Reliance's appeal on airport contract award rejected
New Delhi: The appeal filed by Reliance Airports Developers, challenging a Delhi High Court judgment that upheld the award of contracts to GMR Infrastructure Ltd and GVK Industries Ltd for modernisation of Delhi and Mumbai airports has been rejected by the Supreme Court.

The SC held that the procedure adopted in lowering of standards, as well as giving choice in the opening of financial bid in award of contract, did not have mala fides intentions or any illegality.

Reliance had alleged that that there was no fair and transparent procedure in the award of contracts to the two companies. It had contended that the government illegally and arbitrarily, reduced the benchmark of technical expertise from 80 per cent to 50 per cent to favour the rivals of Reliance Airports Developers.
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Binani revives plan to sell equity stake in cement subsidiary
Mumbai: Binani Industries is again planning to sell a 10.9-per cent equity stake of its cement arm Binani Cement through a public issue.

Last week the company said it had withdrawn the draft prospectus filed with SEBI in February for sale of 10.9 per cent in the cement arm. Now it says the prospectus will be re-filed, with J.P. Morgan Special Situations (Mauritius) Ltd, to dilute part of its 25 per cent equity stake in Binani Cement, bought from Binani Industries in September for Rs 250 crore (Rs 49.2 per share).

Earlier Binani Industries made a private placement of 10.09 per cent of the paid-up capital of BCL to Ganesha Prime Holdings (Mauritius) Ltd, a subsidiary of Credit Suisse Private Equity Partners Asia LP, at Rs 73 per share.
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ADAG to invest Rs 100 crore in Phase I
New Delhi: The consortium led by Anil Ambani group, whose consortium has bagged four blocks, for exploration and production of gas trapped below coal seams, is looking at an investment of close to Rs 100 crore in the first phase of exploration.

The government on Tuesday has signed nine contracts under the third round of coal bed methane (CBM-III) for exploration and production of gas.

Australia's Arrow Energy-GAIL (India) consortia has bagged three of the blocks and will invest about Rs 2,250-Rs 2,700 crore over a period of 20 years in the project.

The government, which put on offer 10 blocks and saw 26 companies, including eight foreign companies and 18 Indian companies bidding either on their own or as consortia is expecting about $1 billion investment in the exploration of CBM blocks.

Reliance Energy (REL)-Reliance Natural Resources (RNRL)-GeoPetrol International Inc signed the production sharing contracts (PSC) for four blocks, while Arrow Energy (India) Pty Ltd-GAIL (India) Ltd-EIG Energy Infrastructure Group A B (EIG)-TATA Power Company Ltd signed for two blocks.

Arrow Energy-GAIL-EIG inked the production sharing contract for one block. Coalgas Mart Llc-Deep Industries Ltd-Adinath Exim Resources Ltd and Coalgas-Deep Industries signed the production sharing contracts for one block each.
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TCS to merge operations in China
Tata Consultancy Services plans to merge its China operations into a new joint venture company it has formed with three Chinese partners and Microsoft.

TCS, among the earliest Indian IT companies to enter the China market in 2002 through a wholly owned subsidiary has 25 active customers in the country. Recently, China bagged the mandate to partner with the Chinese government agencies to set up an IT company that is meant to be a role model for the growing Chinese software industry.

TCS will hold a 65 per cent stake in the joint venture — TCS (China) Co — while three Chinese companies — Zhongguancun Software Park Development Company, Uniware Company and the Tianjin Huayuan Software Area Construction and Development Company — will hold 25 per cent and Microsoft the balance 10 per cent.

Tata Consultancy Services Asia Pacific Pte, a TCS subsidiary, signed a shareholder agreement in July 2006 for establishing the joint venture and obtained the license last month.

The joint venture plans to get some share of the business of the Chinese domestic market, which, is estimated to five times the size of the Indian market and growing. The Chinese domestic IT market is estimated at $40 billion against India's $8 billion. With the joint venture in place, the number of TCS employees in China would grow from 650 now to about 5,000 in five years.
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NTPC may acquire stake in TELK
Thiruvananthapuram: The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) may acquire a stake in the State-owned Transformers and Electricals Kerala Ltd. (TELK).

SBI Caps is currently evaluating TELK's assets and other financial aspects for the purpose and understanding has already been reached with NTPC on several areas. TELK makes high-capacity transformers. But its technology and equipment have become outdated and need immediate upgradation.

The company had accumulated losses over the years though it has been making operating profits during last three or four years.

TELK requires funds to the tune of around Rs 150 crore to upgrade itself and this was proposed to be met by NTPC by way of equity and loans.

The Kerala State Electricity Board is to sign an agreement with the United Electrical Industries Ltd, another State PSU, for purchase of electric meters on `rate contract' basis. It was also proposed to enhance the capacity of United Electrical to six lakh meters a year.
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Sula Vineyards plans Rs-80 crore expansion
Hyderabad: Sula Vineyards plans to invest up to Rs 80 crore in the next five years to upgrade its capacity, acquire quality planting material and firm up strategies to increase its market share, both domestic and international.

In the current fiscal the company will invest Rs15 crore for the purpose. The company will raise the funds internally and will source the funds from banks and financial institutions.

Sula Vineyards, which inducted a private equity fund, GEM India Advisors , during 2005, with an investment of about Rs15 crore for a minority stake, is not looking for any private equity investor as of now.

Regarding capacity expansion the company is spending Rs10 crore on acquiring a winery from Pimpane and upgradation to 10 lakh litres per year. The installed capacity of 2 lakh litres will be increased to 6 lakh by January 2007 when it would be ready for commercial operation.

The company's third winery in Nashik, having a capacity of 1.8 million litres, is also complete.
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Mahindra Scorpio to be launched in US
Mumbai: Tractors and sports utility vehicles company Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) plans to launch the Scorpio SUV and double cab pick up in the world's largest utility vehicle and pick up market, the US.

M&M has signed a contract with Global Vehicles, USA, for distribution of its range of vehicles in the country. Currently M&M has 30 dealerships to sell its range of utility vehicles across the country, while Berco has been appointed the logistics and distribution company for vehicles and spare parts across its chain of dealerships.
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Ashok Leyland Oct sales rise 70 per cent
Chennai: Ashok Leyland sold 7,255 trucks in October 70 per cent more than in the corresponding period in 2005. The company sold 44,158 vehicles in April-October, against 32,496 in the corresponding period last year — an increase of 36 per cent.

Although domestic sales of buses in October (1,199) was marginally higher than in October 2005 (1,152), sales in April-October this year was 5,496 units against 7,702 in the corresponding period last year. Truck sales in October were marked by a doubling of sales of the higher margin multi-axle vehicles to about 3,300 units.
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Eveready Inds raises battery prices by 10 per cent
Kolkata: Eveready Industries India has raised prices of all its batteries by 10 per cent from December 1. This is the second time the company has hiked battery prices in the current year and the rise is due to an increase in zinc prices, a key raw material for batteries.

The company said zinc prices have increased substantially in the last five months from $3400 per tonne to $4500 per tonne. The consumers will have to pay Rs 1-1.50 more for each Eveready battery.

The company does not fear a drop in sales due to this price hike and hopes that the market will positively accept this price hike.

Powercell Industries India (erstwhile BPL Soft energy), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Eveready Inds will also increase the price of its batteries in the coming months.

In the first half of the current fiscal, Eveready Inds sold 425 million batteries as against 375 million batteries in the corresponding period of the previous year. The company clocked net sales of Rs 618 crore in the first half as against Rs 598 crore in the previous year.
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ONGC, Hinduja look at joint exploration of LNG
New Delhi: Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and the London-based Hinduja group have entered into a pact to form joint ventures to pursue global opportunities in liquefied natural gas (LNG) and linked exploration business.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) has been signed between ONGC and Ashok Leyland Project Services (ALPS), a Hinduja group firm that provides for sourcing of LNG at competitive terms, to be facilitated by ALPS.

A statement from ONGC said the collaboration will leverage the exploration and production expertise of ONGC and the business-relationship advantage of the Hinduja group in the hydrocarbon-rich Middle East, with business prospectively benefits to both entities.

ONGC will hold 49.98 percent equity in the proposed joint venture while ALPS will hold 48.02 per cent and the balance by financial institutions and banks.
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