Vibrant Gujarat 2011: Gateway to the hub of golden opportunities

Heaping praises on Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's leadership for not only driving industrial growth but also boosting rural development, India's industry bigwigs on Wednesday pledged to invest in excess of Rs 163,000 crore (Rs 1,630 billion) in the state. They had all gathered at the fifth edition of Vibrant Gujarat Summit 2011 (VGS) in Gandhinagar. Meanwhile, Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani announced Rs 80,000-crore (Rs 800 billion) investment in ports, power sector and infrastructure in Gujarat.

On the occasion of VGS they  announced an investment of more than Rs 80,000 crore in port, power generation and infrastructure in Gujarat. While two new ports -- one each at Hazira and Dholera are being developed they are also expanding the existing ports at Mundra and Dahej. With this they have a goal to create 200 million tonnes per annum of port handling capacity by the year 2015.

 In power generation while they have commissioned 2,000 MW at Mundra, additional 2,600 MW will be commissioned by March 2012. Further they are also building 3,300 MW at Bhadreshwar in Kutch, 600 MW at Dahej and 4,000 MW at Dholera SIR. As an integrated infrastructure conglomerate they are also developing LNG terminal, infrastructure parks, supporting railway lines and supporting facilities.

Projects of more than Rs 35,000 crore (Rs 350 billion) for which they had signed MoUs at the time of Vibrant Gujarat Summit in 2007 and 2009 have been fructified.

Anil Ambani’s his ADA Group will invest Rs 50,000 crore (Rs 500 billion) in Gujarat in the next 5-7 years on various projects as the firm looks to tap opportunities in the state. They are committing to invest Rs 50,000 crore in the state of Gujarat in gas-based and coal-based power projects in the next 5-7 years.

Essar Group  will invest Rs 30,000 crore (Rs 300 billion) in Gujarat for projects in various sectors, including power and refinery. Essar has committed to invest in Gujarat Rs 30,000 crore in power, refinery, ports and water infrastructure. Essar Group is a major player in the port sector in Gujarat. Its ports and terminals business operates a crude oil and petroleum products terminal at Vadinar in the state.

Mahindra & Mahindra will invest Rs 3,000 crore (Rs 30 billion) in Gujarat to step up presence in the hospitality and real estate sectors in the state.

They have signed six MoUs with the Gujarat government totaling an investment of Rs 3,000 crore (Rs 30 billion. Mahindra Lifespaces, the real estate development arm of the $7.1-billion Mahindra Group, has signed two MoUs with the state government.

The Tata Group has signed an MoU with the Gujarat government to provide rural transportation.This will be in addition to the ongoing rural initiatives such as skills development activities, sanitation and water projects where the group is already a partner.

Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries have signed a pact with Gujarat government to develop Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University into a top world class institute.

The leadership of Narendra Modi has proved that Gujarat is not only seeing industrial growth but is also witnessing rural development .

Source :Rediff Business

The Richie Rich's of India!!!

India's rising stock market and a booming economy that's expanding by 8.5 per cent have boosted the net worth of India's richest people, according to the latest Forbes' India Rich List.The combined net worth of India's 100 richest people is $300 billion, up from $276 billion last year. This year, there are 69 billionaires on the India Rich List, 17 more than last year.

Mukesh Ambani, head of Reliance Industries, has topped the latest Forbes' India Rich List with a net worth of $27 billion, for the third consecutive time. Steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, remains at No. 2 with a net worth of $26.1 billion. However both are less well off than they were a year ago.

The 100 richest Indians have a combined wealth of $300 billion, an all-time high and more than the combined GDPs of all the other nations in South Asia put together.

Let us take a look at the top 5 richest Indians:

1.Mukesh Ambani

Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani is the richest man in India with $27 billion in net worth. At $27 billion, Mukesh Ambani is as rich as Larry Ellison, the third richest American. Bill Gates at $54 billion is twice as rich as Ambani.

2.Lakshmi Mittal

Owner of ArcelorMittal, this business tycoon has stake in British soccer team QPR. Mittal is looking to invest in Brazil, India and West Asia. He owns 12-bedroom mansion in London's posh Kensington area.

3.Azim Premji

The software czar's company Wipro has done well over the last one year, recording a significant turnaround making Azim Premji the third richest Indian.

4.Shashi Ruia

The Ruia-owned Essar Group is looking for major expansions in all its businesses, including steel, oil and power. Essar Oil bought 50 per cent in Kenya Petroleum Refineries in July and is negotiating with Royal Dutch Shell to acquire three refineries. The Ruia’s stand at 4th rank.


5.Savitri Jindal

She is the non-executive chair of O P Jindal Group who took over the reigns of the steel and power conglomerate founded by her late husband Om Prakash in 1952.Shes in the 5th richest Indian.

Source: Rediff

Reliance shares up ahead of meeting on expansion hopes

Mukesh Ambani, the billionaire chairman of Reliance, is scheduled to address the annual shareholders meeting that is set to start at 11 a.m.

Investors were also keeping a close eye on whether long-estranged brother Anil Ambani appears at the meeting after the two called a truce last month.

Reliance shares, which have the highest weighting in the main index, were up 1.3 percent at 1,085 rupees by 0448 GMT in a Mumbai market that was up 0.4 percent. The stock had risen as much as 1.7 percent in early trade.

Expectations that Reliance will enter sectors as diverse as power, telecoms, and healthcare have been rampant since Mukesh Ambani last month ended an agreement with Anil that prevented them from competing on each others' turf.

Exactly five years ago, the two brothers split the business empire founded by their father after disagreements over ownership, and the non-compete agreement had been a source of acrimony between the two.

The Times of India reported on Friday that Reliance was in advanced talks to buy fibre optic cables and telecoms tower business from mobile operator Reliance Communications(RLCM.BO), controlled by Anil.

Reliance may also buy a 26 percent stake in shipbuilder Pipavav Shipyard(PIPA.BO), the Economic Times reported on Friday.

Source: Reuters

Broadband spectrum auction ends - sources

Eleven firms, including India's top three telecoms firms -- Bharti Airtel (BRTI.BO), Reliance Communications (RLCM.BO)and Vodafone Essar (VOD.L)-- and U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm Inc were bidding for broadband spectrum.

Bids for one set of nationwide wireless broadband spectrum licences in India had totalled 127.75 billion rupees ($2.72 billion) as of Thursday.

Source: Reuters