BUSINESS
the week that was
NRI hiring by homegrown
companies sees upsurge
According to a study by MyHiringClub.com, hiring of
non-resident Indians accounted for 21 percent of total
recruitment activity between April-June, compared to 16
percent in the year-ago period. The segments that regis-
tered the maximum NRI recruitment during the period
under review include information technology and informa-
tion technology enabled service, banking and financial serv-
ices, automobiles, manufacturing, telecommunication,
pharmaceuticals and health care.
Google+ gathers steam;
18% users from India
Search giant Google’s social networking foray, Google+, is
steadily gathering steam, owing primarily to users in India
and the United States. According to Comscore data, the
number of unique Google+ visitors stood at 19.93 million
between June 29 and July 19, within weeks of its launch.
Users from the US and India — 5.31 million and 2.85 mil-
lion, respectively — emerged as the top countries on
Google+.
Worldspace gears up for
comeback
Worldspace, the satellite radio service that had gained a
small but dedicated audience with its wide-ranging, adver-
tisement-free programming but was shut down in
December 2009, will be back as early as September, says
Sheetal R Iyer, head of content and co-founder of Timbre
Media. This company — founded by Indian employees of
Worldspace after the American company filed for bankrupt-
cy in 2008 and shut operations — has acquired the license
to use the Worldspace brand.
3 Indian companies among world’s
top innovative firms
Three Indian companies have featured in the 100 most
innovative companies’ in the world list published by Forbes.
While Hindustan Lever ranked 6, Bharat Heavy Electricals
ranked 9 and Infosys ranked 15. Salesforce.com topped the
list based on a study by a Harvard Business School profes-
sor, a Brigham Young University professor, and an INSEAD
professor.
Castle Harlan promotes Anand
Philip to managing director
Castle Harlan, Inc, the New York private equity invest-
ment firm, announced that it has promoted Anand T
Fujifilm plans generics JV with
Dr Reddy’s
Fujifilm Holdings is close to reaching an agreement to
form a joint venture with Dr Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd of
India to develop generic drugs for the Japanese market.
The Nikkei business daily reported that the joint venture
would be owned 51 percent by a unit of Fujifilm Holdings
and 49 percent by Dr Reddy’s.
Indians’ share of money in Swiss
banks only 0.07%
Amid a raging debate in India over wealth stashed away
by Indians in Swiss banks, official Swiss bank figures show
that the quantum of such money is only 0.07 percent, of the
total assets of all foreigners with banks in this European
nation. As per the figures disclosed by Switzerland’s central
bank, the total deposits of Indian individuals and compa-
nies with all the Swiss banks put together stood at about
$2.5 billion at the end of 2010. However, the actual total
wealth held by Indian entities in Swiss banks may be higher;
some private bankers have pegged this figure at $15 billion to
$20 billion.
TCS, Wipro in race for Tirupati
temple project
Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro are among three
companies vying to bag the Sri Seva Project of the Tirumala
Tirupati Devasthanam. Currently TTD offers four e-servic-
es: E-seva, e-accommodation, e-sudarshanam and e-hundi
to the devotees. The Sri Seva project will help the adminis-
tration in offering services like rooms, Laddus as well as in
tonsuring.
Top-level staff crunch hits SEBI
Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India
is facing a staff crunch in its top management team. SEBI is
left with just about half the strength in its top management,
comprising whole-time board members and executive
directors, due to retirements of previous officials and delay
in fresh appointments.
New takeover code in India
The Securities and Exchange Board of India board said
that an entity buying 25 percent stake in a listed firm would
have to mandatorily make an offer to buy additional 26 per-
cent from public shareholders. The new norms mark an
increase in the open offer size for public shareholders from
Deutsche Bank appoints
Anshu Jain as co-CEO
Deutsche Bank has appointed Anshu Jain as the co-
chief executive officer to succeed management board
chairman Josef Ackermann, who leaves office in May
next year. Jain, 48, the head of Deutsche Bank’s highly
successful investment banking division based in
London, has a five-year contract until March 2017.
20 percent currently, while the trigger for such offer has
also been raised from 15 percent in the existing regulations.
B1 visa misuse: Infy denies
US employee’s charges
Infosys has dismissed allegations by Jay Palmer, one of its
American employees, testifying before a Senate sub-com-
mittee on alleged misuse of B1 visas. In February, Palmer
had filed a complaint in a court in Albama, alleging that
Infosys had misused the B1 business visa program to bring
Indian employees to the US to work at clients’ sites.
Foreign deals in India soar
Foreign companies have been striking deals in India,
reported The Wall Street Journal. There have been $26 bil-
lion in foreign deals in India so far this year, more than
double the dollar value of the same period in 2010.
Simon & Schuster set for
India operations
Simon & Schuster will begin its India operations this
month and promises to encourage home grown writing tal-
ents. The establishment of Simon & Schuster India is part
of Simon & Schuster, Inc’s strategic focus to bringing the
works of its authors to the widest possible global audience.
Mumbai housing prices may rise
The Brihanmumbai municipal Corporation’s proposal to
charge additional premium on construction of certain sec-
tions in a building, could push up property prices in the
city by 20 to 30 per cent. The proposal is expected to help
BMC earn extra revenue.
