CBI has arrested an official of SEBI on charges of demanding and accepting Rs25 lakh from a Kolkata-based businessman

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested an official of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for demanding and taking a bribe of Rs25 lakh from a Kolkata-based businessman.

SEBI's assistant general manager Rajesh Pratap Singh had asked Gautam Kundu, chairman, Rose Valley Group of Companies, to furnish some documents and other particulars of the business being transacted by one of its companies as a corporate agent of LIC and GIC. RP Singh also allegedly asked for a bribe of Rs25 lakh from Mr Kundu for not pursuing the matter.

CBI's head for the anti-corruption unit Samir Ranjan Muzumdar led a team to make the arrest on Sunday evening at a restaurant in Alipore area of South Kolkata.

According to media reports, cash worth Rs28 lakh and other documents showing huge investments in movable and immovable property were recovered from the residence of RP Singh.

On Monday, Mr Singh was produced before the Special Judge at Alipore in Kolkata. He was remanded to judicial custody until 12th February.

“The arrested official (RP Singh) has been put on suspension with immediate effect,” an official from SEBI said. According to our sources, SEBI chairman CB Bhave has sent out an email expressing concerns over the bribe-taking incident.
 

Hansen stake divestment helped Suzlon retire debt, leading to an overall debt reduction of 15%, but operating profits were down 65% for the December quarter

Suzlon Energy, the wind turbine supplier which has been reporting losses since December 2008, has unexpectedly reported a small profit of Rs14 crore for the December 2009 quarter. The profit came from its stake sale in Hansen. Suzlon sold 35.22% stake, through its subsidiary AE Rotor Holding BV, in Hansen Transmissions International NV on 24 November 2009, which mopped up $370 million.

Suzlon sold its stake in Hansen due to the volatility and challenges impacting the near-term wind power market. It currently holds a 26% stake in Hansen.

Hansen’s revenue in the December 2009 quarter fell 14% to €136.6 million in 2009 from €155.4 million in the corresponding year-ago period. The company is on a cost-cutting drive.

The group’s net  debt  has reduced   by Rs3,200 crore—from Rs13,762 crore  in  September  2009  to  Rs10,488  crore in  December  2009. Yet, the interest cost has gone up 24% to Rs289.51 crore from Rs233.85 crore in the year-ago quarter. This means that the debt reduction has happened at the fag end of the period. Debt will probably go down further. “Our rupee refinancing exercise has reached an advanced stage and we expect to achieve full closure by end-February 2010,” said Sumant Sinha , COO of Suzlon  Energy  Limited.

Despite reporting a small profit, big problems at Suzlon persist. It reported a 65% fall in operating profit to Rs276.64 crore for the December 2009 quarter. .

According to the company, the financial turmoil last year inflicted a foreign exchange loss of Rs123.97 crore. Suzlon claims to have an order book of 314.30MW as on 30 January 2010. The company registered a total income of Rs5,625.90 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2009.

Suzlon raised Rs522.97crore on 24 July 2009 through global depository receipts (GDR) which are listed on the Luxemborg Stock Exchange. Choking under huge debts, Suzlon has desperately tried to raise funds, improve liquidity and undertake refinancing measures.
 

The market fell in January. Based on past patterns, what should we expect? Here is a study of the historical behaviour of the markets over the past 25 years

The year has not at all begun well for the stock markets. The Sensex ended the month of January with a 6% decline over December of last year. How does this performance augur for the rest of the year?

Moneylife took a look down the historical data, searching for some clues in the market patterns. We started from the year 1986 when the Sensex had completed one year of operations. Over these 25 years, the Sensex has ended the month of January in negative territory 12 times (including this year).

How did the Sensex perform by the end of the first quarter on these 11 previous occasions? Our study finds that of these 11 years (excluding this year), the Sensex has ended the month of March down six times (compared to January closing).

More interestingly, the fall in the Sensex at such times has been more pronounced than the drop in the month of January (except in 2008). However, out of the 24 years (excluding this year), this March monthly trend of a fall in the index has been witnessed 14 times.

If we are to study the yearly performance of the Sensex over these 24 years, the conclusions are quite interesting. Only eight times in this period has the Sensex closed the year in negative territory compared to the previous year. In all the other years, the Sensex has turned in a positive performance. That translates into only a 33% probability of the market slipping below its previous year’s closing.

Interestingly, only twice in these 24 years has the market gone on a sliding spree throughout the year. This happened in the years 1995 and 2008, when the Sensex ended negative at all the three points of our study. What was common between these two years? These were the two years when the Sensex had opened at very high valuations. In 1995, the markets woke up to a P/E multiple of 45, making it the most expensive start to a new trading year ever. In 2008 too, the Sensex had to contend with a P/E of 22, which was higher than the preceding six years. The index proceeded to lose 21% and 52% respectively in those two years.

In valuation terms, the year 2010 does not have much going for it. Last year’s dramatic rally, when the Sensex surged 81% over the previous year’s closing, has left the index trading at a relatively high P/E of 19 at the start of the year. This leaves very little scope for the index to make any sort of headway going into the rest of the year—unless there is a dramatic surge in liquidity.

Indeed, based on this data, the January jitters for the markets do not bode well for the upcoming period. It remains to be seen whether the Sensex gets weighed down by the valuation or proceeds to script a sturdy performance in 2010.