INDIA CAR SALES RISE 22%

India's local car sales posted their biggest percentage gain in two years in February because of an improvement in retail financing and of a lower sales base in the year-earlier period.

Sales rose 22% to 115,386 cars from 94,757 a year earlier, data issued Monday by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers showed. The sales growth is the first since September 2008 and the highest since February 2007.

The Wall Street Journal

Reliance, MTN Tie-Up Meets Financiers

Barclays Capital, Calyon and Lehman Brothers are close to arranging the financing behind Reliance Communications’ takeover bid for MTN, Africa’s biggest mobile phone company, following the collapse of talks between MTN and Bharti Airtel. Reliance, India’s second largest mobile phone operator, began discussing a possible merger with MTN only this week. Bankers involved in the financing say talks are at a very early stage. One banker said it was very likely that the banking group would be enlarged before any financing package was sealed.

The Euromoney Institutional Investor
http://www.emii.com/Article.aspx?ArticleId=1940048