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The publishing
of an approximate number of 60 international publication titles
from India is awaiting the Indian federal government's approval.
Since foreign equity is allowed upto 74 per cent in scientific/technical
journals' category, the first ones in the queue are medical
journals. More… |
|
The
owners of Reader's Digest - the only foreign title that continued
to get published in India for several decades - are planning
a comeback into the country, through the equity route. More… |
|
The
local mergers and acquisition scene in Indian publishing sector
may hot up, with Bennett, Coleman & Co. (publishers of country's
largest English daily Times of India) announcing acquisition
of a significant stake in Mid-day Multimedia - its main competitor
in the biggest market of Mumbai.
More… |
|
The
Indian government has finally given its approval to BBC's
Worldwide Channel Investments Ltd to pick up a 50 per cent
stake in Worldwide Media Ltd (WWML), a fully-owned magazine-publishing
subsidiary of Bennett, Coleman & Co. for Rs 38.95 crore (US
$ million 8.77). More… |
|
The
IPO of Deccan Chronicle Holdings - the leading publisher of
newspapers and magazines from Karnataka state - was completely
sold within minutes of commencement of the issue.
More… |
|
The
trend of Indian publishing companies planning and launching
newer titles in the local markets continues. More… |
|
BPA
Worldwide has signed up its first publishing title in India
for its audit, while simultaneously entered into a marketing
partnership with Diagonal GlobalCom - a media and facilitation
consultancy firm founded by Santosh Goenka. More… |
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60
international titles await government clearance: |
|
|
| The
publishing of an approximate number of 60 international publication
titles from India is awaiting the Indian federal government's
approval. Since foreign equity is allowed upto 74 per cent
in scientific/technical journals' category, the first ones
in the queue are medical journals.
This
is the first major line up of publishing companies wanting
to enter India, after the initial approvals that went to joint
venture partnerships of the country's major publishing companies
like Bennett, Coleman & Co., Business Standard, Living
Media and The Hindustan Times.
The
approvals are now surely slow to come by in the wake of an
Indian publisher publishing International Herald Tribune,
allegedly without obtaining any of the approval from the government.
With
bureaucracy catching up with publishers' interests, the waiting
period is surely getting stretched. According to reports emanating
from the federal information and broadcasting ministry, several
of the applications and the entire policy issue of allowing
foreign publications into the country will be discussed for
the first time by a group of ministers (GoM) of the federal
government in December.
Among
the major titles that have got stuck in bureaucratic wrangles
are Business Week and Wall Street Journal, sought to be locally
published by CyberMedia and Bennett, Coleman & Co. respectively.
The
decision-making hovers around the classification of approvals
under different categories from news (FDI cap of 24 per cent)
to scientific/technical journals (FDI cap of 74 per cent).
The bureaucracy is running shy of taking decisions also because
the new Indian federal government has already announced that
it wants to put a new policy in place on the subject of foreign
investment in print media in the country. |
| Reader's
Digest - Longest survivor ready for a comeback: |
|
|
| The
owners of Reader's Digest - the only foreign title that continued
to get published in India for several decades - are planning
a comeback into the country, through the equity route.
Reader's Digest has been the sole survivor - sole exception
- ever since the Indian government banned foreign publication
titles in the country in 1955. It continued to get published
by the owners through their own wholly-owned subsidiary till
1977, after which it went through the licensing route. Then,
Reader's Digest Association Inc. sold its interests in the
local company to local investors.
The company now plans to invest $1.5 million in setting up
the Indian subsidiary. The Indian company will also identify
publishing opportunities in Hindi and other local Indian languages.
Other considered plans are to explore the possibility of making
the Indian subsidiary its hub for business in South Asian
region. |
| Times
of India is still eyeing Mid-day: |
|
|
The
local mergers and acquisition scene in Indian publishing sector
may hot up, with Bennett, Coleman & Co. (publishers of country's
largest English daily Times of India) announcing acquisition
of a significant stake in Mid-day Multimedia - its main competitor
in the biggest market of Mumbai.
The announcement of picking up 6.15 per cent shares through
the open market route was made to the National Stock Exchange
by Bennett, Coleman & Co.'s subsidiary Ban Hem Financial Investment
Consultancy Ltd.
The promoters of the listed company - Mid-day Multimedia -
are not too perturbed by the acquisition as they still retain
close to 70 per cent of the equity.
Bennett, Coleman & Co. had earlier failed in its attempt to
buy controlling majority stake in the company, while still
offering the promoters to run the publication.
Mid-day was then wooed by two other Indian publishing companies,
which wanted to thwart Bennett, Coleman & Co.'s attempts at
almost monopolising the newspaper publishing scene in the
critical Mumbai region. |
| BBC's
investment proposal for 50 % stake gets approval: |
|
|
The
Indian government has finally given its approval to BBC's
Worldwide Channel Investments Ltd to pick up a 50 per cent
stake in Worldwide Media Ltd (WWML), a fully-owned magazine-publishing
subsidiary of Bennett, Coleman & Co. for Rs 38.95 crore (US
$ million 8.77).
BBC Worldwide is engaged in non-news media related business
in the UK and other countries, including publishing of books,
journals, scientific, specialty and technical magazines.
Besides, Worldwide Channel Investments will also have an option
to up its investment in WWML, the publishers of leading titles
like Femina and Filimfare magazines by another 24 per cent,
taking the total to 74 per cent, at a later stage from Bennett,
Coleman & Co.
The investment in Worldwide Media Ltd from both the partners
will come in the form of debt. While Bennett, Coleman & Co.'s
loan will be repayable by 2006, the loan from BBC Worldwide
will get converted into 10,000 preference shares at a premium.
All future funding to be provided by Bennett, Coleman & Co
and Worldwide Channel to WWML will be on a pro rata basis
to the equity share held by the two companies in the venture.
|
| Deccan
Chronicle's IPO oversubscribed 2 times: |
|
|
The
IPO of Deccan Chronicle Holdings - the leading publisher of
newspapers and magazines from Karnataka state - was completely
sold within minutes of commencement of the issue. The IPO
was subscribed by 1.82 times. It received bids for 15 million
shares, against 8.01 million shares that were offered.
According to financial reports, a majority of bids were received
at the lower end of the price band of Rs 162 to Rs 194.
The net proceeds of the issue will be used for financing new
printing facilities as well as promotions, including advertisement
and marketing.
The company also plans to set up three new editions for its
English daily in Chennai, Trichy and Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu.
|
| A
listing - New titles planned in India: |
|
|
The
trend of Indian publishing companies planning and launching
newer titles in the local markets continues.
Here is a list of plans of new titles:
-
Bennett, Coleman & Co. to launch its English newspaper Times
of India's Chennai edition by May, 2005.
- Management
guru and Indian Institute of Planning and Management's dean
Arindam Chaudhuri to launch business magazine Business and
Economy in February, 2005.
- Indian
Cellular Association - representative body of handset manufacturers
- will launch monthly magazine My Mobile in December.
- Delhi-based
real estate group Senior Builders, which had earlier announced
its diversification into media with a niche television channel,
has now announced that it will launch a Hindi newsweekly
in January 2005.
- Sanj
Samachar, the eveninger from Gujarat, adopted a unique strategy
to keep its readers updated on developments happening through
the day by launching eight editions in one single day. Each
edition will go out to a different region in the western
state of Gujarat.
- Dainik
Jagran has launched a new 16-page bilingual tabloid, Junior
Jagran, in Hindi and English in the northern regions of
the country.
|
| BPA
signs up first title in India; establishes marketing partnership: |
|
|
BPA
Worldwide has signed up its first publishing title in India
for its audit, while simultaneously entered into a marketing
partnership with Diagonal GlobalCom - a media and facilitation
consultancy firm founded by Santosh Goenka.
BPA Worldwide has been chosen to audit Ophthomology Times/India,
a new Indian editon of OT that is to begin publication in
the first quarter of 2005, a company release said.
OT is published by Advanstar Medical Economics and ILX | Media.
BPA already audits OT/China, and OT's US parent title. BPA
also audits some publications that are circulated in India,
but published in other countries. However, OT/India will be
the first publication published in India to be audited by
BPA.
The consultancy through Diagonal GlobalCom will assist in
marketing BPA services in India through non-auditing customer
services activities.
"Given the recent openness to foreign investment in India,
we believe that there is a need to share information and training
programs with publishers who are either interested in investment
or wish to improve their skills in an increasingly competitive
marketplace," said Glenn Hansen, president and CEO, BPA Worldwide.
"We are pleased to have Diagonal Globalcom as a partner, and
we are confident that their recognized expertise in India's
media and advertising communities will facilitate the adoption
of global professional standards in this important market."
"We look forward to further enhancing the world status of
India's media industry by increasing awareness of the critical
role of branding, marketing and circulation auditing and BPA's
world-respected auditing standards," said Santosh Goenka,
founder of Diagonal Globalcom. |
