Mahindra & Mahindra plans petrol UVs
Mumbai: Mahindra & Mahindra plans to introduce utility vehicles with petrol engines. It will fit the highly competent Izuzu petrol engines in some of the MM range of vehicles, which will be targeted at institutional and individual buyers. The company will source Izuzu petrol engines from Hindustan Motors. The Izuzu engines give a displacement of 1817cc with a maximum 85 brake horsepower. The company will offer both two-wheel and four-wheel options.
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The Qualis is ready
Bangalore: The Qualis from Toyota Kirloskar Motor is ready. The vehicle will formally roll out from the company’s plant at Bidadi near Mysore on 13 December and will be available in the market in early January 2000.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor is planning to position the vehicle against Mitsubishi’s Lancer. It will be offered as a car rather than as a multi utility vehicle. The company intends to price the vehicle competitively, around Rs 5.5 lakh, it is reported. It will come in a basic 10-seater model and an eight-seater model.
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IBM ThinkPads to be colourful
Bangalore: IBM is launching a colourful ThinkPad I series of portable computers. The new ThinkPad I 1400 series of notebooks will have a colourful exterior. The product will be introduced in the market soon. ThinkPad products are more than a productivity tool - they are life-style products that enhance the image of the user, claims IBM.

The ThinkPad I 1400 has a ThinkLight, a small LED that illuminates the keyboard and palm rest in low light environment, four colour-coded easy-to-launch buttons that have been factory-programmed to give users one-touch access to their favourite and frequently used applications, connection to a television to watch DVD movies, and ability to play music CDs for up to six hours.
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Supreme Court decision on Cogentrix
New Delhi: The Supreme Court will pronounce its judgement on 13 December on an appeal made by Cogentrix and China Light and Power Company against the Karnataka High Court order on an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation into alleged kickbacks in the Mangalore Power Project. The two companies have announced their decision to pull out of the project, citing delays in securing clearances and long-pending litigation in Indian courts.
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Goldman to manage Rediff ADR
Mumbai: Internet company Rediff On The Net has appointed Goldman Sachs as investment banker for its forthcoming American depository receipt issue. The company is planning to make an initial public offer on the Nasdaq. Three leading private equity funds hold more than 30 per cent of Rediff's equity.
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Hallmark plans new products
Mumbai: Hallmark will introduce new products in India. The company is introducing planners, keychains and calendars. Anil Kapur, managing director of Vintage Cards, the authorised licensee for Hallmark in India, says the company is also setting up a toy-making unit in Delhi and will establish its own retail shops in major cities.
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Zegna group to invest in India
Mumbai: Men’s fashion group Ermenegildo Zegna of Italy is investing nearly $15 million in India to set up a retail chain of stores and to market its leading brands. Paolo Zegna, group co-chief executive officer of the company, is now in India to launch the company’s luxury men’s wear.

The group has also tied up with Ajay Piramal group company Morarjee Goculdas Spinning and Weaving Mills to supply fabrics for shirts. The new venture will produce readymade shirts in India for the Italian group. The group has opened a retail outlet at Crossroads, the Piramal group shopping mall in Mumbai.
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SICA amendment unlikely in this session
New Delhi: The government is not likely to bring up discussion of the amendments to the Sick Industrial Companies Act in the current session of Parliament. The finance ministry is understood to be reconsidering the far-reaching changes proposed in the amendment to the Act, including the proposed change to declare as sick those firms that have eroded 50 per cent of their net worth.

A finance ministry official said the ministry does not want to rush the bill. The bill envisages restructuring the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction with a plan to remove provisions in the BIFR Act for shelter to from creditors and tax authorities.
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Japanese oil companies forge alliance
Tokyo: Japan Energy Corporation and Showa Shell Sekiyu will consolidate their businesses in oil refining, lubricant production and distribution, in a long-term plan for cooperation. The two oil companies, which have announced a business alliance plan, will set up a new distribution company, establish another company to manage their lubricant production plants and ultimately start joint operations of their eight oil refineries in mid-2000.

According to a Japanese newspaper, the presidents of the two companies signed a basic cooperation agreement on 10 December.
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BAE, Boeing in talks for tie-up
London: Britain's BAE Systems and Boeing are in discussions for an alliance. A defence sector tie-up between the two companies is anticipated in the next two years, according to industry experts. This will ultimately lead to a full-scale corporate tie-up.

Boeing has overtaken Lockheed Martin as BAE’s favourite partner.
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