Investors with horizon of 6-12 months can consider following scripts for their investment. These companies have potential to give higher returns than index over a long term.

Corporate Highlights

• United Phosphorus Limited (UPL) announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire a 50% stake in Sipcam Isagro Brazil (SIB) from Isagro. Sipcam Isagro Brazil is a 50:50 joint venture between Sipcam-Oxon group (Sipcam) and Isagro. This stake sale to UPL will result in Isagro exiting the Joint Venture while Sipcam will continue to hold 50% along with UPL holding 50%. SIB based out of Uberaba, Minas Gerais in Brazil is a niche local producer and distributor in the Brazilian agrochemicals market. It has a formulation plant in Brazil with capabilities in various formulation types for crop protection products.

• Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) has bagged an order worth Rs 1,445 crore for a 600 MW thermal power project in Andhra Pradesh. The contract (rpt) contract has been awarded by Andhra Pradesh Power Generation Corporation Limited (APGenco). Valued at Rs 1,445 crore, the contract envisages setting up a 1x600 MW thermal power generating unit for APGenco's upcoming coal-based thermal power project, located at Rayalaseema in Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh.

• Kotak Realty Fund, a unit of Kotak Mahindra Bank, had sold Peepul Tree Properties Pvt Ltd, one of its property assets, to Tata Realty Fund for 5.25 billion rupees or about $117 million. Peepul Tree Properties owns an information technology park in Goregaon in suburban Mumbai. Kotak India Real Estate Fund-I, which had made an initial investment of 950 million rupees, received over 4 billion rupees following the exit .

• Hotel Leelaventure Ltd., which runs the Leela group of hotels, will raise funds through the sale of 14.95 percent equity. 'The board decided to offer 14.95% of its enhanced capital to prospective investors by issue of fresh equity shares,' the company said in a regulatory filing. According to Vivek Nair, vice chairman and managing director, the new measures will help in substantially reducing the company's debts, resulting in low interest cost on the same. The debts were raised to setup new hotels in Udaipur, Delhi and Chennai and to purchase land in Agra, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Pune.

• The Chennai based BGR Energy Systems has bagged turnkey contract by Powergrid Corporation of India for installation of optic fibre ground wire (OFGW) at a cost of Rs 36.61 crore. The Electrical Projects division of the company has bagged the project which includes replacing of Unified Load Dispatch Centre (ULDC) microwave links by installing optic fibre ground wire on the existing transmission structures in Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Puducherry.

Economic Highlights

• The Textiles Ministry is seeking rollback of excise duty on branded apparel, following protest from retailers, including Shoppers Stop and Pantaloons, who have gone on strike protesting the new levy. Major brands like Shoppers Stop, Pantaloons, Westside, Lifestyle, Madura Garments and Arvind Brands have shut their establishments to protest against the proposal in the Budget to impose excise duty on branded garments.