If this happens the beleaguered petrochemicals project may get a lease of life and may be pulled out of the red. The project has incurred significant losses due to the threefold rise in international prices of petroleum products and petrochemicals feedstock.

The minister, however, refused to comment on any timeframe for the Indian Oil investment in the company.

Indian Oil has reportedly appointed KPMG to carry out the due diligence report, and has hired ICICI to structure the financing pattern for IOC investment in HPL.
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CMS not yet ready to withdraw from Ennore
Washington: US power major, CMS Generation, which is a partner in the 1800 MW gas-based Ennore power plant stated that it was not yet contemplating withdrawal from the project despite the non-fulfilment of commitments made by the Central and Tamil Nadu governments.

This was reiterated by Rodney Boulanger, president of CMS Generation at a press meet. Mr. Boulanger expressed disappointment at the fact that no solution was found to date on the various issues that has stalled the project, especially when everyone felt that the Ennore project can be an inexpensive source of desperately-needed power and natural gas for Tamil Nadu and southern India.

The Ennore project was awarded to the CMS energy-led DBEC Consortium in 1998 after a highly competitive international bidding process.

The Ennore project is essentially stalled until the government can design and implement a solution that will cause lenders to provide loans to the project.
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Aventis CropScience India's amalgamation approved
Mumbai: At a recently convened meeting of the shareholders the scheme of amalgamation of Aventis CropScience Private Limited and Aventis CropScience India was approved by a majority of 99.94 per cent.

In March this year, the board of directors of Aventis CropScience India had announced its decision to acquire 100 per cent of the equity of Aventis CropScience through an amalgamation process.
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Birla group's Jay Shree Tea restructures
Kolkota: BK Birla group company, Jay Shree Tea & Industries, is implementing a restructuring exercise based on the recommendations prescribed by consultants Ernst & Young, which was appointed a few months ago to improve the company's operational efficiency and reduce costs.

The company is primarily engaged in the business of tea, chemicals, fertilisers and plywood. Steps have already been initiated at the company’s estates in Cachar and Upper Assam, and in south India. Besides the company is also modernising factories and upgrading field practices in its other tea estates.

The company’s superphosphate manufacturing unit at Pataudi, Haryana, suffered losses in the wake of poor demand of phosphatic fertilisers and continuous decrease in subsidy.
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Rubbermaid range to be available in India
Bangalore: KSS HomePro, a Bangalore-based company, is all set to bring the range of household and industrial products of the US consumer major, Rubbermaid Industries.

The products, which were launched in Bangalore, will be available across all major cities in south India by September this year.

The company will offer the Rubbermaid range of products through a network of dealers and distributors it plans to set up, besides using the franchise route. The company expects to have 23 franchise outlets in Bangalore alone.

Rubbermaid’s kitchenware product range comprised products which are of authentic foodgrade and are targeted at the household sector include dry food storage jars, sink mats, designer ice cube trays besides water bottles and snacks and lunch boxes. The products are made out of food grade materials and have quality norms as prescribed by the US Food & Drug Administration.
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UTI looks to State Bank for temporary help as redemptions pile up
Mumbai: Hit by a huge redemption pressure, the country's largest mutual fund, Unit Trust of India, has approached the State Bank of India for a temporary borrowing limit of Rs. 1,500 crore. According to senior executives of the fund, the credit line may be backed up by government securities held by UTI.

UTI needs the funds to provide it with additional liquidity which could be drawn down upon to pay dividend under US-64 for the year ended June 2001, besides meeting redemptions of its Monthly Income Plan-96(2) and Equity Opportunity Fund schemes.

While it is likely that the fund may not eventually utilise this credit line, it is approaching the State Bank as a matter of precaution.

The borrowing, if it does come through, would be within the Sebi guidelines for mutual funds under which funds are allowed to borrow up to 20 per cent of the net assets of the scheme to meet temporary liquidity needs.

UTI has also been a large seller of equities worth nearly Rs 2,000 crore in this calendar year alone. UTI has apparently succeeded in persuading institutional and corporate holders of the US-64 scheme to withhold their redemption plans.
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IFCI stops group company from selling stake to Modi brothers
New Delhi: In the ongoing war between the financial institutions and the Modi family for control over Modi Rubber, the IFCI has managed to stall group company, Modi Industries, which holds 8 lakh shares in the former, from offloading its stake in favour of BK and VK Modi, before the open offer closes on 3 July.

It has managed to do this through a stay order it has secured from the Debt Recovery Tribunal in respect of a huge exposure of Rs. 22 crore it has in Modi Industries. In the application made to the DRT, IFCI has stated that it fears Modi Industries would sell its shares in Modi Rubber to any odd buyer and siphon off the sale proceeds, thus frustrating IFCI's efforts to recover outstanding dues from Modi Industries.

IFCI has also pointed out in the application that Modi Industries never disclosed to the institution the fact that it held shares in Modi Rubber nor did it initiate any steps earlier to dispose the shares and pay the outstanding dues to IFCI.

In the ongoing tussle, the financial institutions are leaving no stone unturned to ensrue that the Modi family does not succeed in raising its stake in Modi Rubber.
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Cushman & Wakefield to sell Enron property
Mumbai: Leading real estate consultancy firm, Cushman & Wakefield, has been appointed by Enron to scout for a buyer for its 100,000 sq.ft of property it owns in the Bandra-Kurla complex in Mumbai.

While the company is stated to be looking for a deal of around Rs. 1340 crore, market sources say that it will be difficult for it to find a buyer. This is because most companies now prefer to lease property in view of the impending slowdown.

Enron is believed to have spent Rs 150 crore in June 2000 in acquisition costs, stamp duty and interior development for the property.
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Shaw Wallace to set up new breweries
Kolkota: Liquor major, Shaw Wallace, is planning setting up of breweries in Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Karnataka to secure every bit of locational advantage in its beer business. The estimated investment for these new breweries is around Rs. 10 crore.

The company is in the process of expanding its base with the objective of meeting the market needs. It is believed that the strategic locations of these new units will give the company an advantage of being present virtually in east, west, north and south in a major way.

The company currently has manufacturing facilities in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Pondicherry, Haryana, Karnataka, Goa, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Nepal.
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AV Birla group may offer majority in asset finance arm
Mumbai: The Aditya Birla group has stated that it is ready to offer a majority stake to any foreign partner in the newly formed asset finance company, Birla Global Asset Finance (BGAF). This company has been carved out from Birla Global Finance Ltd, the financial flagship of the Aditya Birla group.

BGAF, which was formed by transferring a Rs 250-crore clean portfolio from the parent company, would be concentrating on retail finance, leasing, hire-purchase and various kinds of consumer finance.

The group's ultimate plan is to make Birla Global Finance a kind of flagship investment company for the entire group’s financial services activities, holding stakes on behalf of the group in insurance, mutual funds, securities broking and insurance distribution.

As part of its strategy, BGAF would be concentrating on the smaller towns and not the big cities. This, according to the company, would ensure that it does not compete more established city players like GE Capital and Citibank.
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Business India group to restructure
Mumbai: Faced with a severe cash cruch, the Business India group, in consultation with the Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS), is formulating a restructuring plan.

The proposed revamp envisages the formation of a new company to "domicile its publishing business and redistribute group liabilities" and sale of non-core assets. The new company will come out with an initial public offering (IPO) at a suitable time.

It is also understood that the promoters of the Business India group are prepared to "make a sacrifice" and divest their non-core assets as well as their ownership interest in the publishing business to 26 per cent from the current 100 per cent.

It is, however, unclear to what extent BI’s institutional lenders have approved the proposed revamp.

Under the proposed revamp Business India firm’s business (along with the brand and printing assets) and part of its debt liabilities will be transferred to the new company as an "aggregate business sale". To facilitate this, BI would terminate the conducting agreement with Business India Publications (BIPL) for use of the BI brand and the printing assets. BIPL would also transfer to the new company its real estate assets, financial investments and working capital related to the business.

It is believed that post formation of the new company the IPO process would be initiated.
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Oberoi group set to open two resorts in Jaipur
New Delhi: Hotel major, East India Hotels, through its Oberoi group of hotels, is planning to set up two resorts in Jaipur and kick-off its expansion plan in Morocco by the end of this year.

The two resorts in Jaipur - Vanyavilas in Ranthambore and Udaivilas in Udaipur - are expected to be open by this year.

The expansion plan in Morocco will also start by the end of this year with the development of a hotel project in Marrakech followed by another development in Casablanca, according to the official. The Moroccan expansion will be a joint venture with the Morocco-based ONA Group.

The company has floated a special purpose vehicle, the British Virgin island-baesd EIH International, to invest in hotel projects abroad.

The group has planned to add 20 new hotels over the next seven years and is looking for both green field as well as management contracts to expand its portfolio.
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Consultant to advise Orchid on biotech business
Chennai: Leading pharma company, Orchid Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals, is understood to have roped in the Hyderabad-based consultancy firm, Transcorp, to prepare a techno-economic report on its proposed biotechnology business. The report is expected to be ready in a few months.

The report is expected to review the technology available in the sector as of now and will also shed light on the economic and business angles of the sector. It is hoped that the report will help the company choose among various technology options and business models. The report would, thus, form the basis on which the company finalises its business plans for the bio-technology sector.
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Fortis Heart Institute to begin operations this week
Mohali: The Rs. 155-crore Fortis Heart Institute, promoted by Ranbaxy Laboratories and the family of Dr Parvinder Singh, is expected to commence operations this week.

The super-speciality hospital has a total bed capacity of 200, of which 55 are Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds. The hospital has six cardiac operation theatres and three cath labs. Apart from this, there are 25 emergency beds to attend to any case of emergency.

Following a hub and spoke model, at least six such spokes or satellite clinics are expected to come up over the next year in surrounding cities including Jallandhar, Ambala, Ludhiana, Shimla, Patiala and Amritsar. The main hospital in Mohali will act as the hub.

According to Mr. Shivinder Singh, the hospital is expected to cash break-even by the middle of next year and is expected to start earning profit the following year.

The hospital is affiliated to one of the world’s leading health delivery systems - Partners Healthcare Systems Inc of the US, which comprises of its founding hospitals - Massachusetts General Hospital and Bringham & women’s Hospital in Boston.

Besides state-of-the-art equipment, the hospital also has a comprehensive and customised Hospital Information System (HIS) and Electronic Patient Record (EPR), developed by GE Medical Systems.
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Ban on factory expansion worries ICI pharma division bidders
Mumbai : Prospective bidders for ICI India's pharmaceutical division, which include US Vitamins, Pharmacia India and Astra Zeneca, have expressed apprehension over the possibility of further expansion at the plant as it is bound by the coastal regulations act.

The pharma division, located at Ennore near Chennai, lies within 500 metres of the sea, and it is feared that the company may fail to secure government approval for any further expansion.

ICI India had informed the bidders of the issue during the presentations and company officials believe it is up to the bidders to secure fresh approval.

ICI is looking to get out of pharmaceuticals as it has remained a peripheral business contributing a mere 6 per cent to the sales.

ICI's pharma division operates in the the cardiovascular, anesthetics and antiseptics, with key brands like Tenormin used for treatment of blood pressure, tenoclor, Tetmosol for skin diseases, Nolvadex for breast cancer and Aerrane in the anaesthetic segment.
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Hindustan Lever may extend Max brand to confectionery
Mumbai: Having established the Max brand name in ice-creams, FMCG major, Hindustan Lever, is contemplating extending the brand to sugar-boiled confectionery.

The company, hit by sluggish sales in its established lines of business, expects the confectionery business to be its new growth engine. It is understood that the company has already started test-marketing its Max range of confectionery in south India.

Besides confectionery, the company is also planning to look at consumer healthcare and water.

The sugar-boiled confectionery market in India is estimated to be around 80,000 tonne in volume terms and Rs 700 crore in value terms. Nutrine is the leader in the confectionery market with 25 per cent share followed by EID Parrys with 23 per cent.

Though a late entrant, the company is planning to leverage its extensive distribution network to capture the market.

The move gains significance since HLL has become active on the foods market, which is expected to explode in the years to come.
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RPG Enterprises initiates revamp exercise
Kolkata: According to Sanjiv Goenka, vice-chairman of RPG Enterprises, the widely diversified conglomerate, the grouop will exit from sectors with low potential.

The group has interests in a range of businesses spanning power generation, tyre, retailing, music, pharmaceuticals, financial services, software, tea and commodities such as tea and carbon black.

The group's new focus would be on companies which have the potential to grow. Mr. Goenka, however, did not name the companies to be hived off as the group would take some more time to arrive at a decision on its future structure. He hinted that the new growth drivers for the group would be in retailing, entertainment and software.
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Tata Liebert aims to be the Asia-Pacific hub for Liebert
Mumbai: India's leading manufacturer of UPS systems and accessories, Tata Liebert, which is a joint venture between the Tata Group and the US-based Liebert Corporation, is aiming to become the Asia-Pacific hub for Liebert Corporation.

The company, which manufacturers these products from 1kVA onwards up to multi-module 40 kVA systems, bases these on technology sourced from Liebert, and adapted for the harsh India mains power quality conditions.

Tata Liebert provides support to Liebert offices in South East Asia, China, Australia and the Middle-East on areas of technical and application engineering, training (both services and sales), warranty and spares.

Apart from product sales, the venture is providing Liebert US with significant support in the area of software used for UPS Communications and Control. Given the high level of knowledge in power electronics, microprocessors and digital signal processors (DSP's) and software, Liebert Corporation is planning to set up a software centre in India during the current financial year.
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