Hindujas to up investments in healthcare, power

London-based Hinduja Group would be expanding its business interests in India in several sectors including healthcare, telecom, energy, power and media & entertainment.

The group's top honchos, including G P Hinduja and A P Hinduja, said that plans are afoot to expand its healthcare presence through more hospitals in the country with a total capacity of 5,000 beds from the present level of 350 beds at the Hinduja Hospital in Mumbai.

The group's executives 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 (LCV) 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 with an investment of Rs 5,000 crore.  The plant is expected to be commissioned in the next 32 months.

The project will be undertaken by Hinduja National Power Corporation, and the group is willing to divest up to 49% stake in the company. "It will be a merchant power plant with 25% of the output committed to the state, and the rest we can sell to whoever we want," said G P Hinduja, vice chairman of the group.

The group is also planning to dilute its stake to the extent of 10% in its banking arm, IndusInd Bank, through a GDR issue in December this year.  The target price for the issue is expected to be around Rs 125, though A P Hinduja, group president in India, said that the price is yet to be finalised.

A P Hinduja said that going forward, the group would also get more aggressive in the media front through Indus Media and Communications  (a subsidiary of Hinduja TMT).