Arvind hops back home

Arvind Mills will now wrap up its Mauritius plant. The entire infrastructure will be packed up and sent back to India as per instructions of...

Arvind Mills will now wrap up its Mauritius plant. The entire infrastructure will be packed up and sent back to India as per instructions of tycoon Arvind N. Lalbhai. This is due to the recent extension in the African Growth and Opportunity Act AGOA, originally set up with the intention of providing tangible incentives for African countries, so as to help open up their economies and build free markets. The Act has now come in the way of the tycoon8217;s profits and sales. Things turned worse when the Act was extended by three years, thus giving the tycoon no option but to wrap up. That8217;s the reason the tycoon gives, but other sources say the Mauritian goodbye was brought on because of a high level of attrition in Arvind Mills8217; top management, which saw the exit of certain heads of Lalbhai8217;s international business departments too. The tycoon8217;s Mauritian unit produced 2.1 million pieces per annum. Now the tycoon will have to come out with some quick solutions at home, so that he doesn8217;t get left behind in the competition. After all, he won8217;t want to give up being the third-largest denim producer in the world!

UP sugar soars

Kamal Nayan Saraogi of the Balrampur Chini Mills has made all plans to cash in on the luck that Uttar Pradesh has been facing in comparison to other drought-threatened states like Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. The drought has not affected UP, which has instead received about 7 excessive rainfall. The tycoon has thus impressed by this declared his intentions of acquiring more sugar mills in the state to add to his list, that includes plants in Balrampur, Gonda and Barabanki.The tycoon8217;s faith in UP as the best place to continue stacking up mills is unshakable. For in Haidergarh where he already has a sugar and power plant, Saraogi now wants to set up a sugar refinery, a distillery and a biocompost plant, so that eventually it can lead to the formation of a huge sugar complex. Perhaps all this has something to do with Bajaj Hindustan8217;s acquisition of 24 sugar mills in UP recently, which incidentally has made it the largest company in the domestic sugar industry. The tycoon by acquiring some more mills for himself in the state is trying to catch up in the race of the Rs 25,000-crore sugar market, and since UP is having the best sugar production, it is the state to be in!

Family woes

After being treated to an unedifying serial of Birlas fighting over the will of Priyamvada Birla, we are now witnessing yet another saga over the family feuds of the Chhabrias. The dead tycoon8217;s mother Ranibhai has staked claim to her son Manu8217;s estate. Strangely she has spoken up so many years later, and in spite of the fact that her son had virtually parted ways with her years ago. But tragically this is quite common in the Chhabria family.

Both brothers Kishore and Manu were always at loggerheads in life, and recently the tycoon8217;s eldest daughter Bhavika also parted ways with her mother, due to a clash over her share in the assets of the group.

Between all this confusion, the tycoon8217;s wife Vidhya who has been handling the affairs of the Jumbo Group till now, still had a reason to rejoice, thanks to none other than long time rival-the UB Group, who have, according to her, decided to end their mutual never-ending clash.

If indeed Mallya does withdraw his case and gives up his stake in Shaw Wallace, Chhabria will reciprocate by withdrawing her petition in the Calcutta High Court.

This could mean double celebrations for Shaw Wallace employees, who after giving a great performance in the year 2003-04 impressed her so much that increases in their compensatory packages followed. Vidhya Chhabria must really be at the height of confidence, since presumably unaffected by the disorder in her life, she now wants to aim for a tripling in Shaw Wallace8217;s profits within the next three years.

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