Cement companies move tribunal against CCI order

Eleven cement makers whom the fair trade regulator CCI has found guilty of adopting anti-competitive practices, today approached Competition Appellate Tribunal (COMPAT) challenging its July 30 findings.

It issued notices to the Competition Commission of India and listed the matter for next hearing on November 22. The 3-member COMPAT bench, headed by its Chairman Justice V S Sirpurkar, however asked the CCI not to take any coercive action against Shree Cement Ltd against whom penalty of Rs 397.51 crore was imposed by the regulator on July 30.

CCI had not imposed penalty on the other 10 cement makers that day as it had done so already in a separate order passed on June 21. It had imposed Rs 6,307 crore penalty on them, along with industry body Cement Manufacturers Association (CMA), on charges of price cartelisation.

The cement firms have already challenged the June 21 order before the tribunal, and today's petitions were against the order passed by CCI on July 30 against them.

Compat also condoned the delay and admitted the petitions of Ambuja Cement and ACC Cement, which have filed their petitions around two weeks after the prescribed time limit to challenge the CCI order.

The other firms, which have moved Compat are -- Madras Cement , Century Textile Industries , Binani Cement , Ultra Tech Cement , Lafarge India, JK Cement and Jai Prakash Associates .

On July 30, disposing of 6-year-old investigation, initiated by its predecessor trade regulator body Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practises Commission in 2006, the CCI had found the cement makers guilty.

MRTPC had initiated the enquiry in 2006 suo moto based on a media report on the rise of cement prices. It was also later supplemented with a complaint filed by the Builders Association of India.

Meanwhile, the companies which were asked to pay penalty on June 21 were -- ACC, Ambuja Cements, Ultratech, Jaypee Cements, Grasim Cements now, Ultratech Cements, Lafarge India,JK Cement, India Cements , Madras Cements, Century Cements and Binani Cements.

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SAIL to expand capacity to 18 MT by fiscal-end

State-owned steelmaker SAIL today said it will expand its production capacity to 18 million tonnes (MT) from existing 14 MT by the end of current financial year.

"Our phase-I capacity expansion target is 24 MT. Of that, this year we will be starting two new blast furnaces, our total hot metal production capacity will go up to 18 MT by the end of the (financial) year," Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) Chairman C S Verma said.

Speaking to mediapersons after the half-yearly review of company's performance by the government, he said that two new blast furnaces at its Rourkela and Burnpur plants will become operational in next few months.

Besides, the company would also be commissioning a new cold rolling mill at Bokaro plant by the fiscal end, he said,adding that SAIL has spent about Rs 39,000 crore so far on capacity expansion (out of a targeted investment of Rs 72,000 crore).

However, Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma was not impressed with the progress made by SAIL on the modernisation and expansion front.

"Delays (in modernisation and expansion) are of about one year. I have told them (SAIL) to increase the pace of modernisation and achieve all targets by the end of financial year," he said.

An official statement, issued later, also quoted him saying that the Steel Minister expressed concern over the falling sales of SAIL and asked the company to accelerate expansion of existing iron ore mines and aggressively scout for coking coal mines abroad.

According to SAIL Chairman Verma, the company is aiming to increase its market share up to 30 per cent by 2020 and the steelmaker will be expanding its capacity to 45 MT by then. The state-owned company is at present the largest steel producer with a capacity of 14 MT. Besides, it has a total
market share of about 18 percent.

Talking about the prices, the SAIL Chairman said the company has rolled over prices for the current month for its various products, even though there is 10-15 per cent increase in the global price levels.

During the first half of the current financial year, SAIL has recorded a growth of 3 per cent in hot metal production, while its crude and saleable steel productions were up 3 percent and 2 percent, respectively.

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Honda Cars sales rise 46 pc in Oct

Honda Cars India Ltd (HCIL) today reported an increase of 46 percent in its total sales for October at 8,085 units.
    
The company had sold 5,526 units in the same month last year, HCIL said in a statement.
    
During the month, the company sold 3,976 units of its flagship sedan City and 3,700 units of its small car Brio. It also sold 306 units of the premium hatchback Jazz and 60 units of sedan Civic.
    
Besides, HCIL sold 43 units of the premium sedan Accord in October 2012.

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TVS Motors sales up 3.65% in Oct

Two and three wheeler maker TVS Motor Company has reported a 3.65 per cent increase in its sales in October at 1,90,438 units. The city-based company sold 1,83,718 units in the same month of last year, a statement said.

In sales of two-wheelers the company witnessed a 3.53 per cent growth to 1,86,376 units in October 2012 as against 1,80,006 sold in the same month of last year. In the domestic market, the company sold 1,70,273 units in October, 2012 as against 1,59,887 units in October 2011, it said.

Sales of motorcycles in October 2012 slipped to 72,687 units from 75,652 units sold in October 2011. Sales of scooters also declined to 43,973 units in October 2012, from 47,445 units sold in the same month of last year. On the exports front, the company witnessed a dip at 18,563 units in October 2012 from 22,129 units sold in the same month of last year. Exports of two-wheelers also slipped by 19.9 per cent to 16,103 units in October 2012 as against 20,119 units shipped during the same month of last year.

Sales of three-wheelers the company witnessed a slight increase to 4,062 units in October 2012 from 3,712 units sold in the same month of last year, the statement added.

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Govt decision influenced by lobby of older operators: AUSPI

AUSPI, an organisation that represents the interest of Tata Teleservices and Reliance Communications which got into the GSM market in 2008 on the 1800 Mhz band, have been pro-refarming. Ashok Sud, Secretary General of AUSPI considers the new spectrum refarming decision to be a very unfair one and he is not yet clear about what drove the EGoM to take such a decision. According to him, the government has given into the lobby of older operators who hold large chunks of 900 Mhz spectrum.

Here is the edited transcript of the interview on CNBC-TV18.

Q: Your first reaction to partial refarming? We understand that you had been advocating for full refarming so what are your thoughts at this point because sources are telling us that EGoM has opted for partial refarming?

A: The TRAI, the department of telecom (DoT) and the telecom commission all had the view that all of 900 MHz needs to be refarmed. We do not understand the change that took place in one week in the environment or in the drivers of this decision. You can only premise that the government has given in to the lobby of the older operators who hold large chunks of 900 Mhz spectrum.

According to us it's a very unfair decision given that newer allottees like our members do not have any spectrum at all in the 900 Mhz band. Therefore, we think it should have been fair that on the expiry of the license the older operators should have been placed at par with the new operators i.e. all the 900 Mhz spectrum should have been refarmed, put up for auction in which all old and new operators could bid, thereby creating a level plain field. By this action the government will extend the inequity.

Q: Is this a bit of a setback for new players because new players wanted to participate in the more efficient 900 Mhz auction as well?

A: The unfairness between the equality has been perpetuated by the government by doing this because the older players have been guaranteed that they will have 2.5 Mhz spectrum, whereas the new players would have to go and bid for auctions whenever the auctions happens. This is itself a major inequality.

Q: There have been concerns from the incumbent that how much expenditure they would have to incur if full spectrum had to be refarmed. There were infrastructure costs, logistics costs and heavy payment auction that in turn could lead to increase in tariffs. Do you think that the monopoly could get tempered to certain extent because so far the EGoM has decided on partial refarming?

A: The matter of the fact is that these very operators have enjoyed using this spectrum for the last 18 years. The new operators who are their competitor never had this spectrum at all. Already there is an inequality. Old operators have economically benefited for the last 18 years. What about the poor new operators who will be impacted from day one and still has to compete with them in the market place.

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Lenovo forays into smartphone segment in India

Leading personal computer maker Lenovo today announced its foray into the smartphone market in the country with the launch of five android-based smartphones.

"Having witnessed success in the PC space where we are currently No 1, our entry into the smartphone category is a strategic move that reinforces our commitment to lead technology and innovation across the four screens," Lenovo India Managing Director Amar Babu told reporters here.

The number of consumers adopting smarter, wireless technology in the country is on the rise. The current market is for around five million smartphones which is expected to go up to around 30-35 million by 2016, he said.

The company's move stems from it's four screen strategy of which smartphones is a key component. The four screens comprise of PCs, tablets, smartphones and smart TVs.

Lenovo is entering India after building successful mobile phone business in countries like China, Indonesia, Philippines, Russia and Vietnam.

The company has launched five models in the Indian market at a price ranging from Rs 6,499 going up to Rs 28,499. Initially, these smartphones will be available in the southern states and Gujarat and will be available across the country in another six months, Babu said.

These smart phones have battery life that lasts for at least two days with a standby of 3-4 days and on the higher side battery life is up to 34 hours with a standby of seven days.

"This product range will be imported from China and we may refresh these five models in India next year," Lenovo Vice President, Business Operations and Worldwide Business Development, J D Howard said.

The smartphone segment provides a huge growth potential as there are overall 600 billion mobile phones in the world, of which 600 million are smartphones. In another five years, the overall number is expected to go up to 800 billion and all will be smart phones, he stated.

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Call for hike in telecom tariffs: Bharti Airtel

Bharti Airtel CEO Sanjay Kapoor has called for a hike in telecom tarriffs and says it is imperative for prices to be hiked if the industry were to be kept up and running. On the issue of DOT's possible imposition of a fine on the company for under-reporting revenues, Kapoor said Airtel has always been fully compliant of laws & regulations.

"Is there a need to take tariffs up? I think absolutely yes. The way the industry is performing and the way the prices have come down I think its unprecedented compared to any other part of the world and I think it is at unsustainable levels for most of the industry" says kapoor.

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Bharti Walmart opens 2nd store in Bhopal

Leading retail chain Bharti Walmart today opened its second wholesale store in Bhopal, making the Madhya Pradesh capital the only city in the country where the group has set up two stores, its top official said.

"Encouraged by the huge response that we have got in Bhopal after setting our first store, the company has decided to open second wholesale store in Bhopal, thus making the state capital the only city in the country, where two such stores exist," Bharti Walmart COO Arvind Mehndiratta told reporters after inaugurating the store.

The cost of setting up one such store is Rs 35 crore and the company has already established three wholesale units in the state, including one at Indore. The company has opened 20 stores in the country and is planning to open another four wholesale outlets in the current financial year, including in Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh, he said.

Welcoming the Centre's decision to permit FDI in retail, Mehndiratta said that it will further strengthen the retail business in the country as the traders will get quality products for their shops under one roof on actual rates and not have to depend on number of wholesalers for their requirements.

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Tata and ONGC to set up fertilizer factory in Tripura

Tripura government in a joint venture with ONGC and Tata Chemicals would set up a Rs 5,000 crore fertiliser manufacturing unit in north Tripura district by using the natural gas available in the state.

Chief Minister Manik Sarkar said, "It was decided that ONGC and Tata Chemicals would jointly set up Rs 5000 crore fertilizer company and Tripura government would buy 10 per cent equity of the company."

The company would sell equities of Rs 2000 crore in the market. ONGC has initially selected Khobal in north Tripura district, about 150-km from here for setting up the project considering proximity to Khobal gas field from where natural gas (hydrocarbon) would be supplied, Sarkar told reporters.

Last year, ONGC had discovered huge gas reserves at Khobal near Assam-Agartala National Highway (NH-44). With the commissioning of the project, the demand for fertilizer will be met not only for Tripura but also for the entire north-east region, West Bengal, Odisha and a large chunk of the fertilizer could be exported to neighbouring Bangladesh, he said.

Last year, CM Manik Sarkar had requested ONGC CMD Sudhir Vasudeva to set up a fertilizer manufacturing company in Tripura to ensure optimum utilisation of natural gas which was welcomed by ONGC. Following the request, ONGC had invited expression of interest for setting up a manufacturing unit and at least three big investors including Tata Chemicals had expressed their interest.

The oil and gas major has already set up a 726 MW gas based thermal power project in the state through ONGC Tripura Power Company (OTPC) at Palatana in Gomati district. The project has started generating power on trial basis, but full fledge generation would be started after transmission line is complete and connected with the national grid at Bongaigaon.

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P K Borthakur takes over as ONGC Director (Offshore)

State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) today said P K Borthakur has taken over as the company's Director (Offshore).

"Borthakur steps in as Director (Offshore) at a crucial juncture when ONGC has set ambitious target in augmenting offshore production, in the context of the organisation's Perspective Plan 2030," the company said in a press statement here.

Congratulating Borthakur for the elevation, ONGC Chairman and Managing Director Sudhir Vasudeva said there could not have been a better oilman for the assignment at this vital juncture.

"Borthakur, like his predecessor Sudhir Vasudeva, is predominantly brought up in the professional nuances of offshore oil engineering. He commands a rich portfolio of experiences in diverse fields of oil production chain," the statement said.

Before being elevated to the Board of India's flagship explorer ONGC, Borthakur managed nation's biggest oil producing asset Mumbai High and biggest gas asset Bassein & Satellite.

Redevelopment of ONGC brownfields would be a focus area, said Borthakur.

A Mechanical Engineer from Guwahati University, Borthakur has been groomed in IIM Lucknow and ISB Hyderabad. "Redevelopment of the brownfields like Mumbai High, Heera and Bassein, which have been contributing over 80 percent of ONGC's current domestic production, would be a focus area," he said.

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