Maruti to introduce 2 new models
Mumbai: Maruti Udyog is actively involved in the introduction of two new models of cars in the Indian market at an early date.

Newly appointed Maruti managing director Jagdish Khattar, in an interview to The Economic Times, said the government has approved the proposals and the company is working to achieve maximum localisation levels for these cars.

The company is planning to increase production of cars to 400 units per day at its new plant, company's officials said. The plant will start operating in two shifts soon.
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Gulf Oil skips refinery plan
Chennai: Gulf Oil India has put off its oil refinery project. It is instead starting a base oil manufacturing facility near an existing refinery, a company official said.

"The project, estimated to cost Rs 1,500 crore, will aim to integrate the proposed base oil facilities with one of the existing refineries, the company's chairman Venkata Subramanian said.

The company's decision is prompted by the surplus capacity in the crude and distillates segment in India.
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Bombay Dyeing to sell   Roha, Jamnagar plants
Calcutta: Bombay Dyeing and Manufacturing Company will dispose of its Roha processing plant in Raigad district of Maharashtra and the Jamnagar spinning plant in Gujarat.

The Roha plant had remained under-utilised on account of operational and other reasons and the high cost of power. The reserve price for sale has been fixed at Rs 3.34 crore.
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EIL to pay 150% dividend
New Delhi: Engineers India will pay a dividend of 150 per cent for 1998-99. The company will also issue bonus shares in the ratio of 2:1.

The company registered a net profit of Rs 118 crore in 1998-99 against Rs 73 crore in the previous year, while its turnover recorded a 26 per cent increase to Rs 391.73 crore.

The outgo on account of dividend will be Rs 70 crore.
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Bajaj Auto has 5.01% holding in ICICI
Mumbai: Bajaj Auto and its subsidiary Bajaj Holdings have over 23 million shares of ICICI Ltd. This constitutes nearly 5.01 per cent of ICICI's equity capital.

ICICI has informed the Bombay Stock Exchange about this holding.
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Lightning from Royal Enfield
New Delhi: Royal Enfield Motors, a unit of the Eicher group, has launched the costliest motorcycle in India, the 'Lightning'. The motorcycle has a 500-cc, four-stroke engine. It has a 22-horsepower, single cylinder, air-cooled engine, which can reach a speed of 120 km per hour. The vehicle has been developed with technical assistance from Fritz Egli of Switzerland, a leader in the design of high-performance motorbikes.

At Rs 67,750 (ex-showroom, Delhi) the vehicle targets people who love adventure, pleasure riding and long distance cruising, the company said.
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GM told to pay damages
Los Angeles: A California jury has ordered General Motors to pay $4.9 billion to six people who sustained burn injuries in 1993 when their car exploded after being hit from behind by a drunk driver.

The company, however, clarified that the 1979 Chevrolet Malibu car in which Patricia Anderson and her family were travelling was safe and met federal safety requirements. Anderson's attorney had argued that the fuel tank in the Malibu was too close to the rear bumper and insufficiently protected from explosions. Jurors felt GM knew the problems but was interested only in making profits.

A key piece of evidence in the case was a 1973 memo prepared by a GM engineer that determined deaths from fires cost the company only $2.40 per car while fixing the tank in the Malibu would cost it as much as $4 to $12 per car.
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Litton withdrawing offer to buy Newport News
Seattle: Litton Industries, defence and electronics major, said it is withdrawing its $1.18 billion offer to buy Newport News Shipbuilding Inc because of opposition from the US government.

Pentagon had opposed the Newport News takeover as it would slash competition in US military shipbuilding.

Regulators have approved Litton's offer to buy Avondale Industries, a New Orleans-based military and commercial shipbuilder for $529 million. The deal is expected to close on 27 July. Newport News had offered to buy Avondale for $470 million in stock but was outbid by Litton.
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Record bond offer by Ford
New York: Ford Motor Co and its Ford Motor Credit unit with their $8.6 billion bond offering ended AT&T's record as the issuer of the biggest-ever bond deal.

AT&T had marketed an $8 billion bond deal in March. Ford's offering saw over $14 billion of interest with participation from 400 different investors and about 25 per cent of international buyers.
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Webvan plans online grocery delivery system
San Francisco: Webvan Group has enlisted Bechtel for a $1 billion plus ambitious door-to-door online grocery delivery system.

Backed by Japan's high-tech investment firm Softbank and two media companies, CBS Corp and the Knightrider Inc, Webvan has already set up a distribution centre in Oakland, California that it will use as the blueprint for other markets.

When the centres are built, Webvan will become a direct competitor to local retailers in most of the major US markets, offering a discount of up to five per cent on items ordered over the internet.
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