ONGC to shed ten per cent
Mumbai: The offer for sale of Union Government's 10 per cent stake in ONGC Ltd will open on March 5 and close on March 13. Of the 14.25 crore equity shares on sale through the book- building route, 10 per cent have been reserved for ONGC's permanent employees and directors. A minimum 25 per cent of the net offer has been reserved for retail investors while 10 per cent is for existing ONGC shareholders, not including the Government, GAIL and Indian Oil Corporation. The price band for the issue will be announced one day before bids open. The Government holds 84.11 per cent stake in ONGC.
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Petronet to double capacity at Dahej
New Delhi: The board of Petronet LNG Ltd. has given in-principle clearance to plans to double the capacity of its Dahej LNG regassification terminal to 10 million tonnes by 2006-07. The additional capacity will cater to the demand offered by power, steel and fertiliser units that are running below full capacity due to shortage of gas. In 2004, 2.5 million tonnes of LNG is to be imported from Qatar.
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Dredging Corp. looking for foreign partners
Hyderabad: The Dredging Corporation of India Ltd. has appointed the global management consultancy services major - Pricewaterhouse Coopers - for the purpose of scouting strategic foreign partners. The company plans to develop strategic alliances with leading international dredging companies by way of increasing the utilisation of its asset base. The company also plans to appoint marketing agents in Singapore, Malaysia and West Asia to identify projects and to promote its services in those countries.
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Aurobindo Pharma gets UK approval
Hyderabad: The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency of the UK has recommended Aurobindo Pharma Ltd's (APL) Unit 3 facility as a site for manufacturing formulations for the UK market. APL can now foray into regulated markets, starting with Europe. The company has filed several dossiers with European authorities for its APIs and formulations. According to a company release, this unit has already got approvals from South Africa and Brazil.
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Foskor acquires stake in Godavari Fertilizers
Hyderabad: Following the approval from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board and the Reserve Bank of India, the African fertiliser major, Foskor Ltd. has acquired 16,00,000 equity shares constituting five per cent equity of Godavari Fertilisers and Chemicals Ltd. These shares were acquired on Monday from Coromandel Fertilizers Ltd.
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Ranbaxy gets tentative nod from USFDA
New Delhi: Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd has received a tentative approval from the US Food and Drug Administration, (USFDA) Office of Generic Drugs, to manufacture and market Modafinil tablets in 100 mg and 200 mg units. The total market for Modafinil tablets last year stood at $297 million.
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Honda Siel sales jump 90.47 per cent
Mangalore: Honda Siel Cars India Ltd. is planning to sell 18,000 Honda City, 2,100 Honda Accord, and 1,200 Honda CR-V in the next financial year. The company recorded a jump of 90.47 per cent in sales volume during January 2004. The company sold 15,821 units of its three models - City, Accord and CR-V - for April 2003-January 2004 period. This is up from 11,018 units during the corresponding period last year.
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Toyota-Kirloskar to expand
Hyderabad: The Toyota-Kirloskar Motor Company, a joint venture between Toyota Motor of Japan and the Kirloskar group, has drawn up plans to expand its manufacturing facility located in Bidadi near Bangalore and increase its dealer strength from the current 42 to 60. The company, which sold about 40,000 vehicles last year expects to end this year with total sales in excess of 48,000, an increase of about 20 per cent over last year. Toyota has already managed an indigenization level of 78 per cent in the Qualis and 58 per cent in the Corolla vehicles.
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Orchid PC launch: Kerala's own
Kochi: Team Frontline Pvt. Ltd., an IT system integrator, has launched computers under the Orchid PC brand. The company has launched the entire gamut of Orchid PCs with varied displays including TFT screen. The company has marketing and technical tie-ups with leading global IT players such as IBM, HP, Microsoft, HCL, Cisco Systems, Toshiba and Veritas.
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Wipro ties up for Nokia's Series 60
Bangalore: WIPRO Technologies, the global technology services arm of Wipro Ltd. has said it will set up a software development centre for Nokia, and will also provide smart phone development and integration services for handset manufacturers that have the licensed Series 60 Platform. Nokia introduced the Series 60 Product Creation Community a year ago at 3GSM World Congress in Cannes.
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iGATE Global plans to double hiring
Bangalore: iGATE Global Solutions plans to add between 3,500 and 4,000 people over the next three to four years and more than double its headcount. iGATE is also planning to expand its operations in Chennai, Hyderabad and Noida. The company had recently signed two five-year $20-million deals with GreenPoint Mortgage and ING Vysya Bank. It is helping GreenPoint Mortgage to create a virtual enterprise by offering high-end back office services through a combination of technology, back office processing, high-end analytics and call centre operations.
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Web calls at Rs. 3 per minute
Chennai: DishnetDSL Ltd has launched an Internet telephony service that enables making international calls through the Web. The service, named `helloworld,' is offered at Rs 2.99 per minute to 14 countries, including the US, the UK, Canada and Singapore, and at Rs 3.99 per minute to 50 other countries. The company will market `helloworld' through international calling packs and international telezones. The calling packs use a traditional Internet service providers' access and will allow international calls from a personal computer to any landline or mobile phone in the world.
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PVR Pictures will distribute Factory products
New Delhi: Delhi-based PVR Pictures has entered into a 50:50 joint venture with Verma Corporation Ltd/ K Sera Sera's production company, Factory, and will have exclusive distribution rights in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal region for the upcoming films of Factory. Factory will produce and release nine movies in the next 18 months. The new company will also distribute films of other producers as well. The new venture, called PVR/Factory, will operate under the PVR Pictures entity.
PVR Pictures is a subsidiary of the popular multiplex company, PVR Ltd and specialises in acquisition and local distribution of English language independent films across the country.
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Taste Buds now launched at home
Kochi: Kerala cinema superstar Mohanlal has entered the packaged food industry with the launch of `Taste Buds', a brand with a range of spices, condiments and pickles. Taste Buds has over 50 varieties of products, available in packs ranging from 50g to 400 g. Taste Buds was earlier launched in the Gulf countries in June last year and has a presence in the UAE, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
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Schreiber Foods buys into Dynamix Dairy
Mumbai: US major, Schreiber Foods Inc. has acquired 51 per cent stake in Dynamix Dairy, India. Dynamix has a modern milk processing-cum-product manufacturing plant at Baramati, Pune, with a capacity of 1.2 million litres/day and is one of the largest cow-milk based dairy companies in the country. Schreiber is reported to be the largest private label cheese company in the US, with clients like McDonald's, Wal-Mart, SYSCO, Albertson's, Burger King and American Stores. Dynamix has a customer base of multinational food majors like Nestle, Britannia-NZ, Hindustan Lever, Glaxo Smithkline, McDonald's, Pizza Hut and Tropicana.
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Industrial Tribunal rejects Nocil Petrochem's plea
Mumbai: The Industrial Tribunal has rejected the National Organic Chemical Industries Ltd. (Nocil) management's application for closure of the petrochemical division of the company. The Nocil management has decided to appeal against the Industrial Tribunal's order in the high court. The division has about 500 employees. Meanwhile, the Nocil management has applied for demerger of the petrochemicals division under section 351 and 354 of the Companies Act. It is believed that this would facilitate the company's moves to hive off the division to interested buyers. The plant produces 80,000 tonne of ethylene annually.
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