World, a leading name in the handmade outdoor furniture and interior décor in India, has tied up with world’s hi-end handwoven furniture brand, Hawaii Thai, to be the sole dealer and distributor for India market. Having received the India market rights for the lifestyle outdoor furniture brand, Handmade World has started looking for channel partners in key markets like Ahmedabad, Pune, Bengaluru, Ludhiana, Chandigarh, etc.
Talking about the new development, Adarsh Mishra, Founder of Handmade World said that it was an achievement of sorts for the company that they have been able to persuade the Thailand-based global brand to partner for India market. “They are masters in handwoven outdoor furniture and acknowledged world over for quality. Hawaii Thai is the only brand which offers five-year complete warranty for outdoor furniture, including the fabric and the colour,” he said. Even in outdoor conditions, even the colour of the fabric doesn’t fade, he added.
When asked about the value that will be bringing to Handmade World’s portfolio in India market, Mishra said, “Hawaii Thai will be a strong partner for us which will drive our outdoor furniture business in India in coming years. It will definitely change the outdoor furniture landscape in India.” The weaving technology they use, the colour combinations they have and offer are far ahead of the competition, he said. “We will now be able to cater to all range and budgets in the market,” he added.
Started seven years ago as a retail outdoor handcrafted furniture brand, Handmade World later expanded into interior décor as well. “99% of our products are handcrafted by artisans and weavers from different parts of the country. We offer materials and get the work done,” he said. Handmade World offers outdoor furniture to both households and institutional customers like hotels, restaurants, corporate offices, etc.
When asked about the latest fad in outdoor furniture which is more towards rustic and recycled, which is also Handmade World’s forte, Mishra said that the trend is yet to pick up momentum in India. “We are yet to develop that taste for rusticness compared to the US or Europe. Lot of modern cafes and bars are following the trend, but it is still a very small market,” he said.
CapitaLand India plans to divest six retail malls and its half-share in CapitaLand Retail Prestige Mall Management, which manages some of the properties.
Singapore-headquartered CapitaLand has entered into definitive agreements to divest:
* Its respective equity interests in six special-purpose vehicles (SPVs), which each hold a retail mall asset in the Indian cities of Bangalore, Mangalore, Hyderabad, Mysore, Cochin and Udaipur to Prestige Retail Ventures; and
* Its 50 per cent equity interest in CapitaLand Retail Prestige Mall Management (CRPMM), which manages the properties in Bangalore, Mangalore and Hyderabad, to Prestige Estates Projects for an aggregate consideration of INR3.4 billion (about S$71.5 million or US$53 million), to be fully satisfied in cash and negotiated on a willing-buyer/willing-seller basis.
When the transaction is completed, probably this quarter, the SPVs and CRPMM will no longer be subsidiaries or associates of CapitaLand.
The SPVs and properties involved are:
Prestige Garden Constructions – The Forum Neighbourhood Mall and Oakwood Residences, Bangalore.
Prestige Mangalore Retail Ventures – The Forum Fiza Mall (pictured), Mangalore.
Babji Realtors – The Forum Sujana Mall, Hyderabad.
Prestige Mysore Retail Ventures – Forum Centre City (FKA Mall), Mysore.
Thomsun Realtors – Forum Cochin Mall, Cochin.
Flicker Projects – The Celebration Mall Udaipur, Udaipur.
The Volkswagen Group plans to invest 1billion euros more in India, several people in the know said, as the world’s largest carmaker seeks to launch a flurry of vehicles and expand capacity to shrug off its underperformance in one of the fastest-growing markets.
The group will spend the money to set up a new manufacturing line at its existing facility at Chakan in Pune, build an engineering centre and develop products, these people said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. Developing electric vehicles is also under consideration, they said.
The German auto major is reworking its India plan after an aborted attempt for a partnership with Tata Motors to make products for emerging markets, where the most crucial factor that sells a vehicle is its affordability. Despite the group being present in India for more than a decade and half, it could garner only a less than 2% market share between the Volkswagen and Skoda brands.
Positioning as a premium brand that sits above the likes of market leaders Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Motor has hurt its performance. The group has now decided to come out with an affordable portfolio on its own for emerging markets, based on the MQB-A0 platform. The new models will be heavily localised to keep the cost low.
Czech unit Skoda Auto is driving this India and emerging market strategy for the group. Skoda chairman Bernhard Maier visited India towards the end of October, followed by a contingent of 40 senior engineers who came to understand the critical issues here before executing the plan. The group has also conducted one-on-one workshops with over a dozen-and-half vendors to put finishing touches to its emerging market strategy, the people said.
The Volkswagen board discussed the progress of the plan on December 19 and is hopeful of finalising a blueprint within a quarter, they said. About half a dozen cars are planned with the new MQB-A0 underpinning, including a hatchback each from Skoda and Volkswagen positioned in the Maruti Baleno and Hyundai Elite segment, a mid-size sedan that will replace the Rapid and Vento, and a B-segment SUV that will be benchmarked against the Volkswagen T Cross to take on the Hyundai Creta. Discussions are currently ongoing on the SUV project, codenamed VW216.
“We believe we are in a good position to tackle new segments in the Indian market now,” Skoda chairman Maier told ET in a statement. “We will invest a substantial amount into the Indian market. We are in the process of ascertaining the total investment,” he said, but declined to get into the specifics. The company is studying volume scenarios of 1,80,000, 2,50,000 and 3,20,000 units for capacity expansion. A chunk of the production will go towards exports.
Till the time the MQB-A0 car project goes fully on stream by 2022-2023, an existing platform is being upgraded to meet requirements in overseas markets.
AirAsia India is offering flight tickets starting below Rs. 1,400 on select routes in a limited-period sale. AirAsia India is offering tickets starting at Rs. 1,399 on flights from Bengaluru to destinations including Goa under a promotional scheme, according to the airline’s website – airasia.com. The AirAsia India offer requires flyers to make advance bookings, which are open till December 31, 2017, the airline noted. The all-inclusive fares offered under the scheme are applicable on travel till June 30, 2018, AirAsia India noted on its website. Flight tickets starting at an all-inclusive Rs. 1,399 are also available on flights from Bengaluru to Hyderabad and Kochi, it noted.
AirAsia India offers on flights come days before New Year 2018, amid high competition in the domestic civil aviation market. Many airlines operating in the domestic market offer discounts around the New Year holiday season to attract passengers during a period marked with high demand, say analysts.
A search on the AirAsia bookings portal on Friday showed tickets for flights from Bengaluru to Goa on January 17 were available for booking at Rs. 1,899.
Uber rival Ola Cabs has merged with food-delivery platform Foodpanda India, taking control from Delivery Hero Group of Germany.
Under the terms of the deal, as well as a handover of shares, Ola has committed to investing US$200 million into Foodpanda’s India business.
With Foodpanda India CEO Saurabh Kochhar having moved on, Ola founding partner Pranay Jivrajka will be interim CEO.
Rocket Internet-backed Delivery Hero last year pulled out of Indonesia after tough competition, while Foodpanda wound up its Vietnam business in 2015 and scaled back in India.
“The partnership with Ola will allow us to further consolidate markets where it strategically makes sense to collaborate with local players,” says Delivery Hero CEO/co-founder Niklas Östberg.
The acquisition comes shortly after Ola raised $1.1 billion in funding from Japanese telco SoftBank Group and Chinese internet giant Tencent.
Nissan Group of India on Tuesday announced a price revision across its Nissan and Datsun range of models.
The prices of the Nissan and Datsun models will rise by up to Rs 15,000 effective 1 January 2018.
Jerome Saigot, managing director, Nissan Motor India, said: “With the rise in input and manufacturing costs, Nissan has decided for a price hike across all the Nissan and Datsun models with effect from 1 January 2018. The revised pricing will help us to optimize our manufacturing efficiencies and continue to serve our customers pan-India.”
Recently, Nissan and Datsun have been ranked among top 6 auto companies in India for customer satisfaction. The Datsun redi-GO has been ranked among the top 3 cars in the entry compact segment by the JD Power 2017 India Initial Quality Study.
