Hyundai crosses the one-lakh milestone, to introduce LPG run Santro
Chennai: In what is considered a milestone in the Indian automobile industry, Hyundai Motor India (HMI) on Thursday rolled out its one hundred thousandth car manufactured at its Irrungattukotai plant near Chennai, a feat achieved in less than 19 months, the fastest to reach this milestone in the Indian automobile industry.

In keeping with this upbeat mood, the managing director of the company has announced that the company intends to roll out the next one hundred thousandth car in less than 12 months. The company has set a target of crossing the 3-lakh mark in cumulative production within year 2002.

The company's plant is currently operating at over 100 per cent capacity utilisation on a two shift basis. The company is planning a third shift from August 2000, which will take the production capacity to 1.2 lakh units from the present 90,000. It has decided to expand its production capacity at the plant to 2-lakh units a year by 2003.

The company's two offerings, Santro and Accent, have been very well accepted by the consumers. Sonata, an high-end segment car, will be the next model to hit Indian roads from the company's stable, which is to be launched by early 2001. Sportage, a sports utility vehicle, is also on the company's target list for the Indian market, though it is still early days for a decision on the model.

In the meanwhile, the company is all set to roll out an LPG-driven Santro, which will adhere to the highest safety standards, from its manufacturing facility near Chennai. The LPG version will be launched as soon as the Union Government comes out with suitable legislation permitting motor vehicles to be run on the fuel. More than the government legislation, it will be the distribution outlets for LPG that will determine the volumes in this segment, according to company sources.
Back to News Review index page 

Ranbaxy acquires Bayer’s $4-m generic drug business
New Delhi ; In an agreement signed recently between the companies, Indian pharma major, Ranbaxy Laboratories, has acquired the $4m German generics business of Bayer AG. The price at which this acquisition was made, is unknown. Bayer had invited bids for the sale of its generics business and Ranbaxy was selected after a bidding process which involved four to five competitors.

This acquisition will provide the vehicle for Ranbaxy's entry into Germany, the third largest generics market in the world, where many patents are expiring. According to Mr. D. S. Brar, managing director, the entry into the German market is part of the company's strategy to enhance its presence in the fast expanding West European market for generic pharmaceuticals. With this acquisition, the company will now have a presence in the three largest generics markets in the world — the US, the UK and Germany.

Bayer's current generics business portfolio includes 20 marketed products with all their formulations. These products were being traded under the name of "Basics" and will now be transferred to a wholly owned subsidiary set up by Ranbaxy called Basics GMBH. Ranbaxy plans to progressively expand the portfolio through addition of its products and its German sales are expected to touch $5m in the current year. The deal with Bayer, however, does not involve sale of any of the German major's manufacturing facilities. The products would be manufactured by licensed parties in Germany as well as in Ranbaxy's own facilities in India and Ireland.
Back to News Review index page 

Philips launches new line of monitors, unveils speech recognition software
New Delhi: Philips India today launched 13 new monitor models with advanced features under its peripherals division, with which the company hopes to corner a market share of 15 per cent by the year 2003. With the launch of these monitors, Philips has become the only company in India to offer such a large choice in the monitor segment.

The new monitor range being introduced includes exceptional proprietary features like ICE technology, which guarantees perfectly flat and crystal clear image, highest bandwidth (320 mhz) that enhances the viewing picture quality and "custo max" software that guarantees easy set-up and trouble-free operations in controlling all monitor functions, thus making it the only interactive monitor software. The new products have been designed keeping in mind the space constraints and luminance requirements of the modern user.

The company wants to be present in all the three segments — Soho, business series and the professional series. According to company sources, the monitors’ market offers a huge potential for growth, especially because of the low base of one million and the low penetration levels at present, and is likely to keep growing for the next seven to eight years at least.

The company is also planning to import a range of PC cameras and multimedia speakers for marketing it in the country. As far manufacturing these products is concerned, the company first wants to ascertain the selling capacity of the products. Till that time it would be imported and sold.
Back to News Review index page 

Hallmark may hike stakes in Vintage cards, restructuring plan on the anvil
Pune : According to informed sources, Hallmark, the US-based gifts and cards major is expected to take a majority stake in Vintage Cards and Creations Limited (VCCL) -- the Pune-based licensee of the company -- within the next 12 months.

VCCL is in the process of reorganising and restructuring itself. The move includes inducting professionals at the top management level, forming separate divisions to focus on the several businesses, and undertaking a major co-branding exercise with leading brands. The restructuring will be completed in the current year.

The company plans to carve out three divisions, of which cards and gifts, its existing products, will be one, and for which it has recently inducted a chief operating officer (COO). It is creating another division for party goods, through which it will launch Hallmark's `Party Express' line in the next six months. Company sources declined to reveal the activities of the proposed third division.

Hallmark's `Party Express' range of products, targeted at the one to 10-year old segment, will mark the first time such products are introduced in the country. The product range includes cups, plates and napkins, and will be launched in the next six months. VCCL is scouting for manufacturers of quality paper within the country, but should this not happen, it will import machinery for napkins and plates.
Back to News Review index page 

Mitsubishi incurs losses in Australian operations, to cut jobs
Sydney : After facing its worst ever loss - a A$130 m loss - in calendar 1999, Mitsubishi Motors Australia (MMAL) announced that it was moving fast to secure its future by cutting 600 jobs from its 4,000 strong workforce.

Despite the problems, the Australian unit of Japan's Mitsubishi Motors Corp, hoped to lift annual sales to 79,000 units in 2000, up 9,000 on last year's disappointing sales. Company treasurer, Mr. Robert Gardner, however, said that the company still remained committed to an investment of up to A$450m in a new model Magna from 2005. Mitsubishi is one of four carmakers in Australia, competing against General Motors Holden, Ford Australia and Toyota Australia.
Back to News Review index page 

Rivals - Intel and AMD - to hold investor meet in New York
San Francisco: In an unusual twist to their long standing battle, computer chip rivals Advanced Micro Devices Inc and giant Intel Corp are both hosting investor-oriented meetings in New York on Thursday.

Intel, the world's largest maker of computer chips based in Santa Clara, California, will be on the defensive when it hosts its twice-annual analyst meeting, as analysts are expected to probe further into the capacity constraints that hampered its less-than-stellar first quarter earnings performance.

On the other hand, Sunnyvale, California-based AMD, will undoubtedly receive a warm reception from its shareholders at its annual meeting Thursday. AMD stockholders, who have earlier suffered through numerous product missteps and have criticised the high compensation paid to chairman WJ Sanders III, may have nothing but praise for the 63-year-old founder and his team. This is because of the company's most profitable quarter in its 31-year history and a four-fold surge in its stock price, which was trading as low as 20 in November. On Wednesday, its shares closed down 4-5/8 to 82-7/8.

AMD also plans to use the annual meeting as a launching pad to discuss the first details of its first derivative Athlon product line, the chip family that has helped AMD return to profitability while Intel plans to provide updates on its much-anticipated new products, such as its Willamette chip, its next generation 32-bit processor that will eventually succeed the Pentium III, Itanium, its 64-bit processor and Timna, a new version of its low-cost Celeron processor.
Back to News Review index page 

Rathikant Basu's Broadcast World in talks with RPG group
Calcutta : Former Star TV chief, Rathikant Basu-promoted Broadcast Worldwide (BW) is said to be in talks with the city's leading multiple system operator RPG Netcom for a strategic alliance to increase cable penetration for its new Bengali channel in the state considerably. This is BW's means of countering the recently launched rival channel Eenadu Bangla.

It is also looking at the possibility of incorporating its news programme Khabor Akhon, which is produced by Abhijit Dasgupta, who recently joined DW as executive director of Tara. BW feels that a strategic alliance with RPG Netcom or outsourcing its news programme will boost its operations.

According to Mr. Basu, the new channel launched by BW, Tara, is aiming to capture close to 10 per cent of the total viewership and break even after three years.

The company is seeking various other alliances for the spate of channels it is planning to launch. The company is planning three regional channels to be launched in the next few months. The Marathi channel will be launched in the first week of May, he said. This will be followed by Punjabi and Gujarati channels. These channels will be in addition to the youth channels being planned.
Back to News Review index page 

HPCL plans private placement of Rs 300 crore debentures
New Delhi: In order to provide for increased working capital and for capital expenditure for a number of projects, like a proposed power plant at Vizag, extension of the Vizag-Vijayavada product pipeline to Secunderabad, cavern storage for imported LPG and the new information technology venture it proposes to launch shortly, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (HPCL) has decided to go in for the private placement of non-convertible redeemable debentures, aggregating Rs 300 crore with a green-shoe option to retain over subscription up to Rs 200 crore.

The debenture issue, which has been accorded AAA credit rating by Crisil, is being done through the book-building route. Each debenture will have a face value of Rs 10 lakh and the minimum application will be for five debentures.

The state-owned HPCL has appointed five lead arrangers for the debenture issue. These are: SBI Capital Markets, DSP Merrill Lynch, ICICI Securities, ABN Amro and Kotak Mahindra.

The issue will open on May 2 and close on May 9. While the allocation will be done on May 10, the pay-in dates are May 11 and 12. The deemed date of allotment is May 15.

The categories eligible for applying for the private placement are: companies, including public sector undertakings, commercial banks, regional rural banks, cooperative banks, financial institutions, insurance companies, mutual funds, provident fund, superannuating and gratuity funds, port trusts, individuals and others.

The debentures will be linked to the wholesale debt market segment of the National Stock Exchange.
Back to News Review index page 

RPG pitches for hypermarket league
New Delhi : The RPG group which has got into the retail segment through specialty outlets such as FoodWorld, MusicWorld and Health & Glow, is now mulling a Rs. 3,000-crore `hypermarket' project.

Hypermarkets, which are much larger in size compared to the more popular supermarkets, depend largely on retailing and distribution. In fact, several supermarkets can fit into a hypermarket which may sprawl over an area of 2-3 lakh square feet. Hypermarkets have proved popular in Europe, especially in France, where several such projects have come up in the past few years.

For this mega project, RPG is talking to a large hypermarket chain owned by a British company, which will pick up to 49 per cent stake in the joint venture. The majority will be held by the RPG group. The initial equity share capital of the new company, the name for which is yet to be decided, will be around Rs. 100 crore. However, the project could cost as much as Rs. 3,000 crore spread over a five-year period during which several hypermarkets will come up across the country. The construction of the first of these hypermarkets is expected to commence sometime in June-July this year.

The price of goods and services sold through the hypermarkets would also be lower than market rates, making shopping more attractive at these larger malls. Analysts point out that the globalisation of retail trade is gradually becoming a reality. Global retailers enter new markets such as India and China and local retailers respond to their demands. In the years to come, the hypermarket and supermarket concept will emerge as the standards in food and FMCG distribution, they said.
Back to News Review index page 

McDowell board clears Udaipur Distilleries acquisition
Chennai: At its meeting held recently, the board of McDowell & Co Ltd. approved in principle the acquisition of Rajasthan-based Udaipur Distilleries Ltd. The acquisition will be subject to an evaluation that is to be carried out by an accounting firm.

McDowell does not have a manufacturing facility in Rajasthan and the management feels that it was appropriate for the company to have its own facility. This was also mean saving on the transfer fee levied by Rajasthan when the manufacturer is not the brand owner, the officials said, adding that the expenditure is ``not likely to be huge''.

Udaipur Distilleries has been a contract manufacturer for a wide range of McDowell's products. As in the case of contract manufacturing in this line of operations, the distillery has only been given a conversion fee and the profits have been with the brand owners.
Back to News Review index page