FIs in talks with Purnendu Chatterjee to sell MRL stake
New Delhi—The financial institutions are in talks with Purnendu Chatterjee of George Soros Group and it is seems likely that the two may join hands to force a change of guard at Modi Rubber.

Until now, Chatterjee was the unnamed stakeholder in Modi Rubber, and has quietly acquired 13-14 per cent of the shares of the tyre company. The Financial institutions control another 44 per cent of Modi Rubber and two together could easily edge the Modis out from the scene.

In the past the institutions have had strained relations with the original promoters, the feuding Modi brothers -- B K Modi and V K Modi.
The Modis hold 24 per cent, while the remaining 18-19 per cent is widely held.
Loss of control over Modi Rubber would have repercussions on the Modis’ control over other group concerns companies, among them, Modi Guard and Modi Mirrlees Blackstone, as well as their telecom ventures as Modi Rubber is the holding company for a number of these companies and the ouster of the Modis from its boardroom may result in diminished say in the affairs of others as well.
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Bombay Dyeing to downsize operations, slash jobs in major recast
Mumbai—Bombay Dyeing, the Wadia Group flagship may be on its way out from Mumbai if its recast operations goes according to plan. The company plans to relocate its entire processing, dyeing and printing facilities and a major part of the spinning and weaving activities out of Mumbai. As part of the plan the company is also planning to reduce its existing workforce by 50 per cent.
Bombay Dyeing has a workforce of around 5,500. Post-recast, the number will come down to 2,250 if the company implements the planned 50 per cent reduction. The company has been pruning its workforce every year through voluntary retirement schemes.
Bombay Dyeing officials are considering various places in Maharashtra for relocating activities. One of the options is Patalganga in Maharashtra’s Raigad district where the company’s dimethyl terepthlate plant is located.
The company’s spinning and weaving mill at Wadala in central Mumbai will eventually become the hub of its operations in the city. Its processing and printing facilities are located in Worli, another central Mumbai suburb.
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Hathaway, Zee agreement may be soon over
New Delhi-- The month-old agreement between Raheja’s Hathaway Cable & Datacom and Zee-owned SitiCable on cable television ground distribution may soon be a thing of the past.

SitiCable and Wincable officials concede that the arrangement for maintaining equal billing in case of a dual feed given to cable operators as well non-penetration into each other’s territory has not been very successful.
Industry sources say that both Hathaway and SitiCable had desired short-term benefits from the deal and while Zee was eager to push it’s bouquet of digitally encrypted channels into the cable TV households, Hathaway was keen to stabilise it’s subscription revenue collections from it’s network of operators.
This deal proved to be detrimental for both cable operators and consumers and source say that ever since the deal was hatched, the cable operators on the Hathaway network are being made to pay Rs 100 per subscriber per month in collections instead of the earlier Rs 55 per subscriber per month.
For sometime now the SitiCable Hathaway arrangement has become the talking point for the cable industry as it caused considerable worry to cable operators part of the Hathaway and SitiCable network.
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BT sells Bharti Cell stake to Bharti Enterprises
New Delhi—The UK-based telecom group, British Telecom, BT has sold its 44 per cent stake in Bharti Cellular, which offers cellular services in Delhi, to Bharti Enterprises for $140.2 million.
BT had earlier exited from other joint venture with Bharti, including Bharti-BT Internet and Bharti-BT VSAT in a move to withdraw from telecom operations in India.
Bharti Enterprises had earlier acquired BT's stakes in two of its joint-venture companies, Bharti-BT Internet and Bharti-BT.

BT held 49 per cent equity stake in the Internet JV and 50 per cent in Bharti-BT, which was a JV for VSAT services.
BT's move to exit from Indian telecom service operations is consequent to its strategic decision to realise values from operations from outside Europe to reduce debt level.
Among BT's remaining operations in India are international businesses that include Mahindra-BT Software Development Business and BT/AT&T concert joint venture.
The London-based telecom company is selling Asian assets to reduce debts after paying almost $14.6 billion for high-speed cellular phone licence in Europe.
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Infosys ties-up with Burlington Northern of US
Bangalore—Infosys has announced a business relationship with Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Company, the second-largest rail network in North America.
Infosys says it would establish a co-sourcing model integrating both BNSF and Infosys teams to design, deploy and manage certain IT systems. During the next 18 months, Infosys will have a dedicated team of over 125 people for this alliance.
Prasad Thrikutam, associate vice-president (business development), Infosys said, "BSNF is an IT leader in the transportation industry and their initiative to partner with us will enable the company to move more quickly and efficiently into new technologies that will continue to provide strategic and competitive advantages," said Prasad Thrikutam, associate vice-president (business development), Infosys.
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BPL, Sanyo JV in the offing
Bangalore—BPL is planning to enter into a 50:50 joint venture with its technical collaborator Sanyo, the $20-billion Japanese major for its home appliances business.
The decision is the outcome of the recent discussions between Ajit Nambiar, chairman and managing director of BPL and M Kawano, president, Sanyo Home Appliances Company, a Fortune 500 Sanyo Electric Company.
BPL is currently formulating a blueprint to finalise the modalities of offering an equal stake to the Japanese major.
The new strategic alliance will not only strengthen BPL in the areas of technology support and manufacturing, but will also enable Sanyo to use the resource and advantages of India's production and manufacturing to make BPL facilities a base for their global production and marketing, sources said.
Sanyo holds 13.57 per cent in BPL's appliance business, which is handled by BS Refrigerators and BS Appliances.
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Indal to hive off stake in affiliates
Kolkata—The Indian Aluminium Company, Indal, has decided to hive off its stake in affiliates — Orissa Extrusions, OEL, and Annapurna Foils.
The action seems to have been borne out of sheer desperation that in spite of readying a survival kit worth Rs 25-30 crore to nurse the two affiliates back to health, an intransigent state government and a not too helpful financial institution has prompted Indal to divest in the two affiliates.
Indal has a 26 per cent stake in OEL with Norsk Hydro, Norway holding 25 per cent and the balance controlled by IPICOL. Norsk Hydro, on its part has for long expressed its willingness to sell off its holdings.
Throwing a spanner into Indal’s plan to buy out Norsk Hydro, increase stake and make fresh investments to revive the company, has been the Orissa government’s decision not to extend benefits under its Industrial Policy Resolution 1996 for reviving sick units.
Sources indicated that Indal would not be too finicky over the price it gets for its holding either.
Similarly, Indal’s plans for AFL too seem to have got stuck. Banking sources said that Industrial Development Bank of India had persistently failed to spell out its stand on the revival package for AFL before BIFR or to the principal promoters.
Those familiar with the deal said that IDBI was not warm to the idea of receiving repayment of only the principal and waiver of the interest liabilities as worked out in the revival package.
Top Indal sources said that negotiations were still on with the financial institutions and joint venture partners to salvage the revival package but the option to sell off stake and make an exit from AFL now seemed a distinct option too.
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Dr Reddy’s global growth to ride on patent expiry of drugs in US
Bangalore— According to a company report released by investment banker, Merrill Lynch, the generic drugs market in the future is expected to be driven by a number of blockbuster drugs due to go off-patent in the United States very soon.

The South India-based Dr Reddy’s Laboratories is relying on the expiry of these patents to propel its growth into being an integrated global pharma company.
A generic drug is defined as identical drug, or bio-equivalent to a brand name drug in dosage form, safety, strength, route of administration, quality, performance characteristics and intended use.
The Merril Lynch report says that the US market is expected to show steady growth being currently valued at $11.30 billion, and assumptions for growth are 5 per cent in 2000, 12 per cent in 2001, 19 per cent in 2002 and 17 per cent in 2003. The dollar estimates for incremental generic sales are about $500 million in 2000, $1.40 billion in 2001, $2.40 billion in 2002 and $2.50 billion in 2003.

According to the report Dr Reddy’s was the first-to-file for Prozac's (fluoxetine) 40-mg capsule, with the investment banker saying that topline and bottomline could easily touch $21 million and $17 million, respectively. Additionally it is also believed that the company was first-to-file for ciprofloxacin, where patent expiry in the US is expected by December 2003.
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Reliance plans 2 mega gas pipelines
New Delhi—In a proposal to the government, Reliance has proposed to set up two mega gas pipeline projects crisscrossing the country. The multi-source supply pipelines will be the first of their kind in India and will be implemented by a Reliance subsidiary, Gas Transportation and Infrastructure Ltd.

As per the proposal, the first pipeline will connect Jamnagar in Gujarat with Cuttack in Orissa. The second pipeline will join Goa with Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh.

The idea behind the first pipeline is to join the proposed LNG import terminal of Reliance at Jamnagar with its offshore exploration block in Orissa.

In the second case, the pipeline will connect Reliance’s offshore exploration block in Goa with the one in Andhra Pradesh.

Before this, all the gas pipelines in the country had one source of gas supply i.e the gas produced by the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation at Hazira.

If this source gets shut, the pipeline goes dry. However, in the case of the pipelines proposed by Reliance, in case one source is unable to make the gas supply, there is always another to pitch in.
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JB Chemicals files for NCE patents in US, S Africa
Mumbai--JB Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals, the Unique Group flagship has filed patent applications for new chemical entities (NCE) with the US Patent and Trade Mark office.

NCEs are potent anti-inflammatory compounds.

JB Chemicals has filed patent applications in the US and South Africa for novel compounds with potent therapeutic properties and the patent application claims that the company has invented new compounds as well as the process for their manufacture.

According to a JB Chemicals press release pre-clinical tests of these compounds on animals have shown promising results for their use in inflammatory joint disorders.

The company has already got a number of patents internationally on Novel Drugs Delivery Systems, which include Ranitidine Controll- ed Release Formulations and Metrogyl Dental Gel in USA and Nefedipine Sustained Release tablets in South Africa. JB Chemicals is evaluating various options to unlock these hidden values.

JB Chemicals has recorded an increase of 42 per cent in net profits, at Rs 31.23 crore for the year ended March 31, 2001 as against Rs 22.02 crore in the previous year.
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AES Corp to cut Dabhol power to below Rs 3
New Delhi-- AES Corp, the US-based power major, says it will reduce the Dabhol Power tariff to below Rs 3 within six months of taking over the project and has offered to renegotiate the tariff to bring it down to levels demanded by the Maharashtra government within these six months.

Sources said, the lenders can enforce the security clause and transfer management of the project to any other company in the event of default by Dabhol Power Company on its repayment obligations.

They however added that DPC has not defaulted on any of its repayments till date.
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BPL Innovision to initiate NLD operations
Mumbai--The BPL Innovision Business Group for its foray in the national long distance (NLD) telephony, says it will stick to only south India in the first phase. It has also said it could enter into strategic tie-ups for the new business.

In the South the company already has more than seven lakh customers. As a first step towards its plan to enter the NLD segment, the group has already applied for an IP-2 licence and at an appropriate time, it will apply for the NLD operator’s licence.

The total investment for the NLD business will be around Rs 1,500 crore over a period of time.
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Honda to launch 'Honda Activa'
Bangalore—Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India is launching Honda Activa, a 102-cc, auto-start, four-stroke scooter with a mileage of 50 km per litre, in Bangalore and other southern markets on July 1.

Activa will be priced at Rs 38,684 on Bangalore roads and Rs 35,628 in Delhi, and will be available in strand silver metallic and black colours. Later more colours like laser red, precious gold and azure blue metallic will be added.
The company expects to sell 40,000 vehicles in the first year.

The Gurgaon plant, which was built in a record 13 months, rolled out the first scooter in April this year.
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Amex to open back-office processing hub in India
New Delhi—Back-office operations seem to be the most attractive aspect about India operations for global financial service giants. Now American Express has decided to turn its Indian operations into a global remote processing hub for its internal needs. The bank will be investing around Rs 50 crore in the first phase and is likely to set up at least 2,000 seats and employ 6,000 people. In this phase, the bank will seek to shift most of the remote processing/maintenance work from its other Asia-Pacific locations to India. At present, Amex has a large presence in Japan, Hong Kong and Australia.
In due course, the operations will be ramped up substantially as per an action-plan that is being worked on.
It is considering to set up its main centre in Gurgaon near Delhi, although Hyderabad is also under serious consideration as a likely secondary location, according to company sources.
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OM Kotak Mahindra launches operations to expand operations in 13 cities
New Delhi--The OM Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance Company plans to expand operations in 13 cities by the end of the current year, starting with Delhi where operations were launched on Monday. The company plans to will operate through a network of about 300 agents.
Top company officials said the company was offering many value added products like the OM Endowment Plan, OM Moneyback Plan and OM Insurance Bond. These products, he said, would have additional features like term cover and accidental death benefit.
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