France says Namaste to India — French style. In an effort to bring French culture to more than 18 cities in India, the Embassy of France in India and Culturefrance, have announced the launch of ‘Bonjour India — Festival of France in India’.
The Bangalore chapter of the celebrations was launched in Alliance Francaise, Vasanthnagar by Jerome Bonnafont, the French ambassador to India on Thursday. “The French President and the Prime Minister of India have agreed on a unique partnership between India and France on the issue of global warming and sustainable development. We support it with ‘Bonjour India’ by giving the people an experience of the young, multi-coloured, creative and dynamic France,” said the Ambassador.
The mega festival is an initiative to celebrate Indo-French relationship through a series of exhibitions, music concerts, book launches, film festivals, literary meetings and debates, food festivals, scientific exchanges and other cultural events over a period of three months from December 2009 to February 2010.
The festival is planned in a grand manner in Bangalore, which is identified as a melting pot of world cultures. The Bangalore chapter will be inaugurated officially on December 5 across the city.
The ambassador emphasized the French government’s efforts to encourage Indian students in France by reforming the visa and work system in favour of students. He also said that Bonjour India will help further the process by giving students in India a taste of France.
TRADE IN FRANCE
Throwing light on Indo-French trade possibilities, the French ambassador emphasized that France is keen on building trade relations in India. “We are one of the largest European nations to invest in the IT sector in India. The French company Capgemini that specialises in IT, management consulting, outsourcing and professional services, currently employs around 20,000 people in India,” said Bonnafont.
“France is also looking at investing in other consumer products such as tyre manufacturing by setting up Michelin’s Rs 4,000 crore production facility in Chennai that would provide employment to about 1,500 people. The other key areas that we are looking at are furniture, clothes and apparel that cater to the growing middle-class milieu, who look to have a better lifestyle at competitive pricing. However, heavy duty taxes add to the challenges of growth in these sections,” he added.
Times of India
Showing posts with label 2009. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2009. Show all posts
Friday, November 20, 2009
Over the next 5 years 1,000 German firms may invest in India
Upbeat on the second fastest growing economy in the world, about 1,000 German firms may invest in India in the next five years, the head of Baden-Wurttemberg, regarded as the most successful German state, said today.
"I am sure, in next five years 1,000 more companies from Germany and may be 200 from our state would be interested in investing in India," Guenther H Oettinger, the Minister- President of State of Baden-Wuerttemberg (Germany) said here.
About 1,800 German firms, including Porsche, Siemens, BMW, Voith and Audi have already invested in India which is being seen as the potential German manufacturing hub for the Asian market.
Indian industry and workers match the quality of Europe's and North America's, Oettinger said at the CII meeting.
With over six per cent expansion, the Indian economy is the second fastest growing after China despite global recession.
German Ambassador to India Thomas Matussek also addressed the meeting stating the India-German bilateral trade is expected to touch $27 billion by 2014 from over $18 billion in 2008.
India's major exports to Germany include garments, machinery and instruments, electronic goods and transport equipment, while imports comprises machinery, iron and steel, machine tools and organic chemicals.
Agencies
"I am sure, in next five years 1,000 more companies from Germany and may be 200 from our state would be interested in investing in India," Guenther H Oettinger, the Minister- President of State of Baden-Wuerttemberg (Germany) said here.
About 1,800 German firms, including Porsche, Siemens, BMW, Voith and Audi have already invested in India which is being seen as the potential German manufacturing hub for the Asian market.
Indian industry and workers match the quality of Europe's and North America's, Oettinger said at the CII meeting.
With over six per cent expansion, the Indian economy is the second fastest growing after China despite global recession.
German Ambassador to India Thomas Matussek also addressed the meeting stating the India-German bilateral trade is expected to touch $27 billion by 2014 from over $18 billion in 2008.
India's major exports to Germany include garments, machinery and instruments, electronic goods and transport equipment, while imports comprises machinery, iron and steel, machine tools and organic chemicals.
Agencies
Friday, October 30, 2009
Syntel's Q3 results outshines Wall Street expectations
Syntel's revenue for the third quarter increased one percent to $104.7 million (Rs.506 crore), compared to $103.8 million (Rs.502 crore) in the prior-year period, and increased five percent sequentially from $100.1 million (Rs.484 crore) in the second quarter of 2009.
Sequential revenue improvement was driven by its Applications Outsourcing service offering, and growth was broad-based across all verticals. During the third quarter, Applications Outsourcing accounted for 74 percent of total revenue, with Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO) at 18 percent, e-Business contributing six percent and Team Sourcing at two percent.
The Company's gross margin improved to 49.3 percent in the third quarter, compared to 44.3 percent in the prior-year period (500 bps increase) and 48.2 percent in the second quarter of 2009 (110 bps increase). Selling, General and Administrative (SG&A) expenses were 18.1 percent in the third quarter, compared to 19.1 percent in the prior-year period and 20.8 percent in the previous quarter.
Syntel's income from operations expanded to 31.2 percent in the third quarter as compared to 25.2 percent in the prior-year period (600 bps increase) and 27.4 percent in the second quarter of 2009 (380bps increase).
"Increasing stability in the business environment and a gradual improvement in customer confidence had a positive effect on our top line during the third quarter," said CEO and President Keshav Murugesh. "While our clients remain comfortable in moving forward with cost reduction initiatives, they are now increasingly willing to discuss longer-term business plans and strategic technology investments."
"The strong financial and operating discipline at Syntel has been evident in our financial performance during a very difficult nine month period. We expect that as demand for offshore services improves, costs of doing business in India will increase resulting in margin pressure. Syntel continues to invest in the people, infrastructure and new services necessary to drive long-term sustainable value for all of our key stakeholders."
Based on current visibility levels and an exchange rate assumption of 47.0 rupees to the dollar, the Company is updating 2009 guidance from Revenue of $395Mn (Rs.1,910 crore) to $415Mn (Rs.2,007 crore) and EPS of $2.40 to $2.50 to Revenue of $405Mn (Rs. 1,959 crore) to $408Mn (Rs.1,973 crore) and EPS of $2.60 to $2.65.
Agencies
Sequential revenue improvement was driven by its Applications Outsourcing service offering, and growth was broad-based across all verticals. During the third quarter, Applications Outsourcing accounted for 74 percent of total revenue, with Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO) at 18 percent, e-Business contributing six percent and Team Sourcing at two percent.
The Company's gross margin improved to 49.3 percent in the third quarter, compared to 44.3 percent in the prior-year period (500 bps increase) and 48.2 percent in the second quarter of 2009 (110 bps increase). Selling, General and Administrative (SG&A) expenses were 18.1 percent in the third quarter, compared to 19.1 percent in the prior-year period and 20.8 percent in the previous quarter.
Syntel's income from operations expanded to 31.2 percent in the third quarter as compared to 25.2 percent in the prior-year period (600 bps increase) and 27.4 percent in the second quarter of 2009 (380bps increase).
"Increasing stability in the business environment and a gradual improvement in customer confidence had a positive effect on our top line during the third quarter," said CEO and President Keshav Murugesh. "While our clients remain comfortable in moving forward with cost reduction initiatives, they are now increasingly willing to discuss longer-term business plans and strategic technology investments."
"The strong financial and operating discipline at Syntel has been evident in our financial performance during a very difficult nine month period. We expect that as demand for offshore services improves, costs of doing business in India will increase resulting in margin pressure. Syntel continues to invest in the people, infrastructure and new services necessary to drive long-term sustainable value for all of our key stakeholders."
Based on current visibility levels and an exchange rate assumption of 47.0 rupees to the dollar, the Company is updating 2009 guidance from Revenue of $395Mn (Rs.1,910 crore) to $415Mn (Rs.2,007 crore) and EPS of $2.40 to $2.50 to Revenue of $405Mn (Rs. 1,959 crore) to $408Mn (Rs.1,973 crore) and EPS of $2.60 to $2.65.
Agencies
Friday, August 28, 2009
Harley-Davidson to ride into India in 2009
US motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson is optimistic about a recovery in the US economy but would continue to tread carefully by adopting cost-saving measures, a senior official said on Thursday. Milwaukeebased Harley-Davidson also said it plans to start selling its motorcycles next year in India, the world’s secondlargest market for bikes.
It is betting on a rising middle class population in the world’s second-fastest growing major economy to create a demand for its large and powerful machines. Harley, whose bikes account for half of the motorcycle sales in the United States, has been hurt by a slowdown in its biggest market and last month reported a slump in second-quarter net profit and slashed its 2009 shipment forecast.
Agencies
It is betting on a rising middle class population in the world’s second-fastest growing major economy to create a demand for its large and powerful machines. Harley, whose bikes account for half of the motorcycle sales in the United States, has been hurt by a slowdown in its biggest market and last month reported a slump in second-quarter net profit and slashed its 2009 shipment forecast.
Agencies
Thursday, August 27, 2009
17% drop in the semiconductor revenue in 2009
The global semiconductor revenue is on course to total $212 billion in 2009, which is a 17.1 percent decline from 2008 revenue of $255 billion reveals a report. The report by research and analysis firm Gartner says that the projection is better than the second quarter projections of a 22.4 percent decline, which shows signs of recovery in the market.
Some of the major semiconductor vendors have reported positive second quarter sequential revenue growth. Intel posted 12 percent revenue growth, while Samsung announced its revenue increased by 30 percent and Qualcomm reported a 35.7 percent increase in its mobile chip sales. "The semiconductor market has performed better than expected, as was evident when second quarter semiconductor revenue increased 17 percent in sequential sales," said Bryan Lewis, Research Vice President at Gartner.
The increasing demand for products using semiconductor was the key driver behind the growth in the market. "Consumers reacted strongly to reduced PC and LCD TV pricing as price elasticity was amazing. The industry also benefited from the China stimulus package that worked remarkably well to boost short-term demand. Governments worldwide took action quickly and extensively to avoid a meltdown and it worked," added Lewis.
Though, the outlook for 2009 has improved, Gartner also points out that all major segments of the semiconductor market are expected to report double-digit revenue declines this year. The application-specific standard product (ASSP) - the largest segment in the semiconductor market - will touch $57.2 billion in 2009, a decline of 16.5 percent over last year's revenue. The memory market is predicted to total $41 billion with a 13.5 percent decline and the microcomponents segment is forecasted to reach $39.4 billion in 2009, a 19.2 percent decline from 2008.
According to Lewis, foundries are concerned that demand may drop off more than seasonal in the fourth quarter, and it may carry into first quarter 2010. Gartner's most likely scenario is a negative five percent growth in the first quarter of 2010, as customers take a break and absorb all the devices they purchased over the previous three quarters.
Agencies
Some of the major semiconductor vendors have reported positive second quarter sequential revenue growth. Intel posted 12 percent revenue growth, while Samsung announced its revenue increased by 30 percent and Qualcomm reported a 35.7 percent increase in its mobile chip sales. "The semiconductor market has performed better than expected, as was evident when second quarter semiconductor revenue increased 17 percent in sequential sales," said Bryan Lewis, Research Vice President at Gartner.
The increasing demand for products using semiconductor was the key driver behind the growth in the market. "Consumers reacted strongly to reduced PC and LCD TV pricing as price elasticity was amazing. The industry also benefited from the China stimulus package that worked remarkably well to boost short-term demand. Governments worldwide took action quickly and extensively to avoid a meltdown and it worked," added Lewis.
Though, the outlook for 2009 has improved, Gartner also points out that all major segments of the semiconductor market are expected to report double-digit revenue declines this year. The application-specific standard product (ASSP) - the largest segment in the semiconductor market - will touch $57.2 billion in 2009, a decline of 16.5 percent over last year's revenue. The memory market is predicted to total $41 billion with a 13.5 percent decline and the microcomponents segment is forecasted to reach $39.4 billion in 2009, a 19.2 percent decline from 2008.
According to Lewis, foundries are concerned that demand may drop off more than seasonal in the fourth quarter, and it may carry into first quarter 2010. Gartner's most likely scenario is a negative five percent growth in the first quarter of 2010, as customers take a break and absorb all the devices they purchased over the previous three quarters.
Agencies
Monday, August 24, 2009
No pay for Honeywell employees for 10 days
Honeywell has announced that its employees will have to take a mandatory 10 days off in the month of December-January without pay. Krishna Mikkilineni, President of Honeywell Technology Solutions, conveyed the decision at a public gathering in Bangalore recently, reports a media.
On this matter, a Honeywell Spokesperson said, "Even as Honeywell continues to grow its businesses in India, our employees have agreed to participate in a voluntary and temporary reduced work schedule, in consonance with their colleagues elsewhere."
Honeywell, which makes products like aviation electronics, car turbochargers and temperature control systems for buildings, has been hit badly by the global recession in all of the key businesses it supports - aviation, auto and property. In the second quarter ended June 30, its profit plunged 38 percent and revenue dropped 22 percent.
In the quarterly report, the company said that it did not expect any recovery this year from the recession, as customers were expected to keep holding off on the purchase of Honeywell parts. Sales in the aerospace unit, which makes radar systems and other aviation equipment, dropped 17 percent, to $2.7 billion. The company said that many of its airline customers were choosing to use parts from their own idled planes for repairs rather than buying new parts from the company. One of the few growth areas is military sales, where Honeywell expects a three percent growth in sales. David M. Cote, Chief Executive, Honeywell said, "We are executing very well. Unfortunately, it is a very tough economic environment."
The company has taken a number of cost cutting measures. At least for some employees in the U.S., Friday is now a half-day without pay. In India, where it has 10,000 employees, benefits like cafeteria subsidies and vacation rewards at the end of five years of service with the company have been withdrawn.
SiliconIndia
On this matter, a Honeywell Spokesperson said, "Even as Honeywell continues to grow its businesses in India, our employees have agreed to participate in a voluntary and temporary reduced work schedule, in consonance with their colleagues elsewhere."
Honeywell, which makes products like aviation electronics, car turbochargers and temperature control systems for buildings, has been hit badly by the global recession in all of the key businesses it supports - aviation, auto and property. In the second quarter ended June 30, its profit plunged 38 percent and revenue dropped 22 percent.
In the quarterly report, the company said that it did not expect any recovery this year from the recession, as customers were expected to keep holding off on the purchase of Honeywell parts. Sales in the aerospace unit, which makes radar systems and other aviation equipment, dropped 17 percent, to $2.7 billion. The company said that many of its airline customers were choosing to use parts from their own idled planes for repairs rather than buying new parts from the company. One of the few growth areas is military sales, where Honeywell expects a three percent growth in sales. David M. Cote, Chief Executive, Honeywell said, "We are executing very well. Unfortunately, it is a very tough economic environment."
The company has taken a number of cost cutting measures. At least for some employees in the U.S., Friday is now a half-day without pay. In India, where it has 10,000 employees, benefits like cafeteria subsidies and vacation rewards at the end of five years of service with the company have been withdrawn.
SiliconIndia
Monday, August 17, 2009
Open Source projects dominated by IT vendors
More vendors are getting involved in open source project despite the economic slowdown. Gartner has reported many key findings related to open source in Predicts 2009: The Evolving Open-Source Software Model report. Gartner reports that 50 percent of direct commercial revenue attributed to open-source products or services will come from projects under a single vendor's patronage. Many new projects are being commercialized early in their maturity phases - often by a dot-com startup and before a broad community "network effect" is firmly established. These projects are often under the patronage of a single vendor that employs nearly all key code contributors.
According to Gartner's key findings, driven by expanding mainstream IT adoption, open-source usage profiles are shifting to more-conservative, risk-versus-reward dynamics. As a result, new adopters now place an increasing premium on commercial support channels to establish service-level agreements on par with closed-source alternatives. Gartner recommends that companies should understand the role that a broad and vendor-independent community plays in mature open-source projects. More specifically, keep in mind that intellectual-property warrants and indemnities are strongest when vendors maintain more control over the source code pedigree.
The report also says that through 2011, less than 50 percent of Global 2000 IT organizations would have implemented a formal open-source adoption and management policy as part of an enterprise software asset management strategy. Open Source Software (OSS) has become unavoidable for most IT organizations. Open source is leveraged in virtually all mainstream enterprises. A comprehensive enterprise open-source adoption policy is the most important critical path towards establishing an optimal balance between risk and reward; however, less than 30 percent of IT organizations have such a policy in place.
Agencies
According to Gartner's key findings, driven by expanding mainstream IT adoption, open-source usage profiles are shifting to more-conservative, risk-versus-reward dynamics. As a result, new adopters now place an increasing premium on commercial support channels to establish service-level agreements on par with closed-source alternatives. Gartner recommends that companies should understand the role that a broad and vendor-independent community plays in mature open-source projects. More specifically, keep in mind that intellectual-property warrants and indemnities are strongest when vendors maintain more control over the source code pedigree.
The report also says that through 2011, less than 50 percent of Global 2000 IT organizations would have implemented a formal open-source adoption and management policy as part of an enterprise software asset management strategy. Open Source Software (OSS) has become unavoidable for most IT organizations. Open source is leveraged in virtually all mainstream enterprises. A comprehensive enterprise open-source adoption policy is the most important critical path towards establishing an optimal balance between risk and reward; however, less than 30 percent of IT organizations have such a policy in place.
Agencies
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Will FII investment touch $2 billion-mark in 2009?
Investment by Foreign Institutional Investors in Indian equities has touched the two billion dollar-mark (nearly Rs 10,000 crore) so far this year, which includes a record single day net purchase of Rs 4,085 crore.
According to the latest available data on SEBI website, FIIs made net purchases worth $2 two billion or about Rs 9,973 crore so far in 2009, with the stock market seeing major investments in the past two weeks.
"FIIs have been in the buying mode for the last couple of months and after their initial sell-off in early 2009, have turned net buyers of Indian equities year-to-date. Positive trend is likely to continue well into FY'10," Angel Broking Head of Research Hitesh Agrawal said.
Yesterday, FIIs put in as much as Rs 4,085 crore ($838 million) in a single day with an over Rs 2,000 crore investment in shares of realty firms DLF alone.
Since the beginning of the new fiscal year, FIIs have started putting money in domestic stocks, including blue-chips like Housing Development Finance Corporation, private sector lender HDFC Bank and realty major DLF.
In May alone, FIIs made gross purchases of equities worth Rs 27,872 crore and sold shares of Rs 18,255 crore, resulting in a net investment of Rs 9,616 crore ($1.93 billion), as per the data available with SEBI.
Three foreign fund houses, Deutsche Securities Mauritius, Euro Pacific Growth Fund and Copthall Mauritius had purchased a total 9.15 crore shares representing 5.39 per cent in DLF for Rs 2,106.1 crore in open market transactions yesterday.
"We believe the positive trend will continue well into FY 2010. Notably, after having reduced their stake in many blue-chip companies in FY 2009 on account of the global liquidity shortage and economic slowdown concerns, FIIs are now coming back into market," Agrawal added.
The previous week also recorded the biggest weekly infusion by FIIs in the current calendar year. With a bulk investment of Rs 1,491 crore in a single day, FIIs remained net buyers in equities in the remaining days.
FIIs have turned net buyers from last week of April, after pulling out a hefty Rs 52,987 crore from Indian stock markets in 2008, which saw Sensex plunging 51 per cent.
Earlier, two Foreign fund houses Capital Group and Sansar Capital Mauritius bought HDFC shares worth Rs 316 crore, while Deutsche Securities bought Rs 422 crore shares of HDFC Bank.
Agrawal said if no further bad news comes, the world wide the markets would revive by 2010 if FII buying spree continues.
"Pre-empting this, FIIs will look at increasing their stakes in firms that are best placed to ride the recovery and large-cap stocks are preferred ones to begin with," he added.
Agencies
According to the latest available data on SEBI website, FIIs made net purchases worth $2 two billion or about Rs 9,973 crore so far in 2009, with the stock market seeing major investments in the past two weeks.
"FIIs have been in the buying mode for the last couple of months and after their initial sell-off in early 2009, have turned net buyers of Indian equities year-to-date. Positive trend is likely to continue well into FY'10," Angel Broking Head of Research Hitesh Agrawal said.
Yesterday, FIIs put in as much as Rs 4,085 crore ($838 million) in a single day with an over Rs 2,000 crore investment in shares of realty firms DLF alone.
Since the beginning of the new fiscal year, FIIs have started putting money in domestic stocks, including blue-chips like Housing Development Finance Corporation, private sector lender HDFC Bank and realty major DLF.
In May alone, FIIs made gross purchases of equities worth Rs 27,872 crore and sold shares of Rs 18,255 crore, resulting in a net investment of Rs 9,616 crore ($1.93 billion), as per the data available with SEBI.
Three foreign fund houses, Deutsche Securities Mauritius, Euro Pacific Growth Fund and Copthall Mauritius had purchased a total 9.15 crore shares representing 5.39 per cent in DLF for Rs 2,106.1 crore in open market transactions yesterday.
"We believe the positive trend will continue well into FY 2010. Notably, after having reduced their stake in many blue-chip companies in FY 2009 on account of the global liquidity shortage and economic slowdown concerns, FIIs are now coming back into market," Agrawal added.
The previous week also recorded the biggest weekly infusion by FIIs in the current calendar year. With a bulk investment of Rs 1,491 crore in a single day, FIIs remained net buyers in equities in the remaining days.
FIIs have turned net buyers from last week of April, after pulling out a hefty Rs 52,987 crore from Indian stock markets in 2008, which saw Sensex plunging 51 per cent.
Earlier, two Foreign fund houses Capital Group and Sansar Capital Mauritius bought HDFC shares worth Rs 316 crore, while Deutsche Securities bought Rs 422 crore shares of HDFC Bank.
Agrawal said if no further bad news comes, the world wide the markets would revive by 2010 if FII buying spree continues.
"Pre-empting this, FIIs will look at increasing their stakes in firms that are best placed to ride the recovery and large-cap stocks are preferred ones to begin with," he added.
Agencies
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Has Wipro axed 33 employees across centres?
IT companies HR teams too have not been left untouched by pink slips. According to a web report, Wipro has given marching orders to a as many as 33 of its employees who formed the part of the company's candidate relationship management team.
The team was specifically responsible for talent acquisition. However, with a hiring freeze across centres, these recruiters had little to do.
The report quotes an employee who on the condition of anonymity said that they were told on March 17 that they have only thirteen days left in the organisation. By March 30, all the team members were relieved from service and the team was dissolved. According to him, none of them were given notice.
Earlier in February, the company said it would honour the job offers it made to 8,000 freshers, though there is a possibility of this spilling over to next year.
Agencies
The team was specifically responsible for talent acquisition. However, with a hiring freeze across centres, these recruiters had little to do.
The report quotes an employee who on the condition of anonymity said that they were told on March 17 that they have only thirteen days left in the organisation. By March 30, all the team members were relieved from service and the team was dissolved. According to him, none of them were given notice.
Earlier in February, the company said it would honour the job offers it made to 8,000 freshers, though there is a possibility of this spilling over to next year.
Agencies
Enterprise mobility solutions for Indian market
Sybase, a leading provider of enterprise infrastructure and mobile software, on Wednesday announced the release of its broad portfolio of industry-leading enterprise mobility offerings in the country.
The company also announced a new version of iAnywhere Mobile Office with expanded iPhone support and availability on the iPhone App Store.
"There is an increasing demand from customers and partners in India for a complete, tightly integrated platform that provides true enterprise value by mobilising business processes and applications. Our offerings are designed to help them unleash the power of information from the data center right to the mobile edge anywhere, at any time," Sybase India and sub-continent's Managing Director, Sunil Jose, told reporters here.
The new release will strengthen the companys existing enterprise mobility portfolio in field-force automation, email and application mobilization, the company said in a statement.
Enterprise mobility is expected to find dramatic levels of adoption in 2009, following companies focusing on it significantly in 2008 as a tool to optimise operational cost and efficiency in the context of the economic downturn, the statement said.
Agencies
The company also announced a new version of iAnywhere Mobile Office with expanded iPhone support and availability on the iPhone App Store.
"There is an increasing demand from customers and partners in India for a complete, tightly integrated platform that provides true enterprise value by mobilising business processes and applications. Our offerings are designed to help them unleash the power of information from the data center right to the mobile edge anywhere, at any time," Sybase India and sub-continent's Managing Director, Sunil Jose, told reporters here.
The new release will strengthen the companys existing enterprise mobility portfolio in field-force automation, email and application mobilization, the company said in a statement.
Enterprise mobility is expected to find dramatic levels of adoption in 2009, following companies focusing on it significantly in 2008 as a tool to optimise operational cost and efficiency in the context of the economic downturn, the statement said.
Agencies
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Suspected money laundering made record in 2008:Swiss govt
Switzerland, on the 'grey list' of tax havens, saw a surge in suspected activities related to money laundering in 2008, with assets worth Switzerland an all-time high $ 1.65 billion involved in them.
After the world's top 20 economies resolved to crack down on tax havens worldwide at a meeting here last week, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) named Switzerland among countries not having substantially implemented international tax standards.
This classification put Switzerland on the 'grey list' of tax havens, but Switzerland reacted sharply to such descriptions and said it was not actually a 'tax haven'.
However, the Swiss Federal Department of Justice and Police (FDJP) has said in a report that the number of Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) in connection with money laundering jumped from 795 in 2007 to 851 last year.
This included nine related to suspected terror financing and involved assets worth over one million Swiss francs ($ 884,600).
"The increase was due mainly to the greater volume of reports from the banking sector, which reached a new record high. The total value of assets involved doubled to reach an all-time high of CHF 1.87 billion Swiss francs ($ 1.65 bn)," the FDJP said in a statement.
In 2008, the Money Laundering Reporting Office Switzerland (MROS) received 851 SARs, with nearly 67 per cent of them coming from the banking sector. Among them, most were related to investment fraud.
The statement noted that third on the list of offences was bribery related to individual corruption, which, due to their complexity involving numerous businesses, generated several SARs.
"Although the acts of corruption took place abroad, the suspected bribe money was deposited in Switzerland," it added.
Interestingly, Opposition parties in India have said that assets worth about $ 1.5 trillion are stashed away in Swiss banks by Indian citizens.
The FDJP said that in the CHF 1.87 billion, three SARs totalling CHF 700 million ($ 620.5 million) are involved. Among them, two cases involved fraud while the other one was related to corruption.
This included a single report involving an asset value of 942,000 Swiss francs ($ 834,999) and the case was forwarded to the appropriate prosecuting authority, which subsequently dismissed the case.
"None of the incoming SARs relating to terrorist financing was based on the State Secretariat for Economic Affair's so-called Taliban Regulations.
"All but one SAR with an unclear economic background were based on information received from third parties (press reports, information from third persons or prosecuting authorities) indicating possible terrorist involvement.
"After careful scrutiny, MROS forwarded seven of the nine SARs to the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland, which has in the meantime dismissed or suspended three of the cases. Four cases are pending," the statement noted.
Agencies
After the world's top 20 economies resolved to crack down on tax havens worldwide at a meeting here last week, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) named Switzerland among countries not having substantially implemented international tax standards.
This classification put Switzerland on the 'grey list' of tax havens, but Switzerland reacted sharply to such descriptions and said it was not actually a 'tax haven'.
However, the Swiss Federal Department of Justice and Police (FDJP) has said in a report that the number of Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) in connection with money laundering jumped from 795 in 2007 to 851 last year.
This included nine related to suspected terror financing and involved assets worth over one million Swiss francs ($ 884,600).
"The increase was due mainly to the greater volume of reports from the banking sector, which reached a new record high. The total value of assets involved doubled to reach an all-time high of CHF 1.87 billion Swiss francs ($ 1.65 bn)," the FDJP said in a statement.
In 2008, the Money Laundering Reporting Office Switzerland (MROS) received 851 SARs, with nearly 67 per cent of them coming from the banking sector. Among them, most were related to investment fraud.
The statement noted that third on the list of offences was bribery related to individual corruption, which, due to their complexity involving numerous businesses, generated several SARs.
"Although the acts of corruption took place abroad, the suspected bribe money was deposited in Switzerland," it added.
Interestingly, Opposition parties in India have said that assets worth about $ 1.5 trillion are stashed away in Swiss banks by Indian citizens.
The FDJP said that in the CHF 1.87 billion, three SARs totalling CHF 700 million ($ 620.5 million) are involved. Among them, two cases involved fraud while the other one was related to corruption.
This included a single report involving an asset value of 942,000 Swiss francs ($ 834,999) and the case was forwarded to the appropriate prosecuting authority, which subsequently dismissed the case.
"None of the incoming SARs relating to terrorist financing was based on the State Secretariat for Economic Affair's so-called Taliban Regulations.
"All but one SAR with an unclear economic background were based on information received from third parties (press reports, information from third persons or prosecuting authorities) indicating possible terrorist involvement.
"After careful scrutiny, MROS forwarded seven of the nine SARs to the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland, which has in the meantime dismissed or suspended three of the cases. Four cases are pending," the statement noted.
Agencies
Saturday, April 4, 2009
British insurer Aviva will layoff 1,690 jobs
British insurance giant Aviva said on Thursday it would cut 1,100 permanent jobs and 590 contract positions by the end of 2009 -- the latest British financial group to axe jobs amid the economic crisis.
"There is expected to be a reduction of 1,100 permanent roles by the end of 2009," Aviva said in a statement.
"In addition, 590 contract positions will be closed over the next few months," it added.
The leader of Britain's biggest union, Unite, said the announcement to shed 1,100 permanent roles "will cause alarm across the insurance industry."
"It is unacceptable that once again shareholders received their full dividends while the workers who brought the company this success are rewarded with job losses," said Unite boss Derek Simpson.
"The Aviva workforce is continuing to live under constant uncertainty about their future," he added.
Agencies
"There is expected to be a reduction of 1,100 permanent roles by the end of 2009," Aviva said in a statement.
"In addition, 590 contract positions will be closed over the next few months," it added.
The leader of Britain's biggest union, Unite, said the announcement to shed 1,100 permanent roles "will cause alarm across the insurance industry."
"It is unacceptable that once again shareholders received their full dividends while the workers who brought the company this success are rewarded with job losses," said Unite boss Derek Simpson.
"The Aviva workforce is continuing to live under constant uncertainty about their future," he added.
Agencies
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Global IT spending to drop by 3.8% in 2009, says Gatner
The ongoing global slowdown will force companies worldwide to reduce their IT expenditure to USD 3.2 trillion this year against $ 3.4 trn in 2008, according to an IT research company.
"The unprecendented decline of the global economy is impacting the IT industry with worldwide IT spending forecast to total $ 3.4 trn in 2009, a 3.8 per cent decline from 2008 revenue of nearly $ 3.4 trn," IT research and advisory company Gartner said in a report.
Gartner said that all four of the key market sectors of the IT industry-- hardware, software, IT services and telecommunications have been revised downward, with only software spending growth remaining positive.
"Spending in computing hardware
will see a decline of 14.9 per cent with total spending to be around USD 324.3 billion as against $ 3.4 trn in 2008," Gartner said.
The spending in IT services and telecommunications sectors will also fall by 1.7 per cent at USD 796.1 billion and 2.9 per cent at USD 1,891.2 billion, respectively, the report said.
Agencies
"The unprecendented decline of the global economy is impacting the IT industry with worldwide IT spending forecast to total $ 3.4 trn in 2009, a 3.8 per cent decline from 2008 revenue of nearly $ 3.4 trn," IT research and advisory company Gartner said in a report.
Gartner said that all four of the key market sectors of the IT industry-- hardware, software, IT services and telecommunications have been revised downward, with only software spending growth remaining positive.
"Spending in computing hardware
will see a decline of 14.9 per cent with total spending to be around USD 324.3 billion as against $ 3.4 trn in 2008," Gartner said.
The spending in IT services and telecommunications sectors will also fall by 1.7 per cent at USD 796.1 billion and 2.9 per cent at USD 1,891.2 billion, respectively, the report said.
Agencies
Monday, March 30, 2009
From April 1 withdraw cash with no extra charge from any bank across India
Beginning April 1, one can walk into the ATM of any bank and withdraw cash or check the balance, at no extra charge.
This is when the Reserve Bank of India’s guidelines, allowing free access to ATMs, become effective.
It was feared that the move may prompt banks to go slow on ATM expansion, in view of the fee from customers disappearing. But this does not seem to be the case, as most banks plan to continue with their ATM expansion.
This is because, the interchange fee, which is paid between banks, will continue. So, the RBI move could prove to be advantageous for banks with large ATM networks. They could earn more fee income, as more customers access their ATMs. The interchange fee is broadly between Rs 15 and 20 per transaction.
Sanjeev Patel, Head, Direct Banking Channels, HDFC Bank, said the bank, which has about 3,500 ATMs, is not planning to go slow on ATM expansion. “We are a big acquirer. We have a large distribution network and this will benefit us. It is unlikely that my customer will move out. Other banks’ customers will come to us,” he said.
Hemant Kaul, Executive Director, Retail Banking, Axis Bank, said that the beneficiaries of the RBI guidelines would be large banks who have invested money in setting up their own ATMs. The number of ATM transactions per debit card would also register an increase, he added.
Axis Bank, which added close to 400 ATMs this quarter, will have a network of around 3,600 by this fiscal.
For both HDFC Bank and Axis Bank, around 15 per cent of ATM transactions are from customers of other banks.
Banks could see some downward pressure on the network charge, due to the disappearance of the Rs 20 fee charged from customers. But as the interchange fee will continue, a small bank with a smaller ATM network will see more impact.
“Banks that tried to save capital cost by going slow on their ATM expansion would now have to pay for it, as from April 1, customers would not think twice before using another bank’s ATM and their banks would have to pay for it,” said a banking analyst.
Union Bank of India is one of the few banks that already allows its customers to use ATMs of other banks free of cost.
The bank will continue with its own ATM expansion, said M.V. Nair, Chairman and Managing Director.
The bank opened 500 branches and set up 500 ATMs this year. It has set the same target for next year as well.
According to Nair, the decision to expand ATMs will depend on the individual bank. But the RBI move could also give rise to alternative methods of proliferation of ATMs. “I see the distinct possibility of white labelled ATMs, which are present worldwide, catching on in India. The Payment Corporation of India could be the right vehicle to implement this,” he said.
YES Bank also offers its customers free access to ATMs of other banks.
The bank had, in a sense, implemented the RBI move four years ago, when it began operations, as it wanted to increase its retail customer base, said Suresh Sethi, President, Transaction Banking Group.
“We don’t see any change in our core banking operations as our customers already enjoy free ATM use. ATM expansion is critical to improving the visibility of the bank and building its image. Our expansion strategy will be guided by that,” he said.
Source : Business Line
This is when the Reserve Bank of India’s guidelines, allowing free access to ATMs, become effective.
It was feared that the move may prompt banks to go slow on ATM expansion, in view of the fee from customers disappearing. But this does not seem to be the case, as most banks plan to continue with their ATM expansion.
This is because, the interchange fee, which is paid between banks, will continue. So, the RBI move could prove to be advantageous for banks with large ATM networks. They could earn more fee income, as more customers access their ATMs. The interchange fee is broadly between Rs 15 and 20 per transaction.
Sanjeev Patel, Head, Direct Banking Channels, HDFC Bank, said the bank, which has about 3,500 ATMs, is not planning to go slow on ATM expansion. “We are a big acquirer. We have a large distribution network and this will benefit us. It is unlikely that my customer will move out. Other banks’ customers will come to us,” he said.
Hemant Kaul, Executive Director, Retail Banking, Axis Bank, said that the beneficiaries of the RBI guidelines would be large banks who have invested money in setting up their own ATMs. The number of ATM transactions per debit card would also register an increase, he added.
Axis Bank, which added close to 400 ATMs this quarter, will have a network of around 3,600 by this fiscal.
For both HDFC Bank and Axis Bank, around 15 per cent of ATM transactions are from customers of other banks.
Banks could see some downward pressure on the network charge, due to the disappearance of the Rs 20 fee charged from customers. But as the interchange fee will continue, a small bank with a smaller ATM network will see more impact.
“Banks that tried to save capital cost by going slow on their ATM expansion would now have to pay for it, as from April 1, customers would not think twice before using another bank’s ATM and their banks would have to pay for it,” said a banking analyst.
Union Bank of India is one of the few banks that already allows its customers to use ATMs of other banks free of cost.
The bank will continue with its own ATM expansion, said M.V. Nair, Chairman and Managing Director.
The bank opened 500 branches and set up 500 ATMs this year. It has set the same target for next year as well.
According to Nair, the decision to expand ATMs will depend on the individual bank. But the RBI move could also give rise to alternative methods of proliferation of ATMs. “I see the distinct possibility of white labelled ATMs, which are present worldwide, catching on in India. The Payment Corporation of India could be the right vehicle to implement this,” he said.
YES Bank also offers its customers free access to ATMs of other banks.
The bank had, in a sense, implemented the RBI move four years ago, when it began operations, as it wanted to increase its retail customer base, said Suresh Sethi, President, Transaction Banking Group.
“We don’t see any change in our core banking operations as our customers already enjoy free ATM use. ATM expansion is critical to improving the visibility of the bank and building its image. Our expansion strategy will be guided by that,” he said.
Source : Business Line
Sunday, March 29, 2009
About 26,000 jobs lost in Malaysia due to global crisis
More than 26,000 people have lost their jobs in Malaysia so far this year as the economic slowdown forced employers to cut back, state news agency Bernama reported Sunday.
Malaysian Employers Federation executive director Shamsuddin Bardan told Bernama he expected further job losses in the coming weeks.
He said a 16.2 billion dollar stimulus package unveiled earlier this month had not provided immediate incentive for companies to retain their workers.
The government has slashed its work permit approvals for foreign workers by almost 70 percent so far this year and cancelled work visas for 55,000 Bangladeshi workers after unions said the situation for Malaysians was bleak enough.
In January, the government also banned the hiring of new foreigners in the manufacturing and services sectors after a report forecast 45,000 Malaysians would lose their jobs in the next few months.
Malaysia is one of Asia's largest importers of labour and has an estimated 2.2 million foreign workers, who are the mainstay of the plantation and manufacturing sectors.
However, the government has become concerned about the ramifications of having such a large migrant workforce and periodically tries to reduce it.
Agencies
Malaysian Employers Federation executive director Shamsuddin Bardan told Bernama he expected further job losses in the coming weeks.
He said a 16.2 billion dollar stimulus package unveiled earlier this month had not provided immediate incentive for companies to retain their workers.
The government has slashed its work permit approvals for foreign workers by almost 70 percent so far this year and cancelled work visas for 55,000 Bangladeshi workers after unions said the situation for Malaysians was bleak enough.
In January, the government also banned the hiring of new foreigners in the manufacturing and services sectors after a report forecast 45,000 Malaysians would lose their jobs in the next few months.
Malaysia is one of Asia's largest importers of labour and has an estimated 2.2 million foreign workers, who are the mainstay of the plantation and manufacturing sectors.
However, the government has become concerned about the ramifications of having such a large migrant workforce and periodically tries to reduce it.
Agencies
Are new technologies rescuing Web start-ups?
Web entrepreneurs are increasingly embracing new technologies from "cloud" computing to new computer languages to try and slash costs as investors disappear because of recession.
Investors and entrepreneurs say cloud computing, new and free programming languages, open-source software, and use of the Internet to distribute and publicize products have made starting a company relatively inexpensive and will allow startups to ride out the credit crunch and recession.
"What you're talking about is life or death," said Drew Clark, director of strategy for IBM's venture capital group, speaking to media on the sidelines of a business conference.
Venture capital investment dived 71 percent in January and is not expected to rebound for much of 2009.
"For the best of these companies, this could be the difference. If this had happened three years ago, they'd be gone," Clark said, adding that IBM advocates open source.
One much talked-about innovation is cloud computing using the Web to access programs and data at remote computer centers. That makes costly, long-term capital expenditure and storage unnecessary.
Persistent concerns about the security of data stored on remote servers and the dependability of external systems are offset by its economic advantages, entrepreneurs say.
"In 2005 we needed 10 to 20 times the money we need today. There was a certain amount that entrepreneurial intelligence couldn't get around. Somehow you had to pay that piper," said James Siminoff, chief executive of Grid.com and Simulscribe, which changes phone messages into text.
One hour and $50
A decade ago, Michael Eisenberg, a general partner with Benchmark Capital in Israel, recalls he had to pay $10,000 each for Sun Microsystems servers.
"Today if I want to start up, it takes me one hour and $50 and I can turn on my capacity from Amazon Web Services from anywhere in the world," Eisenberg said.
Some fledgling companies like Delve Networks are capitalizing on that trend, charging clients over $250 a month to host video on their websites. Delve itself owns little more than the personal computers used by its 20 employees.
Time is critical for start-ups because they burn cash every day. Hence the rise of streamlined programming languages such as this year's hit, Ruby.
Ruby is a free, open-source language that Siminoff's chief technology officer, Mark Dillon, said is so concise he can do in three lines of machine code what it took him 25 lines in Java, an older language. That speeds up program revisions.
Corporations have turned to offering free, open source software -- a boon for cash-strapped start-ups. Sun Microsystems, IBM and others give away software to attract developers and gain contracts.
Finally, Internet marketing allows start-ups to publicize their wares at a fraction the cost of more traditional marketing or advertising campaigns.
"There are all these social conventions about companies that assume they are very big expensive things," said Silicon Valley start-up guru Paul Graham, whose "Y Combinator" invests $10,000 to $20,000 into quick, ultra-cheap startups. "It's just not true anymore."
Agencies
Investors and entrepreneurs say cloud computing, new and free programming languages, open-source software, and use of the Internet to distribute and publicize products have made starting a company relatively inexpensive and will allow startups to ride out the credit crunch and recession.
"What you're talking about is life or death," said Drew Clark, director of strategy for IBM's venture capital group, speaking to media on the sidelines of a business conference.
Venture capital investment dived 71 percent in January and is not expected to rebound for much of 2009.
"For the best of these companies, this could be the difference. If this had happened three years ago, they'd be gone," Clark said, adding that IBM advocates open source.
One much talked-about innovation is cloud computing using the Web to access programs and data at remote computer centers. That makes costly, long-term capital expenditure and storage unnecessary.
Persistent concerns about the security of data stored on remote servers and the dependability of external systems are offset by its economic advantages, entrepreneurs say.
"In 2005 we needed 10 to 20 times the money we need today. There was a certain amount that entrepreneurial intelligence couldn't get around. Somehow you had to pay that piper," said James Siminoff, chief executive of Grid.com and Simulscribe, which changes phone messages into text.
One hour and $50
A decade ago, Michael Eisenberg, a general partner with Benchmark Capital in Israel, recalls he had to pay $10,000 each for Sun Microsystems servers.
"Today if I want to start up, it takes me one hour and $50 and I can turn on my capacity from Amazon Web Services from anywhere in the world," Eisenberg said.
Some fledgling companies like Delve Networks are capitalizing on that trend, charging clients over $250 a month to host video on their websites. Delve itself owns little more than the personal computers used by its 20 employees.
Time is critical for start-ups because they burn cash every day. Hence the rise of streamlined programming languages such as this year's hit, Ruby.
Ruby is a free, open-source language that Siminoff's chief technology officer, Mark Dillon, said is so concise he can do in three lines of machine code what it took him 25 lines in Java, an older language. That speeds up program revisions.
Corporations have turned to offering free, open source software -- a boon for cash-strapped start-ups. Sun Microsystems, IBM and others give away software to attract developers and gain contracts.
Finally, Internet marketing allows start-ups to publicize their wares at a fraction the cost of more traditional marketing or advertising campaigns.
"There are all these social conventions about companies that assume they are very big expensive things," said Silicon Valley start-up guru Paul Graham, whose "Y Combinator" invests $10,000 to $20,000 into quick, ultra-cheap startups. "It's just not true anymore."
Agencies
Over 121,000 Filipinos' jobs axed amid global recession
Over 121,000 Filipino workers have either lost their jobs or suffered pay cuts or reduced work loads because of the economic crisis, a government official said Sunday.
Between October last year and mid-March, 11,574 permanently lost their jobs and 38,806 others were temporarily laid off by Philippines-based companies, Labour Undersecretary Rosalinda Baldoz told an economic forum in this industrial enclave north of Manila.
A total of 59,149 others were placed on flexible work arrangements, she added.
Meanwhile, 12,000 out of the 8.5 million-strong Filipino work force abroad had lost their jobs, mostly in Taiwan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to Baldoz.
Last week the government said electronics firms based in the Philippines began giving their remaining workers half-pay or 150 pesos (3.11 dollars) a day in a bid to keep them employed until demand picks up again.
The labour undersecretary said the electronics sector was the worst hit with almost half the total work force affected.
The crisis has also hit about 10 per cent of employees in the automotive, garments, mining, property, services, and woodworking industries, she added.
She went on to say the government expects the crisis to bottom out over the next few months as just 397 workers a day were losing their jobs in mid-March compared to 437 at the start of the month.
"Before the first semester ends, we could say that the worst is over," she said.
"In the next five months, workers' displacements will continue but we expect it to be on a slower pace and only in the export manufacturing sector."
Agencies
Between October last year and mid-March, 11,574 permanently lost their jobs and 38,806 others were temporarily laid off by Philippines-based companies, Labour Undersecretary Rosalinda Baldoz told an economic forum in this industrial enclave north of Manila.
A total of 59,149 others were placed on flexible work arrangements, she added.
Meanwhile, 12,000 out of the 8.5 million-strong Filipino work force abroad had lost their jobs, mostly in Taiwan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to Baldoz.
Last week the government said electronics firms based in the Philippines began giving their remaining workers half-pay or 150 pesos (3.11 dollars) a day in a bid to keep them employed until demand picks up again.
The labour undersecretary said the electronics sector was the worst hit with almost half the total work force affected.
The crisis has also hit about 10 per cent of employees in the automotive, garments, mining, property, services, and woodworking industries, she added.
She went on to say the government expects the crisis to bottom out over the next few months as just 397 workers a day were losing their jobs in mid-March compared to 437 at the start of the month.
"Before the first semester ends, we could say that the worst is over," she said.
"In the next five months, workers' displacements will continue but we expect it to be on a slower pace and only in the export manufacturing sector."
Agencies
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Deadly PC virus -- Conficker C -- to strike on April 1
A security expert has cautioned that an Internet worm, called Conficker C, can strike at infected computers around the world on April 1.
Conficker C is a sophisticated piece of malicious computer software, or malware, that installs itself on a PC hard drive via specially written web pages and then conceals itself on a computer.
Graham Cluley, of the security specialist Sophos, has claimed that Conficker C is programmed "to hunt for new instructions on April 1".
However, "this does not mean that anything is going to happen, or that the worm is actually going to do anything. Simply, it is scheduled to hunt a wider range of websites for instructions on that date," The Times quoted him as saying.
And the biggest catch is that no one yet has any idea what exactly Conficker C is programmed to do.
In February, Cluley said, "It's as if someone is assembling an army of computers around the world, but hasn't yet decided where to point them."
Experts are fearing that on April 1 all the world's millions of infected computers may receive simultaneous instructions to attack, or to flood the Internet with spam email.
Ed Gibson, Microsoft's chief security adviser for the UK, was quite hesitant to make predictions about Conficker's behaviour.
"April 1 is a classic date for anything like this to go off. But I really would hate to say that April 1 is going to be unlike any other day," he said.
Agencies
Conficker C is a sophisticated piece of malicious computer software, or malware, that installs itself on a PC hard drive via specially written web pages and then conceals itself on a computer.
Graham Cluley, of the security specialist Sophos, has claimed that Conficker C is programmed "to hunt for new instructions on April 1".
However, "this does not mean that anything is going to happen, or that the worm is actually going to do anything. Simply, it is scheduled to hunt a wider range of websites for instructions on that date," The Times quoted him as saying.
And the biggest catch is that no one yet has any idea what exactly Conficker C is programmed to do.
In February, Cluley said, "It's as if someone is assembling an army of computers around the world, but hasn't yet decided where to point them."
Experts are fearing that on April 1 all the world's millions of infected computers may receive simultaneous instructions to attack, or to flood the Internet with spam email.
Ed Gibson, Microsoft's chief security adviser for the UK, was quite hesitant to make predictions about Conficker's behaviour.
"April 1 is a classic date for anything like this to go off. But I really would hate to say that April 1 is going to be unlike any other day," he said.
Agencies
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
StanChart to hire 2,000 professionals in 2009, says Official
Global Banking giant, Standard Chartered on Sunday said it has no plans to freeze hiring in India despite the challenging market conditions and would recruit around 2,000 professionals this year.
StanChart had recruited 4,000 people in the last calendar year but has decided to scale down fresh recruitments in the face of financial downturn that has hit its operations globally, StanChart Human Resources Regional Head Madhavi Lall told the media here.
"We have not stopped hiring. Although, the number of new recruits may be lower in 2009 as compared to last year, the bank plans to recruit 1,500-2,000 people in the current calendar year," Lall said.
The lender already recruited 110 people in the last two months while it plans to hire 28 more people by July to strengthen its various business divisions, Lall said.
"These 28 people will be joining us from IIMs. The bank will go ahead with its hiring plans in the months ahead, which will include campus recruitments," Lall said.
Presently, StanChart has a staff strength of 19,000 in India as against its global headcount of 75,000, Lall said.
Out of 19,000 total employees, around 6,500 people operate in StanChart's retail banking division.
Agencies
StanChart had recruited 4,000 people in the last calendar year but has decided to scale down fresh recruitments in the face of financial downturn that has hit its operations globally, StanChart Human Resources Regional Head Madhavi Lall told the media here.
"We have not stopped hiring. Although, the number of new recruits may be lower in 2009 as compared to last year, the bank plans to recruit 1,500-2,000 people in the current calendar year," Lall said.
The lender already recruited 110 people in the last two months while it plans to hire 28 more people by July to strengthen its various business divisions, Lall said.
"These 28 people will be joining us from IIMs. The bank will go ahead with its hiring plans in the months ahead, which will include campus recruitments," Lall said.
Presently, StanChart has a staff strength of 19,000 in India as against its global headcount of 75,000, Lall said.
Out of 19,000 total employees, around 6,500 people operate in StanChart's retail banking division.
Agencies
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Citi, Pepsico ranked among best cos for 'corp transparency'
Citigroup may be surviving on taxpayers money but the Vikram Pandit-led entity along with Pepsico, another firm led by an India-born chief executive Indra Nooyi, have been named among the best companies for corporate transparency by an American publication.
The 10th annual list of '100 Best Corporate Citizens 2009' by Corporate Responsibility Officer (CRO) magazine features US firms ranked for their activities in various areas including governance and employee relations.
Citi is ranked at the 35th spot while Indra Nooyi-led Pepsico is placed at the 85th spot.
Pharma major Bristol Myers-Squibb has topped the league of 100 followed by food retailer General Mills and technology giant IBM at the second and third positions, respectively.
Regarding the list, CRO noted, "when someone next asks you to define 'corporate transparency,' show them this..."
The ranking of the companies are based on activities in seven categories -- environment, climate change, human rights, philanthropy, employee relations, financial and governance.
"This list also proves that 10 years is a long time on the corporate responsibility timeline. Only three companies have made the list all 10 years: Intel, Cisco and Starbucks. Nearly 400 companies have appeared on the list over the past 10 years, including 48, by our count, that no longer exist.
"... the 100 Best List is the best-known annual snapshot of the leaders," the magazine said in an accompanying report.
Compiled by IW Financial and edited by CRO, the ranking is "completely based on publicly available information."
Other companies which have made it to the list are pharma entities Merck & Co (4th rank) and Abbott Laboratories (8), computer hardware makers HP Co (5) and Cisco Systems Inc (6), toy manufacturer Mattel (7), personal care products firm Kimberly-Clark Corp (9) and utilities entity Entergy Corp (10).
The ranking assigns maximum weight of 19.5 per cent to environment and employee relations. Climate change and human rights have a weights of 16.5 per cent and 16 per cent, respectively.
Citi has been severely battered in the ongoing financial turmoil, forcing the government to pump in billions of dollars into the financial services entity.
Already, the company has received 45 billion dollars of fresh capital apart from the US guaranteeing assets worth more than 300 billion dollars.
Agencies
The 10th annual list of '100 Best Corporate Citizens 2009' by Corporate Responsibility Officer (CRO) magazine features US firms ranked for their activities in various areas including governance and employee relations.
Citi is ranked at the 35th spot while Indra Nooyi-led Pepsico is placed at the 85th spot.
Pharma major Bristol Myers-Squibb has topped the league of 100 followed by food retailer General Mills and technology giant IBM at the second and third positions, respectively.
Regarding the list, CRO noted, "when someone next asks you to define 'corporate transparency,' show them this..."
The ranking of the companies are based on activities in seven categories -- environment, climate change, human rights, philanthropy, employee relations, financial and governance.
"This list also proves that 10 years is a long time on the corporate responsibility timeline. Only three companies have made the list all 10 years: Intel, Cisco and Starbucks. Nearly 400 companies have appeared on the list over the past 10 years, including 48, by our count, that no longer exist.
"... the 100 Best List is the best-known annual snapshot of the leaders," the magazine said in an accompanying report.
Compiled by IW Financial and edited by CRO, the ranking is "completely based on publicly available information."
Other companies which have made it to the list are pharma entities Merck & Co (4th rank) and Abbott Laboratories (8), computer hardware makers HP Co (5) and Cisco Systems Inc (6), toy manufacturer Mattel (7), personal care products firm Kimberly-Clark Corp (9) and utilities entity Entergy Corp (10).
The ranking assigns maximum weight of 19.5 per cent to environment and employee relations. Climate change and human rights have a weights of 16.5 per cent and 16 per cent, respectively.
Citi has been severely battered in the ongoing financial turmoil, forcing the government to pump in billions of dollars into the financial services entity.
Already, the company has received 45 billion dollars of fresh capital apart from the US guaranteeing assets worth more than 300 billion dollars.
Agencies
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)