Samsung launches laser printers
New Delhi: Samsung Electronics India (SEI), a wholly owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics, Korea, renamed as Samsung Electronics India Information and Telecommunication Ltd.has launched its laser printers in the Indian market. Mr. KS Kim, managing director SEI has said that the name has been changed to make it more meaningful and make the company more focussed on IT and telecom market. The company will be launching a range of new digital products during the year to redefine its market.

Samsung is hoping to garner around 30 per cent share of the laser printer market in India in next one year. It currently holds around 6 per cent market share of laser printers, which are being brought and sold in India through import channels. The company has launched five laser printers ranging from the entry level printers to network and multi-functional printers. The printers are priced in the range of Rs 19,750 to Rs 55,000 based on the model and features.
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United Airlines to focus on corporate accounts
New Delhi: United Airlines is planning to target corporate travelers, when it resumes its flight operations from India on April 1, following a two-year break. The airline is unveiling a massive marketing campaign in the third week of February.

The emphasis on corporate travelers is expected to help push up the bottomline. The airline is also planning promotional fares to ensure that operating costs are kept to a minimum.

The planned operations include a daily flight to and from Delhi, with the route being Washington DC-London-New Delhi-Hong Kong-Los Angeles-Washington DC. The airline also proposes to replace originally used Boeing 767s with fresh Boeing 747-400s.
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Daewoo car sales slip by 40% in January
New Delhi: Daewoo Motors India Ltd. (DMIL) has posted a 40 per cent drop in sales in January. Daewoo India sold 2,526 units in January 2001, against 4,207 units sold in the same month last year. Matiz sales stood at 2,505 units in January, while the remaining 21 units comprised of Cielo and Nexia. Though Matiz sales have dipped by 38 per cent, since Daewoo had sold 4,054 Matiz cars in January 2000, the sales target for the month had been met. The sales of Matiz have zoomed by 298 per cent over December 2000, a statement issued by the company said.

This means that the company sold around 835 units of its 800cc small car last month.

As per the company statement, Daewoo car sales between April 2000 and January 2001 stood at 38,551 units against 29,549 units sold in the corresponding period last fiscal.
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Parke-Davis to take two more products on OTC
Mumbai: Parke-Davis India is planning to take two more products -- Ferodol and Caladryl -- to the over-the-counter (OTC) segment, closely following its other two flagship brands, Gelusil and Benadryl, which were brought to the OTC some two months back. The two Rx (prescription) brands are in the food supplement (Ferodol) and anti-etching (Caladryl) segments and together contribute around 5 to 8 per cent of the net profit of the company.

Parke-Davis will start test-trails of these drugs by the middle of this year and by the year-end, the products will be available in the OTC market. Once these products introduced on OTC, the sales of the company are expected to go up by another 10-15 per cent more.

In the current fiscal, the company expects a turnover of Rs 42 crore from the Gelusil OTC brand and Rs 35 crore from Benadryl. In 1999-2000, the turnover from the two brands was Rs 33 crore and Rs 24 crore respectively. During the last three months, both Gelusil and Benadryl have registered more than 27 per cent growth and the same growth rate is expected to continue in the next year as well.

The cold and cough drug segments together are estimated to be valued at Rs 570 crore, with the latter alone accounting for Rs 400 crore.
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FG Wilson disallowed to import generators
New Delhi: FG Wilson (Engineering), a 100-per cent subsidiary of Caterpillar, has been denied permission by the government to import diesel generating sets and components. The company manufactures and sells 15-30 KVA Simpson-powered gensets and 10-40 KVA lister-powered gensets. The company had sought to import 1,300 generators over the next two years to cater to demand from a telecom company.

The ministry of heavy industries and the department of commerce, however, struck down the company proposal, saying it amounted to retailing of imported goods and hence violated existing policy.

The company in its submission had argued that it would entail heavy investment to increase the manufacturing base and was not viable unless the company sold 5,000 generators a year. The Indian market was not still mature enough to absorb such a volume and hence the need for import, the company had submitted.
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Tate & Lyle to acquire molasses from India
New Delhi: Tate & Lyle, a UK-based food major is planning to get into the business of procuring and exporting molasses and other related products from India. It has sought government permission to carry out these activities through its wholly owned subsidiary in India — Tate & Lyle Investments. The new line of business will be in addition to its other businesses in India, which include production and processing of sugar, cereals, sweeteners and starch.

Tate & Lyle are also planning to offer consultancy and advisory services for the food processing industry in the country. The company has also sought government permission for transporting, storing, building of storage tanks and local disposal of waste products. The government has reportedly cleared its proposal for its proposed new ventures.

The company active in India sine 1997, has already acquired a substantial stake in Chilwaria Sugar & Chemicals, a 100 per cent subsidiary of Simbhaoli Sugar and Thapar group company Bharat Starch through a US subsidiary - Staley Manufacturing Co.
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AES wants to have controlling stakes in OPGC
Kolkata: AES Corporation, the Virginia-based $6.9 billion global power giant, has started discussions with the Orissa government for acquiring a controlling stake in Orissa Power Generation Company.

AES Corporation currently holds 49 per cent equity in OPGC, through its wholly owned subsidiary AES Ib Valley. AES now proposes to hike its stake in OPGC to 51 per cent, which would entail a 2 per cent dilution of stake by the Orissa government. AES had earlier told the state government that it was willing to acquire an additional 2 per cent stake in OPGC.
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M&M’s hotel JV with Accor on brink
Mumbai: The joint venture partnership between Mahindra & Mahindra and Accor, a $5.77 billion French hospitality giant, which runs Guestline Mercure -- a budget hotel chain -- is reportedly on the rocks. The joint venture is on the verge of break up as the hotel chain, which had three properties, has been making losses even since, the JV with Accor was signed.

The losses have mounted with occupancy sinking below 40 per cent in the last two years, besides hotel's food and beverage services and other amenities - such as club membership and banquet facilities – failing to yield any sizeable revenues.

The hotel chain, which was profitable prior to the tie up reported net profit of Rs. 3.78 crores in 1997-98. However, in the last fiscal, it made a loss of Rs 2 crore. Guestline Mercure has three hotels - a 91-room hotel in Mumbai, a 99-room hotel in Bangalore and a 144-room hotel at Tirupati.
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Ford India steps up Ikon car exports
Chennai: Ford India, the Indian subsidiary of the Detroit-based multinational is stepping up exports of Ikon to South American and African countries. Ford India has already bagged orders worth $35 million for export of CKD (completely knocked down) kits to South American and African countries. These orders will be executed during 2001. This will enable the company to meet its export obligations and earn foreign exchange.

Ford has given an export commitment to the government, when it obtained licences to import CKD/SKD (completely knocked down/semi knocked down) kits of its Escort and Ikon models. The company had exported 5,000 CKD its of Ikon during 2000. In the domestic market, the company sold 23,000 of these cars.

The company is also looking for export of software and CAD (computer aided design) from the new centre, which it is setting up in the recently-launched Tidal Park, a major information technology hub in Chennai.
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