German truck maker Daimler AG has unveiled plans to use India as a base for exports to Asia and Africa.
Daimler India’s plant in Oragadam, an industrial hub near Chennai, produces the BharatBenz range of trucks for the domestic market. These will be rebadged and exported under the Fuso umbrella to over 15 markets, starting with Sri Lanka in June and followed by Bangladesh, Zambia, Kenya and Brunei later this year.
The Fuso brand of trucks, owned by Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC), is sold in over 150 markets worldwide.
MFTBC is a member of the Daimler Trucks division of Daimler AG, which owns 89.29 per cent stake in the corporation.
Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV) will aid MFTBC in Kawasaki, Japan, to service the demand in the Asian and African regions, by producing its own portfolio of Fuso trucks in Chennai.
Initially, the Fuso trucks manufactured in Chennai comprise five models – medium/heavy duty (25-49 tonnes) and light/medium duty (9-16 tonnes).
Indian steel giant, Tata Steel Limited, posted its biggest quarterly loss ever as a result of weakness in the European market.
It made a loss of Rs 65.29 billion ($1.2 billion) in the January-March 2013 period, from a profit of Rs 4.33 billion a year earlier.
The Mumbai-headquartered company warned that demand in Europe is expected to remain “severely depressed” for some time.
Last week, it had announced a $1.6-billion writedown on the value of its European assets but said that it expected to take no further charges in the region and has put no European assets up for sale.
Investors and analysts believe Tata Steel should focus on its high-margin India operations, where its costs are far lower.
The firm also announced that it would not proceed with a planned $5 billion steel plant in Vietnam.
Tata Steel, which had paid $13 billion for Anglo-Dutch steelmaker Corus in 2007 to set up base in Europe, has been forced to cut jobs and production to cope with the sluggish global steel market.
Essar Projects (India) Limited, the unlisted engineering and construction arm of the $27-billion Essar group, has bagged three new orders overseas worth a total of $80 million.
One of the key contracts is from Takreer for a Spent Caustic Treatment Plant of 3.6 cubic meter per hour capacity at Abu Dhabi Refinery, Essar said in a statement.
Takreer is a prominent oil refining company regionally and internationally, contributing strongly to the rapid growth of the UAE economy, the statement added.
Merichem Process Technologies, Houston, is the technology partner for the project and the contract is to be completed in 27 months.
It has also secured a contract from Samsung Engineering, Korea for Civil Works for the Carbon Black & Delayed Coker (CBDC) Project for the Ruwais refinery, which is to be completed in 22 months.
The third contract is from GS Engineering, Korea for construction of twin inter refinery pipelines (IRP), which will be completed in eight months.
According to the company, mobilisation activities for all these contracts are underway. Essar Projects, is a leading engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) company headquartered in Dubai and offers EPC expertise in various sectors including oil and gas, ports and marine, power, mines and has a presence in over 20 countries.
Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) and BP have got the official Indian government nod to pump in over $1 billion into the KG basin in India.
RIL had made an application for three satellite discoveries to be declared viable back in February 2010.
RIL-BP will now have to drill the wells for an appraisal of sustainable production levels of the satellite finds.
Once the finds are declared commercial, RIL-BP can piece together an integrated development plan for the three together with 13 other discoveries.
RIL is the operator of the KG-D6 block with 60 per cent stake while BP has a 30 per cent interest. Niko Resources of Canada has the remaining 10 per cent stake.
With gas output at three currently producing fields of D1, D3 and MA in the KG-D6 block halving to about 29 million cubic meters a day in the past two years, RIL and its partner BP have pinned hopes on developing satellite fields to reverse the trend.
RIL and the UK oil major had struck up an estimated $7.2-billion deal last year for the joint exploration of the basin, off the coast of Andhra Pradesh.
Japan’s Mitsubishi-Hitachi Metals Machinery Inc. has acquired casting machine supplier Concast India Limited (CIL) to expand its business and capture the Indian metal-making machinery market.
The deal will help Mitsubishi get access to the casting technology of both round billets and slabs of CIL, which it currently does not have, as well as better access to the Middle East and African markets where the Indian firm has good presence.
The financial details of the deal have not yet been released.
Mumbai-based CIL was established in 1973 and has a strong market position for billets and rounds and exports to more than 30 countries.
Mitsubishi-Hitachi Metals Machinery was founded in 2000 and is part owned by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Hitachi. The company manufactures steel and iron production machinery and its products include hot rolling, cold rolling and processing line products.
The consumption of steel and iron is expected to increase in India with government pushing for infrastructure development on a mega scale.
Companies in India and China have clinched as many as 20 trade pacts adding up to around $1.5 billion as a result of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s historic India visit this week.
Essar Energy led the deal sheet with a $1-billion loan agreement with China Development Bank and PetroChina International, as was forecast prior to the visit.
The loan pact with Chinese banks will be backed by the supply of refined products from Essar Oil's Vadinar refinery in Gujarat. It is along the lines of an export advance, which Essar will use to cut its debt.
Of the 20 MoUs signed, as many as 18 involve purchasing raw/finished materials between the partners.
Among them is a $72.5-million financing agreement between Vedanta chief Anil Agarwal promoted SDP Services and the China Development Bank Corporation.
Reliance Industries has also signed two agreements with Chinese companies to sell salt and other materials worth $77 million to China Slat Import and Export Co. and the Sumstar Group.
India’s Lupin Pharma has signed an agreement to sell active pharmaceutical ingredients worth $17 million to China Meheco Corporation.
