Suzlon to go along with Areva for REpower
Mumbai: Suzlon Energy, the wind energy company, has won the race for its German counterpart REpower. Now Suzlon (along with its partner Martifer) and Areva account will hold 30 pc stake each in REpower.

Areva agreed to vote in accordance with Suzlon's proposals, subject to protection of minority shareholders. Moreover, the French company is guaranteed an exit route for its 30 pc holding in REpower, according to a statement mailed by Suzlon. This means that Suzlon has effectively won the bid for the German company.

The agreement also means Suzlon gets control of REpower without having to pay up the approximately $1.3-billion purchase price. Areva said it had concluded a cooperation agreement with Suzlon, under which Areva would maintain its 30 pc stake in REpower and become the preferred supplier to Suzlon in the field of electricity transmission and distribution.

It (Areva) benefits from an exit guarantee ensuring a value creation of over e350 million Areva said. REpower recorded revenues of e461 million last year.

Control over REpower will give Suzlon a toehold in the European wind power market. Suzlon expects 60 pc of its FY08 revenues to come from non-Indian markets this year.

Earlier Suzlon had acquired the Netherlands-based Hansen Transmission, a gearbox manufacturer, in 2006. Suzlon had first bid for REpower in February for e126, outbidding Areva, which had placed a bid at e105. The subsequent weeks saw Areva revising its bid to e140, followed by Suzlon's e150 offer.

REpower is among Germany's biggest wind-turbine makers and one of the world's leading companies in the wind energy sector, specialising in high-output turbine technology particularly suitable for offshore turbines.
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Mayawati government may block Anil Ambani's SEZ in UP
Lucknow: The Special Economic Zone proposed to be set up by the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group in Noida, Uttar Pradesh may not get cleared after all. This is as the Mayawati Government has sent a proposal to the Centre for withholding permission on the ground that the proposed SEZ flouted the prescribed norms. The Reliance SEZ proposal was approved by the Mulayam Singh Government in 2006 and sent to the Central Government for clearance. About 1,200 acres of land were allotted to the Reliance Group headed by Anil Ambani, a member of the UP Development Council.

The move taken by the government is based on the report submitted by a three-member committee constituted by the Mayawati Government when it assumed power.

The Cabinet Secretary, Shashank Shekhar Singh, said after reviewing the proposals of SEZs, the panel found that the Centre's directives had not been fulfilled in the case of the Reliance SEZ at Noida. Singh said the land allotted for the purpose of the SEZ was not contiguous; and a road was passing through two plots of land.

He said SEZ land has to be contiguous, enclosed from all sides with only one exit and entry point for goods. The basic principle was flouted in this case, he said.
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Rein in prices for sops; steel industry told
New Delhi: The Government has said that the steel industry must hold prices if wants to continue receiving various concessions extended by the Government. Minister for Steel Mr Ram Vilas Paswan said that steel prices have gone up by about 15 per cent in the past three years.

Paswan also said that in the past three years, various States have signed 173 memoranda of understanding with a total intended capacity of 196 million tonnes per annum involving investment of more than Rs5 lakh crore. He said even if a part of this intended capacity is realised, the impact on the economy would be huge.

He added that the Government had constituted a price monitoring committee to formulate a strategy for future pricing, analyse the variations and act as a watchdog to ensure a free and fair market environment.
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Mahindra Logan is received well
Mumbai: Mahindra Renault's inaugural offering in the Indian market Logan has received a good response. The car has received more than 3,000 bookings in three weeks since its debut on April 3. Launched in 11 cities the car has received 25,000 inquiries which is significant considering the Logan has been launched in only 40 per cent of the markets, said Rajesh Jejurikar, managing director, Mahindra Renault Pvt Ltd.

The company has given more than 11,000 test drives to customers, 3,000 of which were converted to bookings, a a healthy ratio of over 30 per cent conversion from test drives to bookings said Jejurikar.

Bookings for the Logan have opened in dealerships across Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Nashik, Delhi - NCR, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Chandigarh, Ludhiana and Jalandhar.
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ABG Shipyard to acquire Vipul yard
Mumbai: ABG Shipyard plans to acquire Vipul Shipyard, a closely held company, in Surat, Gujarat. The shipyard is located adjacent to ABG's shipyard in the Magdalla Port district.

The acquisition cost and capital expenditure for modernizing Vipul yard is about Rs100 crore said company officials. ABG plans to add a capacity of building five to six ships a year to its overall capacity from the acquisition. ABG will invest in modernisation of the acquired shipyard in the next three to four months, including deployment of new equipment.

With the acquisition, ABG will be adding substantial land with good water-front to its resources, along with slipway and other plant and equipment necessary for shipbuilding officials said.
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MRO-TEK net profit falls 25 pc in Q4
Bangalore: MRO-TEK has reported a 40 per cent decline in net profit and a 20 per cent decline in revenues for the fiscal year-ended March 31, 2007 over 2006. The company clocked a net profit of Rs10.72 crore (Rs17.66 crore) on total revenues of Rs115 crore (Rs144 crore) for fiscal 2006-07.

For the fourth quarter-ended March 31, 2007, MRO-TEK's profits slipped by 25 per cent to Rs3.53 crore (Rs4.72 crore for same period last year) while its revenues grew marginally to Rs32.06 crore (Rs31.31 crore).

The company declared a final dividend of Rs1 per share (20 per cent on par value of Rs5) in addition to the interim dividend of Rs1 per share disbursed in February 2007. MRO-TEK shares closed lower by 4.38 per cent on the BSE at Rs46.95 on Wednesday.
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Power exchange JV to be set up by FT, MCX, PTC
Kolkata: Financial Technologies (India), Multi Commodity Exchange and Power Trading Company are coming together in a joint venture to set up a national electronic electricity exchange.
The proposed exchange, Indian Energy Exchange (IEEL) has applied for a licence to Central Electricity Regulatory Commission for approval to begin short-term power trading.

The company said it will set up and run a power exchange in accordance to the guidelines issued by CERC for establishing and running a power exchange.

Short-term power trading or trading on day requirement accounts for 15 percent of the total power trading.

The exchange plans to induct more institutions as strategic partners and hence has not yet finalized the holding pattern among the lead promoters. However, the combined holding of FT and MCX will be not less than 51 percent.
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VSNL selects Teleglobe's VTS
Mumbai: Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd (VSNL) has selected Teleglobe Voice Termination Service (VTS) to provide call termination for SkypeOut.

Teleglobe allows direct traffic exchange with the VSNL network providing significant savings in capital and operating expenses, reduction in time and costs along with added capacity.

"We chose to partner with VSNL for international VTS because their services allow us to quickly connect to a global network without the operational burden and the expenses associated with interoperability requirements," Skype Vice-President Scott Bagby said.
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