Sunday, 30 November 2014
Wednesday, 26 November 2014
Monday, 24 November 2014
Alibaba goes where Americans may not: The US bond market
Out with the Americans and in with the Chinese—that could be the next trend in U.S. bond markets as demand for high-quality investments outruns supply.
This week, Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba priced $8 billion in U.S. dollar bonds with maturities spanning from three to 20 years. The move follows its highly successful IPO in late September. Demand for the deal is extraordinary: Alibaba has received orders for well over $50 billion in bonds and may expand the offering size slightly to accommodate them, according to a person familiar with the matter.
A counter board at Alibaba headquarters tracks online sales during China's Single's Day.
Why the appetite? Certainly, Alibaba is a high growth company that some stock investors see as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The stock has soared 64 percent since its IPO.
But bond investors don't think that way. They are far more concerned with the stability of Alibaba's future cash flows that will eventually allow it to repay what it borrows.
In that regard, Alibaba isn't quite as exciting. The company is rated A1 by Moody's, or several notches below the highest possible rating enjoyed by a handful of blue chip companies such as Microsoft.
Moody's says that Alibaba has a well-established brand name but also points out certain risks. One is that Alibaba's history as a public company is short. There are also questions about how Alibaba can expand its business scope both within and outside China.
Despite those risks, investors seem to be falling all over each other to buy Alibaba bonds. Another explanation may be that there simply aren't that many new bonds up for sale in the U.S. market these days.
Indeed, the last few weeks have seen a wave of U.S. companies issue bonds in euros rather than dollars to take advantage of lower rates on the continent. Apple sold 2.8 billion euros in bonds earlier this month in its first non-dollar deal. It was followed by big U.S. issuers including 3M, Walgreen, and most recently IBM.
So far this year, U.S. companies have sold $79 billion in euro-denominated bonds, the highest level since the same period of 2007, according to Dealogic. Given the huge gap between dollar and euro interest rates at the moment, there's reason to believe the trend will continue for some time.
Back in the U.S., Alibaba and others are already helping fill the gap. Chinese companies have sold $28 billion in U.S. dollar bonds so far this year, the highest on record by a long way, Dealogic says. Chinese issuers also account for 5.3 percent of total U.S. dollar bonds issued by foreign companies. That's up from 0.2 percent in 2009.
hat does the Chinese money invasion mean for U.S. investors? One issue is that Chinese corporate governance structures are different those in the U.S. Alibaba is actually a Cayman shell company. Indeed, Moody's pointed out that there are "potential contingent liabilities" associated with a private company called Ant Financial Services Group that is separate from Alibaba but controlled by its senior management.
In theory, the Cayman domicile could be abused because local laws there are somewhat laxer than Securities and Exchange Commission rules. Disclosure of material information, for instance, isn't required as quickly in the Cayman Islands.
In practical terms, a large, high profile company such as Alibaba is likely to hold itself to a higher standard. Baidu, China's version of Google, is also a Cayman company and hasn't run into any major problems linked to its Cayman listing.
Another issue to consider is what happens if more Chinese companies tap U.S. bond markets. In the unfortunate event of another U.S. credit crisis, China could find itself much more affected than in the 2008 crisis, according to Brian Reynolds, chief market strategist at Rosenblatt Securities. "When the U.S. credit boom ends, bonds of Chinese companies are going to suffer," he said.
Last time around, Chinese companies had almost no connection to the U.S. credit market. That allowed China to continue growing apace while much of the West fell into recession. "The more the Chinese become hooked on U.S. credit, the more they have to worry," Reynolds said.
CA as Plant Controller Dresser-Rand - Naroda, Gujarat
Plant Controller
Dresser-Rand - Naroda, Gujarat
Dresser-Rand - Naroda, Gujarat
| For leading the financial planning process and will assist in developing actions to ensure Factory meets annual operating plans Position Qualifications (Required and Preferred):
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Intel Corp.: Leveraging Capabilities for Strategic Renewal
an insighful discussion on a case that was written back in the 90s
Intel Corp.: Leveraging Capabilities for Strategic Renewal
The case captured Intel's journey in 3 phases
a) from being an R & D shop employing the best brains from MITs and Caltech till 1980
b) to combining R&D and efficient manufacturing till 1990
c) forward integration subsequently with a B2C connect and trying to push OEMs into a better deal through a pull driven from the consumer's end with the 'Intel Inside' campaign.
How the organisation moved form homogeneity to heterogeneity
Also the overdependence on Andy Grove as a leader
Business Today Top 500
Business Today ranks the top 500 companies of India - both private and PSUs. The ranking is across sectors - software, telecom, pharma, auto and more.
Comments submitted by ICAI on Exposure Draft on Recognition of Deferred Tax Assets for Unrealized Losses- Proposed Amendment to IAS 12 issued by IASB
Sub: Comments submitted by ICAI on Exposure Draft on Recognition of Deferred Tax Assets for Unrealized Losses- Proposed Amendment to IAS 12 issued by IASB
The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) had issued an Exposure Draft on Recognition of Deferred Tax Assets for Unrealized Losses- Proposed Amendment to IAS 12 in August 2014 for the purpose of sending comments on the same, the last date for sending comments being December 18, 2014.
In this regard, the Exposure Draft was hosted on the website of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (www.icai.org) in September 2014 for public comments with last date as October 9, 2014. The Accounting Standards Board at its 215th meeting held on November 19, 2014 discussed and finalised the comments to be sent to the IASB.
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India has submitted the final comments to the IASB on November 21, 2014. A copy of the comments submitted is available at the following link on the web-site of the Institute: http://220.227.161.86/35669asb25154.pdf
The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) had issued an Exposure Draft on Recognition of Deferred Tax Assets for Unrealized Losses- Proposed Amendment to IAS 12 in August 2014 for the purpose of sending comments on the same, the last date for sending comments being December 18, 2014.
In this regard, the Exposure Draft was hosted on the website of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (www.icai.org) in September 2014 for public comments with last date as October 9, 2014. The Accounting Standards Board at its 215th meeting held on November 19, 2014 discussed and finalised the comments to be sent to the IASB.
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India has submitted the final comments to the IASB on November 21, 2014. A copy of the comments submitted is available at the following link on the web-site of the Institute: http://220.227.161.86/35669asb25154.pdf
Friday, 21 November 2014
Thursday, 20 November 2014
Manufacturing sector: Lacklustre growth plays spoilsport
Jusmi Tudu presents an unlikely success story. The 52-year-old senior technician at Tata Steel Ltd never thought she would end up in a factory with a job upgrade. Tudu joined Tata Steel in 1981 as part of its cleaning staff and, 22 years later, was offered training in mechanical maintenance as part of the steel company’s programme for women employees. “After six months, the first time I cut the (steel) plate using the gas cutter at the shop floor, all my male colleagues had gathered to watch me,” Tudu said. “They clapped and welcomed me to the team. There has been no looking back since then.”
Not every woman employed by India’s manufacturing sector has such a happy story to tell. While the sector has lagged behind the services sector and fared poorly in the competition against China, opportunities for women have shrunk or become unattractive. The manufacturing sector contracted 0.7% in 2013-14 against a growth of 1.1% in the previous year, while the services sector (financing, insurance, real estate and business services) grew 12.9% in 2013-14 against 10.9% in the previous year amid a lower-than-expected overall economic growth. But even modest job creation in manufacturing in recent years did not favour women.
Women had just 1.23 million of the 6.54 million jobs in organized factories in 2010-11, Data from the government’s Annual Survey of Industries shows, more or less the same as the 1.2 million of the 6 million workforce in 2008-09. “The root cause for the poor representation of women lies in the unsteady manufacturing growth and faster growth in the services sector such as finance and information technology that has taken the resources away,” said Jayan Jose Thomas, associate professor, humanities and social sciences at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.
While poor development in infrastructure curtailed export-led industries, the low availability of power prevented the growth of factories. When the economic downturn struck in 2008, industrial jobs meant demanding employers, unequal pay, long hours and bad environment, making both women executives and workers stay away from these jobs, said Thomas. Competition from China in manufacturing that turned many Indian factories into mere warehouses for cheap imported goods also took away job opportunities for women.
Moreover, women continue to battle “social conditioning that women are more suited for softer assignments and manufacturing is not one of them,” said Vinati Moghe, vice-president, corporate, Praj Industries Ltd, an ethanol and brewery firm. “Engineering traditionally has been considered a man’s job because it required women to stay at factories for odd hours away from the city,” said Sujata Kumari, 31, manager automotive business development at Mitsubishi Electric India Pvt. Ltd, the Japanese electrical and electronic equipment maker.
The manufacturing sector has a long way to go to make itself attractive on the lines of the services sector which is perceived as the better place to work for women with its flexible timings, friendlier work environment and potential for career growth. “The participation of women in the workforce will be in line with the demand…as the demand increases so will the supply,” said Radhika Muthukumaran, lead, diversity and inclusiveness, ABB India Ltd, a Swiss power and automation technologies firm.
Source: Livemint
Wednesday, 19 November 2014
Tuesday, 18 November 2014
How to get the bonus you deserve for 2014
How to get the bonus you deserve for 2014
Achieve your bonus, like this.
This year’s bonus round will be…complicated. Revenues haven’t been great and certain areas (FX) have been hit by mammoth fines. European banks globally and U.S. banks in London are constrained by the EU’s bonus cap. In London, at least, the era of mega-bonuses for senior staff is probably over.
Nonetheless, banks like UBS and Morgan Stanley seem to be hiking pay for 2014. And the watchword this year – as in the past few years, is ‘differentiation’. In other words, if you perform well you’ll get some sort of bonus. If you don’t, you’ll join the ranks of the pejoratively-named ‘zombies’ who receive nothing at all.
We asked a selection of current and ex-bankers (and one psychologist) for advice on bonus-maximization. This is what they said.
1. Don’t think personally – maximizing your bonus nowadays is about the team
“Bonuses used to be much more individualistic,” says an equities salesman at a U.S. bank in London. “Now they’re awarded to the team, and you always need to think of your bonus in that context. There’s no way you can maximize your bonus as an individual now – and if you try to, it won’t be sustainable.”
2. Don’t leave it until the last minute
You’re not going to achieve a maximal bonus if you wait until your actual bonus meeting to make your case. A big bonus is the result of a campaign of self-promotion/assertion that lasts the whole year.
“I went into a meeting with my new boss and he’d ranked me as 3 out of 5 for client development,” says one equities saleswoman. “This was despite the fact that I managed four out of ten of our top accounts and had been ranked as 1 by each of those clients. When I pointed this out to him, he said he didn’t know. He was managing 30 people and everyone else had emailed him details of their achievements. I’d just assumed he’d be aware of mine.”
“You need to make sure that your managers are kept aware of what you do throughout the year,” says a former MD in structured credit. “It’s no good trying to demonstrate your value just before bonus time.”
Decisions about bonus pools are typically made from September onwards. In other words, if you leave your bonus campaign until November, it will be too late.
3. Do think about weighting some big achievements in the second half of the year
“Your manager is far more likely to remember your achievements in the third and fourth quarters than in the first and second quarters,” points out the former structured credit MD. “Your near-term achievements will always stand out when people are deciding how much to pay you.”
4. Don’t threaten to leave – unless you know they can’t afford to lose you
Threatening to quit has traditionally been a favourite negotiating strategy for risk-addicted bankers. However, now that banks are trying to dump expensive managing directors – preferably without paying their redundancy packages, they’d be happy for most senior bankers to walk away on their own accords.
“Threatening to quit is a very high risk strategy,” says the recently ex-MD. “It works if you’re a very strong performer, but it can backfire if you’re not.”
5. Do visit the head office in the third quarter
If you want to improve your visibility before bonus time, it helps to visit a company’s head office in the third quarter, says one Paris-based M&A banker. “You need to go a few weeks before the date that bonuses are allocated,” he advises.
6. Don’t become commoditized
Banking jobs are increasingly commoditized, says the equities salesman. There’s a perception that staff are dispensable and that there’s no real need to pay any particular individual as everyone’s replaceable. If you want to maximize your bonus, you’ll need to negate this. “Every day, you need to make the extra effort for your clients so that you’re different,” he says. “You need to be insightful and inspirational – you need to stand out.”
7. Do talk about all the revenues you’ll be generating in 2015
Bonuses aren’t just rewards for past performance, they’re also retention mechanisms based upon anticipated future performance. “Talk about the future and your expected contribution in 2015,” says the MD. “If managers are convinced that someone with your profile will have a particular opportunity to generate revenues next year, they will see you as valuable,”
8. Don’t be crass in your attempts at self-promotion
Self-promotion is a difficult game. Get it wrong and you’ll be seen as self-aggrandizing and aggressive – especially if you’re a woman, in whom such traits are judged far more harshly than men.
“You need to bookmark your achievements,” says psychologist and expert on office politics, Oliver James. “The way you do so requires astuteness,” he adds. “There’s no single formula for success, it’s all about the personality of the person you’re dealing with.” James says you can be humorous, direct, or opaque (in such a way that it’s nonetheless clear what your intention is) in the way you flag up how wonderful you are. It all depends upon the communication style of your manager.
9. Do try this subtle psychological method of manipulating managers’ perceptions of you
Finally, one M&A junior relates a possibly apocryphal tale of bonus maximization from Morgan Stanley. “Most analysts don’t wear a tie because they’re always in the office working on spreadsheets,” he says. “But there was this one guy who did. He said that the tie meant his bonus was regularly 10% higher than everyone else's. Senior managers saw him and assumed he was invited to a lot of client meetings because he was always smartly dressed. – And that made them think he must be pretty good.”
IIM-A makes three courses expensive, redesigns curriculum
Ahmedabad: India's premier business school Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A) announced a fee hike ranging from Rs 1.9 lakh to 2.5 lakh for three of its flagship courses.
Courses whose fees have been hiked include Post-Graduate Programme in Management (PGP), PGP-Agri Business Management (PGP-ABM) and PGP for Executives (PGPX).
The new fee structure would be implemented from the next batch of 2015-17, IIM-A director Ashish Nanda said.
Students attending a convocation at IIM-Ahmedabad. Reuters
"For PGP and PGP-ABM, which are both two-year courses, the fee will increase from Rs 16.6 lakh to Rs 18.5 lakh. The one-year PGPX course fee has also being raised from Rs 21.5 lakh to Rs 24 lakh for the batch commencing from April 2015," Nanda announced during a press conference in Ahmedabad today.
With this hike, which came after a gap of two years, IIM-A has become the first IIM in the country to hike its fee in two years, Nanda said.
"To remain financially self sufficient, the institute needs to raise its fees. For PGP and PGP-ABM programmes, the tuition fee hike is 10 per cent, whereas our administration costs are high due to inflation. The cumulative fee hike for all three programmes is about 11 percent," Nanda said.
Besides fees, Nanda also announced several innovations and changes in IIM-A's existing programmes and admission rules, effective from next year.
As per recommendations of the PGP-ABM review committee, IIM-A has decided to restructure it and rename it as PGP-FABM (Food and Agri Business Management) from next year onwards, PGP-FABM programme chair Vijay Paul Sharma said.
"With the emergence of processed food industry in recent times, the programme curriculum has been redesigned to address emerging needs of the food and agri-business sector. We are also opening up the programme to non-agriculture background students to make it more diverse in terms of academic backgrounds," Sharma said.
Apart from renaming the programme, two new courses namely Agricultural Systemsand Rural, Social and Institutional Environment, are being introduced in the first year of PGP-FABM.
During the programme's second year, new elective courses on agribusiness project management, agribusiness entrepreneurship, agribusiness leadership, food supply chain management, food retailing and others would be offered, Sharma said.
IIM-A has made several changes in its PGP programme, including introduction of three new core courses namely Government Systems & Processes, Understanding Global Organisational Context, and Having an Entrepreneurial Mindset, Nanda said.
On the admission front, IIM-A announced two major changes, including 'deferred admission' as per which, a selected number of students, who have already secured berths in IIM-A, would be given an opportunity to work for a couple of years before joining the PGP or the PGP-FABM course, Nanda said.
"This system will encourage some of the bright admits, fresh out of college, to gain relevant experience before joining IIM-A. We will hold their seat for one to two years and give them admission after they gain experience. However, we are yet to finalise the specifics of this system," Nanda said.
In another major change in admission norms, IIM-A plans to introduce 'supernumerary seats' for foreign nationals from next year. According to Nanda, IIM-A would offer these seats over its present capacity to foreign students who wish to join its PGP course.
"At present, we have very few foreign students. Our objective is to get quality foreign students to bring diversity, and also to position the institute as a global learning destination for management studies," Nanda said.
http://www.firstpost.com/india/iim-makes-three-courses-expensive-redesigns-curriculum-1809369.html
Administrative & Accounts Assistant at TISS
Selection Process: Candidates will be selected based on telephone interview & personal interview.
How to Apply: Eligible candidates may send the applications through Email to application.pmrdfs2014@tiss.edu on or before 24-11-2014. Mention as "APPLICATION FOR THE POST OF ————————– at ——————– (Mention one of the locations you are applying to: Guwahati, Hyderabad, Mumbai campus; Delhi and Raipur) Centre of TISS".
Important Dates:
Last Date for Submission of Application: 24-11-2014.
Date of Personal Interview: 13-12-2014, 14-12-2014.
Venue: Mumbai Campus of the Tata Institute of Social Science (TISS), (Opp. Deonar Bus Depot), V.N. Purav Marg, Deonar, Mumbai-400088, Maharashtra.
http://www.tiss.edu/lefttop/jobs-tenders/administrative-positions
Monday, 17 November 2014
BCG top recruiter as IIM-A concludes summer placements
Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) wrapped up the summer placement process for the 2016 batch of its flagship post graduate programme (PGP) inmanagement within three clusters. Over 110 firms participated in the summer placements process that sawBoston Consulting Group emerge as the top recruiter with 16 offers.
Moreover, for the first time, IIM-A introduced an initiative which allowed 12 out of the 399 total eligible students to opt out of summer placement process to work on their own ventures, under the guidance and mentorship of CIIE.
The summer placement process was divided into four clusters wherein firms were grouped into cohorts based on the profile offered, and groups of cohorts were invited to campus across different clusters. Companies from multiple sectors including consulting, financial services, FMCG, general management and pharma, among others across different geographies hired candidates for a wide range of functions.
At conclusion of the process, in terms of number of offers, following BCG were Accenture Strategy, Bharti Airtel, and McKinsey & Co. with more than 10 offers each. Among global investment banks, Goldman Sachs was the largest recruiter, having picked nine students for roles in financial markets, investment banking and financial strategy.
In the FMCG sector, HUL made nine offers for various roles, such as sales and marketing and finance. Amongst general management firms, Bharti Airtel made 11 offers, which was the highest. In the technology sector, Amazon was the largest recruiter having extended nine offers to students for roles in marketing, operations, product marketing and product management.
As in previous years, students were provided the flexibility of making a ‘dream’ application to any firm of their choice in a subsequent cluster even with an offer in hand. This gave students the flexibility and choice to build careers in sectors of their preference.
This year, the students also had the opportunity to work under the mentorship of Centre for Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE), IIM Ahmedabad on their entrepreneurial ideas in the Summer of 2015.
Overall in the summer placement process, recruiters across sectors included the likes of Accenture Strategy, Alvarez & Marsal, A. T. Kearney, Bain & Co., The Boston Consulting Group, Hay Group, McKinsey & Co., Monitor Deloitte, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, Morgan Stanley, UBS, Asian Paints, HUL, ITC, Mondelez, Nestle, P&G, United Colors of Benetton, Aditya Birla Group, Bharti Airtel, CK Birla Group, TAS, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Abbott, Cipla and GlaxoSmithCline Pharmaceuticals, among others.
"Firms and first-year students gather for summer placements at the holistic confluence of academics and business at IIM-A. What makes IIM-A stand out in comparison to rest is the acknowledgment by all that IIM-A's placement team consisting of students, staff, and faculty offers a professionally run, technology driven, fair, and transparent placement process to the satisfaction of all," said Satish Deodhar, Chairperson of the Placement Committee, IIM Ahmedabad.
Meanwhile, the third cluster which was held on Monday, November 17 itself comprised five cohorts, including Consumer Goods and Services companies, Core manufacturing companies, Management Consulting firms, Pharmaceutical companies, and Technology and Internet companies.
A total of over 25 firms made offers in this cluster including key recruiters like DFS India, InterGlobe Enterprises, Rational AG, Tata Steel, KPMG, PwC Advisory, Arvind Internet, Infibeam, Abbott and GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals Limited, among others. participated in this cluster. Companies in the Technology and Internet cohort included Arvind Internet and Infibeam.
In the third cluster, PwC India, Advisory division extended the highest number of offers with a total of 10 offers.
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