Steel prices may fall in 2007: SAIL CMD
New Delhi: Steel Authority of India (SAIL) has cautioned steel companies, which are rushing in to expand through either fresh capacity addition or acquisition, that the prevailing high steel prices may not be sustainable next year and the industry would need to adjust according to market conditions.

"In 2007 steel prices could be lower to what are today," SAIL chairman S K Roongta said the press.

Roongta said though there may not be a glut but producers need to price the product according to the market.

His fears come from continuous fall in imports of steel by China. If China turns net exporter and starts exporting to Europe the Chinese export may face anti-dumping measure forcing China to turn towards South East Asia and India particularly.

He said there was over capacity in the global steel industry.
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Reliance Retail to begin 'Fresh' operations from Nov 3
Mumbai: Reliance Retail (RRL), Mukesh Ambani-led retail outfit will open its first retail showroom in Hyderabad on November 3 with a pilot store called 'Reliance Fresh'.

The company also plans introduce its own brand 'Reliance Select' for packed staple foods. These would be followed by general merchandise, specialty products, etc.

By November, RRL plans to add another half dozen such stores in Hyderabad only. The company has identified 15 other cities in Andhra Pradesh, including Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Chittoor, Tirupathi, Adilabad and Karimnagar for entry. After Hyderabad, the company plans to launch its retail stores in Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Delhi. Overall, the company plans its multi-retail stores across 1,500 cities in India in a few years. RRL plans to generate close to $20bn by 2010 from its retail operations.

RRL will adopt three pricing categories, depending on quality: premium, middle and lower ones. Potatoes and onions may be sold at the same price across the year. Nita Ambani has been involved with all the aspects of RRL: store design, branding, customer experience and people processes.
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McDonalds to open outlets at petrol pumps
Pune: McDonald's India is planning to start its first "drive thru" restaurant at Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL) petrol pumps by June '07 in western and southern India. The company has not firmed up on the city where it will locate the first outlet.

The company is planning to open 100 restaurants in the next three years in west and south India which will include "drive thru" restaurants at the gas stations although no date has been finalised for opening the outlets company officials said.

McDonald's India currently has 100 restaurants across the country which includes 11 "drive thru" restaurants. It has 5,000 employees which includes the service staff and in the next five years is looking at employing 10,000 to 15,000 people.
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GE Shipping to invest in subsidiary
Mumbai: Great Eastern Shipping Co will invest Rs250 crore in its wholly owned subsidiary, by subscribing to its equity. The subsidiary is engaged in the offshore business, after the parent company de-merged its original offshore division into a separate outfit, Great Offshore Ltd. Greatship India has an order book of nine offshore vessels and one jack-up rig, which require a total investment of $383 million. Of this, $17 million has already been funded, with the first of the offshore vessel it acquired at present operating in the North Sea.

To fund the remaining acquisition, GE Shipping will be subscribing to the equity of Greatship to the extent of Rs250 crore. In other words, GE Shipping will be pumping in an investment of Rs250 crore into its subsidiary to fund the acquisition programme. GE Shipping is at present sitting on cash reserves of Rs1,500 crore.
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Patni Q3 net up 137 pc
Mumbai: Patni Computer Systems has reported a 137-per cent jump in its consolidated net profit at Rs117.9 crore for the third quarter ended September 30 compared with Rs49.7 crore posted during the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.

Revenues from operations grew 35.5 per cent to Rs699 crore (Rs516 crore). Total expenditure rose by 20 per cent to Rs 571 crore (Rs475 crore). The increase in revenues and net income was as a result of new client acquisitions and efficient management of the company's cost structure, said company officials.

A reduction in general and administrative expenses, improvement in operating parameters including utilisation (both offshore and onsite) coupled with revenue growth led to sustainable margin expansion in the quarter.

On a standalone basis, Patni Computer Systems reported a net profit growth of 34 per cent, at Rs71 crore (Rs52.8 crore) on a 0.8 per cent growth in revenues at Rs253.8 crore (Rs235.1 crore).
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ChrysCap, TA Associates, Citigroup acquire stake in Idea
Mumbai: Three private equity players - India's ChrysCapital, TA Associates of the UK and Citigroup - have combined to pick up a 10 per cent stake in Aditya Birla group-promoted wireless communications company Idea Cellular.

This comes after Providence Equity Partners bought a 15 per cent stake in the cellular company.

ChrysCapital was learnt to have invested about $120 million for about 4 per cent in Idea Cellular, the London-based TA Associates made an equal investment to pick up a stake of almost the same size, said sources close to the development.

The private equity deals in Idea Cellular will bring down the Aditya Birla group's combined holding in the communications company to around 73 per cent from 98.3 per cent.

The total investment by private equity investment companies, including Providence Equity Partners, in Idea Cellular is expected to be worth over $550 million.
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IOC net rises by 221 pc
New Delhi: The Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has posted a 221 per cent jump in net profit to Rs3,050 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2006 compared with Rs949 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

The higher net was on the back of oil bonds worth Rs7,168 crore the company received during the quarter in lieu of under-realisation suffered by the corporation.

Income shot up 44 per cent to Rs58,384 crore during the second quarter of 2006-07.

For the first half of the financial year (April-September), IOC's net profit zoomed a whopping 442 per cent to Rs4,831 crore on the back of the exceptional income of Rs3,225 crore that accrued from the sale its 20 per cent shareholding in ONGC in April.

IndianOil, however, suffered a sharp fall in the average gross refinery margin, from $6.05 per barrel to $3.13 owing to inventory re-valuation.

Refinery throughput during the six-month period was at 20.54 million tonne, up from 18.57 million tonne for the same period last year, while pipeline throughput was 24.38 million tonne, up from 22.08 million tonne last year.
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Int'l Cars plans Rs1,000-cr unit in Himachal
Mumbai: Punjab-based International Cars and Motors (ICML) plans to invest Rs1,000 crore in Himachal Pradesh to set up a plant to manufacture diesel-operated multi utility vehicles (MUVs) with a production capacity of 24,000 units per annum, said Deepak Mittal, MD of ICML, said here.

The company has pumped in Rs300 crore to begin with and is producing 100 vehicles per month.

The company's "Rhino-Rover" branded MUVs would be launched across the country from January 2007. The vehicles are currently being sold for test marketing in Punjab and Haryana.

The plant spread over 50 acres would have a fully operational installed capacity of 24,000 units per annum and the company aims to export 20 per cent of this to South-Asian countries and Africa.
There would be two models with a price tag of Rs6-7 lakh.

ICML has already sold around 700 vehicles in last 10 months after the soft launch in two states. It aims to open around 100 showrooms by end of 2007.
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