TRADEWINDS
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AUSTRIA
India, Austria sign S&T agreement |
An agreement on scientific & technological cooperation between India and Austria was signed by Austrian Minister of Science & Technology Dr. Johannes Hahn and Mr. Kapil Sibal, Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences on 30th November 2007 as a follow up to the deliberations in the Joint Economic Cooperation (JEC) held in New Delhi in 2007 and further to the Agreement on Infrastructure Cooperation in the health sector that was signed earlier.
The Agreement provides for exchange of scientific and technological information, documentation and publications, exchange of scientists and experts and implementation of bilateral-projects of mutual interest. The Agreement also provides for exchange of scientists and experts for consultations, symposia and special studies, support to joint scientific- technological events and other scientific programmes such as joint workshops, seminars. The Indo-Austrian Joint Committee shall be set up for scientific and technological cooperation. The joint committee would finalize areas of cooperation and periodic working programme of cooperation specifying collaborative activities for the future.
Under this Agreement, both sides will encourage and support the development of direct scientific-technological cooperation between national institutions, Academies of Sciences, schools of higher education, research centers for science and technology and other institutions.
Network Programs signs MoU with SteamUnlimited
Network Programs (India) Ltd. (NPI), announces inking of a Memorandum of Understanding with StreamUnlimited, an innovative developer of audio and video technology and applications providing both companies the opportunity to share resources, utilize each other’s technology expertise, and jointly deliver value to customers. Based in Austria, Stream Unlimited has 25 highly technical employees with experience in advanced streaming technology, including networked embedded software, testing and release, and electronics engineering. This MoU is particularly significant for Network Programs as it provides a channel partnership in Europe, while StreamUnlimited expands its marketing capacity in India, Japan and the United States.
RITES signs MoU with Siemens
An MoU was signed between RITES Ltd and Siemens Ltd, India for the development and production of rail bogies on 10th December 2007. As part of Austrian plan of investment in India, one of its leading companies, Siemens Transportation System decided to join with the Indian public sector, RITES in production of railway wagons.
The MoU between the two parties was signed in the presence of visiting Austrian Minister of Economics and Labour, Martin Bartenstein. The Euro 30 million wagon production project would be ready for delivery by 2009. According to the MoU, 50% of the production would be for exports and the balance for domestic use.
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PANAMA
Panama Canal to add new lane |
Panama Canal Authority released its Request for Proposal on 21st December on the "design-build" contract for the new locks under the Canal’s Expansion Program. Four global consortia (Consorcio C.A.N.A.L.; Consorcio Atlántico-Pacífico de Panamá; Consortia Bechtel, Taisei, Mitsubishi Corporation; and Consorcio Grupo Unidos por el Canal) will now move forward with their bids on the largest and most important project under the US$5.25 billion expansion. The Expansion Program will build a new lane of traffic along the Panama Canal through the construction of a new set of locks, doubling capacity and allowing more traffic and longer, wider ships.
Despite increase in number of ships that transited through Panama Canal, there was a 4.9% reduction in the transit of bulk ships carrying steel, coal, grain and other heavy materials during January-October 2007. Nevertheless, the income of Panama Canal Authority increased by 12.6% during this period.
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GERMANY
Daimler AG forms joint venture with Hero Group |
Baden Württemberg-based commercial vehicle manufacturer, Daimler Trucks formed a joint venture with Hero Group for the production of trucks to be rolled out from end-2009 and expected to reach up to 80,000 trucks per annum by 2015. Both companies have signed a shareholders agreement on December 14, 2007. Daimler Trucks will have a majority equity participation of 60%, while Hero Group will hold 40%.
The joint venture is initially aimed for production of light-medium and heavy-duty commercial vehicles for the Indian market. Production for export markets is expected to follow at a later stage. Local manufacturing operations for special applications of Mercedes-Benz trucks and buses will continue at DaimlerChrysler India Pvt. Ltd. Daimler Trucks are currently present in India with local manufacturing operations of the Mercedes-Benz Actros in Pune. Daimler Buses also recently announced its plans to enter a co-operation with the Indian company Sutlej Motors Ltd and will begin production of Mercedes-Benz luxury coaches in the first quarter of 2008.
Daimler Trucks is a division of Daimler AG and is the world’s largest manufacturer of commercial vehicles. Daimler Trucks sold over 516,000 trucks worldwide and generated revenues of €31.8 billion in 2006. Hero Group is a multi-unit, multi-product conglomerate. The Hero Group’s joint venture with Honda - Hero Honda Motors Ltd - is the world’s largest motorcycle producer, and has put over 20 million motorcycles on Indian roads till date.
Bavaria continues to remain magnet for Indian Companies
Bavarian State Ministry for Economic Affairs, Infrastructure, Transport and Technology and its ‘Invest-in-Bavaria’ Office has, in a press release issued on 13 December 2007, said that Bavaria continued to be ‘‘a magnet for Indian companies.’’
More and more Indian companies from high growth and hi-tech sectors like IT, automotives, life sciences/bio-technology and pharmaceuticals totaling around 50 had decided on Bavaria as their business location in Germany. In 2007, nine Indian hi-tech companies had set-up branches and five had upgraded their investments in Bavaria. On the other hand, around 300 Bavarian companies had established their business presence in India, the release added.
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TUNISIA
Tunisia approves 5 Indian pharma companies |
Tunisian Ministry of Public Health has approved five Indian companies for submitting their dossiers for registration to export their products. They are: Shanta Biotechnics Ltd, Hyderabad; Aurobindo Pharma Ltd, Hyderabad; Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Goa; Cipla Ltd, Mumbai and Ranbaxy Laboratories, Gurgaon n
(Maps from worldatlas.com)
