| Vijaya
Bank plans China ops |
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Bangalore-based Vijaya Bank
plans to enter the booming Chinese market as part
of its efforts to go global.
Encouraged by growing Sino-India
trade, several Indian banks including State Bank
of India (SBI), Bank of India, Bank of Baroda
and ICICI Bank have already opened representative
offices in China. SBI is slated to start retail
business in Shanghai later this year.
India-Sino bilateral trade
has risen from $ 3.5 bn in 2001 to $ 13.6 bn in
2004. Experts estimate the figure to touch $ 20
bn by 2008. With a number of Indian companies
setting up representative offices in China, the
business opportunities for Indian banks are also
on the rise.
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| Spirent
launches Indian subsidiary |
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| Spirent Communications,
provider of testing and measurement systems and
tools for communications industry, recently announced
the launch of its wholly-owned subsidiary in India-
Spirent Communications India Pvt Ltd.
To be based in
Bangalore, the Company has made an investment of
nearly a million dollars and plans on an additional
$ 2 mn spend over the next three months in areas
of infrastructure and product support.
Driving
Spirent’s expansion plans are India’s
dynamic growth in the communications industry and
the emergence of next generation technologies such
as VoIP, VPNs, 3G wireless, IPv6 and Wi-Fi.
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| Intel
sets up circuit research lab in Bangalore |
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| Leading global
chipmaker, Intel, recently set up a circuit research
lab at its technology development facility in Bangalore.
This is the first of its kind outside Oregon, US,
serving to endorse Intel’s commitment towards
its India Centre. The Company has also commenced
its 'Fellow in Residence' programme in the country.
Circuit research
is at the core of Intel's technology. Last year,
a microprocessor technology lab was set up at Intel
India Development Centre (IIDC) to focus on circuit
prototyping. This has now been extended to cover
circuit research - a constant process of making
smaller transistors with higher performance.
The next generation
Zeon processors and chip sets for mobile platforms
are also being developed at IIDC.
The Company
is also scanning the Indian resource pool for the
Intel Fellow in Residence programme at IIDC. An
Intel Fellow marks the highest grade in the technical
ladder within Intel, with just about 50 Intel fellows
among its 80,000 plus staff force.
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| Elf
Gas opens unit in Bangalore |
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| Elf Gas India
Ltd (EGIL), a fully-owned subsidiary of TOTAL S
A, which is among the top five oil companies in
the world, opened its Auto LPG Dispensing station
in Bangalore.
The outlet is
the first private sector LPG dispensing station
that has come up as a joint effort between Elf Gas
India and Dars Automobiles Inc., the company's dealer.
EGIL commenced
operations in India with its brand name "Elf
Auto LPG" in September 2003 at Kozhikode in
Kerala, Followed by a second outlet at Tirupathi
in Andhra Pradesh. The Bangalore outlet is its third.
The company plans
a series of openings with 10 outlets in Bangalore
and an equal number elsewhere in Karnataka and a
total of 50 in the south region in the next few
years.
Headquartered
in Bangalore, EGIL is engaged in the business of
import, storage, bottling, distribution and marketing
of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), with its own import
and storage facilities at Mangalore. |
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| BHP
set to pump in $1b |
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| The world’s
largest mining company, BHP Billiton is looking
at tapping India’s bauxite resources. The
Australian mining giant plans to acquire bauxite
mines and set up an aluminum plant in Orissa, at
an estimated cost of over $1 bn.
Together with
South Korea’s steel maker Pohang Steel Company
(Posco), BHP envisages a $12 bn iron ore and steel
project in Orissa that will involve setting up of
12 mn tonne steel manufacturing facilities, along
with 600 million tonne of iron ore mining.
BHP already has
a presence in India through a joint venture agreement
with the Steel Authority of India. The JV will jointly
develop iron ore mines in India and coal mines in
Australia. |
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