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VSNL to set up INLD networks in S.Africa
Mumbai: Tata group company Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd (VSNL) is planning to develop and operate national long distance (NLD) and fixed wireless networks in South Africa with an investment of over US$230mn over three years.

The Tata group company expects its services, which would operate through South Africa's second network operator (SNO), to go onstream by the first quarter of next year.

VSNL's services will roll out from Johannesburg and later expand to other cities in the country. The operations in the country would be rolled out through a special purpose vehicle (SPV), Strategic Equity Partner Company (SepCo).

VSNL had earlier proposed to invest US$200mn but later increased it to US$230mn.

The Tata group will hold a majority share in Sepco and South African companies including Eskom Enterprises, Transtel and Nexus Connexion will be the other partners with smaller shares.
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Essar Steel to get out of CDR cell
Mumbai: Essar Steel will soon emerge out of the purview of the corporate debt restructuring (CDR) cell of the financial institutions by pre-paying its creditors. This exit would free the company from having to secure the nod of its creditors for implementing an acquisition or expansion plan.

An Essar Steel spokesperson said the company has so far paid Rs1,500 crore out of its total outstanding of Rs2,500 crore to the CDR cell. The company has paid back its creditors through internal accruals as well as refinancing of its old debts. The refinancing has been done at an average 8 per cent interest rate.

The Essar Steel stock closed at Rs42.30 today, 3.09 per cent lower than yesterday's closing of Rs43.65 on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
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AstraZeneca files suit against Ranbaxy over Nexium
New Delhi: AstraZeneca has filed a lawsuit in the district court of New Jersey against Ranbaxy for what it calls "willful infringement" of its patent for acidity drug Esomeprazole magnesium (marketed as Nexium).

The company, in a statement on its website, said the lawsuit was in response to an abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) filed by Ranbaxy with the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) for its intent to market a generic version of Nexium prior to the expiry of six patents.

"The expiration date for AstraZeneca's patents range from 2014 through 2019, and the company had full confidence and will continue vigorously to defend and enforce its intellectual property rights protecting Nexium," the statement added.
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Reliance Info, IA in ticketing deal
New Delhi: Reliance Infocomm has entered into a deal with Indian Airlines (IA) to offer mobile booking to customers for domestic tickets at a nominal monthly charge of Rs25.

Reliance India Mobile users can now book their IA tickets for domestic travel using their phones from any part of the country. To begin with, bookings will be available against full fare and easy fare options.
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KPIT Cummins acquires stake in SolvCentral.com, Pivolis
Mumbai: KPIT Cummins Infosystems has entered into an agreement to acquire a majority stake in SolvCentral.com Inc, a US-based company providing business intelligence (BI) solutions. It has paid US$2mn for the stake.

KPIT said it would acquire the remaining equity over a three-year period at a price based on the quantity and quality of revenue of SolvCentral. The latter is expected to register a gross revenue of US$3.5mn in the current fiscal, the release added.

According to Ravi Pandit, chairman and group CEO, KPIT Cummins, "BI is one of the highest growth areas in IT today and one of our major focus areas as well, the acquisition of SolvCentral will enable us to consolidate our presence in the space."

Through the acquisition KPIT Cummins will also be able to establish its presence in a new geographical area - Washington DC.

KPIT Cummins has also entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Pivolis, a French company providing offshore consulting services. KPIT Cummins will acquire majority stake for a consideration of €1.75 million comprising 50 per cent cash and 50 per cent stock. The remaining stake would be acquired by KPIT Cummins within three years. Pivolis, with five employees, has a revenue of €3.5 million for the current year.
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VSNL, Microsoft forge strategic alliance
Mumbai: Videsh Sanchar Nigam has entered into a strategic alliance with Microsoft Corporation India for venturing into the web conferencing market.

The company has launched the Tata Indicom web conferencing service based on the Microsoft Office live meeting platform, VSNL informed the Bombay Stock Exchange.

VSNL director Kishor A. Chaukar said, "Our latest offering will enable our customers to meet the twin objectives of enhancing team communication and reducing travel time."
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Madhucon Projects bags Rs.360 crore order from NHAI
Mumbai: Madhucon Projects said Tuesday that it has bagged a Rs360 crore national highway project in Tamil Nadu from National Highway Authority of India (NHAI).

The company will design, construct and develop highways on build-operate-transfer basis between Dindigul and Karur at a cost of Rs360 crore with a positive grant of Rs86 crore, the company informed the Bombay Stock Exchange.
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Zydus Cadila gets approval to market Sertraline in France
Mumbai: Cadila Healthcare on Tuesday said that it has obtained approval from the French regulatory agency, AFSSAPS, to market anti depressant drug Sertraline capsules 25 mg and 50 mg, in the French market.

Sertraline comes in the central nervous system (CNS) segment of drugs. This is the first approval for a dossier developed by the group in India and submitted in France, the company told the Bombay Stock Exchange.

The annual sales of Sertraline in 2004-05 were estimated at €70 million, the company said.
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SpiceJet pilots to be trained by Emirates Airlines
New Delhi: The flight-training establishment of Dubai carrier, Emirates Airlines, will now train SpiceJet pilots. An agreement to this effect was signed at the ongoing Dubai Airshow between SpiceJet, the Emirates-CAE Flight Training (ECFT) and Dubai's major travel service provider Dnata yesterday, according to a press release.

Low-fare airline SpiceJet operates the Boeing B-737 aircraft, with all-economy seats.

The chief of the training establishment of Emirates Airlines, Gary Chapman said that the ECFT was one of the leading facilities for the aviation industry and "our reputation has attracted new Indian carrier SpiceJet, which looks set for a bright future."
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UFO Moviez to invest Rs.300 crore for digital cinema expansion
Mumbai: Valuable Media Private Limited, UFO Moviez' will convert 2,000 cinema halls across the country into digital cinema houses by the end of 2007 with an investment of Rs300 crore.

UFO Moviez will initially set up 500 digital movie halls by mid-2006 at an investment of Rs80 crore and then scale it up to 2,000 cinema halls across the country.

Valuable Media, a subsidiary of Apollo International, has already installed more than 100 digital cinema halls all across India in the last five months.

UFO Moviez delivers digital, high quality movie images through satellite directly to cinema halls facilitating widespread release of any film without any additional cost in print for content owners and also checks piracy.

UFO Moviez plans to enter into a franchisee agreement with theaters on a revenue sharing basis as a service provider without disturbing existing models operating in the industry.

UFO bears all the cost of conversion from analog to digital, that is about Rs12 to Rs15 lakhs, towards high-end movie servers, digital projectors and VSAT systems.
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TRAI: Airtel, Hutch, BPL quality of service in Mumbai below par
New Delhi: Telecom regulator TRAI on Tuesday said that private mobile operators Airtel, Hutch and BPL offer poor quality of services in Mumbai as they have put up less number of cell sites.

"The quality of service of the networks of Airtel, Hutch and BPL are not as per the prescribed standards in respect of the coverage, interface and call drops at several locations," TRAI said in a statement.

The TRAI is also of the view that GSM service providers have already crossed the benchmark for allocation of additional spectrum and the concerned authorities should consider allocations.
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JNPT: major expansion on cards
Mumbai: Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) is ready to expand the port in a major way as has received approval for its land use plan. A Rs800 crore Capital Dredging proposal has also been passed.

JNPT's land use plan (LUP) and the Capital Dredging proposal were conceptualised on the basis of future traffic projections.

Under LUP, JNPT has decided to develop back-up area for port operational activities such as warehouses, Container Freight Station, ancillary facilities, utilities amongst others.

The government approval mainly includes Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) approval from the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MOEF).

The LUP is spread over around 1,100 hectares of which 770 hectares will be needed for operational use while the remaining 330 hectares will be used for development purposes like rehabilitation, constructing new schools and nature park.
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Viceroy to set up luxury hotels in Chennai, B`lore
Hyderabad: Viceroy Hotels (VHL) will set up two luxury hotels in Chennai and Bangalore at a cost of Rs620 crore.

The company will construct a five-star deluxe hotel in Chennai for Rs460 crore and a star category hotel in Bangalore for Rs160 crore.

VHL has informed the company's board that it has taken note of the proposal received from J W Marriott of USA for management contract for the construction of a five-star hotel in Chennai. The board has authorised the managing director to discuss the terms and conditions and sign the agreement in connection therewith.

For the proposed star hotel at Bangalore, the managing director has been authorised to explore the possibility to have franchisee agreement/management contract with Marriott International Inc belonging to the Marriott group.

Viceroy will be changing the name of its 308-room five-star hotel in Hyderabad, to Marriott Hyderabad from January next year. Marriott is giving Viceroy its brand in a franchise agreement and will also provide the necessary support and systems. In return, VHL will pay 3.5 per cent royalty on the total turnover to Marriott.
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