The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), income-tax department and special investigative team (SIT) on black money are learnt to be spearheading a multi-agency probe into an alleged flow of unaccounted money through some 100 listed companies.

According to people in the know, Sebi is examining the role of these companies in misuse of the exchange platform to launder money and evade taxes. In the near term, the regulator might pass an order against 25 of those. Considering the number of companies involved, regulatory estimates peg the quantum of the alleged scam at close to Rs 20,000 crore.

State-owned power generation giant NTPC has emerged as the only bidder for the Cheyyur Ultra Mega Power Project (UMPP) in Tamil Nadu. The other seven potential bidders, all from the private sector, withdrew from the race citing regulatory issues in the bidding format.

The 4,000-Mw Cheyyur UMPP, worth Rs 25,000 crore, is to be fuelled with imported coal. Among the private players in the fray were Adani Power, CLP India, Jindal Steel & power, JSW Energy, Sterlite Energy and Tata Power. Of these, the only four that had bought the ‘request for proposal’ document also decided not to go further in the bidding process.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Monday told the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) that it had received complaints from several investors against real estate major DLF and it had not proceeded only on K K Sinha's complaint. DLF had approached SAT against a Sebi order. Sebi had barred the company, its promoter and key executives from accessing the capital market for three years.

The tribunal has also called for correspondence involving DLF's merchant bankers, auditors and Sebi. The hearing is set to continue on Tuesday.

Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) on Monday said Azim Premji Trust would buy 0.95 per cent stake in its life insurance venture, HDFC Life, for Rs 198.9 crore. The deal values HDFC Life at Rs 19,890 crore.

HDFC has concluded the sale of the first tranche of 11 million shares. After the entire sale of equity shares is completed, the company will hold 71.42 per cent of the total issued and paid-up equity capital of HDFC Life.

Despite positive signs from most quarters, the Indian information technology (IT) services sector might see problems across some business verticals in 2015, clouding client spending during the year.

Among other things, some experts have concerns on banking, the largest vertical for most Indian IT service companies. There are concerns around large banks incurring heavy fines in the US, brokerage firm Motilal Oswal said in a report earlier this month. Additionally, several of the top 10 clients in the banking space in the US are looking to set up captive units and lower their exposure to outsourcing, which could further hit Indian IT services firms. Sectors such as retail and energy, growing at a strong momentum in recent quarters, might also see some slowing. Retail is anticipated to grow slower as the budget of clients in this sector depends heavily on the success of festive season sales – these have not done very well, Motilal Oswal said. Also, the sharp decline in oil prices is seen affecting energy companies negatively.

GMR-Megawide Cebu Airport Corporation (GMCAC), a joint venture between GMR Infrastructure (40 per cent shareholding) and Megawide Construction Corporation (60 per cent shareholding), has signed financing documents for its Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA) in the Philippines.

The loan will fund 70 per cent of the total project cost of Philippine pesos 33 billion (approximately $750 million). The loan is being financed by a consortium of six banks.

Indian cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar, who is the all-time leading run-getter in World Cup history, was today named the event's ambassador for the second successive edition.

The International Cricket Council today announced Sachin Tendulkar as the World Cup 2015 Ambassador. It will be the second successive time that the India maestro will be the Ambassador of ICC's pinnacle tournament, after he fulfilled the role in the previous event in 2011, the ICC said in a statement.

Markets are likely to open higher tracking gains in their Asian peers. However, some volatility may be expected later in the session as traders will remain cautious in a truncated week ahead of the F&O expiry on Wednesday.

For cues investors will also watch the US jobless data which is to be released later this week.

Bajaj Auto is trading higher by 2% at Rs 2,517 in early morning trades on BSE on after company has bagged an order for 1.25 lakh units of Discover-125M motorcycles from Sri Lankan government.

The company through its distributor David Pieris Motor Company in Sri Lanka had secured, after a detailed evaluation process by the Government of Sri Lanka, an order from them for supply of around 50,000 units of Discover-125M motorcycles, Bajaj Auto said in a statement.

Larsen And Toubro, the capital goods major, has seen more than 10% correction in its stock price as concerns over plummeting oil prices impacting its order flow from Middle East have increased.

Out of around Rs 50,000 crore overseas order flows L&T bagged since FY13, Rs 43,750 crore is spread across Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman Kuwait and Abu Dhabi. So, the market concerns are valid. However, the same have been over-exaggerated, feel analysts.

Inviting Real Estate Agents, Job Placements Agents, Educational Institutes, Software Service Providers, Real Estate Builders, Marriage Bureaus, Travel Agents, Restaurant Owners, Health & Fitness Centers and other Local Businesses to Post a FREE Classified Advertisement on Cootera.com Classifieds Website.