Flextronics plans $200-million unit
Chennai: Contract electronics manufacturer Flextronics plans to invest $200 million in the first phase to set up its manufacturing facility in Sriperumbudur (45 km from Chennai), where the company would be consolidating its Indian manufacturing operations.

In the first phase, the company will set up two units with a total space of 500,000-sq ft at the 250-acre Flextronics Industrial Park. The first unit was inaugurated recently and will be able to produce a million handsets a month. The second unit will be ready by the next year.

The Sriperumbudur facility will manufacture GSM mobile handsets and telecom infrastructure equipment, such as mechanicals for base stations, and cater mainly to domestic customers.

In a years' time the unit would begin exporting to Europe, Africa and the Middle-East. The unit will initially employ about 1,000 people. However, going by the company's global experience, the 5, 00,000 sq ft facility may employ about 4,000 people.
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Air Deccan offers 1 lakh tickets for Rs9
Mumbai: To commemorate 50 years of Karnataka's formation, budget airline Air Deccan is offering 1 lakh tickets for Rs9 (plus taxes) for travel upto March 25. Bookings have opened today, and the airline is offering these tickets on all sectors it operates.

The carrier has also launched new services to Hampi from Bangalore. The services will commence from November 15.
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Emami plant gets approval from HACCP
Kolkata: The Netherlands-based certifying authority for food processing systems, HACCP, has recognised Emami Ltd's plant at Baadi for food safety norms used for Himani Sona Chandi Chyawanprash.

In many countries, legislation on safety and suitability of foodstuff requires HACCP to be put in place, a press note issued here has mentioned.
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Yahoo to sell 26% stake in web telephony venture
New Delhi: The Foreign Investment Promotion Board has given a conditional clearance to's plan to buy out its internet telephony arm. FIPB has said that Yahoo will have to sell 26 pc stake to domestic investors within five years.

This is as per the existing policy where FDI up to 100 pc is allowed in the area of internet service provider (ISP) without gateways, infrastructure provider of dark fibre, electronic and voice mail but is is subject to the clause that the company should divest 26 pc stake in favour of Indian public, if the investor is listed in other parts of the world.

Given that Yahoo is a listed company the clause is applicable. The acquisition of the Indian company is being routed through Overture Services Europe, a Dutch entity owned by Yahoo!. The plans include an initial investment of at least Rs2 crore in the venture.

The company has been offering communication services and has lined up a slew of new products, including internet telephony, telecom and computer services and operating internet and other voice and data services in India or overseas. This would include voice over internet protocol (VoIP) services.
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NVP to set up base in India
Mumbai: The Pramod Haque promoted global venture capitalist firm Norwest Venture Partners (NVP), will set up base in India while diversifying investments into sectors like knowledge processing, bio-tech and pharmaceuticals. NVP, which has invested in 26 companies in India has committed about $150 million as per rough estimates.

The firm plans investments to the tune of $200-$300 million over the next couple of years. Recently it invested, along with Reliance Capital and the TV 18 group, in an online travel portal, yatra.com, and Pune-based Persistent Systems. Its latest investment of $10 million was in sulekha.com.

But Haque maintained that in pharmaceuticals, NVP would look at late stage investments. He denied the possibility of launching an India or Asia fund for the region.
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