New York : The increased demand for “green” vehicles is spilling over to the rental car counter, where many more drivers will soon be able to choose a hybrid vehicle. Hertz Global Holdings Inc. said Thursday it will spend $68 million to add 3,400 Toyota Prius hybrids to its fleets by 2008. And Avis Budget Group Inc. said this week it plans to make 1,000 hybrid Prius vehicles available for rent as early as next week.
Brian Chee, an automotive analyst for Autobytel.com’s soon to be launched Web site MyRide.com, said that even with the fleet expansions, hybrid vehicles still represent a small part of rental car fleets.
“This is a first step,” Chee said. “It’ll be interesting to see if the rental car companies continue this. Like other companies, they’re making a ‘green’ statement, and this is a good way to do it.”
By replacing 1,000 of its ordinary rental cars with the gas-electric Prius models, Hertz said it will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by an estimated 3,000 tons per year.
“Today’s announcement highlights the next step in what is already a multiyear effort by Hertz to promote environmental sustainability throughout the company,” Mark Frissora, the company’s chairman and chief executive, said at Thursday’s announcement.
“As a global leader in car rentals, we recognize our unique opportunity and obligation to promote environmental practices and give our customers environmentally friendly options.”
Hertz said its hybrid vehicles will be available for rent at 50 of the company’s U.S. airport locations, with 100 of them reserved for its New York City fleet.
The stop-and-go flow of Manhattan traffic provides an ideal driving environment for the hybrids, allowing them to mainly operate off of their electric motors, the company said.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the greater availability of hybrid rental cars is in line with his city’s goal to reduce its emissions by 30 percent by the year 2030.
“These hybrid cars really put Hertz in the driver’s seat … in meeting one of the greatest challenges of our time, which is global warming,” Bloomberg told the gathering at the Museum of Natural History.
John Barrows, a spokesman for Avis, said this week his company will offer Prius hybrids in its California, Portland, Ore., Seattle and Washington, D.C., markets but may expand the locations in the future based on consumer demand.
Barrows said Avis also believes that the Prius rentals will not only appeal to travelers, but those interested in buying a hybrid.
“Obviously we have customers who want them,” he said. “And there are other people out there who are interested in purchasing a hybrid but really want to check one out before buying one.”
Chee, the automotive analyst, said the rentals offer Toyota Motor Corp. a chance to showcase the Prius, as well as give potential buyers a chance to decide if a hybrid is right for them.
“I do think it’s a risky move for Toyota, because what they’re saying is: ‘Here’s the car, here’s how it drives, we stand by our power train, and we think it’ll win people over,’” Chee said.
“It shows Toyota’s confidence that it’ll win over fans when they don’t have to buy it.”
Enterprise Rent-A-Car also operates a fleet of more than 3,000 hybrid vehicles, in addition to 41,000 flex-fuel cars and light trucks that can run on ethanol-based fuel, the company said.
Source : News.yahoo.com
June 15th, 2007
New Delhi : Old-fashioned industry in India grew 11.5% in the last fiscal year, boosting hopes of broader-based economic growth in a country that has seen rapid expansion of high-tech and back-office services.
Figures released by the Indian government this week showed a rise in productivity in traditional sectors such as manufacturing, mining and electricity, which contributed to the nation’s overall annual growth rate of 9%, one of the world’s highest.
The 11.5% increase in industrial output was recorded from April 2006 through March 2007, according to the Indian Ministry of Statistics. Preliminary indications point to the trend continuing: In April of this year, industrial output was up 13.6% compared to the same month last year.
India’s GDP now stands at about $1 trillion, according to an April report by Credit Suisse, about one-fourteenth that of the United States.
The robust industrial growth is welcome news for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, whose government has put a premium on spreading more widely the fruits of India’s impressive, but uneven, economic boom.
Marquee sectors such as computer software and call centers have built a global profile and grown at a scorching pace, but they account for a relatively minuscule number of jobs. Information technology, for example, employs between 1 million and 2 million workers, well under 1% of a workforce of about 400 million people.
Critics have said that India is trying to vault from an agricultural to an information-based economy without passing through the traditional hoop of industrialization, a stage that usually creates opportunities for mass employment.
The new figures are fueling optimism in some quarters that the Indian economy is developing in a more well-rounded way. Although industry here still lags far behind that of China, where factories have sprouted all over the countryside, rising trade in items such as automobile parts, pharmaceuticals and textiles helped trigger a 12.5% expansion in Indian manufacturing during the last fiscal year. Some economists, however, cautioned against equating such growth with an automatic increase in jobs.
Some of the hike in industrial output is due to more mechanized production and greater efficiencies rather than a swelling of the labor pool.
“India’s track record in creating jobs is not that great,” said analyst Paranjoy Guha Thakurta. “It’s early … to say whether the growth is more broad-based and whether it’s more inclusive.”
Also, he said, some sectors, such as information technology services, could decelerate because of the rupee’s strength against the dollar. The Indian currency has gained more than 7% on the dollar since the beginning of the year.
The strong performance of industry has been accompanied by signs that inflation has slowed after pushing 7% earlier this year.
The government reported last week that the wholesale price index had dipped to a 10-month low of 4.85% at the end of May, below the psychological threshold of 5%, the target set by the Reserve Bank of India. Much of the drop was due to lower food prices, but the bank is not expected to roll back the interest-rate hikes it has adopted to curb inflation.
Earlier this year, soaring prices for food staples such as onions and lentils exacted a heavy financial toll on ordinary Indians, up to two-thirds of whom make less than $2 a day.
Analysts are closely watching the coming monsoon season, whose rains determine much of the country’s farm output and, therefore, food prices.
The majority of India’s 1 billion people still rely on agriculture for their livelihoods, but farming’s share of the economy has plummeted by more than a third over the past 20 years.
Source : Latimes.com
June 15th, 2007
Mumbai : In order to tap the booming construction sector, Europe’s leading infrastructure group, Strabag SE, has joined hands with Indiabulls Real Estate Ltd for working on large development projects in the country.
The real estate arm of the Indiabulls group has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Zublin International GmbH, a subsidiary of Strabag SE for consolidating their resources, experience and jointly work on large infrastructure development projects, Indiabulls Real Estate said in a communique to the Bombay Stock Exchange.
Strabag group is one of Europe’s leading construction group with nearly 53,000 employees and a turnover of more than 10 billion Euros in 2006. Strabags’ four main brands are — Strabag, Dywidag, Heilit+Woerner and Zublin.
Earlier in January this year, Strabag SEs Munich-based subsidiary Dywidag International GmbH, leading an international consortium, had bagged a contract from Delhi Metro Rail Corporation for constructing a new 3.2 km tunnel and two new underground stations.
Shares of Indiabulls Real Estate jumped 6.04 per cent and were trading at Rs 379.90 on BSE in early morning trade.
Source : Economictimes.indiatimes.com
June 15th, 2007
Mumbai-based Nitin Fire Protection Industries got listed today, June 5, on both NSE and BSE with significant gains after receiving astounding response from investors for its IPO. The company accessed primary market to raise funds primarily to set-up a high-pressure seamless cylinder plant at Visakhapatnam special economic zone (SEZ).
The shares of the company opened at premium of Rs 142.50, or 75%, at Rs 332.50. Presently the shares were trading at Rs 462.80, up Rs 272.8, or 143.58% after reaching a high of Rs 483 and alow of Rs 332.5. The total traded value was 827,276 at the BSE. (10.01 a.m.)
The company gained overwhelming response for its public issue, with issue being oversubscribed 48.48 times. It decided to issue shares at Rs 190 as against price band of Rs 171 to Rs 190.
Promoted by Nitin Shah, Nitin Fire Protection Industries was incorporated in 1995. It is engaged in business of fire protection systems. It provides wide range of products including fire extinguishers and gas based suppression systems. It has two manufacturing cum warehousing units situated at Vashi and Taloja, near Mumbai. In addition, the company has a system design and service centre in Mumbai.
Source : Myiris.com
June 5th, 2007
Bangalore, Mumbai : With the Ambanis going through a bitter split and the Bajaj group demerging, Wipro Ltd’s announcement on Monday that Azim Premji’s son will join the NYSE-listed company triggered speculation over the succession plan.
“Rishad Premji is going to join Wipro at a level commensurate with his background and experience. His joining has been approved by the board and is subject to shareholder approval. This is required statutorily because he is a relative of a director,” Wipro stated in a note.
Sources said 31-year-old Rishad will be joining the financial services practice of Wipro Technologies and would report to president Girish Paranjpe. He will join after July, since the AGM takes place that month. After getting the shareholders’ nod, the company will have to take government permission. Rishad graduated from Wesleyan University in the US and worked for a few years with General Electric before moving to Harvard. He has been working with consulting firm Bain & Co in London. He married childhood sweetheart Aditi in 2005.
Azim Premji owns nearly 84% stake in the company and, according to analysts, the move to induct his son implies a succession plan has been put in place. “Now, it is the CFO who is the second most important person in a firm and bringing Rishad to the financial services practice is basically paving the way to the throne. Eventually, he will be the chairman of the company,” one analyst predicted.
Source : Financialexpress.com
June 5th, 2007
Mumbai : Shares of Hindalco Industries Ltd, India’s biggest aluminium producer, hit a 7-year high on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on Monday amidst speculation that the company is becoming a takeover target.
Rumours about Alcan Inc partnering Anil Agarwal-promoted Sterlite Industries Ltd to make a bid for Hindalco in an attempt to fend off a hostile takeover attempt by New York-based Alcoa Inc, set the Hindalco stock on fire.
The markets had hammered the stock ever since the company announced its $6 billion acquisition of Canadian sheetmaker Novelis earlier in February this year.
The Hindalco stock climbed 4% to close at Rs 146.6 on the BSE. The stock earlier climbed as much as 11 % to Rs 156.25, its biggest gain since September 13, 2000.
“The Aditya Birla Group does not comment on such wild, baseless, speculative news stories,” was the official comment from the group.
An industry observer added, “Such rumours are deliberately floated by the stock markets to hike the share price and help minority shareholders exit a stock that has been underperforming.” Hindalco last month completed buying Novelis Inc.
“The acquisition is just over and now the integration of the companies, which is a huge task, is being undertaken,” said Giriraj Daga, an analyst at Khandwala Securities Ltd in Mumbai.
“There’s too much going on for Hindalco to become a takeover target or buy a company. The takeover stories are baseless.”
The $24 billion Aditya Birla Group, one of India’s oldest family-owned businesses with interests in metals, cement, financial services, telecommunications and fertilizers, own about 27% of Hindalco.
State-run insurance companies, which own a 12.15% stake, may back Kumar Mangalam Birla if the company becomes a takeover target, analysts said. “Indian institutions will stand by Hindalco,” Daga said.
Source : Financialexpress.com
June 5th, 2007
Brazilian oil major — Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras) — will now get participating interest in exploration blocks of ONGC in India and ONGC, in turn will get to participate in oil blocks being explored by Petrobras in Brazil.
This reciprocating of interests in offshore oil and gas blocks of the two companies will come about in view of an agreement reached here on Monday over swapping of interests in offshore blocks in India and Brazil.
ONGC’s deepwater blocks, where Petrobras could hold stake include those in the Krishna-Godavari Basin, off Andhra Pradesh coast, and the Mahanadi Basin off Orissa coast. Petrobras has offered 25-30 per cent stake to ONGC in three exploration blocks and, in return, ONGC has offered 15-40 per cent stake in its three deep-water blocks. Preliminary agreement on these deals will be signed shortly.
`Strategic country’
According to a statement issued by ONGC, the agreement was signed today by Mr R.S. Sharma, Chairman, ONGC group of companies; Mr R.S. Butola, Managing Director of ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) and Mr Jose Sergio Gabrielli De Azevedo, President of Board of Directors of Petrobras, in the presence of the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh and the visiting Brazilian President, Mr Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Speaking on the development, the President and CEO of Petrobras said, “India has always been a strategic country for us.”
Source : Moneycontrol.com
June 5th, 2007
New York : Hilton Hotels Corp. has signed deals with three real-estate groups to develop more than 55 properties in Russia, Britain and parts of Central America, an American news magazine reported on Sunday.
The report said the partners were projected to cover the full construction costs estimated at USD1.7 billion, as part of Hilton’s plan to accelerate its drive to franchise new hotels and expand its brands outside the United States.
The newspaper cited President and Chief Operating Officer Matthew Hart, who will become the hotel group’s chief executive on January 1, when current CEO Stephen Bollenbach retires.
A spokeswoman for Hilton was not immediately available to comment on the report.
The move follows partnerships Hilton announced last year envisioning construction of as many as 100 new hotels throughout India and China, the Journal said.
Hart was quoted as saying the latest ventures underscore Hilton’s determination to pick partners with deep pockets and a strong track record of local development. “We want to roll these (projects) out as quickly as we can,” the newspaper quoted him as saying.
In Russia, Hilton said it linked up with a long-standing partner, closely held London & Regional Properties Ltd., that already owns marquee hotels in London and Frankfurt. The aim is to focus not only on Moscow and St. Petersburg, but to develop properties in large regional centers with few foreign hotels.
In Britain and Ireland, the partner is Shiva Hotels Ltd., another closely held real estate firm. The third agreement, covering the Caribbean and Central America, calls for Caribbean Property Group, based in New York, to concentrate projects initially in population centers in Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Panama, the Dominican Republic and Trinidad, the magazine said.
Source : Zeenews.com
June 4th, 2007
Tata Tea is examining various outdoor selling formats to consolidate its brands in the tea segment in India.
Selling tea through vending machines was an option thought of by the company, said P T Siganporia, managing director, Tata Tea. The company is seeing a modest growth of 3.3 per cent in the black tea segment and is already focusing on speciality and green tea.
The vending machine concept can act as a complementing agent to the growth of all the segments. Tata Tea is also looking at growth options in the ready- to-drink (RTD) segment, which is an open area not concentrated by the company so far.
The growth might come from the introduction of newer products or variants in the segment, Siganporia said. The company is also looking at the top-end mass market, an area not tapped by the organisation.
The different formats would make the product available to the consumer and increase the penetration of the brands, Siganporia said. The company needed to focus on other segments of the beverages market, with the ambient tea market showing stagnant growth, Siganporia said.
Tata Tea, which booked capital gains of over $500 million (Rs 2,000 crore) from the Glaceau stake sale within a period of nine months, said the funds could be leveraged for growth.
Yesterday the company said it would buy almost 26 per cent of Mount Everest Mineral Water and make an open offer for another 20 per cent in a deal worth up to Rs 201 crore ($52 million).
Singaporia said the company would pay back debts “as required”. “We will carry on having debt, which will be managed by CFOs. We can leverage the rest of the funds for growth,” he said.
The total amount of debts in the books stood at around $600 million. Out of this, $336 million is in the books of Tata Tea GB. Tata Tea is waiting for the court order to hive off its North India Plantation Operations (NIPO) into a new corporate entity.
Siganporia said the company had already received consent letters from 90 per cent of the people in Borjan, Hatikuli in Assam and two estates in Bengal.
Source : Business-standard.com
June 4th, 2007
New Delhi (AFP) - India’s trade deficit nearly doubled in April, the first month of the financial year, from a year ago as costs for imported oil jumped, the government said in a statement Sunday.
The trade deficit widened to 7.06 billion dollars in April 2007 from 3.94 billion dollars in April 2006 led by a jump in the cost of oil imports of 11.4 percent in the same period to 4.42 billion dollars, the statement said.
India imports nearly two thirds of its petroleum needs.
Exports in April rose 23.1 percent to 10.58 billion dollars, but the gain was offset by imports of 17.64 billion dollars, a jump of nearly 41 percent, the statement said.
Trade Minister Kamal Nath said in April that the government had set a goal of exports worth 160 billion dollars for the year started April.
But analysts say the target may be missed because of a sharp gain of nine percent in the rupee against the dollar since the start of 2007 — to a near decade high of 40.50.
A stronger rupee dampens exporter earnings in dollars and makes their products more expensive abroad.
Source : News.yahoo.com
June 4th, 2007
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