Mytrah Energy adds 150 MW wind power capacity

Hyderabad: Mytrah Energy Ltd has added wind power generation capacity of about 150 MW in the three southern States of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. This has increased its installed wind power generation capacity from 309.9 MW to 459.9 MW.

The wind power generation company, based in Hyderabad and listed on the Alternative Investment Market of (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange, is implementing wind farms with total capacity of 238.2 MW at three locations — Burugula (37.4 MW) in Andhra Pradesh, Savalsang (100.3 MW) in Karnataka and Vagrarai (100.5 MW) in Tamil Nadu.

It has commissioned additional capacity at these sites. All the three projects are being commissioned on a rolling basis with the stabilisation process conducted throughout the first quarter of 2014.

Burugula and Savalsang are Mytrah’s first two self-development projects constructed on the company’s land with Gamesa. This provides the company with diversification when combined with its turnkey agreement with Suzlon.

SDF to shift some tractor engine lines from Italy to India

New Delhi: Farm equipment maker Same Deutz Fahr (SDF), which recently unveiled its Lamborghini tractors in India, proposes to shift some engine production lines from Italy to its plant at Ranipet, near Chennai.

The company plans to invest Rs 300 crore over the next one year in expanding the tractor engine production capacity, said Bhanu Sharma, Managing Director and CEO of SDF India Pvt Ltd.

Two new lines
“We are planning to shift production of tractor engines with three and four cylinders, that will have a horse power range of 80-110,” Sharma said. Two new tractor engine production lines will be added at its existing facility in Ranipet.

Shifting of production lines will help the company introduce newer range of tractors with higher horsepower in the Indian market by 2015, where the demand for higher capacity tractors is seen going up, Sharma said.

key factors
The shortage of manpower, rising labour costs and consolidation of land holdings are the key factors that are driving the tractor sales, he added.

Currently, SDF manufactures about 8-9 tractor models in the mid-segment with a horse power range of 40-80 hp, bulk of which are exported to about 54 countries across Asia, Africa, Latin America and Australia.

The company sold about 2,000 Deutz Fahr tractors in the Indian market this year and is planning to double it in 2014.

SDF is eyeing a production to 25,000 tractor engines during 2014, up from the current year’s output of 15,000 engines, Sharma added.

Lamborghini tractors
SDF unveiled its Lamborghini range of tractors in India at an agri-fair in Pune, recently.

The company is in the process of finalising the specifications for the Indian market, based on the customer requirement, and expects to start rolling out Lamborghini tractors in the second half of 2014, he added.

SDF is targeting rich farmers and high profile individuals with farming interests, besides golf courses, cricket stadiums and luxury resorts.

Yamaha opens fifth global R&D centre in India

New Delhi: Japanese two-wheeler major Yamaha Motor Company (YMC), which on Tuesday announced the establishment of Yamaha Motor Research & Development India (YMRI) at its Greater Noida facility, is looking at leveraging India as a procurement hub to source components for its two-wheeler operations globally. India would be the fourth regional procurement hub for Yamaha worldwide after China, Japan and the Asean.

Yuh Motoyama, senior general manager, engineering section (motorcycle business operations), said, “The research and development (R&D) unit is an integrated development centre, the second such for Yamaha globally. The vendor base in India is strong and cost-competitive and the potential to source parts from here for our operations globally is very promising.” YMC had inaugurated its first integrated development centre in Asean in Thailand last year.

Besides purchasing, YMRI would work closely with engineers at the Yamaha headquarters in Japan to develop low-cost models.

“YMRI is the fifth foreign R&D facility for Yamaha. Every centre has a mandate. While the unit in Taiwan concentrates on developing products in the 150-cc category, the centre in Italy focuses on developing two-wheelers for the European market. While platforms would continue to be made in Japan, YMRI will modify them to create low-cost products for the domestic market”, added Motoyama. The ‘root model’ can then be altered for exports to markets in Africa and Latin America.

Toshikazu Kobayashi, managing director, YMRI, said, “Our aim is to develop the lowest-cost model and parts in the world. Our aim is to develop a low-cost bike at around $ 500 for both the domestic as well as exports markets.”

He, however, declined to specify a timeline for launching the product in the Indian market. Yamaha’s move is a part of its strategy to expand its footprint in the mass commuter segment in the country.

Yamaha, at present, has marginal share in the low-cost commuter segment with the YBR110 and Crux which together sells around 4300 odd units every month. The segment accounts for over 65 per cent of motorcycle sales in India.

Additionally, to enhance its presence in the domestic two-wheeler industry India Yamaha Motor (IYM) will launch a new scooter every year till 2016. Hiroyuki Suzuki, chief executive officer and managing director, IYM said, “We intend to sell one million units by 2016 and grab 10 per cent of the domestic two-wheeler industry. In the scooter segment, we will launch one new product every year to attain market share of 20 per cent in the same period.”

In the current financial year the company is eyeing sales of 710,000 units, which is an increase of around 45 per cent over the 490,000 units sold last fiscal. While 500,000 units will be sold in the domestic market, the remaining numbers would come in from exports.

HCL Tech signs five-year deal with Freescale

New Delhi: HCL Technologies on Wednesday entered into a five-year deal with Freescale Semiconductor, manufacturer of embedded processing solutions. The companies declined to give the deal value but sources said that it was a multi-million dollar deal.

HCL will be managing desktop support, computer, storage, database, telecom (network and security) and process automation. It will deliver services to Freescale across 20 countries, handling a user base of 19,000 employees spread across 80 locations.

Freescale will also leverage HCL’s global delivery centres in Poland and Shanghai for multilingual helpdesk support. It will develop more resilient systems, optimise its operational costs, increase visibility into IT operations, experience reduced technology complexity and drive innovation to existing and new initiatives.

“HCL will be sharing our vision of building a robust and agile IT environment required to keep pace with the growing technological innovation demands of the business and creating new ideas and technologies for the next generation opportunities,” Hal Yarbrough, Director of IT Infrastructure at Freescale Semiconductor, said.

HCL Technologies infrastructure services division (ISD) manages mission critical environments and handles over three million devices for over 1.7 million end users.

The ISD business contributes 26 per cent to the overall revenue of $4.2 billion as of June 30.

British Petroleum, JBF Industries ink PTA pact

Mumbai: British Petroleum (BP) had signed a licensing agreement with JBF Petrochemicals, a wholly-owned subsidiary of JBF Industries, for supplying purified terephthalic acid (PTA) technology. This would be the first instance of BP supplying the technology to any company.

Under the agreement, JBF would source BP’s PTA technology for its proposed 1.25-Mt plant in Mangalore. The project’s estimated capital expenditure is $600 million (Rs 3,300 crore), and the debt-equity ratio for funding the project is proposed at 1:2. It is expected to be on stream by 2014.

“The commencement of this plant would help us procure raw material for our polyester plant from captive sources. This would make our products cost-effective and reduce reliance on sourcing from others, including imports,” said Rakesh Gothi, managing director, JBF Industries.

Currently, JBF Industries procures about 1 Mt of PTA from three companies--- Indian Oil Corporation, Reliance Industries and Mitsubishi. The company also imports some PTA from Korea and Taiwan.

“This is the first third-party non-affiliate. The licence recognises the quality of BP’s technology and builds on the excellent relationship between our companies. Our PTA technology has significantly lower capital and operating costs, compared with conventional PTA plants. It is more energy-efficient, uses less water and produces less solid waste than its competitors. We have invested significantly in our proprietary technology,” said Nick Elmslie, chief executive of BP’s global petrochemical business.

“There are two routes to monetise this — investment and licensing. We have decided the maximum value to BP would be through investing in projects such as our Zhuhai 3 project in Guangdong, China, and through licensing,” he added.

Licensing to JBF is the first instance of BP licensing PTA technology to a company in which it hasn’t invested and has no stake.

Over the years, the PTA market has grown at a high rate. Asia now accounts for about 80 per cent of the demand, with China alone accounting for about 50 per cent. “The market has now attained such scale---50 million tonnes a year and growing at about seven per cent---that three to four world-scale plants would be needed every year. This creates material opportunity for us to add value by way of our technology,” said Elmslie.

According to B C Arya, chairman of JBF Industries, the investment in Mangalore would make the company’s integrated operations in India and the United Arab Emirates competitive in the long term.

SEBI cuts deadline for transfer of shares to 15 days

Mumbai: The stock market regulator SEBI has reduced the deadline for transfer of equity shares from one month to 15 days.

Henceforth, shares lodged for transfer with registrars will take 15 days for registration from the date of lodgement.

In addition, SEBI has also prescribed 15 days for registering transfer of debt securities. Any delay in transfer that results in an opportunity loss has to be compensated, said SEBI.

This provision has been incorporated in the listing agreement for debt securities.

SEBI has directed all registrars and transfer agents to adhere to these timelines for transfer of shares and debt securities.

In another circular on Thursday, SEBI has revised the norms and format of periodic reporting by registrar and transfer agents (R&T).

In future, R&T agents have to record their observations on deficiencies and non-compliances.

They also have to record corrective measures initiated to avoid such instances (in the future) in their report to SEBI.

Effective September 30, R&T agents are expected to file half yearly reports to SEBI in the revised format.

This report has to be submitted within three months of expiry of the half year.

R&T agents are also expected to report any change in their status or constitution in this report.

Nod to Rs 92,160-crore petroleum facilities region in Tamil Nadu

The Union Cabinet has approved India’s fifth petroleum, chemicals and petrochemical investment region (PCPIR) in Tamil Nadu. The Rs 92,160-crore PCPIR, in Cuddalore and Nagapattinam districts, would be earmarked for petroleum, chemicals and petrochemical production facilities. “The PCPIR envisages developing infrastructure, including roads, rail, air links, ports, water supply, power and desalination plants at a total cost of Rs 13,354 crore,” according to an official statement. It would cover an area of 256 sq km, with a processing facility.

According to the government’s PCPIR policy, infrastructure is developed through public private partnerships to the extent possible, with the Centre providing the required viability gap funding (VGF). The Tamil Nadu government has sought Rs 1,143 crore from the Centre as VGF and Rs 1,500 crore as budgetary support for the project. The government has identified Nagarjuna Oil Corporation and state-owned Chennai Petroleum Corporation as the lead anchor tenants in the proposed PCPIR.

Nagarjuna Oil Corporation, a joint venture between Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation and Nagarjuna Fertilisers and Chemicals, is setting up a 6 million tonne per annum (mtpa) refinery at Cuddalore, with an investment of Rs 9,660 crore. It has already started work for the refinery, the deadline for which is September 2013.

Chennai Petroleum Corporation plans to set up a 15 mtpa refinery and a petrochemical complex in the region, with an outlay of Rs 40,000 crore.

Bharti Walmart to invest Rs 104 cr for expansion

Mumbai: Wholesale retailer Bharti Walmart plans to invest Rs 104 crore this year in expanding its outlets across the country.

The US retail chain Walmart and New Delhi-based Bharti Enterprises joint-venture company have raised these funds last year, they said in a filing to the Registrar of Companies.

Having doubled its store count to ten outlets in 2011, the cash-and-carry major has added two stores in the last six months. In all, Bharti Walmart has about 17 stores in the country. Simultaneously, the company has been investing in logistics and improving its back-end supply chain system.

The company also mentioned that it has incurred a loss of Rs 765 crore in calendar year 2011, even as sales doubled during the period to Rs 1,876-crore.

However, the company seems to be optimistic and upbeat about the business outlook in the future given the fact that the wholesale business – or trade between two businesses - has considerable scope for growth going ahead. The fresh equity infusion could also be a signal that the retail segment is set to witness reforms in foreign direct investment norms, observe industry-watchers.

“Indian retailers are making steady strides in rationalising their retail network and learning the nuances of organised retail,” says Mr Mohit Bahl, Partner, KPMG India.

“In cash-and-carry segment, where FDI is already permitted, international players making investments in establishing their network though these are still very muted. However, with expectation of FDI in retail opening up – should that happen, the flood gates should open,’’ he added.

Bharti Walmart has also raised about Rs 500 crore in short-term loans from banks including Citibank, BNP Paribas, HSBC. The fresh capital infusion by Bharti Walmart also indicates the company’s massive expansion drive that is in line with the huge competition in the cash and carry segment. The world’s second largest retailer Carrefour has also opened its first cash-and-carry store in India in December last, while Germany’s Metro AG entered its tenth year of operation in India with eleven stores this year.

Adani Ports signs pact to develop bulk terminal at Kandla

Chennai: Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone on Monday said that its subsidiary, Adani Kandla Bulk Terminal Pvt Ltd, has signed a concession agreement with the Kandla Port Trust to set up a dry bulk terminal at the Kandla port on build, operate, transfer basis.

The project, estimated to cost Rs 1,200 crore, is expected to be completed in 24 months.

The terminal will have a capacity to handle 20 million tonnes of cargo. This will be a modern and mechanised cargo bulk terminal and will act as a “gamechanger for EXIM trade of the Northwest hinterland”.

Location
The significance of the project is its location - it will be located off Tekra near Tuna outside the Kandla creek. The Tuna port is owned by the Kandla Port Trust. It is learnt that Adani will construct four T-shaped jetties near Tuna outer buoy, where the draft (depth) is 14 metres.

Now, large ships can anchor directly at Tuna rather than have to transfer cargo on to barges and float the barges down to the Kandla port. Berthing at Tuna also cuts the distance to the hinterland.

Sources said the plan also includes a container terminal and a special economic zone between Kandla and Tuna.

Adani Ports has “thus emerged the only private sector port operator with presence across six ports in India,” the company has said in a notification to the stock exchanges.

It is now the only private port infrastructure company to operate and construct ports and terminals across six locations in India – Mundra, Dahej, Hazira and Kandla in Gujarat, Mormugao in Goa and Visakhapatnam.

The terminal at Kandla will handle cargo such as coal, fertiliser, salt, minerals and agro products.

Adani Ports aims to reach 200 million tonnes of handling capacity by 2020.

"In 2011-12, Adani Ports achieved a turnover of Rs 2,482 crore on which it made a net profit of Rs 1,177 crore, (or 48 per cent of turnover). Each share earned Rs 5.88."

On the BSE, the share of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (of face value of Rs 2) is being traded at around Rs 122.60.

UK's PizzaExpress to debut in India soon hires CEO

New Delhi: The UK-based casual dining restaurant chain PizzaExpress has kicked off the process of starting its India operation, almost eight months after signing a 50-50 joint venture partnership with Bharti Family Office.

As a first step, a chief executive officer (CEO) has been hired for the India business, and the company is learnt to be looking at a year-end launch of the chain.

Ramit Mittal, son of Rakesh Mittal, vice-chairman and managing director of Bharti Enterprises and elder brother of Bharti Group Chairman Sunil Mittal, is spearheading the PizzaExpress project from the Bharti Family Office side. Bharti Family Office is an initiative of the promoters of the Bharti group through their personal investments. The Bharti group’s business interest ranges from telecom to media to retail.

Since Ramit Mittal, 33, is already based in Mumbai as co-founder and joint managing director of Bulldog Media and Entertainment, PizzaExpress is likely to have its India headquarters in the same city, people close to the development say. Among other programmes, Bulldog Media is known for the television serial it produced—Kya Aap Paanchvi Paas Se Tez Hain — Hindi adaptation of the international hit Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader.

The first few outlets of the PizzaExpress chain are expected to open in metros like Mumbai and Delhi.

An official representing the joint venture confirmed that Vivek Mathur, who ‘s coming from the Godrej group, has been appointed CEO for PizzaExpress India. Over the next two to three months, many more senior and middle-level appointments are slated to take place.

Mathur was executive director and president (marketing, sales and innovation) at Godrej Consumer Products Ltd. Prior to that, he was managing director at Godrej Hershey Ltd and chief operating officer (marketing, sales) at Godrej Sara Lee. He has also worked with Tata Global Beverages Ltd and Hindustan Unilever Ltd. When asked about the chain opening plans, a company spokesperson said: “The joint venture is making progress as per our plans. We continue to work on developing the brand, business and team in India. However, at this stage, we don’t have anything specific to share.”

Last October, Gourmet Investments, promoted by Bharti Family Office, and the UK-based PizzaExpress Holdings had announced the joint venture to launch the PizzaExpress chain of restaurants in India. This will be the second coming for PizzaExpress, as its first India venture with the V K Modi group had failed to take off some eight years ago. The 46-year-old PizzaExpress has over 450 restaurants across Britain, China, Europe, Hong Kong, Japan and West Asian countries.

Ramit is one of the next-gen Mittals to have already worked with the family business. While his present assignment is with Bharti Family Office, he was earlier engaged with Easy Day, Bharti’s retail venture. Rakesh Mittal’s younger son Rajit Mittal is currently not related to the Bharti business—he is co-founder and director of Tatva Renewable Energy that provides green solutions to several companies including Bharti units. Rajit Mittal, too, was initiated into the Bharti business earlier when he worked on many projects in mobile technology and retail across group companies.

Sunil Mittal’s twins—Kavin and Shravin—are both engaged in the group business. While Kavin Mittal is the head of strategy and product development at a joint venture between Bharti Enterprises and Japan’s telecom and internet major Softbank, Shravin Mittal is a manager with the group’s telecom business in Africa. Sunil Mittal’s daughter Eiesha is married and not engaged in Bharti group family business.

The youngest brother of Sunil Mittal, Rajan Mittal, who’s handling the retail business of the group as vice-chairman and managing director of Bharti Enterprises, has two sons—Zubin and Armaan—who are studying and still have some years before getting initiated into the family business.

Gati forms jt venture with Japanse co Kintetsu

Coimbatore: Distribution and supply chain solution company Gati Ltd has tied up with Kintetsu World Express (KWE) of Japan to form Gati-Kintetsu Express Pvt Ltd (Gati-KWE).

While Gati would hold 70 per cent stake in the joint venture, the Japanese partner would hold the rest.

Kintetsu World Express has invested Rs 267.7 crore for its 30 per cent stake, which has been approved by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB).

Gati said the fund infusion would improve its balance sheet and help reduce the interest outgo.

It hopes that the joint venture would enable “seamless transfer’’ for cross border trade through single window solution to its clients such as Texas Instruments, HP, Panasonic and Toshiba.

Coke sees big India fizz; to pump in $5 b over 10 years

New Delhi: Beverages giant Coca-Cola plans to more than double its investments in India over the next decade.

The beverages major will pump in $5 billion (around Rs 28,500 crore) over the next ten years as it ramps up capacities in India, which is likely to be the world’s largest youth market by 2020.

Since its entry into India in 1993, when it acquired Parle’s soft drinks brands Thums Up and Limca, Coca-Cola has invested close to $2 billion.

The company operates on a “hybrid model” in India, running a mix of owned and franchisee-operated bottling plants.

Announcing the investment scale-up in New Delhi on Tuesday, Coca-Cola’s global Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mr Muhtar Kent, said India had “near limitless growth potential.”

The revised investment is “more than twice” the previously announced $2 billion for India, Mr Kent said.

Coca-Cola expects India to be among its top five markets worldwide by 2020, Mr Kent said, adding that the India story was one of “remarkable turnaround.”

Six years back, Coca-Cola had hit the nadir in India, with growth plunging and the company’s flagship brand buffeted by the pesticide controversy.

Mr Kent declined to reveal whether the new investments will result in a change in its product mix, away from flavoured, carbonated water to more of juices and other ‘healthier’ beverages.

But that shifts appears unlikely.

Mr Kent underscored the low per-capita consumption in India — an average of 12 units a year, or a bottle a month — in contrast to China’s per-capita average of 38 and Coke’s global average of 92 units.

Observers who track the sector closely said the company, unless compelled by legislation, is unlikely to look at diversifying the mix until consumption reaches close to the global per-capita average .

Coca-Cola India President Mr Atul Singh said sales in India grew at over 20 per cent last year.

The power of Compound interest

“Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it ... he who doesn't ... pays it.” ― Albert Einstein
In the book, “Once Upon a Wall Street”, Peter Lynch, one of the most successful mutual fund managers the Wall Street has ever seen, narrates a story. “Consider the Indians of Manhattan, who in 1625 sold all their real estate to a group of immigrants for $24 in trinkets and beads. For 362 years the Indians have been the subjects of cruel jokes because of it – but it turns out that they may have made a better deal than the buyers who got the island. At 8% interest on $24 ( note: let’s suspend our disbelief and assume they converted the trinkets to cash) compounded over all those years, the Indians would have built up a net worth just short $30 trillion, while the latest tax records from the Borough of Manhattan show the real estate to be worth only $28.1 billion. Give Manhattan the benefit of doubt: That $28.1 billion is the assessed value, and for all anybody knows, it may be worth twice that on the open market. So Manhattan’s worth $56.2 billion. Either way, the Indians could be ahead by $29 trillion and change.
This little story shows you the power of compounding and the points out the fact that the earlier you start investing the better it gets.

Illustration
Let’s try and understand this through an example of two friends, Ram and Shyam. Both start working at the same time at the age of 23. Ram starts saving when he turns 25 and invests Rs 50,000 every year. Assuming that on this he earns a return of 10% every year, at the end of ten years, Ram would be able to accumulate Rs 8.77 lakh. After this, due to financial constraints Ram is not able to invest any more money. But at the same time he does not touch the fund that he has already accumulated, hoping to live of it when he retires.

He lets the Rs 8.77 lakh grow and assuming that it continues to earn a return of 10% p.a., he would be able to accumulate around Rs 95 lakh by the time he turns 60. So the Rs 5 lakh (Rs 50,000 x 10 years) he had invested in the first ten years of his working life would have grown to Rs 95 lakh. This even though he stopped investing entirely after the first ten years.
Now let’s take the case of Shyam. Shyam believed in enjoying life, spending freely rather than saving regularly. However, at the age of 35 as reality dawns, he starts putting aside Rs 50,000 every year. Unlike his friend Ram, who stopped after the first ten years, Shyam religiously invests the amount each year for all of next twenty five years i.e. till he turns 60. Now, assuming he also earns a return of 10% per year on his investments, in the end, Shyam would have managed to accumulate Rs 54.10 lakh.
Putting it differently, even after investing Rs 50,000 regularly for twenty five years, Shyam has managed to accumulate Rs. 41 lakh lesser in comparison to Ram. Remember Ram has ended up investing only Rs 5 lakh in total over the ten years that he invested. In comparison, Shyam over the twenty five years invested Rs 12.5 lakh (Rs 50,000 x 25 years). So even by saving two and half times more than Ram, Shyam has managed to build a corpus which is 43% lower! This happened because Ram started investing earlier which in turn allowed the money to compound for a greater period of time.
Also as the corpus grows, the impact of compounding is greater. Ram as we know had managed to accumulate Rs 8.77 lakh after ten years after which he stopped investing, allowing the accumulated corpus to compound for twenty years more. In other words, the total life of the investment was for thirty years. However, had his investment time frame been till he turned 55 i.e. had the money compounded for twenty five years instead of thirty then at the end Ram would have accumulated a corpus of around Rs 59 lakh. By choosing to let his investment run for just an additional five years, Ram managed to accumulate Rs 45 lakh more.
Real Life Illustration
In terms of a practical example, let’s take the case of HDFC Equity Fund. The five year return of this fund is around 9.31% p.a. On the other hand, from inception (December 1994), the fund has returned 20.2% p.a. Now, had an investor invested say Rs. 50,000 five years back, the investment would have grown to around Rs. 78,000. However, had the investment been made at inception (allowing the money to compound over a greater period of time) the investment would have grown over 24 times to around Rs. 12 lakh.

As mentioned in the beginning of the column, Albert Einstein himself has called the power of compounding the eighth wonder of the world. In this article we have given various examples of how potent this power is when combined with its ally --- Father Time. It’s never too early nor too late to begin investing. Or to put it differently, better late than later.

The writer is Director, Wonderland Consultants, a tax and financial planning firm. He may be contacted at sandeep.shanbhag@gmail.com

Auto components maker Faurecia plans to grow Asia business

Pune: French auto components maker Faurecia has set up a new, expanded R&D facility at Pune to grow the Asia business.

The new Tech Centre will cater to conceptualising, designing and validation for products in automotive interior systems, automotive seating and auto exteriors, three of its four business groups.

Asia-Pacific is a top priority for Faurecia Interior Systems (FIS), Mr Christophe Schmitt, Executive Vice-President, FIS said. He added that in India, Pune, Chennai and Delhi are the three main clusters the company will follow.

The Group is targeting sales from the APAC region to touch €4 billion by 2015. While the main growth will come from China, India is also important, he said, adding, “Our goal is that 50 per cent of our global sales will come from outside Europe by 2015.” Currently, Europe accounts for 62 per cent of its business.

Faurecia’s R&D Centre at Pune has already been operational since 2004 and has filed two patents last year. This year the company has a target to file five patents. Set up with an investment of Rs 110 crore, the new Tech Centre is an autonomous, fully integrated facility designed to accommodate 800 engineers, of which 600 are already on board.

Mr Schmitt said that the company aims to develop products that are high on safety, quality and comfort here.

Globally, nearly 39 per cent of Faurecia’s revenues come from German automakers including VW, BMW and Daimler.

The premium brands represent 28 per cent of revenue worldwide. In India it supplies components to OEMs such as Mercedes, M&M, Hyundai and Ford.

The Pune Tech Centre is Faurecia’s second centre in India after Bangalore where Emission Control Technologies are developed. The company also has nine manufacturing plants in the country.

Malaysia and India bi-lateral trade at an all time high

The growth in the merchandise trade between Malaysia and India has reached an all-time high, with over US$10 billion worth of trade transacted for the year 2011. Total trade between Malaysia and India for 2011 was US$12.54 billion, an increase of 40% compared to US$8.98 billion in 2010. This impressive growth has been predominantly attributed to the burgeoning economies of both nations and the strengthening of bilateral trade between the two countries.

Beginning with an exponential rise in the tourism, the relationship between the two countries has been further enhanced, opening new avenues for Malaysia and India to benefit mutually from each other's economies. Over the past 10 years, trade between Malaysia and India has seen a healthy average growth rate of over 15.6% p.a.

In spite of a slowdown in the global trading scenario, Malaysia has shown signs of rapid growth, recording a total trade value of US$415 billion in 2011 - the highest ever achieved. For the 14 thconsecutive year, Malaysia has recorded a trade surplusfigure of US$39 billion - a growth rate of 9.4% for the year 2011. The merchandising trade has registered an impressive growth of 8.7% p.a. with exports from Malaysia growing to US$226.98 billion, while imports recorded a figure of US$187.66 billion - an 8.6% rise. This notable feat is at par with other developed countries in the region, like Singapore and ROK, which have registered similar records.

According to the World Competitiveness Yearbook 2011 Report by the Institute for Management Development (IMD), Malaysia has been ranked among the Top 5 countries in terms of international trade, after Singapore and Hong Kong. Malaysia has now surpassed most of the developed countries such as the USA, Switzerland, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom, in terms of international trade

Diabetes, skin care will hold key for drug makers' growth: Credit Suisse

Mumbai: The next round of growth for Indian pharma companies will be driven by the fastest growing molecules in the diabetes, skincare and eye care segment according to a report by research firm Credit Suisse.

The market share of a drug company is directly related to the number of fast growing molecules in the company's pipeline, the report said.

"Every company wants to be present in the fastest-growing and high-margin molecules and launching products in the high growth segment in India is not difficult. However, in our view, execution on high growth molecules holds key" said Anubhav Agarwal, research analyst Credit Suisse in the report titled 'Does bottom analysis matter?'

According to the report 15% of sales of Indian drug makers is driven by molecules which are growing at less than 5% , and 1/6 thof sales are contributed by molecules that are growing at more than 30%, these are primarily the diabetes and cardiac products.

Credit Suisse is betting on the diabetes therapy that would play significant role in pushing the company's revenues. It says that half of diabetes segment in India is growing is a rate of 30% with maximum chunk of revenue coming from the high growing molecules. This is followed by dermatology where 70% of sales come from molecules that are growing above 15% followed by eye care molecules.

The report has given a buy call on Sun Pharma, Lupin and Glenmark, as according to the firm these companies have the best overall portfolio in the fast growing segments.

BhartiSoftBank ,Yahoo! Japan tie-up to provide mobile internet

New Delhi: BhartiSoftbank (BSB), a 50:50 joint venture (JV) between Bharti Enterprises and SoftBank, on Tuesday partnered with Yahoo! Japan for developing mobile internet portal for the Indian market.

The companies have formed a JV company christened BSY Pte Ltd for this purpose. The new company would combine Bharti’s Indian market with SofBank group’s (Japan) experience in internet portal space.

BSB was launched in October 2011 to focus on mobile internet in India.

“This will be an important piece in our strategy to drive the uptake of mobile internet and data services,” Mr Kavin Bharti Mittal, Head of Strategy & New Product Development, BSB said.

Yahoo! Japan, with over 84 per cent internet users using it, has largest user base on mobile in Japan driven by its mobile internet portal.

“The Indian market will see growth of data usage on mobile. Through this partnership we hope to contribute to enhance people’s lives through mobile internet,” Mr Shin Murakami, Chief Mobile Officer of Yahoo! Japan said.

Tommy Hilfiger on expansion spree in India; other retailers entering the market through joint ventures

New Delhi/Bangalore: American apparel-maker Tommy Hilfiger plans to add 500 stores in India over the next five years to capitalize on the brand's surging popularity, the company has told the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), the nodal agency that clears such foreign investments.

Tommy Hilfiger Arvind Fashion Pvt Ltd, a 50:50 joint venture between the US premium lifestyle brand and Ahmedabad-based Arvind Ltd, will invest Rs 60 crore in 45 company-owned stores; a significant number of the stores will be opened through franchisees, according to a foreign investment application filed by the company and reviewed by ET.

Currently, Tommy Hilfiger operates 58 franchisee outlets and over 60 shop-in-shops in other department stores. The expansion will take Tommy Hilfiger's presence to 631 points of sale by 2016-17.

Both partners will invest Rs 15 crore each, whilst Rs 30 crore will come from the company's internal accruals, the alliance said in its application to the DIPP.

"Engaging in retail operations directly would enable the applicant company to set up retail stores in locations all over the country including in those which at present are found commercially unfeasible by our franchisee partners," the application said.

"The company will announce its concrete plans in due course," Jayesh Shah, director & CFO of Arvind said, without commenting on specific queries.

A year ago, Tommy Hilfiger had bought out the 50% stake of the Murjani group in a joint venture called Arvind Murjani Brands, which owned the franchisee rights for the American brand in India. The Murjani group held the Tommy Hilfiger trademark licence in India.

In 2011 the JV applied to the Registrar of Companies for a change of name from Arvind Murjani Brands to Tommy Hilfiger Arvind Fashion with an authorized share capital of Rs 20 crores. Now, the alliance has filed an application with the DIPP seeking approval to open Tommy Hilfiger branded stores in India via the window for single-brand retailing.

Tommy Hilfiger Arvind Fashion is bullish on India as the brand has shown "robust financial performance" over the years and clocked total sales of Rs 80 crore for the fiscal year ending March 2011. Revenue is expected to have swelled four times to Rs 320 crores for the fiscal year ended March 2012, the documents filed by the company to the DIPP said.

Nearly 17 per cent of the $40-billion Indian apparel market is organised, management consulting firm Technopak Advisors estimates.

The $4.6-billion Tommy Hilfiger, a unit of PVH Corp, also owns brands such as Calvin Klein, Van Heusen (the Indian rights are owned by Madura Fashion & Lifestyle), and operates more than 1,000 stores in over 90 countries in North and South America, Europe, Asia Pacific among others.

Tommy Hilfiger has been one of the early movers among international lifestyle brands, having entered India in 2003. "It has stayed away from much discounting and created a loyal following across metro cities," Arun Sirdeshmukh, former CEO of Reliance Trends and co-founder of portal Fashionara, says. "But given their premium positioning it remains to be seen if there is a market for an additional 500 stores," he adds.

Meantime, in a separate DIPP application, French fashion brand Promod SAS has filed for a 51 per cent stake in a joint venture with local Modex Trading Pvt. Ltd. Modex is co-owned by Tushar Ved, the promoter of Major Brands, which currently owns Promod's franchisee rights in India.

Retail analysts say the brand had low recall value before it launched in India and a limited footprint, which is slated to change with the JV. "Promod has done fairly well in India also on the back of its mall locations, being a part of Major Brands' portfolio that includes Mango, Charles & Keith and Aldo," a rival retailer, said seeking anonymity.

The four-decade old brand, which claims to refresh its collection with 100 new products every two weeks, competes with women-centric, trendy brands such as Zara, s.Oliver and Esprit.

Incidentally, Madura Fashion & Lifestyle (MF&L) too is in the process of converting the distribution agreement it signed with Esprit in 2005 into a joint venture. "We have been in talks with Esprit and are trying to fine-tune things," Ashish Dikshit, CEO of MF&L said, without divulging details. "Our approach is to look for deep and long-term alignments," he added.

A study by management consulting firm Booz & Co revealed that around 100 multinational retail & consumer companies had entered India between 1990 and 2010. As many as 86 companies entered before 2009, and a little over a fifth of this lot (or 18 companies) changed their partnership model.

"Over the past few years, consumer brands that had followed the low-risk and low-return model through franchisees and distribution agreements, have gained confidence in the market and increased commitment," Raghav Gupta, principal at Booz & Co, says. Take for instance, UK-based retailers Clarks, and Marks & Spencer, which extended their distribution or franchise agreements into joint ventures with Future Group and Reliance Retail respectively.

Air Works, Empire Aviation team up to service business jets

New Delhi: Owners of private business jets in India can soon look forward to a one-stop shop for meeting all their travel needs. This follows Air Works making a Rs 120 crore strategic investment in Dubai-based private aviation company Empire Aviation Group. The new company will offer end-to-end aircraft asset management services for private business jet owners.

The strategic investment is through a mix of internal accruals and structured debt finance of Rs 120 crore from KKR & Co, officials said.

“If there is a owner of a private business jet who does not want to have the headache of maintaining a staff for managing the aircraft we can help them not only operating their flights but also getting clearance for the operations,” officials said. The new company expects to open the first office in the next 30-45 days in Bangalore followed by Delhi and Mumbai. Initially staff will be brought from the UAE base, officials said.

Declining to give details of the companies that have already signed up with Empire Aviation, officials said, “In the United Arab Emirates we operate for some former prime ministers and wealthiest of the wealthy.”

On how much a business jet owner would have to pay for the services, officials said: “The management model will depend on the type of aircraft. You might have some one who flies 20 per cent of the time and offers the aircraft for charter services 80 per cent of the time. The amount such a customer will pay will be different from what another customer pays,” officials said.

Air Works may look to raise between $ 35-50 million capital but there is no talk to divest at the moment, officials said. While GTI has a stake holding of about 25 per cent, Punj Lloyd holds about 19 per cent stake in Air Works. The funds will be raised primarily to create an engine Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul facility, officials said.

Agriculture Ministry, Isro to forecast accurate farm production

New Delhi: The union agriculture ministry is gearing up to provide advance and accurate forecast of farm output in the kharif season by setting up a remote sensing centre in New Delhi with the help of Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro). The centre is likely to be operational in a month's time.

"Isro has developed basic procedures, models, and software packages for crop area and production forecasting, using remote sensing and weather data. We will be engaging seven Isro scientists who, along with our agriculture scientists, will come out with reliable information about agri output," said agriculture secretary Prabeer Kumar Basu.

The technology will be used for the analysis of cropping system (satellites provide valuable inputs for diversification and intensification of crops), mapping of sodic and usar soils, assessing the impact of droughts and floods, weather forecasting and monsoon prediction.

"The prediction of monsoon is difficult even with remote sensing technology. But the assessment of drought is quite easy. Satellite data will help us in contingency planning and for drought declaration process. We will extend the use of this technology for the analysis of water index and rainfed areas," he said.

The ministry is running a country-wide project, 'Forecasting of agriculture outputs through satellite, agrometeorology and Land-based observations' (FASAL) for forecasting major crops including wheat, rice, millet, jowar, bajra, oilseeds and sugarcane. From this year onwards, remote sensing technology will be used to forecast horticulture output as well.