 |
|
TCS acquires Chile BPO firm for $23 million
HPCL, BP to hammer out pact by Nov 12
Reliance first telecom co to cross 15 million subscriber base
Thapar Group forays into BPO with $3 m
NHPC to tap hydel potential in Himachal, North-East
Dr Reddy’s to buy Roche’s
Mexico plant
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
BEML dividend
Pantaloon to enter household items, food segments
ICI India to hive off rubber chemicals business to jv
PSU CMDs to judge govt Directors
China, USA reach textile trade pact
IBM to acquire Network Solutions
Vizag chosen for mega chemicals complex
|
|
TCS acquires Chile BPO firm for $23 million
Bangalore, November 8 As part of the transaction by which TCS bought 100 per cent equity in Comicrom, TCS has also bought out Comicrom’s 49 per cent stake in its IT services joint venture in Chile, in which TCS held a balance of 51 per cent. A privately held company with 1,257 employees, Comicrom is the market leader in the banking and pensions BPO business in Chile and provides services to banks, insurance companies, pension funds, government bodies and other large corporations in the Latin American country, according to TCS. Comicrom had revenues of $35.5 million in 2004-05 and operating margins of 14 per cent, TCS said. At a press conference here, TCS CEO and Managing Director S. Ramadorai said: “This acquisition is a further step in realising TCS strategy of acquiring leadership in platform-based BPO for the banking and domain. It also expands TCS capability in terms of becoming a full services player.” TCS Global Head of Sales and Operations N. Chandrasekaran, said TCS expects revenues of $30 million from its Latin American operations in the current financial year, and is eyeing $100 million in 2006-07. Mr Chandrasekaran said 1,600 persons would be recruited in Brazil within two years. Mr Ramadorai said TCS is looking to scale up its headcount in Latin America to 4,500 to 5,000 in couple of years. Mr Ramadorai said bilingual (Spanish and English) competencies of the workforce of Comicrom (now TCS employees) not only give TCS “enormous leverage” to address the Latin American market but provides it a cross-selling opportunity — accessing through BPO clients for its IT services and banking products — as also tap companies in Spain and Spanish-speaking regions elsewhere, particularly the US. According to Mr Chandrasekaran, Latin America’s IT and ITeS market size is pegged at $28 billion, including BPO pie of $3 billion. TCS said Comicrom has more than 25 clients, and has a 57 per cent market share of the check processing business in Chile and counts more than 70 per cent of the banks operating in that country as its customers.
— PTI
|
|
HPCL, BP to hammer out pact by Nov 12
New Delhi, November 8 The two signed a letter of intent on October 13 to form a 50:50 venture to construct, operate and control the Bathinda refinery to start with, and later cover the entire refining and marketing sectors. “HPCL and BP have agreed that within one month from the date of this letter of intent
(LoI), both parties will pursue establishment of the joint venture vehicle and the broader strategic partnership with each other with a view to reaching a binding agreement,” a government official said. It was agreed that such binding commitment would be reached following a further review and agreement upon the management and governance structure of the joint venture. The official said BP would assist HPCL in crude selection and supply for other refineries of HPCL. The joint venture plans to market Bathinda refinery products and would get access to HPCL’s existing infrastructure on mutually agreed terms. The joint marketing activities would be subject to BP making an investment exceeding Rs 2,000 crore in the refinery project, the official said. The LoI provided for a broader strategic partnership for participation in the greenfield refinery and/or a terminal project on east coast India; providing opportunities to HPCL to acquire refining and marketing assets that BP may identify from its overseas portfolio.
— PTI
|
|
Reliance first telecom co to cross 15 million subscriber base
New Delhi, November 8 The subscriber base includes both CDMA and GSM. The CDMA subscriber base of Reliance Infocomm is about 13.9 million while that of GSM is 1.6 million. “This gives us close to 25 per cent share of the total (mobile) subscriber base of about 68 million (both CDMA and GSM),” the company said. Reliance is followed closely by Bharti, which has a customer base of 14.7 million. BSNL comes third with a base of about 12.5 million.
— PTI
|
|
|
Thapar Group forays into BPO with $3 m
New Delhi, November 8 The joint venture entity will be called Salient Business Solutions and will have an initial investment of $ 3 million over a period of 12 months. The company plans to eventually ramp up its operations by addressing customers in vertical services such as finance, accounting and HR-led services and horizontal services such as vendor management, procurement, sales management and data warehousing solutions. Option Care is the first customer for Salient Business Solutions that will involve specialised BPO solutions in the healthcare segment. Mr Gautam Thapar, Chairman, Salient Business Solutions, said: “As a group we have been considering a foray into areas within the services sector that would provide us a global perspective to our operations as well as help leverage the substantial brand equity that we have developed during the past seven decades.” The Thapar Group today operates in a diverse range of businesses that include paper, chemicals, agri-foods, infrastructure, electrical and power transmission equipment.
— UNI
|
|
NHPC to tap hydel potential in Himachal, North-East
Faridabad, November 8 “The NHPC has prepared a blueprint to add 7000 MW of power by investing about Rs 60,000 crore in the hydel sector. To raise these funds, we expect a budgetary support amounting to Rs 26,000 crore from the government, about Rs 7,000 crore from internal accruals and the rest as borrowings from the financial institutions,” said Mr S.K. Garg, Chairman-cum-Managing Director, NHPC, here last night. Talking to The Tribune on the sidelines of the 31st Foundation Day of the NHPC, Mr Garg said the proposed projects would include 800 MW Parbati II and 231 MW
Chamera-III units in Himachal Pradesh. “The work on both these units has started and these projects are likely to be commissioned by 2010 as per the scheduled date,” he said. The NHPC was also working, he said, on the 2,000 MW Subansiri hydel project in Arunachal Pradesh, one of the largest hydel projects in the North-East. We are in the final process of raising about Rs 450 crore from France as a long-term debt at below 4 per cent rate to partially fund this mega project, estimated to cost around Rs 8,000 crore, said the
CMD. The corporation is likely to achieve a net profit of over Rs 700 crore in 2005-06 as against Rs 685 crore in 2004-05, observed Mr Garg. At present, the NHPC has hydel projects with a capacity of over 3,700 MW, including Baira Siul (180 MW),
Chamera-I, II (840 MW) in Himachal, and Salal (690 MW) and Uri (480 MW) in J&K. The NHPC was expected to commission the 390 MW Dul Hasti hydel project in Jammu & Kashmir by the end of the current financial year, said Mr Garg.
|
|
Dr Reddy’s to buy Roche’s
Mexico plant
Mumbai, November 8 It said the all-cash deal, to be completed by the end of December, included 340 employees at the site in Cuernavaca and all its business supply contracts. The unit makes and sells bulk drugs to Roche and other innovator pharmaceutical companies. Dr Reddy’s said in a statement it expected the unit to add to earnings and saw the full impact from the next financial year. With the acquisition, Dr. Reddy’s said it hoped to become a leading player in custom pharmaceutical services, targeting big pharma companies, and forecast that its revenue from the business could grow to $100 million in 18 months from $10 million now. Roche’s Mexican portfolio has 18 products. Dr. Reddy’s said the buyout also gave it unique steroid manufacturing capability.
|
|
BEML dividend
New Delhi, November 8 BEML, a public sector Undertaking under the Ministry of Defence, has declared 85 per cent final dividend on its share capital for the financial 2004-05. This is in addition to the interim dividend of 15 per cent already paid by the company during January 2005. The company posted a turnover of Rs 1,865 crore for 2004-05 with a Rs 272 crore profit before tax and Rs 175 crore profit after tax.
— UNI
|
|
Pantaloon to enter household items, food segments
Chandigarh, November 8 Dr Rakesh Mittal, Director and Head, Manufacturing, Pantaloon, who was here today to participate in the Fashion Knowledge Forum — 2005, told TNS on the sidelines of a seminar that they would be opening discount stores in Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Amritsar by next year. It also plans to sell household items through its discount stores, along with apparels, almost on the Wal Mart strategy. “After targeting big cities, the company now wants to open more such stores in B class cities,” he added. Since the company has strong brand presence, the discount models would fuel the sales to the larger population, he said, while adding that the company is targeting a turnover of Rs 5,000 crore by next year. Pantaloon will also be doing more of women’s wear even in its life style segment. The focus will be more on the office-going apparel. “We are also looking for business ideas in design management and education,” Mr Mittal said. Talking about the future plans, Mr Mittal said the company would also come up with food bazaars.
|
|
ICI India to hive off rubber chemicals business to jv
New Delhi, November 8 PMC Group International and the company will hold 51 per cent and 49 per cent stake, respectively, in the jv. The company will receive about Rs 8 crore for the transfer of a 51 per cent stake in the rubber chemicals business to the jv, ICI said. The proposed deal will involve transfer of the rubber chemicals business with all assets to the JV, ICI India said. About 200 employees of the rubber chemicals business will also be transferred to the JV. The rubber chemicals business was established in 1964 at Rishra in West Bengal and its production capacity was increased progressively. The business had sales of Rs 106 crore including exports of Rs 22 crore in the financial year 2004-05.
— UNI
|
|
PSU CMDs to judge govt Directors
New Delhi, November 8 At present, there are two government directors on board of each of the Central PSUs, barring ONGC, and they are senior officials of the administrative ministry. To remove the impression that the contribution of the government nominees on the boards of PSUs is negative, the government has formulated a proposal whereby the top manager of the company will access the performance of the nominee of administrative ministry, sources told PTI. The proposal has been debated at length at Board for Reconstruction of Public Enterprises and has been given a nod. However, before the notification to this effect comes some more rounds of consultations at various levels will be required.
— PTI
|
|
China, USA reach textile trade pact
London, November 8 Textile interests in the USA have complained that they have had to shed thousands of jobs because Chinese exports of textiles products had soared since a system of global quotas on exports ended on January 1 this year. The Chinese Trade Minister was here as Chinese President Hu Jintao was expected early today for a state visit to London. Late yesterday, US officials in Washington had signalled that work was continuing to complete a broad agreement. The main Chinese association of textile manufacturers had also indicated that the two sides had reached the basis of an agreement. It said that China had made concessions on the duration of a new quota system, enabling the USA to impose restrictions on the entry into the USA of textiles and clothes from China until 2008, instead of 2007 as preferred by China. The association indicated that the agreement allowed for a gradual increase of Chinese textile exports by 8-10 per cent in 2006, by 13 per cent in 2007 and 17 per cent in 2008.
— AFP
|
|
IBM to acquire Network Solutions
Bangalore, November 8 IBM would acquire the entire equity capital of Network Solutions, making it a wholly-owned subsidiary. The transaction was expected to close within a month, a company press note here said. This strategic investment would enable IBM to augment its networking and managed services portfolio of offerings in India and broaden its reach across the country. “The acquisition will enable IBM to consolidate its leadership in domestic services,” Mr Shanker
Annaswamy, Managing Director, IBM Global Services India said. — UNI
|
|
Vizag chosen for mega chemicals complex
Hyderabad, November 8 The state government has earmarked about 15,000 acres for the project being promoted jointly with the Centre to attract FDI in chemicals sector, he noted. Speaking at the inaugural of the second edition of the CII conference on export excellence here, the Chief Minister disclosed that the state’s share stood at 4 per cent of India’s exports. The total exports rose to Rs.17, 974 crore (2004-05) from Rs 15, 381 crore (2003-04).
|
bb
Re dips sharply MphasiS plan NokAir eyes India Food festival Khaitan Elec Vedika’s move iGate in Japan Steel Strips plans plant in Bangalore Handloom industry to be revived Rana Sugar declares dividend |
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
Chandigarh, November 8
