The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	L&T hives off three major subsidiaries To foray into banking sector; Plans IPO of finance arm by Dec Mumbai, August 26 The engineering and construction giant Larsen & Toubro today said it will unlock value of all its major subsidiaries by making them separate entities, beginning with a public float of its finance arm by the end of this calendar year. "We will unlock shareholders' value in our major subsidiaries like L&T Finance, L&T Infotech and L&T Infrastructure, one after another. By the end of this calendar year we may be able to launch an initial public offering of L&T Finance, which already is the third largest non-banking finance company in the country," L&T Chairman and Managing Director Anil M Naik told reporters here on the sidelines of the company's 65th annual general meeting. The conglomerate also plans to foray into the banking sector with its finance arm and is waiting for policy clarity from the regulator. "We are keen on entering the banking space and is awaiting policy clarity from the regulator," Naik said. The Rs 44,000-crore L&T, which has two non-banking finance subsidiaries, L&T Finance and L&T Infrastructure Finance Company, would take a final call on seeking a banking licence by December, Naik informed. "L&T Finance will apply for a bank licence once the policy is unveiled," Naik said. Stating that the company sees tremendous potential in the nuclear power sector, he said as and when the market opened, we are ready to play our role. The company has already entered into joint venture agreements with the French Areva, the Russian government-owned nuclear company and the Canadian Atomic Commission, he said. "We have already set up a joint venture with Nuclear Power Cooperation to set up a heavy manufacturing facility at Hazira in Gujarat," he said. Naik further said L&T has won orders from Areva to supply eight equipment to a US nuclear power plant operator. He, however, did not reveal the size of the deal saying the order is not a big one as this is the first such international order for the company. Naik further said the company is looking at opening an office in Brazil to sell products and explore opportunities in the oil and gas sector. "We are setting up an office at the corporate level to manage our entire international marketing network," he said. On future growth areas, he said, "we see a diverse basket of opportunity in mass urban transit systems, station development, rolling stock manufacturing for the Railways. We hope to tap some major sectors in mining, steel, ports and power in FY11." — PTI
	Global biggies target Indian diamond traders Shiv Kumar Tribune News Service Mumbai, August 26 Diamond exporters from Surat, who have come together under the banner of Surat Diamond Sourcing Ltd (SDSL) to purchase rough stones directly from producing countries, have run headlong into opposition from major players in the trade. The Diamond Trading Company, controlled by duopoly player De Beers, fired a first salvo against SDSL warning of a new syndicate being formed by Indian companies. “With a central organisation setting the bar for this large secondary market, there is a strong likelihood that a ‘syndicate’ mentality may develop,” an analytical piece put out on the website of Rapaport Diamond Trading Network, an industry body controlled by Western majors, said. “The rest of the industry must surely be asking itself if India is indeed becoming too big for the industry’s good. Is this the dawn of the new syndicate,” the article asked. De Beers, which still controls the bulk of the world’s diamond trade, has announced its intention of cracking down on SDSL. Quoting an anonymous source from De Beers, the Rapaport website said sight holders affiliated with the diamond biggie “would not be allowed to clone themselves to obtain more roughs”. De Beers has a stranglehold on the diamond trade through a system of sight holders who enjoy the privilege of being able to bid for the bigger stones which attract higher margins in the market. In a veiled note of warning to some of the biggest players in the Indian diamond industry, De Beers noted that it was studying the structure of the company closely. Adding to the worries of De Beers, the newly formed SDSL kicked up a storm in the global diamond trade when it emerged as a big bidder for diamonds being auctioned by the Zimbabwe government. The Robert Mugabe government facing sanctions from the Western world is putting up $2 billion worth of rough diamonds for sale and Indian merchants say they are in the market to buy all of them since bidders from the developed countries are absent. SDSL, along with Diamond India Ltd, another sourcing entity from the subcontinent, have emerged as major buyers of rough stones. The Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council, a semi-government body which promotes exports, has already extended support to the new venture.
	Auto Scene Ford to launch 8 new cars in India New Delhi August 26 US car maker Ford today said it will introduce eight new products in India by 2015 in a bid to tap the burgeoning domestic car market. "India is a key market for Ford and we have big plans for the country and this region. The company will introduce eight new vehicles in India from the global platform, in segments appropriate for this market," Ford Asia Pacific and Africa (APA) president Joe Hinrichs said at the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) summit. Ford had earlier this year introduced a small car 'Figo' which registered a sales of over 30,000 units within the first 25 weeks after the launch. He said from next year they will start exporting 10,000 units of India made Figo. Maruti to set up third unit at Manesar The country's largest carmaker, Maruti Suzuki India, today said it will set up the third production unit within the existing Manesar facility with an installed capacity of 2.5 lakh units, which is likely to entail an investment of about Rs 1,700 crore. "We are preparing a project report for the third unit in Manesar, which will come up for discussion before of the board. The unit is proposed to have a capacity of 2.5 lakh units annually," Maruti Suzuki India Chairman RC Bhargava said. Bajaj small car prototype by 2011 French carmaker Renault today said the prototype of its utra low-cost car for the Indian market, being developed in partnership with Nissan and Bajaj, will be ready by early next year. "All details related to the ultra low-cost car and its prototype will be ready by the end of this year or early next year," Renault India Country General Manager Marc Nassif told reporters. Piaggio to invest 30 mn euro Italian automaker Piaggio today said it will invest 30 million euro in India to set up a scooter facility in Baramati, Maharashtra, to re-introduce the iconic Vespa scooter by early 2012. The company plans to re-introduce the erstwhile 'Vespa' scooter with a gearless 125 cc engine and manufacture it at the proposed new plant. TVS to ramp up capacity TVS Motor Company today said it will invest Rs 200 crore by April next year to increase its production capacity to 28 lakh units. The company also said it will set up a design centre in Indonesia where it has a manufacturing facility. Hero Honda plan Two-wheeler major Hero Honda today said the company will finalise on setting up its fourth plant in the country in a month's time. "The finalisation (of the new plant) will hopefully be closing in a month or so...We have completed our field work," Hero Honda Senior VP Anil Dua said. At present, Hero Honda has three units at Dharuhera and Gurgaon in Haryana and at Haridwar. — PTI
	Ban on iron ore exports ruled out Tribune News Service New Delhi, August 26 The government has ruled out banning iron ore exports even as it appealed to the states to take stringent steps to prevent illegal mining. "Just because state governments are not able to prevent and stop illegal mining, we should not ban export of iron ore," Mines Minister B K Handique said while replying to a debate on illegal mining in the Rajya Sabha. Describing the problem of illegal mining, which is growing at an alarming proportion in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Jharkhand, as a problem of governance, he said."Instead of banning export of iron ore, we need to see there is no illegal production of iron ore." Handique said Karnataka, which is the second largest producer of iron ore in the country, has not banned export of iron ore."Karnataka has prohibited transportation of iron ore to ports and not export as such," he said. Iron ore is a vital steel making raw material. India, the world's third largest iron ore exporter, produced 218 million tonnes of iron ore in 2009-10 fiscal and exported 128 million tonnes.
	Now, make phone calls from Gmail New York, August 26 Google Inc. on Wednesday said its Gmail service will add a feature that allows users to call any phone directly from their computers. "Starting today, you can call any phone right from Gmail," Robin Schriebman, a software engineer at Google, wrote on the company's blog. "We've been testing this feature internally and have found it to be useful in a lot of situations, ranging from making a quick call to a restaurant, to placing a call when you're in an area with bad reception," Schriebman wrote. Google will roll out the new feature to US-based Gmail users over the next few days and is working on making it available globally, Xinhua reported. Users can call any phone in the US and Canada for free for at least the rest of the year, while Google also promised cheap international calls. Calls to Britain, France, Germany, China, Japan and many other countries will be billed as low as two cents per minute, Google said. Gmail already has a voice and video chat that allows users to talk to each other. — IANS
	FTA with Japan likely in October: Sharma Da Nang (Vietnam), August 26 India and Japan are likely to sign an ambitious bilateral market opening pact to enhance their $10.4-billion trade during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to that country in October. India's Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar would be travelling to Tokyo in the first week of September for an "in-principle agreement" on the proposed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). "We are looking forward to reach an in-principle agreement (during Khullar's visit), which can be formalised as per the mandate of the last Prime Ministerial Summit in New Delhi in December 2009, at the time of next summit when the Prime Minister is scheduled to travel to Japan in the third week of October for that summit," Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said here. In December last year, the two countries had decided to sign the pact in 2010. Sharma was talking to reporters after meeting Japanese Minister for Economy, Trade and Industry Masayuki Naoshima on the sidelines of Asean Economic Ministers' (AEC) meet in the beach resort city. The two countries are negotiating CEPA and the last round of talks were held in Delhi in April. Once the free-trade agreement, officially dubbed as CEPA, is signed and operationalised, as many as 9,000 products -- ranging from steel and apparel to drugs and machinery -- are expected to be traded either without duty or at substantially reduced tariffs. "They (negotiations) have been slow but they are not stalled," he said, adding he and other Asean ministers would be reviewing the progress in the services and investment trade pact negotiations. After signing a free-trade pact for goods last August, the two sides are engaged in talks to widen the agreement to include services and investments at the earliest. — PTI
	US Eximbank clears $917 mn loan to RPower Washington, August 26 The US Eximbank has sanctioned $917 million (nearly Rs 4,300 crore) in loan guarantee — the largest such support to any Indian company — towards equipment for Anil Ambani Group's Rs 20,000 crore power project in Madhya Pradesh, India. The sanction came through at a meeting Wednesday of the Board of the Eximbank, which at one point had reservations about the loan over environmental considerations. The US Eximbank had on June 24 held back approval to the guarantees over concerns raised by green activists that carbon-dioxide emissions from the 4,000 MW coal-fired Ultra Mega Power Project in Sasan in Madhya Pradesh would hurt the environment. However, it reversed the decision after assurances from the Anil Ambani group of developing green energy projects near the site of the coal-fired plant. Besides, the deal to source equipment for the project from the US was touted to save 1,000 jobs across 13 states in that country.— PTI