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ONGC envisages Rs 35,000-cr
Mittal, Arcelor close to merger accord
ADAG objects to power plant in Mukesh’s SEZ
Nalco employees protest against disinvestment
Court bars Jet from selling Sahara’s share
PM tells banks to consolidate |
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Ratan Tata promises Rs 1 lakh car by 2008
Ford launches new Endeavour
Daimler Chrysler launches Actros
Punjab keen on manufacturing hub
Samsung unveils 19-inch LCD monitor
TRAI for interconnect exchanges in state capitals
Exempt Gulf from airfare hike’
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ONGC envisages Rs 35,000-cr
Permuda (Mangalore), June 23 The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, who was scheduled to lay the foundation stone of the complex today, was unable to land due to severe rainfall in the region. Regretting the deferment of the programme, ONGC Chairman and Managing Director R.S. Sharma said the project work would not be held up and its execution would continue. The Prime Minister has expressed his commitment to the project, he said, and would lay the foundation stone of the complex at a later date. He said the aromatics project was a precursor of a chain of investments worth over Rs 35,000 crore envisaged by the company over 5-8 years for setting up export facilities at Mangalore, which has a geographical advantage. ONGC will hold 46 per cent equity in the project, and its subsidiary Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) holding 3 per cent, and the balance 51 per cent equity will be with financial institutions and banks. MRPL Managing Director R. Rajamani said the aromatics project would be executed through a special purpose vehicle (SPV). It is expected to come up in next three years. “We will get about Rs 1,500 crore tax benefits as part of SEZ scheme otherwise it would have cost us Rs 6,500 crore. But, the total production would have to be exported in the growing market of paraxylene and Benzene used by various industries", he said. Mr Sharma pointed out that the ONGC and MRPL Boards have already given clearance for a total investment of Rs 13,000 crore for refinery upgradation and integrated development of the aromatic complex. The MRPL-ONGC combine will stand to benefit through production of around 920,000 TPA of paraxylene and 140,000 TPA of benzene. ONGC and the Karnataka Government are setting up the Mangalore SEZ at Mangalore. ONGC is looking for massive investment from overseas and strategic investors in this project, he said, which could later become a part of the first Petroleum, Chemicals, Petrochemicals Investment (PCPI) region in the country. ONGC will have 26 per cent stake in Mangalore SEZ, followed by 23 per cent by Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board, notional stake by Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the rest would be held by private companies.
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Mittal, Arcelor close to merger accord
London, June 23 "Talks are ongoing and constructive" and some parts of the offer "in principle have been agreed," Mr Sudhir Maheshwari, Mittal's Managing Director (Business Development and Treasury) said today. The two firms will continue talks on Mittal's $30-billion offer today and tomorrow, amid speculations that Mittal is all set to clinch the deal, company sources said. Arcelor Chief Executive Officer Guy Dolle, who had in the past tried to fend off Mittal's hostile bid, is believed to be moving closer to Mittal as shareholders objected to a strategy that envisaged an agreement to combine with Russia's Severstal. Arcelor's Board is scheduled to meet on June 25. The Arcelor CEO, who is in New York, demanded a higher bid from Mr Mittal, thereby indicating that he may yet favour an agreement. Arcelor has valued its accord with Severstal at 44 euros a share. Now, Mittal might offer more cash, more Mittal Steel shares, or a combination of both, the Wall Street Journal said today. Brussels: Meanwhile, Arcelor's Arcelor SSC unit and Mitsui's UK division secured European anti-trust approval to create a joint steel service centre in South Africa for the automotive industry. The European Commission, the 25-nation European Union's antitrust regulator in Brussels, announced the approval in a statement today. Arcelor will own 65 per cent of AMSA Steel Centre with Mitsui owning the rest, Arcelor said in a statement. The centre, which will be located in the Durban area, will begin operations in the second quarter of 2007 and will process 120,000 tonnes of slit products a year, it said. — Agencies
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ADAG objects to power plant in Mukesh’s SEZ
Chandigarh, June 23 Drawing attention to media reports quoting RIL Chairman Mukesh Ambani announcing a 2,000 MW captive plant in the Rs 25,000 crore SEZ project in
Haryana, Reliance Energy Ltd said it was violative of the terms of agreement (reached between Anil and Mukesh on June 18, 2005) as ratified by the Bombay High Court.
— PTI
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Nalco employees protest against disinvestment
Angul, June 23 Nalco Executive Director Uma Ballav Pattnaik said all pot lines in the smelter plant were kept active though metal production was hampered. Similarly all the six units of the company’s captive power plant were running to keep up supply to pot lines, he added. Nalco Coordination Committee president B C Ray claimed the strike was a total success and the company would incur a loss of Rs 20 crore per day. He said the employees would intensify agitation and stop the production if the Centre did not reconsider its decision. Meanwhile, the Orissa unit of the Indian National Trade Union Congress(INTUC) today also opposed the Centre’s decision to divest 10 per cent of its equity in Nalco. The INTUC urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P Chidambaram to reconsider the decision and withdraw the divestment in Nalco.
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Court bars Jet from selling Sahara’s share
Lucknow, June 23 After three hours of inconclusive arguments during which Jet questioned the maintainability of Sahara’s petition, District and Sessions Judge Shiv Charan Sharma posted further hearing to June 30 and said if necessary, it would continue on July 1. The court said its order on freezing of the escrow account and on the Sahara share sale would continue till further orders. Senior advocate Abhishekh Singhvi, appearing for Jet, contended that since the petition on the issue was filed by Naresh Goyal-promoted airlines before the Bombay High Court, the Lucknow court had no jurisdiction to entertain Sahara’s petition. Jet has also challenged the plea of ICICI bank in the petition along with Sahara, contending that the bank was not party to the failed Rs 2,300 crore deal. Further, senior advocate Dushyant Dave, appearing for Sahara, submitted that the Bombay High Court has not yet taken cognizance of Jet’s petition. Meanwhile, questioning the clean chit given to Jet Airways chief Naresh Goyal, JD(U) president and former Civil Aviation Minister Sharad Yadav today demanded his arrest for his alleged dubious links claimed to have been reported by the intelligence agencies during the NDA rule. — PTI
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PM tells banks to consolidate Bangalore, June 23 Speaking at the centenary celebrations of Canara Bank here, Dr Singh said despite liberalisation the structure of the Indian banking system had continued without much change. He said consolidation in the banking system had been confined to a few private institutions only and that needed to be changed. The Prime Minister said domestic banks with their small size would have to respond appropriately to global partnerships being undertaken by foreign banks which were already much larger than them. He said they also needed to come out with a global strategy to improve their global presence. He also announced that a body would be constituted to promote financial inclusion of all sections of society in the banking sector. He said the body would include representatives of the RBI, NABARD and leading banks. He said the body would concentrate on ways and means of instituting effective microfinance, micro-insurance and new delivery channels. Stressing on the need for a more equitable growth along with higher growth rates, the Prime Minister said public sector banks would have to look for new delivery mechanisms, economise on transactions and meet the new credit needs of the farming and microfinance sector. He said transaction costs as well as procedural inconveniences could be met by making use of post offices. Speaking on the occasion, Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram said the current inflation was due to high growth rates as well as fluctuating prices of wheat, rice and pulses. He said the UPA had committed that it would tame inflation when it took over the reins of the government and would meet the challenge effectively.
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Ratan Tata promises Rs 1 lakh car by 2008
Mumbai, June 23 Tata group chief Ratan Tata told shareholders that the launch of the car would create a new paradigm in low-cost personal transport, carve out a new market segment and reach a broader base of the pyramid. “The styling and designing of the car have been completed and prototypes are being tested in the plant. It will be a rear engine, 4-5 seat, four-door car with about a 30 horsepower engine,” Mr Tata said in the company’s annual report for 2005-06. The car will be launched in early 2008 and we believe it will be extremely attractive to the Indian consumer, particularly younger families, at a price level of about Rs 1 lakh, he said. First steps have been taken to locate the manufacturing plant near Kolkata, he added. Stating that rising fuel costs added strain on the automobile industry in both commercial vehicle and passenger car segments, the Tata chief said it called for more fuel-efficient engines and would spur the development of alternate fuels and energy sources for vehicles of the future. Tata Motors said here today that its profitability could be affected by a number of factors, including rising input costs and higher interest rates apart from increasing competition.
— PTI |
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Ford launches new Endeavour
New Delhi, June 23 The Endeavour continues to be priced at Rs 13.85 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) for the 4X2 variant and Rs 14.75 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) for the 4X4 variant. The President and MD Ford India Mr Arvind Mathew, said, “Keeping in tune with the emerging customer demands, the Ford Endeavour has plush leather seats and door trims that enhance the luxury of the interiors”.
— UNI |
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Daimler Chrysler launches Actros
Pune, June 23 “India is a promising market for us. We pioneered the luxury car segment in this country and now look forward to establish ourselves in this niche market,” Daimler Chrysler’s Managing Director and CEO Wilfried Aulbur said after launching the vehicle here today. “We would look at tapping medium-heavy duty truck segment which has a size of 800 units per annum,” he added. The commercial vehicle, launched with two variants — Actros 4040K and Actros 4840K — features a robust build with a 12-litre engine with delivery output of 400 horse power at an rpm as low as 1800. These trucks would be completely built with imported chassis. The 4040K model would cost Rs 55 lakh while the 4840K would cost Rs 65 lakh.
— PTI |
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Punjab keen on manufacturing hub
New Delhi, June 23 A delegation of officials from Punjab accompanied the Minister of State for Industry Ashwani Kumar to the US recently to garner for investments in the state for the setting up of manufacturing investment region. Talking to The Tribune, Mr Ashwani Kumar said Punjab was one among the other states in the Northern region, which had shown keen interest in the concept of setting up investment regions in the state. Sources indicated that a detailed proposal from the state could be submitted to the Centre in the next few days, which would help the state to transform from its agricultural base to industrial hub. Explaining the concept, the minister said the investment region would comprise of an area of about 100 to 250 sq km, which was several times more than the largest SEZ in the country. He said such regions would be set up on public-private or private-private partnership, with the Centre and the state governments giving expeditious clearances for setting up units and providing infrastructural facilities.
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Samsung unveils 19-inch LCD monitor
Chandigarh, June 23 “Samsung has marked its strong presence in the IT sector, emerging as a world leader. North India too has emerged as an IT hub and Chandigarh therefore became an obvious choice for the launch”, Mr Ravinder Zutshi, Deputy Managing Director of Samsung India said. Samsung plans to capture the market with its ultra wide screen of the 940BW that lets a user view two whole A4 size pages, side by side, making it an ideal monitor for stock market brokers, BPOs, convergence applications, graphic designers etc. Mr. Sanjay Sharma, Vice President-IT, Samsung India, disclosed that they were also enhancing the production capacity of its LCD manufacturing facility at
Noida. |
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TRAI for interconnect exchanges in state capitals
Kolkata, June 23 "We need interconnect exchanges in all state capitals to solve the communication problems between telecom operators," TRAI Chairman Nripendra Misra said. "BSNL should come forward and offer its infrastructure for interconnect exchanges in lieu of a specified fee, " he suggested. Mr Misra was talking on the sidelines of a Bengal National Chamber of Commerce and Industry seminar. Meanwhile, Mr Misra said the Cellular Operators Association of India and the Association of Unified Telecom Service Providers of India has agreed to appoint a national ombudsman for looking into consumer complaints. "The ombudsman will likely be appointed in six weeks time," he said.
— UNI |
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‘ Exempt Gulf from airfare hike’
New Delhi, June 23 Mr Ravi, who met Mr Patel yesterday, pointed out that the 30 per cent rise in airfares for the peak summer season on the Gulf-India sector affected low-income workers in the region who travelled to India to visit their families. — TNS
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Inflation up at 5.24 pc Videocon inks pact with GAIL Gold plunges
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