Honda not for competition with Hero group
New Delhi: Honda Motor Company says it will evolve a joint model strategy that will minimise competition between the Japanese major’s wholly-owned subsidiary in India, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter, and its joint venture Hero Honda. The Munjals of the Hero group and K.Suzuki, senior managing director of Honda Motor Company, addressed a joint press conference, where Mr Suzuki said both the companies will work on the basis of a "prosperous co-existence" and they will not compete with each other on the same models. Honda and Hero Honda will form a joint team, which will evolve a strategy to be followed by both the companies.

Mr Suzuki said Honda is ready to provide technical assistance to Hero Honda in the scooter segment if the Indian company wants to enter this segment after about five years. The Japanese company is also willing to offer a stake in its proposed Honda Motorcycle and Scooter.
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Ford to develop India as hub for design
Chennai: Ford Motor Company’s president and chief executive officer Jacques Nasser is upbeat about India. He thinks India is one of the growing markets in the Asia-Pacific region, which his company wants to make use of. Ford will develop the country as its centre for design and engineering capabilities.

Mr Nasser said Ford would not like to import used cars into India. On the contrary, it would like the country to develop its automotive industry’s capability. Officially launching Ford’s Ikon, Mr Nasser said: "We are here on a long-term basis. We want to present a model for the 21st century. Ford does not believe in just giving a product for transportation. It is a question of building emotions and passions. We want to develop a long-term relationship with the customer." He also said Ford is looking at an export of $200 million worth of manufactured components per year from India. .
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United Phosphorus files case against BASF
Mumbai: United Phosphorus has filed a case in the US federal court in Delaware seeking relief and damages worth $56 million from BASF Corporation and its subsidiary Micro-Flo. The company alleges that Micro-Flo had imported unregistered pesticides for distribution and sale and use in the US under United Phosphorus labels. Micor-Flo is also alleged to have obtained certification and registration for these chemicals from the US Environment Protection Agency. The lawsuit alleges that these products were not manufactured by United Phosphorus.

United Phosphorus contended that Micro-Flo obtained and used the Indian company’s proprietary data, under false pretences to register acephate and permethrin pesticides made by United Phosphorus with EPA under Micro-Flo brand names. Using data from the Indian company, Micro-Flo even got certification that these pesticides would be made by United Phosphorus and went on to import different unapproved products from over a dozen other producers based on false claims that they were produced by United Phosphorus.
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SocGen, PwC to set up 2 companies
Mumbai: Societe Generale and PricewaterhouseCoopers are aligning to set up two companies for data processing. The two companies, Hubsys Services and Hubsys Technologies, will be based in London and will employ 400 people to service clients worldwide. While Hubsys Services will offer account administration and payment media management services to banks, Hubsys Technologies will develop, operate and maintain the information system dedicated to these services.
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Shaw Wallace gets BDA board slots
Calcutta: The Calcutta high court allowed Shaw Wallace and Company to nominate two directors on the board of BDA, the Kishore Chhabria company. The court also directed BDA to maintain status quo with regard to composition of its board till 20 December. Shaw Wallace had moved a petition saying it apprehended that a competitor is trying to grab the ownership of BDA and wanted the court’s orders to protect its own as well as BDA’s interests.

When brothers Manu and Kishore Chhabria parted ways in 1992, the former had filed a suit against the latter on the BDA ownership. The brothers have reached a compromise and as a result of the understanding BDA did not object to Shaw Wallace’s plea. The brothers have together opposed an attempt earlier by Herbertsons to become a party to the case.
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Indal entrusts power plant to TEC
Mumbai: Indian Aluminium Company has entrusted the work of constructing the 77 mega watt captive power plant at Hirakud in Orissa to Tata Electric Companies. Indal, on its own, will take up a Rs 400 crore expansion of its smelting capabilities.

Tata Electric will set up the unit on a build, own, operate and transfer basis. The coal required for the plant will be supplied by Indal from its mines in the state.

Indal said it may consider clubbing its existing 67.5 mega watt power plant at Hirakud with the proposed one. It will approach the government for necessary clearances in this regard, Indal’s managing director N.H. Chowdhury said.  
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CMC plans tie-ups with Oracle, SAP
Calcutta: CMC is soon planning tie-ups with Oracle Corporation and SAP. The tie-ups will aim at implementing Oracle Financials and SAP R3 range of products for CMC clients in India. At present, the state-run company has a systems integrator alliance relationship with Oracle for promoting its Oracle products.

CMC has recently set up an ERP centre in Calcutta in collaboration with BaaN of the US for ERP applications development. 
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CyberTech to merge parent with itself
Mumbai: Indian company CyberTech Systems and Software is planning to merge its American parent company CyberTech System with itself. Before the merger, CyberTech Europe will be merged with CyberTech System so that the merged entity will have a turnover of around Rs 400 crore.

CyberTech Systems and Software officials said the merger is planned to secure better valuations. CyberTech System has a turnover of $75 million and CyberTech Europe $15 million. CyberTech System holds 51 per cent stake in the Indian company and the Indian promoters, Prabhakar Rao and Associates 30 per cent directly. The balance is held by the public. Prabhakar Rao and Associates hold 80 per cent in CyberTech System, while 20per cent is held by two venture capital funds. 
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Agfa in marketing pact with Mahatta
Bangalore: Agfa Gevaert has tying up with Mahatta Camera Corporation Imaging to market its products in India. Mahatta Camera hopes to have a market share of 8 to 10 per cent through a sales turnover of Rs 40 crore in the next two years.
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Nestle phases out tea brand
Mumbai: Nestle has phased out its tea brand Taster’s Choice. Now Nestle will sell packaged tea under a brand name Nestea. Nestle has only a token presence in the domestic tea business. 
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Ambica group launches hotel
Mumbai: The Ambica group, makers of incense sticks, has launched Ambica Empire Best Western, a three-star hotel, in Chennai, in association with Best Western Hotels of the US. The Rs 20-crore hotel has 100 rooms including eight suites and it is the first hotel to be operational in south India under the Best Western brand. 
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Sterlite plans hive-off
Mumbai: Sterlite Industries is considering hiving off its two main business units –metals and telephone cables – into separate companies. The company has informed its major investors about this plan. It hopes this step will help it to improve utilisation of assets and enhance shareholder value. Sterlite has three main businesses -- copper, which contributes to 49 per cent of its turnover, telephone cables and aluminium conductor and foils. It is the largest producer of telephone cables controlling 60 per cent of the Indian market. 
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Government may change investment norms
New Delhi: The government intends to allow foreign companies to invest up to 5 per cent of the overall cap of 24 per cent permitted to foreign institutional investors in investments in Indian companies. This will be part of the government’s plan to open up the domestic secondary markets to foreign companies. However, the foreign companies will be required to route their investments through domestic institutional investors. This will enable cross-verification of the antecedents of the investors, along with their source of funds.

The new norms are likely to be announced soon.
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German construction co fails to get finances
Frankfurt: German banks failed to finance a rescue effort of Philipp Holzmann, the country’s second largest builder, facing financial disarray and break-up. Holzmann will not be able to pay the wages of its 28,000 workers, and will have to stop construction work at 1,200 sites and may, in the final run, be split or taken over.

Heinrich Binder, chief executive of the company, held   negotiations with 20 banks for nearly 15 hours in an effort to get a DM4.3 billion rescue package. The company had found 2.4 billion mark worth of losses from old project and held former managers responsible for the same. A full-fledged investigation in now to ascertain whether any fraud is committed. Under German law, the company has now to file for insolvency. It has the option to be brought under a financial administrator and carry on with the help of bridging loan. 
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Warner-Lambert may end Lipitor deal with Pfizer
New York: Warner-Lambert’s board of directors is meeting on 23 November to consider whether to end its agreement with Pfizer to jointly market the cholesterol drug Lipitor. Warner-Lambert, which earlier this month agreed to merge with American Home Products in a $68.7 billion stock deal, said it will break the marketing arrangement with Pfizer following Pfizer’s unsolicited bid to acquire the company.
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