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UB Group to invest US$5bn in Kingfisher Airlines
Ahmedabad: The UB Group is planning to invest US$5bn over the next five years in its recently launched Kingfisher Airlines, by way of acquiring new aircraft and also setting up its own training academy for pilots, cabin crew and ground staff.

Vijay Mallya addressing students at `Confluence-2005', the four-day management fest of Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, said aspiration and quality go hand in hand and Kingfisher does not intend to be a low-cost airline. He said the airline would cater to the vibrant section of customers.

UB Group is also planning to get into retailing and is working out the details for the foray.
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CNPC and ONGC to bid jointly for Syrian O&G asset
Singapore: State-owned energy firms of China and India, namely China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) and India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC) are teaming up for the first time to bid for a US$1bn package of assets in Syria.

The two are bidding for Petro-Canada's interest in a major Syrian oil and gas joint-venture with Royal Dutch Shell, according to sources.

It is the first time the Chinese and Indian oil firms have joined forces in their efforts to secure reserves to feed their booming economies, which require ever-increasing supplies of imported oil, raising the prospects of an Asian giant rivaling Western majors in a world of shrinking opportunities. Analysts say the tie up is a one-off event and does not represent a major strategic partnership.

Petro-Canada is likely to sell its 38 per cent stake in the Shell-operated Al Furat venture in Syria, which accounts for about 70,000 barrels of oil equivalent of the company's daily output. The Al Furat venture pumps as much as 50 per cent of Syria's output, Petro-Canada said. It produces oil and gas from 36 fields with 220 wells in three concession areas.

The Syrian assets being sold by Petro-Canada are valued at about US$1bn or more and could fetch US$800mn to US$900mn in proceeds.
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Reliance receives Golden Peacock Innovation award
Mumbai: Reliance Industries has received the prestigious Golden Peacock Innovation Award (GPIA) for 2005 in the petroleum sector.

The company received the award for the development of a Zeolite based Sulpur selective catalyst and for developing the process for manufacturing Para-Diethylbenzene.

Reliance has also filed for IPRs for Indian and international patents covering the catalyst and the process.

The award has been given to seven companies in different categories. All manufacturing or service organizations in the private and public sectors operating in India, or individuals who are Indian citizens are eligible to participate for this award.

The categories are broadly divided into 'technology innovation' and 'business innovation', which encompasses the formation of new ideas, new products, patents, inventions, services, processes, new financial techniques.
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Ranbaxy starts exporting Tamiflu
New Delhi: Ranbaxy laboratories has said it has begun exporting generic versions of Tamiflu, for treating bird flu, to a South East Asian country. The name of the country was not revealed.

The company is preparing to export the generic version of the drug to countries where the Roche's patent is not regulated.

Ranbaxy is among the many Indian pharmaceutical companies looking to make generic copies of the drug in the wake of the bird flu disease, which had spread to Europe.
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BHP Billiton in talks with SAIL for participation in Indonesia
New Delhi: Steel companies BHP Billiton and Steel Authority of India (SAIL) are in talks for participating in mining activities in Indonesia.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the India Economic Summit 2005, here on Sunday, chairman BHP Billiton India, M S Ramachandran, said that SAIL has also shown interest in equity participation.
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DoT to scale down BSNL's interconnect usage charges on MTNL
New Delhi: The Department of Telecom (DoT) is likely to scale down the Rs1,840 crore interconnect usage charges that state run telecom operator BSNL is demanding from MTNL for 2000-05.

BSNL may also be asked to reimburse Rs30 crore to MTNL for utilisation of certain network facilities for the period in question (2000-01-2004-05). The DoT committee set up to look into the justifiability of BSNL's demand, has said in its report "after adjusting the whole amount, the net amount due to BSNL for network charges for the period 2000-2003 comes to Rs263.77 crore."

DoT is believed to be against paying even this amount to BSNL. Prior to 2000, MTNL paid the charges directly to the department of telecom. If the company defaulted, then the government used to adjust the same from the annual revenue share.

For 2003-04, the committee had asked both the PSUs to approach the telecom regulatory authority of India (Trai) for clarity on the issue of access deficit charge (ADC). The committee, however, asked MTNL to pay the admitted liability of Rs73.62 crore to BSNL as an interim measure till the accounts are finalized.
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Hyderabad to emerge as jewellery trading hub
Hyderabad: The Deccan city is all set to emerge as a trading hub for the gems and jewellery sector, with the laying of the foundation stone on Sunday for a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) here.

This will be the third SEZ for gems and jewellery in the country, after Santacruz (Mumbai) and Salt Lake (Kolkata). The park, which will see an investment of Rs5 billion, is expected to start functioning by the end of 2006 and will provide employment to 50,000 people in the next three years. It will be fully operational by 2009.

Located near the proposed Hyderabad International Airport, at Shamshabad the park will be strategically located as Dubai, Hong Kong and Bangkok are the world's jewellery trading hubs.

YSR Reddy, chief minister Andhra Pradesh, told newspersons that 75 acres of land was allotted under the first phase. "The developers have promised to bring 20 units in the first year and these industries will provide direct employment to 20,000 people," he said.

Hyderabad is the second largest city in diamond consumption in the country after Surat.
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L&T to increase workforce
Ahmedabad: Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T) is planning to hire about 3, 000 more people as it is undertaking more manufacturing projects across the country.

The newly appointed workforce, mainly engineers with less than five years of experience, would then be sent to man on-going L&T projects in various parts of the country.
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GM to increase India workforce by 30 per cent
New Delhi: Soon after announcing 30,000 job-cuts in the US, automobile giant General Motors Corp has announced plans to increase its workforce in India by nearly 30 per cent.

GM says it will add 450 jobs at its existing plant in Halol (Gujarat) as part of its plans to expand its presence in India. This comprises 400 floor-worker jobs and 50 executive cadre jobs.

GM India employs 1,600 people in India, including 1,300 on the shop-floor.
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HLL, P&G hike prices again as costs bite
Mumbai: FMCG majors HLL and P&G have increased the prices of detergent brands, Surf Excel and Ariel by 4-5 per cent for the second time this year due to escalating costs and a squeeze in margins. The newly priced packs are expected to hit the market early this week. Both the companies had earlier hiked prices in February 2005.

Following the hikes, 1kg of Surf Excel will now cost around Rs107, against Rs103 earlier, while a similar pack of Ariel will also be priced at around Rs107.5.

Prices of Liner Alkyl Benzene (LAB), one of the major ingredients in detergents, has shot up sharply over the past few months to touch over Rs100 a kg, due to a global shortage of benzene (the main ingredient of LAB) this year. Analysts say this has put pressure on detergent makers.
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IBM Daksh all set to double headcount
Pune: IBM Daksh is planning to offer services across industry verticals - banking, finance and insurance, hi-tech, e-commerce and retail, travel and hospitality, HR, finance and accounting - from its operations in Pune, a destination for insurance and high-end BPO work.

IBM Daksh employs 2,000 people across its centres. The company now plans to scale up its headcount to 4,000 in a year.
Daksh-eServices had a turnover over US$60mn when bought by IBM in June last year.

The staff strength of the Pune centre is around 500. It is expected to rise to 1,000 in a year.
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Phillip Morris sets up operations in India
New Delhi: Phillip Morris, with legendary brands like Tang, Kraft and Toblerone in its portfolio, is all set to storm the Indian processed foods market through Kraft Jacob Suchard (KJS) India, a wholly-owned arm of Phillip Morris India.

The company is expected to bring in brands from its international portfolio such as Toblerone and Milka chocolates and products like salad oils, pastes, dips and spreads.

The company plans to import and begin cash and carry wholesale trading of a whole range of agro-based processed food products, including pasta, vegetable puree, condiments, powdered food and beverage products. It also plans to bring in confectionery products such as chocolates and toffees, coffee, dairy products such as yoghurt, milk, sour cream, frozen and ready-to-eat and dry desserts, snack food, pizza, condiments and other food-based grocery products.

Kraft has already tied up with a local company for a distribution arrangement. However, it will not retail on its own, as current policy allows trading activities without any retail front for a foreign company.
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