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Ranbaxy
Fine, MBI sign agreement to market lab products
New Delhi: Ranbaxy Fine Chemicals (RFCL) has got
into a marketing partnership with the US-based Mallinckrodt
Baker (MBI) to market MBI JT Baker and Mallinckrodt’s
range of scientific laboratory products in the Indian
market. The alliance will leverage the technological and
product development competencies of MBI and the marketing
and distribution muscle of RFCL.. Through this alliance,
RFCL will be extending high-purity products and services
for pharmaceutical, biotechnology, chemicals, R&D,
electronics, environmental and healthcare industries.
RFCL will now cater to a wide range of scientific needs
for HPLC and spectroscopy solvents, ultra-trace analysis
of impurities and bioscience products. Besides, it will
offer the complete range of over 5,000 products of JT
Baker and Mallinckrodt brand. Says RFCL director Sushil
Mehta: "RFCL sees considerable synergies between
MBI and RFCL to offer enhanced value to the Indian researcher.”
Malinckrodt Baker, formed after the union of JT Baker
and Mallinckrodt Chemicals, has over 100 years of worldwide
experience in high-purity products for scientific applications.
Headquartered in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, MBI has five
manufacturing facilities in the US, Mexico and Europe
with business in over 80 countries.
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Citigroup
plans to buy 12.55% in Lupin for Rs 126 crore
Mumbai: Indian drugmaker Lupin’s promoter,
Desh Bandhu Gupta, has agreed to sell 12.55-per cent stakes
in the company to Citigroup for Rs 250 a share, a 5512.55
per cent discount to the day’s closing price of Rs
295. The sale will give the Gupta family Rs 126 crore
and bring down the holding in the company to a shade below
5512.55 percent from 6712.55 per cent. Gupta and associates
will sell 5 million shares to CVC International, a Citigroup
company. Gupta says the funds will be used to retire Lupin’s
debt, which stood at a little over Rs 500 crore. The money
will come into the company through repayment of loans
outstanding to Lupin from the promoter’s privately-held
companies including those involved in real estate. “There
will be an internal restructuring and money blocked in
property will also be paid back to Lupin. I would like
to square off all the balances (outstanding) from group
companies," Lupin’s debt this year is expected
to halve with the fund inflow and also repayments through
internal accruals. Citigroup will also get a seat on the
Lupin board.
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Ten
Sports to broadcast cricket matches in West Indies
New Delhi: Dubai-based Ten Sports, which is promoted
by Abdurrahman Bukhatir Company, has purchased the television
rights to broadcast all cricket matches in the West Indies.
Earlier the channel had got the rights to telecast matches
in Pakistan. The combined cost of both these acquisitions
is reportedly in the range of $100 million. Company officials
say in the post-conditional access system regime, Ten
Sports will be priced at Rs 14 per month, while the ESPN-Star
Sports combine will cost Rs 32. Ten Sports will have the
exclusive rights to telecast cricket matches played in
Pakistan and the West Indies till 2008. So far, cricket
telecast rights to Pakistan and the West Indies had been
with ESPN-Star Sports. Ten Sports purchased the Asian
television rights for the West Indies from UK broadcaster
Sky Television. "Its a huge step forward for the
channel," says Chris McDonald, CEO, Ten Sports. "‘We
are growing faster in this region since our launch in
2001. From now on, when it comes to India Vs Pakistan,
it will only be found only on Ten Sports."
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Indo
Rama increases polyester intermediate prices
New Delhi: A general uptrend in polyester demand
and the recent strengthening of polyester intermediate
prices have forced the Rs 2,173-crore Indo Rama Synthetics
(IRSL) to hike the prices of finished products across
its entire product range from 1 July. While the basic
price (excluding excise) of 130/34 partially-oriented
yarn (POY) has been increased to Rs 61.50 per kg from
Rs 58.50 per kg, the price of 70/34 fully drawn yarn (FDY)
has been increased to Rs 77.50 per kg from Rs 74.50 per
kg. The basic price of polyester staple fibre (PSF) too
has been increased from Rs 52.50 per kg to Rs 54.50 per
kg. Further, the price of draw texturised yarn (DTY) has
also been increased to Rs 62.75 from Rs 60.75 per kg.
A statement issued by IRSL said sales volumes of the company
for June 2003 stood at 37,753 tonnes as against 27,706
tonnes in May this year.
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Hyundai
sales increase 41% in June
New Delhi: Sales of Hyundai Motor India's new-look
Santro Xing jumped by 41 per cent to an all-time high
of 9,672 units in June 2003 as compared to June last year.
A company release said that there is a significant backlog
of orders even as the domestic sales of the Santro peaked
in the month. Increased sales of the Santro pushed Hyundai's
total sales in June to 12,843 units, closely rivalling
the previous record high of 12,911 units. Total sales
in June grew over 40 per cent from the June 2002 sales
of 9,157 units. Says HMIL managing director J I Kim: "The
Santro Xing has clearly emerged as a big winner for us,
notching up record volumes in its segment in its first
full month of sales. We are now channelling our efforts
to meet the challenge of balancing the growing domestic
demand for the Santro Xing with its emerging export potential."
Hyundai's sales grew 21 per cent to 65,307 units in the
first half of the current calendar year.
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TVS
Motor motorcycle sales rise 5% in June
Chennai: Motorcycle sales of TVS Motor Company
Ltd in June 2003 grew by 5 per cent over the same month
last year. The company sold 56,444 units compared to 53,965
units in June 2002. Nevertheless, its total two-wheeler
sales slid to 92,039 units in June 2003 from 92,929 units
in June 2002. TVS Victor the 110 cc motorcycle sold 41,068
units in June. The newly-launched TVS Fiero F2 sold 4,028
nos in June 2003. TVS Scooter (sub 100 cc category) sales
for June 2003 stood at 14,403 units as compared to 15,565
units previous year. The recently-launched TVS Scooty
Pep registered sales of 4,047 nos. "The company is
working on increasing its production by twice the present
level over the next two months," according to a press
release from the company. TVS moped sales stood at 21,192
units in June 2003 as compared to 23,459 units last year.
However, the company continues to maintain its market
leadership in this segment. TVS Motor Company is on schedule
with its launch plans of its new products, which will
hit the roads in the second quarter of this fiscal.
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Samsung
Electronics eyes Rs 5,000-crore turnover by December
Kolkata: After the merger of Samsung Electronics
India Information & Telecommunications Ltd with Samsung
India Electronics Ltd, the latter is confident that it
will record a total turnover of Rs 5,000 crore during
the year ending 31 December. Of this, the consumer electronics
and home appliances business is likely to account for
Rs 2,800 crore, says R Zutshi, director, Samsung India
Electronics. Zutshi said the combined turnover of the
two entities was around Rs 3,000 crore in 2002. The projected
increase in turnover will be facilitated by robust growth
of the company's telecommunications and consumer electronics
and home appliances divisions. Zutshi was here to inaugurate
Samsung India's first Samsung DigitAllhome showroom here
in Kolkata. The `super digital plaza is the 12th of its
kind in the country, and Zutshi says the idea is to have
50 Samsung DigitAllhome showrooms across the country by
the year-end. In the first five months of 2003, Samsung
has emerged as the No 1 player in the Flat TV segment.
The company says during the period January-May, Samsung
India registered a 300-per cent growth in flat TV sales
and a 200-per cent growth in sales of conventional TVs.
The growth has been facilitated by the company's Team
Samsung campaign. Zutshi says the company has earmarked
an ad spend of Rs 100 crore this year and Team Samsung
is here to stay, at least for now.
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Shimadzu
establishes unit in Chennai
Chennai: Shimadzu (India), a wholly-owned subsidiary
of Japanese multinational Shimadzu Corp, has established
a unit in Chennai to make medical imaging equipment and
ultra-sound machines. Ryuzo Kikuchi, consul general of
Japan in Chennai, inaugurated the facility on Wednesday.
According to T S Rajagopal, managing director, Shimadzu
(India), the parent company invested about Rs 3 crore
in the Chennai facility. The company intends to initially
manufacture about 120 to 150 pieces (inclusive of both
imaging and ultra-sound equipment) annually. At present,
about 60 per cent of the value of components that go into
the equipment are expected to be imported, Rajagopal said.
He indicated that Shimadzu (India) will attempt to gradually
phase out imported components. The highlight of Shimadzu's
equipment is that it cuts down harmful radiation in X-rays,
he said. Apollo Hospitals and Sundaram Medical Foundation
are some of the customers on their roster.
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Regency
Ceramics to make significant expansion
Hyderabad: City-based ceramic tiles manufacturer
Regency Ceramics Ltd (RCL) plans to go in for a significant
expansion involving a total investment of around Rs 70
crore. In a letter to the stock exchanges on Monday, the
company said its board of directors at their meeting last
week has considered and approved the implementation of
the expansion project. The expansion project envisages
a production capacity of 15,000 square meters of granite
tiles at a total project cost of Rs 70 crore. The company
says the project will be financed by way of rupee term
loan of Rs 50 crore from banks and financial institutions,
while the balance Rs 20 crore will come out of internal
accruals.
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Jisco
postpones board meet on preferential allotment
Mumbai: Jindal Iron and Steel Company (Jisco) has
informed the Bombaay Stock Exchange that its board meeting
slated for 4 July 2003 to decide about the preferential
allotment to CVC International has been rescheduled to
8 July 2003. Jisco's board is to meet to consider the
issue of 12.25 lakh shares (2.78 per cent) on preferential
allotment basis to CVC International through the investing
vehicle Citicorp Banking Corporation, at a price to be
determined in accordance with the applicable Securities
and Exchange Board of India guidelines.
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Tisco
starts capital expenditure plan for balancing facilities
Mumbai: Tata Iron and Steel Company (Tisco) has
embarked on a capital expenditure programme to provide
balancing facilities. Apart from hiking the capacity of
crude steel, downstream finishing mill capacities will
also be correspondingly increased to make more value-added
products. The programme is expected to cost around Rs
2,000 crore and slated for completion by March 2006. As
a result of this capacity expenditure programme, Tisco’s
crude steel making capacity will increase by about one
million tonne from about four to five million tonne. The
main objective of this specific capital expenditure programme
is to make optimum use of the existing facilities and
install balancing facilities at minimum cost. With regard
to the ferro chrome project at Richards Bay in South Africa,
Tata Steel says the environment impact assessment is in
process and expected to be completed by September. An
offer of the requisite land has been received from the
Richards Bay municipality. The project will be implemented
as a joint venture with a local partner may be commissioned
by 2005. The company has also launched geological investigations
and a feasibility study for its titania project, for which
a memorandum of understanding has been signed with the
government of Tamil Nadu.
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