Tatas pick up Singapore's NatSteel
Mumbai: Tata Steel has acuired the steel businesses of NatSteel Ltd for Singapore$486.4 million or Rs.1, 313 crore. The company said that it has signed definitive agreements with NatSteel for the all-cash transaction. The steel businesses of NatSteel will be spun off into a wholly owned subsidiary called Natsteel Asia Pte Ltd. NatSteel has a capacity to produce about two million tonnes per annum of rebars, wire rods, pre-stressed concrete wires and strands.

This acquisition not only gives Tata Steel a manufacturing footprint in seven new countries in Asia - Singapore, China, Malaysia, Thailand, Australia, Vietnam and the Philippines - but geographic access to the Asian region. About 40 per cent of the capacity of NatSteel is in Singapore. Under the terms of the agreement, the enterprise value is subject to certain adjustments including those for any net debt, minority interest, other liabilities and for working capital variance relative to S$225 million.

The transaction is expected to be completed in about five to six months, once the regulatory approvals are through. The acquisition also includes a 26 per cent equity interest owned by NatSteel in Southern Steel Bhd, a 1.3 million tonne steel maker in Malaysia.
NatSteel ended 2003 with turnover of S$1.4 billion and a profit before tax of S$47 million.
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Wipro amongst the top on the IDC leadership grid
Bangalore: Industry analyst IDC has rated Wipro Technologies, the global IT services division of Wipro Ltd, as a top leader among the offshore service providers. In a report titled "Worldwide Offshore 2003 Services Provider Profiles", IDC profiled 21 global players on the "Offshore leadership grid" based on a comprehensive framework and set of parameters that evaluate their competitiveness in the marketplace. Wipro is positioned as a top outperformer in the IDC leadership grid, which positions each company against two parameters: opportunity alignment and ability to gain share, said a company press release.

"Wipro's strength lies in its ability to deliver solutions using an integrated service line which positions it as an end-to-end solutions partner to clients worldwide. A multi-cultural work force and strong investments in process excellence marks Wipro as the most preferred IT partner to its customers," said IDC. Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys Technologies are the other Indian firms that were positioned as outperformers in the IDC leadership grid.
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Tata to bring in Daewoo trucks by end of this fiscal
Kolkata: Tata Motors is contemplating launching the heavy commercial vehicle models of the Korean auto major, Daewoo, in India by the end of 2004-05.

The Daewoo models would add to the portfolio of Tata Motors and would not affect the sale of existing models. While in Tata Motors, the upper limit among existing models is 210 horsepower, with Daewoo it starts from 230 horsepower and goes up to 450 horsepower.

Tata Motors has not decided whether to bring these models either in the CKD (completely knocked down) of SKD (semi-knocked down) version. It has also not decided on the factory, which will process these Korean units. In the commercial vehicles sector, Tata Motors held a market share of 58 per cent.
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Nissan X-Trail SUV is its test launch for the country
Chennai: The Nissan Motor Co Ltd has launched its sports utility vehicle, X-Trail, in India in two grades - Comfort with an ex-showroom price in Chennai of Rs.21.08 lakh and Elegance with a tag of Rs.24.14 lakh.

Nissan was entering the country with an SUV that had clocked sales of 140,000 units worldwide in 2003. The SUV will be Nissan's test launch for the Indian market and will decide its strategy for the future.

The X-Trail would be imported as completely built units from Nissan's plant in Japan and would attract a duty of 104 per cent. The X-Trail comes with a 2.2-litre common rail diesel engine and six-speed manual transmission.

Nissan has appointed one dealer each in Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai and would look at expanding the dealer network depending on the market.
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Amtek to raise $60 million in foreign markets
New Delhi: The board of directors of Amtek Auto has approved a plan to raise up to $60 million via GDRs/ADRs/FCCBs.
This was stated in a communiqué sent by the company to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). The board also approved a proposal to raise an additional $60 million via debt instruments. The other proposals cleared by the board includes sub-division of equity shares from Rs.10 each to Rs.2 per share, an increase in FII limit to 74 per cent from 49 per cent and an increase in the authorised capital to Rs.70 crore from Rs.50 crore. Amtek Auto has called an EGM on September 10, 2004 to take shareholder approval for the above measures.
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HMT cuts down losses
Bangalore: HMT Ltd has narrowed its net loss to Rs.15.51 crore for the quarter ended June from Rs.15.94 crore a year ago. However, total income has risen 28.25 per cent to Rs.44.12 crore (Rs.34.4 crore).

The company said that its net loss of the 2003-04 fiscal shrunk considerably to Rs.7.97 crore from Rs 34.41 crore a year ago. However, total income fell 12.26 per cent to Rs.180.33 crore (Rs.205.53 crore).
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NPIL and Ethypharm sign up for paediatric drug
Mumbai: The Mumbai-based Nicholas Piramal India Ltd (NPIL) has inked a product in-licensing agreement with France's Ethypharm for the technology to produce paracetamol flash tablets for children (or tablets that melt in the mouth).

The agreement for the Indian market is NPIL's second in-licensing deal this month and fifth for this year. NPIL will use the technology to manufacture dispersible tablets to address the pain relief and fever indications market, especially for paediatric use, said a company release announcing the development .

Under the agreement, NPIL will source raw material from Ethypharm and manufacture dispersible formulations using the technology at its Pithampur plant. NPIL will distribute the product in the Indian market under its own brand name. NPIL already has paediatric brands such as Phenergan, Kidpred, Omnatax O and Tixylix in its portfolio. The Indian market for this segment is estimated to be Rs.100 crore, the company said.
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Tata Power to transfer broadband business
Mumbai: The Tata Power Company Ltd has entered into a 'Business Transfer Agreement' with its wholly owned subsidiary, Tata Power Broadband Company Ltd (TPBC), for the transfer of its broadband business on a "going concern basis". The move is subsequent to the approval received from shareholders by postal ballot, said a press release. TPBC will continue to maintain its thrust in the wholesale broadband business, offering services to carriers, telecom service providers and bulk users of bandwidth, the release said.
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Sundram Fasteners to expand capacity
Chennai: Sundram Fasteners Ltd plans to expand capacities at its plants in Chennai, Madurai, Pondicherry and Hosur and also plans to leverage its subsidiary company in Malaysia to tap the Asean (Association of South East Asian Nations) market. Sundram Fasteners would strengthen the Malaysian subsidiary, RBI Autoparts Sdn Bhd, by producing more products so that the plant became a "beachhead for the Asean region," he said. Sundram Fasteners increased its stake in the Malaysian company to 70 per cent from 30 per cent last year.
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MphasiS aims at 25,000 employees in three years
Pune: IT and BPO service provider MphasiS has said that it with huge demand building up from its overseas clients it will ramp up operations to touch the 25,000-employee mark in the next three years.

The company is preparing to kick off its third unit in the country by the end of the current year and has short-listed Chennai and Mangalore as possible destinations. The Pune centre, which currently has 2,100 employees would add 900 techies in the next few months.

The company is also scouting for business in the domestic market where it plans to provide services to global level Indian players. The company is simultaneously working on a major structuring as a part of which it is relocating key members of top management to its Indian operations. The company is also in talks with companies in Mauritius and Eastern Europe to commence operations to service clients in the region.

MphasiS already has a 70-people centre in Mexico where it offers Spanish language services to clients and it is now keen to explore business opportunities in the same space in China.
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