SAIL to hike in steel prices soon
New Delhi: Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) has said that it planned to increase the prices of its products soon, in anticipation of correction in domestic demand. India's largest private steelmaker, the Tata Iron & Steel Company (Tisco) also announced last week that it would lower the discounts offered on its products from April 1, 2001.

International steel prices have moved up, especially in the first few weeks of 2001, reversing a decline, which had began in the middle of 1999 and which continued through 2000. Since steel prices in India generally followed international prices, with a lag of three to four weeks, the increase in international prices will help improve margins for Indian steel exporters. About 5 per cent of SAIL’s steel sales come from exports.
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Tatas drop out of Indian Airlines bid
New Delhi: The Tata group has submitted a bid for the national flag-carrier Air-India, but decided to drop out of the race for Indian Airlines. "We have put in our bid for Air-India. We are not bidding for Indian Airlines," a Tata group spokesman has said. The bidding process for 40 per cent stake in Air-India and 26 per cent stake in Indian Airlines closed on Friday.

The exit of the Tatas from the Indian Airlines' race leaves the field open for the Hinduja brothers and Videocon International. Both those parties confirmed on Friday that they have tabled bids for the domestic airline. The Tata bid for Air-India is in partnership with Singapore Airlines.

Foreign airlines have been barred form bidding for Indian Airlines but have allowed to bid for Air-India. The Hinduja brothers, with the technical collaboration of Lufthansa, have also bid for Air-India. The Tata group, Videocon and the Hindujas were the only three bidders who put in initial expressions of interest last November for the domestic airline.
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IPCL to sell its Vadodara unit to IOC
New Delhi: The Indian Petrochemical Corporation Limited (IPCL) on Friday said it would sell its Vadodara plant to Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) by next month. According to Mr. Ashok Chawla, chairman and managing director of IPCL, IOC is likely to submit its valuation of Vadodara plant by the first week of next month and the deal is likely to be sealed by end of this fiscal.

With most of the due diligence over both the companies are slated to meet the government by mid-March to finalise the deal. The issue of division of marketing rights between Vadodara plant, which is being given to IOC on nomination basis, and Nagothane and Gandhar units, which would be divested to a strategic partner, through competitive bidding later, however, still remains to be resolved. The government has appointed Warburg Dillion Read as consultant for privatisation of the corporation.
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FDC in marketing tie-up with Aspen Pharmacare
New Delhi: FDC on Friday announced the signing of a marketing tie-up deal with Aspen Pharmacare of South Africa. Under the arrangement, FDC will be initially marketing 10-12 ophthalmic products manufactured at its plants in India and approved by the UK Medicines Control Agency in South Africa.

FDC will also enter into a licensing arrangement with Aspen Pharmacare for solid dosage forms and oral rehydration salts, to be manufactured locally in South Africa at Aspen's facilities with know-how from FDC. Aspen Pharmacare is the largest listed pharmaceutical company in South Africa and a dominant player in generic medicine.

The total market for ophthalmic products in South Africa is estimated at Rs 78.7 crore, and FDC hopes to achieve a 30 per cent marketshare in five years.
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Hyundai Motor raises Santro price
Bangalore: Hyundai Motor has decided to carry out a "price correction" in select southern and western markets by hiking the price of its Santro car by Rs 6,000, ahead of the announcement of government’s auto policy. The upward revision in price will become effective from March 1 in metros like Bangalore and Chennai, where the price differential between Maruti Zen and Santro is close to Rs 20,000

There will however, be no change in price in Delhi region, Santro’s single biggest market in India. Market sources say the hike is unlikely to impact the sales of the car. Hyundai has already hiked the Santro price tag twice since its launch in October 1998, the revision came in January 2001.

Hyundai commands about 15 per cent share of the domestic car market and accounts for nearly a fourth of the export market
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Sierra Atlantic takes majority in Sierra Optima
New Delhi: Sierra Atlantic has taken controlling stake in its Indian joint venture arm - Sierra Optima, by hiking its stake from 25.5 per cent to 54.9 per cent at a total cost of Rs 67.08 crore. Sierra Optima is getting a hefty premium of Rs 146 on its shares from Sierra Atlantic. Sierra Atlantic has to pay Rs 312 for each of the 2.15 million shares of Sierra Optima. Sierra Optima share are presently quoted at Rs 166.15 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

Sierra Optima set up in 1992 provides value-added software services for international clients. Its turnover for the fiscal 2000 was Rs 20.5 crore, while its net profit was Rs 5.51 crore. Around 85 per cent of Sierra Optima’s revenue come from the parent company.

Sierra Atlantic Inc., a California-based software company has tie-ups with companies like Siebel and Oracle and its clients include Pepsico Foods, Kraft, GE and Oracle. The company has achieved a turnover of $30.75 million in 2000.
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Wipro ePeripherals to buy Godrej & Boyce unit
Bangalore: Wipro ePeripherals (WeP), a division of Wipro Ltd. has signed an agreement with Godrej & Boyce to take over its electronic design and manufacturing division (EDM) in Hyderabad. The EDM unit manufactures dot-matrix printers and high-end e-typewriters for original equipment manufacturers such as WeP and overseas customers like Seiko Precision and Triumph Addler AG.

The agreement will enables WeP to achieve its objective of expanding into international markets and consolidating its leadership locally. With the international market that EDM brings in and the focused marketing strengths that WeP has, acquisition will add long-term value to WeP.

The merger is a rich addition to WeP’s research & development (R&D) and manufacturing capabilities and will help build the international market of EDM in Japan, Germany and other European countries, Mr. Ram N Agarwal, managing director, WeP has said.
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Foster's India plans acquisitions to expand marketshare
New Delhi: Foster's India is planning to acquire existing breweries to expand its operations with an additional investment of Rs 35 crore. The company is planning to acquire three breweries in the country within the next six months and is simultaneously exploring the possibilities of entering into a bottling arrangement with a couple of domestic breweries.

Mr. Pradeep Gidwani, managing director of Foster’s India has said that while the company plans to launch Foster’s beer across the country, it requires a higher production capacity. Currently, it has a production capacity of 2 lakh cases per month and plans to increase it at least 150 per cent within the next six to eight months.

The company, which has a brewery in Aurangabad in Maharashtra, is well entrenched in the West, which accounts for 40 per cent of the country's beer consumption. But to cater to other major markets, especially South, which accounts for 35 per cent of the beer market and North, which accounts for 20 per cent of market share, Foster’s need to increase production capacity and have production facilities in the region.
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