HOUSING PRICES MOST AFFORDABLE

Home prices may have been on an upward spiral for many years, but the cost of owning a house in India remains near the most affordable level in over three decades, shows data compiled by mortgage giant HDFC Ltd. The average price of a home, purchased with a housing loan, rose to over Rs 45 lakh in the 2012-13 fiscal -- marking the fourth consecutive year of uptrend from about Rs 25 lakh in the year 2008-09, HDFC has said in a presentation.
However, factors like an even greater surge in the personal income levels, tax incentives and lower interest rates, have resulted into houses becoming more affordable to purchase, it said.
As per an 'affordability' ratio compiled for over three decades by HDFC, the average cost of owning a house stood at 4.7 times of the annual income of the home buyer in 2012-13.
The affordability ratio, which takes into account the annual income of the home buyer along with the price of the house, stood at as high as 22 in the year 1994-95, but has been mostly on a declining trend since then.
This means that a home buyer, on an average, needed an amount equivalent to nearly 22 times his or her annual income in 1994-95, but an amount less than five times of the annual earnings is required for purchasing a house now. HDFC has released this dataset as part of an investor presentation on its latest fiscal financial results. Explaining the improved affordability in the housing market, HDFC said it has been possible because of rising disposable income, tax incentives (on interest and principal repayments) and affordable interest rates available to the home loan customers. The lender further said that the mortgage market was also witnessing a high demand growth because of increasing urbanisation and favourable demographics of the country, where 60 per cent of population is below 30 years of age and there is a rapid rise in new households.
Interestingly, the affordability ratio has remained in the range of 4.5-4.7 for the five consecutive years now, although the home prices have nearly doubled in this period. Excluding a temporary dip during 2008-09, the home prices in the country have been rising for 11 years now, after hitting the lowest level in two decades at below Rs 15 lakh in the year 2001-02. However, the average annual income of a home loan customer has almost tripled during this period from less than Rs four lakh to close to Rs 12 lakh currently. To be precise, the affordability ratio of 4.7 during the the last fiscal 2012-13 is the fourth lowest ever figure, after after 4.3 in the year 2003-04, 4.5 in 2008-09 and 4.6 in 2011-12.

SENSEX CROSS 20000 AGAIN

Boosted by growth in industrial production in March, the BSE benchmark Sensex today closed above 20,000-mark after a gap of 100 days and the NSE Nifty ended at its highest level in 2013 on robust buying in auto, consumer durables, FMCG and banking stocks. The BSE 30-share index initially moved in a narrow range but later bounced to a high of 20,119.14 on rise in IIP data. It finally concluded at over three-and-a-half-month high of 20,082.62, a net rise of 143.58 points or 0.72 per cent. Sensex had consistently been trading around 20,000-mark in the past few sessions. It finally closed above this key level on sustained buying by FIIs. Traders said overseas investors largely ignored data that showed for full 2012-13 fiscal, IIP slipped to 1 per cent -- the lowest since 1991-92. "Markets have been moving up at a fast pace in the past few weeks on the back of supportive global markets, consistent FII flows and in-line / better-than-expected quarterly results," said Dipen Shah, Head of Private Client Group Research, Kotak Securities. Similarly, the 50-issue CNX Nifty of the NSE also rose by 44.60 points, or 0.74 per cent, to end at 2013-closing high of 6,094.75. The MCX-SX flagship index, SX40 closed up by 80.66 points, or 0.68 per cent, at 11,874.70. Smart rise in key heavyweights like ITC, HDFC Bank, Tata Motors, ICICI Bank, M&M, Maruti Suzuki and ONGC mainly supported the surge in the Sensex.

PARSVNATH NEW SCHEME @ 25 PERCENT DOWN PAYMENT AT BOOKING

Aiming to attract customers and boost sales, realty firm Parsvnath Developers today launched a scheme on 3,000 flats where buyers will have to pay 25 per cent on booking and rest on possession Parsvnath expects sales revenue of Rs 2,100 crore from this scheme, which is applicable on 16 housing and 4 commercial projects for the next 45 days. "We are launching a new scheme which will change the dynamics of real estate business. The buyer needs to pay 25 per cent of the total cost on booking and rest 75 per cent on offer of possession," Parsvnath Developers Chairman Pradeep Jain told reporters here while unveiling company's new logo. The scheme would help the first time buyers as they do not have to bear double financial burden of paying house rent and interest rates on home loan, Jain noted. These 20 projects are located in Delhi, Greater Noida, Ghaziabad, Sonepat, Dharuhera, Moradabad, Ujjain, Saharanpur, Bhiwadi, Panchkula and Rajpura. "We will be offering about 3,000 flats in this scheme in a price range of Rs 1,750 to Rs 20,000 per sq ft. These flats are under various stages of construction," he said. Asked about sales revenue from this scheme, Jain said the company expects Rs 2,100 crore sales from the unsold stock of three million sq ft offered in this scheme. The total saleable area of 20 projects is 11 million sq ft, of which 8 million sq ft has been sold and three million sq ft is unsold inventory. "We have a receivable of Rs 1,400 crore from the customers from flats already sold." The national capital-based firm has completed 47 realty projects and is currently developing 50 projects comprising 76 million sq ft of saleable area. The company has a land bank of over 190 million sq ft. Jain said the company would launch new projects after completion of this scheme. Parsvnath has raised over Rs 1,000 crore in the last few years from private equity players Sun Apollo, JP Morgan and Red Fort Capital.

BSE SMALLCAP & MIDCAP REZIG

The country's premier stock exchange BSE has announced changes in its indices for the mid-cap and small-cap segments, which will come into effect from May 13. A total of 10 new stocks have been included in BSE Mid-Cap index, while 12 existing ones would move out. In the BSE Small-Cap index, the exchange would include 35 new scrips and exclude 39 existing ones, the bourse said in a circular. "...replacements shall be made in S&P BSE Indices with effect from May 13, 2013," it added. Those joining mid-cap index include Engineers India, Indian Bank, GMR Infrastructure, Torrent Power and Srei Infrastructure Finance. While Bajaj Hindustan, Balrampur Chini Mills, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL), Glenmark Pharmaceuticals and Aban Offshore would exit from the index. In case of BSE Small-Cap index, Bajaj Hindustan, MTNL, Balrampur Chini Mills, Jyothy Consumer Products and Motilal Oswal Financial Services would be included in the indice. Those being excluded from the Small-Cap index included Sahara One Media And Entertainment, Triveni Turbine and Nagarjuna Oil Refinery and Asian Hotels (East) Ltd.

GOLD ETF TRADING TILL LATE NIGHT

Leading stock exchanges, NSE and BSE, today decided to extend the trading session for Gold Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) till 7 PM on May 13 on account of auspicious occasion of Akshaya Tritiya. Besides, the two bourses have also decided to waive off the transactions charges for all trades in gold ETFs on this day to cash upon the investor demand for yellow metal on this occasion.
"The exchange is conducting an extended live trading session on Monday, May 13, 2013 on the auspicious occasion of Akshaya Tritiya for trading in Gold ETFs securities only," NSE and BSE said separately. After the regular market hours from 9:15 AM to 3:30 PM, trading in gold ETFs will resume at 4:30 PM on May 13 and continue till 7 PM, the exchanges added.
The gold ETFs track the gold prices and each unit of these ETFs is generally equivalent to one gram of gold. It is considered auspicious to buy valuables like gold on occassions like Dhanteras, Diwali and Akshay Tritiya in India. Gold ETFs, where returns are linked to the domestic price of physical gold but spare the investors from the trouble of buying and keeping the yellow metal in physical form, have been gaining ground among investors in past few years.
The gold ETFs enable investment in the precious metal on the stock exchange platform in an electronic mode.The extended trading would be allowed in gold ETFs of Axis, Goldman Sachs, HDFC, ICICI Pru, Kotak, Quantum, Reliance, Religare, SBI, UTI and Birla Sun Life mutual funds among others.

OFFERING CASH TO BIZ IS OK

Over a third of respondents in India feel that offering cash payments to win or retain business is justified, says a survey by E&Y. "India has robust policies but the issue is compliance. In the current challenging market condition, the incentives for unethical conduct can be strong when personal remuneration is at stake and pressure to deliver growth is being felt directly. "At the same time, a focus on growth and cutting costs can weaken systems and teams put in place to prevent and detect these actions," E&Y India Leader for fraud investigation and dispute services Arpinder Singh said. According to Ernst & Young's global fraud survey, despite the existence of compliance programmes and awareness about them, a significant and influential group still regards unethical business practices as acceptable. "They are willing to make cash payments or offer personal gifts or entertainment to win or retain business. In India, over a third of respondents feel that offering cash payments to win or retain business can be justified," E&Y India Leader for fraud investigation and dispute services Arpinder Singh said. Nearly 43 per cent of Indian respondents witnessed downward pressure in terms of reduction in remuneration and removal of bonus. The survey revealed that the risks of misreporting are compounded by an unethical business environment. In India 69 per cent believe that bribery and corruption are widespread in the country, it said. Although companies are aware that unethical practices are rampant in the country, many respondents appear to be in denial about how close bribery and corruption are to home. They see it happening widely in the country, but when asked about its occurrence in their sector, they hold a different view, the report said. "Only 44 per cent of respondents believe that bribery is a common practice to win contracts in their sector. The results seem to say that 'everyone else is doing it, but not me or my business'," he said. While majority of respondents are aware that their company has an anti-bribery or anti-corruption (ABAC) policy, the survey shows many organisations have a significant perception gap between senior management and employees when it comes to the relevance and effectiveness of such policies. Nearly 60 per cent of directors and senior managers believe that their companies would support people who reported cases of suspected fraud, bribery or corruption, whereas only 34 per cent of other employees agree. "India is a dynamic market and while companies are focussed on cost, compliance has to become imperitive. Businesses will always manage these risks differently. One size does not fit all, even in a single business, let alone across sectors and geographies. Businesses face significant threats and must be aware and take action to navigate these risks," Singh added.

ADOBE INDIA UNVEILS CREATIVE CLOUD

Software developer Adobe today launched its popular 'Creative Cloud' service for individuals and enterprises in India targeting professional freelancers, students and small and medium businesses (SMBs). Coinciding with the release in India, the Nasdaq-listed firm is globally launching Creative Cloud for enterprises this week. It had globally launched 'Creative Cloud' for individuals in June last year and for teams in December 2012. The US-based firm said the paid membership of Creative Cloud has touched 5,00,000 users since June 2012 and over 2 million free members have signed up for it.
Adobe's Creative Cloud is a subscription-based service that includes over 30 tools and services enabling professional grade content creation and delivery across print, web, mobile apps, video and photography. "Creative Cloud (CC) is a single platform, which enables all the activities from ideation to publication or production for all activities for design, photo or films," Adobe South Asia Managing Director Umang Bedi told PTI. Along with the launch for individuals and enterprises, Adobe CC also announced updates, which introduces new versions of its next generation of desktop applications including Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, Dreamweaver and Premiere Pro, he added.
"We have received a very healthy response from users and of the 5,00,000 paid memberships, about 40 per cent are first timers," Bedi said. CC membership for individuals is Rs 2,700 per month based on annual membership, while existing customers who own Creative Suite 3 (CS) to CS 5.5 can get their first year of CC at the discounted rate of Rs 1,600 per month. The product for teams comes with a promotional pricing of Rs 2,885 a month. Once the promotional offer ends on April 30 this year, it will be priced at Rs 4,040 a user per month. With this launch, Adobe has completed the full CC membership options available for sale in India.

VIRTUAL DESK FROM WIPRO

IT major Wipro Ltd today launched VirtuaDesk, the first packaged, IP-based offering from its Advanced Technologies practice. VirtuaDesk is a complete desktop virtualisation solution that enables customers to easily secure, provision, and share applications and data, for a collaborative and mobile workforce designed for fast and secure deployment.VirtuaDesk minimises the risk in desktop virtualisation implementation. VirtuaDesk comes as a comprehensive packaged offering delivered as an integrated software-hardware platform. Features include an App Store, Catalog, and menu-driven administration to define authorisation and access. Advanced back-end functionality includes in-memory caching capabilities that enable businesses to provide high-performing desktops and applications.

BACKGROUND CHECK ON JOBSEEKERS INTENSIFY

Cos expand background check on jobseekers New Delhi, May 5 (PTI) Amid growing risks of staff-driven security threats and corporate frauds, companies have begun conducting regulatory, compliance and criminal record checks of people seeking jobs with them and are also scanning the social media platforms for due diligence, say experts. Apart from the practiced norm of verifying educational and professional credentials of the job aspirants, companies across all major sectors are now also trying to make sure that their potential employees do not have been party to any regulatory non-compliance, corporate frauds or other unlawful activities. The hiring process now include criminal record verification, court record checks, regulatory authorities' database check, credit and integrity risk database check, national identity check and substance abuse testing, and regulatory compliance database checks. These checks are being conducted on national as well as global levels, depending on the profile of the companies and the potential employees, say human resource experts.
These practices help a company hire the most qualified and least risky employees and save them from any unwarranted costs in the future. According HR consultancy firm Unison International's Managing Director Udit Mittal, the concerns over identity theft, terrorism, and corporate espionage are becoming widespread and therefore a employment background screening becomes an effective measure that help organisations mitigate risks in their workplace. As per the experts, these parameters are been adopted across various sectors in the country such as FMCG, BPO/KPO, banking and financial services, hospitality, healthcare, government entities, non-profit organisations.As per executive search firm Lighthouse Partners, such checks are especially stringent in the IT and IT enabled industries.

USD 2.9 BILLION LOCKED UP SHARES TO HIT CHINESE MARKET

China's stock market is expected to see 18.31 billion yuan (USD 2.95 billion) in locked-up shares become eligible for trade next week, according to data from bourses. The figure was significantly down from the 40.9 billion yuan in shares that became tradable this week, data from the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges showed. A total of 1.83 billion non-tradable shares of 19 listed companies will be released to the capital market after their lock-up agreements expire next week, state-run Xinhua news agency reported today. Under China's market rules, major shareholders of non-tradable stocks are subject to one or two years of lock-up before they are permitted to trade the shares. Gansu Yasheng Industrial Co, an agricultural firm based in northwest China, will see non-tradable shares worth 1.36 billion yuan become tradable on Friday, the largest amount to become tradable on the Shanghai exchange next week. Some 5.28 billion yuan in non-tradable shares of the Chengdu Xingrong Investment Co, a sewage and garbage treatment firm, will be ready for trade tomorrow, the largest amount on the Shenzhen exchange next week. Of the companies, 11 will see shares unlocked tomorrow, with their combined value accounting for 82.83 per cent of next week's total unlocked market size.