Coke writes to JPC, seeks hearing
New Delhi: Coca-Cola India, one of the key players in the `pesticide-in-soft drinks' controversy, has sought a hearing with the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) that is looking into the issue. This development comes even as the committee is to sit for its fourth hearing over the next couple of days. The ministry sources told that Coca-Cola had written to the JPC seeking a hearing, a development that was confirmed by company officials too. No details were available on when the company was likely to be heard or the context in which it had sought a hearing. However, the development assumes significance in the light of events in the last JPC hearing, point out sources.

Coke had taken centre stage at the JPC hearing early last week, with the members deciding to visit Coke's Palchimada factory in Kerala. The plant was in the eye of a storm over reports that sludge from the Palchimada plant, which was given as fertiliser to farmers in the region, allegedly contained cadmium. Last week's hearing also saw the cola company come in for some stick in the context of recent television commercials for Fanta, the orange drink from its stable. The commercials had sought to play down the pesticide controversy and JPC members had felt that it was too early to tell consumers that all was well with soft drinks, even as the JPC was going into the issue. The company has followed its Fanta commercial with a Coke commercial that takes the issue more head-on, albeit with a dollop of humour. The commercial features actor Aamir Khan playing the quintessential Bengali, who argues the merits and demerits of his soft drink, eventually endorsing the product by downing not one but four Cokes.

The JPC chairman, Sharad Pawar, had told media persons the last time around, that the JPC was willing to hear the views of anyone who was interested to express an opinion on the issue. And while the cola companies had not been called for individual hearings in the past, the industry viewpoint had been put forward by the three industry associations.. Today's hearing will see the deposition of several water-related Government authorities from the Centre and from West Bengal, where the ground water has high levels of arsenic and iron content.
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IOC to import 65,000 t LPG next month
New Delhi: The country will import five additional cargoes of LPG in November to meet the shortfall in domestic cooking gas owing to an unplanned shutdown of a crucial unit of Reliance Industries Ltd's Jamnagar refinery. Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) would import 65,000 tonnes of LPG in November to bridge the shortfall arising out of the shutdown of the fluidised catalytic cracking unit (FCCU) of the country's largest LPG producer, officials said.

On October 20, Reliance had shut down a FCCU of its 31 million tonnes Jamnagar refinery for two weeks following the detection of a leak. "Now, the company is in the market for five additional cargoes," officials said. The Jamnagar refinery sells around 13 m.t. of petroleum products annually to public sector oil marketing companies such as IOC, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. Of this, IOC picks up about 7.5 m.t. with the remaining offtake equally shared between HPCL and BPCL. Reliance sells about 230,000 tonnes of LPG every month to the public sector oil marketing companies for sale through their network.
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Ashok Leyland Q2 net up 157%
Chennai: Ashok Leyland has reported a net profit of Rs 53.46 crore for the quarter ended September this fiscal, up 157 per cent from Rs 20.83 crore in the same period last year. The company has attributed the higher net profit to "high market demand which pushed up capacity utilisation." The company's sales for the quarter increased to Rs 962.18 crore from Rs 718.19 crore in the same period last year. Interest costs were lower by 42 per cent at Rs 9.51 crore, against Rs 16.38 crore in the second quarter last year. Company officials attribute this to a variety of factors such as swapping of high cost debt with low cost ones, increased reliance on (cheaper) short-term loans and accessing of low cost funds. In the current year, Ashok Leyland substituted debt worth about Rs 80 crore with lower cost loans.

It also took a $10 million FCNR (B) loan, at an "extremely attractive rate" of less than 5 per cent, including the costs of hedging. A lower incidence of depreciation (Rs 25.07 crore versus Rs 28.42 crore), and lower amortisation of VRS compensation (Rs 1.76 crore against Rs 4.64 crore) pushed up the gross profit 59 per cent, to Rs 105.14 crore, from Rs 66.11 crore in Q2 last year. In a press release, the Ashok Leyland managing director, R. Seshasayee, has said that there has been a "definite upward trend in material prices, which we have not yet passed on to the market." Turnover for the half-year ended September grew 20.4 per cent to Rs 1,646.65 crore, compared to Rs 1,367.92 crore. Financial expenses fell to Rs 18.06 crore (Rs 34 crore). Net profit for the period was Rs 68.27 crore, against Rs 30.58 crore for the first half of last year.
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Nagarjuna Const bags Rs 250-cr expressway order
Hyderabad: Nagarjuna Construction Company Ltd (NCCL) has bagged an order involving the construction of a four-lane express highway for the Government of Karnataka worth Rs 250 crore. The project involves the construction of 62.6-km-long road between Bangalore and Maddur. The project is the first phase of a two-phase project that involves the construction of 141-km-long stretch between Bangalore and Mysore. Y.D. Murthy, vice-president (Finance), said: "We are awaiting the letter of intent (LoI) for this project from the Karnataka Government."

NCCL has entered into a joint venture with Krishna Mohan Constructions and Maytas Infra Ltd for executing the project on the BOT (build-operate-transfer) model. Unlike other BOT projects that are toll-based, this project will be billed on a semi-annual annuity pattern. In other words, the risk involved in getting the realisations from the project is less, as the company will get a fixed amount of Rs 29.7 crore every six months from the Government. As the span of the project is eight years, the company will get paid in 16 semi-annual annuity rests. The company has approached leading financial institutions for funds. NCCL currently has an order book position of Rs 1,350 crore; these orders are likely to be executed over a span of three years. NCCL has also pre-qualified itself for 26 BOT road projects (each of these projects in the range of Rs 100-600 crore).

The company is targeting Rs 600 crore turnover for 2003-04. It is involved in the construction of roads and highways, bridges, water supply schemes, transmission lines, townships, multi-storied and commercial buildings and industrial structures. The road and highways segment contributes over 40 per cent of the company's revenue. NCCL registered Rs 457.65 crore turnover in 2002-03, a 3.6 per cent growth from the previous fiscal, while its net profit grew by 39 per cent to Rs 18.39 crore. The stock price is around Rs 90.
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BOC India launches mobile oxygen delivery service
Hyderabad: BOC India Ltd, a part of the $6-billion BOC Group Plc of the UK, on Tuesday introduced Oxyline, a mobile oxygen delivery unit service. "We aim at offering the quality gas available at an affordable price," Shekhar Trivedi, national sales manager (Medical) of BOC India, said.

Addressing presspersons here on Tuesday, he said the company would introduce the service at select metros and `mini metros'. "We have launched it in Kolkata and we are going to Chennai this week," he said. Trivedi said 1.4-cu.m. gas cylinder would last for 10 hours. "It will nearly cost Rs 100 per cylinder."
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P&H Mine plans manufacturing base in India
Kolkata: The UK-based P&H Minepro Services has decided to create manufacturing facilities in the country jointly with local partners, according to the company's sales director, Ian F. Grant, who is in the city to open P&H's India headquarters. Grant said that since the quantum of investment in developing a new coal mine was quite substantial, his company, for the short-term, could possibly consider developing or renovating coal mines on a" risk & gain" sharing basis.

In future, the company could consider increasing its financial exposure, subject to the Government's long-term coal policy. Though P&H's main manufacturing facilities are located in the US, it would like to create such facilities in the country in view of the growing demand for mining machinery and equipment and also because of the scope for exporting mining equipment to other countries. Mr Grant said that the company was actively scouting around for a suitable Indian partner for setting up a joint venture company. Incidentally, the company has established its own manufacturing facilities in countries such as Australia, South Africa, Canada, Europe, Asia and Brazil, notwithstanding its business operation in about 120 countries.
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Cummins okays tech venture with parent
Pune: Cummins India Ltd (CIL) on Tuesday approved a 50:50 technology joint venture with Cummins Inc for the setting up of Cummins Research and Technology India Pvt. Ltd, which is expected to become operational by January next. Ravi Venkatesan, chairman, Cummins India, said the new company would tie-up with Satyam Computer Services Ltd to provide engineering design and analysis for Cummins technical centres worldwide. It would also be engaged in providing IT-related services in the field of mechanical development for diesel engines and related components.

The Cummins India board also approved investments up to Rs 1.25 crore, i.e., up to 50 per cent of Cummins Research paid-up share capital. Asked about the other IT joint venture, KPIT Cummins Ltd, Venkatesan said it would continue to remain focused on business applications. "It would complement the work of Cummins Research and not duplicate the work''. Commenting on the company's financial performance, he said it had recorded net sales of Rs 227.1 crore, up by eight per cent for the quarter ended September 30, 2003. Post-tax profit has grown 74 per cent to Rs 30.6 crore in the second quarter. The higher sales reflect improved performance both in the domestic and export markets especially in the sales of low horsepower engines. Sales in the domestic market had grown by four per cent and in the export market by 25 per cent, registering Rs 49 crore as against Rs 41 crore for the corresponding quarter of the previous year. He said dividend of Rs 7.2 crore from subsidiary and associate companies and higher treasury income had boosted other income from Rs 7.6 crore last fiscal to Rs 17.1 crore.
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New India, Corpn Bank corporate agency agreement formalised
Mumbai: New India Assurance Co Ltd on Tuesday formalised its corporate agency agreement with Corporation Bank. This agreement is a continuation to the memorandum of understanding signed by both parties earlier, officials said.

"When we thought of foraying into the insurance business, we realised that starting a company of our own requires commitment of large resources in an area where we have no expertise. So we decided that the better choice was to join hands with an insurance company,'' said Cherian Varghese, chairman and managing director, Corporation Bank, addressing a press conference on the occasion. "In the business the goal is to provide convenience to the customer while we create a new income stream without any major commitment of capital,'' he added.

Corporation Bank will sell New India Assurance's non-life policies to its customers, through its network of 700 branches, 88 extension counters and 555 ATMs across the country. Speaking at the conference, Rajendra Beri, chairman and managing director, New India Assurance, said, the company was urging Corporation Bank to look at joining forces with them in ventures outside India. "Once the bank thinks of establishing offices where we are internationally, we can have an bancassurance tie-ups there as well," he said. New India Assurance, which earlier this month roped in State Bank of India, as corporate agent, has an informal arrangement with the bank for selling its policies through SBI's international branches, said Beri.
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WorldSpace ties up with Virgin Radio
Bangalore: Digital satellite radio service pioneer WorldSpace Corporation has tied up with British commercial rock music station Virgin Radio as its first international subscription service. Under the agreement, WorldSpace will feature Virgin Radio as a premium channel on its new international subscription service, Home Team Radio, created for expatriates in the US and the UK and military stationed abroad. The Home Team Radio will have different versions targeting nostalgic expatriate customers in various geographic markets.

It will initially be carried by its AfriStar satellite and later, on AsiaStar. The Virgin Radio service will be initially available on the AfriStar satellite to listeners in West Asia, Africa and Western Europe for free during a promotional period. Both the companies will share the revenue from it once the service switches to subscription mode, said a WorldSpace release here. "(The) agreement would ensure WorldSpace is offering expatriate and military audiences with what they want to hear, where they want to hear it," said Noah Samara, chairman and CEO of the Washington-based WorldSpace.
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Promoters to buy SSI unit for Rs 97 crore
Chennai: The Kalpathi family, promoters of SSI Ltd, is set to acquire the company's offshore development centre at Vadapalani in Chennai. The family members, consisting of Kalpathi S. Suresh, Kalpathi S. Aghoram and Kalpathi S. Ganesh, were the lone bidders for the property at Rs 97 crore. Recently, SSI put the centre on sale with a reserve price of Rs 97 crore to wipe off bad debts. Talking to presspersons here on Tuesday, Suresh, chairman and CEO, SSI Ltd said, "We would pay Rs 97 crore to SSI in cash enabling the company to pay off bank debt and turn a debt-free firm". SSI reported a cash reserve of around Rs 148 crore as on June 30, 2003. Its outstanding debt was around Rs 196 crore. Located on a six-acre plot of land, the property includes 3.50 lakh sq ft of built up area designed to locate software development work. At present, it is under lease to TCS, which is paying a monthly rent of about Rs 75 lakh. "We (family) see long term value for the asset. However, for SSI, there was no immediate need for the asset. SSI is paying interest of Rs 4.50 crore every quarter for the property," he said.

According to Suresh, "The last four-five quarters were the bloodiest period for SSI with poor results. However, we will turnaround in the next 12 months, with the company becoming debt free and making good profit. We will have a clean balance sheet in the three to four quarters".

SSI would spend about $2 million on sales and marketing during the current fiscal. For inorganic growth, the company is also looking at acquisition and is in talks with firms in Singapore and the US, he said. Meanwhile, the company's 12-member board has been restructured and reduced to eight. This follows the company's recent restructuring wherein education and training business were sold to Aptech Ltd, leaving SSI with consulting and software services as its core business.

The board restructuring includes Suresh continuing as the company's chairman and CEO. Aghoram is the new vice-chairman and managing director. Ganesh and D.V. Narasingarao, who were executive directors, are now non-executive directors. S.S. Gopalakrishnan and Sashi Kumar Menon, who were executive directors, are no longer on the board. They would, however, continue to be board members of SSIT North America Inc. SSI has also appointed Ernst & Young for US GAAP audit for fiscal 2003-04 beginning October, Suresh said.
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Mukta Arts to roll two projects
Mumbai: Mukta Arts has announced two projects under its banner. One is a film titled `Aitraaz,' to be directed by Abbas Mastan, and the other is `Kisna' (The Indian), to be directed by Ghai.

The first film is a thriller, starring Akshay Kumar, Kareena Kapoor and Amrish Puri, while `Kisna' is a musical love story starring Vivek Oberoi, and with international credits such as writers Farukh Dhondy and Margaret Grover, and costume designer Bhanu Athaiya. It is slated for an August 15 release next year, according to a press release.
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