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.

Indian firms to seek business synergies in Ghana

Mumbai: Food processing companies and allied firms have all geared up to make a new partnership in Ghana, the new business partner in West Africa. More than 100 companies including health, IT, ITES, telecom & financial services, value added manufacturing including mining and minerals, energy, infrastructure, construction, consumer durables, pharmaceuticals, science & technology, textiles and education are expected to seek business opportunities in their three-day visit in India show to Accra, a major city of Ghana from July 9.

Led by Vikramjit Singh Sahney, Chairman and CEO of Sun Group, the FICCI business delegation will be participating in this show to promote Indian business strength in West Africa.

India's trade with Africa has risen from US$ 25 billion in 2006-07 to US$ 53.3 billion in 2010-11. India's exports to Africa have risen from US$ 10.3 billion in 2006-07 to US$ 20.9 billion in 2010-11, primarily due to increase in exports of transport equipment and petroleum products.

India has signed trade agreements with almost all West African countries but the volume of trade and investments between India and these countries remains relatively modest. The reasons are lack of infrastructure facilities and other trade amenities, which have limited India's trade to basic commodities. The language barrier is another contributing factor.

Aditya Birla Group to buy Canada's Terrace Bay Pulp for Rs 605 cr

Mumbai: The Aditya Birla Group on Thursday signed an in-principle agreement to buy the assets of Ontario-based Terrace Bay Pulp Mill for Rs 605 crore ($110 million). The acquisition would be carried out through AV Terrace Bay (Canada), a special purpose vehicle in which two group companies, Grasim Industries and Thailand-based Thai Rayon Public, would hold stake.

Grasim, the group’s Indian company, would hold 40 per cent stake in AV Terrace Bay, while the remaining 60 per cent would be held by Thai Rayon. The transaction, subject to court approvals in Canada and other regulatory approvals in Canada, Thailand and India, is expected to be closed by July 31.

In January, Terrace Bay Pulp Mill was placed under the Companies Creditors Arrangement Act.

“The acquisition of the Terrace Bay Mill and its subsequent conversion into a dissolving grade pulp mill is a major strategic move. In the viscose staple fibre (VSF) business, we enjoy global leadership. To sustain growth, we have an integrated business model, spanning the entire value chain—from plantation to pulp to fibre. Terrance Bay Mill…will be geared to provide superior quality pulp for our VSF plants worldwide," said Aditya Birla Group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla.

Over the next three years, Grasim would contribute Rs 242 crore ($44 million) of the total equity contribution of $110 million. An additional Rs 1,375 crore ($250 million) would be invested in a phased manner to enable the mill to produce dissolving grade pulp, with a capacity of 2,80,000 tonnes a year, the group said in a statement.

Till its conversion, likely in 2015-16, the mill would produce and sell paper grade pulp. These operations should restart by October, the statement said. Terrace Bay Pulp Mill is considered an anchor mill, owing to its location and significant consumption of residual chips produced by regional sawmills.

The Aditya Birla Group has significant presence in Canada. Its major companies include AV Nackawic and AV Cell in the pulp & fibre business, Aditya Birla Novelis in the metals business, Aditya Birla Minacs in the ITES business and Columbian Chemicals in carbon black business.

Shares of Grasim on Thursday closed at Rs 2,659.80, down 0.73 per cent on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

PE activity improves in June with highest investment of $763 million over the last 12 months

The Economic Times presents the 'ET-EY PE Deal Watch', a monthly round-up of deal activities in the country, complied exclusively by Ernst & Young. The column will appear in th efirst week of each month.

PE deal value announced during June 2012 was the highest amongst the last 12 months, a significant improvement from the previous month that recorded the lowest value of investment for the past year.

Fund raising activity also improved with five funds announcing closure of aggregate value of $445 million. There was an improvement in the exit activity as well with 9 non-IPO exits almost double than last month.

Investments
June 2012 witnessed PE investments worth $763 million across 35 deals, nearly double of the total investment value announced during the previous month. Though the number of deals has increased merely by 10%, the value of investments increased significantly.

There were three large-ticket transactions (more than $50 million) in June 2012 compared to just one such transaction in the previous month. The month also witnessed an uptick in the PIPE ( Private Investments in Public Entity) deals.

There were eight PIPE deals compared to five in the previous month. However, the numbers for June 2012 are still much lower than June 2011 wherein 44 deals aggregated close to $1.3 billion.

The difference is primarily due to few large ticket transactions. During June 2011, just six deals clocked $764 million, similar to the total value of investment during June 2012.

Infrastructure led the pack with the highest value of investments during the month. This was on account of Morgan Stanley's investment of $210 million in Continuum Energy.

In terms of deal activity, Technology and Retail & Consumer Products sectors continue to be the leaders for the third consecutive month with eight and six deals respectively.

Fund raising
Fund raising activity also showed improved signs compared to the previous month.

There were five successful funds raised during the month, of which the significant ones are as follows: $182 million raised by ASK Property Investment Advisor for its Special Opportunity Fund II; $127 million by Global Environment Fund; $87 million by Motilal Oswal PE for its second PE fund, the India Business Excellence Fund II.

There were three new fund raising plans announcements - the major one being the real estate focused fund worth $500 million by IDFC PE.

Pe-backed IPOs and exits
There were nine non-IPO exits this month, nearly double of that in the previous month.

Of the nine non-IPO exits, six were through open market, two by secondary sale to other PE investors and one through strategic sale. There were no PE backed IPOs during June 2012 reflecting the nonexistent capital markets activity.

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.

Public cloud market to reach $685 m by 2014: Zinnov

New Delhi: The public cloud computing market in India that was pegged at $160-192 million in 2011 is expected to grow at $685 million by 2014.

A public cloud is based on the model that allows service providers to make resources such as applications and storage, available to the general public over the Internet. Most of the services are on pay-as-you-use model.

Default choice
As a result of demand and supply forces, its market is expected to grow by 55 per cent compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) in near future, independent research firm Zinnov Management Consulting said.

The study titled — Public Cloud Opportunity in India — said the public cloud would become a default choice for new information technology investments, especially in the small and medium business segment, it said. The study said public cloud, though in India, is at a nascent stage of the market and may not have hit the inflection point, yet indicating significant future potential.

“Global and domestic opportunity that exists in the cloud space has many Indian start-ups and 20 per cent of the total public cloud market in the country is currently being addressed by Indian companies,” Mr Praveen Bhadada, Director-Market Expansion, Zinnov Management Consulting, said.

The overall Indian market for cloud computing (both public and private) has grown to $860–912 million in 2011, he said. “We will not be surprised, if cloud takes up more than 20 per cent of the total Indian IT spend in the next couple of years. This would also mean that there will be a significant demand in the job market for cloud computing-related skills,” Mr Bhadada said.

Indo-Nepal trade to touch $10 b in next 5 years

Kolkata: The bilateral trade between India and Nepal may touch $10 billion over the next five years. In 2011-12, the two-way trade stood at nearly $3 billion.

“Our trade with India witnessed good growth. Nepal has great investment potential in sectors such as hydro power, tourism and exotic agricultural products,” Mr K. N. Adhikari, Acting Ambassador of Nepal to India, told reporters here on Thursday.

He was attending a seminar on doing business with Nepal, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry.

Mr Adhikari said that Nepal was preparing an outline for 50 viable projects for investment and has formed a special board to attract foreign investments into the country. Currently, India contributes nearly 44 per cent to Nepal’s total approved foreign investment.

He pointed out that the trade between two countries will also get a boost with the political instability subsiding in Nepal. The country will observe 2012-13 as Nepal Investment Year.

DHL Group to invest Rs 2,100 cr in India

Coimbatore: Global logistics major DHL group plans to invest close to €300 million (nearly Rs 2,100 crore) in the coming years in India, according to Mr Malcolm Monteiro, CEO-South Asia, DHL Express.

DHL Express that holds a majority stake in Blue Dart Express has no plans to merge both entities and the latter would remain a separate brand, he said.

Mr Monteiro was in Coimbatore for the opening of the company’s service centre in the city.

Declining to give a break-up of the investment planned, Mr Monteiro quoted Mr Frank Appel, Global Chairman of Deutsche Post AG, as saying (during his recent visit to the country) the parent company will pump in up to €300 million into India in the coming years.

Focus areas
The company will focus on developing free trade houses, create specialised industry verticals, reach out to the SMEs with tailor-made products, cross-sell DHL brands and to attract talent.

In an interview to Business Line, he said: “DHL is committed to India and will continue to invest in infrastructure, network and people to augment growth.”

Explaining the importance of Indian operations to DHL Express, Mr Monteiro said the country is a top market for the company and would “continue to be a key growth segment”.

He said the focus areas for the company in India would be investment in air capacity, distribution and “industry-specific product innovation” such as aviation and life sciences.

Euro Zone impact
Asked how much the on-going turmoil in Euro Zone will impact business from India to Europe, he said: “Europe and the euro are challenges that can be solved” and did not feel this was a cause for worry as emerging markets “will produce growth rates in the high single digits this year”. While conceding that there was a “bit of a slowdown in the Europe lane”, he was “optimistic of the opportunity” and DHL was “still well positioned”.

Mr Monteiro, responding to a question as to whether DHL Express would merge with itself Blue Dart Express Ltd, said India was a key focus area for the group and “one of our key plans is to cross-sell the various DHL brands in India”. (DHL Express (Singapore) Pte Ltd) holds 81 per cent stake in Blue Dart Express.)

While DHL would be the umbrella brand under which all services would be bundled to derive synergies, he said, “We will keep Blue Dart Express Ltd as a separate brand”.

Both have a combined retail footprint of over 475 service points for domestic and international express services. They were also developing offerings like Temp Controlled Logistics products, Go-green carbon neutral product and a pilot product Smart Truck and the `win-win partnership' gave the combination an edge over competition.

(Blue Dart Express, in the 12 months ended December 31, 2011, earned an income of Rs 1,489.60 crore and a net profit of Rs 122.24 crore. The Rs 10 face value shares of Blue Dart Express were trading at Rs 2,000 on the BSE in the morning trade today).

Coimbatore region
On the opening of the new service centre, he said apart from bringing in better operating efficiency, this would cut transit time and help focus on safe delivery.

The company was recording a double-digit growth in business from the region. He said South India contributed to 30 per cent of its revenue and Coimbatore was a key market in the South. The SME sector as a whole contributed about 40 per cent of its revenue and DHL Express offered “customised logistics solutions to SMEs”.

On whether the company contemplated providing a direct airfreight service from Coimbatore, Mr Monteiro said with airports being modernised, there were great opportunities and a “huge potential waiting to be explored in the direct air freight service to Coimbatore”. He said if the volumes permitted and “an opportunity does come up”, the company would definitely look at it.

India-Taiwan explore possibilities of expansion in tea trade

Kolkata: India and Taiwan are looking at possibilities of expanding tea trade between the two countries. A business delegation from India visited Taiwan from June 28-July 1. The delegation held meetings with important stakeholders of the Taiwan tea industry and discussed ways and means to increase cooperation between the Indian and Taiwanese tea companies.

Mr Pradeep Kumar Rawat, director general, India-Taipei Association (ITA), briefed the delegation on the opportunities to tap the market potential in Taiwan. He stressed on the need to publicise and popularise Indian tea in the Taiwanese market as currently there is very little awareness about Indian tea and culture among the Taiwanese people.

The health benefits of black tea should be publicised among the Taiwanese, he said. The ready-to-drink (RTD) segment offers huge scope for expansion as the masala tea is very popular in Taiwan. He emphasised on the need to break into the RTD market and do value addition of the products. The CTC variety is apt for the RTD market in Taiwan, he added.

The delegation also had a meeting with the officials of Taiwanese Council of Agriculture. In the meeting, possibilities of cooperation with Indian tea companies were discussed. A seminar and buyer-seller-meet was also organized at the Howard Plaza Hotel, where the Chairman, Tea Board of India, briefed the stakeholders of the Taiwan tea industry about the role of the Board.

The seminar was followed by a buyer-seller meet, to facilitate forging of tea partnerships and greater cooperation between the two countries.

In order to gather first-hand knowledge about the Taiwanese tea industry and consumption trends in the country, the delegation visited the Taiwan Tea Corporation, Uni-President Enterprise, Ten Ren Tea Company Limited, and the Taiwan Tea Manufacturer's Association. At the Taiwan Tea Plantation and Promotion Centre at Muzha, the delegation was briefed on the best practices being followed by the country to ensure the quality of tea.

Talking about the positive outcome of the tea trade delegation, Mr Anshuman Kanoria, chairman, Indian Merchant Tea Exporters Forum, and Managing Partner, Balaji Agro International, said that the delegation managed to create lot of interest and awareness about India tea among the Taiwanese people. Based on the deliberations, the Taiwan trade and industry bodies would now try to develop their market for India tea, he added.

Mr Arun Narain Singh, vice-chairman, Indian Tea Association (ITA), and managing director, Goodricke Group, who was also part of the delegation, said Taiwan is a new territory for Indian tea, where there is absolutely no awareness about the tea produced in this part of the world. As such, the delegation has succeeded in introducing the Taiwanese people to India tea through the tea sampling and tea tasting events organised as part of the programme.

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.