Honda to hike India capacity, make sourcing hub
Baroda: Honda Motor Company of Japan, plans to expand its manufacturing capacity in India by half-a-million vehicles per annum by 2004.
Honda Motorcycle & Scooters India, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Honda, Japan is exploring the possibility of exporting Indian manufactured Activa to Latin American and neighbouring countries in South Asian region. The company plans to manufacture 1.2 lakh two wheelers by 2002, to be doubled every year, and reach a figure of half a million by 2004. Of this, 20 per cent has been earmarked for exports.
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Godrej to sell its soap in the US
Mumbai: Godrej Consumer Products Ltd. is seriously looking at the possibility of selling its brand of soap in the US and South American countries like Brazil and Puerto Rico.

The company has initiated a study to determine the opportunity, and hopes to make its entry in a year's time. The approach would be through the institutional route, hotels being the first target, since direct retail entry would be difficult. Retail sales would be followed in two years' time, according to company officials.
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Tata Infotech for systems integration tie-ups abroad
Mumbai: Tata Infotech is planning to expand its systems integration business overseas, for which it has begun with talks of joint ventures with systems integration companies in the US.

To begin with, it intends to have a 400 people strong operation, joining join up with mid-size companies with annual revenues of 50 to 100 million dollars. A joint venture with an existing company would limit its infrastructure investment exposure, according to the company.

Systems integration makes up for 30 per cent of Tata Infotech’s total revenues, while 55 per cent comes from export-oriented software services and 15 per cent from hardware and education business.
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Videocon to set up three satellite units
Mumbai:,Videocon International Ltd plans to set up three new manufacturing facilitates, one each at Hyderabad, Mohali and Jharkhand, with an investment outlay of Rs 450 crores. VIL has plants at Hosur near Bangalore, Salt Lake in Calcutta, and Aurangabad. The company recently set up another plant at Attibele near Bangalore.
These new plants are intended to be cost effective 'satellite' units with lower investment costs than full-fledged facilities. Both the Hyderabad and the Mohali plants are expected to be operational by next year and have a capacity of around 0.5 million tonne white goods, including televisions, washing machines and refrigerators. The investment would be funded through internal accruals.
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Tata Steel does a rethink on Esop
Mumbai: Tata Steel has put its employee stock option plan on the backburner.

Last year, the company's board had had approved the issue of over 73.55 lakh ordinary shares representing 2 per cent of its subscribed share capital to the staff and directors under the Esop plan to benefit its permanent employees. With the deteriorating steel scenario, the company has had a rethink, and has decided to opt for performance related incentives to reward its senior managers.
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Tata Steel on acquisition mode
Kolkata: Tata Steel is eyeing more acquisitions in select steel and allied businesses, following the acquisition of the ball bearing units of Antifriction Bearing Corporation.

The Antifriction Bearing Corporation’s ball bearings unit, with a capacity to produce 10 million bearings, was purchased with a view to upgrade and expand its own Bearings Unit at Kharagpur.
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Modis offer more to FIs for Modi Rubber
New Delhi: The Modis, who wish to acquire the 44 per cent financial institutions' share in Modi Rubber Ltd have offered a fresh guarantee to pick up the shares.

They have also offered to give another flat at Mayfair Gardens in Mumbai to the institutions. Earlier, they had offered two flats.

The financial institutions had earlier decided not to participate in the open offer, with the issue held up on the mode of payment for the shares.

Some of the financial institutional shares are proposed to be bought through the open offer, while the Modis have given a commitment to buy out the rest of the shares as well.

The Modis have put the money required to fund the open offer for 35 per cent Modi Rubber shares at Rs 90 per share with the Honking Bank, and the institutions wanted a similar guarantee for the remaining shares that the Modis plan to buy subsequently.
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HDFC Bank's ADS issue imminent
Mumbai: HDFC Bank has begun its roadshows for its 175 million dollar American depository shares (ADS) issue. The price is to be determined according to investor interest and will take the book building route. Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley will be managing the issue.

Following the issue, parent HDFC's shareholding in the bank will come down from 28.26 per cent to around 25 per cent.

Foreign investors interest has risen after the bank was included in the Morgan Stanley Capital Index, with the Chase group now holding 13.35 per cent and other foreign institutional investors, non-resident Indians and overseas corporate bodies holding another 20.16 per cent.
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'Every' to help Maruti turn around
New Delhi: Maruti Udyog will invest Rs 550 crore in the current fiscal, primarily to launch its new vehicle, Every, during this fiscal. The company is expected to launch a local version of Suzuki's 1300 cc Every van in the domestic market. The investments are to be met through internal accruals.

The company expects to make a turnaround this year, with an expected turnover of Rs 11,500 crore. The company's turnover for the year 2000-01 was Rs 9,250 crore, but had incurred net losses of about Rs 250 crore due to falling sales and pressure on margins.
Maruti had invested Rs 2,000 crore over the last three years to launch new models like the premium small cars 'Alto' and 'Wagon-R' and the mid-size sedan 'Baleno' besides upgrading existing models like 'Zen' and 'Esteem'.
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BPL to bring touch screen kiosks
Bangalore: BPL Ltd is planning to introduce touch screen kiosks in the country, focussing on niche markets like hospitals, banks and retail sectors. BPL has tied up with Bangalore-based Forsee Multimedia and a New Delhi-based company to develop these kiosks initially.
According to a report by Frost & Sullivan, the Indian market for these kiosks is about Rs 300 crore, and rising. Multinational companies like IBM, CMS, Siemens and Transmatic Systems import kiosks, whereas other companies like BPL and HCL, VXL, UV Electronics and Shonk Technologies manufacture them in India.
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Hind Graphite to set up overseas plant
New Delhi: Hindustan Electro Graphite, a company belonging to the LNJ Bhilwara Group, will set up an overseas graphite electrode plant, and has shortlisted Egypt, Tunisia and Thailand for the purpose.
The proposed 100 million dollar plant will have an initial capacity of 15,000-18,000 tons to be expanded to 30,000 tonnes. The company has a 30,000-ton capacity plant at Bhopal.
The location for the second unit will be decided in four to five months' time, according to the company, for which funds would be raised through a 60:40 debt equity ratio, or through a joint venture.

Hindustan Electro Graphite had initially acquired graphite electrode technology during its joint venture with French company Pechiney, which has since quit the sector to concentrate on aluminium.

The overseas option is being sought in order to meet the needs of expansion and to bring better value without a 'made in India' tag, according to the company.
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Pantaloons to source fabric, apparel from Arvind
Ahmedabad: Pantaloons, the retail major has tied up with Arvind Mills for the supply of fabric and apparel for its in-house brands.
In recent times, Pantaloons has emerged as the single largest customer for Arvind's garment division, sourcing it for its Bare, John Miller, Ajile, Annabelle, and AFL (Apparel For Less) brands.

Arvind Mills expects to do 25 crore worth of business with Pantaloons this year, where Arvind will take care of the production and Pantaloon concentrate on the brand building and retailing.

Pantaloon, which has modelled itself on the JC Penny retail chain, stocking a range of competing brands in its stores, currently manufactures 60 per cent of its apparel, outsourcing the other 40, and has crossed the Rs 120 crore mark retailing through its own showrooms.
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