Godrej announces e-commerce initiative
Mumbai: Following the footsteps of the FMCG giant Hindustan Lever, Godrej Soaps today announced that it is leveraging the internet by entering into a series of strategic tie-ups with internet firms with e-commerce presence.

According to Mr. Adi Godrej, managing director of Godrej Soaps, the company will move aggressively to pursue branding the Godrej range of consumer products. It proposes to do this by taking a strategic stake in logistics portals. The company has appointed Andersen Consulting to do a study on the e-commerce and internet related areas and advice the company on the steps to be taken.
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Indian Oil to provide customers with more than just petrol
Mumbai: As part of a broader plan to become a one-stop provider of a range of services, Indian Oil, the country's largest petroleum company, has entered into an exclusive contract with ICICI under which the latters banking arm will place over 40 ATMs in the petrol pumps owned by the oil major across the country. The tie-up will exclude Mumbai city where Hindustan Petroleum has ICICI ATMs installed .

Indian Oil is also talking to Apollo Hospitals to set up a chain of pharmacies in its petrol pumps. These pharmacies will retail medicines at 20 per cent lower than market rates and will also have dispensaries, ambulances and trained para medical personnel to man these outlets.
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KNAV to launch new website audit services
Mumbai: Knav Consulting, a Mumbai based tax and legal consultancy service, today announced a tie-up with Leach Consulting of the US to provide a range of services for the internet.

Under the agreement, the company would provide audit and certification services for three internet related e-commerce areas: business practices disclosure (including how the internet company handles returns and other related issues), transaction integrity and information protection. All these services are part of the Webtrust Seal program initiated by Leach Consulting.

The service has been developed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, which has tied up with Verisign, the world's most trusted name in internet related security authentication services.
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Reliance likely to buy back $400m bonds
Mumbai: Reliance Industries which has a large number of non-convertible debentures with a residual maturity period of seven years floating in the global market, is planning to buy back $400m worth of such debentures. It plans to do this through negotiated trades using the money from its exports which has been deposited in its EEFC account.

The company is taking advantage of the recent announcement by the finance ministry that allows companies to pre-pay up to 100 per cent of its external commercial borrowings from EEFC accounts.

By redeeming these foreign currency denominated loans, the company hopes to cut down on its interest burden and insulate itself from the vagaries of the foreign exchange markets.
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Falcon Tyres revamps replacement market set-up
Calcutta: M R Chabbria group company, Falcon Tyres, which was traditionally present in the OEM market, is planning a major thrust in the replacement market for two-wheelers. It is in the process of repositioning its brand for the replacement market and is appointing new dealers, C&F agents and re-distribution stockists.

This is in keeping with the healthy growth shown by the two-wheeler segment and the replacement market for this segment.
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Telco to phase out non-Cummins engines
Mumbai: In an attempt to move towards total Euro compliance before the April 2000 deadline, Telco, the country's largest commercial vehicles manufacturer, is phasing out vehicles being supplied with non-Cummins engines.

As part of its phasing out strategy the company has consistently reduced the price differential between the models with Cummins and non-Cummins engines. This, according to Mr. Ravi Kant, senior vice president of the commerical vehicles division, will enable customers to migrate to the Cummins models without much problems.

The company has a 50-50 joint venture with Cummins Engine Co. of the US to manufacture environmental compliant engines. The vehicles fitted with these engines offered better fuel economy, load carrying capacity, lower operating costs and longer engine life.
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Foodworld considering expansion into sub-metros
Calcutta: RPG groups retailing arm, Foodworld, is considering active expansion into the sub-metro areas, as a means of growth. The company is confident that its sub-metro strategy will work since its first opening at Coimbatore netted over Rs. 10 lakhs in the first day of operations.

Mr. P.K. Mohapatra, head of the groups retailing operations, stated that, while the outlets in the sub-metro areas will be smaller than those in the metro areas, they will stock the entire range of items being sold at the metro outlets.
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LG Electronics increases ad budget
New Delhi: Riding high on the back of a surge in its sales in the first two months of this year, LG Electronics is stated to have doubled its advertising budget. The company is planning a major offensive in the market to push its brand further, using the health platform as a product differentiator.

The company plans to spend neraly 30-35 per cent of its budget in the next three months, when it also plans to introduce nearly 28 new models of its products.
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Fiat considering alliance with GM or DaimlerChrysler
Milan: Italian auto giant, Fiat Spa, currently in the bottom of the profitability charts for the auto industry, is considering an alliance with either General Motors or DaimlerChrysler to lift it up the charts.

Media reports state that the board of directors of Fiat is seriously considering selling a 10 per cent stake to either of the two American giants, with the option for them to increase the stake later.
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