|
|
Hindustan
Motors to NEW DELHI, Oct 25: Taking cue from the high profile car makers, Hindustan Motors Limited (HM) has decided to revamp its time-tested...more Daewoo Motor cuts SEOUL, Oct 25: Daewoo Motor Co. today announced a 30 per cent cut in top executives as the ailing South Korean carmaker embarked on a massive programme of job losses to try to ensure its survival....more |
 |
ICRA assigns A1 Plus rating to CP prog of TIL NEW DELHI, Oct 25: ICRA Limited has assigned an a1 plus rating to the enhanced Rs 15 crore Commercial Paper programme of Timken India Limited (TIL) indicating highest safety......more Shares make further NEW DELHI, Oct 25: Samvat year 2056 ended on a cheerful note with stocks rising for the second straight session following persistent buying by Foreign Institutional......more |
 |
|
Hindustan Motors to introduce power-steering on Ambassador NEW DELHI, Oct 25: Taking cue from the high profile car makers, Hindustan Motors Limited (HM) has decided to revamp its time-tested Ambassador and introduce power-steering in the car shortly. The company is also planning to introduce several new variants of the Ambassador, with plush interiors and even a Vintage model of the car, Mr B K Chaturvedi, president of Hindustan Motors, told UNI here. The campany is also working towards revamping its Contessa model and introducing new versions of the luxury car Lancer, he said. The first new version of Ambassador, featuring a power-steering, is likely to roll out in the current fiscal itself. "We are working on the pricing and details of the model," he said adding that hm is firm on not changing the shape of the car. "We expect Ambassador and the lancer to drive us into profits. If we are lucky, we will achieve cash breakeven this year and total breakeven in the 2001-02 fiscal," he added. Hindustan Motors had posted about Rs 62 crore losses last year. The company is dispatching a high-level team to japan to negotiate with auto giant Mitsubishi for introduction of more models of the Lancer in India. The issue of more models from the Lancer family, including Cadia and Gallant, was discussed when a team of the japanese car giant visited India earlier this month. "We are now following up the issue and I will take a team to Japan next month," he said, adding that during the Japan visit the HM team would meet top executives of Mitsubishi including its Chief Executive. The company is also planning to increase Lancer indigenisation level to 70 per cent from the present level of 56 per cent by end of the current year and up to 85 per cent by the next year. The increased localisation level would help the company in cutting manufacturing costs by about Rs 40,000 per unit. Meanwhile, the C K Birla flagship company is still in favour of divesting a part of its equity to Mitsubishi Motor Corporation (MMC) "if it benefits the company". "We are open to the idea of giving part stake to Mitsubishi if the move benefits us. We will see what is in the organisation’s interest," Mr Chaturvedi said. "If the divestment gives us perpetual support in terms of technology, then we will go ahead with it." However, the company has not finalised a timeframe for effecting the stake sell-off. "Mitsubishi is undergoing a restructuring at present and Daimlerchrysler had recently picked up some stake in the company. We are first waiting for things to settle down before making any move in that direction," Mr Chaturvedi said. HM, which has technology agreement with Mitsubishi, had initially offered ten per cent stake to the Japanese car major. However, the proposal was later withdrawn by the company. HM has also, for the present, dropped plans for a proposed venture with Malaysian national car maker Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Berhad (PROTON) to produce the mid-sized car ‘Wira’. The negotiations with PROTON were called off as the partners found the pricing of Wira too close to HM’s existing premium model ‘Lancer’. "We found that the pricing of wira was too close to lancer and it did not make much business sense to put another model opposite lancer," Mr Chaturvedi said. "At this moment, we are not discussing any models. PROTON has to come back to us with an option...We will resume study when we have a workable model. The talks have ended for now and we do not have any workable model," he said. Though the partners do not yet have a workable model, Mr Chaturvedi said, HM is exploring the feasibility of introducing a regular mid-size model to be positioned opposite Maruti Esteem and Ford Ikon. The company is also open to foraying into the mass small car segment, but said, "probability for introducing a small car is very low". (UNI) |
|
Daewoo
Motor cuts top executives SEOUL, Oct 25: Daewoo Motor Co. today announced a 30 per cent cut in top executives as the ailing South Korean carmaker embarked on a massive programme of job losses to try to ensure its survival. The company said a "highly intensive corporate restructuring for survival" was necessary from next month to receive a fresh bailout from creditor banks. Creditors are pressing Daewoo Motor to reduce costs through redundancies and the spin-off of affiliate companies, both at home and abroad, to encourage a takeover bid Froors Corp. But the drive triggered strong protests. Daewoor workers in Poland have demanded the nationalisation of their plant after the company disclosed a plan to cut jobs there. And Daewoo Motor’s Labor Union in South Korea has warned of a strike, citing an agreement in August that there would be no lay-offs for five years. The Union has also opposed a takeover by General Motors (GM), which is conducting an intensive probe of Daewoo Motor’s disastrous finances. The US giant has been seen as the only possible suitor since Ford Motor Co. Pulled out of a 6.9 billion dollar takover deal in September, plunging the firm into new uncertainty. There is growing concern about the carmaker’s future, faced with a mountain of debt and falling sales. (AFP) |
|
ICRA assigns A1 Plus rating to CP prog of TIL NEW DELHI, Oct 25: ICRA Limited has assigned an a1 plus rating to the enhanced Rs 15 crore Commercial Paper programme of Timken India Limited (TIL) indicating highest safety. The prospect of timely payment of debt-obligation is the best. The rating takes into account the significant improvement in its profitability in 1999-2000, a sustained improvement in its financial risk profile, a strong presence in the domestic tapered roller bearing segment, continued support from the present, Timken Company (USA) and a comfortable short-term liquidity position. The rating also factors in the decline in sales to the OEMs in the commercial vehicle segment during the first few months of the current year. TIL continues to enjoy a strong market position in the moderate to large size standard tapered roller bearing segment used in larger automotives. Apart from gradually enhancing its penetration among the tractor OEMs, the company has been able to register a good growth in its replacement market sales in recent years. Its sales in the railway (AP) bearing segment, which are predominantly to the Indian Railways, have also been steady. Exports to the global affiliates of timken company is a source of comfort particularly during a period of decline in domestic OEM sales. ICRA said there is likely to be some pressure on TIL’s OEM sales in the current year as the recovery in the commercial vehicle segment witnessed in 1999-2000 is unlikely to be sustained. However, steady replacement sales and higher exports are expected to act as mitigating factors. The liquidity position would continue to remain comfortable on account of unutilised bank limits and the presence of surplus funds in the form of inter-corporate deposits as on March 31, 2000. (UNI) |
|
Shares make further headway on increased buying NEW DELHI, Oct 25: Samvat year 2056 ended on a cheerful note with stocks rising for the second straight session following persistent buying by Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) amidst large-scale short-covering in actively traded technology stock by bear operators, closed with widespread gains. Mirroring the upbeat mood of market, the Delhi Stock Exchange sensitive index ended 17.55 points, or almost 2.3 per cent higher at 787.83 points mostly attributed to sharp upsurge in heavy-weighted such as Reliance Industries and Ranbaxy Laboratories stock prices. Market sources said ahead of new Samvat year 2057, players including FIIs indulged in accumulating stocks especially of front-line technology stocks. They said even new players, considering "Diwali" an auspicious day, entered the market with fresh investments in traditional blue-chips including pharmaceuticals and Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCGs) stocks. The current upsurge in stock values seems to be temporary and might roll back after opening new samvat year accounts, they added. The market will have a special "Moorat" trading session tomorrow between 1830 and 1945 hours and remain open on Friday, DSE president Bharat Bhushan Sahney said and added "we move with the NSE and not BSE". "Buying was widespread with technology stocks remaining front-runners", said a dse broker. Petrochemicals giant and trend-setter reliance industries after remaining well below company’s buy-back offer price of Rs 303, staged a strong comeback following bulls onslaught amidst sizeable short-covering by bear operators and rallied to Rs 308.30 before finishing at Rs 306.10, still showing a rise of Rs 12.70, or almost four per cent. Reliance Petroleum and Reliance Capital also turned distinctly bullish in tandem and ended Rs 3.60 and Rs 2.35 higher at Rs 56 and Rs 80 respectively on fresh round of buying spree. TATA Steel and TATA Loco stocks evoked fresh buying support and recovered by Rs 2.80 and Rs 2.95 to close at Rs 97.55 and Rs 71.70 after rising to Rs 99.25 and Rs 72 respectively. Pharmaceutical major Rannbaxy Laboratories despite nearly 31.8 per cent decline in its net profit for the 2nd quarter of current fiscal, made a strong rally following mid-way buying by domestic financial institutions amidst short-covering and ended Rs 74, or almost 12 per cent higher at Rs 702. Glaxo India shares were also in fine shape on revival of buying interest and ended higher nearly 6.14 per cent higher at Rs 46 7. Among technology stocks infosys technologies in hectic trading traded in the range of Rs 7099 and Rs 7230 before winding up at Rs 7138.90, showing a rise of Rs 61.90 while Silverline Technologies rose Rs 3.10 at Rs 288.10. SSI Ltd at Rs 2121 (2050), Wipro Ltd at Rs 2288 (2206.50), Aptechltd at Rs 380 (365), DSQ software at Rs 363.25 (329.10) and Digital Equipment at Rs 456.50 (446.05) also strengthened. (PTI) |
|
|
|
|
|
