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BMW
to Start Making Cars in India Early Next
Year
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German
auto major, BMW will roll out its first
car a 3-series saloon, both the petrol
and diesel versions, from its fully-owned
subsidiary at Chennai, early next year,
with a target of achieving annual sales
of 1000 units in India. With the in-built
annual production capacity of 1700 units
at its Chennai factory, full scale operations
will be started by January next year.
Initially employing 200 people in its
India operations, over 600 jobs will be
created in shape of dealerships and service
network. The company started its India
corporate operation from its new office
in Gurgaon today, which is 35th such subsidiary
office in the world. Peter Kronschnabi,
president of BMW India, told reporters:
"We have optimised our cars for Indian
conditions after a stringent test ride
of 25,000 kilometres. With increased ground
clearance, engine protection sheet and
an extra air filters, we will carry about
10% localised content in form of car seats
and door panels. BMW 3 Series will be
followed by 5 series saloon in a gap of
few months, with which we expect to achieve
our target of 1000 units in the first
year." The company will also bring in
7 series and 4WD X series as Complete
Built Down units via the import route,
in its second phase after the year 2009.
It has selected six metropolitan cities
as the initial dealerships which will
later be extended to mini-metro in the
second phase. Hyderabad, Chandigarh, will
be showcasing BMW cars apart from the
major metros, Delhi, Mumbai, and Banglore.
The company will have 10 dealers by the
year 2009. "We have selected our dealers
to match the profile of the BMW global
standards and will be providing complete
in-house training which includes professional
driving school facility for customers.
Flexible retail financing will be offered
to both the dealers and potential customers
and are in advances stage of negotiations
with some banks. The Memorandum of Understanding
will be signed shortly," Kronschnabi said.
BMW does not plans to enter the motorcycle
segment after its earlier venture with
Hero Motors failed to click in India.
Neither does it plans to bring its hugely
successful Mini-series in India till the
year 2009. "We will watch these segments
after the post-2009 period in our second
phase, based on the pricing and size viability
of the India market. The foray into India
is of great strategic importance and products
from our stable will come depending upon
the market response," Kronschnabi added.
BMW sold 227 units in India in the last
fiscal and will be targeting against its
traditional rival Mercedes Benz, which
is already producing its cars from Pune.
Courtesy:
Business Standard: August 31, 2006
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Hotels
Tap Tourist Boom, ARRs up 35%
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With
India top on agenda of globe-trotting
CEOs, managers, deal makers and sundry
other tourists, it's the hotels which
are seeing an unusually busy rush through
the year. But they aren't complaining.
The average room rates (ARR) witnessed
almost 35% jump and hotels saw higher
than usual room occupancy during April-August,
traditionally thought to be the lean season
for the hospitality industry. And the
post-August period, the busy season, is
likely to be better than any in the past.
With tourists pouring in and a growing
demand for rooms, ARRs may go up by around
15% in the coming busy season. Hospitality
experts believe that the Indian hotel
industry will witness higher than usual
growth in the coming peak season. According
to the Ernst & Young estimates, premium
hotels in top commercial cities reported
an increase of over 35% while the resort
cities of around 25% in their ARRs in
the first quarter of '06 over the corresponding
period last year. The good times for the
Indian hospitality industry are here to
stay, with top end hotels experiencing
high room occupancy rates even in the
lean season. "The lean season has been
exceptionally good for us. Our room occupancy
rate has been around 89% and we are looking
at over 95% occupancy for the period September
to December," says Mr Kapil Chopra, general
manager, Trident Hilton, Gurgaon. Five
star hotels across metros are looking
at high ARRs this peak season. "We will
be increasing our ARR by 12% to 15% in
the peak season, this year as compared
to the corresponding period last year,
across all the properties (Bangalore,
Mumbai, Goa and Kerala). The increase
in the number of inbound arrivals has
added to the growth," a spokesperson of
The Leela Palaces and Resorts told ET.
The number of international tourist arrivals
increases post August giving a boost to
the tourism industry. There was an increase
of 15% in the number of international
tourist arrivals in India and 14% in the
forex earnings in the first quarter of
'06 as compared to the same period last
year.
Courtesy:
The Economic Times, August 31, 2006
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Indian
Co Wins Bid to Acquire First City Bank
of Mauritius
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Offshore
acquisition by Indian companies got a
shot in the arm with one of them winning
a bid to takeover the troubled First City
Bank of Mauritius.A top Mauritius official
told PTI that "an Indian company has won
the bid for acquiring majority stake of
First City Bank (FCB)." "The Indian company
is not a bank, but from the financial
services sector," the official said without
giving details. This is the second Mauritius
bank to be acquired by an Indian entity
after State Bank of India bought 51 per
cent stake in Indian Ocean International
Bank last year. Headquartered at Port-Louis,
FCB has been in trouble since 2004 after
regulator Bank of Mauritius carried out
inspections regarding adherence of prudential
norms and prescribed guidelines relating
to capital adequacy, lending and liquidity
management policies. Late last year, the
Bank of Mauritius had said that it was
monitoring closely the situation at the
FCB and would take all necessary action
to maintain the confidence of the public
in the FCB and banking sector as a whole.
The internal conflicts involving the top
management and certain board members of
the FCB had come to the fore and there
has been public disclosure of customer
information. In fact, the regulator was
peeved by the leakage of its report on
FCB and had asked the bank to investigate
it and take action in this regard. FCB
started operations in May 2002 after having
acquired all the banking businesses of
the former Delphis Bank, which had 13
branches, 58,000 customers and 200 employees
then.
Courtesy:
Hindustan Times, August 31, 2006
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Medical
Tourism on The Rise in India
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With
around one million tourists flocking to
India for healthcare, a Rs 10,000 crore
medical travel value expected by 2010,
and a growth of 25% per year, medical
tourism is booming like never before.
Union minister for tourism, Ambika Soni
said the government is aggressively promoting
India as a global healthcare destination
to offer a holistic approach to health.
She was speaking at the release of the
Incredible India Brochure on Medical Tourism,
organised by Confederation of Indian Industry
(CII) and Indian Healthcare Federation
(IHF) here on Wednesday. Seeing the huge
potential in the sector, the government
has also started issuing M (medical) visa
to the medical patients, and MX visas
to the spouse accompanying him, which
are valid for a year.Two lakh medical
tourists visited India last year, and
the figure will grow by 50% this year.
India is being promoted as a healthcare
destination in the ongoing 'Incredible
India campaign,' being run by the tourism
ministry. Soni said the campaign would
promote Indian hospitals abroad as centres
offering best medical services. In addition,
availing medical services in India costs
about a tenth of what it is in US, and
one-sixth in UK. Not only this, the National
Accredition Board for Hospitals (NABL),
a body set up to ensure safety and hygiene
norms for hospitals, has already started
the process of granting accredition with
70 hospitals in the process of getting
approval, chairman of CII's national committee
on healthcare, Dr Naresh Trehan said.
Dr Trehan said India now offers the latest
techniques such as robotic surgery, and
gamma-knife treatment for brain tumours.
The efficacy of treatment compares with
that in the West, with the death rate
from coronary bypasses at 0.8% compared
to 2.35% in the US. Union health minister
A Ramadoss stated the government is considering
the Clinical Establishment Bill that would
mandate accreditation for hospitals down
to the district and village levels.
Courtesy:
The Times of India, August 31, 2006
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UPL
Acquires 3 Bayer Brands For US$ 56 Million
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United
Phosphorus has acquired three crop protection
brands from Bayer CorpScience AG for US$
56 million. The company bought two insecticidal
products and a herbicide from Bayer to
expand its reach, United Phosphorus said
in a statement to the National Stock Exchange.
As part of the agreement, Bayer CropScience
has retained certain rights related to
non-agricultural uses in strategic markets
for these products. The sale and purchase
agreements were signed on August 29. The
global sales figures of these two brands
of Bayer CropScience are not known. With
the acquisition, UPL will enhance its
product portfolio globally and would offer
a broad portfolio of solutions to its
customers. While, for Bayer CropScience
the decision to divest these products
is in line with the company´s strategy
to focus on higher-margin products and
therefore streamlining the portfolio.
At present, UPL is the the largest domestic
agrochemical player and among the top
five generic players globally in this
industry. It is engaged in research, manufacturing
and distribution of agrochemicals and
specialty chemicals across the globe.
The group´s revenue for the year ending
March 2006 was in excess of Rs 2208 crore
(about $480 million). Bayer CropScience,
a subsidiary of Bayer AG with annual sales
of about ¤ 6 billion, is one of the world's
leading innovative crop science companies
in the areas of crop protection, non-agricultural
pest control, seeds and plant biotechnology.
The company offers an outstanding range
of products and extensive service backup
for modern, sustainable agriculture and
for non-agricultural applications. Bayer
CropScience has a global workforce of
about 19,000 and is represented in more
than 120 countries. UPL, with a strong
technical strength and a number of speciality
chemicals, is also a major exporter of
agro chemicals. Currently, more than 20
per cent of the production of speciality
chemicals from UPL are exported.
Courtesy:
Business Standard: August 31, 2006
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The
Global Green Company Acquires Belgium
Firm
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The
Global Green Company, a part of US$ 2.1
billion Thapar Group and an exporter of
gherkins and preserved food products,
has acquired the Belgium-based euro 50
million Intergarden Group for an undisclosed
amount. The acquisition will give Global
Green an opportunity to increase its product
and packaging portfolio for its customers
across the world. The company is already
a significant player in the USA, Canada,
Russia and the Asia Pacific regions. Post
acquisition, with a total turnover of
$100 million, Global Green has become
the third largest pickle supplier in the
world - the largest outside the USA, according
to an official release issued today. "In
Intergarden, we have acquired a business
and a set of competencies that perfectly
complement our own. For our customers,
it means an enhanced portfolio of products
from one entity manufactured to a consistently
high standards of quality and excellence.
It also extends our global footprint,
givind us better access to our customers,
and reinforces our commitment to "seed
to shelf" service to the global retail
chains," Vineet Chhabra, MD of Global
Green, said. Established in 1996, Bangalore-based
Global Green today has emerged as a major
supplier of gherkins (a variety of cucumber),
jalapenos and other preserved foods to
retail and foodservice customers in more
than 23 countries around the world and
30 cities in India. It is a private label
supplier to some of the world's premium
food retailers in addition to exporting
products under its own brand name 'Eden
Garden'. In India, the company retails
under the brand name 'Tify'. It has manufacturing
facilities in Bangalore and Hyderabad
and works with 10,000 farmers in Karnataka.
Set up in Aalst, Belgium in 1989, Intergarden
has modern processing factories in Belgium,
Hungary, Turkey and India. The company
produces pickled products such as gherkins,
silverskin onions, sour cherries, red
peppers, capers and mixed vegetables for
the private lable category.
Courtesy:
Business Standard: August 30, 2006
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Metro
Group Eyes US$ 384.9 Million Foray
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The
US$ 73 billion German cash-and-carry wholesale
format giant Metro group on Tuesday said
it would pump US$ 384.9 million in India
and expand its operations to 33 cities
in the country. Metro, which currently
has a unit in Bangalore, will be opening
stores by this year-end in Hyderabad and
by next year in Chennai, Kolkata and Mumbai
and will investment € 300 million for
this purpose, the group's Asia Pacific
president Henry OE Birr said here. The
company currently has operations in 30
countries and employs 250,000 people.
Birr said the company will be expanding
to Indian cities with population of over
one million. Birr, a member of the executive
board of directors (Metro cash-and-carry
international), said the company invested
around € 50 million per store in India.
At this rate, the total proposed investments
could go up to € 1.6 billion in the coming
time, provided the government gives it
clearance soon, he said, adding that,
however, |the initial investment will
be only € 300 million. He said India is
"an attractive market" for metro wholesale
concept. Encouraged by the international
success of its cash-and-carry format,
metro opened two distribution centres
in Bangalore in the last quarter of 2003,
which offer business customers an array
of over 8,000 food and 9,000 non-food
items in various pack sizes under one
roof. Outlining the concerns in the Indian
market, he mentioned the non-implementation
of the APMC Act by Karnataka government.
Also, he said steps should be taken to
improve the infrastructure. Birr said
the average size of a Metro store in India
would be about 30,000 sq metres and also
added that the company was open to both
lease, as well as acquisition mode for
land.
Courtesy:
The Financial Express: August 30, 2006
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Thapars
Buy Hungarian Gherkin Co.
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Global
Green Company Limited, the agri-business
unit of the Thapar group, has acquired
the Hungarian gherkin cannery, Dunakiliti
Konzervuzem, from its Belgian owner Intergarden.
The Thapar group, headed by Gautam Thapar,
plans a regional role for the Hungarian
company and may introduce new products,
sources having knowledge of the deal said.
Dunakiliti Konzervuzem, the largest gherkin
cannery in Central and Eastern Europe,
processed 11,000 tonnes of produce, mainly
pickles, in 2005. It expects to can 15,000
tonnes of produce this year.
Courtesy:
The Hindu, August 30, 2006
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India
Top of The World For Contract Research
Business
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India
is holding the lion's share of the world's
contract research business as activity
in the pharma market continues to explode
in this region. In 2005 contract research
in India was valued at $100-120m (€78-94m)
and growing at a rate of 20-25 per cent
each year, according to a report by the
Chemical Pharmaceutical Generic Association.
India holds nearly double the business
of its nearest rival, Italy, with a market
value of $60-70m, and nearly four times
as much as the next competitor, Spain,
with $25-33m, said the report, titled
"Competition in the world APIs market."
The activity in India is being fuelled
by the direct presence in the country
of over 15 prominent contract research
organisations (CROs), who are now operating
in the country, attracted by India's ability
to offer efficient R&D on a low-cost basis.
Thirty five per cent of business is in
the field of new drug discovery, where
as the bulk - 65 per cent - of business
is in the clinical trials arena - the
single largest expense for drug companies
during drug development. Studies carried
out by International Bodies indicates
that the cost saving for a multinational
company moving R&D to India is 30-50 per
cent, due to factors such as lower wages
and infrastructure, such as equipment
and IT support, as well as a plentiful
supply of treatment-naive patients that
can dramatically speed up clinical trial
patient recruitment times. In the contract
research arena, India is streets ahead
of its nearest Asian competitor, China,
which currently only reaps in $23-28m
in business.
Courtesy:
in-pharmatechnologist.com: August 30,
2006
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Global
Green Acquires Belgium Co
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Thapar
Group's Global Green Company announced
on Tuesday that it has acquired the €
50-million Belgium-based Intergarden Group.
The acquisition will give Global Green
Company a strong foothold in key European
markets. Post-acquisition, with a total
turnover of $100 million, Global Green
Company becomes the third largest pickle
supplier in the world and the largest
outside the US, a company statement said.
"This acquisition represents a significant
achievement for the Thapar Group," said
Chairman Mr Gautam Thapar. "It validates
the strength of our Group's business and
the confidence and trust global players
have in us. More than ever, it also reiterates
our commitment to creating a globally
successful Indian company in the agriculture
sector." Global Green Company Ltd is a
member company of the $2.1-billion Thapar
Group. "In Intergarden, we have acquired
a business and a set of competencies that
perfectly complement our own," said Mr
Vineet Chhabra, Managing Director, Global
Green Company Ltd. "For our customers,
it means an enhanced portfolio of products
from one entity manufactured to a consistently
high standard of quality and excellence.
It also extends our global footprint,
giving us better access to our customers,
and reinforces our commitment to `seed
to shelf' service to the global retail
chains." Intergarden has processing factories
in Belgium, Hungary, Turkey and India.
The company produces pickled products
such as gherkins, silverskin onions, sour
cherries, red peppers, capers and mixed
vegetables for the private label category.
It also retails products under its own
Greenhouse brand. Established in 1996,
Global Green Company already supplies
gherkins, jalapenos and other preserved
foods to retail and foodservice customers
in more than 23 countries and about 30
cities in India. It is a private label
supplier to some of the world's premium
food retailers in addition to exporting
products under its own brand name Eden
Garden. In India, the company retails
under the brand name Tify.
Courtesy:
www.thehindubusinessline.com, August 30,
2006
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Apollo
Health Street Acquires US Firm for $31
mn
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Apollo
Health Street Pvt Ltd, the Business Process
Outsourcing (BPO) arm of Chennai-based
Apollo Hospitals group has acquired the
US-based Armanti Financial Services, LLC,
for a consideration of $31 million (Rs
3.1 crore). AFS is one of the largest
Hospital billing and receivables management
company in New Jersey, US, and after the
acquisition, the combined Apollo-AFS entity
will be amongst the largest healthcare
processing company in the hospital and
physician space responsible for receivables
management of over one billion dollar
annually, the company said in a statement.
"The acquisition of AFS affirms AHS's
commitment to the healthcare space and
its leadership position by leveraging
the best across geographies to deliver
exceptional value to its customers." Apollo
Health Street Managing Director Sangita
Reddy said. AHS said it was committed
to maintain and further grow operations
and workforce both in India and the US.
The combined entity now has over 1,500
employees with nearly 25 per cent of them
being based in the US. AFS promoters would
continue to be responsible for the ongoing
operations and would help further expand
Apollo's operations in the US, it said.
"This acquisition brings together a global
team of some of the most knowledgeable
healthcare professionals and would help
in expanding the scope of service to both
AFS's and AHS's existing customers," Armanti
Financial Services Promoter and Managing
Partner William Colgan said.
Courtesy:
The Economic Times, August 29, 2006
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The
development of the forgings industry is
intricately linked to the growth of the
industrial sector, for instance, that
of the automobile segment. And with the
Indian economy recording robust 6% plus
GDP growth, the forgings industry in the
country is on a roll. It is estimated
that production of forgings touched the
9.3 lakh tonnes-mark in '05-06, witnessing
a 27% Y-o-Y growth, according to the Association
of the Indian Forging Industry (AIFI),
the apex industry body for this sector.
It is also gratifying to note that capacity
utilisation of forging units has been
on the rise and is currently around 85%
compared to about 40-50% till a few years
ago. In the interim, the industry has
also stepped on the pedal and is keen
on becoming a global player. Pune-based
Bharat Forge, for instance, has expanded
its footprint and operates in countries
like Germany, Sweden and Scotland, besides
India. Forging is a process by which metal
is heated and force applied to ensure
that the physical properties of the metal
are improved. As the strength improves,
the ability of the metal to carry more
weight is enhanced; as a result, such
metal components can be used like air-frames.
Given the logistics issue, it is ideal
for a forgings unit to be located close
to its buyer. However, this has not deterred
Indian forging units to export more of
their wares overseas. The AIFI statistics
suggest that exports rose by 27% in '05-06,
touching $310m. "The demand for Indian
forgings is on the rise. One expects this
good performance to continue. Thanks to
concerns about environment pollution,
the action is shifting to markets like
Asia and India stands to be a big beneficiary,"
says S Babu, former president of the Federation
of Karnataka Chamber of Commerce & Industry(FKCCI).
Most of the Indian forgings units still
seek the original equipment (OE) market,
supplying to some of the marquee names
in the automobile space. A rough estimate
indicates that the revenue contribution
between OE and the replacement market
is 3:1. In the Indian context, like many
other sectors, the forgings sector is
dominated by small and medium-sized units,
while there are a handful of large players
like Bharat Forge and Amforge. K Ilango,
vice-president, Coimbatore District Small-Scale
Industries Association (CODISSIA) says
that cost is a key driver for the Indian
forging units' competitiveness.
Courtesy:
The Economic Times, August 29, 2006
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GHCL
to Acquire Romanian Firm For Rs 100 Crore
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After
acquiring a soda ash company in Romania
last year, the Sanjay Dalmia-promoted
Gujarat Heavy Chemicals (GHCL) is close
to buying another Romanian firm for an
estimated Rs 100 crore. The move could
help consolidate its position as a leading
player in the soda ash sector and as one
of the major suppliers of raw material
for the growing detergent market. According
to sources close to the development, GHCL
is in the final round of negotiations
to buy the Romanian company with an annual
capacity of 4,00,000 tonnes of soda ash.
The buy will rev up GHCL's total annual
capacity to about 2 million tonnes and
will make it one of the largest soda ash
companies in East Europe. "The acquisition
can happen any time... GHCL will take
a majority stake in the company," the
sources said. GHCL's interest in Romania
stems out of the fact that the country
is one of the strategic routes to enter
the fast-growing economies of east and
central European countries. "Also, such
acquisitions are cheaper than buying a
similar-sized unit in India," the sources
said, adding that high reserves of limestone
and lignite in the region would further
facilitate soda ash production. In December
'05, the Ahmedabad-based GHCL had bought
a 65% equity stake in Romania's Bega Upsom
for Rs 90 crore. GHCL is scheduled to
make a public offer to purchase the remaining
35%. It has already initiated a de-bottlenecking
process in the Bega Upsom facility that
has a capacity of 300,000 tonnes. If the
latest acquisition goes through, GHCL's
soda ash capacity in Romania would rise
to 7,00,000 tonnes and overall to 1.8
million tonnes by '08. At present, the
company is almost doubling its capacity
in Gujarat from 6,00,000 tonne to 1,100,000
tonne per annum. Soda ash is used in the
making of float glass, soap, dyes and
textiles. Of late, GHCL has been on an
acquisition spree expanding its home textiles
and soda ash businesses. In June this
year, GHCL acquired Rosebys, UK's largest
home textile retail chain for $40m. It
had earlier bought out Dan River, a leading
player in the US textile market, with
a turnover of $250m in home textiles.
Courtesy:
The Economic Times, August 29, 2006
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Sandhar
Hunts For Overseas Buyouts
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Auto
component manufacturer Sandhar is on the
prowl once again, this time looking at
two overseas acquisitions. The group that
makes mirrors, locking devices and sheet
metal parts is eyeing acquisitions in
France and the US. Besides setting up
two new domestic plants, the company is
also setting up a greenfield plant in
Indonesia to cater to motorcycle manufacturer
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