ABB stake in Indian cable venture up

Asea Brown Boveri Ltd has signed an agreement with the M.P. Birla group to raise the ABB stake in Universal ABB Power Cables Ltd to 74 per cent from the present level of 51 per cent. Universal ABB Power Cables is a joint venture with the Birla group's Universal Cables. The agreement has to be approved by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board.
     Universal Cables will raise its holding in the joint venture to 26 per cent from the current 24 per cent. The restructuring of the capital will be done by taking over the portion of equity that had been kept aside for the public. The condition of the capital market is not favourable right now for the company to raise the required funds.
     Universal ABB Power Cables is in the business of manufacture of high voltage cables ranging from 66kv to 400 kv, and copper and aluminium conductors of up to 2,000 sq. mm. The joint venture had begun commercial production at its plant at Satna in Madhya Pradesh in November 1997. It has already exported cables to Electricite de Portugal, besides supplying Indian customers such as the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board. It is implementing an order from the Karnataka Electricity Board.
     The Universal ABB Power Cables plant is equipped with automated machinery and a clean environment. It uses the vertical continuous vulcanisation process.