Tata Steel H1 output up 10 per cent
Mumbai: Tata Steel has produced 2.01 million tonne of saleable steel during the first half of this fiscal, higher by 10 per cent over the year-ago period when it produced 1.83 million tonne.

The company said it has created history by producing more than two million tonne of saleable steel for the first time.

The company's hot metal and crude steel production were at a record high of 2.23 million tonne and 2.11 million tonne respectively compared to 2.07 million tonne and 1.91 million tonne in the year-ago period.

Total sales of flat products stood at 1.29 million tonne and long products at 0.63 million tonne, totalling 1.92 million tonne during the first half of this fiscal. Exports exceeded 0.3 million tonne.

The sale of branded products — Tata Tiscon (reinforcing bars), Tata Shaktee (corrugated galvanised sheet) and Tata Steelium (cold rolled sheets) — witnessed a significant growth, the company said.
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Hyundai plans to double capacity at TN facility
New Delhi: Faced by a capacity constraint following increased demand from the domestic and international markets for the Santro Xing, Hyundai Motor India is planning to spend about $200 million or Rs 1,000 crore in a bid to double capacity at its facility in Tamil Nadu by August-September 2004.

"We are presently conducting the engineering and financial feasibility of a plan to expand capacity to 2,50,000 units a year from 1,20,000 units," Mr B.V.R. Subbu, president of Hyundai Motor India Ltd, said.

The company has already invested about $700 million in India. The company intends to hire about 800 more workers once the capacity expansion exercise is complete.

Hyundai currently has a workforce of about 2,700.

Hyundai's export commitments are constraining its ability to sell cars in the domestic market.
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Accel to buy Transmatic
Thiruvananthapuram: The Chennai-based information technology company Accel Ltd has announced it is acquiring Transmatic Systems Ltd, which is headquartered in Thiruvananthapuram and listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

Announcing this at a press conference in the city Mr N.R. Panicker, chairman and managing director, Accel Ltd, said his company was buying approximately 19 per cent of the shares held by the promoters of Transmatic Systems Ltd.

In keeping with SEBI guidelines on the issue, the company would also make an open offer for an additional 20 per cent of the shares of Transmatic Systems Ltd, he added. The whole process is scheduled to be completed by February next year.

Commenting on the rationale behind the acquisition, Mr Panicker said it would give his company access to the product design capabilities and manufacturing facilities of Transmatic. Besides, the acquisition would also make it possible to leverage his company's marketing expertise and Transmatic's product portfolio, he said.

The company, which is known for its expertise in areas such as communications, payment and retailing software, has several products with substantial potential in its kitty.
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While declining to comment on the value of the deal, Mr Panicker added that the open offer would be made at a price of around Rs 4 per share. Transmatic would continue to exist as a separate entity and some of its existing directors would continue their association with the company, he added.
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Rabo India to ink debt swap deal with Dynamix
New Delhi: In what could be the largest capital restructuring exercise in the country's agri-business sector, Rabo India Finance Pvt Ltd (RIF) is set to ink a deal with Dynamix Dairy Industries Ltd (DDIL), involving replacement of around Rs 100 crore of high cost debt and infusion of fresh equity worth Rs 35-40 crore in the latter by Schreiber Foods, the $ 2 billion plus US-based cheese major.

According to sources privy to the deal, Rabo will infuse fresh debt of about Rs 100 crore in Dynamix, which would be used to swap its existing costly term loans contracted at 14-15 per cent from IDBI and a few other institutions.

Schreiber Foods, the world's largest privately-held cheese company, will bring in additional equity of Rs 35-40 crore, which would give it a 51 per cent controlling stake in DDIL.

Schreiber already holds a 19 per cent stake in the Rs 53 crore paid-up capital of Dynamix, which operates a 10-lakh litres per day (LLPD) dairy at Baramati in Maharashtra. This includes the 8 per cent it picked up initially in lieu of supplying the technology for cheese manufacture and the 11 per cent it acquired early last year from Britannia Industries Ltd. This followed Britannia's decision to enter into a separate joint venture with Fonterra Cooperative Group of New Zealand and divest its equity in DDIL.

Besides Schreiber, there is another US-based company, Erie Foods, which has a 2.36 per cent stake in Dynamix, taking the total foreign equity holding to 21.36 per cent.

In the event of Schreiber infusing addition equity of Rs 35 crore, its share in DDIL would rise to above 51 per cent. This would make Schreiber the largest shareholder in Dynamix, ahead of the existing promoter, Mr K.M. Goenka.

DDIL's Rs 200-crore plant contract manufactures a range of products for leading multinational brands in the country. These include processed cheese, butter, UHT-Tetrapak flavoured milk, ghee and dairy whitener for Britannia (marketed under the latter's Milkman brand), slice-on-slice cheese for McDonald's and yoghurt (dahi), butter and UHT plain-cum-flavoured milk for Nestle.

Dynamix also uses its UHT-cum-aseptic packaging facility for producing Pepsi's Tropicana brand pure fruit juices. Besides, the plant makes milk powder and other bulk commodities such as industrial and edible grade casein, lactose and whey protein concentrates, which are largely exported.
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Australian company ties up with Franchise India
New Delhi: The burgeoning Indian franchising industry, estimated at about Rs 10,000 crore, is now beginning to attract global attention.

The Australia-based franchising consultancy, Innovation 360, has entered into a strategic alliance with the Delhi-based Franchise India Holdings Ltd.

According to estimates by Franchise India Holdings, the Rs 10,000-crore Indian franchising industry comprises 600 national-level players, which operate through 50,000 outlets and employ about 0.5 million people.

Bata India was among the first companies to adopt franchising in retailing. Corporates such as Archies, NIIT and Aptech have actively adopted the franchising route to expansion.

According to industry experts the industry is growing at about of 25-30 per cent.

Categories that are expected to experience a boom in franchising include food services, retail speciality (lifestyle/healthcare/communications/furniture), hypermarkets and convenience stores, education, entertainment, services, travel, and business services.
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