Hughes to expand Internet service
Mumbai: Hughes Network Systems, a $1.5 billion company, is planning to expand high speed Internet service in India.

The company has recently launched direct way services through which it plans to offer both broadband Internet in India and distance learning but at speeds nearly 10 times higher than what are currently available through cable Internet.
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Reliance asks centre to save deal with IOC
New Delhi: Reliance Petroleum has petitioned the central government to resolve the dispute with the Indian Oil Corporation over marketing arrangements.

RPL's vice chairman Mukesh Ambani met petroleum minister Ram Naik and followed this up with meetings with other senior officials of the ministry even as negotiations between the two companies continued following the termination notice served by IOC last month.

Irked by insistence of Reliance for a guaranteed offtake of 15 million tonnes of petro products from its Jamnagar Refinery, IOC had served the notice for terminating the existing marketing agreement from April 1, 2002 to sell 8.5 million tonne products.
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Sterling Info's $500-mn foreign issue cleared
New Delhi: The union cabinet has approved Sterling Infotech's plans to raise $500 million in the overseas markets to lay an undersea cable to Guam, a territory of the United States.

The company has been allowed to raise the amount through the sale of American Depository Receipts/Global Depository receipts for the project.

The firm is setting up an eight-fibre-pair fully protected undersea cable project from the southern city of Madras to Guam.

The project seeks to meet the bandwidth requirement in South Asia including India and on completion it would link Madras, Singapore, Indonesia and Guam using a ring network.
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Reliance inks pact with Korean service provider
Bangalore: Reliance Infocom has signed an agreement with Korean Telecom Freetel under which the Korean mobile service provider will offer network set-up, operation, maintenance and other technical consulting to Reliance Infocom.

KTF would be sending its CDMA staff to Reliance Infocom within this month.

Set up in 1996, KTF had began nationwide commercial service a year later. The number of KTF subscribers exceeded a million by April 1998 and 5 million by May 2000, creating a record of having the largest number of subscribers in the shortest period in the world.
Reliance Infocom, is set to launch CDMA-based mobile service in 18 states of India this year.
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Hero group moves into IT-enabled services
Mumbai: The Hero group is pushing into information technology with a focus on IT-enabled business services and training for such services.

The group is undertaking this through three divisions -- Hero ServeIT for computer-enabled services, Hero Mindmine for training and Hero Soft for software services for the manufacturing sector.

The group expects to generate a revenue of Rs two billion in the next two to three years.
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HLL arm to buy into Rossell
Mumbai: Lipton India Exports, a subsidiary of Hindustan Lever, will make an open offer to acquire the remaining 4.11 per cent stake in group firm Rossell Industries.

The offer will be made at Rs 120 a share, a 13.6 per cent premium over Rossell Industries' last traded price of Rs 105.65 on 31 December.

The offer opens on 10 January and runs till 8 July.
The HLL group intends to delist Rossell.
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Auditors to look into UTIs investments in 88 firms
Mumbai: The Unit Trust of India (UTI) has appointed nine audit firms to probe investments made by it in some 88 companies identified by the SS Tarapore Committee.

Initially, these audit firms would look into UTI investments of some 18 companies, which later on would include another 70 companies. According to the Tarapore Committee report, the audit firms would have to confirm whether there is prima facie indication that normal investment processes and norms were subverted and vital information was ignored at the time of decision making.
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Ranbaxy gets nod to market hypertension drug
New Delhi: The Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals Inc has obtained tentative approval from the US Foods and Drug Administration (US FDA) for marketing of Lisinopril + Hydrochlorothiazide tablets 10/12.5 mg, 20/12.5 mg and 20/25 mg.

Based on this tentative approval, all strengths of this combination product will be available along with Lisinopril as a single entity formulation.
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Intel launches 2.2 gig chip
Mumbai: Intel has introduced in India its highest-performing Pentium 4 processor running at 2.2 gigahertz. The processor sets the stage for a new class of high-performance PCs that power increasingly popular digital music, photography and video uses.

These chips are built on Intels 0.13-micron fabrication process using highly-efficient copper interconnects. Using this technology, Intel will be able to increase the chips on-board memory while reducing overall processor size by 30 per cent.
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TPC, Gail may jointly bid for DPC
Mumbai: Tata Power and Gas Authority of India may jointly bid for Enron-promoted Dabhol Power. Top Tata Power officials had a series of informal discussions with GAIL chairman Proshanto Banerjee over the proposed partnership.

Both the companies had submitted solo expressions of interest for acquiring 85 per cent equity in DPC.
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Om Kotak Mahindra offers family cover
Mumbai: Om Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance has made a foray into the group insurance business with the launch of two new products Kotak Term Grouplan and Kotak Credit-Term Grouplan.

The company has also launched Kotak Term Assurance plan for individual policy holders.

The company plans to come out with a wide range of riders, which can be sold as add-on covers to existing policies. These riders include the family benefit rider, which covers the life of the spouse and the three eldest children of the employee. The company also has a critical illness rider, which covers 12 major illnesses.
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ICICI Bank plans 100% UK arm
Mumbai: ICICI Bank plans to set up a wholly-owned banking subsidiary in the United Kingdom.

ICICI is looking at capitalising the UK arm at $50 million.
ICICI has appointed Sanjoy Chatterjee, deputy general manager (corporate banking) as the country head for the UK operations of ICICI Bank. Chatterjee is expected to take up the new assignment by the end of this month.

The UK operations will be based in London. The bank is likely to set up a branch in one of the satellite towns around London.
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Crisil downgrades Birla Global NCDs
Mumbai: Credit rating agency Crisil has downgrade the rating assigned to a Rs 70 crore non-convertible debenture programme of Birla Global Finance (BGFL) from the adequate safety category to the moderate safety category. It has also downgrade the FA+ rating assigned to the company's fixed deposit programme to FA (adequate safety).

BGFL was promoted as the flagship finance company of the AV Birla group, and commenced operations in 1986. The company reported a profit after tax of Rs 8.81 crore during 2000-01.
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KPC offers Rs 3.60 for Birla stake in MRPL
New Delhi: Kuwait Petroleum Corporation has offered Rs 3.60 per share for the AV Birla group's 37.5 per cent stake in Mangalore Refineries and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL).

The State-owned refiner had quoted Rs.1.60 per share for buying out the AV Birla group's stake over a month ago, which the Birlas had turned down.

The AV Birla group has been seeking an exit from the joint venture with HPCL.

HPCL's offer price of Rs 1.60 for buying out the Birlas' holding corresponds to the estimation of the net asset value (NAV) of MRPL, with HPCL assuming a 50 per cent discount on the book value besides providing for contingent liabilities
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Tata Finance to shut down non-core unit
Mumbai: Tata Finance Ltd (TFL) is shutting down one of its non-core divisions employing about 40 out of 940 employees. The employees have been informed about the same.

Some of these employees would be redeployed in other divisions.

The division being closed down was dealing with corporate lending and includes the business unit, overseeing merchant banking activity.
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M class Merc to be launched this year
Pune: The M Class four-wheel drive Mercedes is expected to be launched in the first half of 2002. DaimlerChrysler is also set to relaunch its van with a brand new engine which has been upgraded to meet the Euro II norms.

The company would showcase 10 vehicles spanning various segments from the Mercedes Benz portfolio at the Auto Expo 2002 to be held in New Delhi.
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TCS in talks with GE Medical
Mumbai: Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is in talks with a General Electric (GE) group company, GE Medical Systems, for a large medical solutions contract. TCS is close to signing a contract with GE Medical Systems for providing telemedicine solutions. The estimated value of the deal is around Rs 180 crore.

TCS is expected to provide worldwide networking solutions for enabling remote surgery wherein a doctor can, through robotic control, perform surgery in any part of the world.

A 200-strong team from TCS is expected to be involved in this project.
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Reddy's mull closure of three overseas units
Bangalore: Dr Reddy's Laboratories is mulling the closure of some of its international operations. The New York Stock Exchange-listed Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical major will also be making an investment of about $10 million to kick-start its first services company.

The company is planning to shut down three of its overseas operations this year. The operation in Brazil is likely to be one of them. The company has seven subsidiaries and four joint ventures in the overseas market.
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