MUL hikes prices of all its vehicles
New Delhi: Maruti Udyog Ltd. (MUL), India's largest car manufacturer has announced a hike in prices of all its vehicles, including the recently launched Alto car, by over Rs 1000 to Rs 12,000 with immediate effect. The price of the three popular versions of the entry model '800cc'car (Standard Euro-II, Executive and Deluxe) have been hiked by Rs 2,180, Rs 3,224 and Rs 5,204 respectively to Rs 2.18 lakh, Rs 2.49 lakh and Rs 2.69 lakh (ex-showroom - Delhi) respectively.

MUL has also increased price of all variants of premium small car 'Zen' (LX, VX, VXI (all Euro-II and diesel) by Rs 4,157, Rs 1,208, Rs 1,226 and Rs 6,224 to Rs 3.47 lakh, Rs 3.88 lakh, Rs 4.16 lakh and Rs four lakh. The price of the two variants of the Alto car (LX and vx) have been increased by Rs 7,640 and Rs 7,707 to Rs 3.07 lakh and Rs 3.72 lakh respectively.

Variants of the 'Wagon-R' (LX, LXI and VXI) car have witnessed a hike of Rs 1,177, Rs 6,205 and Rs 7,726 rise in price to Rs 3.44 lakh, Rs 3.71 lakh and Rs 3.92 lakh, respectively. While the prices of the two versions of the Omni van has been hiked by Rs 2,374 to Rs 2.22 lakh and Rs 2.28 lakh, the prices of the two versions (LX MPI and VX MPI) of the mid-size car Esteem have gone up by Rs 5,172 and Rs 10,225 to Rs 5.07 lakh and Rs 5.62 lakh, respectively.

Price of premium mid-size car 'Baleno' and its station wagon version Baleno Altura which have been raised by Rs 12,271, and would now cost Rs 7.61 lakh and Rs 8.27 lakh, respectively.
Back to News Review index page 

Abbey National to take 30% stake in Tata Home Finance
Mumbai: Tata Finance Ltd. has signed an agreement with Abbey National of UK to sell 30 per cent equity stake in its wholly-owned subsidiary, Tata Home Finance. Under the terms of the deal, Abbey will pay Rs 15 crore for acquiring 1.5 crore shares in the company at the face value of Rs 10 each. Additionally, Abbey will be paying a $0.5 million premium up-front for the 30 per cent stake. Tata Home Finance has a paid-up capital of Rs 50 crore.

Tata Finance has also received an in-principle nod from the International Finance Corporation, Washington, to acquire 19 per cent in Tata Home Finance. After divestment, Tata Finance’s stake in its subsidiary will come down to 51 per cent. IFC is expected to shortly will approach the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) shortly for picking the equity stake in Tata Home Finance.
Back to News Review index page 

Kuwait Petroleum eyes equity in Reliance Petroleum
New Delhi: Kuwait Petroleum Company (KPC) is planning to pick up stake in Reliance Petroleum, promoters of the world's largest refinery in Gujarat. A delegation from Kuwait Petroleum, which visited the 27 million tonne refinery at Jamnagar, has reportedly held informal discussions with RPL for possible participation.

Mr. Nader H Sultan, KPC's deputy chairman and CEO is quoted as having said that KPC was keen to enter the downstream refining and marketing sector in India and was talking to a number of refiners for possible equity participation. However, there is no conformation of the talks with KPC from the Reliance group.

Kuwait Petroleum, which supplies 65,000 barrels of crude oil per day to RPL's Jamnagar refinery has earmarked large investment for increasing its refinery capacity worldwide, and is particularly keen on expanding in Asia, especially in India.
The Kuwaiti oil major had earlier explored prospects for picking up a 26 per cent stake in Indian Oil Corporation's nine million tonne grass root refinery at Paradip in Orissa but later pulled out of negotiations, as it was not convinced about its viability.
Back to News Review index page 

Daewoo offers extended two-year warranty
New Delhi: Daewoo Motors India Ltd. (DMIL) has announced its new programme of extended warranty called "Daewoo Comfort Extended Warranty" programme, which offers its car buyer an option to extend the existing warranty of two years to four years.

Under the new scheme, Daewoo's customers can purchase the extended warranty from Daewoo dealers on the nominal payment of Rs 1,799 per annum for each additional year for the Matiz and Rs 2,800 per annum for each additional year for the Cielo and the Nexia, a DMIL release said.

The extended warranty will become effective immediately after the expiry of the existing two years' unlimited mileage warranty of DMIL. While the scheme is valid for those who have purchased any of the Daewoo cars from January 1, 1998, new customers can get extended warranty scheme along with the car or can purchase it up to 45 days from the date of registration of the car.
Back to News Review index page 

Philips tie-up with Agrani for mobile phones
New Delhi: Philips India Ltd. is re-entering the Indian mobile phone market and has appointed Agrani Convergence Ltd. as the sole distributor for its mobile phones. Agrani Convergence plans establish a multi-format, countrywide chain of retail stores, primarily addressing telecom, information technology, learning, entertainment and media requirements.

Among the three new phone models that the company intends to bring in, into India over the next few months include: the Az@lis 218 and Xenium 9@9 WAP phones, and the Savvy Vogue GSM dualband phone. The company has recently appointed Mr Bob McDougall, as the new general manager for its Indian office, for mobile phones. Mr Bob Pillay, general manager of Philips's consumer communications in South/ South East Asia and Taiwan has stated that steady growth of the telecom market in India has made Philips re-look at mobile phone segment as a part of its growth strategy.
Back to News Review index page