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Mangalore Power Project in peril
New Delhi: Cogentrix Energy of the US has announced its decision to exit
the Mangalore Power Project in Karnataka. The other partner in the 1,000-megawatt,
$1.3-billion power project, Hong Kong-based China Light and Power, has also pulled out of
the project. The two companies cited administrative delays in clearing the project as well
as litigation in the Indian courts as reasons for their pull-out decision.
The project, now in an advanced stage, is one of seven power
projects under the government's "fast track" programme. "Despite having
been invited by the government of India in 1992, efforts to construct the project have
been thwarted by delays in obtaining required government approvals and resolving public
interest litigation. As a consequence of these delays, the project is no longer
feasible," the company’s managing director Ron Somers said in a statement.
Cogentrix owns 60 per cent of the equity in the company
and the balance is owned by China Light and Power. The project has been mired in
controversy -- first it was charged with being environmentally hazardous. That charge was
rejected in a court. Then there was public interest litigation alleging kickbacks by the
two companies.
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Essar Power, Marathon
extend pact periodicity
Baroda: Essar Power and Marathon have agreed to extend their agreement on
the sale of a controlling stake in Essar Power to Marathon by 200 more days from 11
December. The US-based Marathon has been insisting that it will go ahead with the purchase
of Essar Power only on getting a clearance from the Gujarat government for third party
sale of electricity generated by the company to Essar Steel.
The government does not allow third party sale of power
and it has reiterated that there is no change in its stand.
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Essar Steel bailout
likely
Mumbai: Financial institutions, at their meeting on 9 December, have
decided in principle to offer a $104 million term loan facility to help Essar Steel to
meet repayment commitments of its $250 million floating rate notes. The institutions have,
however, sought a status report on the company before a final clearance is give. The
Industrial Development Bank of India will prepare the status report based on the changes
in the industry and revised cash flows.
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L&T told to focus
on engineering
Mumbai: Consulting company Boston Consulting Group, engaged by
engineering major Larsen & Toubro to suggest restructuring measures, is understood to
have recommended that the company concentrate on its core businesses and sell off a number
of subsidiaries and associate companies. Boston Consulting Group has submitted a report to
the L&T management making it clear that the company must aim to be leaner and fitter.
It has also suggested that besides focusing on core areas, L&T must shed flab.
The core areas identified by the consulting group are
understood to be engineering, construction and electrical businesses. Currently, these
businesses contribute nearly 70 per cent to the company’s revenue. The company is
expected to convene a board meeting soon to discuss the suggestions.
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Piaggio plans India to
be export hub
Mumbai: Italian scooter maker Piaggio will make India its export base in
Asia for three-wheelers. The company has a joint venture with Thapar group company Greaves
India -- Piaggio Greaves Vehicles. The company has a manufacturing facility at Baramati in
Maharashtra to make the well known Ape brand of three-wheelers.
The company said this plant will be Piaggio's second
production hub outside Italy to cater to the world markets. Piaggio Greaves Vehicle
managing director Ravi Chopra says around 20 to 25 per cent of the total production of the
company will be exported.
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Infosys, EC Cubed in
alliance
Mumbai: Infosys Technologies has entered into a strategic partnership
with the US-based EC Cubed, an e-commerce software company, to offer e-commerce solutions.
An Infosys Technologies statement said the two companies have formed a strategic
partnership to develop e-commerce solutions that will enable large companies to rapidly
build and deploy them.
The partnership is for three years and covers areas of
product development, quality assurance and maintenance, systems integration, and
professional services.
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Ford Escort being phased
out
Mumbai: Ford India will ultimately phase out its Escort model. In its
place it will introduce a new Ford Ikon with a 1.3-litre Endura engine.
Ford India said the Escort will be phased out globally.
The new Ikon model will be launched early January 2000. Except for the new engine and a
reduced price, the car will have all the other features of the present model.. The
new model will sell at the top end of the small car segment.
The Ford Ikon, with a 1.6-litre petrol engine, is
currently priced at Rs 4.99 lakh. A 1.8-litre diesel engine variant is also available.
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Telco bags export order
for Indica
Mumbai: Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company has bagged an order for
the export of its Indica car to Malta in Europe. The company will send its first
consignment to Malta early next year. Under an agreement that is being finalised,
the diesel variant will be exported and will be priced around $5,500. That
represents a 25 per cent discount on its price in India.
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BPL, Hutchison eye share
in Sterling
New Delhi: BPL France Telecom and Hutchison have bid for the 49 per cent
shareholding in Sterling Cellular, the cellular service operator in New Delhi, which
Swisscom and non-resident businessman C. Sivasankaran are planning to offload. Swisscom
has a 32.6 per cent shareholding in the company, and Mr Sivasankaran controls 16.4 per
cent.
The bids are now being evaluated by Jardine Fleming. Both
BPL and Hutchison are cellular telephone operators in Mumbai.
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Bharti group to invest
Rs 200 cr in south
New Delhi: The Bharti group will invest Rs 200 crore in the Karnataka and
Andhra Pradesh circles. The group has recently acquired a stake in JT Mobile, the licensee
for these two circles.
Sunil Mittal, chairman of the group, says Rs 110 crore
will be spent on building a fibre optic backbone to carry long distance traffic and Rs 90
crore on equipment. This will be in addition to the group’s Rs 400-crore investment
in creating telecom infrastructure in these two circles, announced earlier.
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Gillette to upgrade
facilities
New Delhi: Gillette subsidiary Indian Shaving Products will invest nearly
Rs 53 crore in upgrading its blade manufacturing process. The company will also launch
Mach-III, a three-blade razor, in India. Mach-III is the latest razor in Gillette’s
product portfolio in the US.
The investment will be made at the Bhiwadi plant of the
company for technology upgradation and to bring in environment-friendly manufacturing
processes, India Shaving Products managing director Zubair Ahmed said.
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Air Canada acquires 50%
holding in Canadian Air
Montreal: Air Canada has been able to acquire more than half the equity
of rival Canadian Airlines. It said it has also concluded an agreement with AMR
Corporation to buy out its interest in the ailing airline. The Montreal-based Air Canada
said it acquired the stake at C$2 a share.
The agreement with AMR, the parent company of American
Airlines, involves purchase of preferred shares for C$55 million to C$60 million.
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Mannesmann
specifies a price
Dusseldorf: Mannesmann has demanded a price of 300 euros per share from
Vodafone AirTouch. The German engineering and telecom company made it clear that its
shareholders should accept nothing lower from Vodafone, which has mounted an unsolicited
bid on Mannesmann.
The Vodafone bid is valued at 274 euros per share.
Mannesmann’s chief executive Klaus Esser, who has been on a campaign to seek support
against the bid, said he has received overwhelming response to his stance.
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Walt Disney plans theme
resort
Orlando, Florida: Walt Disney’s vacation complex is expanding as the
company is developing a 5,760-room economy-style resort near its Disney-MGM studio theme
park. Like other hotels in Disney World, this resort too will have a theme. Its 20
buildings will come in pairs, with each twosome having themes that depict different stages
of American culture in the 20th century.
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