Success in my Habit

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Fineotex incorporates wholly-owned subsidiary in Malaysia

MUMBAI: Chemical makerFineotex Chemicals on Thursday said it has incorporated a wholly-owned subsidiary inMalaysia to carry on its business in that region.

The company is also in advance stages of negotiations with foreign parties for investing in business in and around Malaysia.

"The company has incorporated a wholly-owned subsidiary in Malaysia to carry on the business in that region. It is in advance stages of negotiations with foreign parties for investing in business in and around Malaysia," it said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

Fineotex manufactures speciality chemicals among others for textile, garment, construction, leather, water treatment, paint industries.

It currently has its manufacturing facilities in Navi Mumbai.

Shares of the company today closed at Rs 283.15, down by 3.25 per cent from previous close on theBSE

Madras Cement in talks to sell Bengal unit

MUMBAI/CHENNAI: Madras Cements, the flagship enterprise of Chennai-based Ramco Group, is holding talks with European giantsLafarge andHolcim to divest itscement grinding unit in West Bengal for roughly Rs 350 crore, said sources briefed on the matter.

PE giant KKR-backed Dalmia Cements had evinced early interest but has dropped out of the deal-making now.

"We have been approached by a number of cement manufacturers to sell the grinding unit. At present we are only exploring the offers made by these people. No decision has been taken as yet,"Ramco Group vice-chairmanP R Venketrama Raja told TOI. A Lafarge spokesperson declined to comment, while Holcim could not be reached for response.

The Rs 2,636-croreMadras Cements moves clinker (an intermediary product in cement manufacturing) from its existing cement plant at Jayanthipuram in Andhra Pradesh in bulk and grinds it with gypsum and bags them as cement to sell in the eastern markets. The unit located at Kolaghat in Purba Medinipur district in West Bengal was set up to feed cement from the surplus southern to eastern region.

Since clinker can be moved in bulk, logistics costs can be brought down as bagged cement transportation is more expensive than clinker transportation.

Madras Cements has capacity in excess of 10 million tonne per annum after doubling the production facility at Ariyalur plant in Tamil Nadu. The country's major cement manufacturers have been ramping up capacity in the southern states, especially Tamil Nadu, prompting players like Madras Cements to protect their turf.

On Monday, Madras Cements dropped 0.54% in to close at Rs 82 on the BSE.

C&S Electric eyes Rs 240 crore revenue from EPC business

NEW DELHI:Electrical and electronic equipment supplierC&S Electric Ltd aims to earn Rs 240 crore revenue from engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) business in the next one year.

The company is hopeful of bagging EPC contracts for the solar power projects under the government's ambitious Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission programme, bids for which would be invited next month.

"About 300 MW capacity solar projects would be in the offing under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission, of which we would like to capture 20 MW capacity projects," Rohit Dhar, Senior Vice President, Strategy & Business Development, C&S Electric Limited said.

"Whether it would be a 20 MW solar plant or 20 power projects of 1 MW each etc...that would be decided at the time of invitation of bids," Dhar added.

On an average the cost of generating 1MW solar power is Rs 15 crore and since EPC contributes about 80 per cent of the total value of the project, the company may be able to generate a business of approximately Rs 240 crore through these projects.

The company is currently executing a 1MW solar photo-voltaic plant at Bhiwadi in Haryana.

Areva T&D India to supply equipment for PowerGrid Corporation's national test sub-station at Bina

NEW DELHI: Areva T&D India, which is now a part ofAlstom Grid, on Monday said it has signed an agreement with state-run transmission utilityPowerGrid Corporation for supply of equipment to set up a national test sub-station at Bina, in Madhya Pradesh.

As per a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU),Areva T&D India will provide equipment to PowerGrid Corp for the Bina sub-station, an official statement said.

The equipment will be developed, manufactured and tested at Areva T&D India's factories at Hosur and Padappai, in Tamil Nadu.

"We are delighted to partner with PowerGrid for setting up the national test sub-station," Areva T&D India Managing Director Rathin Basu said.

Marg Ltd bags Rs 250 cr order from Guj-based BECL

AHMEDABAD: Chennai-based MARG Limited, has won a work order valued at Rs 237.85 Crore fromBhavnagar Energy Company Limited (BECL) in Gujarat. The scope of engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) work includes laying five kilometre long submarine pipeline in the roughest sea of Gulf of Khambhat, installing critical marine and civil structures, pumping stations, pipelines, substations and transmission lines.

The work order includes a sea water intake, outfall and circulating water system for the 2 X 250 MW Lignite Based Thermal Power Plant at Padva in Bhavnagar district.

"We are glad to have bagged this prestigious order from BECL. We are consolidating our presence in the EPC sector through strategic International alliances .Our pursuit of 'technological innovation' to deliver world class infrastructure is being partnered by knowledge initiatives of our collaborators. MARG's domain expertise in port, marine infrastructure, industrial EPC and other infrastructure projects will add value for the successful completion and on-time delivery of this project," stated GRK Reddy, chairman and managing director, MARG Group,a BSE listed company in a release issued here.

Bhavnagar Energy Company Limited (BECL) is promoted by state PSUs viz. Gujarat Power Corporation Limited (GPCL),Gujarat State Investments Limited (GSIL), Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation Limited (GMDC),Gujarat Industries Power Company Limited (GIPCL), Gujarat Alkalies and Chemicals Limited (GACL), Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilisers Company Limited (GNFC) and Gujarat State Fertilisers & Chemicals Limited (GSFC).

The company's EPC division provides integrated turnkey solutions and its range of services include integrated design, engineering, material procurement, field services and construction & project management services for infrastructure sector and real estate projects.

India to be 2nd largest steel producer by 2013: Steel Minister

NEW DELHI:Steel MinisterBeni Prasad Verma today exuded confidence that India will become the world's second largest producer of the alloy by 2013, with an installed annual production capacity of 120 MT.

"Currently, India has the fourth largest steel sector in the world, both in terms of capacity and production. By 2013, India will be the second largest steel producer in the world. It is estimated that India will have a production capacity of 120 MT," Verma said at an Assocham event here.

India's production capacity currently stands at around 80 MT and the minister said the capacity was expected to rise to over 150 MT by 2020. The steel-making capacity of the country was just 51 MT in 2006.

Meanwhile, Steel SecretaryP K Mishra said by the end of the current financial year, the steel manufacturing capacity of the country might reach around 90 MT.

"This is likely to cross 110 MT by next financial year when the brownfield capacity addition projects of SAIL,JSW Steel andTata Steel get commissioned," Mishra said.

The secretary said that growth in steel demand averaged 10 per cent over the last seven years and there was a likelihood that the trend would continue at least for the next decade.

"There are expectations that steel demand in the country may exceed 10 per cent at times, during the next 10-15 years horizon. In such a scenario, our steel production capacity should reach 150 MT by 2018," he said.

Mishra hoped that the country would be able to meet steel demand through domestic production at least for the next five years.

Four construction PSUs likely to be merged

NEW DELHI: Four major construction PSUs, of which two are sick, may be merged to achieve greater synergy between companies like NBCC and HSCL.

The companies which are being considered for merger are National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC),Hindustan Prefab Ltd (HPL),National Project Construction Corporation Ltd (NPCC) and Hindustan Steelworks Construction Ltd (HSCL).

The Board for Reconstruction of Public Sector Enterprises (BRPSE) has constituted a task force to examine different options, which may include project-based consortium for business bids, sources said.

However, there is an opposition to the proposal in two of the cases-NPCC and HPL, they said.

Two sick units--NPCC and HSCL--have been put on the revival package.

NBCC and HPL have positive balance sheets with net worth of Rs 637 crore and Rs 10.09 crore, respectively.

NBCC, which achieved a profit of Rs 118 crore on a turnover of Rs 3,115 crore in 2010-11, would like to go in for a joint venture route with other PSUs like HPL and HSCL, instead of outright merger.

The proposal for merger was discussed at the meeting of theBRPSE in June where the reconstruction board felt that "all these companies in one way or other are engaged in construction activities and possess synergies.

A combined entity by way of merger may create a giant company and are capable of becoming a navratna firm".

However, in case of NPCC, the administrative ministry of water resources said though the proposal of merger is to be examined, it would not like it as the ministry wanted the NPCC to regain the original stature in civil construction.

Also, it would lead to personnel adjustment problems, sources said.

Besides, HPL informed the board about its plan to start prefab steel and concrete through a joint venture withSAIL. Therefore, it showed unwillingness for merger, they added.

During 2009-10, NPCC net worth stood negative at Rs 118.75 crore as on March 31, 2010 due to accumulated losses of Rs 795.48 crore. It registered a profit of Rs 31.29 crore on the turnover of Rs 1,003 crore in 2009-10.

HPL turnover was Rs 162.42 crore and profit after tax stood at Rs 2.47 crore, while HSCL turnover was Rs 800 crore and net loss was Rs 59.5 crore, in 2009-10.

NTPC may start work in Bangladesh within 6 months

NEW DELHI: State-runNTPC on Tuesday said it could start work at its proposed 1,320 MW thermal project inBangladesh in the next six months.

"We might start work on the project inKhulna (Bangladesh) in the next 6 months," CMD NTPC Arup Roy Chodhury told reporters here.

The project entails an investment of about Rs 8,OOO crore.

CAG says in process of finalising report on KG-D6 gas fields

NEW DELHI: Government auditorCAG today said it is in the process of finalising its report on Reliance Industries'sKG-D6 gas fields. Refuting allegation by theReliance Industries that it was not given enough time to respond to the audit observations, Comptroller and Auditor General of India Vinod Rai said, "We have given Reliance enough time to respond... it (the CAG report) is in the process of being final".

Rai was responding to a query on Reliance Industries' statement that the time CAG allocated to the company was "far too inadequate" to answer issues raised in the audit.

On July 12, CAG held the Exit Conference with private firms and the oil ministry prior to finalising its audit report on Reliance's KG-D6 gas field, Cairn's Rajasthan oil block and BG's Panna-Mukta and Tapti oil and gas fields.

The conference was held as a prelude to finalising its report on KG-D6 fields and taking comments from the companies on its June 7 draft report.

CAG has stated that the oil ministry and its technical arm DGH favoured private firms like Reliance andCairn India by allowing them to retain entire exploration acreage, turning a blind eye to increase in capital expenditure and giving additional area in violation of Production Sharing Contract (PSC).

In the draft report, the CAG said rules were bent, enabling Reliance to retain the entire 7,645-square kilometre KG-D6 block in the Krishna-Godavari Basin, off the East Coast.

Also, the development plan Reliance submitted for Dhirubhai-1 and 3, two of the 18 gas discoveries in the KG-D6 block, was not in compliance with the PSC and the ministry and the DGH turned a blind eye to the company raising capital expenditure without having begun work on the previous plan.

Reliance had in May, 2004, proposed an investment of $ 2.4 billion for producing 40 million standard cubic metres per day of gas from the D1 and D3 fields.

Later, in October, 2006, it moved an addendum to this saying $ 5.2 billion would be required in Phase-1 to produce 80 mmscmd of gas and another $ 3.3 billion to sustain the peak output for a longer duration.

MRPL says confident about resolving Iran oil payment impasse

NEW DELHI: State-runMangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd said on Tuesday it was confident about resolvingoil payment issue with Iran soon.

"The effort in resolving payment issue with Iran is under progress. We are confident that an all-acceptable solution will be found shortly,"MRPL, which is Iran's top Indian client, said in a statement.

Since December, India and Iran have struggled to find ways for New Delhi to pay for imports of 400,000 barrels per day, 12 percent of its oil demand, after the Reserve Bank of India halted a clearing mechanism under U.S. pressure.

Top exporter Saudi Arabia has struck deals to sell 3 million barrels more oil to India in August, stepping into the vacuum created by regional rival Iran after it cut supply to New Delhi.

MRPL, which runs a 236,400 barrels per day (bpd) coastal refinery in southern India, buys about 150,000 bpd crude oil from Iran.