| Temasek,
Merlion likely to pick up Punj Lloyd stake |
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After the pharma and BPO sectors,
international private equity funds are now looking
at domestic construction companies for large investments.
Singapore-based private equity
major Temasek Holdings and Merlion, a joint venture
fund floated by Standard Chartered Bank and Temasek,
are likely to acquire an equity stake in construction
major Punj Lloyd, with a total investment of about
US$ 44.4 mln
Punj Lloyd has about 8 SBUs
(strategic business units) and floats separate
SPVs (special purpose vehicles) for routing funds
for implementing each project.
Currently a family owned enterprise,
the exact percentage of equity stake being acquired
by the two funds, or whether the proposed investments
will be put in such SPVs or in the main company,
is not known.
Punj Lloyd is also a
major player in the hydrocarbon sector and has
constructed the Dabhol LNG project and the Dahej-Vijayanagar
LNG pipeline for Gail, among others. It has also
successfully bid for several projects overseas.
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| Temasek
Holdings, the Singapore government’s
investment arm, has been actively investing
in India, and is also eyeing investment
opportunities with ICICI
OneSource, ICICI’s
BPO venture (to the tune of US$ 25-30mln),
as well as Jet Airlines.
It
is also said to be joining hands with
the Reliance
group to launch a
US$ 200mln (close to Rs 1,000 crore)
Power Fund targeting various power projects
in the country. |
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| Adidas
plans to make India production hub |
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| Sportswear
multi-national Adidas is currently looking at India
as a global manufacturing hub, with plans to set
up a production facility for apparels in the country.
Christophe
Bezu, chief executive officer, marketing and sales
division, Asia Pacific, Adidas, suggested that a
decision towards the exact location of the centre
had not been taken but several locations in the
country had been short-listed.
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| “India
has a strong base for apparel manufacturing
and along with that there is a cost
advantage in manufacturing and exporting
products from India,” Andreas
Gellener, managing director, Adidas
India. |
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| While China
is currently the main procurement centre for the
Asia Pacific region, Adidas is revamping its marketing
strategy for India. It is planning to reinforce
its distribution network addressing issues related
to range management, asset management and company
structure, by setting up more outlets across the
country.
Adidas also plans
to segment its product range and introduce new 'localised’
models. They have in fact roped in cricket-star
Sachin Tendulkar to promote the Master Blaster range
of cricket shoes.
Other plans
for India include a recruitment drive to reinforce
the Adidas team in India.
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| Sara
Lee to enter Indian apparel mkt |
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| The $18.3
billion Sara Lee Corporation is all poised to enter
the Indian apparel market.
Sara Lee Apparel
(India), its wholly owned subsidiary (WOS), has
already introduced its biggest apparel brand of
men's innerwear, Hanes. Other brand names to appear
in the Indian market shortly include Hanes Her Way,
Champion, Playtex and WonderBra. With India emerging
as a strategic market for Sara Lee, Krishna Ramanathan,
country head & director, Sara Lee Apparel (India)
suggested that the rapidly evolving consumer and
the changing retail landscape were among the key
factors to consider.
In fact the men’s
innerwear market is estimated to be worth $560 mln
(Rs 2,500 crore), of which the branded market is
valued at $ 150 mln (Rs 700 crore) and is projected
to grow by 8 % per year.
The Hanes range
which has been designed specially for the Indian
market will also be locally manufactured. Other
plans for India include a sourcing set up within
the Indian arm to cater to its global apparel requirements.
Sara Lee is one
of the few companies that have adopted the WOS (direct
set up) route to start operations in the country.
Most apparel companies have entered India through
the brand franchisee route. Explaining this, Shishir
Babu, COO, Asia Business development stated that
a WOS allowed for better control of the business,
besides Sara Lee possessed enough capabilities to
manage it on their own.
In the
past however Sara Lee did partner with south India-based
TTK group for its home and body care business, which
it currently operates on its own and markets leading
brands like Kiwi shoe polish, AmbiPur and Brylcreem.
It also has a joint venture with the US$ 900 mln
Godrej group in the insect repellant category with
brands like Good Knight and Hit.
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