Goldman, Mitsui lead $50 mn investment in India-Japan

Goldman Sachs  and a unit of Mitsui & Co Ltd  have led a 3,150 million rupee investment consumer goods firm Global Beverages & Foods Pvt Ltd, the investment banks said in a joint statement on Wednesday.

 
A. Mahendran, a former managing director for Godrej Consumer Products Ltd, will be chairman and managing director of Global Beverages & Foods and will also invest in the company, the statement said.

Global Beverages & Foods plans to build a portfolio of consumer brands to cash in on increased consumer spending in India.

India Yamaha recalls about 100 YZF-R1 superbikes

Two-wheeler maker India Yamaha Motor is recalling about 100 units of its superbike YZF-R1 in the country, due to a problem with the vehicle's headlight.
The recall, which is part of a global exercise undertaken by the company, covers YZF-R1 bikes sold in the country in the past 3-4 years.
"...our parent company Yamaha Motor Co, Japan have determined that a defect, which relates to Head light lead coupler overheating and melting exists in YZF-R1 motorcycle falling within certain production numbers," Yamaha said in a statement on its website.
This headlight sub-lead must be replaced at the earliest in the motorcycles falling within certain production numbers, it added.
"Yamaha is initiating a factory modification campaign, where the affected motorcycles must get the headlight sub lead replaced with a modified one," it said.
The company added that the replacement of the faulty part would be free of cost.
According to sources, the company would recall about 100 YZF-R1 superbikes in India.
Last year, the company had recalled 56,082 units of its scooter 'Ray' after detecting insufficient strength in the handlebar of some vehicles due to inadequate welding.

Nikon India to invest 120 cr in next fiscal

Japanese camera maker Nikon on Wednesday said it will invest ₹120 crore in India in the next fiscal on branding and marketing, similar to what it is spending in the current year.

With a market share of 55 per cent in India, the company expects to continue with the number one position with a growth of 20-30 per cent every year, with majority of the shares coming from the digital single lens reflex (DSLR) cameras, a top company official told Business Line.

DSLR market

“The total size of the DSLR market is expected to go up to 3.6 lakh units in the next financial year from three lakh units this year and around 2.4 lakh units in 2012-13, and our aim is to get the maximum share,” said Hiroshi Takashina, Managing Director, Nikon India.

In the compact digital cameras also, he said, the company has around 33 per cent market share and it targets to achieve 38 per cent in the next financial year.

Nikon India has 14 models in the DSLR segment and 27 in the compact digital cameras, all imported from its factories in China, Japan and Thailand, he added.

Apart from investment in branding and marketing for its products, Takashina said the company will also expand its reach to 4,000 multi-brand stores in the next one year, from around 3,500 shops now.

Expansion plans

“We have 31 local distributors with local partners in each State and we are planning to enter 30 more cities, especially in tier-II and tier-III in the next fiscal in places like Bareilly, Agra and Agartala,” he said.

Looking at such expansions and with upcoming products, the company expects a turnover of ₹1,100 crore in the next fiscal, up from around ₹1,050 crore this year, Takashina added.

Meanwhile, Nikon launched three new models of D3300 priced in the range of ₹32,450 to ₹46,950. It has also launched its flagship model D4S, to be available from end of this month at ₹4,19,950.

38 Indians win Japan government scholarship

Japan is wooing bright young minds from India and 38 Indian students have won a special Japanese government scholarship. The 38 students won Japan's MEXT scholarships of Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. Addressing a send-off reception for the students at his residence here, Japanese Ambassador Takeshi Yagi Friday said he hoped the students would have a useful stay in Japan. Yagi said: "Not only for your academic career, but also for expanding your knowledge about Japan. Please convey your experience to your friends in India so we will be having more Indian students in Japan." Of the 38 students, 29 are going to start their higher education in Japan from April this year. The remaining will be leaving for Japan in October this year. Of these, 32 are joining as research students and will attend a programme for research as well as master's and doctoral course, a Japanese embassy statement said. Four students are going for an undergraduate course while two are going for specialised training. Details of the MEXT scholarships are available at the Embassy of Japan's website

Nikon launches D4S, D3300 DSLR cameras in India

Japanese camera giant Nikon Corporation today said it expects 20 per cent growth in the digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) camera segment in India in 2014-15.
"We expect a very steady growth in the coming year. We would expand with another 20 per cent growth," Nikon India Managing Director Hiorshi Takashina told PTI.
"This year, although the economy is slowing down, we would have very steady growth of 20 per cent," he said.

The total market size of DSLR cameras in 2013-14 was 3 lakh units. It is expected to be 3.6 lakhs in the next financial year. Nikon expects to maintain its lead with 55 per cent market share.
Despite slowdown in the economy, DSLRs would remain in demand as customers having compact cameras (point and shoot) and smart phone are upgrading to get a better picture result, said Takashina.
Nikon India, a fully owned subsidiary of Nikon Corporation today introduced two new DSLRs - D4S and D3300.
Overall, the company expects a turnover of Rs 1,050 crore by the end of this financial year, ending March 31, and has a target of Rs 1,100 crore for 2014-15.
Nikon India, currently contributes around 3 per cent of its global turnover and plans to grow it to 5 per cent in the next three years.
According to Takashina, Nikon has 55 per cent market share in the DSLR segment. It is going to air TV commercials to promote its DSLRs from mid of April, featuring its brand ambassador Priyanka Chopra.
"India has a huge potential for DSLR segment due to its growing number of youths... We assume that over 5-10 years, a growth of up to 20 per cent would continue. This is very important market for us," he added.
Apart from DSLR, Nikon is expecting to hold around 38 per cent of the compact cameras in the financial year 2014-15.
"In the compact camera, we are having 33 per cent market share in India. In the coming fiscal, we would like to expand our share in this segment to 38 per cent," he said.
On being asked that whether Nikon has any plans for local assembly line, he said: "At this moment, we do not have. We are importing DSLR's from Japan and Thailand rpt Thailand. But in future, if it becomes necessary, then we would."
Apart from cameras, Nikon has also introduced its binoculars in the Indian market last year and is expecting 10 per cent growth in this segment.

Japan's Toyota suspends some workers at India auto plants

Toyota Motor Corp's Indian unit said on Thursday it had suspended some workers for misconduct at its domestic plants, which have been closed since Sunday over a pay dispute.
The factories near the southern city of Bangalore are Toyota Motor's only vehicle plants in the world's sixth-biggest auto market, where the Japanese manufacturer generates just a sliver of global sales.

"A decision to suspend some of the members pending inquiry, for serious misconduct, was taken earlier in the week. This is in line with the company's rules and regulations," the company said in a statement.
It did not say how many workers were suspended.

On Sunday, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM), the world's biggest car maker's Indian unit, said some workers had disrupted business as the management, labour union and local government negotiated wages.
The company and the factories' union are currently in discussions through meetings with the state's labour commission.

The company employs about 6,400 people.
The two plants have about 4,000 workers that belong to the union, union president Prasanna Kumar says.

RBI in pact with Japanese financial regulator for co-ordination

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday said it has signed an agreement for co-operation in the area of banking supervision with Financial Services Agency (FSA) of Japan, the regulator for financial services in that country.
The central bank has been signing similar agreements with regulators of other countries to promote co-operation and sharing of supervisory information among international financial regulators. Till date, the apex bank has signed 19 such agreements, it said in a press release.
The agreement was signed by Masamichi Kono, vice-commissioner for International affairs, FSA; and deputy governor, on behalf of RBI.