The group has earmarked over Rs 4,000 crore (Rs 40 billion) to acquire coal mines in foreign countries.
Gas production from the country's biggest gas block is less than a year away, but Reliance Industries (RIL), operator of the block in the Krishna-Godavari basin, and Reliance Natural Resources (RNRL), the biggest buyer of gas from the block, have not made headway on renegotiating the sales agreement.
Vodafone-Essar, the leading GSM operator is raising around $500 million (Rs 2,000 crore) through overseas borrowing. This is the first fund raising by the telecom major after British telecom major Vodafone acquired a majority stake.
Videocon Industries, the oil-to-consumer durables company, has joined the race for the acquisition of the London-based Burren Energy, which recently rejected several approaches including one worth $3.5 billion (Rs 14,000 crore) from the Italian major ENI.
The newly set up Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board has received over 100 applications from domestic and foreign companies interested in supplying gas to domestic households and vehicles in cities.
The country's second-largest government-owned oil and gas exploration company Oil India has qualified as a non-operator in the latest round of oil blocks auction in Libya.
Well, LIC, the government-owned insurer, is bailing out the financially-strapped oil marketing companies by buying up the oil bonds issued to them by the government, though at a discount.
With the rise of global crude oil prices - currently nudging $100 per barrel - the "losses" of the three government-owned oil marketing companies have gone up to a whopping Rs 240 crore (Rs 2.4 billion) per day.
The sharp rise in oil prices is threatening to derail not only the long-term expansion plans of government oil marketing companies, which control over 95 per cent of the market, but also their day-to-day operations.
RIL accounted for over a quarter of the country's LPG production of around 8.5 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) last year. Around 2.5 mtpa LPG - the only petroleum product in which India is not self-sufficient - was imported last year to meet the domestic demand of 11 mtpa. RIL is planning to cut LPG production at Jamnagar from 2.3 mtpa to around 1.6 mtpa from mid-2008 following the grant of export-oriented-unit (EoU) status to the refinery.
To extend its global footprint, GAIL India is likely to partner with China Gas in developing coal bed methane (CBM) in Mongolia. Moreover, Oman Oil is also expected to join them as an ally in the project.
Dubai Holding, an investment firm of the Dubai government, has threatened to come out with an open offer for Orient-Express Hotels if the Tata group acquires a significant stake in the hotel chain. This comes exactly a month after the Tata group's Indian Hotels Company bought 10 per cent and expressed interest in striking a deal which was turned down by Orient-Express.
The top slots at three Tata companies -- Tata Motors, Tata Steel and Tata Consultancy Services -- will be up for grabs in two years with incumbents Ravi Kant, B Muthuraman and S Ramadorai due to retire in 2009.
Interested parties are concerned about the possibility of 24 domestic banks and six financial institutions converting to equity Rs 1,480 crore worth of zero-coupon debentures to which they subscribed in 2002-03.
Even as the Bajaj imbroglio comes up for hearing before the Company Law Board (CLB) on October 23, there is every indication that this might turn out to be the longest-running family feud of all times.
RP Singh, managing director of Bharat Oman Refineries Ltd, the special purpose vehicle implementing BPCL Bina refinery, had told Business Standard in August that the company was in talks with strategic investors to sell 15 to 20 per cent stake.
The Rs 16,047-cr company has appointed public sector consultancy, Engineers India Ltd, to conduct feasibility studies for the plant with a capacity of 3 million tonnes a year that is likely to be set up near the gigantic South Pars gas field in Iran.
While the pipeline deal was seen as "done" two months ago, when the tri-lateral meeting took place in New Delhi, India is perceived to be dragging its feet on the project since then.
"Deora's ability to be a good listener, and his understanding of business, as he is an industrialist himself, helped the empowered group of ministers reach a decision that more or less has satisfied all parties," a senior official says.
Despite all its problems, V Thulasidas, head of the merged Air India-Indian Airlines, feels the elite cadre provides the most challenging environment.
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