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The Reliance-Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (R-ADAG) has picked up a 15 per cent stake for Rs225 crore in a new international airport coming up at Aranmula in Pathanamthitta district of central Kerala. The investment was made a few months ago through one of the group’s smaller investment companies at Rs486 per share, said executives of KGS Aranmula Airport.

Promoted by KGS Aranmula Airport Ltd at an investment of Rs2,000 crore, it is the first private sector airport in Kerala. The state already has three international airports: Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode. Aranmula airport received a go-ahead from the state government yesterday.

The airport will be situated in the Sabarimala hills, which houses the famous shrine of Lord Ayyappa. Anil Ambani and mother Kokilaben visited the temple in February last year. Over 550,000 devotees throng to Sabarimala between December and February.

Aditya Birla Group has increased its stake by four per cent in the past two months in Hindalco Industries, its aluminium and copper producingr company. The promoters’ current stake is 36 per cent, against 32.08 per cent at the end of June.

This is seen as part of the Group’s plan to increase its holding across its companies. The chairman, Kumar Mangalam Birla, said, “We are looking to increase the promoters’ holding in the current financial year and we will consistently increase stake from the current 36 per cent.”

However, he added that increasing stake was not prompted by any threats to the company. He was speaking at Hindalco’s 51st annual general meeting today.

The company has a capital expenditure plan of Rs40,000 crore over the next five years, of which it is spending Rs10,000 crore in the current financial year and Rs11,000 crore in 2011-12.

In response to a shareholder’s query, Birla said there were no acquisition plans of a processing unit. The last buyout, of Novelis, has started bearing fruit. “Novelis is on track to achieving its target of $1 billion Ebitda (earnings before interest, depreciation, taxes and amortisation) in FY11,” he said. In the last financial year, the Ebitda of Novelis was $754 million, a rise of 55 per cent over the previous year.

The company declared a dividend of Rs1.35 per share on the enhanced share capital, post the qualified institutional placement (QIP). Last year, the company had raised $600 million through the QIP route.

The government has cleared the acquisition of 46 new aircraft worth over Rs 19,000 crore by three low-cost carriers: SpiceJet, IndiGo and Jet Lite. The new planes will arrive in a staggered delivery schedule beginning November. The acquisitions were cleared on August 30 at a meeting of a civil aviation ministry empowered committee.

US manufacturer Boeing bagged the larger part of the clearances — 32 planes — while 14 went to European rival Airbus. The Centre’s green signal for the aircraft comes just two months before the scheduled arrival of US President Barack Obama on a state visit to India in November.

The large number of planes to be acquired by the low-cost airlines reflects their growing clout. Together, these carriers account for half of all passengers flown in India. It also signals a revival in the airline industry, which has been reeling under a slowdown. Airlines expect the domestic market to grow by over 20 per cent this year.

The permission to acquire new aircraft comes around six months after the government gave in-principle clearance to IndiGo to buy 150 new aircraft. The cost was estimated at around Rs 65,000 crore.

Gurgaon-based SpiceJet received approval for 30 Boeing 737-800s at a cost of $2.7 billion (Rs 12,660 crore). Delivery is to start from 2014. SpiceJet operates a fleet of 21 aircraft and will induct seven more in the current calendar year. It plans to operate 50 aircraft by 2014.

IndiGo, which is the country’s largest low-cost carrier by market share, received approval for 14 A-320s for 2011-12. The Gurgaon-based carrier, which operates a fleet of 27 aircraft and has a market share of 16.9 per cent, is adding seven new planes this financial year. IndiGo ordered 100 Airbus 320 aircraft in 2005 for delivery by 2015-16.

The third airline JetLite, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Jet Airways, has been granted permission to buy two Boeing 737-800s in November. JetLite operates a fleet of 23 aircraft and has a marketshare of 7.5 per cent.

Sujana Towers Ltd has informed BSE that the company has been recently awarded with three orders worth Rs 148.38 crore for the supply of about 16,700 MT of 400 kV transmission line towers by SPIC SMO and SEW Infrastructure Ltd.

These towers would be used in the transmission lines being constructed by them for Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd and UP Vidyut Vitaran Nigam Ltd. These supplies are to be completed in the next nine months

India has expressed hope that the issue of visa fee hike by the US, likely to make Indian IT companies less competitive in the American market, would be resolved amicably.

“I think everybody (in India and the US) is looking for a reasonable way to have this matter resolved amicably,” the Commerce Secretary, Mr Rahul Khullar, told reporters here on Saturday.

He said that last week several Americans, including the Deputy US Trade Representative, Mr Michael Punke, and the Florida Senator, Mr George Lemieux, met him and discussed the issue.

“Nobody wishes to have this (visa row) fostering as a wound specifically because there is a trade policy form meeting in less than two-weeks time from now and then there is President Barack Obama’s visit,” he added.

Mr Obama is scheduled to visit India in November.

Under its border security bill — the US has hiked the fee for certain categories of H-1B and L1 visas by at least $2,000 for the next five years.

The Secretary said Mr Lemieux would speak for India as “he has a better understanding of why we are distressed by the move. He will get that message conveyed to his colleagues in the Senate as well as the other policy makers in Washington.”

The domestic software industry has raised concerns that the increase in fees will adversely impact the companies of Indian origin, which account for about 12 per cent of the total number of visas issued by the US.

Shares in Mahindra Satyam rose as much as 11.6 per cent on Friday afternoon, after the outsourcer said late on Thursday it had won a multi-million dollar technology services deal from a large health insurer.

Tata group’s retail company Trent on Friday said Anil Dhirubhai Ambani-group firm Reliance Capital Trustee has bought 8.68 per cent stake in the company for Rs 21.2 crore.

In a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), Trent Ltd said Reliance Capital Trustee purchased 3,86,582 shares through a rights subscription on August 31.

The shares were bought by Reliance Capital Asset Management through various mutual fund series, including Reliance Equity Linked Saving Fund Series-I, Reliance Dual Advantage Fixed Tenure, Reliance Equity Opportunties Fund and Reliance Tax Saver ElSS Fund.

The annual food inflation rose marginally to 10.86 per cent for the week ended August 21, after the previous two-week decline, despite a fall in vegetables prices.

The food inflation had softened to 10.05 per cent for the week ended August 14 against 10.35 per cent in the previous week.

On a yearly basis, potatoes became cheaper by over 51 per cent, while vegetables overall saw a decline of 9.9 per cent. Onion prices also fell by 8.97 per cent, according to official data released on Thursday.

Cereal prices, however, rose 6.76 per cent, driven mainly by higher prices of pulses, rice and wheat compared to the same period last year. While pulses became dearer by over 14 per cent, rice and wheat rose 8.05 per cent and 7 per cent, respectively.

Among other food items, milk prices soared by 18.22 per cent and fruits became dearer by 9.27 per cent during the week over the same period last year.

Drugmaker Jubilant Organosys said, it has signed a long-term contract worth $33 million with a US life sciences company for its custom research and manufacturing services (CRAMS) business.

“Going forward we continue to see strong traction in the CRAMS business and expect to sign few more contracts during the year which will further drive the momentum in revenues and profitability,” it said in a press release.

NTPC may offer upto 49 per cent equity stake to Qatar Petroleum in its gas-based project at Kerala, to secure fuel supply for its power plant.

“We have offered Qatar Petroleum less than 50 per cent stake in our Kayamkulam gas-based power station in Kerala,” NTPC CMD R S Sharma told reporters here.

The current capacity of the Kayamkulam plant is 350 MW, which the company is planning to expand to 1,050 MW in the next two years and further expand it to 1,800 MW later.

The company may form a special purpose vehicle (SPV) for the last stage (1,800 MW) expansion of the power project, in which it would offer stake to Qatar Petroleum.

Oil prices turned lower in Asian trade today on profit-taking and as investors realised that the US economic recovery remained weak despite the Federal Reserve chief’s reassurances, analysts said.

New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in October, was down seven cents to $75.10 a barrel, and Brent North Sea crude for delivery in October dipped nine cents to $76.56.

Videocon Industries plans to sell 26 per cent  in its telecoms venture Videocon Telecommunications, once valuation for that business reaches Rs 15,000 crore, Chairman Venugopal Dhoot said on Monday.

“We want valuations of around Rs 15,000 crore for our business, if that valuation is coming, it (stake sale) will take place,” Dhoot told reporters on the sidelines of a Assocham event.

Dhoot declined to comment on current valuation for the telecom business. A private newspaper had in June said the business was valued at a little over Rs 12,000 crore.