Court receiver rakes over Daewoo India plant
New Delhi: A court receiver has seized the assets of bankrupt carmaker Daewoo Motors India Ltd, an official at one of the creditor banks said on Tuesday. The court in March directed the receiver to take possession of the assets to prevent any damage or pilferage because the management assigned by the court to maintain the closed plant had abandoned it, the official said.

The receiver is trying to sell the assets in six parts to repay creditors after the sale of the business as a standalone firm evoked no interest. South Korea’s failed Daewoo Corp had held 91.6 per cent of the unit. Daewoo India workers demonstrated outside the plant on the outskirts of Delhi, demanding that money due to them be paid and their jobs protected before the sale of the assets.
About a dozen people were injured in a clash with police, who tried to break up the protest and evict workers from the plant.
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IG Petro implements KPMG recommendations to cut debt
Mumbai: IG Petrochemicals Ltd (IGPL) is working with its lenders to reduce its huge debt, as suggested by KPMG which was appointed by a consortium of lenders to draw up a business plan and suitable restructuring options. A company official said that the principal amount, apart from the accumulated interest to banks and financial institutions is over Rs 463 crore. He added that KPMG was appointed to draw up a plan in June 2002, after a restructuring package put forward by financial institutions was not viable. KPMG submitted its report in Decemeber 2002 and since then, the company and its lenders are working towards reducing the debt. The bankers include ICICI Bank, Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, UTI Bank and United Bank of Indian, among others.
Since the earlier restructuring package approved by the financial institutions did not materialise, the company returned the share application money. The company is also not accepting any public deposits.
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Lupin net dips 84 per cent to Rs 2.28 crore in Q4
Mumbai: Lupin Ltd has reported a drastic decline of 83.6 per cent in net profit to Rs 2.28 crore for the fourth quarter-ended (Q4) March 31, 2003 as compared to Rs 13.9 crore for the corresponding quarter last year. However, total income (net of excise) has increased to Rs 269.24 crore from Rs 223.66 crore last year. Lower offtake by distributors on concerns over implementation of VAT during the quarter coupled with government imposed price cuts, and stiff competition in the domestic market resulted in the low growth rate, a Lupin release said. For the year-ending March 31, 2003, the company has posted a net profit of Rs 73.07 crore as compared to Rs 72.18 crore in the previous year. Total income (net of excise) too increased to Rs 1,041.11 crore from Rs 875.83 crore last year. The board of Lupin Ltd has recommended a dividend of 50 per cent for the year, the release said.
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Park Hotels teams up with German firm
Mumbai: As part of its branding exercise, The Park Group of Hotels has joined hands with German-based Design Hotels to cater to sensitivity and intimacy of lifestyle guests. Despite the present market conditions, the Group also forsees a 25 per cent increase in the current year. A Park official said that the group, which has medium-size hotels mostly of the 100-200 rooms range, is seeking to brand itself distinctively by joining hands with Design Hotels franchise. Design Hotels, which sees itself competing with leading hotels and small luxury hotel franchises, represents a 180 degree turn from the initial post-war move for standardisation when franchise chains promised the same room layout anywhere in the world. Given the present conditions in the hotel industry, The Park has achieved an occupancy rate of 78 per cent in April-May and 85 per cent in May so far.
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Godrej mulls tapping Africa, LatAm
Mumbai: Godrej Consumer Products Ltd (GCPL) is exploring new global markets in high potential areas. The company is considering basing a team in Latin America and Africa to diversify its reach and benefit from the growing opportunity in these regions. According to a company official, GCPL is betting big on taking its Godrej Powder Hair Dye to global markets from the Far East to Latin America, where the majority of the population have dark hair. For instance, Godrej Hair Dye has become the only product in its category to enter the challenging Singapore market. New product-lines have also been introduced keeping in view the needs of the consumers in regions like Latin America and Africa. The company is exploring opportunities to increase its presence in international markets. GCPL’s consumer products range is present in 36 countries across the African, Asian, Latin American and North American continents. A number of its products are sourced by the Middle East-based Godrej Global MidEast FZE. The company continuously explores opportunities to establish manufacturing facilities in other regions so as to enhance reach and proximity to customers
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Essar Steel to okay CDR scheme at June 6 meet
Mumbai: As part of Essar Steel’s (ESL) corporate debt reconstruction (CDR) scheme approved by the financial institutions (FIs), the company is convening a meeting on June 6, to consider and approve the scheme of arrangement and compromise with its secured term-debt creditors and working capital debt creditors. The company informed The Stock Exchange, Mumbai (BSE) that by an order dated May 9, passed by the Gujarat High Court at Ahmedabad, the court has directed that a meeting of the secured term-debt creditors and working capital debt creditors of the company be called and convened for the purpose of considering and, if thought fit, approving, with or without modifications, the scheme of arrangement and compromise of Essar Steel with its secured term-debt creditors and working capital debt creditors.
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Software earnings slowed down to 13.2 per cent in 2001-02
Mumabi: The software services witnessed a slowdown in 2001-02 and grew by a mere 13.2 per cent with earnings at $7.2 billion as compared to a rise of 58 per cent in 2000-01. Software contributed to the extent of 49 per cent of the total invisible receipts under the head of miscellaneous services. Miscellaneous services, including software services, management and communication activities were major contributors to invisible receipts in 2001-02 at $14.67 billion ($12.87 billion in 2000-01), the Reserve Bank of India said in its monthly bulletin on Tuesday.
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RIL to export 8-9 MT of petro products
New Delhi: Reliance Industries will export around 8-9 million tonne of petroleum products, which is 33 per cent of its production from Jamnagar refinery. The export basket of RIL includes aviation turbine fuel (ATF), diesel, gasoline and some quantities of naphtha. RIL, which at present does not have a retail chain of its own, sells 13.1 million tonne of its products annually to state-run oil retailing firms — Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum. Of this, IOC picks up 7.5 million tonne while the other two market the remaining equally.
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KG Basin to pump out 45 mscm daily
Mumbai: Reliance Industries will produce 45 million standard cubic metres of gas perday from the deepwaters of Krishna Godavari basin, off the Andhra coast, from 2006-07. This was revealed by Avinash Chandra, director general of directorate general of hydrocarbon. During 2001-02, export of RIL products accounted for Rs 8,476 crore in the Rs 33,117 crore total sales. RIL’s mainstay in exports is diesel, dispatching over 3 lakh tonne every month
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Three injured in RSP mishap; probe ordered
Kolkata: Three employees of Rourkela Steel Plant suffered serious burn injuries when, early on Tuesday, hot metal and slur splashed out of the convertor at the SMS (steel melting shop) II. A high-level enquiry committee comprising three senior non-RSP executives of Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) has been constituted to investigate the incident. The injured executives are P.K. Mohanty, Assistant General Manager, S.P. Swain, Manager and P.K. Hota, senior operator. The three were immediately rushed to an in-house hospital of RSP, which is equipped to handle such patients.
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VLCC plans colour cosmetics foray — Open to strategic partners
New Delhi: The Indian colour cosmetics market, estimated at about Rs 250 crore, will soon see another entrant. The closely-held, Rs 60-crore health, fitness and beauty chain Curls & Curves (India) Ltd, which is the parent company of Vandana Luthra's Curls and Curves (VLCC) is planning a foray in this segment in the current calendar year, Sandeep Ahuja, Senior Vice-President, CCIL, told Business Line. Dominant brands in this category include Lakme, Revlon and Maybelline. Other drawing board plans include introducing a men's line and creating a new brand to cater to a specific age group, Ahuja said, though he declined to elaborate on the new ventures.
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Bayer India to benefit from merger with Bayer CropScience
Mumbai: The route is circuitous, but chemical giant Bayer AG may manage to hike its stake in its Indian subsidiary, Bayer India, when the latter's proposed merger with Bayer CropScience goes through. Post-merger, the German parent's stake in Bayer India will go up from 55.3 per cent to 75.1 per cent. Consequently, domestic shareholding in the company will be down to 24.9 per cent from 44.7 per cent.This week, the board of directors of the two companies cleared a merger proposal under which Bayer CropScience India (formerly known as Aventis CropScience India) will be merged with Bayer India. Bayer CropScience shareholders will receive five Bayer India shares for every three held. The German major holds 89.68 lakh shares (face value of Rs 10 per share after the proposed stock-split) in Bayer India, making it a 55 per cent subsidiary. Bayer CropScience is an 88 per cent subsidiary where the parent holds 124.17 lakh of the total 139.67 lakh shares outstanding.
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SAIL plant develops steel for ballistic testing
New Delhi: Steel Authority of India Ltd's (SAIL) alloy steels plant (ASP) in Durgapur has developed, for the first time, target steel for ballistic testing used in defence sector with stringent specifications. The steel was rolled out at Rourkela and Bokaro steel plants.

ASP has also developed casting of jackal steel (boron bearing) slabs and special steel for application in nuclear power plants.
The company has exported 1,000 tonnes of stainless steel during the year and achieved an all-time high sales of Rs 38 lakh of value added products. ASP recorded a growth of 16 per cent in production of both crude and saleable steel during 2002-03 and its sales went up by 14 per cent over the last year. The plant was commissioned in 1967 to produce alloys and special steel with a capacity of one lakh tonnes of ingots per annum. The capacity of the plant was further augmented by 60,000 tonnes.
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Hind Lever does a SWOT of itself
Mumbai: In its 2002 annual report FMCG major Hindustan Lever Ltd (HLL), has taken time off before the mirror to do a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities & threats) analysis of itself. The company's weaknesses spotted thereby include increased consumer spends on education, consumer durable, entertainment, travel, etc resulting in lower share of wallet for FMCG; limited success in changing the eating habits of people; complex supply chain configuration and unwieldy number of stock keeping units (SKUs) with dispersed manufacturing locations; price positioning in some categories that allows for low price competition and high social costs in the plantation business. Perceived threats span low-priced competition now being present in all categories; grey imports; spurious/counterfeit products in rural areas and small towns; changes in fiscal benefits and unfavourable prices in oils, tea commodity, etc.
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High wages, social costs cause for concern: HLL
Mumbai: FMCG major Hindustan Lever Ltd (HLL) has, in its annual report of 2002, said that high wages and social costs continues to be serious cause for concern, adversely impacting the international competitiveness of Indian tea plantations. It pointed to the fact that the performance of tea plantations in 2002 has to be viewed in the context of an `extremely challenging' year for the Indian tea industry. Global abundance of supplies and a slowdown in Indian exports led to continuance of bearish commodity markets, HLL said. The company said the production of its crop was adversely affected in North Indian plantations due to unfavourable weather conditions. The southern ones were impacted by industry-wide wage dispute leading to labour unrest and a lock-out in one of the divisions.
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Tata Steel banking on Steelium for revenue growth
Kolkata: Tata Steel is hopeful of selling between 3,50,000 tonnes and 4,00,000 tonnes of its branded cold rolled steel under the Tata Steelium brand in the current fiscal. This would translate into about Rs 700 crore in revenue terms, according to Anand Sen, Tata Steel's Marketing & Sales Chief in-charge of flat products. Sen told newspersons at the conclusion of a function held here today to mark the regional launch of Tata Steelium that sales of total branded products - under the Tata Shaktee, Tata Tiscon and Tata Steelium brands - would enable the company to generate a revenue of about Rs 2,000 crore in 2003-04. While the national launch of Tata Steelium was held earlier in February this year, the function held here today marks the first in a series of regional launches of the product.
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