Thapars likely to up stake in Crompton Greaves
New Delhi: BM Thapar group is planning to increase its stake in ailing Crompton Greaves India (CGI) Ltd. up to 51 per cent from the present 30 per cent. Mr. KK Nohria, CGI chairman has reportedly said that Thapars would increase their stake, despite its poor financial performance as they see long-term gains, especially in the power sector.

Presently, Thapars effectively hold 43 per cent stake, since they control preemptive rights over the 13 per cent stake of CGI's UK-based partner Invensys. The remaining 8 per cent could be bought from either public or foreign institutional investors (FIIs) or even from banks for wresting majority control, Mr Nohria has said.
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Lufthansa scales up India operations
Bangalore: Lufthansa, the German airliner, is all set to become the biggest European carrier out of India with rights to operate do 21 flights a week after the signing of the recent bilateral pact between the two countries.

Lufthansa will soon have an additional port of call this summer in Bangalore. The airliner is planning to introduce thrice a week services to Frankfurt with a new generation Airbus A340 aircraft, making it the first European airline to enter this market. The plane will offer 240-250 seats in a two to three class configuration. The only foreign airline tapping Bangalore directly is Royal Nepal Airlines, which is largely concentrating on leisure and incentive travel.

Lufthansa presently operates 15 flights a week split between seven to Delhi, five to Mumbai and three to Chennai. Lufthansa is likely to codeshare on seven flights a week from any of the four stations—including Bangalore in future— with Air India.
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Pricewaterhouse to launch actuary service in India
New Delhi: Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PWC) is planning to soon launch an actuarial practice in India. The details of the proposed service are being worked out in consultation with the UK office of PwC. Mr. Nigel Masters, leader and head Europe of PwC has said that PWC will identify younger actuaries and send them to PwC offices in the US, the UK, Australia and Tokyo to enable them to get the exposure.

The actuarial practice will have a core of 12 actuaries, in two major lines - life and non-life. PwC is however, not very keen on bringing an international actuary on board. To start with, PwC will help the insurance companies in writing the right business and using the capital adequately. The company already has a strong insurance practice in India and has got the clientele of TataAIG —both life and non-life, along with Max-New York Life.
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Victoria's Secret set to enter Indian market
Mumbai: Victoria's Secret, the international lingerie giant, is planning to enter the Indian market within the next two to three months. The international major is looking at entering India in a big way because it feels that the Indian market has a huge potential and the demand for its premium range products is yet to be fully tapped.

Victoria's Secret, whose products, apart from lingerie, include swimsuit, sleepwear, cologne, body soaps, shampoos, etc. could pose a major competition to the existing premium brands in India. The company is presently talking to few companies, before finalising its business strategy for India. The company is also yet to finalise its investment plans.

Intimate Brands Inc, the parent company of Victoria's Secret, has a presence in almost all the western countries. The company is optimistic about its future plans in India, which has lately grabbed the attention of international glamour industry.
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Toyota to launch three more models by June
Pune: Toyota Kirloskar Motors, is firming up plans to introduce its popular Corolla, Camry and Land Cruiser models in the market by June this year. The company is planning to import a clutch of its existing products to tap the demand for imported cars that will follow the announcement of the new auto policy in April.

Corolla 11 will be a 1000-cc turbo-charged diesel engine vehicle and is likely to be priced at around Rs 5 lakh. Camry, will carry a price tag of about Rs 16 lakh, and Land Cruiser, would cost upwards of Rs 35 lakh. The company is planning to only import a total of about 500 units of the three models in completely built units (CBU) form.

The company has also been conducting feasibility studies for the introduction of a small car for the domestic market. The company is reportedly inclined to make the Yaris model its launch car for the Indian market. The company is initially planning to launch a diesel version of Yaris to cater to the Indian penchant for diesel vehicles by mid-2002 and initially produce 30,000 units of the car modified to suit Indian conditions.
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GTC to import of cheap cigarettes
New Delhi: With quantitative restrictions on cigarette imports likely to be lifted from April 1, 2001, the Sanjay Dalmia-promoted GTC Industries plans to import cheap cigarettes in a bid to make consumers switch from expensive cigarettes to cheaper ones.

The company is presently scouting for suppliers of such cigarettes abroad. The company is of the view that such products would also help people graduate from bidis.

The strengthening of the cheap segment portfolio would however, be in line with the current brand portfolio of GTC Industries. The company has a strong presence in the low-end segment with brands such as Panama, Style and CHL, which are popular in eastern India.
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Mercedes planning more brands for India
New Delhi: Mercedes Benz India, Indian subsidiary of the world’s largest commercial vehicle producer Mercedes-Benz DaimlerChrysler is set to launch a new model for the domestic market. The proposed model to be launched has not been revealed. The company has sought government permission to market its various international models in the Indian market through the import route.

The proposal is for importing some of the models from its various overseas manufacturing facilities for marketing in India. Among the models that are likely to be considered for limited imports are the Cherokee, the Grand Cherokee and the Jeep from the Chrysler stable and the M-class, CLK and SLK from the Mercedes Benz stable.
The CLK and SLK are the two product lines based on the C-class with a two-door coupe or convertible options. The SLK but is only available as a sport model with a convertible arrangement.

The company in its application to the government has argued that since manufacture of these models in India would not be economically viable because of the low volumes, it needs permission to market them through the import route.
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Energizer ends tie with Eveready
Mumbai: The US battery major, Energizer International, with a market cap of $2.5 billion, is planning to go it alone in India and has decided to buy out of Eveready India’s 49 per cent stake in Energizer India.

As per the plan, Energizer International, which was spun off from Ralston Purina in April, will buy out the 8.3 million shares that the Calcutta-based Eveready Batteries holds in Energizer India, which will now become a 100 per cent arm of the parent.

Energizer India was established in 1995 till last year, invested Rs 40 crore in India, including Rs 9 crore manufacturing plant, with a capacity of 60m pieces annually. Energizer International is the world’s largest manufacturer of dry cell batteries and flashlights.
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Essar plans to float global tanker subsidiary
Mumbai: Essar Shipping is planning to float an international subsidiary to focus on the tanker market. The company is reportedly talking to some global tanker majors to offload its equity in the unit.

The Ruias, promoters of ESL, are expected to keep a majority stake in the subsidiary. The promoters and associates hold 55 per cent stake in ESL, while the public and financial institutions holding the remaining 45 per cent. The proposed international subsidiary is expected to focus on the tanker market. ESL may transfer a part of its assets (the current fleet comprises six Suezmax vessels) to the new subsidiary.

The subsidiary is also expected to go in for fleet addition, by acquiring very large crude carriers and Suezmax vessels.
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Nicco to focus on amusement parks
Kolkata: The Nicco group has said that it will focus its strategy on amusement parks, in addition to core areas, where the group has been operating. Nicco Parks, which runs amusement parks in the city and Bhubaneswar, is shortly entering into a deal to provide technical assistance to a Bangladeshi venture, where it would also take a token equity.

Th company has also been approached by Tata Steel for setting up an amusement park in Jamshedpur, where Tisco & associates and Nicco Parks would be sharing equity on a 50:50 basis.

The company says the potential of the entertainment industry was huge and the company had plans to set up more parks in the country whenever there was an opportunity.
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