Daily News Roundup - May 29 2012

Fortis Healthcare hived off its non-core business and related assets into a separate company to be listed as a business trust on the Singapore exchange to raise around Rs20bn. (ET) Teva will not launch atorvastatin, the generic version of Lipitor, a move that will help Ranbaxy and DRL garner larger sales in the US. (ET) India’s competition watchdog has approved Reliance Industries acquisition of stakes in Raghav Bahl’s media companies Network 18 and TV18 Broadcast. (ET) Jindal Steel & Power has entered into an agreement with Gujarat NRE Coking Coal, an Australian subsidiary of Gujarat NRE Coke, to pick up a 10% strategic stake in the company. (ET) Reliance Communications said regulatory clarity from the government would help plans of selling its tower unit and push the deal to a close. (ET) Rating company Icra has downgraded the bank facilities of Suzlon Energy and its eight subsidiaries just few weeks before the company’s US$360mn FCCB is due for repayment. (ET) Bank of India re-entered the mutual fund business by forging a joint venture with AXA Investment Managers. The new JV BOI-AXA Investment Managers Pvt Ltd will be owned 51% by Bank of India and 49% by AXA Investment Managers. (ET) Welspun Corp said it has received orders worth Rs20.7bn from international and domestic markets. (BS) Global rater Fitch reaffirmed investment grade rating for Bharti Airtel, saying its deal to buy Qualcomm's wireless broadband business will not immediately impact the telecom major's balance sheet. (BS) Hotel Leelaventure Ltd said a promoter group firm; Leela Lace Holdings Pvt Ltd has pledged shares aggregating to 18.56% stake in it to State Bank of India and Bank of Baroda. (BS) Bharat Forge is to liquidate its plant and machinery of Federal Forge Inc in America, after continuous losses recorded from the acquired assets seven years after the company bought these. Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd, a subsidiary of Coal India, has decided not to pay Rs13.06bn fine imposed by the Odisha government over allegation of illegal coal mining. (BS) Oil India said it is in talks to buy 51% in billionaire Mukesh Ambani's privately-owned firm Reliance Gas Transportation Infrastructure. (ET) Economy Snippets The finance ministry has directed all state-run banks to ensure that every household has at least one savings bank account by the end of June, a move seen as a precursor to direct transfer of benefits under the government’s financial inclusion plan. (ET) India provided a US$500mn line of credit to Myanmar as the two countries signed agreements covering a range of sectors, including air services. (ET) Global wheat output this financial year will likely fall 3.5% due to rough weather across Russia, Europe and Morocco, providing succor to India, which is grappling with a glut in the grain and mulling subsidies to ease storage before the rains arrive in June. (FE)