MUTUAL FUND

Goldman plans a second bid at MF launch here

MUMBAI: Goldman Sachs Asset Management LP (GSAM) has revived its plan to start mutual fund operations in India, a person familiar with the matter told ET. Late last year, GSAM had deferred the launch due to uncertain market conditions.

GSAM, a subsidiary of the Goldman Sachs Group Inc, had received Sebi approval in September 2008 for starting the mutual fund. Adam Broder was brought in from as chief executive officer, and Prashant Khemka was appointed the chief investment officer. With the launch being delayed, Broder was recalled to Goldman’s Hong Kong office, while Khemka moved back to managing portfolios of private clients of Goldman.

An e-mail questionnaire sent to Goldman Sachs elicited the following response. "After we decided to postpone our local funds launch in November, we have retained our offices, our local asset management licence and importantly our Indian equity investment team in Mumbai, headed by Prashant Khemka, who continues to lead the business. We are constantly evaluating the Indian domestic mutual fund market from a distributor, macro and regulatory perspective to identify the most appropriate time for our launch. We remain very focused on expanding our asset management business in India."

ET has learnt that GSAM is planning to launch schemes that will invest in international markets, using the 'feeder fund' concept.

A 'feeder fund' is one that invests through another fund called the master fund. The local fund would buy units of a global fund managed by the international 'parent' group or fund.

For the Indian investor, this a convenient way to have an exposure to international markets. However, a major concern is the double layer of fees that may be payable since there are two sets of fund managers — one for the host fund and one for the feeder fund.

This can significantly eat into the projected returns. More often than not, such schemes find more favour with HNIs, though fund managers say there is a fair bit of interest amongst the retail too, depending on the product.

Among others, DSPBlackRock has two feeder funds, one of which is the 'World Gold fund', launched in July 2007 (by the then DSPML) which is a feeder fund that invests into BlackRock’s World Gold fund.

The funds corpus is currently Rs 1,400 crore and is said to be the largest feeder fund out of India. DSPBlackRock also recently closed its second feeder fund, the World Energy fund, which largely invests into the BlackRock World Energy Fund. It raised around Rs 360 crore. A certain percentage of the domestic fund will also invest into BlackRocks New Energy Fund.

"Feeder finds provide access to an investment theme not available locally. It also brings about an element of diversification to one's portfolio," S Nagnath, president & CIO of DSP BlackRock told ET. Mr Nagnath said they have plans to introduce more such products in the near future.

JP Morgan's Greater China Off-Shore Fund is also a feeder fund for a pre-existing fund. JPMorgan AMC, India, has indicated that it will bring in a bouquet of international funds to India through the feeder route during this year.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Personal-Finance/Mutual-Funds/Goldman-plans-a-second-bid-at-MF-launch-here/articleshow/4974319.cms

MFs remain cautious on interest rate futures

Sharvari Patwa
Mumbai, Sept. 4 Mutual funds are adopting a wait-and-watch approach instead of participating in the recently launched interest rate futures (IRFs) on the NSE.
Day one (August 31) of IRF trading on NSE saw 14,559 contracts with a value of Rs 267 crore, while on day four there were 3,213 contracts amounting to Rs 58 crore.
The substantial volumes seen in the first few sessions of IRF trading have not proved tempting enough for fund managers. They prefer to wait and see how the new product performs before they test the waters themselves. The managers are keeping a close watch on how the product moves in line with bond prices and also on if more papers will be allowed as benchmark.
“Volumes in the first few days will be promising. But we just want to make sure that it is not just one spark which fizzles out later,” said the CEO of a mutual fund.
An interest rate future contract is an agreement to buy or sell a debt instrument at a specified date at a price fixed while drawing up the contract. The minimum contract size for an IRF on the NSE is Rs 2 lakh.
Interest rate futures are based on a notional 10-year government security, bearing a notional 7 per cent interest rate coupon payable half yearly. IRFs would function as an exchange traded derivative instrument for protecting or hedging interest rate risk.
“IRFs are a good instrument but we will wait another month or two before we decide on investing in it,” said Mr Badrish Kulhalli, Senior Fund Manager-Debt, Principal Pnb Mutual Fund.
The mutual fund industry has about 73 per cent or Rs 4,72,393 crore as assets under management in the debt category, according to data provided by Value Research. Of the total debt asset base, the industry’s exposure to Government securities is close to Rs 11,600 crore as on July-end. Only mutual funds that invest in G-secs will be allowed to participate in IRFs.
“We are waiting for the product to stabilise and volumes to build up,” said Mr Mahendra Jajoo, Head of Fixed Income & Structured Products, Tata Mutual Fund.
As of now, mutual funds’ participation in IRF is negligible, said fund managers.
Even if mutual funds are willing to participate in IRFs, it will take time as it needs appropriate infrastructure including a software to record deals, said Mr Sanjay Sinha, CEO of DBS Chola Mutual Fund.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2009/09/05/stories/2009090551711000.htm

JRG Securities unveils Web MF engine

Our Bureau
Kochi, Sept. 4 JRG Securities has launched Mutual Funds Online, a Web-based transactions engine for buying, redeeming and switching the units through its Internet trading platform.
Investors can select the scheme of their choice, enter the quantity required and transfer the required funds through the online payment gateway.
JRG has online payment gateway facility with four major Banks – Federal Bank, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank – and the company has tied up with 10 asset management companies funds for providing service to investors.
The asset management companies are Sundaram BNP Paribas, Tata Mutual Fund, Birla Sun life, HDFC, Kotak, Canara Robecco, Deutsche, Taurus, Principal and HSBC.
“Investors can do hassle-free transactions without filling forms or writing cheques. They can view their mutual fund holdings and their portfolio reports on a daily basis. They also have the provision to analyse the performance of all mutual funds schemes available in the market. This will help in the process of informed decision making,” said Mr Sanjeev Kumar G., Head of Operations & Technology, JRG Securities.
The Internet trading platform, www.itradeeasy.com, from JRG also provides facility to trade online in shares, derivatives, commodities, currency futures and apply for IPOs and mutual funds.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2009/09/05/stories/2009090551681000.htm

MFs in buying mode

Mutual funds (MFs) bought shares worth a net Rs 26.60 crore on Thursday, 3 September 2009, as against an outflow of Rs 251.90 crore on Wednesday, 2 September 2009.
MFs' net inflow of Rs 26.60 crore on 3 September 2009 was a result of gross purchases Rs 742.50 crore and gross sales Rs 715.90 crore. The BSE Sensex fell 69.13 points or 0.45% to 15,398.33 on that day.
MFs sold shares worth a net Rs 131.70 crore in September 2009 (till 3 September 2009). MFs had bought shares worth a net Rs 570.30 crore in August 2009.

http://profit.ndtv.com/2009/09/04165452/MFs-in-buying-mode.html

INSURANCE

Religare, Swiss Re call off health insurance JV

Indian firm says it’ll soon tie up with another global insurer
Exactly three months after announcing a tie-up for a standalone health insurance joint venture (JV), Religare and global insurer Swiss Re have decided not to renew their term sheet.
A term sheet is a bullet-point document outlining the material terms and conditions of a business agreement.
According to a senior executive at Religare, Swiss Re was reassessing its plans to enter the space and was not very aggressive. The deadline for the renewal of the term sheet had lapsed on August 20.
The executive, however, added that Religare had shortlisted three players and would be tying up with one of them very soon. Religare was in discussions with large global health insurance players such as Bluecross Blueshield Association, the United Health Group, Discovery Health, Cigna Corporation, Munich Re and Aetna for the health insurance JV. According to the current term sheet, the global partner will have 26 per cent stake in the JV.
Religare already has a health insurance JV with Aegon and Bennett Coleman & Company as partners. The company is also scouting for a non-life insurance partner.
However, Swiss Re, which is a dominant player in the Indian reinsurance market, said that it was still open to exploring a health insurance joint venture. The reinsurer has been looking at entering the health insurance space in India for a long time.
“Swiss Re remains committed to offering its actuarial and underwriting expertise in the important Indian market, and continues to be open to exploring a health insurance joint venture,” said a spokesperson for Swiss Re.
At present, there are only two specialised health insurance companies — Star Allied Health insurance and Apollo DKV — operating in India.
Last year, Max New York Life had formed a joint venture called Max Bupa with UK-based British United Provident Association (Bupa) to roll out its health insurance business.
Newswire reports: Despite its proposed health insurance joint venture with Religare Enterprises being called off, Swiss Re is bullish on its reinsurance business in India. The Zurich-based reinsurance major said it was “committed” to applying for a reinsurance licence in India.
“Reinsurance remains Swiss Re’s core business in India. As a reinsurer, we have served Indian insurers for 80 years and will continue to do so,” said KwokChoi Wong, director, corporate communications, Asia Swiss Reinsurance Company.

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/religare-swiss-re-call-off-health-insurance-jv/369109/

Dozen small and mid-sized Gujarat players aim IPO

Close to a dozen small and mid-sized Gujarat based companies are preparing ground to hit the capital markets in the next six months or so. While some have begun the spadework by filing draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), others are in talks with merchant bankers and lead managers for an initial public offer.
"Over a dozen players are planning to hit the capital markets in the next few months. In all they could be raising close to Rs 1,500-Rs 2,000 crore," said industry sources privy to the development.
The players who are mulling an IPO include Liverpool, Pradeep Overseas, Sai Infosystems (India) Limited (SIS), Hi-Rel, Timbor Home Pvt Ltd, Sahajanand Laser Technology and John Energy, sources in merchant banking said.
A leading hotel chain is also considering to hit capital markets soon with a public offering. Besides, a pharma player and an Ahmedabad IT company are also evaluating the prospects of raising money.
"Some players might come up with an IPO to provide exit route for the private equity players who have invested in them," sources said.
Most of these players had planned their IPOs over a year ago, however the economic slowdown had played a major dampener, forcing them to hold back their plans.
Ahmedabad-based manufacturer and exporter of home-linen Pradip Overseas Ltd has meanwhile revived its plans to come out with IPO. The company intends to raise about Rs 100 crore through the public issue.
The company had filed the draft herring prospectus in December 2008.
"The clearance is underway and we are expecting SEBI's nod in one month", said officials of the company. Pradip Overseas is looking at diluting 25 per cent equity. It plans to utilise the proceeds of the IPO for setting up a new unit dedicated to home-linen production. The 1 lakh meter per day unit will come up at Pradip's special economic zone at Bagodara, which is 50 kms away from Ahmedabad.
Ahmedabad-based Sai Infosystems (India) Limited (SIS), an IT solution provider, plans to file a DHRP by September this year and hopes to come out with a public issue by the last quarter of the current fiscal 2009-10.
Moreover, SIS has also revised its investment plans for the various projects and now intends to raise Rs 200-300 crore instead of Rs 100 crore as planned earlier.

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/dozen-smallmid-sized-gujarat-players-aim-ipo/369122/

BANK

Renu Kohli: Industrial growth you can bank upon

Once you adjust the credit growth data for seasonality, it shows an upturn that corresponds with a similar trend in industrial production, says Renu Kohli
The drop in the growth of bank credit to less than half of what it was five years ago is worrying everyone — both nominal and real credit growth are almost 4 per cent below the historical average for two decades. Its continued lethargic pace, amidst other signs of nascent resurgence, is also preventing the emergence of a firmer picture of economic revival. But a closer look at the smoothed, high-frequency data reveals a turnaround in the situation: The three-month moving average of the seasonally adjusted month-on-month growth, which eliminates short-term volatility and gives a better grasp of changes in the direction of the economy, shows a sustained upturn in non-food credit for the last six months. This upturn in credit growth corresponds closely to the similarly smoothed industrial output data for the same period. These concurrent trends are of immense significance for they indicate that sequential momentum in manufacturing and credit offtake is gaining a toehold, pointing to an upturn in growth from as early as February 2009. Hopefully, these trends should accelerate in the coming months and the focus will shift to the pace of the recovery instead.
The upward trend in both credit and output growth is unmistakable. The three-month moving average (3mma) in non-food credit growth shows a steady ascendance from February 2009. In particular, annualised credit growth (3mma) was a strong 22 per cent in July. For this fiscal (April-July), it averages 16 per cent on an annual basis. This, when compared to the average 5 per cent growth in the January-March quarter, the worst months, depicts a picture of vast improvement.
This trend coincides with the similarly smoothed industrial output series, which too is observed climbing steadily from the trough of February. The similarities are apparent — annualised average growth in industrial production for this fiscal is 15 per cent against the 4 per cent averaged in the January-March quarter (3mma).
This association provides some ground for optimism as it confirms that not only credit growth is keeping pace with economic activity but that overall economic activity is on a steady rebound. It also suggests that demand factors probably account more for the slow credit off-take, than risk aversion of the lenders, who’ve by now had ample opportunity — at least, three quarters’ performance since September 2008 — to evaluate the extent of damage to their asset quality.
Going forward, these trends should gain traction as reinforced by some other features. For instance, the monthly momentum in seasonally-adjusted bank credit jumped from 0.7 per cent in May to above 2 per cent in June-July. Anecdotal evidence from bankers confirms that loan sanctions are leading at this point and credit disbursals are expected to follow from September. And external commercial borrowings, which finance long-term investment, have been rising since April with an average $2 billion in June-July; cumulative overseas borrowings at $4.7 billion for this year, also compare favourably with the $6.5 billion of the corresponding period last year.
How much can bank credit growth be expected to accelerate in the near term? The upper bound could be provided by the actual monthly momentum in seasonally-adjusted, real non-food credit for April-July, with an assumption of constant monthly growth of 1.5 per cent for August-March. Real credit growth averages 17 per cent while nominal credit growth averages 21 per cent for the year as a whole, which is not so bad. It also roughly equals the RBI’s projected 20 per cent growth. And we can draw from history for the baseline scenario. Macroeconomic factors like GDP growth and nominal interest rates explain almost two-thirds of the variation in real credit growth. For the post-reform period, a percentage point rise in GDP growth is associated with a 2 per cent increase in real credit growth, which is offset by an opposing influence of almost half this magnitude: A 1 per cent increase in the nominal interest rate leads to a decline of 0.9 per cent in credit growth. Using these elasticities (which are only indicativ), a 6 per cent real GDP growth for 2009-10 with constant borrowing costs, yields a baseline scenario of an average 12 per cent growth in non-food bank credit in real terms. With a 4 per cent average inflation rate, bottom-line nominal credit growth could be around 16 per cent.
The spoiler here could be the unpleasant history. Comparing this downturn with the previous one in this decade (2000-01), the year-on-year real credit growth averages 7.6 per cent for both the downswings. What is worrisome is the recovery pattern: Credit growth recovered to only 8.1 percent in the following year (2001-02). Could that pattern be repeated in 2009-10? It is hard to judge to what extent the past can be used as predictor here; if structural factors dominated cyclical ones in the recent growth period, 2003-07, as is widely believed to be the case, then history may not be of much help.
When we compare the two downswings along these dimensions, then the cyclical and trend components of GDP and real credit growth for this decade offers some insights, and also some puzzles. Real credit and output growth both fell 0.4 per cent below respective trends in 2000-01; this time around, the fall in cyclical credit growth, 0.6 per cent below trend, is double the size of deviation of GDP (0.3 per cent) from its trend. Does this reflect the severity of credit contraction in relation to economic activity? Or does the plunge represent the fall from the credit boom in previous years? Or is there a structural shift due to fundamental factors like financial deepening, rising incomes and a higher growth trajectory? At this point it is hard to tell these factors apart.
Finally, if credit growth remains range-bound within 16-21 per cent for the year, with acceleration to approximately 20 per cent (annualised) over August-October, is there cause for concern about crowding out? Private sector’s demand for credit at these levels should be comfortably funded by redirecting the excess liquidity currently prevalent in the economy. With most of the government borrowing to be completed by September, fears of crowding out in the near term may be a little exaggerated.

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/renu-kohli-industrial-growth-you-can-bank-upon/369095/

RBI grants PD licence to Nomura

Nomura Fixed Income Securities Private Ltd. (NFIS) today anounced it has been granted a Primary Dealer (PD) licence by the Reserve Bank of India.   
"The PD licence will enable our strong fixed income team to leverage their expertise for the benefit of our clients in India, where we offer clients end to end financial solutions," Vikas Sharma, President and CEO of Nomura India, said.   
"This important milestone in the buildout of Nomura's Indian operations adds significant fixed income activities to our burgeoning franchises in equities, investment banking and asset management," he added in a statement.   
Pankaj Vaish, Nomura's Head of Equities and Fixed Income, Liquid Markets for India, said "India is a very important market for Nomura."   
That is why we are launching our fixed income business with a very strong team that had a large market share in the past. Using our global technical expertise, we expect to the market leaders in the new products being rolled out in India," he said.   
NFIS would be Nomura's flagship entity in India to pursue trading and client related activities in the Indian fixed income market, which is arguably the second largest in Asia (after Japan), it added.

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/rbi-grants-pd-licence-to-nomura/72665/on

SEBI

New Sebi norms reduce public issue time to 10 days

MUMBAI: The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has notified new guidelines that, among other things, reduces the overall time period for  public

issues to 10 days, and seeks disclosures relating to pledged shares in the prospectus. The new guidelines — Issue of Capital and Disclosure Requirements (ICDR) Regulations — replace the existing Disclosure and Investor Protection (DIP) guidelines.

Earlier, there was no clarity on the timeframe, especially when the price band was revised. According to a Sebi circular, ICDR regulations, while incorporating the provisions of DIP guidelines, have included "certain changes made by removing the redundant provisions, modifying certain provisions on account of changes necessitated due to market design and bringing more clarity to the provisions."

Under the new guidelines, the option of a 75% book building and 25% fixed price issue — which was rarely exercised — has been done away with. It has to be either a fixed price issue or a book-built one. Also, companies coming out with fixed price issues would no longer need to publish the price in the draft document.

The new guidelines stipulate that the total issue period should not exceed 10 days, including any revision in the price. The earlier guidelines were not clear on this matter, especially when the price band was revised. Meanwhile, the allotment/refund period in public issues has been capped at 15 days. Previously, the allotment/refund period for fixed price was 30 days.

In another important development and in its attempt to bring in more transparency in the grievance redressal mechanism, the market regulator has directed stock exchanges to disclose details of complaints lodged by investors against trading members and companies listed on the exchange, on their website. These disclosures would also include details pertaining to arbitration and penal action against trading members.

The new regulations also give Sebi the control of the surplus money in green shoe option bank account, as this money would have to be transferred to Sebi’s Investor Protection and Education Fund (IPEF). Earlier, this surplus money was transferred to the Investor Protection Fund of stock exchanges.

Among other things, the new guidelines have also clarified the definition of employees, key management personnel, restrictions on advertisements, currency of financial statements and the documents that have to be attached with the due diligence certificate.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/New-SEBI-norms-reduce-public-issue-time-to-10-days/articleshow/4974264.cms

SEBI cuts FII limit in gilts to Rs 800 cr

Our Bureau
Mumbai, Sept. 4 SEBI on Friday said allocation of Government debt limits for foreign institutional investors through open bidding process has been scheduled for September 8 on the NSE.
The remaining limit for investment in Government debt will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis on September 9.
The investment limit in Government debt for a single foreign institutional investor has been revised downward to Rs 800 crore from Rs 1,000 crore, a SEBI circular in partial amendment to an earlier circular said.
Allocation of individual FII’s investment limits in Government debt is partly ($8 billion) made through the open bidding platform.
The remaining limit for investment in Government debt will be allocated among the FIIs/sub-accounts through a special SEBI window.
“The window for the first come first served process shall open at 23:59 PM IST, September 9, 2009,” Sebi said.
Foreign Sovereign Securities
Foreign institutional investors can provide margins in the form of cash or foreign Sovereign Securities-rated AAA for transactions in interest rate futures, the NSE said quoting a SEBI August 28 circular on exchange traded interest rate futures.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2009/09/05/stories/2009090551741000.htm

Delhi Stock Exchange to start online trading

Fri, Sep 4 07:31 PM
Mumbai, Sep 4 (IANS) Delhi Stock Exchange (DSE) has received 110 membership applications from brokers for deposit-based trading and plans to launch an online trading platform, said a top official here Friday.
One of India's premier demutualised stock exchanges, DSE will become operational soon and trading is expected to commence by Diwali festival as part of a revival strategy, said DSE executive director H.S. Sidhu.
The DSE's new deposit-based trading membership has received good response from brokers in the capital as well as cities like Lucknow, Varanasi, Moradabad, Amritsar, Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Agra, Jaipur, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Indore and Nanded.
Well-known stock broking houses of the National Stock Exchange and the Bombay Stock Exchange are likely to participate, Sidhu said.
'We expect the membership numbers to cross the 150-figure mark by the launch date,' he said, and termed it as an indication of 'brokers' confidence in DSE'.
The stock exchange is also setting up a new online trading platform - Delhi Online Trading System - for case, derivatives and debt segments.
The membership, offering trading rights, is available for a non-refundable deposit of Rs.500,000 and a one-time admission fee of Rs.100,000.
DSE is also implementing an amnesty scheme to revive trading in inactive stocks and encourage compliance among companies, Sidhu added.
Under the scheme, existing companies would have to comply with the exchange requirements for two years and will be given a concession of up to 50 percent on listing fees.
New companies listed with some other recognized stock exchange and opting to list its shared with DSE shall not be levied any initial listing fee, processing fee and annual listing fee for the current fiscal.
The DSE amnesty scheme has also received an overwhelming response, with over 300 companies opting for it, Sidhu said.
DSE was launched in 1947 as a listed company under the Indian Companies Act, 1913 with 2,833 listed companies, of which 1,800 are exclusively listed on the exchange.

http://in.news.yahoo.com/43/20090904/846/tbs-delhi-stock-exchange-to-start-online.html

OTHERS

Now, SMS alerts from banks and airlines for a price

NEW DELHI: You may soon have to pay for your mobile alerts from banks and airlines which you currently get for free. Free and bulk SMS providers in India like SMSGupshup, MyToday, Way2SMS say that industry is up for disruptions even as large operators like Airtel, Idea, Tata Teleservices have entered into interconnect agreements which allow for a 10-15 paise charge on each SMS to be paid to the network which has received them.

Currently, bulk text messages are sold for as low as 4-5 paise per SMS, and costs might go up to 20 paise per SMS if operators start charging 10-15 paise for termination (the network receiving the SMS). At present, free text messages are used by banks, travel operators, airlines, hotels and restaurants to alert consumers about their ticket bookings, bank accounts, or new offers. Health departments in many states have also started using the service to spread awareness about swine flu. Many coastal states use free SMS to send disaster warnings to citizens. Many panchayats use it to spread awareness about new crops or cattle health.

The result. Free text messages may become paid in many services for consumers. On the other hand, it may impact the fledgling Rs 70-crore text message marketing industry. Besides, consumers may get less marketing text messages too.
Says Abhijit Saxena, CEO of Netcore Solutions and provider of MyToday brand of free news, stocks and sports SMS feeds: “The agreements between operators like these may completely wipe the free SMS industry out. It’s a disruptive thing and there is no way we could be profitable by providing an SMS at 20 paise. Free SMS alerts may become paid with these agreements.” Companies like Netcore operate on an advertising revenue-based model for survival, where in a free SMS is inserted by a text ad.

Hyderabad-based V V Raju, CEO of Way2SMS, one of the largest free SMS service provider with over 50 lakh subscribers, also feels the move would adversely impact the fledgling industry. “However, he feels that VAS providers will have to enter into deals separately with operators now,” Way2SMS also provides free email alerts via SMS on mobile phones.

An SMSGupshup official, however, said that they were deeply concerned and were redesigning their strategy because of this move by the operators last month. Many companies under the Internet and Mobile Association of India are planning to approach the telecom regulator Trai to regulate the operators. “We are going to fight it out with Trai as our members are affected by it. Levying high interconnect SMS charges will impact the industry,” says Subho Ray, president, IAMAI.

But it might not bear too much fruit as regulations allow interconnect charges. Says telecom consulting firm BDA Connect’s Kunal Bajaj: “Currently, SMS interconnect charges are under forebearance by Trai which means operators can charge any amount for termination. On the one hand, large operators might gain in the short term from this move. But in the long run, they may lose as it will wipe out the free SMS industry.”

In contrast, an official from a large operator said that it is unfair for VAS industry to say that they should not pay up if they are using our network. On the other hand, many in the VAS industry suggest that interconnect charges should remain low at 1-2 paise to allow for profitability.

Says Mobile marketing association’s India co-Chair Rajiv Hirnandani: “Already, marketing through industry was ailing with regulations like Do Not Disturb. This move will impact it more.” Currently, the SMSes which you get on the mobile have two letters pre-fixed to them. For instance, a ‘TM’ message might mean that it is sent from Tata Tele Maharashtra.

ttp://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Now-SMS-alerts-from-banks-and-airlines-for-a-price/articleshow/4969751.cms