Vedanta to invest $3 billion in expansion in India
Vedanta Resources Plc plans to invest $3 billion for expanding its aluminium, copper and zinc production capacities in India by 2010. Of this amount, $2 billion would be spent on increasing the annual capacity of aluminium, while the rest would be for enhancing copper and zinc capacities.

The company has already invested $2 billion in Bharat Aluminium Ltd (Balco) and for setting up new smelters, after it acquired Balco. A part of the fresh investment will also be for new technology, which is expected to bring down the aluminium production cost to less than $900 a tonne from $1,400 per tonne.

At present, Vedanta has 40 per cent share of the Indian market in copper, 17 per cent in aluminium and 15 per cent in zinc. Vedanta had an IPO in 2003 with a bonds issue and recently, a convertible bonds issue. and the company says it has enough funds for the expansion.

As a result of the investment, Vedanta's annual aluminium capacity will increase from 4 lakh tonnes to 9 lakh tonnes by 2010. The company hopes to produce 5 lakh tonnes annually at its Orissa unit by the end of the second phase of expansion

The annual capacities of copper and zinc will go up to 7 lakh tonnes each by the end of 2009. At present, the company annually produces 5 lakh tonnes of copper and 4 lakh tonnes of zinc.
Back to News Review index page  

FBT yields Rs756 crore
In nine months of the current financial year the fringe benefit tax collection has been a princely Rs756 crore — Rs300 crore from PSUs and Rs 456 crore from other private sector companies.

It is expected that finance minister P Chidambarm will may do away with this contentious tax in the forthcoming. Industry has repeatedly claimed that the complexity of the structure of this tax has complicated its computation.

Of the total FBT collection, almost 40 per cent or Rs 300 crore came from 15 public sector undertakings. It accounts for 1.92 per cent of nine months' salaries and wages and 0.75 per cent of the nine months' profits of 15 listed public sector undertakings, which have revealed the FBT expenses in their quarterly accounts.
Back to News Review index page  

Siemens to provide CRDi technology to auto sector
Siemens is planning to enter the common-rail direct injection (CRDi) diesel technology market in the country. The company aims to provide the technology to Indian auto makers. Common rail provides an environmentally clean technology solution that conforms to the current international emission norms and makes diesel cars cleaner, more economical, and less noisy.

Siemens is the largest developer of common-rail direct injection technology, and its Piezo common rail (PCR) direct injection system is the latest advancement from Siemens VDO, a subsidiary of Siemens AG. Bosch, Delphi, and Fiat are the other CRDi technology providers.

However, Siemens India has yet to disclose its exact plans in the country while Bosch and Delphi have already committed an investment of over Rs500 crore in the country through their Indian units Mico (Bosch) and Delphi-TVS respectively.
Back to News Review index page  

Voltas to bid for airport sub-contracts
Tata Group associate, Voltas is planning to bid for the air-conditioning, security systems and other electro-mechanical projects of the Mumbai and Delhi airports. The company plans to present separate bids to GMR-Fraport for the Delhi airport and GVK-South Africa for Mumbai.

Voltas has worked with GMR for the development of the Hyderabad airport.

Voltas expects to manage works such as air-conditioning, baggage handling, public announcement systems, air-strip lighting, HVAC, electrical, plumbing and drainage systems, building automation system, fire fighting system, fire detection and suppression system, visual docking guidance system and access control systems.

Voltas has already executed such projects for in the UAE, Bahrain and Hong Kong airports.

China State Construction Engineering (Hong Kong), the main contractor for the Hyderabad International Airport's passenger terminal building had awarded Voltas a subcontract for the mechanical and electrical works.
Back to News Review index page  

ONGC's Hazira plant LPG capacity to be hiked by 50 per cent
New Delhi: ONGC is planning to increase the LPG production capacity at Hazira by about 50 per cent as a prelude to its retail marketing plans and to meet future demand projections. It has tied up with GE for technical collaboration.

The total processing capacity of the Hazira plant is 46 million standard cubic metres per day (MMSCMD), which includes LPG, kerosene, and diesel. The company is currently utilising close to 40 MMSCMD of its processing capacity in the plant.

The LPG production is four MMSCMD, which ONGC plans to increase to six MMSCMD by November.

GE has been assigned the job of suggesting technical parameters, so that the processing cost could be brought down and overall cost of production minimised.

ONGC's Hazira gas-processing complex consists of facilities for receiving natural gas along with associated condensate from an offshore field. The total capacity expansion of the plant is likely to be implemented in two phases and will cost the company close to Rs 110 crore.
Back to News Review index page  

Numaligarh Refinery: enhancing profitability market reach
Kolkata: Numaligarh Refinery (NRL) is hopes to enhance its profitability and market reach by March 2007, despite the shortage of crude supply. The company expects to post a rise in its gross refining margin (GRM), following the completion of Rs290-crore project for producing 1.67-lakh-tonne Euro-III motor spirit production facility in 2006, replacing naphtha as feedstock in the hydrogen plant with natural gas in March 2007, and commissioning of the 660-km Numaligarh-Siliguri product pipeline in 2007.
Back to News Review index page  

Varroc Engg to set up mobike catalyst plant in collaboration with Delphi
Pune: Varroc Engineering that manufactures and supplies components and assemblies for two-, three- and four-wheeler industries, for domestic market and overseas markets in technical collaboration with Delphi Corporation, has set up a motorcycle catalyst manufacturing plant in Chakan.

Tarang Jain, managing director, Varroc Engineering said the new plant — Varroc Exhaust Systems — set up at an investment of Rs 8 crore, would have a production capacity of 1.6 million catalytic converters. He said the current capacity would be fully utilised by Bajaj Auto.

He added that the company would be expanding its capacity in the next four months and would have a production level of 3.6 million catalytic converters for which it would invest an additional Rs 2 crore.
Back to News Review index page  

Nokia SEZ caught in ministries` turf war
New Delhi: Nokia India's special economic zone at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu continues to be a contentious issue between the finance and commerce ministries.

The latter has demanded that the department of revenue amend its condition regarding the minimum area requirement of 100 hectares for the zone being set up by the Finnish mobile phone major.

Even as this issue is being sorted out, the department of revenue has stuck to its guns on granting of extension of export obligation period under the exports promotion capital goods (EPCG) scheme.

Referring to Finance Minister P Chidambaram's letter to Commerce Minister Kamal Nath on the issue, the CBEC has said the grant of such extensions does not fall within the purview of either the Directorate-General of Foreign Trade or the commerce ministry.

In his letter to Nath, Chidambaram referred to his ministry's "strong reservations" on the extension of the export obligation period under EPCG.
Back to News Review index page  

Venus files fourth PCT overseas application
Mumbai: Venus Remedies has filed yet another and its fourth PCT application for its product under the title "Parenteral Combination Therapy for infective conditions with Drug Resistant Bacterium".

The company has filed the application in working towards its goal of world-wide launch of its R&D products.

Further, the company has launched this new FDC in the domestic market under a strategic marketing tie-up with a leading Indian pharmaceutical company. The product is a sure shot remedy for Meningitis, for which there was no remedy available. The product has been launched in the FDC segment, with a market size of Rs 200 crore and has received a tremendous response.

The company is targeting a global market worth US $ 900 million.
Back to News Review index page  

Kingfisher signs aircraft deal with ATR
New Delhi: Kingfisher Airlines and ATR have signed an aircraft deal to coincide with French President Jacques Chirac's visit here. ATR is a 50-50 joint venture between Airbus parent EADS and Italy's Finmeccanica.

During his visit to India Jaques Chirac is likely to hold discussions with the Indian leadership on a whole range of issues.

He will be eager to build on the momentum given to Indo-French ties with the multi-million dollar Scorpene submarine deal signed during PM Manmohan Singh's visit to Paris in September last year.
Back to News Review index page