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| Thursday, February 15, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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Maruti selloff: Suzuki not consulted
What bugs Punjab’s IT non-revolution Satyam gateway for
Chandigarh IDS joint venture with US
company MTNL to cut tariffs spurred by BSNL rates PEDA signs 3 pacts for hydel projects |
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Special fund set up for Kandla port NEW DELHI, Feb 14 — The Shipping Ministry has set up a separate fund for the relief and restoration activities in earthquake-ravaged Kandla, and the adjoining Gandhidham and Adipur areas.
Export sugar to Pak, Punjab
told Ranbaxy puts off expansion plans
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Maruti selloff: Suzuki not consulted NEW DELHI, Feb 14 — Suzuki Motor Corp said on Wednesday it was not consulted about the Indian Government's plan to sell off its 50 percent stake in Maruti Udyog Ltd. Suzuki owns the other 50 percent of the money-losing automaker, and under a 1992 agreement must approve any move by the Indian Government to sell its stake or raise new capital. "We cannot comment about it because we have not received any information from the government," a Suzuki spokesman said. On Tuesday the Cabinet's privatisation panel approved a convoluted two-stage plan for disposing of the government stake in Maruti, whose share of the domestic new car market has tumbled to 57 percent from 80 percent in just two and a half years. There are indications that Suzuki will eventually gain management control of Maruti by going along with the plan, though exactly how and at what cost remain unclear. The only certain point of the plan is the government's desire to pump new money into the automaker to improve its competitiveness ahead of an initial public offering (IPO) sometime in the future. "We need to strengthen Maruti by infusing funds for investments," Disinvestment Minister Arun Shourie told reporters at a press conference following the plan's approval. Shourie said the government will dispose of its stake through a two-phase process beginning with a rights issue of shares, possibly in September. The government will not invest any more money in Maruti by buying new shares itself. Instead, the government's allotment of newly issued shares will be sold to Indian financial institutions and mutual funds, which will later offload the shares either to Suzuki or through the market. Shourie said the Cabinet committee on disinvestment had considered five options for disposing of the government's stake in Maruti, including selling the entire holding to another foreign automaker, making it a strategic partner. The plan adopted was the most beneficial to Maruti as it would give it much-needed funds and also keep Suzuki happy, Shourie said. Inject new funds The issue will inject new funds into the ailing car maker hit by falling sales, a bruising price cut made to hold onto market share, and labour disputes earlier this financial year. In the nine months through December, its sales shrunk 19.7 percent from a year earlier to 241,322 vehicles, pushing the company into the red. In the first seven months of the current business year to March, Maruti lost Rs 1.28 billion ($27.5 million). In the previous year to March, Maruti posted a net profit of Rs 3.3 billion on sales of Rs 96.7 billion . Shourie said the timing of the share sale to the public in the second phase would depend a great deal on the fortunes of the car market itself. Unusual year for car industry This year has been an unusual one for the small car segment which Maruti dominates. Sales dropped as stricker prices rose, reflecting higher local taxes and the introduction of technologies meant to reduce exhaust emissions and improve the air quality in India's sweltering, teeming cities. The sales decline is also a bit of a statistical aberration. Last year sales were unusually good, with new car sales surging 55.9 percent, making some slowdown inevitable this year. For Maruti, though, the decline in demand has been aggravated by new competition from the Indian units of Hyundai, Daewoo, Ford, Honda and Telco, which have recently entered the market under India's spasmodic approach to liberalising its economy. Maruti has responded to the competition by launching four new models in the past 18 months. It aims to launch one new model a year, an ambitious goal which would be make easier with funding received from the proposed rights issue.
— Reuters
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What bugs Punjab’s IT non-revolution CHANDIGARH, Feb 14 — Top IT gurus are gathering tomorrow at the CII where Punjab officials will try to sell the state as an investment destination. Punjab’s often repeated IT presentations boast that the state is power surplus. Power prices are the second lowest in the country. Then there are tax concessions. However, Punjab’s most significant offer is trained, fresh talent. Technical colleges turn out some 3,000 graduates annually. Top IT companies increasingly tap this talent pool. Far instance, Tata Interactive recently picked up 70 personnel, 92 per cent of them are local. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) invaded Punjab Engineering College and rounded up 55 of the brightest ones. Wipro recruited 35 from Patiala’s Thapar college. IT companies swooped on PU’s University Business School and absorbed 34 of the 56 fresh MBAs offering Rs 1.7 lakh to 3 lakh annual salary packages. For high-end training, an IIIT can be put in place in one year if Punjab officials move fast in earnest. The ECP has 15 acres in Mohali and the Punjab Finance Minister has been persuaded to provide some Rs 20 crore from the Infrastructure Development Fund, it is learnt. “With agriculture reeling under the problems of plenty and WTO on the horizon, and the manufacturing industry in crisis, Punjab needs to find a new niche which will build on its inherent resources to sustain the high levels of productivity and prosperity the state has traditionally enjoyed,” says Mr I.S. Paul of the CII. According to a CII survey, one factor inhibiting the IT industry growth in Mohali is the relatively high cost of land — Rs 35 lakh per acre in Mohali and Rs 60 lakh in Chandigarh vis-a-vis Rs 16 to 18 lakh per acre in Hyderabad. Entrepreneurs await, with some impatience, the completion of the Mahindra Knowledge Park in Mohali. It has made little progress in two years. The government’s promise of a single-window clearance in reality opens a host of other windows. Speedy and one-stop clearances are just promises, say IT professionals. Industry points out that it takes three to four months to get a power connection or an upgradation on load. Load shedding is common during summer. Telephones are the lifelines of the IT sector. Connections are erratic. Processing of connections and transfers takes long time, say insiders. With no international gateway and band width hassles, point-to-point connectivity is another hurdle, specially for call centres. Optic fibre cable is likely to be laid in the entire state by the end of 2001 by Spectra Net. The Software Technology Park of India has already set up an earth station, besides the Puncom VSNL satellite link. The Punjab Government’s package for the IT industry includes sales tax exemption, electricity duty exemption, capital investment subsidy and generating set subsidy. IT projects catering to clients overseas are exempt from income tax excise and Customs duty. Companies that have already started their operations in Mohali and Chandigarh include Compu Info (New Jersey) Infosys, Spryance, Optimos (Virginia, USA), Sigma Interactive Technology (Alabama, USA) and Future Computing Solutions (Orange Country, USA). Satyam Computers and Wipro Technologies have agreed to set up their development centres in Punjab, it is learnt.
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NEW DELHI, Feb 14 — To enhance speed and faster downloads, Satyam Infoway is waiting for the government nod to set up 15 international gateways by the year end. “This will ensure faster downloads from the Internet transmission on the backbone network,” Mr R. Ramraj, CEO and Managing Director, Satyam Infoway has said. Satyam planned to install satellite gateways in key cities across the country so that the traffic for international locations was routed through these gateways and would not flow in the national location links of the company’s Internet backbone. Nasdaq-listed Internet and e-commerce company Satyam Infoway had set up its fourth satellite gateway in Pune last month, adding to its earlier gateways in Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad set up last year. The company is also building 17 gateways in 13 cities — including Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad, Cochin, Chandigarh, Jamshedpur, Lucknow and Bhopal.
— UNI
IDS joint venture with US
company CHANDIGARH,
Feb 14 — IDS Infotech Ltd, a part of the Winsome group, will provide medical coding, billing and collection services to the healthcare industry in the USA. Announcing this here today, Managing Director Partap Aggarwal said IDS, which launched medical transcription services in Chandigarh in 1997, now offers services like pre-press, legal document management, insurance claims processing, web-based helpdesk operations and customised software development. IDS has formed a joint venture compnay with MedClix Inc, USA, to offer healthcare services like medical billing and collection, medical insurance claim processing, tele-medicine and patient call centres. The MediClix President, Dr Ullrich Klamm, who was in the city, said Chandigarh has technical and engineering talent which can be tapped globally. To recruit candidates for IDS, a two-day seminar was organised by two experts — Mr James Hugh and Ms Linda Lively — in Chandigarh on February 12, 13. Three IDS personnel are already being trained in Atlanta. The company now plants to pick up 25 graduates offering salaries between Rs 8,000 and Rs 10,000.
MTNL to cut tariffs spurred by BSNL rates NEW
DELHI, Feb 14 — Close on the heels of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL’s) tariff cuts, the Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) has also decided to slash its tariffs by 14 per cent for calls between 50-100 km and by 50 per cent between 100-200 km. The decision comes in wake of the recent announcement by the BSNL to reduce tariff rates for calls made between 200 km. BSNL customers now pay Rs 1.80 (previously Rs 14.40) for a three-minute STD call made between 51 km to 100 km, while for a same duration call made between 101 km to 200 km, they pay Rs 7.20 instead of the previous rate of Rs 14.40. Bracing up to meet the competition from private operators, the BSNL has decided to slash call charges and to extend direct dialing facility up to 200 km, even as it announced a partial increase in rentals to partially offset the Rs 600-crore loss it would incur as a result of the reduction in charges. The new BSNL scheme will enable the customers to make calls up to 200 km in the same manner as that of a local call, thereby enabling STD barred customers also to make calls up to 200 km, without getting their STD facility restored. BSNL has also decided to increase the monthly rental to offset its strain on the balance sheet. It has decided to hike the rental by a maximum of up to Rs 30 for rural subscribers and upto Rs 70 for urban low-calling subscribers, making up to 200 calls per month.
— UNI
PEDA signs
3 pacts for hydel projects CHANDIGARH,
Feb 14 — The Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA) today signed a tripartite agreement for three hydel sites at Dolowal,Salar and Bhanubhura on Kotla Branch. The agreement was between PEDA, Punjab Irrigation Department and Polyplex Corporation Ltd for Hydro Electric Projects. The signatories were Mr S S Sekhon (PEDA) Mr S.S. Dosanj (Chief Engineer) canals and Mr Rohit Saraf (Polyplex). With the signing of this agreement, decks have been cleared for setting up small hydro electric projects through private sector participation on Build, Operate and Own basis in Punjab, said Mr P.S. Aujla, Chief Executive, PEDA in a press note. Polyplex will set up the three Hydro Electric Projects with installed capacity of 4.2 MW at a total estimated cost of Rs 25 crore, completing the projects within 18 months. These projects would inject 23 million units of energy annually to the PSEB grid. |
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Special fund set up for Kandla port NEW DELHI, Feb 14 — The Shipping Ministry has set up a separate fund for the relief and restoration activities in earthquake-ravaged Kandla, and the adjoining Gandhidham and Adipur areas. The repair work to the port will be undertaken by the Kandla Port Trust from out of its own funds and not from this separate fund. Contributions to the special fund are being made by the Port Trusts, PSUs under the Ministry of Shipping and private shipping interests. A committee is being set up to administer this fund. An official release said that the Kandla Port Trust has undertaken the task of removing all the debris in this area. Private contractors have been invited through newspaper advertisements at a cost of Rs.75 per metric tonne for removal and dumping the debris in a specified low-lying area along a road leading to port jetty. This low-lying area will be filled up and subsequently developed as a parking area for the trucks which bring and remove cargo from the port. There are a total of 40 schools in these townships and most of them have suffered major or minor damages. There are other institutions such as four hospitals and other social institutions providing relief to the handicapped, women and children who have suffered damages. Meetings have been held with the management of most of these institutions and the quantum of damages has been effectively assessed. Final assessment of damages is being prepared. The work of restoration and repair to ensure earthquake-resistant constructions is to be taken up. Assistance will be provided to these institutions for the repair and restoration work. Road network has been partly damaged. The road network would be repaired through the agencies appointed by the Fund. Street lights would be provided on the roads. There is a sewage and water supply system of the town which was designed for a much smaller population of about 20,000 people. Today the population of the area is in the vicinity of 1,75,000 which requires substantial replacement to the system. The Fund would work in that direction. There would be an effort to develop greeneries and parks in this area. In addition, requests are being considered by the Port Trust to allot a plot of land for construction of a new speciality hospital, in addition to repairing and restoring the existing hospitals. A request has been received by a local trust of NGOs namely “Gandhidham Sewa Samiti. The Port is also considering requests of NGOs for allotment of land for rehabilitating and training of widows, setting up of orphanage for women and child affected by the quake in the Kutch region. Currently the work of removing the debris is going on through private contractors using the most modern equipment and a debris of 10,000 metric tonne per day is being removed. Nearly 86,000 metric tonne of debris has been removed till February 13, 2001.
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Export sugar to Pak, Punjab
told CHANDIGARH, Feb 14 — India should make serious efforts to penetrate into the world sugar market by giving export subsidies on a par with the European Economic Union (EEU). This was suggested here today by Prof Liaqat Ali, a Senior Economist of the International Sugar Organisation, London and Consultant Economist with the World Bank. Delivering a key note address on WTO and its impact on agriculture with special reference to the sugar industry at a seminar organised by Sugarfed, Punjab, here today, Prof Ali said that India should take a lead to make developing countries build a pressure on the WTO at next round of talks at Qatar to give more concessions to these countries with regard to agriculture products. It was unfortunate that India did not lobby effectively to secure concessions for the agriculture sector when negotiations were held in 1995. He said that the cooperative sugar lobby in the country was weak and consequently the Union Government did not care for it. The EEU and the USA were giving subsidies to the tune of 70 per cent to the agriculture sector to promote production of exportable foodgrains and other related material. The Punjab sugar industry should build a pressure on the Union Goverment for getting its approval to export sugar to Pakistan. He said that the future of sugar industry in Punjab was better compared to other states where things pertaining to this industry were in bad shape. Dr Parmod Kumar, Director, Institute of Development and Communication, said that while negotiating on the WTO agreement, the Union Commerce Ministry neither consults the Union Agriculture Ministry nor the state governments which were to be affected most by this agreement. The agreement had far-reaching implications for the Indian economy. The USA and the EEU should be forced to cut farm subsidies to provide a level-playing field for Indian farmers who were facing a major threat because they were foreseeing the dumping of agriculture products from abroad. Prof G.S. Bhalla, an eminent economist and former member of the Planning Commission, said that India should focus on the tariff percentage on the agriculture products in the next round of negotiations. These should be above 75 per cent. He was also of the opinion that India alone would not be able to play an effective role during the next round of negotiations and it must chalk out its strategy now to take along all other developing countries along for the removal of imbalances pertaining to agriculture in the WTO agreement. He urged for changing the Cooperative Act to convert the sugar industry into sugar cane processing units. He said that small and marginal farmers as well as workers should be involved in the decision making at the mill level. Mr Jagjit Puri, Managing Director, Sugarfed, said that with the globalisation and economic reforms, the movement of commodities had become much easier from one state to other and one country to another. To compete in the world market, the Indian industry would have to go in for value addition by generating power from the sugarcane waste (bagasse), setting up refineries, liquor bottling plants, ethanol and production of brewer yeast tablets. He said that only by producing sugar alone, this industry could not sustain and compete in the world market. The Cooperative Societies Act should be so amended that producers should be allowed to float companies to ensure the participation of public money. He urged, academicians, agriculturists and sugar technologists to come forward to prepare an agenda for converting the sick sugar industry into a profit-earning one. Mr B.L. Mahajan initiated the debate in the seminar.
Ranbaxy puts off expansion plans NEW DELHI, Feb 14 — Ranbaxy Laboratories said today that it plans to begin aggressive marketing activities in Brazil through its existing joint venture, but has postponed plans to enter new Latin American markets, including El Salvador and Nicaragua. The company, which is planning a massive expansion of its Latin American operations, has entered only 13 markets, including Peru and Mexico last year, a senior company official said here. “We will step up marketing activities in Brazil by increasing brand presence through our joint venture company and by expanding our product portfolio. This would also mean increased investments,” Mr Vinod Dhawan, Regional Director (Asia Pacific and Latin America) for Ranbaxy. Dhawan declined to comment on fresh investment envisaged for expanding the Brazilian operations and also on the delay in foraying into other Latin American markets. Late last year Ranbaxy acquired a 55 per cent stake in the generics joint venture in Brazil, to take advantage of the Brazilian Government’s policy of increasing generics’ market to 35 per cent from the current 22 per cent. Ranbaxy has registered 18 products in Brazil till now in the generics drugs’ segment. The company’s announcement comes close on the heels of its acquisition plans in France for generics business, as part of overall strategy to aggressively expand its overseas operations to achieve the $ 1 billion sales turnover by 2004. Ranbaxy has already set up joint venture operations in Germany, besides Brazil, last year and branded drugs’ business in the UK.
— PTI |
cr
Bill Gates wins court case Strikes dent Bangladesh’s hopes Singaporeans, Chinese most upbeat Cadbury profits up, sees sweet 2001 |
bb
Rahul for Castrol IBM lab NSE
chief Bagpiper Club Soda SBI new MD |
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