Tata, Birla, Ruia urge PM to review WiLL issue
New Delhi: Leading
industrialists, Ratan Tata, Kumarmangalam Birla, Sunil Mittal and Shashi Ruia, who have
substantial investments in the telecom sector, have asked Prime Minister Atal Bihari
Vajpayee to review the decision to allow fixed operators to offer 'limited mobility'
services.
This follows the go-ahead given by the Group on Telecom and IT to basic operators to offer
limited mobility services. In their representation, the industrialists told the Prime
Minister that the the New Telecom Policy, 1999, did not permit limited mobility.
Earlier, the GoT-IT had slashed revenue to be shared with government on long-distance
calls to just 5 per cent from 60 per cent in a bid to provide level-playing-field. Despite
this the cellular industry does not seem to be satisfied.
The issue of limited mobility has pitted the industrialists against the Reliance Group,
which favours limited mobility. Reliance, it is learnt, is not opposed to the decision to
slash the revenue share of basic operators to only 5 per cent in the case of long-distance
calls originating from private basic phones. This is because Reliance will be building its
own network and expects to carry long-distance traffic itself.
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Sterling plans DTH
platform
Mumbai: California-based maverick NRI businessman, C Sivasankaran, promoter of the
Sterling Infotech Group, has announced ambitious plans to launch a direct-to-home
broadcasting platform.
Mr. Sivasankaran is understood to be in talks with US-based Ecohostar and DirecTV to put
in place a DTH platform in the country. To enable his group to do so, Mr. Sivasankaran
also announced that he would be pulling out all his investments in other media business.
Sivasankaran has a stake in Entertainment Television Network and Rathikant Basu's Tara
bouquet of regional channels.
Mr. Sivasankaran announcement to go ahead with his DTH plans is a break from the other
players who have held back their plans due to the 20 per cent investment limit announced
by the government.
According to him his DTH platform would
have 80 channels, focusing mainly on entertainment and education and is expected to be
available in India as soon as possible.
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Lumax Industries sells stake
to the Koreans
New Delhi: Lumax Industries has decided to sell its entire stake in its joint venture,
Lumax Samlip Industries, to its joint venture partner, the Korean major, Samlip
Industrial.
With this acquisition, Samlip would hold 93.3 per cent of the equity in Lumax Samlip, with
the balance 6.67 per cent equity being held by Hyundai Corporation.
Lumax Samlip is the largest supplier, in terms of number of components, to Hyundai Motor
India, supplying about about 140 components including lamps, chassis and trim parts to
Hyundais car facility.
Lumax Samlip began commercial production of automotive components such as head lamps, tail
lamps, automobile lighting equipment and other components for the Hyundai car projects.
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BPL to recast manufacturing
facilities
New Delhi: Consumer electronics major, BPL Limited, announced that it would soon
appoint a management consultant to advise the company on restructuring its manufacturing
facilities.
BPL has eight manufacturing facilities spread across the country, which include a unit at
Gurgaon making black & white televisions, two facilities in Bangalore for colour TVs
and monitors respectively, three units at Palakkad, one each for home appliances, ECG
machines and measuring instruments. Besides these the company also has a plant in Noida
for manufacturing CTVs and at Tumkur plant for making alkaline batteries.
The company made it clear that mere appointment of an external agency for restructuring
did not tantamount to the company closing down any of the manufacturing facilities.
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Infosys and Reliance among
Asias 'best managed firms'
London: According to a survey conducted by leading financial magazine, Financeasia,
Infosys Technologies and Reliance Industries rank as the first and second best-managed
companies in Asia.
The survey was conducted amongst leading international analysts and investment
decision-makers during the first quarter of the current calendar year.
Infosys won rave reviews for its corporate governance, transparency, skilled management
and corporate culture. The survey noted that these factors have enabled the company to
keep key personnel in a competitive environment, increase revenues and profitability and
enhance shareholder value.
The survey was undertaken for four broad categories -- best-managed company, best in
investment relations, commitment to shareholders value and best e-commerce strategy.
In the 'best-managed company' category, Infosys and Reliance were ranked first and second,
reflecting consistently high quality management decisions and a high ability at strategic
implementation.
Under the 'best in investor relations' category, Infosys and Reliance also bagged the
first and second slot.
For 'best e-commerce strategy' ICICI, India's second biggest lender and the first Indian
company to list on the New York Stock Exchange, came first followed by Infosys.
Investors and other executives from financial centres such as Hong Kong, Singapore, New
York and London participated in the survey besides 497 analysts and investment decision
makers.
Earlier, in another survey conducted by Euromony magazine in February, Reliance and
Infosys were adjudged as the best managed companies in Asia in their respective fields.
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Reliance VRS program
to cost cost Rs. 90 crore
Mumbai: Indias leading petrochemicals company, Reliance Industries said it would
offer a voluntary retirement scheme, announced earlier this month, to 4,600 employees
instead of 3,000. This would cost the company Rs. 90 crore.
The retirement scheme, part of the companys restructuring plans, had attracted
applications from 4,900 workers. The objective of the downsizing was to boost margins and
improve competitiveness.
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HM hopes CNG/LPG versions will
help in turnaround
Kolkota: Domestic passenger car company, Hindustan Motors, is aiming at using the CNG
and LPG versions of its flagship car, Ambassador, for staging a turnaround.
According to Mr. B K Chaturvedi, president and executive director, the introduction of CNG
versions of vehicles in Delhi had definitely come as a shot in the arm for the loss-making
company-controlled by C K Birla.
The company is targeting sales of at least 3,000 such vehicles in the current year.
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Timex to exit mass
market for watches
Mumbai: Two years after its separation from that Tata Group company,
Titan , the Indian susbidiary of Timex Corporation, Timex Watches, has drawn up a plan to
reposition itself for the Indian market.
According to the plan the company will reposition itself from a low-end mass-market brand
to high-end, technology-oriented brands, thus effectively phasing out most of the models
in the below Rs 1,000 range.
This range currently contributes 50 per cent of the sales turnover, down from 95 per cent
two years ago. The company will now focus on the Rs 1,000-5,000 price band.
According to the companys newly
appointed managing director, Mr. Kapil Kapoor, the decision to phase out the low-end
watches was based on research which showed that the high-end price band was the most
profitable segment of the watch market.
The Indian watch market is estimated at 31 million units of which 11 million units is the
organised market valued at Rs 1,000 crore, in which Timex claims a 18 per cent market
share.
Post its break-up with Titan, the company looked at newer channels of distribution and set
up a division called NTO (non-traditional opportunities) which caters to the
non-traditional channels of distribution.
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Three new 3-wheeler
models from Bajaj
New Delhi: As per the recommendations from consulting firm, McKinsey, Indias
leading two-wheeler company, Bajaj Auto has has started restructuring its marketing and
sales operations. The company also announced that it will launch new three-wheeler models
in a bid to boost sales.
The company is understood to have already recruited over 100 people in the ongoing
reorganisation of the marketing and sales department. Among the more prominent
recruitments are Mr. Sridhar from TVS-Suzuki as general manager (marketing) of
two-wheelers and Mr. C K Rao from Hindustan Motors as GM (marketing) of three-wheelers.
The companys new three-wheeler models will have higher payload capacity for
transporting goods.
The company has also set up an ambitious export target especially to countries in Latin
America and the south east Asian countries.
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Ranbaxy gets FDA approval
for marketing 2 drugs
New Delhi: Domestic pharma major, Ranbaxy Laboratories, has been granted exclusive
marketing rights by the US Foods and Drugs Administration (USFDA) for marketing two drugs
in the US market for six months. These are Ibuprofen and Pseudoephedrine Hydrochloride
tablets and have a market of over $50 million in the US.
The company is also working on a
path-breaking new drug delivery system (NDDS) product in the antibiotics segment for which
it is expected to file Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for it soon.
The US approval has been accorded to its
wholly-owned subsidiary, Ohm Laboratories. The subsidiary will manufacture the two drugs
and the marketing and distribution in the US market will be done through a joint venture
the company has entered into for marketing the product.
According to sources, Ohms
application represents the first generic equivalent with an AB rating to
Whitehall Laboratories Incs Advil cold and sinus tablets, an
over-the-counter (OTC) combination product for treatment of nasal congestion, headache,
fever, body aches and pains.
Ranbaxy is also in the process of
expanding its presence in the global and domestic OTC and nutraceutical product segments,
for which it has made some key senior appointments.
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Anchor to enter into coconut
oil market
Mumbai: Anchor Health & Beauty Care, which has eaten into FMCG major, Hindustan
Levers toothpaste market share, is all set to enter the coconut oil segment.
According to the company, Anchor
coconut hair oil will be launched on a fresh USP different from what the current players
have adopted. The entry of Anchor into this segment is likely to give HLL and market
leader, Marico Industries, stiff competition.
Marico is the undisputed market leader in
the coconut oils market with "Parachute" and HLL at the second rung, armed with
its two brands "Nihar" and "Cococare".
The pricing and packaging strategy for
Anchor hair oil is unlikely to be different from the existing brands.
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Dr Reddys
to hive-off halogen lamps business
Mumbai: Domestic pharma company, Dr. Reddys Laboratories, which has a Rs. 17
crore investment in Compact Electric Limited, a manufacturer of halogen-lamps, has decided
to hive off the lamps business.
Compact, which manufactures H3 and H4
type of halogen lamps, is a 100 per cent EOU.
The company is in the process of
appointing a merchant banker to take the process forward.
Dr Reddys investment in the lamp
unit has not yielded any significant income. CEL owes an outstanding dividend payment of
Rs 3.16 crore on preference share capital owned by Dr. Reddys, in addition to the
common equity held by it.
The company continues to make losses even
at the operating level consequent of which its bottomline for 1999-2000 continued to be
red with a net loss of Rs 1.70 crore.
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CNG
version of Indica from Tata Engineering
Mumbai: With pollution being a focus point in metro cities, Tata Engineering has
decided to launch the compressed natural gas (CNG) version of its flagship Indica by the
first quarter of the current fiscal. The model is likely to be launched in in Mumbai and
Delhi initially.
The company, which has tied up with an
overseas supplier for CNG kits, has not divulged any pricing details for the new model.
The Indica would be the first small car
which would be going in for a CNG version. Market leader Maruti does not have a CNG
version for its small car though it has a CNG option for its Omni van.
While analysts believe that a CNG version
would initially not have big volumes, it was a possibility that volumes could soar in
future following the strict environmental norms being put in place.
Tata Engineering has also benefited from
the recent SC verdict to replace existing diesel buses with CNG.
The company has received orders for 4,590
CNG chassis as of the end of March, 2001.
The Delhi Transport Corporation placed
orders for 890 vehicles and private operators accounted for the balance 3,700 vehicles.
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Tatas
begin WTO audit of group firms
Mumbai: In a proactive and pioneering effort, the Tata Group has initiated a
group-wide audit based on an indigenously designed "WTO diagnostic model", to
orient the group towards challenges posed by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) regime.
According to Tata group economic
adviser Jiban K Mukhopadhaya, this audit will assess each company on WTO-related issues so
that its competitiveness can be gauged vis-a-vis the Indian economy as well as the global
economy.
The hidden assets of group companies will
be analysed during the audit to make them competitive enough, not only to face the
challenges of posed by the post-WTO regime, but also to take the opportunity as the whole
world can be tapped as a market.
The indigenous model has been designed by
the WTO cell set up in the department of economics and statistics. The process entails a
three prong strategy of developing the concept followed by a comprehensive methodology and
then a scoring pattern on the basis of which the audit of each company will be assessed.
Initially companies under the traditional
economy, mainly those belonging to the manufacturing sector, will be assessed and this
will be followed by the services sector.
While the entire group audit is expected
to take almost two years, the first report of the company already under audit will be out
within three months.
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AV Birla group plans
acquisitions in carbon black
Mumbai: In a bid to consolidate its position in the carbon black business, the AV
Birla group is planning acquisitions in China and eastern Europe.
It is understood that the group is
eyeing state-owned companies in these countries that are being privatised by their
respective governments.
The Birla group, which is the
second-largest player in carbon black in this country, owns over 4 per cent of the global
carbon black capacity with plants in Thailand, Egypt and India.
However, in the domestic market, following
a recession in the auto sector, it has been facing problems due to poor offtake by the
tyre industry.
This is the second time that Kumar Birla
is looking at acquisitions outside India. In 1998, Birla had made his first overseas
acquisition when he took over Atholville Pulp Mill in Canada. The unit supplies rayon
grade wood pulp to Grasim in India, and his south east Asian units.
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