HM to let out excess capacity at its Chennai plant
Bangalore: Hindustan Motors is planning to lease excess capacity at its Chennai plant to other carmakers. HM has also cut the number of Lancer variants to three from five. HM vice-president (automobile division) G Shyam Sundar said only 60 per cent of the Chennai plant where Mitsubishi Lancer is manufactured is utilised while the rest remains idle. "We are in talks with some car manufacturers though nothing has been finalised so far." The current capacity of the Chennai plant is around 12,000.

The company has also stopped the import of the sports utility vehicle Pajero as the latest variant of the model launched worldwide recently, the Pajero 04, is set for launch in India soon. It has sold all the 75 units of the Pajero, it had imported as a completely built unit. Shyam Sundar said as the company has chosen to stick to the mid-sized premium category, it does not need more capacity. Hence it wants to get into contract manufacturing so that it can earn some revenues out of the idle capacity.
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Panasonic opts for right-sizing strategy for brands
New Delhi: National Panasonic India, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co Ltd, has opted for major restructuring and right-sizing strategy for its brands. "In fact, the lacklustre performance in the past compelled us to get our act together and go for a restructuring exercise within the organisation and an overhaul of our marketing strategies," Masaaki Ikezaki, managing director, National Panasonic India, said. Equipped with the fresh strategy and a slew of launches, the company is expecting to clock a turnover of Rs 450 crore during 2003-04. "This is almost a 20 per cent increase in turnover compared to last year," he said.

The company currently has a 2-per cent market share in CTVs, 8 per cent in washing machines and about 7 per cent in audio systems. "We plan to change this percentage in the near future," he stated. About the image makeover, which National Panasonic is set to undergo, the manager-corporate communications, NFO MBL India, Madhurima Bhatia, said: "An image overhaul infuses freshness to a brand. Also to be 'seen' and 'heard' is like a 'survival kit' in these competitive times. The all-new strategy is akin to a re-launch, and could lead to renewed customer interest."
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Bajaj Tempo, German firm join hands for truck foray
Pune: Bajaj Tempo has announced its entry into the heavy and medium commercial vehicle segment in technical collaboration with German truck and diesel engine technology major MAN. Bajaj Tempo chairman and managing director Abhay Firodia said the company will invest between Rs 250-350 crore into the project over the next three years in setting up manufacturing facilities at greenfield sites and lines at existing locations where it has operations. "With the truck market evolving in India, we plan to enter the market with a range of vehicles in the 16-50 tonnes category including multi-axles and tractor trailers for specific effective market applications."

The company will set up a new truck production line for which it is considering a separate factory at its existing Pithampur manufacturing facility where it plans to establish an initial capacity of 6,000 units annually. Also in the offing is a new plant at Chakan near Pune, where it plans to set up a facility to manufacture new technology engine at a Greenfield site. Firodia said the company is also considering other options for locating its new venture in terms of states that will offer maximum benefits in terms of taxation and logistics.
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Festival hungama: Timex, Reliance Info join hands
New Delhi: Timex Watches has tied up with Reliance Infocomm for the festive season. The tie-up will provide a Reliance India Mobile (RIM) handset with connection free of cost, on purchase of a watch priced about Rs 845.

Under the 'Monsoon Hungama' scheme, the Timex customer gets a discount of Rs 501 on a RIM handset with connection. The offer is valid up to 31 November or for 30 days from the date of purchase of the watch, whichever is earlier. This offer is operational all across India. Timex is expecting to boost its sales by 100 per cent during the festive season.
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Ingersoll Rand is an equity partner in Quipo
New Delhi: Quipo, India's first infrastructure equipment bank, plans to double its business every year for the next three years and increase its asset base to Rs 400 crore by 2005. The Srei International Finance-promoted entity has said that equipment-maker Ingersoll Rand has picked up a strategic stake in the company by investing Rs 2.25 crore for 15 lakh shares. "The equipment rental market in India is opening up and contractors now require equipment for short durations. The thumb-rule is that unless an equipment is deployed for 70 per cent of the time, it makes better sense for a contractor to lease it instead of buying it. We aim to address this market through our equipment bank," Indian Infrastructure Equipment (IIEL) chairman and managing director Sunil Kanoria said.

IIEL operates the Quipo Bank. International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Dutch funding agency FMO have 20 per cent equity each in IIEL while Srei and its associates hold 25 per cent and 26 per cent. Ingersoll Rand India will pick up about 3 per cent in the company by investing Rs 2.25 crore. Quipo's asset base stands at about Rs 60 crore at present and the company logged a turnover of about Rs 14 crore in 2002-03. In the current financial year, Quipo's turnover is expected to climb to Rs 30 crore and its asset base in the form of dumpers, road rollers and surface layers will rise to Rs 100 crore.
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GAIL to unbundle gas sourcing, marketing biz
Mumbai: GAIL India will unbundle its gas sourcing and marketing business into a separate company in the long run. Prashanto Banerjee, chairman and managing director, said GAIL's gas sourcing and marketing business will first be separated into a strategic business unit and be converted later into a subsidiary which in turn will be spun off into a different company. Banerjee did not specify any timeframe.

GAIL officials on Thursday made a detailed presentation on the company's proposed national gas grid. The proposed 7,890-km gas grid is expected to span across most Indian states connecting the upcoming LNG terminals on the west and east coasts with potential consumers across the country. It envisages investments worth Rs 20,000 crore. "These pipelines will make available capacity to gas sellers as a common carrier. As per the draft of the gas pipeline policy, the grid will offer open access to all players at competitive prices," said Banerjee. Surveys for determining pipeline routes will be completed by 2004. The entire network will be completed in five phases between 2003 and 2008.
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MTNL personnel say VRS is unattractive
Mumbai: MTNL's bid to cut its gigantic staff strength of close to 60,000 through a proposed voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) is set to run into a mess as its unions appear stubborn in their refusal to accept the scheme. Staff costs constitute close to 30 per cent of the public sector company's total expenditure. For 2002-03, staff costs accounted for Rs 1,434 crore, 30 per cent of the total expenditure of Rs 4,771 crore. MTNL has the highest staff strength in the Indian telecom sector for the number of circles it operates in just two, Delhi and Mumbai.

The board of directors of MTNL had, in August this year, approved introduction of VRS for employees of groups C and D of the company. This would be subject to necessary government approvals. The VRS has however, not yet been announced. The Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Kamgar Sangh complains that the salient features of the VRS, which have been communicated to it, do not clearly mention what the pension and medical benefits would be.
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Tata Sons profit in 2002-03 down 5% to Rs 816 crore
Mumbai: Tata Sons Ltd, the holding company of the Rs 50,000-crore Tata group, has registered a 5.38-per cent decline in net profit after tax to Rs 816.84 crore for the year ended 31 March 2003, as against Rs 863.29 crore in the previous fiscal, a financial newspaper reported. Tata Sons had reported a growth of 21 per cent in net profit in the previous fiscal. Earnings per share (EPS) of the company stood at Rs 20,107, which is lower compared to an EPS of Rs 21,226 registered in the previous fiscal. The face value of each share is Rs 1,000.

On asked why the company's net profit has dropped, officials of the company did not respond. But the total income has risen 19 per cent at Rs 5,159 crore in 2002-03 as compared to Rs 4,330 crore in the previous fiscal. The results factor in revenues from Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), its major operating division, which will be transferred to a separate company as part of the scheme of arrangement prior to TCS' public listing.
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