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Govt to divest stake in PSUs through
Maruti to park Rs 2,718 crore in Haryana
A model displays Yamaha YZR-M 1 racing model at the 8th Auto Expo, 2006, in New Delhi on Thursday.
— Tribune photo by Mukesh Aggarwal
AP woos IT companies
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HP spends Rs 25 crore on export infrastructure
Sahara PC priced below Rs 30,000
HCCI pre-Budget plea to FM
India, China sign pact on hydrocarbons
India, Riyadh to protect bilateral investments
DaimlerChrysler wins lawsuit
BoB plans to enter life insurance sector
TCS Q3 net up at Rs 679.65 cr
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Govt to divest stake in PSUs through third route
New Delhi, January 12 Unlike the sale of government stake in PSUs through public offering or strategic sale to private partners, this third approach has been approved by the Left parties as it would help the government keep the stake under its fold through public sector banks and institutions while raising funds for social investment. The sale of 8 per cent stake in Maruti Udyog Ltd. today to eight state-run banks and financial institutions is the first sign of this approach. The Government raised about Rs 1567 crore just before the Budget through this strategic route. After the meeting of Empowered Group of Ministers on Disinvestment, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram told reporters that the government was open to offload the remaining 10.24 per cent stake in the company, besides taking “some decisions” on disinvesting its stake in PSUs under different ministries. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs took this decision, he said while refusing to divulge details. Despite buoyancy in tax collections, the government is delaying the funding of Bharat Nirman and hopes to raise about Rs 5,000 crore from shares this year. The LIC has picked up more than 50 per cent of the 2,31,12,804 shares that were on offer. “Of the 2.31 crore shares on offer, bids for 4.12 crore shares were received in the price range of Rs 620 to Rs 725. The LIC has got 1.68 crore shares at Rs 682 per share as against the cut-off price of Rs 620,” said the Finance Minister. The LIC already has 3.45 per cent in Maruti and today it got another 5.81 per cent, taking its total stake in the carmaker to 9.26 per cent. The Finance Minister said all Maruti employees would be offered 20 shares each of the company at the average price of bids. SBI was the second most successful bidder, picking up 39 lakh shares at Rs 660 each. The highest bidder for stake in Maruti was the Small Industries Development Bank of India, which offered a price of Rs 725, followed by Corporation Bank at Rs 690.Other successful bidders like Exim Bank made an offer of Rs 680, Indian Bank Rs 670, Union Bank of India Rs 665 and State Bank of Patiala Rs 660. Sources said the government was likely to sell its stake partially in some of the profit-making state-owned firms while winding up the loss-making ones numbering over 100 out of nearly 240 public sector units. They maintained that the government was under pressure to fund commitments made in its February,2005, Budget to help more than 260 million Indians living below poverty line.
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Maruti to park Rs 2,718 crore in Haryana
New Delhi, January 12 MUL Managing Director Jagdish Khattar said the company would invest Rs 2,718 crore in the Indian market by 2008 and launch five new models, including a diesel car in the next five years. Inaugurating the company’s pavilion at the 8th Auto Expo, he said: “The new investments would be made for introducing new models, research and development as well as upgradation.” Regarding the source of funding, he said, it would be mostly raised through internal accruals, and might be partly financed through financial institutions. “The diesel engine plant will be ready by the end of this year and along with it will come a new diesel car model in India,” Mr Khattar said. When asked about the competition posed by the Tata’s proposed Rs 1 lakh car, Mr Khattar said MUL was geared up to withstand the competition. “We have a ‘plan’ in place,” he said, adding that he hoped two-wheeler owners investing up to Rs 50,000 would upgrade to Rs one lakh car, and later to Rs 2 lakh car. However, he said he welcomed the ambitious plan of the Tatas to bring a low- cost car, but maintained that the company would try to remain the market leader. MUL, in which Japan’s Suzuki Motors holds a 54.2 per cent stake, enjoys a market share of around 56 per cent in the Indian market.
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Auto Expo gets under way Skoda to launch small cars
New Delhi, January 12 “We are definitely eyeing the small car space as it is a volume segment and we aim to become a significant player in India,” SkodaAuto India Managing Director Lukas Folc told reporters on the sidelines of the 8th Auto Expo here today. Mr Folc also said the car would be launched in both petrol and diesel versions. He, however, declined to specify any time frame for the launch of the vehicle. The new models would include Fabia, and a new range of Octavia, among others. Meanwhile, over 1,000 auto manufacturers from over 25 countries are participating in the exhibition. Yamaha Motor India also announced an investment of Rs 300 crore for product development and expansion in India over the next two years. CEO and Managing Director of the company, Mr. T. Ishikawa, said the focus would be to strengthen ‘Yamaha’ as a single brand that symbolises one experience in excellence, across all its products, in line with Yamaha’s global image. Further, it plans to revamp its marketing network by opening Urban Lifestyle outlets in urban centres and commuter shops for the rural market. Hindustan Motors launched a new model of Mitsubishi, Lancer Cedia and Audi launched its best selling model, A4. Earlier, inaugurating the Auto Expo at Pragati Maidan, Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath committed to providing the right policy framework so that the auto industry exports, estimated at $1 billion, accelerate to $25 billion in the next decade. He said: ‘’I can unequivocally state that we are deeply and fully committed to the reform process and to greater global integration. Tariff barriers are being lowered through a regime of regional trading agreements already in place and we are in the process of finalising other such pacts. Our engagements with the rest of the world are deepening by the day and this will continue in coming times.’’ This yea’s Auto Expo is the biggest such expo in Asia with over 1,000 exhibitors, including 300 from overseas, taking part, claimed the organisers.
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AP woos IT companies
Hyderabad, January 12 “Realising the hardware sector has not been paid due attention in the past, the government is planning to set up a hardware park,’’ he said while inaugurating sixth edition of the three-day International Expo “Gitex India, 2006,’’ organised jointly by the Dubai World Trade Centre and the state government. Organised by the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) in association with the Information Technology and Communications Department of the state government every year in January, the three-day event aims to bring leading Indian and global IT players on a single platform. Ms Christina Nicholson, DWTC, General Manager, said about 16 companies had entered into MoUs with the state government on the occasion to make an investment of Rs 657 crore, providing employment to about 34,000 graduates. The show had attracted trade visitors and delegates from China, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, USA and Taiwan. Ms Nicholson said. The state, which had witnessed 65 per cent growth in the IT sector as against the national average of 35 per cent last year, would be failing if it could not register 70 per cent growth, Mr Reddy told officials of the IT Department and the companies. The IT industry would have a major take-off in Vizakhapatnam in the next two years with the allotment of land to five IT companies in that port city. The government aimed to achieve a better spread of IT companies with presence in every district.
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HP spends Rs 25 crore on export infrastructure
New Delhi, January 12 The vehicle launched at the ongoing Auto Expo has been manufactured by Himachal- based Sonalika Group Car Company ICML. She said upgradation of roads/electrical infrastructure was undertaken under the Central Government- sponsored Scheme “Assistance to states for developing export infrastructure and other allied activities (ASIDE)” in Baddi, Brotiwala, Parwanoo and Kala Amb industrial areas , the main export corridor of the state. She said that an integrated infrastructure development centre was being set up at Gwalthai on border of Bilaspur District adjoining Nangal township at a cost of Rs 4.32 crore.
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Sahara PC priced below Rs 30,000
New Delhi, January 12 The entry-level Sahara Media Center PC has been priced from Rs 29,999 and marks the company’s foray in home entertainment solutions segment, the company said in a press note. The entry-point PC is powered by Intel Pentium 4, 2.66 GHZ processor and comes with a TV tuner card and remote. It allows user to pause or record their TV programmes, it said. The high -end PC series is powered by AMD Athlon and comes with a 19 inch colour monitor, 80GB hard disk drive that can be used in conjunction with the built in Sahara DVD writer to record TV shows. It also features integrated graphics nVIDIA Geforce 6100 and for enhanced audio clarity, it also includes 5.1 MM speakers, it added. — PTI
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HCCI pre-Budget plea to FM
Chandigarh, January 12 In their pre-Budget proposals submitted to the Finance Minister, the HCCI has urged that the transport freight service tax is being levied on the manufacturers while it should be on the transporters itself. “The notification by which the small-scale industry was availing exemption which provides concessional rate of 60 per cent of normal rate of excise duty with Cenvat credit (up to clearance of Ra 1 crore in the Budget of 2005-06) has placed the small-scale sector under great financial burden,” said Mr S P Gupta, President, HCCI. Elaborating further, he said while the raw material used in their products mostly have the excise duty from 8 to 12 per cent, but now the small scale sector has to bear the normal duty of 16 per cent on the product. The HCCI has also demanded that exemption limit for excise duty may be raised up to Rs 2 crore, instead of Rs 1 crore, keeping in view the price increase and higher production cost . The industrialists body has also recommended that excise duty be levied at the rate of eight per cent up to a turnover of Rs 2 crore, 12 per cent on Rs 2 crore to Rs 5 crore; and, 16 per cent above Rs 5 crore.
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India, China sign pact on hydrocarbons
Beijing, January 12 A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on hydrocarbon cooperation between India and China signed by Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar and Chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) Ma Kai envisages broad cooperation across the hydrocarbon value chain. The MoU allows joint exploration and production; downstream projects; strategic storage and stockpiling; research and development; conservation and promotion of environment- friendly fuels. It also provides for setting up a joint working group on hydrocarbon cooperation at official level that will meet alternately in the two countries. Meanwhile, IndianOil and gas companies including GAIL India Ltd also signed five MoUs with their Chinese counterparts to cooperate in the oil and gas sectors. Mr Aiyar held parleys with Mr Kai on a wide range of issues.
— PTI
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India, Riyadh to protect bilateral investments
New Delhi, January 12 Information and Broadcasting Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunshi told reporters after the Cabinet meeting that the agreement was finalised during talks between the two sides here in September last year. Under the provisions, ‘investment’ is defined as “every kind of asset, including intellectual property rights in accordance with the laws and regulations of the country in which investment is made,” he said. Saudi King would be the chief guest at this year’s Republic Day celebrations.
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DaimlerChrysler wins lawsuit
Brussels, January 12 The European Court of Justice ruled against the claim by descendants of the Spanish artist, who had argued that the ‘Picaro’ trademark registered by the automaker was too close to the Picasso name, the court said in a statement. The Picasso heirs were also ordered to pay the costs of the proceedings. The Picasso family launched their case at the Luxembourg-based court against the EU’s trademark office, which granted DaimlerChrysler use of the Picaro label in 2002.
— AP
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BoB plans to enter life insurance sector
Chandigarh, January 12 This was stated by the General Manager (Corporate) of the bank, Dr S.C. Mehta, during a visit to the city today. He was in the city to announce the launch of the bank’s public issue offer. He said that the bank already has a tie up with National Insurance Company, but they were keen to launch their own life insurance scheme. Dr Mehta said that the bank intends to expand into new lines of business. “We also have plans to start wealth management. The bank plans to develop thee businesses by entering into joint ventures and alliances with leading product and service suppliers, and may also make acquisitions,” he added. The bank also proposes to grow its international franchise for additional offices in Canada, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Trinidad and Tobago and the Isle of Man.
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