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Automobiles bringing NEW DELHI, Dec 2: Be it Europe’s second-largest bike maker Aprilia or carmakers Hyundai motor corp and Daimler Chrysler, ‘destination India’.........more CHENNAI, Dec 2: The Danish-based Danfoss Industries private limited has launched its new genration state-of-the-art Vlt automation drive FC-300 with ....more New
India Assurance DUBAI, Dec 2: The New India Assurance company is planning to launch its products and services in Gulf countries through ....more Satyam
signs contract HYDERABAD, Dec 2: Satyam Computer Services Ltd (nyse:say) today announced the signing of a multi-million dollar (approximately eight million ....more |
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PNB cuts housing loan rate to 7.5 per cent NEW DELHI, Dec 2: The state-owned Punjab National Bank today announced it had slashed the interest rate on housing....more Shashank
for going NEW DELHI, Dec 2: Observing that "challenges" are there in the immediate neighbourhood, Foreign Secretary Shashank.....more RBI
internal group MUMBAI, Dec 2: A Reserve Bank of India internal group has recommended that the Government should consider setting.......more North
Bengal garden SILIGURI, Dec 2: Tea experts and garden owners have demanded abolition of salamy system on gardens and reduction of.......more |
Automobiles bringing
high-end NEW DELHI, Dec 2: Be it Europe’s second-largest bike maker Aprilia or carmakers Hyundai motor corp and Daimler Chrysler, ‘destination India’ seems to be the buzz in the automobile sector with global companies shifting manufacturing here to leverage the cheap, but high-quality labour. The last few months have seen a virtual boom in the Indian automobile industry with not only domestic component manufacturers crossing shores but the formidable biggies also entering India in what is increasingly turning out to be a lucrative destination for many companies. South Korean automaker Hyundai motor corp has already announced plans to make India the hub for its small cars. The company, which is already a dominant player in India and has a fully-owned subsidiary Hyundai Motor India Ltd, is bullish on the Indian market and has lined up investments to the tune of Rs 1,000 crore to ramp up capacity at its facility near Chennai. Another biggie, German-United States auto giant Daimler Chrysler AG aims to buy auto parts worth over 80 million dollars over the next year. "We should be exporting auto parts worth 80 million dollars to our parent company over the next year," a senior company official told UNI, adding that the company accounted for eight per cent of total exports of auto parts from India last year. Daimler Chrysler sources components like forgings, wire harnesses, rubber parts and castings from various suppliers in the country, independent as well as from joint venture firms. Industry watchers attribute aggressive cost-cutting measures by auto biggies as well as world-class quality of local components among reasons for the increase in outsourcing from Indian companies. Another venture worth its mettle in the auto sector was signed just this month when Hero motors, part of the Rs 7,300 crore Hero group, tied up with Italy’s Aprilia. The European two-wheeler giant, which has in its stable vehicles ranging between 50 CC to 1,000 CC, said it would be sourcing engine components as well as vehicles from India as part of the agreement. The company also agreed to pick up 20 per cent equity in Hero motors for an estimated Rs 100 crore. Apart from the domestic market where the two companies will rollout three scooter models starting from the 75CC scooterette to to 125CC motoscooter, the new Rs 135-crore facility at Ghaziabad would export about 20-30 per cent of the expected 450,000 units assembly line, likely to be operational by the end of 2004. Also, the facility would roll out exclusively for the European markets 177 CC scooters. "We had been looking at the Indian market for quite long and with this agreement, which is a win-win situation for both the companies, we expect to cut manufacturing cost by 20-30 per cent as compared to the production cost in Europe," Aprilia chairman and founder Ivano Beggio said. Another auto major, Italy’s Piaggio, also said it will source 50 per cent of components for its soon-to-be-launched quadricycle for Europe and the total value of parts to be bought from India this year will be ten million euro. "India is a very cost-effective base and our company would be saving as much as 35-45 per cent by sourcing components from India," Piaggio CEO Rocco Sabelli said. On the components front, A B Electrolux (ABE), one of the world s top producer of powered household and outdoor appliances, said on November 17 that it had identified India as a sourcing base for auto components. The company said it would source auto components from India for its outdoor division, which makes garden and forestry equipment like chain saws, riders, lawn movers and lawn tractors. ABE currently sources materials and parts worth nine billion dollars every year, of which 30 per cent will now be sourced from Asia pacific, including India. "Many more components, such as forgings, needle roller bearings, ferrous and non-ferrous casting, sheet metal components and auto electricals are under active consideration by ABE, which would materialise in the next few months," the company said. The company’s Asia Pacific purchasing vice president Nick Sowden said, "India fits in well with electrolux’ growth strategy, since it has a strong supplier base which are globally recognised for their superior quality and performance benchmarks. "India is certain to play a strategic role in the company’s growth plans for the Asia Pacific region." The tyre industry also saw similar arrangements. In September, German tyre giant Continental AG extended its tie-up with India’s metro tyres from bi-cycles tyres to two-wheeler tyres. Metro tyres initially had an exclusive off-take agreement with continental for supplying Continental brand of bicycle tyres and tubes for the world market. This was followed by the company’s foray into the sportswheels segment where it signed a long-term agreement with Continental to produce rubber sports wheels, widely used in roller skates, which the German company would buy for its US and European markets. In September, metro announced its first foray into the non-bicycle tyre segment with additional investments of Rs 40 crore at its Ludhiana plant. The new manufacturing line will produce 1,00,000 tyres and 1,00,000 tubes per month and of this, 50 per cent production will be picked by Continental for the European, American and other overseas markets. However, notwithstanding the success, India is still a small player in the global ocean of auto components: It accounted for a mere 0.2 per cent of the global business, with exports of 800 million dollars in FY03. The figure is expected to rise to around 1-1.5 billion dollars by the end of FY04, according to the Automobile Component Manufacturers’ Association (ACMA). Considering that global trade in auto components at the beginning of the decade was about 250 billion dollars, there’s a whole big market waiting to be conquered. (UNI) |
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CHENNAI, Dec 2: The Danish-based Danfoss Industries private limited has launched its new genration state-of-the-art Vlt automation drive FC-300 with whole new standards in performance. Speaking at the launch function here last night, Danfoss motion controls global president Sven Ruder and its Asia Pacific president Mikklesen Jens Dam told reporters that the friendly, flexible and reliable ac drive represented a new drive concept to control the entire range of variable speed drives—from standard to servo operations in any machine of production line. The automation drive FC-300 was the first series under the new module concept and would be followed by FC100 and FC200 series. The drive would be used in demanding applications like winders, elevators, palletizers, cranes, bottle washers, textile machines, hoists, centrifuges and agitators, mills and calendars, conveyors, printing machines, particularly where torque was an essential criteria involving low speed operations, requiring high dynamic response and accuracy. The new drive provides advanced features such as automatic fine-tuning of motor control and performance self-analysis. Proactive troubleshooting and intelligent waring systems were also part of the package, Mr Ruder said and added that these features could be configured to meet the needs of specific applications. A condition controller built into the standard drives, offers a wide range of essential Progammbale Logic Controller (PLC) functions, while the VLT 300 enabled complete PLC functionality. The cost-effective automation drive easily adapts to any AC motor and application and coule be used for a single machine or an entire production line. Its intelligent plug-and-play technology makes implementation, operation, reconfiguration and maintenance far more easier than ever. (UNI) |
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New India Assurance in Bancassurance tie-up DUBAI, Dec 2: The New India Assurance company is planning to launch its products and services in Gulf countries through Bancassurance tie-up with regional banks. The public sector company is also launching next year its popular health and travel insurance schemes in Oman where it is in talks with a local bank on the Bancassurance scheme, Kumar Bakhru, NIA’s Director and General Manager, has said. What New India Assurance is seeking to do is to distribute its general insurance policies through the branch networks of Gulf banks as it has done in India through corporation bank, Punjab National Bank, United Bank of India and the State Bank of India. New India assurance is the only Public Sector Insurance Company that is rated ‘a excellent’ by USA’s AM best for the fourth year in a row recognizing its superior capital base, excellent solvency margin and liquidity. Mr Kumar told Muscat’s Times of Oman that the New India Assurance could provide training and technical expertise on non-life insurance to Oman which is believed to be planning to have an insurance institute. During the fiscal 2002, the New India Assurance posted a 12 per cent growth and wrote global premium income of over 1 billion comprising 800 million premium in the Indian market and 200 million from overseas networks. It has branches and agency network in 23 countries. In Oman, the New India Assurance is operational for the last 28 years. At the end of March 2003, the New India assurance’s pretax profit was 65 million, up by 60 per cent on a year-on-year basis. Profit after tax was also up by 80 per cent, 55 million despite heavy motor liability claims. (UNI) |
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Satyam signs contract with Bangkok airport HYDERABAD, Dec 2: Satyam Computer Services Ltd (nyse:say) today announced the signing of a multi-million dollar (approximately eight million USd) deal with the prestigious New Bangkok International Airport-Airport Information Management System (NBIA-AIMS) for design, development and integration of the state-of-the-art AIMS planned for the NBIA, christened as the ‘Suvarnabhumi’ airport. Satyam is part of a siemens-led consortium called Airport System Integration Specialists (ASIS), which bagged this order through a global tender, the company said in a release here today. On its likely commissioning by September 2005, the airport is expected to be the largest in ASEAN, the release said. The first phase of the contract for the consortium, whose other members are ABB, ABB airport technologies and the Thailand-based Samart, involved design and development of the core and operational systems, to be followed by the development of business and administration systems, the release said. (UNI) |
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PNB cuts housing loan rate to 7.5 per cent NEW DELHI, Dec 2: The state-owned Punjab National Bank today announced it had slashed the interest rate on housing loan to 7.5 per cent for a repayment period up to 10 years under its limited period offer . For loans with repayment period of 10 to 20 years, the interest rate has been reduced by 1.5 per cent to 7.75 per cent, the bank said in a statement here. The reduces rated are effective from yesterday and is valid till December 31. In addition, the bank has also offered a repayment holiday of 18 months to prospective borrowers and only the interest component of the loan would have to be paid during the period, it said. This offer translates to the lowest EMI of Rs 625 per lakh during the repayment holiday for loans repayable up to 10 years and Rs 646 per lakh for loans repayable beyond 10 years. "The offer also comes with a lot of add-ons for the customers such as longest repayment period (25 years), application of interest rate on daily reducing balance basis, option of graduated EMI, loan for furnishing purpose and no prepayment charges," it added. (UNI) |
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Shashank for going ahead with
CBMs for NEW DELHI, Dec 2: Observing that "challenges" are there in the immediate neighbourhood, Foreign Secretary Shashank today underpinned the importance of going ahead "further" with Confidence-Building Measures" for economic cooperation. Soon after taking charge of the key slot, 59-year old Shashank, a seasoned career diplomat who succeeds Kanwal Sibal, also spoke of the longer term mission of Asian economic unity. "Of course, the challenges which are there in the immediate neighbourhood - to go ahead further with the Confidence-Building Measures for economic cooperation and for moving towards PTA (Preferential Trading Arrangement) and FTA (Free Trade Agreement) type of programmes which have been prepared for us," he said without naming any country. A 1966-batch IFS officer, Shashank, who will have a eight-month tenure till July next year, also stressed on cooperation with African and Latin American countries, besides the European Union and others. "We have important relations with traditional friends and we have to strengthen them in whatever manner we can do," he told reporters at his south block office. He assumes office at a time when there is thaw in Indo-Pak ties and those with the US, China, Russia and Europe are on an upswing. "I have certain responsibilities which i hope to discharge to the best of my abilities especially with the help of my colleagues who have been with me in my postings abroad as well as in the ministry for a long time," he said soon after being escorted to his office by Nirupama Rao, Additional Secretary, Navtej Sarna, foreign office spokesman and officials. Engaging him would be Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s visit to Nigeria for the commonwealth summit starting from December 4. Shashank, who has served in the Indian High Commission in Islamabad from 1982 to 1986, will also find himself in the midst of preparatory work leading up to the SAARC summit in the Pakistan capital in the first week of January. During his long diplomatic career, Shashank has held postings in a host of countries including Denmark, South Korea, Libya, Egypt, Vietnam, Brazil and in India’s permanent mission at the UN in New York. He also served in various capacities in the Ministry of External Affairs here and was Secretary (economic relations) and Secretary (Europe, Africa and America) before moving to the top slot. "We have been planning to obtain the best synergies to meet the challenges of the present phase of globalisation. At the same time, take advantage of all the opportunities that are available. Indian diplomacy has a very important role to play", he said. (PTI) |
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RBI internal group moots setting
up market MUMBAI, Dec 2: A Reserve Bank of India internal group has recommended that the Government should consider setting up of a Market Stabilisation Fund (MSF)in a public account to mop up surplus liquidity from the system. The internal group on Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF) and sterilisation, which released its report today seeking public comments, has mooted a standing deposit type facility distinct from Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) for banks to achieve a balanced development of various segments of money market. On repo/reverse repo operations, it said a minimum tenure of such transactions under LAF facility should be changed from overnight to seven days to be conducted on a daily basis. With surplus liquidity in the economy, the importance of the bank rate as a signalling rate seems to have reduced and therefore it would desirable that liquidity injection should take place at a single rate, it said. The group has recommended in this context that RBI may continue to announce the bank rate independently as at present, but it should under normal circumstances stay aligned to the reverse repo rate. Referring to the need for setting up of MSF, which could be operationalised whenever considered necessary, the group said in view of the finite stock of Government securities available with RBI for sterilisation, the Government may consider such a move. This fund could issue Market Stabilisation Bills/Bonds (MSBs) for mopping up enduring surplus liquidity from the system over and above the amount that could be absorbed under the day to day repo operations of LAF.(PTI) |
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North Bengal garden owners
demand abolition SILIGURI, Dec 2: Tea experts and garden owners have demanded abolition of salamy system on gardens and reduction of tax on sale to revive the ailing industry in north Bengal. The demands were made by various organisations involved in tea industry here to a high-powered fact finding committee headed by State Commerce and Industry Principal Secretary Sabyasachi Sen. The West Bengal Government has set up the committee recently to study the problems and causes and submit reports to higher authorities so that new action plan could be initiated for restoring the health of the tea industry. Tea is the main cash crop of north Bengal. The committee members came here on Sunday and had talks with union leaders, tea experts, garden owners and others on Monday. They returned last night taking the suggestions and demands. The report would be submitted to the State Government by a week, Mr Sen said. Tea Association of India’s North Bengal branch general secretary D N Gupta said the State Government should immediately abolish the system on garden owners to restore the health of gardens. He said no State Government in the country takes Rs 9,000 per year for salamy from garden owners for a hectare of land like in West Bengal. The salamy which was 15000 per hectare had been reduced to Rs 9,000 per hectare following agitation, but still the existing salamy system was a hindrance for growth and new investment in the tea industry. He said the non-payment of salamy meant stoppage of lease for renewal of the garden. He warned that if the Government did not abolish the salamy in the coming months from December to March-a lean period-the industry would witness more trouble. During four months while production stopped totally the garden owners continue to invest for employees salary and maintanance of gardens. Mr Gupta pointed out while producing one Kg of tea required about Rs 78 investment, the same production is sold in the market between Rs 50 and Rs 55 per Kg. On top of that there was an eight per cent tax on sale. He said the Government should reduce the tax to four per cent. Mr Gupta said the Government should ensure that all tea produced here be made mandatory for selling in auction to fetch better pricing failing which the sickness would continue. The annual Khajna system of Rs 30 per acre annually was another hindrance to the growth of industry amidst stiff competition from other neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, China and others, he added. The annual Khajana, which was Rs 6.50 per acre two years ago, was now Rs 30, he pointed out. Mr Sen opined that to restore the health of the tea industry, a two-pronged action-short term and long term-should be initiated. He said there was a demand auction system for tea produced in north Bengal. He said he would submit the report by next week. Representatives of the Terai branch of Indian Tea Association, Terai Indian Planters’ Association, Dooars branch of Indian Tea Planters’ Association, Darjeeling Planters’ Association had also called on the Government committee during Sunday and Monday. Meanwhile, veteran Naxalite leader and CPI(ML) chief Kanu Sanyal has called a road blockade on December 16 and bandh on January 7 in north Bengal to protest the plight of tea garden employees. He told a news conference yesterday that the Centre and the State Government have failed to address the problems of lakhs of tea garden employees. He said the State Government initiatives in tea sector failed totally and demanded punishment of the errant tea garden owners. For the past four years, the industry in north Bengal suffered a lot due to faulty policy of the Centre and negligence on the part of the State Government. Trade union leaders, however, demanded stoppage of renewal of lease for those whose gardens were locked out. They also demanded that the Bought Leaf Factories (BLFs) should be brought under Tea Plantation Act. They said musrooming of BLFs were compromising on the quality of tea resulting in a fall in the demand in the market. (UNI) |
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Instanex Skindia DR, P/E premium indices in limelight MUMBAI, Dec 2: The Instanex Skindia Depository Receipts (DR) index hiked sharply again by 3.51 per cent to 930.64 points on December 1, 2003 from the previous day’s close at 899.09 points. According to the daily update provided by city-based Instanex Capital Consultants Pvt Ltd through a release, Instanex Skindia DR Index P/E also shot up by 3.26 per cent from the previous day’s to 18.10 points from 17.52 points. The Instanex Skindia (DR) Index Premium too jumped up sharply by 6.33 per cent to end at 24.58 per cent from 23.12 per cent during the same period, the release stated. Out of the 15 ADRs and GDRs, there were 14 (11) gainers and nil (4) losers, while only one of the scrip (nil scrips) remained unchanged. Satyam Computer (ADR), Wipro (ADR) and Infosys tech (ADR) were the top gainers, while not a single scrip was the major 1oser, the release added. (UNI) |
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HK’s cathay readies return to China but few profits seen HONG KONG, Dec 2: Cathay Pacific Airways’ will fly to mainland China for the first time in 13 years on Tuesday, the first step in its ambitious return to the world’s fastest growing aviation market. But with just three round-trips to the Chinese capital a week, industry watchers said it could be years before China’s market makes any substantial impact on Cathay’s bottomline. "The flight is fully booked for today," Dane Cheng, Cathay’s general manager for Hong Kong and China sales told ahead of the take off at 5.50 PM (0950 GMT). "But with only three flights a week it will be hard to compete with our rivals who have multiple flights a day." Cathay, which aspires to twice a day flights to both Beijing and Shanghai, last flew to Beijing in 1990. It handed its China routes to smaller rival Hong Kong Dragon Airlines Ltd, in which Cathay now has a 17.79 percent stake, under the territory’s one carrier, one route policy, which was recently relaxed. It secured the right to return in April this year following a hotly contested public hearing with Dragon air, which flies eight times a day to Beijing. ING financial markets estimates that the thrice weekly Beijing-Hong Kong flight will boost Cathay’s 2004 net profits by HK 4 million out of a forecast net profit of HK 3.7 billion. Cathay, which last week secured rights to fly the lucrative London-New York route, will also be able to sell tickets throughout China, opening up a new revenue source. Talks between the Hong Kong and Chinese Governments on Cathay’s application to fly to Shanghai and the southeastern city of Xiamen are tipped to begin in January and analysts say the routes could be up and running by the end of 2004. But China is likely to be cautious in granting Cathay additional flights given opposition from home carriers including Shanghai-based China eastern airlines as the fragmented Chinese airline industry undergoes consolidation. Cathay could also gain exposure to the Chinese passenger market, which boeing forecasts to grow 7.1 percent a year until 2022, through a long-mooted tie-up with China eastern. Speculation that Cathay may take an equity stake in the airline resurfaced last week boosting stock prices and the Shanghai carrier is the only mainland Chinese airline to be a member of Cathay’s frequent flyer programme. Shares in Cathay, which posted its biggest ever loss earlier this year due to the SARS outbreak, rose one percent to HK 15.15 by midday on Tuesday, beating a dip on the blue-chip hang seng index of which it is a member. (AGENCIES) |
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Fuji photo to spend Y110 bln on film for LCD TVs TOKYO, Dec 2: Fuji photo film co said on Tuesday it will spend 110 billion yen ( 1 billion) in a four-year period from next April to expand production of film for LCD televisions and other electronic devices. Sales from the fast-growing business are expected to triple from the 67 billion yen estimated for the current business year to March to about 200 billion yen by the end of the four-year investment programme, a Fuji photo spokesman said. "We believe demand is really set to take off for large-screen LCD and plasma flat-screen televisions in the next few years, and this investment is in line with that expectation," the spokesman said. Fuji has been boosting its digital camera and Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) components business in recent years, faced by shrinking demand for photographic film, its traditional mainstay product which makes up 10 percent of its revenues. Its LCD components business has focused mainly on PC and notebook computer monitors, but it aims to capture a share of the growing market for large flat panel televisions. Fuji photo shares were up 1.88 percent at 3,250 yen as of 0013 GMT, compared to a 0.64 percent rise in the key nikkei average. (AGENCIES) S Korea’s non-banks agree to roll over LG card debt SEOUL, Dec 2: South Korea’s insurance, brokerage and investment trust companies have agreed to roll over loans made to LG card co as a part of rescue efforts for the troubled card issuer, creditors said on Tuesday. The move comes after eight creditor banks agreed to a debt rollover last month to help LG card, the country’s biggest card firm, narrowly escape default. The banks have also pledged to provide two trillion won ( 1.67 billion) of emergency loans. LG card, a unit of the country’s second-biggest conglomerate LG group, owes 22 trillion won to banks and other financial institutions, according to the regulatory financial supervisory service. It declined to give a breakdown between banks and others. "We’ve reached an agreement to roll over LG card debt maturing in a year from now," said an official of Samsung Life Insurance Co which holds 210 billion won worth of debt in LG card. Overdue loans at LG card, whose 14 million customers represent almost a third of South Korea’s population, accounted for 11.4 percent of its total debt at the end of October, up from 10.6 percent a month ago. Shares in LG card added 0.41 percent to 7,270 won at 0105 GMT, compared with a fall of 0.06 percent in the broader market. (AGENCIES) |
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