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Mahindra
to Sell Scorpio in France, Malaysia
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Mahindra
& Mahindra Ltd., India's largest utility
vehicles maker, will begin exports of
its Scorpio utility vehicle to France
and Malaysia in February, a company official
told a news conference on Tuesday. Alan
Durante, president of Mahindra's auto
division, told reporters the company had
orders for 200-250 units of the Scorpio
from Malaysia and 150 from France.
Courtesy:
www.financialexpress.com, February 22,
2005
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Mahindra
Ties up with Nippon Steel
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Mahindra
Intertrade Ltd (MIL), a steel trading
company of Mahindra Group, has formed
a joint venture with Nippon Steel Corporation
(NSC) to set up a steel service centre
for processing electrical steel in Sharjah.
NSC, which would be an equity partner
in this venture, would supply the necessary
raw material for the new company, Mahindra
group said in a release here on Monday.
MIL managing director R R Krishnan said
the service centre has been set up in
a record time and has already made its
first commercial dispatch to ABB (Riyadh),
it said. NSC General Manager Shinya Higuchi
said the demand for electricity in the
Middle East would grow at a high rate
due to strong economic growth and demand
is growing for grain oriented electrical
steel, a key material for transformers
required in electrical distribution.
Courtesy:
The Economic Times, February 22, 2005
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'India's
growth is on a Fast Track'
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''India's
growth is on a fast track which is evident
in the easy availability and accelerated
sale of consumer products all over the
country,'' said Dr Suman Bery, Director
General of National Council of Applied
Economic Research (NCAER), at a function
organised by Ludhiana Management Association.
Dr Bery is acclaimed as an authority on
consumer habit patterns in India. Citing
the reason for the increased consumer
spending in India, Dr Bery negated the
myth that growth of the Indian economy
was a recent phenomenon saying that the
country had been sustaining a growth of
around six per cent per annum since 1980.
He compared the leading economies of the
world on Big Mac parameter or purchase
power parity as is commonly known. ''The
Indian economy today is worth US $ 3 trillion
on purchase-parity parameter, is at the
fourth place with US, China and Japan
occupying the top three positions respectively.
Even in 1980, the country was the fifth
largest economy in the world with almost
US $ 600 billion,'' adducing his claim.
He said, ''China, which was the ninth
largest economy in 1980 and much smaller
than India's then, had made remarkable
progress since and is the second biggest
economy today.'' This simply means that
Chinese economy had been growing at much
faster rate than India's, he said.
Courtesy:
The Indian Express, February 22, 2005
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GAIL
to Buy 9% of China Gas for $31 mn
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India's
largest gas transporter, GAIL (India)
Ltd will pay about HK$243 million ($31.2
million) in cash for a nine per cent stake
in a Chinese city-gas distributor, marking
the latest investment by a foreign firm
in the country's small but fast-growing
gas market. Shares in Hong Kong-listed
China Gas Holdings Ltd jumped to a 34-month
high on Tuesday after the company said
it would sell 210 million new shares to
GAIL at HK$1.158 per share. State-owned
GAIL joins a spate of high-profile investors,
including Italy's largest utility Enel
and Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing, to invest
in the gas distribution business in China,
which boasts up to 70 per cent margins
on connection fees and over 30 per cent
margins on gas sales. "China Gas is a
good concept stock backed by big energy
firms, but investors should take note
that the sector is very competitive and
the stock has jumped a lot," said sales
and research director at Tai Fook Securities
Andrew. China Gas' shares have more than
doubled in the past year and surged nearly
22 per cent in the past three months.
Courtesy:
Hindustan Times, February 22, 2005
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Raw
Silk Production Rises 24% at 7,931 Tonne
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The
sericulture sector in the country is on
a revival after going through a tough
phase of low production due to droughts
and fall in prices on account of dumping
of cheap silk from China. In terms of
production, as per the provisional figures
provided by the Central Silk Board (CSB)
for the six-month period of April-September
2004-05, raw silk production has gone
up around 24% at 7,931 tonne compared
to 6,387 tonne during April-September
2003-04. The total production in the 2003-04
period was 13,970 tonne. Out of this,
in the mulberry silk segment bivoltine
silk the major focus segment of CSB, has
seen a tremendous growth of around 98%
during the 2004-05 period at 445 tonne
compared to 225 tonne in 2003-04. According
to CSB CEO and member secretary H Basker,
"In mulberry silk the thrust is on bivoltine
silk, which is high quality silk and has
much better productivity." It would also
better the chances of Indian raw silk
exports, he said. The multivoltine cross
breed production has seen an increase
of 23% in April-September 2004-05 at 6,758
tonne compared to 5,710 tonne in the same
period of the previous fiscal. The Vanya
silk (Tasar, Eri and Muga) production
also has gone up during this period from
677 tonne in 2003-04 April-September to
728 tonne. Vanya silk is yet another thrust
area of CSB and has major scope in the
export markets. Silk export earnings during
April-September 2004-05 including natural
silk yarn, fabrics, madeup, ready made
garments, and silk carpets have registered
a growth of 18% at Rs 1,306.37 crore compared
to that of Rs 1,107.05 crore in April-September
2003-04 period. In 2003-04 fiscal the
export earnings of silk from the country
stood at Rs 2,779.19 crore.
Courtesy:
www.financialexpress.com, February 22,
2005
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Fapcci,
Austrian Chamber Ink Pact to Boost Trade
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The
Federation of Andhra Pradesh Chamber of
Commerce and Industry (Fapcci) has signed
an agreement with the Austrian Federal
Economic Chamber in Hyderabad. The memorandum
of understanding (MoU) was aimed at fostering
friendship and to promote trade, investment,
social, economic, human resource development,
technical and scientific cooperation.
The MoU was signed between C Leitl, president
of Austrian Federal Economic Chamber,
and OP Goenka, president of Fapcci. The
signing of the MoU coincided with the
opening of Austrian trade office in Hyderabad.
"This is the largest trade mission that
has ever visited India and it is an expression
of the importance with which India is
viewed by the Austrian industry," he said.
"A wide range of sectors like energy,
steel production, railways and road infrastructure,
banking, environment, health, test and
measuring technology, medical technology,
telecommunication, machinery for niche
markets and services for the tourism industry
is covered under the agreement. Austria
will offer state-of-the-art technology
and is open for cooperation," he said.
"Austria was among the first countries
with which India established diplomatic
relations in 1949. Today, the European
Union is India's largest trading partner.
We see Austria as an important and strategic
link with the expanded European Union.
The impact of sustained economic reforms
has transformed the economic environment
in India and made it entrepreneur-friendly.
India, especially Andhra Pradesh, offers
a very big market for Austrian products,"
he said. "Infrastructure development,
energy, health, telecommunication, environment,
electronics and computer software are
the potential areas where both the countries
need to work towards intensifying the
relationship and possible joint ventures,"
he added.
Courtesy:
www.business-standard.com, February 21,
2005
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GDP
grew 7% in First Half: CII
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India's
economy grew by seven per cent in the
first six months of 2004-05 because of
a healthy growth in the services and manufacturing
sectors, according to the Confederation
of Indian Industry's (CII) "state of the
economy" report. Despite a dip in November
2004, the index of industrial production
(IIP) between April and November 2004
rose 8.3 per cent while the services sector
recorded a growth of 9 per cent. The agriculture
sector, however, showed a decline of 0.8
per cent during the third quarter of the
current fiscal. The downward trend in
agriculture continues since the third
quarter of 2003. Within the services sector,
trade, hotels, transport and communications
grew by 11.6 per in the third quarter
of 2004-05. The country's corporate sector,
too, recorded a strong performance during
the period with turnover and operating
profits growing by 10 per cent for both
services and manufacturing sector companies.
In the manufacturing sector, the average
sales for the surveyed companies were
Rs 114 crore during April-December 2004
and increased by 10 percentage points
from the same period last year. Growth
in operating profits are also up 10 per
percentage points to 36 per cent compared
with last year. Sales in the services
sector increased by 36.8 per cent in the
first three quarters of 2004-05. According
to CII, the increase in margins reflects
greater capacity utilisation as sales
volumes have increased and unit fixed
costs have declined, helping to absorb
the rise in variable input costs.
Courtesy:
www.business-standard.com, February 21,
2005
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Local
Auto Majors Eye Romanian Tractor Co
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Indian
automobile majors are eyeing Romanian
tractor company Tractorul SA Brasov, which
is up for privatisation. Utility vehicle
and farm equipment maker Mahindra & Mahindra
has evinced interest in the company, which
is Romania's biggest tractor maker. Romanian
ambassador to India Vasile Sofineti told
ET, "Tractorul, Romania's biggest tractor
company (specialising in agricultural
tractors), is up for privatisation. Indian
companies like M&M have shown interest.
M&M isn't the only Indian auto company
to have shown interest in Tractorul. According
to reports in the Romanian media, the
Tata group has also evinced interest in
the company. When contacted, a Tata group
spokesperson said, "The chairman of Tata
International, Shyamal Gupta, met with
some people but there is nothing in it
at this stage. It is too preliminary to
comment." According to Mr Sofineti, a
high profile Romanian delegation is scheduled
to visit India next week to meet potential
investors in the privatisation process.
"A delegation which includes the governor
and mayor of Brasov (home to Tractorul)
will be in India to meet M&M, the Tatas,
the Birlas and Reliance," Mr Sofineti
said. While the Romanian market is pretty
small - 6,000-odd units a year to India's
1.9 lakh units in '03-04 - Tractorul's
attraction is that it could offer a toe-hold
in the EU market in the not-too-distant
future. The company currently has a capacity
of 18,000 tractors per year in the 26-100
HP category. An integrated plant, it also
makes 24,000 diesel engines for its tractors
and has a castings and forging capacity
of 35,000 tonne and 20,000 tonne respectively.
Courtesy:
The Economic Times, February 21, 2005
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Mahindra
Intertrade sets up Steel Service Centre
in Sharjah
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As
part of the initiative to expand Mahindra
group's presence globally, Mahindra Intertrade
Ltd (MIL), a predominantly steel trading
company of the Mahindra Group, has set
up a steel service centre - Mahindra Middle
East Electrical Steel Service Centre -
in Sharjah, for processing electrical
steel. It has also entered into a strategic
alliance with Nipon Steel Corporation
(NSC). NSC, which will be an equity partner
in this venture, will supply the necessary
raw material, according to a statement
from the company made available to Business
Line. Mr R.R. Krishnan, Managing Director,
Mahindra Intertrade, said: "Given the
product and processing expertise, MIL
has ventured outside India to add critical
value chain for the transformer industry.
An efficient model has been built in to
service the customers in West Asia and
the neighbouring regions including Africa."
The transformer industry is poised for
a major growth in West Asia and the new
venture will, therefore, have a critical
role to play. The service centre has been
set up in a record nine months time and
has already made its first commercial
dispatch to ABB, Riyadh. Mr Shinya Higuchi,
GM, Nippon Steel Corporation, said that
this region is a growing market for grain-oriented
electrical steel, a key material for transformers.
He said the new service centre will greatly
improve service to the existing clients
and will also contribute to sales to new
clients in West Asia. Mr Anand Mahindra,
Vice-Chairman and MD, Mahindra and Mahindra
Ltd, Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Thani,
Chairman of Saif Zone and Mr Higuchi attended
the inaugural ceremony.
Courtesy:
www.thehindubusinessline.com, February
21, 2005
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Manufacturing,
Services Cos Post 10 pc growth in Apr-Dec
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Companies
in the manufacturing and services sectors
have witnessed over 10 per cent growth
in turnover and operating profits during
the April-December 2004-05 period compared
to the previous year, according to a CII
report. However, while there has been
an increase in profit margins for the
manufacturing sector, there has been a
decline for companies in the services
sector. For the 544 manufacturing firms,
operating margins increased from 14.8
per cent in 2002-03 to 17.4 per cent in
2004-05 whereas post-tax margins jumped
four percentage points to 8.7 per cent.
During the April-December period in 2004-05,
for the manufacturing sector the drop
in interest costs has slowed down from
the steep 22 per cent decline last year,
according to the CII report. This reversal
in the movement of interest costs is strongly
reflected in the services sector with
interest costs rising by 14.8 percentage
points. This could point to the upturn
in interest rates in the last couple of
months, according to the report. Sales
in the services sector too rose by 36.8
per cent in the first three quarters of
2004-05. Within the services sector, trade,
hotels, transport and communications grew
by 11.6 per cent over 11 per cent of the
last quarter. However, financing, real
estate, business services, and community
and personal services moderated the services
sector growth. The success of hotels,
transport, and communications in the services
sector was primarily due to increased
growth of construction from 3.6 per cent
to 5.2 per cent. Also, electricity, gas
and water supply that grew 9.2 per cent,
led to the success of these sectors, the
CII report said.
Courtesy:
www.thehindubusinessline.com, February
21, 2005
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Ranbaxy
to set up JV in Mexico
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Ranbaxy
Laboratories will set up a majority-owned
joint venture in Mexico to tap the growing
demand for generic drugs there. The joint
venture with a Mexican firm will cater
to the marketing and distribution demands
of the local market. The proposal was
cleared by the Ranbaxy board recently.
The move is part of the company's Garuda
vision to become a $5 billion company
by 2012. About a year back, the company
had picked up a controlling stake in France-based
RPG (Aventis), besides setting up a subsidiary
in Spain. Industry analysts estimate the
value of the Mexican pharmaceuticals market
at $7 billion, with an annual growth rate
of 10 per cent. In 2001-02, Mexico accounted
for Rs 149.6 crore of the total sales
of Indian companies, according to a study
by the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance.
This grew by 66 per cent to Rs 248.3 crore
in 2002-03. Mexico accounted for 2 per
cent of the total global sales during
the same period. Ranbaxy was one of the
few global generic companies to benefit
from the quick opening of the Brazil market,
which contributed $30 million to revenues
in the second full year, post entry. According
to industry analysts, a similar upside
in markets like Mexico, France, Argentina
and Canada cannot be ruled out. Ranbaxy
has already lined up its manufacturing
facility in Brazil to cater to the local
generics demand. Ranbaxy markets its products
in 70 countries and has manufacturing
facilities in seven locations across the
globe. Companies like Ranbaxy have been
seeking new revenue streams to beat a
new law that recognised product patents
and ended decades-old copycat trade. Larger
companies are looking overseas as drugs
worth billions of dollars go off patent,
or aim to become suppliers of drug ingredients
for pharmaceutical majors, besides doing
contract research such as complex chemical
synthesis. Other Indian pharmaceutical
companies are also eyeing the Mexican
market, with Wockhardt already announcing
a majority owned joint venture in Mexico.
Wockhardt has signed a joint venture agreement
for a 51 per cent stake in Wockhardt Mexico
S.A. de C.V., with the remaining 49 percent
held by Representaciones E Investigaciones
Medicas, S.A. de C.V.
Courtesy:
www.business-standard.com, February 21,
2005
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Biotech
Sector to be Single Largest Job Churner:
Expert
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Biotech
industry may become the single largest
sector for employment of skilled human
resource in the years to come, according
to Dr Manju Sharma, former director, Department
of Biotechnology, Government of India.
Giving a presentation at Prithvi 2005,
the global meet on eco-friendly products
and technologies, under way here, Dr Sharma
said there are enormous opportunities
for a career in new biosciences and new
biology. The enormity of biological resources
makes a case for raising a whole cadre
of highly trained professionals for inventorisation,
characterisation and documentation. Other
areas offering big opportunities are plant
and agriculture related activities, testing
of GMOs (genetically modified organisms)
and transgenics; use of diagnostics in
health care, industrial biotechnology,
environmental protection and biodiversity
conservation, food processing, production
of biologicals and other biotech products
and entrepreneurship development, teaching
and training in biotechnology. Other emerging
areas are those of molecular geneticists/technologists
who understand the molecular basis of
genetic disease and to effect its cure,
gene therapy, breeding new crop plants
and livestock, biotechnology industry,
production a range of products from pharmaceuticals
to microchips and food testing. The genetic
data is becoming the major driving force
in drug discovery, protein engineering,
design of new molecules, and other related
areas. The large stores of biological
data are holding promise to serve as the
"Discovery Super Highway" for the innovations
in biotechnology through a process of
analysis and transformation of molecular
and structural data into biological knowledge.
Bioinformatics encompasses all the aspects
of biological information such as acquisition,
processing, storage, distribution, analysis
and interpretation that combine the tools
and techniques of mathematics, computer
science and biology with the aim of understanding
the biological significance of a variety
of data.
Courtesy:
www.thehindubusinessline.com, February
21, 2005
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'SBI
Keen on Local, Global Acquisitions'
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State
Bank of India recently acquired a bank
in Mauritius and is looking for similar
buyouts in Asia and Africa. While aggressively
pursuing this global growth strategy,
the country's largest bank is also scouting
for suitable takeover targets locally.
In an interview to Business Line, Mr A.K.
Purwar, Chairman, SBI, explained the rationale
of investing in the Mauritian bank and
the bank's plans for growth, both internationally
and locally. IOIB is a good bank, the
fourth largest in Mauritius. We will upgrade
its technology and take it to the number
one position, with a retail focus. This
acquisition would also enable us to expand
our network in the neighbouring economies.
SBI has mostly been an inward looking
organisation. Locally, we have grown from
400 branches in 1955 to almost 14,000
branches in 2005. Globally, we have hardly
grown - we have 54 offices spread over
38 countries. As the largest bank in the
country, it is befitting for us to have
some global ambitions and a global presence.
Courtesy:
www.thehindubusinessline.com, February
21, 2005
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Mumbai
set to Manage MNCs Asian Treasuries
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It's
early days still, but this could well
turn out to be a stepping stone for the
fall of Asian financial bastions and the
rise of a real challenger. Global majors
have begun relocating treasury management
for their subsidiaries spread across Asia
to Mumbai. HLL, for instance, is managing
the forex exposure for all Asian subsidiaries
of FMCG giant Unilever. Unlike other back
office operations like global equity research
for mega fund houses or outsourcing of
tax, audit and legal services, the emergence
of Mumbai as the hub for pan Asian treasury
desks involves control over core operations.
Back office functions are outsourced primarily
for the cost advantage but, treasuries
predominantly deal in front office functions
like asset liability management, money
market operations, capital market operations,
loan structuring and so on. The scope
for growth is tremendous since even the
Indian MNCs do not aggregate their regional
exposures in India, right now. The Birla
group companies for instance, run shops
overseas but do not consolidate treasury
operations. There is a central reporting
mechanism for the operations but the functions
are run in a fragmented manner across
the different markets. With the number
of MNCs of Indian origin growing, it is
only natural that Mumbai will come out
as a major regional financial hub in time.
Courtesy:
The Economic Times, February 19, 2005
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ONGC
Among World's 25 Energy Majors
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State-owned
Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has been
ranked among the top 25 energy firms in
the world. "Continuing high crude oil
prices helped the company to improve its
share valuation (7.6 per cent) and climb
up to the 24th rank (as on December 31,
2004) in the PFC Energy 50 ranking," ONGC
said in a press release here. ONGC previously
was ranked 30th on the PFC Energy 50.
PFC is an energy consulting firm specializing
in the financial, strategic, commercial,
political aspects of the international
oil, gas and power industry. PFC Energy
was established in 1984 and is one of
the pre-eminent strategic advisory firms
in global energy. Combining a detailed
knowledge and understanding of markets,
countries and competition, PFC Energy
is recognized in the global energy industry
for the depth of its analysis and ranking.
ONGC joins the exclusive club of ExxonMobil,
British Petroleum, Royal Dutch/Shell,
Total and ChevronTexaco, the best among
oil and gas companies in the world. The
company's rank had fallen to 30 from 19
earlier (in March 31, 2004 ranking), mainly
due the stock's temporary reactions to
external developments post-election in
April-May 2004. ONGC with market cap of
USD 26.9 billion remains the only oil
and gas company in India in the PFC-50
Energy.
Courtesy:
The Times of India, February 19, 2005
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Branding
India is a Difficult Task'
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Brand
managers while building a 'Brand India'
have to consider the diversity and complexity
of the country, eminent politician and
economist, Jairam Ramesh, said here on
Friday. Speaking at the CII Brand Summit,
2005, Mr Ramesh, said, "It is not easy
to build a single brand India when one
considers the country's diversity in language,
religion and culture. Brand managers have
to factor in the diversities that exist
in India to create successful and profitable
brands. Sadly though, very few companies
consider these factors which results in
products failing despite an elaborate
planning". A bottom of the pyramid approach
would be more suitable for India. Branding
India was not easy given the fact that
the country had numerous regional and
area specific diversities. No two states
or regions were alike and each were driven
by their own peculiar set of characteristics
that were intensely unique. It was therefore
better to let the sub-brands like the
individual states and cities to build
their own brand identities leading to
an aggregated brand India. "Bangalore
for instance has created a name for India
internationally as the country's IT capital.
Moreover, the Indian market has changed
a lot from what it was 40 years ago. The
new policies and the opportunities that
came with that have created new avenues
of business and growth that did not exist
before. "Marketeers have to understand
that they are targeting an ever-changing
market and mindset," Mr Ramesh, said.
Courtesy:
www.financialexpress.com, February 19,
2005
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India
and China take Seat at Global Oil Table
|
| |
|
India,
sharing a ravenous thirst for oil, has
joined China in an increasingly naked
grab at oil and natural gas fields that
has the world's two most populous nations
bidding up energy prices and racing against
each other and global energy companies.
Energy economists in the West cannot help
admiring the success of both China and
India in kindling their industrialisation
furnaces. But they also cannot help worrying
about what the effect will be on energy
supplies as the 37 per cent of the world's
population that lives in these two countries
rushes to catch up with Europe, the US
and Japan. And environmentalists worry
about the effects on global warming from
the two nations' plans to burn more fossil
fuels. With engineering expertise and
equipment more available around the world,
one result is that oil executives and
drillers in remote spots increasingly
speak Mandarin or Hindi, not English.
Their newfound commercial confidants live
in pariah states like Sudan and Myanmar,
one sign that the political dynamics of
the world oil market pose a difficult
challenge for the Bush administration.
The prospect of China's consuming ever
growing lakes of oil has been noted over
the years, although it is gaining new
urgency as Chinese consumption continues
to soar. Now India is joining China in
a stepped-up contest for energy, with
both economies booming recently just as
their oil production at home has sagged.
China trails only the United States in
energy consumption; India has moved into
fourth place, behind Russia. During a
recent conference in New Delhi, a succession
of top Indian officials saluted Omer Mohamed
Kheir, the secretary general of the Ministry
of Energy and Mining in Sudan, who sat
beaming in the middle of the front row.
State-controlled ONGC recently began producing
oil in Sudan in cooperation with Chinese
state-owned companies. It s now building
a pipeline in Sudan and negotiating to
erect a refinery as well. ''The Asians
came to Sudan in a very difficult time,
and we created a very good strategic relationship
with them,'' Kheir said. ONGC CMD Subir
Raha said Western countries had been arbitrary
in their imposition and removal of sanctions
on countries like Libya, so his company
could not be expected to follow their
practices for countries like Sudan and
Myanmar. ''If you talk about pariah states,
Libya is an excellent example,'' he said.
''One fine morning, you see there are
no sanctions.'' India's oil imports climbed
by 11 per cent in 2004, and China's by
33 per cent, straining the capacity of
production operations, pipelines, refineries
and shipping lines and helping to keep
oil prices above $40 a barrel. The International
Energy Agency expects them to use 11.3
million barrels a day by 2010, which will
be more than one-fifth of the global demand.
Courtesy:
The Indian Express, February 19, 2005
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Kazakhstan
wants India in Oil Projects
|
| |
|
While
oil minister Mani Shankar Aiyar on Thursday
put life back into Indo-Kazakhstan bilateral
ties with a slew of proposals that have
potential to change the regional energy
balance, his counterpart V Shkolnik, and
PM Danial Akhmetov offered India a pivotal
role in its oil industry and sought wider
participation of Indian business. Emerging
from the shadows of Kurmangazy oilfield
deal, the Kazakh leadership promised Aiyar
a substantial oil asset to be announced
by president N Nazarbayev when the oil
minister calls on him on Friday. "We wanted
to give you Kurmangazy. We gave you an
opportunity to revise your offer. Realise
that you were competing against Total,
Shell, etc. There's a decision at highest
level to give you an asset. The president
will articulate it tomorrow. Please make
an offer we can't refuse," sources quoted
Shkolnik as telling Aiyar.
Courtesy:
The Times of India, February 18, 2005
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to Index
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Indian
Tourists Turn Global Hot Property
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India
is becoming a hub for tourism boards of
an increasing number of countries. From
just three tourism board offices in '01,
the country now has offices of over 19
tourism boards in both New Delhi and Mumbai.
British tourism, Singapore tourism and
Malaysian tourism boards were among the
first to set up offices to promote their
countries. The tourism board offices of
several other countries were then operating
through representatives. The scenario
is changing, especially after Indians
have started travelling abroad in large
numbers. A number of countries have set
up offices here and are working closely
with the travel trade to promote their
respective countries. Tourism boards of
countries such as Austria, Germany, Italy,
Switzerland, South Africa, Mauritius,
Maldives, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Honk Kong,
Macau, Indonesia and New Zealand have
set up full-fledged offices here. However,
Australia, USA and Canada still operate
through representatives.
Courtesy:
The Economic Times, February 18, 2005
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Global
Glow Warms Birla Campfire
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A
few days after Hindalco concluded the
acquisition of Nifty copper mines in Australia
on January 24, '03, Aditya Birla group
chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla addressed
250-odd employees of the mining company
from Mumbai through a video-conferencing
facility. His message was simple: The
group flagship Hindalco wants to become
the world's largest non-ferrous metals
company. For the Australian company's
employees, Kumar Mangalam Birla's words
heralded the arrival of an Indian MNC.
Kumar Mangalam's father, the late Aditya
Vikram Birla, started the global voyage
much before the concept of Indian MNCs
became fashionable. It was in 1970 that
Aditya Vikram Birla set foot in Thailand
to set up his first overseas venture,
called Indo-Thai Synthetics, long before
phrases such as 'doing business in a borderless
world' became fashionable. International
business now accounts for 35% of AV Birla
group's total turnover of Rs 29,000 crore.
"In the years to come, the share of global
business will go up. I have to say that
our long-standing presence overseas and
the exposure it brings, made the task
of adapting to different cultures much
easier," says Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman
of the Aditya Birla group. Carbon black
and viscose staple fibre account for the
major portion of the global business.
While the group's global carbon black
business has a turnover of Rs 1,200 crore,
global revenues from the VSF businesses
are around Rs 4,500-4,600 crore. Other
global businesses include palm oil refining,
acrylic fibre, paper pulp and copper concentrate.
The group, which is planning to increase
its global share to 45% of the total turnover
in the next few years, has around 12,000
employees overseas, representing 20 nationalities.
Courtesy:
The Economic Times, February 18, 2005
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Tourism
Sector to Grow Handsomely: CII
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The
tourism sector is expected to grow by
9.7 per cent per annum and the country
is expected to witness the second largest
employment creation from the sector, Confederation
of Indian Industry (CII) said on Thursday.
The northern region could significantly
benefit from these positive trends in
the Indian tourism industry if it took
the necessary steps to facilitate growth,
Rakesh Bharti Mittal, Chairman of CII
(northern region), said at a two-day conference
on 'Integrated Tourism Development - Exploring
Synergies in the Northern Region' here.
He urged the northern states to coordinate
efforts to promote tourism in a holistic
manner, evolve common programmes for marketing
and promotion, involve private sector
to a greater extent and synergise the
tourism policies at the state level. Speaking
at the conference, Amitabh Kant, Joint
Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism,
expressed concern over the falling share
of northern region in tourism and invited
the tourism industry to come forward and
work closely with the states. Emphasising
the need for a clear roadmap for the promotion
of tourism, he said the northern states
should give due focus to building strong
infrastructural support.
Courtesy:
The Economic Times, February 18, 2005
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Shipping
Industry Grows at 38 pc
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Indian
Shipping industry has been able to achieve
38 per cent growth largely due to the
tonnage tax regime introduced by the UPA
government, Union shipping minister T
R Baalu said today. Speaking at a function
in which Prime Minister laid the foundation
stone of the International Container Transhipment
Terminal project, he said the maritime
sector in India had been a major player
in catalysing the growth of the country's
international trade. "About 95 per cent
of the global merchandise trade passes
through our sea ports and our major and
minor ports have coped admirably with
the challenges thrown up by India's globalisation
process," he added.
Courtesy:
The Economic Times, February 17, 2005
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The
Shining Industry of Diamonds
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The
$1.5bn diamond industry in India is shining
and this time it's the branded players
who are adding the sparkle. To play around
a bit with that oft-quoted line from Marilyn
Monroe - diamonds are indeed a girl's
best friend - and in today's world, savvy
companies are making the most of this
weak trait in a tribe that is otherwise
known for its strength of character. Branded
categories are fuelling growth in the
$1.5bn diamond industry in India. Though
the industry has registered a growth of
24% in '03, the branded segment has grown
at a galloping 40%. Indeed, India was
the highest growth market in the world
in '03 and figures available so far with
the industry indicate that '04 will also
register the highest growth globally.
Lower price points have been the key to
growth, with entry-level prices pegged
as low as Rs 2,500. "The Rs 5,000-30,000
bracket is contributing to the bulk of
volumes," said Ms Tandon Saldanha. "The
year '04 has been a good one for the diamond
industry and there has been a marked acceptability
of branded diamonds," said Marzin Shroff,
CEO, Ishi's, a retail brand from the $200m
Suashish Diamonds, one of the largest
DTC sight holders. Moving into retail
branding was a strategic shift for Suashish
at a time when consumer trends pointed
to a marked growth curve for the branded
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