Andhranews

3G spectrum policy within months


New Delhi, Sept. 27: Within hours of announcement of Trai’s recommendations on spectrum allocation for 3G services, the government on Wednesday said it will come out with a policy for it in the next three months. “We are looking into the details of Trai’s recommendations and will come out with a formalised report in three months to enable faster roll-out of 3G services in the country,” minister for communications and IT Dayanidhi Maran said.

He said Trai is maintaining technology neutrality in the field and “since both GSM and CDMA technologies co-exist in India, we would also look into that.” Mr Maran also indicated that spectrum for next generation 3G mobile services would be priced and would be commercially launched in the second half of 2007.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) declared that the spectrum for the next generation mobile telephony (3G) would be auctioned. Trai has recommended that the auction for 3G spectrum for Delhi and Mumbai circles should start from a base price of Rs 80 crores. For category B circles — Chennai and Kolkatta — the base price has been kept at Rs 40 crores.

For category C circles, the base price has been kept at Rs 15 crores. Trai chairman Nripendra Misra rejected the apprehensions that during the auction, some telecom service providers might bid for the spectrum at a higher price and that, in turn, would make 3G services more costly. “Service providers are mature enough and know from the experience of other countries what to expect from the 3G. We think they would bid rationally,” said Mr Misra.

The spectrum for immediate allocation in case of 3G services has been suggested in 450 MHz, 800 MHz and 2.1 GHz. As per present estimates, 32.5 MHz of spectrum will be available in a time scenario of six to nine months for 3G services. Trai has asked the department of telecom to take immediate steps for allocation of five blocks in 25 MHz of spectrum in 2.1 GHz band, which has been identified for the GSM-based service providers.

CDMA operators have been given an option to chose either from the existing 800 MHz frequency band or in 450 MHz, depending upon availability of equipment for the 3G services. Trai has suggested that the allocation and also the waiting list if any, of telecom service operators, should be determined through a process of auction. Only licensed telecom service operators will be eligibile for participation in the auction.

Airtel, in a statement, said that the reserved price for 3G spectrum seems very high, even if the limited availability of spectrum was taken into consideration. “For those interested in countrywide 3G licences, the reserved price would be more than Rs 1,000 crores which is a serious disincentive especially when it comes to rural penetration.”




ICICI Bank to hire 40,000 staffers a year


London, Sept. 27: ICICI Bank plans to employ up to 40,000 people annually over the next three to five years to meet the expected demand from the nation’s booming banking arena, reports the Financial Times. In an interview with the UK-based financial daily, K.V. Kamath, the chief executive and MD of the financial giant, said that the bank would about 40,000 people a year because of the robust economic activity in India that is opening up new vistas for the banking and insurance sectors. The bank currently employs 150,000 people.



ONGC to develop marginal fields


New Delhi, Sept. 27: ONGC entered into a service contract for development of three offshore marginal fields with the consortium of Prize Petroleum Company Ltd (Prize), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) and Trenergy (Malaysia). The contract was signed by Mr O.P. Pradhan, GM (corporate strategy), HPCL, and D. Satija, DGM (MM), ONGC, in the presence of Mr R.S. Sharma, CMD, ONGC, and Mr M.B. Lal, CMD, HPCL.

Development of marginal fields is one of the strategic business pursuits of ONGC, for increasing production by unlocking small pools of discovered hydrocarbon reserves. ONGC has identified 153 marginal fields out of which 38 fields have been monetised and 94 fields are under monetisation.




Core funding can drive bond market growth


Mumbai, Sept. 27: “While the infrastructure in India does not entirely depend on the growth of the bond market, it provides an excellent opportunity to drive the bond market’s development,” Mr M. Damodaran, chairman, Securities and Exchange Board of India, emphasised on Wednesday in his inaugural keynote address at the Capital Markets Summit on “Infrastructure Financing through Capital Markets”, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Western Region.

Pointing out that there is complete awareness of what needs to be done, who needs to do it and the urgency, Mr Damodaran said that the only thing missing is its execution and by whom. Commenting on the possible time frame of four to six months, that had been indicated earlier by Dr K.P. Krishnan, joint secretary (capital markets), ministry of finance, he said that the process may commence much sooner.

Referring to the mention of thousands of crores that are needed for infrastructure mentioned by the earlier speakers, Mr Damodaran said, “We should not allow numbers to frighten us because we have a road map. The crucial thing is to ensure that there is no segmentation of the market which prevents its growth. What needs to be done is to persuade people that they should not postpone decisions. Instead of relying on government guarantees to lure investors, the product itself has to be attractive,” he stressed.

Emphasising that the government was not standing in the way of investment in the bond markets, he said that this wrong perception was creating a barrier. “We must see ourselves as part of the solution rather than complain.” Delivering the special address, Dr. K.P. Krishnan pointed out that currently, the public sector continues to dominate debt markets.

Several legal and policy issues need to be revisited and stamp duty issues need to be addressed, he said. He expected these issues to be sorted out in four to six months.
According to Dr Krishnan, while the debt market will continue to be institution driven, there is also the question of creating a host of potential investors. The lack of liquidity would not hamper growth very much, he felt, because the markets would find solutions if all other constraints were addressed.




Karat against tax sops for SEZs


Hyderabad, Sept. 27: The CPM on Wednesday opposed tax exemption to industries in the proposed Special Economic Zones (SEZs) all over the country. Addressing a press conference here, CPM general secretary Prakash Karat said the UPA government at the Centre should come out with a clear cut policy on SEZs. He said though the government had earmarked 1000 hectares as the minimum area for SEZs, it had not stated on the maximum extent of land required for the projects.

Mr Karat said the government should reverse its policy on allocation of 25 per cent of land for investment and 75 per cent for other purposes. “It should be the other way round. Seventy five per cent of the area should be earmarked for investment and the remaining area should be left for other purposes,” he said.




Sical acquires firm for $96m


Chennai, Sept. 27: Sical Logistics Ltd, a provider of integrated multi-modal logistics for bulk and containerised cargo, on Wednesday announced that it has acquired Singapore-based Bergen Offshore Logistics Pte Ltd for an all-inclusive consideration of $96.90 million towards 100 per cent equity in Bergen as well as three anchor handling tugs and one platform supply vessel.

The acquisition will be funded through $16.9 million from the company’s recent offering and the remaining by a structured loan of $80 million from NIBC Bank, Singapore, a Sical release said. Bergen is a provider of specialised logistics for offshore and oil and gas exploration.

“With Bergen’s acquisition, Sical has taken its first firm step towards achieving global presence in offshore logistics,” Mr Ashwin Muthiah, vice-chairman of Sical, said. Mr Muthiah said that the company’s latest acquisitionsignals Sical’s commitment on offshore logistics a key focus.

“Globally, in the face of the continuing high demand for energy, the offshore energy exploration space has become very active, and this has created a large demand for new generation, deep water capable support vessels. We see a favourable demand-supply mismatch for the next few years. Customer acquisition will not be an issue as we have demonstrated our expertise in offshore logistics by successfully working with ONGC for a few years now,” Mr Muthiah said.

Ennore Port has recently chosen the Sical-led consortium to build an iron ore terminal at Ennore port, near Chennai, at an estimated cost of Rs 550 crores. The iron ore terminal, which includes a jetty, ship loader, mechanised handling system with conveyor storage, and a wagon unloading system, would be developed on a build-operate-transfer contract.




India Land to set up Rs 375cr IT park


Chennai, Sept. 27: India Land and Properties Ltd, a part of Americorp, on Wednesday said it would be setting up Rs 375-crore IT park called Chennai Tech Park at Ambattur Industrial estate in Chennai. “The Chennai Tech Park will have a total built-up space of 2.5 million sq. ft. and can accommodate 15,000 IT and ITeS professionals,” said Mr S. Salai Kumaran, director and COO of India Land. He said the promoters of the project would be contributing Rs 120 crores and the remaining Rs 250 crores would be funded through bank loans.

The project, which is under construction, is scheduled to be completed and be made available for fitting by March 2007. Mr Kumaran said the company has already signed a lease agreement for 100,000 sq. ft space with a finance company and the balance space are in the advance stage of negotiations and would be concluded before completion of the construction.

He said India Land would set up IT parks in Pune, Bangalore and NCR and also in a few of the Tier II cities, which he declined to reveal. “We will create 10 million sq. ft IT space before the end of 2010,” Mr Kumaran said. All these IT parks would absorb an investment of Rs 2,000 crores in next three years. In addition, the group is also planning to establish special economic zones in Chennai, National Capital Region and one more undisclosed city. The Chennai SEZ will come up in a 600-acre land in the outer periphery of the city and will be a multi-product zone.





Prototype of Tatas’ Rs 1-lakh car ready


Kolkata, Sept. 27: Tata Motors, whose proposed people’s car project in West Bengal has run into land acquisition problems, on Wednesday virtually set an end-of-the-year deadline for taking possession of the site at Singur. “Ideally, we would have liked possession of the land by now. However, the company is hopeful of getting hold of the 1,000 acre of land by the end of the year,” company Managing Director Ravi Kant told reporters in Kolkata from Pune.

In his first interaction with the media since protests broke out against the project in the state, he said prototypes of the Rs 1 lakh people’s car was running in the company’s Pune plant and vendors were being finalised and dyes ordered. “It is a good-looking car with four doors,” Mr Kant said, adding that the roll-out was expected in the middle of 2008.
But he said the plan of action for the project would be put in place only after taking possession of the land.

Asked whether the company would explore other options if the West Bengal government failed to hand over the land within that period, Kant said: “May be.” Defending the company’s site selection in the State, he said that Tata Motors could have gone to other States. “We could have gone to Uttaranchal,” he said. “It is the group’s desire to participate in the industrialisation process of West Bengal where Tata Motors is willing to play the role of a catalyst.”




Sula targets exports of 10 per cent in 2006-07


Hyderabad, Sept. 27: Sula Vineyards, the second largest wine maker in the country, has targeted exports of 10 per cent of its total sales in India in 2006-07, to the Western world, including the United States, Canada, Britain, France and Italy, according to Mr Adrian Pinto, head of national sales and marketing of the Nashik-based winery.

Mr Pinto said Sula Vineyards — which began selling its Sula brand of wines in 2000, producing the wines at its vineyard in Nashik — expects to sell 1,20,000 cases of wine in 2006-07, up from 90,000 cases last year. A case comprises 12 bottles.“We are targeting exports of over 10,000 cases this year, and our wines are being positioned as new world style wines, and not as accompaniments to Indian cuisine in the West,” Mr Pinto said here on Wednesday.

Demand for wines had been increasing substantially in India, but sales had been adversely impacted in states like Andhra Pradesh, where the tax and duties amounted to 150 per cent per bottle. “Maharashtra and Karnataka have a flat 20 per cent sales tax on wine, while Tamil Nadu has a four per cent sales tax rate,” Mr Pinto said.




Maithon breaks ground for power plant


Mumbai, Sept. 27: Maithon Power Limited, a joint venture between the Tata Power Company (TPC) and the Damodar Valley Corporation, announced its ground breaking for the 1,000-MW mega power plant at the Maithon site in Jharkhand on Wednesday.

The 1,000-MW Right Bank Thermal Power Project is the first initiative in public-private partnership in the area of generation and the power generated will be exported to power deficit western and northern states and for meeting the requirements of Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC).

The financial closure for this mega greenfield power project is targeted around mid-2007. The commissioning of the first of the two units is scheduled for late 2009 and the other by mid 2010. The total land required for the project is about 1,200 acres and currently a significant portion of the land has been acquired by DVC. Tata Power has 74 per cent equity in the venture, with the Damodar Valley Corporation holding 26 per cent equity.




PM opens Punjab rail link


Ludhiana, Sept. 27: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday inaugurated the first rail link between Punjab and its capital, Chandigarh. The new line from Chandigarh to Morinda is being seen as “historic” because it will open rail access between the capital and the rest of the state for the first time since the reorganisation of northern provinces forty years ago (1966).

Though the new line constitutes just the first of a three-phase project directly connecting Chandigarh and the industrial city of Ludhiana, this is eventually expected to serve as a major, 300-km passenger and freight corridor all the way to the India-Pakistan Border at Attari near the Sikh Holy City Amritsar.

Addressing a public rally in Ludhiana, where he inaugurated the new rail link via a remote signal, Dr Singh said India had taken a number of important steps to improve relations with Pakistan. “The people of Punjab have benefited through better bus connections and trade opportunities (with Pakistan),” said Dr Singh and added that he was “hopeful that as the situation normalises, Punjab will once again become a major trading centre with Pakistan and Central Asia.”

On a morning that was almost exclusively dedicated to the opening and commencing of new railway-related projects, the Prime Minister also laid the foundation for India’s first Dedicated Rail Freight Corridor linking Ludhiana to Kolkata. This venture — which envisages two dedicated freight rail links connecting Delhi with Kolkata and Mumbai at a cost of Rs 22,000 crores — will be the biggest infrastructure project undertaken by the Indian Railways since Independence in 1947.




Dr Reddy’s to develop cancer drug with ClinTec


Hyderabad, Sept. 27: In a deal that is seen as part of its continuing strategy to de-risk pharma R&D, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories said on Wednesday it has entered into an agreement with the United Kingdom-based ClinTec International for the joint development of an anti-cancer compound, codenamed DRF 1042, for potential treatment of various types of cancer.

Dr Reddy’s has completed Phase I clinical trials for DRF 1042 in India. Under the agreement, Dr Reddy’s and ClinTec International will co-develop DRF 1042, undertaking Phase II and Phase III clinical trials, with the aim of securing USFDA and EMEA approvals. The financial terms of the agreement have not been disclosed.

According to a Dr Reddy’s statement, the company retains the commercialization rights for the US and rest of the world markets (excluding ClinTec International territories). ClinTec International will be granted the commercialisation rights for most of Europe including major European markets.

On commercialisation of the product, Dr Reddy’s will receive royalty on sales by ClinTec International in its designated territories and ClinTec International will receive royalty on sales by Dr. Reddy’s in the US. The financial terms of the agreement have not been disclosed.

“ClinTec International brings to this partnership their vast experience and in-depth expertise in the anti-cancer clinical development space,” Mr G.V. Prasad, CEO of Dr Reddy’s, was quoted as saying. The ClinTech deal follows a similar arrangement reached by Dr Reddy’s with Rhescience A/S, an independent research firm in Denmark, in September last year. The two companies will jointly develop and commercialise of balaglitazone (DRF 2593) for the treatment of Type II diabetes.




Ranbaxy launches ‘Storvas’


New Delhi, Sept. 27: Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited (RLL) on Wednesday announced that its subsidiary, Ranbaxy Malaysia Sdn Bhd., has launched the first generic Atorvastatin, a cholestrol lowering drug, under the brand name “Storvas” in Malaysia. The Atorvastatin market in Malaysia is around $3-4 million.

Speaking to this newspaper, a spokesperson for the company said that the Malaysian market is a significant market for the company. Last year, the contribution of the Malaysian market in Ranbaxy’s turnover was $14 million and this market has shown a 12 per cent growth.

However, the company did not comment on the market share they are aiming to grab with Storvas. Ranbaxy said that it is the first pharmaceutical company to launch the generic version of Atorvastatin in the Malaysian market. The innovator drug for Atorvastain is Pfizer, which markets it under its Lipitor brand.

It may be pointed out here that in several markets in the US and Europe, Ranbaxy has been involved in legal wrangles with Pfizer on patent issues on Atorvastatin. Ranbaxy said that “Storvas” would be made available through all major general practitioners, pharmacies and hospitals in Malaysia.