BIZ WORLD
Sun Pharma unit Caraco launches anti-cancer drug in US

Caraco Pharmaceutical Laboratories Ltd, a unit of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd has launched the generic version of anticancer drug oxaliplatin in injection form in the U.S. Oxaliplatin is equivalent to Sanofi- Aventis' Eloxatin and used to treat colon and rectal cancer, Caraco said in a statement. Oxaliplatin injections have annual sales of about $1.3 billion in the U.S. market, it said.

Reliance joins hands with US sports co IMG Worldwide

Reliance Industries Ltd has entered into an equal joint venture with US-based sports marketing company IMG Worldwide, for developing, marketing and managing sports and entertainment in the country. The deal size has not been disclosed but the joint venture called IMG Reliance Pvt Ltd will create infrastructure and coaching facilities to channelize sporting potential in the country. It will also create and operate major sports and entertainment assets. The management of IMG's existing business and assets in India, including the Aircel Chennai Open, Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) World Tour event and the Lakmé Fashion Week will be transferred to the joint venture. IMG's responsibilities to the BCCI for IPL will not be transferred to the new venture and will continue to be managed by IMG's international business and executive team, according to a statement issued by RIL. The venture will develop assets modeled on the sporting, commercial and investment structures present in mature markets globally. Plans are also underway to create an agency, which will offer complete celebrity management to personalities from sports, Bollywood and fashion. Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of RIL, said that IMG has an enviable track record of identifying, training and developing champion talent across disciplines. With IMG's five-decade experience, the company wants to transform the sporting fabric in the country, he said. Ted Forstmann, Chairman and CEO of IMG, said, "The performance of Indian athletes on the national and international stage will improve dramatically with the correct development strategies. This is what IMG has been doing for 50 years, both at IMG Academies in Florida and many other places around the world. As a consequence, the commercial performance of sport and entertainment in India will be enhanced," he said in the statement. The joint venture will also initiate a scholarship program, which will identify talented athletes who will be provided with full sporting and academic scholarships at the Florida academy of IMG, the statement said. The Reliance Foundation, the corporate social responsibility initiative of RIL, is also involved in the venture. The foundation will develop sporting academies, which will create coaching and training facilities but management will remain with the joint venture.

Facebook to open office in Hyderabad

Popular social-networking site Facebook will open an office in India, joining a long list of international firms that have looked to tap a skilled workforce that provides support services at relatively cheap wages. Facebook's office in Hyderabad will support users, advertisers and developers in India and around the world, the company said in a statement. Hyderabad also houses other foreign firms, including Internet powerhouse Google and software giant Microsoft, whose Indian employees work on everything from writing software codes to providing customer services at cheaper salaries than in developed nations such as the United States. Facebook, which lets users connect and share information with friends online, has emerged as one of the Internet's most popular destinations, challenging established players like Yahoo Inc and Google. Facebook counts around 400 million users and has had large investments from Microsoft and from Russian investment company Digital Sky Technologies. More than 8 million of Facebook's total users are in India, the company's director of global online operations, Don Faul, said in a post on the Facebook blog. Seventy percent of the people using Facebook are outside the United States and are accessing the service from more than 70 languages, he said. Facebook's office in Hyderabad will supplement operations supported out of Palo Alto, California, Dublin, Ireland and a recently announced location in Austin, Texas. "By having multiple support centers in a variety of time zones, we can provide better round-the-clock, multi-lingual support," Faul said. Facebook will initially recruit a small team in India, and anticipates further growth as the office expands. It is hiring people to join the online sales and operations teams that it is forming in the Hyderabad and Austin offices, Faul said.

India 2nd fastest growing investor in US

India has emerged as the second fastest growing investor in the United States after the UAE between 2004 and 2008, a top Obama Administration official has said. The recent years have seen the drift towards a newer group of investors from countries such as the UAE, India, Spain and Chile, Under Secretary of State for Economic, Energy and Agricultural Affairs Robert D Hormats said in his address to the US Council for International Business. While historically European nations have been the leading investors in the US, the fastest growing between 2004 and 2008 have been the UAE, which has shown a 230 per cent average annual increase over four years, followed by India with 64 per cent increase, Spain with 60 per cent, Chile 50 per cent, Switzerland with 38 per cent, South Korea with 31 per cent, China with 30 per cent and Indonesia with 27 per cent. Among top investors, European countries hold 62 per cent of the stock of FDI (foreign direct investment) in the US, with Germany, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, France, and Spain as the main investing countries.

India among world's top 3 preferred investment destination

India is among the world's top three preferred investment destinations but equity caps limit the size of potential inflows, according to a Columbia University report. The report cited liberalization in foreign direct investment (FDI) policy and several economic sectors, a globally competitive workforce, and rapid gross domestic product (GDP) and market growth as the main drivers of foreign investment in India. Yet, it said equity caps limit the size of potential new inflows and national security concerns might prompt more oversight of FDI approval processes. According to the 15-page report ‘Inward FDI in India and its policy context', India is also the 13th largest in terms of foreign investment inflows, which have risen 15-fold since 2000. The report said while investors initially concentrated on manufacturing, power and telecommunications, they now focus on services. A third of the post-2000 inflow is invested around Mumbai, a manufacturing hub, and one-fifth around Delhi, a services hub.

India's Essar to buy US coal company

India's multinational Essar Group has clinched a deal to buy US-based Trinity Coal Partners for 600 million dollars as it seeks to secure raw materials. Trinity's coal output is expected to be used to fuel Essar's North American steel operations. Announcement of the purchase comes as cashrich Indian companies step up overseas acquisitions that were put on hold during the global financial crisis. The Indian business group, controlled by the Ruia family, said the deal was expected to close by the end of the month. Trinity, one of the top 10 US coal producers is currently owned by Denham Capital, an energy and commodities- focused global private equity firm. Trinity owns and operates mines in Kentucky and West Virginia, and has a proven resource base of approximately 200 million tons of coal. It produces seven million tons of coal annually and plans to increase production to 10 million tons a year.

BMW to drive new ‘5 Series' to India in 2010 to push volumes

German luxury car maker BMW has said it will bring the latest version of its sedan ‘5 Series' to India this year in order to drive volumes and ward off increasing competition from compatriots — Mercedes and Audi. "The refreshed 5 Series will be launched globally later this month and we intend to launch it in India within 2010. The price is yet to be decided for the India market," BMW Global Director (Marketing and Planning) Markus Schram said. He said while the 5 Series will mainly compete with Mercedes' E Class, BMW "wants to set a new trend in the luxury car segment with this series in India." The new car will be aimed at driving volumes in the Indian market Schram said, adding, the main intention is to maintain momentum in the Indian market against rivals from Stuttgart (Mercedes) and Ingolstadt (Audi). In 2009, BMW overtook Mercedes as the numero uno luxury carmaker in the Indian market with sales of 3,619 units against 3,247 units of the rivals. Announcing the company's annual results, BMW AG Chairman Norbert Reithofer said, "We plan to grow our sales again in China, Brazil and India in the current year."

World's 3rd largest aircraft maker upbeat on India

Embraer, the world's third-largest aircraft maker, targets to generate $1 billion by selling executive jets — smaller size aircraft designed for transporting business people or rich individuals — in India in the next 10 years. The Brazilian aircraft maker, which will deliver 40 orders in the next 3-4 years is in talks with clients for new deals from the Indian market. It has been showcasing its new product, Legacy 500, a mid-size jet, in Mumbai. "Unlike last year, there has been an interest in new sales. But we expect markets to rebound completely by 2012-13,and reach the levels of 2006, when sales for executive jets were very high in numbers," said Jose Eduardo Costas, vice-president, marketing and sales, executive jets, Embraer. Embraer's largest order in the Asian region is from India with 20 light and entrylevel jets worth $90 million (Rs 405 crore). A telecom start up company, Invision, has ordered 18 entry level jets — Phenom 100 — and two light executive jets — Phenom 300 — to launch its proposed air taxi services. The first of the entry-level jet will be delivered in August to Invision, Embraer said. Embraer forecast is that the Asia Pacific region will account for a total of 11.8% of the global business for the aircraft manufacturer. The demand for business jets is increasing in India. Industry reports project that the demand will go up by 14% a year in the next 10 years. Companies are looking at fresh deals, although, prices are down because of the growth in the resale market.

Nissan-Renault JV's first global plant comes up near Chennai

The first-ever manufacturing plant of the 11-year-old Renault-Nissan global alliance was inaugurated at Oragadam near Chennai by Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi in presence of Nissan chairman and CEO Carlos Ghosn. The plant, set up with an initial capacity to produce 2,00,000 cars will have a total investment of $100 million over a span of seven years. The production for the domestic market would begin in May and sales would start from July. For exports, the company - Renault Nissan Automotive India Pvt Ltd (RNAIPL) would commence production from August, said Akira Sakurai, CEO and managing director, RNAIPL. "The Chennai plant is a strategic one for both the partners and the first one to be set up under Renault Nissan global alliance. We see there is a huge market in India for our cars and the new Micra will be positioned at B and B+ segment and will be competitively priced," he said. The new Micra will have a localization level of over 80% to start with. "The plant was set up in two years time since the company signed an MoU with the state government way back in 2008. This plant will have an initial capacity of 2,00,000 units per annum which will be scaled up to 4,00,000 units by 2012- 13. We hope Renault will begin production by mid 2011 with a slew of vehicles including Renault Koleos and Fluence, both for the Indian market," he added. Explaining in detail about the joint venture plant, Akira Sakurai said, "The Chennai unit will have 96 vendors to start with and add more vendors going forward when we introduce new vehicles. Out of this, 50% vendors will be from Chennai and nearby places and 30% from Delhi and the remaining 20% from Pune and Bengaluru." The plant would have six dedicated vendors inside the complex who would supply to this plant and later to others, he added. According to him, the Chennai plant will start exporting components worth $20 million in 2010, which would be increased to $40 million by 2012. The JV will have employee strength of 1,500 to start with and will create 6,000 jobs in near future, he pointed out.

[ BY LAVANYA GARIKINA ]