One97 a Private Equity Backed Mobile Value Added Service (VAS) Company is raising Rs 120 crore ( $25 million) from the Stock Market in an IPO.The Company operates in India’s Telecom Sector which is the fastest growing in terms of subscribers and represents a good growth opportunity as 3G services starts to roll out.

The Company has not indicated the pricing of shares as of now ,only that it wants to raise Rs 120 crore.Note the VAS Category is seeing increasing competition with a number of new entrants.One97 has diversified into a combined VAS player cum Technology Investor makings its valuation difficult.Note the VAS sector is no longer a unique or fancied one as OnMobile has already listed sometime ago and its valuation has decreased dramatically since then despite improved profits.I would sit out on this one due to the complicated nature of the business,slowing growth and valuation difficulties.A higher risk investor probably might want to buy this one.

I have been repeatedly pointing out the dangers of investing in Real Estate Companies as more and more skeletons tumble from the closet.Its an open secret that Real Estate Companies in India fudge their Financial Statements through Creative Accounting and other means such that even Fund Managers don’t invest in the Realty Sector.Major Real Estate Companies like IREO and Emaar MGF have played prominent role in some of the major corruption scams rocking the country.Now more big Real Estate Firms have been implicated for their role in other corruption scandals.DB Realty a Mumbai based Realty Company has been found to be a prime suspect in the LIC Housing Finance Scam where the CBI has arrested.Some construction companies like Man Infrastructure,HCC have also become a target of investigation.

Wind Energy Companies are increasingly facing competition from a host of new entrants into the industry.The dominants firms Vestas,Gamesa and Suzlon have seen their stock prices fall steeply due to declining revenues and margins.A number of Giant Industrial Firms have entered the Wind Energy Industry to diversify from the slow growth in their own sectors.Korean Shipbuilders have invested heavily in the Wind Turbine Manufacturing en masse to take advantage of the secular growth of Wind Energy.Chinese companies have risen from virtually nothing 5 years ago to become Top 5 Global Wind Energy Players.Companies like Sinovel,Goldwind,Mingyang Power are now trying to spread their wings outside of China.India’s Wind Energy Industry is comparatively small but it has also seen a number of wind power companies setting up facilities with technology licensed from the West.The slowdown in the Western Markets has led to huge problems for dominant Western firms like Gamesa and Vestas.It has led to painful restructuring for Vestas which has fired thousands of workers from its domestic manufacturing base in Denmark.Gamesa has also seen management and ownership turmoil as WTG Orders have evaporated and its competitive position has eroded.GE,Suzlon,Gamesa and Vestas are all investing in the Chinese market which has grown exponentially in recent times and which is expected to form 50% of the Wind Energy Demand till the next few years.

LIC Housing Finance is one of India’s Largest Home Lenders with a huge distribution network around the country.LIC Housing Finance Stock has been on a roll propelled by fast growth of the company and the housing loan growth sector.The Company was a relatively safe investment being promoted by Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) which is India’s largest insurance company owned fully by the government.The Foreign Ownership of the LIC Housing Finance Shareholding is quite high at 40%+ due to its relative safety and high growth.However the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) raids on the company has resulted in a sharp 20% price fall.The company’s top officials have been implicated in misappropriation of money and home loan scams along with a company called Money Matters.

Now it has come to light that one of India’s Leading Bureaucrats sold sensitive details related to Telecom Security to private firms in return for sex and money.Through an elaborate web of codes and multiple mobile phones,this IAS officer used to sell security information related to India’s recent telecom security to leading telecom firms.Note India had recently taken stringent action against RIMM( Blackberry maker) and some others for failing to provide security codes.It was an opaque regulatory action ripe for bribes and corruption which was taken advantage by Ravi Inder Singh, the Director in the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).Note it is openly known that nothing moves through the central ministry without bribing the corrupt officials manning those offices.Powerful Business Houses have most of these bureaucrats on their illegal payrolls as most policies are known much before by bigger corporates before they become policy.The expose done in the magazine “outlook” clearly demonstrates how India’s powerful minsisterships and policy decisions are sold in closed rooms in the capital.Investors should be careful about investing in Indian companies as regulatory/corruption risk remains high as the SKS Microfinance and Unitech/Videocon stock falls show

Australian Company Lynas Corporation is going to accelerate the production from its Mt. Weld Mining Project in Australia in order to meet increased demand from Japanese companies.Lynas is building a 20,000 tons rare earth mine in Australia with processing to be done in Malaysia.The company had raised around $500 million with strong institutional backing to boost the supply of non-Chinese Rare Earth Production.The Rare Earth Mineral Frenzy has cooled a bit but the supply picture is still in a constrained mode with Chinese exports of REE falling by 77% in the month of October.Japan is the most exposed to the Chinese slowdown of REE minerals with a large processing industry and consumption sector.Japan has been frantically looking towards the surrounding seas,Vietnam and Kazakhstan as China has used its monopoly position for political ends.