MPSEZ acquires Abbot Point Port

Mundra Port and Special Economic Zone (MPSEZ) has acquired Abbot Point Port in Australia in an all cash deal for Australian $1.8 billion (approx Rs 9,000 crore). The company expects to close the deal by June 2011. MPSEZ emerged as a successful bidder for the longterm lease of 99 years of Abbot Point X 50 Coal Terminal (APCT) following the international competitive bidding by the state of Queensland. MPSEZ will act as a property owner for the APCT, while the existing port operator, Xstrata, is likely to continue operations post-acquisition. The port currently has two fully mechanised berths capable to handle cape size vessels of over 2,00,000 tonne deadweight, while the company aims to add another two berths over a period of next five years.

ADAG to invest in Indonesia

The Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) has chalked out an investment plan for Indonesia. The Group is planning to invest $5-10 billion (approx Rs 22,500 crore - 45,000 crore) in various businesses in Indonesia. The investments will be made in sectors ranging from infrastructure, railways, power plants, mines, financial sector, and entertainment business. In 2010, Reliance Power, one of the Group companies, had acquired two coal companies in Indonesia, which own three mines in the country.

Dabur plans three new plants overseas

Dabur plans to pump in Rs 200 crore this fiscal to expand operations. The company will set up one plant each in South Africa, Kenya and Sri Lanka. The facility to come up in Sri Lanka is likely to make beverages. The company will set up a factory in Johannesburg (South Africa) and another in Nairobi (Kenya). These plants will produce personal care products for the local markets and are expected to start production by June 2012.

Jindal Steel to build DRI plant in Bolivia

Jindal Steel Bolivia (JSB), will build a 2.52 million tpa natural gas based MIDREX Direct Reduction Plant at EL-Mutun, Puerto Suarez, Bolivia, South America. Known as the Naveen Ultra Mega Mod DRI, it will feature the latest MIDREX Shaft Furnace innovations and will have the flexibility to produce both quality hot DRI and hot briquette iron for use in a new proposed greenfield meltshop. Iron ore and iron pellets will be supplied from JSB's EI Mutun Iron Ore Reserves in Bolivia.

Gravita plans projects in Saudi, South Africa

Gravita India plans to set up lead recycling plants in JV in South Africa and Saudi Arabia. The company has proposed to set up a 6,000 tpa lead recycling plant in Johannesburg and 7,200 tpa at Dammam in Saudi Arabia. Currently, the company is in the final stage of signing the deal with JV partners. Plans are afoot to set up manufacturing units in Australia, Belarus, Chile and Mexico with an outlay of about Rs 19 crore as well.

HNG buys German glass firm

Kolkata-based Hindustan National Glass & Industries (HNG) has acquired the assets of insolvent Germany-based Agenda Glass AG. The deal was signed on 11 May 2011 and the two companies agreed not to disclose the costs involved. Agenda Glass AG had a production capacity of 320 tpd of glass bottles for the alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage segment. The new company will be known as HNG Global GmbH, a fully-owned subsidiary of HNG.

RSB Transmissions' plant in Mexico

RSB Transmissions, has set up a new plant at Silao in central Mexico. The plant will entail an investment of $ 50-60 million (approx Rs 220-264 crore) over the next three years. The company also has 12 state-of-the-art manufacturing plants spread over seven locations in India and one each in the USA and Belgium.

Ruia Group acquires Turkey based company

The Ruia Group is likely to acquire a Turkey based automotive sealing manufacturing firm and has finalised acquisition of Standard Profil A.S. at an undisclosed price. A deal in this regard was signed with Turkey based Bancroft PE, on 10 May 2011. Standard has production facilities in Turkey, Bulgaria, South Africa and China.

Three companies bid for CIL's Mozambique contract

Mining Associates, Indu-CBS JV and Kartikeyan have bid for CIL's contract for exploring its Mozambique coal blocks. CIL is likely to award the contract by July 2011. Coal India Africana Limitada, had acquired A1 and A2 blocks in a global tender in August 2009. According to preliminary estimates, the two blocks in north-western province of Tete hold one billion tonne of coal. About 20 per cent of the reserve is expected to be coking coal and the remaining thermal coal. The company plans to import this to supplement domestic demand.