Market News - 05 Aug [LATEST NEWS]

Tata Steel enters into pact with Riversdale

Tata Steel Ltd and Riversdale Mining Ltd, a company listed in Australian Stock Exchange announced on Saturday that they have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding, whereby Tata Steel will become a strategic investor in Riversdale's Mozam bique Coal Project by acquiring a 35% stake in it for a sum of A$100 million.

The Mozambique Coal Project includes the coal tenements of premium hard coking coal in Benga and Tete, located in the Tete province in Mozambique, which are fully owned by Riversdale through its subsidiary. The Benga and Tete tenements together cover an area of 24,960 hectares. The Riversdale management expects that the potential mineralisation of the area will be substantially high.

Riversdale is presently conducting a scoping study which is likely to be completed in August 2007. The Definitive Agreements are likely to be finalised and executed by November 30 2007.

The hard coking coal derived from this project will be supplied to the Corus facilities in the UK and Europe and also to the Company's enhanced requirement in India in the future.

Mr. B Muthuraman, Managing Director, Tata Steel said, "The Memorandum of Understanding with Riversdale is in the Tata Steel's strategy of progressing towards raw material security for its global business. This partnership gives Tata Steel an opportunity to jointly explore part of a large coal basin which could prove to be a potential source to meet part of the raw material requirement and enhance the long term competitiveness of the global operations.

Mr. Michael O'Keeffe, the CEO and Chairman of Riversdale said, "The MoU with Tata Steel is a decisive corporate event for Riversdale and is a definitive recognition of the Moatize Coal Basin as a significant new source of supply of hard coking coal produ cts for the global steel industry

Apollo plans to set up hospitals in Mumbai, Chennai

Apollo Hospitals on Saturday said that it has chalked out a Rs 710-crore expansion plan to set up hospitals in Mumbai, besides a full-fledged orthopaedic hospital in Chennai soon.

"We have tied-up with Western Hospitals in Mumbai and will set up Centres of Excellence at various places. Each hospital will have 250-300 beds each,'' Apollo Hospitals Managing Director Preetha Reddy told reporters here. She said about Rs 600 crore has been allocated for the expansion in Mumbai and the process of finalising and acquiring land in Navi Mumbai, Thane, South Mumbai and Nasik has started. The orthopaedic hospital in North Chennai would have 200 beds at an investment of about Rs 110 crore, Ms Reddy said.

The consultancy division of Apollo would soon foray into Khazakhstan and Turkey, with details of the tie-up for the latter almost finalised. The company would soon start work on construction of their hospitals in Ahmedabad, Vishakapatnam and Bhubaneshwa r. "We expect our turnover to reach Rs 1,200 by the end of this year. We want to touch the 10,000-bed mark by 2010. Currently, we have about 8,000 beds, both through tie-ups and our own,'' the MD said.

Sanjivani launches new drug for Bird Flu

Pharmaceutical firm Sanjivani Paranteral said it has developed a new product for the treatment of contagious viral diseases, such as Bird Flu.

Apart from Bird flu the company's new product - Sancidal - can also be used in the treatment of other viruses such as Lassa Fever, HIV Virus, Hepatitis B and Yellow Fever, Sanjivani informed the Bombay Stock Exchange.

The product has a global market of $3 billion. It has been commercially launched in the domestic market and the company is in talks with various international players to launch the drug globally, it said

ItzCash targeting to double turnover this fiscal

Essel group company ItzCash Card Ltd said it is targeting to more than double its turnover to Rs 1,200 crore this fiscal.

"This year we had a revenue turnover of Rs 600 crore and we expect to double it by next year," Mr Shekher Shrivastava, Vice-President (Marketing), ItzCash said.

The company will be investing around Rs 12 crore this fiscal into its business, he said. Presently, there were one-lakh outlets of ItzCash and this was being proposed to be increased to 10-lakh outlets by 2010, Mr Shrivastava said.

There are 3,000 dedicated franchisees presently, which would be increased to 5,000 by FY-08, he added.

"ItzCash is a multi-purpose pre-paid card, easy to acquire and use at no additional cost. There are new payment options for transactions viz., Internet, SMS and telephone. It is used for transactions with affiliated merchants," he said.

"The only service tax to be paid by the customers is for railway tickets, around 1.5 per cent," he said. The company has tied-up with around 3,000 Web site merchants, he added.

The services offered and current merchants are for shopping, prepaid cards, travel, utility bills payments, mobile services, donations, insurance, matrimonials, entertainment, education, books and periodicals, gaming and others, he said

Madhucon Projects board recommends 30% dividend

Madhucon Projects Ltd has informed the BSE that the board at its meeting held on July 30 has recommended 30% dividend for the year 2006-2007 to the shareholders for consideration and approval

Texmaco to consider merger on Aug 14

Texmaco Ltd has informed the BSE that a meeting of the board of directors of the company will be held on August 14 to consider and approve the ratio of merger in respect of merger of three companies - Neora Hydro Ltd., Shree Export House Ltd., an d Evershine Merchants Pvt Ltd - with itself.

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