HPCL makes maiden discovery of Oil in Cambay exploration block
Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) has announced the discovery of oil at the exploration Block awarded to its consortium of Gujarat State petroleum Corporation, which has the highest stake of (55 per cent), Jubilant Oil & Gas Pvt Ltd (20 per cent), Prize Petroleum Co. Ltd (15 per cent) and Geo Global Resources (Barbados) Inc. (10 per cent) under the IVth round of NELP by the petroleum ministry.

HPCL says that the directorate general of hydrocarbons has already acknowledged the discovery. HPCL is the sole promoter and parent of one of the consortium partners, Prize Petroleum, which has assigned its 15 per cent participation interest to HPCL.

The discovery appears to be part of a large structure, which may have significant reserves and need to be appraised & delineated further through exploratory drilling. The production rate may further improve after well stimulation / hydrofacturing.

This is the first discovery by HPCL in its first exploration venture probed by exploratory drilling and marks first success in HPCL's efforts towards vertical integration. (Read More)
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MTNL likely to bag Sri Lanka's Suntel
MTNL is close to buying Sri Lankan fixed-line operator Suntel and has sent a high-level delegation to start technical assessment of the company, a prerequisite to formalising the deal.

If the acquisition materialises, Suntel would become the NYSE-listed MTNL's first acquisition. It will also give MTNL a foothold in Sri Lanka's fast-growing telecom market. It has a licence to offer fixed-line, cellular and ILD services in Mauritius.

MTNL is believed to have emerged as the highest bidder for Suntel with a bid between $160 and $180 million for the stakes held by its major investors, notably Nordic company Telia with a 55-per cent stake through its holding firm Overseas Telecom.

Suntel's other shareholders are Sri Lanka's Metrocorp, National Development Bank Of Sri Lanka, Townsend of Hong Kong and International Finance Corporation.

MTNL, which has been trying to grow business beyond Delhi and Mumbai, had lost the race for Saudi Arabia's third mobile licence and fixed-line licence earlier this year. It had also lost a bid for a licence in Kenya.

The Colombo-based Suntel offers fixed-line service on CDMA-based technology on the WLL platform.
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IFC to invest Rs 300cr in Max Healthcare
The World Bank's private lending arm, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), will invest Rs300 crore in Delhi-based Max Healthcare Institute over the next four years to aid it expand its bed capacity.

This is IFC's second investment in the healthcare-pharmaceutical segment in India. On June 14, it had announced a financial assistance worth Rs 63 crore ($15 million -loans of up to $9 million and up to $6 million in equity) to pharmaceutical firm Granules India.

The proposed expansion will add 452 beds to the company's existing 765-bed capacity. This includes 268 beds in Patparganj hospital, a new100-bed secondary and tertiary hospital in Dehradun, and a new 84-bed tertiary hospital focussed on obstetrics, gynecology, and pediatrics at Saket, Delhi.

IFC's investment in Max will include Rs50 crore of equity shares and Rs250 crore of preferred, cumulative, and redeemable equity.

IFC holds a portfolio of $1.3 billion in India, as of June 2006, its fourth-largest country portfolio. During 2006, it committed over $400 million in new investments.
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ICICI Bank opens branch at Jhajjar SEZ
ICICI bank has opened a branch in Jhajjar district of Haryana to advise farmers how to reinvest the huge cash they are receiving on sale of land to Reliance Industries for its SEZ in the area.

ICICI bank has gone to the area on the advice of Reliance, which wanted the goodwill of the farmers besides ensuring that they invest the proceeds from the sale of land wisely.

Majority of farmers who sold their land to Reliance have gone to buy plots in Rajasthan and other states in the region. "Thus, there was no land alienation on a large scale," a government official said.

While Reliance is busy taking measures to build its goodwill among farmers, its joint venture with state government has already been transferred 1,715 acres of land that was earlier with the Haryana State Industrial Development Corporation.

The farmers are being advised by ICICI about the traditional investment options. "This would ensure regular income and security for them (farmers) who do not have other skills," the official said.
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RIL says it has permission to retain entire area of D6 gas block
New Delhi: The ministry of petroleum is yet to decide whether Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) will get to retain the entire 7,305 sq km of the promising deepwater gas block off the Andhra Pradesh coast, though the company claims that the issue of relinquishing a certain portion of the area has already been resolved.

Earlier this week, the company had written to the Ministry that the issue of surrendering some area of KG-DWN-98/3 (D6) has been sorted out, with the block's management committee allowing the company to retain the entire area. The management committee comprising Government nominees and representatives of the contractor is assigned the task of reviewing the operations in the block.

RIL was responding to a communication from the Ministry, which said that the matter was still open and that there could be some modification in the area being held by the company in D6.

RIL was currently implementing phase three of exploration activities and simultaneously undertaking development work in the discovered areas in D6.

As per the PSC, a contractor has the option to relinquish a minimum of 25 per cent of the area after phase one (three years), and at the end of the second phase, the contractor has to relinquish all areas except those in which hydrocarbons have been discovered and for which an appraisal programme or a development plan has been drawn up as per the contract.

RIL has been given 13 months and nine day's extension by the management committee, beginning June 7 this year until July 15 next year, to finish its exploration activity in the block. The company had sought extension of exploration licence for the block as its activities in phase one had got delayed due to external factors.
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Dishman Pharma to acquire Solvay's Dutch fine chemicals unit
Mumbai: Dishman Pharmaceuticals & Chemicals said Monday that it will acquire the fine chemicals, vitamin D and analogues business from the Netherlands-based Solvay Pharmaceuticals BV for an undisclosed amount.

The company has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Solvay Pharmaceuticals for acquisition of the business unit, it informed the BSE, and expects to complete the transaction during the year itself.

As part of this deal all facilities, people and activities located at Solvay's Veenendaal site in the Netherlands and technology, patent and intellectual property rights for fine chemicals, vitamin D and its analogues business would be transferred to the company after completion of due diligence procedures and other approvals.

Dishman Pharma has a pre-existing long-term relationship with Solvay for contract manufacturing of a patented API and intermediates.

Dishman Pharma would retain production of cholesterol and vitamin D analogues at Veenendaal and transfer the vitamin D3 production to its Indian plants, it added.
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Muthoot Group to launch two 5-star hotels
Chennai: Muthoot Leisure and Hospitality, part of the Kerala-based Muthoot Group, plans to invest Rs500 crore in putting up two 5-star hotels and a resort, according to media reports.

The company plans a 250-room five star business hotel in 2.5 acres of land in Kochi with an investment of Rs200-crore, and a five star beach resort on acres of land in Mararikulam, with an investment of at Rs90 crore.

The group also plans to start a five star business hotel in Coimbatore with an investment of Rs200 crore.

The Muthoot group currently owns one four-star resort-Muthoot Cardamom County-in Thekkadi, and 'Gold Star'-rated luxury houseboats in the backwaters of Kumarakom.

That apart, it owns a five-star property in Thiruvananthapuram called The Muthoot Plaza and another five-star resort in Kovalam run by the Taj group-Taj Green Cove.

The Rs14,000-crore Muthoot Group, apart from hospitality, has multiple business interests including banking and finance (the group's flagship business), healthcare, education and real estate.
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Billiton's Orissa SEZ alumina project proposal rejected
Mumbai: The Orissa government has rejected a proposal by Australian mining giant BHP Billiton to set up a 3-million tonne alumina refinery special economic zone (SEZ) in Gopalpur with an investment of $3.3 billion (Rs14,000 crore).

BHP Billiton's India chairman M S Ramachandran had made a presentation on the proposed project before Orissa chief secretary Ajit Kumar Tripathy last week.

The chief secretary has conveyed the government's feelings to BHP Billiton's India head at a meeting attended by state steel & mines secretary UP Singh, industries secretary Ashok Dalwai, and IPICOL managing director Ashok Meena.

The government refused to accept the offer on the ground that the project did not have any proposal for an aluminium smelter. The state government, which is insisting on value addition to at least 50 per cent of the alumina in the state as part of its mineral policy, has asked the company to submit a fresh proposal with facilities for production of aluminium.

BHP Billiton has sought bauxite mines with proven reserve of 300 million tonne and 5500 acre in Gopalpur for the project.

The company has proposed to establish only an alumina refinery which does not ensure full value addition to bauxite, said a senior official who attended the presentation session. He said maximum value addition would ensure more employment generation as well as extra revenue generation for the state.

According to Industries secretary Ashok Dalwai, the government wanted value addition to the raw material down to aluminium metal and also secondary processing in downstream industries like transport, construction and packaging.

As such the government's policy says that the investor which agrees for value addition to the raw material only would be provided with captive mines. We could not have two policies, said an official.
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