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Indo Asian bags export contract from Saudi Arabian firm
Indo Asian Fusegear Ltd (IAFL), leading manufacturer of
electrical equipment and switchgear, secured an order from Saudi
National Lamp and Electrical Ltd., Saudi Arabia, for the export
of electrical equipment used in the manufacture of lighting
products. The order, consists of electrical equipment used in
the manufacture of lighting products including HID lamps, CFLs
and components of lighting products. Presently, its products
are available in more than 80 countries across the globe
including the SAARC nations, the European Union and United
Kingdom.
Bank norms may be eased for big power projects
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is considering an easing of
banks' exposure norms to power projects, in order to facilitate
financing of the ultra mega power projects. Under RBI norms, a
bank can extend loans up to 15 per cent of its net worth to a
single entity and 40 per cent to a group. However, for
infrastructure projects, the single entity exposure can go up to
20 per cent and group exposure, 50 per cent. This will be
further relaxed for the 4000 MW power projects, each of which
require an investment of about Rs 200,000 million. The Ministry
of Power had in March this year approached the Finance Ministry
for relaxation in the cap on commercial banks’ exposure to a
single entity to 55 per cent of their net worth, to help fund
the ultra mega power projects. The Ministry’s proposal also
included increasing the eligibility for external commercial
borrowings (ECBs) and floating special bonds for the projects.
Sources close to the Reserve Bank said it had been looking into
these proposals and would announce a relaxation in terms of
exposure as well as ECBs soon.
Japan, India to
extend term for business visas to 5 years
Japan and India will extend the period of validity of business
visas issued to individuals working in each other's countries to
five years, while easing regulations on tourist visas, the Nihon
Keizai Shimbun reported. The moves, aimed at promoting a greater
flow of people between the nations, are expected to be agreed
upon at a Japan-India summit slated to be held in December and
implemented in 2007, the paper said. Currently, business visas
for Indian professionals in Japan are valid for up to three
years, while those for Japanese businesspeople in India are good
for only up to one year. Japan already issues five-year
business visas to people from member nations of the Asia-Pacific
Economic Cooperation forum.
India
to set up centre abroad
India plans to create a special centre to attract investments
from overseas Indians as also to facilitate creation of a global
Indian consortium to work with apex trade bodies, states of
India and various associations of overseas Indians. Announcing
this at the India Calling 2006, a India-UK Business summit
Overseas Indian Affairs Minister said he hoped the proposal
would be finalised before the next Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas,
scheduled to be held on January 9 in New Delhi. Government
plans to set up an Overseas Investment Centre that would be a
single point contact at the national and state level and provide
investment advisory services on taxation, legal requirements,
information on capital market investment and opportunities to
invest in the real estate.
US fund to invest US$ 9.78 million in Eastern Condiments
The US-based private equity fund, New Vernon Private Equity
Limited (NVPEL), has decided to invest Rs 450 million in
Kochi-based masala major, Eastern Condiments, the flagship
company of Eastern Group. About 15 per cent of the equity will
be allotted to NVPEL through the preferential allotment route
and two of its Directors will be appointed on the board of the
company. Addressing a press conference, Managing Director,
Eastern Group, said that the company had gone in for fresh
investments to expand and consolidate its core activity of curry
powder manufacturing. He said that the new capital would be used
for expanding the company's pan India footprint.
India and EU:
Exploring new horizons
Chairman of the Nokia Board of Directors, is probably Finland's
best known business face. He was in India early this year to
inaugurate the mobile phone giant's manufacturing unit at
Sriperumbudur, in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. "Setting up
this manufacturing facility in India reiterates our long-term
commitment to the Indian market," he said at the inauguration
function. Six months earlier he had met Prime Minister in New
Delhi. Nokia is the sixth most valuable brand in the world, as
rated by Interbrand and BusinessWeek. India will be the second
largest market for cellphones by 2010. Neither can ignore the
other.
India's auto
parts firms shifting to assemblies
India's fast growing auto parts firms are scaling up from
producing individual components to making assemblies and
systems, as automobile makers seek to manage fewer vendors and
trim costs, industry players said. For instance, those that made
parts for gear boxes have now begun to make the entire gear box,
gaining higher revenue, profits and market share in a
price-sensitive industry. One such firm embracing the shift is
Amtek Auto Ltd which expects revenue from assemblies and sub
assemblies to double to 30 percent of sales in 18 months.
Besides Amtek, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd's auto component unit,
Motherson Sumi Systems Ltd and Sona Koyo Steering Systems Ltd
are also working to double revenue from machined and assembled
components in 2 years.
Hewlett Packard
starts
production facility in Uttaranchal
Hewlett-Packard (HP) India launched its second manufacturing
facility in the country in Pantnagar, Uttaranchal. The plant,
which was inaugurated by Uttaranchal Chief Minister is expected
to provide employment (directly and indirectly) to around 1,000
people in the region. Set up with an initial investment of Rs
1000 million, the new HP plant will start functioning in March
next year. It will have an initial capacity of manufacturing
3,00,000 computers a month. Besides Pantnagar, HP has another
plant in Bangalore, Karnataka.
Open skies policy to boost travel, hospitality segments
With the open skies policy effective from November onwards, the
Indian travel and hospitality segment is set to witness a
significant increase in business this winter season for both
inbound as well as outbound travel. Cox & Kings executive
director Arup Sen says, “For the last couple of years, the
government has permitted international carriers to increase the
number of flights for a short period and many carriers have
taken advantage of this policy.” Tour operators have also
benefited due to an increase in the number of seats. However,
there will be a greater effect on outbound travel as more seats
will be available for different destinations. Air Arabia manager
(India) explains, “Last year, we had almost doubled our
frequencies to India.
Tata acquires Euro Steelmaker Corus
Corus Group, Europe's
second-largest steel producer and the eighth largest in the
world, agreed to Tata Group's cash offer of $8.08 billion with
Corus shares valued at $8.51. The Tata takeover of the
Anglo-Dutch steelmaker represents corporate India's biggest buy
in what's become something of a global shopping spree. Jindal
Steel, for example, is close to picking up a stake in Thailand's
largest stainless steel producer, ThaiNox, for $325 million. In
February, generic drugmaker Dr. Reddy's Laboratories acquired
the German firm Betapharm for $572 million. In March, wind
energy major Suzlon Energy announced the $565 million
acquisition of Belgium's Hansen Transmissions, a wind turbine
gearbox manufacturer.
IFC may scoop up stake in mega power projects
International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private equity arm
of World Bank, is in talks with power companies to pick stakes
in the ultra mega power projects. It also said it was open to
finance special economic zones (SEZ) in India. Executive
Vice-President, IFC, said the investment proposals should be
good enough to be considered by the financial institution. The
organisation, which had a portfolio of $1.26bn in India as of
July 2006, could also consider investing “much more than $500m
in the country, over the next one year”. The organisation had
set a target of investing $500m in Indian companies in July ’06,
but the fresh assessment takes into account the rapid growth
trajectory of the economy.
Anand Mahindra wins Asia Business Leader Award for '05
Anand Mahindra, Vice-Chairman and MD of the Mahindra group has
won CNBC's Asia Business Leader Award for the year 2005. The
Asia Business Leader Award is a prestigious honour, which aims
at recognisng the outstanding performance by a corporate in the
Asian continent. Anand Mahindra has been at the helm at the
Mahindra group, which is among the top 10 industrial houses in
India.
23 Indian companies in Forbes Asia list of 'best under a billion'
There are 23 Indian companies figuring in the Forbes Asia 2006
list of 200 leading publicly quoted companies in the region with
sales of less than US$ 1 billion. The list includes Asian
Paints, Bharat Forge, Cipla, Carborundum Universal, Dabur India,
Pantaloon Retail and Punjab Tractors.
Reliance to give Pepsi, Coke an Indian punch
Coca-Cola and Pepsi are all set to face a new competitor. And
it's none other than Reliance. Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Retail
plans to launch its own cola, which will be retailed through its
supermarkets across the country. While Reliance declined
comment, sources said the company is in negotiations with a
Chinese company for importing concentrate. At the same time,
it’s on the look out for idle capacities to be used for bottling
the proposed ‘Reliance Cola’. The company has touched base with
the makers of a small local player RC Cola, to lease out its
bottling plant, a source said.
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Nissin Food Products Co.
Nissin Food entered India in 1988 through a joint venture with
Brooke Bond India Ltd. (Brooke Bond later merged with HLL) to
form Indo Nissin Foods Ltd. However, the agreement broke off
between the two parties in 1998 and HLL pulled out its stake
from the company. HLL also gave up the distribution of Indo
Nissin products. The company then decided to distribute the
products through Marico Industries. The company manufactures
noodles and a variety of home foods.Top Ramen is the major brand
of the company in India with approximately 20 percent market
share in the instant noodle market. Indo Nissin uses the
technology of its parent company for manufacturing its
products.The company’s production facilities are located near
Delhi and in Bangalore. The company had net sales of US$ 8.61
million for year ending December 2005. It registered a healthy
growth in net sales for the period 2002-2005 with a CAGR of 31
percent.
Wipro buys Sweden's Hydrauto for US$ 31 million
Wipro Infrastructure Engineering (WIN) - formerly Wipro Fluid
Power - part of Wipro, announced on that the company is
acquiring Sweden-based Hydrauto Group AB for $31 million in an
all-cash deal. “This acquisition gives WIN a unique Asia-Europe
footprint, a customer base built over the past few decades and
deep complementary engineering skills. Being together will have
a multiplier effect on competitiveness,” WIN MD said. Hydrauto,
based in Sweden, is a provider of hydraulic components and
solutions in Europe. It is a tier-I supplier to OEMs of material
handling equipment, forestry equipment, construction and earth
moving machinery amongst others.
ONGC Videsh to pump US$ 500 million in Colombia
ONGC Videsh, the overseas arm of the state- owned Oil and
Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), will pump a further US$ 500
million into the Colombian oil fields it acquired jointly with
Sinopec. OVL and Sinopec acquired Omimex de Colombia, for US$
850 million. Omimex has since been rechristened Mansarovar
Colombia in which both Sinopec and OVL have 50 per cent stake.
OVL sources said the company plans to ramp up production at the
Colombian oil fields from the current 20,000 barrels per day
(bpd) to 80,000 bpd over the next 12 months. Omimex has onshore
production as well as exploration blocks in Colombia with the
known reserves of 157 million barrels.
With big guns rolling in, retail set for a boom
The retail opportunity in India is expected to increase to US$
440 billion by 2010 from the existing US$ 300 billion, while
investments in the sector are slated to go up nearly 10 times to
US$ 25 billion over the next five years. Some of the big players
such as Reliance and Bharti Enterprises have already announced
plans to foray into the sector, while foreign retail chains are
eyeing the huge opportunity. There was a flurry of action to
show the high billing that the sector is getting. The Tata group
announced an alliance with Australian retail major Woolworths,
to start a specialised retail chain for consumer durables, while
the Dubai-based Landmark group — which runs Lifestyle stores in
India — is in talks with Europe's biggest retailer Carrefour for
acquiring its franchise.
Indian MNCs: Larsen & Toubro
Larsen & Toubro, founded in 1938, is the largest engineering and
construction organisation in India. Headquartered in Mumbai
(Maharashtra), L&T is a technology-driven engineering and
construction organisation with interests in manufacturing,
services and Information Technology. The evolution of the
company into the country’s largest engineering and construction
organisations is among the more remarkable success stories in
Indian industry. It was founded in 1938 by two Danish engineers,
Henning Holck-Larsen and Soren Kristian Toubro - both of whom
were strongly committed to developing India’s engineering talent
and enabling it to meet the demands of industry. Beginning with
the import of machinery from Europe, L&T rapidly took on
engineering and construction assignments of increasing
sophistication. The company sets engineering benchmarks in terms
of scale and complexity.
Airbus to tie up with HAL for MRO at Nashik
European aircraft major Airbus is likely to tie-up with
Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL), for setting up a US$ 100 million
maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility at Nashik, Union
Civil Aviation Minister said. "They (Airbus) want to have a
tie-up with HAL and the latter has two bases, one at Bangalore
and in Nashik and we have requested Airbus to select Nashik,
which will be convenient for both," he added. US aircraft major
Boeing has already signed an MoU with the Maharashtra government
and Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) for setting
up an MRO in the city. Nashik would be an ideal location to
decongest the Mumbai-Pune industrial belt, Minister said.
PM lures Europeans to invest in infrastructure, services
Portraying India as an attractive, safe and profitable business
destination, Prime Minister invited European firms to invest in
the country's core sectors that require a massive 320 billion
dollars over the next five years. "We need to do much more in
the field of infrastructure and improve its all-round
availability and quality," he told industrialists at the
India-EU Business Summit. Singh specifically identified areas
like infrastructure, manufacturing, knowledge services and
retail as opportunities for foreign investors.
Providence
acquires 16 per cent in Idea
Private equity firm Providence Equity Partners has bought 16 per
cent in Idea Cellular for US$ 400 million securing a foothold in
the fastest-growing telecom market in the world. Idea is the
sixth-largest wireless operator in the country with a subscriber
base of over 10 million. The Indian telecom market is worth
about Rs 650,000 million and the growth of wireless telephony
has been rapid. The country now has about 130m cellular
subscribers with estimates putting the figure at about 280
million in two years’ time. India overtook China in the monthly
subscriber additions in August this year and the continued
growth momentum is making many overseas telecom companies and
funds eager to invest in the country.
Textiles cash in on quota free times
India's textile exports have increased progressively after the
lifting of textile quotas on January 1, 2005. The country has
been the second biggest gainer after China since then, leading
to more capital investments. According to a status paper
prepared by the Textiles Ministry, exports are estimated to
touch Rs 8,16,160 million in 2006-07, up from Rs 7,56,210
million in 2005-06 and Rs 6,30,240 million in 2004-05. “Textile
exports grew by 20 per cent in 2005-06 over the previous year,
while they rose 20.5 per cent in the first quarter of this
financial year over the same period last year,” an official
said.
India among
most preferred FDI destinations in Asia
The World Investment Report 2006, released in the city by the
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
indicates that the growing importance of South, East and
South-East Asian region has contributed to continued increase in
foreign direct investment inflows in these economies. At the
sub-regional level, the shift is slightly in favour of south,
with a sustained rise in flows to South and South East Asia. FDI
flows to India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka were up 21
per cent, 95 per cent, 50 per cent and 17 per cent respectively.
India is the fifth most preferred investment destination for
foreign money, attracting $6.6 billion in 2005, against $5.5
billion in 2004. The report says India continues to remain a
favourite destination due to strong economic growth — 8 per cent
plus GDP growth and 36 per cent growth in the stock market.
Policies such as opening up of the retail industry to
single-brand players, permitting FDI in industries like radio
and construction and raising the permitted level of foreign
ownership in communications also helped India in getting foreign
investments. FDI inflows were also driven by large M&As, such as
the acquisition of Gujarat Ambuja by Holcim of Switzerland for
$607 million.
IBM sees more growth in India
IBM, the world's largest computer services company, aims to
increase its share of business in India as banks, retail and
small and medium-sized firms spend more on technology in Asia's
fourth-largest economy. IBM's business in India grew 45 per cent
on the year in the April-June quarter, the fastest for that
period of IBM's emerging market business, as telecoms, banks and
services ramped up spending on computer hardware and services to
spur expansion in the growing economy. IBM has bagged big deals
in telecoms, like one from India's top mobile services firm
Bharti Airtel Ltd. in August, and Cannon-Brookes said he saw
growth across all areas, including retail and healthcare.
India ranks
second in marine product output
India has emerged as the world's second largest producer of
farmed fish (aquaculture) but its total production is merely
1/20th of that of China which holds the number one position.
India’s share in the global aquaculture output is 4.2 per cent
in terms of both volume and value. The share of China, on the
other hand, is 69.6 per cent in terms of production and 51.2 per
cent in value. According to the State of the World Aquaculture:
2006 report compiled by the UN. Food and Agriculture
Organisation (FAO), nine of the world’s 10 largest aquaculture
producing countries are in Asia. Chile, in the tenth place, is
the only country outside this region to have made it to the top
ten. The ten countries, in terms of ranking, are China, India,
the Philippines, Indonesia, Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, Korea
republic, Bangladesh and Chile.
Videocon buys Daewoo Electronics for US$ 700 million
Videocon said a consortium led by it has reached an agreement to
acquire South Korea's debt-burdened Daewoo Electronics for Rs
31,500 million. The agreement was signed on October 20 by a
consortium led by Videocon and creditors of the troubled South
Korean firm, which was earlier part of the Daewoo Group that
wound up in 1999 after running up a debt of about 80 billion
dollars. "Videocon-led consortium has entered into an agreement
for acquiring Daewoo (Electronics) at $700 million," a company
official confirmed.
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