Supreme Court quashes high court order in Cogentrix case
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has set aside an order of the Karnataka High Court directing the Central Bureau of Investigations to inquire into the alleged kickbacks paid by Cogentrix and China Light and Power, the two promoters of the 1,000-megawatt Mangalore Power Project. Responding to  the verdict, the two multinationals said they will review their earlier decision to pull out of the project and the boards of  the two companies will meet to discuss a future course of action. The two companies, citing administrative delays and the ongoing litigation, had announced that plan to walk out of the project.

The apex court, on an appeal filed by the Karnataka government, the state electricity board and the two companies against the Karnataka high court order, set aside the order and dismissed the petitions pending before the high court.

The Mangalore Power Project is one of the eight fast-track power projects cleared by the government in 1992. The project ran into problems, including public interest litigation, and the promoters, Cogentrix and China Light and Power, said they could not continue with it. Immediately after the Supreme Court judgement, the central government said the two companies should stay and the government will consider a counter-guarantee for the project.
Back to News Review index page

Gujarat Ambuja eyes holding in DLF
Mumbai: Cement maker Lafarge of France has withdrawn its offer to buy the promoters’ equity holding in DLF Cements. In the meanwhile, Gujarat Ambuja Cements has stepped in. The company has also been in talks with DLF, and it is understood to have offered a higher price than Lafarge did. The promoters are selling 42 per cent of their holding in the company.

Sources in financial institutions are rrported to have told DLF that it would have to take fresh permission from them to sell to Gujarat Ambuja Cements.
Back to News Review index page

Three new molecules from Dr Reddy’s
Mumbai: Dr Reddy’s Laboratories has announced that it is planning three original molecules, and it is licensing out at least two of them to multinational corporations. The company’s managing director, Satish Reddy, said one of them is an anti-cancer compound, while another is a painkiller. The third molecule developed by the company is a compound for metabolic disorders. With these three molecules, the company has so far developed six original molecules.

Mr Reddy said the company will start negotiations with multinational companies for licensing the pain inhibitor. It is already in talks with companies for licensing the metabolic disorder compound, while a clinical research organisation will conduct phase 1 and phase 2 trials on the anti-cancer compound.
Back to News Review index page

Cheminor to buy partner’s stake in US arm
Mumbai: Cheminor Drugs, a unit of Dr Reddy’s group, is acquiring 25 per cent equity in the group's US subsidiary, Reddy Cheminor, from its American holder. Cheminor has a 75 per cent holding in the subsidiary, while 25 per cent is held by the company’s president, who is an American national. With the acquisition of this shareholding, US Reddy Cheminor will be a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cheminor Drugs. In India, Cheminor Drugs and Dr Reddy’s Laboratories are to merge sometime next year.

Reddy Cheminor has filed law suits in the US against AstraZeneca, Bayer and Eli Lilly, mostly relating to patents. If these suits are decided in Reddy Cheminor’s favour, it will have an advantage in marketing its drugs.
Back to News Review index page

Medical portal planned
Mumbai: Dr Reddy’s Holdings and IQI Investments, a venture capital firm, are joining hands to set up an Internet portal for doctors. The portal, meditimes.com, will offer e-service for doctors and their families. The portal will be managed by a joint venture firm Portal Solutions, in which Dr Reddy’s Holdings will have a 65 per cent equity holding and IQI Investments the balance.

The portal will be restricted to doctors and medical students and will give them free access. It will have online forums with a panel of eminent specialists, up-to-date medical information across 20 areas of medical specialisation, free e-mail and free advice on tax planning and investment.
Back to News Review index page

Pfizer gets clearance for unit
New Delhi: Industry and commerce minister Murasoli Maran has accepted the recommendation of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board to permit Pfizer to set up a wholly-owned subsidiary in India. The minister is understood have signed all the recommendations made by the FIPB, which included that of Pfizer.

The FIPB had earlier approved Pfizer’s proposal, but it was sent back by the ministry for review in the light of opposition from minority shareholders of the company. FIPB, after consultations with legal professionals, gave its approval once again and sent it to the ministry for final sanction.
Back to News Review index page

Intel proposal gets nod
New Delhi: The Foreign Investment Promotion Board has approved Intel’s proposal to set up a new division in India for its online system business. The new division will cover all of Intel’s Internet-related activities. Intel will not to bring in any additional investment for the new division, which will manage the company’s Internet service provider programme, a global channel initiative that will provide Internet service providers a variety of tailored products and technologies.
Back to News Review index page

RCF to pull out of Oman project
Mumbai: Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers may pull out of the $1 billion Oman urea project. This will lead to two other state-owned fertiliser companies, Kribhco and Iffco, sharing the Indian side of the equity.

RCF feels the present structure of the project is not economically viable for RCF as the long-term yield from the project will be around 10 per cent, which will be lower than the rate of interest the company will pay for the soft loan it will raise to fund the equity commitments. The company is understood to have informed the ministry of chemicals and fertilisers about this and it is awaiting directives from the ministry. The equity of the project was to be split in the ratio of 50:50 between the three Indian partners on the one side and the Omani government on the other.
Back to News Review index page

Siel talks to FIs to reduce debt
New Delhi: Siel, the flagship company of the Siddharth Shriram group, is in talks with financial institutions to reschedule its loan repayment. The company has a total debt of Rs 260 crore, and an annual interest outgo of Rs 60 crore.

According to Siddharth Shriram, chairman of the group, Siel has not asked the institutions to reduce any portion of its debt, but has only requested that repayment be extended, with the  burden of repayment being shifted to the middle years from the early years. He said the company was facing financial problems after the closure of its factories in Delhi following the directives of the Supreme Court regarding polluting units.

The company proposes to sell its land and property in Delhi to reduce its debt burden.
Back to News Review index page

Global Star plans Indian foray
New Delhi: US-based mobile satellite phone company Global Star will launch its Indian operations next year. The company is at present in talks with the government to set up satellite gateways to offer connectivity to the entire Saarc region.

Global Star has already launched its service in the US, Europe, China and Korea through low-orbit satellites launched in October.
Back to News Review index page

TSN website launched
Mumbai: The Unilazer group unit TSN has launched its first business-to-consumer e-commerce portal, tsnshop.com. The portal offers brands like Kodak, Sony, Mattel, Compaq, Parker, Faber-Castell and Eagle, in addition to its own brands.
Back to News Review index page

Saurashtra Cement gets loan from Denmark bank
Mumbai: Saurashtra Cement is availing of a $12.1-million loan from Landesbank Schleswig-Holstein Girozentrale of Denmark. The loan, with a maturity of eight and a half years, carries an interest rate of 125 basis points above LIBOR, which works out to a coupon rate of 7.5 per cent.

Lazard CreditCapital has arranged the loan. The company intends to make use of the funds to finance the import of cement machinery.
Back to News Review index page

DaimlerChrysler, Fiat bid for Daewoo
Frankfurt: DaimlerChrysler and Fiat of Italy are interested in acquiring ailing Daewoo Motor. A German newspaper said DaimlerChrysler, which has a three per cent holding in Daewoo unit Ssangyong Motor, has sought details of the group from Korea Development Bank, the main creditor of the group.

The news acquires significance as Korea Development Bank had said it is planning an international auction for the unit as there is more than one bidder for the unit. General Motors has already expressed its desire to take over the unit.
Back to News Review index page

Hyundai to sell ad firm
Seoul: The Hyundai group is selling its 80 per cent holding in advertising firm Diamond Ad to the UK’s Cordiant Communications Group for $120 million. Hyundai will retain the balance 20 per cent in the company.
Back to News Review index page