BPL to hive off appliances business into a separate company
Bangalore: BPL Ltd. has decided to hive off its home appliances business into a separate holding company called BS Home Appliances. The company has offered its technical collaborator Sanyo of Japan to take a stake up to 40 per cent in new holding company.

The decision follows the delay in obtaining court approval for the proposed merger between the home appliances arms, BPL Sanyo Utilities & Appliances Ltd. and BPL Refrigeration Ltd. The home appliances division produces refrigerators, washing machines, microwave ovens, vacuum cleaners, cooking ranges, gas tables and dishwashers. Besides Sanyo, BPL also has tie-ups with other technology leaders like Toshiba, Media One, Harris Communication and Octel in several segments.

For the nine-month period ended December 31, 2000, BPL has posted a 20 per cent decline in net profit to Rs 61.27 crore on a turnover that has fallen 16 per cent to Rs 1,356 crore over the previous corresponding period. The year 2000-01 has not been a good year for the consumer durable market, which has impacted BPL’s performance for the third quarter of the current fiscal.
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Cable & Wireless to set up 100 per cent India subsidiary
Mumbai: Cable & Wireless, the UK-based 9.2-billion telecom major, is planning to set up a 100 per cent subsidiary by converting its branch office in India. The company to be based in Bangalore will provide network management services to corporate customers in India and other parts of the world. The new company will be called Cable & Wireless Global India. The initial equity capital of the Indian subsidiary will be 3 million.

The company has leased 8,000 sq ft in Bangalore and will be transfer all of its branch operations to the 100 per cent subsidiary once the latter has become operational. It has employed around 60 engineers in India and this number will go up to 80, once the new entity becomes operational.

The Bangalore-based network communication service will support C&W's corporate customers in India and worldwide, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region. Its clients in India include Standard Chartered Bank and Hindustan Lever. The company has generated annual revenues of around Rs 45 crore from the Indian market in 2000. The parent company is a substantial supplier of bandwidth to VSNL.
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CLP-Power Intl and Tata Power set up JV
Mumbai: The CLP-Power International, part of HK$22-billion CLP Holdings, is setting up a joint venture company with Tata Power for promoting power projects in India. The Hong Kong-based power utility has decided to enter into the distribution business by bidding for distribution networks in Delhi, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. These states have decided to privatise the distribution by forming a number of power distribution companies in different regions, which will then be sold to private investors.

CLP-PI and Tata Power already partners in Mangalore Power Company will be jointly bidding for distribution projects. CLP-PI has made it clear that it will evaluate prospects of joint ventures on an individual basis, in many other projects as well. The power major has said that it is committed to its investments in India.
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Hind Sanitaryware and Grohe AG to set up JV
New Delhi: Hindustan Sanitaryware & Industries Ltd. (HSIL), is planning a joint venture with Grohe AG of Germany, the largest manufacturer of faucets in the world. Both the companies are negotiating for forming a 50:50 joint venture.

The likely investment in the project will be to the tune of Rs 65-70 crore. HSIL reportedly is not averse to giving management control to the overseas partner. The proposed joint venture is also being seen as a base for export of Grohe products to other Asian countries.

Presently, HSIL has a strategic alliance with Grohe AG to market its Vitec range of shower products in the domestic market. A separate Grohe division within HSIL is handling this range of products. The overall market for faucets in the country is reckoned at Rs 800 crore, of which the top-end segment, which HSIL is targeting with Grohe products, is estimated to be around Rs 65-80 crore.
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Cummins scraps plans for setting up a holding company
Mumbai: Cummins has scrapped its earlier plans of setting up a holding company to integrate its clutch of joint ventures in India. Instead, the company, which has targeted a turnover of $1 billion in India by 2004, now plans to focus on creating a Cummins brand.

The company sees tremendous opportunities in the value-added services and therefore, wants to bundle a lot of services with its products and gradually move out from selling hardware and concentrate more on services. The contribution of services to Cummins India's turnover has meanwhile, risen to over 10 per cent from around 6 per cent a year back. Last fiscal, it posted a turnover of Rs 828 crore, and hopes to reach the Rs 1,000-crore mark this year.

The Cummins Group is focussing on three business areas in India -- diesel engines, power generation and exports. The company has as many as 10 joint ventures in India with local partners, including Cummins India - the JV with Kirloskars where the multinational has a majority 51 per cent stake and Tata Cummins, the diesel engine- maker, with Telco.

Mr. T M Solso, Cummins chairman and chief executive officer has said that Cummins would prefer equal stakes in joint ventures with local partners and would focus on building up a long-term relationship to ensure that both entities succeed.
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Foster's India plans forays in South and North
Pondicherry: Foster’s- the Australian beer company- is gearing up for a larger market share in the Indian beer market and is reported to be talking to several Indian breweries for tying up additional production capacities.

Foster’s just launched its beer in Pondicherry and is now planning to increase its market share in other parts of South India, which accounts for 40 per cent of the 70 million cases per annum Indian beer market, which is growing at 10-12 per cent every year. Presently, the Foster’s brand beer is only available in Maharashtra, Goa, Daman & Diu. The company is also planning a launch in Delhi shortly.

Foster’s Brewing Group, Australia, with 74 per cent stake in Foster’s India (the rest of equity is with the DC Kothari group) was the first major international brewer to set up a Rs.60 crore brewery plant, with a capacity to bottle two lakh cases per month in Aurangabad, Maharashtra.
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Sew Eurodrive to widen its product offerings in India
Baroda: SEW Eurodrive, a global major in power instrumentation business, is exploring further opening up its range of products in India. Expanded range of products would include products like integrated frequency inverter with geared motor and range of frequency inverters with standard user interfaces and comprehensive options.

The company is also looking at the possibility of investing between DM 50 m to DM 75 m at its Baroda plant, which will primarily expand its existing manufacturing facility. Mr. P K C Bose, managing director of Sew Eurodrive India has said that proposed investment would enhance the existing range of products from current 50 to 60 per cent to 75 to 80 per cent.

The company is also looking at exports as another area for its growth. The company expects 25 per cent to 30 per cent contribution from exports to its total turnover during the next financial year. In the first year of its operations, Sew Eurodrive India has estimated its turnover figure to touch at Rs 13.2 crore.
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Sun may merge Pradeep Drug with itself
Mumbai: Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. is planning to merge Pradeep Drug Company (PDC) with itself. A decision on the merger proposal is likely to be taken at the February 17 board meeting of Sun Pharma. The proposed merger is the second such Dadhas-controlled company to be acquired by Sun Pharma.

Earlier, Sun Pharma had acquired Tamil Nadu Dadha Pharma (TNDP) and merged it with itself. The sale of Pradeep Drug will pave for the Dadhas to completely exit from the pharma business. The Rs 21.47-crore Pradeep Drug has been not performing well and had reported a net loss of Rs 0.95 crore for the year ended March 2000.

The Dadha family and associates hold about 40 per cent stake in the company with the balance held by the public and financial institutions. PDC is into manufacturing bulk drugs like Clarithromycin, Azithromycin and Erythromycin.
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Weitnauer to enter Indian duty-free market
New Delhi: Weitnauer Holdings, a $9-billion Swiss duty-free conglomerate and flagship of the Weitnauer Group of companies, is planning to capture a sizeable chunk of the duty-free market in the country. The group has already set up a liaison office in India and is actively working on plans of acquiring duty-free shops at various airports in the country. Weitnauer is likely to participate in the next bidding round for lease of duty-free shops by the Airports Authority of India (AAI).

At present, duty-free shops at various airports are being run by the State-owned India Tourism Development Corporation with an annual net turnover of Rs 100 crore. Heinemann, Germany-based duty-free shop consultant, is the only international player working as consolidator for the ITDC shops. Weitnauer, headquartered in Basle, Switzerland is operating at more than 35 international airports worldwide and has built, managed and maintained duty-free shops around in Singapore, Denmark, Germany, France, Italy, Mexico, Georgia and Russia.
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