The Tata group, however, is not lying low. It is now planning to increase the supercomputer's processing power by at least five times, under a project titled Eka plus plus (Eka++). The Computational Research Laboratories--a subsidiary of the Tata group's holding company Tata Sons--has already started work on this front.
The department had sent a notice to the company seeking details and clarifications on a host of issues besides the original agreement between Hutch and Vodafone to establish the jurisdiction of the tax authorities to determine the tax liability. This follow an SC order in January 2009 to the effect that Vodafone should present its case to the tax authorities first and submit a copy of the share purchase agreement, the deadline for which expires by the end of this month.
Days after NTT DoCoMo of Japan announced that it will buy 26 per cent in Tata Teleservices for $2.7 billion, NRI businessman C Sivasankaran has decided to put on the block his eight per cent stake in the company.
Apart from the embarrassment, these "crazy blogs" - as companies term them - force India Inc to spend crores of rupees to repair the damage.
Talks have failed between the Dhoots of the Videocon group and Mahendra Nahata of Himachal Futuristic Communications Ltd to buy out the latter's 36 per cent stake in all-India mobile licence-holder Datacom Solutions.
The department of telecommunications has raised questions about the merger between Idea Cellular and Spice Telecom violating key clauses on intra-circle merger and mobile licence conditions.
The Aditya Birla group's wireless telephony firm Idea Cellular has agreed to buy Spice Communications in a three-stage deal in which minority shareholders of Spice would be given an option either to swap their shares for the Birla group firm or sell them in an open offer.
South African major to make open offer to RCom shareholders. The deal would create a telecom colossus with 115 million subscribers in 25 countries.
Idea Cellular's bid to acquire a controlling stake in the B K Modi-promoted Spice Communications has hit a pricing roadblock. Investment banking sources said that B K Modi had asked for Rs 70 a share for his 40.8 per cent stake in Spice, valuing the company at Rs 4,829.47 crore, but Idea is reluctant to pay that much."Any price valuing Spice Communications beyond Rs 4,200 crore would be expensive for Idea Cellular," said an analyst with a domestic brokerage.
Spice Communications, owned by billionaire B K Modi, may consider buying out Telekom Malaysia, its partner in the phone company, if the latter fails to come up with a stake-raising plan by June, a top company official said. Telekom Malaysia, South Asia's second largest telecommunications company, owns 39.2 per cent in the Indian company and was keen to increase it to 74 per cent, the upper limit for foreign direct investments in the Indian telecom sector.
"The factories need consolidation and control as they operate independently with different human resource (HR) and logistic policies. The segmented operations cannot have power and focus on quality," K R Kim, vice-chairman and CEO (global operations), Videocon, who steered LG to market leadership in his earlier stint, told Business Standard.
Videcocon Industries plans a major consumer electronics retail foray across West Asia, Europe, Africa and Latin America under the brand name "VC" to raise global revenue shares from the current 2 per cent to 50 per cent by 2011.
Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Mittal's bid for telecom major MTN Group has to contend with some tough negotiations with Lebanon's former prime minister Najib Mikati, one of the wealthiest men in his country, as well as stiff black economic empowerment policies in South Africa that provide for a major share in the management of companies located in the country to blacks.
With Mumbai grappling for additional land for expansion, the city's western suburb Bandra could see availability of close to 60 acres of real estate for development.
Mumbai-based diamond processing and jewellery manufacturer Gitanjali Gems aims to become a global retailer. Lately, the Rs 3,500-crore (Rs 35 billion) company has been in the news for international acquisitions, consolidation in the domestic market and diversification in lifestyle retailing.
A global value-added services (VAS) player, Buongiorno, has researched on the habits of browsers who surf the Internet on their cell phones. In India, analysts estimate that 20-25 per cent of mobile handsets can be used for Internet surfing. Embracers, for instance, are hooked on to the technology on mobile phones and battery power is their only limitation when it comes to being online. On the other hand, Pragmatists use mobile phones as tools to make their life easier.
Puma, the German sports brand, is foraying into swimwear segment in India. The company's Indian arm is eager to repeat the Chak De! India experience through its product placements. Puma is introducing 20-30 designs of swimwear for men and women, comprising performance and leisure wear. Puma feels that the category has immense potential in the leisure space. The beachwear concept is picking up. It operates in 20 exclusive brand outlets & is looking at closing this year by 35.
The move comes on the back of the potential for the conventional televisions in India. Industry watchers said high-end televisions were gaining popularity in urban markets, while first-time buyers and rural markets prefer conventional televisions. Globally, Sony has taken a strategic decision to exit from the CRT TV business from this month-end due to a slow demand. Sony had reduced LCD prices to align with Korean duo LG Electronics and Samsung a few months back.
Canadian communications major Research In Motion (RIM), owners of the BlackBerry brand of mobile phones, has assured the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) that it would sort out the BlackBerry tangle by initiating discussions between security agencies of Canada and India. The move comes in response to a government notice directing BlackBerry service providers to stop services by December 31, 2007.
Indian apparel brands are looking at China as the new retail destination.
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