LNM group, 3 others eye SAIL units
Calcutta: The L.N. Mittal group is evaluating the pros and cons of a takeover of the Steel Authority of India Ltd's special steel plants, Salem Steel in Tamil Nadu, and the Alloy Steel Plant at Durgapur in West Bengal.

SAIL has recently entrusted the work of evaluating a possible divestment in Salem Steel to J.M. Morgan Stanley. Earlier it had engaged McKinsey and Co for a similar assignment for the Alloy Steel Plant.

Besides the L.N. Mittal group, British Steel's Stockholm-based stainless steel subsidiary Avesta Sheffield, Nippon India Metal Company of Nippon Steel of Japan and Gamma Synergy of Canada are also considering acquiring these plants.
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Gudang Garam seeks permission
New Delhi: PT Gudang Garam, an Indonesian cigarette major, has sought the Indian government's permission to establish a manufacturing facility in India. The company has filed an application with the government through its Indian unit, the Chennai-based Gudang Garam Tabak India Pvt Ltd.

The company wants to invest $25 million in Indian operations. The project would be financed by a mixture of equity and debt.
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Wockhardt plans life science unit
Mumbai: Wockhardt Healthcare, the subsidiary of Wockhardt, which makes intravenous fluids, will be merged with  Wockhardt Life Science, a company the group is planning to create for its agri-science, IV fluids and hospitals business.

Habil Khorakiwala, chairman of Wockhardt, has been quoted by The Economic Times as saying the merger is being planned along with the creation of Wockhardt Life Science. The demerger and the Workhardt Healthcare-Wockhardt Life Science merger will be effective from 1 January 2000.

Audit and consultancy firm Ratan S. Mama & Sons has been appointed to carry out the valuation.
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Accumed acquisition
Mumbai: Wockhardt says its $5 million investment in acquiring the entire equity of US-based Accumed Inc is a closed chapter.

The Economic Times quoted Habil Khorakiwala, chairman of Wockhardt, as saying that the company's strategy for the US has changed since the acquisition, and that it now prefers to focus on a joint venture with Sidmak, another formulations company. The Accumed facilities will be used for manufacturing if needed.

It there is a buyer, Wockhardt will also consider selling off the company, he said. Accumed has been renamed as Elstim.
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Dabhol power rates may come down
Mumbai: The Dabhol Power Company, the Enron subsidiary, says its annualised cost of power may fall by 50 paise per unit when it switches over to liquefied natural gas as feedstock sometime in 2001. At present the company uses naphtha and distillate oil. The company will be able to produce power at the rate of Rs 2.50 per unit then, company officials claim.

It will start using LNG when it commissions its second phase. The company's rates then will be competitive with those of any new power producer in the country.
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Compaq adopts dual-focus strategy for India
New Delhi: Compaq India will adopt a dual-focus strategy to be the No 1 in volume and value in its business in India. The company has decided to set up call centres in major markets to reduce time to market products brought from Singapore and focus on providing solutions to customers.

It will start manufacturing PCs in India and price them competitively to get higher volumes.
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Denso, Subros agree on AC manufacture
New Delhi: Denso Corporation of Japan and Subros, partners in Denso Kirloskar Industries, have reached an arrangement for supplying car air-conditioners in the Indian market. Denso will manufacture car air-conditioners for Toyota, Honda, and Mitsubishi cars in India, and the joint venture partner will cater to Maruti Udyog, Telco and Daewoo.

This is to protect the interests of the joint venture and to ensure that the two partners do not compete, sources said. Denso Corporation and Subros have signed a memorandum of understanding to decide on their business-sharing policy.
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Linc Software seeks venture capital
Bangalore: City-based Linc Software says it has plans to source funds from domestic and overseas venture capital firms.

Linc Software's managing director Chandra Kumar said the company will divest an undisclosed portion of its equity to raise Rs 5 crore through venture capital. It will invest Rs 15 crore over the next two years through a mix of internal accruals, debt and funds from venture capital to increase its sales and support infrastructure.
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India largest market for Cummins
Mumbai: India is now the largest market for the Cummins Engine Company of the US, replacing Japan, which has been pushed to second position. The $5.5-billion company said nearly 43 per cent of Cummins sales come from outside the US. The company claims a 50 per cent share of the world market for diesel engines.

Cummins India, the erstwhile Kirloskar Cummins, claims a market share of 70 per cent in power generators and industrial segments. The company is a global sourcing point for its parent Cummins Engines and is the exclusive manufacturer of four engine models for the world market.
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Bina Power plans to raise Rs 700 crore
New Delhi: Bina Power Project, promoted by PowerGen and the Aditya Birla group, is going in for a mix of equity and debt offerings to raise a capital of Rs 700 crore to pay offshore suppliers.

The company will raise DM204 million and $48 million to pay Siemens of Germany and Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. Bhel has to be paid in foreign currency. The proposal has been approved by the Foreign Investments s Promotion Board.
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IOC to invest Rs 700 crore in LPG facility
Mumbai: Indian Oil Corporation plans to invest Rs 900 crore for setting up 26 liquefied petroleum gas bottling units across the country in the next three years.

These additional facilities will increase IOC's LPG capacity to 2.8 million tonnes per anum. The company has a 52 per cent market share.
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Degussa to hike stake in Insilco
New Delhi: Degussa-Huls, the diversified German conglomerate and the largest producer of silica in the world, will increase its stake in Insilco from 68.03 per cent to 75 per cent. Degussa will also bring in additional investment of $7 million.

Insilco is a joint venture between Degussa and Vam Organics of the Bhartias.
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MRTPC allows Pfizer plea
New Delhi: The Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission has upheld Pfizer's argument that price list prepared as per the drug prices control order need not mention the products, and the products can be sold at below the price mentioned in the list.

MRTPC said prices fixed under the drugs order were authorised by law and therefore it is not necessary for the company to expressly mention that retailers are free to sell products below their respective prices mentioned in the list. The complaint was filed by the director general of investigations and registration.
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AOL offers direct billing facility
Berlin: AOL Europe says it will offer direct billing to German customers for the phone charges incurred while online. This will help usher in more price transparency.

The new billing system outlined by Andreas Schmidt, AOL Europe chief executive, will be a tool for consumers to better compare the billing in a market rent by price wars. The system will come into force from 1 October 1999.
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Korean court reject regulators' plea
Seoul: A Korean court has rejected the government's plan to stop Korea Life Insurance Company from selling its majority stake to a US investment firm. The Seoul district court rejected Korean financial regulators' application to suspend Korea Life's plan to issue and privately place 10 million shares with Panacom Inc of the US.

The Financial Supervisory Commission and Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation had asked the court to suspend the company's plan, saying it went against the financial regulators' measures. The court rejected the claim saying the company's plan to improve its financial position cannot be seen as impeding the commission's earlier measures aimed at returning the debt-laden insurer's business to normal.
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2 French retail groups plan merger
Paris: Carrefour and Promodes of France are meeting to discuss a merger making the unified entity the second largest retailer, next to Wal-Mart of the US. Both companies are basically food retailers, and run large supermarket chains, but they also sell everything from clothing to computers.

The merger is also aimed to ward off a possible acquisition move from Wal-Mart, analysts say. Carrefour and Promodes, both originally family businesses, have expanded abroad in recent years. About 70 per cent of Carrefour's stock is in public hands.
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