TCS All Set To Buy 2 Firms In Latin America For Rs 200 Cr

Mumbai: Tata Consulting Service (TCS), India''s leading IT services provider, is close to buy two IT firms in Latin America. The estimated value of these two firms is around Rs 200 crore. TCS, with a considerable presence in Latin America, has completed due diligence of the targeted companies. These companies have a headcount of nearly 100 each. These acquisitions would enable TCS to outsource various business activities at much lower cost compared with other international locations. TCS announced some time ago that it was expanding operations in Latin America by setting up its first global delivery centre (GDC) at Guadalajara in Mexico. Over the last five years, TCS has set up operations in 14 countries including major centres in Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay, employing over 5,000 persons and catering to more than 150 clients. Revenues from its Latin American operations touched $159 million (around Rs 650 crore) in 2006-07. The Indian IT major also acquired 100 per cent control of its Brazilian joint venture, TCS do Brasil, which has over 1,700 employees and recorded revenues of $66.5 million (around Rs 273 crore) in FY07.

ICICI Bank Gets Smart To Tap Rural Market

In the wake of its record share offering, ICICI Bank intends to use the proceeds to bolster its rapidly growing consumer credit business and expand into underserved rural areas with a smart card-based business that will obviate the need to establish new branches or ATMs. India''s largest private bank has raised over $4.3 billion from the sale of its shares in India and overseas markets, making it the largest public issue for an Indian company.

The bank is planning to expand aggressively into rural India, where about 60% of the population lives, using an innovative system based on smart cards through which customers will be able to do their banking with local shopkeepers and offices of nonprofit organizations.

Tata Steel Mulls Setting Up Rs 2,500Cr Unit In Tamil Nadu

Chennai: Tata Steel, leading steel maker, on June 28 inked a memorandum of understanding with Tamil Nadu government to set up an integrated titanium dioxide manufacturing facility in Tuticorin district of Tamil Nadu at an investment of Rs 2,500 crore. The MoU was signed today at the secretariat in the presence of Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi and Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata, among others. The project envisages mining and mineral separation, followed by value addition to Synthetic Rutile and titanium dioxide or pigment, a key ingredient for the paints industry, among others. The project will be implemeneted over a period of six years. It may be recalled that Tata Steel had signed an MoU with the Tamil Nadu government in 2002 to undertake a techno-economic feasibility study for setting up this titanium project using the mineral sands available in southern districts -- Tirunelveli and Tuticoin -- of Tamil Nadu

ICICI Bank Stake Sale Approval Rejected

ICICI Bank has failed to receive government approval for its plan to sell 5.9% of its stake in its subsidiary ICICI Financial Service.ICICI Bank has not yet got any official clearance from the Foreign Investment Promotion board. We are given to understand that the application has not been approved, the bank said in a statement.

A press release, which cited industry sources, revealed that the bank aimed to raise approximately $650 million from the sale of its stake in its wholly-owned subsidiary in the insurance and asset management sector, ICICI Financial Service. ICICI holds a 74% stake in both ICICI Prudential Life Insurance and ICICI Lombard General Insurance. In addition, the bank has a 51% shareholding in both ICICI Prudential Asset Management and ICICI Prudential Trust.

SBI To Unlock Value Through NBFC

State Bank of India (SBI) is desperate to hold on its top spot in the Indian banking sector but to do that the country''s largest public sector bank will need huge sums of capital to fight off growing competition from aggressive private sector rivals like ICICI Bank.

In FY08 alone, SBI estimates that it will need Rs 15,000 crore for growth and regulatory requirements. Next three capital requirements will jump to Rs 50,000 crore and capital needed over the next 5 years is estimated at Rs 80,000 crore.

SBI will finalize the exact manner in which this money will be raised only after the SBI Act is amended during the monsoon session of parliaments. But sources indicate that the money will be raised through the combination of a preferential issue and a Follow on Public Issue which will hit the markets towards the end of the calendar year. SBI is in the process of setting up an NBFC which will hold its insurance and asset management businesses.

ICICI Bank, Sterlite Raise $4 Bn From US In A Week

Two Indian companies ICICI Bank and Sterlite Industries have mobilized $4 bn from US in a week. ICICI Bank raised $4.3 billion in a global follow-on issue, half of which was in the form of American Depository Shares. Earlier, Vedanta group''s Sterlite Industries, a non-ferrous metal and mining firm, raised $1.75 billion through an initial public offering on the NYSE. The ADS issue of 42.14 billion, including a green shoe option of $0.32 billion, was priced at $49.25 each, translating into a price of about Rs 1,002.5 per equity share and representing a premium of about 6.6 per cent over the domestic issue price. Each ADS represents two equity shares of the Bank. Trading of the additional ADS began on Monday at the New York Stock Exchange. Each ADS represents one equity share of the firm and the were priced at $13.44 each. On its first day of trading the Sterlite Industries ADS price rose over nine per cent to $14.70 on volume of 28.5 million ADSs. Yesterday, the ADSs ended at $14.67 down 0.88 per cent on the NYSE. Combining ICICI Bank''s 42.46 billion offer and 41.75 billion of Sterlite Industries India Ltd, the two firms have mopped up over four billion dollars from the US market.

SBI To Take ICICI Route In Raising Funds

Government could be preparing for the mother of all public offers. Sources in the government have told NDTV that State Bank of India would go the equity route which would enable the bank to raise maximum capital at the cheapest possible cost.

Also keeping the success story of ICICI Bank''s Follow on Public Offer (FPO) in mind government is keen to push this option for SBI rather than allowing the bank to go for a rights issue. Government will now try to get the SBI Act Amendment Bill cleared in the monsoon session enabling it to reduce its stake to 51 per cent in the bank. SBI needs about Rs 1 lakh crore over 5 years and about Rs 20,000 crore in the current fiscal and the finance ministry is throwing its weight completely in favour of an FPO. Ministry sources say that at current prices the bank can easily raise around Rs 12,800 crore. To encourage retail participation SBI might split its stock to Rs 2 face value from Rs 10

Microsoft Corp. Adds QA InfoTech As A Vendor For Software QA And Testing Services

QA InfoTech, a leading Software Quality Assurance And Testing Company, today announced that Microsoft Corp. has added QA InfoTech as a vendor for providing Software Quality Assurance and Testing services. QA InfoTech provides specialized solutions and services for Software Quality Assurance to global companies.

It''s an honor to be associated with Microsoft Corp. and we are extremely excited about the opportunity to serve Microsoft, said Mukesh Sharma, Chief Executive Officer, QA InfoTech.QA InfoTech would be looking forward to provide QA and testing Services to Microsoft in the areas of internationalization testing, automation testing, compatibility testing and performance testing. The company has also recently announced its strategy and expansion plans towards a new centre in Mohali near Chandigarh. This new centre would have space for 1000 engineers to serve its international as well as domestic customers.

This centre would be QA InfoTech''s fourth centre in India. The entire development is set to be completed over the next two years, added Mukesh Sharma.

LIC Likely To Forge Alliance With GE For Credit Cards

Mumbai: The Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) is in discussion with GE Capital Services, the largest issuer of private label credit cards in the world, for an entry into credit cards. LIC is expected to get into a three-way venture with a bank. The sources did not rule out the entry of Corporation Bank in the venture. GE already has an alliance with the State Bank of India in credit cards. However, a possible conflict of interest will be avoided by formulating a detailed code of conduct prohibiting sharing of business information. Last year, LIC had roped in consulting firm KPMG to script roadmap to enter the credit card business. The mandate given to KPMG was to find out whether foraying into the credit card business will help its policy holders and whether the agents could use their time in a better way by selling credit cards and also doing so, would enhance its brand reputation. The objective of setting up a credit card business is that LIC can leverage its data on policyholders'' credit worthiness and competitively price the card. The potential of credit cards'' business in India is huge given that credit card spend, as a proportion of the total expenditure, by Indians is still one of the lowest in the world.

Standard Life To Increases Stake In HDFC Life

Mumbai: Standard Life, the UK-based life insurance company, has decided to raise its stake in HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company to 26 per cent from the current 14 per cent. The insurance company is a joint venture between Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) and a group company of Standard Life, UK. HDFC holds 84.2 per cent of the equity in the joint venture. HDFC, of late, bought out 26 per cent stake of Chubb Corporation in HDFC Chubb General Insurance Company. Following this, HDFC has been scouting for a joint venture partner for its general insurance business.

StanChart To Ramp Up Microfinance Portfolio

Mumbai: Standard Chartered Bank will be raising its microfinance business in India. The bank which has a microfinance portfolio of around Rs 60 crore is planning to increase it to around Rs 500 crore in the next 18 months. The foreign bank''s group Chairman Mervyn Davies had pledged to create a $500 million microfinance fund over the next five years. Around 20 per cent of this fund is expected to flow to India. At present, the bank operates its microfinance business in 10 countries and plans to launch it in around 17 countries by the end of this year. The bank has made a decision to adopt the partnership model to ensure that costs of operations are low in this business. Standard Chartered has partnered with 15 microfinance institutions in India. These MFIs will be used as agents for credit delivery. The bank has issued a medium term note in Dubai, which is expected to close in July. The MTN issue is a basket of microfinance portfolio from India, Bangladesh and Africa.

IDFC To Mop Up $500Mn Via QIP Route

Mumbai: The Infrastructure Development Finance Company (IDFC) has inducted Citigroup, UBS, Kotak Mahindra and JM Financial, to mop up $500 million through share issuances to foreign and domestic institutions early next month. This will be the biggest ever fund mobilisation through the Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP) route, after GVK Power & Infrastructure''s $300 million, handled by Kotak Mahindra, Citigroup and SSKI, and the $240 million issue by Max India, which was lead managed by CLSA.

IDFC''s roadshows for the QIP issue will start in the first week of July, said sources close to the development. The funds will be used to meet the growing demand from companies and the government to build ports, roads, power projects and other utilities.

In the last eight months, 18 firms have raised more than Rs 4,500 crore ($1.09 billion) through the QIP route. QIPs, which was introduced by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), are considered portfolio investments, aimed at helping companies to raise funds by selling shares to foreign institutional investors registered with the Sebi.

Jain Irrigation Secures Rs 84 Crore Mango Pulp Order

Jain Irrigation Systems Ltd has announced that the Company has bagged the largest order for Rs 84 crores from Hindustan Coca Cola Company for supply of mango pulp. Compared to the order of Rs 33 crores last year, this is a quantum jump. Coke bottles Mango drink in India under the most popular brand name of Maaza.

The Mango pulp business is expected to exceed a turnover of Rs 160 crores this year based on additional export orders in hand. Entire order will be processed in the current mango season. The Fruit & Vegetable Processing Division is expected to register more than 50% growth in the current financial year.

The Company has five plants for fruits & vegetables in the vegetable processing in India and one in USA. The Company is expecting to process in excess of 75000 MTs of mangoes in the current season registering 60% growth in amount of quantity processed. The Company is a major supplier to many MNCs and to global leading beverage & food brands. The Company has emerged as the largest processor of fruits & vegetables from India.

Insurance Control On Compensation Rates To Bbe Removed

New Delhi: The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has come out with a circular to all general insurance companies stating that the control rates on fire, engineering and workmen''s compensation insurance classes shall be totally removed. This is effective from September 1 this year. However, the insurers shall not cancel policies that are in force on September 1 in order to revise the applicable premium rates; where the insured chooses to cancel such insurance, premium shall be retained on short-period scale. The regulator has said that a decision to this effect was taken following the meeting with companies on further relaxation of price controls. The circular further states that the amendments will only relate to the rates and not terms, conditions, warranties, endorsements, clauses and policy wordings. The regulator is expected to issue separate instructions with regard to the review of the above in due course.

Dell Aims For $1Bn Revenue Mark

Hyderabad: Global technology major Dell is optimistic on India with its business on course to touch the $1-billion in revenue mark in the near future. The company is setting up for the launch of the first batch of computers with Made in India tag from its Sriperumbudur base near Chennai, where the company has infused $30 million. The plant has capacity to roll out 4,00,000 computers with facility to work up swiftly. The company''s business in India seen over 70 per cent year-on-year growth and we expect this trend to continue.

The focus is lately on BFSI, and small and medium enterprise business, which has emerged as one of the fastest growing businesses. The company had commissioned its fourth centre in Gurgaon following up on existing centres in Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chandigarh. It is proposed to grow the India headcount to about 20,000 within a couple of years and a big chunk of them would be in the new centre at Gurgaon, which has capacity to host about 2,500 people.

FIPB Likely To Review ICICI Holding Co Proposal

Mumbai: Three days after it refused ICICI Bank''s proposal to disinvest 24 per cent in ICICI Financial Services, the holding company for the bank''s insurance joint ventures, the Foreign Investment Promotion Board is likely to reexamine the case again after the bank submits a fresh application. The board had refused ICICI Bank''s proposal to disinvest 24 per cent stake in ICICI Financial Services in favour of foreign investors, as a subsidiary could not take part in insurance business. Regulation 2(g)(i) of the IRDA regulations said Indian promoter meant a company formed under the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956), which was not a subsidiary as defined in section 4 of that Act. The IRDA has supported ICICI Bank''s proposal to establish a holding company for its insurance ventures, saying for all practical purposes the parent bank will remain the promoter of the insurance ventures.

Dollex Industries Secures US$ 5 Million IMFL Contract

Dollex Industries Ltd has informed that the Company has bagged a prestigious order of US $ 5 million for IMFL from Africa. Under the contract the Company will supply 300 containers of Indian Made Foreign Liquor to its African buyer. The time-frame for the order is 6 months and the Company is confident of completing the said order on time.This is the single largest order received by the Company in the Companys history and is in line with the Companys ambitious 3 year plan of becoming one of the largest integrated players in this segment.Once successfully executed, the Company plans to enter into a JV with its buyer and expects to cross its export target of IMFL to 1200 containers in this year alone.

Rupee Rise To Affect IT Cos'' Profitability: Nasscom

Software industry association Nasscom said profitability of IT companies will be affected by the recent rupee appreciation and needs to be checked in time.

Nasscom Chairman Kiran Karnik said, It is a case of too much too quick. An 8-9 per cent rise in the value of rupee is definitely a cause of concern. The impact will be felt on the bottomline of IT firms.

The topline, however, would continue to be strong since margins are still higher, he added. industry is ready for small appreciation like 1-2 per cent in the rupee but the kind of increase witnessed in the last few months is certainly very harmful for small IT companies.

Asked if this would anyway affect the overall growth guidance, he said Nasscom is yet to release its growth guidance for 2007-08 and we hope dollar would stabilise to a higher level in the near future.

ICICI Bank Likely To Renew Efforts For FIPB Approval

Mumbai: ICICI Bank has said that it will take further measures to get Government clearance for foreign investments in its investment holding subsidiary. The bank, however, said that there could be no assurance that it would get the requisite approval. The bank said it understands that the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) had earlier refused its proposal for seeking foreign investment in that company. The FIPB clearance will indirectly increase the foreign equity in the insurance venture beyond the prescribed limit of 26 per cent. The bank said it had got definitive offers from foreign investors for equity participation in the holding company. The bank has established a new subsidiary by transferring its equity investments in insurance and asset management businesses.

Tata Chemicals To Enter Into Bio-Fuels

MUMBAI: Tata Chemicals, which has lined up a one billion dollar investment over the next 2-3 years, will enter into bio-diesel, fresh fruits and vegetables production and distribution as part of its expansion strategy. It has established jatropha cultivation in five regions of the country for production of bio-diesel. Once it is successful, it will be replicated elsewhere in the country for large-scale manufacture of ethanol for blending with petrol. On bio-diesel, jatropha cultivation took at least four years and once the plants matured, an oil mill will be established for extraction of jatropha. About 14 per cent of India''s land mass is wasteland which is enough to meet the requirements of bio-diesel for mixing up to 15 per cent diesel.

GE Likely To Tie Up With Railways For Locomotive Entry In India

New Delhi: General Electric seeks to develop a plant in India in association with the railways to make heavy-haul diesel locomotives. The joint venture is proposed to be majority-owned by GE, while the railways will take a minority stake. The plant will be capable of unveiling 100-120 locomotives a year, Kumar said, adding that the investment could range between $100 million and $200 million. With the economy growing at a fast clip, the railways have framed ambitious plans to upgrade its freight haulage capabilities. In 2005, the railway ministry had mooted a dedicated rail freight corridor to decongest the network at a cost of Rs 60,000 crore. The plant will supply not just to the freight corridor but to the entire railway network. Currently, the railways make all their rolling stock (locomotives, wagons and coaches) in-house. The railways want to use the current opportunity to build factories with world-class technology. With its growing infrastructure needs, GE has identified India as a key driver to expand its business. This year, GE is hopes to clock a turnover of $2.8 billion in the country. By 2010, GE expects its India business will increase to $8 billion 16 per cent of its projected turnover of $50 billion from emerging markets.

State Bank Of India - Acquisition Of Shareholding Of Reserve Bank Of India In The Bank By The Centra

Government of India Ministry of Finance Department of Economic Affairs (Banking Division) has informed that:1. The proposal of Reserve Bank of India for transferring its entire shareholding in State Bank of India to Central Government was approved by the Cabinet in its meeting held on February 01, 2007. This decision of the Government was formally announced by the Finance Minister in his Budget Speech on February 28, 2007, and a sum of Rs 40,000 crore was provided in the Budget for the year 2007-08.2. The State Bank of India (Amendment) Ordinance, 2007 (No.5 of 2007) amending the State Bank of India Act, 1955 to enable the transfer of Reserve Bank of Indias entire shareholding in State Bank of India to Central Government has been promulgated on June 21, 2007. Pursuant to the provisions contained in the said Ordinance, it has been agreed between the Reserve Bank of India and the Central Government that the entire shareholding of Reserve Bank of India aggregating 31,43,39,200 equity shares with a face value of Rs 10/- each be transferred to the Central Government on June 29, 2007 against cash payment of Rs 35,531.33 crore.

Gayatri Projects Secures Two New Orders Along With Maytas Infra

Gayatri Projects Ltd has informed that the Company has secured two new orders along with Maytas Infra Ltd under Consortium (MAYTAS-GAYATRI CONSORTIUM) under SOT (Annuity) with a Total Projects Cost of Rs 880.00 Crores. Both the Company and Maytas Infra Ltd share of 50% each.1. Name of the Employer:The Chief General Manager (Tech), Hyderabad Growth Corridor Ltd, Hyderabad.Name of the Work:Design, Construction, Development, Finance, Operation and Maintenance of Eight lane access controlled expressway under Phase - II A Programme as on extension of Phase - I of ORR to Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India for the Package from Kollur to Patancheru from KM 12.00 to KM 23.70 (Project No.ORR/PH-IIA/BOT/AP-2) on Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) (Annuity) Basis.Value of work: Rs 464.00 crores2. Name of the Employer:The Chief General Manager (Tech), Hyderabad Growth Corridor Ltd, Hyderabad.Name of the Work:Design, Construction, Development, Finance, Operation and Maintenance of Eight lane access controlled expressway under Phase - II A Programme as on extension of Phase - I of ORR to Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India for the Package from Bongulur to Tukkuguda from KM 108.00 to KM 121.00 (Project No.ORR/PH-IIA/BOT/AP-4) on Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) (Annuity) Basis.Value of work: Rs 416.00 crores.- Total: Rs 880.00 crores

GAIL, IOC Ties Up For Gas Distribution

KOLKATA: Gail (India) Ltd has formed a joint venture with Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) for gas distribution in Kolkata and other towns. The new company will be incorporated shortly, and the estimated investment would be around Rs 500 crore. GAIL and IOC will hold 22.5 per cent each. Other equity partners are West Bengal government (five per cent) and financial institutions (50 per cent). Gas distribution will be possible only after completion of Jagdishpur-Haldia pipeline in 2011. In the meantime, GAIL would make efforts to source coal bed methane (CBM) from the Asansol region, following which it would be distributed in cylinders after compression.

i-flex Solutions - Oracle Financial Services Global Business Unit To Deliver Comprehensive & Integra

i-flex Solutions Ltd has informed that, on June 21, 2007 Oracle has announced that its new Financial Services Global Business Unit will provide an integrated suite of standards-based industry specific applications for banks, insurance companies and capital markets firms. The Company also introduced new solutions for the financial services market that deliver Oracles industry-leading software across an open IT infrastructure.With more than 12,000 employees and 300 products, the business unit is based in New York City and is focused on delivering adaptive business processes for the financial service industries as customers move to commercial off-the-shelf software. It combines industry-best practices, with pre-built, sustainable integration across applications built on a service-oriented architecture (SOA) that provides a framework for continuous innovation Customers will also have access to the most comprehensive range of vertical applications for financial services, together with a rapidly growing community of Oracle financial services experts and partners to ensure effective solution delivery. Together with an ecosystem of over 2,100 partners, Oracle currently serves 8,500 financial services customers.

ICICI Bank Canada Offers Unprecedented Interest Rates For HiSAVE Savings Account

ICICI Bank Canada is pleased to announce an increase to its Canadian and US Dollar HiSAVE Savings Account interest rates. The new rates are 4.50% per annum on the Canadian Dollar and 5.00% per annumon U.S. Dollar HiSAVE Savings Account. Both rates were effective June 18, 2007. ICICI Bank Canada''s higher rates are supplemented by the HiSAVE Savings Account''s features of no monthly fees, no minimum balance requirement, and available exclusively through its online platform to all its Canadian retail customers. HiSAVE is an online offering with no strings attached. It is hassle-free, extremely attractive and very straightforward, says Hari Panday, President & CEO of ICICI Bank Canada. Through such an offering, we bring best-in-class interest rates to our online customers coast to coast. HiSAVE Savings Account can be opened in Canadian and U.S. Dollars and operated through the Internet and telephone banking channels; in addition, customers need not close their existing bank accounts - they can link their existing bank accounts at other financial institutions with accounts opened at ICICI Bank Canada. In addition to the above changes, ICICI Bank Canada also increased rates of interest on Canadian and U.S. Dollar GICs, effective June 18, 2007.

Jet Airways inks $238mn aircraft lease agreement

Mumbai: Jet Airways will charter 13 new ATR 72-500 aircraft, primarily used for regional operations, for $238 million. At the International Paris Air Show, Jet Airways concluded the pact with the Ireland-based leasing company AIR (Aircraft International Renting), a subsidiary of TAT Leasing. The 13 aircraft will have the latest technological innovations in passenger comfort, communications and navigation aid tools. Deliveries will start in 2007 and continue through 2010. Jet Airways currently operates a fleet of 8 ATR 72-500s. In the near future, its growing ATR fleet will enable the airline to set up new routes and increase some frequencies across the Indian subcontinent. The ATR aircraft represent the optimal solution for increasing demands of domestic flights in India. The aircraft has really proven itself as the standard for regional airline transport in India as is evidenced by the strong commercial success of ATR in the country.

Micro Technologies vehicle security products enters South African Market

Micro Technologies India Ltd has announced that the Company has entered into a strategic agreement with TWI International PTY Ltd to market Micro VBB (Vehicle Black Box) to South Africa, which is one of the largest markets for these Security solutions.Requirement of Vehicle Security across the globe has increased to an enormous Level with the increasing number in vehicle thefts. Micro VBB developed by the Company is security and messaging anti-theft device. This intelligent box senses any intrusion of vehicle doors and immediately communicates such events to the registered users mobile through SMS, with several other unique features its offers total security to ones vehicle.South Africa and other adjoining countries have a very lucrative and rapidly expanding Market, which offers excellent opportunities for the Companys vehicle security products. The market is aware of the fast pace of the new technologies involved in Security Management and the need for up-to-date asset security and safety systems, combined with an early-mover advantage will give the Company an edge above the others.

US firm to expand India operations

Fair Isaac Corporation (FIC), the US-based analytical applications firm, is expanding its India operations to hard sell its software products. Besides leveraging the Indian talent pool for servicing its global customers from its Bangalore centre, the $825 million FIC is opening an office in Mumbai to market its enterprise software products to prospective clients in five growth sectors such as banking and financial services, insurance, retail, healthcare and telecom.

Though Indian enterprises have come of age, competition and globalisation have brought about a host of challenges to sustain growth and use resources cost-effectively. Unlike conventional processes, our enterprise decision management (EDM) software helps corporates make critical operational decisions for staying ahead, Fair Isaac CEO Mark N. Greene told IANS. EDM combines data, analytics and business rules into systems that automate and improve decisions. When integrated with the client''s operating systems, the licensed software ensures decisions are consistent across the enterprise and adaptable to meet new customer demands, competitive challenges and corporate requirements.

Govt likely to disinvest 10pc stake in OIL later this year

New Delhi: The proposed 10 per cent disinvestments in Oil India Ltd (OIL) is likely to take place later this year with the Petroleum Ministry mulling to move a Cabinet note on this next month. The Ministry is preparing a proposal in consultation with other Ministries, including the Finance Ministry. The Government is planning 10 per cent divestment in Oil India, along with its initial public offering later this year.

GTL inks BPO leasing deal with ICICI, Spanco

New Delhi: ICICI Bank has forayed into a pact with networking solutions provider GTL Ltd to lease out its call centre facility at Mahape for a period of 25 years. The infrastructure-leasing agreement is valued at around Rs 100 crore and is hoped to be formally declared on June 20. While ICICI Bank will get access to a ready-made, fully furnished call centre spread over 1,20,000 sq ft, the deal is hoped to give recurring cash inflow to GTL, to the tune of Rs 5 crore per year. The unit is also equipped with data centres, access to international telecom carriers for connecting on redundant fibre routes, power back up facilities for uninterrupted availability.

ICICI offer subscribed 2.74 times

Mumbai: ICICI Bank''s follow-on public offer of about 9.88 crore shares was subscribed 2.74 times on the first day of the issue. Bids were got across the price band of Rs 885-950 for the issue, which closes on June 22. The qualified institutional investor''s portion was subscribed 5.4 times, while the retail individual investor''s portion was subscribed 0.0064 times. The bank has offered part-payment option and a discount of Rs 50 per share for retail subscribers. It received 1.77 lakh bids at the cut-off price (the price at which the bank will offer the shares after the issue). Retail investors normally study the prices prevailing in the market for 2-3 days and then invest.

Federal Bank to set up office in Abu Dhabi

KOCHI: Kerala-based Federal Bank Limited has got clearance from Central Bank of UAE to open a representative office in UAE, making it the first Indian bank to set up such an office in Abu Dhabi. Federal Bank will now be able to offer more personalised service to its four lakh customers located in UAE and other Gulf countries. Federal bank has remittance arrangements with 20 Exchange Houses and eight banks in the Middle East. The Bank has plans to establish a wholly-owned subsidiary in Dubai International Financial Centre Federal Bank International to cater to wholesale and investment banking. The representative office and the subsidiary are hoped to provide further fillip to the bank''s vision to emerge as a prominent player in the Middle East.

Varun Shipping acquires largest LPG Carrier under Indian Flag

Varun Shipping Company Ltd has announced that the Company has acquired a Very Large Gas Carrier (VLGC), MAHARSHI BHARDWAJ on June 18, 2007. The new vessel has cargo carrying capacity of 76,644 cbm. This will be the largest LPG carrier in Indian fleet. The Company is the first Indian shipping Company to acquire a VLGC.With the addition of this ship, the Company will own around 80 per cent of total LPG tonnage presently operating under Indian flag.The Companys vessel acquisition was financed partly out of its own resources and partly out of long term loan from ICICI Bank Ltd.The Company has sold one of its 1974 built LPG Carrier, Maharshi Vishwamitra on June 19, 2007.

Wockhardt to launch Cefprozil, in the US

Wockhardt Ltd has announced that the Company got USFDA approval for antibiotic Cefprozil tablets (250 mg and 500 mg) and is all set to launch the product in the US market. Cefprozil, a Cephalosporin class of antibiotics, is used in the treatment of Respiratory Tract and Skin infections. The Company will launch Cefprozil, the generic version of brand Cefzil, sold by Bristol Myers Squibb.Several of our products have seen a dramatic increase in market share in the US, over the last six months. Cephalosporins have been an important product in our portfolio and Cefprozil will be a good addition to this range with a market potential of around $51 million, said the Companys Chairman Habil Khorakiwala. The eight FDA approval in just four months will significantly contribute to our growing visibility in USA, added Habil Khorakiwala.The Cefprozil tablets are manufactured at the Companys US FDA, certified formulation plant at Waluj, Maharashtra. The product was developed in-house.

ICICI Bank restarts warehouse financing

Mumbai: ICICI Bank has restarted financing against warehouse receipts after blocking the gaps in risk management practices. In 2006, the bank was cheated of Rs 200 crore at central and state government warehouses in Kolhapur district, where it had not engaged any third-party collateral managers. The private sector bank has now named collateral managers even for government-owned warehouses as it does for warehouses owned or managed by private companies. The parties who made lesser quantities of commodities than mentioned in the warehouse receipts orchestrated the fraud. They have stiffened the collateral management. In the last four months, they did not take up any new (warehouse receipt financing) business. In a filling to the Securities and Exchange Commission for the $2.5-billion American Depository Receipts (ADR) issue, the bank said: During the course of a review, irregularities, including absence of the needed quantities of commodities in warehouses, were observed. ICICI Bank names third party management and collection agents to market warehouse receipt financing.

Tata Motors unveils Winger, Magic

Pune: Tata Motors made a foray into the small capacity rural and urban passenger transportation segment with the unviel of two new products. The first, a passenger version of the Tata Ace named Magic and the other, a maxi-van modelled on Renault panel van Traffic called the Winger. While the two new vehicles are diesel products, a CNG version of the Magic will come into the market before the end of the fiscal. The 9-13 seat Winger, on the other hand, modelled on the smart maxi-van and comes in four basic versions ranging from the Standard to Luxury.

Hyundai likely to increase car prices by July

NEW DELHI: Car major Hyundai Motors India Ltd is planning over hiking prices of its various models, including the newly unveiled sedan Verna, premium hatchback Getz Prime and flagship model Santro by July. The company has more or less decided to increase the price of Verna, which was unveiled in September last year in both petrol and diesel version with introductory prices. While the petrol variant was launched, tagged at a price range of Rs 6.26 lakh and Rs 7.02 lakh, the diesel version costs Rs 7.46 lakh to Rs 7.96 lakh. The company was eyeing at stretching the price increase to other models such as Getz Prime and Santro as well owing to increasing input costs. Currently, Getz Prime is priced between Rs 3.89 lakh and Rs 4.21 lakh for the 1.1 litre engine variant, while the 1.3 litre starts at Rs 4.89 lakh up to Rs 5.24 lakh. Meanwhile, HMIL has selected ITI Guwahati for providing full assistance in training students under its corporate social responsibility programme.

Venus Remedies sets a new milestone with Uganda GMP Accreditation

Venus Remedies Ltd has informed that the Company has successfully cleared yet another Plant Inspection by the National Drug Authority of Uganda and has been accredited with the Uganda GMP certification, a prequalification for entering the Uganda market.The Manufacturing Plants of the Company, after having been GMP certified by the Ukranian GMP Inspectorate and INVIMA Inspecting authorities, have now been duly certified as complying with the NDA requirements and WHO recommended current Good Manufacturing Practice Standards, by the Uganda National Drug Authorities. The facilities have been found suitable for manufacturing and exporting formulations to Uganda after three day long inspection of the Plants and systems by a team of 4 persons from Uganda NDA.This new milestone shall now allow the Company to fast penetrate the Uganda market and the Company is working passionately for getting its product basket registered in Uganda and to enter the market in a big way.

Finolex Industries mulls foraying tank terminalling

Pune: PVC resin and pipe manufacturer Finolex Industries Ltd is proposing to foray into tank terminalling at Ratnagiri and hopes to add revenues of Rs 100 crore via the new line of business. To prepare for this, a breakwater is being constructed at the company''s existing jetty at Ratnagiri to make it an all weather port, and the Rs 160-crore project that is being undertaken by Afcons is hoped to be finished in a year. The company uses the jetty to sell raw materials and coal for its captive power plant at Ratnagiri in addition to LPG for BPCL, a business that adds Rs 15 crore to its revenues. Currently the PVC resin business accounts for around Rs 900 crore of the Finolex Industries top-line while the pipes business adds around 500 crore to it.

Moser Baer arm may establish PV unit in Hyd

Hyderabad: Delhi-based Moser Baer Photo Voltaic Limited (MBPV), the wholly-owned subsidiary of optical storage media manufacturer Moser Baer, is likely to establish a photovoltaic (PV) cell unit at the proposed Fab City in Hyderabad. Moser Baer is contemplating not one but two projects, including the PV unit, at an investment of around Rs 3,000 crore. The company recently declared the shipment of its photovoltaic cells and has orders and MoUs exceeding $100 million (around Rs 410 crore). It is also learnt that the state government had agreed to provide 75 acres of land at concessional rate in the Fab City along with power subsidy among other incentives. A MoU is hoped to be inked with Moser Baer on the proposed establishment of the PV unit in a couple of weeks. The state government''s investment promotion board had cleared a similar project of Solar Semiconductor, proposed to be set up at the Fab City in the state.

ONGC keen on setting up Kakinada refinery

Rajahmundry: The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation of India (ONGC) is working out modes to make its proposed refinery at the Kakinada Special Economic Zone (KSEZ) a reality. ONGC has held negotiations with the officials of Kakinada Sea Ports Limited (KSPL) on issues relating to the refinery and the KSEZ. The company had earlier proposed to establish a 7.5-million tonne per annum refinery at Kakinada, but later came to a conclusion that it will be best to enhance the output capacity of the proposed project to avoid chances of economic unviability.

ICICI Bank plans to raise Rs 8750cr

Mumbai: Disinvesting off the value embedded in its subsidiaries, ICICI Bank is available at least 40 per cent cheaper than its closest private rival HDFC Bank. With a market-capitalisation of Rs 81,000 crore, the highest among listed banks, ICICI Bank is planning to mop up Rs 8750 crore with an option to accept an additional Rs 1300 crore in the domestic market. Simultaneously, the bank will also mop up a similar amount in the international market via issue of American Depository Shares (ADS) taking the total money garnered to nearly a quarter of its current market value. ICICI Bank appears to be a long term story with an aggressive growth strategy that would now concentrate on the country''s poor on the one end and overseas operations on the other, apart from the traditional segments like urban retail and corporate banking.

VSNL rolls out managed hosting, storage solution

Videsh Sanchar Nigam (VSNL), Tata group company, on June 14 rolled out a globally managed hosting and storage services solution for firms seeking to enhance efficiency and reduce ownership costs in their IT infrastructure. The fully-managed services offer streamlined, scalable and highly secure management of IT infrastructure, network and storage initially in three globally diverse data centres in New York, Singapore and London. The company''s managed hosting solution supports a complete suite of operating systems environments, including Windows, Solaris and Linux. This cost-effective, highly resilient managed IT infrastructure service is powered by VSNL''s globally consistent and centralised management platform, technical expertise and industry best practices.

Orchid forays into the non-antibiotic generic formulations segment

Orchid Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Ltd on June 15, 2007 has announced that it has received the tentative approval from the US FDA for its Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for Terbinafine HCL 250 mg Tablets. This is the first ANDA approval received by the Company in the non-penicillin, noncephalosporin (NPNC) space.Terbinafine is the AB-rated generic equivalent of Novartiss Lamisil Tablets. An anti-fungal molecule, Terbinafine has a current US retail market size of USD 650 million. The Company plans to launch this product in the US market through its distribution partner, Actavis upon patent expiry on June 30, 2007.We are happy about our first non-antibiotic product approval. Based on this timely approval, we would be launching the product in the US and hope to garner a good market share and revenues given the market standing of our distribution partner, Actavis. Though, the non-antibiotic space is relatively more crowded than the antibiotic product space, we are focusing on a niche product basket involving stringent development and manufacturing challenges which would help in a better market presence, said Mr K Raghavendra Rao, Managing Director, of the Company.

Aurobindo gets USFDA Approval for Trandolapril Tablets

Aurobindo Pharma Ltd has announced that the Company has received approval from the USFDA for Trandolapril Tablets 1 mg, 2 mg & 4 mg. Trandolapril is the Generic equivalent of Abbotts Mavik® Tablets, indicated for the treatment of hypertension.This is the fourth Anti hypertensive (Medicines regulating blood pressure) of the Company bagging USFDAs nod. Trandolopril is an ACE inhibitor, and amongst the class, has a longer half-life hence dosed once a day. Trandolopril is also employed in combination with diuretics or other calcium channel blockers due to its beneficial synergy. It is a better choice in diabetic hypertensives as it helps in slowing down the onset of nephropathy besides primary role of regulating blood pressure.Trandolopril tablets enjoy a market share of around 50 million dollars currently in the USA.

Dr Reddy''s commences operations in Nigeria

Dr Reddys Laboratories Ltd has announced that the Company has expanded its presence in Africa with the opening of its 40th overseas office in Lagos, Nigeria in partnership with Phillips Pharmaceuticals. This distributor-based model will serve the $280 million Nigerian pharmaceutical market.The Company is initially targeting therapeutic areas tike gastroenterology, diabetes and cancer. The first phase of launch will see major brands like Omez, Reclide, Diavista, Osetron and Docetere 20mg (from amongst the range of oncology drugs) being introduced in the Nigerian market.Commenting on the opening of the new office, Rajesh Kumar, Head- AMEEERA region said, we are committed to bringing quality and affordable medicine to people across the world and the initiation of our Nigerian operations is one more step in that direction. With the introduction of our leading brands, we are extremely confident of making our presence felt among the Nigerian medical community.

Mallya, Goyal eyeing stake in SpiceJet

Vijay Mallya believes in having his cake and eating it too after enticing Captain Gopinath and acquiring control over Air Deccan. He now has SpiceJet on his radar, a smartly managed budget airline that even arch rival Naresh Goyal is eyeing that will help him regain leadership for Jet Airways, leadership that has been snatched by Mallya.Sources close to development told NDTV that Vijay Mallya and Naresh Goel have initiated talks with SpiceJet promoters for acquiring strategic equity stake in SpiceJet. Besides, Paramount Airway''s Thiagarjan family is also in the race. SpiceJet is perfect fit into Jet''s strategy, particularly with its Boeing fleet. Besides, its eight per cent market share will also help Goyal rule the skies once again with combined market share of over 36 per cent post SpiceJet acquisition.

Top 20 BPO list to witness major churn

India''s top 20 BPO list is likely to witness a major churn as some large captives and third party players are set to sell part or whole of their business while others such as CapGemini and Japanese major Fujitsu are aggressively looking for a presence in the sector. In addition, firms like Zenta, that have not figured in the rankings so far because of the re-structuring exercise the group was undertaking, are now back in the reckoning. The private-equity backed Zenta has an acquisition budget of $500 million, which puts it firmly in the BPO big league. Genpact, the largest third-party BPO today, is also set for a change in its ownership structure as its goes public. Among the captives, Citigroup Global Services, earlier known as e-Serve International and one of the first listed BPO firms in the country, is set to change hands as Citigroup is keen on selling part of its stake and running the operations as a third-party BPO rather than a captive.

India asks EU nations for common stance before negotiations on FTA

New Delhi: Learning from its Asean experience, India has urged the European Union to reach an internal consensus before putting offers on the talking table for the proposed comprehensive trade and investment agreement, for which talks will start later this month. Given the diversity of the EU, India seeks that they (the member countries) should reconcile to a common position on various trade and investment issues before they come up for negotiations. India and the EU had decided in October last year to sign a trade and investment pact that would go beyond a traditional FTA.At the initial stage of negotiations both sides would exchange their wish-lists, broadly listing the items they would like the agreement to cover. India would like the pact to cover 90 per cent of trade, which was ¤40 billion in 2005. In the services pact, India will press for liberalisation of outsourcing norms and movement of professionals.

VSNL Launches Global Managed Hosting & Storage Solution

Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd (VSNL) has announced the launch of its global Managed Hosting and Storage services for enterprises seeking to enhance efficiencies, reduce ownership costs, improve service quality and ensure business continuity in their IT infrastructure environments. These fully managed services offer streamlined, scalable and highly secure management of IT infrastructure, network and storage initially in three globally diverse, world class data centers in New York, Singapore and London. Each center is located directly on the Companys high performance, high capacity, and high reliability global communications backbone.The Companys Managed Hosting Solution offers enterprises the ability to outsource systems and applications to a VSNL global data center, optimizing resources, reducing costs, and guaranteeing the availability and security of data, it combines Data Center facilities, the Companys global network, LAN infrastructure, security and server systems in a fully managed, bundled solution, backed by a 24x7 Managed Services Operations Center with the highest levels of technical expertise. The service supports a complete suite of operating systems environments including Windows, Solaris, and Linux.

RIL sets tough terms for KG gas

The bids for KG gas are coming in but the fertiliser industry is not happy. The fertiliser secretary has written to the oil secretary saying that Reliance has set exceptionally strict terms in the bidding conditions.NDTV spoke to the five-fertiliser companies who have put in their bids - Chambal Fertilisers, Nagarjuna Fertilisers, RCF, IIFCO and Kribhco to get an idea of the terms.

Buyers would have to pay for the gas even if they don''t want to, called a take or pay clause. However, Reliance the seller doesn''t pay any penalties if it can''t deliver. If it fails to supply in a particular month then they will only offer discounted price for the deficit quantity the month after.RIL has told the initial 10 bidders that KG gas supply will begin from July 2008 and firm supplies from January 1, 2009.But if they fail to do so, RIL pays no penalty.

JK Tyres plans to infuse 170-cr to hike capacity

Kolkata: JK Tyre is mulling to invest over Rs 170 crore to hike its truck-bus radial and off-the-road (OTR) tyre manufacturing capacities. Till recently, JK was the only Indian company engaged in commercial production of truck-bus radials. The company has already invested over Rs 300 crore in stabilising the quality of its truck-bus radials since 2002. While the project proposal is yet to be finalised, the official said that any such project would cost approximately Rs 50 crore. JK has technical collaboration with Continental Tyres of the UK for its radial tyres. The capacity of the traditional cross-ply tyres, however, will be maintained at 25.5 lakh. Meanwhile plans are firmed up to ramp up the OTR capacity (at a separate facility also in Mysore) from 25,000 to 42,000 at an estimated cost of Rs 120 crore

Russia pulls up ICICI Bank over reporting norms

ICICI Bank''s Russian arm has been warned by the authorities for violating the country''s anti-money laundering laws. The bank was earlier pulled up by Hong Kong authorities. These disclosures have been made by the bank in its filings with the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC). The prosecutor''s office in Borovsk District of Russia conducted an on-site inspection of ICICI Bank Eurasia LLC and issued a warning to ICICI Bank Eurasia LLC for some violations detected. These violations pertained to delayed reporting on transactions under obligatory supervision, including a cash transaction, and errors in the matters reported to the Federal Service for Financial Monitoring during 2005 and up to March 31, 2006 and were contrary to the requirements under the Russian legislation on anti-money laundering. All such findings of the prosecutor''s office were based on the previous findings of the Central Bank of Russia audit which was conducted in April-May 2006.

Aurobindo Pharma to form R&D arm

Hyderabad: The city-based Aurobindo Pharma Ltd is forming a wholly owned subsidiary for collaborative research here and is planning to hire over 2,000 scientists by 2008. Additionally, the company is looking at crossing $1-billion mark in revenue over next two to three years and is scouting for acquisitions in Europe. The firm is currently in talks with a small domestic firm for acquisition, he said, refusing to give further details. The modalities were being worked out for setting up a subsidiary for collaborative R&D, which would be functional in 2008 with over 2,000 research professionals. The firm is also setting up an active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) plant in the Pharma City in Visakhapatnam. While the New Jersey plant would start production in September, API plant and R&D subsidiary would be operational in 2008.

ndusInd plans wealth management foray

Urban Indians are getting richer and bank balances are growing like never before and it''s now this opportunity that banks are looking to cash in on. The Hinduja group owned IndusInd bank has become the latest bank to rollout plans to enter the wealth management business through the launch of separate company for asset management as a subsidiary.IndusInd will apply to the RBI for a wealth management license as early as this month and hopes to get the business up and running within the next 6 months.The subsidiary will be launched in partnership with a global partner, to be finalized within weeks. While IndusInd management declined to give names of potential partners they say it will be a brand well entrenched in the wealth management business.At the same time, IndusInd is expanding its reach in international markets through strategic tie-ups with international banks. In order to draw in larger NRI client base, which can then be offered a whole range of services including wealth management

Praj Ind forms JV with Aker Kvaerner

Pune: Praj Industries, ethanol technology leader, has announced a joint venture with engineering and construction company Aker Kvaerner. The newly formed venture, called BioCnergy Europa B.V., will provide customised biofuel solutions to customers in the European Union. The two partners had entered into a strategic alliance last year to pitch for contracts involving the setting up of ethanol plants in Europe. Praj would offer the ethanol manufacturing technology and Aker Kvaerner will pool in its project management and engineering expertise. BioCnergy will be headquartered at Zoetermeer, Netherlands, with Praj holding 60 per cent of the equity and the remaining held by Aker Kvaerner. This translates into a sizeable business opportunity, and the joint venture would benefit from the proven strength of the partners.

RPG Life Sciences Board approves Scheme of Arrangement

RPG Life Sciences Ltd has informed that the Board of Directors of the Company at its meeting held on June 12, 2007, has considered and approved the Scheme of Arrangement between the Company and RPG Pharmaceuticals Ltd (Operating Co) and Instant Holdings Ltd (Investment Co) and Instant Trading and Investment Company Ltd (Instant).- The Scheme envisages-1. Sale of Pharmaceuticals business of the Company to Operating Co for a consideration of Rs 46.00 Crs. This consideration shall be discharged by Operating Co in the form of equity shares of Rs 11,49,50,800 representing 1,43,68,850 equity shares of Rs 8 each fully paid-up at an aggregate premium of Rs 34,50,49,200. The appointed date for the same is April 02, 2007. These shares of Operating Co. shall be issued to the members of the Company in the ratio of 1:1.2. Sale of Investments of the Company to Investment Co for a consideration of Rs 53.00 Crs. This consideration shall he discharged by Investment Co in the form of equity shares of Rs 9,95,00,000 representing 99,50,000 equity shares of Rs 10 each fully paid-up at an aggregate premium of Rs 43,05,00,000. The appointed date for the same is April 01, 2007. These shares of Investment Co shall be issued to the Company.

Ansal Housing - Launching of new Project at Karnal

Ansal Housing & Construction Ltd has informed that the Director, Town & Country Planning, Haryana, Chandigarh has issued licence for development of 98 acre of Residential Project of the Company at Sector - 36, Karnal (Haryana).The Integrated Township is strategically located parallel to National Highway 1. The Karnal City is 125 kms from National Capital (Delhi) and 125 kms from State Capital (Chandigarh). Karnal City is famous for National Dairy Research Institute (NDR) and Haryana Police Academy.The aforesaid township named Ansal Town in Karnal will have in-house amenities like Schools, Hospitals, Clubs and Commercial / Multiplexes etc. The Company will now undertake all the development and marketing work of the project. The Project is expected to have a turnover of approx. 250 crores spread over next 3-4 years with sizeable profits. The Company expects to launch couple of more Projects in Karnal shortly.

L&T Infotech sets $1 b turnover target

L&T Infotech, the IT arm of Larsen & Toubro, has set a turnover target of $1 billion (over Rs 4,000 crore at current exchange rates) within a period of three or four years. In the financial year 2007, it had witnessed revenues of $287 million. Its CAGR for the last four years has been 50 per cent. A five-year strategic plan has been implemented keeping the $1-billion target in mind. The new logo retains the L&T medallion but in a contemporary multifaceted 3D form, the primary colour being yellow, and described by the company as vibrant and optimistic. A new 1,900-seat software development centre was also inaugurated at Mahape in Navi Mumbai. This entailed an investment of Rs 60 crore. More such centres will come up in Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai in 2008.

Iffco-Tokio General fixes humble growth target

New Delhi: Iffco-Tokio General Insurance Company (ITGI), a joint venture promoted by Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative (IFFCO) and Japan''s Tokio Marine and Fire Insurance Company, is looking at its gross written premiums (GWPs) to touch Rs 1,200 crore during the current financial year. The company reported a 28.58 per cent rise in its GWP to Rs 1,152.21 crore for the financial year ended March 31, 2007 against Rs 896.04 crore. ITGI''s net profit for the fiscal under review increased 85.69 per cent to Rs 27.13 crore compared with Rs 14.61 crore in 2005-06.For 2006-07, the retail line contributed approximately 55 per cent (Rs 634.6 crore) to the revenues, of which motor insurance was a substantial chunk at Rs 448.89 crore. For the current financial year, according to the company''s annual report, it is targeting Rs 450 crore from its commercial lines and Rs 750 crore from its retail portfolio. At the moment, the company has a market share of 4.56 per cent as against 4.4 per cent in 2005-06.

Bajaj Allianz unveils new health, life cover

Mumbai: Bajaj Allianz Life has rolled out a product called `Bajaj Allianz Care First'' which provides health as well as life cover. This plan provides a common sum assured which can be utilised in case of hospitalisation cover for treatment in addition to a life cover benefit on the death of the policy holder, said a press release. The sum assured cover ranges from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 7 lakh. Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance in association with Medicare TPA services will issue photo identity cards to all the insured members, which will facilitate cashless hospitalisation at empanelled hospitals all over India. The cashless treatment is available across 2,000 hospitals in 200 towns. Individuals between 18 to 56 years can buy this policy, which can be renewed up to the age of 65. All treatment pertaining to critical illness is covered under this plan.

Cadila Healthcare - New Product Approvals for Zydus Cadila from USFDA

Cadila Healthcare Ltd has announced that the Company has received three product approvals from the USFDA in quick succession. The group has received approvals to market Benzonatate Tablets 100 and 200 mg, Naproxen Tablets and tentative approval for Amlodipine Besylate Tablets 2.5, 5 and 10mg.The branded sales in the US market of Benzonatate Tablets, which fails in the cough- suppresant segment, was estimated at USD 134 million in 2006 as per NDC. The branded sales of Amlodipine Besylate Tablets, an anti-hypertensive, was estimated at USD 2.74 billion in 2006 and that of Naproxen Tablets, which falls in the analgesic segment, was estimated at USD 0.67 billion in 2006 as per NDC Health.The group will market all three drugs through its US subsidiary Zydus Pharmaceuticals (USA) Inc. The group now has 27 approvals since the commencement of filing process in FY 2003-04. So far, the group has filed 60 ANDAs and 51 DMFs.

JetLite may fly abroad: Naresh Goyal

Having received the required government clearances for ''JetLite'' or the erstwhile Air Sahara, Jet Airways is open to the idea of operating its low-cost arm on international sectors in the future. We are studying that aspect and keeping our minds open. At the moment, JetLite will operate on domestic sectors Jet Airways chief Naresh Goyal said.He said that if low-cost airlines from the Gulf and southeast Asia are allowed to operate in India, we can ask the government whether JetLite could fly abroad.However, at the moment our priority is to see that JetLite breaks even first, he added.Claiming that the financial results of the new carrier are already better, Goyal said, we will definitely break even by next year.Pointing out that several aircraft of the former Air Sahara were grounded due to technical and engineering problems, he said most of these planes would soon start operating and by September 1, the entire fleet of JetLite will start flying.

Nicholas Piramal forges alliance for cancer, diabetes research

Nicholas Piramal India Ltd has started two basic research programmes to screen patient samples in the diabetes and cancer segments. Of late, the Mumbai-based company forged a cancer-related alliance with Chennai''s Apollo Hospitals Group for the molecular profiling of tumors. NPIL will do a blind study of the tumour samples provided by the hospital and compare the data with the hospital''s patient response to conventional therapy. Biomarkers could be an external substance or a feature in the human body that helps indicate a pattern in the patient''s response to treatment. A tool used for target identification, the biomarker technology is getting more refined over the years and it improves the chance of discovering a drug, observes a senior researcher with a clinical research organisation.

BSNL cuts ISD rates for US, Canada, Gulf

New Delhi: BSNL, state-run telecom major, has brought down calling rates to the US and Canada to Rs 1.75 per minute and Rs 6.75 per minute to the Gulf, slightly lower than the rates offered by private firms. US, Canada and Gulf are the busiest ISD routes from India, and with the drop of rates, the company hopes to scale up volumes. Private players at present offer ISD calls at Rs 1.99 per minute to the US and Rs 6.99 a minute for the Gulf countries. BSNL will soon unveil Call Now, a new STD/ISD calling card that will enable a user to call in the US at Rs 1.75 per minute using a card worth Rs 2,000, which will have a validity of three months. Call charges on the same card are Rs 3.25 per minute to France, Russia, the UK and South East Asia, Rs 5.50 per minute to the rest of Europe and Sri Lanka, and Rs 8 per minute to the rest of the world. Local and STD calls will be charged Re 1 per minute under the plan.

SAIL forges alliance with Jaypee for cement unit in Bokaro

Steel Authority of India (SAIL) has decided to forge alliance with Jaypee Associates (JAL) for a proposed 2-MT cement plant at Bokaro, Jharkhand. The two companies will form a JV shortly, where Jaypee would have a majority stake. Jaypee outbid Shree cement for this partnership. This is SAIL''s second tie-up with Jaypee for a cement plant. The first JV was signed over two months back to set up a 2.5MTPA capacity plant at Bhilai. The proposed cement plant at Bokaro would use the slag produced by the Bokaro Steel Plant of SAIL. According to the plan, one million tonne of slag is expected to be supplied to the proposed cement unit annually. The implementation of the project may take three years. The Bokaro plant will take Jaypee''s proposed production capacity to over 26MTPA by 2011. The company has been aggressively expanding in this space for the past some time. For SAIL, the foray into the cement sector would bring in additional revenue, even as the slag, a waste produced at its steel plants, would be beneficially utilised.

Petron Engineering receives two Letter of Intents from Wartsila India

Petron Engineering Construction Ltd has informed that the Company has received two Letter of Intents from Wartsila India Ltd, for Supply & Erection of two Nos. Chimney and supporting structures for Moser Baer Ltds SEZ Project for a total value of Rs 2.50 Crore.

Biocon signs pact with Deakin University

Bangalore: Biocon Ltd has inked an MoU with Australia''s Deakin University for collaboration in research and education. The two will establish the Deakin Research Institute in Bangalore. They will jointly build a mammalian cell bio-processing facility at Geelong, Victoria. Deakin will undertake research in metabolic diseases on behalf of Biocon. This alliance will give valuable access to a world of medical knowledge and scientific training, together with opportunities for exchange of scientists to facilitate projects in areas of mutual interest.

DLF to establish Lucknow township

Lucknow: DLF Ltd wishes to establish an integrated township in Lucknow. The multi-crore township will have a state-of-the-art residential facility with malls, hospitals, and parks. The township is hoped to be developed on the outskirts of the city. The proposed township will be spread over 400-500 acres. Two hundred acre land has been purchased while the process of acquiring the rest is on. The company also has plans to enter into the retail business in Uttar Pradesh, besides Delhi. The company has a presence at 30 places in the country, and has mulls to build nearly 30 locations in the country. Company officials were in town to do promotion campaigns for their IPO, which opens on June 11. Of the net proceeds form the issue, DLF proposes to utilise Rs 3,500 crore to purchase land and development rights, Rs 3,493.4 crore for development and construction costs for existing projects, and the remaining amount to repay loans.

Tata Motors slashes car production by 20pc

Pune: Production of passenger cars at the Tata Motors'' Pune plant has been slashed to the tune of 20 per cent, while the unveil of the new Indica, scheduled for launch in September, also appears to have been postponed to make adjustments for a drop in sales. Since the last couple of days, production of the Indica, Marina and Indigo models at the Pimpri facility has been curtailed from 750 vehicles per day to 600 a day.

Hindustan Construction - Award of new contract

Hindustan Construction Company Ltd has informed that the Company has received a Letter of Intent from The Superintending Engineer, Dummugudem Project Circle, Tekulapally, Dist: Khammam, Irrigation & CAD Department, Government of Andhra Pradesh, for laying of Water Pipeline under Rajiv Sagar Lift Irrigation Project (Dummugudem), Package No.32 in A.P.The value of the contract is Rs 328.49 Crore.

M&M Unveils Mahindra Pik-Up in Australia

Mumbai: Passenger and commercial vehicle manufacturer Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) has unveiled utility vehicle Mahindra Pik-Up in Australia. M&M has joined hands with TMI Pacific, a unit of Sydney-based dealer Tynan Motor Group for marketing the vehicles. The vehicle will be powered by 2.5-litre common rail turbo diesel engine, which will meet the Euro IV emission standard. Its aim is to become a household name in Australia by providing world-class value-for-money products that cater to local needs and aspirations. TMI hopes to sell at least 600 units in the first year. TMI will also help in areas such as after-market services, spare parts distribution and technical training.

Moser Baer - MBPV Announces Commercial Shipment Of Solar Photovoltaic Cells

Moser Baer India Ltd has informed that Moser Baer Photo Voltaic Ltd (MBPV) on June 07, 2007 announced that it commenced commercial shipment of its solar photovoltaic cells. MBPV further announced that it has firm customer orders and MoUs exceeding USD100 million. Additionally, the state of the art fully integrated in-line cell manufacturing facility has started producing photovoltaic cells at expected level of output with cell efficiency levels up to 15.5%.According to Ravi Khanna, CEO Moser Baer Photo Voltaic Ltd The In-line high yield systems are critical for rapid deployment of solar power in large scale and volumes. The response for our product has been encouraging and we have queries/orders from customers based out of America, Europe, South Asia.MBPV further announced that it is on track to implement a 20MW module making capacity in the forthcoming quarter.MBPV plans to straddle multiple future technologies and emerge as an engineering & technology driven Company. It is decisively responding to the rapidly expanding solar PV market. MBPV is moving towards technological leadership in this industry and intends to develop a sustainable competitive edge by investing into disruptive technologies.

Sterlite Optical Granted Optical Fiber Patent in USA

Sterlite Optical Technologies Ltd on June 07, 2007 has announced that it has been granted a patent by the United States Patent & Trademark Office for invention of its Sterlite DOF-LITE™ (LEA) Single Mode Optical Fiber. Product Patent US 7,209,620,B2 for Dispersion optimized fiber having higher spot area was granted in April 2007 and is valid up to Year 2024.This dispersion-optimized fiber with higher spot area (Sterlite DOF-LITE™ LEA) is specially designed for long haul, high data rate and multi wavelength transmission. Its unique profile design optimizes Effective area, Dispersion slope and Chromatic dispersion - the three critical fiber parameters that affect performance in DWDM system at C and L bands. The patented product is capable of reducing the fiber non-linear effect like four-wave mixing for better DWDM performance in the wavelength region of 1530 to 1565 nm (Cband) and 1565 to 1625 nm (L-band).

Diamond Cables Launches Consumer Products Division

Diamond Cables Ltd has announce the launch of its Consumer Product Division.The Division has launched an entire range of Fire Resistant Home Wires, Industrial Wires, and Communication Cables Such as CAT 5-6, Co-axial Cables, 2-4 Pair Cables, and Security Cables & Instrumentation Cables.The Company has entered into long term Exclusive manufacturing arrangement with Three Leading manufacturers of Cables having manufacturing facilities at Sirmour, Himachal Pradesh, and Ringus in Rajasthan and Vadodara in Gujarat respectively. The Products Shall be marketed under the Companies brand DICABS® through Dealer Stores.The Company proposes to increase its Dealership and Stockist Strength to @ 600 in one year.

Tata Motor Likely To Enter Into Used CV Mkt

Mumbai: Tata Motors, the country''s largest automobile house, is eyeing to enter into the used commercial vehicle (CV) market via its extensive dealer network in the country. In FY''07, the CV market, including the light-, medium- and heavy-vehicle segments, grew by an astounding 33 per cent. The industry, including majors Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland, Eicher Motors and Swaraj Mazda, sold 467,882 units in all. Although the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) have been getting into the used vehicle market, there are few instances of commercial vehicle makers venturing into the segment. The business model, called Altrux, is eyeing to grab 10-15 per cent of the market share in three years. The company will source five-year-old trucks manufactured by dealers, and sell them at pre-organised dealer outlets. It claims that these vehicles will cost half of the new vehicles.

ICICI To Raise $2.5 Bn In Share Sales

Mumbai: ICICI Bank likely to mop up $2.5 billion in the biggest overseas share sale by an Indian company. India''s second largest bank is supposed to have asked regulatory clearance to sell American depository receipts as early as this month. The Bank likely to mop up a similar amount at home as a part of a fundraising plan declared in April. The fastest economic growth in 60 years has lured overseas investors to India, helping the stock markets to become the third largest emerging stock market after China and Russia to surpass the $1 trillion mark. ICICI has named Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs to sell shares in India and overseas. Enam Financial Consultants and JM Morgan Stanley will also arrange the domestic portion of the sale.

Ashok Leyland To Raise $250Mn From Overseas Market

Chennai: Ashok Leyland will mop up $250 million (Rs 1,100 crore) via the ECB-route. They will hit the market within a week. The money will be utilized to finance the company''s capital expansion projects at Ennore and Uttaranchal. Te company foresaw no drop in sales even in the goods segment. Ashok Leyland released its May figures, which indicate a drop of 17 per cent in the goods segment, even as the total sales buoyed by bus buys State governments were up three per cent. It believes that the drop in the goods segment is due only to deferment of buys because of an anticipated drop in interest rates. The drop appears to be sharp this time also because the effect of the Supreme Court''s ruling against overloading was felt more in April-May last year in the immediate aftermath of the ruling, people purchased more trucks.

LIC Looking For IRDA Clearance For Health Insurance Entry

INDORE: Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) is set foray the health insurance space in about two months as it is awaiting an approval from the IRDA. The company will soon foray the health insurance sector and has submitted to the Insurance regulator (IRDA) newly designed quality products in this regard. Once the company receives clearance from the regulator, LIC will formally declare its foray. The company has formed a new subsidiary for taking care of the proposed business. The company''s total market share in life insurance sector is above 75 per cent, while the remaining 25 per cent is owned by 15 private players.

BPCL Purchases Shaheen, Umm Shaif, Qua Iboe

Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) has purchased three crude grades in its latest tender for August loadings. The BPCL purchased Qatari Al Shaheen, Nigerian Qua Iboe and United Arab Emirates'' Umm Shaif crude. BPCL late last month purchased 1 million barrels of Libyan Essider crude and 500,000 barrels of Umm Shaif crude for July loadings. BPCL operates a 240,000 barrels per day (bpd) refinery in Mumbai as well as its 150,000 bpd refinery in the southern Indian state of Kerala, run by subsidiary Kochi Refineries Ltd.

Coca Cola Plans To Establish Juice Plants In North India

Chandigarh: Coca Cola India is looking for locations north of Delhi to establish its citrus juice and pulp processing plants. The company will establish units at multiple locations to meet the huge demand for branded fruit pulp. The company launched its Minute Maid Pulpy Orange in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh on June 4. The juice was soft unveiled in south India and got a tremendous response and the same was expected from north.

For the northern states, the company imports from China but it is contemplating establishing processing and bottling units in this part of the country. The brand had a strategy for aggressive marketing and would target those between 24 and 30 years. The present size of processed juice in India is 50 million cases, which is only 10 per cent of the total market for juices.

IOC Mops Up $300Mn From US To Fund Expansion

Mumbai: Indian Oil Corporation, the nation''s biggest refiner, raised $300 million by selling bonds to select investors in the US to partially fund new plants. The money was raised from 13 investors. Bank of America and Citigroup managed the fund-raising. The oil major took up $100 million more from an initial plan to mop up $200 million because an overwhelming response was received from investors. The state-run refiner mulls to increase spending by 61 per cent to Rs 6,000 crore ($1.5 billion) this year on expansion, comprising increasing capacities of its refineries and construction of a chemical plant. The refiner plans to invest Rs 2,869 on upgrading and expanding its plant in Haldia in eastern India. The bonds were sold at a fixed rate of interest on an unsecured basis with an average maturity of about 10 years.

DLF Joins Hand With US-Based Co To Sell Life Insurance Products

CHENNAI: DLF has forayed into a pact with US-based Prudential Insurance to establish a joint venture company to sell life insurance products in India. The company, which would be coming up with one of the country''s largest IPO to net Rs.9,625 crore, in its red herring prospectus. The company had got the Centre''s clearance for establishing five special economic zones and was awaiting permission for two more, including one here. Of the proceeds from IPO, the company proposed to invest Rs.3,500 crore to increase its land bank, besides spending Rs.3493 crore for development and construction costs of the existing projects and the remaining part to clear the debts.

Nokia Export Achieves Rs 1650Cr

Chennai: Nokia India has witnessed exports from its telecom special economic zone (SEZ) at Sriperumbudur near Chennai achieve Rs 1,650 crore in 2006-07. Total turnover of the Nokia facility, including sales classified under the domestic tariff area (DTA), during the year touched Rs 6,118 crore. Nokia is the first major telecom company to establish manufacturing operations in India for mobile devices and network infrastructure. The park has the potential to employ 20,000 people by 2008. The unit has produced more than 25 million handsets in the first year of its operations with 20 per cent being exported to 10 south-east Asian countries along with countries in Middle East and Africa.

Firstsource To Offer Insurance Products

Mumbai: The city-based BPO firm Firstsource Solutions Ltd has said that Financial Services Authority of UK has empowered it to give advice and to arrange contracts of insurance. As result, Firstsource will be able to up sell and cross-sell a wide range of insurance products. The company will also be able to sell handset insurance on behalf of its telecom clients.

RINL Touches Record Sales

Visakhapatnam: Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL) reached record sales of Rs 1,294 crore during April and May this fiscal, recording a 21 per cent growth over Rs 1,068 crore during the corresponding period last financial year. The sale of 1.87 lakh tonnes of value-added steel during the period marked a growth of 62 per cent over last year''s figure. The steel plant supplies special steel to the Indian Railways. The sale of value-added steel in the total volume is 46 per cent. Exports accounted for Rs 75 crore during the period

IOC Likely To Admit Third Partner In Turkey Refinery

Kolkata: IndianOil likely to include third partner in the proposed 15-million-tonne integrated refinery in Turkey. The Indian refiner has made a 51:49 joint venture with Calik Holding of Turkey to establish the export-oriented project at the port city of Ceyhan in Southern Turkey at an approximate cost of $4.9 billion. Te project may need close to $1.5-billion equity investment at the industry benchmark of 70:30 debt-equity for refinery projects. The Energy Market Regulatory Authority of Turkey has recently sanctioned a preliminary clearance to IOC-Calik combine to set up the project. The final approval will be available once the detailed feasibility report (DFR) is submitted by the end of this fiscal or early 2008-09. The refinery will be fed by oil transported by $1.5-billion oil pipeline Trans Anatolian Pipeline Project from the Turkish Northern Black Sea city Samsun to Ceyhan. IOC has secured 12.5 per cent participatory interest in the pipeline, promoted by ENI of Italy and Calik.

Escorts Eyes Overseas Buyout

After ploughing through Indian fields, Escorts is now turning to exotic instruments for vineyards. These will be smaller farm equipment for which Escorts is planning to acquire a company in the overseas market.The tie-ups will be to enter the sub-35 horsepower and the more-than-85 hp tractor variants. For Escorts, this will be another leaf of its debt restructuring.The recently raised QIP of Rs 300 crore to be used partly for debt and partly for buyouts.

With the company expanding in Ghana and larger Africa, plus tying up with a large Chinese and Japanese player, the firm is not ruling out future fund raising. From a market share that nearly halved to under 10 per cent over five years, Escorts is back up to 16 per cent now and hopes to diversify its product range into order to boost their tractor and equipment sales.

ICICI Lombard Snatches Second Spot In Insurance Sweepstakes

Bangalore: ICICI Lombard General Insurance Corporation Ltd has improved its performance and grabbed the second spot in the insurance sweepstakes, displacing three public sector companies in the process. As per the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) figures, ICICI has reported a premium collection of Rs 448.65 crore for April, a 35 per cent growth over the corresponding period of the last financial year. However, public sector New India Assurance remains on top with a gross premium of Rs 650.82 crore for the same period. New India has grown by only 8.2 per cent over the corresponding period of the last financial year. Oriental Insurance Company Ltd remains at the third spot with gross premiums of Rs 413.50 crore. Oriental''s growth has remained flat during the period. In the first month of financial year 2007-08, private sector insurers have grown 37.34 per cent to Rs 1,272.22 crore over April 2006. In the process, the market shares have further undergone a change. Private sector has grabbed a market share of 40 per cent in the non-life insurance business, from 34 per cent in the financial year 2006-07. Public sector market share is now only 60 per cent.

Reliance Money To Increases Kiosks To 10,000 By March ''08

Reliance Money, the financial trading platform promoted by Anil Dhirubhai Ambani group''s Reliance Capital, will be increasing the number of web-enabled trading kiosks to 10,000 by March 2008. The company presently has 2500 trading kiosks across the country. By March 2009, the number of suck kiosks would be increased to 25,000. Additionally, Reliance Money forged alliance with retail coffee chain Barista to set up trading kiosks at its 100 strategically located outlets across the country. The platform also provides a single window to deal in insurance, mutual fund, gold coins purchase and other products. To achieve the objective of spreading the number of outlets, Reliance Money was also talking to several other retail chains. Emerging as one of the leading brokerage houses in the country, daily turnover in stock trading through the Reliance Money platform had already touched Rs 600 crore.

DLF To Build Seven Hotels In Gujarat

Mumbai/ Ahmedabad: DLF, realty major, has decided to set up about seven hotels in Gujarat. Out of these seven hotels, four will be set up in Ahmedabad, and the rest in Vadodara and Surat. Sources close to the development said that the proposed hotels will be part of a 74:26 joint venture between DLF and Hilton Hotels Corporation (HHC). Under the JV, the real estate company will be setting up around 50-75 hotels across the country. DLF had also signed an MoU with the government of Gujarat to develop hotels, IT parks and integrated townships during the Vibrant Gujarat Urban Summit. DLF is also believed to be coming up with malls in Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Surat at a project cost of Rs 1,500 crore. Moreover, the realty company is also setting up 2-3 IT parks in Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar. Presently, DLF boasts of a land bank of 10,255 acres across the country, with 50 per cent of it being in the NCR.