CRISIL assigned IPO Grade 3/5 to KNR Constructions

December 6, 2007

Leading credit rating agency, CRISIL assigned IPO Grade 3/5 (pronounced `three on five`) to the proposed initial public offer of KNR Constructions (KNRCL). The public issue of 7,874,570 equity shares of face value Rs 10 targeting an issue size in the range of Rs 1,500-Rs 1,750 million. This grade indicates that the fundamentals of the issue are average, in relation to other listed equity securities in India.

The grading reflects KNRCL`s strong track record of project execution in both roads construction and operations and maintenance (O&M). The company has executed many projects as part of the NHAI`s NHDP program and has had a 7-year relationship with Patel Engineering as a joint venture partner.

The KNR-Patel JV has won 10 road construction projects so far. These include two BOT annuity projects as a part of NHDP Phase II, the combined value of which is Rs 9.6 billion. As of September 2007, KNRCL`s order book stood at Rs 16.25 billion, of which the roads sector constituted 89%.

The grading is however constrained by the relatively underdeveloped state of the company`s operating system, which in turn, could constrain its ability to augment the size of its operations. The grading also reflects the uncertainties associated with company`s plans to diversify into the power generation and real estate sectors.

Source: myiris.com

MSK Projects raises 336 mln rupees

October 22, 2007

MUMBAI (Reuters) – Construction firm MSK Projects India Ltd said on Monday it had raised 336 million rupees through a preferential issue to a private equity firm, which would help it bid for bigger toll projects.

MSK said it had issued 4 million shares to Subhkam Ventures at 84 rupees each, raising the latter’s stake in the company to 24.26 percent. Subhkam will now make an open offer for another 20 percent at the same price.

“We need money for our development. We have an existing relationship with Subhkam, so we agreed to this,” MSK’s Managing Director Ashok Khurana told Reuters. “We will be using this money for our BOT (build-operate-transfer) projects.”

The Baroda-based construction firm has forayed into toll road and water distribution projects and is also developing a couple of bus terminals. It has completed seven BOT projects and is currently doing two toll road projects.

After the fund infusion, the company will be able to bid for larger projects, Khurana said. It is also working on raising 3.5-4 billion rupees as debt for this purpose. “After this deal, the funding process will be completed,” he said.

Subhkam said it had not decided whether to take up a board representation, but retained an option for one board seat.

MSK shares, which hit a day’s high of 101.40 rupees on the news, ended at 100 rupees, up 3.5 percent in the Mumbai market.

DS Constructions forays into automated parking sector

October 12, 2007

DS Constructions Ltd., the pioneer in PPP infrastructure development and engineering construction in India, today announced that it has bagged an Automated, Multi-storey car parking project on BOT basis from New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC). Located on the Kasturba Gandhi Marg near Connaught Place, the parking lot would be spread over 6200 sq mtrs and will have a capacity of accommodating 1500-1600 Equivalent Car Spaces (ECS). The concession period for the project is 30 years.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. M S Narula, Managing Director of DS Constructions said, “Our vision is to be a leading Infrastructure developer and investor in India. We already have significant presence in the roads and highways, hydro power, railways and SEZ sectors and are actively pursuing Sea Port & Airport projects and today we are proud to have made our debut in the automated parking sector with this project. We are evaluating the opportunities in this sector and are keen to develop and invest in more such parking projects in the country.”

“This project holds grave importance owing to its magnitude and strategic location, as it lies in the heart of the sprawling business and commercial zone of the capital. We will be deploying the latest technology from Germany for multi-storey automated parking, with optimum space utilization to ensure that the facility accommodates the maximum number of cars. We are confident of completing the project much before the Commonwealth games.” Mr. Narula further added.

Source: moneycontrol.com

NKG Infrastructure Limited files DRHP with SEBI

October 3, 2007

NKG Infrastructure Limited (the “Company”), an ISO 9001:2000 Certified Construction Company, engaged primarily in execution of infrastructure projects like Highways, Roads & Bridges, Extension and Grading of Runway at airport, errection and installation of power sub-station and construction of buildings has filed its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (“DRHP”) with the Securities & Exchange Board of India (“SEBI”) to enter the capital market with its initial public offering of equity shares. At present, it is executing 67 projects including projects in joint ventures across various states in India. The value of projects under execution is Rs. 526.87 cr.

The Company proposes to issue 63,00,000 equity shares (the “Issue”) of Rs. 10 each for cash at a price to be decided through a 100% Book-Building process constituting 44.41% of the fully diluted post issue paid-up capital of the Company. The objects of the Issue are to deploy the proceeds for funding the capital expenditure requirements, investment in joint venture & BOT projects & augmenting the working capital resources.

The Equity Shares are proposed to be listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange Limited and the National Stock Exchange of India Limited. The Book Running Lead Manager (“BRLM”) to the Issue is SPA Merchant Bankers Limited.

Incorporated in 1989, the Company is engaged primarily in execution of infrastructure projects and civil construction projects. Recently the Company has diversified into installation and erection of electric substations, with project for installation / testing / commencing of external electrical works in Gomti Nagar, Lucknow. The major projects of the Company are in the state of Uttrakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. It is also executing/executed projects in the states of Haryana, Punjab, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh & Pondicherry. Its major clients include Public Works Department & other agencies of various state governments & development bodies like Noida Development Authority, Lucknow Development Authority, Ghaziabad Development Authority, etc. It is also executing project for Airport Authority of India in joint venture for extension and grading of runway at Pant Nagar airport. The private sector clients include construction companies like Era Construction India Ltd., Nagarjuna Construction Company Ltd. and Marg Construction Ltd.

Source: moneycontrol

D.S.Constructions to Deploy SAP

October 1, 2007

D.S.Constructions, a part of the D S Group, through its innovative and selective strategy has established itself in the infrastructure development sector. The company is a pioneer in BOT infrastructure development and engineering with projects under execution in the highways, expressways and railway, and hydro power. It’s now pursuing privatization of airports and ultra mega power projects, Special Economic Zones (SEZs), etc., in a short span of 5 years.

The company growing at a fast rate felt that it would be possible to keep pace with growth only with the introduction and use of good IT tools. The technology selection parameters of D.S.Constructions are investment protection, past history, future roadmap, and support.

“We’re little late in IT deployment, however, we’re now doing overtime to catch up. As a first step, we’ve started our SAP implementation for ERP along with creating a good IT infrastructure,” stated C.R.Narayanan, vice president (IT) of D.S.Constructions.

Commenting on the deployment, he further added, “We evaluated various vendors like SISL and Wipro before zeroing in on SAP. IBM is our implementation partner for this. The deployment starts on October 3, 2007. In addition, for our WAN bandwidth, TULIP IT is our partner and for WAN equipments, Fortinet is partnering us.”

The company is taking all measures beforehand so that it doesn’t land into any problems later on. “There aren’t many IT deployments in infrastructure development phase in India. We need to suitably modify the global best practices to the Indian environment,” said Narayanan.

With businesses spread across, the centralized system would help the company in gathering data and will also enable it to connect anytime, anywhere, thereby helping it to determine the status of materials at the various project sites. The cycle time would be reduced and the implementation would determine availability of information, alerts, and knowledge repository.

The company predominantly deploys packaged applications and only for very specific applications it develops bolt ons.

D.S.Constructions believes that HR and IT work very close. “A HR portal is under deployment which would address induction, appraisal, helpdesk, MIS, and staffing. This is a hosted solution, which is from HR Mantra of Mumbai. The deployment will start in 15 days from now,” said Narayanan.

Spending around 2-3% of its revenue, the IT expenditure estimated by the company for this year is about Rs.4 crores. With the growth of its business in the coming years, it expects this expenditure to grow further.

The company has presently taken a pilot project of SAP implementation, which is expected to go on till end of 2008. Hence, all other extended IT iniatives of ERP would be considered for deployment by mid-June or -July, 2009.

« Previous Page