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GE sells stake in BPO arm for $ 500 million
Capt Amarinder hardsells Punjab to IT firms
IOC to promote biodiesel via Haryana Roadways
Infosys to convert shares into ADS for Nasdaq gains
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DHL picks majority stake in Blue Dart
Oil price hike may be rolled back: Aiyar
Govt for 100 pc FDI in pension
Carmakers woo customers this Divali
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GE sells stake in BPO arm for $ 500 million
New Delhi, November 8 “GE has entered into a definitive agreement with two global private equity firms General Atlantic Partner and Oak Hill Capital Partners under which the firms will acquire a majority interest in GE Capital International Services,” Mr Pramod Bhasin, president and CEO, Gecis, told reporters today here, adding the parties aim to complete the transaction over the next six months. “The transaction, subject to customary approval, values Gecis at $ 800 million. GE will retain 40 per cent stake in Gecis and use the proceeds of 60 per cent stake sale to fund growth,” Mr Bhasin said. Both General Atlantic Partner and Oak Hill are equal partners in this transaction. And with this, the wholly-owned subsidiary of GE will now become an independent company and can serve third party customers. Earlier it was catering only to GE's customers and services. Scott Bayman, president and CEO of GE India said the main reason behind the exit of GE is “GE is a high technology company and offering back-end services did not fit into our strategy. Asked if the $ 500 million for a 60 per cent stake is the right valuation, he said: “One can speculate forever, it can go down too. Who knows what is going to happen with valuations.” In other big BPO deals, Wirpo paid $ 500 million to acquire Spectramind and IBM acquired Daksh, but the exact deal size was not known. Industry estimates put it at $ 700 million. GE has been in India since 1902 and today all of GE’s 11 businesses have a presence in India from aircraft engines to power generation.
No IPO
Gecis today ruled out the possibility of floating an IPO. Gecis President Pramod Bhasin told newspersons here that the company had sold 60 per cent stake to two global equity firms, General Atlantic Partners and Oak Hill Capital Partners to raise $ 500 million and was not planning to go public. “We have no plans for listing or divesting beyond 60 per cent,” he said adding that the company did not want the additional responsibility attached to a listed company. He, however, said the company could consider this option a few years down the line if the need arose.
Open to invest
GE said it was open to invest in Indian power projects, despite the Dabhol Power Corporation imbroglio. “Dabhol was a big bump, but being a global company we cannot ignore India,” GE India President and CEO Scott Bayman told newspersons here. He said GE would continue to explore opportunities to invest in the power sector. Though he did not clarify whether GE had zeroed in on any project, he said the National Electricity Bill, 2003, was a step in the right direction to attract private investment in the power sector. Commenting upon suggestions to rope in NTPC to revive Dabhol, he said: “The matter is sub judice and I cannot comment on it. But we had earlier said if the plant was in running condition, it would fetch a better price.”
— Agencies
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Capt Amarinder hardsells Punjab to IT firms
Bangalore, November 8 “Though we are primarily an agricultural economy, 87 per cent of our agriculture comes from holdings of less than four acres. With two children in a family, you can imagine what will happen to that. We have to industrialise. And IT is the future. Everything is going to revolve around it.” Though private schools in the state offered IT education, children going to government schools were missing out, and towards that end, a new programme, instituted in collaboration with Microsoft Corporation, would offer IT education from 6th standard onwards to the 12th standard in government schools, he said. This programme, which would start off from January 1, would cover 1,800 villages. In subsequent years, more of the total of 12,400 villages in the state would be covered, he said. About the infrastructural problems facing Bangalore city and IT companies’ threats that they would have to start moving out from here, he said: “We have not only heard about it but have experienced it. We have got caught in traffic jams, and one meeting today started one and a half hours late.” He added: “There are no traffic jams in Chandigarh. Roads are good, the power situation is good, accommodation is freely available and though air links are a little weak, which will grow with demand. Mohali will also witness controlled growth.” Infosys, which already has a small operation in Mohali, had given assurances of expansion from 2006 onwards, he stated. They had already acquired 20 to 30 acres of land in Chandigarh, and that base would soon be operational. He visited Infosys, TCS, Intel, Sathyam, Samsung, IBM and Wipro. “It is all really impressive,” he stated. The 5000-acre Quark City information technology park was coming up well, and Dell would have their call centre operation running by January. “We are keen on attracting BPO, hardware and software jobs,” he said. The state had Rs 6,380 crore of private investment so far, and by the end of the financial year, it would touch Rs 10,000 crore, he stated.
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IOC to promote biodiesel via Haryana Roadways
New Delhi, November 8 A senior official of the IOC disclosed that the initial trials at Gurgaon have been very successful. Further, he said, “vehicle performance and emission studies have been jointly conducted with Escorts, Tata Motors and Mahindra’s on their vehicles. Results are encouraging and biodiesel is would be promoted on a large scale.” He said with the rise in international crude oil prices and oil import bill crossing Rs 100,000 crore, it was the need of the hour to promote alternative fuels, including biodiesel extracted from jatropha and karanjia. “The tests at our R&D labs have also shown a substantial fall in pollution level with the use of biodiesel that can be blended with normal diesel ranging from 5 to 20 per cent,” he said adding that government was also giving it a priority to encourage jatropha plantation through village panchayats. The government is also approaching
agricultural universities and the Haryana Government to encourage farms to adopt the cultivation of jatropha, a plant that can be sown on “any type of land” and gives around Rs 20,000 per hectare returns to the farmer. He said 2.2 million hectares would have to be brought under jatropha plantation by 2007 since the estimated diesel demand was 52.33 MMT and biodiesel requirement would be of 2.62 MMT. IOC has estimated that the government would have to initially subsidise biodiesel marginally to meet the difference between both, but in the long term, it would benefit the rural sector and national economy. It estimates that considering that jatropha seeds would be sold at Rs 5 per kg, its biodiesel will cost between Rs 15 and Rs 17 per litre (excluding taxes). According to government estimates, employment opportunities are likely to rise to 11 million by the end of the 11th Five Year Plan, to achieve 20 per cent biodiesel at the national level. Union Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar has also asked other oil marketing companies to “promote biodiesel keeping in view the
priorities of the UPA government and rising oil import bill.”
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Infosys to convert shares into ADS for Nasdaq gains
Bangalore, November 8 Infosys has 21.2 million shares (ADS) currently listed on the Nasdaq, constituting 7.9 per cent of the total stock of the 267.8 million shares in the secondary market. Infosys officials said the secondary offering of 16 million shares would increase the firm’s stock traded on the Nasdaq by 6 per cent to 13.9 per cent from the existing 7.9
per cent. After the board approved the sponsored secondary ADS earlier in the day, Infosys informed the Bombay Stock Exchange that an extraordinary general meeting has been convened on December 18, to seek approval of its shareholders. There will be no fresh issue of shares nor would Infosys use any proceeds from the secondary ADS, to be completed by March next, its second in the last two years. After the EGM, Infosys will hold road shows in January and February and decide the pricing in mid-March for the offering to overseas investors in consultations with lead managers, officials said. The Infosys ADR, being traded at a premium of over 50 per cent since April, closed at $ 65.55 on Friday. The Bangalore-based software exporter offered six million ADS in August 2003, equivalent to three million equity shares at a price of $ 49 per ADS, increasing its liquidity by 4.9 per cent to 7.9 per cent.
— PTI
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DHL picks majority stake in Blue Dart
Mumbai, November 8 DHL would make an open offer to acquire further 20 per cent stake (Rs 166.1 crore) at Rs 350 per share in accordance with the Sebi’s takeover regulations, DHL’s Regional Director (South-East Asia and the Indian sub-continent) Bryan Jamison told newspersons here today. The stake picked up and the open offer, which would be announced on November 11 for the additional 20 per cent stake, involves a total investment of Rs 732.6 crore, he added. “We would like to maintain our stake at that level (around 88 per cent),” he said. The principal shareholders and Schroder Capital Partners Ltd entered into separate agreements to sell their stake of 16.18 million shares at Rs 350 per share to DHL Express (Singapore) Pte Ltd. Mr Jamison said Blue Dart would continue as a stand-alone company under the leadership of the present management led by CEO and Managing Director Clyde Cooper.
— PTI
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Oil price hike may be rolled back: Aiyar
New Delhi, November 8 Meanwhile, Union Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar has not ruled out on rolling back the hike in petrol, diesel and cooking gas prices, saying that the demand for revisiting the decision could only be considered after the Prime Minister returned from The Hague. Talking to reporters, before leaving for his foreign trip, he said the decision was taken to reduce the burden on oil companies. Warning the Congress-led UPA of meeting the “same fate” as that of the previous NDA government, the Delhi chapter of the CPM said its “anti-poor” policies were leading it to the brink. Earlier talking to reporters, Mr Aiyar said, “I am not ruling out anything, neither am I ruling anything in.”
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Govt for 100 pc FDI in pension
New Delhi, November 8 The government is also likely to put in place a ‘central record-keeping and accounting agency’ (CRA), which would be the nerve centre of the new ‘defined contribution’ pension scheme, in the next four or five months. About half a dozen entities, including NSDL, CDSL, UTI-ISL, SHCIL and the US-based Principal group, are keen on becoming the CRA. “We will pitch for 100 per cent FDI,” Joint Secretary (Capital Markets and Pension) U. K. Sinha told reporters here on the sidelines of a seminar on pensions, organised by the India Invest Economic Foundation. Indications are that the issue might be taken up at the Cabinet in the near future as the Finance Ministry is ready with a Bill, which seeks to set up the Pension Fund Regulatory Development Authority (PFRDA). Explaining the rationale behind pension reforms, Sinha said the Centre’s pension liabilities rose to Rs 23,158 crore in 2003-04, amounting to 13 per cent of the total tax revenue.
— PTI
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Carmakers woo customers this Divali
Chandigarh, November 8 Customers would be given free accessories worth Rs 28,900 and Rs 26,500 on compact cars, Zen and WagonR, respectively, company officials said. Customers can avail of the offer till Saturday. Hyundai Motor India Ltd has announced a Rs 3-lakh sticker price for its compact car Santro. Hyundai customers can buy, Santro, at discounted price till November 10. General Motor India also launched a limited edition of Opel Corsa Elite. The car has been priced Rs 5,33,036 (ex-showroom, Delhi).
— TNS, PTI
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Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh visiting Bangalore on a mission to attract investment in information technology
to Punjab said here today that he had received a positive response from the leading companies he visited here and his government was keen that the state’s people did not lose out on the benefits of IT.
