Chemical Business Newsbase articles from April 2002

Chemical Business Newsbase archives from April 2002

Hospodarske Noviny: Cutisin cannot meet demand for food casings. [1 table].
April 10, 2002... Cutisin (Jilemnice, Czech Republic), artificial food casings manufacturer, cannot meet the growing demand of its customers in 2002. The demand is now increasing, having dropped consequent on the mad cow disease in 2001. In 2002 Cutisin plans...

Press Release: Generics boost Brazil pharmaceuticals industry growth.
April 9, 2002... Brazil's pharmaceuticals industry registered growth of 21.3% during Feb 2002, according to the Brazilian Census Bureau (IBGE). This marked the best performance by an individual industry in Feb 2002, when 12 of 20 segments surveyed by the...

Hospodarske Noviny: Ceska Rafinerska expects a decision on its new owner.
April 9, 2002... Ceska rafinerska (CER) (Litvinov, Czech Republic), petrol and diesel producer, is expecting a decision on the new owner of 51% of its shares. The shares are now held by the holding petrochemical company Unipetrol (Czech Republic). By end May...

Hospodarske Noviny: Peguform Bohemia to build a new plant in Nymburk.
April 9, 2002... Peguform Bohemia (PB) (Liberec, Czech Republic), plastic products company, plans to build a new CEK 600 M plant in Nymburk, Czech Republic, by 2003. From Aug 2003 the plant is to manufacture dashboards and accessories for a new model series...

Hospodarske Noviny: Avon Automotive takes over manufacturing from UK plants.
April 9, 2002... Avon Automotive (AA) (Rudnik, Czech Republic), rubber products company, is going on taking over manufacturing from its affiliated plants in the UK in 2002. Currently the firm is moving automotive hose manufacturing. Hoses are to compensate...

Hospodarske Noviny: Kastek UB saw an output of CEK 280 M in 2001.
April 9, 2002... Kastek UB (Uhersky Brod, Czech Republic), plastic products company, saw an output of CEK 280 M in 2001. The company focuses on the supplies of parts to the automotive industry. Its customers include the car companies Volkswagen (Germany),...

Gazeta Mercantil: European Union proposes new textile deal.
April 9, 2002... In Apr 2002 the European Union will submit a proposal to Brazil to bring forward a deal for the deregulation of the textile sector, which produced bilateral trade of US$400 M in 2001. The EU is prepared to withdraw its 10 import quotas, which...

Gazeta Mercantil: Petroflex turns first real profit in 10 years.
April 9, 2002... In Apr 2002 Petroflex, Latin America's leading synthetic rubber producer, celebrated 10 years as a private company by announcing an operating profit of R$13.7 M. This is the second profit reported by the company since it was acquired in 1992...

Gazeta Mercantil: Votorantim takes over management of Paraibuna.
April 9, 2002... In Apr 2002 Votorantim, the Brazilian group will take over the management of the zinc producer Paraibuna Metais. This company was acquired from Paranapanema, the Brazilian mining group, for US$105 M. Votorantim is active in the cement,...

Gazeta Mercantil: China-Brazil joint venture to build textile factory in Sao Paulo state.
April 8, 2002... At the beginning of Apr 2002 a document authorizing the construction of a textile factory in Novo Horizonte, Brazil, was signed by a delegation comprising Sao Paulo state mayors and the Chinese government. Negotiations with the Chinese...

Federal Register: Adjustment of an import limit for certain cotton textile products produced or manufactured in Qatar.
April 8, 2002... On 2 Apr 2002 the US Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements issued a directive to the Commissioner of Customs adjusting an import limit for certain cotton textile products produced or manufactured in Qatar and exported during...

Federal Register: Cotton shop towels from Pakistan: Preliminary results and partial rescission of countervailing duty administrative review.
April 8, 2002... The US Department of Commerce is conducting an administrative review of the countervailing duty order on certain cotton shop towels from Pakistan for the period 1 Jan 2000, through 31 Dec 2000. For information on the net subsidy for the...

Press Release: Roche HIV-1 PCR-based blood screening assay cleared for marketing in Italy.
April 8, 2002... Roche Diagnostics has received registration for its COBAS AmpliScreen HIV-1, v1.5 Test within Italy. This assay utilizes Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) technology, the worldwide leading Nucleic Acid Amplification Technology. Roche...

Press Release: Genencor to build clinical manufacturing facility for therapeutic proteins.
April 8, 2002... Genencor International Inc (Genencor) will build a biologics facility for the manufacture of human therapeutic proteins. The company has developed a robust pre-clinical pipeline and will build the facility to manufacture material for clinical...

Press Release: Wilex receives orphan drug designation in Europe for WX-G250.
April 8, 2002... Wilex AG announced that WX-G250 and WX-G250RIT, the unconjugated and the radiolabeled version of the chimeric IgG monoclonal antibody, have been granted orphan medicinal product designation by the European Commission following a favourable...

Press Release: Pharmaceutical Resources expands strategic product partnership with Merck KgaA.
April 8, 2002... Par Pharmaceutical Inc (Par), a subsidiary of Pharmaceutical Resources Inc, has entered into an agreement to expand its strategic product partnership with Merck KGaA. Under the terms of the agreement, Par has licensed from Merck KGaA the...

Press Release: InterMune licenses promising oral drug to expand anti-fibrotic franchise.
April 8, 2002... InterMune Inc has licensed worldwide rights, excluding Japan, Korea and Taiwan, to develop and commercialize pirfenidone for all fibrotic diseases, including renal, liver and pulmonary fibrosis. Pirfenidone is an orally active small molecule...

Press Release: GTC and Fresenius expand HSA marketing rights to Japan.
April 8, 2002... Genzyme Transgenics Corp (GTC) announced that Fresenius AG has exercised an option to gain additional rights to market recombinant human serum albumin (rhSA) in Japan. Fresenius has paid GTC $1.2 M for these rights in accordance with the...

Press Release: Connetics grants exclusive global licence to Novartis Consumer Health for Liquipatch Technology in antifungal applications.
April 8, 2002... Connetics Corp announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Soltec Research Pty Ltd (Soltec), a dermatology drug-delivery company, has expanded its exclusive global licence to Novartis Consumer Health SA (Novartis) to cover the Liquipatch...

Press Release: Barr receives final approval for generic Mircette oral contraceptive; company will launch product immediately under Kariva trademark.
April 8, 2002... Barr Laboratories Inc (Barr) announced that the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has granted final approval for its application to manufacture and market a generic version of Organon Inc's Mircette oral contraceptive. This product was a...

Press Release: Cholesterol in skin reveals heart disease risk.
April 8, 2002... Cholesterol in the skin on the palm of the hand can identify people at risk of heart disease, according to a new study presented at a scientific meeting sponsored by the American Heart Association. The study evaluated the predictive...

Press Release: Watson receives FDA approval for new indication and strength for Alora.
April 8, 2002... Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc (Watson) announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Watson's New Drug Application (NDA) and Supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for Alora (estradiol transdermal system). These...

Press Release: Berna and Iomai announce collaboration for patch delivery of vaccines.
April 8, 2002... Berna Biotech Ltd (Berna) and Iomai Corp announced collaboration for the development of vaccines for administration using a skin patch. The collaboration will pool Berna's expertise in the development of vaccines and novel adjuvants with...

Press Release: Agreement between Targacept Inc and Aventis Pharma for development of drugs to treat diseases of the central nervous system.
April 8, 2002... Targacept Inc announced the signing of a new collaborative research and licence agreement with Aventis Pharma to discover and develop drugs, derived from the Aventis Pharma library of compounds, for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease,...

Press Release: BASF innovative fibre combines comfort and greater fire safety for mattresses.
April 8, 2002... Leading suppliers of component materials for the mattress industry recently introduced new flame-resistant products containing Basofil fibre that provide effective resistance to open flames as well as sleeping comfort. These products made...

Press Release: ChevronTexaco Technology Ventures expands organizational capability in fuel cells and fuel processing.
April 8, 2002... ChevronTexaco Technology Ventures announced the acquisition of certain assets of Dais-Analytic Corp's fuel processing and fuel cell group by one of its units, Analytic Energy Systems LLC, a newly formed subsidiary of ChevronTexaco Corp. The...

Press Release: Independent tests validate SulphCo patented process for desulferizing crude oil.
April 8, 2002... SulphCo Inc announced that a recent independent test of its crude oil desulfurizing process provided conclusive proof that SulphCo's patented process effectively removes sulfur from petroleum oils. The tests were conducted by the testing...

Press Release: TAP Pharmaceutical Products receives FDA priority review for paediatric labelling of Prevacid.
April 8, 2002... TAP Pharmaceutical Products Inc (TAP) announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted a six-month priority review for the supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) submitted for labelling of Prevacid (lansoprazole) in the...

Press Release: Antisoma presents data showing Thioplatin active on cancer cells resistant to cisplatin.
April 8, 2002... Antisoma plc presented data at the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in San Francisco, CA, showing that Thioplatin possesses properties distinct from those of other platin drugs and shows promising activity on...

Press Release: Sheffield Pharmaceuticals receives $2.5 M of additional funding.
April 8, 2002... Sheffield Pharmaceuticals Inc (Sheffield) has received a total of $2.5 M of additional funding in separate transactions with two of its largest shareholders. Of this total, Elan Corp plc contributed $2 M and Zambon Group SpA contributed the...

Hospodarske Noviny: Setuza faces the danger of bankruptcy.
April 8, 2002... Setuza (Usti nad Labem, Czech Republic), chemicals and fat products company, is facing the danger of bankruptcy. The reason are the transactions with shares worth more than CEK 1 bn the company was forced to do by its chief shareholder, the...

Business Line: Sterlite Industries: Strong link in non-ferrous metal chain?
April 7, 2002... Sterlite Industries is focussing on its non-ferrous metals business after it hived off its telecommunications business into Sterlite Optical Technologies in mid-2000. The company has consolidated its position by acquiring 51% Government stake...

Business Line: Hind Copper seeks 30,000 tonnes copper concentrate.
April 7, 2002... Hindustan Copper Ltd has issued a global buy tender seeking 30,000 dry metric tonnes of copper concentrate at plus or minus 10% on both cif basis into Kandla or Haldia port.

Business Line: Lubricants: Slippery path ahead.
April 7, 2002... Several lubricant companies have realigned during 2001 to withstand severe competition rising due to sluggish market conditions. The global merger of Total of France with Elf and Petrofina of Belgium resulted in TotalFinaElf in India. These...

Business Line: Natural gas at market prices to power, fertilizer companies: Naik.
April 6, 2002... The Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Mr Ram Naik has stated that henceforth the feedstock - natural gas would be supplied to fertilizer and power companies at market rates and not at subsidised rates. This follows the decontrol of...

Business Line: Aurobindo buys Ranit Pharma.
April 6, 2002... Hyderabad-based, the Rup 10 bn pharma firm, Aurobindo Pharma Ltd (Aurobindo) has acquired the profit making Ranit Pharma Ltd, under the same management, for Rup 100 M. The board of Aurobindo has approved the proposal to acquire 6.897 M...

Business Line: Government invites bids for HCL disinvestment.
April 6, 2002... The Government of India has invited initial bids from interested parties to acquire the entire 98.5% stake of the Government and the management control in the loss making copper major Hindustan Copper Ltd (HCL). HCL, which recorded a turnover...

Business Line: IOC in talks with Japanese companies for $600 M DME plant.
April 6, 2002... Indian Oil Corp (IOC) is negotiating with three Japanese companies including Marubeni Corp to set up a $600 M, 1.8 M tonnes dimethyl ether (DME) plant in one of the gas producing West Asian countries. The DME produced is to be used as an...

Business Line: BIFR issues notice for wind-up of Madurai Cements.
April 6, 2002... The Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) has directed to issue a show-cause notice to wind up the ailing Madurai Cements Ltd. The Board had noticed that all the efforts to rehabilitate the company have failed despite...

Business Line: IOC tenders to sell naphtha.
April 6, 2002... Indian Oil Corp (IOC) has issued a sell tender for 25,000 tonnes of paraffinic naphtha with minimum 55% paraffin content. The bids are scheduled for 8-14 May 2002 lifting from Kandla.

Business Line: IOC: Puts-off crude buy tender.
April 6, 2002... Indian Oil Corp (IOC) has postponed the closing date for buying sour/sweet crude to 9 Apr 2002 from 3 Apr 2002. The crude, which was scheduled for Jun to Aug 2002 lifting, had sought cargoes of Middle east Dubai, Oman and Basrah Light grades...

Business Line: Kochi Refineries offers fuel oil.
April 6, 2002... Kochi Refineries Ltd will sell 25,000 tonnes of 380-centistoke grade fuel oil of not more than 2% sulfur content. This tender is scheduled for lifting from the southwest coast port of Cochin between 26 Apr 2002 and 30 Apr 2002.

Business Line: BPCL tenders to buy crude for Jun 2002.
April 6, 2002... Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) has issued a buy tender seeking Gulf of Suez Mix, Dubai, Masila, Upper Zakum and Murban for Jun 2002 lifting. The quantity involved is three to four cargoes of 500,000 bbls each of sweet and sour crude.

Chemisch2Weekblad: DuPont commissions supercritical Teflon plant.
April 5, 2002... DuPont has commissioned the first polytetrafluorethylene (PTFE, Teflon) production facility using supercritical carbon dioxide as solvent at Fayetteville, NC. The new process delivers a higher quality PTFE with less waste. The plant cost $40...

Hospodarske Noviny: Transgas to carry gas to western Europe after privatization too.
April 5, 2002... Transgas (Prague, Czech Republic), natural gas importing and carrying company, will go on carrying gas to western Europe after its privatization too. Within a tender, in Dec 2001 Transgas was acquired by RWE (Germany). Slovensky plynarensky...

Hospodarske Noviny: Agrofert to acquire SKW.
April 5, 2002... Agrofert Holding (AH) (Prague, Czech Republic), chemical and agricultural group, will acquire SKW (Peisteritz, Germany) in 1H 2002. AH, whose majority owner is Ameropa (Switzerland), will buy a 51% stake in SKW initially and will take full...

Dagens Industri: CellControl and BioInvent agreement on Phase III production of ACA-125 antibody.
April 5, 2002... BioInvent International AB and CellControl Laboratories AG have entered into an agreement for the large scale production of CellControl's ACA-125 antibody. This substance imitates the natural antigen CA 125 which occurs in 80% of all cases of...

Press Release: Thermogenesis Corp announces $7 M financing.
April 5, 2002... Thermogenesis Corp has completed a $7 M private placement of equity to support the pivotal human clinical trial in the US of its CryoSeal Fibrin Sealant (FS) System and new marketing initiatives for the CryoSeal FS System in Europe, Asia and...

Press Release: GTC buys back 2.82 M shares of stock from Genzyme Corp.
April 5, 2002... Genzyme Transgenics Corp (GTC) has purchased 2.82 M shares of GZTC common stock directly from Genzyme Corp. These shares had been assigned to the Genzyme General division. GTC purchased the shares for an aggregate consideration of about $9.6...

Press Release: Aptus and Array BioPharma announce drug discovery collaboration; small molecule drug discovery agreement targets GPCRs.
April 5, 2002... Aptus Genomics Inc (Aptus) and Array BioPharma Inc announced a drug discovery collaboration agreement to create small molecule therapeutics against select G-Protein Coupled Receptor (GPCR) targets. Under the terms of the agreement, Aptus...

Press Release: Corgenix withdraws application for rheumatoid arthritis test clearance - will emphasize programme for liver disease.
April 5, 2002... Corgenix Medical Corp announced that after discussions with the FDA, it has decided to withdraw its application to obtain market clearance of a diagnostic test, which measures levels of hyaluronic acid (HA) in patients with rheumatoid...

Press Release: DAKO and Bayer announce worldwide distribution agreement for oncology serum assays.
April 5, 2002... DAKO A/S and Bayer Corp acting through its Business Group Diagnostics, announced the execution of a global distribution agreement for the oncology-related serum assays in the microtiter plate ELISA format. These tests are designed to aid...

Press Release: FDA grants approval to market SecreFlo for pancreatic assessment.
April 5, 2002... Repligen Corp announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted approval to market SecreFlo (synthetic porcine secretin), the first synthetic version of the hormone secretin. SecreFlo has been approved for stimulation of...

Press Release: DeveloGen announces support of diabetes research by the European Commission.
April 5, 2002... DeveloGen announced that the European Commission has supported the Growbeta project, with a contribution of up to EUR 1.8 M. The Growbeta diabetes project consists of a research consortium established to explore new mechanisms that may lead...

Press Release: Bespak and LyfjathrUun Biopharmaceuticals announce partnership in nasal drug delivery research and development.
April 5, 2002... Bespak has successfully reached the next stage of its strategy for nasal drug delivery through the signing of a Partnership Agreement with LyfjathrUun Biopharmaceuticals (LyfjathrUun), the leading Icelandic drug delivery company. The...

Press Release: Regent Group Inc announces the change of its name to Millennium Biotechnologies Group Inc and the reverse split of its common stock.
April 5, 2002... Regent Group Inc changed its name to Millennium Biotechnologies Group Inc, reverse split its common stock on a one for twelve basis, and converted all of its series D preferred shares into common stock, effective 1 Apr 2002. As a result of...

Press Release: Innovative playing surface helps make soccer safer for children, and the pros - new use of BASF Plastic makes a 'Cool' product that can reduce injuries.
April 5, 2002... Studies show that contact with the playing surface is one of the most common sources of injury in soccer. The new artificial playing surface uses an expanded polypropylene plastic (EPP) made by BASF Corp that can reduce leg stress and contact...

Press Release: Cytodyne Technologies makers of No 1 diet supplement, launches ephedrine-free Xenadrine-EFX.
April 5, 2002... Cytodyne Technologies, makers of the No 1 selling diet supplement, Xenadrine RFA-1, announced the introduction of an ephedrine-free formulation called Xenadrine-EFX. The new formula is based on the latest research into a new generation of...

Press Release: Premcor Inc announces plans to restructure.
April 5, 2002... Premcor Inc announced a restructuring of its St Louis based general and administrative functions. Chairman, chief executive officer and president of Premcor announced plans for the restructuring to the 273 employees at Premcor's St Louis...

Press Release: MelTec Partners with MyoContract to develop therapeutics for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.
April 5, 2002... MelTec GmbH, a functional proteomics company, and MyoContract Pharmaceutical Research Ltd (MyoContract) announced a collaboration agreement in the field of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), a form of progressive muscle wasting. The...

Press Release: First Genetic Trust and nTouch Research announce agreement to speed pharmacogenomics discovery and genetics-based clinical trials.
April 5, 2002... First Genetic Trust Inc (FGT) and nTouch Research Corp announced the formation of an alliance to advance the discovery and development of a new generation of pharmaceutical products that are matched to individual patients' genetic make-up, an...

Press Release: BASF ECO(2) product development initiative harmonizes economy, ecology approach and automotive applications reviewed at EnvironDesign 6 Conference.
April 5, 2002... According to Mr Frank E McKulka, the Executive Vice President, BASF Corp, BASF's ECO(2) product development initiative harmonizes economic and ecological considerations to bringing innovative products, technologies and systems to the...

Press Release: Metals USA announces divestitures.
April 5, 2002... Metals USA Inc, a metals distributor and processor headquartered in Houston, TX, is selling 11 business units, with 2001 gross revenues of about $390 M, to help the company become more strategically focused and reduce bank debt. These...

The Hindu: Drive against thin plastic bags.
April 5, 2002... The Karnataka Pollution Control Board is likely to introduce a penalty of up to Rup 100,000 or sentenced imprisonment for 5 years, for the usage of recycled plastic carry bags of less than 20 microns thick in Bangalore. This follows a...

Business Line: Sterlite signs HZL deal; open offer by 9 Apr 2002.
April 5, 2002... Sterlite Industries (Sterlite) has acquired the Government of India's 26% stake in Hindustan Zinc Ltd (HZL) along with the management control for Rup 4.45 bn. The Government, HZL and Sterlite signed the shareholders agreement along with the...

Business Line: RIL raises polyester, polymer prices.
April 5, 2002... Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has increased the prices of polymer, polyester and fibre intermediates by 5-16% in line with the current trend in global prices. Effective 1 Apr 2002, RIL has increased the prices of: polyester staple fibres...

Business Line: FIPB grants Pfizer more time to set up wholly owned arm.
April 5, 2002... The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) has granted a one-year extension to the US-based Pfizer Corp to set up a 100% subsidiary - Pfizer Corp Pvt Ltd in India. The US company will have to infuse $1 M in the new company before the...

Business Line: Dr Reddy's mum on Sanofi's plaint.
April 5, 2002... Dr Reddy's Laboratories Ltd (Dr Reddy's) has refused to comment on the charge levelled by Sanofi-Synthelabo SA (Sanofi) - that Dr Reddy's had filed an application to manufacture a generic version of Plavix - Sanofi's blood clot drug. Dr...

Business Line: SPIC seals debt recast deal.
April 5, 2002... Southern Petrochemicals Industries Corp (SPIC) is likely to save Rup 600 M on interest payment in the next couple of years following the signing of a debt restructure plan with a consortium of bankers. As per the scheme, SPIC would pay a...

Business Line: Finolex Industries promoters hike stake in 18.06%.
April 5, 2002... The promoters of Finloex Industries increased their stake by about 3% to 18.06% by acquiring about 20 M shares at Rup 554 M in a buyback programme that ended on 2 Apr 2002. The buyback has also resulted in Finolex Cables Ltd and other...

Business Line: Kesoram Industries issue gets 'Ind D1+'.
April 5, 2002... The Rup 400 M commercial paper programme of Kesoram Industries Ltd has been affirmed 'Ind D1+' rating by Fitch Ratings India Pvt Ltd. The rating reflects the excellent liquidity factors of the company, which is into tyres, cement and rayon.

Business Line: BPCL tenders to sell naphtha.
April 5, 2002... Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd has issued a sell tender for 25,000 tonnes of high aromatic naphtha. The parcel is for 25-28 Apr 2002 lifting from Mumbai.

The Star (Malaysia): Sharp decline seen in global palm oil stocks for 2002; uncertainty prevails in Chinese imports.
April 5, 2002... The world palm oil stocks are expected decrease by 600,000 tonnes to 3.26 M tonnes for Jan-Sep 2002 (3.81 M tonnes in Jan-Sep 2001). The reduction in stock is likely due to the downward trend in the biological yield cycle of palm trees and...

The Star (Malaysia): Need for more emphasis on biotech research.
April 5, 2002... Malaysia has a great potential in the biotechnology field and must utilise the talents and capabilities of people by emphasising and funding on research, according to the Singapore-based BioEnterprise Pte Ltd. The growth in this $50 bn...

Neue Zuercher Zeitung: Schweizerhall is consistently restructuring. Sale of US activities. Transformation into holding company. [1 table].
April 4, 2002... Swiss Schweizerhall Group in Basel is consistently restructuring and will concentrate on chemicals activities and financial shareholdings. Recent sales are discussed. Schweizerhall recently sold the loss-making subsidiary Schweizerhall...

Hospodarske Noviny: Pharmos to raise stock.
April 4, 2002... Pharmos (Ostrava, Czech Republic), pharmaceutical distributor, plans to raise its stock by CEK 37.7 M from CEK 48 M to CEK 85.7 M in 2002. The stock increase will be on the agenda of the extra general assembly on 26 Apr 2002. The assembly has...

Hospodarske Noviny: Saudi Basic Industries to buy a unit from DSM.
April 4, 2002... Saudi Basic Industries (Sabic) (Saudi Arabia), petrochemical company, will buy the petrochemical unit of its rival DSM (Netherlands) in 2002. All the transaction will cost EU 2.25 bn. Sabic, the largest petrochemical producer in the Near...

Hospodarske Noviny: British Petroleum to supply liquefied natural gas to China. [1 table].
April 4, 2002... British Petroleum (UK), petroleum company, will supply liquefied natural gas to China from 2006. The company is also preparing the expansion of its petrol-stations network in Russia and the exploitation of crude oil from the Caspian Sea in...

Business Line: Asian Paints eyes buys; 'talking to Snowcem'.
April 4, 2002... Asian Paints Ltd, which has over 40% share in the Rup 45 bn Indian paint market, is reportedly negotiating with Snowcem India Ltd (Snowcem) with a view to acquire it. Asian Paints, with a 12,000 dealer-network, is keen on value acquisitions,...

Business Line: RIL not to be disqualified from IPCL bidding.
April 4, 2002... The Union Minister for Disinvestment has stated that Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) will not be prohibited from bidding for stake in IPCL or any other PSU. This follows, as the CBI charge sheet against RIL under the Official Secrets Act does...

Business Line: New system to avoid unfair bidding by PSUs.
April 4, 2002... The Government of India proposes to set up a mechanism to avoid unreasonable bidding by public sector units (PSUs) during privatisation of oil PSUs like Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL). This is being...

Business Line: 'No rationale in IOC bid for HPCL, BPCL'.
April 4, 2002... The Disinvestment Ministry has opined that it is rational to impose the ban on Indian Oil Corp (IOC) from bidding for HPCL and BPCL. According to the Ministry, in the post-APM era, the move would create a healthy competition between private...

Business Line: HPCL sells aromatic naphtha.
April 4, 2002... Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL) has sold via tender 30,000 tonnes of low aromatic naphtha to a western trader for 20-24 Apr 2002 lifting from Vizag. The parcel was sold at premiums of about $6/tonne to Middle East spot naphtha quotes on a...

Business Line: BPCL tenders to buy spot crude.
April 4, 2002... Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) has issued its first buy tender for 500,000 to 1 M bbls/month of low and high sulfur spot crudes from all over the world. The tender covers the period from Jul 2002 - Mar 2003 for crude grades such as Gulf of...