Aditya Birla Chem buys Solaris Chemtech’s chlor-alkali business

Chennai: Aditya Birla Chemicals (India) Ltd has bought the chlor-alkali and phosphoric acid division of Solaris Chemtech Industries for Rs 153 crore.

The deal will help Aditya Birla Chemicals, a part of the Aditya Birla group, to enter the southern market and also add phosphoric acid to its product portfolio, the company said in a statement to the stock exchanges.

Solaris Chemtech Industries’ chlor-alkali and phosphoric acid division has a 60,000-tonne-a-year caustic soda manufacturing plant and a 24,000-tonne-a-year phosphoric acid plant, both in Karwar, Karnataka.

It also has 3,000 acres of salt works in Gujarat. The division produced 33,747 tonnes of caustic soda and 21,379 tonnes of phosphoric acid in 2012-13 and had a gross turnover of Rs 244 crore.

New technology
The statement said the caustic soda plant was not operational since December 31 because the mercury-based technology had to be shut down as per statutory requirement.

Aditya Birla Chemicals proposed to convert the mercury plant into one using membrane-based cell technology.

The statement quoted Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman, Aditya Birla group, as saying that the acquisition bolsters caustic soda supply, a critical input for the group’s aluminium and VSF businesses.

Funding
The acquisition cost and proposed capital expenditure would be funded through own funds and debt, the statement quoted Lalit Naik, Business Head for Chemicals, Aditya Birla group, as saying.

Aditya Birla Chemicals has a caustic soda capacity of 242,725 tonnes a year. Solaris Chemtech Industries is a closely-held unlisted company with its registered office in Delhi.

Kapil Sibal launches e-governance application store

New Delhi: In a major step towards curbing the inefficiencies plaguing the functioning of the government in terms of providing services online to its citizens, IT and Telecom minister, Kapil Sibal launched an e-governance application store today.

This appstore will allow citizens to receive information in an efficient and a much-simplified manner. It is hosted by the DeitY and has been designed and developed by the NIC.

The appstore will start with 20 apps, of which 'roughly half' will be directly accessible to the public (g2c). The number is expected to rise to 100 within three years.

They are categorized into 'runnable' and 'downloadable' apps in which citizens can directly use all he runnable apps but maybe restricted in using the downloadable apps.

The 'government to government' (g2g) apps can be open to the public if it is made runnable by the concerned department.

The criteria for the applications included a 'citizen-centric focus' with high transactional value in which private players are allowed to host. Broadly the downloading of apps is categorized into 'freely-downloadable apps', 'downloadable with cost apps' and 'restricted apps', which can only be used by the government and the judiciary.

""Within three months, policies based on the usage of these applications will be formed', Sibal said.

The features provided in the appstore site include sharing of applications, search for applications, basic information about an application when selected, user feedback and rating of an application, downloading of an application after authentication of user and a 'two level approval process' for contributing applications.

This appstore will be a part of the GI Cloud and its mechanisms will provide for a complete ecosystem in which applications developed by the Centre, States and private players will feature in the appstore with the inclusion of aspects such as funding and contract management.

The concept of the functioning of this 'e-Gov appstore' was summed up by Kapil Sibal as 'What Apple provides its customers, the Government of India is providing its citizens.'

UK business delegation to tour Kolkata, Kochi

New Delhi: A high-powered business delegation from the UK, led by the British cabinet minister, Eric Pickles, is arriving in India tomorrow to explore opportunities in infrastructure and water management in Kolkata and Kochi.

Pickles, UK secretary of state for communities and local government, is leading a 20-member delegation comprising some top companies in infrastructure, electrical design, manufacturing, property management and wastewater treatment, among others. The tour is starting tomorrow from Kolkata.

This is the largest UK business delegation to visit Kolkata in the last decade. The UK and West Bengal governments have been working on urban regeneration and waterfront development initiatives for some time. Leading the mission will be John Nutt, assigned to the Kolkata Urban Regeneration and the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor projects.

Pickles, visiting from June 2 – June 7, is expected to meet West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra and Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim. Last year, the UK government supported two UK experts on urban development to come and work in West Bengal for three months.

During his meeting with the UK minister, Mitra is also expected to discuss the draft investment and industrial policy. Some of the top UK firms coming are Leicester & Leicestershire, Mayfair Homes, Northampton LP, Andritz and Gensler, among others.

Pickles will also address the inaugural session of the seminar on UK Built Environment Expertise.

“The companies I will be introducing represent the best of British. They not only have world-class expertise in big construction projects and urban renewal, but they know how to bring economic growth to different parts of a country," Pickles said, according to a statement issued by the British High Commission.

In Kochi, Pickles is expected to meet Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and senior representatives from the state. He will deliver a speech at a business seminar hosted by the Indian Green Building Congress and the Confederation of Indian Industry to foster stronger Indo-UK ties in infrastructure. He will attend events to support the low-carbon development pathway at municipal and local government levels.

Government approves eight proposals of foreign direct investment amounting to about Rs 696.23 crore

Details of Proposals considered in the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) Meeting held on 12.04.2013

Following eight (8) proposals have been approved:
Sl. No. Name of the applicant Particulars of the proposal FDI/NRI inflows (Rs. in crore)
1 M/s McKinsey & Company Inc. India, USA To set up an LLP to be engaged in providing management consultancy services. 0.99
2 M/s AWS Truepower LLC, USA Induction of foreign equity to carry out the business of consultancy services. 0.24
3 M/s NSE Industries, France Induction of foreign equity to undertake the business of manufacture and servicing of products having defence applications. 0.10
4 M/s Pilot Ventures Media Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi Induction of 100% foreign equity to carry out the business of publishing, marketing and distributing NME music Magazine and NME website in India. 0.01
5 M/s GETIT Infoservices Private Limited To increase foreign equity percentage by way of acquisition/fresh issue of shares to carry out the business of specially publishing. 216.00
6 M/s ACME Solar Energy Pvt. Ltd. Haryana To make downstream investment in a company engaged in solar power business. 275.00
7 M/s GeoPost S.A., France Acquisition of shares of an Indian company engaged in the business of commercial express and parcel delivery business segment. 179.04
8 M/s DPD Continental Ltd. Increase in foreign equity participation from 60% to 100% to carry out the business of Courier services other than post. 24.85
The following eight (8) proposals have been deferred:
Sl. No Name of the applicant Particulars of the proposal
1 M/s Sutures (I) Pvt. Ltd. Increase of foreign equity in an existing pharma sector company.
2 M/s Calyx Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Ltd. To issue IPO to investors including foreign investors to carry out the business of pharmaceutical sector.
3 M/s Total Prosthetics & Onthotics India Pvt. Ltd. Haryana Transfer of shares by way of share swap.
4 M/s BF Elbit Advanced Systems Pvt. Ltd., Pune To set up a new JV company to be engaged in design, development, manufacturing of defence related products.
5 M/s Telenor Mobile Communication AS, Norway To increase foreign equity from 49% to 74% in telecom sector.
6 M/s Tikona Digital Network Pvt. Ltd To increase foreign equity participation in telecom sector.
7 M/s Axiom Consulting Pvt. Ltd. To issue shares to the foreign national as per a pre-agreed price.
8 M/s Veritas (India) Limited Post facto approval has been sought for the issue of warrants. The company is engaged in the business of import, export, trading and distribution of metals and chemical products, power generation.
The following three (3) proposals have been rejected:
Sl. No Name of the applicant Particulars of the proposal
1 M/s Sunil Hitech Engineers Ltd., Nagpur To issue warrants to FIIs to carry out the business of execution of projects in the power and infrastructure sector.
2 M/s Triton Hotels and Resorts Pvt. Ltd. Mumbai Post facto approval for issuance of partly paid up shares. The company is engaged in the business of Hospitality Services.
3 M/s Karuturi Global Ltd., Bangalore Post facto approval has been sought for the issue of warrants to carry out the business of Floriculture & Food processing under controlled conditions.
The following one (1) proposal has been recommended to advise the applicant that the proposal is not within the purview of FIPB:
Sl. No Name of the applicant Particulars of the proposal
1 M/s Tata Advanced Materials Limited, Bangalore Indian company engaged in manufacturing of defence related products has sought post facto approval for shares already held by NRI in the company on portfolio basis.
Decision in the following two (2) proposals will be communicated separately:
Sl. No. Name of the applicant Particulars of the proposal FDI/NRI inflows (Rs. in crore)
1 M/s Bay Capital Investment Ltd, Mauritius Acquisition of shares in a listed Indian Company which is the Core Investment Company of a leading infrastructure developing group of companies. 100.00
2 M/s Hubert Burda Media India Pvt. Ltd WoS of a foreign company to act as an operating cum investing company and to make downstream investment in an Indian company engaged in printing and publishing of magazines. 7.00

Jakson Power bags 2 solar rooftop installation orders

Bangalore: Jakson Power Solutions has bagged two new orders for installing solar rooftop systems at Bangalore and Pune.

According to Sundeep Gupta, Joint Managing Director, Jakson Power Solutions, “the first order is to set up the 80 KWp solar rooftop unit with a facility of battery back-up at Karnataka State Disaster Management centre, Bangalore.”

The Bangalore project is slated to be completed by July. The project will provide round-the-clock, uninterrupted power to the disaster management centre.

Gupta said the second order is from Ascot Infrastructure, Mumbai, to set up a 77.14 KWp, grid connect solar PV system without battery backup at a 4-star Hotel site near Pune, Maharashtra. This project will be commissioned by August 2013.

Spencer's Retail to invest Rs 600 crore in new stores

Chennai: Spencer’s Retail, an RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group company, is chalking an aggressive growth strategy, with a focus on hyper-format stores. It plans to invest about Rs 600 crore in setting up new stores. The company also plans to come out with branded and co-branded products in the food and beverage segment.

Speaking to Business Standard, Shashwat Goenka, sector head, Spencer’s Retail, said the company would set up 80 hyper stores in the next 48 months. As of now, the company has 132 stores, including 26 hyper stores, 14 super market and 92 daily (convenient) stores.

Goenka, here to inaugurate the city’s first hyper store at Velacherry, said the new stores would predominantly be located in tier-I and tier-II cities. The company would focus on the North (Uttar Pradesh & the Delhi-National Capital Region), the East (West Bengal and Chhattisgarh) and the South (Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka).

“We will open 12 stores this year and 15 next year; the rest would come up in the following two years,” Goenka said. The company has already signed property agreements for 68 stores. The investment would primarily be funded through internal accruals.

The Rs 1,400-crore company would turn earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation-positive by the third quarter this financial year and full-year cash profit would be seen in 2014-15, Goenka said. The company expects by the end of this financial year its turnover would stand at Rs 1,800 crore. Owing to the planned new stores, the revenue is expected to touch Rs 2,800 crore in 2014-15, said Mohit Kampani, chief executive, Spencer’s Retail.

In 2011-12, the company reported 15 per cent growth; in 2012-13, growth stood at 16 per cent. Kampani said in 2011-12, the industry grew 12-14 per cent, while last financial year saw single-digit growth. Hyper stores, which contributed 58 per cent to the turnover in 2012-13, are expected to contribute 70 per cent this financial year and 85 per cent in 2014-15.

Spencer’s Retail is also reworking its store format. “We made a mistake of having too many formats in many areas. Basically, retail is a local business, not national,” Kampani said. Since the company faced hurdles, in terms of cost structure in its convenient store model, it has decided to go slow on expanding the format. In the last three years, the company shut 64 such stores. However it had been decided the two major issues — cost structure and assortments — would be addressed, Kampani said, adding, “We may go for a franchisee model. Currently, we are studying various options.”

The company is also streamlining its distribution system and putting in place a new network strategy.

Goenka said the company would increase the share of unique commodities in the food and beverage segment from about five per cent to 30 per cent. These products might be company-made, produced along with another manufacturer, or sourced from other companies. Spencer’s is also set to introduce its own wine, bottled in Argentina. It is working with Ambika Appalam to introduce the latter’s products, as well as various types of ready-to-eat food in north India.

On foreign direct investment, Goenka said the company was exploring various possibilities. “Our first intention is to make the business profitable. We also have plans to come out with an initial public offering, before which we may look for private placement by roping in a strategic partner,” he said.

Freight corridor to get Japanese boost with L&T-Sojitz contract

New Delhi: With the award of a Rs 6,700-crore contract for the western arm of the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) to a consortium of Larsen & Toubro and Japan's Sojitz scheduled in a week, India's railway infrastructure would see another major Japanese imprint. India has received the highest Japanese official development assistance. Also, Indian companies have received the second-highest assistance from Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), after Chinese companies.

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) was the first major Indian project that saw Japanese funding. Now, the Indian Railway-owned Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation (DFCC) is set for a long-term engagement with Japan. DFCC was awaiting a clearance for the award of the 640-km Rewari-Palanpur civil contract to the consortium after a two-way contest with Ircon-Mitsui, said a government official. "Right now, DFC is one of the biggest projects Japan is focusing on. Once this is completed, everything else will take off," Tamaki Tsukada, minister (economic), Embassy of Japan, told Business Standard.

The ¥677-billion funding for the western corridor is the first loan to an Indian project under the special terms of economic partnership (STEP), which requires 30 per cent sourcing from Japan and the lead partner in all contracts to be Japanese, said R K Gupta, managing director, DFCC. In return, Japan has extended the loan at a concessional rate of 0.2 per cent to DFCC for 40 years, which includes a 10-year-monatorium on the loan repayment. (JAPANESE AID TO INDIA)

To meet the 30 per cent sourcing norm, DFCC had to purchase 200 locomotives and head-hardened rails from Japan, along with signaling and electrical equipment. This led to fears the STEP model would raise the project cost for the western corridor. "We struggled to resolve the issue and got more competition among Japanese companies through two road shows there," said Gupta. He added finally, the bids for the World Bank-funded eastern corridor became the benchmark for the western corridor.

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the Japanese government arm for providing technical and financial aid to developing countries, is also DMRC's lending agency. Loans to DMRC fall under official development assistance and have been given at interest rates of 1.2-2.4 per cent; these have a repayment period of 30 years. As much as 60 per cent of the funding for phase-I and 50 per cent for phase-II came from JICA. For the three phases of the Delhi Metro, JICA provided soft loans of ¥502.6 million.

Tsukada said Japan was also focusing on three other projects-- the seawater desalination project at Dahej, Gujarat, the model solar project in Neemrana, Rajasthan, and a gas-fired independent power producer project in Maharashtra.

Though the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor, in which Japan is a partner, faced hurdles related to land acquisition, regulatory issues and restrictions on captive power generation, Hiroshi Watanabe, president and chief executive of JBIC, said India ranked second, in terms of countries in which Japanese investors were interested, after China. "This is a very good indication. The government is committed to promoting industrial corridors in India, while Japanese companies are looking at another corridor between Chennai and Bangalore," he said.

JBIC's loans to India stand at $1.6 billion. So far, it has lent towards the creation of manufacturing capacity in the country. The power, steel, electricity and automobile sectors have received loans from JBIC.

TVS logistics acquires US-based Wainwright Industries

Chennai: TVS Logistics on Thursday said that it has acquired 100% stake in US-based unlisted supply chain firm Wainwright Industries. The acquisition was done to build capabilities like cross docking . R Dinesh, managing director of TVS Logistics said that this marked the end of phase one of acquisition process. "We believe these services would be in demand in India soon as volumes increase," he said.

Dinesh said that revenues of Wainwright were Rs 125 crore and TVS would pay Rs 25 crore initially for the deal and while the remaining would be paid after two years, subject to performance of the unit. The second payment tranche could range between Rs 25 to Rs 50 crore depending on performance milestone achieved by the unit.

Wainwright is a 65-year-old family owned business. Post acquisition, David Robbins, the promoter of the target unit, will continue to lead this unit and the existing management has also been retained. "We are the second generation and there's no third generation to manage it further. So we looked for deals which would ensure continuity. We split our manufacturing and logistics division and were sold, to an American firm and TVS respectively ," said Robbins.

This is the second acquisition by TVS logistics in USA after it acquired manufacturers equipment and supply company (MESCO) in 2011.

7th Regional Pravasi Bhartiya Divas to be held at Sydney

New Delhi: The Union Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs, Shri Vayalar Ravi, announced that the 7th Regional Pravasi Bhartiya Divas to be held at Sydney, Australia from 10-12th November, 2013. He said that Sydney is the most important commercial city in Australia, and has a large Indian community. It is the best location on the Eastern sea board of Australia in terms of connectivity with New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. The theme of this event is ‘Connecting for a Shared Future – The Indian Diaspora, India and The Pacific’. The session of the Regional PBD will include there on bilateral business opportunities, skill development and technology, education and culture. It will also provide a forum for sharing of Ideas and experiences among the Indian Diaspora in the region.

Shri Ravi also had a video conferencing with Mr. Barry O’Farrell, Premier of New South Wales. Mr. Barry expressed pleasure for holding the 7th Regional PBD at Sydney. He said it will strengthen the bilateral ties between Indian and Australia. It is expected that 1000 participants will attend this Regional PBD from Australia and neighboring countries including Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Fiji, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Hong Kong, Philippines and the Pacific Island.

The Regional PBD conventions are organized by the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs with the collaboration of the host Government, the Indian Mission, prominent Overseas Indians and Organizations catering to the needs of the Indian Diaspora. It is a flagship event of the Ministry, which provides a platform to persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) and Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), in the process of their engagement with the Government and people of India, for charting mutually beneficial partnerships. These conventions have also been useful for PIOs and NRIs to synergize and network among themselves.

Mahindra Satyam, Dion Global launch solution for Australia, New Zealand

Hyderabad: Mahindra Satyam and Dion Global Solutions have launched a software solution in Australia and New Zealand targeting the financial institutions. The solutions would help these institutions meet US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) regulations.

Mahindra Satyam picked about 15 per cent stake in Dion last year. The solution, FATCA TRAC, developed by the two firms, complies with FATCA regulations, providing tools for programme management, client

classification and remediation, Rohit Gandhi, Senior Vice-President (Asia-Pac, India and West Asia and Africa) of Mahindra Satyam, said here in a release on Tuesday.