GAIL to pick up 10 per cent stake in China Gas
New Delhi: State-owned GAIL (India) Ltd will buy a 10-per cent stake in China Gas Holdings Ltd in a deal estimated to be worth $30-35 million, company officials have said. A formal agreement will be finalised this week.

GAIL will take up to 10 per cent of the Hong Kong-listed firm, and the investment would be funded purely from the company's internal accruals. As per the proposed deal, GAIL will have to abide by a lock-in period of two years for off-loading the stake at a future date.

China Gas Holdings Ltd has a licence to set up city gas distribution projects in 42 cities in China and GAIL can take up to 50 per cent in any of the ventures.
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Tata Africa picks up stake in South African telecom operator
Johannesburg: The Tata Group, represented in South Africa by Tata Africa Holdings (SA) Pty Ltd, will be allocated a 26 percent equity stake in the Second Network Operator (SNO) to challenge the monopoly of former state-owned Telkom.

South African Minister of Communications Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri announced this, ending weeks of speculation that Tata, part of a consortium for the long-delayed bid, had been selected ahead of its closest rival, Old Mutual Asset Managers.

The other shareholders in SNO include CommuniTel and Two Consortium, each with a 12.5 percent shareholding in SepCo, which - along with Tata's 26 percent - owns the 51 percent strategic equity share of the operator.

Tata Africa's telecommunications operations within the SNO will be handled by VSNL.
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HLL sells two per cent stake in Tata Chemicals
Mumbai: Hindustan Lever Ltd (HLL) has offloaded stake in Tata Chemicals by selling 2 per cent of its 8 per cent stake in the company.

The consumer goods major reaped a profit of Rs40.54 crore profit on the sale. It currently holds 6.2 per cent in the agri-chemical company.

According to sources, the Tata group`s holding in the company has increased to 27.06 per cent. The Tatas hold stake through Tata sons, Tata Investment Corporation and Tata Tea.
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REL introduces remote meter reading system
Mumbai: Reliance Energy Ltd (REL) is introducing automated meter reading (AMR) for its customers in Mumbai, Delhi and Orissa. Commencing the roll out with high-end HT and LT customers, REL will gradually cover different categories of consumers under the AMR technology.

REL, and its group companies in Delhi and Orissa, plan to install remote meter reading system for its HT/LT consumers in a phased manner using GSM modem technology. REL has already connected over 3,000 consumers in Mumbai, Delhi and Orissa, a company release has said.

State electricity boards in Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan and Karnataka have also floated expression of interest tender for selecting technology provider for their remote meter reading system.

The REL initiative seeks to minimise human intervention in the meter reading process besides providing a host of value-added features.

With AMR the company can now read thousands of meters each day. Besides recording energy consumption on a real time basis, AMR also provides vital information pertaining to energy consumption.

The system not only empowers customers to optimise their power consumption, but also provides useful data which enables the company to offer advanced features like automated outage notification, change energy demand, initiate a service disconnect, time of day rates. AMR also provides tools for load management, tamper detection and surveillance. The GSM-based AMR technology that is now being introduced in the country by REL has already been deployed by several leading utilities worldwide in the US, Europe, Australia, Singapore, China and Hong Kong.
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Reliance Ind. to supply ATF and gas oil to Sri Lanka
Mumbai: Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has won an order to supply a combination cargo of gas oil (HSD) and aviation fuel (ATF) of 3,00,000 barrels to Ceylon Petroleum (Ceypetco). This includes 1,80,000 of gas oil and 1,20,000 barrels of ATF.

In 2005 alone the company has won four tenders for supply of petroleum products into Sri Lanka, all through Ceypetco.

Generally, the combination cargo sought by Ceypetco that Reliance has been supplying comprises HSD with ATF/ gasoline/ SKO. In 2005, Reliance has supplied Ceypetco with over 1,00,000 tonnes of HSD, 40,000 tonnes of ATF and in excess of 10,000 tonnes of gasoline.

With this, it has emerged as a major supplier of petroleum products to Sri Lanka.

The latest deal with Ceypetco, which is for delivery in the second week of March, is learnt to have fetched RIL a premium of $2.22 a barrel to Singapore quotes for 1,80,000 barrels of HSD and a spot premium of $1.95 a barrel for 120,000 barrels of ATF.
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Reliance Info denies `Mahajan link'
Mumbai: Reliance Infocomm (RIC) has said that allegations of a 'Mahajan link' in investments in the company are totally fictitious. "This transaction has nothing to do with Mr Pramod Mahajan and any insinuation to the contrary is totally mischievous and motivated," a statement from the company said. Mahajan was Union Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunications in the previous government.

The statement said: "RIC clarifies that no politician or bureaucrat at any moment of time, has held or holds any shares of RIC.

"The (propaganda) campaign (against Reliance) has now been re-orchestrated with the sinister objective of misleading the decision-makers, Government organisations and political parties. With this goal, articles and commentaries have been published which aim to associate Mr Mahajan with an ordinary business transaction of Reliance Infocomm Ltd with its business associate. The fiction relating to the alleged `Mahajan link' is nothing but one of the several attempts to achieve the hidden agenda of these forces."
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Wockhardt to generate Rs100 crore sales from biotech products
New Delhi: Wockhardt Ltd is hoping to generate sales of at least Rs100 crore from the sale of its biotech products.Habib Khorakiwala, Chairman, Wockhardt, told newspersons that currently there were three main drivers - Wepox (a drug used in cancer treatment), Wosulin (insulin) and a Biovac B (hepatitis vaccine). Another new drug, interferon, used for treatment of Hepatitis C, would be added this year followed by Glargin - a long-acting insulin. Khorakiwala said that phase-three trials for interferon have been completed and the company is awaiting regulatory approvals.

On the acquisitions front, Khorakiwala said that the company was looking at acquiring companies in Europe, especially Germany. Currently, it has joint ventures in Mexico and South Africa and subsidiaries in Brazil and the UK.

Almost 60 per cent of the company's revenues are derived from the international market with Europe and the US accounting for a major share.
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Mahindra tractors launched in Australia
Mumbai: Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd has announced the launch of its Australian operations for tractors with the launch of Mahindra Australia. Tony McGrady, Minister of State, Development and Innovation, has officially launched Mahindra Australia in the Australian market.

Mahindra has been able to notch up good business in the US market and its planned entry into Australia comes close on the heels of its growing US operations, the company said in a news release.

Three dealers are launching the Mahindra brand - in Brisbane, Lismore and Wauchope. There is growing interest from a number of dealers, the release said.
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Sujana to supply components to Tecumseh's Indian unit
Hyderabad: Sujana Industries Ltd (SIL) has informed the stock exchanges on Monday that it has successfully developed precision grinding components required by the US-based Tecumseh Inc, the world leader in manufacturing compressors for air-conditioning and refrigeration equipment.

According to the company, these components were supplied by it to Tecumseh Inc's wholly owned unit located at Hyderabad. The components were approved by the parent company at the US. With this, the company expects to capture sizeable business for its bearing division. Further, the company expects this to give it an opportunity for exporting the components.

The company has also informed the exchanges that the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) has approved the company as suppliers and placed a trial order for taper roller bearings and ball bearings.
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Safety Initiative Award for BHEL
New Delhi: Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) has won the Safety Initiative Award, instituted by the Institute of Engineers, for implementing innovative safety and quality procedures and practices.

According to a company release, the company has achieved sustainable growth with progressive increase in business while simultaneously ensuring a continuous reduction in adverse incidents related to occupational health and safety.

The company has also established its commitment towards the environment in and around its manufacturing plants, besides ensuring that its products, systems and services also meet such requirements, the release said.

The company has also received the National Safety Award from the Ministry of Labour for outstanding achievements in terms of the longest accident-free period and lowest accident frequency rate at its works.
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MphasiS buys out Princeton Consulting
Bangalore: The MphasiS BFL Group is acquiring the London-based consulting firm Princeton Consulting for £7.73 million (about Rs63 crore) in an all-cash deal.

The acquisition brings a customer base of about fifteen clients including British Telecom, Marks & Spencer, Visa International and Volvo to the MphasiS fold.

According to the company, the acquisition will help it broaden its BPO and IT services offerings in Britain and Europe.

Princeton, with an annual revenue run-rate of £ six million, specialises in business consulting, integration of customer relationship management packages and customer support among others. The net value of the deal adjusted for the surplus cash of £3.23 million remaining in Princeton is about £4.5 million, Mr Ramu said.

Princeton has about 100 people, including 33 in Bangalore. The company said that it plans to absorb all the employees and there will not be any migration of jobs from UK to India. There may actually be incremental addition of jobs both in India and the UK.

MphasiS derives close to 25 per cent of its BPO revenues and about 15 per cent of its IT revenues from Europe. Princeton CEO, Afshin Rabbani will take over as the Vice-Chairman of Mphasis' European operations. Princeton is Mphasis' second acquisition in the current financial year after it bought the Bangalore-based Kshema Technologies in April 2003 in a $21 million deal.
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Lotto brand re-enters India
New Delhi: Sports footwear and technical sports clothing company Lotto Sport Italia has announced its re-entry into the Indian market. Based in Italy, Lotto has appointed lifestyle distributor Sierra Industrial Enterprises Pvt Ltd as the licensee for India, Bangladesh and Nepal markets.

Lotto is targeting about Rs35-crore sales within three years, of which 65 per cent are expected to come from the sale of footwear.
Lotto plans five flagship stores in major metros in the next six months.
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