General Motors may source more from India
Chennai: General Motors, which commands a whopping nine million vehicles capacity on its own, is seeking to increase the sourcing of components for its vehicles from India.

According to Mr. Basil Drossos, executive director of the company, the lean manufacturing techniques, quality and ethics of Indian component suppliers is a very positive attribute and the company would like to capitalise on the same.

Mr. Drossos was in Chennai to give away the "best supplier award" to Sundaram Fastners Limited, one of its supplier. Sundaram has won this award for the fourth year in succession.
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Max India plans ambitious healthcare foray
New Delhi: Max India’s ambitious healthcare venture that will set up a chain of first primary consult care clinics and diagnostic clinics in the city of New Delhi, is slated to take off in the last quarter of this year.

In addition to these clinics, the company is planning to set up its big 400 to 500 bed multi-speciality hospital at DLF city and this is expected to commence operations in 2003. It plans to make this hospital -- called Max General -- an approved institute for post graduate studies and to set up a college for training nursing staff within that hospital.

When set up, this would be New Delhi’s first "hub and spokes" health care service with the multi-speciality hospital being the hub and the primary care consult clinics and the diagnostic clinics being the spokes.

The first four 2,500 sq ft consult clinics are being set up in upmarket South and Central Delhi. Over the next three years, Max plans to launch 30 consult clinics, four to five diagnostic clinics, one big multi-speciality hospital and perhaps two smaller 150-200 bed multi-speciality hospitals in and around Delhi.

Max India’s plans is based on a multi-tier healthcare model. At the first level, the company will set up 24-hour primary consult clinics, branded as Dr Max which would act as "family physicians", catering to common ailments and equipped with collection centres and basic imaging devices.

At the second level, the company will set up diagnostic clinics called ``Max Clinic’’ with day care surgeries which will be equipped with full pathology laboratories, comprehensive imaging devices, full operation theatres and a pharmacy.

The company is said to be adopting this approach since it has shortened the gestation period of the company’s health care project as the smaller consult clinics and diagnostic clinics could be quickly set up. More importantly, it will enable the company to capture the lifetime value of the patient as it was in a position to offer a comprehensive range of services to him.

The company plans to seamlessly integrate all the company’s clinics and hospitals through an IT backbone.
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Cadbury gets huge amount for Mumbai property
Mumbai: In line with its decision to increase shareholder value by unlocking value in idle assets, Cadbury India Ltd has sold one of its properties in Mumbai for a consideration of Rs. 8 crore. The company retrieved the property, originally used as a factory, last year after being on long lease for 30 years.

The company informed the Bombay Stock Exchange about the sale and added that the transaction was subject to the approval of the Appropriate Authority under Chapter XX-C of the Income-Tax Act, 1961.
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In response to EDF’s withdrawal, Ispat asks Alstom to hike stake in Bhadravati
Mumbai: In response to the withdrawal by Electric de France's (EDF's) from the project, the Ispat group has requested Alstom Power to increase its stake by another 15 to 20 per cent from the present 31.8 per cent in the $1.4-million fast-track Bhadravati power project.

The Mittals of the Ispat group, who hold over 50 per cent, however have ruled out the possibility of raising their stake in the project.

Ispat group director Ashok Khinvasara said that EDF's decision will not hamper the fate of the Bhadravati project. "We have appealed to Alsthom Power to hike its equity in the project, and we hope to get a positive reply," he added.

The Ispat group's move is significant, as EDF had said that the project would turn unviable following the revised stipulations laid down over the rate of return on investment. EDF had at one stage evinced an interest in increasing its equity to 26 per cent. However, following "inordinate delays" in project implementation, EDF decided to move out completely.
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Deutsche Telekom plans to buy Disney stake in Infoseek
Bonn: Europe’s leading telecom player, Deutsche Telekom, announced that it was in talks with with Walt Disney Co to buy the US entertainment giant's 25 per cent stake in the German-language version of the leading internet search engine, Infoseek.

The sale could well clear the way for Disney to expand its Go Network Internet site in Europe.

Disney decided in January to abandon plans for Go.com – which was formed after buying into Infoseek last year -- as an Internet portal, saying the site would be refocused on recreation, entertainment and leisure.

If the deal goes through, Deutsche Telekom would boost its stake in the German Infoseek to 50 per cent, to give it a tight grip on the country's No. 2 search engine. The stake will be controlled by Telekom's Internet subsidiary, T-Online.
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Indonesian workers of Sony to be sacked
Jakarta: Global consumer electronics giant, Sony Corporation, plans to lay off 928 staff in its Indonesain operations. These workers had stopped work more than two months ago in a dispute over new working conditions. The decision to sack them was taken recently since it was becoming impossible to resolve the dispute.

The dispute has arisen out of a new production line that was introduced recently, which required the workers to stand. The striking workers have been demanding that they be allowed to sit while they work.

The company has received approval from the Indonesian government to terminate the workers’ contracts, a requirement under new labour laws. If the sacked workers do not accept Sony’s decision they have the right to appeal to an administrative court. The termination is expected to cost Sony, more than $500,000 in termination pay and other costs.
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