MONEYMAKERS
DIVIDING WORKS: Dabur India Ltd plans to spin off its oncology and food divisions into separate companies. Anand Burman, deputy managing director of Dabur India, says, the company now wants to focus on these sectors. "We do not want to mix too many businesses together. The marketing and distribution efforts required for food and oncology products is different from other Dabur products." The oncology division manufactures anti-cancer drugs at Kalyani (West Bengal), Baddi (Himachal Pradesh) and Sahibabad (Uttar Pradesh). Dabur's existing food portfolio comprising fruit juice, home-made cooking pastes, capsico sauces and lemoneez will be transferred to the foods subsidiary.
INSURING HEALTHY LIFE: Apollo Hospitals proposes to launch a new scheme for traumatised emergency patients in association with Oriental insurance. This will be finalised in a month's time. The scheme envisages a premium of Rs 350 per person (or Re I per day, according to Preetha Reddy, managing director of Apollo Hospitals) which will have a cover up to Rs 25,000 per annum. She says that it is possible to save a person's life by providing critical care for Rs 25,000. The patient would get immediate treatment for any emergency.
OIL POWER: Refineries in South Korea have developed a new heating oil that is expected to give a respite to the country's ailing refining sector. The new technology can help blend surplus diesel into the heating oil. However, according to analysts, the new oil will have limited impact on the economy as it averages only about eight per cent of refinery sales. This new type of kerosene is going to help the refiner's bottom lines but overall operating environment is still not favourable, analysts say.
MORE DRUGS: Lupin Laboratories, a US $200 million company, plans to introduce three new products in the generic product market. In the next three years, the company proposes to launch indictible cephalesporins which have a total global market of $ 2 billion. Lupin is soon expected to start production of cefotaxine for the European market. The company will launch two more injectibles such as ceftriaxone and ceftazidine in the next two years. Ceftriaxone and ceftazidine are currently being produced under patent by Roche Products and Glaxo Wellcome.
MILLENNIUM BUG: Oracle Corp, the world's largest makers of database software, has launched a group of programmes to help mid-sized companies ready their computers for the turn of the century. The Year 2000 Bug (Y2K) could imperil thousands of computer systems around the world as their software and computer chips are not designed to deal with the millennium date change. The programmes would cost US $300,000. The Y2K package includes Oracle's software to run payroll, accounting and other functions in a company.
"GREEN" CARS: Royal Dutch/Shell Group, the world's biggest publicly traded oil company, has agreed to supply fuel-cell technology to a group of automakers led by Daimler-Benz AG, which is designing environmentally friendly cars. The new technology converts liquid fuel into a hydrogen-rich gas. Daimler-Benz AG, Ford Motor Co of the US and Ballard Power Systems Inc of Canada would convert the gas to electricity in fuel cells they are developing to power a new generation of "green" cars.