COMPANIES

Reliance opens hypermarket in Ahmedabad
Mumbai: Reliance Retail Ltd has launched its hypermarket format called `Reliance Mart' at Iskon Mall, SG Highway, Ahemdabad on Independence Day.

The 165,000 square feet Reliance Mart will carry a range of over 95,000 products catering to the entire family. Shoppers will have the option to choose from a wide array of products in every category ranging from fresh produce, food & grocery, home care products, apparel and accessories, non-food FMCG products, consumer durables and IT, automotive accessories, lifestyle products, footwear and much more.

Coming after the successful launch of the supermarket format `Reliance Fresh' and the consumer electronics concept mega store `Reliance Digital', the hypermarket is the third retail format launched by Reliance Retail.

Reliance Mart also offers some unique services to shoppers like tailoring, shoe repair, watch repair, a photo shop, gift services and laundry services, all within the store. The store also houses its own fresh bakery, serving "hot, off-the-oven" bread and bread products throughout the day and local savouries, an ice-cream train for the kids, a chakki, ready-made batter and loose tea and pickle for the housewives. Reliance Mart will also sell fine jewellery and fashion jewellery as part of its lifestyle section.
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Amara Raja to expand capacity and split its stock
Chennai: Industrial and automotive Battery major Rs745 crore turnover Amara Raja Batteries Limited has announced investment of Rs65 crore towards expanding its industrial battery capacity. The company's board approved the proposal at its meeting on 14 August, 2007.

According to Jayadev Galla, managing director the expansion will happen in phases and will be funded out of internal accruals and term loans.

The company's strategy to increase the liquidity of its stock through a stock split from Rs10 face value to Rs2 proposed at the last board meeting was also approved by the shareholders at the annual general meeting held on Tuesday.
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GENERAL

Reliance's Mahamumbai SEZ faces protest
Mumbai: Protestors, including senior Shiv Sena leader Manohar Joshi, courted arrest in Navi Mumbai as part of the 'jail bharo andolan' to protest the Mahamumbai SEZ of Reliance group in Raigad district of Maharashtra.

"Shiv Sena would support the poor farmers whose land is being acquired forcibly by the Maharashtra government," Joshi said , adding the agitation would be further intensified if the state government did not amend the land acquisition policy for SEZs.

The former Lok Sabha Speaker said he will raise the issue of SEZ in the on-going monsoon session of Parliament.
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APC starts commercial operation of Abu Dhabi power and water project
Mumbai: Japanese companies Tokyo Electric Power Company and Mitsui have announced that the Arabian Power Company (APC) has begun commercial operation of a new natural gas-fired, advanced combined-cycle technology plant and a desalination plant at the Umm Al Nar power and water project in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates.

APC, comprising of Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), Mitsui, International Power (IPR) and the Abu Dhabi Electricity and Water Authority (ADWEA), acquired the existing 850 MW Umm Al Nar project and its desalination facilities with a daily output of 750,000 tonnes of water, in 2002.

Since the acquisition, APC has been constructing several new expansion plants with a thermal generation capacity of 1,550MW and a desalination capacity of 110,000 tonnes of water per day. The new plant was constructed using advanced combined-cycle technology.

Natural gas for the plant is supplied by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), while all electricity and desalinated water will be purchased by the Abu Dhabi Electricity and Water Company (ADWEC), which is wholly owned by ADWEA.
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MARKETS

Global demand for gold jewellery reach $14.5 billion in Q2
Mumbai: Global demand for gold jewellery showed the strongest surge, reaching a record $14.5 billion, 37 per cent higher than Q2 2006, with particular strength across the key gold markets of Greater China, India, the Middle East and Turkey, according to Gold Demand Trends, released by the World Gold Council (WGC).

Dollar demand for gold in the jewellery, retail investment and industrial sectors all reached new heights in the second quarter of 2007, the report said

In volume terms, India, the world's largest gold market, achieved all-time records in both jewellery and retail investment. Turkey achieved second-quarter records for both categories while Russia recorded its highest ever level of jewellery demand.

The figures, compiled independently for WGC by GFMS Ltd, showed that identifiable gold demand made a further substantial recovery in Q2 2007 from the impact of the volatile prices experienced in 2006, rising 19 per cent in tonnage terms on Q2 2006 to 922 tonnes, and reaching $19.8 billion, a 27 per cent increase, in value terms year-on-year.
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