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Aurobindo
Pharma to net Rs 65 crore from 3 new plants
New Delhi: Aurobindo Pharma is expected to add
about Rs 65 crore to its net profits during the current
financial year ending March 2004 after the recent commissioning
of its two plants in China and one in India. Analysts
also estimate the company to announce a net profit of
Rs 83 crore for the year ended March 2003. The company
has also firmed up plans to enter regulated markets like
the USA and Europe for the first time. Aurobindo director
Lanka Srinivas said, “Our fully-owned Chinese subsidiary
to manufacture 6APA from pen-G, set up at a cost of $30
million (Rs 144 crore), commenced production in February
this year. While about half of the production would be
for our own use, another 30 per cent would be sold to
our other Chinese subsidiary and the balance in the open
market.” According to analysts, Aurobindo’s
profitability has taken a beating due to the 12-13 per
cent annual rise in the price of pen-G over the last two
years.
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Toyota
postpones SUV launch
Bangalore: Toyota Kirloskar Motor Ltd (TKML) has
ruled out the possibility of phasing out its flagship
model Qualis in the immediate future in the Indian market.
Denying speculations in the media in this regard, TKML
managing director Atsushi Toyoshima said “We have
no plans to phase out Qualis immediately. In fact, the
demand is very high for the vehicle and this year we have
targeted to sell 34,000 units of Qualis compared to 25,050
sold in the previous year”. Toyoshima also said that
the company had deferred plans to launch Toyota’s
sports utility vehicles (SUV) models Prado or Land Cruiser
in India in the fiscal 2003-04. TKML’s much-awaited
plans to launch one of these very popular SUVs through
the completely built units (CBU) route had triggered interests
in the customer segment regarding the model, its price
etc. TKML’s decision to hold the launch comes at
a time when a slew of SUVs are hitting the Indian roads
including Honda’s CR-V, Hyundai’s Terracan,
the already launched Suzuki Grand Vitara and Chevrolet
Forrester.
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Dalmia
Consumer to venture into bidi biz
New Delhi: The bidi market in India is huge: estimates
place it at Rs 12,000 crore a year, with approximately
108 billion bidis sold a month, which works out to 15
crore bidis an hour. So, when the fledgling Dalmia Consumer
Care (DCC), a part of the Sanjay Dalmia group (which,
incidentally, also owns cigarette brands) decides to launch
a non-tobacco bidi, it should not come as a surprise.
In fact, with the tobacco lobby facing increasing flak
the world over, it makes eminent sense for DCC to try
to get a first mover advantage in a field where taste
and addiction hold sway. And the product replicates both
the chemistry (sweetness, moisture, burning quality etc)
and satiability indices (mouth feel, sensual feeling,
pleasure) associated with tobacco, claims the company.
So, the company is hoping that an early entry would well
translate into big money. Branded Vardaan, the product
has been developed from ‘Indian plants’ after
three years of research at the company’s R&D
centre.
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LG
Electronics’ eyes Rs 1,500-cr xxports in 5 yrs
Ranjangaon: LG Electronics India Pvt Ltd will be
making its second manufacturing unit in the country, coming
up at Ranjangaon, the export hub for addressing the global
market. ‘‘We are looking at exports of Rs 1,500
crore in the next five years’’, SS Kim, vice-chairman,
LG Electronics Inc, Korea announced here Wednesday. Kim
said the new LG facility in India would concentrate on
manufacturing top-end products while the Greater Noida
plant would focus on the regular products. Speaking at
the ground-breaking ceremony of the greenfield facility
at Ranjangaon, Kim said the company would be investing
Rs 500 crore over a period of five years in the plant.
Production will begin in October 2004, he said. The facility
will manufacture colour television, air-conditioners,
refrigerators, washing machines, microwave ovens and colour
monitors. Kim said the decision to set up the second plant
of LG in Maharashtra was taken because of the available
infrastructure, power, telecom, human resources and the
favourable industrial policy.
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Few takers
for DCA exit option for defunct cos
Chennai: The Department of Company Affairs’
(DCA) initiative to weed out the defunct and dormant companies
from the list of Registrar of Companies (ROC) has hit
a roadblock as the promoters of such companies have literally
stonewalled the move.
The simplified exit scheme (SES) introduced by the DCA
way back in March this year has seen only handful of takers
so far.
The existence of such firms in the ROC list has become
a major irritant to policy makers and analysts as it provide
a misleading picture about the industrial population.
Sources in DCA told that the department had come out with
the exit scheme to help the promoters of dead and dormant
companies to erase their name from the ROC list and escape
from the mandatory filings of returns every year.
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PepsiCo
hives off non-cola business
New Delhi: There's a new fizz at PepsiCo. In a
significant restructuring exercise, PepsiCo India Holdings
has split its soft drinks and other beverages businesses
into two separate units. Under the new business structure,
PepsiCo's 100 per cent juices, juice-based beverages and
the forthcoming bulk water project have been clubbed together
and will operate as a single business entity as part of
the company's `new businesses' division, Abhiram Seth,
executive director, exports & external affairs, PepsiCo
India Holdings, said.This division is being headed by
Subroto Chattopadhyay, executive director (New Business),
Pepsi Foods. "The new division has been created to
cater to products that have limited distribution,"
Seth said. In line with global trends, the domestic market
too is seeing healthy growth of non-aerated beverages.
In India, in recent years, product categories such as
juices, juice-based drinks and retail packaged water have
been registering high growth rates.
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BIFR
orders winding up of Modern Denim
New Delhi: Denim may be in fashion but the same
cannot be said of one of its major manufacturers, Modern
Denim Ltd (MDL), belonging to the Modern Group. Despite
giving sufficient opportunity, with no rehabilitation
proposal in hand, the Board for Industrial and Financial
Reconstruction (BIFR) has directed for issuance of a show-cause
notice (SCN) for winding up MDL.
"There is no rehabilitation proposal with the means
of finance fully tied-up for consideration of the Board,
in spite of sufficient opportunity having been given.
Having thus explored and exhausted all possibilities of
rehabilitating the company, the Board came to the prima
facie conclusion that the sick company is not likely to
make its net worth exceed its accumulated losses within
a reasonable time while meeting all its financial obligations,"
the BIFR Bench said in its recent order.
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JB
Chem in pact with Arrow group
Mumbai: JB Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Ltd
has entered into a strategic alliance with Toronto-based,
Arrow group for supply and marketing of generic formulations.
According to a company press release, the strategic alliance
will enable JBCPL to develop, manufacture and supply select
basket of generic formulations to Arrow group. The Arrow
group in turn will market and distribute generic formulation
in the regulated market. Subsequently, the alliance shall
expand to other attractive therapeutic segments.
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IFCI
stake in Indo Rama Synth falls to 3.9 pc
New Delhi: IFCI Ltd's shareholding in the Rs 2,173-crore
Indo Rama Synthetics Ltd (IRSL) has dropped to a level
of 3.94 per cent as on March 31, 2003 from a stake of
6.69 per cent held on December 31, 2002. As part of the
phased acquisition of IFCI Ltd's 6.7 per cent holding
in IRSL, O.P. Lohia, managing director, IRSL, had indicated
in December 2002 that the promoters would acquire about
two per cent in the fiscal 2002-03 and the balance by
December 2003. According to a latest filing of shareholding
pattern to the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the shareholding
of Lohia has increased from a level of 9.93 per cent as
on December 31, 2002 to 11 per cent as on March 31, 2003.
The promoters' (including persons acting in concert) stake
in the Rs 133-crore equity capital (after the de-merger
of spun yarn business) of IRSL stood at 50.98 per cent
as on March 31, 2003 as against 49.7 per cent as on March
31, 2002.
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Tax
sops for Mangalam Cement Rajasthan unit
Mumbai: Mangalam Cements has been granted certain
tax exemptions for its second unit Neer Shree Cement by
the Government of Rajasthan, the company said in its notice
to the stock exchanges on Wednesday. The exemption is
limited to 75 per cent of the tax liability in respect
of goods manufactured by the above-mentioned unit in Rajasthan
and sold within that State or in the course of inter-State
trade and commerce, said the notice. The earlier exemption
was to the extent of 25 per cent of the tax liability
in respect of goods manufactured and sold in Rajasthan
and 75 per cent of the tax liability for the goods sold
in the course of inter-State sales.
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HC
dismisses Shaw Wallace writ petition
Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday dismissed
the writ petition filed by Shaw Wallace & Co Ltd (SWC)
challenging the decision of Settlement Commission, which
rejected the company's petition on the ground of failure
to deposit the amount with the authority deducted from
various parties. The SWC counsel submitted that the company,
having a mercantile system, was entitled to deduct tax
at source from the parties but the amount could not be
deposited owing to a financial crunch, which was still
on. The court held that mere filing of application could
not prevent the commission from taking any decision rejecting
the plea of SWC.
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Essar
begins marketing imported oil products — Invites
EoI from bulk users
Mumbai: Leaving aside the uncertainties hovering
around its own refinery, Essar Oil Ltd (EOL) has started
marketing imported products. The first consignment of
imported high speed diesel (HSD) had already arrived and
the company was in the process of arranging storage and
distribution system, said a company official. "We
hope to start selling the product from next 10-15 days
as some formalities have to be completed,'' the official
said. Meanwhile, the company has invited expressions of
interest (EoI) from bulk users for regular supply of products.
A company ad inviting EoIs said, "Essar Oil refinery
of 10.5 million tonnes per annum at Vadinar, in Gujarat,
is expected to be commissioned by mid-2005. Pending this,
EOL proposes to import various products at ports on west
and east coast.''
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4
cos shortlisted for SCI stake
New Delhi: One foreign company is in the fray for
buying 51 per cent government equity in Shipping Corporation
of India (SCI). Another foreign shipping major is in discussion
for a tie-up with a domestic bidder. The government had
invited fresh expressions of interest (EoIs) for SCI after
removing 25 per cent foreign equity cap. Essar Shipping,
Sterlite, Videocon and a Malaysian company, in race last
time as well, have again expressed their interest. Sources
said that while Malaysian International Shipping Company
(MISC) has put in an independent EoI, Videocon is in talks
with Japanese company K-Line for a tie-up. On a being
contacted, a Videocon official refused to comment. The
inter-ministerial group (IMG) on SCI cleared the names
of four companies which had put in their EoIs. MISC had
approached other bidders for a tie-up in the first attempt
at SCI sale but later withdrew due to the restriction
on foreign holding. The last date for EoI was June 6.
The IMG found the four companies eligible on the networth
criterion which is Rs 1,000 crore.
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Blasts
rock Ranbaxy plant, 20 hurt
Mumbai: A series of powerful explosions ripped
through the production unit of the factory of pharmaceutical
major Ranbaxy in Mohali on Wednesday night setting off
a major fire that left at least 20 people injured.
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