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Strategies & Market Trends : India Coffee House -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: ratan lal who wrote (8970)	10/26/1999 1:02:00 PM
From: Mohan Marette	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 12475

The greatest scam in human history. Ratan: I don't believe in any bloody religion either, I believe it is one of the biggest, if not THE biggest, shams in human history, perhaps next only to 'multi-level' marketing.<vbg> That reminds me, how come none of the religions were born in the West, notwithstanding their 'claim' Christianity somehow is a Western religion,well they don't say it but I am sure they would like it if people believed that. That leads me to ask how come there is no Pope from Asia??? Given enough time they will probably concoct a theory saying Jesus Christ was from Frankfurt or Athens.<vbg>

To: ratan lal who wrote (8970)	10/26/1999 7:51:00 PM
From: Mohan Marette	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 12475

TD Waterhouse picking up 49% in broking co Tata Fin Securities Ratan: These guys could be your future internet stock broker in India. Rajrishi Singhal & Sanjay Kular MUMBAI 26 OCTOBER (ET) THE bulge-bracket Internet brokers are coming. The world?s third largest online brokerage firm, TD Waterhouse Group, has picked up a sizeable equity stake in Tata Finance Securities Ltd (TFSL), the wholly-owned brokerage subsidiary of Tata Finance Ltd. This is the first ever investment made by any foreign online broker in India. Under an memorandum of understanding signed between Tata Finance and TD Waterhouse Group Inc today, TD Waterhouse will pick up a 49 per cent stake in TFSL with Tata Finance holding the balance 51 per cent. The consideration of the deal remains undisclosed though rough market estimates put the deal value anywhere between Rs 65-70 crore. However, this could not be confirmed. This will be TD Waterhouse's second investment in Asia, after Hong Kong. TD Waterhouse is owned by Canada's largest bank Toronto Dominion Bank. Presently, the market regulator - Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) - is framing guidelines on Internet broking which is expected to start on Indian bourses by March 2000. Mr Dilip Pendse, managing director of Tata Finance, said: "The deal has been designed to benefit both parent Tata Finance as well as TFSL." TD Waterhouse will pick up the stake partly by buying out a part of Tata Finance?s stake and partly by way of a direct investment in TFSL. The deal has been arranged and advised by Ind-Asia Fund Advisors Pvt Ltd, a Mumbai-based boutique private equity advisory firm. While exact details of the deal structure are not yet available, Tata Finance is believed to be divesting over 25 per cent of its stake in favour of the foreign firm. Sources said the divestment by TFS will be at higher price than the fresh issue of equity shares to TD Waterhouse. The exact pricing is still being worked out by both the partners. Even the management structure will undergo a change. TFSL will have a 8-10 member board, with equal representation from both sides. While the chairman will be from the Tata side, the CEO will be jointly appointed. TD Waterhouse will nominate the chief operating officer, the compliance offer and the risk management officer, so that the Indian operations integrate with the global systems seamlessly. TFSL is likely to be renamed as Tata Finance TD Waterhouse. Presently, TFSL has seats on both National and Bombay stock exchanges. It is planning to acquire one more seat of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) in order to meet the growing volumes. TD Waterhouse is the world's third largest online brokerage firm, next to Charles Schwab and E*Trade. It is also the second largest discount brokerage house in the world, after Charles Schwab. TD Waterhouse has 2.9 million customers, of which over a million are online customers. The firm has over 200 branches offices globally (of which 160 are in the USA) and 3,200 brokers The brokerage firm recently launched a $100m advertisement campaign in the USA, featuring actress Geena Davis, former basketball superstar Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson. However, in India, TD Waterhouse is likely to launch a campaign suited for local tastes. In fact, the firm's campaign even in the UK was different from the US one. TD Waterhouse will provide TFSL with expertise in high technology multi-channel broking products - such as internet broking, telephone broking, branch broking and derivatives broking through the electronically-connected branch network of Tata Finance Ltd. Tata Finance has about 75 branches all over India and has over 8 lakh customer base (six lakh from depositors and the balance from customers in finance business). Giving a hint of the future strategy, Mr Bharat B Masrani, London-based executive vice-president of TD Waterhouse Group Inc, said: "We are a execution-only brokerage house unlike some of the other brokerage firms which also provide advisory services." TFSL's current equity capital is Rs 50 crore and is a leading player in stockbroking and government securities. In October 1998, TFSL received approval from Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to function as primary dealer in government securities.