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August 2008
Mittal buys Dubai firm
ArcelorMittal, the biggest steelmaker in the world, has acquired 60% of privately held Dubai Steel Trading Company for an undisclosed sum. Dubai Steel, formed in 1986, has 50 staff and sells mainly to the construction market.
Sun power
Solar Semiconductor Private Ltd, a maker of photovoltaic modules based in Hyderabad, has signed a 10-year agreement to supply Deutsche Solar AG, a subsidiary of SolarWorld AG of Germany, worth US$1.2 billion.
Bra power Triumph, arguably the most famous women underwear brand in the world, will invest Rs 100 crore (US$25 million) to open 100 stores in India in the next two years.
Big stride for Reebok The sports wear brand is pushing to open a new store in India every two days on average – raising the number of stores from the current 620 to 850 in the next year. It also expects sales to go up 30%, said managing director Suvhinder Singh.
Citi shines in India Shrugging off its parent’s trouble at home, Citibank India has registered a 65% jump in pre-tax profit in the year ended March 31 to Rs 2,596 crore on growth in transaction services, fixed income, treasury and market activities and consumer banking.
Less sensational please Information and Broadcasting Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi has warned television channels to stop using sensational news coverage to rake up TRP (TV rating points), and said the government may set up a monitoring system on news reporting. TRP is closely tied to advertising revenue received by the channels.
Honda launches new model Honda Motorcycles and Scooter India has launched its second 125cc model called the CBF Stunner in an attempt to consolidate its No. 2 position in the executive motorcycle segment. In April and May this year, sales of 125 cc bikes soared 31% while the normally popular 100 cc segment hardly budged.
Hyundai car sales up Hyundai Motor India reported a 34% jump in passenger car sales in India to 21,881 units during June, while overall sales including exports were up 45.3% to 40,182 units.
Italicks in India The Italian provider of ice cream, desserts and other food items has opened its first outlet in Pune. It plans to have retail stores in 40 to 45 Indian cities in the next two years serving “the most authentic Italian products” as well as some local flavours such as papaya and mango ice cream.
Railway surcharges Indian railways will levy a special "supplementary freight charges" on commodities like coal, ore, petroleum products, fertilisers, machinery, machine tools and food grains, a move that could further boost inflation. Coke and coal, which together account for 40% of goods traffic, face a 5% levy. Railways say the surcharge is to cope with higher diesel costs.
Goa's steel woes The mining lobby in the tiny coastal state has spoken out against the centre government’s decision to impose a 15% export duty on iron ore and claims it will "severely impact Goan iron ore industry".
Osim expands in India The Singapore distributor of massage chairs and other "lifestyle products" has 22 outlets in India and plans to add a further 28 in the next three years.
India internet usage The number of Indians using the Internet showed strong growth of 27% to more than 28 million in 2008. The number, however, is less than one-tenth of the number of Chinese net users.
Paramount Airways expands Paramount, a three-year old schedule flight provider started by the Madurai-based textile company Paramount Group, has launched its daily first flight from Chennnai to Tiruchirapalli and plans to add four more new destinations by end of this year which will connect Chennai.
Goodbye organic growth Tata Steel announced net profit of 123.5 billion rupees (US$2.9 billion), boosted by its acquisition of European steel major Corus and one-time gains. A year ago Tata Steel’s net was a miserable 41.7 billion rupees. No wonder there are so many takeovers in the global steel industry.
One that failed Essar Steel, run by the acquisitive Ruias brothers, has withdrawn its US$1.2 billion bid for US steel company Esmark in the face of a higher bid by Russian steel giant Severstal. The Russian bid was supported by US union of steelworkers.
More woes for Essar Within a week of losing the Esmark deal, the Ruias of Essar also lost their bid for a 50% stake in a refinery project in Mombasa when the Kenyan dumped the Mumbai group in favour of a Libyan company. Essar officials said they are still negotiating with the Kenyan government to invest in the project.
Power play Infrastructure group GMR has agreed to buy a half share in Dutch-based Intergen for US$1.1 billion. It is the largest acquisition of a utilities firm by an Indian concern. Intergen has 12 existing and planned power plants in the UK, the Netherlands, Mexico, Australia and the Philippines.
More power play Cairn India, part of the UK-based Cairn Energy PLC, will invest US$2 billion to start producing oil from its 70%-owned west Indian oil fields.
Camel power Farmers in Rajasthan are giving up gas-guzzling tractors for camels, a move that has sharply driven up the price of the animal. Two years ago a camel cost as little as a goat. Today a good male camel – which lives to 80 years – costs US$973. But it is still much cheaper than a US$4,000 tractor and needs no maintenance.
Hinduja in Iran The four Hinduja brothers, famous for implicated in the Bofors arms scandal, say they plan to invest about $50 billion (Rs200,000 crore) in oil and gas projects in Iran over the next five years. The brothers are eyeing Iran's South Pars Phase 12 gas field and the Azadegan oil asset which they plan to explore with the Indian state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation.
Funds for SMEs The State Bank of India is setting up a Rs 500-crore private equity fund to cater to the small and medium enterprise sector. SBI will have a 20% equity in the fund, with a domestic investor holding the remaining equity, said bank Chairman O P Bhatt.
M&A law portal Securities &Exchange Board of India Chairman C B Bhave has launched a portal catering exclusively on laws relating to mergers and acquisitions. The portal, www.takeovercode.com, is produced by Corporate Professionals, a firm specialised in corporate legal and financial advisory matters. It is billed as a one-stop online solution for the intricacies of Indian takeover laws.
ArcelorMittal, the biggest steelmaker in the world, has acquired 60% of privately held Dubai Steel Trading Company for an undisclosed sum. Dubai Steel, formed in 1986, has 50 staff and sells mainly to the construction market.
Sun power
Solar Semiconductor Private Ltd, a maker of photovoltaic modules based in Hyderabad, has signed a 10-year agreement to supply Deutsche Solar AG, a subsidiary of SolarWorld AG of Germany, worth US$1.2 billion.
Bra power Triumph, arguably the most famous women underwear brand in the world, will invest Rs 100 crore (US$25 million) to open 100 stores in India in the next two years.
Big stride for Reebok The sports wear brand is pushing to open a new store in India every two days on average – raising the number of stores from the current 620 to 850 in the next year. It also expects sales to go up 30%, said managing director Suvhinder Singh.
Citi shines in India Shrugging off its parent’s trouble at home, Citibank India has registered a 65% jump in pre-tax profit in the year ended March 31 to Rs 2,596 crore on growth in transaction services, fixed income, treasury and market activities and consumer banking.
Less sensational please Information and Broadcasting Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi has warned television channels to stop using sensational news coverage to rake up TRP (TV rating points), and said the government may set up a monitoring system on news reporting. TRP is closely tied to advertising revenue received by the channels.
Honda launches new model Honda Motorcycles and Scooter India has launched its second 125cc model called the CBF Stunner in an attempt to consolidate its No. 2 position in the executive motorcycle segment. In April and May this year, sales of 125 cc bikes soared 31% while the normally popular 100 cc segment hardly budged.
Hyundai car sales up Hyundai Motor India reported a 34% jump in passenger car sales in India to 21,881 units during June, while overall sales including exports were up 45.3% to 40,182 units.
Italicks in India The Italian provider of ice cream, desserts and other food items has opened its first outlet in Pune. It plans to have retail stores in 40 to 45 Indian cities in the next two years serving “the most authentic Italian products” as well as some local flavours such as papaya and mango ice cream.
Railway surcharges Indian railways will levy a special "supplementary freight charges" on commodities like coal, ore, petroleum products, fertilisers, machinery, machine tools and food grains, a move that could further boost inflation. Coke and coal, which together account for 40% of goods traffic, face a 5% levy. Railways say the surcharge is to cope with higher diesel costs.
Goa's steel woes The mining lobby in the tiny coastal state has spoken out against the centre government’s decision to impose a 15% export duty on iron ore and claims it will "severely impact Goan iron ore industry".
Osim expands in India The Singapore distributor of massage chairs and other "lifestyle products" has 22 outlets in India and plans to add a further 28 in the next three years.
India internet usage The number of Indians using the Internet showed strong growth of 27% to more than 28 million in 2008. The number, however, is less than one-tenth of the number of Chinese net users.
Paramount Airways expands Paramount, a three-year old schedule flight provider started by the Madurai-based textile company Paramount Group, has launched its daily first flight from Chennnai to Tiruchirapalli and plans to add four more new destinations by end of this year which will connect Chennai.
Goodbye organic growth Tata Steel announced net profit of 123.5 billion rupees (US$2.9 billion), boosted by its acquisition of European steel major Corus and one-time gains. A year ago Tata Steel’s net was a miserable 41.7 billion rupees. No wonder there are so many takeovers in the global steel industry.
One that failed Essar Steel, run by the acquisitive Ruias brothers, has withdrawn its US$1.2 billion bid for US steel company Esmark in the face of a higher bid by Russian steel giant Severstal. The Russian bid was supported by US union of steelworkers.
More woes for Essar Within a week of losing the Esmark deal, the Ruias of Essar also lost their bid for a 50% stake in a refinery project in Mombasa when the Kenyan dumped the Mumbai group in favour of a Libyan company. Essar officials said they are still negotiating with the Kenyan government to invest in the project.
Power play Infrastructure group GMR has agreed to buy a half share in Dutch-based Intergen for US$1.1 billion. It is the largest acquisition of a utilities firm by an Indian concern. Intergen has 12 existing and planned power plants in the UK, the Netherlands, Mexico, Australia and the Philippines.
More power play Cairn India, part of the UK-based Cairn Energy PLC, will invest US$2 billion to start producing oil from its 70%-owned west Indian oil fields.
Camel power Farmers in Rajasthan are giving up gas-guzzling tractors for camels, a move that has sharply driven up the price of the animal. Two years ago a camel cost as little as a goat. Today a good male camel – which lives to 80 years – costs US$973. But it is still much cheaper than a US$4,000 tractor and needs no maintenance.
Hinduja in Iran The four Hinduja brothers, famous for implicated in the Bofors arms scandal, say they plan to invest about $50 billion (Rs200,000 crore) in oil and gas projects in Iran over the next five years. The brothers are eyeing Iran's South Pars Phase 12 gas field and the Azadegan oil asset which they plan to explore with the Indian state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation.
Funds for SMEs The State Bank of India is setting up a Rs 500-crore private equity fund to cater to the small and medium enterprise sector. SBI will have a 20% equity in the fund, with a domestic investor holding the remaining equity, said bank Chairman O P Bhatt.
M&A law portal Securities &Exchange Board of India Chairman C B Bhave has launched a portal catering exclusively on laws relating to mergers and acquisitions. The portal, www.takeovercode.com, is produced by Corporate Professionals, a firm specialised in corporate legal and financial advisory matters. It is billed as a one-stop online solution for the intricacies of Indian takeover laws.
First Published:
August 2008
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Another Point
An imaginary factual blog of General David Petraeus, Commander, United States Central Command
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