Tata Chemicals acquires British Salt

Tata Chemical's UK subsidiary Brunner Mond on 20 December 2010 signed a binding agreement to acquire 100 per cent stake in British Salt. The acquisition is valued at Pound 93 million (approx Rs 660 crore). The deal is likely to be closed within the next 30-35 days. The acquisition is funded through debt finance against the assets, on a non-recourse basis by Tata Chemicals.

British Salt owns brine wells (saturated water, with large amounts of salt) in the UK, with a residual life of 50 years. The acquisition provides an opportunity to secure long-term brine supplies to Brunner Mond. British Salt's units are at Cheshire in Middlewich. It can produce 7,20,000 tpa of salt products.

Jindal's arm completes steel unit in Oman

Shadeed Iron and Steel Co. LLC, a subsidiary of Jindal Steel and Power, on 5 December 2010 commenced production of hot briquetted iron (HBI) at its Jindal Shadeed plant in Oman. The company has installed a 1.5-million tonne gas based HBI plant at the Sohar Industrial Port area of Sohar in Oman.   The facility is engineered by Kobe Steel (Japan) and Midrex (USA). The facility will support the strong demand for steel in the Middle East and North African countries.

NALCO selects RAK Minerals as partner

NALCO has selected UAE based RAK Minerals as JV partner for its Rs 18,000-crore aluminium-cumpower project in Indonesia. Other partners are likely to be finalised soon. NALCO will have majority stake in the JV.

The company proposes to set up 0.5 million tpa aluminium smelter and 1,250 MW captive thermal power plant in East Kalimantan. Work is to commence by June 2011.

Nalco's investment is likely to be 15 per cent of the total project cost, while the JV partners will fund 15 per cent and the remaining 70 per cent is to be amassed through loans.

Tata plans facility in ASEAN region

Tata Motors, the commercial vehicles manufacturer, plans to set up a commercial vehicles and bus building facility in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region.

The project is likely to entail an investment of Rs1,000-1,500 crore. As per sources, the plant may come up in Thailand or Indonesia. It is to have a minimum capacity of 50,000 units and will be set up in the next three years.

Bhushan Steel inks pact with Resource Generation

Bhushan Steel has inked a deal on 15 December 2010 with Australia based Resource Generation. As per the deal, Bhushan Steel would purchase 5,00,000 tpa of coal for the first five years of production from the Boikarabelo mine and a minimum 5,00,000 tpa for a further 15 years.

The company plans to diversify into power generation through its subsidiary Bhushan Energy. The supply of coal from Boikarabelo is targeted for the expansion of power generation capacity.

Hydroair, Kasturi plan JV plant in Nepal

Navi Mumbai's Hydroair Tectonic in JV with Nepal's Kasturi Trade Link has won the contract for setting up a waste recycling plant in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. An MoU was signed on 29 November 2010 between Hydroair and Nepal's local development ministry for a 20-year contract to be preceded by a DPR and an environmental impact assessment. The final contract is expected to be signed once the DPR is submitted.

The plant is likely to become operational in a span of two years.

Ashok Leyland opens assembly plant in Ras al Khaimah

Ashok Leyland, on 16 December 2010, opened its vehicle assembly plant at Ras al Khaimah in UAE. Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr Al Qasimi, UAE's Supreme Council Member and the Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, inaugurated the facility.

The plant involving an investment of $50 million (approx Rs 225 crore), is to have an initial annual capacity to assemble 1,000 buses of international styling, manufacture and quality. The plant will eventually be upgraded to a vehicle assembly plant (for trucks and buses) in the second phase.

ONGC bids for Exxon Mobil's stake in Angola oil block

ONGC has bid for US based Exxon Mobil's 25 per cent stake in a deep-sea oil block in Angola.

ONGC Videsh (OVL), ONGC's overseas arm, has submitted the bid. Block 31 is expected to produce 1,50,000 bpd of crude oil (7.5 million tpa). In all, 19 oil discoveries have so far been made in the block. British energy firm BP Plc is the operator of the sea block with 26.7 per cent stake.

Tata Steel may form partnership to bid for Riversdale

Tata Steel is considering partnering with NMDC or SAIL to make a counter bid for Australia's Riversdale Mining. This step could be taken in response to Rio Tinto's $3.5 billion (about Rs 15,750 crore) bid for Riversdale.

Tata Steel which owns 24 per cent in Riversdale may have to spend upward of $1 billion (approx Rs 4,550 crore) to raise its shareholding to a controlling 51 per cent.

Riversdale's assets include the Benga project and Zambezi project in Mozambique. In Benga, Tata Steel owns 35 per cent while Riversdale has the remaining 65 stake.

India mulls undersea power transmission project

The Union Government is planning to take up an undersea power transmission project with Sri Lanka. The 250-300 km power link, including submarine cables over a stretch of about 50 km, is to be jointly implemented by PGCIL and the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB). PGCIL will give the DPR to the Union Government within a month. The project cost is estimated at about Rs 4,000 crore.

The possible spot for this linkage is between Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu and Talaimannar in Sri Lanka. However, final decision of the exact route is yet to be taken. It is likely to transmit about 1,000 MW by the end of the 12th Five Year Plan period. The proposed project is expected to be implemented by 2014.