businessfortnight

New Delhi:  Harley-Davidson, Inc. plans to launch motorcycles in the small and mid-sized segment as it unveiled a major change in its strategy to target young buyers in emerging markets such as India and China. Harley-Davidson gears up to take on Royal Enfield The US-based company, famed for its big bikes, also plans to forge a strategic alliance with another motorcycle maker to develop and sell these motorcycles in these markets, Harley-Davidson said on Monday. Harley’s planned entry into the market for small and mid-capacity motorcycles is aimed at expanding its customer base and to drive growth in India, one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing markets, as well as other Asian markets. “The bold actions we are announcing today leverage Harley-Davidson’s vast capabilities and competitive firepower—our excellence in product development and manufacturing, the global appeal of the brand and of course, our great dealer network,” said Matt Levatich, president and chief executive...

Recently, SEBI has come out with a consultation paper titled “Designing a Framework for Enhanced Market Borrowings by large Corporates”. It is a nudge to corporates to access the bond market rather than rely only on bank funding. It says companies with more than Rs 100 crore in long-term borrowing should raise 25 percent or more of their funds through bond issuance. The objective is, the companies will have a wider funding base, there will be scrutiny by more entities than just lending banks and with more instruments on offer, it will deepen the bond market. Advantages from a broad perspective A delay of even a single day in honouring interest servicing means default tag on the bond and downgrade in credit rating. After a downgrade of credit rating, due to any delay in coupon payment, while it is theoretically possible to come back to the earlier credit rating, it is not easy, and it is time consuming as the default tag stays forever. Things are relatively easier in case of bank l...

New Delhi:  Old train coaches which were discarded and auctioned as scrap earlier could soon be converted into theme-based restaurants. If everything goes according to plan, then such train-theme restaurants will come up all over the country in the next few years. The Railway Board wants to generate more revenue and provide employment with such stylish food outlets. Railways has been operating rail museums and heritage parks in different parts of the country. Some of them receive substantial footfall. It is in these museums and parks that the Railway Board wants its zonal offices to set up the restaurants. PTI quoted a senior railway official as saying that the Railways might convert and refurbish its overage coaches into rail theme-based restaurants to cater to the general public. The Railways has already tasted success with the popularity of Shan-e-Bhopal, India’s first multi-cuisine rail-coach restaurant which attracts both tourists and locals for its unique...

Delhi/Bengaluru:  Automobile industry body SIAM on Friday asked all stakeholders to resolve the ongoing transporters’ strike, saying it has severely impacted the sector in the last few days. The ongoing strike by truckers has disrupted production and sales of vehicles in the country, as well as exports, resulting in losses for carmakers, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) said today. SIAM calls for early resolution of transporters’ strike The SIAM said its members were facing “unprecedented crisis” as the strike was affecting the movement of vehicles and components supply. “Many of domestic consignments are held up on roads, which has disrupted the supply chain and completely derailed the production at assembly lines of some companies,” SIAM’s Deputy Director General Sugato Sen said in a statement. The All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC), an organisation of transporters that has organised the strike, is demanding a cut in federal and state levie...

New Delhi:  The expert panel which recommended a continuation of the ban on fixed dose combinations (FDCs) has found that many FDCs were formulated without due diligence, with dosing mismatches that could result in toxicity. Panel finds dosing mismatches in many FDCs The committee found that most pharma companies had not generated the “safety and efficacy data” of their own FDCs. After reviewing 349 fixed drug combinations (FDCs), the expert panel of the health ministry on Wednesday recommended that 343 of them be “prohibited” and the remaining six “restricted or regulated”. According to the experts, the pharma companies whose products were under scrutiny provided “irrelevant” data that relied on biased studies. “In FDCs where there is a dosing mismatch among the ingredients, FDC use would result in toxicity. An inability to adjust doses of individual ingredients is specially risky, if an ingredient has a narrow safety margin,” reads the executive summary of the report, reviewed ...

Shares of Dr Reddy’s Laboratories gained over a percent on Thursday morning as investors bet on the stock ahead of Q1 results. The numbers will be declared later in the day. The stock touched an intraday high of Rs 2,118.45 and an intraday low of Rs 2,075.60. The drug maker is likely to report a four-fold jump in the first quarter of FY19, led by low base of previous year, when sales were affected by the GST rollout. The company will also benefit with sales of US complex generic portfolio holding out despite pricing pressure and lack of major approvals. India business is expected to grow 30 percent YoY on a favourable base. In the first quarter of FY18, the company posted a profit of Rs 66.6 crore. A Reuters poll of analyst forecasts an increase in net profit to Rs 302.8 crore. It estimates revenue to rise 21.48 percent YoY to Rs 3946.8 crore in Q1FY19. HDFC Securities expects topline of Dr Reddy’s to grow 10 percent YoY. “With no big product launches in the US, Dr Reddy’s to...

New Delhi:  Pharmaceutical companies awaiting report on the safety of those fixed dose combinations (FDCs) that were earlier banned by the ministry of health and family welfare are unlikely to get a breather. The expert panel probing the efficacy of 349 (344+5) banned FDCs is likely to reinforce the ban. According to the people with knowledge of the development, out of 349 drugs under scrutiny, only three are likely to get relief. The panel will give its report to India’s top drug advisory body, the Drug Technical Advisory Board (DTAB), in a meeting slated to happen on 25 July, thereby settling the dust on the fate of “irrational” FDCs in India. Panel reviewing efficacy of 349 FDCs may reinforce ban As per the same people quoted above, the panel after considering these drugs “irrational”, citing safety issues and lack of therapeutic justification, has recommended continuing the ban. Panel reviewing efficacy of 349 FDCs may reinforce ban However, three drugs are likely to come out ...

Hero MotoCorp, the country’s largest two-wheeler maker, is expected to post a 10 percent increase in its net profit for the quarter ended June on the back of a sustained rise in demand for budget bikes. According a poll of 21 analysts done by Reuters, the company’s net profit is seen rising to Rs 1,001 crore for the quarter under review, up from the Rs 914 crore reported for the corresponding quarter last year. The Delhi-based maker of motorcycles and scooters will announce its June quarter results on Wednesday, July 25. The company, which makes bikes under the brands Splendor, HF Dawn, Karizma, and scooters under the brands Maestro, Pleasure and Duet, saw its volumes grow 14 percent to over 2.1 million units during the quarter. Domestic sales grew 14 percent year on year to 2.06 million units, while exports grew slightly slower at 9 percent to 46,287 units. The company’s is seen reporting a total revenue of Rs 9,067 crore for the reporting quarter, around 5 percent higher than it...

Gurugram-based bike taxi startup, Baxi has raised an undisclosed amount in a latest funding round from several investors in partnership with renowned consumer products brand Patanjali. Motorbike taxi startup Baxi to start delivery app in partnership with Patanjali Talking about the funding round, Johri said that the co-founder of fintech startup Indifi Technologies was one of investors in the company. He added that new investors who participated in the round were Ashish Chhaparwal, founder of US-based children transportation firm KidzJet, Mohit Khurana and Deekshant Sahrawat, co-founders of Roots Education and Ramesh Awtaney, founder and chairman of information technology firm ISON Technologies. According to Johri, the startup will use the capital to launch its hyperlocal ordering app, which will deliver groceries, pharmaceuticals, health supplements, personal care products, food and dairy products to customers. He confirmed that they have partnered with FMCG manufacturer Patanjal...

Suzuki Motorcycles, the lesser known two-wheeler subsidiary in India of the Japanese auto giant, on Thursday launched the Burgman Street that was showcased at this year’s New Delhi Auto Expo. Priced at Rs 69,000, it is billed as India’s first “maxi scooter”, loosely defined as big touring scooters that have engines bigger than 250cc. The Street, however, has a 125cc engine, which it shares with the company’s existing Access scooter though it has looks inspired by its bigger siblings from Suzuki’s global Burgman portfolio. This is Suzuki’s third scooter in India after the Access and the 113cc Lets and comes at a time when the scooter segment has started showing signs of slow growth after years of exponential increase in sales. In the first quarter of this year, sale of scooter in the country grew by 10.35 per cent at 1.8 million units while mobikes grew 19.47 per cent at 3.65 million units. Till last year, the situation was the reverse. In 2017-18 scooters had grown by 19.90 per cent a...

Her name is Cherry and she is the smallest baby ever born in India. At birth, she was just about 26 cms in length – that is about the size of your palm — and weighed 375 grams, making her perhaps the smallest not just in India but in the whole of South Asia. Normally, babies at birth weigh between 2.5 kg and 3 kg. Cherry was born on February 27 and was kept in the hospital for 128 days after her birth, under a high-end incubator and ventilator at an advanced neonatal intensive care unit. She was finally discharged weighing 1.98 kg. She weighs 2.4 kg now. 375 grams to 2.4 Kg: Smallest baby ever born in India survives, thrives According to Dr Dinesh Kumar Chirla, director, neonatology and Paediatric Intensive Care at Rainbow Children’s Hospital, where she was born, today 10 per cent of all deliveries in India run the risk of being premature. That is less than 37 weeks. Cherry was born in 25 weeks and therefore womb-like conditions had to be created with right humidity and temperature ...

BMW Motorrad, the superbike arm of the German luxury car giant on Wednesday launched its most affordable and small superbike yet — the G310R and G310S at Rs 2.99 lakh and Rs 3.49 lakh respectively. The bikes mark the foray of the company in the fast growing sub 500cc segment and will be produced at its partner home-grown TVS Motor Ltd’s Hosur factory. Powered by a newly developed 313cc water cooled single cylinder 4 stroke engine, the bikes have a maximum power output of 34 bhp and torque of 28 Nm. They can accelerate from 0-50 kph in 2.3 seconds and have a top speed of 143 kmph. BMW Motorrad launches G310R and G310S at Rs 2.99-3.49 lakh The launch of these two bikes succeeds the Apache 310R in December 2017. Essentially the same product, Apache 310R is the mobike being sold by TVS under its brand name. Courtesy the lower premium that the TVS nameplate commands compared to a BMW, the Apache is priced at a more reasonable Rs 2.05 lakh. “We have a legacy of creating motorcycles with a u...

Mumbai:  Smruti Valegaonkar, 25, Mumbai-based senior architect and product designer at MuseLab Design Engine, has a life insurance cover. “My parents bought it when I was a child,” said Valegaonkar, who has an endowment life insurance plan. The nominee of her insurance plan is her younger brother. “If she does not have dependence requirement, Valegaonkar can continue with the same plan,” said Suresh Sadagopan, founder of Ladder7 Financial Advisories. However, Valegaonkar wants to buy a separate life cover next year. Unlike Valegaonkar, Bhavika Maniar, 30, operations manager at Indiabulls Asset Management Co. Pvt. Ltd, does not have a life insurance cover. “This is the right time to buy because I have a stable monthly income now,” said Maniar. If you are in your 20s and 30s and, like Valegaonkar and Maniar, are considering buying a life insurance policy, here is what you should know: Do you need a life insurance policy? Life insurance is an instrument ...

Hyderabad-based Aurobindo Pharma has inked a definitive agreement with Canadian pharmaceutical firm Apotex to take over its commercial operations in five European countries. The two pharma players signed an all-cash deal amounting to 74 million euros, under which Aurobindo’s step-down subsidiary Agile Pharma B V will acquire commercial businesses of Apotex and some supporting infrastructure, according to a regulatory filing by the Indian pharma major. The deal is expected to be finalised in three to six months. The acquisition deal follows company’s strategy to strengthen and grow its European business and to expand in key Eastern Europe markets, Aurobindo Pharma said in its statement. Under the acquisition deal, Aurobindo would acquire commercial infrastructure including personnel, products, marketing authorisations and dossier license rights in Poland, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands (including a manufacturing facility in Leiden), Spain and Belgium. Aurobindo takes over Apotex ...

New Delhi:  DUSA Pharmaceuticals, a unit of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, has filed a trade secret misappropriation and tortious interference claim against Biofrontera Inc. in the district court of Massachusetts, the company said in a statement. The lawsuit alleges patent violation of topical solution Levulan, and Kerastick. DUSA has also alleged that the Germany-based Biofrontera improperly obtained confidential information from former employees. Sun Pharma unit files patent case against German firm The lawsuit seeks an assessment of both damages and injunctive relief against the Biofrontera defendants. The patents-in-suit concern an apparatus and method for “photodynamic therapy” (or “PDT”) and equipment for PDT. The photodynamic therapy, pioneered by DUSA, combines a drug with a light source to treat disease conditions. The product was launched by DUSA, in September 2000 in the US. DUSA’s Levulan combination therapy is approved by FDA for treatment of non-hyperkeratotic actini...

Cadila Healthcare share price erased opening gains after rising more than a percent due to tentative approval from the US health regulator for the oral iron chelator. The company in its filing said its group company Zydus has received tentative approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for Deferasirox. Cadila Healthcare stock erases opening gains, Zydus gets USFDA nod for oral iron chelator Deferasirox is an oral iron chelator. Its main use is to reduce chronic iron overload in patients who are receiving long-term blood transfusions for conditions such as beta-thalassemia and other chronic anemias, according to Wikipedia. At 10:15 hours IST, the stock price was quoting at Rs 386.10, down Rs 1.75, or 0.45 percent on the BSE. source: moneycontrol

China said on Monday it had reached an agreement with India to reduce tariffs and increase imports of Indian medicines, particularly anti-cancer drugs, part of moves to broaden its trade relations amid its on-going spat with the United States. Both India and China slashed import tariffs of a range of products starting July 1, following the fourth round of negotiations under the Asia Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA), which also includes Bangladesh, Laos, South Korea and Sri Lanka. China said it would reduce tariffs on 8549 items including chemical and agricultural products, while India would do likewise for 3142 products. India has particularly pressed China to open up its market for pharmaceuticals, which was highlighted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the April 28 Wuhan Summit with President Xi. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Monday that China and India had reached an agreement on reducing tariffs on Indian medicines, especially anti-cancer drugs. There is widespread deman...

Share price of Dr Reddy’s Laboratories added 3 percent intraday Monday as company entered in to distribution and co-promotion agreement with UCB. The company has entered into a distribution and co-promotion agreement with UCB for Briviact, a brand of brivaracetam. The agreement grants company the exclusive right to distribute Briviact in India. Briviact is approved as an adjunctive therapy for the treatment of partial-onset seizures in epilepsy patients who are 16 years of age and older. M. V. Ramana, CEO – Branded Markets (India and Emerging Markets), Dr Reddy’s said, “In our endeavor to make innovative medicines accessible to patients in India, we are excited to partner with UCB India for Briviact, a novel treatment for epilepsy that will make a difference to the lives of patients living with epilepsy.” At 15:06 hrs Dr Reddy’s Laboratories was quoting at Rs 2,328.75, up Rs 62.35, or 2.75 percent on the BSE. source: moneycontrol

As the government aims to launch India’s first bullet train by 2022, the floating of a tender by the NHSRCL, the nodal body to implement the project, has been the first major step towards completing the 508-km high-speed railway network between Gujarat and Mumbai. Once completed, the Japan-backed $17 billion bullet train project would reduce the travel time between the two prominent cities to just 3 hours from the usual seven. Though the tender has been floated for the construction of a bridge in Navsari district of Gujarat, it is one of the 60 bridges to be built on the high-speed railway corridor, an Indian Express report said. The floating of the tender also marks the slowing down of a confrontation over the land acquisition process in the two states. The National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) has said the acquisition process is on, and that the first tender under the project has been floated in Gujarat. The nodal body had earlier failed to achieve much during its ma...