B U S I N E S S

RPower faces farmers’ wrath
Want land back, but can’t repay compensation in one go
Ghaziabad, January 13
Over 500 farmers today approached the district authorities seeking return of land sold to Anil Ambani-controlled Reliance Power (RPower), but expressed inability to repay the compensation in one-go, a government official said.

The farmers, whose lands have been acquired for a Reliance Power project, stage a dharna at district collectorate in Ghaziabad on Wednesday. — PTI

Bharti Airtel rejigs top management
New Delhi, January 13
As it goes about expanding global footprint, Bharti Airtel today announced changes in top management to suit its endeavour by naming CEO Manoj Kohli as head of its International Business Group. The company also elevated deputy CEO Sanjay Kapoor to the post of CEO.

Google, China face off over Internet

New York, January 13 Google today threatened to shut down its operations in China after uncovering “highly sophisticated” hacking attempts into e-mail accounts of Chinese human rights activists. “These attacks and the surveillance they have uncovered - combined with the attempts over the past year to further limit free speech on the web - have led us to conclude that we should review the feasibility of our business operations in China,” David Drummond, senior V-P of corporate development and chief legal officer, said in a blog post.

HUL chief warns of more global crises
Mumbai, January 13
Even as the economy is showing strong signs of revival, Hindustan Unilever CEO and MD Nitin Paranjape today warned the turbulent events of past 18 months will keep recurring with greater intensity and frequency.

M&A volume touches 10-yr high
New Delhi, January 13
As the global economy recovers from recession blues, more companies are going shopping abroad leading to the merger and acquisition (M&A) volume touching a 10-year high of $74.5 billion till date in 2010.

Japan Airlines gets new CEO
Tokyo, January 13
Kazuo Inamori, the founder of electronics maker Kyocera Corp, agreed on Wednesday to become the new chief executive of Japan Airlines, as the carrier's shares plunged ahead of its expected bankruptcy.

Company law to be amended
New Delhi, January 13
The government plans to introduce a bill to amend the Companies Act in the Budget session of Parliament to enable convergence of Indian accounting standards with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

GTL Infra to buy Aircel towers
New Delhi, January 13
GTL Infrastructure is close to ink a deal with mobile service provider Aircel to buy over 17,000 telecom towers for a consideration of Rs 8,500 crore. The two companies have reached an agreement and an announcement on this is likely tomorrow, a source privy to the development sid.

BSNL in Round II to buy Zamtel
New Delhi, January 13
Inching closer to its first ever global buyout, state-owned BSNL has entered the second round of bidding to acquire a majority stake in Zambia’s leading telecom company Zambia Telecommunications (Zamtel).

3G to bring in cheaper service
New Delhi, January 13
As the long expected auction for 3G services nears, telecom experts advise prospective operators to search for the high-end customers in their existing subscriber base and prepare to them to shift to high-speed download that the 3G would facilitate.

RPower faces farmers’ wrath
Want land back, but can’t repay compensation in one go

Ghaziabad, January 13
Over 500 farmers today approached the district authorities seeking return of land sold to Anil Ambani-controlled Reliance Power (RPower), but expressed inability to repay the compensation in one-go, a government official said.

The farmers' claim follows the high court order that quashed a portion of the state government's 2004 notification for purchase of land for Reliance Power's Dadri power plant.

"As many as 566 farmers have applied today... we are yet to calculate the quantum of land claimed by them, but it could be around 600-700 acres... the process will continue till January 18,” Additional DM (Finance) Sarvajeet Ram said over phone.

The farmers wanted the repay the compensation amount in instalments, saying they had spent the money, Ram said, but added there was no specific direction in the December 4 Allahabad High Court order about instalments and a view would have to be taken by the administration.

RPower has since filed a special leave petition in the Supreme Court, appealing against the high court order.

A Reliance Power spokesperson said the matter was before Supreme Court and was sub-judice and declined to comment. The Anil Ambani group company had acquired 2,200 acres for the Rs 10,000-crore project.

Appearing for the farmers, Advocate Ashish Pratap Singh claimed that he had filed the objections on behalf of 1,500 farmers before the Additional District Magistrate Sarvajeet Ram and requested him for time for return of the compensation amount.

As per the court decision, the administration had invited objections vide an advertisement on December 19, 2009, and have followed up all other necessary formalities, Ram said.

The farmers began an agitation seeking compensation for the land on par with amount offered by the state government for land in Noida.

The high court partially quashed the land acquisition on the grounds that the government side-stepped a formality of inviting objections from land owners.Although RPower acquired the land, it had not started work on the 7,450 MW power project citing lack of gas - for which it had an agreement with Mukesh Ambani-led RIL. — PTI

Bharti Airtel rejigs top management

New Delhi, January 13
As it goes about expanding global footprint, Bharti Airtel today announced changes in top management to suit its endeavour by naming CEO Manoj Kohli as head of its International Business Group.

The company also elevated deputy CEO Sanjay Kapoor to the post of CEO.

The move is aimed at enhancing its focus on expanding operations in international markets beyond India and South Asia and to further consolidate its leadership position in India, the company said in a statement.

“The next phase of our journey is set to be another game changer - requiring superior thrust and focused leadership. We continue to win in Indian telecom market, which is going through a phase of hyper competition. At the same time, we will be developing comprehensive plans for our journey to cover emerging markets beyond India and South Asia,” Bharti Airtel CMD Sunil Mital said.

The new organisation structure will be effective from April.The strategic rejig came a day after it agreed to buy majority 70 per cent stake in Warid Telecom of Bangladesh for $300 million.Airtel has also announced creation of a new dedicated International Business Group that will be responsible for expanding the company's operations beyond India and South Asia region, the statement said.

Kohli will lead the International Business Group as the CEO and MD and will continue to be a member of Bharti Airtel board, the statement added.

In his new role, Kapoor would be responsible of leading India and South Asia business of Bharti Airtel and will drive growth and business synergies in mobile services, telemedia services, enterprise services and DTH.

He will lead Bharti Airtel towards strengthening its position as a benchmark in innovative practices, brand leadership, operational efficiency, customer values and leadership depth. — PTI

Euro-III grade fuel sale to be delayed

New Delhi, January 13
The government today said it is on track to supply cleaner Euro-IV grade petrol and diesel in 13 big cities from April 1, but sale of Euro-III fuel in rest of the country will be phased over six months. Currently, Euro-III grade petrol and diesel is sold in 13 big cities, including Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai and Kolkata, while Euro-II emission norm complaint fuel is sold over rest of the country.

From April 1, the 13 cities will have to upgrade to Euro-IV and the rest of the nation to Euro-III, but lack of planning has ensured that the programme is being implemented in phases.“We reviewed industry’s preparedness. Euro-IV petrol and diesel will be for sure supplied in 13 cities from April 1, but Euro-III will be launched in phases to cover the entire nation by October 1,” Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Jitin Prasada said here.

Petroleum Minister Murli Deora evaded replying to questions on who was responsible for delay in commissioning facilities at refineries to produce cleaner fuel and for the lack of planning for introduction of the Euro-III and IV fuels. Prasada said upgrading refineries was a mammoth task and there was delay in equipment supplies when all units go to upgradation at the same time. Pandey said the oil companies would seek legal opinion on the issue of informing the SC on the deferment of the cleaner fuel deadline.

IOC’s Barauni refinery in Bihar and Digboi and Guwahati units in Assam would commission facilities to produce Euro-III compliant diesel by June/July and supplies can begin in the region only in October.Its Koyali unit in Gujarat was one month behind, while HPCL’s Mumbai and Vizag refineries faced up to a two-year delay in commissioning facilities to produce Euro-III grade fuel. Chennai plant and Numaligarh refinery also faced between 6-10 months delay. — PTI

Google, China face off over Internet

New York, January 13
Google today threatened to shut down its operations in China after uncovering “highly sophisticated” hacking attempts into e-mail accounts of Chinese human rights activists.

“These attacks and the surveillance they have uncovered - combined with the attempts over the past year to further limit free speech on the web - have led us to conclude that we should review the feasibility of our business operations in China,” David Drummond, senior V-P of corporate development and chief legal officer, said in a blog post.

“We have decided we are no longer willing to continue censoring our results on Google.cn, and so over the next few weeks we will be discussing with the Chinese government the basis on which we could operate an unfiltered search engine within the law, if at all,” he said.

Drummond said the company realises that this may well mean having to shut down Google.cn, and potentially its offices in China.

Evidence indicated that the attackers were trying to get access to mail accounts of Chinese human rights activists, according to Drummond. At least 20 other large companies including finance, Internet, media and technology were similarly attacked, according to Google.

“We are currently in the process of notifying those companies, and we are also working with the relevant US authorities,” the statement said.

“We have taken the unusual step of sharing information about these attacks with a broad audience not just because of the security and human rights implications of what we have unearthed, but also because this information goes to the heart of a much bigger global debate about freedom of speech.” — PTI

HUL chief warns of more global crises

Mumbai, January 13
Even as the economy is showing strong signs of revival, Hindustan Unilever CEO and MD Nitin Paranjape today warned the turbulent events of past 18 months will keep recurring with greater intensity and frequency.

“The turbulent events of the recent months weren't the first and are not going to be the last. We will see several more such events with increasing intensity and greater frequency, for we are living in a world that is significantly more interconnected today," Paranjape said.

“And such upheavals would be driven by innovation and the rapid pace of technological changes,” he told the students of Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies here, while taking on 'Managing Turbulence: The Innovation Imperative'.

One such challenge in the making is the shortage of skilled manpower, he said and quoted a report compiled by various industry bodies, which estimated that country will need 300 million skilled workmen in future if it wants to sustain 9 per cent GDP growth.

"We may face a shortage of 300 million skilled hands. The task for us is to find a way to drive all-round development," he said, adding, “We have to challenge the belief that there will be a trickle down effect of growth as it is too slow.” — PTI

M&A volume touches 10-yr high

New Delhi, January 13
As the global economy recovers from recession blues, more companies are going shopping abroad leading to the merger and acquisition (M&A) volume touching a 10-year high of $74.5 billion till date in 2010.

“So far in 2010, a610 deals worth $74.5 billion have been announced. This is the next highest level since 2000," deal tracking firm Dealogic said.

Till date in 2000, there were over 1,000 M&A deals on the streets, measuring an aggregate of $171.5 billion.

This year’s figure is 79 per cent larger than $41.7 billion announced in 2009 till date.

The largest deal so far in 2010 is Novartis’ $28.1 billion acquisition of eye-care company Alcon. The drug major last week agreed to pay $28.1 billion for raising its stake in Alcon to 77 per cent. In terms of the sector witnessing maximum deal flow, healthcare remained at the top accounting for 54 per cent of the 2010 volume so far.

It was followed by food & beverages, oil & gas, finance and mining, it added. — PTI

Japan Airlines gets new CEO

Tokyo, January 13
Kazuo Inamori, the founder of electronics maker Kyocera Corp, agreed on Wednesday to become the new chief executive of Japan Airlines, as the carrier's shares plunged ahead of its expected bankruptcy.

JAL is likely to file for bankruptcy as early as next week as part of a broader restructuring aimed at reducing debts, slashing about 13,000 jobs and cutting up two dozen unprofitable routes, sources have told Reuters.

With $16 billion in debts, JAL's bankruptcy would be the sixth largest in Japan's history. Inamori, the 77-year-old honorary chairman of Kyocera, will replace Haruka Nishimatsu, who has indicated he would resign as part of the restructuring overseen by a government-backed fund. Founded in 1959 as a ceramics company, Kyocera has grown into one of Japan's most profitable technology firms.

“I think he's a right person for JAL at this point since Japan Airlines needs a respected person for its business restructuring," Yasuhiro Matsumoto, senior credit analyst at Shinsei Securities. “For the time being, the government has agreed to offer financial support for Japan Airlines, so we should not worry about how long it would take for him to become more familiar with JAL." — Reuters

Company law to be amended

New Delhi, January 13
The government plans to introduce a bill to amend the Companies Act in the Budget session of Parliament to enable convergence of Indian accounting standards with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

“The ministry will carry out the exercise for necessary amendments in the Companies Act in the forthcoming Budget session of Parliament,” said a statement from the corporate affairs ministry.

“The required amendments to schedule VI and XIV, as well as accounting standards rules, would be carried out simultaneously so that necessary legislative changes are in place to facilitate convergence,” it added.

The government plans to migrate to an internationally accepted accounting standard by April 2011. — IANS

GTL Infra to buy Aircel towers

New Delhi, January 13
GTL Infrastructure is close to ink a deal with mobile service provider Aircel to buy over 17,000 telecom towers for a consideration of Rs 8,500 crore. The two companies have reached an agreement and an announcement on this is likely tomorrow, a source privy to the development sid.

GTL has a network of over 23,700 towers and with this acquisition, it's slated to be one of the largest telecom infrastructure providers in the country.

The company had earlier said it was planning to erect, engineer and manage one lakh cell sites across 150 networks, enabling mobile connectivity to over 100 million subscribers in 50 countries. GTL Infrastructure, the board of which is meeting tomorrow to evaluate the acquisition, was one of the contenders along with Tata Quippo and American Tower for acquiring Aircel's towers.

The source said the GTL group companies would be pooling in upto Rs 3,500 crore equity to fund the acquisition.

GTL Infrastructure would take the Rs 5,000 crore debt on the books of Aircel into it.The Global Group has seven operating companies including two listed entities — GTL and GTL Infrastructure. Aircel has about 38,000 towers, of which nearly 17,000 are owned by the company. — PTI

BSNL in Round II to buy Zamtel

New Delhi, January 13
Inching closer to its first ever global buyout, state-owned BSNL has entered the second round of bidding to acquire a majority stake in Zambia’s leading telecom company Zambia Telecommunications (Zamtel).

“All the four companies that submitted the first round bids on December 23, 2009, for up to 75 per cent stake in Zamtel have successfully gone to the second round of bidding," Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) said.

BSNL chairman and managing director Kuldeep Goyal said: “We had participated, now selected, we shall see and go forward from here.” Goyal declined to give details about the bid and company details.

Zamtel, with a revenue of $100 million (till December 2009), is Zambia's only licenced fixed-line provider of voice and data communications.

The bidders who shall proceed to the next round are BSNL of India, LAP Greencom Ltd/LAP Green Networks of Libya, Unitel/Angola Cables of Angola and Altimo Holdings/Vimpel Com of Russia. The four bidders will now be invited to participate in the next round of bidding, which is expected to begin from January 18. — PTI

3G to bring in cheaper service
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 13
As the long expected auction for 3G services nears, telecom experts advise prospective operators to search for the high-end customers in their existing subscriber base and prepare to them to shift to high-speed download that the 3G would facilitate.

The experts’ view at the 3G India Mobile Operators’ Executive Summit was that the new service would enable cheaper download of several applications.

TRAI member RN Prabhakar asked the operators to use existing 2G networks to transmit 3G service also to reduce costs enabling them with right software. HSPA-enabled networks would be able to handle 3G transmission. He assured mobile customers that the regulator would keep a watch on the quality of service of 2G operation even as networks move on to provide 3G services.

MTNL chief general manager wireless services, AK Bhargava pointed out that the problem was not in technology, but in ancillary services like billing. “The customer does not care whether it is 3G or 2G; we have to educate him,” he said.