Baron now plans low-priced mobile phones
Mumbai: The Baron group is aligning with
a Chinese electronics company to bring in a new brand of
affordable mobile phones to India. The group had earlier
created history of sorts by selling Akai brand TVs under
various exchange schemes that enabled lower middle class
people to own colour televisions at very affordable prices.
Baron is joining with TCL Electronics Corporation
to market mobile telephones at prices of Rs 4,000 to Rs
5,000. At present, mobile phones cost anywhere between
Rs 7,000 and Rs 40,000.
Sources in the company said
Kabir Mulchandani, Baron's chief executive, is waiting
for November 1999, when incoming calls made to mobile
phones will become free. Baron is targeting the lower
end of the market and college-going students. It may also
provide some free airtime with the set.
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Satyam
Infoway gets nod for ADR
New Delhi: Satyam Infoway has been given
in-principle clearance by the department of economic affairs
for its proposed Rs 500-crore American depository receipt
issue. The final approval is expected after the company
exercises its greenshoe option and the post-ADR foreign
equity level is determined. There is a 49 per cent equity
cap in the telecom sector. Satyam Infoway has said it
plans to increase its foreign equity level from the present
39.29 per cent to 43.98 per cent.
The company had earlier
announced that it would issue 4.8 million shares through
the ADR route, but later it increased the number to 6.4
million shares.
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Gujarat
Gas plans to sell JV
Ahmedabad: The Gujarat Gas Company is
disposing of Petroleum Infrastructure, its joint venture
with the Bharat Petroleum Corporation. The company had
earlier sold its loss-making LPG Infrastructure India
to the Reliance group.
Petroleum Infrastructure
is a 50:50 joint venture between the two partners with
no public shareholding. It was set up to provide LPG supplies
to Gujarat Gas's two bottling plants. The joint venture
owns a jetty and a 900-tonne LPG storage facility at Okha
near Bhavnagar. Gujarat Gas had offered the company to
Reliance, but Reliance, with its new refining and port
facilities at Jamnagar, was not interested.
Petroleum Infrastructure
has been making losses, and its Rs 15 crore equity has
been completely wiped off.
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Hindalco
plans new aluminium smelting project
Mumbai: Hindalco Industries is to set
up an aluminium smelter at Renukoot at an estimated cost
of Rs 2,500 crore. The project will be an expansion of
its existing plant. The company is planning to acquire
technology from VAW Aluminium Technologie of Germany.
The expansion of smelting
capacity will involve expansion of the alumina refining
capacity, captive power and bauxite mines. Hindalco had
earlier proposed a greenfield project, Aditya Aluminium,
in Orissa, but that project was shelved because of high
project costs and inadequate returns.
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Lucent
sets up grant scheme for Indian youth
Mumbai: Lucent Technologies has decided
to award grants worth Rs 2.20 crore for youth development
programmes in India. The grants will be given through
Lucent Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Lucent Technologies.
The company will fund scholarships,
vocational training programmes and other initiatives such
as education of homeless youth. The foundation has teamed
up with the Share and Care Foundation, a US-registered
volunteer-operated NRI charity functioning in India, to
carry out its activities.
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AceS
plans satellite telephony
New Delhi: AceS International, the $800-million
satellite phone project of Lockheed Martin, will launch
its first satellite in October. The company plans to provide
satellite phone services in Asia at an airtime tariff
of less than a dollar per minute, much lower than that
of Iridium, another major player.
AceS, owned by Lockheed
Martin, Global Telecommunications, Pacific Satellite Nusantara
of Indonesia, and Philippines Long Distance Corporation,
is targeting a subscriber base of about 25,000 in India
in the first year of operation. Ericsson has designed
the handsets for AceS. The handsets, weighing 205 gm,
are the smallest dual mode type available. AceS will follow
the national numbering policy for each country.
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Gujarat
wants GM plant in state
Ahmedabad: The government of Gujarat
state is trying to convince General Motors that it should
build its proposed truck-manufacturing base in that state.
The company has plans to invest about Rs 1,000 crore in
a new plant in India.
General Motors India has
a car manufacturing unit at Halol in Gujarat, and the
company has submitted a proposal to expand this unit to
make its small car Corsa. The company is also interested
in setting up its truck manufacturing facility in India.
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Kale
Consultants plans acquisitions
Chennai: Kale Consultants is planning
acquisition of software companies working in the banking
and airline sectors in Australia and the US. "We
have looked at about 10 companies and are now talking
to about four of them, but are yet to finalise any deals,"
Narendra Kale, chairman of the company, said. The company
is coming out with an initial public offer on 17 September
to raise $8.8 million.
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Intel
acquires stake in RiteChoice
Chennai: Intel Corporation has picked
up an equity stake in RiteChoice Technologies, a city-based
software firm specialising in enterprise solutions for
stock brokerage houses.
The deal has been concluded
by RiteChoice and Intel Pacific, a unit of Intel. Intel
Pacific is said to have acquired 25 per cent stake in
the company.
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FDC
plans to make interferon
Mumbai: FDC, maker of Electral, the oral
rehydration product, is planning to develop interferon,
an anti-cancer drug, in the country. Interferon is currently
being imported into India.
A biotechnology product,
interferon has high margins and low volumes. The market
for interferon is estimated to be around Rs 15 crore.
A vial of the product costs around Rs 1,000.
FDC has the infrastructure
for genetic engineering work and it plans to isolate the
interferon gene for use in commercial production.
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Telco
redesigning mid-size car
Pune: Tata Engineering and Locomotive
Company, which had almost finalised the design for its
mid-size car, is learnt to be re-evaluating the design
in order to reduce costs.
Sources say the company
has to cut costs, as the mid-size car segment does not
have much market in India. The car has been designed in-house
by the same team which went to the Italian design house
for the Indica.
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UB
for core competence focus
Bangalore: United Breweries will demerge
its businesses and focus on beer in order to increase
valuations.
Vijay Mallya, chairman of
the company, told shareholders at the company's annual
general meeting that the company has been receiving offers
from several financial institutions and strategic investors
to pick up stake in the beer business. In order to create
investor interest, the company has to focus only on one
core area, he said and an investor will not be interested
in a company, which had interests in real estate and other
activities. "We will not diversify and we will focus
on out core competence," he added.
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Acer
to set up more production units in India
New Delhi: Acer Computer International
will expand its manufacturing bases in India. The company
has a plant in Bangalore now.
Acer has informed the government
that it is evaluating various sites. The plan includes
setting up a plant with international class facilities
to make Acer Personal Computers, home computers and servers.
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Bata
signs up Rani Mukherjee
Calcutta: Bata India has signed on actress
Rani Mukherjee to endorse its women's range of footwear.
Sundrops, which Rani Mukherjee
will endorse, has hit Bata stores in Delhi. The shoes
are in the easy-to-wear range priced at Rs 124.95. The
campaign has been planned by Euro RSCG, Calcutta.
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555
variant from ITC
Mumbai: ITC has launched a variant of
the international State Express 555 in India. Called SE555
Lights, the cigarettes are white-tipped and aims
at offering the best to the Indian consumer. The cigarette
is available at Rs 53 per pack.
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Copper
prices hiked
Mumbai: Hindustan Copper, Sterlite Industries
and Birla Copper have increased the prices of various
copper products for the second half of September.
The prevailing price trend
at the London Metal Exchange has encouraged these companies
to increase the prices, sources at the Bombay Metal Exchange
said.
The prices of wire rods,
wire bars and cathodes have been has been increased by
Rs 6,000 a tonne.
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Qualcomm
to sell mobile phone unit
Los Angeles: Qualcomm is to sell its
mobile telephone business by the year-end and then focus
entirely on developing its wireless technology business.
The San Diego, California-based
company said it will meet or beat Wall Street expectations
in the fourth quarter earnings from operations.
Qualcomm is one of the hottest
telecom companies after it developed the code division
multiple access, CDMA, technology, which is being deployed
in new mobile networks.
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Daewoo
to meet foreign creditors
Seoul: The Daewoo group said it will
meet its foreign creditors to discuss its debts. Domestic
creditors have already offered financial aid to the ailing
group's flagship unit.
The Korea Economic
Daily said Daewoo plans to ask its foreign creditors
to suspend calling in loans to Daewoo companies until
March 2000. Foreign creditors have 10 per cent share in
Daewoo's debt totalling $48 billion and have been demanding
that they be given equal rights to the collateral.
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Motorola
to buy General Instrument
Schaumburg, Illinois: Motorola says it
is buying General Instrument Corporation, a major supplier
of television set-top boxes, in a stock deal valued at
about $11 billion.
Motorola said the merger
would position it as a leader in the converged internet,
telecommunications and entertainment services. General
Instruments' set-top boxes provide access to high-speed,
premium digital service from cable operators.
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BASF
to set up vitamin plant in Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur: BASF is setting up a plant
in Malaysia to supply food vitamin and mineral premixes
for the Asian market. The plant is expected to be completed
by middle 2000.
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Boots
plans internet project for women
London: Boots Company has sponsored handbag.com,
a new woman-friendly free internet joint venture with
Hollinger Telegraph New Media. The service, which goes
live on 6 October, aims to entice more women to the web
offering 18 channels, covering fashion, news, on-line
shopping, health and beauty, e-mail and expert advice.
It provides free web access
via three million CDs, which will be available in Boots'
stores. The service is also available through internet
service providers.
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