Mercedes-Benz to increase investment in India to Rs 850 crore by 2014

Mumbai: Luxury car maker Mercedes-Benz India plans to increase its investment to Rs 850 crore by 2014. The German car maker through its dealer partners already carries an investment of over Rs 480 crores spread across its 31 showroom and 41 service outlets located in 31 Indian cities.

"We are bullish about the Indian market and this is reflected in our long term commitment towards the dynamic Indian market. The investment of Rs 850 crores will help us strengthen our production and operational capabilities with regards to our existing products and our exciting and aggressive product offensive which we are readying for the Indian market, said Peter T Honegg, Managing Director & CEO, Mercedes-Benz India.

MBIL pioneered the luxury car industry in India by starting its India operations in 1994. In 2009, the company moved into its production facility spread over 100 acres in Chakan. The initial investment of Rs 250 crores was scaled upto to Rs 600+ crores with the setting up Mercedes-Benz India's own technologically advanced paint shop capable of water based painting. The new paint shop is targeted to be operational by October, 2012 and has an annual capacity of 20,000 units (which can be extended up to 40,000 units annually).

Mercedes-Benz India locally manufactures its flagship sedans the C-Class, the E-Class and the S-Class sedan in its plant in Chakan near Pune. With Daimler AG recognizing the emergence of high potential growth markets including India, Mercedes-Benz India will be amongst the first markets to start assembling the new M-Class, outside Daimler AG's parent SUV plant in Tuscaloosa/Alabama, USA.

Gujarat's new textile policy focuses on better price for cotton growers

Gandhinagar: Focusing on “Farm-to-foreign” strategy, the Gujarat Government on Wednesday announced a new textile policy that assured cotton growers of best prices for their produce in India and overseas.

The Gujarat Textile Policy (GTP) 2012, Minister of State for Industries Saurabh Patel told presspersons, aims at attracting investments to the tune of Rs 20,000 crore and creating 25 lakh new job opportunities, 50 per cent of them for rural women, over the next five years.

The policy, considering a output increase from 23 lakh bales to 1.23 crore bales over the last 10 years, and the fibre’s high demand in China and Europe, emphasises n an integrated approach to value chain of “farm-to-fibre-to-fabric-to-fashion-to-foreign” and aims at sustainable growth of both farmers and industry. It covers industry verticals such as spinning, ginning, weaving, knitting, carpeting, dyeing and processing, garments and technical textiles.

He said under the new policy, the State Government would provide an interest subsidy of 5-7 per cent without ceiling for five years on new plants, power tariff concession of Re 1 a unit for five years, refund of VAT on purchase of raw materials and on expansion of existing and new units.

Financial assistance will be given towards skill development centres for textile industry, technological acquisition for value-chain, support for energy and water conservation and environmental compliance, and sales tax exemption and partial financial assistance to developers to encourage setting up of spinning and weaving parks around cotton growing areas.

GTP 2012 aims at ensuring a better price realisation for Gujarat’s cotton growers in national and international markets, and value addition in the entire chain.

“The Centre bans export on raw cotton when international prices are the highest. It cost the Gujarat farmers dearly with a loss of Rs.14,000-crore during the outgoing season,” the Minister said, adding the new policy aims at enabling the farmers to withstand price fluctuations in national and global markets.

Suzlon Group signs 332 MW offshore contract with RWE Innogy

New Delhi: Suzlon Group-subsidiary, REpower Systems SE, signed a contract with RWE Innogy for the delivery of 54 REpower 6M offshore turbines, each with 6.15 MW of rated power, for the Innogy Nordsee 1 wind farm.

The project, with a total capacity of 332 MW, is based in the German North Sea, around 40 km north of the island of Juist. This is one of the world's biggest open-sea projects with turbines in the multi-megawatt class.

Speaking on the contract, Andreas Nauen, ceo, REpower systems SE, said: "This contract is an important signal for the German offshore wind industry. We are delighted that RWE Innogy, our customer for many years, has yet again selected REpower's established technology for this important project."

Tulsi Tanti, chairman, suzlon group added: "We are very pleased to sign this contract with RWE Innogy. We believe this underscores our capabilities and excellent performance in the offshore space. With a global emphasis on clean, sustainable and cost effective sources of energy, offshore wind has a major role to play, and we as a Group are extremely well positioned to drive growth in this sector."

To-date the REpower 6M is the most powerful wind turbine ever to be installed on the high seas anywhere in the world. The turbine is produced in Bremerhaven, and from there the components can be transported directly to their destination. In 2009, three prototypes of the REpower 6M were installed onshore at the Ellhoft wind farm, near the German-Danish border. In spring 2012, the first turbines installed offshore were erected for the Belgian Thornton Bank wind project.

With 6,150 kW of rated power, an individual turbine installed offshore can supply more than 6,000 households with electricity, which means that the Innogy Nordsee 1 wind farm has the potential to power over 324,000 households.

Israel to set up 3 centres of excellence on farm tech in Gujarat

New Delhi: In a bid to ‘replicate the success’ of Israel in the farm sector, the Gujarat Government plans to set up a farming educational institute in collaboration with Israel, offering post-graduation and Ph.D programmes with practical training and degree from Israeli universities.

Also, Israel plans to set up three centres of excellence focused on vegetables, mangoes and post-harvest practices for dates and bananas.

This was indicated by Chief Minister Narendra Modi at a national convention on “The Next Frontier of Agri-Business & Technology” and “Agri Asiatech 2012” in Gandhinagar recently.

“Gujarat is in talks with Israel to set up an agricultural educational institute in collaboration with its universities to offer post-graduation and Ph.D programmes.... The negotiation is in the final stage,” Modi said.

Orna Sagi, Counsel General to India, Israel, said, “Bilateral relations with India were at a new height…To share our experience and facilitate transfer of technology, we are going to set three centres of excellence in the state of Gujarat, each dedicated to vegetables, mangoes and post-harvest practices for dates and bananas, respectively.”

The two-day event on September 3-4 was organised by Industrial Extension Bureau and Gujarat Agro Industries Corporation Ltd, with Israel as a partner country. The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) was the national partner and PriceWaterhouseCoopers, the knowledge partner, a CII release said.

India fourth biggest market for aircraft deliveries: Airbus

New Delhi: India will be the fourth biggest market in terms of value for all new aircraft deliveries after China, the US and the UAE during the next 20 years, according to aircraft maker Airbus.

The Airbus Global Market Forecast identifies a global demand for some 28,200 passenger and freighter aircraft (of 100 seats or more) worth nearly $4 trillion between 2012 and 2031. Of these over 27,350 will be passenger aircraft valued at $ 3.7 trillion.

India was the worst performer in domestic air traffic in July, recording a fall of 1.1 percent compared with a year ago, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

Many other economies also faced a slowdown in travel growth, driven largely by a recent fall in business confidence, according to the IATA. But the Airbus report says passenger traffic will grow at an average annual rate of 4.7 percent in the next 20 years, during which some 10,350 aircraft will be replaced by new efficient models.

By 2031, the world's passenger fleet will have expanded by 110 percent from slightly over 15,550 today to over 32,550. In the same period, the world's freighter fleet will almost double from 1,600 to 3,000 aircraft.

The report says Asia Pacific will account for 35 percent of all new aircraft deliveries, followed by Europe and North America with 21 percent each. Emerging economic regions will represent more than half of all traffic growth in the next 20 years.

Increasing urbanisation and the doubling of the world's middle classes to five billion people is also driving growth. By 2031 mega cities will more than double to 92 and over 90 percent of the world's traffic will be between or through these points.

"Aside from growth in international traffic, by 2031 four of the world's biggest traffic flows will all be domestic - US, China, Intra Western Europe and India - and these account for a third of world traffic," says John Leahy, Airbus Chief Operating Officer, Customers.

"In 20 years from now, China's domestic passenger traffic will overtake the US domestic traffic to become the number one traffic flow in our forecast. Aviation is not just essential for international commerce, but also for domestic economies too."

Hotel rates up on strong demand from domestic tourists: Study

Mumbai: The overall hotel rates in the country saw a 12 per cent rise during the first six months of the year.

This was due to a surge in demand from domestic travellers as overseas destinations became more expensive, according to the latest Hotels Price Index (HPI) study done by Hotels.com.

However, India remained the destination with the lowest rates in the price index.

The index looks at prices that people paid for their hotel rooms around the world.

The study also revealed that for the first time in five years, travellers paid more on an average for their hotel rooms during the first six months of the year in all parts of the world.

Globally, there was a four per cent rise compared with the same period the year before.

David Roche, President, Hotels.com, said, “The hotel industry bounced back in the first half of this year from a number of natural and political crises in 2011.

“However, the second half of the year, with increasingly mixed economic signals, will be interesting to watch.

“While initially, it may not seem good news for consumers, hotel prices are still only around the level as it was in 2005.”

In India, the overall rate rose 12 per cent following a surge in demand from domestic travellers.

IndianOil to invest Rs 50,000 crore in refining expansion

Mumbai: Indian Oil Corp Ltd (IOC), the country’s largest refiner, plans to invest Rs 50,000 crore in expanding its existing refineries and setting up a new one on the west coast.

With the investment, the company’s refining capacity will rise 60 per cent from the present 65.7 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) to 105 mtpa by 2022.

IOC, which controls 10 of India’s 20 refineries, accounts for a 34.8 per cent share of the national refining capacity. “The capacity augmentation at various refineries and setting up of new refineries will cost us around Rs 50,000 crore and help us reach a refining capacity of around 105 mt in the next decade,” said a senior IOC executive.

IOC plans to meet its fuel demand from its own refineries. "The reason behind our refinery capacity expansion is that diesel demand is growing and we want to build capacity at our refineries to meet that additional demand,” the official, who did not want to be named, said.

At present, diesel demand growth in India is about five per cent year-on-year. When diesel demand peaks, state-run refiners cover the domestic shortfalls by either importing diesel or seeking the fuel from other refiners by floating tenders.

According to the official, IOC’s Mathura refinery will go up from 6 mtpa to 11 mtpa at a cost of Rs 8,000 crore. The company is awaiting environment clearance for the same. For expansion of the Gujarat refinery, IOC has received the first stage approval from the board.

The refinery will go up from the present 13.7 mtpa to 18 mtpa at a cost of Rs 5,000 crore.

The company is also setting up a 15-mtpa refinery at Paradip, Orissa, at an investment of Rs 30,000 crore, which will be commissioned late next year.

IOC is preparing a pre-feasibility report to set up a grass root refinery on the west coast. “We plan to build a new refinery of 15 mt on the west coast, either in Maharashtra, Gujarat or Karnataka. The new refinery will cost IOC around Rs 30,000 crore,” said the official. At Haldia, IOC is awaiting the second stage approval.

The company also plans to expand the Panipat refinery from the present 12 mtpa to 18-21 mtpa by investing around Rs 8,000 crore. At Haldia, IOC plans to add a coker unit for bottom upgradation and increase capacity from 7.5 mt to 8 mt.

In its latest annual report, the state-run firm said: “Besides, capacity augmentation, investments are required to be made for matching the changing demand patterns, compliance to tighter regulations and for optimisation and maximisation of margins.”

With the rising per capita vehicle ownership, transportation fuels and middle distillates are likely to account for the bulk of the demand growth and herein the company sees an opportunity for aligning its product mix with the changing demand pattern, the annual report added.

IOC also plans to expand the capacity of its subsidiary refinery, Chennai Petroleum Corp Ltd, from the present 9.5 mtpa to around 15 mtpa.

TechM buys Hutch BPO arm HGS for $87m

Mumbai: Tech Mahindra on Tuesday announced the acquisition of Hutchison Global Services (HGS), the call centre arm of Hutch here, for $87.1 million (Rs 484.03 crore). "The deal will bring a new revenue of $845 million over the next five-year period as clients of HGS have committed to procure services worth that amount, and have agreed to HGS being their exclusive provider of certain agreed services here," Tech Mahindra executive vice-chairman Vineet Nayyar told reporters here on Tuesday evening. This could mean the software services major will see a revenue accretion of around $170 million per annum.

Nayyar said HGS will continue to operate as a separate entity for the time being. He said that the BPO has been providing services to Hutchison in the past and set up and operated their units in Indonesia and Australia. "We have just been awarded a contract for the same services in Britain for Hutchison's franchise called 3." But the British contract is not part of the HGS deal, he added.

Asked whether the deal is withholding tax-compliant, Nayyar answered in the affirmative. " Yes, we are fully aware of the tax laws. We have been complying with all tax laws."

Tech Mahindra CFO Sonjoy Anand said the company will comply with current tax laws that are applicable to any deals made out of Mauritius wherein the buyer ends up paying withholding tax. "The tax laws impact our transaction in a number of areas - on operational areas and transaction-related segments. As far as the transaction-related areas are concerned, there are some issues regarding interpretation and that need to be taken care of by us and Hutch. I cannot be very specific except to assure you that we have taken the best advice and we are going to make sure that we will be compliant with all the laws," Anand said. agencies

India, Pakistan to sign 3 pacts soon to boost trade: Anand Sharma

New Delhi: India and Pakistan will soon sign three agreements – on customs co-operation, trade grievances redressal and mutual recognition, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said on Tuesday.

“It (signing of the agreements) is a matter of weeks, maximum. There have been delays in visits. There have been changes in the Pakistan Administration. The Commerce Secretaries should have met three months ago.

“I am told that after the visit of the Indian External Affairs Minister to Pakistan, the Commerce Secretaries of India and Pakistan will meet in Islamabad. This will be another opportunity to take more steps,” he said while addressing a luncheon meeting organised for a visiting delegation of Members of Parliament from Pakistan.

The meeting was organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

Sharma felt that the recent decision of the Indian Government to reduce the sensitive list by 30 per cent under the South Asia Free Trade Agreement would benefit Pakistan. He said that the decision covered all sectors that were important to Pakistan.


Land routes

India and Pakistan need to encourage trade by the land route, which currently was very small, he added.

The Minister said that India had proposed opening of the land route for trade along the Sialkot-Hussenewala border in Punjab and the Munabao-Khokharapar rail route.

It is also proposed that both countries would meet soon to work out a strategy on connectivity by linking each other’s Capitals by air. At present, Mumbai is linked with Karachi and Delhi with Lahore.

Sharma also mentioned that banks from both countries were also planning to open branches in each other’s lands.

Conceding that problems do exist, Sharma said that while he was not trying to simplify anything, it was imperative that irrespective of the issues there must be “maturity, wisdom and will” to overcome challenges that come in the way of building a durable partnership between India and Pakistan.

Blackstone to invest Rs 243 cr in Indian fragrance maker SHK

Mumbai: American private equity firm Blackstone Group will invest Rs 243 crore in fragrance manufacturer S.H. Kelkar (SHK).

Manufacturer and supplier of fragrances and flavour ingredients to leading consumer goods firms in India and abroad, the Mumbai-based firm caters to around 2,000 customers.

“The company has unique intellectual property and a strong market presence for over eight decades.

“In the domestic fragrance market, SHK is the leader with a large customer base and is the only Indian player of scale. We are excited to partner with SHK management as we foresee a huge growth opportunity for SHK – both in the domestic and other emerging markets, driven by the growth in personal consumption in India, Africa and South-East Asia,” said Akhil Gupta, Senior Managing Director, Blackstone India.

Manufacturing units
The investments from Blackstone will help SHK expand its presence in the global markets and consolidate its position in India, the latter said in a statement.

SHK Group, led by Ramesh Vaze, has three manufacturing units in India (two fragrance units in Maharashtra and one bulk aroma chemicals unit in Vapi, Gujarat) and a manufacturing unit in the Netherlands. Wayzata had invested $21 million in SHK in September 2010 through its Wayzata II Indian Ocean Fund.

The company, with revenues of about Rs 575 crore, recently opened offices in Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand for sales across South-East Asia.

It also has four R&D units in Mumbai, Bangalore, the Netherlands and Indonesia.