M&M-Renault launches Logan in India
Mumbai: The Rs700 crore joint venture between Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) and Renault of Europe has launched the Logan sedan in India. The Logan will be available in the price band of Rs4.28 lakh to 6.51 lakh and will be available in three variants; the 1.4 litre and 1.6 litre petrol version and a 1.5 litre diesel version. The petrol variants are priced between Rs4.28 lakh to Rs5.69 lakh while the litre diesel variant will be available between Rs4.35 lakh to Rs5.76 lakh.

Initially Renault will import the engines for the Logan from Romania and Spain, but has started work to make the engines in India.

The car will be built at the company's Nasik facility which will have a annual production capacity of 50,000 cars a year. By July, the JV intends to bring the production under optimal utilisation, depending on the market response.

The company has cautioned that the current price is just the launch price and it may be forced to hike it if there is change in input prices.

The financing of the car will be done through M&M finance and also through the Renault bank, a vehicle financing arm of Renault. Cars will be available through joint outlets bearing badges of both the companies.
Back to News Review index page  

Hershey's acquires majority stake in Godrej Beverages
Mumbai: North American Chocolate and confectionery giant The Hershey Company has announced its entry into the Indian market by picking up 51 pc stake in Godrej Beverages and Foods (GBFL).

Hershey's acquired the 40 pc stake held by private equity investor IL&FS and part of the stake held by A Mahendran, mentor-director of the company. The latter's stake has now fallen to 6 pc in the new company while Godrej Industries will hold 43 pc in Godrej Hershey Foods & Beverages.

The JV will introduce products from Hershey's international porfolio in India by the end of the year.

Some of Hershey's best-known brands include Kisses, Ice Breakers and Twizzlers.
Back to News Review index page  

Wipro Tech to set up new development center in Pune
Pune: Wipro Technologies, the global IT services division of Wipro, plans to invest Rs375 crore in Pune after the inauguration of its new development centre in Hinjewadi.

Wipro currently has 6,300 people in Pune working in a 5,80,000 square feet campus at the Rajiv Gandhi Infotech Park Phase I at Hinjewadi and its new development centre at Phase II of the Hinjewadi Park. The IT major has also applied for 50 acre in Phase III of the Park, which is a notified special economic zone (SEZ).

With the new facility, Wipro will ramp up capacity to 17,000 people in Pune. Azim Premji, chairman, Wipro said: "The overall employee base in five years will cross 1,60,000 people," he added.
Back to News Review index page  

Orchid's formulations get approval in Canada
Mumbai: Orchid Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals has received approval from the Canadian TPD (Therapeutic Product Directorate) for two abbreviated new drug submission (ANDS) applications.

Orchid said the approvals are for two generic formulations - Cefoxitin and Ceftriaxone. "These products are covered under the exclusive marketing arrangement the company has with the leading Canadian generics major Apotex," it said.

With this the company has forayed into the Canadian generic pharma segment. With limited competition and a niche injectable product offering, the company said it was confident of a sustainable revenue base from Canada.
Back to News Review index page  

Whirlpool to invest Rs160 crore in Indian operations
New Delhi: Whirpool India, targeting to grab the top position in the home appliances segment, plans to invest up to Rs160 crore for intensifying operations in the next one and half years. The company said it is a whisker away from its closest competitor LG in the home appliances market and would fill the existing gap with new products and aggressive marketing.

The company would invest between 15-20 million dollars (approximately Rs90 crore) in the next 12-18 months in production and another Rs70 crore on advertising and marketing this year. The proposed investment of Rs90 crore would be made for ramping up capacities in existing production facilities at Faridabad, Pune and Pondicherry. Whirlpool however, is not planning any new units in the near future. Whirlpool India expects to turn around by 2008.

The company's operating profit has increased from Rs2 crore in the April-December 2006 period to Rs44 crore for the same period this fiscal and net profit will be achieved by 2008.

Whirpool has announced multi category expansion and unveiled four new products including a new frost free refrigerator, washing machine, air conditioner and clothes dryer.
Back to News Review index page  

BHEL targets $10 billion turnover by 2011-12
New Delhi: Heavy equipment manufacturer BHEL has reported a 42 per cent jump in its net profit for 2006-07. BHEL posted a net profit of Rs2,385 crore for the year 2006-07 as against Rs1,679 crore in 2005-06. The company's turnover also increased by 29 per cent to Rs18,702 crore as compared to Rs14,525 crore in the same period a year ago.

The company aims to more than double its turnover to $10 billion (nearly Rs44,000 crore) by 2011-12 and plans to have 15,000 MW power equipment manufacturing capacity during the 11th plan according to the company's CMD Ashok K Puri. The state-run company has expanded its global footprint with Kazakhstan being its latest foray. BHEL already has significant presence in Sudan, France, Egypt, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Sweden and Oman.

Puri said the company has drawn up a strategic plan to ensure sustainable and profitable growth to enable the company's turnover to grow from 4 billion dollars to $10 billion by 2011-12.

The plan focuses on capacity and capability enhancement that will leverage the company's efforts in its core area of power, supported by industry, transportation, transmission, exports and spares & services businesses, he added.
Back to News Review index page  

BPOs may be given more time to register
New Delhi: The Department of Telecom is considering relaxing its order asking Internet Service Providers to disconnect unregistered call centres in the country, providing a breather to the BPO industry.

DoT had issued an order to all ISPs to immediately disconnect telecom links to unregistered BPOs. Some of these call centres were found routing their calls through illegal channels, posing a security threat and revenue loss to the Government.

This is after BPOs made a representation to the DoT seeking 90 days' time for all call centres in the country to get registered. The BPO industry said that DoT's action could shut down 2,000 call centres, costing 50,000 jobs. DoT's order had also raised concerns among international enterprises, which were outsourcing large parts of their processes to India. An advisory issued from analyst firm Gartner, for instance, said, "The DoT's heavy-handed order forces its own agenda at the expense of the larger interest in employment and international commerce. With increasing global competition, India cannot afford to be seen as unfriendly."
Back to News Review index page  

Decision likely on Vodafone-Hutch deal at next FIPB meeting
New Delhi: The Department of Telecommunications has said that a decision on Vodafone's proposal to acquire Hutchison Telecom's stake in cellular company Hutchison Essar, was expected in the next meeting of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board.

DoT has clarified that it had no objection to the proposed deal.

The clarification came on reports that DoT was objecting to the deal where UK-based Vodafone Group Plc was proposing to acquire 52 per cent stake in Hutchison Essar.

Apart from DoT, views of the Reserve Bank of India and Law Ministry have also been sought by FIPB. The RBI has expressed concern on the deal on the grounds that the equity holding structure could be violating the Foreign Exchange Management Act. With DoT favouring the deal, the Law Ministry views could be crucial to the decision making process.

FIPB is examining allegations that HTIL was illegally holding 67 per cent stake in Hutchison Essar by giving loans to Asim Ghosh and Analjit Singh to hold 12.26 per cent stake in the mobile venture on behalf of the Hong Kong-based company.

The board has asked the company to submit the terms of loan extended to the two individuals. It is also examining whether the two individuals are allowed to sell their equity to a third party at market price or only to HTIL at par value.
Back to News Review index page  

Indian Hotels to acquire hotel in US for $60 million
Mumbai: Indian Hotels, a Tata group company has approved the proposal to acquire San Francisco based Hotel Campton Place for $60 million (including estimated transaction costs). The acquisition would be done through a 100 pc subsidiary company of Indian Hotels. (See: Indian Hotels to acquire San Francisco's Campton for $60 million)
Back to News Review index page  

Accenture to expand operations in Hyderabad
Hyderabad: Accenture plans to expand its Hyderabad delivery centre in Mindspace IT Park and plans to grow its headcount to 35,000 by the end of this year. With this expansion, Accenture's Hyderabad delivery centre will be able to accommodate approximately 4,000 people. The company plans to grow its India workforce by 52 per cent this year to 35,000 employees. With revenues of $16.5 billion, Accenture employs about 1,52,000 people in 49 countries. As of January, Accenture employed approximately 27,000 people across India serving 300-plus global clients.
Back to News Review index page  

Cars & bike sales zoom in 2006--07
New Delhi: Car and bike makers ended fiscal year 2006-07 with double digit growth figures. However car companies were ahead of two wheeler makers. Maruti Udyog sold 6.32 lakh units in the domestic market in fiscal 2006-07, a growth of 21 pc. The company exported 39,295 units while its cumulative sales for the fiscal ending March 2007, were up 20 pc at 6.74 lakh units as against 5.61 lakh units in the previous year.

Japanese major Honda Siel's sales grew a little more than 43 pc. The company sold 61,327 units in the fiscal year 2006-07 as compared to 42,727 units in the fiscal year 2005-06. The company's monthly sales grew by a little less than 39 pc.

Czech auto maker Skoda Auto's March sales were up 10 pc while General Motors' sales for the month were up 12 pc as it sold 4,542 units.

Two-wheeler manufacturer Hero Honda's total sales grew by 11.2% and stood at 33.36 lakh units for the fiscal year ended March 2007. The company sold 2.77 lakh units in March as against 2.72 lakh units in March 2006. Rival Bajaj Auto's cumulative sales for two-wheelers were up 18%. The company sold 23.9 lakh two-wheelers in the fiscal year ended March 2007.

The company's motorcycle sales for the fiscal year grew by 24 pc and stood at 23.76 lakh units. However, Bajaj Auto's March sales were down by 10 pc and it sold 1.68 lakh units of two-wheelers. Chennai-based TVS Motors closed the financial year 2006-07 with 15 pc growth in the sale of motorcycles selling 9.24 lakh units.
Back to News Review index page