Ind Auto not allowed to pay royalty
New Delhi: In a major decision, the government has disallowed Ind Auto, a joint venture of Italian auto company Fiat, from making payments of royalty for the '178' series of cars. The company had made a request to the government on the grounds that the production of these vehicles has been shifted to Ind Auto from Fiat India Automobiles, a 100 per cent subsidiary of Fiat.

The Foreign Investment Promotion Board had earlier said it was evident from the request that the transfer from 100 per cent foreign equity company to the joint venture company was an attempt to enable the foreign collaborator to receive the royalty.

Fiat is understood to have shifted the production of the 178 range of cars to Ind Auto as part of a restructuring plan, under which Ind Auto is to take over the operations of Fiat’s Ranjangaon plant and the manufacturing of all Fiat car models, including the Siena, the Palio, the Weekend and the Uno. Fiat India would then become an investment company.
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BT, Enron join hands with Ircon for JV
Mumbai: British Telecom, Enron Communications and Indian Railway Construction Company are joining hands to create Ircon Telenet, a joint venture company. In the first instance, the company will set up a long distance backbone cable network on the Mumbai-Delhi railway corridor. British Telecom and Enron Communications will each own 24 per cent of the equity of the venture and Mahindra Telecom 2 per cent. The remaining 50 per cent stake will be with Ircon.

Enron had earlier announced its plan to enter the telecommunications field in India. The new venture is likely to become an alternative to the department of telecommunications in long distance communications.
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S Kumars plans theme park
Mumbai: The premises of Sri Ram Mills, controlled by the Kasliwals of the S. Kumars group, is being converted into an entertainment complex. The Kasliwals are promoting a theme park in a 2 lakh sq.ft. mill compound in the heart of Mumbai. The park will have a variety of entertainment facilities, including a bowling alley, go-carts, pool tables, game parlours and even rock climbing facilities, besides restaurants and eateries.

Landmark Citi is the name of the project. The fully air-conditioned landmark Rs 150-crore project is being built by Landmarc Leisure, formerly S. Kumars Infrastructure Development Corporation, an S. Kumars group company. The first phase of the project is scheduled to open in by February or March 2000.
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Zenith introduces notebook
Mumbai: Zenith Computers has launched a notebook computer priced at Rs 99,999. The new notebook, Zenith Corporate Notebook, is powered by an Intel 366 MHz Pentium II processor. It has 32 MB of RAM and a 4.8 GB hard disk besides floppy disk and CD ROM drives and a modem attached to it. It comes with a VSNL Internet account.
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Daewoo losses at Rs 40 crore
New Delhi: Daewoo Motors India, the Indian subsidiary of the ailing South Korean group, Daewoo, has incurred a loss of Rs 40.13 crore on a turnover of Rs 387.35 crore in 1998-99. In the previous year, the company had registered a loss of Rs 42.73 crore on a turnover of Rs 441.93 crore,

Daewoo Motors India’s managing director S.G. Awasthi said the losses were on account of a slump in capacity utilisation. He hopes that the company’s turnover in 1999-2000 will be in the region of Rs 1,100 to Rs 1,200 crore and there will be substantial operational profits. The company’s new car, Matiz, has accounted for the bulk of sales after its introduction in October 1998.
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Computer Associates plans JV with Pentafour
Bangalore: Computer Associates is setting up a joint venture with Pentafour Software to develop and market accounting software in India. The 51:49 joint venture will leverage CA’s technology of ACCPAC International.

Computer Associates has two other joint ventures in India, one with TCG Software and another with Escorts.
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Crocodile plans kids’, ladies’  wear
Coimbatore: Crocodile Products, a joint venture between Singapore-based Crocodile International and Shivaram Associates of Coimbatore, is planning to market sports equipment, kids' wear and ladies wear. The company will also widen its product portfolio in the gents’ segment.

The new products planned will be available in the market in March-April 2000. While the ladies' wear will be made in-house, the kids' wear and sports equipment will be outsourced. The company is setting up a division within its existing facility at Bangalore to make ladies' wear.
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Shonkh’s new data storage system
Bangalore: An information technology start-up, Shonkh Technologies, has developed a new file format that increases data storage capacity by 50 to 98 per cent and nearly doubles data retrieval speed. The system does not require data compression or additional hardware. It uses D-Pol (data pooling) concept and the company’s 'Ladder' technique. The company says the system enhances the performance of databases.
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National Power to split activities
London: National Power announced a demerger of its international and domestic operations and return of up to $973 million to shareholders. The company said it is also selling two power stations to rival companies to take advantage of "attractive valuations" offered by a number of parties.
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KRON-TV changes hands
San Francisco: KRON-TV, the top-rated station in the US, has been sold for a record $823 million to Young Broadcasting. Young Broadcasting said it has bought KRON from Chronicle Publishing Company, against tough competition from rival suitors, which reportedly included General Electric, Gannett, and News Corporation.

KRON-TV is the most valuable item put up for sale by Chronicle Publishing, which is selling its assets – dismantling family-owned operations. The company’s flagship property, the San Francisco Chronicle, was sold in August 1999 to rival Hearst Corporation, publishers of the San Francisco Examiner.
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Glaxo gets key clearance for new drug
Gaithersburg: British drug company Glaxo Wellcome won a key endorsement for its drug Lotronex, used in the irritable bowel syndrome. A US Food and Drug Administration advisory panel recommended approval for Lotronex, the first treatment for multiple symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, a disease that is estimated to be affecting up to 20 per cent of all adults.

If finally approved by the FDA, the drug will be the first one available for treating the disease, which is characterised by abdominal pain, diarrhoea and constipation. The drug is estimated to have a $1 billion market globally.
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Motorola, Identix develop fingerprint reader
Las Vegas: Motorola has developed in collaboration with fingerprint security system maker Identix a next-generation fingerprint-based security system small enough to fit into mobile phones and laptop computers. The system will protect information by recognising only the owner’s fingerprints and barring other unauthorised access.

The two companies said the new product will allow consumers to access computer networks, programs and information with a fingerprint instead of password or personal identification numbers. The product, named DFR 300, is 4.5 mm in thickness and is 80 per cent smaller in size than a previous version now being used in Compaq Computer’s desktop versions.
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New ‘smart’ chip being developed
Las Vegas: Transmeta Corporation, thought to be one of Silicon Valley’s most secretive start-ups, is working on what it calls a "smart" microprocessor. Linus Torvalds, the creator of the popular Linux operating system, who also works at Transmeta, speaking at the Comdex show, divulged the information at the end of his address.

Mr Torvalds said he could not provide details. The processor has been named Crusoe. The company’s website says, "We rethought the processor to create a whole new world of mobility."
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