HLL & International Bestfoods to jointly market their products
Mumbai: Hindustan Lever Ltd. (HLL) has entered into a joint selling agreement with International Bestfoods Ltd. a Unilever subsidiary. The agreement comes into effect from January 1, 2001. The combined sales force of the two companies will now distribute the full range of products of both the companies and the cost of the marketing system will be shared between the two companies.

With the Unilever's global acquisition of Bestfoods, the niche foods company, International Bestfoods also becomes part of the Lever family with a basket of value added food brands such as Captain Cook, Brown & Polson, Knorr, Rex, Skippy and Glucovita. HLL's portfolio of 110 brands comprises food products like Annapurna atta and salt, Kissan jams, sauces, puree, cooking pastes and squashes, and other culinary products, which will go well with the International Bestfoods products.

HLL's has employee strength of 36,000 and its distribution network comprising 7,500 redistribution stockists cover all corners of the country.
Back to News Review index page   

Hero Honda 100cc `Passion' bike launched
New Delhi: Two-wheeler major, Hero Honda Motors Ltd. (HHML) has launched a new 100cc motorcycle named `Passion'. The new bike will incorporate enhanced functionality along with strengths of riding comfort and fuel efficiency. The new bike features a four-stroke 100cc engine, power of 7.5 PS at 8,000 rpm, and a kerb weight of 116 kg.

Available in six colours "Passion" is expected to give 60 to 65 km per litre under city riding conditions. The new bike meets the current emission norms and has a specially designed silencer to also meet expected noise norms. The company is mainly targeting sales of the new bike from the younger generation.

The current product portfolio of HHML includes: CD 100, CD 100SS, the Splendor, Street Smart and CBZ, in addition to the new bike. It has a market share of 47 per cent in motorcycles, with over four million Hero Honda motorcycles currently on the road.
Back to News Review index page 

Coke and Pepsi to cost more in metros
New Delhi: Coke and Pepsi, would cost more in metro cities. Both the soft drink companies have increased prices of their products by around Re 1 in key metro markets like Delhi, Mumbai and Calcutta in the 300ml segment. Pepsi raised prices in December and Coke has followed it up in the New Year.

The maximum retail price of Coke in Delhi has been fixed at Rs 10, up about 11 per cent from Rs 9 earlier. The hike comes in the wake of mounting pressure on the bottomline of both the companies due to high excise and sales tax rates. The excise duties on soft drinks are currently hovering at around 40 per cent and are believed to be among the highest in the world.

Over the last five years, prices of soft drinks have almost doubled. The current increase comes after similar upward price revisions in March 1999 and October 1997. However, demand being price-sensitive, consumption growth rate has slowed down from 25 per cent during 1998 to 5 per cent during 1999 and about 11 per cent during year 2000. A study by NCAER had also revealed that a significant 65 per cent of consumption of soft drinks is by the middle class and an additional 25 per cent by the lower income group.
Back to News Review index page 

AV Birla group planning to exit from MRPL
Mumbai: Mangalore Refining and Petrochemicals Ltd. (MRPL), a loss-making refining company is heading for troubled times, with the Aditya Birla group wanting to exit from the joint venture. HPCL and the Aditya Birla group currently have 26 per cent each in MRPL.

Industry sources say conflicting managerial styles of the two companies had been a source of MRPL's operational troubles. MRPL presently has two managing directors, one nominated by HPCL and the other by the Birla group. The fallout of the conflict between the public and private sector partners could negatively impact the MRPL's efforts to rope in a third partner.

The 9 million tonne refinery is already tottering, with its first phase refining of three million tonne crude shut down. Only the 6 million tonnes expanded capacity is now operational. It posted a Rs 300 crore loss in 1999-00, one of the highest for any private sector company in recent times. Burdened with high interest costs on its debts of Rs 1,700 crore, MRPL is trying to restructure debt possibly offering it as equity to a new partner.
Back to News Review index page 

Sterlite to hive off power transmission division
Mumbai: Sterlite Industries is planning to hive off its power transmission business into unit into a separate wholly owned subsidiary. Sterlite Industries board is meeting on January 11 to consider the hive-off issue.

With the Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd. (PGCIL) planning to transmit 70,000 mw of power across the country in the next decade involving an outlay of Rs 39,000 crore. Sterlite is hoping to be a major player in the power transmission infrastructure business, with its large production line. Its sales of power transmission aluminum conductors has increased by nearly five times to 16,446 km with the turnover increasing by 137 per cent to Rs 133.8 crore. The new All Aluminium Alloy Conductor Steel Reinforced (AACSR) facility set up at Silvassa is already looking at increasing its product profile.
Back to News Review index page 

Virgin to launch its revamped on Delhi-London service
New Delhi: Virgin Atlantic is set to launch its revamped upper-class service on the Delhi-London route from January 11 but the airline's plans for adding on an additional service on the route have been delayed. The UK-based airline had earlier planned on increasing the frequency on the Delhi-London route to three flights a week but necessary clearances have not been forthcoming.

Virgin is looking at launching its additional frequency a few months later and would now run two flights a week under code-share with Air India. The third flight was to be launched with a frequency borrowed from the national carrier. Air India operates 10 flights on the India-UK route, while its entitlement is for 16.
Back to News Review index page