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Ratan Tata to stay on as Chairman till 2012
Mumbai: Tata Sons, the holding company for the Tata group companies, has enhanced the retirement age for the directors on the boards of various Tata companies. The decision is expected to ease speculation about the issue of succession in the Tata group.

As per the policy adopted in the year 2000, the retirement age for the executive and whole time directors in the group companies was to be 65 years while the non-executive directors were supposed to retire at the age of 70.

As per the revised guidelines adopted by the group, the retirement age has been maintained at 65 years for executive and whole time directors whereas the retirement age for the non-executive directors has been reverted to 75 years.

The group has said that the revision in the age bar has been made so that the group companies "benefit from the rich experience of these directors who add great value to the strategy and direction of Tata group companies."

According to sources, Ratan Tata who is 67 years old would have turned 70 in the year 2007. Now, the change in the guidelines, will provide him the option to continue working till the year 2012, in case he chooses to exercise the option. Similarly, J J Irani (69), R K Krishna Kumar (67), N A Soonawala (70), Syamal Gupta (70) would be the other beneficiaries of the revision and could continue for another five years beyond 70 if they want to.

According to the group company statement, the board has revised the guidelines taking into account recent developments in the regulatory environment relating to good corporate governance.

As per the revised guidelines, there will be nominations committees for the selection of new directors based on certain criteria. Besides, the tenure for independent directors will now be specified.
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Mukesh announces Rs.485 crore investment plan for IPCL
Vadodara: Ruling out the merger of Indian Petrochemicals Corporation Ltd (IPCL) and Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani on Monday announced a 45 percent dividend for IPCL shareholders, while outlining an investment of Rs485 crore for the company.

Mukesh Ambani also announced a number of new expansion projects for IPCL, including increasing the Vadodara plant's cracker capacity by 12 thousand tonnes of ethylene annually, expanding benzene capacity by 14 thousand tonnes, expanding the PVC plant capacity from 245 thousand tonnes to 315 thousand tonnes, among others.

"IPCL has taken up seven expansion projects at Vadodara and Gandhar. These projects involve an investment of Rs 485 crore and are expected to be completed by middle of next financial year," Mukesh said here, at AGM of IPCL. He also stated categorically, "There is no proposal to merge IPCL and RIL," Mukesh said. "The merger is not on the agenda of the board."
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Pfizer sells German generic drugs unit to Torrent
London/ Mumbai: Pfizer, the US pharmaceuticals group, said on Monday it was selling a German generic drugs distributor to Torrent Pharmaceuticals of India.

"I can confirm that Torrent Pharma has bought Heumann Pharma located in Nuernberg (Nuremberg]," a Pfizer spokeswoman said.

"We sold it because generic drugs are not part of our strategic option. Our focus lies in researching and developing innovative medicines".
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Bangalore's Devanahalli airport attains financial closure
Bangalore: Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) and ICICI Bank have announced the financial deal for the new international airport at Devanahalli.

Announcing this Karnataka industries minister P G R Sindhia said the crucial bank guarantee for the state support was received on June 22, 2005, paving the way for the deal.

The overall costs for phase I is Rs1,411.8 crore. It will be financed by ICICI Bank (52.1 per cent), a state support from government of Karnataka in the form of an interest free, repayable loan (24.8 per cent) and equity from all shareholders (23.1 per cent).

The airport is a joint venture, with the government of Karnataka holding 13 per cent through the KSIIDC, Government of India 13 per cent through Airport Authority of India (AAI), 40 per cent by Siemens Project Ventures, Germany, 17 per cent by Larsen and Toubro and 17 per cent Zurich Airport.

The construction will begin on July 2, 2005 and will be completed in 30 months. The extensive testing and commercial phase of six months will start from the 28th of this month.

The airport is expected to open for commercial operations by April 2008.

According to the chief operating officer, Albert Brunner, Bangalore International Airport Limited, the first phase of the airport will consist of one 4,000 metre-long runway, taxiways, an apron area with aircraft stands and a terminal building.

Some 3,800 acres have been allotted for the new airport and will enable BIAL to expand the airport whenever the need arises, said Brunner.
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Fiat Auto SpA increases stake in Indian unit
Mumbai: The Board of Directors of Fiat India Pvt. Ltd on Monday has announced that Fiat Auto SpA has increased its stake in the Indian unit to 44.61% from the current 19.44% through an investment of over Rs2bn. The investment is reflective of the parent company's commitment to the Indian market, Fiat India said in a statement.

Since 1998, Fiat has made investments to the tune of Rs22bn in India, towards building capacity and increasing infrastructure capabilities. For Fiat India, the fresh infusion of funds represents free cash flow needed for future investments, to repay debt, and restructure its dealer network to sustain current operations, the official release said.

Post the infusion, Fiat India will be fully capitalized with Fiat Auto SpA, along with Fiat India Automobiles Pvt Ltd. together holding a total of 99.83% while the stake of Premier Automobiles Ltd. will be diluted to 0.17%.
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Volvo Buses will make first entry in Bangalore
Bangalore: Volvo Buses, one of the world's largest manufacturers of buses and coaches, has received its first order for 25 city buses from Bangalore, the company has announced.

The order is from the State-owned Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) city bus operator, the Sweden-headquartered company said in a statement. The buses will be delivered at the end of 2005 and start of 2006.

The order marks Volvo's entry into the city bus market in India, where the market for this segment is estimated to be 10,000-12,000 units each year.

The chassis is the Volvo B7RLE and will be assembled at Volvo's factory in Bangalore, the statement said. It has a seven-litre engine that meets Euro 3 emission regulations. The body is built on the same design as the Volvo 8700, which is currently used in Europe.
India is already among Volvo Buses' top ten markets in the world, said a senior company official.
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Indian Hotels take over management at the Pierre
Mumbai: Indian Hotels has entered into a contract for 30 years to operate and manage New York-based hotel 'The Pierre', marking its return to US operations.

From July 1 the Tata Group company will run The Hotel Pierre in Manhattan, a property that used to be managed by the prestigious Four Seasons Group.

"US market has bounced back. New York has 125,000 rooms with 81 per cent occupancy. Pierre is one of the top 10 hotels in the world and is in a prime location," said Raymond Bickson, MD, Indian Hotels.

Indian Hotel's management contract is for a period of 30 years and it will pay an annual lease rental fee of $5 million. Another $35 million will be spent to renovate the hotel.

Indian Hotels will focus on expanding their presence internationally over the next few years in North America, Europe and China. They have already identified two properties in Beijing and Shanghai and hope to have a hotel up and running before the Olympics in Beijing in 2008.
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