Panasonic Boosts India Manufacturing by Adding Flat Televisions

Panasonic Corp., the Japanese manufacturer struggling to make its television business profitable, plans to start producing flat-panel TVs in India to fuel sales growth and meet local regulatory demands.

 

Japan’s No. 2 TV maker is building a factory in the northern state of Haryana where it will make flat-screens using semiconductors imported from Japan to meet a target of tripling Indian sales by 2016, Panasonic President Kazuhiro Tsuga told reporters in Mumbai. The company plans to start making chips in India after 2015 to help feed a market that consumed $8 billion in semiconductors in 2012, a 7.4 percent increase over 2011 even as global chip-based revenue declined, according to Gartner Inc.

Tsuga is leaning on India and Brazil to help make Panasonic’s TV business profitable by March 2016, a target that’s two years behind that of larger rival Sony Corp. India has received about 20 billion rupees ($372 million) in investment proposals for the electronics industry this year. It plans to approve bids to open the country’s first wafer manufacturing factories by May with production starting in 2014, Information Technology Minister Kapil Sibal said on April 22.

 

“India is growing like most other developing countries where there are a lot of opportunities in consumer electronics and appliances,” Tsuga said. “Our philosophy has been to not simply import products from other countries,” he said, because items “should be specially customized for Indian consumers, keeping local needs in mind.”

 

Chip Appetite

 

India’s semiconductor consumption will reach $9.6 billion in 2013, according to Gartner. The country has already approved about 10 billion rupees of foreign investment in manufacturing of consumer electronics this year, and plans to add a total of 250 billion rupees by March 2014, J. Satyanarayana, secretary of India’s Department of Electronics and Information Technology, said in a phone interview.

Along with televisions, which are currently being imported to India from Malaysia and other Asian markets, Panasonic will expand manufacturing of other consumer electronics including air conditioners, washing machines and refrigerators, Tsuga said. The Osaka-based company will spend about $250 million on marketing in its push into India.

 

Panasonic shares were unchanged yesterday at 709 yen at the close of trading in Tokyo. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 0.2 percent.

Panasonic has forecast a net loss of 765 billion yen in the 12 months ended March 31.

Maharashtra taps Japan to boost investment

The state has added another feather to its tag as the most favoured investment destination in the country.

The state government earlier this month signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) for industrial investment.

According to the terms of the MOU, the government will facilitate investment from Japanese firms by identifying and allotting plots in MIDC areas.

State officials said that the government is eyeing investment mainly along the investment nodes planned as part of the ambitious Delhi Mumbai industrial corridor.

India's Maruti says yen exchange rate remains volatile

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd has benefitted recently from a weaker Japanese yen, its outgoing chief executive officer said on Friday, adding that the currency exchange rate between the yen and the rupee continues to be volatile.
Maruti will continue with its plans to reduce its reliance on imports from Japan, Shinzo Nakanishi told reporters. Imports from Japan account for around 20 percent of its costs.
Maruti reported an 80 percent rise in net profit for the quarter to end-March.

Heubach ties up with Japan firm for 50cr unit in state

Heubach Colour Private Limited (HCPL), a part of Germany's Heubach Group, signed an agreement with Japan-headquartered Toyo Ink SC Holdings, one of the world's leading ink companies to establish a joint venture (JV) company - Heubach Toyo Colour Private Limited.

The JV, which is first of its kind in India's pigment field, is to set up an azo pigment manufacturing plant at Ankleshwar with investment of around Rs 50 crore.

The new JV will facilitate and strengthen Heubach's presence in international market especially South East Asia.

HCPL's managing director Ravi Kapoor and CEO of Toyo Ink SC Holdings Katsumi Kitagawa, who signed the JV agreement here on Friday, informed media persons that the JV's factory is expected to be built by May 2014 after which commercial production would start with annual capacity of 2,000 tonnes per annum.

After commissioning of production plant, the JV will manufacture, sell and export disazo pigments for different applications in ink industry primarily inks, resin colouring among others.

The new management team of the JV comprises six members, including three members each from Heubach Colour and Toyo Ink.

"The new JV company will serve as a key site for supplying products to our new offset ink factory in Gujarat and to other ink manufacturing sites mainly in South East Asia," said Kitagawa.

Earlier in the day, Kitagawa attended 'bhumi pooja' ceremony at Dahej, where Toyo Ink is setting up an ink plant with Rs 150 crore investment. The Dahej plant is expected to be commissioned in May 2014.

"With the start of offset ink operation in Dahej, our plan is to adopt multi-product strategy utilizing synergy between different products within our group," said Kitagawa, adding that in India, Toyo Group will be strengthening its presence through printing, information and packaging segments.

Toyo India's operations under Toyo Ink India Private Limited, include manufacturing facilities for offset inks and packaging based at Greater Noida.

Maruti Q4 profit doubles despite weak market

Maruti Suzuki, India’s biggest carmaker by sales, reported on Friday that net quarterly profit nearly doubled from a year ago, bucking the weakest passenger automobile market in a decade.

The strong numbers for the final quarter of the 2012-13 financial year, driven by cost cuts, a weaker Japanese yen and new models, far outpaced market forecasts and propelled Maruti’s share price higher by over 5 per cent.

Profit for the three months to March surged to Rs12.40 billion ($229 million) from Rs6.4 billion a year earlier on sales up 14 per cent to Rs131 billion, said Maruti, which is held 54 per cent by Japan’s Suzuki Motor.

“The increase in net profit during the quarter was on account of higher sales of new models such as the Ertiga, Dzire and Swift, cost reduction and localisation efforts and benefit of a favourable exchange rate,” the firm said.  New Delhi-based Maruti, Suzuki Motor’s biggest overseas unit, is vital to its Japanese parent’s fortunes, contributing over half of its net profit.

The earnings smartly outdistanced expectations of a Rs7.2-billion profit and came as India’s car market is going through its worst slump in 10 years that has meant unit sales of some automakers have gone into reverse.

Maruti’s domestic sales climbed by 4.4 per cent to 1.05 million cars in the last financial year even as industry-wide unit sales slid by 6.7 per cent, hit by a sharply slowing economy and high borrowing costs that deterred buyers.

“To their credit, Maruti has stemmed its market share losses” in the fiercely competitive market, Fortune Equity Brokers’ analyst Mahantesh Sabarad said.

Maruti, founded in 1983, holds 39 per cent of the passenger car market with its widespread service market helping it fend off rivals.

Partly behind Maruti’s performance was “an improved product mix”, said Arun Agarwal, auto analyst at Kotak Securities.

Maruti’s Ertiga minivans and Dzire sedans have been big hits as increasingly affluent drivers shift away from the company’s trademark small, inexpensive cars to bigger, costlier vehicles to navigate India’s chaotic, potholed roads.

The fall in costs was helped by a near 10 per cent softening of the Japanese yen against the rupee that made car parts from Japan much cheaper. Sharply better earnings from Maruti’s treasury cash pile also was a big boost.

Maruti’s shares closed Rs83.7 higher at Rs1,673.45 on the earnings, which included the impact of Maruti’s merger with its engine unit Suzuki Powertrain during the last financial year.

Excluding the merger, quarterly profit jumped 80 per cent to Rs11.5 billion.

How Nissan plans to woo India with Datsun

The Land of the Rising Sun is bringing us a new car brand for India, which promises to offer not just new products to first time buyers, but also new benchmarks.

It's a new era for Nissan Motor. And it's being driven by a very small yet focussed team within the Japanese car maker. Nissan had announced in March 2012 that it would revive the Datsun brand to cater to a new kind of customer, who is emerging as very crucial to future sales growth in markets like India, Russia, Indonesia and South Africa.

Western Europe, USA and Japan accounted for two thirds of global car sales of approximately 50 million units in 2010. The expectation is that new markets will account for two-thirds by 2020, when the global market is expected to breach 100 million units/year; this growth will be led by the increasing depth and strength of the global middle class in emerging markets.

Nissan itself has its roots in the Datsun brand, but that is not necessarily why it was picked. Nissan felt it is important to have a seperate brand, since the customer comes from a very optimistic middle class who is very demanding, who wants something that he or she an identify with today, and then aspire to a brand like Nissan tomorrow.

Datsun will also focus on locally relevant products in each of its markets. This means not just very high levels of local production, but also unique attributes that are locally relevant. So unlike current entry level cars in India that are global models, Datsun will provide India-specific models.

The company is developing five models for launch across its three key markets - Indonesia, Russia and India. South Africa will be the fourth market, which will get the cars a few months after the initial introduction.

In India, Russia and Indonesia, the company will launch two cars in the first two years, and a third model in the subsequent year. These won't be the same products, since all the cars launched would be specific to its own market.

Modernity will be the key product differentiator in India. So, India-specific models would focus on the sub-Rs. 4 lakh segments currently dominated by the Maruti Suzuki Alto, besides others like Hyundai Eon, Chevrolet Spark and even the Tata Nano.

Datsun will target the bottom 50 per cent of the Indian car market, and so won't go very premium in cost terms, but it will cater to various segments and body styles in is car lineup.

In India, first-time car buyers are expected to continue to be the larger driver of car sales (over those who replace existing cars) for some years to come. And a larger number of those will be near the entry levels of the car market. So, Datsun is hoping to snare that customer.

Its cars will be produced at the Renault-Nissan Alliance plant outside Chennai. Datsun will sell is products through the existing Nissan-Hover retail channel, by using a showroom-within a showroom concept. Subsequently though, the Datsun brand will see its own dealership network being established across India.

Datsun will reveal its first product globally in mid-2013. This will be a car targetted at the Indian buyer. The market launch of the car will only be at the start of 2014.

NDTV is the only global TV network invited to be privy to the development of the products and strategy for Datsun. We will bring you regular updates on this process here on NDTV.com and also on the NDTV network through CNB (The Car & Bike Show). 

ONGC sells early May naphtha at 4-month low premium to Japan's Marubeni

State-owned, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) sold an early May naphtha cargo to Japan's Marubeni at a cost of US$41/ton, which is lowest price the company has received in the last four months for a Mumbai cargo.

The 35000 tonne naphtha cargo is scheduled for May 2-3 loading from Mumbai and the premium is pegged to Middle East quotes on a free-on-board (FOB) basis, said the media report.

On the other hand, Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) also saw its premium diving after selling 11,000 tonnes of naphtha for May 6-10 lifting from Haldia port to Glencore at premiums in the low $20s level to Middle East quotes on a FOB basis.

The large volumes of European cargoes coming in the next month caused Asia's naphtha premiums to be under pressure.

However the Asian naphtha margin recovered due to some unexpected spot purchases for H2-May cargoes from South Korean buyers. Published by HT Syndication with permission from Dion Global Solutions Limited.

Optimistic Nikon mulls assembly line in India

Japanese camera major Nikon Corporation expects India’s contribution to global revenue to increase to 5 per cent in the next three years on account of increasing demand in the country.

“Indian camera market is growing even during slowdown and we hope to continue this trend in our sales. We expect that India will contribute 5 per cent of our global revenue by March 2016,” said Tetsuya Morimoto, general manager (marketing, headquarters imaging company), Nikon Corporation.

Although the company is yet to announce its results for 2012-13, its wholly-owned subsidiary Nikon India is expected to register a sales revenue of `1,050 crore for the period. “For the fiscal 2012-13 India is likely to contribute 2% to the global sales turnover during last financial year,” Morimoto added.

The company will consider setting up an assembly line in India depending on the demand for its products in future. At present Nikon India imports all its products from its parent’s three plants in Japan, Thailand and China.

Talking about its India business, Nikon India’s managing director Hiroshi Takashina said, “During last fiscal the company has crossed the `1,000-crore milestone in sales turnover for the first time here. We will achieve a figure of `1,050 crore in our annual sales for last fiscal. It will be a growth of around 40 per cent from `750 crore in 2011-12.”

Japan's imperial couple to visit India

Japan's Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko will visit India, probably around autumn, to celebrate the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries, media reports said.


The imperial couple has been invited by the Indian government.

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga made the announcement, the media reports.

According to Japan's Imperial Household Agency, Akihito will be the first Japanese emperor to visit India.

The emperor visited India once before when he was crown prince, NHK reported.

The dates and duration of the visit have yet to be determined as the Imperial Household Agency is paying careful consideration to the health of the 79-year-old emperor, who underwent coronary artery bypass surgery in February 2012, and of the empress, who is a year younger.

The agency is planning to schedule the visit around the autumn, when the climate in New Delhi is relatively comfortable.

The imperial couple had visited Britain last May to attend Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is also slated to visit Japan.

The details of the visit are being worked out, an Indian government official said in New Delhi.

"We have reiterated that invitation this year again, we are grateful that they are considering a visit here. Once the details are tied up we will certainly inform you," the external affairs ministry spokesperson said.

Japanese Emperor coming to India this year

The Emperor and Empresses of Japan will visit India this year. Briefing newspersons, a spokesman of the Ministry of External Affairs said that prior to the visit of the Japanese Emperor, the Indian Prime Minister will visit Japan. We hope to make an early announcement on the visit of the Indian Prime Minister, the spokesman said.

Optimistic Nikon mulls assembly line in India

Japanese camera major Nikon Corporation expects India’s contribution to global revenue to increase to 5 per cent in the next three years on account of increasing demand in the country.
“Indian camera market is growing even during slowdown and we hope to continue this trend in our sales. We expect that India will contribute 5 per cent of our global revenue by March 2016,” said Tetsuya Morimoto, general manager (marketing, headquarters imaging company), Nikon Corporation.

Although the company is yet to announce its results for 2012-13, its wholly-owned subsidiary Nikon India is expected to register a sales revenue of `1,050 crore for the period. “For the fiscal 2012-13 India is likely to contribute 2% to the global sales turnover during last financial year,” Morimoto added.

The company will consider setting up an assembly line in India depending on the demand for its products in future. At present Nikon India imports all its products from its parent’s three plants in Japan, Thailand and China.

Talking about its India business, Nikon India’s managing director Hiroshi Takashina said, “During last fiscal the company has crossed the `1,000-crore milestone in sales turnover for the first time here. We will achieve a figure of `1,050 crore in our annual sales for last fiscal. It will be a growth of around 40 per cent from `750 crore in 2011-12.”

Maruti Swift Dzire and Ertiga bag 2013 India Design Mark award

Maruti Suzuki has announced that its Swift Dzire saloon and Ertiga MPV have been awarded the India Design Mark: Good Design Award. This award recognises product designers and the products created as being well designed, reliable, offering true value for money and, also being manufactured in a responsible manner. In 2012, the Wagon R and Swift hatchbacks had received the same award.

The jury for the India Design Mark, which has been initiated in cooperation with the Japan Institute of Design Promotion (JDP), comprises some of the leading design experts and senior faculty members of India’s leading design institutes. The Dzire, which sold 169,571 units in 2012-13 and the Ertiga, which sold 76,375 units, are among the top-selling models in the country.

Commenting on the award, C V Raman, executive director (Engineering), Maruti Suzuki India, said: “The core philosophy at Maruti Suzuki is to design products which have the highest standards in design and engineering. This prestigious award for the second consecutive year is an acknowledgment of our passion and commitment to maintain the highest design standards for our cars. It also showcases our maturity in design engineering.”

Finance ministers endorse Japan's easy money

Finance ministers from the world's largest economies endorsed Japan's recently launched easy-money policy Friday, downplaying previous concerns that the strategy could give Japan an unfair trade advantage.
"We discussed it, but not with the same amount of concern as this past February," Russian finance Minister Anton Siluanov told reporters after chairing a meeting of the Group of 20 finance ministers and central bank governors. "It was discussed in a very calm manner."
The G20 group of countries held a meeting here this week during the spring meeting of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.

The Bank of Japan is buying massive amounts of government bonds to push down interest rates in an effort to jolt the country out of a 20-year period of deflation and slow economic growth.
The strategy also has lowered the value the yen against other currencies, making Japan's exports less expensive, and thus more attractive. As a result, finance ministers of some advanced economies have said the program could give Japan an unfair leg up in trade.
The U.S. Federal Reserve, which has purchased more than $2.5 trillion in U.S. government bonds the past few years to lower long-term interest rates and spur borrowing, has faced similar criticism.
Finance ministers previously were concerned that the Bank of Japan was selling yen and buying foreign assets, a move that would be more explicitly aimed at affecting currency exchange rates, says economist Michael Gapen of Barclays Capital. It recently became clear that Japan's central bank is buying Japanese government bonds, easing such worries somewhat, he says.
Siluanov said Japan's stimulus is necessary "to realize more favorable rates of economic growth." He said finance ministers and central bank governors are monitoring the program is to ensure it doesn't lead to inflation and higher interest rates, which would compound Japan's debt burden.

In a communiqué after the meeting, the G20 reiterated its previously stated policy of refraining from "competitive devaluation" of currencies. Such tactics could lead to trade wars. G20 officials said countries agreed they "will not target our exchange rate for competitive purposes."
But the statement did not single out Japan. Gapen said the development should settle financial markets and help keep interest rates low in Japan and the U.S..
Separately, Siluanov said G20 participants agreed advanced economies must lower their debt but they did not set specific targets because overly aggressive deficit-cutting could crimp economic growth. In several nations, austerity is already having that effect.

"We all agreed there is no need to set rigid targets," he said. Lowering debt "is really an art."
Siluanov expressed impatience with the slow implementation of new rules designed to give emerging economies more voting power in the International Monetary Fund as their economic clout has increased. Approval of the change has been held up in the U.S. Congress.
It's "taking too long," he said.
The G20 includes finance ministers and central bank governors from 19 countries plus the European Union, which is represented by the President of the European Council and by the head of the European Central Bank. The 19 countries: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States of America.

Japanese buyers express interest in sourcing more garments from India

With the comprehensive economic partnership agreement offering duty free imports on textiles, Japanese buyers are keen on increasing their sourcing of garments from the country. But they are still wary of quality issues and want Indian exporters to address them.

India can increase its share in Japan's textile imports from 0.9% to 3% in the next 2-3 years, a delegation of Japanese buyers, who are in Tirupur for the ongoing knit fair, said. Japan currently imports textile goods worth about $25 billion a year, the third highest in the world. China accounts for more than 85% of Japanese imports.

Chinese textile products however face 10%-11% (on cost and freight) import duties. "Since the duty difference is huge, retailers would welcome Indian products," Japanese buyers said. Trade would however grow if the quality of textile products improves, they said. Japan currently sources a small quantity of specialised items from India.

"Our quality standards are quite stringent. Quality parameters in Japan are much more severe than the US and the European Union," said Yoshiaki Kamiyama, Senior Researcher, Japan Textiles Importers' Association. Some international brands being sourced from India face up to 40% rejections, which is a cause for concern, he said.

Japanese buyers also want exporters here to manage their logistics in a better way and reduce the shipment time. "Indian exporters take 3-4 months to send their consignments to Japan while Chinese sellers take just one month," said Yukio Moriguchi, MD and CEO, Stylem International, which sources garments from the country. Indian textile manufacturers should focus on establishing a proper supply chain management, he said.

Nissan sets wheels in motion to give India sales a boost

It looks like the tough times are not yet over for Nissan in India. After rejigging its top management a year ago, the Japanese automaker has yet again effected top management changes with appointments of new heads for the Indian operations and sales and marketing functions. The company has also come out with the lowest repayment rates for new buyers of its cars in a bid to arrest fall falling sales.

Nissan’s “lower than the lowest” equated monthly installment (EMI) scheme, valid till April 30, will seek to offer up to 40 per cent lower monthly EMI. Thus, EMI on the hatchback Micra (petrol & diesel) and Sunny Diesel is Rs 8,999 on a three-year loan, which is reported to be lower than the EMI of any other vehicle.

The customer has an option to choose down payment of 34 per cent on the on-road price or exchange their old car and get an additional exchange bonus of up to Rs 50,000. Customers may pay lower EMI for a period of 35 months and the EMI for the last month (36th) will be a larger amount, which can be customised, said a company statement.

Nissan management has appointed Kenichiro Yomura, who was general manager — West Asia operations, as president of Nissan India operations and he also replaces Takayuki Ishida as managing director and CEO of Nissan Motor India. Ishida moved from Nissan, Japan to Chennai in March 2012 as part of management changes.

Yomura will concurrently hold the two positions and report to Toru Hasegawa, corporate vice-president for Africa, West Asia and India. Based in Chennai, he will hold responsibility for manufacturing, research & development and joint venture businesses in India.

Nissan has also roped in Ajay Raghuvanshi, former dealer development and rural sales head of Hyundai Motor India and has appointed him as vice-president (business management) to look after pricing, sales and marketing functions of Nissan in India.

The company said the management changes will accelerate strategic decision making and streamline operational efficiency to help achieve the company’s objective of securing 10 per cent market share by 2016 in the Indian car market.

Nissan has been battling with falling sales in the Indian market. The company is yet to create any major excitement in the Indian market though it serves several global markets with made-in-India cars. While its mid-sized sedan created some initial waves, its compact car Micra failed to fetch good response in the domestic market. In FY13, the company sold only 36,955 units, up 11 per cent compared with the previous year. But it exported close to 99,000 units out of the car manufacturing unit Renault-Nissan near Chennai. Nissan is betting big on its upcoming mass-market Datsun brand of cars, slated to be launched some time next year.

Meanwhile its partner, Renault has over taken Nissan in total sales in India, driven by its successful SUV Duster. Renault’s total sales stood at 52,463 units in FY13. It exported only about 650 units.

Chinese PM’s plan to woo India before Singh is off to Japan

Chinese premier Li Keqiang wants to visit India before prime minister Manmohan Singh leaves for Japan.

The dates for the premier’s visit, his first trip abroad in the present capacity, are in the works, and sources indicate it can take place in the third week of May.

And, though a final call is yet to be made, this will happen before Singh goes to Japan and plans are afoot to include Thailand in the same trip of the prime minister.    

Japan prime minister Shinzo Abe is known to have tough stand on China, especially over the matters of territorial dispute and is seen as a pro-India leader. At the heart of China-Japan dispute lies a chain of remote islands in the East China Sea known to Japanese as the Senkaku and to Chinese as the Diaoyu. India and China are engaged in winding talks to solve their boundary dispute.

Incidentally, there is BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) bonhomie on the display as well by the new Chinese leadership.

The new Chinese President Xi Jinping made Russia his first stop last month and for his part Li would like to begin his foreign tour by visiting India first by May-end. From Russia, Xi went to Durban to take part in the BRICS, (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) Summit, where he had his first meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The proposal for the Chinese premier visit came even as Singh was planning a trip to China in June.

‘Incubation’ fund to boost research
New Delhi: To give a leg-up to science and technology,  India will set up a first of its kind ‘incubation fund’ to help 100 top universities collaborate with the  industry in joint research. The fund will provide seed money for faculty and students from these select institutions to take cutting-edge ideas from the laboratory all the way to the market, with the help of industry. This was announced by HRD minister MM Pallam Raju on Monday at a meeting with the CII. HTC

iPhone supplier Japan Display turns to smaller smartphone makers

Japan Display, one of two Japanese producers of Apple iPhone screens, wants to boost sales by up to 60 per cent by winning more business from smaller makers of phones and tablets to offset lacklustre orders from its bigger clients.

Japan Display, the world's No.1 maker of small to mid-size panels, may increase sales to as much as 800 billion yen ($8.10 billion) for the fiscal year ending March 2014 from slightly below 500 billion yen a year earlier, said Shuichi Otsuka, CEO of the unlisted firm.

The company, formed out of a merger of the small panel divisions of Sony Corp, Hitachi and Toshiba last April, does not publicly identify its clients but is widely known as a key Apple supplier. Apple undershot Wall Street's sales forecast for the third straight quarter in the three months ended December after iPhone sales missed expectations.

"Before the fourth quarter, we thought we were going to have quite a loss... It was quite a drastic cut (in orders)," said Otsuka in an interview on Monday, without identifying Japan Display's customers.

Operating margins came in below 1 percent in the last fiscal year, Otsuka said.

Japan Display cut costs, boosted productivity at its plants and was able to recover from the October-December loss with sales to other smaller clients.

"We must continue to aggressively chase the big clients...but we continue to talk to clients whom we think hold great possibilities," he said.

The company, whose top shareholder is the government with a 70 per cent stake, may proceed with its initial public offering at the earliest in fiscal year 2014, or the following year at the latest, Otsuka said.

Japan Display competes with domestic rival Sharp, as well as South Korea's LG Display.

Samsung Electronics and Apple combined own more than 71 per cent share of the global smartphone market, with the rest split among firms such as LG Electronics, ZTE and Huawei Technology.

Japan: Suu Kyi to drum up aid for Myanmar on Day 3 of visit

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is on a six-day visit to Japan, her first trip to the country in 27 years since she visited Japan in 1985 as a visiting scholar. On Day 3 of her visit on Monday, Suu Kyi will drum up aid for Myanmar and also meet Burmese nationals based in Japan.

On Sunday, Suu Kyi traveled to Kyoto in central Japan. She rode on a shinkansen train from Tokyo to the ancient Japanese capital, where she resided as a visiting scholar from 1985 to 1986. At the station, the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate received a rousing welcome from compatriots living in Japan as well as many Japanese.

From there she inspected a small hydroelectric power generator utilizing river current at Arashiyama mountain. She also gave lectures at Kyoto University and Ryukoku University. It was only after Myanmar's transition to democracy in 2011 that Suu Kyi made her first overseas trip in 24 years, visiting Thailand last May.

In December 2011 in Yangon, Suu Kyi met then Japanese foreign minister Koichiro Gemba, who invited her to visit Japan.

She has since traveled to Europe, including Norway, Britain and France, as well as to the United States, India and South Korea. In December 2011 in Yangon, Suu Kyi met then Japanese foreign minister Koichiro Gemba, who invited her to visit Japan.

Two Japanese firms join race to buy stake in GSPC-promoted LNG venture

Japan-based Itochu Corp and Toyota Tsusho have joined the race to acquire 25 per cent stake in Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC)-promoted LNG venture, said the media reports.

Other than the two Japanese firms, four Indian companies including Gail India, Petronet LNG, Torrent Group and a JV between RIL and BP have also expressed interest to acquire stake in the venture to build an LNG terminal at Mundra, the report added.

In the LNG venture, GSPC will hold 50 per cent stake and Adani Group will own 25 per cent interest, while the remaining stake of 25 per cent will be allotted to either one or more than one investors in different proportions.

"Besides Indian and Japanese players, some other potential investors too have approached us and they are seeking more time to confirm their participation in the bidding process. We are open to allot 25 per cent equity to one or more investors in different proportions," a source told media. Published by HT Syndication with permission from Dion Global Solutions Limited . For any query with respect to this article or any other content requirement

Fund flows reflect investors’ hopes, expectations and fears for the yen

Early April saw investors around the world digesting the implications of the Bank of Japan’s decision to double the country’s monetary base in an effort to banish deflation by 2015.


The BOJ’s programme has raised hopes for Japan’s economic growth, fuelled expectations of stronger Japanese investor demand for asset classes ranging from Eurozone debt to US real estate and rekindled fears that European and emerging Asian exporters will see their export competitiveness eroded by a weaker yen.

Flows for EPFR Global-tracked funds during the week ending April 10 mirrored – to a degree -- these expectations and concerns. Europe bond funds posted their biggest weekly inflow since early December, real estate sector funds took in fresh money for the 13th time in the 15 weeks year-to-date and YTD flows into Japan equity funds climbed over the USD11bn mark while redemptions from Germany equity funds hit a 49 week high and Asia ex-Japan equity funds recorded outflows for the second time in the past three weeks.

Overall, a net USD3.13bn flowed into equity funds – with half of that total going to dividend equity funds – and bond funds took in USD3.52bn.

Alternative funds absorbed another USD953m as they extended their current inflow streak to 14 consecutive weeks.

At the country level it was a tough week for funds associated with the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) theme but Indonesia and Philippines Equity Funds posted record weekly inflows.

Asahi India Glass receives Rs 50cr for rights issue

Asahi India Glass Ltd has informed BSE that Company has received an amount aggregating to Rs. 50 crores from Asahi Glass Co. Ltd., Japan ("AGCL") (one of the promoters of the Company) as advance share application money towards its entitlement under the proposed rights issue of the Company. The said advance money is free of any interest and any amount which shall be in excess or shortage towards the actual entitlement of AGCL shall be adjusted or refunded from the final offer of the proposed rights issue, after meeting any shortfall towards any undersubscribed portion.Further the Company has inform that the Board of Directors of the Company by way resolution by circulation dated March 28, 2013 has also approved the shifting of Registered Office of the Company from 38, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase - III, New Delhi - 110020 to Unit No. 203 to 208, Tribhuwan Complex, Ishwar Nagar, Mathura Road, New Delhi - 110065 with effect from April 01, 2013.Source : BSE

The Briefing: Asia Pacific excluding Japan

When you consider the roll call of household names that call Asia their home, such as Samsung and Kia Motors, you begin to understand the enthusiasm for committing money to what is one of the world's fastest-growing regions.

Further cause for optimism lies in the strong performances of funds that invest in such companies. In fact, the average fund in the IMA Asia Pacific excluding Japan sector has returned an average of 319.09% over the past decade, according to Morningstar data compiled to 4 March 2013.
This puts the sector fourth out of 35 rivals - beaten only by IMA Global Emerging Markets (362.58%), IMA European Smaller Companies (336.51%) and IMA China/Greater China (322.24%) - and means investors who put their faith in it would have seen the value of their holding more than triple.

That is obviously a good return, but is there a darker side to this investment story? Should private investors be embracing Asia or approaching it with a degree of caution?
Those who are pro-Asia argue that it's a far more attractive prospect than the West because it's growing strongly and isn't saddled with the same high debts. Add in the diversity provided by a range of countries at different stages in their development, they say, and it's an enticing prospect.

Others warn that you can't have such upside potential without risk. They point to governance and political risks, and the fact that the various markets making up this sector are small and therefore at greater risk of fluctuations in capital flows that can cause volatility.
Neil Mumford, a chartered financial planner at Milestone Wealth Management, is aware of these risks but argues that investors must not ignore the region. Dedicating at least a proportion of their assets to the region, he suggests, can reap rewards over the longer term.
"It gives people exposure to the largest manufacturing and exporting region in the world," he says. "Asia is home to some of the world's fastest-growing and largest companies, and many Western companies are now investing heavily to expand into Asia."

Greater risks

Patrick Connolly, a chartered financial planner at AWD Chase de Vere, agrees that Asia is an increasingly important part of the world economy and that its nations have less debt, but he warns of other difficulties. He says: "They have their own problems, including high levels of inflation, political risks and the knock-on effect of a slowdown in other parts of the world." He adds, however, that this doesn't mean it should be shunned.
According to Geoff Penrice, a chartered financial planner at Astute Financial Management, we are seeing a long-term shift of economic power to the developing economies of Asia. Chasing greater investment returns there comes with greater risks, but he believes it's a gamble worth taking. "I would recommend all but the most cautious investors to have some exposure to this sector," he says. "The higher the investor's risk tolerance, the more exposure they should have."
The IMA Asia ex-Japan sector is for funds that invest at least 80% of their assets in Asia Pacific equities and exclude Japanese securities. The region's companies have interests in countries such as China, Korea, Singapore, India, Australia, Thailand and the Philippines.
For the general investor, it pays not to be too country specific, advises Mumford: "I would suggest investors choose a geographical fund to gain access and leave the fund manager to decide what countries, regions, sectors and percentages they should hold."
There are currently 75 funds in this sector, so the first job is whittling this number down. Some investors will go for Asian giants, such as Samsung, while others will pursue growth-oriented strategies or will look for value. There's a lot of diversity in this region.

Smaller names

You could opt for a fund that backs firms you probably won't have heard of in the hope that these will deliver bumper returns. It’s a strategy that would have served you well in recent years, particularly if you had backed Aberdeen Global Asian Smaller Companies fund.
This fund, which has been the best performer in the sector over one, three and five years, has just over 100 holdings. Almost 23% of its assets are in the 10 biggest names. Its largest exposure is to Bukit Sembawang, a Singapore property developer, which accounts for 2.8%. Other names on this list include United Plantations, a Malaysian business focusing on the cultivation and processing of palm oil, coconut and other plantation crops in a sustainable way, and Tisco Financial, which was established in 1969 as the first investment bank in Thailand.
Funds focusing on smaller names have done very well in recent years, but there is only a handful of them in this sector.
Darius McDermott, managing director of Chelsea Financial Services, says: "Smaller companies may outperform over a longer period, but they are riskier and less liquid, and they tend to get much worse hit in times of stress."
He suggests, instead, looking at funds with value strategies, as they tend to perform well, particularly in difficult markets. He singles out First State and Aberdeen as two such investment houses.
"Within value, you tend to get slightly more defensive, better-quality companies that tend to pay dividends," McDermott adds. "Corporate governance is important, as is companies delivering what they promise and not being controlled by large family shareholders. These are all issues you have to be a bit more careful about in emerging areas."

Toyota to recall 1,000 Corolla cars in India

While four Japanese automobile majors — Honda, Mazda, Nissan and Toyota — are recalling 3.4 million vehicles globally because of faulty airbags, the impact in India will be only on Toyota customers.

The Indian arm of Toyota Motor — Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) — on Thursday said the recall would be limited to only around 1,000 vehicles, out of the total of 17.30 lakh vehicles under recall globally.

Toyota is recalling the Corolla model car manufactured between January 2003 and June 2003. In India, the car is assembled at TKM’s factory on the outskirts of Bangalore.

“In India, it’s around 1,000 vehicles only. But, we have no incident reported or complaint received in India. These vehicles are more than 10 years old. However, our dealers will contact the customers and inspect the vehicle and if required will replace the part,” Sandeep Singh, Deputy Managing Director, TKM, told Business Line.

The problem arose in these vehicles (including those manufactured by other companies) due to defective airbags supplied by Takata Corp of Japan.

The front passenger airbags could have been assembled with improperly manufactured inflator propellant wafers, which could cause the inflator to rupture and the airbags to deploy abnormally in a crash.

However, other Japanese subsidiaries — Honda Cars India and Nissan India — said there is no impact of their global recalls on Indian customers.

“India is not affected by the global recall of Honda,” a spokesperson at Honda Cars India said.

“There is no impact of the recall in India at the moment — whether a vehicle manufactured in India or the one running on the Indian roads,” said a spokesperson at Nissan India.

While Honda has recalled 11.4 lakh vehicles, Nissan has recalled 4.80 lakh vehicles globally, especially in the US market.

Yamaha plans to make world’s cheapest bike in India @$500

Firm to make country hub for development of low-cost products

Japanese two-wheeler giant Yamaha on Tuesday said it is working on to roll out a motorcycle priced at around $500 from India with the setting up of its fifth global research and development centre.

Claiming that the bike will be “the world’s cheapest motorcycle”, the company said India will become the global hub for development of low-cost bikes, which will be exported to other countries in Africa and Latin America.

The company’s new entity Yamaha Motor Research and Development India (YMRI), which was established at Surajpur in Uttar Pradesh in February this year, has already started its work to develop the product that will be first launched in India.

In order to enhance its position in the Indian market, the company will launch a new scooter model each year till 2016, apart from setting up its second R&D centre by 2015 at its upcoming Chennai facility.

“Our objective is to develop the lowest cost model in the world and lowest cost parts. Our target is to develop the cheapest bike at around $500 for both India and export markets,” YMRI managing director Toshikazu Kobayashi told reporters here.

Without sharing any timeframe of launch, he said the company is developing the bike with an engine capacity of 100cc or more as “smaller bikes with smaller engine do not have good balance”.

“We will first launch the bike in India. There are also other markets like Africa and Latin America where such bike can be sold. We will export the product to such locations in future,” Kobayashi said.

As per the plan, the first step will be to develop the world’s cheapest bike, followed by an India-specific model. This will be followed by a global model in future, he added. Yamaha’s move is part of strategy to expand presence in the commuter segment, specially in the Indian market.

“We have been focussing on sporty, stylish and performance bikes in India so far. Now we are looking to increase our presence in the commuter segment. Developing the product in India will give us a substantial cost advantage and enable us to price it competitively,” India Yamaha Motor (IYM) chief executive officer and MD Hiroyuki Suzuki said.

He said the company is looking to sell 7.1 lakh units of motorcycles and scooters this year, including 2.1 lakh of exports. IYM had sold a total of 4.9 lakh in 2012. “Our long-term target is to sell a total of 28 lakh units by 2018. We are aiming to sell 10 lakh units in 2015 that will include exports,” he added.

Suzuki said the Indian two-wheeler market is expected to touch 25 million units by 2020. In the mid-term, the company is eyeing a market share of 10 per cent by 2016, when the market is pegged to be around 18 million units.

“By 2020 we expect scooters to be half of the two-wheeler market in India. Our aim is to introduce a scooter model each year to help us achieve overall 10 per cent market share by 2016,” he said, adding the IYM would launch scooters targeted at men and for family usage.

At present the company has a lone scooter model, Ray, which is targeted at women customers.

On motorcycles, Suzuki said the company will continue to offer new models both in performance and commuter segments without specifying details.

Commenting on the new R&D centre, Kobayashi said: “We have around 80 engineers at the Surajpur centre. We will set up another R&D centre by 2015 at our upcoming Chennai facility. The Indian centres will be used for developing low-cost models, while the high-end bikes will continue to be developed in Japan.”

The Chennai facility will be used for exporting its products to other parts of the world, he added.

Besides India, Yamaha Motor currently has four R&D centres in Italy, Taiwan, China and Thailand.

Japan, India officials to discuss high LNG prices

The Japanese government has been seeking ways to reduce its LNG import bill amid soaring domestic demand, and has tried to rally support from other buyer countries like South Korea and India. Japan is the world's largest LNG importer, and buys most of its LNG needs from Malaysia, Qatar, Australia and Russia.

Government and energy company officials from Japan and India will have a two-day meeting in Tokyo from Tuesday to discuss possible measures to address high global liquefied natural gas prices, Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said in a statement Monday.

The Japanese government has been seeking ways to reduce its LNG import bill amid soaring domestic demand, and has tried to rally support from other buyer countries like South Korea and India. Japan is the world's largest LNG importer, and buys most of its LNG needs from Malaysia, Qatar, Australia and Russia.

Augustine Peter, Director of Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell at India's Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, and Shinichi Kihara, International Affairs Director of METI's Natural Resources and Energy Agency, will attend. Also, officials from Bharat Petroleum Corp. and GAIL (India) Ltd. will participate, METI said in a statement.

The meeting, a follow-up of the one held between the two countries in December in New Delhi, will be closed from the public. Japan and India aim to compile a joint report by summer, the statement said.

Japan's imports of LNG have surged since the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in March 2011, as utilities generate more power from conventional thermal energy sources while keeping their nuclear reactors idle due to public concerns.

Japan imported a record 87 million metric tons of LNG in 2012, up 25% from 2010, government data showed. During the same period, its bill for LNG rose 74% to Y6 trillion ($62 billion), helping to push Japan into a trade deficit.

Yamaha to develop USD 500 bike in India for global markets

Japanese two-wheeler giant Yamaha on Tuesday said it is working on to roll out a motorcycle priced at around USD 500 from India with the setting up of its fifth global research and development centre.
   
Claiming that the bike will be "the world's cheapest motorcycle", the company said India will become the global hub for development of low-cost bikes, which will be exported to other countries in Africa and Latin America.
   
The company's new entity Yamaha Motor Research and Development India Pvt Ltd (YMRI), which was established at Surajpur in Uttar Pradesh in February this year, has already started its work to develop the product that will be first launched in India.
  
In order to enhance its position in the Indian market, the company will launch a new scooter model each year till 2016, apart from setting up its second R&D centre by 2015 at its upcoming Chennai facility.
   
"Our objective is to develop the lowest cost model in the world and lowest cost parts. Our target is to develop the cheapest bike at around USD 500 for both India and export markets," YMRI Managing Director Toshikazu Kobayashi told reporters here.
   
Without sharing any timeframe of launch, he said the company is developing the bike with an engine capacity of 100 cc or more as "smaller bikes with smaller engine do not have good balance".
  
"We will first launch the bike in India. There are also other markets like Africa and Latin America where such bike can be sold. We will export the product to such locations in future," Kobayashi said.
  
As per the plan, the first step will be to develop the world's cheapest bike, followed by an India-specific model. This will be followed by a global model in future, he added.
  
Yamaha's move is part of strategy to expand presence in the commuter segment, specially in the Indian market.
  
"We have been focussing on sporty, stylish and performance bikes in India so far. Now we are looking to increase our presence in the commuter segment. Developing the product in India will give us a substantial cost advantage and enable us to price it competitively," India Yamaha Motor (IYM) Chief Executive Officer and MD Hiroyuki Suzuki said.
  
He said the company is looking to sell 7.1 lakh units of motorcycles and scooters this year, including 2.1 lakh of exports. IYM had sold a total of 4.9 lakh in 2012.
  
"Our long-term target is to sell a total of 28 lakh units by 2018. We are aiming to sell 10 lakh units in 2015 that will include exports," he added.

Suzuki said the Indian two-wheeler market is expected to touch 25 million units by 2020. In the mid term, the company is eyeing a market share of 10 percent by 2016, when the market is pegged to be around 18 million units.
  
"By 2020 we expect scooters to be half of the two-wheeler market in India. Our aim is to introduce a scooter model each year to help us achieve overall 10 percent market share by 2016," he said, adding the IYM would launch scooters targeted at men and for family usage.
  
At present the company has a lone scooter model, Ray, which is targetted at women customers.
  
On motorcycles, Suzuki said the company will continue to offer new models both in performance and commuter segments without specifying details.
  
Commenting on the new R&D centre, Kobayashi said: "We have around 80 engineers at the Surajpur centre. We will set up another R&D centre by 2015 at our upcoming Chennai facility. The Indian centres will be used for developing low-cost models, while the high-end bikes will continue to be developed in Japan."
  
The Chennai facility will be used for exporting its products to other parts of the world, he added.
  
Besides India, Yamaha Motor Co currently has four R&D centres in Italy, Taiwan, China and Thailand. The Surajpur unit is the second integrated development centre after the Thailand one.
  
Last year, Yamaha had announced to invest Rs 1,500 crore to set up its third facility in India. The production of the new plant near Chennai will start by 2014 with an initial annual capacity of 4 lakh units, which will be expanded to 18 lakh units by 2018.
   
IYM has two manufacturing units at Surajpur in Uttar Pradesh and Faridabad in Haryana. While the Surajpur plant produces motorcycles for both domestic and export markets, the Faridabad unit makes two-wheeler parts. - See more at: http://post.jagran.com/yamaha-to-develop-usd-500-bike-in-india-for-global-markets-1365501424#sthash.Yrqtj8Ze.dpuf

Japanese two-wheeler giant Yamaha on Tuesday said it is working on to roll out a motorcycle priced at around USD 500 from India with the setting up of its fifth global research and development centre.
   
Claiming that the bike will be "the world's cheapest motorcycle", the company said India will become the global hub for development of low-cost bikes, which will be exported to other countries in Africa and Latin America.
   
The company's new entity Yamaha Motor Research and Development India Pvt Ltd (YMRI), which was established at Surajpur in Uttar Pradesh in February this year, has already started its work to develop the product that will be first launched in India.
  
In order to enhance its position in the Indian market, the company will launch a new scooter model each year till 2016, apart from setting up its second R&D centre by 2015 at its upcoming Chennai facility.
   
"Our objective is to develop the lowest cost model in the world and lowest cost parts. Our target is to develop the cheapest bike at around USD 500 for both India and export markets," YMRI Managing Director Toshikazu Kobayashi told reporters here.
   
Without sharing any timeframe of launch, he said the company is developing the bike with an engine capacity of 100 cc or more as "smaller bikes with smaller engine do not have good balance".
  
"We will first launch the bike in India. There are also other markets like Africa and Latin America where such bike can be sold. We will export the product to such locations in future," Kobayashi said.
  
As per the plan, the first step will be to develop the world's cheapest bike, followed by an India-specific model. This will be followed by a global model in future, he added.
  
Yamaha's move is part of strategy to expand presence in the commuter segment, specially in the Indian market.
  
"We have been focussing on sporty, stylish and performance bikes in India so far. Now we are looking to increase our presence in the commuter segment. Developing the product in India will give us a substantial cost advantage and enable us to price it competitively," India Yamaha Motor (IYM) Chief Executive Officer and MD Hiroyuki Suzuki said.
  
He said the company is looking to sell 7.1 lakh units of motorcycles and scooters this year, including 2.1 lakh of exports. IYM had sold a total of 4.9 lakh in 2012.
  
"Our long-term target is to sell a total of 28 lakh units by 2018. We are aiming to sell 10 lakh units in 2015 that will include exports," he added.

Suzuki said the Indian two-wheeler market is expected to touch 25 million units by 2020. In the mid term, the company is eyeing a market share of 10 percent by 2016, when the market is pegged to be around 18 million units.
  
"By 2020 we expect scooters to be half of the two-wheeler market in India. Our aim is to introduce a scooter model each year to help us achieve overall 10 percent market share by 2016," he said, adding the IYM would launch scooters targeted at men and for family usage.
  
At present the company has a lone scooter model, Ray, which is targetted at women customers.
  
On motorcycles, Suzuki said the company will continue to offer new models both in performance and commuter segments without specifying details.
  
Commenting on the new R&D centre, Kobayashi said: "We have around 80 engineers at the Surajpur centre. We will set up another R&D centre by 2015 at our upcoming Chennai facility. The Indian centres will be used for developing low-cost models, while the high-end bikes will continue to be developed in Japan."
  
The Chennai facility will be used for exporting its products to other parts of the world, he added.
  
Besides India, Yamaha Motor Co currently has four R&D centres in Italy, Taiwan, China and Thailand. The Surajpur unit is the second integrated development centre after the Thailand one.
  
Last year, Yamaha had announced to invest Rs 1,500 crore to set up its third facility in India. The production of the new plant near Chennai will start by 2014 with an initial annual capacity of 4 lakh units, which will be expanded to 18 lakh units by 2018.
   
IYM has two manufacturing units at Surajpur in Uttar Pradesh and Faridabad in Haryana. While the Surajpur plant produces motorcycles for both domestic and export markets, the Faridabad unit makes two-wheeler parts. - See more at: http://post.jagran.com/yamaha-to-develop-usd-500-bike-in-india-for-global-markets-1365501424#sthash.Yrqtj8Ze.dpuf

Japanese two-wheeler giant Yamaha on Tuesday said it is working on to roll out a motorcycle priced at around USD 500 from India with the setting up of its fifth global research and development centre.
   
Claiming that the bike will be "the world's cheapest motorcycle", the company said India will become the global hub for development of low-cost bikes, which will be exported to other countries in Africa and Latin America.
   
The company's new entity Yamaha Motor Research and Development India Pvt Ltd (YMRI), which was established at Surajpur in Uttar Pradesh in February this year, has already started its work to develop the product that will be first launched in India.
  
In order to enhance its position in the Indian market, the company will launch a new scooter model each year till 2016, apart from setting up its second R&D centre by 2015 at its upcoming Chennai facility.
   
"Our objective is to develop the lowest cost model in the world and lowest cost parts. Our target is to develop the cheapest bike at around USD 500 for both India and export markets," YMRI Managing Director Toshikazu Kobayashi told reporters here.
   
Without sharing any timeframe of launch, he said the company is developing the bike with an engine capacity of 100 cc or more as "smaller bikes with smaller engine do not have good balance".
  
"We will first launch the bike in India. There are also other markets like Africa and Latin America where such bike can be sold. We will export the product to such locations in future," Kobayashi said.
  
As per the plan, the first step will be to develop the world's cheapest bike, followed by an India-specific model. This will be followed by a global model in future, he added.
  
Yamaha's move is part of strategy to expand presence in the commuter segment, specially in the Indian market.
  
"We have been focussing on sporty, stylish and performance bikes in India so far. Now we are looking to increase our presence in the commuter segment. Developing the product in India will give us a substantial cost advantage and enable us to price it competitively," India Yamaha Motor (IYM) Chief Executive Officer and MD Hiroyuki Suzuki said.
  
He said the company is looking to sell 7.1 lakh units of motorcycles and scooters this year, including 2.1 lakh of exports. IYM had sold a total of 4.9 lakh in 2012.
  
"Our long-term target is to sell a total of 28 lakh units by 2018. We are aiming to sell 10 lakh units in 2015 that will include exports," he added.

Suzuki said the Indian two-wheeler market is expected to touch 25 million units by 2020. In the mid term, the company is eyeing a market share of 10 percent by 2016, when the market is pegged to be around 18 million units.
  
"By 2020 we expect scooters to be half of the two-wheeler market in India. Our aim is to introduce a scooter model each year to help us achieve overall 10 percent market share by 2016," he said, adding the IYM would launch scooters targeted at men and for family usage.
  
At present the company has a lone scooter model, Ray, which is targetted at women customers.
  
On motorcycles, Suzuki said the company will continue to offer new models both in performance and commuter segments without specifying details.
  
Commenting on the new R&D centre, Kobayashi said: "We have around 80 engineers at the Surajpur centre. We will set up another R&D centre by 2015 at our upcoming Chennai facility. The Indian centres will be used for developing low-cost models, while the high-end bikes will continue to be developed in Japan."
  
The Chennai facility will be used for exporting its products to other parts of the world, he added.
  
Besides India, Yamaha Motor Co currently has four R&D centres in Italy, Taiwan, China and Thailand. The Surajpur unit is the second integrated development centre after the Thailand one.
  
Last year, Yamaha had announced to invest Rs 1,500 crore to set up its third facility in India. The production of the new plant near Chennai will start by 2014 with an initial annual capacity of 4 lakh units, which will be expanded to 18 lakh units by 2018.
   
IYM has two manufacturing units at Surajpur in Uttar Pradesh and Faridabad in Haryana. While the Surajpur plant produces motorcycles for both domestic and export markets, the Faridabad unit makes two-wheeler parts. - See more at: http://post.jagran.com/yamaha-to-develop-usd-500-bike-in-india-for-global-markets-1365501424#sthash.Yrqtj8Ze.dpuf

Japanese two-wheeler giant Yamaha on Tuesday said it is working on to roll out a motorcycle priced at around USD 500 from India with the setting up of its fifth global research and development centre.
   
Claiming that the bike will be "the world's cheapest motorcycle", the company said India will become the global hub for development of low-cost bikes, which will be exported to other countries in Africa and Latin America.
   
The company's new entity Yamaha Motor Research and Development India Pvt Ltd (YMRI), which was established at Surajpur in Uttar Pradesh in February this year, has already started its work to develop the product that will be first launched in India.
  
In order to enhance its position in the Indian market, the company will launch a new scooter model each year till 2016, apart from setting up its second R&D centre by 2015 at its upcoming Chennai facility.
   
"Our objective is to develop the lowest cost model in the world and lowest cost parts. Our target is to develop the cheapest bike at around USD 500 for both India and export markets," YMRI Managing Director Toshikazu Kobayashi told reporters here.
   
Without sharing any timeframe of launch, he said the company is developing the bike with an engine capacity of 100 cc or more as "smaller bikes with smaller engine do not have good balance".
  
"We will first launch the bike in India. There are also other markets like Africa and Latin America where such bike can be sold. We will export the product to such locations in future," Kobayashi said.
  
As per the plan, the first step will be to develop the world's cheapest bike, followed by an India-specific model. This will be followed by a global model in future, he added.
  
Yamaha's move is part of strategy to expand presence in the commuter segment, specially in the Indian market.
  
"We have been focussing on sporty, stylish and performance bikes in India so far. Now we are looking to increase our presence in the commuter segment. Developing the product in India will give us a substantial cost advantage and enable us to price it competitively," India Yamaha Motor (IYM) Chief Executive Officer and MD Hiroyuki Suzuki said.
  
He said the company is looking to sell 7.1 lakh units of motorcycles and scooters this year, including 2.1 lakh of exports. IYM had sold a total of 4.9 lakh in 2012.
  
"Our long-term target is to sell a total of 28 lakh units by 2018. We are aiming to sell 10 lakh units in 2015 that will include exports," he added.

Suzuki said the Indian two-wheeler market is expected to touch 25 million units by 2020. In the mid term, the company is eyeing a market share of 10 percent by 2016, when the market is pegged to be around 18 million units.
  
"By 2020 we expect scooters to be half of the two-wheeler market in India. Our aim is to introduce a scooter model each year to help us achieve overall 10 percent market share by 2016," he said, adding the IYM would launch scooters targeted at men and for family usage.
  
At present the company has a lone scooter model, Ray, which is targetted at women customers.
  
On motorcycles, Suzuki said the company will continue to offer new models both in performance and commuter segments without specifying details.
  
Commenting on the new R&D centre, Kobayashi said: "We have around 80 engineers at the Surajpur centre. We will set up another R&D centre by 2015 at our upcoming Chennai facility. The Indian centres will be used for developing low-cost models, while the high-end bikes will continue to be developed in Japan."
  
The Chennai facility will be used for exporting its products to other parts of the world, he added.
  
Besides India, Yamaha Motor Co currently has four R&D centres in Italy, Taiwan, China and Thailand. The Surajpur unit is the second integrated development centre after the Thailand one.
  
Last year, Yamaha had announced to invest Rs 1,500 crore to set up its third facility in India. The production of the new plant near Chennai will start by 2014 with an initial annual capacity of 4 lakh units, which will be expanded to 18 lakh units by 2018.
   
IYM has two manufacturing units at Surajpur in Uttar Pradesh and Faridabad in Haryana. While the Surajpur plant produces motorcycles for both domestic and export markets, the Faridabad unit makes two-wheeler parts. - See more at: http://post.jagran.com/yamaha-to-develop-usd-500-bike-in-india-for-global-markets-1365501424#sthash.Yrqtj8Ze.dpuf

Japanese two-wheeler giant Yamaha on Tuesday said it is working on to roll out a motorcycle priced at around USD 500 from India with the setting up of its fifth global research and development centre.
   
Claiming that the bike will be "the world's cheapest motorcycle", the company said India will become the global hub for development of low-cost bikes, which will be exported to other countries in Africa and Latin America.
   
The company's new entity Yamaha Motor Research and Development India Pvt Ltd (YMRI), which was established at Surajpur in Uttar Pradesh in February this year, has already started its work to develop the product that will be first launched in India.
  
In order to enhance its position in the Indian market, the company will launch a new scooter model each year till 2016, apart from setting up its second R&D centre by 2015 at its upcoming Chennai facility.
   
"Our objective is to develop the lowest cost model in the world and lowest cost parts. Our target is to develop the cheapest bike at around USD 500 for both India and export markets," YMRI Managing Director Toshikazu Kobayashi told reporters here.
   
Without sharing any timeframe of launch, he said the company is developing the bike with an engine capacity of 100 cc or more as "smaller bikes with smaller engine do not have good balance".
  
"We will first launch the bike in India. There are also other markets like Africa and Latin America where such bike can be sold. We will export the product to such locations in future," Kobayashi said.
  
As per the plan, the first step will be to develop the world's cheapest bike, followed by an India-specific model. This will be followed by a global model in future, he added.
  
Yamaha's move is part of strategy to expand presence in the commuter segment, specially in the Indian market.
  
"We have been focussing on sporty, stylish and performance bikes in India so far. Now we are looking to increase our presence in the commuter segment. Developing the product in India will give us a substantial cost advantage and enable us to price it competitively," India Yamaha Motor (IYM) Chief Executive Officer and MD Hiroyuki Suzuki said.
  
He said the company is looking to sell 7.1 lakh units of motorcycles and scooters this year, including 2.1 lakh of exports. IYM had sold a total of 4.9 lakh in 2012.
  
"Our long-term target is to sell a total of 28 lakh units by 2018. We are aiming to sell 10 lakh units in 2015 that will include exports," he added.

Suzuki said the Indian two-wheeler market is expected to touch 25 million units by 2020. In the mid term, the company is eyeing a market share of 10 percent by 2016, when the market is pegged to be around 18 million units.
  
"By 2020 we expect scooters to be half of the two-wheeler market in India. Our aim is to introduce a scooter model each year to help us achieve overall 10 percent market share by 2016," he said, adding the IYM would launch scooters targeted at men and for family usage.
  
At present the company has a lone scooter model, Ray, which is targetted at women customers.
  
On motorcycles, Suzuki said the company will continue to offer new models both in performance and commuter segments without specifying details.
  
Commenting on the new R&D centre, Kobayashi said: "We have around 80 engineers at the Surajpur centre. We will set up another R&D centre by 2015 at our upcoming Chennai facility. The Indian centres will be used for developing low-cost models, while the high-end bikes will continue to be developed in Japan."
  
The Chennai facility will be used for exporting its products to other parts of the world, he added.
  
Besides India, Yamaha Motor Co currently has four R&D centres in Italy, Taiwan, China and Thailand. The Surajpur unit is the second integrated development centre after the Thailand one.
  
Last year, Yamaha had announced to invest Rs 1,500 crore to set up its third facility in India. The production of the new plant near Chennai will start by 2014 with an initial annual capacity of 4 lakh units, which will be expanded to 18 lakh units by 2018.
   
IYM has two manufacturing units at Surajpur in Uttar Pradesh and Faridabad in Haryana. While the Surajpur plant produces motorcycles for both domestic and export markets, the Faridabad unit makes two-wheeler parts. - See more at: http://post.jagran.com/yamaha-to-develop-usd-500-bike-in-india-for-global-markets-1365501424#sthash.Yrqtj8Ze.dpuf

Japanese two-wheeler giant Yamaha on Tuesday said it is working on to roll out a motorcycle priced at around USD 500 from India with the setting up of its fifth global research and development centre.
   
Claiming that the bike will be "the world's cheapest motorcycle", the company said India will become the global hub for development of low-cost bikes, which will be exported to other countries in Africa and Latin America.
   
The company's new entity Yamaha Motor Research and Development India Pvt Ltd (YMRI), which was established at Surajpur in Uttar Pradesh in February this year, has already started its work to develop the product that will be first launched in India.
  
In order to enhance its position in the Indian market, the company will launch a new scooter model each year till 2016, apart from setting up its second R&D centre by 2015 at its upcoming Chennai facility.
   
"Our objective is to develop the lowest cost model in the world and lowest cost parts. Our target is to develop the cheapest bike at around USD 500 for both India and export markets," YMRI Managing Director Toshikazu Kobayashi told reporters here.
   
Without sharing any timeframe of launch, he said the company is developing the bike with an engine capacity of 100 cc or more as "smaller bikes with smaller engine do not have good balance".
  
"We will first launch the bike in India. There are also other markets like Africa and Latin America where such bike can be sold. We will export the product to such locations in future," Kobayashi said.
  
As per the plan, the first step will be to develop the world's cheapest bike, followed by an India-specific model. This will be followed by a global model in future, he added.
  
Yamaha's move is part of strategy to expand presence in the commuter segment, specially in the Indian market.
  
"We have been focussing on sporty, stylish and performance bikes in India so far. Now we are looking to increase our presence in the commuter segment. Developing the product in India will give us a substantial cost advantage and enable us to price it competitively," India Yamaha Motor (IYM) Chief Executive Officer and MD Hiroyuki Suzuki said.
  
He said the company is looking to sell 7.1 lakh units of motorcycles and scooters this year, including 2.1 lakh of exports. IYM had sold a total of 4.9 lakh in 2012.
  
"Our long-term target is to sell a total of 28 lakh units by 2018. We are aiming to sell 10 lakh units in 2015 that will include exports," he added.

Suzuki said the Indian two-wheeler market is expected to touch 25 million units by 2020. In the mid term, the company is eyeing a market share of 10 percent by 2016, when the market is pegged to be around 18 million units.
  
"By 2020 we expect scooters to be half of the two-wheeler market in India. Our aim is to introduce a scooter model each year to help us achieve overall 10 percent market share by 2016," he said, adding the IYM would launch scooters targeted at men and for family usage.
  
At present the company has a lone scooter model, Ray, which is targetted at women customers.
  
On motorcycles, Suzuki said the company will continue to offer new models both in performance and commuter segments without specifying details.
  
Commenting on the new R&D centre, Kobayashi said: "We have around 80 engineers at the Surajpur centre. We will set up another R&D centre by 2015 at our upcoming Chennai facility. The Indian centres will be used for developing low-cost models, while the high-end bikes will continue to be developed in Japan."
  
The Chennai facility will be used for exporting its products to other parts of the world, he added.
  
Besides India, Yamaha Motor Co currently has four R&D centres in Italy, Taiwan, China and Thailand. The Surajpur unit is the second integrated development centre after the Thailand one.
  
Last year, Yamaha had announced to invest Rs 1,500 crore to set up its third facility in India. The production of the new plant near Chennai will start by 2014 with an initial annual capacity of 4 lakh units, which will be expanded to 18 lakh units by 2018.
   
IYM has two manufacturing units at Surajpur in Uttar Pradesh and Faridabad in Haryana. While the Surajpur plant produces motorcycles for both domestic and export markets, the Faridabad unit makes two-wheeler parts. - See more at: http://post.jagran.com/yamaha-to-develop-usd-500-bike-in-india-for-global-markets-1365501424#sthash.Yrqtj8Ze.dpuf

Japanese two-wheeler giant Yamaha on Tuesday said it is working on to roll out a motorcycle priced at around USD 500 from India with the setting up of its fifth global research and development centre.
    
Claiming that the bike will be "the world's cheapest motorcycle", the company said India will become the global hub for development of low-cost bikes, which will be exported to other countries in Africa and Latin America.
    
The company's new entity Yamaha Motor Research and Development India Pvt Ltd (YMRI), which was established at Surajpur in Uttar Pradesh in February this year, has already started its work to develop the product that will be first launched in India.
   
In order to enhance its position in the Indian market, the company will launch a new scooter model each year till 2016, apart from setting up its second R&D centre by 2015 at its upcoming Chennai facility.
    
"Our objective is to develop the lowest cost model in the world and lowest cost parts. Our target is to develop the cheapest bike at around USD 500 for both India and export markets," YMRI Managing Director Toshikazu Kobayashi told reporters here.
    
Without sharing any timeframe of launch, he said the company is developing the bike with an engine capacity of 100 cc or more as "smaller bikes with smaller engine do not have good balance".
   
"We will first launch the bike in India. There are also other markets like Africa and Latin America where such bike can be sold. We will export the product to such locations in future," Kobayashi said.
   
As per the plan, the first step will be to develop the world's cheapest bike, followed by an India-specific model. This will be followed by a global model in future, he added.
   
Yamaha's move is part of strategy to expand presence in the commuter segment, specially in the Indian market.
   
"We have been focussing on sporty, stylish and performance bikes in India so far. Now we are looking to increase our presence in the commuter segment. Developing the product in India will give us a substantial cost advantage and enable us to price it competitively," India Yamaha Motor (IYM) Chief Executive Officer and MD Hiroyuki Suzuki said.
   
He said the company is looking to sell 7.1 lakh units of motorcycles and scooters this year, including 2.1 lakh of exports. IYM had sold a total of 4.9 lakh in 2012.
   
"Our long-term target is to sell a total of 28 lakh units by 2018. We are aiming to sell 10 lakh units in 2015 that will include exports," he added.
Suzuki said the Indian two-wheeler market is expected to touch 25 million units by 2020. In the mid term, the company is eyeing a market share of 10 percent by 2016, when the market is pegged to be around 18 million units.
   
"By 2020 we expect scooters to be half of the two-wheeler market in India. Our aim is to introduce a scooter model each year to help us achieve overall 10 percent market share by 2016," he said, adding the IYM would launch scooters targeted at men and for family usage.
   
At present the company has a lone scooter model, Ray, which is targetted at women customers.
   
On motorcycles, Suzuki said the company will continue to offer new models both in performance and commuter segments without specifying details.
   
Commenting on the new R&D centre, Kobayashi said: "We have around 80 engineers at the Surajpur centre. We will set up another R&D centre by 2015 at our upcoming Chennai facility. The Indian centres will be used for developing low-cost models, while the high-end bikes will continue to be developed in Japan."
   
The Chennai facility will be used for exporting its products to other parts of the world, he added.
   
Besides India, Yamaha Motor Co currently has four R&D centres in Italy, Taiwan, China and Thailand. The Surajpur unit is the second integrated development centre after the Thailand one.
   
Last year, Yamaha had announced to invest Rs 1,500 crore to set up its third facility in India. The production of the new plant near Chennai will start by 2014 with an initial annual capacity of 4 lakh units, which will be expanded to 18 lakh units by 2018.
    
IYM has two manufacturing units at Surajpur in Uttar Pradesh and Faridabad in Haryana. While the Surajpur plant produces motorcycles for both domestic and export markets, the Faridabad unit makes two-wheeler parts.