FI panel to assess Essar Oil project
Mumbai: Financial institutions are setting up a four-member committee to examine the viability of Essar Oil’s 10.5 million-tonne refinery in Jamnagar. The proposal follows ICICI’s plan to extend additional funding of Rs 2,200 crore to the project. The panel will examine all issues related to the refinery’s project cost, management and other operational issues.

The lenders to the project – ICICI, Industrial Development Bank of India, Infrastructure Finance Corporation of India, Unit Trust of India and Life Insurance Corporation of India -- have asked ICICI to set up the panel. ICICI had earlier got an evaluation of the project carried out through an independent engineering consultant.

The Ruias hold around 42 per cent equity in the company, the Chanderias, based in Singapore and Switzerland hold 15 per cent, financial institutions and mutual funds 14 per cent and the public the rest. The promoters have already invested around Rs 4,700 crore in the project, which has achieved 67 per cent completion.
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Thapar holding co to offer stake abroad
New Delhi: The L.M. Thapar group’s new holding company, APR Holdings, is offering 20 per cent stake in its equity to foreign investors, especially pension funds. The Thapar group will have a holding of 70 to 80 per cent in the company. The rest will be offered to strategic investors abroad at a premium to bring in Rs 200 crore, Gautam Thapar, managing director of Ballarpur Industries, the group’s flagship company, said. APR Holdings has a paid-up capital of Rs 10 crore and one of its strategic investors, Chescor Holdings, has made an offer to sell its equity to the Thapars. APR Holdings has been set up after the erstwhile Rs 190-crore APR Ltd merged with Ballarpur Industries.

Ballarpur Industries will not be part of the holding company, while four group companies – BILT Chemicals, Ashti, Servall and Global Greens – will come under it.
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Shell plans JV in India
Mumbai: Royal Dutch Shell is planning an Indian joint venture to market controlled petroleum products in India. The company’s senior officials have met government officials in this regard.

John Hofmeister, Shell’s director said, Shell would consider the option of acquisitions if there were possibilities in India. Earlier Shell had wanted to pick up equity in Hindustan Petroleum Corporation.
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GE to pick up stake in Infotech Enterprises
New Delhi: GE is planning to enter the infotech sector in India through acquisition of a 10 per cent stake in Infotech Enterprises, a company that develops software for intranets. GE will invest in the company's overseas convertible debentures and proposes to bring in $3.8 million. At the time of conversion, it will amount to 10.7 per cent stake in the company. GE will be treated as a collaborator.

Three other US companies, Analytical Surveys, Walden International Investment and Callaghan Partners Corporation are expected to pick up stakes in the company.
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Nikko Hotel in India
New Delhi: Nikko Hotels International has launched a Japanese hotel in India, the Metropolitan Hotel Nikko, at New Delhi. The Japanese hotel company has collaborated with the Delhi-based Sunair Hotels for the venture. The five-star deluxe hotel will have 175 rooms and will be built with an investment of Rs 80 crore. The two companies will also develop five properties in metro cities in India in the next five years. Nikko Hotels is a subsidiary of Japan Airlines.
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BPCL order for Bharat Heavy Plate
Visakhapatnam: Bharat Heavy Plate and Vessels has secured a Rs 34-crore order from Bharat Petroleum Corporation to build six mounded "bullets" to store liquefied natural gas and two others to store propylene at the Mahul refinery near Mumbai.

The LPG bullets will weight about 350 tonnes, while the propylene bullets will weight about 500 tonnes.
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Apple launches iBook
Mumbai: Apple India has launched its notebook computer, iBook in India. The computer is priced at Rs 1,07,635. iBook is powered by a 300 MHz G3 processor. It also features an in-built modem or a 10/100 Base-T Ethernet using EarthLink Total Access.
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Future Focus, iBusinessHub in JV
Chennai: Future Focus Infotech is planning to set up a joint venture company with iBusinessHub of California, US. The proposed venture will work as an extended organisation of iBusinessHub with initial focus on software and client services. iBusinessHub is a premium provider of intelligent business-to-business e-commerce infrastructure.
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IDL Salzbau to merge with parent company
New Delhi: The Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction has approved the proposed merger of IDL Salzbau (India), a sick company, with its parent IDL Industries. The plan covers transfer of the entire undertaking and business of the sick company to IDL Industries at a share transfer ratio of 25:1. The scheme has been approved by the boards of both the companies. The total cost of the rehabilitation package is around Rs 12.75 crore, including one-time settlement with financial institutions.
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Printronix for Indian unit
Chennai: Printronix, the $190 million US company making line matrix printers, is thinking of having a manufacturing facility in India. Printronix-Singapore’s vice-president and managing director Philip Low said, it will consider setting up the facility either in collaboration with Wipro or on its own. Wipro Infotech is already a business partner of the company.

The company has a plant in Singapore and two others in the US and Holland. It has recently launched Tamil line matrix printers that can simultaneously print in Tamil and English. A Hindi printer is already in the market.
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India to be hub for Ikon exports
New Delhi: Ford Motor Company proposes to export its recently launched Ford Ikon cars to some Latin American and Asian countries and make the Indian manufacturing facilities as an export hub.

Jacques Nasser, president and chief executive officer of Ford Motor Company, who is in India to formally launch the car said, besides car production, Ford will also utilise India’s strength in information technology. "We would like to utilise India’s skills in Internet and software-related areas. India could become a location for treasury centres, call centres and design,. We would like to utilise India’s brainpower. Over a longer timeframe, India could become a source of environment and safety-related skills and India has the opportunity to create a 21^st century business model and skip the stages the US and European industry went through," Mr Nasser said
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Honda signs MoU with Haryana govt for plant
New Delhi: Honda Motors Company has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Haryana government for setting up a manufacturing plant for motorcycles and scooters in Gurgaon. The Japanese company will invest five billion yen in the project and in the first phase it will bring in three billion yen.
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VST sells unit
Mumbai: VST Industries has entered into an agreement with the Global Green Company to sell its subsidiary VST Natural Products. The sale is part of a restructuring plan of the company with a view to focus on the core area of cigarette manufacturing. The funds generated by the sale will be utilised in the restructuring programme, including retiring debts.
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Chrysler, Fiat in talks
Frankfurt: Auto major DaimlerChrysler is likely to pick up a stake in Italy’s Fiat. A German broadcasting company said in a report that Fiat is also likely to supply DaimlerChrysler motors, axles and gearboxes for a future generation of cars under, a deal that is set for signing in March 2000. The broadcasting company said the two companies are in talks after an earlier discussion between DaimlerChrysler and PSA Peugeot Citroen broke down. Both DaimlerChrysler and Fiat refused to comment on the report.
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Nike offers shoe selection on site
Seattle: Shoemaker Nike has set up a new division, NIKEiD, which will let buyers customise shoe models on its Internet site. NIKEiD customers can choose the colours on either the Air Turbulence running shoe or the Air Famished cross trainer and emblazon them with a name or slogan of up to eight characters for $10. The customer can view the personalised shoe on the screen and watch it change with each selection.
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Majority Orange shareholders approve deal
Frankfurt: Mannesmann said 74.86 per cent of shareholders of British phone company, Orange, have accepted its takeover offer. The German telecom and engineering major said the remaining Orange shareholders will continue to have an opportunity to exchange their shares for those of Mannesmann.
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Prudential to offer data over Palm planner
Newark: The Prudential Insurance Company of America, the No 1 insurer in the US, will offer access to its insurance, investments, real estate and retirement planning data over the PalmVII, a popular wireless pocket organiser made by a 3Com Corporation unit. The Palm VII will have term life insurance quotes, stock quotes, research from the company’s brokerage arm Prudential securities, 401(k) account balances and real estate services. Auto insurance, additional account information and stock trading will be added later, Prudential said.
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BASF to takeover Amcol unit
Ludwisghafen: BASF, Europe’s largest chemical company, is acquiring the super-absorber unit of Amcol International of the US for $630 million. The takeover of Amcol’s Chemdal International Corporation will help BASF to build up its super-absorber business. Chemdal has a $220 million revenue in 1998.
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