Tata Steel may beat world majors to be the lowest cost steel producer
Calcutta: In a quiet exercise carried on by the company, Tata Steel tried to benchmark itself against some of the cheapest steel producers in the world. The company’s efforts in bringing down its cost of production has borne fruit, and Tata Steel is poised to be the lowest cost steel producer in the world, beating big names like Posco of South Korea, Usiminas of Brazil and Nippon Steel of Japan.

But the company is keeping quiet about this, as it wishes to keep the low operation on a sustained basis for a year, before truly calling itself the "world’s lowest cost steel producer".

Tata Steel’s new vision statement has put it that it will aim is to become the world’s cheapest steelmaker. The company’s new cold-rolling mill (CRM), which is currently undergoing trial commercial production, is also set to be one such lowest cost CR maker in the world.

Incidentally, Indian HRC makers like Tata Steel, Essar Steel and Ispat Industries are today fetching one of the best export prices in the markets of the USA and European Union countries.
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Infosys decides to go ahead with acquisition plans
Mumbai: Despite its request to the government for increasing its overseas acquisition limit to $10 billion not having received any response, Infosys Technologies’ director Mr. S. Gopalakrishnan, stated that the company is confident of going ahead with its acquisition plans. The company does not consider the request to the government "a burning issue" as it believes that the government will give a favourable decision in its favour.

The government had in March this year allowed companies in the knowledge sector to acquire companies abroad through an automatic approval to the extent of 10 times the export earnings or $100 million, whichever was larger. But obviously, Infosys is not satisfied with this limit as it was much lower than the $10 billion limit that it had sought.

As per this guideline, a decision to allow automatic approval for up to 10 times the export earnings allows the company to acquire up to $2 billion, as Infosys had logged in export earnings of $200 million last year.
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Deadline for counter-bid on BSES expires tamely
Mumbai: Despite market rumours that Tata Electric Companies would mount a bid for BSES Limited, the deadline for a counter bid to the Reliance open offer for a 20 per cent stake in Mumbai-based power company BSES Ltd, ended today without anyone making a counter offer. The Tata rumour was also fuelled by the announcement by the group that the three power companies of the group, are to be merged.

Reliance Industries offered to acquire 20 per cent equity of BSES at a price of Rs. 234 per share. The offer will open on June 17. But the BSES price closed at Rs. 328 on the BSE and Rs. 329 on the NSE.Though the Reliance offer price is much lower than the ruling market price, there is no official word so far from Reliance about any possible change in their offer price.

Sources at financial institutions said their participation in the Reliance open offer will be based on the offer price as well as the market price.
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Brand extension: Marico may extend Mediker brand to hair oil
Mumbai: Marico Industries is said to be weighing the option of extending the Mediker brand of shampoo, acquired from Procter & Gamble earlier, to hair oil as well, as part of the company's plan to strengthen its leadership in the hair oil segment. Marico has also decided to completely relaunch the Hair & Care range of hair oil.

Mediker, an anti-lice shampoo brand, is the leader in its category. Because of its success, Marico is now considering a brand extension, by introducing an anti-lice hair oil. Mediker, under P&G could not garner enough marketshare, but under Marico, through its strong distribution channel, has become the brand leader.

Marico has been consolidating its position in the hair oil business for over a year now. Last year, the company acquired the Oil of Malabar brand, a regional player with an eight per cent stake in south India, and over two per cent stake nationally. It subsequently relaunched the brand and priced it at a 10 per cent discount to Hindustan Lever's (HLL) Nihar coconut hair oil.

Marico's acquisition was crucial to Lever as it challenged the latter's marketshare. HLL has two price warrior brands in its kitty in Nihar and Cococare, which it acquired last year.
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Birla Tyres to offer equity to foreign company
Calcutta: In a report appearing in the Business Standard, the B K Birla group has decided to go in for an equity partnership with a foreign major for its group company, Birla Tyres, the tyres making arm of the Rs 672-crore Kesoram Industries. Birla Tyres currently has a technical collaboration with the Italian giant Pirelli for manufacturing radial tyres at its Balasore unit.

It is learnt that talks with two foreign majors are at an advanced stage. The foreign partner, if the deal fructifies, will bring in Rs 450 crore to fund its acquisition of shareholding as well the company's expansion program. It is also understood that the group may spin off Birla Tyres as a separate entity, before striking any equity partnership with foreign companies.

The group's present 24.5 per cent shareholding in Kesoram may go up to a shed over 26 per cent shortly following its proposed buyback of odd lot of shares. 

According to rough estimates, the Rs 500-crore radial tyres market is largely dominated by MRF and J K Tyre who enjoy 35 per cent and 20 per cent share, respectively. Ceat and Goodyear has a market share of 10 per cent each while the rest 20 per cent is with the others.

Birla Tyres had made a recovery in the five six years, thanks to the tenacity of the management and the Birlas' decision to hand over the heavily losing firm to a consortium of group companies.
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MTNL responds to challenge: slashes Internet tariff by 70 per cent
New Delhi: In a bid to take on the challenge offered by VSNL, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL), slashed Internet tariff by about 70 per cent for Public Service Telephone Network (PSTN) dial-up packages in excess of 100 hours.

It has also introduced a new element to the price war on Internet tariffs by reducing call charges for Internet dial-up. Instead of the three-minute pulse rate the board has decided to make it a four minute pulse. The change in pulse rate will result in reduction of telephone bills for Internet access by about 25 per cent. With a Rs 3 per three minute pulse rate a subscriber paid about Rs 60 an hour, instead he would now pay Rs 45 an hour.

On the Integrated Service Digital Network (ISDN) front also the the board decided to cut tariff which is in the range of 60 per cent. On flat usage ISDN packages the board has slashed tariffs by as much as 80 per cent by reducing the tariff from Rs 25 an hour to Rs five an hour now.

The new tariff plan will, however, be implemented only towards the end of next week, after the company has informed the Telecom regulatory Authority of India about the tariff cuts and also the Department of Telecommunications for the change in pulse rate.
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US government sends feelers to Microsoft
Washington: According to press reports, after spitting fire and brimstone, the US government has expressed its willingness to hold settlement talks with Microsoft. The possibility of a protracted legal battle when Microsoft appeals, well be the reason for this.

This was apparent when, Mr. Joel Klein, head of the department of anti-trust said that the "department is prepared to engage in meaningful settlement negotiations". He also reiterated that the department believed "settlement is always the preferred course in this kind of litigation".

US district court judge Thomas Penfield Jackson ordered Microsoft to be broken up into two competing companies to remedy anti-trust violations he said the company had committed.
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