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HCL
Tech inks pact with Japan's EXA
New Delhi: HCL Technologies has entered into
an
agreement with a Japanese system integrator, EXA Corporation,
under which HCL would provide offshore IT solutions and
system integration services to EXA's customers in Japan.
According
to a company release, the partnership would enable EXA
to expand its client base and acquire a leadership position
in the lucrative but highly competitive $100-billion systems
integration market in Japan, leveraging HCL's offering
in application consulting services. The release added
that the business targeted through this partnership is
$100 million.
EXA
is a 51:49 joint venture between IBM Japan and JFE Steel,
the second largest steel manufacturer in Japan. EXA has
a customer base in the manufacturing, engineering, finance,
card, and public sectors.
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Gujarat
Setco buys Dana Corporation unit
Mumbai: Gujarat Setco Clutch has said that it has
acquired Lipe Clutch Division of Dana Corporation, through
its wholly-owned subsidiary, Setco Automotive (UK) Ltd
for Rs16 crore. The acquisition was funded partly from
the Rs15-crore gained through New Vernon Private Equity
Ltd's investment in Gujarat Setco. New Vernon had bought
a 14.17 per cent stake through issue of new equity shares
of face value Rs10 each at a price of Rs120 per share.
IndAsia
Fund Advisors were the sole advisers to Setco on the transaction.
"A part of these funds would be used towards widening
the global spread of Setco,'' a related statement said.
The
UK-based Lipe, with which Gujarat Setco has had a technical
collaboration since December 2000, expects revenues of
Rs 25-26 crore in 2005 with around Rs4.5 crore in profits.
Gujarat Setco had a turnover of Rs113 crore in 2004-2005
with a PBT of
Rs11.28 crore.
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Maruti
tops JD Power quality survey
New Delhi: According to the JD Power Asia Pacific
Study 2005 the initial quality of new vehicles in India
has improved considerably. The `India Initial Quality
Study' (IQS), points out that the overall initial quality
for the industry averages 143 problems per 100 vehicles
(PP100) — an improvement of 49 PP100 from 2004.
"The
number of problems reported by customers has dropped in
all categories comprising the IQS compared to 2004, with
eight out of 12 nameplates showing improvements,"
said Mohit Arora, India Director, J D Power Asia Pacific.
This, he added, was genuinely a positive sign for both
manufacturers and new-vehicle buyers.
The
survey says that Maruti Alto ranks highest in the "reclassified
compact car segment," followed by two other Maruti
models, the Zen and Wagon R, respectively. The compact
car segment registered strong initial quality improvements
from 2004, with the Maruti Wagon R seeing the largest
improvement in the industry.
The
Maruti Esteem ranks highest in the entry midsize car segment
for the third consecutive year. The Esteem is followed
in the segment ranking by the Opel Corsa / Swing and Ford
Ikon, respectively.
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Passenger
car sales slow down in November
New Delhi: Domestic passenger car sales in November
came down by 2.31 per cent to 68,840 units from 70,468
units in the same month a year ago.
Eight
out of 11 carmakers reported a drop in volume during the
month, data released by the Society of Indian Automobile
Manufacturers (SIAM) said.
Analysts
attributed the decline to the fact that many people went
in for the purchase of a new vehicle during the festive
month of October, resulting in a dip in demand during
the next month. Sales in November 2004 were also higher
due to a delay in the festive season.
The
decline last month was primarily led by the mid-size segment
with all auto companies except Honda seeing a dip in sales.
Cumulative
domestic car sales during the April-November period, however,
increased by 5.22 per cent to 5,57,813 units this year
from 5,30,117 units in the corresponding period last year.
The
only car maker to report higher sales was Hero Honda which
managed a growth of 5.95 per cent, clocking 2, 43,885
units in November as against 2, 30,182 units in the same
month last year. Sales of TVS Motor Co also increased
in November by 3.38 per cent to 63,635 units (61,551 units).
However, Bajaj Auto's (the second biggest player in the
segment) sales declined by 2.74 per cent to 1,41,083 units
in November (1,45,058 units).
On
the other hand the cumulative bike sales in the April-November
period jumped by 18.83 per cent to 38,11,736 units from
32,07,816 units in the corresponding period last year.
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Maruti
to launch luxury sedan
New
Delhi: Maruti Udyog plans to roll out a new luxury
srdan — code-named YY4 — by mid-2006.
The
car, expected to sport a price tag of close to Rs9 - Rs10
lakh, will be Maruti's most expensive model till date
in the Indian market. The company has already started
development work on the new model and has started the
process of identifying vendors for sourcing key components.
Company
sources said the car is being developed on an all-new
platform and is being engineered from scratch by a team
of Indian and Japanese engineers marking a big image change
for Maruti, which has till now been identified as being
a small car maker.
The
car will be positioned alongside Toyota Corolla, Hyundai
Elantra and Honda Civic, and will hit the roads by May
2006.
The
premium sedan market is growing by 80 per cent annually.
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Honda
announces major investment in Indian subsidiary
New Delhi: Japanese auto major Honda has said it
would invest up to Rs700 crore in its Indian subsidiary
over the next five years to double production and launch
new models and variants.
Honda
has invested close to Rs150 crore so far for ramping up
capacity to 50,000 units per annum from 30,000 units.
It now plans to double the output to 1,00,000 units by
2010.
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Mcleod
Russel acquires HLL's Doom Dooma plantations
Kolkata:
Mcleod Russel India, of the BM Khaitan group, the
the world's biggest bulk tea producer, has acquired Hindustan
Lever's entire stake in Doom Dooma Tea Company in a Rs69-crore
deal.
For Mcleod Russel, the acquisition means an addition of
6-million kg of tea a year to its the existing capacity
of over 62 million kg. With this move, the group now leads
the bulk tea business world-wide.
Doom Dooma Tea will become a subsidiary of Mcleod Russel
with Borelli Tea Holdings Ltd. Doom Dooma Tea was a wholly
owned subsidiary of HLL.
Borelli
Tea will become a subsidiary once the merger of Williamson
Tea Assam formally enters the books of Mcleod Russel.
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Skoda
to hike car prices in Jan; launches Laura
New
Delhi: Volkswagen group company SkodaAuto India is
planning to hike the price of its cars by up to Rs30,000
from January owing to increased freight costs.
The
SkodaAuto's managing director Imran Hassen said, "The
price of 12 models of cars from SkodaAuto India will go
up between Rs15,000 and Rs30,000,"
Speaking
at the launch of Laura, its new car in the country, Hassen
said the hike in prices would not be applicable to the
newly launched model which comes with a price tag of Rs16,81,081
(ex-showroom Delhi).
Hassen
said despite the planned price hike, the company's products
would remain competitive in their respective categories.
He
said the company planned to launch two new versions of
its Octavia range in January and March.
Based
on the A5 platform, the latest model comes with six-speed
transmission powered by a 1896cc-diesel `Pumpe Duse' Engine.
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Ranbaxy
to file new application for anti-malarial drug
New
Delhi: Ranbaxy Laboratories plans to file a New Drug
Application (NDA) for its anti-malarial drug, a combination
of the short acting molecule called RBx 11160 and the
long-acting piperaquine phosphate (PQP).
RBx
11160 is being jointly developed with Medicines for Malaria
Venture (MMV), and will soon enter Phase IIb dose range
studies in India, Thailand and Africa. The Phase IIa Proof
of Concept study was completed in October 2005 in Bangkok
on 72 patients,
The
company said that this product was intended for the treatment
of acute uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria, and a safety
and tolerability date of a wide range of PQP doseswill
be generated in a Phase I clinical trial expected to begin
in Switzerland in 2006.
The
company feels that this drug holds great promise for the
millions of people in 90 countries who are afflicted with
the disease.
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