document.writeln("

PMO approves acquisition of Boeing aircraft
New Delhi: The Prime Minister's Office has given its approval for the acquisition of 68 Boeing aircraft. The proposal will now move before the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA).

The CCEA is likely to recommend that an empowered Group of Ministers approve the proposal, and only after the proposal is cleared by the e-GoM will Air India be in a position to sign a memorandum of understanding with Boeing outlining the payment and delivery schedules.

The Public Investment Board has already cleared the AI proposal for acquiring 68 Boeing aircraft, valued at Rs30,000 crore. The Minister for civil aviation, Praful Patel recently wrote to the prime minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, requesting that the proposal be sent to the CCEA or an e-GoM be set up.
Back to News Review index page  

Reliance FCCU shutdown extended
Mumbai: Reliance Industries has extended its planned 49-day shutdown of its 180,000-barrel-per-day fluidised catalytic gasoline cracker unit by five days. The company has given no reasons for the extension.

Company sources said the maintenance of units such as the 330,000-bpd crude distillation unit, a coker and aromatic division was ahead of schedule.
Back to News Review index page  

SABMiller to invest more in India
Mumbai: SABMiller Plc is planning to scale up investments in India to strengthen its position in the country.

According to the company, beer consumption in the country is growing fast at double digits every year. The company has invested Rs600 crore in the country so far. It now plans to invest a further Rs500 crore over the next five years.
Back to News Review index page  

IOC sets up clean petrol unit at Haldia
New Delhi: Indian Oil Corp. (IOC) has set up a new unit to produce low-sulphur petrol at its 120,000 barrels per day (bpd) Haldia refinery. At present the refinery has a capacity to produce 0.35 million tonnes of petrol a year which conforms to Euro-III standards, allowing sulphur content of 150 parts per million (PPM).

Fuel from the refinery will also have lower levels of pollutants such as benzene and olefins.

Haldia is IOC's second refinery to achieve 100-percent production of petrol conforming to Euro-III equivalent specifications.

IOC has also set up an isomerisation unit at its 150,000-bpd Mathura refinery in June this year and is scheduled to complete a project to make low-sulphur petrol at its Koyali refinery by June.
Back to News Review index page  

Gail gets Golden Peacock award
New Delhi: Gail has been awarded the Golden Peacock National Training Award 2005. The award was presented by Arjun Singh, union HRD minister, to R K Goel, Director (finance) of the company.
Back to News Review index page  

SingTel to up stake in Bharti, if price is right
New Delhi: Singapore Telecommunications, at present the largest foreign shareholder in Bharti Televenture with a 31 per cent stake, has said that it is open to increasing its stake in the company if it gets the right price.

However the Mittals, who are the Indian promoters with a controlling stake in the company, have ruled out further stake dilution in the company from the current 46 per cent.

Vodafone has just entered with a 10 per cent stake. Vodafone bought 4.39 per cent in Bharti through Bharti Enterprises Private Ltd. and a 5.61 per cent direct stake from private equity firm Warburg Pincus LLC.

Vodafone has stated that there would be no fixed rule for investments in the fast growing economy. Its future strategies in India would depend on asset prices and market dynamics.
Back to News Review index page  

India Cements declares net profit of Rs.5.85 cr in Q2
Mumbai: India Cements has declared a net profit of Rs5.85 crore for the second quarter this fiscal as compared to a net loss of Rs17.73 crore in the same period last year.

The company's total income has increased by 24.87 per cent to Rs392.32 crore for the period ended September 2005 from Rs314.16 crore in the year-ago period, the company informed the BSE.

For the half-year ended September 2005, the company has posted a net profit of Rs11.06 crore as compared to a net loss of Rs35.83 crore during the same half year last fiscal.
The total income grew to Rs774.16 crore for the half year this fiscal from Rs577.75 crore in the same period last year.
Back to News Review index page  

M&M increases production in China
New Delhi: Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) plan to increase annual production of tractors in China to 6,000 by the end of this fiscal.

The company is currently producing 300 units per month, which is expected to reach 500 units by March 2006.

The company, which holds 80 per cent stake in the joint venture with China's Jiangling Motors, commenced operations in July this year. It had paid US$8mn for its Chinese foray. Its Nanchang factory has a capacity of 12,000 tractors per annum.

M&M has started exporting tractors made from China to the US and Australia.
Back to News Review index page  

BILT forays into paper tissue business
New Delhi: Writing and paper products company BILT has announced its foray into the tissue business with an investment of Rs25 crore to be made over five years.

The company has launched its premier tissue brand 'Etiquette'.

The Indian market for paper tissues is about Rs600 crore with an average consumption of 30,000 MT per year. BILT plans to expand this market and increase the consumption of disposable paper products.

The company is targeting a turnover of Rs100 crore in the next five years.
Back to News Review index page  

Kingfisher launches non-stop service between Bangalore-Goa
Bangalore: Kingfisher Airlines has launched a non-stop service between Bangalore and Goa. The company says the new route will provide greater convenience for business and leisure travellers alike. The fare for the Bangalore-Goa route comes to Rs3, 189, plus taxes.

With the launch of these new routes, the number of daily flights offered by Kingfisher Airlines will go up to 52.

Kingfisher Airlines now has seven brand new Airbus A320 aircraft in its fleet.
Back to News Review index page  

WNS acquires US-based BPO firm
New Delhi: WNS Global Services has acquired US-based company, Trinity
Partners, to strengthen its presence in the mortgage and financial services business.

Zubin Dubash, group chief financial officer of WNS, said the deal will enable the group bag a US$60mn (Rs270 crore) contract spread over five years from First Magnus Financial Corporation.
Back to News Review index page  

BSNL to cut ties with Huawei
New Delhi: Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) is discontinuing its business association with Chinese equipment supplier Huawei because the latter has derailed BSNL's project to provide 10.5 lakh telephone connections based on CDMA technology.

BSNL is also considering action against Huawei. The developments could provide a great setback for Huawei as it will not be able to bid for BSNL's upcoming tender for 60million GSM lines, which would be the largest single tender in the world.

Huawei was the lowest bidder in the tender for installing a network of 10.5 lakh CDMA lines. The company participated in the tender, with two Indian companies HFCL and government-owned SCL. The companies failed to supply the equipment after accepting the advanced purchase order.
Back to News Review index page  

SBI Caps may assist MUL sell off
New Delhi: The government is considering appointing SBI Capital Markets and Kotak Mahindra as advisors to assist in divesting the eight per cent residual stake held by the government in Maruti Udyog (MUL).

The selection of advisors signals the government's final exit from Maruti.
Back to News Review index page  

Posco awards contracts to 30 firms for its Orissa project
New Delhi: Posco, the South Korean steel major, has awarded contracts worth Rs128 crore to 30 firms, including 15 Indian companies, for conducting studies pertaining to port, water supply, environment, township and railways for its proposed 12-million tonne capacity plant in Orissa.

According to the company, half of the 30 companies are Indian while the rest are Korean. The value of the total contract is US$28mn. The project includes port, water supply, environmental, township and railway.

The main Indian companies engaged by Posco, include Mecon for site selection survey, M.N Dastur Company and National Institute of Oceanography for environmental studies, Wapco for water supply, Rites for railways and Consultancy Engineering Services for basic design of port and sites.

Posco officials said while over 500 Indian experts were working on these projects, approximately 250 Korean experts were lending their expertise to the project.
Back to News Review index page