Cogentrix pulls out of alliance
Bangalore: In a surprising development, Cogentrix has exited the joint venture with Hong Kong-based China Light Power International for the 1,000 MW Mangalore Power Project. Announcing this development, Karnataka chief minister S.M. Krishna said China Light Power International has conveyed to him that it will acquire Cogentirx’s share in the project and build the project on its own.

The company may go in for another project partner, which it will announce in about 20 days, according to the company’s business development director, Tom Watters.

Cogentrix is understood to have pulled out of the project as a result of its engagement in US projects, where the power sector has been deregulated.

Mr Watters met the Karnataka chief minister and said his company is accepting all the conditions set out buy the central and state governments, including incorporation of the amendments introduced by the power ministry about the auxiliary heat rate and tax incentives as well as provision of central counter guarantee only for the foreign debt component.
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Lycos plans India site
Mumbai: Lycos Asia, joint venture between Lycos of the US and Singapore Telecom is planning portals in Asian countries, including India. It intends to have Indian content on this website and says it may buy content from an existing content provider or buy a website and integrate it with the Lycos India website. Lycos Asia provides localised versions of Lycos.com and Tripod to Asian countries, including India. The company is expected to announce its India plans soon. Lycos Asia was founded in 1999 to provide local portal sites in 10 Asian countries. Lycos and Singapore Telecom own 50 per each in the venture, which has its headquarters in Singapore.
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L&T, Samsung in alliance
Chennai: L&T Information Technology, the infotech unit of Larsen & Toubro, is setting up a software development centre in Bangalore in association with South Korea’s Samsung Electronic Company. The unit will be a dedicated offshore development centre for Samsung’s telecom research and development centre, also located at Bangalore, according to Achyut Godbole, L&T Information Technology’s chief executive.

The Bangalore centre will develop software for application in Samsung’s proprietary wireless communications and Internet protocol communications technologies. Samsung has about 80 software professionals at its Bangalore centre, and L&T’s proposed centre will support this team in the development of IP switches.
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Exim Bank, L&T in agreement
Mumbai: The Export-Import Bank of India and Larsen & Toubro have signed a memorandum of cooperation which will help the Indian company to tap engineering procurement and construction markets abroad. L&T says it will have a global presence, especially in the Middle East, Saarc countries, and South East Asia, in the supply of critical project equipment and turnkey projects. Exim Bank will provide post-bid support for project execution, and provied project information, country-related data, and registration support as well as help the company identify business opportunities in projects funded by multilateral, bilateral and other agencies in these countries.
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Geometric Software to open new facility
Pune: Geometric Software Solutions, the Godrej group company, will open its new software development facility at the Pune Infotech Park in March 2000. The company has 170 software technocrats scattered across four facilities in Pune, and all of them will be brought together at the park. The company will invest Rs 14 crore in the facility.
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Music association sues MP3.com
Los Angeles: The Recording Industry Association of America, is suing music website MP3.com Inc for alleged violation of copyrights. The association has filed a case in a US district court in New York City claiming that the San Diego, California, based company had illegally compiled an online library of 40,000 copyright-protected albums. The association also alleges that MP3.com has introduced new features through a personalisation service called My.MP3.com.

The suit objects to MP3.com’s "instant listening" service that lets people buy CDs from MP3.com’s partners and listen to them instantly online.
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BP Amoco-Arco deal may be halted
Washington: The Federal Trade Commission has set up a non-public meeting on 28 January to vote to on halting the proposed $27 billion merger of BP Amoco and Atlantic Richfield Corporation. The merger will take place unless the commission blocks the deal in a US district court by 3 February. The commission believes the merger violates anti-trust laws by leading to higher gasoline prices on the West Coast.
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