Mumbai, Sept 16 (ANI/Business Wire India): DBS Cholamandalam Asset Management Limited (DCAM) today announced that Sanjay Sinha has been appointed as the new CEO of the company.

Sanjay Sinha, 43, was the Chief Investment Officer of SBI Funds Management managing almost Rs 35,000 cr of assets in debt, equity, money-market and off-shore funds. He was earlier with UTI as Vice President and senior fund manager managing nine equity schemes. Sanjay holds an Honors degree in Economics and is a Post Graduate from IIM Kolkata.

Over a career spanning over nineteen years, all of it in Mutual Funds, Sanjay has actively managed every aspect of the business - from product design, sales and marketing, investor servicing to managing a wide variety of funds. One or more of the funds he managed have won performance awards every year since 2003, with as many as 13 awards in 2007 itself.

Welcoming him, M A Alagappan, Chairman of Cholamandalam DBS and of the Murugappa Corporate Board, said: "Sanjay brings with him an unparalleled track record in the industry. He joins us at a time when both the partners, Murugappa Group and DBS, are keen to quickly re-establish the asset management business in a path of sustained growth. Sanjay's in-depth experience and widely recognized capabilities will be of immense value as he leads our efforts to achieve this."

Sanjay Sinha said: "After almost two decades in some of India's largest organizations, I have always wanted to take on the challenge of building an institution. DBS Cholamandalam has provided me an ideal opportunity to do just that. I am delighted and excited at this prospect". He added, "The mutual fund industry is extremely competitive. I hope to be able to leverage the existing strengths of the company while rapidly scaling up new competencies required to significantly add value to investors."

DBS Cholamandalam Asset Management Limited (DCAM), a subsidiary of Cholamandalam DBS Finance Limited, a joint venture between the Murugappa Group and DBS of Singapore, is the investment Manager of DBS Chola Mutual Fund. Known for its prudent and disciplined investment philosophy, DCAM offers products across asset classes in equity, debt and money market. Within each asset class, the funds adhere to distinct investment styles, offering investors options to build a portfolio that best suits their goals and objectives.(ANI)

Mumbai, Sept 16 (ANI): Shares of top outsourcing firms, which earn a key part of their revenues from the U.S. banking and financial services sector, continued to fall sharply on Tuesday.

Nifty, the benchmark of the National Stock Exchange (NSE), fell by 102 points to 3970.80, a slump of 2.51 per cent. And the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) benchmark Sensex slumped to 13,058 from Monday's close, shedding 472.81 points. Crude oil prices plunged to a seven-month low of less than 100 dollars a barrel due to gloom in U.S. financial services, which heightened concerns that energy demand may slow down.

Cutting across sectors Indian stocks went into a tailspin, witnessing another strong round of selling this morning. Realty stocks have taken a beating once again, going down by gone down by 4.86 per cent this morning. Metal, capital goods, power, PSU and IT stocks have also declined sharply.

Meanwhile, the rupee continued to lose out against the US currency and declined further, crossing the 46 mark to a dollar today.

Experts are terming these jitters a result of the overall market. The news that US finance major Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy protection and the precarious health of other companies weighed heavily on the market trends. Many small investors feel that the trend is here to stay for at least a couple of days and things might improve next week.

"I think for another day or two, the situation would be bad and the markets would be on a downward trend. This is all because of the foreign markets and the worries there and then, now this Lehman Brothers bankruptcy. See, the Indian scenario is positive, gold is falling, crude is falling, property front is also good. People will come back," said Kailash Nath, an investor.

Many felt that this slump can prove to be a good investment opportunity for those who are looking at a long-term perspective.

Software firms, which have already been floundering on worries of the dollar's rise against the euro and pound could impact revenue growth, have been tapping segments such as manufacturing, retail and aviation to cut their dependence on the financial services sector, which has been battered by the sub-prime crisis.

The impact of the credit crisis has been particularly acute in the United States, which accounts for more than half the revenue of the country's top outsourcing firms.

Experts say that the problem is that there is hardly any improvement seen in the U.S. economy; on the contrary, the flow of negative news has increased. (ANI)

TUESDAY, September 16, (News Locale) - Even as hectic parleys have ensued between the West Bengal government and Tata Motors over the fate of the Singur Nano plant, there is no sign of a compromise. 

New Delhi, Sept 16 (ANI): A bilateral meeting between Minister of Commerce and Industry Kamal Nath and French Minister of State for Foreign Trade Anne Marie Idrac will be held here today.

The issues like bilateral trade, development of investments and exchange of people (forthcoming opening of the consulates general of Bangalore and Kolkata) and with regard to multilateral issues, Indian perspectives in the Doha negotiations (WTO) and the progress expected from the EU-India and France-India summits by the Indian authorities will be discussed during the meeting.

The Ministers will also discuss about the review of Joint Working Groups on agriculture, IT and telecom, transport sector, energy and mineral exploration.

The Protocol of the Indo-French JCM is expected to be signed by both the Ministers.

Idrac's visit is being made in the perspective of the forthcoming European Union-India and the France-India summits to be held on September 29-30, as well as in a follow-up of the State visit to India made by the President of the French Republic Nicolas Sarkozy in January this year.

During his visit, Idrac is also scheduled to meet Union Minister for Agriculture Sharad Pawar and Union Minister of State for New and Renewable Energy Vilas Muttemwar.

The issues likely to be discussed with Sharad Pawar include intensification of French cooperation for developing agricultural productivity and ensuring Indian agro-food security.

Idrac will discuss with Muttemwar the issues like presentation of innovative French companies from the renewable energy sector. (ANI)