First time, an Indian court revisits a patent office order.
A segment of drug companies such as tablet and capsule makers may benefit from the government's move to review polluting status of these companies, which may help them save costs on pollution control equipment.
Ranbaxy, Dr Reddy's and other Indian drug makers may cut production as overseas buyers, hurt by the credit crunch, defer export orders. The move could also lower the country's drug exports by at least 10 per cent in the year ending March 2010, industry experts say."Many of our members have been intimated by their importers to stop shipments until further notice," said Venkat Jasti, chairman, Pharmaceutical Exports Promotion Council.
Leading power players Reliance Infrastructure and GMR Energy believe this will help ensure coal availability for their mega projects in the pipeline. "They have various proposals on their table, which are relatively cheaper when compared to the scene before the beginning of the financial crisis. However, the acquisitions will depend on the ability of the acquirers to raise funds as the banks have stopped lending at cheaper rates," said a source.
Ben Verwaayen, CEO, Alcatel-Lucent, does not consider India as a low-cost destination. Rather he does not like to use the word offshore in the context of India. "If it is just about cost then I would not have been in India but to some other low-cost country. For me, India is a high talent country," he adds. As the person who was heading British Telecom's operations before taking over Alcatel-Lucent, he has pushed over a billion dollar of outsourcing work to India.
The IT industry, which has already taken a hit of more than Rs 500 crore in the second quarter because of the appreciating dollar against the rupee, will now be hit by adverse cross-currency movements even as they attempt to boost the share of revenue from the UK and the Eurozone. Unfortunately, the hit will be despite attempts by software makers to step up hedging in the pound and the euro. The IT industry earns about 60 per cent of its revenue from the US.
Industry insiders as well as sector experts said that companies are unlikely to miss this opportunity to rationalise bloated boom-time salaries.
The steel plant will be closed down in 25 days unless an investor takes it over, operative executive director of the Bulgarian metallurgic enterprise Plamen Stoyanov told the Bulgarian media. Bulgaria's biggest steel plant has already shut down some of its production facilities, including two of its blast furnaces, and plans to stop operations completely by the end of this month.
The move, which comes in the backdrop of a global slowdown, aims to improve profit margin amid falling demand for polyester products worldwide. "The company has shut down plants for manufacturing polyester filament yarn, polyester staple fibre, paraxylene, purified terephthalic acid and linear alkyl benzene. However, it is yet to close down the second units of PSF and PFY," sources said.
In fact, firms like NIIT Technologies and EXL Services are already reaping the benefit of the first- mover advantage with over 20 per cent of their revenues coming from non-linear business in the quarter ended September 30. A non-linear business' focus moves away from the tendency to measure growth on the basis of headcount or the concept that the more the number of people working, the more the revenue.
Drug major Wockhardt has challenged the US patent of Stalevo, a new generation combination drug for the treatment of Parkinson's disease, originated by Finland-based Orion Corporation and marketed by Novartis.
The company is in advanced stages of negotiations with a UPS manufacturer each in Europe and China and the deal may come through within a few months, said Mithun Chittilappalli, executive director, V-Guard. At present, the company manufactures only online UPS, targeted at domestic users of computers and electronic gadgets, which contribute only 5-6 per cent to its around Rs 300-crore (Rs 3-billion) turnover.
The promoter group companies controlled by Anil Ambani are expected to buy R-Infra shares from the open market. "The promoters want to control the majority stake in the company to ward off any hostile attack, when corporate rivalry heightens in the country. As the share price of R-Infra is cheaper around Rs 400, the promoters feel that the purchase of shares from the open market would be profitable, boosting the confidence of the shareholders in turn," said sources.
India's mid-cap software companies may shed as much as 10 per cent of their workforce as revenues and margins have shrunk owing to a global slowdown, analysts say.
MSD Pharmaceuticals, the wholly-owned subsidiary of US-based multinational drug company Merck, has chartered an ambitious growth plan to emerge as one of the top five pharmaceutical companies in India. The Merck subsidiary has plans to step up its research and clinical trial programmes in India, mainly in association with hospitals and universities.
Indian clean technology businesses are finally catching the attention of investor community. New Ventures India - founded by World Resources Institute and CII-Godrej Green Business Centre - aims to fund 50 entrepreneurs in this segment by 2010 with a target investment of $250 million
Anil Ambani-promoted Reliance Power (R-Power) has signed a supplementary power purchase agreement (PPA) with fourteen buyers from seven states for its upcoming 4,000-MW ultra mega power project (UMPP) in Sasan.
Karl-Ludwig Kley, chairman of the executive board, Merck, spoke to Business Standard about the company's plans and how it is weathering the global financial crisis.
Stringent regulatory norms and the financial impact of the global credit crisis on some research companies may hurt half a dozen molecules of Indian companies, such as Glenmark, Nicholas Piramal and Ranbaxy Laboratories, that are close to launch, experts and analysts said.
Apart from the embarrassment, these "crazy blogs" - as companies term them - force India Inc to spend crores of rupees to repair the damage.
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