Archive for August, 2010

New Brazilian oil Company Focuses on Onshore and Shallow Water

Monday, August 30th, 2010

Barra Energia, a newly established independent oil company from Brazil, intended to form prospects in onshore and shallow water with $500 million in financial support from the First Reserve Corp.

According to Renato Tadeu Bertani (Thompson & Knight Energy Services chief executive officer ) and Joao Carlos de Luca (president of the Brazilian Petroleum and Gas Institute and formerly the Repsol YPF Brazil president), Barra Energia’s aim to pursue ultradeep breakthroughs offshore, along with an assumed tighter control over them by Brazil, made the shallow locations a point of opportunity.

Bertani said that because most of the focus has been on deep water, there is not much attention given to onshore and shallow water discoveries.

The company intended to implement new geologic models and enhanced technology to advanced areas of manufacturing to boost output, as much as the latest strategies have enabled businesses to use shale in developing gas production in the United States.

The initial deal was said to come soon, but the company founders did not disclose a particular date.

First Reserve Houston’s branch managing director, Will Honeybourne, said that this was the way America reinvents itself. He further added that since Brazil lacked capitalized independents, there are countless opportunities for improvement.

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First Business China Awards This November

Tuesday, August 24th, 2010

Entrepreneurs and businesses that have contributed to the success of the relations between China and Singapore will now be rightfully acknowledged, as the first Business China Awards will be held on November 23rd 2010.

Honoring two decades of diplomatic partnership between these Asian nations, the Business China Awards organizers said that the event aims to strengthen the bond as the Chinese market continues to be productive, with a record of 12% growth in the first quarter of 2010.

According to Business China’s chairman, Chua Thian Poh, one of their aims is to persuade more Singaporeans to take up the China challenge.

The award, after being launched last year, opened to businesses and entrepreneurs from Greater China (Macau, Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan), as well as for those from Singapore.

The Business China Award is segregated into four categories, namely Business China Enterprise Award, Business China Young Achiever and Business China Excellence Award.

The judging criteria, according to the award organizers, will be inclusive and extensive.

Among the list of attributes that will be vital to communities in Singapore and China are effective administration and enterprise-corporate governance. This is according to Lim Chee Onn, Singapore’s Keppel Corporation senior adviser and a Business China director. In addition to this, he added that both countries were expecting to get better on the identified aspects.

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Max New York Life Expects Business Growth

Monday, August 16th, 2010

Insurance company Max New York Life had assumptions of a 15 to 20% increase in its premium collection between 2010 and 2011, after realizing the 2009 new business premium income stayed in the moderate status. The business has also taken on a 10-year tactical Bancassurance partnership with Axis Bank in efforts to increase sales.

To solidify the joint venture, Max India, which holds 74% of the stake in the company, decided to sell 4% of it to Axis. As a result, the stake acquisition will lower Max India’s shareholding to 70% in the insurance scheme.

According to Max India’s chief executive officer and managing director, Analjit Singh, the partnership is proof of the company’s commitment to bring the partnership and the business to a higher level. In addition to this, Singh also stressed the point that the stake partnership is not a financial venture.

Shikha Sharma, managing director and chief executive of Axis Bank, in turn, said that the concept of the venture was to have a common ground in expanding the business jointly. The bank’s stake in Max New York Life will reflect such an effort.

While Max New York Life has not yet paid premium for the partnership, both companies are still looking forward to getting profit from it, this is according to Max New York’s CEO and MD, Rajesh Sud. The insurer’s paid capital was about Rs 1,900 crore and the fixed month end value in March 2009 was at Rs 2,284 crore.

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India’s Business Confidence Index Increases

Monday, August 9th, 2010

In spite of issues on global financial flux and inflationary pressures in India, the Indian business sector is positive that there will be better opportunities happening in the future, particularly in the first half of the present fiscal year that will end in March 2011, according to a survey by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

CII’s survey revealed that there was a 1.5 point boost in the BCI to the 67.6 level over the earlier survey that measured business mood for six months, which ended in March of 2010. On the other hand, the progress in the business sentiment, as seen by an increase in the BCI, was average compared to a 7.4 point improvement in the latter survey, which was compared to the period between April and September 2009.

CII Director General Chandrajit Banerjee said that although there was only a moderate increase, it was crucial to mention that it was on a “high base of the previous survey.” When it was compared with last year – the period from April-September 2009 – the Business Confidence Index (BCI) tallied almost nine points. The total index denoted the assumptions from the financial system in the current status, as well as in the next few months.

The survey, which covered over 450 businesses in India, showed that business outlook for the services area – counting the outsourcing sector – is quite higher than the total business sentiment. It likewise indicated that three in four businesses intended to boost their investments in the future, whereas two-thirds of the respondents were sure of growth in exports in the next months.

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