Reliance group to set up a biotech company
Mumbai: The Reliance group is setting up a new company called Reliance Biotech in the biotechnology sector. The new company will absorb around 150 employees, who now function as part of the biotech division of Reliance Industries. The Reliance group will hold close to 50 per cent in the proposed entity. The group has also decided to construct a biotechnology lab. The new company will be located at a site at Thane near Mumbai.

Reliance Group has worked out ambitious plan for the biotechnology business and already scientists have been recruited from various research institutes and have started working in different groups. The future focus of the biotech business will be on finding cures and diagnosing disease with the aid of medical biotechnology. As part of the plan, the company has forged alliances with a number of research institutes in India and abroad. Efforts are also on to set up a biotech research centre in Bangalore.
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BG Energy to enter into technology sector
New Delhi: BG Energy, a $7-billion UK-based energy giant has decided to enter India’s emerging technology sector and is floating two wholly-owned subsidiaries, in the ISP segment and in the area of telecom consultancy. The company has chosen Surat as its hub for technology activities instead of Mumbai or Bangalore. The company is pumping in an initial capital of $7 million into its ISP venture.

BG Energy, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange, is expected to initially invest $9 million in its two Indian ventures.
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Oberoi Group to set up hotels in Morocco
Mumbai: The Oberoi group of hotels is setting up three hotels in Morocco for a total investment of $102 mn (Rs 474 crore). The hotels are being set up in a joint venture with a conglomerate in Morocco - ONA group of Industries. The group currently has 12 hotel properties overseas, spread across Australia, Indonesia, Mauritius, Egypt, Sri Lanka and Middle-East.

The hotels in Morocco are being set up at Marrakech, Ouarzazate, and Casablanca. The ones at Marrakech and Ouarzazate will be leisure hotels on the lines of the Rajvilas, a famous resort hotel in Jaipur in Rajasthan. The new properties are being set up on a 65:35 joint venture basis, with the Oberoi group holding the majority stake. All the three hotels planned will be branded as The Oberoi Hotels.
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Cummins India plans new acquisitions from 2003
New Delhi: Cummins Engine Company, the US-based diesel engine makers plans to step up its acquisition activities from 2003, in an effort to become a $1-billion group in India within four years. The US major will be looking at acquiring a number of small manufacturers of aggregates and engine components, which will enable its Indian arm to become a total engine manufacturing and solutions group.

Cummins India, a 51 per cent subsidiary of Cummins Engine Co manufactures diesel engines for various applications at its plant in Pune. The Cummins group ventures in India includes other subsidiaries like Tata Cummins, a 50:50 joint venture with Tata Engineering and Cummins Diesel Sales and Service and Cummins Infotech.
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Shaw Wallace restarts sales of 'Royal Challenge'
New Delhi: Shaw Wallace has resumed the sale of its "Royal Challenge" premium brand whisky in Delhi at its original price of Rs 340 for a 750ml bottle in Delhi, after a gap of over one month.

Central Distillery and Breweries, a fully-owned subsidiary of Shaw Wallace, has obtained the permission of the Delhi High Court on an appeal, filed against a Delhi government excise department's notice for recovering about Rs 1.93 crore for quoting higher 'ex-distillery price' (edp) for the whisky brand. The excise department had served notice to the company for quoting higher 'edp' and had directed it to reduce Royal Challenge's price by Rs 60 for a 750ml bottle.
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JD Edwards to set up 100 per cent subsidiary in India
New Delhi: JD Edwards, an enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution provider will plans to set up a 100 per cent subsidiary in India by early 2002, as part of its strategy to enter the Indian market for enterprise solutions in a full-fledged manner. The company, which has been closely studying the Indian ERP market, has said it would first set up its liaison office in Mumbai in May and follow it up with second office at Delhi by September. Currently, its Singapore office manages the Indian marketing operations.

JD Edwards, which provides collaborative-commerce solutions for Internet economy is testing Indian market by launching its oneworld XE solution on March 2 in the country. The company has entered into a partnership with Accelicim and Sun Microsystems to launch oneworld XE collaborative-commerce suite for the small and medium size companies.
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M&M to focus on export of utility vehicles
Mumbai: Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) is reported o be working on a strategic blueprint to take on the mantle of being a major exporter of utility vehicles and pick-up vans to Latin America and central Europe. The company is presently evaluating the option of exporting vehicles based on the Bolero and Scorpio platforms to select international markets. M&M's much-awaited premium utility vehicle - the Scorpio expected to be ready later this is also likely to be part of its offering to the international market.

The renewed emphasis on export of utility vehicles comes in the wake of reduction in excise duties on passenger cars from 40 per cent to 32 per cent in the recent budget, while the excise duty on utility vehicles remain unchanged at 32 per cent. Though the excise duty gap between passenger cars and utility vehicles have been narrowing over the years, companies like M&M are disappointed to find that duties on utility vehicles have not been brought down.
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Enron likely to seek arbitration against MSEB
Mumbai: The Dabhol Power Company (DPC) is reportedly considering involving a London-based arbitrator in response to the loss-making Maharashtra State Electricity Board's penalty notice of Rs 400 crore dated February 28. Mr. K Wade Cline, Enron India chief in a statement has said: "This is purely commercial dispute and we would like to solve it amicably with MSEB. But even then, if things do not materialise, we would be compelled to seek the international arbitrator's intervention," Mr. Cline however said that option to exercise intervention of the international dispute mechanism would be resorted only if "things go out of hand".
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Sterlite wants Balco to be cheapest aluminium producer
New Delhi: Sterlite Industries Ltd. has said that its Rs 551.5 crore bid for 51 per cent stake of Balco was based on "right" valuation and claimed it would make Balco the lowest cost aluminium producer in the world in three years. Sterlite chairman Mr. Anil Agarwal has stated that group will invest substantially to make Balco a world class benchmark producer.

Mr. Agarwal said that the group had a long-term vision to make the individual companies lowest cost aluminium producers in the country. He said Sterlite would like to concentrate on its core strength of metals and optic fibres and success would depend on being the lowest cost producer in the world. Mr. Agarwal said that Sterlite would soon appoint an international consultant to undertake a feasibly study for reaching an exact estimate of quantum of investments to be made in Balco. Allaying fears relating to job security of Balco employees, he said that the group was against any form of retrenchment of workers.
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Glaxo India, Merial extend marketing pact
Mumbai: Glaxo India has formed a marketing alliance with Merial, the world's leading animal health company, to include the global anti-rabies vaccine, Rabisin. Agrivet Farm Care, a veterinary division, under Glaxo India, is a market leader in the veterinary products.

Glaxo India and Merial had earlier forged a marketing alliance in early 2000. Under the tie-up, Glaxo was to initially market four live and six inactivated vaccines, including Lyomarex, Avinew, Dur706, Bioral H 120 and Haemovax (inactive)-used against most common poultry diseases. The latest move further strengthens the alliance by adding more products under the marketing arrangement.

Glaxo had, earlier indicated that it expects the alliance to add roughly Rs 2 crore to the company's turnover during the first year, while growing at around 50 per cent per annum in subsequent years. Glaxo's Agrivet Farm Care business has already achieved a sales target of Rs 100 crore in 2000.
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Alstom notches Rs 12 crore turnaround profit
New Delhi: Alstom Power India Ltd. has announced a turnaround results posting a profit of Rs 12 crore for the year 2000 against a loss of Rs 33 crore in 1999. The company closed the year with revenues of Rs 284 crore, which is more than double of Rs 99.2 crore recorded a year ago.

The impressive performance has been achieved despite the fact no large projects came up during the year and when the company was affected by the restrictive purchase price preference policy, of state run power utilities. Company sources say, the turnaround has been possible due to sales push, sound project management, aggressive cost reduction programmes like VRS and getting out of larger projects, which were not yielding any revenues.

The company has now decided to concentrate on small-sized projects and the service segment to enhance revenues.
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