Dimension Trade And Commerce Ltd. Commences Activities by Vianney D'Gama (Edit 3 Sep-Oct 2007)

Dimensions is a movement which is aimed at harnessing the resources of the community and channelling it for the benefit of the community again aimed at creating wealth and using the same for community development. The members of Dimensions consist of businessmen and professionals from various walks of life like legal, medicine, investment, education etc to name a few. Apart from social objectives, the members of Dimension were of the view that floating a commercial venture by pooling the resources of the members would appear as an excellent vehicle for generation of wealth. The idea was mooted by driving force behind the movement – Freddy Mendonca- After a brain storming session the idea resulted in the birth of Dimension Trade and Commerce Ltd. a corporate where the objective is to maximise wealth for its stake holders Dimension Trade and Commerce boasts of an excellent Board, consisting of personalities, who have excelled in their respective fields and are burning with a passion to make this venture a roaring success. Dimension Trade and Commerce commenced operations recently and to finance its business activities it issued shares to its members at the rate of Rs. 10/- per share and the response was overwhelming. In the first phase, the company decided to focus on two growth areas for deployment of funds- the stock market and the real estate markets and what is gratifying is that the funds deployed in these two segments have generated excellent returns. Going forward the company is planning to increase the outlay in these two growth segments. The management is now in the process of expanding its activities in these two high growth areas. To increase its fund base to undertake the expansion plans the company is planning to issue shares to its members who could not be accommodated in the initial phase. The Directors are now seized with the thought of further diversifying the income streams of the company so as to not only enhance the income streams, but to have a stable and diversified income portfolio. With the Indian economy poised for accelerated growth in the years ahead, Dimension Trade and Commerce is all set to bask in the glory of a growing economy.

Vianney D'Gama is a Freelance Writer

How To Trade In Futures by Clifton DeSilva (Edit 3 Oct 2007)

The futures and options market has been a very vibrant market and the daily turnover on the futures and options market is substantially higher than that of the cash market. Since the futures and options markets became operational in India about 6-7 years back, not many people are conversant with the ways these markets operate. The scope of this article is to explain in simple terms the difference between the cash market and the futures market.

On the National Stock Exchange there are two market segments- the spot or the cash markets and the futures and options market.

The difference between the two markets is as follows. The spot or cash market is a market where you purchase shares, make full payment for the purchase and take delivery of the shares. The trading or market lot in the spot market is one share. In simple terms – the price of Indian Hotels is quoting at Rs. 125 and you are positive about the outlook of the company. You could purchase one share of Indian Hotels by paying Rs.125 and take delivery of the share. Since the shares are in demat form they will be transferred to your demat account.

On the other hand the futures market is a market where the underlying asset is the stock. In the case of Indian Hotels futures, the underlying is the stock of Indian Hotels. Unlike the spot market you do not take delivery of the shares and do not pay the full purchase price, but a small amount of 20% by way of initial margin money. In the futures market each stock has a different market lot. For e.g. the market lot for Indian Hotels is 1750 shares In the futures market every contract commences on the last Friday of the month and ends on the last Thursday of the month. You can carry forward of roll over the contract to the ensuing months till your price objective is met. For e.g. The October contract began on Friday 28th September and will end on Thursday 25th October. The November contract begins on Friday 26th October and will expire on 29h Nov. The current price of Indian Hotels is Rs. 125 and by 29th November, the expiry date of the November futures contract you expect the price to touch Rs 150. You by a November futures contract on Indian Hotels. at the current price of Rs 125. The total investment would amount to Rs. 2,18,750. (1750x125). You pay an initial margin of 20% ie Rs. 43,750. On 29th November, the price of Indian Hotels as per expectations

quotes at Rs. 150 The net result is a profit of Rs 43750 (150-125=25x1750) on an investment of Rs 43,750 in a span of a month. The return works out to 100% per month or 1200% on an annualised basis.. In case the same deal was done on the cash market, the returns would be as follows: Purchase of 1750 Indian Hotels at Rs. 125 would involve an investment of Rs. 2,18,750. The sale of 1750 Indian Hotels a month later at Rs 150 would generate sales proceeds of Rs. 2, 62,500, resulting in a profit of Rs. 43,750 but on higher investment of Rs. 218,750 as against Rs. 43,750 in the futures market. The return works out to 20% or 240% on an annualised basis. The futures market provides you with the power of leveraging. Clifton DeSilva is the Chairman & Managing Director, Altina Securities Pvt. Ltd. Member National Stock Exchange of India

BUSINESS : AN ANETHEMA FOR CHRISTIANS by Marshall Sequeira - A freelance writer (Edit 2 July Aug 2007)

Most Christians have an aversion for business and it is not hard to trace the origin of this 'phobia'. As good Christians, we are guided by the biblical teachings that we have come into this world to 'serve' and not to be served. No wonder, by chance or choice, most of us land up with 9 to 5 jobs serving those businessmen and industrialists who, with their sheer vision and foresight, established enough enterprises for all of us to serve. The BPOs have contributed their mite. On a more serious note, we Christians, unfortunately lack the business acumen to be successful in running it and making it profitable. Very few Christian businessmen have been successful and those very successful ones have shown that given the will and determination it is not entirely difficult. Others have given up midway. Some of the constraints that come to mind why we Christians are apprehensive when it comes to business are:

• Inability to take risks we tend to forget the age old maxim higher the risks, greater the reward. Unfortunately we like to play safe and look for gains even before investing. As a fun-loving community obsessed with the 3 Ds [Dress, Drink and Dance] we prefer the cushy life with fixed salary, fixed timings and evenings free for dating and partying, something which is a mirage for true businessmen. They reserve the weekend for this.
• Inability to generate requisite funds for business. Safety of the family [in terms of roti, kapda and makan] always remains a priority with 'a bird in hand is worth two in a bush' mentality. Unlike other communities, other family members do not come forward with any financial help. We do not encourage the joint family system and this perhaps is one of the key factors
• responsible for our failure on the business front. Jealously is very much prevalent when someone succeeds. Before a business can be successful, it faces enormous teething troubles and we lack the patience and the mental strength to face such situations. Similarly, after successful establishment of the business, there is, what is called the 'gestation period' a period of consolidation after which one can hope to see the fruits of labour, i.e. the profits. Failure to
• face this spell, however long it may take, makes most aspirants nervous and more often than not, they give up.
• Facing bureaucratic hurdles is one of the essential qualities required to start a business in this country. Multiplicity of authorities, harassment from petty officials, and demand for bribes unnerve us. Every businessman has to face the municipal authorities, the sales tax authorities, the income tax officials and the excise staff. These are the realities of business and not accepting that truth will resemble the ostrich approach. We have that 'holier than thou' attitude and this
• does not help matters. If you do the business without breaking the rules, it should not be difficult to overcome these road blocks. We lack negotiating skills to convince others and to get the work done.
• When it comes to dealing with workers, staff and even the vendors, one must have that entrepreneurial skill to be tough when required and be accommodative if the situation
• warrants. Perhaps the 'be generous' approach and 'offer your other cheek' concept do not help to develop the right attitude required for business.

Communities like the Bania and the Marwaris have shown that with hard work and willingness to put in long hours, one can be successful. They say business is in their blood. True! It comes naturally to them. Though most small businessmen are hardly educated, they know the numbers well so also the rules and regulations [including loop holes which they exploit to their advantage]. Had it not been for the likes of Ambanis, Modi's, Singhanias, Tatas, Birlas, etc, we would have been stuck with farming. We curse these people for prospering through evasion of taxes, excise duties, custom duties, etc. Yet we work for them and earn our daily bread. Let us remember that “A man is not honest just because he has had no chance to cheat”. It is easy to cast aspersions with sweeping statements. We take pride in saying that we salaried people pay our taxes but do we really have an option? Communities like the Banias, have come up with sheer hard work. You can see a Bania shop open at 7.00 in the morning and remain open [without a break] till 9.00 at night. They help one another, guide others who want to start a business and even extend financial assistance. The surplus funds rotate within the community. This is unparalleled. Can we learn something from this? We, as a Community, are generally educated and some of the people have proved to be good successful businessmen. It may be a good idea if such businessmen in each Parish offer their expertise to help those aspiring young men who have dreams but lack direction and guidance. WE NEED TO WALK THE TALK.