Hinduja flagship company Ashok Leyland today said it will invest Rs 3,000 crore on its new plant, coming up in Uttarakhand and on capacity expansion of its existing unit at Ennore.
A part of the planned investment will also be on engine development. The company is developing six cylinder and four cylinder engines with Austrian firm AVL complying with the Euro IV norms.
"The company will be investing Rs 3,000 crore on the new vehicle plant coming up in Uttarakhand, which will be capable of rolling out 50,000 vehicles and expansion of manufacturing facility at Ennore and the new engine development project," Ashok Leyland Chief Financial Officer K Sridharan told reporters on the sidelines of CFO Asia Summit here.
He said Rs 1,000-1,500 crore would be raised through internal accruals, while close to Rs 800 crore would be raised from outside, possibly from overseas market.
The company had also raised $200 million through external commercial borrowings of which $20 million have already been drawn while remaining amount is yet to be drawn from the market, he added.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Reliance Communications FY08 net up 70%
Reliance Communications today reported 70.5% surge in consolidated net profit at Rs 5,401.14 crore for the financial year ended March 31, 2008, as against Rs 3,167.59 crore posted in FY07.
According to a release issued by Reliance Communications to the BSE today, the company's FY08 total income increased 31.8% to Rs 19,067.76 crore from Rs 14,468.29 crore in FY07.
According to a release issued by Reliance Communications to the BSE today, the company's FY08 total income increased 31.8% to Rs 19,067.76 crore from Rs 14,468.29 crore in FY07.
RCom,Tata to pay Rs 700 cr to BSNL: SC
RCom,Tata to pay Rs 700 cr to BSNL: SC
Press Trust of India / New Delhi April 30, 2008
The Supreme Court has held Tata Teleservices 'Walky' and Reliance Communication's (formerly Infocom) 'Unlimited Cordless' as limited mobile phones, hence they are liable to pay Access Deficit Charge (ADC) to BSNL for interconnection.
A bench headed by Justice H S Kapadia, while dismissing Tata Teleservices and Reliance Communication's petitions, has upheld telecom tribunal Telecom Dispute Settlement and Appellate Tribunal's (TDSAT) order of September 2005 that held these services are not fixed lines telephones, but limited mobile.
The Supreme Court had earlier reserved its judgement on a petition filed by Tata Teleservices challenging the telecom tribunal's order which classified the company's fixed wireless phone service 'Walky' as limited mobile.
Press Trust of India / New Delhi April 30, 2008
The Supreme Court has held Tata Teleservices 'Walky' and Reliance Communication's (formerly Infocom) 'Unlimited Cordless' as limited mobile phones, hence they are liable to pay Access Deficit Charge (ADC) to BSNL for interconnection.
A bench headed by Justice H S Kapadia, while dismissing Tata Teleservices and Reliance Communication's petitions, has upheld telecom tribunal Telecom Dispute Settlement and Appellate Tribunal's (TDSAT) order of September 2005 that held these services are not fixed lines telephones, but limited mobile.
The Supreme Court had earlier reserved its judgement on a petition filed by Tata Teleservices challenging the telecom tribunal's order which classified the company's fixed wireless phone service 'Walky' as limited mobile.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Tata group to examine investing more in State
A third Tidel Park will come up here in the next two years. The Rs.3,000-crore Information Technology park that will come up on an area of 25.27 acres opposite the present Tidel Park will be a joint venture between Tata Realty, the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO) and Indian Hotels Company Limited.
A Memorandum of Understanding to set up the park and associated facilities was signed here on Monday between two Tata group companies and TIDCO, in the presence of Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi.
At the meeting organised at the Secretariat to sign the MoU, Tata Realty and Infrastructure president R.K. Krishnakumar assured the Chief Minister that the Tatas would deploy a dedicated group of senior professionals to examine the possibility of making further investments in the State in the manufacturing sector. The group would hold discussions with the Industries Department, SIPCOT and TIDCO to discuss the options, he told Mr. Karunanidhi, in response to a query from him.
Assuming the role of one seeking to sell the concept of Tamil Nadu as an investment destination — a role he has donned from the time he took over as Chief Minister in May 2006 — the Chief Minister asked Mr. Krishnakumar: “Why don’t you consider setting up a car manufacturing unit here?” He added: “The Chennai Port is the best port to export cars. You should look at Tamil Nadu.”
The Chief Minister told him that most major car manufacturers had established assembly lines in the State and that the Tatas should consider doing the same.
Mr. Krishnakumar said the Tata Group would consider the suggestion, and immediately told Mr. Karunanidhi that he would set up a group of top professionals from the group to explore opportunities in Tamil Nadu for Tata Motors and other concerns of the group.
Mr. Krishnakumar exchanged the MoU documents with S. Ramasundaram, chairman and managing director, TIDCO. The entity is expected to achieve financial closure by May 27. “Land cost forms the bulk of the investment. Once the land cost is paid we will transfer the title to them,” Mr. Ramasundaram told The Hindu. After the transfer, the process of notification from the board of approval would be sought. This was necessary to get tax exemption for civil works.
The notification was expected around June-end. The firm would work on design and CMDA approvals from then on, and the first phase of the 2.1 million sq ft of IT space was expected to be ready by end-2009.
The remaining 1.5 million sq ft would be ready by early 2011, Mr. Krishnakumar told the Chief Minister. “Make that 2010,” the Chief Minister requested him. Mr. Krishnakumar said this should be possible. When completed, the facility would house firms that employ over 55,000 professionals and support staff.
A Memorandum of Understanding to set up the park and associated facilities was signed here on Monday between two Tata group companies and TIDCO, in the presence of Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi.
At the meeting organised at the Secretariat to sign the MoU, Tata Realty and Infrastructure president R.K. Krishnakumar assured the Chief Minister that the Tatas would deploy a dedicated group of senior professionals to examine the possibility of making further investments in the State in the manufacturing sector. The group would hold discussions with the Industries Department, SIPCOT and TIDCO to discuss the options, he told Mr. Karunanidhi, in response to a query from him.
Assuming the role of one seeking to sell the concept of Tamil Nadu as an investment destination — a role he has donned from the time he took over as Chief Minister in May 2006 — the Chief Minister asked Mr. Krishnakumar: “Why don’t you consider setting up a car manufacturing unit here?” He added: “The Chennai Port is the best port to export cars. You should look at Tamil Nadu.”
The Chief Minister told him that most major car manufacturers had established assembly lines in the State and that the Tatas should consider doing the same.
Mr. Krishnakumar said the Tata Group would consider the suggestion, and immediately told Mr. Karunanidhi that he would set up a group of top professionals from the group to explore opportunities in Tamil Nadu for Tata Motors and other concerns of the group.
Mr. Krishnakumar exchanged the MoU documents with S. Ramasundaram, chairman and managing director, TIDCO. The entity is expected to achieve financial closure by May 27. “Land cost forms the bulk of the investment. Once the land cost is paid we will transfer the title to them,” Mr. Ramasundaram told The Hindu. After the transfer, the process of notification from the board of approval would be sought. This was necessary to get tax exemption for civil works.
The notification was expected around June-end. The firm would work on design and CMDA approvals from then on, and the first phase of the 2.1 million sq ft of IT space was expected to be ready by end-2009.
The remaining 1.5 million sq ft would be ready by early 2011, Mr. Krishnakumar told the Chief Minister. “Make that 2010,” the Chief Minister requested him. Mr. Krishnakumar said this should be possible. When completed, the facility would house firms that employ over 55,000 professionals and support staff.
Airtel slashes STD, roaming tariffs
Triggering off a new round of price war in the roaming and STD segments for mobile telephony, leading mobile operator Bharti Airtel on Monday slashed STD and roaming tariffs by 43 per cent benefiting its 62 million customers.
Taking an aggressive posture to tap this huge potential segment, the company announced a reduction in STD rates by 43.39 per cent to Rs. 1.50 a minute from the earlier Rs. 2.65 a minute.
The new tariffs would be effective from April 30 and would be available for both pre- and post-paid users.
According to the announcement made by the company President and CEO, Manoj Kohli, and President, Mobile Services, Sanjay Kapoor, roaming charges for incoming calls would be cut to Re. 1 a minute from Rs. 1.75 a minute, a reduction of 42.85 per cent. Now, Airtel customers, while on roaming would be able to make local calls at Re. 1 a minute and an STD call at Rs. 1.50 a minute.
The move is expected to trigger a similar trend among all cellular operators like Vodafone Essar, Reliance Communications and Tata Teleservices to get a bigger chunk of the market share.
Taking an aggressive posture to tap this huge potential segment, the company announced a reduction in STD rates by 43.39 per cent to Rs. 1.50 a minute from the earlier Rs. 2.65 a minute.
The new tariffs would be effective from April 30 and would be available for both pre- and post-paid users.
According to the announcement made by the company President and CEO, Manoj Kohli, and President, Mobile Services, Sanjay Kapoor, roaming charges for incoming calls would be cut to Re. 1 a minute from Rs. 1.75 a minute, a reduction of 42.85 per cent. Now, Airtel customers, while on roaming would be able to make local calls at Re. 1 a minute and an STD call at Rs. 1.50 a minute.
The move is expected to trigger a similar trend among all cellular operators like Vodafone Essar, Reliance Communications and Tata Teleservices to get a bigger chunk of the market share.
FMCG prices up on higher input costs
The rise in raw material costs has caused a 10 per cent increase in the retail prices of fast-moving consumer goods as companies are passing on the rise in costs.
In the last few weeks, the price of the 100 gram bar of Godrej No 1 has gone up by Rs 2.5 to Rs 13, Wipro's Santoor by Rs 2 to Rs 16, Reckitt Benckiser's Dettol by Rs 2 to Rs 17 and Hindustan Unilever's Pears by Rs 2 to Rs 23. Even mass market brand Lifebuoy, the largest selling, has become costlier by Re 1 to retail for Rs 12.
Food items, too, have become costlier. "We had increased milk prices in February 2007, August 2007 and then again in February 2008 � each time by Re 1. We also raised the prices of select items such as ice-creams by 1-2 per cent in February," said R Sodhi, chief general manager, Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation, which markets the ubiquitous Amul.
Procter & Gamble's Ariel detergent now costs Rs 122 for a 1 kg pack, a rise of Rs 6, while HUL's Surf Excel's price is up at Rs 126, costlier by Rs 10. In some cases, the prices have remained unchanged but packs have become lighter. The 1 kg pack of HUL's Wheel washing powder has shrunk to 800 gm.
However, HUL has bucked the trend in the case of Lux, its flagship soap brand, deciding to roll back the 5 per cent price increase it had effected earlier.
In the last few weeks, the price of the 100 gram bar of Godrej No 1 has gone up by Rs 2.5 to Rs 13, Wipro's Santoor by Rs 2 to Rs 16, Reckitt Benckiser's Dettol by Rs 2 to Rs 17 and Hindustan Unilever's Pears by Rs 2 to Rs 23. Even mass market brand Lifebuoy, the largest selling, has become costlier by Re 1 to retail for Rs 12.
Food items, too, have become costlier. "We had increased milk prices in February 2007, August 2007 and then again in February 2008 � each time by Re 1. We also raised the prices of select items such as ice-creams by 1-2 per cent in February," said R Sodhi, chief general manager, Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation, which markets the ubiquitous Amul.
Procter & Gamble's Ariel detergent now costs Rs 122 for a 1 kg pack, a rise of Rs 6, while HUL's Surf Excel's price is up at Rs 126, costlier by Rs 10. In some cases, the prices have remained unchanged but packs have become lighter. The 1 kg pack of HUL's Wheel washing powder has shrunk to 800 gm.
However, HUL has bucked the trend in the case of Lux, its flagship soap brand, deciding to roll back the 5 per cent price increase it had effected earlier.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Maruti Suzuki net falls 34 per cent
Maruti Suzuki India today announced a 34 per cent fall in net profit for the fourth quarter in spite of higher sales as a new method pushed up the depreciation charge, and warned of low consumer confidence and high competition in the times to come.
The company also made a one-time payment of Rs 54.5 crore to dealers following an excise duty cut on small cars, and suffered a net loss of Rs 50.5 crore in the quarter after it marked to market its derivative positions.
The company also made a one-time payment of Rs 54.5 crore to dealers following an excise duty cut on small cars, and suffered a net loss of Rs 50.5 crore in the quarter after it marked to market its derivative positions.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
SBI pegs FY09 growth at 24%
Notwithstanding an imminent deceleration in the Indian economy, State Bank of India expects a 22-24 per cent credit growth in 2008-09 on the back of demand from segments like housing credit.
The genuine demand for housing loans still existed, while speculative demand for these loans had receded. The demand in some pockets like Gurgaon was saturated, but the middle class in tier-II and tier-III towns, where ticket size was small still sought credit, said SBI Chairman O P Bhatt today.
The home loan credit growth has dropped sharply across banks in the last one year due to a substantial rise in the lending rate. The increase in the amount paid for monthly loan repayments and elevated property prices have had an adverse effect on the home loan demand.
At the beginning of the year (January 2008), the bank had set a high internal target of over 30 per cent growth in credit. However, with a sharp rise in inflation and global uncertainty, expectations about growth have tempered somewhat, another SBI official said.
The genuine demand for housing loans still existed, while speculative demand for these loans had receded. The demand in some pockets like Gurgaon was saturated, but the middle class in tier-II and tier-III towns, where ticket size was small still sought credit, said SBI Chairman O P Bhatt today.
The home loan credit growth has dropped sharply across banks in the last one year due to a substantial rise in the lending rate. The increase in the amount paid for monthly loan repayments and elevated property prices have had an adverse effect on the home loan demand.
At the beginning of the year (January 2008), the bank had set a high internal target of over 30 per cent growth in credit. However, with a sharp rise in inflation and global uncertainty, expectations about growth have tempered somewhat, another SBI official said.
SBI clients may lose Rs 700 cr
After Axis Bank, it is now the turn of State Bank of India to disclose losses its customers could face on derivative trading.
India’s largest commercial bank today said its clients may suffer a mark-to-market loss of up to Rs 700 crore at the end of March 2008 due to derivative transactions, though the bank is unlikely to take any hit for the moment.
While SBI Chairman OP Bhatt did not disclose the number of derivatives clients it has, he said the bank had not sold any exotic derivative product to its clients.
"All the derivative transactions have underlyings. Products are sold only to regular customers," Bhatt said.
He added that none of the clients had so far gone to court or threatened to do so. Derivatives are financial instruments whose value changes in response to the changes in underlying variables.
Companies enter into derivative contracts like futures, forwards, options, and swaps to hedge their currency and interest rate risks. Private sector players like ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank have been taken to court by their clients over the derivatives products they sold.
India’s largest commercial bank today said its clients may suffer a mark-to-market loss of up to Rs 700 crore at the end of March 2008 due to derivative transactions, though the bank is unlikely to take any hit for the moment.
While SBI Chairman OP Bhatt did not disclose the number of derivatives clients it has, he said the bank had not sold any exotic derivative product to its clients.
"All the derivative transactions have underlyings. Products are sold only to regular customers," Bhatt said.
He added that none of the clients had so far gone to court or threatened to do so. Derivatives are financial instruments whose value changes in response to the changes in underlying variables.
Companies enter into derivative contracts like futures, forwards, options, and swaps to hedge their currency and interest rate risks. Private sector players like ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank have been taken to court by their clients over the derivatives products they sold.
Sub-prime shadow on Indian realty
The turmoil in the global financial markets has cast its shadow on India’s largest real estate deal.
Delhi-based developer BPTP Ltd, which was banking on overseas institutions to fund the acquisition of 94 acres of prime land at Noida for Rs 5,006 crore, has sought an extension to pay the first instalment of the money.
On March 12, BPTP Ltd, promoted by entrepreneur Kabul Chawla, had bagged the rights to develop the land.
The deal required it to pay the first instalment of around Rs 1,251.5 crore (25 per cent of the bid amount of Rs 5,006 crore) to the Noida authorities within 30 days. That deadline expired earlier this month and the company has now sought a 60-day extension.
It now has 60 days to pay the amount with an additional 14 per cent interest impost. The extension request has been granted, said a senior BPTP executive. “We will pay the money before the 60-day period ends,” he added.
The executive, who requested anonymity, added that BPTP had almost closed a deal with some foreign banks to raise the required money. But the banks, caught in the sub-prime crisis, went through a management overhaul and the loan to BPTP got stuck.
India’s real estate developers, especially the mid-sized ones, have been facing a liquidity crunch since last year. Developers can no longer tap the external commercial borrowing route, while domestic borrowing costs have gone up on account of tight-fisted monetary policy, which is likely to harden further in days to come.
Delhi-based developer BPTP Ltd, which was banking on overseas institutions to fund the acquisition of 94 acres of prime land at Noida for Rs 5,006 crore, has sought an extension to pay the first instalment of the money.
On March 12, BPTP Ltd, promoted by entrepreneur Kabul Chawla, had bagged the rights to develop the land.
The deal required it to pay the first instalment of around Rs 1,251.5 crore (25 per cent of the bid amount of Rs 5,006 crore) to the Noida authorities within 30 days. That deadline expired earlier this month and the company has now sought a 60-day extension.
It now has 60 days to pay the amount with an additional 14 per cent interest impost. The extension request has been granted, said a senior BPTP executive. “We will pay the money before the 60-day period ends,” he added.
The executive, who requested anonymity, added that BPTP had almost closed a deal with some foreign banks to raise the required money. But the banks, caught in the sub-prime crisis, went through a management overhaul and the loan to BPTP got stuck.
India’s real estate developers, especially the mid-sized ones, have been facing a liquidity crunch since last year. Developers can no longer tap the external commercial borrowing route, while domestic borrowing costs have gone up on account of tight-fisted monetary policy, which is likely to harden further in days to come.
Biocon to acquire German firm
Biocon is set to acquire a majority stake in a German pharma company, AxiCorp.
According to the Chairman and Managing Director of Biocon, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, the deal is likely to be sealed by the end of this month.
Giving details of the acquisition at a press conference here on Tuesday, Ms. Shaw said that Biocon would acquire a 70 per cent controlling stake in AxiCorp for a consideration of €30 million (about Rs. 177.75 crore). “This will enable the marketing and distribution of a range of pharmaceuticals, including generics, biosimilars, biologicals and innovative pharmaceuticals, in Germany and Europe,” she said.
AxiCorp has a market share of 7 per cent in the range of products it manufactures in the European pharma market. Ms. Shaw said the “acquisition was good value for us”.
Outlining the financial results for 2007-08, Ms. Shaw said the company had posted Rs. 225 crore as profit (before exceptional items) compared to Rs. 200 crore in 2006-07, registering a growth of 13 per cent. The company’s revenues rose 10 per cent, from Rs. 990 crore to Rs. 1,090 crore. She said the “profit growth has been maintained despite the divestment of the enzymes business and currency appreciation”. The net profit zoomed from Rs. 200 crore to Rs. 464 crore.
According to the Chairman and Managing Director of Biocon, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, the deal is likely to be sealed by the end of this month.
Giving details of the acquisition at a press conference here on Tuesday, Ms. Shaw said that Biocon would acquire a 70 per cent controlling stake in AxiCorp for a consideration of €30 million (about Rs. 177.75 crore). “This will enable the marketing and distribution of a range of pharmaceuticals, including generics, biosimilars, biologicals and innovative pharmaceuticals, in Germany and Europe,” she said.
AxiCorp has a market share of 7 per cent in the range of products it manufactures in the European pharma market. Ms. Shaw said the “acquisition was good value for us”.
Outlining the financial results for 2007-08, Ms. Shaw said the company had posted Rs. 225 crore as profit (before exceptional items) compared to Rs. 200 crore in 2006-07, registering a growth of 13 per cent. The company’s revenues rose 10 per cent, from Rs. 990 crore to Rs. 1,090 crore. She said the “profit growth has been maintained despite the divestment of the enzymes business and currency appreciation”. The net profit zoomed from Rs. 200 crore to Rs. 464 crore.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Hero, Daimler to invest Rs 4,400 cr in JV
Hero group and Daimler of Germany today said they will invest Rs 4,400 crore over the next five years to manufacture light medium and heavy duty commercial vehicles in India.
The two companies today signed a joint venture agreement to float a company Daimler Hero Motor Corporation, in which the German company will have 60 per cent stake and the rest with Hero.
The company will start manufacturing commercial vehicles by 2010. The new company is aiming to achieve a localisation rate of up to 80 per cent. The production of commercial vehicle for export to other emerging markets will also be launched thereafter.
The two companies today signed a joint venture agreement to float a company Daimler Hero Motor Corporation, in which the German company will have 60 per cent stake and the rest with Hero.
The company will start manufacturing commercial vehicles by 2010. The new company is aiming to achieve a localisation rate of up to 80 per cent. The production of commercial vehicle for export to other emerging markets will also be launched thereafter.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
European firm buys Dabur for Rs 880 cr
Deal values the company at Rs 1,199 crore.
Dabur is exiting the pharma business. The Burman family, promoters of FMCG major Dabur, has sold the oncology drug manufacturing company - Dabur Pharma - to European healthcare major Fresenius SE for about Rs 880 crore.
The Burmans, along with some key stakeholders, have agreed to sell their 73.27 per cent stake at a price of Rs 76.50 per share, a 10 per cent premium over the current market price. The deal values Dabur Pharma at Rs 1198.75 crore.
When contacted, Anand Burman, chairman of Dabur declined to comment on the deal. The acquisition will be routed through the European company’s Singapore subsidiary Fresenius Kabi (Singapore).
This is the second largest buyout by an overseas pharmaceutical company in India, next only to the Matrix Laboratories takeover by Mylan Laboratories of the US for about Rs 3,367 crore.
The Iceland-based Actavis, one of the top global generic companies, had acquired the bulk drug division of the Chennai-based Sanmar Specialties and the tablets division of Grandix Pharmaceuticals, a few months ago, in two separate deals.
Dabur Pharma is one of the leading players in the field of oncology in India and is among the top generic oncology companies in various markets, including in Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia and India.
Besides being present in more than 40 countries, the company has a strong base in the US. It has a substantial market share in Paclitaxel and Irinotecan injections used in the treatment of rectum cancer. Dabur has 12 generic drugs pending for approval in the US market. It has already received four approvals.
“Dabur is an FMCG company and the move of the Burmans to exit from the pharma business is aimed at focussing on the high investment intensive FMCG business,” said Sujay Shetty, associate director of PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Dabur had demerged its pharma business in 2003 to set up Dabur Pharma. Last year, the company hived off its non-oncology formulation business to Ahmedabad-based Alembic for Rs 159 crore to focus exclusively on the cancer drug business.
The deal will considerably strengthen the ¤2 billion oncology business of Fresenius. Dabur Pharma, which posted a net profit of Rs 19.7 crore on a turnover of Rs 322 crore in 2006-07, is India’s leading player in cancer medicines with a revenue of over Rs 60 crore annually.
The company has three manufacturing facilities at Kalyani, Baddi and at Bardon, UK. It also owns a marketing arm - Biosciences Co - in Thailand.
Dabur is exiting the pharma business. The Burman family, promoters of FMCG major Dabur, has sold the oncology drug manufacturing company - Dabur Pharma - to European healthcare major Fresenius SE for about Rs 880 crore.
The Burmans, along with some key stakeholders, have agreed to sell their 73.27 per cent stake at a price of Rs 76.50 per share, a 10 per cent premium over the current market price. The deal values Dabur Pharma at Rs 1198.75 crore.
When contacted, Anand Burman, chairman of Dabur declined to comment on the deal. The acquisition will be routed through the European company’s Singapore subsidiary Fresenius Kabi (Singapore).
This is the second largest buyout by an overseas pharmaceutical company in India, next only to the Matrix Laboratories takeover by Mylan Laboratories of the US for about Rs 3,367 crore.
The Iceland-based Actavis, one of the top global generic companies, had acquired the bulk drug division of the Chennai-based Sanmar Specialties and the tablets division of Grandix Pharmaceuticals, a few months ago, in two separate deals.
Dabur Pharma is one of the leading players in the field of oncology in India and is among the top generic oncology companies in various markets, including in Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia and India.
Besides being present in more than 40 countries, the company has a strong base in the US. It has a substantial market share in Paclitaxel and Irinotecan injections used in the treatment of rectum cancer. Dabur has 12 generic drugs pending for approval in the US market. It has already received four approvals.
“Dabur is an FMCG company and the move of the Burmans to exit from the pharma business is aimed at focussing on the high investment intensive FMCG business,” said Sujay Shetty, associate director of PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Dabur had demerged its pharma business in 2003 to set up Dabur Pharma. Last year, the company hived off its non-oncology formulation business to Ahmedabad-based Alembic for Rs 159 crore to focus exclusively on the cancer drug business.
The deal will considerably strengthen the ¤2 billion oncology business of Fresenius. Dabur Pharma, which posted a net profit of Rs 19.7 crore on a turnover of Rs 322 crore in 2006-07, is India’s leading player in cancer medicines with a revenue of over Rs 60 crore annually.
The company has three manufacturing facilities at Kalyani, Baddi and at Bardon, UK. It also owns a marketing arm - Biosciences Co - in Thailand.
Friday, April 18, 2008
IPL cash starts flowing in
With the DLF Indian Premier League (IPL) ready to kick off on Friday, serious cash flows have started for the high profile team owners.
Vijay Mallya, whose team Royal Challengers will take on Shah Rukh Khan's Kolkata Knight Riders in the inaugural match in Bangalore, has already got busy counting the cash.
He has sold all the 41,000-plus tickets for the match and, according to industry estimates, has made over Rs 2 crore in the bargain.
Insiders say that Mallya will be able to rake in over Rs 12-14 crore from ticket sales of the seven matches his team plays in Bangalore. He has also roped in two co- sponsors for his team, Reebok and Louis Phillipie, for Rs 12-14 crore.
All told, the eight teams are expected to make over Rs 250 crore on ticket sales and co-sponsor deals. This is much higher than what the team owners had initially thought they would make. Shah Rukh’s team, for instance, has roped in four sponsors — T-series (for music), Tag Heuer, Belmonte and HDIL.
Still, each could end up with a loss of Rs 25 crore on an average. Profits, they all are hopeful, will come from the next season.
Says Vijay Rekhi, president, UB Group:" We have sold out for the first match and the remaining six home matches are also receiving a good response. Of course, it is a profitable business and we should break even next year.”
To give the spectators their money’s worth, Rekhi said, there will be stilt performers, cheer leaders and a live performance by the musical trio of Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy at the match.
Half the tickets for the second match on April 19 between Kings XI Punjab and Chennai Superkings at Mohali (capacity: 30,000) have been sold.
The third match, also on April 19, between Delhi Daredevils and Rajasthan Royals too is seeing brisk sales. Tickets for the next two matches on April 20 are also almost sold-out.
Vijay Mallya, whose team Royal Challengers will take on Shah Rukh Khan's Kolkata Knight Riders in the inaugural match in Bangalore, has already got busy counting the cash.
He has sold all the 41,000-plus tickets for the match and, according to industry estimates, has made over Rs 2 crore in the bargain.
Insiders say that Mallya will be able to rake in over Rs 12-14 crore from ticket sales of the seven matches his team plays in Bangalore. He has also roped in two co- sponsors for his team, Reebok and Louis Phillipie, for Rs 12-14 crore.
All told, the eight teams are expected to make over Rs 250 crore on ticket sales and co-sponsor deals. This is much higher than what the team owners had initially thought they would make. Shah Rukh’s team, for instance, has roped in four sponsors — T-series (for music), Tag Heuer, Belmonte and HDIL.
Still, each could end up with a loss of Rs 25 crore on an average. Profits, they all are hopeful, will come from the next season.
Says Vijay Rekhi, president, UB Group:" We have sold out for the first match and the remaining six home matches are also receiving a good response. Of course, it is a profitable business and we should break even next year.”
To give the spectators their money’s worth, Rekhi said, there will be stilt performers, cheer leaders and a live performance by the musical trio of Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy at the match.
Half the tickets for the second match on April 19 between Kings XI Punjab and Chennai Superkings at Mohali (capacity: 30,000) have been sold.
The third match, also on April 19, between Delhi Daredevils and Rajasthan Royals too is seeing brisk sales. Tickets for the next two matches on April 20 are also almost sold-out.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
IITs agree to increase seats by 13%
The seven Indian Institutes of Technology today announced a 13 per cent increase in capacity for 2008-09 which would be able to accommodate 9 per cent quota for other backward classes in the coming year.
The rest of the quota – the Supreme Court has upheld reservation of 27 per cent seats for OBCs — will be implemented in the subsequent two years.
On the other hand, the three new IITs coming up in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan this year will implement the 27 per cent quota from the first year itself.
At present, there are more than 4,000 seats in the seven IITs at Kharagpur, Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi, Kanpur, Guwahati and Roorkee, annually.
After a meeting of the seven IITs in New Delhi, IIT Delhi Director Surendra Prasad said the institutes, which held their entrance tests for academic year 2008-09 last Sunday, had also decided to set the eligibility for OBC candidates at 10 per cent less than that for the general category.
IIT officials, who did not want to be named, said that of the 321,643 applications received for the IIT entrance examination this year, 64 per cent were from the general category, 10 per cent from scheduled castes and 3 per cent from scheduled tribes. The percentage of OBCs among the applicants was 23 per cent.
According to Prasad, the undergraduate seats in the new year will increase by 880. Of this, 520 will be in the existing seven IITs and 360 in the three new ones.
The rest of the quota – the Supreme Court has upheld reservation of 27 per cent seats for OBCs — will be implemented in the subsequent two years.
On the other hand, the three new IITs coming up in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan this year will implement the 27 per cent quota from the first year itself.
At present, there are more than 4,000 seats in the seven IITs at Kharagpur, Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi, Kanpur, Guwahati and Roorkee, annually.
After a meeting of the seven IITs in New Delhi, IIT Delhi Director Surendra Prasad said the institutes, which held their entrance tests for academic year 2008-09 last Sunday, had also decided to set the eligibility for OBC candidates at 10 per cent less than that for the general category.
IIT officials, who did not want to be named, said that of the 321,643 applications received for the IIT entrance examination this year, 64 per cent were from the general category, 10 per cent from scheduled castes and 3 per cent from scheduled tribes. The percentage of OBCs among the applicants was 23 per cent.
According to Prasad, the undergraduate seats in the new year will increase by 880. Of this, 520 will be in the existing seven IITs and 360 in the three new ones.
WIL bags orders from ISRO and Indian Navy
Walchandnagar Industries (WIL), an engineering company, has bagged two prestigious orders, worth around Rs 150 crore from the Indian Navy and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
WIL has been closely associated with Navy and ISRO and has partnered these organisations of national importance in producing highly critical and sophisticated components.
The company has also been associated with satellite launching vehicle programme of ISRO since inception and have supplied large number of critical components which include flight motor casings and nozzles, flight motor segments, domes, nose caps etc. for SLV, ASLV, GSLV and PSLV programme.
It is involved in designing, manufacturing and supply of gear boxes for various programmes of Indian navy for leander class frigates, survey vessels, aircraft carrier, corvette class vessels, fleet tankers etc. with horse power up to 24000 hp.
WIL has been closely associated with Navy and ISRO and has partnered these organisations of national importance in producing highly critical and sophisticated components.
The company has also been associated with satellite launching vehicle programme of ISRO since inception and have supplied large number of critical components which include flight motor casings and nozzles, flight motor segments, domes, nose caps etc. for SLV, ASLV, GSLV and PSLV programme.
It is involved in designing, manufacturing and supply of gear boxes for various programmes of Indian navy for leander class frigates, survey vessels, aircraft carrier, corvette class vessels, fleet tankers etc. with horse power up to 24000 hp.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Bharti launches retail operations in Ludhiana
Bharti Retail, a subsidiary of Sunil Mittal-promoted Bharti Enterprises, today launched its operations by opening first store in Ludhiana, Punjab. The stores, known as 'Easy Day', would be a one-stop shop to cater to every family's day-to-day needs, company officials said, adding that "it will bring together a relevant and wide product range, good quality products and great-in-experience and service-all under one roof".
The store would sell personal care products, stationary, household articles, hosiery items, daily-need groceries like staples, processed foods, bakery and diary products, meat and poultry, and fresh produce.The company had earlier announced an investment of up to $ 2.5 billion(Rs 10,000 crore) by 2015 in retail operations including multi-format retail outlets across all cities in India that have population of over one million.
Announcing the road map for its retail ventures last year, Rajan Mittal, Joint Managing Director of Bharti Enterprises, had said that Bharti was looking at approximately 10 million square feet of retail experience throughout the country and employing about 60,000 people.Today's launch is exclusive from Bharti's proposed joint venture with US retailer WalMart for the back-end operations.
The store would sell personal care products, stationary, household articles, hosiery items, daily-need groceries like staples, processed foods, bakery and diary products, meat and poultry, and fresh produce.The company had earlier announced an investment of up to $ 2.5 billion(Rs 10,000 crore) by 2015 in retail operations including multi-format retail outlets across all cities in India that have population of over one million.
Announcing the road map for its retail ventures last year, Rajan Mittal, Joint Managing Director of Bharti Enterprises, had said that Bharti was looking at approximately 10 million square feet of retail experience throughout the country and employing about 60,000 people.Today's launch is exclusive from Bharti's proposed joint venture with US retailer WalMart for the back-end operations.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
5 Tamil Nadu firms get start-up radio frequency
After getting the go-ahead from Communications and Information Technology Minister A. Raja, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has begun the process of allotting spectrum to new companies, starting from the Tamil Nadu circle.
On Tuesday, at least five new companies that have got licences to operate in the Tamil Nadu circle were given the start-up radio frequency. These companies are Idea Cellular, Swan Telecom, Unitech, Datacom and Loop Telecom.
The existing subscribers, Airtel and Vodafone, were also given additional spectrum in the circle on the new subscriber-based norms of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
Pointing out that spectrum would not only give a boost to mobile connectivity but also benefit subscribers with cheaper call rates and other gains, a senior DoT official said it would start fresh competition and do good to the sector.
The DoT is now looking at other telecom circles where spectrum is available for distribution. New players in some other telecom circles, including Kolkata, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Orissa, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, are also likely to get spectrum soon.
However, scarcity of spectrum in high density circles like Delhi and Mumbai is hindering the expansion of mobile services. The situation will ease if the defence forces vacate additional spectrum. Deliberations are on between the Telecom and Defence Ministries.
On Tuesday, at least five new companies that have got licences to operate in the Tamil Nadu circle were given the start-up radio frequency. These companies are Idea Cellular, Swan Telecom, Unitech, Datacom and Loop Telecom.
The existing subscribers, Airtel and Vodafone, were also given additional spectrum in the circle on the new subscriber-based norms of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
Pointing out that spectrum would not only give a boost to mobile connectivity but also benefit subscribers with cheaper call rates and other gains, a senior DoT official said it would start fresh competition and do good to the sector.
The DoT is now looking at other telecom circles where spectrum is available for distribution. New players in some other telecom circles, including Kolkata, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Orissa, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, are also likely to get spectrum soon.
However, scarcity of spectrum in high density circles like Delhi and Mumbai is hindering the expansion of mobile services. The situation will ease if the defence forces vacate additional spectrum. Deliberations are on between the Telecom and Defence Ministries.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Indian Oil losing Rs 320cr a day
Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) chairman and ,managing director Sarthak Behuria today said that the company is losing Rs 320 cr per day on sales of petrol, diesel, LPG and kerosene at subsidised prices.
The three oil marketing companies - IOC, HPCL and BPCL - are together losing around Rs 640 cr per day. The IOC chairman also said that the company would spend Rs 7,500 cr in refinery and pipeline projects in 2008-09.
Admitting there was a liquidity crisis which is affecting the company's working capital he said that in the short term project funding would not be
affected.
In 2007-08 the company's gross refinery margins are expected to be around $9.5 to $10 per barrel. He also said that the company's borrowings as of March 31, 2008 have risen to Rs 34,000 cr.
The three oil marketing companies - IOC, HPCL and BPCL - are together losing around Rs 640 cr per day. The IOC chairman also said that the company would spend Rs 7,500 cr in refinery and pipeline projects in 2008-09.
Admitting there was a liquidity crisis which is affecting the company's working capital he said that in the short term project funding would not be
affected.
In 2007-08 the company's gross refinery margins are expected to be around $9.5 to $10 per barrel. He also said that the company's borrowings as of March 31, 2008 have risen to Rs 34,000 cr.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Indian R&D is the world's new flavour
Over the past few years, India has steadily emerged as a major research and development (R&D) centre for the world's leading telecom and IT players, thus shedding the image of just a low-cost destination for outsourcing back-office jobs.
Increasingly, despite various constraints like the shortage of high-skilled work force, with relative inexperience in the field of high-end research and poor infrastructure overall, India is witnessing a surge in good quality R&D work.
Experts say this trend has gathered momentum, especially over the past few years, and is evident in the work being done by companies like Intel, Cisco, IBM, EMC and Nokia. Executives at these companies are keen on showcasing the work they have been doing in India, although some shy from sharing technical details of the R&D work that demand some confidentiality.
"Cisco Development Organisation (CDO) India has grown from a team extension mode to an ownership of a component model to becoming a centre of excellence in several technology areas,'' says Aravind Sitaram, VP, CDO.
Sitaram adds that CDO India has generated over 110 US patents and another 400-odd with the US Patents and Trademark Office. "'The India team works on several key international deals working with sales teams, partners, and customers on defining solutions and architecture."
Actually, Cisco's development centre in Bangalore is the largest outside the US. Despite that, the company has forged tie-ups for joint development centres with top IT firms like Wipro, Infosys; HCLT; Satyam and Zensar.
Cisco says its focus has not been on cost arbitrage but on growth, talent and innovation, and that it owns many of its platforms and technologies developed at Indian facilities. A large number of its 3,600 employees work at CDO India and have been involved in its optical product line, flagship products like the gigabit switch router (GSR), and software development in areas like security.
Intel is another technology major that has been getting its high-end work done out of India. "We have been doing R&D work in India across our businesses, be it client or enterprise," says Sandeep Shah, director at Intel's mobility group.
The Intel India Development Centre (IIDC), the company's largest non-manufacturing facility outside the US, has grown quite fast in the past five years and already employs 3,000 people who work on chip design, platform design and software development. Indian engineers have contributed substantially to Intel's Centrino Duo platform, the quad core processor and to delivering teraflop performances.
Shah says that Intel is very bullish on India and the development centre here is already involved in developing products that are slated for two to three years from now.
EMC, a leading data storage company, is looking to raise the bar as much, especially in the R&D work that it does out of India. "'The trend to source research started in India 4-5 years ago as cost arbitrage, but in the past 18 months or so, things have changed greatly," says Sarv Saravanan, MD and VP of EMC's India Centre of Excellence (COE), the company's largest R&D facility outside North America. Within a year, EMC has grown to around 1,500 people, up from 900. The company has filed for about 30-odd patents from India and is tapping talent for its various businesses.
"At the India centre, we deliver product-engineering, services and integrated innovation for every product group within the company," says Saravanan. These include storage, information management, security, virtualisation, enterprise content management, and global services. Saravan says, besides building IP for EMC, the India centre is also building expertise domains with deep subject capabilities.
Although companies like Intel, Cisco and EMC have been tapping the engineering skills, they have yet to go in for big-time manufacturing. But Nokia, the world's leading mobile handset manufacturer, has taken the lead in manufacturing and is fast building on that strength to develop products. The company has already manufactured over 125 million phones in India, exporting half of its production to about 50 countries.
Nokia has three R&D centres in India-Bangalore, Mumbai and Hyderabad-and are focused on the next-generation packet-switched mobile technologies. The company has about 1,000 people working on various R&D projects. "While all the three centres are an integral part of Nokia's global R&D infrastructure and, therefore, work on global projects, these centres play a pivotal role in assimilating local flavors from the market and act as a conduit for information to the global product development teams," says a Nokia executive.
Nokia's Bangalore R&D centre, the largest in India, was set up in 2001 after the acquisition of Amber Networks. "It plays a crucial role in developing new applications, software platforms and chipsets for high-end Nokia mobile devices," says the executive. Quite a few of Nokia's innovations for emerging markets, like a dust-free keypad and a small but powerful torch/flashlight on mobiles, have come from India.
IBM India's R&D lab, too, has some interesting examples of having developed technologies and solutions that tap local opportunities, apart from working on its products for local markets. The IBM India lab recently developed a web-based interactive online voice and accent training technology that helps people speak better English. Similarly, the company's desktop Hindi speech recognition technology 'understands and transcribes speech with little use of keyboards'.
While all this is heartening, some experts caution that India needs to churn out high-quality engineers and have adequate work force to be able to sustain the technological edge and grow in the highly competitive arena of R&D. Not only that. Shah says, for instance, Indian experts need to develop depth in technology that their counterparts in the US have. He says India needs to look for a leadership role in R&D, and the access to highly talented, experienced human capital is going to be the most important factor.
Towards that end, IT industry executives have long called for a sustained commitment to investment in science and technology, strengthening the research infrastructure, aligning the university curriculum to industry needs and making teachers' training at all levels up-to-date.
Increasingly, despite various constraints like the shortage of high-skilled work force, with relative inexperience in the field of high-end research and poor infrastructure overall, India is witnessing a surge in good quality R&D work.
Experts say this trend has gathered momentum, especially over the past few years, and is evident in the work being done by companies like Intel, Cisco, IBM, EMC and Nokia. Executives at these companies are keen on showcasing the work they have been doing in India, although some shy from sharing technical details of the R&D work that demand some confidentiality.
"Cisco Development Organisation (CDO) India has grown from a team extension mode to an ownership of a component model to becoming a centre of excellence in several technology areas,'' says Aravind Sitaram, VP, CDO.
Sitaram adds that CDO India has generated over 110 US patents and another 400-odd with the US Patents and Trademark Office. "'The India team works on several key international deals working with sales teams, partners, and customers on defining solutions and architecture."
Actually, Cisco's development centre in Bangalore is the largest outside the US. Despite that, the company has forged tie-ups for joint development centres with top IT firms like Wipro, Infosys; HCLT; Satyam and Zensar.
Cisco says its focus has not been on cost arbitrage but on growth, talent and innovation, and that it owns many of its platforms and technologies developed at Indian facilities. A large number of its 3,600 employees work at CDO India and have been involved in its optical product line, flagship products like the gigabit switch router (GSR), and software development in areas like security.
Intel is another technology major that has been getting its high-end work done out of India. "We have been doing R&D work in India across our businesses, be it client or enterprise," says Sandeep Shah, director at Intel's mobility group.
The Intel India Development Centre (IIDC), the company's largest non-manufacturing facility outside the US, has grown quite fast in the past five years and already employs 3,000 people who work on chip design, platform design and software development. Indian engineers have contributed substantially to Intel's Centrino Duo platform, the quad core processor and to delivering teraflop performances.
Shah says that Intel is very bullish on India and the development centre here is already involved in developing products that are slated for two to three years from now.
EMC, a leading data storage company, is looking to raise the bar as much, especially in the R&D work that it does out of India. "'The trend to source research started in India 4-5 years ago as cost arbitrage, but in the past 18 months or so, things have changed greatly," says Sarv Saravanan, MD and VP of EMC's India Centre of Excellence (COE), the company's largest R&D facility outside North America. Within a year, EMC has grown to around 1,500 people, up from 900. The company has filed for about 30-odd patents from India and is tapping talent for its various businesses.
"At the India centre, we deliver product-engineering, services and integrated innovation for every product group within the company," says Saravanan. These include storage, information management, security, virtualisation, enterprise content management, and global services. Saravan says, besides building IP for EMC, the India centre is also building expertise domains with deep subject capabilities.
Although companies like Intel, Cisco and EMC have been tapping the engineering skills, they have yet to go in for big-time manufacturing. But Nokia, the world's leading mobile handset manufacturer, has taken the lead in manufacturing and is fast building on that strength to develop products. The company has already manufactured over 125 million phones in India, exporting half of its production to about 50 countries.
Nokia has three R&D centres in India-Bangalore, Mumbai and Hyderabad-and are focused on the next-generation packet-switched mobile technologies. The company has about 1,000 people working on various R&D projects. "While all the three centres are an integral part of Nokia's global R&D infrastructure and, therefore, work on global projects, these centres play a pivotal role in assimilating local flavors from the market and act as a conduit for information to the global product development teams," says a Nokia executive.
Nokia's Bangalore R&D centre, the largest in India, was set up in 2001 after the acquisition of Amber Networks. "It plays a crucial role in developing new applications, software platforms and chipsets for high-end Nokia mobile devices," says the executive. Quite a few of Nokia's innovations for emerging markets, like a dust-free keypad and a small but powerful torch/flashlight on mobiles, have come from India.
IBM India's R&D lab, too, has some interesting examples of having developed technologies and solutions that tap local opportunities, apart from working on its products for local markets. The IBM India lab recently developed a web-based interactive online voice and accent training technology that helps people speak better English. Similarly, the company's desktop Hindi speech recognition technology 'understands and transcribes speech with little use of keyboards'.
While all this is heartening, some experts caution that India needs to churn out high-quality engineers and have adequate work force to be able to sustain the technological edge and grow in the highly competitive arena of R&D. Not only that. Shah says, for instance, Indian experts need to develop depth in technology that their counterparts in the US have. He says India needs to look for a leadership role in R&D, and the access to highly talented, experienced human capital is going to be the most important factor.
Towards that end, IT industry executives have long called for a sustained commitment to investment in science and technology, strengthening the research infrastructure, aligning the university curriculum to industry needs and making teachers' training at all levels up-to-date.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Hero Honda to invest Rs150cr more in Haridwar
Hero Honda, the country's largest two-wheeler maker, is planning to invest an additional Rs 150 crore in the current fiscal to scale up capacity at the company's new facility here that was inaugurated today.
The plant would have an initial installed capacity of half a million bikes per year, which would be increased to a million units by 2008.
The company has so far invested Rs 450 crore in the plant. It had announced last year that along with its ancillaries, a total investment of Rs 1,900 crore would be made in the project, which would have an overall production of 1.5 million units by 2010.
"The plant sets new benchmarks in terms of layout, processes, supply chain management, human resource management, and, most importantly, environmental consciousness," Pawan Munjal, managing director, Hero Honda Motors, said here.
The initial production level of the new plant would be 2,000 vehicles per day, which would be ramped up to 4,000 units a day by the end of this year, he added.
The plant would have an initial installed capacity of half a million bikes per year, which would be increased to a million units by 2008.
The company has so far invested Rs 450 crore in the plant. It had announced last year that along with its ancillaries, a total investment of Rs 1,900 crore would be made in the project, which would have an overall production of 1.5 million units by 2010.
"The plant sets new benchmarks in terms of layout, processes, supply chain management, human resource management, and, most importantly, environmental consciousness," Pawan Munjal, managing director, Hero Honda Motors, said here.
The initial production level of the new plant would be 2,000 vehicles per day, which would be ramped up to 4,000 units a day by the end of this year, he added.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Pyramid to invest Rs 35-40cr for 10 reg films
Chennai-based movie theatre chain, Pyramid Saimira Theatre will invest Rs 35-40 crore towards producing ten Tamil movies this fiscal year.
The company will produce a total of 52 movies this year. It has already completed 6 films in various languages and more than 7 films are under production in various languages.
Some of the producers that Pyramid Saimira Production International will work with include Kovai Thambi, Amudha Durairaj, Sangili Murugan, Ramanathan, Karumari Kandasamy, Ramasubbiah, Azhagan Tamizhmani, K Balachander, K Rajan, Radharavi and A K Vishnuram.
Speaking on the occasion, P S Saminathan, managing director, Pyramid Saimira Group said "Pyramid Saimira believes in scale and speed of execution. Production business however requires much higher level of creativity compared to other segments like exhibition and distribution. The company has created a huge eco system for production, creates process to flower creativity and has laid the foundation to become one of the largest production houses in the world both in numbers as well as in quality."
The company will produce a total of 52 movies this year. It has already completed 6 films in various languages and more than 7 films are under production in various languages.
Some of the producers that Pyramid Saimira Production International will work with include Kovai Thambi, Amudha Durairaj, Sangili Murugan, Ramanathan, Karumari Kandasamy, Ramasubbiah, Azhagan Tamizhmani, K Balachander, K Rajan, Radharavi and A K Vishnuram.
Speaking on the occasion, P S Saminathan, managing director, Pyramid Saimira Group said "Pyramid Saimira believes in scale and speed of execution. Production business however requires much higher level of creativity compared to other segments like exhibition and distribution. The company has created a huge eco system for production, creates process to flower creativity and has laid the foundation to become one of the largest production houses in the world both in numbers as well as in quality."
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Goafest:Lowe to add new biz ventures in India
Interpublic Group agency Lowe Worldwide will be adding new business ventures and capabilities in the areas of branding and technology consisting mainly of analytics and mobile campaigning, to Lowe India by next month.
Stephen Gatfield, CEO Lowe Worldwide and executive vice president network operations IPG in a chat with the media at the ongoing Goafest 2008 said "India received the highest capital investment compared to other countries last year by Lowe and this year also we will focus on developing it as a critical global centre for the agency."
One of the main reasons why Lowe would implement these capabilities is because of the changing media space in the advertising industry. "Microsoft is no more just a software company and Nokia not just mobile, similarly Google and Facebook, these are all emerging as media companies. And we need to mould ourselves to accommodate these changes" he said.
Lowe functions with separate divisions for content creation and media buying. He feels now these divisions would have to work together more closely due to growth of new media and changes in viewing of old media. "30 second commercials in US are giving way to short videos due to the growth of online media. We cannot be specialist anymore and be more sensitive to all media forms. Advertisers, hence, like Unilever are also giving greater importance to team work rather than working in strict categories."
According to Gatfield, Lowe India is important for its worldwide operations as it can also be a base to serve many of its international clients. He wants to ensure that the inherent strengths of the Indian market are tapped fully to ensure success.
He also criticized the commission model on which the Indian agencies function and feels the agencies should better value for the idea and the execution to its clients. Commission is not an apt approximation of the value the agencies generate.
Lowe, which stayed away from participating in the Goafest this year, internationally has won two Grand Prix awards at the Cannes in the past and this year was voted among the top ten agencies by the annual Gunn Report. When asked why Lowe didn't participate here, he said "To be able to participate we need to be sure that the judging system is impartial, when we find the right place and the right time to participate we will."
Stephen Gatfield, CEO Lowe Worldwide and executive vice president network operations IPG in a chat with the media at the ongoing Goafest 2008 said "India received the highest capital investment compared to other countries last year by Lowe and this year also we will focus on developing it as a critical global centre for the agency."
One of the main reasons why Lowe would implement these capabilities is because of the changing media space in the advertising industry. "Microsoft is no more just a software company and Nokia not just mobile, similarly Google and Facebook, these are all emerging as media companies. And we need to mould ourselves to accommodate these changes" he said.
Lowe functions with separate divisions for content creation and media buying. He feels now these divisions would have to work together more closely due to growth of new media and changes in viewing of old media. "30 second commercials in US are giving way to short videos due to the growth of online media. We cannot be specialist anymore and be more sensitive to all media forms. Advertisers, hence, like Unilever are also giving greater importance to team work rather than working in strict categories."
According to Gatfield, Lowe India is important for its worldwide operations as it can also be a base to serve many of its international clients. He wants to ensure that the inherent strengths of the Indian market are tapped fully to ensure success.
He also criticized the commission model on which the Indian agencies function and feels the agencies should better value for the idea and the execution to its clients. Commission is not an apt approximation of the value the agencies generate.
Lowe, which stayed away from participating in the Goafest this year, internationally has won two Grand Prix awards at the Cannes in the past and this year was voted among the top ten agencies by the annual Gunn Report. When asked why Lowe didn't participate here, he said "To be able to participate we need to be sure that the judging system is impartial, when we find the right place and the right time to participate we will."
Goafest: The rise of new media
PepsiCo and Reebok-Adidas are cool and television advertising drives their sales every year in double digits. However, Scott Goodson, founder of New York-based advertising agency StrawberryFrog was approached by Microsoft to make a marketing campaign for traditionally perceived un-cool software on accountancy. Instead of using television and print media for airing advertisements, he made a campaign titled Ideawins that spoke about new business developed by local people and branded it with Microsoft's product. The Ideawins website led to 1.5 million downloads of the software in one year, which was three times their original target of sales.
In India, traditional media like television and print account for over 80% of the total advertising industry. However, advertisers in India are slowly realising the potential of digital advertising media led by the Internet and mobile.
Hemant Malik, marketing executive, ITC said, "ITC has committed just 1% of its advertising budget to the internet. With the changing relevance of new media in consumer's life I am sure this percentage would go up."
Pearl Uppal, director advertising sales, Yahoo India, said, "The Yahoo India front page reaches more people than many of the top daily newspapers in India. Yet Yahoo ads cost much less than what the space in print media costs. However, Indian advertisers haven't woken up to this phenomenon yet."
Some of the international advertisers like GM Motors have committed as high as 50% of their budget to the online media.
Goodson added, "The big change that has happened lately is that a lot of marketing dollars for the new media in the US have shifted from being part of technology budget or corporate communication budget to being a part of the marketing budget. New media has grown and is now being seen by clients as not just a technology but a strategy tool."
StrawberryFrog, which has expertise in delivering new media marketing campaigns, expects a billing of $15 mn in 2008. The digital advertising industry in the US is growing at a faster rate every year, its growth this year is 34% as compared with 27% last year.
In India, traditional media like television and print account for over 80% of the total advertising industry. However, advertisers in India are slowly realising the potential of digital advertising media led by the Internet and mobile.
Hemant Malik, marketing executive, ITC said, "ITC has committed just 1% of its advertising budget to the internet. With the changing relevance of new media in consumer's life I am sure this percentage would go up."
Pearl Uppal, director advertising sales, Yahoo India, said, "The Yahoo India front page reaches more people than many of the top daily newspapers in India. Yet Yahoo ads cost much less than what the space in print media costs. However, Indian advertisers haven't woken up to this phenomenon yet."
Some of the international advertisers like GM Motors have committed as high as 50% of their budget to the online media.
Goodson added, "The big change that has happened lately is that a lot of marketing dollars for the new media in the US have shifted from being part of technology budget or corporate communication budget to being a part of the marketing budget. New media has grown and is now being seen by clients as not just a technology but a strategy tool."
StrawberryFrog, which has expertise in delivering new media marketing campaigns, expects a billing of $15 mn in 2008. The digital advertising industry in the US is growing at a faster rate every year, its growth this year is 34% as compared with 27% last year.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Ultra alliance with Munjals over
The UK-based Ultra Motor Company has pulled out of a technical collaboration with the Munjals of the Hero group for the electric two-wheeler company, Hero Ultra Pvt Ltd. The company sold 11,000 electric scooters in FY08.
Ultra Motors already operates in the country through a fully owned subsidiary, Ultra Motors India, selling over 11,000 electric scooters.
Speaking on the cancellation of the deal, Joe Bowman, chief executive officer of Ultra Motors, said, “The opportunity cost of selling electric vehicles in India does not fit strategically under this joint agreement. We intend to create shareholder value and positively impact those markets where we operate. We have come to believe India is one of the largest markets in the world. So we are looking forward to develop it independently.”
The technical collaboration was used for selling two electric scooter brands — Maxi by the Munjals and Velocity by Ultra Motors.
Ultra Motors already operates in the country through a fully owned subsidiary, Ultra Motors India, selling over 11,000 electric scooters.
Speaking on the cancellation of the deal, Joe Bowman, chief executive officer of Ultra Motors, said, “The opportunity cost of selling electric vehicles in India does not fit strategically under this joint agreement. We intend to create shareholder value and positively impact those markets where we operate. We have come to believe India is one of the largest markets in the world. So we are looking forward to develop it independently.”
The technical collaboration was used for selling two electric scooter brands — Maxi by the Munjals and Velocity by Ultra Motors.
Microsoft studying Rs 700 cr royalty order.
* 7 proposals worth Rs 65,000cr received till date; Govt. has targeted Rs 40,000cr investment
* Reliance to invest around Rs 30,000cr to set up fab, ATMP facilities; Site: Maharashtra, Gujarat, Hyderabad, Mysore or Haryana
* Videocon: Rs 8,000cr; Site: Navi Mumbai
* Moser Baer: Rs 6,000cr; Site: Oragadam (New Chennai)
* Titan Energy: Rs 5,880 cr; Site: Fab City, Hyderabad (SEZ) for Phase-I and new location for Phase-II
* KSK Energy Ventures: Rs 3,211 cr; Site: Rajiv Gandhi Nano Tech Park & Fab City, Maheshwaram Mandal near Hyderabad
* Signet Solar: Rs 9,672 crore; Site: Sriperembudur, Tamil Nadu
Seven proposals envisaging an investment of around Rs 65,000 crore ($16.25 billion) have been received till date in response to the special incentive package scheme for semiconductor fabrication and other micro- and nano-technology manufacturing industries announced by the government last year.
The proposals range from manufacture of wide variety of items like polysilicon, single/multi-crystalline ingots, wafers, solar cells, solar photovoltaic modules (SPV) liquid crystal display (LCD), integrated circuits-advanced logic/memory/embedded system on chip including assembly, test, mark and packaging (ATMP) facility for semiconductor devices.
Reliance to invest Rs 30,000 crore: Among the proposals recently received are two large proposals from Reliance Industries. The first unit would be a semiconductor wafer fab with assembly, test, mark and packaging (ATMP) facility with a total outlay of Rs 18,521 crore ($ 4.635 billion) over a period of 10 years. The company would locate this facility at Navi Mumbai, Hyderabad, Mysore or Haryana. The company would decide the final location of the plant after negotiations for incentives from respective state governments. It is envisaged that about 4,000 people would be employed for the fabrication and ATMP units.
The second Reliance plant is to come up at a cost of Rs 11,631 crore ($ 2.91 billion) at Jamnagar, Gujarat. It will manufacture polysilicon, single crystal/multi crystalline ingots, solar grade wafers, SPV modules with a capacity of 1 Giga Watt. The plant is expected to create over 11,000 direct skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled jobs in the country.
Centre to provide subsidy: Under the incentive package, the central government has to provide incentive of 20% capital expenditure during the first 10 years for the units in SEZs and 25% of the capital expenditure in non-SEZ units. Any unit can claim incentives in the form of capital subsidy or equity participation.
Thus, Videocon Industries has requested a subsidy of Rs 2,000 cr, Moser Baer PV Technologies India has asked for a capital subsidy of Rs 2,393 crore, Titan Energy System for Rs 200 crore in the fourth year & Rs 296 crore in the seventh; KSK Energy Ventures for Rs 642 crore; and Signet Solar (Solar PV & Associated products: Thin film) for Rs 1,934.40 crore in FY 2010 onwards.
* Reliance to invest around Rs 30,000cr to set up fab, ATMP facilities; Site: Maharashtra, Gujarat, Hyderabad, Mysore or Haryana
* Videocon: Rs 8,000cr; Site: Navi Mumbai
* Moser Baer: Rs 6,000cr; Site: Oragadam (New Chennai)
* Titan Energy: Rs 5,880 cr; Site: Fab City, Hyderabad (SEZ) for Phase-I and new location for Phase-II
* KSK Energy Ventures: Rs 3,211 cr; Site: Rajiv Gandhi Nano Tech Park & Fab City, Maheshwaram Mandal near Hyderabad
* Signet Solar: Rs 9,672 crore; Site: Sriperembudur, Tamil Nadu
Seven proposals envisaging an investment of around Rs 65,000 crore ($16.25 billion) have been received till date in response to the special incentive package scheme for semiconductor fabrication and other micro- and nano-technology manufacturing industries announced by the government last year.
The proposals range from manufacture of wide variety of items like polysilicon, single/multi-crystalline ingots, wafers, solar cells, solar photovoltaic modules (SPV) liquid crystal display (LCD), integrated circuits-advanced logic/memory/embedded system on chip including assembly, test, mark and packaging (ATMP) facility for semiconductor devices.
Reliance to invest Rs 30,000 crore: Among the proposals recently received are two large proposals from Reliance Industries. The first unit would be a semiconductor wafer fab with assembly, test, mark and packaging (ATMP) facility with a total outlay of Rs 18,521 crore ($ 4.635 billion) over a period of 10 years. The company would locate this facility at Navi Mumbai, Hyderabad, Mysore or Haryana. The company would decide the final location of the plant after negotiations for incentives from respective state governments. It is envisaged that about 4,000 people would be employed for the fabrication and ATMP units.
The second Reliance plant is to come up at a cost of Rs 11,631 crore ($ 2.91 billion) at Jamnagar, Gujarat. It will manufacture polysilicon, single crystal/multi crystalline ingots, solar grade wafers, SPV modules with a capacity of 1 Giga Watt. The plant is expected to create over 11,000 direct skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled jobs in the country.
Centre to provide subsidy: Under the incentive package, the central government has to provide incentive of 20% capital expenditure during the first 10 years for the units in SEZs and 25% of the capital expenditure in non-SEZ units. Any unit can claim incentives in the form of capital subsidy or equity participation.
Thus, Videocon Industries has requested a subsidy of Rs 2,000 cr, Moser Baer PV Technologies India has asked for a capital subsidy of Rs 2,393 crore, Titan Energy System for Rs 200 crore in the fourth year & Rs 296 crore in the seventh; KSK Energy Ventures for Rs 642 crore; and Signet Solar (Solar PV & Associated products: Thin film) for Rs 1,934.40 crore in FY 2010 onwards.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Hyundai, Honda gain as Maruti sales skid
Despite pushing its manufacturing facilities to the limits, Maruti Suzuki, India’s largest carmaker, had to suffer a more than 2 per cent decline in sales in March due to a slack demand for its products. However, arch-rival Hyundai posted a 66 per cent growth in sales during the same period.
Maruti has undertaken a capacity expansion programme at its Manesar facility to tide over the production constraint.
MARCH SHEET
Company March'08 March'07 % change
Maruti 70,296 71,772 -2.05
Hyundai 47,001 28,239 66.00
GM 6,836 4,542 50.50
Tata Motors 24,737 25,760 -3.97
Skoda 2,050 1,612 27.20
Honda 8,895 8,487 4.80
LOW GEAR
Company 2006-07 2007-08 % change
Maruti 674,924 764,842 13.32
Hyundai 310,787 360,934 16.13
Tata Motors 226,893 214,758 -5.34
GM 38,857 66,543 71.00
Skoda 12,444 14,187 14.06
Honda 61,325 62,802 2.40
Maruti has undertaken a capacity expansion programme at its Manesar facility to tide over the production constraint.
MARCH SHEET
Company March'08 March'07 % change
Maruti 70,296 71,772 -2.05
Hyundai 47,001 28,239 66.00
GM 6,836 4,542 50.50
Tata Motors 24,737 25,760 -3.97
Skoda 2,050 1,612 27.20
Honda 8,895 8,487 4.80
LOW GEAR
Company 2006-07 2007-08 % change
Maruti 674,924 764,842 13.32
Hyundai 310,787 360,934 16.13
Tata Motors 226,893 214,758 -5.34
GM 38,857 66,543 71.00
Skoda 12,444 14,187 14.06
Honda 61,325 62,802 2.40
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Tatas may sell stake in HV Axel, HV Trans
To fund its Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) buyout, Tata Motors, is preparing to divest stake in two of its 100 per cent owned business units — HV Axel and HV Transmission.
According to sources, Tata Motors has been in talks with automotive firms, which include an international transmission giant. The company, according to officials, is unlikely to offload a majority stake in both the profitable subsidiaries.
According to sources, Tata Motors has been in talks with automotive firms, which include an international transmission giant. The company, according to officials, is unlikely to offload a majority stake in both the profitable subsidiaries.
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