<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><root available-locales="en_US," default-locale="en_US"><static-content language-id="en_US"><![CDATA[UNATTRACTIVE? Seventy oil and gas blocks
are up for grabs in Nelp VIII (Bloomberg)
The ongoing feud between the Ambani brothers will impact the New Exploration Licensing Policy (Nelp), say sources in the directorate-general of hydrocarbons (DGH).
The next round of Nelp — Nelp VIII — offers 70 oil and gas blocks for auction. The government has extended the last date for bidding to 12 October, and, if sources in the petroleum ministry are to be believed, it is likely to be extended further “as the current controversy is not a good sign to attract foreign investors”.
While the battle between Reliance Industries and Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group on gas pricing has put off foreign investors, the government’s assertion that no company can claim ownership of ‘a national resource’ has also created discomfort amongst the private oil and gas companies, says a senior executive of a foreign oil and gas company, which had bid in Nelp VII.
The petroleum ministry has planned road shows in India and abroad to attract investors. According to DGH sources, the response to the roadshows will determine whether the October deadline will be adhered to.
The government has clarified that gas producers will get tax holiday for seven years, but there is no clarity on whether they will be exempt from service tax. However, some analysts are optimistic. “Most of the issues have been cleared, but a few remain that are minor, and this round should see good bids from foreign players,” says Ajay Arora, partner for transaction advisory services at Ernst & Young.
A “good bid”, however, is dependent on market sentiments.
PHARMACEUTICALS
Win-Win Deal
The Sun-MedImmune settlement means Ethyol price will not come down
SUCCESS FORMULA: Sun will continue to
market the only generic version of Ethyol
(Bloomberg)
Mumbai-based Sun Pharmaceutical Industries’ patent dispute settlement with US-based MedImmune Inc. on a generic version of the cancer drug Ethyol shows how innovators and generic drug makers alike can misuse a system that was set up in the US to bring cheaper drugs to patients. While both the companies will benefit from the deal — Sun can continue to sell the only generic version of Ethyol and MedImmune’s patents are upheld — the only loser is the patient.
The settlement means that no other company will be able to market another generic version of the cancer drug — that would have brought prices down for patients — until MedImmune’s patents expire. Ethyol recorded sales of $80 million in the US in 2007, according to IMS Health, a pharma market research firm.
Sun Pharma had applied for marketing approval for a generic version of Ethyol — known under its generic name as amifostine — on the grounds that MedImmune’s patents were unenforceable. Given that MedImmune has now agreed to licence out the patents to the Sun Pharma, allowing it to continue marketing the drug, the Indian company may have been right.
Noemie Bisserbe
STRICTLY BUSINESS
It is still dark at the end of the tunnel for the global auto industry. After Toyota reported a quarterly loss of $817 million last week, Bayerische Motoren Werke (BMW) posted a sharp dip in profits for the April-June quarter, from €506 million ($730 million) in 2008 to €119 million ($172 million). “A lasting recovery is not yet in sight,” BMW said in a release.
Click here to view 'Handset Demand Picks Up'
TELECOM
Calling Attention
Believe it or not, out of about 350 million mobile subscribers in India, only 791 have complained against unsolicited calls! Unsolicited commercial calls became illegal in June 2007 with the launch of the National Do Not Call (NDNC) registry. Between then and June 2009, only 791 consumers complained of unwanted calls, says the communications and information technology ministry. “No record of complaints is maintained separately for unsolicited calls received during odd hours,” said Gurudas Kamat, minister of state for communication and information technology in a written reply in the Lok Sabha. This data does not include the barrage of SMSes that beep at all hours.
The telecom regulator, the telecom regulatory authority of India, may claim credit for NDNC’s ‘success’. But only about 120,000 people have visited the NDNC website, which lists the registered requests for stopping unsolicited calls.
M. Rajendran
(Businessworld Issue Dated 11-17 Aug 2009)