Morgan Stanley has appointed the former Axis Bank chief as its new country head and chief executive for India

Global financial services major, Morgan Stanley, has appointed former Axis Bank chairman PJ Nayak as its new country head and chief executive for India.

The appointment is a part of Morgan Stanley's continuous expansion in India and further investment in its operations here, the company said in a press release.

Mr Nayak will join Morgan Stanley on 5th April and will be based in Mumbai, Morgan Stanley said.

Mr Nayak, who was instrumental in growing the business and presence of Axis Bank from less than 50 branches to over 800, served as the chairman and chief executive of the bank from January 2000 till April 2009.

Presently, he is serving as an operating partner at Advent International Private Equity and as a non-executive chairman of Motilal Oswal Asset Management Co.

In 2009, Mr Nayak became a member of the Technical Advisory Committee for Monetary Policy of the Reserve Bank of India, the release said.

"We are delighted that Jayendra Nayak will be joining Morgan Stanley to lead our operations in India. The firm will also benefit from his senior relationships in India and his government experience," said Morgan Stanley Asia chief executive Owen Thomas.

Morgan Stanley operates from more than 1,200 offices in 37 countries.

The company is planning to screen the crucial stages of the cricket tournament live in 3D across fifty theatres

United Film Organisers (UFO) Moviez India, a digital satellite cinema network, has said that it will telecast the semi-final and final matches of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 3D across 50 screens. Currently the company is telecasting IPL in 700 screens across the country.

"We are planning to screen the semi-finals and final of the IPL this year in around fifty 3D-enabled theatres which already have the system in place. We are looking forward to venture in a big way into the 3D market," said Rajesh Mishra, chief executive for Indian operations, UFO Moviez.

The company did not reveal the investment for the 3D screening programme but admitted that at present there is limited infrastructure for 3D systems in India. To telecast the IPL cricket matches live, the company is planning to set up around 8-10 rig cameras on the ground from where it can relay the matches in 3D to these screens.

Betting big on 3D, the company said it feels that there is “great potential” for this technology in India. However, the country needs more infrastructure for it. UFO Moviez is planning to invest around Rs100 crore over the next one year for its 3D foray.

"We are installing around 500 screens with our own 3D system over the next one year. We will be investing Rs50 crore-Rs100 crore over this year. We have just launched our 3D technology, so theatres are keen to work with us. Currently 25% of the theatres have 3D-enabled UFO systems," said Kapil Agarwal, joint managing director, UFO Moviez India.

While maintaining that this year it does not expect spectacular results from its 3D live telecast due to lack of infrastructure, UFO Moviez says that within the next year, this technology can become much more popular. It also feels that 3D will help curb film piracy.

"We will be able to control the piracy issue as we are releasing movies in 192 bit frame proprietary encryption. Due to this encryption technology, even if you make one million copies of my movie, you would not be able to decode (watch) it unless I provide you the encryption code or license," said Mr Agarwal.

"In all the theatres where we release movies, we issue them a license code which no one else can access. The only possible way is to take a camera print from theatres. However, if you take a camera print, there are invisible figures being beamed which will be visible in the copy. We can then get hold of these pirated CDs/DVDs, decode them and extract details like the name of the theatre, date and time when the pirated copy was shot. This helps in curbing piracy,” Mr Agarwal added.

For the IPL semi-finals and final, UFO Moviez is also planning to telecast the matches in about four screens in the UK and around 25 screens in the US.

This year, for the first time ever, the Grammy HD telecast featured a 3D video made by Michael Jackson, for the environmentally conscious song, the ‘Earth Song’, as part of a ceremony honouring the late pop legend with a lifetime achievement award.

The BBC has already carried out a broadcast of the world’s first live sporting event in 3D, beaming an England versus Scotland game from the Six Nations rugby tournament to a cinema in London. Sports network ESPN has become one of the world’s first networks to announce plans for a 3D channel. During 2010, ESPN 3D is planning to telecast a minimum of 85 live sporting events, including the FIFA World Cup matches from 11th June.
 

Debt-ridden Vishal Retail has denied fudging its accounts, blaming it on printing errors by auditors

Debt-ridden Vishal Retail Ltd on Thursday denied fudging its accounts, blaming it on printing errors by auditors, and said that the firm will soon complete its corporate debt restructuring (CDR) exercise.

Reacting to a media report that the company inflated profits and under-reported losses during the nine months ended December 2008, Vishal Retail's chairman Ram Chandra Agarwal told PTI that it was all a “misinterpretation.”

"It is a printing mistake by the auditors. They are making the changes. The report by the auditors has been misinterpreted," Mr Agarwal said.

A media account, quoting a limited review report by the firm's auditor Haribhakti and Co has said that the retailer stated a net profit of Rs48.93 crore instead of Rs20.24 crore for the nine months ended December 2008.

The report also said that the retailer under-reported losses for the year ended 31 March 2009 at Rs88.94 crore instead of Rs94.49 crore.

Denying the allegations in the report, Mr Agarwal said, "Such misinformation has been spread by people who have vested interests and do not want the company to come out of crisis."

Officials of Haribhakti and Co could not be reached for comments.

Vishal Retail has recently inducted a strategic investor into the company to help it emerge from a Rs735-crore debt pit. It has announced that the exercise would be completed by 26th March.

"Our CDR process is on track. It will be over by the stipulated time," said Mr Agarwal, who had earlier this month said a formal announcement on the completion of its CDR will be made on 26th March.

He also denied allegations in the report that the firm's bankers have demanded a forensic audit of the company and have threatened to take the matter to the Company Law Board (CLB).

"The bankers are very much in confidence with us. The CDR is almost through. Only certain formalities are left," Mr Agarwal said.

The banks which are part of the CDR cell include the State Bank of India, Bank of India, ING Vysya, UCO Bank, HDFC Bank and HSBC.