Hindujas eye majority in AP refinery

London-based Hinduja Group today said that it would be interested in holding a majority stake in its proposed joint venture for a petroleum refining project with state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation in Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh.

G P Hinduja, vice-chairman of the group, speaking on the sidelines of a press conference of group company Ashok Leyland, said, "Wherever we go, we do not have anything other than a majority stake. Our group company, Gulf Oil, would pick up stake in the project."

It may be recalled that Subir Raha, former ONGC chairman and managing director, had joined the Hinduja Group as its vice-chairman in August.

Elaborating on the group's business plans in India, G P Hinduja along with his brother A P Hinduja spoke at length showing interest in various sectors including healthcare, telecom, energy, power and media & entertainment.

The group's top officials said that plans were afoot to expand the group's healthcare presence through more hospitals with a total capacity of 5,000 beds from the present 350 beds at the Hinduja hospital in Mumbai.

The officials spoke to the media on the sidelines of a press conference in Chennai to announce group company Ashok Leyland's joint venture agreement with Japan's Nissan Motor to enter the light commercial vehicle market.

The group has also 'received the blessings' of the Andhra Pradesh government to set up a 1,000-1,200 mw coal-based power plant in Visakhapatnam at an investment of Rs 5,000 crore.

This plant is expected to be commissioned in the next 32 months. The project will be undertaken by Hinduja National Power Corporation. The group is willing to divest up to 49 per cent stake in this company.

"It will be a merchant power plant, with 25 per cent of the output committed to the state and the rest we can sell to whoever we want," said GP Hinduja, vice- chairman of the group.