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Journalism of Courage
Manmohan Shetty, who8217;s Adlabs Films, is one of India8217;s largest film-processing units is all set to enter the world of digital prints. He believes India has an advantage to enter this business because of being able to introduce it at one-fourth the price globally. Shetty8217;s desire stems out of his previous successful attempts at film production and digital cinema. For this he has joined hands with GDC Technology, Hong Kong, Projection Design, Norway, and manufacturers of cinema servers and DLP digita projection systems. Shetty8217;s digital prints will be helpful to all producers, directors, exhibitors, cinema owners, and consumers. The consumers, who had a very restricted choice when it came to watching new movies on the date of their release, will now be able to do so easily regardless of the city in which they live.
The distribution industry along with the film industry will also benefit, as digital prints will be cheaper than conventional ones, and there will be an increase in the number of prints during the early days of a film8217;s release. This it is hoped will help to curb the rampant film piracy also. Two Hindi movies have already been launched using Shetty8217;s digital prints, and seven digital theatres have been installed in Maharashtra, with 25 more expected in August. Confident of his ability to succeed at every business he8217;s tried his hand at, the tycoon has now applied for the exclusive rights of expanding the digital print business in India, China Africa and Asia!
All smiles for BPL
Rajeev Chandrasekhar of the BPL must be a delighted man with the financial institutions finally agreeing to clear his long pending loan proposals. Given the current state of the cellular industry, this had become a rather desperate issue for the company, since the network8217;s ability to absorb huge amounts of cash meant that growth was simply impossible. Presently growth is crucial because the entire industry is likely to be in a consolidation phase. With the possibility of a new unified licensing regime, it is likely that all the serious players will either have to have deep pockets or will have to look for strategic alliances that will allow them to survive. So for Chandrasekhar this cash injection comes at just the right time. Industry insiders believe that the Tata alliance that the tycoon had helped put together is now a little frayed at the edges. This means, that there is little help coming in from fellow cellular operators to BPL. And as in most matters of business, when circumstances are adverse, a little bit of additional cash can be a big help. So now you know why Chandrasekhar is currently smiling all the way to the bank.
8216;Eveready8217; for US
B.M. Khaitan, chairman of Eveready Industries India Limited with interests in the tea and battery business, is now looking for a strategic partner from the US for his battery division. Khaitan has plans to demerge the two businesses should an attractive offer come his way. Though son Deepak feels that with the depressed market in the US they should wait and watch. In the meantime, the Khaitans plan to concentrate on improving the business, to command a better price. It is learnt that manufacturers like Duracell and Energizer might be eyeing Eveready. Not surprising considering that it has cornered 43.4 share of the total domestic battery market. The company has also managed to reduce its borrowings by Rs 85 crore in the last year by funds generated through overall improved performance and lower finance costs. It will be quite a celebration for Eveready who will celebrate 100 years of the company in 2005. Thus plans for the demerger have been put on hold. But if both the tea and the battery businesses yield good results, Khaitan will has double the reason to celebrate.
Dilip Cherian, runs a public relations firm Perfect Relations. He is an economy watcher and tycoon tracker, and can be contacted at dilipcherianhotmail.com
