Four funds in race for Pioneer ITI
Mumbai: Templeton, American Insurance Group, Fidelity and Prudential-ICICI have evinced interest in acquiring Pioneer ITI, the joint venture asset management company between the US-based $2.5 billion Pioneer and TCK-Finance of Kolkata.

The international majors have submitted their expression of interest for acquiring Pioneer ITI.
Last month, Pioneer, the $2.5-billion mutual fund in the US and the Malloo-controlled TCK-Finance decided to sell their stake in the mutual fund joint venture. While Pioneer holds 46.5 per cent stake, the remaining equity is held by Sanjay Malloo.

The US fund has already appointed a leading merchant banker to find a buyer for their stake in Pioneer ITI.
Templeton and Prudential manage full-fledged asset management companies. In India, Pioneer ITI manages funds of over Rs 3,000 crore spread across 7.3 lakh investors.
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IDBI eying housing finance co
Mumbai: Industrial Development Bank of India is contemplating buying an existing housing finance company or purchasing home loan assets from existing lenders.

The IDBI board has already cleared a proposal to float a 100 per cent housing finance company with a capital base of Rs 100 crore.

IDBI has appointed Boston Consultancy to chart a road map towards universal banking.
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Tatas to roll out new vehicles
New Delhi: Telco is getting ready to launch half-a-dozen new models this year. The auto major is launching a new pick-up vehicle tentatively titled 207, under the Tatamobile brand. Also being launched are new models of heavy trucks and buses.

Telco will showcase all its six new commercial vehicle models in the forthcoming AutoExpo show.

In the trucks segment, Telco plans to launch heavy trucks that are bigger and more reliable and deliver desirable aggregates. Telco plans to upgrade the axle and gear-box of the trucks and make the engine more fuel efficient.
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Timex Corp to hike stake in Indian arm
New Delhi: Timex Corporation is seeking to increase its stake in the Indian arm from 79.39 per cent to 82.89 per cent through the preferential allotment route. The US major will be pumping in about $2 million for the additional 3.5 per cent stake acquisition.

This is the second time this fiscal and the third time in one year that the US watch major will be using the preferential allotment to increase its equity stake in the Indian subsidiary.
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Ford announces job cuts
Detroit: The world's second largest automobile manufacturing company, Ford Motors has decided to lay off 35,000 employees, close down five plants and sell off assets worth $1 billion.

The company is expected to post its first full year loss since 1982 next week and is now also working on cutting material costs by $3 billion by the middle of the decade.

The re-structuring programme is expected to save Ford $9 billion by the year 2005.
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McDowell hikes stake in Nepal Liquors
Mumbai:  McDowell & Company Ltd has hiked its stake in Nepal Liquors Ltd from 4.57 per cent to 77.90 per cent.

Earlier, McDowell & Company Ltd chairman Vijay Mallya said that the company has taken initial steps for extending its business to the immediate neighbourhood by increasing its equity stake in Nepal Liquors Ltd for which approval has been received from the RBI.
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Pepe Jeans to make India its marketing hub
Mumbai: The Indian subsidiary of Pepe Jeans London is planning to turn the Indian operation into a marketing hub for the south Asian countries.

The company has plans to bring in its fashion accessories like watches, cologne, perfumes and shoes from its parent company and sell through its distribution network.

The company is also planning to tap countries in southern Asia by opening exclusive showrooms and will unveil its collections in those countries. The company is also set to launch the latest Spring-Summer 2002 Collection very soon.

The company plans to invest Rs 33 crore for retail expansion.
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Eicher posts 29pc growth
New Delhi: Eicher Motors Ltd has recorded a growth of 29 per cent in light commercial vehicle sales during December. The company sold 914 vehicles during the month as against 704 units in December 2000.

In December, the company exported 91 vehicles as compared to 56 vehicles in December 2000, thus registering a growth of 8.3 per cent. The company exported 802 units in April-December 2001, recording a jump of 64 percent as compared to 489 vehicles exported last year.
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Motorola, HP eye deal with Reliance Comm
New Delhi: Motorola and Hewlett-Packard are likely to strike multi-million dollar deals with the telecom arm of Reliance.

Reliance Communications had been holding negotiations with several companies who had expertise in CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) deployment. Its basic telecom services were scheduled to be launched on the CDMA platform and Internet protocol (IP)-based network.

Both Motorola and HP had much to gain by teaming up with Reliance in its telecom venture.

Motorola has been awarded with over a hundred CDMA contracts since 1995. It is also the leading CDMA equipment supplier in Asia. It has partnered with China United Communications Corporation (China Unicom) for its official roll-out of the nationwide CDMA network.

HP, the computing giant, on the other hand, would provide IT-based solutions for Reliance's basic and broadband telecom services. The agreement would mean that HP would be the sole solution provider for the IP-based network currently being deployed across 18 circles in the country.

Reliance has already committed an investment of Rs 25,000 crore over the next five years for its foray into communications business.
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Batata posts fastest growth
Hyderabad: The Birla-Tata-AT&T combine (Batata) has emerged as the fastest growing group in 2001, registering a growth of 133 per cent as against the industry growth of 72 per cent, according to the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI).

With a total subscriber base of 6,75,000, the company has grown at 133 per cent compared to Bharti at 100 per cent and Hutchison at 82 per cent.

Each of the four circles of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh registered a growth of over 115 per cent for the year 2001, with Andhra Pradesh represented by Tata Cellular growing by 143 per cent.

Birla-Tata-AT&T had the highest absolute increase in December 2001 registering about 19,901 subscribers, faster than any other metro city or circle operator.
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GKW clears Rs 150 crore debt
Kolkata: GKW Ltd has cleared a long-term debt of Rs 150 crore to the financial institutions through transfer of lands as a part of the firm's capital restructuring programme.

With the clearing up of the FIs' dues, the company was left with some small outstandings to the banks.

The land sale was the second attempt of the Bangur management to implement an expeditious revival of the company which has been in the BIFR net for some years now.
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Mastek group Q2 net zooms 102%
Mumbai: Mastek group has posted a net profit of Rs 6.09 crore for the quarter ended 31 December 2001 as against Rs 3.01 crore for the corresponding period the previous year.

Total revenues for the group as a whole stood at Rs 65.55 crore in the quarter as against Rs 66.89 crore for the corresponding period last fiscal.

Mastek India has posted a net profit of Rs 9.41 crore for the quarter ended 31 December 2001, compared with Rs 2.8 crore for the corresponding quarter the previous year.
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Voltas bags Rs 225 crore Qatar contract
Mumbai: Voltas has bagged its largest overseas contract of Rs 225 crore for an electromagnetic work in Qatar.

Last year, the company merged Voltas International with itself so that it would facilitate raising finances needed to undertake large contracts on better terms.

Overseas, the company has bagged a Rs 60 crore contract from Abu Dhabi. It is also negotiating for some projects in Hong Kong.

It has also formed a 50:50 joint venture with an Italian firm, Aeri Meianti, to undertake the luxury liner project, Queen Mary II worth, Rs 150 crore.
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Barista Coffee to spread overseas
Mumbai: The Barista Coffee Company plans to expand its retailing business globally and has floated a special purpose vehicle.

The company has set up a wholly owned subsidiary, Barista Coffee International (BCI), in Mauritius which will be the holding company for the group's other expansion. It has so far set up a subsidiary in Singapore and plans another in Europe.

Barista will be entering Singapore, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
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