Taj group ties up with CC Africa for wildlife tourism
Mumbai: The Taj group has joined hands with Conservation Corporation Africa (CC Africa) and Cigen Corporation, a part of the Chaudhury group, to expand into wildlife tourism.

All the three players will have an equal shareholding in the joint venture company. The Taj group as well as CC Africa will jointly brand the project.

CC Africa is a leading eco-tourism company operating 38 high-end game lodges in South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Botswana.

The Nepal-based Chaudhary group has interests in food and beverages, financial services, infrastructure and the hospitality sector.

The Chaudhary group and the Taj group are partners in Taj Asia Ltd, which is the vehicle through which the partners own, operate, and plan to expand their hospitality interests in the South Asian and Asia-Pacific markets.

Under the terms of the alliance, apart from a third of the revenues, the Taj group would also earn a fee on the project. However, the earnings from this joint venture will be reflected in the balance sheet of Indian Hotels Company Ltd (which runs the Taj Group of Hotels) only three years later.

According to the company official, Ranthambore, Bandipur, Bharatpur, Kanha, and Tadoba were among the likely choices for the first phase of the project.
Back to News Review index page  

Fiat India launches the Petra diesel
Bangalore: Italian carmaker Fiat has said that it is preparing a new blueprint for India to expand its operations.

At the sidelines of the launch of the diesel version of the Petra sedan, the company said that it had written off accumulated losses worth Rs.1, 300 crore as part of its move to clean up its balance sheet.

The company says that it expects to post revenues of around Rs.450 crore during the calendar year, the same as last year. Prices of most spare parts had been reduced while more service centres and dealerships would be opened soon. Fiat exported around 7-million-euros worth of spare parts during 2003 and it would be the same in 2004 too.

With the introduction of Petra, the company expects to sell around 15,000 cars this year. During the first six months, it sold a total of 5,500 cars. To break even, it needs to sell around 20,000 annually.

The company holds over 99 percent stake in the Indian venture while the rest is with Premier Automobile.

The 1.9-litre Petra diesel has been introduced in two variants - the EL model, which costs Rs.5.72 lakh and the ELX model priced at Rs.6.08 lakh.
Back to News Review index page 

Tata Telecom to be renamed Avaya Global Connect
Mumbai: The Board of Directors of Tata Telecom have approved the renaming of the company to Avaya GlobalConnect, following the completion of the transaction between the Tata group and Avaya, as per the share purchase agreement of April 2, 2004.

Avaya Mauritius Ltd will now hold the shares held by the Tata group companies as well as buy out those shares, which public shareholders of the company have tendered in the open offer made by Avaya Mauritius, according to the company's news release.

The newly reconstituted Board of Directors comprises eight persons - Mark Leigh who will be the new Chairman (also President, Avaya Asia Pacific), Niru Mehta (Vice-Chairman, Tata Telecom), David P. Johnson (Group VP, Small & Medium Business Solutions, Avaya), Francis M. Scricco (Group VP,Avaya Global Services), Amar Pai (VP, Finance, Operations and Corporate Controller, Avaya), S. Ramakrishnan (MD, Tata Teleservices) and C. B. Bhave (MD, National Securities Depository Ltd).

Avaya GlobalConnect will continue to offer end-to-end converged communication solutions to customers. It has an Avaya India Development Centre in Pune, which collaborates with Avaya labs in the Asia Pacific.
Back to News Review index page  

Cable & Wireless launches MPLS service
Bangalore: Cable and Wireless has announced the launch of its multi-protocol label switching (MPLS) service in India as an extension of its managed data services portfolio in association with Reliance Infocomm.

MPLS is the latest protocol and provides means for data convergence. Corporates will now be able to use Reliance Infocomm's nationwide network to connect to the C&W global network.

C&W launched its managed data network in India earlier this year and is now providing data services such as ATM, frame relay and managed private line to various customers.
Back to News Review index page  

Essar Steel clarifies about hike in prices
Mumbai: Essar Steel Ltd clarified on Wednesday that it has not raised steel prices. The company said that it fixes its prices on a quarterly basis and the last price was fixed effective July till September, and that still stands.
Back to News Review index page  

Ranbaxy gets USFDA nod for fluconazole tablets
New Delhi: Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd has received the approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) to manufacture and market Fluconazole tablets and suspensions used for treatment of some infections caused by candida, a yeast-like fungus, usually affecting the skin and mucous membranes.

The total sale for Fluconazole is estimated to be $741 million - tablets accounting for $469 million and suspensions for the remaining $28 million.

Diflucan (Fluconazole) is indicated for the treatment of vaginal candidiasis (vaginal yeast infections due to candida), oropharyngeal and esophageal candidiasis (oral infections), and cryptococcal meningitis (a fungal brain infection). Fluconazole is also indicated to decrease the incidence of candidiasis in patients undergoing bone marrow transplantation who receive cytotoxic chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy.
Back to News Review index page  

RPG Group drops plans for rubber business consolidation
Kolkata: The RPG Group has dropped its plans for consolidating its natural rubber business. The boards of Harrisons Malayalam Ltd (HML) and Ceat Ltd have already announced that they are withdrawing the schemes of arrangement.

In April 2003, the above boards decided to demerge the rubber division of HML and transfer it to Ceat and October 1, 2002 was fixed as the appointed date for the scheme of arrangement. But in view of continuous delays faced, the companies have decided to drop the consolidation plans.

The approximate turnover of HML's rubber division is Rs.50 crore from a crop output of about 10,000 tonnes. Ceat's current natural rubber consumption is approximately 50,000 tonnes.
Back to News Review index page  

Chennai Petro to set up desalination plant
Chennai: Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd proposes to set up a 5.8 million gallons-per-day seawater desalination plant at Ennore, some 16 km from its Manali refinery.

The project will cost Rs.193 crore and will take 30 months to complete, says the company's annual report for 2003-04. The plant will take care of the water needs of the refinery, which has had to shut down because of water shortage in Chennai.

Alongside, the company is in the process of replacing its old pipeline that carries crude oil from the Chennai Port to Manali refinery, with a new 42-inch pipeline, at a cost of Rs.40 crore.

During the year 2003-04, CPCL completed another project - a 40 MW power plant that produces electricity using two 'heat recovery steam generators'.
Back to News Review index page  

Mirza Tanners look towards France and Germany
Mumbai: Mirza Tanners Ltd, owner of the brands Red Tape and Oaktrak, isall set to make a foray into other markets of Europe, especially France and Germany.

Mirza Tanners, which derives about 80 per cent of its revenue from the overseas market, is also exporting to non-European markets, including South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Apart from the European markets, the company is planning to take up outsourcing orders for shoe manufacturing.

In the first quarter of the current fiscal, Mirza has notched up a turnover of Rs.48.41 crore, up by 31 per cent from Rs.36.99 crore registered during the corresponding period of last fiscal. After providing for taxation and deferred tax liability, the company's net profit during the quarter touched Rs.3.27 crore as against Rs.2.61 crore in the previous year quarter.
Back to News Review index page  

Genesis introduces wireless AV system
Bangalore: Genesis IT Innovations has announced the introduction of Wavecom Pro, a wireless audio and video system (transmitter and receiver) that sends colour video and stereo audio wirelessly from one location to another. The Wavecom Pro is targeted at both office and home segments.

The 2.4GHz wireless video/audio sender will enable corporates to use their existing infrastructure without reconfiguring them to access audio and video devices remotely.
Back to News Review index page  

New IBM desktop for multiple applications
Bangalore: IBM India has launched its latest high-performance desktop model, the ThinkCentre A51p, incorporating advanced performance graphics and processing power.

This model is aimed at small and medium business customers looking to run multiple applications simultaneously without overwhelming the PC. IBM also announced the availability of the new ThinkCentre A50 value-priced performance desktop.
Back to News Review index page