A Worthy Read to Get Serious About Estate Planning
W e spend most of our waking hours either working to earn money or thinking about what we'll do with it: spend it, save it or invest it, lawyer...
2008-11-05 00:43:35Football: Levy claims Ramos had lost control of dressing room
Tottenham Hotspur's chairman, Daniel Levy, said yesterday that he had taken the "drastic" decision to sack Juande Ramos because he believed that the coach had lost the respect of key players.Levy acted on Saturday, bringing in Harry Redknapp after Spurs lost 2-0 at Udinese 48 hours earlier in the Uefa Cup, a tie they finished with 10 men. Previously they had lost at Stoke City...
2008-10-31 04:34:26Strate-GEM
Navroze D. DhondyThey talk of real estate costs in Tokyo, London, New York and Mumbai, but how much do you value a three-square-inch plot on the shirt of an Indian cricketerThe Indian cricket team has always been the centre of many storms, and the one it raked up a few years ago when the sponsors lined up outside BCCI’s doors was a queue listing the Whos-Who from Indian industry. Each vying to outbid the other to have a logo on the shirts of the real ‘INDIAN IDOLS’.That’s when Nike, who strolled into India a few years ago, decided to send a shocker and outbid Reebok, Adidas and everyone else with a whopper of a deal. A 1.97 billion rupee deal. In simple words Rs. 197 crore invested in one sweep! Nike was a late entrant into the Indian market and cricket seemed just the right short cut to the market and the hearts of the cricket-mad nation.Anything wrong with the strategy Can cricket be doubted Can the deal be in-efficientNo one could point a finger, but just gasp as to how much a few square inches on shirt fronts and sleeves could fetch to swell the coffers of the Cricket Board.Reebok, the early entrant into the Indian market, had clearly established a "distribution" and "brand awareness" head-start over the other sporting brands, Adidas and Nike, whereas Puma, New Balance were still planning their entry forays.Team India with Nike, was just the shocker that galvanised the marketing machinery at Reebok. Within days of Nike signing the Indian Cricket Team clothing, Reebok shopped till it dropped and signed up Mahender Singh Dhoni, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Munaf Patel, R P Singh, Piyush Chawla, Harbhajan Singh, Irfan Pathan, Yusuf Pathan and Parthiv Patel, adding to the 1996 recruit Rahul Dravid.In a clever and wonderfully timed move, nearly 80 per cent of the Indian Cricket Team was the Reebok 7Cricket Team, and the three inch swoosh had to combat the 18 inch Reebok logo on the bat, not to mention the Reebok reinforcements with the gloves and the pads.Recently Dhoni gave a batting lesson to the Delhi Ranji team and single handedly won the Irani Cup for the rest of India. Lo and behold he was splashed all across the newspapers and Reebok smiled all the way to the bank.With such domination on the field, and thereby TV coverage, print exposure and fan-following, a nine year old walked into the Reebok store looking for "Dhoni’s bat", and ended up picking up Reebok shoes, Reebok pads, cricket shirts, gloves and a kit bag to boot.Is advertising only 30 second commercials and double spreads in glossiesIn the meanwhile, Nike has sued the BCCI and would be wondering where it all went wrong. As some genius said: "However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results," but more aptly put by one of the greatest commentators of our times, Richie Benaud, when he made a rare gaffe and realised his miss-hit:The author is CEO, Creatigies Communications
2008-10-25 16:34:30Advertising: The Train Is Coming. And With It, More Ads.
New York’s transit system is planning to convert much of its real estate into advertising space, including turnstiles, walls and subway tunnels.
2008-10-18 03:30:30Hamilton plans big New Year eve bash for girlfriend
ENT7Entertainment/Showbiz/Sports/InternationalHamilton plans big New Year eve bash for girlfriendLondon, Oct 16 IANS British Formula One racing driver Lewis Hamilton is planning a big bash on New Year's eve for his girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger and her other bandmates and is ready to splurge to make it a perfect evening.Apart from Scherzinger, other members of Pussycat Dolls will join them for the bash.According to mirror.co.uk, Hamilton is keen to make it perfect for them and is ready to spend any amount of money. He along with Scherzinger have been scouring high-class estate agents for a 3 million pound townhouse in exclusive St John's Wood to rent. "Nicole can't wait to pack her bags and move in. She's so excited about prospect of spending New Year with Lewis and the girls. The girls love London, and are even getting a guest list ready for their bash and are deciding how much Cristal champagne to get too," a source said.--Indo-Asian News Servicesev/ar/jg168 Words16101212
2008-10-16 03:05:08Hindujas eye hotel industry, strategic partner for IndusInd Bank
BUS13Business/Business/EconomyHindujas eye hotel industry, strategic partner for IndusInd BankBy Venkatachari JagannathanChennai, Oct 14 IANS The Hinduja group is open to strategic partnership for its $608-million IndusInd Bank, even as it has its eyes set on India's hospitality, realty and healthcare business, a member of the London-based family has said."If we find a strategic investor for IndusInd Bank, we will consider partnership," said Dheeraj G. Hinduja, co-chair of the group's flagship company Ashok Leyland. "Our family has only invested in the bank," Hinduja told IANS.He said his family was not a promoter of the bank. "A new management is in place under Romesh Sobti. He is managing director and chief executive. We have a new business plan. We will wait and see how to proceed further."IndusInd Bank is not at the top of the pecking order of domestic, new generation private banks and its takeover of non-banking finance company Ashok Leyland Finance to expand its retail business did not yield the expected results.At the 15th annual general meeting of IndusInd International Holdings, the parent of the banking company, it was decided that the 148-branch IndusInd would expand its financial services in strategic markets, including the Middle East, through tie-ups and buy-outs.In the realty business, the group is also to develop real estate, both residential and commercial properties, in Hyderabad and Bangalore, said Hinduja. "Our the real estate plans in Bangalore has been finalised. We are considering options for the land bank we have in Andhra Pradesh."The Hindujas, who already run a landmark hospital in Mumbai, are also planning to expand their healthcare operations and enter the hospitality industry in the coming months. "In six months, we will start two speciality hospitals. Our focus will be to create the best hospitals and not on expanding the chain," Hinduja said.One hospital is slated for Chennai.The other major focus areas of the group include entertainment, media and outsourcing, even as it has revived its film production business, with "Teen Patti", starring Amitabh Bachchan, slated for release this December.Hinduja said the group's cable television company, IndusInd Media and Communications, is also poised to grow by offering value-added services, while the 14,000-employee strong outsourcing company, Hinduja Ventures, already ranks among the top 10 in India.--Indo Asian News Servicevj/sj/jg/ap/ky409 Words**14101304
2008-10-14 04:04:07New sharia-compliant investment house to target India, China
INT37International/BusinessNew sharia-compliant investment house to target India, ChinaDubai, Oct 11 IANS A new Islamic finance or sharia-compliant investment company targeting the markets of India, China and the Middle East and North Africa MENA region has been launched in the United Arab Emirates UAE.Amara Holdings, launched by Newhaven Investment House, will focus on pre-IPO, private equity and private placement opportunities.The company has already put in place key strategic partnerships with Indian, Chinese and MENA partners, according to an Amara statement."The current market environment presents us with significant opportunities as the price of assets in our target markets have reduced and we are now seeing valuations at very attractive multiples," Musab Jassim, executive chairman of Amara Holdings, said here."Our strategy is to focus on sectors that are fundamental to the domestic economies and growth of China, MENA and India," he added. According to Jassim, this will consistently provide investors with private equity returns, regardless of market cycles. The company will invest in sectors that are fundamental to the domestic economies and growth of the target regions such as agriculture, consumer staples, utilities, industrial, real estate and service related businesses. Amara said in its statement that it aimed to raise up to $200 million initially during October, principally from investors in the Gulf region. It is also planning to list on London’s Alternative Investment Market. “Amara is unique as it offers investors packaged exposure to these growth regions and by virtue of its London listing, the highest levels of transparency and corporate governance,” Jassim said.The new company has already made its first investment in China in partnership with Pan China Construction Group.The first of the joint ventures, China Infrastructure Corporation, has already been formed, which will develop a logistics park called Ningxia International Logistic Centre in Ningxia province of China. Newhaven Investments House, the company formed specially to manage Amara, is a collaboration of two leading firms, Newhaven Merchant Bankers and Investments House. Newhaven Merchant Bankers has offices in North America, Europe, Middle East and Asia.Investments House is the investment arm of a prominent Gulf-based family.The new sharia-compliant investment company has been launched even as Bahrain-based International Islamic Financial Market launched the world’s first ever master agreement on Islamic finance this week. --Indo-Asian News Serviceab/vm/jg412 Words11101511
2008-10-11 06:05:09Empee lines up Rs.15-bn investment for new projects, expansion
BUS19Business/NationalEmpee lines up Rs.15-bn investment for new projects, expansionBy Venkatachari JagannathanChennai, Oct 8 IANS The city-based Rs.10-billion Empee group, with business interests in liquor, sugar, hotels and real estate, is on an expansion overdrive on an outlay of Rs.15 billion. To be funded through a mix of internal accruals and debt, the new projects are expected to treble the group size once these go on stream, senior company officials said. Group liquor company Empee Distilleries is planning to set up two beer plants in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu with or without a foreign partner, while sugar manufacturer Empee Sugars and Chemicals is putting up a greenfield integrated sugar complex in Tamil Nadu. In the hospitality sector, the group's strategy includes promoting its own brand: setting up new hotels, as well as renovating, expanding and upgrading existing hotels to have around 600 rooms across different star categories under its fold. These apart, Empee group also plans to build residential apartments and a star hotel on a 40-acre land bank it acquired in the Sriperumbudur belt several decades ago. "The two breweries would cost around Rs.1.8 billion. We are looking out for a good brewer as a partner, and have put on hold earlier plans of a blending and bottling unit in Andhra," Nisha Purushothaman, joint managing director, told IANS. The Tamil Nadu plant will have a capacity of producing 750,000 cases per month, while the plant in Andhra Pradesh will yield 500,000 cases. According to her, the company has got the letter of intent from the Andhra government and the site selection process has started. A major player in the southern market with brands like Old Secret rum sales 200,000 cases per month and Napoleon brandy 100,000 cases per month, the company would like to take some of its brands national, Purushothaman said. The Rs.5.57-billion Empee Distilleries is also planning to set up a 10MW biogas power project in Kerala and looking at opportunities in the windmill sector there. Meanwhile, the Rs.596-million turnover Empee Sugar will start construction work on a greenfield integrated sugar complex on an investment of Rs.5.15 billion in Tirunelveli district in Tamil Nadu this month. "We will also expand the capacity of our existing mill at Nellore by 500 tcd to 3,500 tcd at an outlay of Rs.300 million. The expanded capacity will be ready this year," joint managing director K. Jayachandran told IANS. One tcd refers to tonnes of sugarcane crushed per day.After the expansion, the company's sugar capacity will go up to 8,500 tcd Nellore plus the new project, distillery 130,000 liters per day lpd with Nellore accounting for 30,000 lpd, and power generation 70 MW 20 MW at Nellore. In hospitality, the Empee group will develop a 362-room hotel, Hilton Chennai, on an investment of Rs.4 billion; another 100-room three-star hotel in Sriperumbudur near Chennai; and renovate and expand two hotels - the business class Grand Orient Hotel from the existing 63 rooms to 100 room and to four-star category, and the 50-room New Victoria Hotel, both in Chennai. --Indo-Asian News Servicevj/ank/dg570 Words08101602
2008-10-08 07:00:00UAE firm plans to develop airstrips, helipads in India
INT35International/Aviation/BusinessUAE firm plans to develop airstrips, helipads in IndiaDubai, Sep 28 IANS The United Arab Emirates UAE-based real estate company ETA Star Ascon is planning to enter India’s business jet infrastructure sector by developing hundreds of small airstrips in that country.The company, which had set up Star Aviation in India earlier this year to charter out business jets, now plans to develop airstrips and helipads across India.According to Hameed Salahuddin, there is a great demand for such facilities in India as the economy was growing fast.“Corporate India has moved to the next generation that needs fast transit facilities across the country,” Salahuddin told the Gulf News, while pointing out that the subcontinent’s many business and industrial parks and economic zones needed airstrips or helipads for business leaders to travel back and forth.“There is already a strong need for these services. However, the facilities are not in place. We want to fill up that gap,” he was quoted as saying.Apart from the major cities, he said, the new urban communities in India’s remote townships still lack good airport facilities.With the number of private airlines in the country growing, the demand for such facilities has become even more.“In many of these cities, the airport infrastructure does not allow the high-flying executives to travel with business jets,” Salahuddin said. “There is a need to develop the facilities and infrastructure so that they could have a fruitful meeting with officials and have a quick turnaround back to their offices.” He added that his company is already in touch Indian airport authorities for this.“The demand is already there in India. We just have to place the systems and facilities in place, using the existing airport infrastructure to facilitate the services, which will save valuable time of these officials. Currently they spend days in commuting to and from their offices to hold meetings,” he said.--Indo-Asian News Serviceab/vm341 Words28091426
2008-09-28 05:06:10Locals Angry At Queen Elizabeth's Godson, The Earl Of Carnarvon, For Planning To Build A Housing Development On His Estate AHN
AHN - Britain's Queen Elizabeth's godson is suffering a furious backlash from Hampshire locals who are angry he is planning to build a housing development on his Highclere estate. - Thu, 11 Sep 2008 07:24:43 GMT
2008-09-11 16:50:05
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