Vodafone not to phase out Hutch brand for now
New Delhi: The Hutch brand will co-exist with Vodafone for the present and slowly migrate to the brand Vodafone in five years according to a report in CNBC.

Meanwhile Vodafone will launch all new value-added services under the Vodafone brand name.

Paul Donovan, chief executive officer of EMAPA, said Vodafone would bring added value via its outstanding portfolio of products and services, that it offers in developed but also emerging markets for both consumers and business, via Vodafone Live its global content mobile payments platform and its extensive business portfolio including wireless office.

In future Vodafone will offer services which go beyond mobile offering broadband and other fixed line services to target the total communications market in India.

Bharti and Vodafone have also announced sharing of 70,000 cell sites while Bharti would be Vodafone's preferred vendor for long distance telephony.

Vodafone will also use Bharti's national long distance, or NLD and international long distance, or ILD network for leased lines. Bharti will also get 50 pc of Vodafone's inbound roaming traffic for three years.

Meanwhile, Max India Chairman, Analjit Singh, who has a 7.5 pc personal stake in Hutch Essar says he plans to stay invested in the company. He says he has given an in-principle acceptance to partner Vodafone.

Essar now has to decide whether to go along with Vodafone sell its stake.
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Car sales cross one lakh units in January
New Delhi: Passenger car sales in India grew 24.04 per cent in January 2007 to cross one the landmark one lakh units at 1,04,488 units as against 84,235 units sold in the same month a year ago.

According to figures released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), motorcycle sales during the month stood at 5,60,056 units as against 4,99,333 units in the same month a year ago, up by 12.16 per cent.

Domestic commercial vehicles sales during the month also grew by 38.87 per cent at 47,276 units as against 34,043 units in the corresponding month a year ago.
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RSM merges with PwC
Mumbai: Financial and professional services company RSM and taxation services and auditing firm PriceWaterhouse Coopers have decided to merge their operations with effective from April 1. The combined operations will be under the common brand name of PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Rathin Datta would continue to be the chairman and CEO of PricewaterhouseCoopers, while Dinesh Kanabar, deputy managing partner, RSM, will be the chairman of the combined tax practice. The combined operations will have more than 4,000 people across offices in India.

RSM would move about 500 people its tax and audit practices to PwC from April 1. The combined strength after the merger would increase to more than 4,000 people across different offices in India.
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Daewoo plant assets to be sold
New Delhi: The assets of Daewoo Motors' Surajpur facility, shut down five years ago, are being purchased by Crosslinks, a company jointly promoted by former Hyundai Motor India President B.V.R. Subbu and Ajay Singh, one of the promoters of SpiceJet Airlines.

Crosslinks had put in a bid of Rs765 crore, which was accepted by the Debt Recovery Tribunal, Mumbai (DRT) in an order today. Industry sources said that Crosslinks plans to use the facility for manufacturing.

Subbu was unavailable for comment. Crosslinks' offer comprises 35 per cent cash, 30 per cent equity and the rest in debt. The Daewoo plant in Uttar Pradesh had a capacity of 85,000 cars a year and produced the Matiz compact car, the Cielo and Nexia sedans before shutting down, after its parent company collapsed in November 2000.
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Hyundai India to export Getz
Mumbai: Hyundai Motor India plans to start exporting the mid sized hatchback Getz from March this year, and is targeting to more than double overall exports by 2008. Hyundai sold 2, 99,513 vehicles in 2006, an increase of 19 per cent from the previous year and exported 1, 13,339 units, a rise of 17 per cent.

Hyundai is setting up a second plant in southern India to double its capacity to 6,00,000 units by end-2007 and is also building an engine and transmission plant with a capacity of at least 4,00,000 units.

Hyundai exports the Santro - branded as the Atos Prime in export markets - and the Accent sedan to more than 65 countries.

Hyundai Motor Indian makes the Verna mid-size, the Elantra and Sonata Embera sedans, and imports the Tucson sport utility.
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GHCL acquires US textile company
Mumbai: GHCL, part of the Dalmia Group of companies, has said that its US subsidiary Best Textiles International has acquired assets of Best Manufacturing Group LLC (BEST) for $35 million.

Best Manufacturing Group has an annual turnover of $160 million and is the leading manufacturer and distributor of home textiles and items for hospitality and healthcare sector in the US, GHCL said in a statement to the BSE. With this, GHCL has become the first global textile company to own an end-to-end value chain serving home textile customers across the spectrum. Subsidiaries of Best Manufacturing Group like Dan River Inc serve retail chains, while the Baker division caters to the hospitality chain. Best Textiles International would serve institutional markets like restaurants and hospitals. Last year December GHCL's US arm Dan River Inc had acquired US-based H W Baker Lenin Co for $6.75 million through competitive bidding.
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Toyota to set up small car plant near Bangalore
New Delhi: Media reports in Japan have said that Japanese car company Toyota Motor Corp planning to invest $330 to $420 million (about Rs1,890 crore) for setting up a small car plant near its existing facility in Bangalore. The agency report carried in Japan's Nikkei business daily said the new plant, Toyota's second Indian manufacturing facility, will have an initial capacity of 1,00,000 cars a year.

Toyota Kirloskar Motors, the joint venture of the Japanese firm with Kirloskars, neither denied nor confirmed the news.

According to the report, the small car to be rolled out from the proposed new plant would be priced at about 8,00,000 yen (approximately Rs2,88,000). Earlier Toyota announced an ambitious target of attaining 10 per cent of the Indian car market by 2010.
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GE Shipping to sell vessel
Mumbai: Great Eastern Shipping Company Ltd (GE Shipping) has entered into a contract to sell its vessel 'Jag Laadki' built in 1992 and weighing 145,242 dead weight tonnes (dwt). The ship is likely to be delivered during the first quarter of fiscal 2007-08, the company informed the BSE. However the company did not disclose name of the buyer.

The company's committed capital expenditure of $450 million comprises eight new building product tankers, four medium range and four LRI product tankers aggregating around 0.47 million dwt and three-second hand ships, it said.

GE Shipping's fleet stands at 40 vessels comprising 31 tankers --14 crude oil carriers, 15 product carriers and two LPG carriers --and nine dry bulk carriers.
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PVR to tie-up with Red Bull
New Delhi: PVR Cinema is planning to enter into a marketing tie-up with Austria-based energy drink maker Red Bull. The companies are targeting to woo working executives with special facilities, such as drink and snacks, at no extra cost.

PVR Cinemas plans to introduce a special show which will meet the needs of working executives, in the next six weeks and are in talks with energy food and drink companies including Red Bull, Dabur and Revital for sponsorship. The working executives would be allowed to take their laptops during these shows.

The show is expected to ramp up the revenue earnings from the particular show by up to 12-15 per cent apart from earning more add revenue.

The main aim of the show is to catch the executives on their way back home from office and for this the company has decided to reserve the evening slot for these shows. The company also plans launch similar shows for women and children.
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Rel Comm earmarks record capex of Rs11,000 crore
New Delhi: Reliance Communications chairman Anil Ambani said he welcomed Vodafone to India, after the UK giant emerged the top bidder for Hutch-Essar with an $18.8 billion bid.

He said Vodafone's participation in the Indian market is a further endorsement of the exciting future growth potential, and the progressive policies, prevailing in the Indian telecom sector.

Ambani also announced an investment of Rs11,000 crore ($2.5 billion) in the coming financial year.
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Essar signs JV to set up steel plant in Vietnam
New Delhi: Essar Steel has signed a joint venture agreement with Vietnam Steel Corporation (VSC) and Vietnam General Rubber Corporation (GERUCO) to set up a 2-million tonne steel plant in southern Vietnam for $527 million (about Rs2371.5 crore).

The project, expected to be complete within 30 months, would have 65-per cent holding by Essar Steel while VSC and GERUCO would hold 20 per cent and 15 per cent equity respectively, a press release said here.

Vietnam currently consumes 6-million tonnes of steel, of which hot rolled coils account for 2-million tonnes. The country's steel consumption is projected to shoot to 10-million tonnes by 2012.
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