Hotel Leela may set up luxury hotels overseas
Mumbai: The Rs400 crore Indian hospitality group Hotel Leela Venture is considering setting up luxury hotels abroad, and is planning to set up an overseas subsidiary for this purpose. The company will set up a special purpose vehicle (SPV) with a leading international fund, which has investments in hospitality projects in the US, Europe and selected Asian countries.

The hotel group is currently in talks with global funds and will decide soon on the investment model of the SPV. "It could be a joint venture with existing large players in these markets or acquisition of properties," sources said.

Leela may have direct investment up to 50 per cent or less in the overseas subsidiary, depending on the modalities worked out between the group and the private equity fund.

The sources said the company was planning to have an overseas subsidiary to line up strategic investments in the international hospitality market. But the deal is not finalised yet.

The Leela group is also in the process of entering into management contracts for managing hotels in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Colombo and Jaipur.

Under these agreements, the group will manage large five-star hotels with a room capacity of 400 to 500 rooms in these locations. This is the first time the group is entering into management contracts in international market. Leela Venture has one such arrangement with Ambience group's property in New Delhi.
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Agro Tech to buy corn from Indian farmers
Hyderabad: Agro Tech Foods (ATFL), majority owned by global food major ConAgra, is planning to go in for contract farming to source corn locally for its ACT II brand popcorn. The company is currently importing corn and is processing it at its unit in Uttaranchal.

The company is growing corn on an experimental basis, on 100 acres of land in the Rangareddy district of Andhra Pradesh.

Sengupta said that if trials succeed the company would undertake contract farming in Uttaranchal or neighbouring states such as Haryana and Punjab.

The company needs about 2,000 acres of corn cultivation to meet its requirement.

During 2005-06, ATFL's ACT II popcorn sales grew 45 per cent.
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'Volkswagen plans India plant'
Frankfurt: German carmaker Volkswagen is planning to invest up to 400 million euros ($511.1 million) to set up a plant in India, according to reports in German magazine Der Spiegel.

The firm's supervisory board will make a decision on the move at a meeting next month, though it is not expected to be contested, the magazine said. A Volkswagen spokesman said the plant would enable Volkswagen to capitalise on growing demand in India, where high customs duties make importing cars from Europe less appealing.
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Posco to pick up equity in rail corridor
New Delhi: Korean steel marker Posco is likely to pick up 10 per cent equity in a rail corridor connecting its steel plant with Orissa's Paradeep Port. The project would also be the first of its kind in the country, wherein it would be developed jointly with rail users — PSUs and private companies.

Rail Bhawan sources said that besides Posco, steel companies like Jindal, SAIL and MSPL Mining Company are also likely to join the consortium.

The sources said Indian Railways had received a firm offer from Posco to invest 10 per cent of the equity in Haridaspur (close to Posco's proposed plant)-Paradeep Port rail link, which is being developed by a special purpose vehicle (SPV) led by Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL) of Indian Railways. The investment will allow the Korean company faster access to the port for shipping coal, iron ore and steel.
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Twenty eight companies bid for PowerGrid transmission contract
New Delhi: Twenty-eight power transmission companies, which includes Indian and foreign companies, have put in their bids to PowerGrid to establish transmission lines in western India. The projects will be implemented under Western Region System Strengthening Scheme II.

Spain-based Isolux, Elecnor, China Light and Power, Tata Power, Reliance Energy, Siemens and Essar Power are some of those in the fray.

The bids will be opened in late September and the corporation plans to award the project by mid-December. This will ensure that the deadline of 2008-09 is met.
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Arcelor Mittal to mine on its own in India
New Delhi: Global steel major Arcelor Mittal will not bring in any mining partner to carry forward its plans in India. The company would like to locate its plants close to raw materials and both iron-ore rich states of Jharkhand and Orissa were on the company's radar. The company ruled out SEZ-status for the company's projects, explaining that there would be no exports.

Arcelor Mittal's plans for India followed South Korean steel major, Posco's entry into the country with a 12 mt steel project plan in Orissa. Posco is keeping its options for a mining partner open and has sought SEZ status.
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Sonalika likely to obtain Rs600-cr sourcing deal from Chinese cos
New Delhi: Tractor and SUV maker Sonalika, which acquired the design and production rights of two diesel engines from Rover group company Powertrain, has been approached by Chinese auto majors Nanjing Automotive and Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp (SAIC) for sourcing of engines.

If it goes through, the deal could be worth Rs600 crore and could involve 60,000 units a year.

The engine sourcing deal makes sense for the Chinese rivals given that Sonalika already has the design and is in the process of developing these engines for its Rhino Rover SUV.

Under its agreement with Powertrain, Sonalika has acquired the design and production rights for 2 litre diesel engines including a CRDi version. The company will kick off its engine production with the new Rover diesel which will be fitted on the Rhino later this year to replace its current Isuzu engine.
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DCW plans Rs525-cr capex
Mumbai: Soda ash and caustic soda maker DCW has lined up a capital expenditure plan of Rs525-crore aimed at expanding its capacities and using the by-products to augment its bottomline.
The company's capital expenditure plan includes a Rs150-crore FCCB offering over the next 18 months.

The company is also considering selling off its PVC unit, which presently contributes 50 percent to its turnover but lags behind in profit contribution. However, the company has not formally put it on the block but will offload it if it gets a buyer.

The Rs710-crore company has also decided to double its soda ash capacity from 1-lakh to 2-lakh tonnes with an investment of Rs200-crore and a feasibility study is being conducted by the Dutch company Akzo and Humphrey and Glasgow.
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Baskin Robbins to expand in India
New Delhi: US based ice-cream company Baskin Robbins is expanding operations and has decided to open large-format stores for expansion in India. The company will invest Rs10 crore in setting up 20 outlets in this format over the next two years. With an eye on the youth, the company's new stores will don a young and vibrant look and sport a new logo.

The company is looking to follow the formats of fast-food major McDonalds and homegrown coffee chain Barista through its new outlets as it vies to be a favourite haunt for youngsters.

The company is planning to open about 50 outlets every year. Baskin Robbins currently has 160 outlets in India and had sales of Rs26 crore last year.
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D&B shifts more core work to India
Mumbai: Dun and Bradstreet (D&B), which provides corporate database to a large number of companies plans to shift more of its core data-modelling work to its Indian facility in Chennai.

The company has a database of around 10 crore companies - 6 lakh of them Indian, will also augment its training programmes in the country to an annual turnover of around $200 million (Rs900 crore) over the next three to four years.

D& currently employs around 200 scientists and technicians at its Predictive Science and Analytics Centre in Chennai, said most of its developmental work for its predictive models would be carried out in India by the end of the next two years.
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Vardhman Group targets Rs3,500-cr topline
Ludhiana: Vardhman Group is targeting a turnover of Rs3,500 crore per annum once the ongoing expansion projects in Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh are completed.

Vardhman Group has a turnover of Rs2200 crore at present.

The group had earlier announced an investment of about Rs2000 crore in Madhya Pardesh for setting up a new plant and increasing the production capacity in Himachal Pardesh.

The company would invest about Rs1500 crore in Madhya Pradesh for installing two lakh spindles and setting up a 50 MW captive power generation plant. By March 2008, the plant would be ready for production.
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