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Gokaldas plans manufacturing units in Hubli, Mangalore

Apparel exports major, Gokaldas Exports, is planning to set up manufacturing units at Hubli and Mangalore in Karnataka with a combined production capacity of four million garments a year.

The initiative was part of the Bangalore-based company's move to tap tier-II cities where the labour and rental costs were less, Mr Rajendra J Hinduja, Executive Director (Finance), Gokaldas Exports said here.

"Today, rentals in Bangalore are sky-high. It's Rs 15 per square feet (rent per month) for industrial sheds. Far too expensive. It should have been Rs 7-8 per square feet to sustain costs," he said.

The proposed Hubli and Mangalore units would each have a production capacity of two million garments a year. The company's annual total production capacity is 24 million garments.

Mr Hinduja said its manufacturing facility at Hyderabad would be commissioned in April.

Patel Engg Oct-Dec net profit rises 20%; shares up

Civil infrastructure firm Patel Engineering Ltd on Tuesday reported a 20 per cent rise in net profit for the quarter to December 31 on a strong order book.

Its revenues rose 20 per cent to Rs 260 crore, while net profit was Rs 35.03 crore.

"With several infrastructure projects expected to take off in the coming months, we continue to remain bullish on the business environment," said Mr Rupen Patel, Managing Director in a statement.

At the end of the quarter the company's outstanding order book stood at about Rs 5,500 crore. It also entered into a joint venture with Mauritius-based Sotravic Ltee for new orders worth $6 million, for the construction of sewerage and water supply works there, it said.

The expected order pipeline is in the region of Rs 6,000 crore, it added. The shares of Patel Engineering were trading up 0.6 per cent at Rs 1,004.95 in the Mumbai market after hitting a high of Rs 1,050 in intra-day deals.

Gitanjali spent Rs 100 crore on brand building, buys

Jewellery exporter Gitanjali Gems Ltd said on Tuesday that it has so far invested Rs 100 crore in brand building and buying Nakshatra brand and Brightest Circle Jewellery Pvt Ltd.

The company on Monday said it had bought Nakshatra brand from Diamond Trading Co., the rough diamond distribution arm of De Beers.

GE Shipping to sell dry bulk carrier

Great Eastern Shipping Co Ltd said on Tuesday that it has signed an agreement to sell a 73,350 dead-weight-tonne dry bulk carrier for an undisclosed sum.

The vessel, which joined the company's fleet in March 2007, would be delivered to its buyers in the first quarter of 2008-09, it said in a statement.

Great Eastern Shipping has a fleet of 47 vessels comprising 34 tankers and 13 dry bulk carriers.

Jaihind Projects bags addl orders from BRPL

Jaihind Projects Ltd has informed the BSE that the order value from BRPL (Stemcor group of U.K.) has increased from Rs 30.30 crore to Rs 52.78 crore, for executing pipeline for iron ore slurry for their tanto beneficiation plant to pellet plant a t Jajpur, Orissa.

Saregama forms jt venture with Australian company

City-based music company Saregama Ltd has formed a joint venture with an Australian media company, Regency, for large-scale manufacturing of VCDs and DVDs.

"We will take 25-26 per cent stake in the joint venture, which will have the manufacturing base in the city,'' Saregama Managing Director Subroto Chattopadhyay told PTI. He, however, did not give the quantum of investment in the venture.

The joint venture company, Saregama Regency Optimedia, is likely to start production by end of the current year. Regency Media has capability to produce 40 million DVDs and 25 million CDs.

Mr Chattopadhyay said the main purpose to tie up with the disc-major was to have some control in manufacturing. "We have a strong library of three lakh songs and 19,000 movies. To manage this mega catalog we should have some control on manufacturing cap ability,'' he said.

The project is likely to produce and replicate large-scale optical discs at competitive prices.

M&M to acquire Italian design house

Car maker Mahindra and Mahindra on Tuesday said it plans to acquire Italian auto design firm G R Grafica Ricerca Design Srl (GRD) for an undisclosed amount.

Through this acquisition, the company intends to develop a global design centre for the group and cater to the global auto original equipment manufacturers, M&M said in a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

"The synergies resulting from this acquisition will not only help us strengthen our existing design capabilities but will also help us emerge as a global auto design powerhouse," said M&M Automotive Sector President, Mr Pawan Goenka.

Complementary capabilities between Mahindra and GRD will enhance the product development capabilities and provide a strong European footprint to leverage technologies and skill sets through the available talent pool of designers and engineers, Mr Goenka added.

The company would incorporate a new subsidiary, Mahindra Graphic Research and Design, for acquiring the Italian firm, M&M said.

Goldiam Intl enters into contract for jewellery exports

Goldiam International Ltd has informed the BSE that its subsidiary companies, Goldiam Hong Kong Ltd, China and Goldiam Jewels Ltd, Mumbai have entered into a contract with Socotra Diamonds Ltd, Dubai, UAE for the export of jewellery worth $100,0 0,000.

The delivery will be made starting January 2, 2008 and until January 2, 2009.