Moody's rate TISCO at Baa2 - higher than sovereign rating
Mumbai: International credit rating agency Moody's Investor Services has assigned Baa2 rating with stable outlook to Tata Iron and Steel Company Ltd (Tata Steel).

The rating is not only one of the highest achieved by an Indian company but is also one notch above Moody's current sovereign rating of Baa3 for India, Tata Steel officials have said.

The rating for Tata Steel reflects Moody's opinion on the company's ability to honour its financial obligations.
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Mallya buys out Shaw Wallace for $300 million
Bangalore: After trying for years, Vijay Mallya's United Breweries has finally managed to gain control over long-standing rival Shaw Wallace. In a deal with Jumbo, the parent company of Shaw Wallace, UB has raised its open offer to Rs260 per share, from its earlier offer of Rs.250.

It will also pay Rs65 extra to the Jumbo Group to ensure it stays away from the liquor business for at least five years.
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ONGC to set up Rs4,000 crore refinery at Barmer
New Delhi: The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is planning to set up a Rs4,000 crore refinery at Barmer in Rajasthan with an initial capacity of 5 million tonnes per annum. The refinery would process the crude oil find of Cairn Energy in Block RJ-ON-90/1 in Rajasthan.

The equity holding in the refinery project was being discussed with Cairn. Cairn Energy has so far discovered 1084.1 million barrel (or 156.2 million tonnes) of in place reserves of which 286.45 million barrel (or 41.87 million tonnes) are recoverable. The present discoveries would produce up to 3 million tonnes per annum but the output would rise with new finds being made.

ONGC holds 30 per cent interest in Cairn's two oil fields in the block.

ONGC is also studying the possibility of raising the capacity of its subsidiary Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd to 30 million tonnes.
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GAIL signs MoU for pipeline projects in Bangladesh
New Delhi: GAIL (India) Ltd and the Business Development Corporation Ltd (BDCL), Bangladesh, have signed a memorandum of understanding for joint cooperation in gas transmission, pipelines and distribution networks in that country.

As per the MoU, GAIL will undertake gas pipeline projects on build own operate and transfer (BOOT) basis or any other basis as offered by the Government of Bangladesh or authorised agencies in Bangladesh. BDCL will offer services for implementation of projects and provide support and coordination in obtaining all statutory clearances and approvals required for such projects.

Both the companies will jointly identify exploration and production opportunities in Bangladesh. BDCL will also develop business opportunities involving GAIL's expertise in gas transmission, distribution and marketing for other private and public sector companies in Bangladesh.
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Satyam in SAP pact with Bridgestone, Europe
Hyderabad: Satyam Computer Services Ltd has announced its agreement to run SAP at Bridgestone Corporation, Europe, a subsidiary of Bridgestone, Japan, a global tyre and rubber manufacturer.

Under this agreement, Satyam will provide application maintenance and support services to Bridgestone Europe for three years. Bridgestone Europe, headquartered in Brussels (Belgium), has six manufacturing plants, one technical centre, regional distribution centres, warehouses and sales companies located across Europe with around 2,000 users of SAP modules, including warehouse management.

The Director and Senior Vice-President, Satyam, Mr Manish Mehta, in a statement said, "Satyam's business and technical know-how in running large SAP installations can be leveraged to bring great results for Bridgestone."
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ONGC enters petro-retailing with OVaL
Mangalore: Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has opened its first petrol station in Mangalore marking its entry into auto fuel retailing under the brand name OVaL (ONGC Values Ltd). ONGC plans to set up 1600 retail outlets for selling petrol and diesel by 2007.

ONGC has also sparked off a price war by offering attractive discounts, with petrol at OVaL outlet priced Re1 per litre lower than the prevailing price of existing retailers - Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL).

Diesel is being sold at a discount of Rs0.50 a litre.
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Dell opens contact centre at Mohali
Mohali: Dell Inc is starting its third customer contact centre in India in the city of Mohali in Punjab and will begin operations here from the March 28 with about 300 skilled employees.

Dell is the second major company after Quark to identify Mohali as the next key IT centre and marked their opening with the presence of the Dell chief. "I am a big believer in the globalised economy and I think that its important that after entering to sell our project, we will also buy products," said Dell. "It's happening with China and India and its true that these countries can't grow on their own. Everyone must participate in the process of growing global economy," he said further.
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M&M and Renault ink JV for production of Logan
Mumbai: Mahindra & Mahindra and Renault group have signed an agreement to set up a joint venture for the manufacture and sale of Logan. The Logan is a five-seater passenger car and will be available in the Indian market from 2007.

The project will cost around 125 million Euros and have a production capacity of 50,000 cars per year. The car would be sold under the Mahindra-Renault brand.

The JV will see M&M holding a majority stake of 51 per cent while Renault will hold 49 per cent.
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Leyland's Stag buses for Srinagar- Muzaffarabad service
New Delhi: The J&K State Road Transport Corporation has selected Ashok Leyland's `Stag' buses for the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad service and would deploy the buses on the 170-km route, a company release has said.

The buses are air-conditioned, with provision for heating, and have 19 pushback luxury seats. Each bus is seven metres long, and offers excellent manoeuvrability, the release said.
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1900 Mhz band: TRAI still examining issue
New Delhi: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has said that the model adopted by the US to allocate radio frequency for mobile services might not be relevant for India.

The telecom regulator, which is grappling with the spectrum policy guidelines, said that the issues were complex and it would take some more time before a decision is arrived at.

"The US PCS spectrum is not available in India, so there is no question of following the US model. We do not yet have the answers to the issues relating to the allocation of 1900 Mhz band," said Pradeep Baijal, Chairman, TRAI, on the sidelines of the Convergence India inaugural session.

The telecom regulator's dilemma relates to the ongoing spat between the GSM-based cellular operators and the CDMA-based mobile service providers over the use of 1900 Mhz band.

GSM operators have claimed that the use of 1900 Mhz band should be restricted for third generation services since sharing it with CDMA will create interference. On the other hand, CDMA operators have pointed to the US model where both use the 1900 Mhz frequency band.
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