MRPL to begin retailing operations
New Delhi: Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals (MRPL), a subsidiary of ONGC, has decided to begin retailing operations as the retail margins in petrol and diesel has turned positive.

MRPL, with its brand HiQ, would initially concentrate on opening retail outlets the South starting from Mangalore. The company has the marketing rights to set up 500 retail outlets and plans to initially roll out 25 by next year.

Earlier this year, the Petroleum Ministry had asked MRPL to go slow on its retail plans as the business was not lucrative with high under-realisations on sale of both products due to scaling international crude prices. After considering the Government suggestion to revisit its foray into the retail business, MRPL had decided to go slow.

With the Indian crude basket fluctuating in the range of $55-$58 a barrel, the sales revenue from petrol and diesel combined is expected to turn positive. Currently, State-owned oil marketing companies are suffering an under-realisation of 40 paise per litre on sale of diesel and over-realisation (profit) of Rs4.50 per litre on petrol.
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Elder Pharma to make acquisition in Europe
Mumbai: The Rs 400-crore Elder Pharmaceuticals is getting ready to make its first overseas acquisition and has zeroed in on a generic company in Europe.

Elder Pharma already has a number of product-marketing alliances and joint ventures with overseas companies.

Elder, which has shortlisted three to four medium scale generic companies in the Europe, is currently in the final stages of discussions with one of them located in the UK, said sources close to the development.

Elder Pharma is looking at the growing generic market abroad and especially in Europe to leverage its manufacturing capacities in India.

The company had recently set up joint ventures in Nepal and Ghana.
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AP may sue Volkswagen for shifting unit
Hyderabad: The Andhra Pradesh government which is under pressure from Opposition partied over the bungled Volkswagen deal said it was looking at various options, including proceeding against carmaker Volkswagen for breach of agreement, after the German auto major decided to shift its proposed plant to Pune. Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Rajasekhar Reddy said Volkawagen's decision was disappointing but "we are left with no option except legal recourse".

Volkswagen had earlier decided to set up its Indian plant in Visakhapatnam. The project got embroiled in a controversy over corruption allegations involving the then major industries minister B Satyanarayana and the company's Indian agent.

The state government ordered a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation and assured the German auto giant all necessary help in setting up the plant. Later it was learnt that the German company had decided to set up the plant at Pune in Maharashtra.

Opposition parties, including TDP and BJP, have demanded the resignation of the chief minister and a judicial probe into the deal. The TDP assailed the Congress government for bungling on the issue leading to the car major shifting its proposed plant.

Naidu alleged that Andhra Pradesh had lost out in the race to attract investments with several major projects shifting to other states ever since the Congress came to power in 2004. Naidu said the Dell computer project had gone to Tamil Nadu and said the chief minister owed an explanation to the people.
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Samsonite to shut down Nashik unit
Mumbai: Samsonite India plans shut down its manufacturing unit at Nashik over the next three years. The company will scale down production at the plant, which has a capacity of 10 million units, to 50 per cent by December 2006.

Company officials said this was being done in line with the company's global vision of becoming a design and retail oriented company. Samsonite will gradually sell off its manufacturing equipment in Nashik and the factory will then be converted into a logistics warehouse for Samsonite.

The plant is Samsonite Corporation's second-largest manufacturing facility globally. The company will henceforth be outsourcing products from local vendors as part of its global strategy.

By February 2007, Samsonite plans to launch a range of shoes.
The Samsonite stores are in the process of getting restructured and soon about 50 per cent floor space will be dedicated to footwear and other accessories that the company will be launching.

The new products that will be launched under the Samsonite brand will in linked to travel. The company has also tied up with international designers for certain product lines and will soon be announcing a similar association with an Indian designer as well.
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Concor to cut tariffs in some export import categories
New Delhi: Container Corporation of India (Concor) has decided to slash tariffs in some import and export categories. The reduced tariffs would be in effect till March 31, 2007.

Concor had increased its tariffs since early November following an increase in haulage charges by the Railways from November 1. The Railways imposes haulage charges on container operators for allowing them to use its infrastructure.

Moreover, Concor has reduced tariffs for moving refrigerated containers or reefers. For moving reefers for exports, Concor has reduced tariffs by Rs3,000 per forty feet unit (FEU) box.

For moving empty reefers, the organisation has reduced rates by Rs 1,800 per FEU. It has also decided to levy plug-in charges for these containers for two days only (including the date of booking) irrespective of the number of days taken to move the reefers.

Plug-in charges are levied on reefer containers for supplying electricity for refrigeration. At present, these charges are levied for the entire duration of transportation. There is a reduction in terminal handling charges by up to 50 per cent depending on the volumes booked.
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