Mittal buys third major property in London's priciest street

NRI steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal has bought his third major property for 70 million pounds in Kensington Palace Gardens, London’s most expensive street. ( Watch )

Mittal, whose fortune is estimated at 27 billion pounds, already owns two large homes in Kensington Palace Gardens where Princess Diana spent her last years.

The latest purchase of the former embassy of the Philippines from Hedge fund tycoon Noam Gottesman came a month after Mittal bought Britain’s most expensive house for 117 million pounds on the street nicknamed "Billionaire’s Row", ostensibly for his son Aditya and his family.

The 70 million pounds price tag for Mittal’s latest property is all the more remarkable as the former Philippine Embassy is in need of modernisation, the Evening Standard said.

The 16,250 square feet home is also not the largest in the road but it looks on to Kensington Palace.

58-year-old Mittal, Britain’s richest man, himself lives in a home in Kensington Palace Gardens which he bought for 57 million pounds four years ago and is three times-bigger than his latest acquisition.

Idea Cellular to Buy Spice Communications to Compete With Bharti Airtel

Idea Cellular Ltd. the fastest growing of India’s five biggest mobile-phone carriers, offered 32.4 billion rupees ($757 million) for control of Spice Communications Ltd. to increase subscribers by a sixth.

Idea, owned by billionaire Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla, agreed to buy a 41 percent stake from Spice Group for 77.30 rupees a share and make an open offer for a further 20 percent at a price that’s 41 percent higher than Spice’s close yesterday. Idea, whose chairman also runs cement and aluminum operations, will sell a 15 percent stake to Malaysia’s TM International Bhd. after the takeover. TM owns 39 percent of Spice.

Idea will add about 4.5 million customers, closing in on Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd., India’s fourth-largest carrier. India is projected by the telecom ministry to double its mobile-phone subscribers to 500 million in two years, after having surpassed the U.S. as the second-biggest market this year.

``By taking over Spice they enhance their position and secondly, they become a dominant player’’ in India, said Choo Swee Kee, who counts TM International shares among the $202 million he manages at TA Asset Management Bhd. in Kuala Lumpur. ``For TM International, to hold a smaller stake in a bigger ocean is better than to hold a larger stake in a pond.’’

Idea this year has been adding customers faster than larger rivals Bharti Airtel Ltd. and Vodafone Group Plc’s Indian unit, according to data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. The combined entity will have about 30 million subscribers in the market of 269 million users. Bharat Sanchar had 41 million users in April, while Bharti, the nation’s largest operator, had more than 64 million subscribers.

Shares Surge

Spice surged 32 percent in Mumbai to close at a record 72.35 rupees. Idea climbed 2.8 percent to 101.90 rupees, its biggest gain since June 12. India’s benchmark Sensitive Index rose 0.8 percent.

Idea shares have dropped 27 percent this year compared with a 22 percent decline in the Bharti stock and the benchmark index’s 30 percent fall.

After the takeover, Idea will sell 464.7 million shares of the combined company at 156.96 rupees apiece to TM, Malaysia’s second-largest wireless carrier, the New Delhi-based Idea said.

``India is all about scale. The merger will result in scale being achieved, so it’s very positive for us,’’ Yusof Annuar Yaacob, chief financial officer at TM, said in a phone interview. ``A merger where we’ll end up having a stake in Idea is better than having 39 percent’’ of a smaller company, he said.

TM, which offers wireless services to 40 million customers in 10 Asian markets including Indonesia and Bangladesh, will gain a stake in an operator with licenses to sell services nationwide.

Yusof said TM will spend about $2 billion to get as much as a 19 percent stake in the merged entity and added he would fund it through debt.

Expansion Plans

Idea expects to start wireless services in Tamil Nadu, Bihar, and Mumbai, the country’s financial hub, by August, Birla told reporters in Mumbai today. The carrier plans to spend as much as 100 billion rupees in two years to expand services and complete the takeover in six months, he said.

The Birla family, which is one of India’s oldest business families, runs companies including Hindalco Industries Ltd., India’s largest producer of aluminum and Grasim Industries Ltd., the South Asian nation’s third-largest cement producer.

``We have already moved from being the sixth biggest to the fifth-largest player in the telecom business. Our objective is to build on that position of strength and move aggressively with our growth plans,’’ Birla said.

Daler Mehndi sings in Rajinikanth's Kuselan

The magic and mayhem around superstar Rajinikanth’s ’Kuselan’ is getting bigger by the day. The audio album of the movie will hit the market on July 1 across the country. G. V. Prakash has reportedly come out with very good songs and Punjabi pop king Daler Mehndi will be singing in Tamil for the first time. Lending his inimitable voice for the song ’Oyam Zaarare’ this is the first time the popular singer will be featured in a South Indian song.

Big names of the music industry such as Shankar Mahadevan, Hariharan, Sujata, Chitra, Sadhna Sargam, Shreya Ghosal, Kailash Kher and Prasanna.V.V. have all sung for ’Kuselan’.

Superstar Rajinikanth speaking about his role in the film said, "The character Ashok Raj will be a turning point in my career. I have always been overwhelmed by the response I get from my audience. I have portrayed nearly 20 different characters for a song in this film and I am very excited about the movie."

While Daler Mahendi’s song ’Oyam Zarare’ is poised to be the next chartbuster, the audiences will groove to the foot tapping tunes of ’Perinba’. A major highlight of the song is that P. Vasu has got the who’s who of the Tamil Film industry to appear in the song.

The audio rights for ‘Kuselan’ have been bagged by Big Music, truly a big name in the music business.

Katherine tops 'Most Desirable Women' list

Katherine Heigl has been named the Most Desirable Woman in a poll by AskMen.com. The ‘ Grey’s Anatomy ’ star pipped the likes of Jessica Alba and Scarlett Johansson to land the top spot at AskMen.com’s annual list of Top 99 Most Desirable Women.

In casting their votes, readers were asked to look beyond sex appeal and beauty to choose women who have the characteristics they value in a potential companion, like intelligence, humor, charisma, and ambition.

Over 5 million votes were cast as the readers identified the females from the worlds of music, fashion, sports, and entertainment who they felt best represented their ideal woman.

The second spot went to supermodel Alessandra Ambrosio, while actress Kate Beckinsale stood third.

The Top 10 Most Desirable Women are:

1. Katherine Heigl

2. Alessandra Ambrosio

3. Kate Beckinsale

4. Eva Mendes

5. Jessica Alba

6. Scarlett Johansson

7. Jessica Biel

8. Rihanna

9. Marisa Miller

10. Adriana Lima

Are you ready for Freemales?

If you are single, child-free (not childless) and consider relationships (read romantic) a high-risk job, you have just earned a new adjective for yourself – Freemale. This species came into existence about a decade back and while most other species that should be saved – both flora and fauna – are finding their way to WWF’s Red List, Freemales are actually increasing in number. So while all you Freemales out there raise a toast, countries like Australia and England are reporting in various surveys how the number of single women in the age-group of 25-45 have actually doubled and may soon surpass the number of their married counterparts!

Hallelujah to that, but is the situation in India similar too? Well, Freemales may not have overtaken the married women, but the numbers have shown an appreciable increase. In fact, you can happily count any woman who takes to her designer heels the moment a relative/friend/acquaintance asks ‘when are you tying the knot?’ in this category.

“What I don’t understand is why your single status is counted as ‘hasn’t got a good enough catch till now’. Yes, I am waiting for Mr Right but I won’t settle for Mr Right Now. So if I have to go without marriage, so be it. I am not complaining, only the rest of the world is,” says Sarika Gupta, a 30-year-old bank manager, who hates the fact that her self worth is decided by the fact that she has not managed to get a ‘Mrs’ prefix to her name till now, “I have a house, a car and a healthy social life. But all that is negated the moment my marital status comes into play!”

There are others who say that they are happy to put themselves first, only nobody will buy it. “I am ok with my life the way it is. I have seen my friends going through bitter divorces or making adjustments to somehow keep their marriage going. I won’t say I am disillusioned with the institution but just that it doesn’t excite me enough to give up my freedom and way of life for it. And honestly, I am too set in my ways today and too busy with work to try to make a match. I have men in my life but they aren’t the ones I will pledge my troth to anytime soon,” says 34-year-old Meenu Menon, a media professional.

However, these Bridget Jones-meet-Sex And The City quartet don’t intend to be single for the rest of their lives. “If love and marriage happen, great, but no second choices for me,” says graphic designer Arpita Trivedi, “I have spent a lot of time abroad before I came to India. Trust me, Indian society is as accepting of your single status as a US or UK. At least here you have your family to act as a cushion when you take a fall. There living a single life is much more difficult. But singletons all across the world are used to being go-getters; a loser of a marital match has no chance in hell of succeeding. So why go for it? Also, rootless as I have been of late, do I want to get into such a relationship and not change cities if my work demands it? I am not so sure.”

However, this status is not half as much fun as it sounds. Ask the 40-year-old Carrie Bradshaw in SATC, who at 40 realises credit cards can buy you Manolo Blahniks and extra closet space for your designer togs, but not love. You may not want to marry for the next three years, but will you regret this decision in five? “It is not easy,” confesses 36-years-old Juhi Galihar, a self-employed entrepreneur, “At times I do miss having a family, a husband. But then, my married friends say they wish they had decided to focus on their careers instead of taking a break to take care of their kids. Well, you can’t have it all!”

Where will Bill Gates head now?

The announcement by one of the world’s richest men two years ago that he intended to switch from the corporate arena to the world of charity sounded like a cliche. Now, Bill Gates faces the challenge of making it real. "With success, I have been given great wealth," Gates said in June 2006. "And with great wealth comes great responsibility to give back to society, to see that those resources are put to work in the best possible way to help those in need."

That pledge will see Gates, 52, take a hands-on role as co-chairman of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the world’s richest charity, which thanks to the generosity of Gates and his close friend, fellow business tycoon Warren Buffet, currently has a war chest of $37.3 billion dedicated to improving health care and fighting poverty in the developing world.

The foundation is destined to become even richer with both its main benefactors pledging to donate almost their entire fortunes and to require the foundation to spend all its money within 50 years of their deaths.

Currently, the foundation is required by law to make grants of at least $1.5 billion annually, but the plan is to dramatically increase that figure, and plans are already in the works to double the foundation’s staff of 250 employees.

The foundation is split into three units.

The Global Health Programme currently donates some $800 million a year -- roughly equal to the annual budget of the UN’s World Health Organization. It plays a leading role in efforts to eradicate polio, fight AIDS and spread the use of vaccines and immunizations.

The Global Development Programme helps fight extreme poverty, with grants that support micro-finance loans, agricultural development in Africa and the spread of information technology.

Among the biggest projects of the United States Programme are scholarships for high-achieving minority college students, Internet access in libraries and numerous other educational initiatives.

While there would seem to be little to criticize about a guy who gives $30 billion to charity, the foundation does often come in for criticism.

A report in the Financial Times quotes scientists condemning the grant-making process as "opaque."

Others say the foundation shirks the responsibility of "saving lives now" through simple actions like boosting vaccines, in favour of early-stage science aimed at developing breakthrough drugs.

Some also criticise the foundation for not taking more concrete steps to improve the lives of the poor, for excluding white students in the US from its billion-dollar scholarship programmes and for working with abortion-rights groups to help combat the spread of AIDS.

There is also a concern that the Gates Foundation will dominate any issue it becomes involved in, deterring other donors who might otherwise have contributed.

Gates, of course, is no stranger to controversy and appears ready to put his intellect and celebrity to bat for the foundation’s causes.

"The new world is more controversial than the old world," he told Newsweek.

"We do family planning. We fund research on crops, and some people think that you shouldn’t take science to help the poor people. This whole thing about which operating system somebody uses is a pretty silly thing versus issues involving starvation or death."

Gates is determined to have a major impact on the world’s major problems and has been studying furiously to get familiar with the science behind the issues.

He also brings his clout, vision and business acumen to the table, which could be decisive in pushing forward remedies and cajoling governments who might have different agendas.

"This is good news for the world’s poor," said Anne Lynam Goddard, chief of staff of CARE, an Atlanta-based non-profit funded by the Gates Foundation.

She recalls how Bill and Melinda Gates went to speak to ex-prostitutes in Botswana to learn about the spread of AIDS.

"Where others might have shied away from working in that sector, they haven’t," Goddard said. "They come with no political agenda."

India says Reliance to pump natural gas by September

India’s Reliance Industries Ltd will start pumping 25 million standard cubic metres a day (mmscmd) of natural gas from its D-6 field in the Krishna Godavari basin by September, the government said.This would help fertiliser plants switch to gas from naphtha and fuel oil, boost power generation, and increase supplies to households, the oil ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

Output from the deep-sea field in the Bay of Bengal is expected to rise to 40 mmscmd by March 2009, it said.

The government said companies that discover gas in India under the New Exploration Licencing Policy must accord priority to urea plants, LPG plants, power plants and city gas distribution projects in that order.

"The sale would be on the basis of formula for determining the price as approved by the government," it said.

Twenty-two natural gas-based urea plants, which are using naphtha and fuel oil as natural gas was not available, would benefit from the decision, the statement said.

The government said 3 mmscmd of Reliance’s gas would be supplied to existing gas-based LPG plants, while 18 mmscmd would be supplied to power plants which were idle, underutilised or due to be commissioned this fiscal year.

India markets rattled by surprise rate rise

Indian shares fell to their lowest in more than a year and government bond yields soared to seven-year highs on Wednesday after a surprise rate rise by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday aimed at reining in inflation.Bank shares fell, with No. 2 lender ICICI Bank dropping as much as 4.3 percent to its lowest since Oct. 2006 on expectations loan demand would ease.

Lenders generally were expected to raise interest rates after the RBI lifted its key lending rate by an aggressive half a percentage point to a six-year high of 8.5 percent and increased reserve requirements for banks.

The RBI tightened policy after data late last week showed annual wholesale price inflation jumped in early June to a 13-year high of more than 11 percent. It was the second rate rise this month.

The finance ministry said the rate rise would moderate demand and inflation but should augur well for the overall economy, which expanded 9.0 percent in the last fiscal year.

Industrialists were less sanguine, with automotive suppliers, real estate and consumer products makers concerned about the impact of rising credit costs on investment and demand.

"The entire industry will feel the impact as the cost of cars will go up now, as well as manufacturing costs," Arvind Kapur, managing director of auto parts maker Rico Auto Industries Ltd, said.

BOND YIELDS TO RISE FURTHER?

The partially convertible rupee, which has been under selling pressure from capital outflows and a widening trade deficit in recent weeks, gained 0.3 percent to 42.8625 per dollar.

Traders said foreign investors were buying Indian bonds to lock-in the higher yield, which in turn boosted the rupee. Exporters bought the rupee in anticipation of further gains.

The rupee hit a 13-month low of 43.21 in late May, but traders say the central bank has been supporting it since to prevent costlier imports from stoking inflation.

The benchmark 10-year bond yield jumped to 8.86 percent in early trade, a level last tested in October 2001, from a close at 8.57 percent on Tuesday, before the rate move.

"We should see 9.10-9.20 percent on the 10-year yields in the near term," said Suresh Pai, chief dealer at Canara Bank.

The benchmark share index fell 2.6 percent to its lowest since May 2007. It stood down 0.5 percent at 0700 GMT.

Poor India makes millionaires at fastest pace

India, with the world’s largest population of poor people living on less than a dollar a day, also paradoxically created millionaires at the fastest pace in the world in 2007 even though the world grew such "high net worth individuals (HNWIs)" at the slowest pace in four years.

Growing them at a blistering pace of 22.7 per cent, India added another 23,000 more millionaires in 2007 to its 2006 tally of 100,000 millionaires measured in dollars, according to an annual Merrill Lynch Cap Gemini report that weighs such financial information for its wealth and asset management purposes.

In contrast, developmental agencies put the number of subsistence level Indians living on less than a dollar a day at 350 million and those living on less than $ 2 a day at 700 million. In other words, for every millionaire, India has about 7000 impoverished people.

While India’s HNWI population growth of 22.7 per cent in 2007 exceeded China’s 20.3 per cent and its own 2006 gains of 20.5 in 2006, it was still way below its giant neighbour in absolute number of millionaires. China counted nearly 500,000 HNWIs.

Overall, the numbers of millionaires (not counting home values in their assets) in the world grew at 9.4 per cent and crossed the 10 million mark for the first time. The United States, despite its economic woes, led the pack of Richie Rich’s with more than three million millionaires, i.e., one in every three millionaires in the world lives in America.

The combined wealth of the globe’s millionaires grew to nearly $41 trillion last year, which means their average wealth was more than $4 million, the highest it’s ever been.

In measuring the millionaire mob in India, the Merrill Lynch Cap Gemini report looked at metrics for the year 2007, which means it did not take into account the precipitous stock market slide that has wiped out nearly a third of the market value in 2008.

"India led the world in HNWI population growth at 22.7 percent, driven by market capitalization growth of 118 percent and real GDP growth of 7.9 percent. Although India’s real GDP growth decelerated from 9.4 percent in 2006, current levels are considered more stable and sustainable," the report observed.

It also ranked India’s two largest exchanges – the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange – among the world’s top 12 exchanges by end of 2007, "with growth rates of 122% and 115% respectively....that were boosted by initial public offering markets and heightened international interest."

Explaining the faster rate of growth of millionaires in India than in China, the report suggests that as market capitalization and real GDP in China were spread over a larger population, there were smaller per capita gains in China. In 2006, India had a larger market capitalization growth than gross national income, significantly impacting HNWI population growth.

In addition, it said, China is currently experiencing explosive growth in its "mass affluent" population, which has yet to break the HNWI threshold of US$1million.

The observation also suggests China is having greater equitable growth than India.

Sania Mirza overcomes injury to down Castano

Sania Mirza battled through the pain barrier to reach the second round of Wimbledon with a scrappy 7-6 3-6 6-4 win over Colombia’s Catalina Castano on Tuesday.The Indian number one, making a comeback after undergoing wrist surgery in April, needed a medical time out at 4-1 down in the second set to treat a pectoral injury.

Although the rub down could not save her from losing the second set, Mirza stood firm in the decider to wrap up victory after two hours 16 minutes.

"It’s always good to get through matches like that, even when you’re not playing your best, you’re coming back from an injury," Mirza told reporters.

"Today I actually felt nervous again to go out. I didn’t really sleep well last night, to be honest. But I think that happens when you’re coming back from injury.

"You’re probably expecting things from yourself which you’re probably not able to do as well as you did before.

"But getting through matches like this is what’s going to help you get better, and I think it was very good for me to get through that."

While Mirza lapped up the applause from the vocal Indian fans packed into court 11, Castano was left to reflect on yet another fleeting visit to the All England Club.

In six appearances at the grasscourt grand slam, she has lost in the first round every time.

Mirza, seeded 32nd, will next face Spaniard Maria Martinez Sanchez as she attempts to reach the third round here for the first time.

The 21-year-old, however, admitted her wrist still did not feel 100 percent.

"Medically, it’s fine now," said Mirza, who could face defending champion Venus Williams in the third round.

"But I still have pain when I hit a late forehand because that’s something that even the doctors have said stays.

"Sometimes it goes away in three months, sometimes it takes eight months. So that’s something that you kind of have to play through. It’s a new wrist so it takes time getting used to taking 100 mile an hour balls for over two hours.

"But I’m feeling like I can compete again and what the hell, I’m winning a match."

Loans to get costlier as RBI ups rates

Get ready for another round of interest rate increases from housing loans to car loans, from consumer loans to corporates borrowing for their business. Late on Tuesday, RBI raised two key policy rates — repo rate and cash reserve ratio (CRR) — by 50 basis points (100 basis points = 1%).

Aimed at reining in an inflation rate that is now at a 13-year high of 11.05%, RBI raised the repo rate to 8.5% from 8% with immediate effect. It also decided to increase CRR from 8.25% to 8.75% in two stages. From July 5, CRR will be set at 8.50%, and from July 19, at 8.75%.

This is the second time in less than two weeks that RBI has raised the repo rate to contain inflation. It’s the rate at which banks borrow from RBI. A rise in repo rate will make it more expensive for banks to get money from RBI, which is likely to force them to charge customers a higher interest rate. On June 11, RBI had raised repo rate by 25 basis points. Last month, RBI had raised CRR by 50 basis points.

RBI’s rate hike decisions are expected to force banks to raise interest rates as well as deposit rates. Higher interest rates will affect those who wish to borrow to buy a house, a car, or consumer durables like fridge and television; it will also hurt those who have taken home loans on a floating rate basis. Higher rates also mean corporates now have to pay more as interest costs for their borrowings. "The question is not if rates will go up, but by how much," said a senior official with a domestic financial house.

Anil Ambani firm signs up Bachchans in Rs 1,500cr deal

Reliance Big Entertainment (RBE) seems to be getting bigger by the day. Days after reports of the Anil Ambani firm planning to infuse about $600 million into Hollywood bigwig Steven Spielberg’s DreamWorks comes the news of a mega deal with the Bachchans.

Sources said the deal could be worth Rs 1,000-1,500 crore and would include film production, television series, reality shows, internet and mobile content besides live shows. RBE will look into the managerial, marketing and distribution of the projects in the deal while the creative inputs would come from the Bachchans.

Some of the directors who have been signed up to direct films for the joint venture are Cheeni Kum director R Balakrishnan, Sujoy Ghosh, Rohan Sippy and Dr Chandraprakash Dwivedi. A source from Reliance Adlabs said that more directors would soon be signed up for the joint venture.

Confirming the JV, a spokesperson for RGE said, "We are proud of the association with the Bachchan family. We are confident that the creative genius of the Bachchans and the business acumen of Reliance will create magic and take entertainment to a different level. The joint venture and our strategy to tie up with Indian and international creative talent will help the company build a new-age global entertainment conglomerate."

Amitabh Bachchan’s company AB Corp will facilitate the execution of the joint venture projects. Speaking to TOI , Bachchan Sr said, "We will provide the creative inputs and also share the profits. As of now, we plan to start with film projects and work in a way that will benefit us mutually. Also, they have given us the liberty to work outside and there is an unwritten understanding that we have the first right of refusal."Reliance Big Entertainment (RBE) seems to be getting bigger by the day. Days after reports of the Anil Ambani firm planning to infuse about $600 million into Hollywood bigwig Steven Spielberg’s DreamWorks comes the news of a mega deal with the Bachchans.