Daimler India to set up bus manufacturing facility near Chennai

Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV) will invest Rs 450 crore to set up a dedicated bus manufacturing facility. The facility which will span across 27.91 acre inside its existing truck manufacturing facility at Oragadam near Chennai will employ 300 people. It will commence production in the second quarter of 2015 and will manufacture 1,500 buses annually under both Mercedes-Benz and BharatBenz brands.
The DICV plant at Oragadam will be the only Daimler plant worldwide to manufacture three brands -- Daimler trucks, Mercedes-Benz buses and BharatBenz buses and engines under one roof.
"After launching the truck business in India, we are now pressing ahead on the Indian bus market," announced Wolfgang Bernhardt, Member of the Daimler AG Board responsible for Daimler Trucks & Buses.
"We will be using existing suppliers and sales network." He laid the foundation stone for the bus plant.
The company has tied with Wrightbus, a global player in the bus body building for its front-engined buses. "Our two-fold strategy BharatBenz and Mercedes-Benz buses allows us to cater to the different needs of Indian customers in a perfect way. In terms of safety, fuel efficiency, quality and comfort, both the brands will set a new standard," Hartmut Schick, head of Daimler Buses said.
Mark Llistosella, MD and CEO at Daimler India Commercial Vehicles said BharatBenz has become the fourth-largest truck manufacturer in the country on the strength of its high performance backed by best-in-class service. "I am confident the bus project will deliver the same level of promise and experience to the customer," he added.

State Bank of India Q3 net profit down 34 pct, lags estimates

(Reuters) - State Bank of India (SBI) (SBI.NS), the country's largest lender, on Friday posted a fourth straight consecutive drop in net income as an increase in bad loans clipped profitability.
SBI followed its state-run peers Punjab National Bank (PNBK.NS), Canara Bank (CNBK.NS) and Bank of India (BOI.NS) in posting weak profits amid high defaults by corporates battling reduced cashflows, high inflation and delays in government approvals for projects.
SBI said on Friday that net profit fell more than a third to 22.34 billion rupees in the quarter ended December, lagging analysts' estimate of 25.3 billion rupees.
Non-performing loans as a percentage of total assets rose to 5.7 percent from 5.6 percent in the preceding quarter.
Last month, India's top private sector lender ICICI Bank (ICBK.NS) warned that corporate defaults would rise in the coming quarters as borrowers succumb to the pressure of a sluggish economy. ICICI posted its slowest profit growth in four years in the December quarter.
SBI shares, valued by the market at about $17 billion, were trading down 1.3 percent at 1,485 rupees.

Sensex up 128 points in early trade

MUMBAI | The benchmark BSE Sensex surged nearly 128 points in early trade on Friday, extending gains for the fourth straight session, on sustained buying by funds amid a firm trend on other Asian bourses.

The 30-share index, which had gained 101.48 points in the previous three sessions, rose further by 127.87 points, or 0.63 per cent, to 20,438.61, with stocks of healthcare, realty and metal sectors leading the rise.

All the sectoral indices were trading in the positive zone with gains up to 1.18 per cent.