RIL not selling stake in KG basin
New Delhi: Reliance Industries has denied a media report and said it is not interested in selling a stake in its oil and gas fields off India's east coast to a foreign company or in setting up a separate unit.

PMS Prasad, head of Reliance's exploration business, told reporters that the company was proceeding on the development of the fields and would deliver natural gas in 2008. He said the company would focus on delivering oil first.

Reliance owns 80 per cent in a block in the KG basin, home to one of the world's biggest natural gas finds. The block is estimated to produce up to 80 million standard cubic metres of gas a day, or more than half of India's demand for natural gas.

Prasad said Reliance was open to selling crude to any company from Hindustan Petroleum to Bharat Petroleum. The company is expected to produce 50,000 to 60,000 barrel of oil per day.
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Tata Motors sees 30 pc rise in vehicle sales in calendar 2006
Kolkata: Tata Motors has sold 5,55,065 vehicles (including exports) in calendar year 2006-- a growth of 30 pc over 4,25,901 units sold in calendar 2005.

Commercial vehicles were a major contributor to Tata Motors' sales in 2006. Cumulative sales of commercial vehicles in the domestic market for calendar 2006 stood at 2, 83170 units, an increase of 43 pc over 1, 98,607 units in 2005. Medium and heavy commercial vehicles (M&HCVs) sales stood at 1, 65,362 units, an increase of 35 pc over 2005. While light commercial vehicle (LCV) sales were at 1,17,808 units -- an increase of 55 pc over 2005.

According to a release issued by Tata Motors: "The company retained leadership position in the commercial vehicle sector with an overall market share of 64 pc in calendar 2006, compared to 59 pc in 2005. The marketshare for LCVs increased to 66 pc compared to 56 pc in 2005, while M&HCVs registered a 63 pc market share compared to 62 pc in 2005.

Led by hatchback model Indica, total passenger vehicles sales stood at 2,18,355 units in the domestic market in 2006, up 20 per cent over 1,81,593 units over 2005. The Indica registered its highest ever yearly sale at 1,38,537 units up 30 per cent, thereby increasing its market share to 20 per cent in the compact cars segment, compared to 19.2 per cent in 2005, the statement added.

The company's overall market share in passenger vehicles improved to 16.7 per cent in 2006 from 16.4 per cent in 2005. The market share for the Indigo family was at 36.3 per cent compared to 31.4 per cent in 2005 in the entry midsize segment, it said.

Exports in the year stood at 53,540 units as compared to 45,701 units in 2005, an increase of 17 per cent, it added.
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Nimbus receives $125mn funding from 3i, Cisco, Oman Fund
Mumbai: Nimbus Communications has received funding of about Rs5.52 billion ($125 million) from British investment firm 3i Group Plc, Cisco Systems Inc and Oman International Fund. The investment is through debentures to be converted into equity prior to an initial public offering or sale by the Indian broadcaster, it said in a statement.

Nimbus said it would use this funding to acquire sports rights, upgrade technology and expand its broadcast operations. 3i, Deutsche Bank and Americorp Ventures already hold stakes in Nimbus, which has the global Indian cricket telecast rights for four years to 2010. 3i had earlier invested $45 million in Nimbus for an undisclosed stake.

Nimbus has launched a 24-hour cricket channel, Neo Sports, and plans to launch two more sports channels.
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Dr Reddy's Q3 net zooms 200 pc to Rs188-cr
Mumbai: Dr Reddys Laboratories (DRL) has reported a 200 pc increase in net profit at Rs187.94 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2006 under US GAAP as against Rs62.83 crore in Q3FY06.

According to a release issued by the company to the BSE today, total income was up 160 pc to Rs1,543.42 crore from Rs592.63 crore in Q3FY06 while international revenue zoomed over 200 pc in Q3FY07.
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Zee Telefilms Q3 net soars 186 pc to Rs96-cr
Mumbai: Zee Telefilms has posted a 185.6 pc increase in consolidated net profit of Rs95.81 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2006 (Q3FY07) where as the same was at Rs33.55 crore for Q3FY06.

According to an official release issued by the company to the BSE today, total income for Q3FY07 increased 7.5 pc to Rs433.16 crore against Rs403.05 crore for Q3FY06.

The company said the previous figures include the results of demerged undertaking of Zee News, Wire & Wireless (India) & Direct Consumer Business, hence are not comparable.
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Essar plans acrylics JV with French company in Guj
New Delhi: Essar Chemicals is forming a joint venture with French chemical company Akrema to set up an acrylic acid production facility in Gujarat.

The two companies have entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to study the feasibility of forming a 50:50 joint venture for production and commercialisation of acrylic acid and esters.

Essar is planning to supply propylene to the proposed plant at Vadinar in Gujarat from its oil refinery nearby. The plant is expected to start operations by 2010.

The unit would be the first acrylic acid plant to be built in India and would serve the fast growing acrylic market in this part of the world. Its location would be suitable to supply to both the Indian and Asian markets officials at Akrema said.
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Nicholas Piramal ties up with US firm Napo
Mumbai: Pharmaceutical major Nicholas Piramal (NPIL) has entered into a plant screening agreement with San Francisco-based Napo Pharmaceuticals Inc to discover novel diabetes therapeutic agents.

Both the companies would jointly own all products that are developed under the agreement the company said.

As part of the agreement, Nicholas Piramal would utilise its high throughout screening facility, natural product chemistry expertise along with biological testing capabilities to identify active compounds from Napo's library of medicinal plant extracts f rom tropical regions.

Diabetes is a major focus of NPIL and the incidence of diabetes has grown significantly over the past decade to where it is a major health concern, company officials said. Napo Pharmaceuticals focuses on the development and commercialisation of proprietary pharmaceuticals for the global marketplace in collaboration with local partners.
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L&T enters into JV with Saudi firm
Dubai: Larsen & Toubro has signed a joint venture (JV) agreement with Saudi Arabia's A A Turki Contracting and Trading Corporation, which will focus on electromechanical construction for the hydrocarbon and power sect or. The JV will be known as Larsen & Toubro ATCO (Saudia) LLC. According to ATCO officials the joint venture would enable the two companies to benefit significantly from the boom in the oil and gas and infrastructure fields.

"Saudi Arabia is one of the biggest markets in the GCC, and as a part of its strategic plans, L&T has taken important steps in the region by establishing engineering and project management centres in Abu D habi and Sharjah," L&T said in a release.
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Wockhardt signs pact with British healthcare company
Mumbai: Wockhardt has signed an in-licensing agreement with Britain's Crawford Healthcare to market Viticolor, a drug used to treat leucoderma.

Viticolor will be launched in the second quarter of this year, Wockhardt said.

The company said leucoderma, a skin disorder, affected 3 to 4 per cent of India's population of more than a billion.
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Welspun-Gujarat Stahl gets orders worth Rs1,049- cr
Mumbai: Welspun-Gujarat Stahl Rohren has received orders worth Rs1,049 crore ($235 million) orders for the supply of pipes for critical oil and gas applications.

The company did not disclose the details of the clients from whom it has received the orders. The company said the new overseas orders are an evidence of Welspun-Gujarat Stahl's unique dominance of the burgeoning international market having huge potential.

With these orders, the company's order book position stands at over Rs3,500 crore ($785 million) including the orders executed in the third quarter of this fiscal.

The company had successfully delivered pipes in the Gulf of Mexico as well as Iran earlier and some of the key pipe supplies in recent past were for PGN, Indonesia, Stroy Transgas, Algeria, Saudi Aramco, NIGC Iran, the company said.

It said Welspun-Gujarat Stahl has been short-listed for projects worth over $1 billion and has achieved newer brand acceptance heights by becoming preferred suppliers to most of the top oil and gas companies in the world.
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Pratibha Industries' joint venture bags contract worth Rs122-cr
Mumbai: Construction firm, Pratibha Industries, has won a contract worth Rs122 crore in joint venture with Italian Thai Development Public Co from state-run Airport Authority of India.

The contract is to build a new international terminal at Ahmedabad airport, Pratibha said in a statement.
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JSW Steel Q3 net more than doubles at Rs362-cr
Mumbai: Domestic steel major, JSW Steel, recorded an over two-fold increase in profit after tax of Rs362.15 crore for the quarter ended December 31, as compared to Rs139.20 crore posted in corresponding period a year-ago.

Total income (net of excise) of the leading steel producer rose by 51.32 per cent to Rs2,307.85 crore for the latest quarter, as against Rs1,525.15 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2005, JSW Steel informed the BSE.

Going ahead JSW Steel said that it estimated growth in the global crude steel consumption in 2007, to be 5.2 per cent vis-a-vis 4.9 per cent growth in production.

The expected slow down in exports from China, coupled with strong growth in demand in emerging economies, signals stable price scenario with an upward bias.

The robust growth in the Indian economy is also expected to stimulate the steel demand further, it added.
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Maruti net up 11 pc at Rs376.41-cr
Mumbai: Maruti Udyog (MUL) announced a net profit of Rs376.41 crore for the third quarter ended December 2006 against Rs339.01 crore for the same quarter in 2005. Total income stood at Rs3,807.90 crore for the quarter ended December 2006 against Rs3,218.62 crore for the quarter ended December 2005.
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Adlabs completes acquisition of Synergy Communications
Mumbai: Adlabs Films has completed the process of acquiring a controlling stake in Synergy Communications, the premier television content company headed by Siddhartha Basu. The new entity will be called Synergy Adlabs.
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