Totalfina opts out of race for DPC
Mumbai: Totalfina Elf has withdrawn from the race to buy 85 per cent offshore equity of Enron's Dabhol Power Company (DPC).

Totalfina's exit has now opened the exit route of other parties which have submitted their expression of interest (EOI) to Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) led consortium of Indian lenders.

The lenders have yet to hear from British Gas India and Gas Authority of India Ltd regarding the signing of the confidentiality agreement and the related payment.

Technically, only five companies have qualified for the due diligence process.
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Jamcracker gets $28.4mn funding
New Delhi: Jamcracker, the outsourced application hosting company started by the non-resident Indian KB Chandrashekhar, has received $28.4 million in the third round of funding.

Jamcracker is a web-based aggregator of software applications used by businesses, mainly large US-based IT companies such as Aztec Software.

Jamcracker has secured the funding at a time when investors had almost lost faith in the business model of ASPs.

Jamcracker offers a vast range of applications such as help desk, accounting and sales force automation system to various clients. Its first client, Aztec, is a global developer of Internet infrastructure and software solutions and has even become Jamcracker's primary engineering collaborator.
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Triton to launch media company
Mumbai: Triton Communications, the Rs 130-crore advertising agency, plans to launch an independent media planning and buying company in April this year.

The agency plans to bring in a professional from outside to head the company.

The agency has also lined up a series of diversification plans, including launching specialised divisions for rural, customer relationship management, direct marketing and outdoor deals.

The agency's rural division will focus on logistics, sampling and not just advertising.
CRM and technology-based direct marketing are two other divisions that the agency plans to launch. For each, the agency will be inducting an outsider to head the operations.
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EIH promoters to hike stake to 51%
Mumbai: The promoters of East India Hotels (EIH), the Oberois, are planning to increase their stake from 41 to 51 per cent in the hotel chain through creeping acquisition..

As per Sebi regulations, promoters are allowed to up their stake annually by 10 per cent without having to make an open offer.

Mutual funds and UTI hold 8.86 per cent stake in the company, while banks, financial institutions and insurance companies hold 16.59 per cent, foreign institutional investors 2.53 per cent, private corporate bodies 14.04 per cent and the balance by public.
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M&M to enter defence production
New Delhi: Mahindra Defence Systems, a division of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd (M&M), is all set to enter defence production. Besides planning to build bomb loaders for the Indian Air Force, the company is also in talks with the ministry of defence to manufacture steel for ship building purposes.

Initially, the company would manufacture steel for defence purposes and would at a later stage diversify into civil aviation as well.

The division has already bagged contracts from the army to supply 200 bullet proof vehicles-- Rakshak-- every year for the next 2-3 years. The contract is to the tune of Rs 30 crore every year. It is likely to supply 300 such vehicles to the Jammu & Kashmir police too.
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Parsec Tech to raise $2 million
New Delhi: Parsec Technologies is looking at raising around $2 million to fund its expansion plans.

Parsec Technologies also expects to clock Rs 25 crore revenues in the next financial year ending 31 March 2003.

In the financial year 1999-2000 the companys revenues were around Rs 4 crore.

The company is also planning international forays. Parsec has recently entered the Philippines through a partnership with Global Call International (GCI), a Manila- based company.

As per the agreement, GCI will market Parsec's call centre solutions and product in the Philippines.
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M&M eying Detroit-based design firm
Mumbai: Mahindra & Mahindra is in final stage of negotiations to acquire a Detroit-based automotive design firm.

The company intends to gain foothold in the US market by acquiring the Detroit company, which currently designs components for auto and component manufacturing firms in the US.

M&M's in-house design team, which has recently started taking up design orders from outside parties, has already executed a few small orders for non-critical auto components. As the next step, it is planning to compete internationally in tenders for designing entire modules.
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BG Group buys Enron stake in Panna-Mukta
New Delhi: Britain's BG Group has bought Enron's Indian unit that operates three oil and gas fields for $340 million.

The BG Group, in a statement on its website, said EOGIL, which will be renamed BG Exploration & Production, will continue to operate these assets.

The Panna-Mukta fields have recoverable reserves of 184 million barrels of oil and oil equivalent in gas, and the Tapti gas fields had reserves of 96.3 million cubic metres of gas.
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BoB to sell stakes to foreign partners
New Delhi: Bank of Baroda will sell stakes in three units to foreign partners to tap foreign financial expertise.

Tying up with foreign partners is expected to revitalise the three units and give them critical mass.

Bank of Baroda is looking for foreign investment for its credit card, mortgage lending and asset management units.

Bank of Baroda's rival, the State Bank of India, the country's biggest commercial bank, has already sold a 49 per cent stake in its card unit to GE Capital.
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Colgate declares 25% interim dividend
Mumbai: Colgate-Palmolive (India) Ltd has declared a 25 per cent (Rs 2.50 per share) interim dividend for fiscal 2001-02.

The dividend would involve a total payout of Rs 37.5 crore (inclusive of the dividend distribution tax), the company said in a release here.
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S Kumars may tap market to fund power project
New Delhi: S Kumars is exploring a three-pronged strategy -- including an IPO-- to fill the equity gap of Rs 330 crore in the Rs 2,254-crore Maheshwar power project.

Of the equity of Rs 670 crore in the project, promoters and associates would hold 40 per cent shareholding, while the remaining 60 per cent would be offered to financial institutions and public.

Equity gap was a result of foreign partner Odgen, who had committed an equity participation of Rs 330 crore, winding up their operations in India
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Ind Rayon defers buyback
New Delhi: Indian Rayon has cited non-conducive environment and shortage of surplus funds for deferring its equity buyback plan.

The company said the scheme would not be launched this fiscal.

The company had, in June 2001, taken shareholders approval for buying back up to 15 per cent of its equity from the market, involving Rs 60-70 crore investment.
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Samsung launches new programme with NSC
New Delhi: Samsung Electronics India Information and Telecommunication has launched a programme in partnership with National Science Centre to showcase its advanced digital IT products in the capital.

Called 'Digital Adventure', the programme would allow people to have a touch and feel experience of future high technology products.

Samsung is exhibiting products like PC monitors, digital storage solutions, digital home theatre systems, mobile phones and semiconductors.
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IOC wants Reliance out of IPCL race
New Delhi: IOC has asked the government to keep Reliance Industries out of the race for acquiring petrochem firm IPCL on the same grounds as were cited for not allowing IOC to bid for Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum.

IOC has told the government in a letter that allowing the Reliance group to bid for the governments 26 per cent stake in IPCL could lead to the creation of a monopoly in the petrochem sector.

The Reliance group would control 67 per cent of the petrochem market in case it is successful in wresting control of IPCL, the letter says.

Reliance, at present, controls 43 per cent of the petrochem market. IPCL holds sway over 24 per cent. Haldia Petrochem is next with a 17 per cent market share, followed by 7 per cent of Gas Authority of India, 2 per cent of NOCIL and 7 per cent of all other smaller players.
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Exide plans global growth
New Delhi: Exide Industries is planning to acquire battery makers in south and southeast Asia and setting up a new project in the region.

The firm has shortlisted Nepal, Indonesia and the Phillipines as sites for fresh investments.

Exide had acquired 2 companiesthe Singapore-based Chloride South Eastern Asian Pte Ltd and Associated Battery Manufacturers (Ceylon) of Sri Lankain 2000.
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Godrej acquires 26% in e-varsity
New Delhi: Godrej group has acquired 26 per cent stake in e-varsity Personalitree Academy for Rs 1.2 crore.

Personalitree claims to provide interactive training modules in soft skills like communication, lateral thinking, public speaking and creativity, all applied to business.
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UTI market share dips below 50 pc in Jan
Mumbai: The market share Unit Trust of India (UTI), in the over Rs 1 lakh crore mutual fund industry, has fallen below 50 per cent at the end of January 2002.

According to figures released by Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI), the total assets under the management of UTI were worth Rs 51,151 crore in January, out of a total of Rs 1,04,115 crore.

Total assets under UTI's management stood at Rs 51,181 crore in December 2001 out of a total of Rs 1,01,822 crore, a market share of 50.26 per cent.
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Titagarh, Ruia Coatex bid for Jessop
New Delhi: Titagarh Industries Ltd and Ruia Coatex have submitted price bids for acquiring 72 per cent of the government's stake in Jessop & Company Ltd.

Jessop & Co is the first PSU in the heavy engineering sector to be privatised by the government.

The Government has decided to extend purchase price preference to Jessop & Co for two years after privatisation.

The purchase price preference will be in the form of orders for building 36 EMU coaches per annum for Indian Railways and a wagon order reservation of 8 per cent per year out of the PSU quota.
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JNPT in a jam over US-64 investments
New Delhi: The Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) has landed in a tight spot with investments of around Rs 230 crore in the troubled US-64 scheme of Unit Trust of India (UTI).

The port, which is on course to be corporatised, is currently looking for ways to repay its World Bank loan arrears of Rs 435 crore, accumulated up to 31 March 2001.

JNPT has invested Rs 337 crore in bonds of PSUs, Rs 230 crore in US-64 scheme and Rs 257 crore in other schemes of UTI, Rs 80 crore in bonds of banks and financial institutions, and Rs 12 crore in TDRs of banks.

The port would suffer substantial losses if it were to liquidate its investments in US-64 alone to part-pay the World Bank loan arrears.
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Taj plans luxury yacht service
Mumbai: Indian Hotels Company Ltd, which owns the Taj Group of hotels, proposes to start a luxury yacht service between Kerala and Lakshadweep.

The company has sought permission from the directorate-general of shipping for the service.

The Taj group has acquired two yachts built abroad for starting the service.

The service, initially, will be offered to Taj tourists.

The yacht will take about eight hours from Kochi to Kavaratti. The three-bed room yacht has capacity for six people to `live-in'.
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TVS signs Sachin as brand ambassador
Mumbai: TVS Motor Company has signed up cricketer, Sachin Tendulkar, as its brand ambassador.

Beginning with the indigenous motorcycle model, TVS Victor, Tendulkar will endorse all two-wheeler brands of the company and attend key corporate and brand events for the next three years.

All the company's products including the Fiero, Max and Samurai would be marketed under the TVS brand from 1 May.
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Ma Foi sets up unit in Dubai
Bangalore: Ma Foil Management Consultants Ltd has set up a fully owned subsidiary in the Dubai Media City. Sanjay Ghosh has been appointed as the chief executive officer of the company. Dubai Media City is a free-trade zone focussing on hi-tech, e-commerce and media companies in the UAE.

Ma Foi has serviced 30 companies in the Middle East in oil and gas, infrastructure, FMCG, banking, IT and trading segments over the last nine years, offering search, selection and onsite resources service from India.
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Futureschools allies with Cambridge varsity
Chennai: Futureschools and Cambridge International Examinations of the University of Cambridge have partnered to offer Cambridge Awards in information and communication technology.

The Cambridge Starter Awards (CSA) in ICT allows students to develop the knowledge and skills to support learning in a range of subjects including mathematics, language arts, science and social studies.

The Futureshools-CIE tie-up will offer Cambridge-approved curriculum.
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Bhel plans IT-based products
Kolkata: Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (Bhel), has decided to enter into a joint venture with an IT major to introduce IT-based power sector products.

The new company will be a private sector entity.

While Bhel already has domain knowledge on the power sector, its IT partner would write the application software.

The venture would be for developing IT based remote solutions for power plants' maintenance.
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Geojit arm ties up with MetLife
Kochi: Geojit Infofin Technologies, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Kochi based Geojit Securities, has tied up with MetLife India Insurance Company Ltd for the marketing and distribution of insurance products across the country.

The three products to be marketed in the first phase were Met 100, a limited pay whole life non-participating policy, MET Shanti, an endowment assurance non-participating policy and MET Sukh, a money back non-participating policy. More products would be introduced in the market later.

Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (Metlife) is a global leader in the financial services with about $ 1.7 trillion of the life insurance in force, serving about nine million individual households in the US. Metlife also has international insurance operations in 10 countries.|
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ETA General plans to double capital base
Chennai: ETA General Private Ltd, manufacturers of General brand of air conditioners, is likely to double the capital base during the current year. The company proposes to make the Pondicherry unit the manufacturing hub for Fujitsu General's markets in South Asia.

ETA General is a joint venture between the ETA Ascon Group, Dubai, and Fujitsu General, Japan. The capital base of Rs 25 crore is likely to be doubled during the current year.

The manufacturing facility near Pondicherry has a capacity to manufacture 1,00,000 units per year.

The brand, General, has been in the market since the 1980s and ETA commenced marketing operations in 2000.
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Kalyani Carpenter launches service centre
Pune: Kalyani Carpenter Special Steels Ltd, a joint venture between the Pune-based Kalyani group and Carpenter Technology Corporation, US, has launched its first service centre at Peenya, near Bangalore.

The service centre will cater to the needs of its existing and prospective clients in the region and will also showcase a wide variety of special steels for different applications that can be made available just in time as per the customer requirements.

The centre will also provide facilities for cutting, inspection and testing of stock and its variants and staff at the centre will be trained to provide technical support to customers.
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i-flex to set up park in Bangalore
Bangalore: i-flex Solutions ltd has announced plans to set up a new facility in Bangalore. The company is investing about Rs 50 crore in this facility, which would house both corporate and development teams.

The 1,44,000 sq feet new facility, which can house some 1,500 professionals, is expected to be completed by December 2003.
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NIIT, SunGard tie up
Kolkata: NIIT Ltd has tied up with SunGard Planning Solutions of the US to offer disaster recovery and business continuity solutions to the finance and banking sector in the Asia-Pacific region and India.

The partnership will enable NIIT to leverage the expertise of SunGard Planning for delivering total business continuity solutions.

NIIT will provide the services to large organisations with complex software systems and to those engaged in real time data processing. NIIT will provide comprehensive software solutions ranging from assessment of risks associated with the customer's business to monitoring the plan and maintaining its relevance.
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Sify gets ISO 9001 certificate
Chennai: Satyam Infoway Ltd (Sify) has been certified ISO 9001, 2000 for its network services, data centre operations and customer relationship management at Tidel Park, Chennai.

The certification from Det Norske Veritas (DNV), Netherlands under the RvA accreditation scheme provides recognition for self-defined benchmarks against international companies with respect to facilities, matrices, processes and practices.

The scope of operation includes network engineering/operations, systems support, infrastructure, help desk and customer support.
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Sony bags 6-yr cricket rights
Mumbai: Sony Entertainment Television has bagged the television broadcast rights for six years of international cricket for $375 million.

Sony beat ESPN Star Sports and the Prasar Bharti Corporation. The $375-million payment will be made in instalments between 2002 and 2007.

The package is for both satellite and terrestrial broadcasting rights. SET will be paying between $250m and $275m for the satellite rights.
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Promoters may exit Global Trust
Mumbai: The promoters of Global Trust Bank led by its former chief Ramesh Gelli are believed to be scouting for a buyer for more than 26 per cent equity holding held by them.

Feelers have gone to ABN Amro Bank for acquiring the holding of Gelli and his associates in GTB. Talks of a possible sale of holding by the original promoters of the Hyderabad based private bank has led to huge volumes on the GTB counter during this month.
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Santro to get a face-lift
New Delhi: Hyundai Motor India is planning temporary face-lifts of its best-selling B-segment car Santro this calendar.

These improvements, which include engine changes, will run right through to 2003-2004 when the company will introduce major changes in the Santro and will coincide with the launch of its next locally-manufactured model.

Simultaneously, the company will concentrate on its CBU programme this year starting with the Terracan which will debut in the first quarter of the next fiscal as well.
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GE Medical to move component mfg to India
Bangalore: GE Medical Systems is moving to India the manufacture of crucial components like computed tomography detectors and magnetic resonance coils from Milwaukee, USA and CT tubes from Buc, France.

GE BEL will make CT detectors and tubes and GE X-ray will manufacture MR coils, in Bangalore.

The company is focusing on the cardiology market in India. GEMS is looking to develop products like C-arms.
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