Zuari gets 74% in Paradip Phosphate
New Delhi: The government sold 74 per cent stake in the ailing Paradeep Phosphates Limited (PPL) to Zuari Maroc Phosphates Private Limited for Rs 151.7 crore, which is below the reserve price of Rs 176 crore.

The cabinet committee on disinvestment accepted the bid by the lone bidder, which is a joint venture company of Zuari Industries and Maroc Phosphore.

PPL was going through difficult times, with a negative networth of Rs 100 crore and outstanding debt of Rs 1140 crore and was incurring a loss of Rs 10-12 crore every month.

The Orissa high court has ordered the closure of its plant from 15 February 2002 in response to a public interest litigation, even as the plants 1,150 workers are on a hunger strike, demanding wage revision and payment of arrears from 1997.

Zuari Industries has assured the government that it would effect workers wage revision within 30 days and would also take up the burden of Rs 16-17 crore towards payments of arrears.
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Tatas to invest over Rs 10,000 cr in telecom
New Delhi: The Tatas are contemplating investment of more than Rs 10,000 crore in the telecom business. A decision would be taken over the next four-six weeks on this issue.

The group might have to shell out up to Rs 2,600 crore including investment for mandatory open offer for 20 per cent stake in VSNL.

Tatas would soon set up an internal task force to rework their telecom investments.
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Air Sahara starts service to smaller towns
New Delhi: Air Sahara has chalked out a $40 million expansion programme to dry lease 12 new jet-propelled feeder aircraft and commence operations to semi-urban and hithero untouched cities in the country.

With this, Sahara's flight schedule will now include new routes like Gorakhpur, Allahabad, Raipur, Nagpur, Ludhiana and even Tirupathi. The airline is creating regional hubs in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkatta, Chennai and Bangalore.

Sahara is in advanced stages of negotiations with a European airline firm for procuring the 50 and 70 seater aircraft on long-term lease. The new jet-propelled feeder planes are much faster than contemporary turbo-propelled ATRs.

Six of these aircraft will be inducted into the fleet in the April-June quarter, while the remaining is expected to be delivered by the end of 2002 calendar year.
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Indica eyes UK market
Mumbai: The Tata group flagship firm Telco is in talks with the MG Rover group, the maker BMW, to market the Indica in Britain under the Rover brand name.

The export model Indica will have a more powerful Rover engine as the British firm feels that current Telco powertrain is considered under-powered for the British customers. Trials on the new Indica with Rover engines are already underway in Pune.

The cars are likely to be exported to the UK company as knocked down kits and will be assembled at Rover's local unit.
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LIC moots JV for UK operations
New Delhi: Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) has shortlisted three foreign players for its proposed joint venture in UK.

The shortlisted players are mid-sized companies not having any operations in India. All major international players --ING, Allianz, Zurich, Prudential, CGU, AIG, Tokio Fire and Marine, Standard Life, Metlife, New York Life, Sunalliance, Cardif, Sun Life, Lombard and Chubb --have already tied up with Indian companies.

The public-sector insurance company has already forayed into Nepal, Gulf, Mauritius and other foreign countries. LIC's board of directors have cleared the proposed joint venture in the UK and the US.
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UB gets GMR Breweries for Rs 57.2 cr
Bangalore: United Breweries has acquired GMR Breweries in Andhra Pradesh in an all-cash deal for Rs 57.2 crore.

The aquisition was made through UB's joint venture company with Scottish & Newcastle (S&N).

The GMR acquisition will make UB the largest brewer in AP. UB already has a manufacturing base in the Hyderabad-Secunderabad belt.
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Reddy's to open trial centre in Singapore
Hyderabad: Dr Reddy's Laboratories (DRL) has decided to open a centre in Singapore for conducting clinical trials in the process of drug discovery.

The company already has presence in Singapore through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Reddy Pharmaceuticals Singapore Pte Ltd.
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Cisco broadens network security solutions in India
New Delhi: Cisco Systems has announced broadening its network security solutions in the country.

The company plans to extend the Cisco SAFE platform to the next level by driving significant enhancements to Cisco's firewall family, as well as broadening the SAFE blue-print to support IP telephony.

The company has announced the availibility of PIX 506 E and 515E platforms providing enhanced performance for firewall platforms in India.

These new enhancements are aimed at providing the customers with network security and VPN performance requirements for the next generation, converged network deployments.
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Eveready plans foray into processed food
New Delhi: Eveready Industries India is planning to enter processed foods soon.

The company already sells packaged tea. The Khaitan group flagship company said processed food sector would be the thrust area in the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) market.
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Shell, GSPL to sign gas transmission pact
Ahmedabad: The Indian unit of Royal Dutch/Shell will soon sign a gas transmission agreement with the state-run firm Gujarat State Petronet (GSPL) to transport gas from its five-million tonne liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal.

The deal would be for transmitting at least one million standard cubic meters of gas per day.

Shell India Private, the Indian unit of Royal Dutch/Shell, is building the LNG import terminal at Hazira in Gujarat.
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Lazard-SBI Cap to advise on SCI disinvestment
New Delhi: The government has appointed the consortium of Lazard Capital and SBI Capital Markets as global advisors for sale of government equity in Shipping Corporation of India (SCI).

Government has also decided to appoint Luthura & Luthura as legal advisors for the sale of 51 per cent stake in the profit making SCI.

Government plans to bring down its stake in SCI from 80 per cent to 26 per cent while offering 51 per cent to strategic partner while remaining three per cent would go to employees.
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News Corp dumps Andersen
New York: Rupert Murdoch's News Corp Ltd has become the second major media conglomerate to pledge no to use its auditor Andersen for consulting services.

Andersen's credibility was damaged after it admitted some of its partners had destroyed documents related to the audit of Enron.

News Corp has decided not to engage Arthur Andersen to perform any consulting.
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News Corp exits Italy
London: News Corp has pulled out of Italy and sold its pay television venture, Stream, to rival media giant Vivendi Universal.

Vivendi Universal, the world's second largest media group, said it would combine Stream with its own Italian pay television venture, Telepiu.

Pulling out of Italy leaves Murdoch with only one major foothold in Europe outside Britain -- Germany, where he has interests in the crumbling Kirch media empire. Murdoch has warned he may also pull out of that venture.
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Pernod merges Indian operations with Seagram
New Delhi: France's Pernod Ricard has merged its Indian operations with those of Seagram whose wine and spirits brands it bought last year.

Pernod Ricard has become the No. 1 foreign producer of spirits and wines in India after the acquisition of Seagram's spirits and wine businesses.

The merged entity will continue to operate as Seagram Manufacturing.

The company is looking at introducing brands from Pernod Ricard's international portfolio including Jameson Irish Whisky, Havana Club Rum and Jacob's Creek premium wine.
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DaimlerChrysler to form JV with Hyundai
Seol: DaimlerChrysler AG plans to launch a commercial vehicle joint venture in South Korea with Hyundai Motor.

DaimlerChrysler will pay Hyundai 500 billion won ($382 million) for a 50 per cent stake in its plant in Chonju, southwestern Korea.

The Chonju plant will produce diesel trucks for the Chinese market.
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KBJN ties up with KPCL
Mumbai:  The Krishna Bhagya Jala Nigam (KBJN) has tied up with Karnataka Power Corporation Ltd (KPCL) for the generation of 297 mw from the Upper Krishna project.

The Nigam proposes to recover a royalty of Re 1 per unit of power generated by KPCL.

The Nigam expects to recover Rs 63 crore annually from the KPCL towards royalty during 2004-05.

KPCL would incur an investment of around Rs 700 crore for the setting up 297 mw generation plant. KPLC would raise 30 per cent equity through its internal resources and the balance to be raised from market and financial institutions.
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Herbicure files for asthma drug patent
New Delhi:  Kolkata-based herbal drug and formulation company, Herbicure, has applied for international patent for one of the first herbal drugs for asthma, Asmakure.

The company has also entered a strategic alliance with Cyanotech Corporation, a US based company for local production and marketing of Spirulina Pacificia, a herbal nutritional supplement.

Asmakure is a collaborative effort between Herbicure and department of pharmaceutical technology, Jadavpur University.
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RIL not to deal in L&T shares
Mumbai:  The Reliance group will have nothing to do with Larsen & Toubro (L&T) shares for the next five years. This follows a deal struck as part of the overall agreement for the sale of Reliances 10.05 per cent stake in L&T to Grasim.

Reliance has agreed not to acquire or deal in shares of L&T, either by itself or through its subsidiaries, affiliates or associates. Reliance has also informed Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) that the agreement is of enduring nature and in any case shall be complied with for a minimum period of five years.

Reliance has cited this key clause as one of the major reasons why the sale for the L&T stake was struck at a hefty 47 per cent premium to the prevailing market price.
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Baskin Robbins plans foray into beverages
Mumbai: Baskin Robbins is planning to foray into beverages and ice-cream cakes segment this summer.

The company plans to talk to beverage companies such as Pepsico India and Coca-Cola India among others. The beverages will include ice cream flakes, milk shakes and Cappucino coffee shakes among others.

Baskin Robbins ice-creams are now available at 135 parlours spread over 60 towns.
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EasyBuyMusic expands product range
Mumbai: ICICI Ventures-funded company EasyBuyMusic has undergone a name change and plans to expand its offering to include a variety of products. The company is now called EasyBuy (India) Private Limited.

The company has recently commenced its operations in the US. It has tie-ups with some of the leading music companies like BMG Crescendo, Virgin and Sony Music.
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Sundaram Fin to buy out Newton stake in AMC
Chennai: Sundaram Finance group has decided to acquire the 39-per cent stake of the UK-based Newton Investment Management in Sundaram Newton Asset Management Company.

The Sundaram Finance group already holds a 61-per cent stake, while 39 per cent is held by Stewart Newton Holdings (Mauritius), a subsidiary of Newton Investment Management. Sundaram Newton Asset Management has a paid-up capital of Rs 15 crore.
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Pechiney may bid for Nalco control
Chennai: French aluminium major, Pechiney, is likely to bid for a controlling stake in National Aluminium Company (Nalco).

Pechiney already has a working relationship with Nalco. The French company provides the Bhubaneswar-based PSU the technology for alumina and aluminium production.

Pechiney produces 12 lakh tonnes of aluminium annually and Nalco's annual capacity of 2.3 lakh tonnes can help it bridge its small deficit.

Pechiney has to the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) to infuse capital in bauxite mining in Orissa.

In buying Nalco stake, Pechiney could get the capacity to mine 48 lakh tonnes bauxite, the raw material to produce aluminium, and own a 15.75 lakh tonne alumina refinery. The Government is keen to divest its stake in Nalco and is likely to call for expression of interest during the second half of next fiscal.
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LIC plans foray into Sri Lanka
Mumbai: The Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) is scouting for a partner in Sri Lanka to enter the insurance market there.

LIC is looking for a local company with a good network in Sri Lanka. Under Sri Lankan regulations, foreign companies necessarily need to team up with a local partner.

LIC was a player in the Sri Lankan insurance market till about 50 years ago. The insurer stopped selling policies there after it was nationalised in 1956.
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TNPL puts in EoI for 74 pc HNL stake
Kolkata:Tamil Nadu Newsprint & Paper Mills Ltd (TNPL) has submitted an expression of interest for the purchase of 74 per cent of the equity stake in Hindustan Newsprint Ltd (HNL), a subsidiary of the state-owned Hindustan Paper Corporation (HPC). The EoI was submitted by TNPL in response to a global tender recently floated by the government.

TNPL has till date emerged as the lone bidder for the HNL stake. TNPL has a paper mill with an installed manufacturing capacity of about 2,00,000 tonnes of newsprint and writing & printing paper.

HNL, on the other hand, produces only newsprint and has an annual installed capacity of about 1,00,000 tonnes.
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Zodiac hikes stake in Shoppers' Stop
Mumbai: The Mumbai-based Rs 110 crore Zodiac Clothing Ltd has increased its stake in the lifestyle chain, Shoppers' Stop. The promoters of Zodiac have upped their stake from 0.95 per cent last year to 2.11 per cent this year through the private placement route. This makes it the second largest stakeholder in the company after its promoters, the Rahejas.

The C.L. Raheja promoted Shoppers' Stop presently has about 80 per cent of its equity held by its promoters followed by Zodiac and other institutional promoters like ICICI, IL&FS and JM Morgan.

Zodiac is looking at strategic alliances with more such retail chains.
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Hotline plans Rs 150-cr expansion
New Delhi: Hotline group has chalked out a Rs 150-crore plan for expanding its colour picture tube (CPT) manufacturing capacity in association with Japan's Hitachi.

Hotline Teletube & Components Ltd will make flat tubes and 25-inch CPTs with Hitachi technology.

The expansion will be funded mostly by internal accruals. Hotline will have a capacity to produce 1.8 million CPTs annually. Hotline currently does contract production for most leading television manufacturers like Videocon, BPL, Aiwa, Akai, Sansui and Onida.

Hotline recently bought out the 50 per cent equity stake held by LG Electronics of Korea in their joint venture LG Hotline CPT Ltd.
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MCI Worldcom seeks to set up Indian base
New Delhi: The US-based MCI Worldcom Grouphas applied to the Foreign Investment Promotion Board for permission to set up a manufacturing base in India.

The company plans to manufacture calling cards and personal identification numbers (PIN) in India, primarily for export purpose. The products will be used only outside India.

The Indian subsidiary currently has an approved equity of Rs 4 crore which could be raised in phases with necessary approvals to meet the requirements as and when they crop up.
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Cerebra plans to double motherboard capacity
Bangalore: Cerebra Integrated Technologies Ltd is planning to double the capacity of its motherboard manufacturing facility by the second quarter of next fiscal. At present, it manufactures about 30,000 motherboards a month.

The proposed expansion involved an investment of Rs 4-5 crore, likely to be funded from internal accruals.

Cerebra had reported a revenue of Rs 18.5 crore for the first nine months of the current fiscal against Rs 52.37 crore during the year-ago period.
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D-Link enters high-end market
Pune: D-Link India Ltd has entered the high end products market with the launch of Layer 3 managed switch, gigabit copper structured cabling systems, wireless access products and Ethernet-to-home technology for ISPs.

Among the other products from the company's portfolio and marketed under the Digilink brand were motherboards targetted towards the enterprise sector and digital cameras to cater to the growing numbers of home users.
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Club Mahindra eyes new locations
Coimbatore: Club Mahindra Holidays is planning to expand its reach to newer locations. The company is keen on heritage tourism as well.

In the last one year, thecompany had registered more than 60-per cent growth compared to the earlier year. The acquisition of new members for time-share, which was earlier around 2,000 per year, would more than double to 4,000-5,000 members in the current year. The present membership was around 14,000.

Club Mahindra Holidays is planning to add more properties. Its existing two are at Munnar and Goa. The new locations are Mussourie and Binsar at the foot of the Himalayas in UP.

The company has invested about Rs 70-80 crore in the two projects completed and it would be spending another Rs 20 crore in the proposed Mussourie and Binsar timeshare properties.
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Keune plans hair-care salons
New Delhi: Dutch hair-care major Keune has entered into a profit sharing arrangement with retail chain Lifespring to set up branded salons in India.

The company intends to set up 20 company-owned Keune Careline salons in the domestic market within the next one year.

The company has initiated talks with a couple of other leading retail chains for similar alliances. An investment of Rs 15 lakh is expected to be pumped in at each salon.

Most of the salons are expected to be set up in metros and bigger cities such as Mumbai, Chandigarh, Bangalore and Chennai.

Keune's range of products comprises over 60 shades of hair colour, perms, conditioners, styling gels, hairsprays, shampoos and accessories.
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Bharti to undercut VSNL rate by 80%
Mumbai: The Bharti-SingTel promoted Network i2i, the countrys first private submarine cable company, is set to enter the market with leased line tariffs 80 per cent lower than VSNLs current prices.

Network i2i will offer a 155 Mbps leased line at $ 100,000 per month (approximately Rs 50 lakh per month) which works out to Rs 6 crore per year.

In contrast an, a 155 Mbps premium leased line from VSNL is currently available at Rs 30 crore per annum in Mumbai and Cochin and at Rs 47.5 crore in other cities.
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IOC enters global oil trading
Mumbai: Indian Oil Corporation has sold a 500,000-barrel cargo of Dubai crude to Chevron for loading in March.

The company is reported to have notched up a loss of 1 cent per barrel on the deal, but says it has still made money on the deal because it has saved on the inventory-carrying cost of the crude.

In another first-time deal in the Dubai market, IOC bought a crude oil cargo based on gas-oil (diesel) prices.

IOC has been given Reserve Bank of India approval to trade up to $2 million per annum to begin with.

IOC is now preparing to use its size and capabilities to get better value in the international oil markets.

The company imported 44 million tonnes of crude oil in 2000-01, most of it from Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and other Gulf countries.
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IA to revamp flights to Gulf
Bangalore: Indian Airlines plans to revamp its flights on the attractive Gulf routes later this month following the end of its joint operations with Air-India from Calicut.

The airline is also increasing the number of flights from Hyderabad to Dubai.

IA will operate four flights to Muscat and two to Dubai from Calicut every week, while A-I will do a similar number, four to Abu Dhabi and two to Dubai.

While IA will deploy an Airbus 320, AI is likely to fly a bigger A310. Both the airlines will market the new services on their own from now on.
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