Suzuki boosted by sales in India

Suzuki Motors has avoided reporting a loss for the January to March quarter, helped by growth in India, but was downbeat about future sales.

The carmaker made a net profit of 5.8bn yen ($59m; £39m), during its fiscal fourth quarter, down 27% on a year ago.

Suzuki controls about half of the car market in India through its local unit Maruti Suzuki, which has seen sales rise for four months in a row.

The firm now expects global profits to fall 82% in its current financial year.

Suzuki predicts they will decline to 5bn yen due to the global slump in demand for new cars.

It also expects it will be affected by the continuing strong yen, which eats into its overseas earnings.

Indian boom

In India, Maruti's sales rose to 64,857 vehicles in April, helped by its bestselling Alto car and new models such as the A-Star and Swift DZire.

The rise in Indian sales contrasts with falling demand in the US, Europe and Japan, which Suzuki's rivals Toyota and Honda have been more exposed to.

On Friday Toyota said it forecast an annual loss of 550bn yen and expected to sell one million fewer cars this year.

Suzuki's revenues for the January to March period declined 27% to 670bn yen.

Bharti Airtel becomes India's biggest music company

Indian telecom giant Bharti Airtel has now become the country's biggest music company, overtaking the industry leader Saregama, on the back of its music-related value-added mobile services, a top executive has said.

"Music Bharti has become the largest music company in India, overtaking Saregama India Ltd in terms of revenue," Bharti Airtel's Deputy CEO Sanjay Kapoor said.

While Kapoor did not disclose the exact revenue earned by Music Bharti, which provides music services like hello tunes, call-back tunes and music on demand, Saregama had a annual revenue of about Rs 150 crore in the fiscal ended 31st March 2008.

Bharti Airtel, flagship company of Sunil Mittal-led Bharti Group, recently entered into an exclusive multi-million dollar deal with Machester United here, under which it would offer its mobile subscribers access to the mobile content related to the British soccer club.

"We are growing fast in the music segment," Kapoor said, adding there was huge growth potential for the company in other value-added service segments like mobile commerce also.



"About 80 per cent of Indians are unbanked and mobile- commerce, as also money transfer through mobiles, would bring in financial inclusion," Kapoor said.

"These services are catching up very fast among Indians and have a huge potential for generating revenues at Bharti Airtel," he added.

Late last year, Bharti Airtel had bagged the 'Best Mobile Music, TV or Video Service' award at the GSMA Asia Mobile Award 2008 at Macau.



Airtel's Music-On-Demand was awarded for creating a uniquely intuitive, personalised user experience of music on mobile.

Airtel had bagged the prestigious award among stiff competition from global leaders such as Telstra Corporation, Australia, Geodesic Inc, US, Artificial Life Inc, Hong Kong and Gracenote, US.

The company was also recognised as the best among its global peers for its Music-On-Demand service.



At that time, the company had said, "At Airtel, we believe that music in its various forms, genres strikes a universal chord with mobile users. Today an increasing number of customers are looking at the mobile as their single device for all entertainment needs."

India to receive uranium from Kazakhstan

India could soon receive up to 2500 tonnes of uranium from Kazakhstan as an agreement in this regard is set to be signed between the two sides by the month-end.

Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and Kazatomprom are holding talks and a contract for supply of uranium is expected to be signed by the end of this month, Kazakh Ambassador Kairat Umarov told a news agency in New Delhi.



The fuel will be meant for the existing nuclear plants that are under IAEA safeguards, he said.



On the quantity of uranium to be supplied under the contract, Umarov said he was not aware as the companies were dealing with the issue directly.



Sources, however, said the discussions centered around supply of 2500 tonnes, a quantity which India wanted for running its reactors to full capacity.



Incidentally, China recently signed an agreement with Kazakhstan, one of the largest producers of uranium, for supply of 23000 tonnes of the nuclear fuel till 2020.



China is expanding its nuclear industry and in this regard is building 50 nuclear power stations.



Umarov expressed hope that the first contract between the companies of India and Kazakhstan would lay foundation for to long-term association.

Prices in China continue to fall

China's consumer prices fell by 1.5% in the year to April, figures show, the third consecutive month of declines.

The drop came after food and energy prices eased from last year's high levels, and followed annual falls of 1.2% in March and 1.6% in February.

Food prices were down 1.3% in April from a year ago.

A key factor was the drop in the price of pork, which was down 28.6% from a year earlier. In 2008, shortages had sent pork prices sharply higher.

Costs for fuel and raw materials were 9.6% lower than the same period a year ago.

The fall in prices had been expected.

"The sharp rise in food prices in early 2008 and subsequent declines explain much of the year-on-year fall in CPI inflation," said Jing Ulrich, chairman of China equities at JP Morgan.

"Deflationary concerns appear to be subsiding as the economy shows signs of recovery."