Indian Oil teams up with TCG for IPCL stake
New Delhi: The Indian Oil Corporation has now teamed up with TCG group, an affiliate of the George Soros group, to be in the reckoning for a stake in Indian Petrochemicals Corporation Ltd, which is being privatised. Indian Oil's claim had earlier been rejected by the divestment panel on grounds of late entry. The TCG group is one of the short-listed bidders for the 25 per cent stake to be divested by the Union government in the Vadodara-based petrochemicals company.

The other main bidders in the field are Dow Chemicals and the Reliance group.
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Siemens, Emco set up joint venture
Mumbai: Siemens of Germany and Emco of Mumbai have formed a joint venture to make 400 KV high-voltage transformers and for undertaking servicing and maintenance work of such transformers. The new company, Siemens Power Transformers, has been set up with a capital of Rs 10 crore, and Siemens will hold 51 per cent of the equity.

The German company will provide the technology and Emco the manufacturing facilities. The company will operate from Emco's plant in Thane near Mumbai. The joint venture expects to have a turnover of Rs 25 crore in the first year, and Rs 100 crore by 2002. Siemens intends to source its transformer requirements in West Asia and Africa from the joint venture. It will also export Emco's 220 kv transformers.
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ASE sells marketing rights to joint venture
New Delhi: Ambalal Sarabhai Enterprises has concluded an agreement with Nicholas Piramal India under which the marketing rights of ASE's branded formulations will be sold to a 50:50 joint venture, Sarabhai Piramal Pharmaceuticals. ASE will receive a compensation of Rs 85 crore. The agreement also provides for infusion of Rs 20 crore into the equity of the joint venture, which will now go up to Rs 45 crore. Both partners will bring in Rs 10 crore each.

ASE is now in the process of restructuring its operations, and the sale of the marketing rights of its healthcare products is part of this exercise. The funds received from the sale will be utilised to retire high-cost debts and for a voluntary retirement scheme.
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Reliance ready to acquire HPCL, BPCL, IBP
Mumbai: Reliance Petroleum has set its sights high. Its managing director Anil Ambani says that should the government decide to divest the control of Bharat Petroleum, Hindustan Petroleum and IBP, Reliance will be ready to acquire them.

Said Mr Ambani: "The government's policy is, however, not clear. The finance minister is reported to be against cross holdings among oil companies whereas the petroleum ministry is advocating the Sengupta Committee recommendations, which promote oil company holdings into each other." He said Reliance has strong cash flows and can fund these acquisitions.
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Reliance posts 22% rise in H1 profit
Mumbai: Reliance Industries has registered a 22 per cent growth in its net profit in the first half of 1999-2000 -- Rs 1,122 crore compared with Rs 921 crore in the previous year's first half. The company has also recorded an 18 per cent growth in sales -- Rs 8,673 crore -- in the first half compared with Rs 7,374 crore in the corresponding previous year period. Reliance said its net profit in the quarter ended 30 September 1999 stood at Rs 612 crore, 27 per cent higher than the figure for last year's second quarter.

The results buoyed the prices of Reliance shares on the stock markets, with the scrip touching a 52-week high of Rs 256 on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
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Ambanis to up stake in Reliance Industries
Mumbai: The Ambani family is likely to buy an additional 3 per cent in Reliance Industries from the open market. The family currently owns 28 per cent of the company's equity. It is understood that the family members have already purchased some 20 million shares from the market.

According to Securities and Exchange Board of India regulations, up to five per cent of a company's equity can be acquired from the market without attracting the provisions of the takeover code.

Anil Ambani, managing director of the company, says that the management has estimated the total value of Reliance Industries at Rs 65,000 crore.
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UB's Millennium division announced
Bangalore: Vijay Mallya has announced the formation of a new division of his United Breweries, called Millennium Alcobev, to undertake marketing and distribution of the company's brands Sun Lager, Flying Horse, Kalyani Black Label Strong, Bullet and Charger. Ravi Jain, who left Shaw Wallace & Co, recently to join the UB group, will head the division.

Mr Mallya announced that Mr Jain and other members of the management group will hold substantial equity -- 38 per cent -- with four distributors of the company, while  United Breweries will hold 62 per cent. Millennium Alcobev will pay parent UB a transfer price for the brands. It will also launch its own brands in future.

While Mr Mallya will be the chairman of the company, Kalyan Ganguly, president, beer division, and A.K. Ravi Nedungadi, president and chief financial officer of the group, will be on the board of the company. Mr Mallya has plans to induct distributors of the group too on the board.
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Essar officials meet FRN holders
Mumbai: Representatives of Essar Steel had a meeting in London with the company's floating rate note holders on 20 October. The meeting, however, could not take a final decision. The company expects to arrive at a final decision in the matter shortly.

The company presented the restructuring options drawn up by Bank of America Securities, and there were no counter proposals from the bondholders. Prashant Ruia and Essar Steel managing director J.M. Mehra attended the meeting.
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Novartis plans new drugs
New Delhi: Novartis says it will launch three major formulations in India, including one for the treatment of malaria, in the current financial year. The other two formulations are for the treatment of epilepsy and an immuno-suppressant drug.

Novartis has secured registration for its transplantation treatment molecule Simulect from the Indian authorities, and it is expected to be launched soon. The anti-epilepsy drug Trileptol and malarial drug Co-artem are undergoing final trials. The multinational company will bring its globally launched  Diovan, a cardiac drug, Compton, a drug used in treatment of Parkinson's disease, and anti-diabetic Stalicks into India shortly.
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Silicon, Sharp in JV
Bangalore: Silicon Automation Systems is partnering with Sharp Corporation, the $20 billion Japanese electronics major, to set up a joint venture to develop a new technology covering high definition television, mobile multimedia and multimedia programme production.
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Bajaj to invest in renewable energy
Mumbai: Bajaj Electricals is thinking seriously of investing in renewable energy. The company has already entered the power generation sector and has set up a windmill project at Vankuswade in Maharashtra at a cost of Rs 12 crore.  The plant is capable of generating 3 MW of electricity.

Shekhar Bajaj, chairman and managing director of the company, said the company would like to branch out into allied fields as part of its corporate strategy to reach a Rs 1,000-crore revenue level by 2002.
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ModiLuft to resume operations
New Delhi: ModiLuft, the private air taxi operator, is resuming operations in early 2000, the company's chairman S.K. Modi said. "We plan to begin operations with six aircraft," Mr Modi said. The airline is bringing in fresh investment of $35 million through a combination of debt and equity.
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New software development centre by NIIT
Mumbai: NIIT is investing nearly $17 million to establish a new software development facility. The proposed venture will have a global reach and will employ 750 people, Vijay Thadani, chairman of the company, said.

NIIT has operations spanning 31 countries, and employs nearly 3,700 people.
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Munich Reinsurance for India entry
New Delhi: Munich Reinsurance Company is planning to enter India. The company will undertake healthcare management and third-party administration. The Foreign Investments Promotion Board has permitted the company to acquire a 51 per cent stake in an Indian company.

The company is expected to provide facilities like access to quality hospitals all over India, trouble-free treatment with quality monitoring, and organised and appropriate medical care. The company has been restricted from undertaking any insurance-related business.
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IBM to stop selling PCs from US stores
New York: IBM will stop selling its consumer PCs in American stores from early 2000. Instead, the global computer giant will focus on sales through the Internet. This is part of the company's strategy to deal with declining sales in the highly competitive US desk top computer retail market. Prices in the retail markets have plunged in the past one year.

IBM sells its desktop consumer PCs under the brand name Aptiva. The company announced that it plans to pull Aptivas out of US retail channels. However, the company will return once it develops a profitable formula for selling these PCs from store shelves, an IBM spokesperson said.
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DaimlerChrysler prefers solo Asian entry
Tokyo: DaimlerChrysler is planning to go it alone in Asia. It says it does not require a partner to do business in the region, which it expects to account for 25 per cent of its sales in the long run.

DaimlerChrysler's president for North America, James Holden, said a "majority partnership would get you there faster, but it's not a necessity".
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Daewoo foreign creditors' meeting on 28 Oct
Seoul: The Daewoo group has convened a meeting of overseas creditors on 28 October to discuss the repayment schedule. However, creditors are not clear on what to do about the $5.5 billion debt. Few creditors expect anything substantial to emerge from the meeting. If there is no agreement at the meeting, there could be more litigation, which will hamper the current efforts to stop the conglomerate from total disintegration. More than 200 foreign creditors have been invited for the meeting.

Daewoo has asked the foreign creditors for a freeze on repayments and on legal efforts to recover the loans until the end of the year. This request is expected to be discussed at the meeting.
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ABB Alstom plans job cuts
Paris: ABB Alstom Power, the power generation company created by the merger of ABB and Alstom, is planning major job cuts in its steam power plants division.

A confidential company report is understood to have recommended that the division will have to reduce its 4,658-strong workforce to 2,742. The Brussels-based biggest power generation service and equipment manufacturer, which is the world's biggest, employs 58,000 people. The company's operations in England, France, Germany, Italy and Sweden will be targeted for the job cuts.
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