(By Our Correspondent with inputs from Dr. Yadu Singh’s blog)

A Hyderabad-based Indian Energy and Infrastructure giant, Lanco, has acquired Griffin’s coal mines for about $850 million recently, after beating other bidders including Chinese. So far, this is the biggest ever investment made by an Indian company in Australia. This beats Adani Group’s investment of $500m on Linc Energy’s Galilee coal tenements in Queensland in August 2010.

Lanco headed by Mr. Lagadapati Madhusudan Rao is a significant player in the Energy and Infrastructure sector in India. Griffin is located in Western Australia and through this deal, Lanco will be vastly contributing towards the State’s onomy..

Lanco will be developing a Port and rail facilities in Banbury in South Western region of WA which will help them in linking Coal mines in Collie to Bunburry. They will guarantee jobs of about 400 people who are working with Griffin. Lanco has outlined their plan to triple if not more, the output of coal within a short term. They want to go from the current 4 million tonnes output to 15 million tonnes which will obviously provide employment to many more Western Australians.

Griffin’s Administrator, Korda Mentha, doesn’t see any problem in getting the approval for this business transaction from the creditors and the Foreign Investment Review Board. They must be thrilled as the business was sold for $850 Million rather than expected $700 Million. Secured creditors will get 100% of their money.

Lanco will get a boost in its business because it is going to approve the supply contract which the Griffin’s administrator is finalizing with Perdaman Chemicals [Coal to Urea] plants and this will be for about 2.8 million tonnes. Lanco will not have any problem in selling the remaining Coal as it plans to export Coal to power-hungry Indian Energy businesses. Lanco itself is in that business. Additionally, Lanco may also bid for Griffin’s boss Ric Stowe’s Bluewaters Power Stations along with bidders from USA and China and Japan.

The people's car Nano

Tata Motors has commercially launched its people’s car, Nano, promising to stick to the Rs 1,00,000 price tag for the base model.

“From today onwards, the product will be available in the showrooms… There will be three versions – the base version, which is the one we promised to the people of India and two upper tier versions…,” Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata told a news conference in Mumbai. The higher-end versions would have air-conditioning, power brakes and power windows, among others. Continue Reading

Sydney: Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (M&M), one of India’s leading auto brands, has entered into a joint venture agreement with its existing partner, TMI Pacific, a local Australian importer and distributor of vehicles.  The agreement will lead to the formation of a new company called Mahindra Automotive Australia which will continue the marketing, promotion and retail of Mahindra vehicles in Australia.  Mahindra will be the major shareholder with 80 per cent stake in the new Joint Venture, while TMI Pacific will retain the rest.

The Chairman of TMI Pacific and the Tynan Motor Group of companies, Michael Tynan says, “Over the past 18 months TMI Pacific has successfully laid the foundation and carved a niche in the Australian landscape for the Mahindra range of utility vehicles. 

Working alongside Mahindra, we have built brand presence and believe that the stake that Mahindra is putting in Australian soil and the commitment they are showing to becoming even more strongly involved in our market is a testament to their belief in it.  This affirmative action will provide even further confidence to the dealer network and to prospective customers.  We welcome this positive move forward.”

Dr. Pawan Goenka, President, Automotive Sector, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. said, “We are delighted to extend our relationship with TMI Pacific, which has contributed in large measure to the success of the Mahindra brand in Australia. As we merge to form a new entity, our collective dedication will ensure that the Mahindra brand will become further ingrained in the Australian market.  We have a strong vision for international growth and this move is an integral part of that plan.”

Pravin Shah, Executive Vice President, Automotive Sector, International Operations, M&M Ltd., said, “TMI Pacific has worked tirelessly since the launch of the Mahindra Pik-Up last year and has helped make Mahindra a household name in Australia, demonstrating that it is indeed the right partner for Mahindra in Australia. The new JV company, Mahindra Automotive Australia, will undertake branding and promotion activities for the brand, further consolidating our presence on the continent.”

Under the new structure, which will be in effect as of this week, Michael Tynan will become a Director and bring his rich experience of the Australian Auto Industry to the new venture.  Chief Operations Officer, Claire Tynan, has been promoted to CEO, while the current team of head office staff and network of dealers around the country will remain unchanged.  As before, their mandate will be to continue the growth and distribution of the Mahindra brand of vehicles throughout Australia. 

Further plans for the new company along with future models for the market will be announced in an upcoming event for stakeholders, which will be hosted in Australia early next year.

Despite many automotive manufacturers feeling the economic crunch globally with job losses, factory closures, considerable cut back in production and work-weeks for some, Mahindra continues to grow strongly.  During the second quarter ending September 30, Gross Revenues of the Company grew by 14.1% and Net Profit after tax excluding exchange loss and other exceptional and special items grew by 9.3%.

About The Mahindra Group

The US $6.7 billion Mahindra Group is among the top 10 industrial houses in India. Mahindra is the market leader in multi-utility vehicles in India It made a milestone entry into the passenger car segment with the Logan. Mahindra & Mahindra is the only Indian company among the top tractor brands in the world.

The Group has a leading presence in key sectors of the Indian economy, including the financial services, trade, retail and logistics, automotive components, after-market, information technology and infrastructure development. Mahindra has recently made an entry in the two-wheeler segment which will see the company emerge as a full-range player with a presence in almost every segment of the automobile industry.

Mahindra’s Farm Equipment Sector is the proud recipient of the Japan Quality Medal, the only tractor company worldwide to be bestowed this honour. It also holds the distinction of being the only tractor company worldwide to win the Deming Prize. The US based Reputation Institute recently ranked Mahindra among the top 10 Indian companies in its Global 200: The World’s Best Corporate Reputations list.

Mahindra is also one of only four Indian companies to receive an A+ rating from the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) for its first Sustainability Report.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Saturday expressed confidence that India can weather the storm of financial crisis blowing across the world saying the country’s economic fundamentals and the banking system were strong.

He admitted there is a liquidity crunch in the market and that the economy was facing ‘spill over and ripple’ effects of the global storm but held out an assurance that the “RBI is ready to take further steps and infuse more liquidity if necessary”.

Referring to the current global meltdown, Chidambaram said “there is a storm blowing in the world. We did not not create the storm. We are facing the spillover effects or the ripple effects of the storm.

“We must brace ourself and weather the storm. I am confident that the Indian economy is strong and resilient to weather the storm and I would request all players in the economy to cooperate with the government in weathering the storm,” he told PTI.

Chidambaram said “the weekend is a good time for people to reflect. Firstly, those who have money… There have been wage increases for the government servants, and many have received Diwali bonuses.

“Those who have money should spend some money and should save some money. Savings in banks are completely safe. Our banks are well regulated and well capitalised. Depending on your risk threshold you can save in some other instruments. Someone with a low risk threshold should save in a bank,” he said.

The Finance Minister said for those who need money for running their businesses, trade and firms, the government recognised that there is a liquidity crunch.

“But we have responded swiftly and we have infused a huge amount of liquidity. Between now and October 25 or so, a huge amount of liquidity will find its way into the Market through CRR cut, fertiliser subsidy, additional spending on National Rural Employment Guarantee schemes and payment to banks for loan waiver,” he said.

Besides, the RBI is ready to take further steps to infuse more liquidity, if necessary, he added.

On deposits in banks, Chidambaram said “no depositor need have any reason to worry. Different investors have different risk profiles. But if you are an investor you should take informed decisions. The last thing you should do is to act in haste. The last thing you should do is to give room for panic.”

He maintained that the fundamentals of the real economy were strong. “If you ask me whether the fundamentals of the economy have changed so dramatically as portrayed in the stock market, the answer is no.”

In fact, Chidambaram said that some promoters were buying shares this time. Therefore, no investor need to take any decision in haste or in panic. “He or she should take informed decisions.”

Chidambaram said “The weekend is a good time to calmly reflect on the situation. Any citizen of India should reflect calmly while coming to the conclusion that we can weather the storm.”

The minister said inflation was inching down and huge capacities were being added. “Our regulators are vigilant and any citizen of India should reflect calmly on the way we should weather the storm.”

To a query, he said the export and import growth was 35.1 and 37.5 per cent respectively in dollar terms.

He doubted the industrial production figures, which showed a plummeting of industrial growth to 1.3 per cent, and said he has conveyed his concerns to the Ministry of Industry.

“There are certain concerns about the IIP figures and I have conveyed these concerns in the past and today to the Ministry of Industry,” he said reacting to the data on Index of Industrial Production figures released yesterday.

Chidambaram said “growth in capital goods in July was 20 per cent. This has fallen to 2.3 per cent in August. There cannot be such a dramatic shift in capital goods production. It can’t take place.”

— DDI News

Taking swift action to inject about Rs 60,000 crore into the cash-strapped system, the Reserve Bank on Friday announced additional one percent cut in mandatory requirements for banks to keep cash with the central bank over and above 0.50 percent reduction announced earlier.

With this, a total 1.50 percent cut in Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) to 7.50 percent will come into effect from Saturday.

“Accordingly, on a review of the evolving liquidity situation in the context of global and domestic developments it has been decided to reduce CRR by 150 basis points to 7.50 per cent with effect from the fortnight beginning October 11, 2008 instead of 50 basis points reduction announced on October 6, 2008,” RBI said in a statement in Mumbai.

Both the measures — a one percent and a 0.50 percent cuts in CRR — came ahead of RBI’s mid-term review of monetary policy slated for 24^th October.

“In the context of the abrupt changes in the international financial environment, it is important to note that the economic fundamentals of the Indian economy are strong and resilient and that India‘s financial system is sound, well-capitalist and well-regulated,” RBI said.

The central bank said money in forex markets in India have been operating in a relatively orderly manner.

“The current domestic market conditions are essentially a reflection of the adverse developments and extreme uncertainty in international financial markets,” the statement said.

The Reserve Bank also said that it would ensure price stability along with the growth process.

“The Reserve Bank is monitoring developments closely and continuously and would respond swiftly and even preemptively to any adverse external developments impinging on domestic financial stability, price stability and inflation expectations and the continuation of the growth momentum of the Indian economy,” it said.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram had already assured the nation that liquidity will be injected into the system if the need arises.

Besides RBI’s measures, certain other steps like lifting of curbs on Participatory Notes by market regulator Sebi and relaxation in overseas borrowing norms by the government have already been taken to inject money flow into the system.

After a controversial stay in West Bengal, Tatas shifted their Rs one-lakh car Nano project to Sanand near Ahmedabad at an investment of Rs 2,000 crore, delcaring that efforts will be made to roll out the world’s cheapest car from a make-shift plant to meet the deadline.

“This is an extremely momentous and happy day for us because we have been through a rather sad experience from a small quarter of residents of West Bengal despite the state government’s efforts,” Tata Group Chief Ratan Tata said at a joint press conference with Cheif Minister Narendra Modi in Ahmedabad on Tuesday.The MoU was signed by Tata Motors Managing Director Ravi Kant and Industrial Secretary Gouri Kumar

Praising Modi for speedy allocation of about 1,100 acres of centrally located land, Tata said the company had a great deal of urgency in having a new location and was driven by the reputation of the state.

“The site in Gujarat, already under the possession of the state government, will help Tata Motors establish a new dedicated mother plant with the shortest possible time lag and least possible increment project cost,” he said.

Together with Tata Motors, about 60 vendors would also move to the new location.

Asked about the over-all deal offered by the Gujarat government, Tata said, “it is as good as or slightly better than the one we had previously (in West Bengal).”

Gujarat was one of many states in the race for Nano car manufacturing facility.

Welcoming Tatas, the Chief Minister said, “Tatas and Gujarat have started a new chapter of partnership which will give a new direction and dimension to the state. “After the Nano car project, Gujarat will make an important place in surface transport.”

To begin with, Tata Motors would produce 2.5-3 lakh cars annually and the capacity is expandable up to five lakh cars per annum, Tata said.

When asked about the timing of launching Nano, Tata said, “It will be our endeavour to be close to the timeline so that we can keep our promise.”He, however, did not specify any timeline and said the company would make an announcement in this regard later.

“Building this plant in Gujarat will take some time and we have some make-shift plan to introduce Nano in the market in the interim month while the plant is being built,” he said.

A company statement said it would explore the possibility of manufacturing Nano at its existing facilities in Pune and Pantnagar and would launch the car in the last quarter (Jan-March) of the current financial year.

Meanwhile, reports from Uttarakhand said ‘limited production’ of the world’s cheapest car will take place in Pantnagar.

“Tata Motors officials have conveyed to the state government that limited production of Nano will be held in Pantnagar despite their decision to take the mother plant to Gujarat,” said Uttarakhand media advisory committee Chairman Devendra Bhasin quoting Chief Minister B C Khanduri.

Tata Motors also plans to have CNG, electric and exports variants manufactured at the mother plant in Sanand, Tata said.

Talking about the size of investment, company’s Managing Director Ravi Kant said it would be about Rs 2,000 crore.

“… there will be some more things that we are talking about. We expect more number of vendors to come here. The size of the plant would be much bigger than what we had planned for West Bengal,” he added.

As per the agreement, Tatas would also undertake a number of initiatives for human resource development in the state, including setting up of ITIs.

When asked about the loss incurred due to pulling out of West Bengal, Tata said, “We would be retrieving most of our costs out of Singur and I don’t believe that there will be a need to have any appreciable loss reflected in our financials in the current year.”

“The cost of moving out would be the cost of dismantling and the cost of moving to a new location,” he said.

According to the agreement, the homegrown auto major would purchase land from the Gujarat government at current market prices.

Last week, Tata Motors withdrew its Rs one-lakh Nano car project from West Bengal, with a disappointed Ratan Tata blaming the Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee for the “unfortunate and painful” decision.

Hitting out at Mamata, Tata had said, “Agitation by the opposition party has been the sole reason for this decision… How can we go into production when people are saying that we will continue agitation… I think Banerjee pulled the trigger”.

Retaliating, Banerjee had said it was a “joint game plan” by the Tatas and the state government during Durga Puja festival.

Tatas had evacuated entire work force from Singur, complaining intimidation and violence from the agitators who had cordoned of the entire area since August to prevent progress on the project.

In the auto space, Gujarat so far has a General Motors plant in Halol, Bombardier’s bus body making facility and Asia Motor Works’ truck manufacturing unit at Bhuj.

NRI steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal has lost 16.6 billion pounds in the global credit crunch owing to plummeting stock markets in the last four months, media reports said in London on Sunday.

The 58-year-old Mittal heads a list of ten super-rich losers who together have seen their share portfolios shrink by about 23 billion pounds from their peaks, The Sunday Times claimed.

Another NRI entrepreneur Anil Agarwal, who built up his metals empire, has seen his stock plummet by 2.7 billion pounds.

The height of Mittal’s losses dwarfs those of others in the list of top 10 losers, which include Mike Ashley, the beleaguered owner of Newcastle United football club and the retailer Sports Direct.

Mittal has seen his family’s stake in ArcelorMittal, the steel conglomerate, fall from 33.24 billion pounds on June 4 this year to 16.63 billion pounds at the close of Friday’s markets. The loss is equivalent to 137 million pounds a day or nearly 6 million pounds an hour.

The credit crunch losses were established by comparing the value of shareholdings around the world held by them at their peak with the value at the close of markets last Friday.

Tim Bouquet, author of a book on Lakshmi Mittal, said the tycoon’s lifestyle was well suited to less ostentatious times.

“He’s very careful with money, he knows where most of the pennies go,” Bouquet said. “He likes to joke that on his plane he serves pizza rather than champagne. Mittal’s idea of a good time is to order Chinese takeaway from Zen Central in Mayfair in London.”

Mittal is also joint owner of Queens Park Rangers with Bernie Ecclestone, head of Formula One, and Flavio Briatore, managing director of the Renault Formula One team. They sparked protests from their fan base last weekend after raising prices for some games to 50 pound, the most expensive tickets in the Championship so far. — agencies

Tatas pulled out of West Bengal for its Rs one-lakh car Nano project, blaming it on continuing agitation by the opposition parties, spearheaded by Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee.

“There was little choice but move out of Singur, he said.

The move has been prompted after taking into account issues such as well-being of its employees at the project and safety of contractors as well as that of its vendors.

The persisting agitation by the opposition parties has been the sole reason behind the decision to pull out the project, he said.

On the question of process of acquiring land for the Nano project, he said, “To the best of my knowledge, the land was acquired legally… it was done transparently and the compensation was based fairly.”

“We have not been a party to any land dispute. It is between West Bengal government and Trinamool Congress,” he added.

Talking about the future association of Tatas with the state, he said the group already has considerable presence in the state and would open a cancer hospital in the next few months.

India has allowed the export of the Pusa 1121 variety of rice from Oct 15 this year, according to a senior government official. This variety is exported mainly to the Gulf countries, a report in The Times of India  says. 

“Pusa 1121 rice will be exported with effect from Oct 15 this year,” a senior official of the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (Apeda) told . He did not wish to be identified.

Traders will have to register themselves with the Apeda before they start exporting Pusa 1121, which is nearly as good as basmati rice.

This variety is grown mainly in Punjab and Haryana, two of India’s key rice-producing states.

The official said the Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has lifted the ban on the export of Pusa 1121. Traders will be allowed to export the rice at a minimum export price (MEP), which is yet to be decided.

He said that export of this rice would be permitted only from the ports of Kolkata, Kandla, Kakinada, Navi Mumbai, Mundra and Pipavav.

The government March 31 this year banned the export of non-basmati rice, and increased MEP for basmati rice to $1,200 (Rs.54,000) per tonne to rein in inflation.

The government is considering lifting the ban completely by November this year in view of a good monsoon and a good paddy crop.

The agriculture ministry said that the area under rice cultivation had gone up to nearly 36.1 million this year as against 34.5 million hectares Sep 4 last year.

India is likely to export a record quantity of basmati rice in the current fiscal. In July alone, traders got the official go-ahead for exporting 165,148 metric tonnes of basmati rice.

In July this year, Apeda issued 658 registration-cum-allocation certificates (RCAC) to traders to enable them to export basmati rice worth nearly $252 million (Rs.11.34 billion).

In 2007-08, the estimated production of rice stood at 96.43 million tonnes, wheat 78.40 million tonnes, coarse cereals 40.73 million tonnes, maize 19.31 million tonnes, pulses 15.11 million tonnes, and oilseeds 28.82 million tonnes.

The government has set a target of achieving an annual production growth rate of 3.7 percent for all food grains including rice.

In absolute terms, however, the government target is to achieve a production of 129 million tonnes of rice by 2011-12 since the domestic demand for rice by that time has been projected at 128 million tonnes.

Hence, according to official estimates, this level of production can be achieved only if the yield per hectare for rice goes up to an average 3,000 kilograms up from only 1,930 tonnes now.

The rupee fell to its lowest in 17 months on Monday, hit by a weak stock market and some lumpy orders in a holiday-thinned market that was also factoring in some recent dollar strength.

The partially convertible rupee ended at 43.59/60 per dollar, recovering slightly from an intraday low of 43.70, its lowest level since March 29, 2007.

The rupee fell 1.33 per cent from Thursday’s close of 43.01/02, its biggest percentage fall in a year. It has fallen by 3.5 percent in the last five sessions and is down 9.6 percent in 2008. It rose more than 12 percent in 2007.

Markets were closed on Friday and will shut again on Tuesday for local holidays, which means many trading rooms were thinly staffed. Trade was volatile with the rupee trading a 43.05-43.70 band, and traders said there was heavy dollar buying by a large manufacturing company around 43.50 per dollar.

“This sharp fall looks like some stop-losses have got triggered and even offshore markets are pointing to a weaker rupee,” said R N Hirve, chief dealer at Central Bank of India. One-month offshore non-deliverable forward contracts were quoting at 43.81/86 per dollar.

The dollar hit a six-month high against the euro on Monday, although it surrendered the gains later in the day. The euro has fallen nearly six percent against the dollar in two weeks on concerns of an economic slowdown.

Speculation the central bank may step in to stop the rupee’s fall proved unfounded. “There was some talk it may intervene around the 43.50 per dollar, but once that level broke conclusively, it fell like a stone,” said a dealer at a state-run bank.  — Courtsey Times of India