The board of Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) recently approved the Rs 5,150-crore Ennore LNG terminal project to the north of Chennai. The work on the 5-million-tonne Liquefied Natural Gas terminal, the first such infrastructure on the east coast, will start in a couple of months. IOC has appointed Foster Wheeler of Spain as the project management consultant. IOC hopes to complete the project by 2018. The company is also participating in the bids called by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board for laying pipeline for the project linking the terminal to Tiruchi, Nagapattinam and Madurai in South Tamil Nadu apart from lines to Chittoor and Bangalore.
State-run NMDC-led consortium is planning to buy 30 percent stake in the Russian potash firm Acron, which may result in an investment of around Rs 1,000 crore. Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers (RCF), National Fertilizers (NFL), Fertilizers and Chemicals Travancore (FACT) and Fertiliser Cooperative Kribhco are the four other entities which are part of this consortium. Along with purchasing 30 percent stake, the consortium is also looking to enter into an off take agreement for import of Potash from the Russian firm. At present, National Mines Development Corporation (NMDC) is conducting a feasibility study on this proposal.
Infosys wants the revenue generated by each employee to go up by 2016, on the back of new initiatives around big data, design thinking and a renewed push on automation. Revenue per employee at Infosys currently stands at around $50,000, the highest in the industry. Non-linear revenue growth, which refers to an increase in overall sales without a proportional addition to the headcount, has been the holy grail of the Indian IT industry. Infosys has already bagged 40 projects around big data and predictive analyses in the last two months. Infosys is able to provide this service by developing a new data processing platform built on open source technology. The company has also partnered with Stanford’s Institute for Computation and Mathematical Engineering for data scientists who can work with Infosys’ teams.
State-owned term lender IFCI is planning to sell its stake in three companies, including National Stock Exchange (NSE). The board has already given in-principle approval for sale of 2.5 percent stake in NSE. IFCI at present holds 5.44 per cent stake in the premier bourse. Besides, the company also wants to sell its stake in IFCI Factors and IFCI Financial Services. The company plans to sell 25-26 percent stake in IFCI Factors so that the majority stake remains with IFCI, adding the strategic sale would help IFCI unlock its investment. The company holds 100 percent stake in IFCI Factors.
Mobile tower company Bharti Infratel has approached Vodafone and Idea Cellular to buy their mobile towers in seven out of 22 telecom circles in the country. Infratel has over 36,381 standalone mobile towers spread across 18 states under 11 telecom circles. The company also has a 42 percent stake in Indus Towers- joint venture between Bharti Infratel, Vodafone and Aditya Birla Telecom. The states where Bharti Infratel has no overlapping business with Indus includes, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Assam and North Eastern states. These states jointly come under 7 telecom circles.
The battle to grab high-end consumers in Mumbai has escalated as government-owned Brihanmumbai Electric Supply & Transport Undertaking (BEST) now plans to approach the Supreme Court to inhibit Tata Power from cherry-picking valued customers in Mumbai. BEST, which charges the highest tariff in the city, had earlier approached the state and the central power regulators. It plans to increase rates by 14% to 16% from April. The company buys the bulk of its power requirement of close to 932.5 MW from Tata Power despite their rivalry. On August 14, the MERC had issued a distribution license to Tata Power expanding its network of operations to include Mumbai, which was previously only served by BEST.
Apollo Hospitals Enterprise has reported a 6 percent increase in net profit to Rs 92 crore as against Rs 87 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. Revenue increased by 18 percent to Rs 1,153 crore (Rs 975 crore). During the quarter, the company has made progress in expanding its network of hospitals, pharmacies and retail healthcare centres. The company’s arm - Apollo Pharmacies added 61 stores and closed eight stores for a net addition of 53 stores. The total store network as on September 30 stands at 1,717 operational stores.
Amtek Auto, a diversified New Delhi-based auto component manufacturer, plans to diversify into new areas such as aerospace, railways and oil and gas by utilizing its core forging and casting business. The $2.7-billion Amtek Group will continue to maintain its main focus on the automotive industry, but is looking at synergies with other areas to harness growth potential. The group manages 65 production facilities across several countries. The casting and forging facilities for manufacturing automobile parts can also be used for making custom fittings, valve bodies and other components used in the oil industry.
Mobile telecom operator Aircel has partnered with Reliance Communications (RCom) to launch high-speed 3G services in the lucrative Mumbai circle. Aircel’s 3G services will offer enhanced user experience to subscribers, allowing them live streaming of various content and better access to social media. The company won 3G spectrum in 13 circles for nearly Rs 6,500 crore, which does not include Mumbai, where Bharti Airtel, Reliance and Vodafone emerged as winners. Under revised guidelines, operators are allowed to tie up with their peers and launch services in circles they do not have a license.
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