Africa's largest steel maker, ArcelorMittal South Africa, has asked the government to impose a 10 percent import duty on steel and in return it may offer shares to black empowerment partners, a newspaper reported on Sunday. Shares in the unit of the world's largest producer of steel are trading around their lowest levels in more than a decade and the company has said South Africa's high labour costs, poor rail infrastructure and slowing economy have forced it to consider cutting back operations and jobs. The Sunday Times newspaper reported that steel baron Lakshmi Mittal was in South Africa in June, where he briefed President Jacob Zuma's government on the challenges in the steel industry and asked for intervention to counter cheap Chinese imports. "Rome is burning, every single day the industry loses millions and it is really, really concerning," Paul O'Flaherty, the CEO of ArcelorMittal South Africa told the newspaper. He said the local economy "is dead, there is just no infrastructure spend". According to Thomson Reuters data, shares in the company have dropped over 60 percent in the last 12-months and 54.8 percent so far this year. ArcelorMittal South Africa has not made a profit in the past five years and in exchange for protection from steel imports, the newspaper reported that Mittal would be prepared to offer shares to black South African consortiums. "We are at a stage where the major shareholder understands that we need an ownership deal and we are putting plans in place to do one. However you need an industry that you can invest in," O'Flaherty said. ArcelorMittal is expected to decide by the end of July on the future of its Vandebijlpark operations, outside Johannesburg, its biggest loss-maker, which employs 4,500 workers. The company and government spokesmen could not be reached for comment. (Reuters)
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NRI entrepreneur Lord Karan Bilimoria has been appointed as the President of the UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA).He will replace Baroness Usha Prashar?as she steps down, having served the maximum term of nine years. This is the latest in a string of higher education roles held by him.Bilimoria, the founder of Cobra Beer, is also Chancellor of the University of Birmingham, a Member of the Advisory Boards of the Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge as well as the Cranfield School of Management, and was previously Chancellor of Thames Valley University.Born in Hyderabad, 53-year-old Bilimoria was the youngest university Chancellor in the UK when he became Chancellor of Thames Valley University, now the University of West London."I am very pleased with all the work that UKCISA does to best represent the voice and mass of the international student body, particularly as I myself was an international student," he said after his appointment.He said this appointment enables him to fully support the UKCISA manifesto and make a full commitment to speaking on behalf of Britain's talented international student community."Britain urgently needs more skilled and talented graduates, yet its disparaging rhetoric towards immigrants among those in power, paired with our Home Secretary?s refusal to remove students from immigration targets, broadcasts the wrong message to those hoping to study here. As a result, we have seen members of the international student community turn its back on Britain in vast numbers," he said."I aim to do all I can to turn this worrying trend around by promoting the huge benefits of studying in Britain's great universities and pushing for talented and highly skilled students to be able to stay in Britain after graduation, through schemes like the two year post study work visa ? which should be reintroduced."These measures will benefit international students, while strengthening the British economy and making Britain a hub for knowledge, skills and business," he added.The UKCISA is the UK's national advisory body serving the interests of international students and those who work with them.(PTI)
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Mphasis, an IT services provider, has signed a definitive agreement to transfer a portion of its domestic business, subject to regulatory approvals, to Karvy Data Management Services Limited (KDMSL) – a provider of business and knowledge process services in India.“Specialisation and consistent strategy execution holds the key to success. This definitive agreement offers tangible proof of our commitment to execute our strategic roadmap.” said Ganesh Ayyar, CEO of Mphasis.This is Mphasis’ second definitive agreement further to the recent signing with Hinduja Global Solutions (HGS) to transfer over 7000 employees which was roughly two-third of the India Domestic Voice business. With this current agreement, over 2000 employees would be transferred to KDMSL.“KDMSL is optimistic about the overall business growth in India and hence better business volumes. Our pedigree and footprint in the country would enhance and integrate service offerings to clientele in addition to the existing voluminous transaction processing capabilities. We are thrilled with this acquisition.” said V Mahesh, Managing Director of KDMSL.
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American TV network CNN's Indian-origin medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta is under scrutiny after it emerged that a child he had operated upon during the earthquake in Nepal had been wrongly identified by him, even as the network rallied behind him. Gupta, CNN's chief medical correspondent and a practicing neurosurgeon, clarified that he did perform brain surgery on a 14-year-old girl following the earthquake in Nepal in April but acknowledged he may have misidentified the patient as being eight-year-old, according to a post on the CNN website. "We are trying to independently verify exactly which child it was," Gupta said on CNN's "New Day". The clarification came after the website Global Press Journal reported that the 8-year-old identified by CNN "never underwent surgery of any kind." Gupta had travelled to Nepal in the days following the earthquake to cover the devastating natural calamity and had operated on a girl on April 27 at Kathmandu's Bir Hospital. The Global Press Journal reported that according to the girl's family and doctors, Salina Dahal was never operated on. Instead, Gupta had operated on 14-year-old Sandhya Chalise. CNN rallied behind Gupta, saying he had the network's support and that it was proud of his work. Gupta has our "full and unequivocal support," CNN said in a statement. "As we reported, he assisted the surgeons at Bir Hospital by performing a craniotomy on a young victim," the network said. "Some reporting has suggested it was not the young girl we, at the time of our own reporting in the midst of the crisis, believed her to be. We will try to verify that." It said Gupta had spent a week in Nepal, "helped save a young life in the operating room, and we couldn't be prouder of him." Gupta's medical assistance, particularly in disaster zones, is sometimes shown on the network's newscasts. CNN had provided video to Global Press Journal more than a week ago that showed Gupta's role in the surgery, contradicting the initial claim that he hadn't helped at all. "He was, if anything, relatively modest on the air in characterising his own role. He simply appears to have been fundamentally wrong about the identity of his patient," said NPR's David Folkenflik, who was informed of the journal's reporting ahead of time. (PTI)
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India has pipped China to drive the volume growth of smartphones in the world on the back of falling prices of high-end devices and growing adoption of 3G services, according to an HSBC report."China was the volume growth engine since 2013. However, given China's smartphone penetration having reached 95 per cent in 2014, further growth will be derived from other emerging countries with relatively low smartphone penetration."We forecast that smartphone shipments will grow at a 2014-19 CAGR of 26 per cent in India, followed by 19 per cent in Middle East (West Asia), 8 per cent in Latin America and 5 per cent in China," HSBC Global Research report said on Thursday (9 July).It noted that India was the global No. 2 mobile phone market in 2014 with 275 million units of shipment, or 14 per cent of world market. However, it was global No. 3 smartphone market last year with 81 million units of shipment, or 6 per cent of global market.India's smartphone penetration was merely 30 per cent in 2014. This is far below 95 per cent for China and 72 per cent at the global level, the report observed.It attributed the meagre penetration to lower disposable income and lack of carrier subsidy but said the falling smartphone prices and growing adoption of 3G should help increase the penetration of high-end phones in India.India will account for 12 per cent of global smartphone market with a penetration rate of 65 per cent in 2019, it said."While we believe demand for 3G smartphones will continue to dominate for the next 12-18 months, post that, will it be still 3G-led demand or 4G-led demand will depend on how successful 4G entrants are with their offerings."The report noted that the online channel currently accounts for less than 10 per cent of smartphone sales in India compared to 20 per cent in China."We note there are currently 70 million 3G users and total Internet users are estimated at 243 million (including 2G data users). Increasing Internet adoption and ability of e-commerce portals to get into exclusive deals with handset makers suggest that online handsets sales may double to 20 per cent over the next 18 months," the report said.(Agencies)
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Wipro on Thursday said it will acquire global strategic design firm Designit for € 85 million (about Rs 595 crore), a move aimed at strengthening the digital services business of the country’s third largest software services company. “Wipro Digital, the digital business unit of Wipro has announced its intention to acquire Designit. This investment marks a further stage in Wipro’s move to evolve the digital offer it takes to market,” Wipro said in a statement. This would be the first acquisition by Wipro Digital, a business unit formed recently to tap into the digital oppotunities in the market. The purchase consideration of € 85 million includes a performance based contingent consideration payable over three years, it added. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals and is expected to be closed in the current quarter. “The final payout could range between 70 per cent — 105% of purchase consideration,” Wipro said. The acquisition will add complementary capabilities which is crucial for digital transformation initiatives such as world-class strategic design talent, it added. It also adds size (over 300 designers) and global reach (network of nine offices), Wipro said. Founded in 1991, Denmark-based Designit is privately held and delivers transformative product-service experiences for brands in healthcare, telecom, banking, automotive, and retail sectors. “Our clients are looking to us to help them transform their businesses and move at the speed of digital. Solving these complex challenges starts with strategic design and fuses a human-centered method with innovative technology solutions delivered by multi-disciplinary teams of strategists, designers and engineers,” Wipro Digital Senior Vice President and Global Head Rajan Kohli said. The acquisition will complement the capabilities of an established design leader with Wipro’s engineering heritage and bring compelling value to clients, he added. “Design is no longer about beautification. It is about creating a strategic foundation, driving growth and change across industries. There is an endless market for products, services, and systems that need to be simplified and humanized,” Designit Founder and Chief Visionary Officer Mikal Hallstrup said.(PTI)
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Tata Consultancy Services on Thursday (09 July) posted better than expected quarterly net profit and said it would increase investments in digital services to meet faster adoption by clients. India's information technology firms have in recent months moved towards higher value services and are focusing on digital technologies to cater to customers increasingly seeking expertise in areas like automation and artificial intelligence. "Given the strong pipeline and market adoption of digital across industries, we are investing to train over 100,000 professionals this year in all relevant technologies, CEO N. Chandrasekaran said in a statement. The digital segment contributed about 12.5 per cent to the company's consolidated annual revenue, he added. TCS, the biggest company by market value in India's $146 billion IT outsourcing industry, said net profit rose 13 per cent to Rs 5,709 crore ($900 million) for its fiscal first quarter to June 30, higher than analysts estimates of Rs 5,440 crore. TCS, part of India's diversified Tata Group, said the current situation in Greece and China did not pose any immediate concerns for the company. TCS makes close to a fifth of its revenue from Europe. Revenue rose 16.1 per cent from a year earlier to Rs 25,668 crore. Sequentially, the company's revenue rose 6 per cent, slightly above analyst expectations of 5.3 per cent. The Mumbai-based company attributed growth in the quarter to strong demand from North America and greater traction for TCS's digital solutions in areas like financial services, retail and life sciences. Typically, Indian IT services companies see better revenue growth during the first two fiscal quarters, when client spending tends to rise as compared to the second half of the fiscal year. Shares of the company closed down 2.8 per cent before the results on Thursday, while the broader Mumbai market was down 0.41 per cent. (Reuters)
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Hiring activities in sectors like accounting and finance industry has seen an increase according to a new survey. The Naukri Job Speak Index for the month of June 2015 stood at 1749 recording an 11 per cent increase in hiring activity over June 2014.V. Suresh, Executive Vice President and Chief Sales Officer, Naukri.com said, “Job market continues to sustain the momentum gained in April and May with an impressive 11 per cent growth in June. Sectors like IT, Banking and Pharma lead the show right now and we can expect the other sectors to start looking up in the next few months or so. Looks like Jobs are back and exciting times ahead!!".While the maximum increase in hiring was recorded in the Banking, IT-Software, IT-Hardware and Telecom industries too showed an upsurge in hiring activity. However, hiring activity in sectors such as oil and gas, auto and real estate witnessed a year-on-year decline in the June’15 index over June’14.While the hiring sentiment in the metros like Mumbai, Bangalore and Kolkata recorded an upward movement. While Delhi-NCR was stagnant in hiring activity in the June’15 index.Industry Wise AnalysisApart from the Accounting /Finance industry, which led the pack in terms of Y-o-Y growth in hiring activity. BFSI industry reported a Y-o-Y growth of 49 per cent in the June’15 index. The IT- Software and Hardware industries witnessed a Y-o-Y growth in hiring activity to the tunes of 23 per cent and 19 per cent respectively in the June 2015 over June 2014.Pharmaceutical and Healthcare industries too saw a Y-o-Y increase in hiring activity to the tunes of 14 per cent and 16 per cent respectively. Core sectors like Oil and Gas, Real Estate and Auto continue to witness a decline in hiring activity to the tunes of 31 per cent, 19 per cent and 16 per cent respectively in June’15 over June’14Kolkata, Hyderabad and Chennai registered a Y-o-Y increase of 19 per cent and 5 per cent respectively in hiring activity in the June’15 index. The hiring activity in Delhi-NCR remained stagnant according to the June’15 over June’14.Functional Area Analysis:The demand for IT-Software professionals saw an increase in the June’15 index. The demand for consulting professionals recorded the highest Y-o-Y increase, to the tune of 28 per cent, in the June’15 index.Demand for professionals in accounts/finance, banking/insurance and marketing also recorded a Y-o-Y growth of 22 per cent, 18 per cent and 10 per cent respectively in June’15 index. The demand for professionals in Pharma also witnessed a Y-o-Y growth to the tune of 5 per cent June’15 over June’14.The demand for professionals in IT-Hardware witnessed a stable trend in June’15 index. ITES and Packaging professionals saw a decline in demand of 4 per cent and 10 per cent respectively in June 2015 over June 2014.
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The Catalyst study showed that narrowing down culture gap would help in talent retention, especially women, reports Simar SinghThe narrower the gap is between employees’ desired workplace culture and the reality, the more likely are they to stay with the organisation, indicates a survey of both male and female MBA graduates. This revelation made by the report, ‘Mind Your Culture Gap’, is important as hiring and retaining talent is increasingly becoming one of the biggest challenges employers are facingUndertaken by the research organisation, Catalyst, the study showed that narrowing down this gap would particularly incentivise women to stick on with only 3 per cent of the respondents reporting that they would be likely to leave if this happened. This is a significant decrease from the 44 per cent who were likely to leave if the culture gap was wide.46 per cent of the male respondents claimed that they were likely to leave if the culture gap was wide and only half of them reported to be likely to stay if the gap was significantly narrowed down.“This is important news for company leaders who are increasingly concerned about finding and keeping top talent and driving organizational performance,” said Deborah Gillis, President and CEO, Catalyst. “Women and men will seek out and stay at companies that demonstrate the behaviours that previous Catalyst research has linked to inclusion and innovation: empowerment, accountability, courage, and humility.”According to the researchers, the closer the work place culture was to employees’ expectations the more satisfied they would be with their pay, work and advancement, supervisors and the organization’s commitments to work-life quality and diversity.More On Talent RetentionThe study also explores how companies can move away from their tendency to overlook the “people side” of change, as a second report titled, ‘Think People, Not Just Programmes, to Build Inclusive Workplaces’, indicates. Suggestions include connecting employees to the company’s core values, promoting transparency portraying a socially responsible image by sharing philanthropic and volunteer efforts and how they benefit customers and the broader community and creating pathways for dialogue by encouraging communication and feedback.All the suggestions have been backed by statistical indicators of their effectiveness. For example, more than 62 per cent of employees who strongly felt that their company was making a meaningful impact also felt included.A preference for constructive organisational behaviour which encompassed an emphasis on integrity, collaboration and support was reported as opposed to aggressive behaviour which emphasised on perfectionism, power, competition, and opposition. There was largely a consensus among both the male and female respondents that the biggest gap in their workplace cultures was that they were not constructive enough and creating such an environment was key to retaining top talent.
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Bangalore-based Practo, an online platform for doctor search, has acquired Genii, a product outsourcing firm to strengthen tech team and help accelerate time to market across enterprise segments.The founders of Genii, Varun Vohra and Aditya Anand, along with the 11-member team will join Practo and move to Bangalore. Genii founders will lead product teams and accelerate Practo’s march towards the enterprise space with products focused around hospitals, diagnostic centers and others.Practo listed in over 8,000 hospitals on its platform and will expand this to over 20,000 by end of this year.Shashank ND, Founder & CEO, Practo, said, “This is the second of several acquisitions we are exploring. It is the next step in our mission to make Practo your health app. We believe acquisitions are a fantastic way to add world class like-minded talent to our team. It gives us a fast way to scale and the ability to further accelerate our roadmap. We continue to look at acquiring great talent and technology. I’m very excited to have the Genii team join us and look forward to building exciting products with them".
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