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Jet-Air Sahara deal hits turbulence
Germany keen to invest in renewable energy SEZ
Aditya Birla Group buys out Tatas in Idea for Rs 4,406 cr
Major discovery of gas hydrates in KG basin
Wanbury bags stake in DOCL
Bharti to invest $13 b in 5 years
Agree Ya to invest $15 m
IOC opens largest PTA plant at Panipat
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Oracle to set up centre
in Mohali
FTP to tie up with Amritsar textile industry
Mittal bid gains momentum
SBI business centre
SBI not to hike PLR
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Jet-Air Sahara deal hits turbulence
Mumbai, June 20 While the Indian Government’s delay in giving clearance to Jet Airways boss Naresh Goyal’s induction into Air Sahara’s Board is stated as the official reason, the causes for the souring of ties go deeper, according to observers. Senior executives of Jet Airways, who conducted the due diligence of Air Sahara, have unearthed hidden losses that were kept off the books. Worse still, more than half of Air Sahara’s pilots have put in their papers amidst reports that their designations and pay packets would be downgraded. The Jet-Sahara deal touted as Naresh Goyal’s coup to grab a major market share in the face of competition from low-cost carriers continues to rile investors. According to sources here, Mr Goyal is holding talks with representatives of Sahara boss Subroto Roy in London and the deal is undergoing major revision. So far Jet has paid Rs 600 crore to Air Sahara. Should the deal fall through, the cash-strapped Sahara group would have to return Rs 500 crore apart from finding fresh funds to infuse into the airline. The escrow account opened to deposit funds to buy out Sahara closes on Wednesday. It was already extended by three months in March. Mr Saroj Dutta, Executive Director Air Sahara, said his company was looking at extending the deadline on the escrow account. “The deal is very much on right now,” he said. However a statement issued by Jet Airways late this afternoon confirms that the issue has gone beyond the government’s regulatory phase. “Jet Airways wishes to clarify that it is still awaiting all regulatory approvals and the fulfilment of all conditions”, the terse statement said. Reports, however, said that Mr Goyal had written a strong letter to the Air Sahara management expressing his unhappiness at the state of affairs of the Roy-held airline. Though Jet Airways is silent on the issue, Air Sahara’s Datta confirmed the receipt of such a letter. Girja Shankar Kaura adds from New Delhi: The issue took political overtones in the evening as Mr Yadav in his letter to Dr Manmohan Singh said: “When I was the Civil Aviation Minister, the matter was also under consideration with the Ministry of Civil Aviation at that time. The clearance was not given because the Ministry of Home Affairs had disturbing information about Jet Airways”. When contacted, a Jet Airways spokesperson, however, declined to comment on the issue raised by Mr Yadav. Sources in the Sahara Group, meanwhile, indicated that one of the options could be a further extension of the deadline of the escrow account. Jet has been virtually operating Air Sahara since April. They said Jet Airways was rethinking the deal after its due-diligence revealed some startling facts. Jet, which was allowed to do the due-diligence only after the MoU was signed, found that Air Sahara had been posting mounting losses. In his letter Mr Yadav said a Home Ministry report on Jet had found that Mr Goyal and his airlines had been “steady recipients of large dubious investments originating from Gulf Sheikhs” and had intermittent contacts with “underworld dons Chhota Shakeel and Dawood Ibrahim to settle financial disputes.” “The Ministry of Civil Aviation (then) did not give security clearance due to the above information provided by the MHA,” he said. “I request you to stall any move to give security clearance to Jet Airways. Meanwhile, Home Ministry sources said a decision on security clearance pertaining to the Jet-Sahara deal would be taken by tomorrow.
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Germany keen to invest in renewable energy SEZ
New Delhi, June 20 In a meeting with Non-Conventional Energy Sources Minister Vilas Muttemwar, German Minister for Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety Sigmar Gabriel said, "A German business delegation will soon visit India, and explore with the Indian industry and the government, the possibilities of investments in the SEZ for renewables". Mr Muttemwar asked the German minister as well as the industry associations to consider investing in these dedicated special economic zones (SEZs). Ms Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul, Federal Minister of Economic Cooperation at Berlin, was also present at the meeting. Besides duty benefits, said Mr Muttembar, this kind of SEZ would enable reduced cost of manufacturing on account of comprehensive infrastructure facilities, including power, banking, in this region. Both sides shared their experiences in development and deployment of renewable energy systems and devices in their countries. The two sides acknowledged that there were significant opportunities for cooperation in the area of joint research, design and development, especially in the areas of wind energy, solar energy and bio-energy.
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Aditya Birla Group buys out Tatas
Mumbai, June 20 Both groups have completed the transaction earlier today, said the Aditya Birla Group press statement here. Accordingly, the combined holding of the Aditya Birla Group companies in Idea Cellular now stands at 98.3 per cent constituted between Aditya Birla Nuvo at 35.7 per cent followed by Birla TMT Holdings at 44.9 per cent, Grasim Industries at 7.6 per cent and Hindalco Industries 10.1 per cent. Commenting on the development, Aditya Birla Group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla said,' The Idea name has come to stand for value and innovation in the eyes of its millions of subscribers. We shall raise the bar and aim that Idea represents the very best across all product and service categories.'' — UNI
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Major discovery of gas hydrates in KG basin
New Delhi, June 20 According to an official press note issued here, the results from the second site in KG basin have shown the presence of a 128-meterthick gas hydrates layer indicating massive to dispersed gas hydrates. “This marks a very significant development in the country. The research and development work is in progress to develop a commercially viable technology to produce natural gas from gas hydrates, which is so far not available anywhere in the world. Development of this unconventional source of energy could meet a large part of our ever increasing demand for gas in the decades to come”, Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Murli Deora said. The gas hydrate samples have now been physically collected for the first time in India, making it the third country in the world to do so in its deep waters, after the USA and Japan.
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New Delhi, June 20 ''We will merge DOCL with Wanbury. The deal is an equity swap and DOCL promoters will get a stake in Wanbury for their 49 per cent equity,'' Wanbury Finance Direcor Ashok Shinkar said. DOCL has already commenced contract-manufacturing products like Gabapantine and Mefanamic Acid for large MNCs. The company recently acquired Pharmaceutical Products of India (PPIL) — a sick Mumbai-based bulk drug maker. Wanbury entered into a scheme of arrangement with banks and financial institutions that hold PPIL's assets, which include three manufacturing facilities and one formulations facility. Speaking on the future course of the company, Mr Shinkar said, ''We are aggressively looking to acquire companies with a strategic fit, nationally and internationally, to become quality player in our markets.'' — UNI
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Bharti to invest $13 b in 5 years
New Delhi, June 20 Projecting a turnover of $10 billion (between Rs 45,000-Rs 50,000 crore) by 2010-11, Mr Sunil Mittal, Chairman and Managing Director of the Bharti Group, said. “From the $10 billion turnover, at least $7 billion will come from our telecom business,” he said. The Bharti group offers mobile telecom services under Airtel brand and is the largest private telecom operator in the country with a market share of nearly 25 per cent. About the international acquisition plans, Mr Mittal said the group was looking for opportunities in the neighbouring countries, Africa and SAARC nations. “Our idea is that we can do acquisition of up to $3 billion, whether it is a new buildout or in the existing companies,” he said. On the domestic front, he said the telecom business was growing at a huge pace. “Proposed investments in telecom are already announced. We shall be investing $1.5 to 2 billion (up to Rs 10,000 crore) each year in India more or less on a continuous basis for the next five years,” he said. — PTI
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Agree Ya to invest $15 m
New Delhi, June 20 ''We will be pumping in $15 million over the next 2-3 years in both organic and inorganic growth in India, which would include opening of other channels and markets and expanding delivery capability, as well as new acquisitions of medium-sized ERP (SAP) solutions,'' Agree Ya Managing Partner & Co-Founder Ajay Kaul told reporters here. The company has already invested $4 million on its Global Delivery Centre (GDC) in Noida, and plans to pump in $2 million in its second GDC at Bangalore, which will be functional by the year-end. Agree Ya, with a current turnover of $25 million, provides IT solutions to MNCs and corporate houses in its core areas, including banking and finance, public utilities, healthcare, telecom and retail.
— UNI |
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IOC opens largest PTA plant at Panipat
New Delhi, June 20 The plan, inaugurated by IOC Chairman Sarthak Behuria utilises the latest T-10 technology of Invista (earlier Dupont) producing PTA of a far more superior quality. It will be used as raw material for staple fibre, filament yarn, PET bottles, polyester film, audio video tapes etc. for which the market is growing at a fast pace. “Our master plan for the petrochemicals business involves development of world-scale petrochemical hubs at Panipat in the North and Paradip on the East Coast,” Mr Behuria added.
— UNI |
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Oracle to set up centre
in Mohali
Mohali, June 20 Besides these, the Punjab Government officials stated today that they had also held talks with Intel to set up its centre in the state. This was announced by the Finance Minister of Punjab, Mr Surinder
Singla, here today. Giving details, Mr N.S. Kalsi, Managing Director, Punjab
Infotech, said while Oracle would be given about six acres of the 15-acre plot that Punjab Infotech had in Sector 67, Cisco has been offered five acre in the township. "These two companies are expected to be here in the coming few months, while Intel could take some more time before a final decision is made," he added. |
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FTP to tie up with Amritsar textile industry
Amritsar, June 20 The park would provide a platform to the artisans to export phulkari, shawls and other traditional items. Mr Pikender Pal Singh, CEO, Business School Fashion, at a seminar held here today, said the project had the potential of engineering a low-cost economic revolution through harnessing entrepreneurial skills of this region. Talking to this correspondent, Mr Singh said the technology park had been able to identify about 40 villages in the state to provide focused approach to help artisans produce quality textile items. He said the park had set up 75 self- help groups of women artisans working on phulkari and shawls. He said they would provide all kind of technical help so that products get better remunerative prices. |
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Brussels, June 20 “Mittal Steel confirms that discussions are taking place with Arcelor. The outcome of these discussions remains uncertain at this stage,” the group controlled by billionaire Chief Executive Lakshmi Mittal said in a statement. Mittal and Arcelor Chief Executive Guy Dolle are both due to attend a steel industry conference in New York today. But neither group would comment on whether the two men would take the opportunity to hold talks about how to resolve their takeover battle. Arcelor said last evening it cancelled a shareholder meeting scheduled for June 21 on a planned 6.5-billion-euro ($8.18 billion) share buy-back plan. Mittal told the Wall Street Journal that Arcelor’s decision made him increasingly confident that he could convince Arcelor shareholders they should back his offer. “Mittal’s bid is gaining momentum,” said Mr Mickael Vandenhauwe, an analyst from the Dexia banking group. He nevertheless cautioned that Arcelor’s planned shareholders meeting to back a white knight rescue plan with Russia’s Severstal constituted the main ‘’roadblock” ahead. The June 30 meeting is planned to give Arcelor shareholders the chance to oppose the deal. — Reuters
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SBI business centre
Chandigarh, June 20 Mr Contractor said Hoshiarpur had been chosen for this centre so that the bank could play greater role in economic development of the area.
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SBI not to hike PLR
Bangalore, June 20 “Hike (in PLR) is required when the cost of deposits go up”, Mr Bhattacharya said. Asked if the bank would increase deposit interest rates, he said :” In the rising interest rate scenario, deposit interest rates cannot fall because alternative avenues are available.
— PTI |
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CBT to open office in India Bank of India HMT arm V. Thulasidas Excellence award |
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