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With $21-bn networth, Mukesh Ambani India's richest for 6th yr

[email protected] (PTI)
October 29, 2013

Mukesh_AmbaniNew York, Oct 29: With a networth of USD 21 billion, Mukesh Ambani has retained his title as India's wealthiest for sixth year in a row, while the country's 100 richest persons saw their collective wealth soar by a modest 3 per cent in a year.

NRI steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal (USD 16 billion) also continues to hold the second position, while Sun Pharma's Dilip Shanghvi has jumped to third place with about 50 per cent surge in his wealth to USD 13.9 billion, pushing IT czar Azim Premji to fourth place (USD 13.8 billion).

As per US-based business magazine Forbes' annual list of India's 100 richest, released today, their total wealth grew by a modest 3 per cent from a year ago to USD 259 billion.

"Growth in wealth was lacklustre due to India's stumbling economy, which has been hit by inflation and a falling rupee," Forbes said.

Amid the sluggishness, Reliance Industries chief Mukesh Ambani and ArcelorMittal's Lakshmi Mittal saw no change in their respective networths, but pharmaceutical industry titan Shanghi managed to buck the trend with a surge of USD 4.7 billion in his wealth to USD 13.9 billion.

Premji's wealth also rose by USD 1.6 billion, but he could not retain his third slot.

Pallonji Mistry, patriarch of construction giant Shapoorji Pallonji Group which is the biggest shareholder in Tata Sons, has moved down one place to fifth rank with a networth of USD 12.5 billion. His younger son Cyrus Mistry last year succeeded Ratan Tata as new Tata group head.

NRI businessmen Hinduja brothers have moved up to sixth place (USD 9 billion), from their 9th position last year.

Shiv Nadar (USD 8.6 billion) have moved into top-ten at the 7th place, while Sunil Mittal has also returned to this league at 10th place (USD 6.6 billion). On the other hand, Essar group's Ruia brothers and Jindal group's Savitri Jindal have moved out from the group.

Adi Godrej has slipped two places to 8th rank (USD 8.3 billion), while Aditya Birla group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla has gained one position to 9th (USD 7.6 billion).

Anil Ambani has also retained his 11th rank, although his wealth rose to USD 6.2 billion, from USD 6 billion a year ago.

In the top-20, he is followed by Shashi and Ravi Ruia (USD 5.5 billion), Micky Jagtiani (USD 5 billion), Savitri Jindal (USD 4.9 billion), Uday Kotak (USD 4.1 billion), Cyrus Poonawalla (USD 4 billion), Anand Burman (USD 3.7 billion), Kushal Pal Singh (USD 3.4 billion), Desh Bandhu Gupta (USD 3.2 billion) and Bajaj Family (USD 3.1 billion).

There are a total of 65 billionaires on the list, four more than last year. Some of these have made their fortunes in the Middle East, including Bahrain resident Ravi Pillai (richest newcomer with USD 1.7 billion) of Saudi construction group, Nasser S Al-Hajri Corp, and retail mogul M A Yusuff Ali (USD 1.6 billion) of Abu Dhabi-based Lulu Group.

As many as 15 new members have entered the top-100 list even as more than half of last year's rich listers, including Savitri Jindal whose wealth declined by USD 3.3 billion, have seen a fall in their fortunes.

The minimum net worth to make to the list has increased to USD 635 million from USD 460 million last year.

Forbes said that the list has been compiled using shareholder and financial information obtained from families, individuals, stock exchanges, analysts and regulators.

The ranking lists family fortunes, including those shared among extended families such as the Bajaj family, while the wealth figures were calculated based on stock prices and exchange rates as of October 18, 2013.

Privately-held companies were valued based on the valuation of similar publicly-traded companies.

Others on the list include Vedanta group's Anil Agarwal at 21st position (USD 3 billion), Gautam Adani (22, USD 2.65 billion), Kalanithi Maran (23, USD 2.6 billion), Venugopal Dhoot (30, USD 1.8 billion), Ajay Piramal (41, USD 1.55 billion), Nandan Nilekani (50, USD 1.3 billion), Rakesh Jhunjhunwala (61, USD 1.15 billion) and Anu Aga (86, USD 730).

The youngest on the list is 38-year old Shivinder Mohan Singh, who along with his 40-year-old brother Malvinder Mohan Singh have been ranked at 26th place (USD 2.3 billion).

Besides, 40-year old Ranjan Pai of Manipal group is at 51st place (USD 1.25 billion).

Others aged below 50 include Glenn Saldanha ranked 57 with net worth of USD 1.19 billion, Nirav Modi (64, USD 1.01 billion) and Vikas Oberoi (79, USD 780 billion) among others.

Women on the list include Savitri Jindal, Anu Aga, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw and Shobhana Bhartia.

Those aged above 80 years of age include Brij Mohan Lal Munjal (90 years), Samprada Singh (87 yrs), Pallonji Mistry (84 yrs), Devendra Jain (84 yrs) and Kushal Pal Singh (82 yrs).

On Mukesh Ambani, Forbes said he plans to invest USD 25 billion in his businesses over the next 3 years.

Regarding L N Mittal, the magazine said "no turnaround yet for troubled steel baron Lakshmi Mittal whose ArcelorMittal is facing weak demand amid supply glut."

Mittal has put one of three houses he owns on London's billionaires' row up for sale, the magazine said.

Meanwhile, his son-in-law Amit Bhatia's family has partnered Air Asia's Tony Fernandes and the Tata group, for a new budget airline.

The list forms part of Forbes India edition which would hit the stands on November 7.

Shanghvi, who moved into the top five last year, is the third richest for the first time. Despite the rise, Sun reported a USD 210 million loss in the last quarter, after making a provision for settling a patent dispute over Pfizer's acid-reflux drug Protonix.

"Wipro chairman Azim Premji, whose fortune is up USD 1.6 billion in past year, got boost after spinning off its (the company's) consumer products business in March," Forbes said.

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News Network
February 10,2020

New Delhi, Feb 10: Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah's sister on Monday moved the Supreme Court to challenge his detention under the Public Safety Act.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the petitioner, mentioned the matter for urgent listing before a bench headed by Justice N V Ramana.

Sibal told the bench that they have filed a habeas corpus petition challenging the detention of Abdullah under the PSA and the matter should be heard this week.

The bench agreed for urgent listing of the matter.

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News Network
April 10,2020

Paris, Apr 10: French pharma major Sanofi said on Friday it has decided to donate 100 million doses of hydroxychloroquine, the anti-malaria drug which could be a potential weapon against novel coronavirus, across 50 countries.

The company has already doubled its incremental production capacity on top of the usual production for current indications across its eight hydroxychloroquine manufacturing sites worldwide and is on track to quadruple it by the summer.

"In this global health emergency, Sanofi stands ready to assist as many countries as possible, starting with countries where its medicine is registered for current approved indications as well as countries where there are no hydroxychloroquine suppliers or countries with underserved populations," it said in a statement.

Sanofi called for coordination among the entire hydroxychloroquine chain worldwide to ensure the continued supply of the medicine if proven to be a well-tolerated and effective treatment in COVID-19 patients.

"The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented health and economic crisis which is shaking some of the very fundamentals of international solidarity and cooperation among countries," said Chief Executive Officer Paul Hudson. "This virus does not care about the concept of borders, so we should not either," he added.

"It is critical that international authorities, local governments, manufacturers and all other players involved in the hydroxychloroquine chain work together in a coordinated manner to ensure all patients who may benefit from this potential treatment can access it. If the trials prove positive, we hope our donation will play a critical role for patients," said Hudson.

While hydroxychloroquine is generating a lot of hope for patients around the world, said Sanofi, it should be remembered that there are no results from ongoing studies and the results may be positive or negative.

To date, there is insufficient clinical evidence to draw any conclusion over the safety and efficacy of hydroxychloroquine in the management of COVID-19 patients.

It is one of several medicines being investigated by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in its international clinical trial seeking a treatment solution for COVID-19. "Sanofi is supporting ongoing trials by providing the medicine to some participating investigator sites and other independent research centres," it said.

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News Network
March 4,2020

Tokyo, Mar 4: Takeda Pharmaceutical Co said on Wednesday it was developing a drug to treat COVID-19, the flu-like illness that has struck more than 90,000 people worldwide and killed over 3,000.

The Japanese drugmaker is working on a plasma-derived therapy to treat high-risk individuals infected with the new coronavirus and will share its plans with members of the U.S. Congress on Wednesday, it said in a statement.

Takeda is also studying whether its currently marketed and pipeline products may be effective treatments for infected patients.

"We will do all that we can to address the novel coronavirus threat...(and) are hopeful that we can expand the treatment options," Rajeev Venkayya, president of Takeda's vaccine business, said in the statement.

Takeda said it was in talks with various health and regulatory agencies and healthcare partners in the United States, Asia and Europe to move forward its research into the drug.

Its research requires access to the blood of people who have recovered from the respiratory disease or who have been vaccinated, once a vaccine is developed, Takeda said.

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