CCI, Grasim deal on idle unit
New Delhi: Cement Corporation of India and Grasim Industries have worked out a deal to convert the formers cement grinding unit from an idle liability into a profit centre.

The deal involves grinding of clinker for Grasim at Rs 360 per tonne, which will result in a net profit of Rs 2.4 crore.

Grasim has agreed to pay an interest-free advance of Rs 1 crore to CCI to operationalise the unit which has been lying idle
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The deal comes as booster for the cement grinding unit which was otherwise facing closure. CCI had decided to close the unit since the idle wages paid to employees was turning into a heavy liability for the sick company.

The revenue generated through the deal with Grasim would now pay for staff cost, overheads, interest and depreciation.
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Fiat to launch new look Siena
Mumbai: Fiat India is planning to launch new look models of the Siena and the Siena Weekend with improved exterior and new engines.

The company has started work on fine-tuning the new Siena, which has just been launched in Brazil, to cater to local conditions.

The upgraded Siena and the Siena Weekend would have 1,200-cc and 1,600-cc petrol engines while their exterior would also be changed completely.

The company as contracted Indian cricket star Sachin Tendulkar as the brand ambassador for the Fiat models.

The Siena and the Siena Weekend have been positioned as the companys flag-bearers in the mid-size segment.
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Rs 1 crore Bentley to hit Indian roads
Mumbai: Hold your breath ! The classy Bentley Arnage Red Label car can be yours, provided you have Rs 1 core spare cash. The car will be imported as completely built units and sold by the city-based Autohangar India.

The vendor does not expect to sell more than ten Bentleys in a year.

Autohangar is the only authorised after-sales service center in India for Bentley cars.
Bentley is conducting feasibility studies for the Bentley in the Indian market.

At present the costliest car being sold in India is Mercedes S 500 car, which is priced Rs 95 lakh.

The Arnage Red Label has a 400-bhp 6,750-cc Bentley V8 engine with single turbo-charger, providing 400 bhp/298 kw power and 619 lb ft/835 Nm torque, more than any other production saloon in the world, and 58 per cent more torque than the Red Labels nearest rival.

With a top speed of 155 mph, the Bentley Arnage has speed sensitive steering wheel to give firm control at high speeds.

The car also has satellite navigation facility with 3-D horizon-view scrolling graphics. Bentley believes this car is ideally suited for Indian roads.
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Maruti to go for limited edition Esteem
New Delhi: Maruti Udyog is bringing out a limited edition of Esteem to cost 6-8 per cent more than the Esteem VX model, which is priced at Rs 5.40 lakh to compete with Hyundai and Ford.

The company plans to manufacture 1,000 cars only. The limited edition Esteem will have leather upholstery, alloy wheels, rear spoiler with stop lamp, key-less entry-cum-theft deterrent system, rear defogger, fog lamps, power antenna, wood panels and wider tyres.

The company had launched a limited edition of WagonR in March 2001, which was a huge success.
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HPCL MasterCard marriage on card
Hyderabad: MasterCard International and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation are exploring the possibility of co-branding a prepaid smart card on the lines of the latters HP Smart 1.

HP Smart 1, a preloaded card with a smart chip, allows customers to purchase fuel and other products from the companys outlets.

HPCL is also looking forward to tying up with banks like ICICI Bank and Citi Bank for extending the scope of HP Smart 1 to extend its reach to merchant outlets beyond the petroleum majors own outlets.

The company has applied to the RBI for permission for such tie-ups which will enable the cards scope to be extended to other merchant outlets.

The HP Smart 1 has a minimum load amount of Rs 250 and can currently be used at all HP petrol stations to buy lubricants and pay for services of cars and two wheelers.

The user earn five Smartmiles for every Rs 100 worth of petrol purchased and 50 smartmiles for every Rs 100 wroth of car servicing undertaken at HP outlets.
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BIFR wants Iisco to shut down
Kolkata: The Board for Industrial & Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) has asked the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) why its subsidiary Indian Iron and Steel Company should not be closed down. BIFR has asked SAIL to give an explanation within two months.

Iisco is suffering a direct loss of Rs 50 lakh per day in revenue due to lower output caused by labour agitation.

The labour unions have been carrying out a blockage since September 10 to press their demand for higher wages.
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Air-India slashes fares from Dubai
Dubai: Air-India has slashed fares from Dubai to Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad in the wake of stiff competition from Emirates Airlines,.

The fares have been reduced from dh 1,300 and dh 850 for Mumbai (return and one-way) and dh 1,350 and dh 850 for Delhi to dh 1,100 and dh 650 for both destinations.

The fares for Hyderabad are now dh 1,300 and dh 650, down from dh 1,400 and dh 900.

Emirate Airlines had on Thursday last announced cuts in fares to Mumbai and Delhi from dh 1,460 and dh 1,000 to dh 1,150 and dh 650 and to Hyderabad from dh 1,600 and dh 900 to dh 1,300 and dh 650, respectively.

The price cuts, however, will not benefit the huge Keralite population living in the Gulf as Emirate Airlines does not fly to Kerala and hence the price war has left the Air-India fares in that sector untouched.

Air-India had stuck to its fares, holding that they are decided by the yield improvement committee of the airlines, until they were forced to slash fares in face of the price cuts by Emirate Airlines.
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SBI Home to issue pref shares
Kolkata: The annual general meeting of SBI Home Finance Ltd (SHFL) has authorised the company's board to issue and allot fresh equity shares to an extent of Rs 85 crore with a face value of Rs 10 each. The entire issue is to be made on a preferential basis to institutional shareholders.

The SHFL board was also authorised to issue, offer and allot (not exceeding 25,00,000) preference shares of Rs 100 each for cash at par to institutional shareholders on a private placement basis. The issues, which are part of the company's ongoing capital restructuring plans, are expected to be completed shortly.

Addressing the shareholders, Mr P.K. Sarkar, Chairman of the company, said about Rs 1,50,000 crore had been estimated as housing demand in the Ninth Plan. He said housing market was growing at the rate of 25 per cent per annum.

The company has assigned Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) the work of developing an integrated software package covering loan, finance and deposits.

While individual housing loans in the retail segment would continue to be the company's prime focus area, it has also planned to target big corporates and PSUs for tie-ups for individual housing facilities for staff members.
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Liberty to hold shoe fest in Dubai
Mumbai: Liberty Shoes Ltd is organising a fashion festival to present the `Best of India' in Dubai on September 27.

The main objective of the festival is to establish Indian brands in the international market, according to Liberty group executive director Adarsh Gupta.

The company is going to showcase their latest 50 footwear styles along with 400 existing ones. Leading fashion designers Ritu Beri, Rohit Bal, Rohit Gandhi, Rahul Khanna, Ashima Singh and Leena Singh and Ranna Gill are expected to attend the festival.
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Medicorp developing new chemical entity
Chennai: Medicorp Technologies India Ltd, the Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical company, is developing a new chemical entity for the formulation of new drugs.

Medicorp has entered into an agreement with a multinational drug manufacturer for executing the project. Medicorp would do collaborative research with the foreign company to develop a new chemical entity which would be used for formulation of new drugs.

Many of the clinical trials will be done in foreign countries as Indian laws do not permit certain kind of trials on animals.

The company is expecting a breakthrough in its efforts in another six months time, according to company sources. Medicorp has also entered into strategic agreements with international generic companies in restricted markets like Europe and Canada for combined development, manufacture and supply of formulations.
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Isibars to re-enter European markets
Mumbai,: Isibars Ltd, facing export restrictions since last three years from the European Union (EU), is expected to re-enter the European markets following the lifting of anti-dumping and anti-subsidy sanctions against it.

Isibars and three other companies - Mukund, Facor and Viraj Exports - recently won a case in the European court which annulled the European Commissions decision to impose anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duty on exports of stainless steel bright bars to Europe.

Isibars had appealed on the grounds that European producers were not injured by Isibars products since European producers themselves operated a cartel and imposed uniform alloy surcharges on sales made by them.

Isibars, which was the largest exporter of stainless steel bright bars with a exports of around 4,000 tonne, had lost its markets overnight. Total exports of stainless steel bright bars to Europe from India is around 10,000 tonne.

The court decision will help Isibars add another Rs 10 crore to its export turnover.
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Bharti to start basic telecom service in TN
Chennai: Bharti Telenet Ltd is expecting to start its basic telecom network in Tamil Nadu by December this year, two months behind the schedule. The delay was caused due to untimely rains.

The company has sought permission from the police to work in daytime in less traffic areas to speed-up the process. The company will start blowing cables in two weeks time.

Earlier, the telecom company had plans to connect seven cities in Tamil Nadu by late September, or early October 2001 in the first leg and wire other areas, including rural and semi-urban towns, in a phased manner.

It has added Hosur and Pondicherry to the seven other cities the company originally planned to bring to the network by March 2002, including Coimbatore, Madurai, Trichy, Tirupur, Erode, Vellore and Salem.

Bharti has made an initial outlay of Rs 800 crore for the project and has planned another Rs 550 crore for the coming three-five years. It is investing over Rs 300 crore for the national long distance network within Tamil Nadu.The telecom company will cover 45 per cent of Chennai in the first phase, 75 per cent in a years time and connect the state fully in three years.

The company will roll out industry-specific customised telecom solutions such as high-speed data traffic including voice, video conferencing, etc to bulk users who need quality services like software and media companies, in a bid to take on competition from both Bharath Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) and a host of other private players in the basic telecom sector.
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RBI cautions against Gitanjali, KL Chokshi
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has cautioned all bullion banks in their dealings with two bullion traders - KL Chokshi group and Gitanjali group as these companies had committed serious irregularities.

The allegations include defrauding a bank. Two leading nationalised banks dealing in bullion - Bank of India (BoI) and the State Bank of India (SBI) had suffered losses totaling Rs 125 crore in dealing with these companies.

KL Chokshi group directors are currently in the custody of the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI).
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