Tata Electric to switch over to LNG
Mumbai: Tata Electric Companies has decided to use liquefied natural gas for all its thermal power plants by the year 2002. It will be the first older generation power company in the country to use LNG in place of coal and furnace oil.

The switchover will coincide with the start of commercial operations of the Tata Electric-Total LNG project at Trombay near Mumbai. The budgeted cost of phase one of the project is around Rs 2,000 crore.

The company's 1,350 MW thermal power plant at Trombay will require one million tonnes of LNG per annum. The switchover will improve plant efficiency by as much as 50 per cent, company officials say.
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Ispat to sell 10% stake in Hughes Ispat
Mumbai: The Mittals of the Rs 4,000-crore Ispat Industries group, have decided to offload 10 per cent of their stake in Hughes Ispat, the basic telecom service provider in Maharashtra and Goa. The stake will be sold after the company achieves its financial closure.

The group has a 51 per cent stake in Hughes Ispat, Hughes Electronics 34 per cent, and Alltel Corporation 15 per cent.
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Motorola exits Modicom
New Delhi: Motorola will exit from its joint venture with Modicom Network for cellular services and sell its 10 per cent stake to the other foreign joint venture partner, Distacom Communications.

Distacom's share in Modicom Network will increase from 30 per cent to 49 per cent, with its equity going up from Rs 228.18 crore to Rs 270.8 crore. This is being achieved through a fresh issue of an additional 43 million shares.

BK Modi's  Modi Corp holds the majority stake in the joint venture, which operates in the Punjab and Karnataka circles under the name of Spice Telecom.
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First euro ECB by Alcatel Modi Network
New Delhi: The first external commercial borrowing in a euro denomination is being made by Alcatel Modi Network Systems, a 100 per cent subsidiary of Alcatel of France. The company is raising a euro 30 million ECB to retire its rupee debts.

Alcatel Modi, a former joint venture between the BK Modi group and Alcatel was taken over by the French telecom company after the Indian partner sold its 51 per cent stake this year. The joint venture was formed to manufacture digital switching equipment for use in telephone exchanges.
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GACL disinvesting stake in port project
Baroda: Gujarat State Alkalies & Chemicals is disinvesting five per cent of its stake in the Gujarat State Chemicals Port Trust in order to raise funds to reduce the financial burden on account of the interest and depreciation charges incurred on its Dahej-based 350 TPD caustic soda project.

Indian Petrochemicals Corporation Ltd, the largest shareholder in Gujarat State Chemicals Port Trust, is likely to buy the five per cent equity offered by GACL.

The chemical port terminal is a Rs 725-crore joint venture between IPCL, Gujarat State Fertilisers Company, Gujarat Narmada Fertiliser Corporation, Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation, Gujarat Industrial Investment Corporation, Gujarat Maritime Board and GACL.
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HP to launch web products in India
New Delhi: Hewlett Packard India is set to introduce a number of e-service products in the Indian market.

The company will launch its e-speak, a technology that will help e-services to interact with each other, 'Chai' an integrated software suited for information applications that link devices to services, and 'Web Qos', a software that helps stabilise web service levels and optimise resources by prioritising users and applications.

HP India will also finance viable information technology projects, including start-ups.
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Essar Oil seeks BPCL equity participation
New Delhi: Essar Oil has approached the government with a plea that Bharat Petroleum Corporation should invest in its refinery project. The company has written to Union petroleum minister V.K. Ramamurthy in this regard.

The company says in the background of the appraisal by lead financial institution Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India, an equity participation of 26 per cent by BPCL in Essar Oil refinery will provide a strategic partnership mutually beneficial for both companies.
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Indian Oil raises $ 150 billion in overseas market
Mumbai: Indian Oil Corporation has raised a $150 million syndicated loan at an al inclusive cost of 25 basis points above the London Inter Bank Offer Rate (Libor). The loan was raised in Hong Kong for a six month tenure with bullet prepayment to part-finance Indian Oil's regular forex requirement for crude and petroleum product purchase.

Bank of America and 11 other banks subscribed to the loan. Indian Oil had gone to the market to raise $100 million, but has retained the extra $50 million offered.
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Indian Airlines prefers narrow-bodied aircraft
New Delhi: Indian Airlines may opt for narrow-bodied aircraft in place of the present mix of wide- and narrow-bodied planes. All six models of aircraft now shortlisted for evaluation by the technical committee for fleet replacement are narrow-bodied.

The Boeing B 737-900 and Airbus A 320 and A 321 chosen to replace the wide-bodied Airbus A 300 are narrow-bodied.
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M&M plans tractor assembly units abroad
Mumbai: Mahindra and Mahindra is planning to set up tractor assembly units abroad. The company's executive director, farm equipment division, K.J. Devasia, says the company is scanning the market and exploring meaningful strategic relations for either marketing or assembly tie-ups abroad.

Besides the assembly units abroad, the company will also venture to set up regional greenfield capacities in India, which will have manufacturing facilities of around 10,000 units annually. Besides, it is also thinking of introducing a mini-tractor for the small Indian farmer and a series of new generation world class tractors, which will be in the market around 2002-2005, Mr Devasia said.
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Glaxo introduces Zondan
Mumbai: Glaxo India has launched Zondan, a drug useful in overcoming nausea associated with chemotherapy given during cancer treatment. The product is to be marketed by the company's Allenbury division.

Glaxo also announced that it is planning to launch Combivir, an anti-viral drug used for treating AIDS patients. Glaxo India has also entered into a partnership with the Cancer Patients Aid Association, under which the company will help the association with its sponsored events.
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Daewoo may be forced to sell brokerage unit
Seoul: The South Korean government will persuade creditors of Daewoo Corporation to force the troubled group to sell its profitable Daewoo Securities, Korean media said.

The government is not satisfied with the recent passive attitude of creditors following the restructuring programme announced by Daewoo. It will ask them to play a major role in the reform programme.

The government is also likely to get the state-run Korea Asset Management Corporation to buy real estate held by Daewoo.
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China Airlines opts for Airbus
Taipei: China Airlines, the national carrier of Taiwan, has awarded a multi-million dollar passenger jet order to Airbus. The move is expected to anger the United States administration, as Taiwan has dumped that country's Boeing in favour of Airbus, the European consortium.

China Airlines said the firm will sign an agreement with Europe's Airbus for 15 A-340 passenger jets, dropping an earlier plan to acquire Boeing B 777s.
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Rolls Royce negotiating $4 billion deal with USAF
London: Rolls-Royce is negotiating with the US Air Force for a $4 billion order for re-engining the US Air Force's fleet of large transport aircraft.

The order covers supply of new engines, spares and support for the air force's 126-strong fleet of four-engined C-5 Galaxy aircraft over the next 10 years.
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UPI to sell broadcast contracts to AP
Washington: United Press International, the cash-strapped  news agency says it is selling its broadcast news customer contracts to rival Associated Press.

The contracts involve more than 400 radio and television stations in the US and the sale will mean that the agency will depend on news transmission via the internet.
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