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ONGC-Mittal
combine considering counter offer for Petrokazakhstan
New Delhi: A day after losing the bid for a stake
in PetroKazakhstan to CNPC International Ltd, a wholly-owned
subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC),
ONGC has said it was considering a counter-offer. Interestingly
a possible counter-offer from the ONGC-Mittal combine
would not only involve them topping the CNPC offer of
US$4.18bn, but also an additional US$125mn for the termination
of the award to the Chinese company.
The
ONGC-Mittal combine's bid for PetroKazakhstan was US$3.9bn.
The
combine is expected to take a decision soon.
As per the agreement between PetroKazakhstan and CNPC
International, the former is prohibited from soliciting
any other acquisition proposal.
However,
it allows the company board to accept and recommend a
superior proposal to avoid breaching its fiduciary duties
towards shareholders. This would force PetroKazakhstan
to pay CNPC International a termination fee.
Further,
the Chinese company has the right to make a superior offer
when there is a counter-bid.
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Tata
Steel to set up second steel plant
at Jharkhand
New
Delhi: Tata Steel has decided to set up a second plant
in Jharkhand, entailing an investment of Rs45,000-55,000
crore in two phases spread over nine years. Under the
plan, approved by the company's board, it will be a greenfield
plant with an eventual capacity of 10 million tonnes a
year.
The decision follows a meeting between Jharkhand Chief
Minister Arjun Munda and Tata Sons Chairman Ratan Tata
on August 20.
The first phase of the plant, targeting 5 million tonnes
of steel a year will be completed in four years at a cost
of Rs15,000-20,000 crore. The second phase will be spread
over the next five years and will involve an outlay of
Rs 30,000-35,000 crore. The second phase will also take
the total capacity of the plant to 10 million tonnes a
year.
Communicating the board's decision in a letter to the
Jharkhand chief minister, Tata Steel Managing Director
B Muthuraman said, "We will immediately commence
a detailed study to identify a suitable location for such
a steel plant, the infrastructure to be created, captive
raw materials required and the requirement of other facilities
and clearances."
It is expected that the study will be completed in four
weeks, after which the company will submit a formal proposal
to the state government.
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Nokia
to expand Bharti Tele's mobile networks
New Delhi: Nokia, the world's biggest mobile phone
manufacturer announced on Tuesday that it has won a US$125mn
contract from Bharti Tele-Ventures, India's leading provider
of telecommunications services, to expand digital mobile
networks and provide managed services across India.
The
deal will help double Bharti's existing network capacity,
and allow the company to expand its Airtel mobile networks
from covering about 2,700 towns to more than 5,000 across
India. It will also allow the company to provide economically
viable services to low revenue and rural consumers.
The
expansion starts immediately and it is expected that it
will be completed by March 20.
Nokia
already has a US$275mn equipment and services deal with
Bharti, under which it would supply equipment for two
years and managed services for three years.
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Tata
Tele, VSNL in partnership agreement
with IIMC
Kolkata:
Tata Teleservices Limited (TTSL), and Videsh Sanchar
Nigam Ltd. (VSNL) have signed a partnership agreement
with Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta (IIMC) for
an exclusive and customised communications solution to
IIMC.
The communications solutions being provided to IIMC would
include telecommunication solutions by TTSL in the form
of CDMA mobile phone and fixed wireless phone (Walky)
connections while VSNL would provide an 8 Mbps Internet
bandwidth to be used by the institute and its students
for high speed internet access.
According to the contours of the agreement, Tata Teleservices
would provide 400 CDMA mobile phone handsets to IIMC which
would be used by its faculty and the staff.
In addition, Tata Teleservices would provide 50 fixed
wireless phones (Walky) to IIMC. VSNL would provide an
8 Mbps Internet bandwidth connection for 24 hours high-speed
internet access at a very competitive pricing structure
and Tata Teleservices would also provide the last mile
connection required for the 8 Mbps internet connection.
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L&T
to tie up with domestic oil majors for
global bids
Mumbai: Engineering and construction major Larsen
& Toubro (L&T) is seeking alliances with domestic
oil and gas majors such as Oil and Natural Gas Corporation
(ONGC), Indian Oil Company (IOC) and GAIL India to bid
for international projects.
A M Naik, chairman and managing director, said the company
had a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with IOC and Engineers
India long ago to work together outside the country. The
pact possibly died its natural death because of dearth
of projects outside India. He said that the now with new
projects gaining momentum, the company would seek to revive
the understanding. Naik said that the company would also
approach ONGC and GAIL India very soon.
The
initiative will give an impetus to L&T's hydrocarbon
division, which has a turnover of Rs2,500-3,000 crore.
L&T has already started working on a consortium model.
Recently, its consortium with Outokumpu Technologies of
Germany and Paul Wurth Italia won a Rs1,550-crore contract
for the expansion of Tata Steel.
Naik further said L&T and EIL would shortly go in
for an international bidding.
The broad contours of the proposed understanding indicate
that L&T would associate with these companies when
they would bid for overseas projects. The association
would, however, be confined to those countries in which
they had no formal tie-ups with local players.
According to industry analysts the model, which is a familiar
arrangement among Japanese bidders, was expected to yield
results shortly.
L&T has set a target of trebling its international
business turnover to Rs4,500 crore from the current Rs1,500
crore in five years.
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Motorola
to boost presence in domestic market
Bangalore: Motorola CEO Ed Zander said on Tuesday
that the company would increase its sales and marketing
efforts in order to boost the company's presence in the
Indian wireless market.
Admitting
that Motorola was a late entrant in the market, Zander
vowed to correct that. "We are expanding the sales
and marketing team here and they will go after the market,"
he said.
The
company was one of the first multinationals to enter India,
having set up a development center in Bangalore as long
ago as 1987. Nokia came to India eight years ago, but
today controls 65 percent of the mobile phone market.
Motorola, in contrast, has just 10 percent market share.
While
Zander did not rule out the possibility of setting up
a manufacturing unit in India, he did issue a warning.
"Through the years, manufacturing has moved from
countries considered low cost at one point to other locations
which were even lower cost at another point," he
said.
"Remember,
Japan was considered low cost 30 years ago," he added.
"So you must beware of that. What we have here in
India are 2,900 bright employees who are building careers
at Motorola. I hope they will continue working at Motorola.
They are now responsible for 40 percent of new development
work."
He
believes that Motorola's Indian employment numbers demonstrate
the company's long-term commitment to the country.
"Our
competitor, who has 65 percent of the market share, employs
only 500 people in India," he said. Motorola has
announced that the R&D center will employ another
1,000 people by the end of 2006.
The
Indian mobile phone market is growing rapidly, with about
2 million new subscribers joining the ranks every month,
according to the Cellular Operators Association of India.
Motorola plans to introduce low-cost mobile phones (below
$40 apiece) in India to increase market share.
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Grasim
eyes bulk domestic sales
Kolkata:
The diversified Aditya Birla group outfit Grasim will
focus on the domestic market for its growth, giving more
thrust to domestic over the counter selling (OTC) and
bulk sale of fabrics to readymade garments manufacturer.
The share of exports in its textile portfolio is also
likely to come down in 2005-06 following the reduced emphasis
on export.
Grasim
is now planning to enter for the first time in cotton-blended
segment with a new sub brand. Grasim, currently, does
not have presence in the segment. The company currently
has 15 sub-brands in different categories.
According to company officials, the company is hoping
to book Rs300 crore turnover from the textile business
in 2005-06 from the present level of Rs250 crore. More
than 80 per cent of the turnover is likely to come from
domestic business.
Currently, export accounts for 25 per cent of Grasim's
textile business, OTC is around 65 per cent and the rest
is bulk sales.
According to company officials, low margins in the export
market and wide scope in the domestic mid and premium
segment has prompted the company to pay more attention
to the domestic market.
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Biocon
in research collaboration with Nobex
Bangalore:
Biotech major Biocon and North Carolina's Nobex Corporation
have announced a global research collaboration to develop
an oral peptide product for the treatment of cardiovascular
diseases.
The collaboration combines the proven peptide production
capabilities of Biocon with the proprietary oral peptide-delivery
technology of Nobex.
Biocon and Nobex also plan to advance the oral human brain-type
natriuretic peptide (hBNP) programme towards an IND (Investigational
New Drug) filing with the FDA (US Food and Drug Administration)
in 2007 and clinical trials beginning later that year.
Administration of hBNP by continuous infusion was approved
by the FDA in August 2001 for the treatment of acute congestive
heart failure (CHF) in the hospital care setting.
The intent of an oral hBNP would be to have a product
available for chronic use, rather than only for acute
use for a number of potential indications, including early-stage
heart failure patients. This will herald a new paradigm
for potentially multiple indications in cardiovascular
therapy.
hBNP is an endogenous peptide produced by the heart under
both physiological and pathological conditions, such as
ischemic stress or blood volume overload. hBNP has multiple
biological activities (through natriuretic, diuretic,
vasorelaxant, and lusitropic properties) that contribute
to its therapeutic use in treating heart failure.
Heart failure normally occurs when the heart's ability
to pump blood has weakened, so it can't circulate enough
blood to meet the body's needs. Underlying heart conditions
that commonly cause heart failure are coronary artery
disease or high blood pressure.
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Yuvraj Singh
to endorse Marico's after-shower hair cream
Mumbai: FMCG major Marico has announced its entry
into the premium male grooming category with the launch
of Parachute after shower hair cream for men. The is the
first non-oil product under the Parachute brand, and meant
for everyday hair styling. Test cricketer Yuvraj Singh
has been signed as brand ambassador for the product.
With
aqua-moisturizers, the product is non-sticky, has a zingy
fragrance and gives a stylish "after shower"
look.
The
hair cream is being launched countrywide after successful
test marketing in Mumbai.
The
product is priced Rs29 (50 g tube) and Rs55 (100 g jar).
It has a premium, international packaging.
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