WEEKLY NEWS ENDED 21ST NOVEMBER

AXIS BANK - ENAM: REGULATING FINANCIAL CONGLOMERATES Axis Bank to merge a wholly-owned

investment banking arm with a major chunk of financial services firm, Enam Securities .

The all-share deal that gives Enam shareholders 5.7 shares of Axis for every Enam share values the company at 2,067 crore (around $450 million).

For Enam, faced with the challenge of low brokerages and tough competition from global investment banks that are more savvy , especially in areas like fund-raising in global capital markets, the move makes eminent sense.

CONTD… Enam is only the latest of the domestic

brokerages to be wooed. For Axis Bank, the merger should

provide scope to grow its low-risk fee-based income.

IRDA TO COME UP WITH M&A GUIDELINES FOR NON-LIFE INSURERS The Insurance Regulatory Authority of India

(IRDA) will formulate guidelines for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) for non-life insurance companies, IRDA Chairman J Harinarayan.

At present, the Insurance Act provides for the M&A pertaining to life insurance companies only.

There are 22 life insurance companies and 21 non-life insurance companies operating in the country. The proposed M & A norms are expected to spur consolidation leading to fewer but stronger players in the insurance sector.

SBI APPOINTS G D NADAF AS DIRECTOR State Bank of India (SBI) has nominated

G D Nadaf as officer-employee director on the central board of the bank.

Nadaf, who joined the bank as cashier in 1972, is serving as deputy manager in Bangalore.

He is also General Secretary of the All India State Bank Officers’ Federation (AISBOF). He will be in the SBI board for the period of three years.

UNILEVER PLANS GREEN DRIVE Hindustan Unilever has chalked out an

ambitious plan to halve greenhouse gas emissions waste production and water usage by the company and its suppliers, and source all its agricultural supplies such as tea and palm oil from sustainable sources by 2020 .As the manufacturer of Surf detergent and Lakme cosmetics it launched the Unilever sustainable living plan across the world

 It is a 10-year plan and sets out over 50 social, economic and environmental targets

AIRTEL LAUNCHES NEW BRAND IDENTITY IN AFRICA; REPLACES ZAIN Telecom giant Bharti, which had acquired Zain Telecom's

operations in Africa launched its brand "airtel" in 16 countries in the continent replacing the Zain brand.  

The ZAP mobile money service will be re-branded Airtel Money with immediate effect. As part of the new brand launch, airtel also announced the launch of a new ultra low cost handset package which effectively provides a mobile phone free of charge to all new subscribers. 

The package, launched in conjunction with Nokia, will be priced at approx NGN 3,500 (USD 23) and includes a brand new Nokia 1280 mobile phone, a free SIM card and the equivalent value in free airtel talk time and SMS text messages. In the past four months airtel has already made tariff interventions in 11 of its 16 markets in Africa for the benefit of its customers.

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