Bajaj Auto may buy stakes in Kawasaki subsidiaries

Bajaj Auto has said that it is planning to pick up stakes in subsidiaries of Kawasaki in Philipines and Thailand.

"We are looking into this ...Might pick up stake in companies of Kawasaki in Phillipines and Thailand," Bajaj Auto Chairman Rahul Bajaj said on the sidelines of a CII conference.

Saying that the deal has to be of "mutual interest", Bajaj said its technology partner Kawasaki had interest in companies engaged in assembly and manufacture and also distribution and selling in both the countries.

As a part of its expansion plans in South East Asia, Bajaj also said the company's assembly plant in Indonesia will be operational by March 2006.