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17 Indian firms to take part in Dubai air show
Bangalore: Seventeen Indian firms, including Indian Space Research Organisation's commercial arm Antrix Corporation, are lining up to participate in the Dubai air show in November. The air show is the world's third largest aviation exhibition, and for the Indian companies this would be their first presence ever at the prestigious event.

Clive Richardson, CEO, Fairs and Exhibitions (F&E), the organisers of the Dubai air show, told reporters that the Indian contingent, the largest from the Asia Pacific region, had confirmed participation.

Society of Indian Aerospace Technologies and Industries (SIATI) president CG Krishnadas Nair said the number of participants was expected to exceed 20.

The Indian pavilion, which is supported by SIATI, will feature sector specialists such as Tata Advanced Materials, Titan Industries, Amphenol Interconnect, Avdel, Avon Oxygen, Cades Digitach, Glob Hi-Fabs, Mayurakshi Equipment, Mak Controls and Systems, Polynex, Standard Castings, Saras Technologies and Systems Controls, officials said.

While Antrix Corporation Ltd, Aeronautical Research and Development Establishment and National Aerospace Laboratories will feature in the air show, India's largest player Hindustan Aeronautics Limited would be conspicuous by its absence.

Nair said HAL had not yet decided as a state-run organisation like HAL needed government clearance for taking part in any overseas exhibition.

Richardson and Nair said this was for the first time that India was formally taking part in the Dubai air show, held continuously once in two years since 1989.

Nair said Indian players were taking part as a team and the country's combined aeronautical strength will be on display. "The effort is to project India as a brand at the air show to be held from November 20 to 24," he said.

Richardson said the last edition in 2003 attracted some 500 companies from 36 countries; this year's it's expected to be around 700 companies from 39 countries. The last air show generated business to the tune of $7 billion, according to him. The Dubai air show has grown to be the world's third largest after the two European ones, he said.

The ratio of defence participants and those from the civilian sector was 80:20 in the first edition; it has now become 40:60 following huge growth in the latter.
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Ratan Tata: Tatas to invest big in Bengal
Kolkata: The Tatas are looking at big investments in West Bengal in energy, automobile and metallurgy sectors along with a Rs150-crore speciality hospital.

''Our group is looking sincerely for investment in West Bengal to make up for our absence in the state,'' Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata said here today.

Addressing the 42nd annual general meeting of Tata Tea, Tata said the company had already decided to invest Rs150 crore for a 150-bed cancer hospital at Rajarhat on the eastern outskirts of Kolkata for which the state government had provided ten acres of land.

He said West Bengal was going through a transformation with an investor-friendly atmosphere and the state deserved investment from the private sector.

''There is a lot of interest from investors for this part of the country, and chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee can look forward to further investments in near future,'' he said.

To a question, Tata said Tata Motors, one of the Group's prominent arms, was considering the chief minister's proposal for setting up of an automobile plant in the state while Tata Power was awaiting a specific proposal from the state government for entering into the power business in West Bengal. The company was also looking for investment in a coke oven plant in Haldia.
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Eicher completes buyout of US firm Design Intent
New Delhi: Eicher Motors has completed the acquisition of Design Intent Engineering, a Detroit based engineering services provider, in an all cash deal of US$2.5mn.

The company said its decision to acquire the Detroit-based company was in line with the company's strategy of focusing on select businesses in which it could attain a strong market position.

Eicher recently sold its tractors, engines and gears divisions for Rs310 crore to Tafe Motors and Tractors, a fully owned subsidiary of Chennai-based Tractor and Farm Equipment.

With the sale of the tractor business and acquisition of the Detroit-based firm, Eicher will now focus on its core business, commercial vehicles, and also expand its operations into the business of engineering services outsourcing.

According to Eicher group officials the acquisition of Design Intent Engineering should provide the company with a ready platform for growth in the US and for expanding its business rapidly. Design Intent has several leading OEMs and tier-1 manufacturers as its customers and is particularly strong in interior and exterior design.
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Sun Pharma buys manufacturing arm of Hungarian firm Valeant
Mumbai: Sun Pharma has acquired the raw materials and dosage form manufacturing operations of Hungarian company, Valeant Pharmaceuticals, for an undisclosed sum.

Company officials said that the purchase provides the company with an early opportunity to enter the European generic space, building on its strengths in bulk actives and product development. The acquisition will complement its European entry strategy and will allow for a quick product roll-out.

This is the company's first European acquisition. Sun Pharma currently has a US subsidiary, Caraco, in which it holds 69 per cent stake. The European acquisition is part of its strategy to expand its presence in one of the largest pharmaceutical markets in the world, outside the US.

In the last financial year, Sun Pharma's exports were at Rs287.4 crore, registering a growth of 32%.

The US market currently contributes to the largest chunk of Sun Pharma's international business. Last year, it launched a $350m FCCB issue — one of the largest by a domestic pharma company.
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TCS to foray into knowledge process outsourcing
Mumbai: Software major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) plans to foray into knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) services as part of its business process outsourcing (BPO) operations.

The company intends to begin the services alongside its BPO businesses in Mumbai and Chennai, with a focus on analytics and research space.

"Our KPO solutions will provide customers a synergistic combination of deep domain expertise and strong operational excellence that we are known for," said N Chandrasekaran, executive vice-president and head-global operations.

Globally, the KPO sector is expected to touch $17bn by 2010, of which $12bn would be outsourced to India and provide employment to over 2.5 lakh people. At present, the domestic KPO sector employs over 25,000 professionals.

The initiative would be positioned at the higher end of value chain and would provide services to global investment banks, mutual funds, hedge funds, insurance firms and other financial services companies across the globe.
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Tata's to set up coffee processing plant in Uganda
Kampala: Tata Coffee, has received clearances from the Ugandan government to set up a coffee processing plant in the country.

Tata executive M. H. Ashrafa said that the company would work closely with the government to ensure that Ugandans benefit from their coffee produce.

According to company officials Ugandans had thus far been "donating" coffee to other countries by exporting the product as a raw material. When a farmer sells a kilo of unprocessed coffee, he will earn an average of $1 but a processed kilo of coffee can earn him about $15, company officials pointed out.

The Ugandan government would subsidise the cost of power and also provide land where the factory would be set up.

Although the Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) had suggested Jinja as a potential site for the factory, government officials said that company officials would be taken around the country after which they would decide on where they want to operate from.
The factory is expected to be operational within 15 months from now.
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GAIL, Ashok Leyland to jointly bid for CNG projects
New Delhi: Gas infrastructure major GAIL (India) Limited has signed a cooperation agreement with Ashok Leyland Project Services Limited (ALPS), a wing of the Hinduja Group, to explore opportunities in compressed natural gas (CNG). The two companies on Wednesday signed an agreement "for pursuing business opportunity in CNG and related sectors in India and abroad", state-run GAIL said in a statement.

Under the agreement, the two companies will jointly bid for projects in India and overseas in countries like Iran, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia and South Africa where complimentary capabilities of either or both GAIL and ALPS would be a significant advantage.

In addition, the two companies will evaluate the feasibility of transporting large volumes of natural gas in the form of CNG to remote areas and from one country to other country.

"As a step forward, a joint evaluation team of GAIL and ALPS is being formed that shall systematically undertake the evaluation or identification of the project," the statement said.

To facilitate joint participation in identified projects, the public-private sector partners will form a consortium or set up a holding company or a joint venture.
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Tata Tele charges Reliance Info of failing to provide interconnect
New Delhi: Tata Teleservices has accused Reliance Infocomm of failing to provide interconnection in 12 circles to its mobile and fixed wireless phones, and has approached the TDSAI for redressal.

At present, calls made by Tata Indicom subscribers to Reliance customers are being routed through BSNL's network and the company has to pay an extra 19 paise as carriage charges for each call to the PSU.

This has been possible as Tata Teleservices and BSNL have an agreement, whereas calls from Reliance phone to Tatas are not being completed, the Tata group said.

As per a directive by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, service providers will have to provide interconnections within 90 days of payments being made by the seeking company.

According to a Tata Teleservices spokesperson, the company's fixed wireless and mobile service operations were being affected as Reliance Infocomm and Reliance Telecom, which offers GSM mobile services, were not providing the necessary interconnection.
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LML launches new 100 cc model
New Delhi: LML has said that it expects to return to black in the fourth quarter of this fiscal, after three-and-a-half years of incurring losses.

The company, which has gone in for a major restructuring, today launched a 100 cc bike in the market, which it hopes will be the mainstay of its comeback. The company, saddled with Rs260 crore of accumulated losses, hopes to wipe out the losses in the next two years, officials said.

The company's new 100 cc offering, called CRD 100, is available in two variants and is priced at Rs31,430 and Rs32,430 (ex-showroom Uttar Pradesh). The bike, initially rolled out in Uttar Pradesh, will be available in major parts of the North, Central, and East by September.

The company was looking at overall sales, including scooters, of 2,20,000 units this fiscal. The company plans to ramp up overall production to 4,00,000 units by October this year and eventually to 7,20,000 units by end of March 2007.
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