Sops for bringing in patented technology
New Delhi: The government has decided to allow multinational companies bringing in patented proprietary technologies to set up 100 per cent subsidiaries in the country. The primary objective in doing so was to bring in high technology and, at the same time, protect the interests of the foreign players. 

The Economic Times, in a report, said a proposal from Cigarette Components Ltd, a subsidiary of Bunzl plc, has been approved by the Foreign Investments Promotion Board recently under the new norms. The proposed Indian company will manufacture and sell tear tapes for use in packaging in tobacco, confectionery, pharmaceutical and audio-visual product industries.

The government had earlier rejected an application from E.I. Du Pont and had asked the company to divest 26 per cent of its equity in favour of an Indian company. On a representation being made by Du Pont that it is using its patented technology and bringing in other shareholders into the company would adversely affect the proprietary rights of the company,  the FIPB permitted Du Pont to hold on to its equity.
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HMT rejects M&M offer for tractor unit
Bangalore: HMT has rejected the price offered by Mahindra & Mahindra for its profitable tractor division. The public sector machine tool company was in negotiations with Mahindra & Mahindra to sell a 51 per cent stake in the Rs 454-crore tractor division of the company. 

Sources said Mahindra & Mahindra had valued the entire unit at Rs 270 crore and HMT would have got Rs 138 crore for the 51 per cent stake it would divest. However, the deal fell through after Mahindra & Mahindra reduced the offer amount following a due diligence study on the ground that the business value of the division was lower than Rs 138 crore due to some liabilities.
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Hyundai drops HDFC Bank
New Delhi: Hyundai Motors India is dropping HDFC Bank from its car finance scheme and is bringing in Citibank.

Hyundai has three preferred financiers -- ICICI and Kotak Mahindra besides HDFC Bank. Citibank is one of the leading financiers for Hyundai's Santro, although it is not a preferred financier. Once Citibank becomes a preferred financier, it will  be financing Hyundai's new car, Accent too.
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HAL plans restructuring
Bangalore: Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd is undertaking a major restructuring programme to make it an international aeronautical player. The public sector unit is understood to have valued its stocks and has gone in for a credit rating.

The company wants to shift its focus from profits to quality products in order to be a global player. It is also planning to implement a cost reduction programme.
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L&T Komatsu to market Komatsu products
Bangalore: L&T Komatsu, a joint venture between Larsen & Toubro and Singapore's Komatsu Asia & Pacific, is all set to launch a slew of products made by Komatsu of Japan. One of the items is excavators.

The Indian joint venture will also offer its products to Komatsu's global clients.

L&T Komatsu is a 50:50 venture set up in 1998 after Larsen & Toubro sold its excavator manufacturing facilities to the new company. Komatsu Asia & Pacific is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Komatsu of Japan, a major global player in the hydraulic excavator market.
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Government may sell Gujarat Torrent stake to PowerGen
Ahmedabad: The Gujarat government is likely to offer its 10 per cent stake in the 650-mega watt Gujarat Torrent Electricity Company to PowerGen of the UK.The government expects Rs 228 crore for the stake.

The government had invested Rs 88 crore in the company through Gujarat Power Corporation. The shares of the company are now being traded around Rs 32 per share.

Gujarat Torrent Electricity Company has recently been taken over by PowerGen in what is claimed as one of the biggest takeovers in India's corporate history.
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Reliance may get Gujarat power project
Ahmedabad: Reliance Industries may get the 375-mega watt Ghogha power project in Gujarat. The nodal agency for power projects in the state, the Gujarat Power Corporation, is understood to have recommended Reliance as the preferred bidder for the project.

The Rs 1,500-crore project will have three units of 125 MW each. The Larsen & Toubro-Marubeni consortium has been the other bidder. The project was actually conceived in 1992 and has been delayed due to various reasons.
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Elbee to have a travel subsidiary
Mumbai: Courier company Elbee Services will hive off its travel division into a wholly-owned subsidiary, Elbee Travellers Services. Company sources say there will be an investment not exceeding Rs six crore in the new subsidiary.

Besides the travel business, Elbee Services is also setting up five subsidiaries to enter into intra-city courier service.
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Analog, BPL Telecom develop telephony kit
Bangalore: Analog Devices of the US and BPL Telecom have partnered to develop a digital telephony kit for design engineers and product developers. The kit, DT100H, has been released in international markets and some companies have already started using it in their digital telephony product offerings.

The DT100H enables research and development engineers to quickly turn around feature-rich telecom terminals using digital signal processor technology. It has several features, each of which can be developed to be sold as a separate product.
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Samsung to offer gifts
Calcutta: Samsung India Electronics has earmarked a hefty Rs 20 crore for a campaign offering freebies to consumers in a two-month period. Every buyer of a Samsung product will get goods worth Rs 800 to Rs 3,500 free.

The company claims that this will be the biggest give-away campaign in the Indian electronics industry. The campaign is part of two-phase marketing push by the company, where the first phase saw Kapil Dev promoting Samsung products.

The company  said it has commissioned an electronic data interchange system to link its suppliers with its global logistics network system.
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Essar Shipping gets loan
Mumbai: Essar Shipping has tied up a 12-year Rs 100 crore loan from the Boeing Corporation and GE Capital Structured Finance Group of the US. The loan will be used to repay the company's high-cost Rs 200-crore debt to State Bank of India and ICICI, Essar group sources said.
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Bilt appoints consultant for corporate governance
New Delhi: Ballarpur Industries has appointed a Switzerland-based consultant, Fred Neubauer of IMD at Lausane, to frame a corporate governance package. The proposal will be ready by 2000, says Ballarpur Industries' managing director Gautam Thapar.

Ballarpur Industries is about to complete its restructuring programme started about two years ago, under which the company has hived off its chemicals division into a separate company.
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Record profit for ONGC
New Delhi: Oil and Natural Gas Corporation has recorded its highest-ever profit of Rs 2,754 crore in 1998-99. Its gross revenue (excluding interest income) for the year is Rs 15,101 crore. The company has declared a dividend of 55 per cent.

ONGC chairman B.C. Bora said after the company's annual general meeting that it is planning to restructure the Bombay High offshore wells for a better yield of gas reserves. ONGC had produced 26.385 million metric tonnes of oil and 18.414 billion cubic metre of natural gas during 1999-98 out of which Bombay High alone contributed 10.5 million tonnes of oil, he said.
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Zee may offer equity to foreign partner
Mumbai: Zee Telefilms plans to offer up to 10 per cent of its equity to a foreign strategic partner and will look for equity investment opportunities in related media businesses. The matter is listed for discussion at the 27 September board meeting of the company.

The US media company Viacom is seen as a potential partner for Zee.
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DSQ Software plans profile shift
Calcutta: DSQ Software is refocusing its business profile. It will give preference to end-customers rather than intermediaries, Dinesh Dalmia, managing director of the company, said.

The company has been servicing clients through channel partners with whom it had non-competition agreements. But, this is a difficult business proposition since it is not possible to establish direct contact with foreign clients, Mr Dalmia said.
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Yahoo planning Indian site
New Delhi: Yahoo! is planning an Indian internet site. The site will have customised content, Yahoo's director, sales, Asia, David Mickler, said at the India Internet World seminar here.

Yahoo is about to launch a site for China, where a Chinese user will be able to log on to Yahoo.com.ch.
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Pentel pen plant to start operations
Mumbai: Japanese pen company Pentel is commissioning its dedicated Indian factory at Daman on 23 September. A joint venture company, Indo Japan Pen Manufacturing Company, has been set up to carry out the manufacturing activities. The partners in the joint venture are Vikram Kothari of Rotomac and K.J. Rathod of Flair Pens. They together have invested Rs six crore in the plant.

The company will manufacture Clic-ball, a ball-point pen with a unique side click system priced at Rs 17, HyperbG, a ball point pen with an ergonomic design priced at Rs 15, Technica, a roller-ball point pen priced at Rs 110 and Tradio, a plastic fountain pen priced at Rs 120.

The $720 million Pentel has been distributing its products in India. The company now feels it is time to set up manufacturing facilities in the country.
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Celsius to merge submarine unit with HDW
Stockholm: Celsius AB of Sweden has announced the merger of its submarine unit Kockums Naval Systems with German shipyard Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft to create the world's leading submarine builder.

A new company, HDW Group, will be created out of the merger, to be located at Kiel in Germany and the Germans will have a majority holding. The German engineering company Babcock Borsig and tourism and industrial group Preussag jointly owns HDW.

No financial details of the merger have been publicised.
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Airtours-First Choice merger bid blocked
Brussels: As anticipated, the European Commission blocked the plan by Airtours of Britain to acquire rival First Choice. The commission said the merger would leave just three powerful players dominating the British market.

European Commission's new European Competition Commissioner Mario Monti said the commission has found that the merger would create a dominant position in the UK market for short-haul foreign package holidays. The dominating players will be the merged Airtours/First Choice, Thomson Travel and Thomas Cook.

Airtours launched a $1.39 billion hostile bid for First Choice in April 1999.
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Global Crossing-Frontier merger okayed
Washington: The Federal Communications Commission approved Global Crossing's $9 billion acquisition of Frontier Corporation. The combination of undersea cable building Global Crossing and Frontier will increase competition in both domestic and foreign markets, the commission said.
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Phelps Dodge raises bid price for Asarco, Cyprus
New York: Copper company Phelps Dodge says it has raised its hostile bids for Asarco and Cyprus Amax Minerals to $2.77 billion in cash and stock. The new bids are up from a previous all-stock offer of $2.66 billion.

Shareholders of Cyprus and Asarco are to vote on a planned $1.4 billion union that was announced in July 1999. Phelps Dodge is persuading the shareholders to reject the deal in favour of its own offer.
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