Coal India opts out of DPSC race

Coal India (CIL) said that it is no longer interested in bidding for 57 per cent stake of Dishergarh Power Supply Company (DPSC) which had been put on the block by Andrew Yule.

A Coal India spokesman said the decision had been taken by the board of the PSU. He said that CIL had earlier expressed interest in DPSC because its subsidiary Eastern Coalfields (ECL) had been a major consumer of DPSC.

"We did not want to disturb the linkage to ECL in case there is a change in ownership. This is why we had expressed interest," the spokesman said.

But, CIL is of the view that there would be no disturbance in power linkage to DPSC irrespective of change in the ownership of the utility, whose command area included the coal belt in the Asansol-Ranigunj region.

The spokesman ruled out that the ongoing legal tangle was a cause for withdrawal.

CIL was among the 16 bidders for DPSC.

TCS wins contract from Infineon Technologies

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) a leading IT services, business solutions and outsourcing firm has bagged a multi-year contract from Infineon Technologies AG (IFX), a semiconductor manufacturer.

TCS will operate and maintain solutions for the Infineon’s Supply Chain Management (SCM). The Infineon SCM Planning operations will be operated out of Munich, Germany and Bangalore, India.

Infineon CVP IT & CIO, Michael Schmelmer said: “By focusing on cost effectiveness and customer satisfaction, TCS brings to the table a very compelling delivery model which meets Infineon objectives and provides an excellent opportunity for being a long term strategic partner for IFX”.

Carol Wilson, VP and Global Head, HiTech Industry Solutions Unit, TCS said: “TCS is strongly building on its footprint in Germany, and we are convinced that we will be able to help Infineon optimize their operations and achieve their corporate objectives.”

Indian copper consumption may double by '12

Domestic copper consumption is likely double by 2012 to 1.1 million tonnes on the back of increased demand from the power sector, said S K Sharma, vice-president, marketing, Hindalco Industries.

“As such, transformers and wire cables are going to be two major contributors to the domestic copper demand,” Sharma said.

Sharma sees domestic demand for refined copper at 0.4 million tonnes in 2008-09 (April-March).

A sharp fall in copper prices in the last few months has led to an increased domestic demand for refined copper this year, he said.

Local copper prices have plunged nearly 50 per cent to current levels in line with global prices.

At 2:19 pm, MCX April copper contract was at Rs 189.95 per kg, down 2.02 per cent from Saturday’s close.

“Domestic copper producers are concentrating on local (copper) demand than exports this year (2008-09) as the prices have fallen sharply,” he said.

He was speaking at Metals Outlook & Market Trends conference held in Mumbai on Saturday.

Sharma further said that local demand had picked up recently mainly because users of recycled copper had started using refined copper.

On exports Sharma said, “Of the total production this year, domestic consumption would be around 70 per cent and the balance would be exports”.

In 2007-08, exports were around 52 per cent of the production, while domestic demand was around 48 per cent.