Dunlop may source tyres from Nepal
New Delhi: Dunlop India Ltd (DIL) proposes to outsource tyres from Nepal under contract manufacturing arrangement and supply the same in the domestic market.

DIL has already held a few round of discussions with a tyre company in Nepal with sufficient production capacity. The factory is located near Kathmandu.

DIL plans to procure truck and light commercial vehicle (LCV) tyres against an income from technical fees which it expects to earn by providing technical expertise to the Nepalese tyre company.

A DIL team will shortly visit Kathmandu to finalise details of an agreement under which DIL will extend technical support to the Nepalese company.

This apart, a separate agreement will be signed between the two companies for marketing of tyres.

The production capacity in the Kathmandu factory will be enhanced, and at least 50 per cent of the total production will be marketed within Nepal, while the balance will be marketed in India and some neighbouring countries.

DIL also proposes to procure industrial rubber products (IRPs) from domestic sources.
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Honda Siel rolls out new Accord
New Delhi: Honda Siel Cars India Ltd today launched an upgraded version of its recently introduced Accord luxury car, called the Accord VTi-L, enriching its interiors with leather upholstery and improved features.

The manual transmission version of the Accord VTi-L will sport a price of Rs 15.75 lakh in Delhi showrooms, while the automatic transmission version will be priced at Rs 16.55 lakh.

The VTi-L versions cost Rs 80,000 more than the Accord launched in July. Since the July launch, Honda has sold over 600 units of the Accord and is targeting sale of 2,500 units by March.

"Customers wanted more features in the car and, hence, we are launching the new variant,'' Mr Teruo Fujisaki, President and Chief Executive Officer of Honda Siel, said at a press conference here.

All-leather imported interior (leather seats, gear-shift and steering), better audio/CD system and alloy wheels are some of the added features that the VTi-L will have over the Accord.

The car sports a 2.3-litre-in-line four-cylinder VTEC engine that delivers 141-bhp. The VTi-L will be available in an exclusive black colour.

Buyers of the VTi-L will get special accessories such as fog light, fender arch moulding, gold emblems, trunk moulding, trunk spoiler, bumper protection rubber, exhaust pipe finisher, door edge guard, fender arch moulding and car cover.

"These features can help the buyer customise the car,'' Mr Fujisaki said.

He said Honda had no plans to enter the small car segment and would concentrate on the sedan segment. There were no immediate plans to launch the Civic in India.
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David Friedman appointed MD of Ford India
Chennai: Ford India Ltd has appointed Mr David Friedman as its president and managing director. Mr Friedman was earlier the vice-president - finance and systems at the company and was instrumental in developing the business model for the companys operations.

Apart from leading the financial operations of Ford India, Mr Friedman played a leading role in establishing Ford information Technology Services India (FITSI), the hub for Fords IT initiatives in India and the Asia Pacific region, according to a company press release.

"The challenge now is to sustain this lead position and also extend the Ford brand experience to other product segments," Mr Friedman said through a release.

The president will lead the new development phase of operations in Ford India and will put in place a growth strategy that will build on Ford Ikons success by introducing new models. This includes Ford Indias entry into the D segment with the launch of the Ford Mondeo scheduled for end 2001.
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McKinsey for expansion plan
Mumbai: L&T Infotech, the information technology subsidiary of L&T has appointed global consultant McKinsey to help draw up a blueprint for aggressive growth over the next four years.

The company is also planning an initial public offering (IPO) sometime towards the end of the year. The roping in of an external consultant is primarily aimed at moving up the value chain.
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Grasim to set up base in China
Jaipur: Grasim Industries of the Aditya Birla Group is exploring the possibility of setting up a manufacturing base in China.

"Production is much quicker there and ultimately Indian and Chinese manufacturers will have to join hands," Grasim industries (textiles division) executive president S Krishnamoorthy said.

The company has earmarked Rs. 3 crore for setting up 12 exclusive Grasim showrooms across the country.

Entry in the Chinese market would be either through setting up a manufacturing base there or by entering into strategic alliances with the Chinese manufacturers. The whole process will take two to three months.

The company plans to spend Rs seven crore on advertisement campaign for its new range of clothing. The company would keep introducing a new range of suitings every six months.
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Emerson aquires Tata stake in joint venture
Mumbai: US-Based Emerson Electric, has acquired Tata groups stake in Tata Libert Ltd, a 50:50 joint venture between Tata Power and Libert Corporation in a Rs 76 crore deal.

The new business, which will be known as Emerson Network Power India Private Ltd, will be combined with other key Emerson operations in India to function as a division within the Emerson Network Power Group.

Tata Power Company Limited managing director Adi Engineer said that Tata Groups decision to exit from the joint venture followed the companys plans to concentrate on the energy business, including electricity generation and distribution.

Dwelling on the companys plans for laying fibre optic cable networks, Mr Engineer said that Tata Power has invested Rs 160 for the Mumbai area and Rs 330 crore for Hyderabad, Chennai, Bangalore and Pune.

Libert vice-president (Asia Pacific) C Gene Hayden said that Emerson network would provide engineering products and services, including uninterrupted power supply systems, climate and environmental systems and DC power systems.

Emerson India president Pradipta Sen added that the joint venture was successful and that they would continue to maintain a strong relationship with the Tata group, who would remain an important customer for them.

The company has recorded a turnover of Rs 188 crore in 2000-01 and has a capital base of Rs 9 crore.
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Lombardini enters domestic market
Mumbai: European market leader in diesel engines, Lombardini has acquired the engine project of Greaves Limited at Aurangabad. The acquisition has been made by Lombardini India Private Limited, a 100 per cent subsidiary of SRL Italy.

The engines to be produced in this plant will include a family of 422cc diesel and gasoline engines with integral transmission. According to the company, these engines will be integrated with gearbox and differential unit. The engines meet Euro I and II emission norms.

The engines are being manufactured under licence from Piaggio & C spa Italy. The new engines will mark the beginning of a series of diesel engines to be launched by the Italian major in India. The 422cc engines will be sold to the Piaggio plant at Baramati for its three wheeler Ape and also to other customers in course of time.

The first commercial batch of engines is expected to roll out by the end of 2002. Lombardinis target is to reach an annual procuction of 50,000 engines in the third year of commercial operations.
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Ernst & Young forms biotech R&D consortium
Hyderabad: Leading global consultant Ernst & Young, in association with Indian research majors like Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), National Research and Development Corporation (NRDC) and the leading US exchange Nasdaq, floated a consortium called Opportunia to promote biotechnology.

According to Vishal Goel of Ernst & Young, the alliance is aimed at creating a bridge between entrepreneurs and technology.

The strategic partners have complementary skills giving the entrepreneurs an integrated view of how to grow their businesses apart from providing wide range of services including start-ups to IPOs which will enable the entrepreneurs to get their problems solved.

The leading international stock exchange Nasdaq would enable the entrepreneurs to access information and develop strategies for future IPOs. Legal experts from national and international fora would offer a complete range of support line, ranging from Intellectual Property Rights to mergers and acquisitions.

The company has launched a portal called Opportunia.com which offers a host of services including mentoring, contents in business, management, technology, legal and other areas like idea validation and regulatory opinion.
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Business solution to net 30 p.c for Xerox Modicorp
Mumbai: Xerox Modicorp Ltd (XML) expects to garner 30 per cent of its total revenues from business solutions in India over the next two to three years.

In the fiscal 2000, the solutions business contributed 3 per cent to the total revenue of Rs 650 crore. The share of this segment has already gone up to around 6 per cent this year.

The solutions are aimed at streamlining the process of document management and providing solutions for specific industry segments.

The company is sponsoring Docuworld India 2001 to be held in Mumbai from September 19 to showcase the latest in digital document management, technology solutions and services.

The event would target banking, finance, education and graphic art segments.
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StanChart launches e-payment product
Mumbai: Standard Chartered Bank (StanChart) has launched RemotePay, a decentralised e-payments product which offers a user-friendly electronic front-end package allowing the customer to send transactions using the banks proprietary e-banking software.

RemotePay has the ability to physically print payment instruments at 27 locations on a decentralised basis on the same day. This reduces the time lag associated with courier transit times from one location to another. Since payments can be made at any location across the country, the customer is no longer restricted from making payments on smaller, distant locations and need not make payments through multiple banks.
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Ericsson launches GPRS phone
New Delhi: Ericsson has launched its first general packet radio service (GPRS) phone in India which allows round the clock Internet access. The phone T39 priced at Rs 17,995 has Bluetooth wireless technology that enables it to communicate with other devices without cables.

The bluetooth technology enables the user to synchronise T39 with a personal computer, laptop or a personal digital assistant, without using a cable provided it is within a 10-metre range.

Ericsson also launched a low end model, A3618, for Rs 8,495. Weighing only 86 grams, the phone has been developed by Ericsson in co-operation with Arima of Taiwan specifically for the Asian market. A3618 has a large full graphic display, different colours for the display and screensavers. It has an intelligent SMS text-messaging tool and a built in calendar. The phone has talk time of up to 4 hours and a standby time of up to 180 hours.

In July, the firm had launched a mid-level WAP phone,T29 priced at Rs 14,995. It supports sending, receiving and storing of group-SMS messages, voice dialling of up to ten phone numbers and voice command to accept or reject incoming calls.
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Infosys to invest Rs 85 crore in Pune centre
Pune: Infosys Technologies Ltd will be investing Rs 85 crore in the second phase of its development centre at Hinjewadi in Pune. Infosys handles its key clients Aetna of US, DHL Express Worldwide and recent entrant Telenet of Belgium from the Pune development centre.

Pune is Infosys largest development centre outside Bangalore. The Pune centre looks after the new business from Telenet of Belgium that offers telephony, Internet and multimedia services via cable. Telenet is dversifying into Internet-on-TV and interactive TV, for which it is revamping its current architecture, with Infosys providing the software services.
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