Brokerages wake up to e-commerce boom

As the Indian e-commerce story begins to play out and the hunt is on to find India's next Alibaba, brokerage houses are quickly doing a mid-course correction and rushing to cover e-commerce stocks such as Just Dial and Info Edge.
Foreign brokerages such as Goldman Sachs, CLSA, Credit Suisse, HSBC, JPMorgan and UBS have all started tracking these stocks, as they sense the potential of the e-commerce space, and its big-bang impact on Dalal Street.

Sample this: Last July, only three brokerage houses were covering Just Dial, which has jumped to 23 at present, even as the stock has surged nearly three times since its listing in June 2013. Similarly, Info Edge is currently tracked by 24 brokerage houses, against 16 in July last, while the stock has jumped 120% in one year, according to Bloomberg data.

"The e-commerce space is the next big emerging theme in the markets, and brokerage houses don't want to miss the bus. We expect many success stories to unfold in the listed space, and currently we are at the beginning of an e-commerce boom," Kunj Bansal, ED and chief investment officer at Centrum Wealth Management, said.

Analysts believe that in the e-commerce space, there are multiple enablers for explosive growth, including a rapidly growing number of internet users, steady rise in the proportion of online shoppers within the internet community, growth in the per-shopper transaction value, and continuous flow of capital investments, making these firms attractive bets.

"The money which has been raised by Flipkart and Snapdeal has grabbed everybody's attention. The trend of online shopping by Indian retailers hold great promise in the e-commerce space," said Dipen Shah, head, private client group research, Kotak Securities.

Online shopping in India of physical goods is estimated to reach around $4 billion in 2014, and will multiply by over 11 times to hit $45 billion by 2020, according to MOSL report. "We have initiated coverage on Info Edge with a buy rating and Rs 1,100, as we see the comprice target of company in direct and high-quality play on the exploding e-commerce opportunity," said Rajat Rajgarhia, managing director, institutional equities at Motilal Oswal Securities.

One of the reasons why brokerages are gung-ho is India's growing internet population, which is estimated to grow to 400 million by 2016, making it the second largest in the world.

"On Just Dial, we have a buy recommendation with a target price of Rs 1,800, as the company is the leader in local search engines with a strong e-commerce presence, which is a winning formula," Rajgarhia added.

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Samsung Galaxy S5, S5-LTE get price cuts in India

NEW DELHI: Samsung has cut the prices of its Galaxy S5 and S5-LTE smartphones in India yet again.

READ ALSO: Samsung Galaxy S5 review

The Galaxy S5 smartphone, which was launched in April this year at Rs 51,500, is now listed at Rs 34,900, marking a drop of Rs 2,600. In October this year, the smartphone's price had been reduced from Rs 43,250 to Rs 37,500.

The smartphone features a 5.1-inch Super AMOLED display with Full HD resolution and runs on Android 4.4 with TouchWiz UI. It is powered by the 2.3GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor with 2GB RAM and sports a 16MP rear camera on the back. It was the first Samsung smartphone to feature the fingerprint scanner and heart rate monitor.

Samsung Galaxy S5-LTE, which features support for faster 4G data downloads than Galaxy S5, now costs Rs 36,900. This marks a reduction of Rs 3,400 from its previous price tag of Rs 40,300. The South Korean manufacturer had given a price cut to Galaxy S5-LTE in October as well.

READ ALSO: How Samsung Galaxy S5 4G is different from Galaxy S5

The two smartphones face increasingly tough competition in the market, not just from rivals like HTC One (M8) and Sony Xperia Z2 but also from their own siblings like Galaxy Alpha and Note III.

Samsung is the leader in the Indian smartphone market, but companies like Micromax, Motorola and Xiaomi continue to cut its lead at a fast clip, market data suggests.

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Acer swings back to profit in Q3

TAIPEI: Taiwanese personal computer (PC) maker Acer swung back into profit in the third quarter, beating analyst estimates, thanks to cost-cutting and recovery in the overall PC market.

Net profit reached NT$651 million ($21.31 million) in July-September, versus a T$477.5 million average estimate of 13 analysts in a Thomson Reuters poll.

The result compared with a T$13.1 billion loss in the same period a year earlier, and T$484.7 million profit in April-June.

Revenue fell in August and September from a year earlier but at a much slower pace than the double-digit declines of much of the first half of 2014.

The PC market has been sluggish since the advent of tablet,computers and smartphones. But it has shown signs of growth in recent months, with PC chip leader Intel predicting healthy fourth-quarter revenue thanks to heavy replacement of old PCs by businesses.

Shares of Acer closed down 2.66% ahead of the earnings release, versus a 0.80% fall in the benchmark TAIEX index.

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Iraq's cellphone operators to pay $307 million for 3G airwaves: Regulator

BAGHDAD: Iraq's mobile phone network operators have agreed to pay $307 million each for radio spectrum, enabling them to launch higher-speed 3G mobile internet services in the war-torn country in two months, a senior official at the national regulator told Reuters.​

Iraq is one of the few Middle East countries still reliant on 2G networks, which mostly carry voice calls and SMS texts and only the most basic online services, while fixed line internet connections are expensive and unreliable.

The three mobile network operators — Zain Iraq, a unit of Kuwait's Zain, the Ooredoo subsidiary, Asiacell, and Orange affiliate Korek — have been waiting for several years to begin 3G services.

In October sources familiar with the matter said the government wanted the companies to each pay $307 million for the spectrum, much to their dismay.

But the companies have now agreed to this fee and made downpayments of $73 million a few days ago, Ali al-Khwaildi, chief of the commissioners' council at the Communications and Media Commission (CMC), told Reuters.

The companies will settle the remainder in four installments over the following 18 months, the first of which will be paid at the signing of the 3G contract on November 10, said Khwaildi.

There will be a two-month testing period before the commercial launch of 3G, he said.

"We hope that this service will offer job opportunities for a high number of people," said Khwaildi.

The operators each paid $1.25 billion for 15-year licenses in 2007. These permits were technology-neutral, meaning they did not require a separate 3G license, only the spectrum, so the operators were opposed to paying extra fees, especially when their profits are in retreat.

Zain Iraq's nine-month profit to September 30 fell 14% to $224 million, outpacing a 4% drop in revenue to $1.24 billion, as it suffered from temporary network shutdowns and higher network operating costs due to the civil war.

Zain's subscribers are concentrated in Baghdad and southern Iraq, so the company has suffered less in the tumult since Sunni Muslim militant group Islamic State seized much of the north and west of the country this year.

Asiacell grew from its base in the Kurdish city of Sulaymaniyah. Its fuel and security costs have increased, transmitter tower maintenance is more difficult and the government's periodical blocking of social media and some websites has affected its data business, parent Ooredoo said in reporting its third-quarter results.

Asiacell's nine-month revenue fell 9.5% to 4.8 billion Qatari riyals ($1.32 billion) and its net profit dropped 38% over the same period to 868 million riyals.

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China lifts ban on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube at APEC meet

BEIJING: China has presented its best face at APEC summit by lifting ban on social networking websites like Facebook, Twitter for the first time and even allowing web search of the Dalai Lama at the conference venue.

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum media centre has allowed reporters to access social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook and video-sharing website YouTube. Access to such sites is essentially restricted by the Chinese government elsewhere in the country.

This is the first time China has loosened its internet restrictions for a major international event.

As the APEC's officials began their meetings here at newly built conference centre, ahead of November 10 leaders meeting to be attended by US President Barack Obama among others, Beijing shed its heavy pollution overnight and glowed in the autumn weather providing a big relief for smog weary people.

The clean weather was ensured after shutting down thousands of factories all around Beijing and nearby cities cutting down the sources of pollution.

But a big surprise awaited the international media as all controls on the internet were lifted at the massive APEC media room fitted with scores of laptops which connected with high-speed internet unlike the excruciatingly slow connectivity in the rest of the city.

Scribes could easily log into Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Google which can not be accessed in the country without the help of VPN (Virtual Private Network) connection to be procured from outside.

Media personnel could even freely search for the Dalai Lama news over Google which otherwise is totally banned on the internet.

China controls its internet with massive firewalls to block the international social media from having a negative impact on the population.

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Cognizant Q3 net up 11.2%; raises 2014 revenue forecast

NEW YORK: IT services major Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation said its net profit has grown 11.2% to $355.6 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2014, on the back of growth in financial services and emerging countries.

This is against a net profit of $319.6 million in the corresponding quarter last year, Cognizant said in a statement.

The US-based firm saw its revenues rising 12% to $2.58 billion in the quarter under review from $2.3 billion in the same period last year.

Cognizant expects its revenues in the October-December 2014 quarter to be between $2.61 billion and $2.64 billion.

The firm has also revised its revenues forecast for the year to be between $10.13 billion and $10.16 billion (higher by 14.5-14.9%), excluding any impact from the acquisition of TriZetto.

While announcing its first quarter results, Cognizant had forecast its 2014 revenue to be at least $10.3 billion, higher by 16.5% from 2013. However, at the end of June quarter, it lowered its outlook to at least 14%.

In fiscal 2013, Cognizant's revenue stood at USD 8.843 billion, up 20.4 per cent from 2012.

"Our overall demand environment remains strong and our results this quarter highlight that we are competing, winning and executing transformational engagements for clients in various industry segments globally," Cognizant President Gordon Coburn said.

Cognizant added about 12,300 people during the quarter. "There is a tremendous opportunity in the marketplace as the advent of new digital technologies, global economic pressures, and an evolving regulatory environment force businesses across all industries to change and adapt faster than ever before," Cognizant chief executive officer Francisco D'Souza said.

Cognizant is ideally positioned to help clients worldwide address these competitive challenges with end-to-end solutions that address their dual mandate of improved efficiency and of innovation using the latest social, mobile, analytics, cloud and sensor technologies, he added.

"Our balance sheet remains strong as cash and short-term investments increased during the quarter by almost $500 million to $4.6 billion," Cognizant chief financial officer Karen McLoughlin said.

Later this quarter, Cognizant anticipates utilising $1.7 billion of this cash, in addition to $1 billion of floating rate debt through a syndicated term loan, to fund the previously announced acquisition of TriZetto, McLoughlin added.

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New Born Fame, a toy that lets babies take selfies

LONDON: Your baby could post his or her first selfie with the help of this device. Called the New Born Fame, the stuffed toy looks like a mobile dangling over a baby's crib but it lets the newborn post pictures and videos online.

Some of the apps attached to the mobile are Twitter and Facebook which post videos when the baby touches them, MailOnline reported.

It also has a "selfie-ball" camera that snaps and uploads pictures each time it gets rotated after being touched by the baby. The device is developed by Laura Cornet, a student at Design Academy Eindhoven in the Netherlands.

"Suppose if the baby is at the creche or with the babysitter, the 'selfie ball' can send pictures to his/her working parents to see that everything is alright," Cornet was quoted as saying.

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9 apps you should be using right now

ET Bureau/ Hitesh Raj Bhagat & Karan Bajaj / November 05, 2014

Apps are one of the best things to have happened to mobile phones. No other feature of the phone has made our lives as simple and easier as apps. From paying telephone bills, to checking your bank account to monitoring your BP, you can do all this and much more, courtesy the wide world of apps.

However, with thousands of apps available, picking the right app can be a challenge. Here is a list of some of the most quirky and useful apps that you should be using right now.

1. Shots

November 05, 2014

Shots is a photo-sharing and social networking app that is all about sharing selfies. Justin Bieber invested in Shots early on as an angel investor.

Price: Free (iOS, Android)

2. Frontback

November 05, 2014

Frontback is a fun camera app that keeps things fresh by letting you snap a picture using the rear as well as front cameras of the smartphone. You can explore other people's photos and leave a 5-second video response on a friend's photo if you want.

Price: Free (iOS, Android)

3. Yik Yak

November 05, 2014

Yik Yak is a location-based newsfeed that allows users to anonymously upload their thoughts for others nearby to view. Yik Yak shares similarities with Reddit by allowing users to up-vote and down-vote submissions to keep a fresh feed.

Price: Free (iOS, Android)

4. Songza

November 05, 2014

Songza allows you to choose from playlists built around your current activity, mood, genre, or decade. Examples include "Working (no lyrics)," "Having Fun At Work," "Coding," or even "Grinding at a Nightclub."

Price: Free (Web)

5. Afterlight

November 05, 2014

Afterlight is a photo-editing app that offers 59 filters, including 14 from guest Instagram users, and 66 textures.

Price: $0.99 (iOS, Android)

6. Kitestring

November 05, 2014

Kitestring calls itself "your virtual overprotective mom," and isn't an app. All you have to do is text a time frame to Kitestring, and the service will send you a message checking up on you after a specified amount of time. If you text back, all is well, if not, you can set up Kitestring to send out a customized emergency message to your friends and family.

Price: Free (Web)

7. Toggl

November 05, 2014

Toggl is a great tool for tracking and recording how you spend your time. You can quickly type in what you're working on, start the timer, tag your tasks and see a nifty breakdown of your time at the end of the day.

Price: $5/month with 30-day free trial

8. Represent

November 05, 2014

For $9.99 a year, Represent helps you quickly create a professional resume that can match your industry and personality with various designs and colours. Your resume is also stored online for easy sharing, and you can even see your resume's analytics to check how many times it's been viewed.

Price: $9.99/year (Web)

9. Stoodle

November 05, 2014

Stoodle is a great way to collaborate online in a virtual workspace. Students and teachers can write and draw in realtime on a virtual whiteboard, and built-in voice conferencing and messaging makes working together easy. The best part is that all of your work is saved permanently so you can always circle back on your work.

Price: Free (Web)

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Samsung Galaxy S6 specifications leaked online

NEW DELHI: Samsung usually unveils its flagship Galaxy S device early in the year. With 2014 almost coming to an end, rumours related to the company's next flagship have already surfaced.

According to SamMobile, the South Korean tech giant has been working on the Galaxy S6 under the codename 'Project Zero' as it aims to start from scratch in order to make it 'the best Galaxy S flagship yet'.

Although the screen size was not mentioned among the rumoured specs, the device is expected to feature a Quad HD (2560x1440p) display, just as Note 4. Another similarity between the two devices will be the camera sensor, IMX240, which could be either a 16MP or 20MP lens. The front camera will be upgraded to 5MP in alignment with the recently launched Galaxy A series.

In terms of storage, Samsung Galaxy S6 will come in three variants — 32, 64 and 128GB, doing away with the 16GB model. The report did not mention the amount of RAM that the model will have.

The device is expected to be powered by Exynos 7420 octacore processor, which will include four Cortex A53 and Cortex A57 cores, each. The device is also said to come in a Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor variant. Both models will feature 64-bit chipset architecture.

The report also says that Samsung Galaxy S5 will be more battery efficient than other smartphones in the market as it will use a Broadcom chip that puts the GPS as well as other sensors on the same chip, letting the phone process data faster.

Samsung Galaxy S6 is still in the early stages of development and there have been no leaked images of the device yet. The smartphone is likely to be unveiled globally late February or early March next year.

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Samsung widens lead over Micromax in smartphone market: Study

Samsung Electronics expanded its lead over Micromax in India's smartphone market in September while Nokia retained its third spot, significantly ahead of Lava and Karbonn, data from research firm Gfk showed.

Gfk data for July, August and September showed South Korea's Samsung had achieved a 33% market share at the end of the period after gaining over a percentage point from August. Home-bred Micromax came in second with more than 18% share, adding a tad over the previous month while Finnish handset maker Nokia, now owned by Microsoft, managed to keep itself going at No. 3 with 12% share. ET has reviewed the research firm's data.

In the wider market that includes feature phones, Samsung led with about a fourth of the market share while Nokia continued to be No. 2 at about 21%.Micromax, however, came in a distant third at 13.5%, data showed.

The smartphone market in India is surging, as a drop in prices tempts more people to switch from feature phones to smartphones.

The trend revealed in these Gfk figures — which are based on actual sales — contrasts those brought out in the April-June data published by Counterpoint Research, Cybermedia Research and International Data Corporation (IDC), which suggested narrowing of gap between market leader and its closest challenger.

Hong Kong-based Counterpoint Research had said that Micromax was the leading overall handset vendor with 16.6% market share in the April-June period, overtaking Samsung, which garnered 14.4%. The other two had noted that while the Korean company was still the leader, the Indian vendor was fast catching up. Counterpoint's director of research, Neil Shah, stuck by the agency's second-quarter findings, adding that its preliminary data for the July-September period also showed the same trend — Samsung trailing Micromax in the overall market, but the reverse in the smartphone segment.

"We track shipments, i.e. what is sold into the channel from the OEM and that is pan-India and not sell through in our quarterly Market Monitor programme," Shah said, explaining the difference in methodology compared with Gfk.

GfK did not comment on the figures sourced by ET. IDC chose not to comment on these numbers as the research firm is expected to come out with its third-quarter data next week.

About 71% of more than 924 million mobile phone users in India still use feature phones, offering a massive opportunity for global as well as Indian players to increase their footprint in this pricier segment.

Most handset makers, including new entrants, are focusing on the Rs 5,000-15,000 category, in which a far larger number of smartphones are sold compared with the premium price brackets.

According to Shah, preliminary Q3 2014 data from Counterpoint shows that Samsung still leads the India smartphone market with 26% share, having improved from the 25.3% it had in the previous quarter. Micromax comes in a close second with 21% share by shipments.

A spokesperson for Samsung India did not comment on market share figures specifically, but reiterated that Samsung is a clear leader in the mobile handsets business across price categories.

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