HAL offers 25% jobs to private firms
Bhubaneswar: The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has offered up to 25 per cent of its value-addition works to private companies.

Works involving only low and medium technology would be offered to the private sector while high-tech jobs would be reserved for HAL, its Chairman N R Mohanty told newsmen here.
Back to News Review index page  
Hero to launch 500cc bike
New Delhi: The Hero group is planning to launch a 500cc motorcycle priced at over Rs 2 lakh. Hero Honda will introduce the bike as a fully built unit in the Indian market over the next 12-18 months.

The company is looking at rolling out 350cc and 500cc bikes in India, directly from the Honda range.
Hero groups earlier attempt to foray into the lifestyle bike segment with the Rs 4.5 lakh BMW bike could not take off.
Back to News Review index page  
Essar to cut cell rate
New Delhi: Cellular service provider Hutchison Essar has informed its regular, post-paid subscribers that it will announce new reduced rates shortly.

The announcement comes on the heels of a large price reduction for pre-paid cellular rates, triggered by the launch of MTNLs Trump card.

The announcement by Essar is sure to set off another series of tariff cuts. While Bhartis AirTel has so far not announced the possibility of a rate cut, it is likely to follow suit. Essar had earlier announced the reduction of day-time tariffs by 10 paise on its recently launched My First Plan, which is a post-paid plan targeted at first-time users.
Back to News Review index page  
IA wants replacement of old fleet
New Delhi: Indian Airlines wants to acquire new aircraft to replace its ageing fleet.

The national domestic carrier had received revised bids from aircraft manufacturers, including Boeing and Airbus Industries, for replacement of its fleet and these were being processed.

IA subsidiary Alliance Air is also in the process of evaluating the revised bids for acquisition of six 50-seater turboprop ATR-42 aircraft.

Alliance Air was also likely to submit its findings on the revised bids to the government shortly.
The government had asked IA and its wholly-owned subsidiary to invite revised bids for aircraft acquisition.
Back to News Review index page  
Zee dilutes 10% stake
New Delhi: The promoters of Zee Telefilms had diluted their stake by 10 per cent to 56.27 per cent by December last year even before the hunt for a strategic partner ended.

The company proposes to offload equity in favour of a strategic partner, preferably an international media giant, within the next three months.

Of the 56.27 per cent promoter stake in the media giant, foreign promoters hold the majority 32.93 per cent stake or 13.58 crore shares, while the Indian promoters hold only 23.34 per cent stake with 9.62 crore shares.
While over 7 per cent of promoter equity was offloaded during 2000-01, about 3 per cent has been reduced during the nine months ended December 2001.
Back to News Review index page  
Lee Cooper gets relief
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has restrained a city-based garment manufacturer from selling, advertising and directly or indirectly dealing in garments and accessories bearing the brand name Lee Cooper.
The makers of denim jeans, Lee Cooper, had approached the court after finding that a plagiarised denim bearing their brand name had flooded the market.
Giving relief to the European garment major, Justice V.S. Aggarwal said, "it is apparent from the documents filed that prima facie a case is made out against Delhi-based R.S. Enterprises and Lee Cooper is entitled for injunction".
Back to News Review index page  
RIL to sign NLD licence this week
New Delhi: Reliance Industries is likely to sign a licence agreement with department of telecom for national long distance services this week.

RIL is one of the four players who had applied for STD licence, and had been issued letter of intent for this purpose late last year.
Back to News Review index page  
Govt defers Nalco sale
New Delhi: The government has decided to defer divestment in National Aluminium Company (Nalco) till the second quarter of the next fiscal. The government plans to offload 30 per cent in Nalco by way of American depository receipts and global depository receipts. The divestment ministry is of the view that it should get at least four times the price at which it had sold the shares of Bharat Aluminium Company (Balco) last year. The government sold 51 per cent in Balco to Sterlite Industries at Rs 49 per share.
Back to News Review index page  

IOC scouts for technical partner
Mumbai: Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), which has evinced a keen interest in the Mafatlal-owned National Organic Chemical Industries Ltd (Nocil), is scouting for a technical partner to assist it in taking over Nocil.

Nocil has been courting for alliances with public sector oil companies such as IOC and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) to pick up an equity and infuse funds in the Rs 6,500 crore naphtha-cracker at Thane-Belapur. The project has suffered delays due to paucity of funds.
Back to News Review index page  

Rabo India Fin to advise on biotech park
Mumbai: Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation has mandated Rabo India Finance as advisors for the development of biotechnology park in Pune. Under the mandate, Rabo India will also scout for a technological partner, who would infuse equity in the project and take the project forward.

Rabo India will scout for partners in Europe and India for equity infusion in the biotech park. The project is estimated to cost around $ 50 million.
Back to News Review index page  

Saregama posts Rs 9.91 cr Q 3 loss
Kolkata: Saregama India Ltd is planning to hive off its FM operations which have contributed considerably to the net loss of the company, which stood at Rs 9.91 crore in the third quarter of the current fiscal against Rs 1.59 crore net profit in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.

Saregama Indias total revenue during the period also fell from Rs 45.69 crore to Rs 26.21 crore.

Talks with three companies for hiving off the FM business will take place next month. The company expects to clinch the deal before the end of the current year. The company invested around Rs 6 crore in FM business.
Back to News Review index page  

Digital Publishing closes shop
Pune: Digital Publishing Solutions Pvt Ltd has gone in for voluntary liquidation. Liquidation process is expected to be completed by six months.

Digital Publishing was previously known as Versaware Technologies India Ltd and was a 100-per cent subsidiary of Versaware Inc, US. Versaware also had a similar business in Israel. It was among the first companies to get into e-publishing and had managed to raise US$ 40 million from venture funds.
Back to News Review index page  

New technology to produce alcohol from beet sugar
Pune: Praj Industries Limited has developed a new technology to derive alcohol from tropical sugar beet. The company is in the process of patenting the technology.

Praj is working on alternate feedstock such as secondary juice from sugar mills, tropical sugar beet, sweet sorghum and tapioca to make alcohol.

Sugar beet grows in five months compared to the 12 months taken by sugar cane. It also consumes less water than cane and produces 30 per cent more sugar.

The company has bagged seven new contracts for fuel ethanol plants. Four of these contracts are in India, one each in Thailand, Nepal and Malawi.
Back to News Review index page  

Citi, IL&FS in race for Centurion Bank
Mumbai: Citibank & Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services are the only two players in race for acquiring the Centurion Bank.

Centurion Bank has shelved its earlier plans for a rights issue and will now make a preferential allotment favouring the buyer of Davendra Ahujas 26.2 per cent equity stake. Ahujas stake has been put on the block following a financial services agreement he has signed with the other institutional shareholders.

Citi, which completed its due diligence, is expected to take a decision soon on whether or not to buy into Centurion.

IL&FS, which has also shown interest in Centurion Bank, and completed its due diligence earlier, has started a valuation exercise of the bank.
Back to News Review index page  

Oil PSUs to reduce buying from RPL refinery
Mumbai: Oil public sector undertakings have offered to lift around 5 million tonnes of diesel from Reliance Petroleums Jamnagar refinery in 2002-03, as against 10 million tonnes in 2000-01.

IOC, HPCL and BPCL have projected an even lower offtake from RPL in 2003-4 at slightly over 3 million tonnes.

The oil companies have cited declining demand for diesel and higher projected diesel output at PSU units as reasons for the lower offtake from RPL.
Reliance Petroleum is pushing for higher offtake of diesel. RPL produces roughly around 10 million tonnes of diesel a year.
Back to News Review index page  
Dolphins ties up with US firm
Chennai: Dolphins Technologies has tied up with US-based Home Source International and Singapore-based Hayton International for opening textile warehouses in America and Singapore.

These overseas partners will market all types of garments in the US, Europe and Far Eastern and Asian markets.

Dolphins has decided to import cotton from its partners in Uzbekistan, Egypt and Australia at competitive rates.
Back to News Review index page  
Cummins launches Suraksha Stop
Chennai: Cummins Auto Services inaugurated the first Suraksha Stop here to provide fleet management solution. Suraksha is a super market of genuine auto spares and parts from a wide range of manufacturers.
The company plans to set up such one-stop shops starting from the Delhi-Mumbai corridor of National Highway No.8 and aims to cover almost 12,000 km of highways as part of its national roll out.
Back to News Review index page  

HTMT Q3 net profit up
Bangalore: Hinduja TMT has posted a net profit of Rs 13.10 crore for the quarter ended December 2001, up from Rs 12.43 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year.

This growth has resulted from the company's call centre activities and other information technology-enabled service initiatives.

The company's income for the quarter was Rs 20.16 crore as against Rs 22.26 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year due to the phasing out of its finance activities.
Back to News Review index page  
Essel to invest Rs 550cr in amusement park
New Delhi: The Essel Group will invest Rs 550 crore in expanding the amusement parks business near Essel World in Mumbai.

The proposed expansion includes construction of Bollywood Park, Science Park and Little India Park besides Multiplexes in Mumbai.

The group has already invested Rs 80 crore in the project, which will cover 800 acres in all.
The money needed for Essel World expansion will be raised both from internal accruals as well as via loans from financial institutions.

Essel World is also planning to set up 14 multiplexes in eight cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Lucknow and Chandigarh.
Back to News Review index page  
Reliance to pay hefty withholding tax
New Delhi: The government has decided to deny tax benefits to Reliance Industries Ltd in the form of an exemption on withholding tax on external commercial borrowings aggregating $1.3 billion raised by the company prior to 2000.

The decision to deny the benefit of an exemption from withholding tax on these borrowings was taken by the high-level committee comprising senior officials from the finance ministry and the Reserve Bank of India.

The denial of the exemption was on account of violations of the ECB norms by the RIL. The primary charge against the company is that it had allegedly violated the end-use norms stipulated in the ECB guidelines by parking abroad the proceeds of the ECBs raised prior to 1999 and aggregating $1.3 billion well beyond the stipulated period of one year.
Back to News Review index page  

French tractor major buys out Thapars
New Delhi: SAME Deutz-Fahr Group SpA (SAFGS) of France is buying out its Indian partners, the Thapars, in its two joint ventures.

The French company has two joint ventures in India with the Thapar group's electrical and automotive equipment manufacturing major, Greaves Ltd.

The first joint venture is the Mumbai-based SAME Greaves Ltd which manufactures engines with Euro-I emission standards for tractors and other applications like generating sets and marine propulsion. The Thapars hold a 49-per cent stake in the company through Greaves Ltd, while the French company holds 51 per cent.

The other joint venture is the Tamil Nadu-based SAME Greaves Tractors Ltd, with its plant in Ranipet. Both the Indian and the French partners hold a 50-per cent stake each in the company.
Back to News Review index page  

Tata AIG to provide accident cover for commuters
Mumbai: Tata AIG has introduced personal accident cover of up to Rs 1 crore on loss of life to daily commuters.

The policy covers accident while commuting between home and place of work, driving or riding in public or private vehicles, or while traveling as a passenger in a common carrier anywhere in the world.

For a monthly premium of Rs 99 plus a 5 per cent sales tax, the cover pays up to Rs 1 crore should the policyholder die on any holiday mentioned under the Negotiable Instrument Act, and as applicable in respective states.

On holidays, the probability of accidents taking place is lower, and the company wants to pass on this benefit to the customer in terms of higher claim benefits.

Should the fatal accident take place not on a holiday in a common carrier, his beneficiary will be given Rs 5 lakh, and Rs 3 lakh if the accident took place in a private vehicle.
Back to News Review index page