GM launches Chevrolet Spark with Rs 3.09 lakh price tag
New Delhi: The much awaited Chevrolet Spark has been finally launched in India. The car is available in four models with the base model aggressively priced at Rs3.09 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) while the most expensive model costs Rs3.89 lakh.

The top-line model comes with additions like ABS and alloy wheels for an extra Rs35,000.

The car is likely to give tough competition to segment leader Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Motors as it opens up choices in the small-car market since it is aggressively priced as compared with Maruti's Wagon R (Rs3.33 lakh) and Zen Estilo (Rs3.26 lakh) on the one hand, and Hyundai Santro (Rs3.24 lakh) and Fiat Palio (Rs3.49 lakh) on the other.

The base model of Spark also comes with a three-years or 1,00,000 kilometere service warranty. Bookings will commence from April 18 while deliveries will start from May 1.

Spark will be rolled out from GM's Halol manufacturing facility in Gujarat that has a capacity of 80,000 cars annually. Initially 2,000-3,000 units of Spark will be rolled out per month till the new manufacturing facility at Talegaon(1.4 lakh cars annually) near Pune comes up, GM India officials said at the launch.
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GM to source components worth a billion dollars in 4-5 yrs
New Delhi: General Motors may make India its global hub in the future and definitely expects to source components worth a billion dollars annually from here in the next 4-5 years.

GM chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner said the company, which was currently shutting down plants in North America, was focusing more on fully leveraging the emerging high-quality, low cost supply base in India for its future strategy.

He said the company was also looking to source more parts out of India for its global operations. However, at present GM's focus in India is to increase its market share in the domestic market.
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CESC, Spencer's Retail to merge in 2.5:1 ratio
Kolkata: RPG Enterprises' retail arm Spencer's plans to invest between Rs1,000 crore and Rs1,200 crore to build a network of 2,000 stores by FY10 and will raise funds for this in the next 2 to 4 quarters.

The board of CESC has cleared the merger of Pathik Retail with itself. The two entities would be merged under a 2.5:1 share swap ratio.

The Goenkas as sole promoters of Pathik Retail would get 31 million shares of CESC, pushing up the paid-up equity base of CESC from Rs80 crore to Rs113 crore, and shareholding of the Goenkas as promoters from around 40 per cent now to 55 per cent of CESC's equity.

Following the merger, CESC will have three businesses - power, real estate and retail - in its portfolio.
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Reliance to set up Rs8,000 crore gas pipeline to W. Bengal
Kolkata: Mukesh Ambani-controlled Reliance Industries (RIL) plans to lay a gas pipeline from KG basin on the eastern coast to West Bengal by 2009-10 with an investment of over Rs 8,000 crore.

The investment would be finalised once the pipeline capacity was discussed with the West Bengal government, RIL president (LNG business) R P Sharma said here on Tuesday, on the sidelines of a summit.

The company would first finalise the projected demand of natural gas in the State before deciding on the capacity of the pipeline. The pipeline would be built as a common carrier basis, and the State government has issued notification for use of the pipeline.

The gas pipeline would cover Kolkata, North 24 Parganas, Hoogly, Howrah, Midnapur and Burdwan in West Bengal all of which are on the priority list of Reliance.
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HCL Tech Q3 net zooms 72 per cent
New Delhi: HCL Technologies has posted a consolidated (unaudited) net income of Rs331.8 crore for its third quarter ended March 31, 2007 on the back of higher manpower utilisation rates, a change in the business mix in favour of onsite work and efficient management of its selling, general and administration (SG&A) expenses.

In the corresponding period last fiscal the company reported a net profit of Rs192.50 crore. The company's revenues stood at Rs1,577 crore, up 40.6 per cent (year-on-year) and 7.6 per cent sequentially (over the previous quarter). The company's operating margins (EBITDA before non-cash charge) stood at Rs366.7 crore, up 46.8 per cent year-on-year and 13.2 per cent over the previous quarter.

The company said rupee appreciation of 1.55 per cent from January 31, 2007 to March 31, 2007 affected its margins (including BPO) by 69 basis points. US contributed 54.3 per cent of its total revenue (down from 57.3 per cent last quarter) while Europe contributed 29.63 per cent.

This year, the company is expecting a 12-15 per cent hike in offshore (in India) salaries and 3-5 per cent hike in onsite (international) salaries. It has made 5,000 offers so far which it plans to fill in starting June this year.
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Hindalco says it has first right to buy Alcan stake
Mumbai: Hindalco Industries says it has the first right to buy the stake held by global aluminium giant Alcan in joint venture Utkal Alumina. However it said it has not yet decided whether to purchase Alcan's stake.

Alcan Inc announced on April 13 that it planned to sell its stake in Utkal Alumina International and hoped to complete the deal in the second quarter of 2007.

Hindalco holds 55 per cent in the joint venture, while Alcan has 45 per cent stake. The JV was established in 1992 for development of a new bauxite mine and alumina refinery in Orissa. The project is currently in an engineering phase.

If Hindalco buys Alcan's stake in Utkal Alumina it would mean another big investment by the company, which is already under pressure from the $6 bn acquisition of a former Alcan group firm Novelis.
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TCS to hire 32,000 people
Mumbai: Tata Consultancy Services plans to hire over 32,000 people in the current fiscal year riding on an outsourcing wave. Officials said last year the company had hired 32,000.

Tata Consultancy would also increase the hiring of non-Indian professionals, who currently account for 9.6 per cent of its total workforce of 89,419, as it expands its overseas presence to boost business.
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Coca-Cola registers upbeat first quarter growth in India
New Delhi: Coca-Cola India has gained market share and recorded robust growth in India during the first quarter on the back of continued investment in marketing and quality improvement according to the company.

The company said in India its unit case volume increased by mid-single digits in the quarter, as against a decline of 10 per cent in the prior year quarter.

The Eurasia unit case volume rose 16 per cent in the quarter, cycling 15 per cent growth a year ago, primarily driven by good results in Russia, Eastern Europe and Southern Eurasia along with solid performance in India, it added.

Atlanta-based Coca-Cola's worldwide net income increased to 1.26 billion dollars from 1.11 billion dollars a year ago.

Sales jumped 17 per cent to 6.1 billion dollars on worldwide unit case volume growth of 6 per cent, which marked the highest quarterly volume growth rate since 2002.

The US-based company recorded a 14 per cent jump in its worldwide first quarter net profit driven by higher sales in Asia and Europe, it said in a statement.
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Sunil Hi-Tech gets contracts worth Rs82 crore
Mumbai: Sunil Hi-Tech Engineers has received two contracts worth Rs82 crore from Reliance Energy and US firm Dodson-Lindblom. The company said both the projects are likely to be completed within 18 months.

Reliance Energy awarded Sunil Hi-Tech a Rs37-crore contract for structural fabrication erection work at its Hissar thermal power plant at Haryana.

The contract from the US company will mark the entry of Sunil Hi-Tech into hydro-power projects. The US company has awarded Sunil Hi-Tech three projects in Himachal Pradesh for a total value of Rs45 crore.
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SAIL gets Rs100 crore orders for power plants
Rourkela: Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) consultancy division Sailcon has received an order to provide consultancy services for two power plants of Gujarat NRE Coke Limited (GNCL), which will be set up for around Rs100 crore. The plants to be built at Dharwad, Karnataka and Bhachau, Gujarat will be commissioned within 24 months, a SAIL release said.

SAIL's consultancy division Sailcon will provide the design, engineering and consultancy services to these plants with total capacity of 30 MW.

The company's Ranchi-based centre for engineering technology, will assist Silicon in this job, said the release.
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No fresh hearing for Nimbus
New Delhi: TRAI has ruled out a fresh hearing for sports broadcaster Nimbus which sought a review of the prices fixed for its cricket channels.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has contended that prices were fixed after completing due process and it would not start the process again.

On January 12, TRAI had directed Nimbus to reduce the price of its channel to Rs21.25 in non-CAS areas and Rs5 in notified CAS areas. Nimbus had originally priced its channels Neo Sports and Neo Sports Plus at Rs49.50 a month each and Rs58.50 for both.

The sports broadcaster, which bought telecast rights for matches featuring the Indian team from BCCI for $612 mn, had contended that TRAI fixed the prices without giving it proper representation. It has also asked the tribunal to direct TRAI to disclose the material based on which the price was fixed.
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