Reliance Ventures, HSIIDC sign joint venture to set up 25,000-acre SEZ in Haryana
Chandigarh: Reliance Ventures (RVL) and the Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) have entered into a joint venture agreement for setting up India's largest special economic zone (SEZ) in Haryana. The SEZ spread across 25,000 acres is at an overall investment of Rs40,000 crore.

RVL also proposes to set up a power plant of 2,000 MW to meet the requirements of the SEZ. Mukesh D. Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries, said: "It is a significant development in our history. It is the first time that Reliance Industries will be investing Rs25,000 crore in a project outside Western India. We see this as a move whereby India will come into the centrestage of global economy."

Under the agreement, a joint venture company called Reliance Haryana SEZ has been formed with Reliance holding 90 per cent stake and HSIIDC the rest. The agreement clears the way for the controversial transfer of about 1,395 acres, which were acquired by HSIIDC for setting up an SEZ near Garhi Harsaru in Gurgaon district. The SEZ is located in Gurgaon and Jhajjar districts and would be abutting the proposed Kundli-Manesar-Palwal Expressway on both sides.

HSIIDC proposes to transfer the land by realising the total cost of acquisition upfront, interest capitalised as holding cost at the rate of nine per cent a year, and administrative cost at the rate of 15 per cent of the cost of the acquired land. This translates into an amount of Rs360 crore against a compensation of Rs300 crore paid by HSIIDC. In addition, HSIIDC would get sweat equity without any investment at 10 per cent of the total equity.

According to Ambani the SEZ would focus on emerging industries like nanotechnology and biotechnology and overall would generate direct and indirect employment for over five lakh people. Reliance Industries is expecting returns to the tune of 18-20 per cent from the investment.
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Nokia transfers managed services unit to India
Singapore: Finnish telecom equipment company Nokia has shifted its managed services business unit to India in a rare move as this is the first time that the company is moving any of its business units out of Finland.

Rajeev Suri, senior vice-president, Asia Pacific Networks, said, "Managed services will be led globally from India effective July 2006. The move underscores Nokia's commitment to tap global services market growth, as well as India's outstanding outsourcing ecosystem and innovation pedigree.''

Services account for 30 per cent of Nokia's revenues from networks segment. One-third of the employees working for the company's network are in the services segment.

Ashish Chowdhary, currently the country head for networks in India, will take over as the new global head of managed services by the end of the year while the current vice-president for managed services, Henrik Sund, who successfully established and grew the business line, is moving on to new challenges outside the company. Nokia at present manages 39 cellular networks across 30 countries.

The company also announced that it's first global networks solutions centre (GNSC) in Chennai had started operations, and it will eventually serve as the hub for other Nokia operations around the world. The Chennai GNSC offers services including remote care, remote integration, consulting, planning and optimisation, and is currently supporting operators including Bharti Tele-Ventures.
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Sami Labs to enter Malaysia
Bangalore: Sami Labs, the herbal extracts and nutraceuticals export major, is on the verge entering Malaysia through a 50:50 tie-up with FELDA (Malaysia's Federal Land Development Authority) for a, according to its managing director, Dr Muhammed Majeed. The proposed JV will cultivate and produce new herbal ingredients.

Malaysia, he said, has several unique and untapped medicinal plants with a large potential as sources of nutraceuticals and cosmeceuticals (herbs with nutritive and cosmetic value). Sami has identified 12 species and conducted trials on 50 acres of land near Saba. It would take up cultivation on at least 2,000 acres of the vast tracts of land available with FELDA.

Sami would retain the marketing and distribution of the ingredients through its own global arm Sabinsa, which is already present in that country. The arrangement may subsequently be extended to include an R&D centre in Malaysia.
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TVS & Sons get ISO 14001:2004 certification
Madurai: Sundaram Iyengar & Sons (TVS & Sons), the parent company of TVS Group, has received ISO 14001:2004 certification by TUV SUD Management Services Gmph, for implementing the Environment Management System in sales and service of automotive vehicles in all its outlets across the State. The company obtained ISO 9001 award in 2005.
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TCS aims to double revenues from S. America ops
Mumbai: Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is targeting the doubling of its revenues from the South American market to $100 million this year.

N. Chandrasekaran, head, global operations and sales, TCS, said the company has acquired two new key customers in the region with a total deal value of over $30 million. He said the new orders were from Transantiago, Chile's public transport system, for its BPO and IT operations. The contract would be for three years.

The second deal was to set up back office operations for a Spanish bank in Chile. TCS would be handling the entire loan and credit business for the bank and the contract would be for five years, he said.

TCS will build and manage communications, customer care, operational support and information systems for Transantiago by leading a consortium of four other service providers over a period of three years.

The South American region has opened up for outsourcing in a big way. TCS has recently signed a deal with a telecom provider in Colombia.
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Hutchison Essar in multi million dollar deal with Nokia
Singapore: Hutchison Essar has entered into a multi-million dollar deal with Finnish equipment maker Nokia for outsourcing its cellular infrastructure requirements across 10 circles. This will mean that Nokia will manage and roll out the mobile network on behalf of Hutch including supply of infrastructure equipment.

Rajeev Suri, senior vice-president, Asia Pacific Networks, while announcing the deal at Nokia Connection 2006 said, "The extension of the contract with Hutchison Essar will see Nokia run 19 of the operator's 23 circles. The new agreement for managing 10 circles is in addition to the nine circles contract awarded by Hutchion Essar earlier this year and is for a five-year period."

Nokia is now managing 27 circles in the country, which includes the $400-million deal signed with Bharti Airtel for managing its cellular network in eight circles. Nokia refused to reveal the size of the contract signed with Hutch due to non-disclosure agreement. Post-the agreement with Hutch to take over network management of its 19 circles, Nokia has shifted 800 Hutch employees to its payrolls.
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GHCL announces acquisition of UK's Rosebys for $40 million
Ahmedabad: The Rs515-crore Veraval-based Gujarat Heavy Chemicals (GHCL) has acquired 100 per cent of the shares of Rosebys, UK's largest home textile retail chain company, for $40 million.

Sanjay Dalmia chairman of GHCL said the equity cost of acquisition will be funded through the resources raised from various domestic and foreign institutions in the recent past. The acquisition process is likely to be completed by October 2006, after which GHCL would have complete control over Rosebys' operations.

Rosebys operates in the bedding, curtains and kids garments segment with more than 300 retail outlets across the UK and an annual turnover of close to $250 million. More than 2,000 people are currently being employed by Rosebys in the UK.

After the acquisition GHCL would become the world's only integrated home textile company with a presence across spinning, weaving, product design and development, sourcing and distribution to retail stores at a global level.
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Balrampur Chini increases sugar capacity; sets up greenfield units in UP
Kolkata: Balrampur Chini Mills is setting up two new greenfield integrated sugar complexes in central Uttar Pradesh at a total cost of Rs500 crore. The sugar crushing capacity of each of these two units would be 8,000 tonnes crushed per day (TCD) each. The complexes, to be located at Kumbhi and Gularia in the Lakhimpur Kheri District, would produce power too. While the Gulari unit would sell 30 MW, the Kumbhi unit would sell 20 MW.

About the distillery in these two complexes, the official said that nothing has been finalised. The project would be funded through internal accruals and debt.

The company already has 100 acres of land at Kumbhi and Gulari for the proposed complexes and construction work is about to start. Both these units are expected to go on stream by September 2007.

Balrampur Chini is building another greenfield sugar complex at Mankapur in Uttar Pradesh. With a sugar capacity of 7,000 TCD, it would be selling 35 MW of power and would be ready by this September.

After the completion of the Gulari and Kumbhi units, Balrampur Chini's total manufacturing capacity would increase to 70,000 TCD from the existent level of 62,000 TCD. Its saleable power capacity would be increase to 116 MW.
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