Narayana Murthy sells 2.5 pc stake in Infosys
Mumbai: Narayana Murthy has sold 15,000 shares of Infosys Technologies amounting to 2.5 per cent of his holding.

Murthy's holdings in Infosys has come down from 5,79,400 shares to 5,64,400 shares. These shares were sold on 8 March.

Infosys director Srinath Datni also sold 500 shares of the company on 12 March. His holdings in the company has come down from 77,400 shares to 76,900 shares.
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Essel World to foray into Hyderabad, Delhi
Mumbai: Pan-India Paryatan Ltd, an Essel Group company, is planning to take its `Essel World' brand of amusement parks to Hyderabad and Delhi.

The Andhra Pradesh government has already agreed to lease 300 acres of land to the company.

The Essel group has been trying to find a strategic partner like Universal Studios, Walt Disney and Warner Brothers for further expansion of its amusement parks business.

The company proposes to have sub-brands like Bollywood Park, Little India, Science Park and Nature Park.
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GE Capital to add 4,000 jobs
New Delhi: GE Capital is planning to add 4,000 more jobs this year to increase its total strength to 14,000 in the IT-enabled area.

The company is planning to open a third centre for remote processing work in India.
At present, GE Caps has its facilities in Gurgaon near Delhi and Hyderabad.

GE Capital International Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of GE Capital, offers remote processing operation, servicing international customers in a broad range of services including call centre, accounting services, transaction processing and e-learning.
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Mumm's Champagne launched
Chennai: Allied Domecq Spirits &Wine (I) Ltd has launched the Mumm's brand of champagne in India.

Mumm is reportedly the third largest champagne brand in the world.

The champagne will be available at five-star hotels and airlines.
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Tata Tea to open 200 Tetley outlets
Mumbai: Tata Tea will set up 200 Tetley brand tea vending units at major railway stations and airports in next twelve months.

The company will expand the retail vending chain through the franchise route.

Tata Tea has won a tender to open 100 vending units at stations under South Central Railway and the company will also establish five similar outlets at Bangalore.
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Volvo to have assembly line in India
Bangalore: Volvo Construction Equipment, a part of Volvo India, plans to have a local assembly line in a couple of years.

At the moment, all the equipment is being imported.

The Company is targeting to achieve 150 units of sales in the total construction equipment market comprising 1800 units.

The new models by Volvo India are: Volvo A25D and A30D Articulated Haulers, Volvo Telescopic Handler (acquired from UpRight), E-Series Wheel Loaders, B-series of Excavators and Volvo Motor Grader.
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IDBI plans consortium for film financing
Mumbai: Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) plans to set up a consortium involving commercial banks for taking up film financing projects, according to IDBI chairman and managing director P.P. Vora. IDBI has initiated talks with Bank of India (BoI) towards this end.

IDBI had set up an initial corpus of Rs 100 crore last year for financing films. In the last one year, IDBI has financed nine feature films of which two have been released and one is due to be released next month.

According to Vora, on an average film budgets are in the range of Rs 10-25 crore.
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Amara Raja plans foray into heavy vehicles
Chennai: Amara Raja Batteries Ltd (ARBL) is planning to make a major foray into the passenger bus and heavy duty vehicle segments. It has opened talks with auto majors Telco and Ashok Leyland for the supply of customised batteries.

The company has also signed up with Mahindra and Mahindra for supplying batteries for its latest multi-utlity vehicle models Marshal and Scorpio.

ARBL is planning to make a major foray into the heavy duty vehicle segment and has opened talks with a slew of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).

The market size of the bus segment is estimated to be around 20,000 units per annum and Telco is believed to have a 65 per cent market share followed by ALL with a 45 per cent market share.

ARBL is a preferred supplier of batteries to Ford, General Motors, Hindustan Motors, Telco, ALL and Mahindra and Mahindra.

The reduction in import duty of lead in Budget 2002-03 would have a positive impact on the companys balance sheet.
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Cummins plans big foray into fleet mgmt
Mumbai: The Cummins group plans to team up with automotive accessories makers to provide a comprehensive fleet management solutions to transport operators.

Cummins Auto Services plans to set up 50 mega service stations on the national highways at a cost of Rs 2-3 crore per outlet over the next two years. The company has already set up service stations along National Highway 8 at Jaipur, Baroda, Delhi, Chennai and Thane.

CASL is in talks with other accessories makers including Lucas, Mico and JK Tyres..
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Ceat Shoppe to expand outlets
Mumbai: Ceat is planning to expand its retail outlet Ceat Shoppe chain by around 10-15 through the next fiscal. The company currently has 100 such retail outlets spread across the country.

Ceat is planning to leverage on its new truck-tyre launches to graduate to the top spot in this segment.

Currently, Ceat occupies the third position in terms of industry production in truck tyres with a 17 per cent market share. JK Tyres is the market leader with a 25 per cent share, while Apollo has a 17 per cent share .

The company has lined up a Rs 40 crore fund infusion programme.
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Escorts mulls foray into TPA biz
Mumbai: The Escorts group is considering expanding its healthcare business into third party administration.

The group plans to set up a network of healthcare providers.

TPAs, a relatively new breed in India, are an established link in the US healthcare delivery chain. They provide a link between health insurers, their policy holders and healthcare providers including hospitals, individual doctors and diagnostic labs.
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PSL Holdings bags Rs 60.5 cr order
New Delhi: PSL Holdings has bagged an order of Rs 60.5 crore from Gas Authority of India for corrosion protection and pipe coating.

The company is already working on a Rs 30 crore Mumbai-Manmad pipeline extension order for BPCL at its Daman unit and offshore pipeline coating project of Rs 10 crore at its Kandla unit for ONGC.

PSL Holdings is engaged in various types of pipe coating and manufacturing at Daman, Kandla, Nani Chirai, Chennai and Visakhapatnam.
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Atlas Copco okays buyback at Rs 150
Mumbai: The board of directors of Atlas Copco India Ltd has approved an equity buyback of up to 25 per cent at not more than Rs 150 per share.

The company informed the stock exchange that it will shortly seek shareholders approval and a modification to the articles of association for the buyback.
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Padmalaya, Zee to merge animation units
Hyderabad: Zee Telefilms proposes to combine the animation business of both Zee and Padmalaya Telefilms into a single entity.

Disclosing this in its public offer announcement to the share holders of Padmalaya, which proposes to acquire 21 lakh equity shares at Rs 148.50 a share, Zee said that the move will create one of the countrys largest pool of 380 animators with the facility of both 2-D and 3-D animation.

Padmalayas animation division, located in Hyderabad with about 280 animators, recorded a revenue of Rs 7.28 crore and operating profit of Rs 2.57 crore for the nine months ended December 2001.

The division is executing a 200-part animation serial called Jataka Tales in collaboration with US-based Film Club for international animation industry.

Zee has acquired a US-based animation marketing company recently. Zee believes that the acquisition of controlling stake in Padmalaya will be an opportunity for consolidating its position among the South Indian regional audience. Zee also proposes to launch a Telugu satellite channel under Alpha brand soon.
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Reliance to seek shareholders' nod for RPL merger
Mumbai: Reliance Industries Ltd will seek shareholders' approval for the amalgamation of Reliance Petroleum Ltd with the company on 8 April.

The Mumbai High Court has directed the company to hold a shareholders' general meeting to seek the approval.
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Ceat plans tyre imports from Sri Lankan arm
Mumbai: Ceat is planning to import tyres from its Sri Lankan arm, Associated Ceat, for sale in India.

The company has taken this decision in view of the concessional import duties applicable on imports from Sri Lanka.
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French co to buy 50% stake in Voltas arm
Mumbai: Sermo Montaigu of France will acquire 50 per cent stake in Perfect Moulds Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Voltas Ltd.

Initially, Sermo will acquire 35 per cent stake from Voltas for a consideration of Rs 2.1 crore. Thereafter, Sermo will subscribe to fresh equity of 30 lakh shares of Rs 10 each to be issued by PML. With the second phase of acquisition, Sermo's stake in PML will go up to 50 per cent.

Voltas has entered into an agreement with Sermo Montaigu for this transaction, which works out to a joint venture arrangement.
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Dr Reddy's Yanam unit goes on stream
Hyderabad: The new formulations unit of Dr Reddy's Laboratories Ltd commenced commercial operations on 15 March

The unit, located at Yanam in Pondicherry, has a capacity of 20-million capsules and 50-million tablets a month.

It is expected to contribute around Rs 100 crore to the company's revenues during the next fiscal year.

The company would enjoy a 100 per cent tax holiday for the first five years of operations and 30 per cent tax exemption in the next five years.
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I-A to lease out Pune, Mangalore offices
Mumbai: Indian Airlines has has decided to lease out some of its offices and earn additional revenue from this. The first offices that IA has vacated and is renting out are at Pune and Mangalore.

IA will also be shifting from its Nariman Point office in Mumbai to the Santa Cruz airport.

Indian Airlines has already sold cars and other vehicles owned by it and is currently hiring vehicles on a contract basis.

Indian Airlines has targeted savings of Rs 50-60 crore through belt tightening this year. Its other major initiatives include restructuring the capacity deployed, terminating flights on unremunerative routes and rationalisation of fuel upliftment.
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Ramco solution for Central Bank
Chennai: Ramco Systems Ltd has won the Central Bank of India order for its flagship ERP product - Ramco eApplications.

The order includes the implementation of human resources management, payroll, terminal benefits and investments.

Theproject will be completed by the end of May 2002, says a company release. To begin with, the scope of the order includes 100 users at the central office in Mumbai.

The solution will later be deployed across the bank's zonal and regional offices.
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LG to set up 2nd plant at AP
New Delhi: LG Electronics India (LGEIL) will set up its second manufacturing plant in the country next year with an outlay of close to Rs 200 crore.

The plant will be in addition to the capacity expansion being worked out at LGs existing manufacturing unit at Greater Noida.

The greenfield plant will manufacture only home appliances - refrigerators, washing machines and air-conditioners.

The plant will be ready and operational next year.

LG currently produces 350,000 refrigerators, which will be increased to 500,000 units this year.
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Kenstar to launch refrigerators
New Delhi: Kitchen Appliances India Ltd (KAIL), a 100 per cent subsidiary of Videocon International, is planning to venture into the refrigerator segment under its umbrella brand `Kenstar' this year.

The proposed refrigerators launch will benefit from Kenstar's strong distribution network. The company has approximately 32 sales offices and more than 3,000 dealer outlets covering almost all major cities across the country.

Other product segments in which the company plans to foray in the near future include food processors and electronic shaving machines. The existing range of Kenstar consists of air coolers, air conditioners, microwave ovens, washing machines, air purifiers, mixer grinders and other small appliances.
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India Cements, Italcementi plan JV
Hyderabad: The India Cements group and Italcementi, the Italian firm with a majority stake in Zuari Cements, are planning a joint venture with a capacity of over 6 million tonnes.

The two plants of Zuari Cements will be transferred to the proposed joint venture: the Yerraguntla unit with an annual capacity of 1.7 million tonne and the Vishnu Cements unit with a capacity of 1.3 million tonne.

India Cements is likely to transfer the Raasi and Visaka plants. All these units are located in Andhra Pradesh.

Zuari Cements, in which Italcementi holds a 67.5 per cent stake, recently acquired the Vishnu Cements unit from India Cements at an enterprise valuation of Rs 385 crore.
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Weston TV set to make a comeback
Chennai: After hibernating for over a decade, Weston TV is all set to make a comeback in its new avatar in the South. It also plans to roll out a full-fledged ad campaign in two months, focussing on its digital features and affordable pricing.

Priced at Rs 8,990 for a 21-inch colour television (Digi TV series) with digital features, Weston is being positioned on the value-for-money plank. The company has employed a lean management team and has a cash & carry policy for its distributors.

The company also has plans to launch other consumer electronic products such as VCD players and audio systems in the near future.
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TV Today to launch English channel
New Delhi: Aaj Tak promoter Aroon Purie said on Friday he is planning to launch an English news channel.

He also claimed the Hindi channel has broken even within seven months of launch in July last year.

Purie is also planning to launch a newspaper, possibly an afternoon edition, soon through his online division India Today Group Online.

Promoters, including Purie, hold 80 per cent stake in TV Today Network, the company through which the Hindi channel has been launched.

Bharti Teletech has picked up 10 per cent stake in TVTN through a wholly-owned subsidiary for about Rs 21 crore late last year.

Also, ICICI Ventures holds another 10 per cent stake in Purie's company.
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SBI proposes new housing scheme
Mumbai: State Bank of India (SBI) proposes to offer a housing loan scheme with a variable instalment repayment facility. The details of the scheme are yet to be worked out.

The idea is to make the scheme of repayment to be tailored to the requirements of the borrowers. The scheme will be structured in such a way that both the banker and borrower will sit across the table and try to anticipate the latter's financial commitments in the future and work around them.

A borrower can opt for a smaller instalment for the first few years of the tenure of the loan and then, if he feels that his income may go up in the next few, he can pay a larger instalment. Similarly, borrowers can pay large amount in the initial period and opt for a smaller instalment later.
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Fiat ropes in Schumacher
Mumbai: Fiat India has roped in four-time Formula One champion Michael Schumacher to campaign for its products.

Fiat India is launching the latest ad campaign with Schumacher.

The new Palio campaign with Schumacher was shot last week in Maranella, Italy. It will be launched in a few days, coinciding with the Formula One championship to be held on 17 March in Malaysia.
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UTI Bank plans expansion
Mumbai: UTI Bank plans to add another 200 ATMs, 20 branches and around five extension counters in the next fiscal.

The bank currently has a network of 106 branches, 27 extension counters and 456 ATMs.

The bank has signed a memorandum of understanding with the department of posts for the purpose of providing value-added services to the customers of both the organisations.
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Rallis plans to exit polymer business
Mumbai: Rallis India is exploring the possibility of exiting its non-core polymer business as part of a larger restructuring strategy.

The company is expected to place a blueprint for future plans before the Tata Sons board by September this year. Rallis is primarily into agrochemicals, fine chemicals and agricultural intermediates.
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