Polaroid to launch instant fun cameras & security products
New Delhi: The Polaroid Corporation is launching three models of instant fun cameras, in the Rs 2,000-2,600 price range, in a bid to expand its market reach in India. The new range of cameras available in different colours can take wallet and stamp-sized photographs, with sticky backs and can be pasted on almost everything.

To widen the retail and the distribution network, Polaroid plans to tie up with big retail outlets and departmental stores, including Shopper’s Stop, Ebony, Planet M, to showcase its products.

Promotional campaigns through schools, fun places, amusement parks and fast food joints are being planned to increase penetration of the products.

The company is also launching identification systems and tamper-proof law enforcement solutions, in the non-consumer segment. The company has over 70 per market share worldwide in these systems, which include driving licenses, national identification cards, voter registration cards.

Polaroid has invested $20 million since 1995 in its Indian operations and broke-even last year. It expects to clock a profit of Rs 4 crore this fiscal. The company manufacturing base in Goa, where it manufactures 484 and 686 series cameras for the world market. Over 8 lakh cameras have so far been supplied from this facility.
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JK Helene Curtis to be revamped as distribution firm
Mumbai: JK Helene Curtis, the cosmetics venture of the Raymond group is set to be revamped as a distribution-oriented company. The company, which sells Park Avenue and the Premium range of cosmetic brands, will now use its retail distribution network to sell the products of other companies as well.

JK Helene Curtis is close to signing distribution agreements with processed food manufactures and international vendors. The company has a nation-wide sales network to distribute products through 125,000 retail outlets. These will now be used for co-marketing operations.
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Maruti likely to hike prices
New Delhi: Maruti Udyog Limited (MUL) has indicated a 3 to 5 per cent hike in prices of most of its models in the first week of January 2001. The auto major in a communication to its dealers said the company was considering a price hike of its models after the annual maintenance shutdown of the plant from December 24 to 31.

As there was no production and despatche of vehicles during recent the maintenance shutdown period, the company has asked its dealers to plan their stocks accordingly so that buyers booking vehicles in December got delivery at the pre-revised prices.
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ABN Amro to restructure India operations
New Delhi: ABN Amro, the Dutch banking major is undertaking a major restructuring-cum-expansion in India, which will see its entire banking and financing operations coming under three broad business divisions and splitting its corporate financing division into nine industry specific groups.

The three business divisions will be wholesale banking, consumer & commercial banking and private banking & asset management. The nine specific industry groups, to be set up under the wholesale banking division, include telecom, technology/ media, pharma, automotive, FMCG, energy, chemical and diversified.

ABN Amro will also set up an asset management company to launch an entire range of mutual funds in India. The bank is also planning to set up a payment gateway to get into e-commerce activities in a big way. The restructuring in India is part ABN Amro’s worldwide restructuring operations. The bank is also set to broadbase its custodial business, besides getting into newer areas such as fund accounting administration — mainly for MFs and insurance companies — compliance reporting and new cash management products for insurance companies.
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Essar Steel completes restructuring of debt portfolio
Mumbai: In what marks the final phase of the company’s debt restructuring programme, the Ruia-promoted Essar Steel has completed restructuring of its entire debt portfolio, by extending the maturity and reducing the interest rate on its partly secured debt component.

Essar Steel had earlier restructured its unsecured debt holders (floating rate note) in August 1999 and in November, when the company’s lead institution IDBI agreed to restructure its rupee debt exposure of Rs 500 crore. The total rupee debt of Essar Steel stands at Rs 1,670 crore.

The current exercise involves the partly secured foreign currency debt of $262-million. In line with the package agreed to with IDBI earlier, the maturity on the rupee debt has been extended by 8 years with a moratorium of two years. The interest rate has been reduced to 14 per cent. With this, the interest outgo will be reduced by approximately Rs 75 crore per annum.

Essar Steel had suggested aligning the restructuring package with reigning steel prices, a trend currently being followed by domestic firms seeking financial restructuring.
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