Marriott International Expected to Manage Four Hotels for Emaar MGF In India Starting in 2009

Marriott International (NYSE:MAR) expects to manage four properties in India for Emaar MGF beginning in 2009 as a result of the signing today of Memorandums of Understanding that could potentially lead to the opening of two JW Marriott-branded luxury hotels in New Delhi and Hyderabad.

When developed, these two hotels will join two previously announced properties Marriott will manage for Emaar MGF-a 250-room luxury JW Marriott-branded hotel in Kolkata (opening in 2011) and a 114-room upper-moderately-priced Courtyard by Marriott-branded property in Amritsar (opening in 2009).

"We are delighted by the strengthening of our relationship with Emaar MGF," said Ed Fuller, president & managing director of international lodging for Marriott International. "Emaar MGF has the vision, the vitality and sense of the market that enables it to develop outstanding hotels that appeal to a variety of current and emerging customer segments. We at Marriott International, meanwhile, have the broadest portfolio of lodging brands, all of which enjoy high customer preference and acceptance. We look forward to working with Emaar MGF to help bring both these two new JW Marriott-branded hotels to fruition."

Oxigen tie-up with redBus

Oxigen Services India Pvt Ltd, an IT-enabled multi-services platform and distributor of Recharges, Prepaid subscriptions and Bill payments today announced its tie-up with redBus. This will enable Oxigen's present and potential users to book and pay for bus tickets with OxiCash. redBus is India's largest online bus ticket company with a network of more than 250 bus operators plying on 3600 routes across India

Announcing the tie up, Oxigen Services India Pvt. Ltd. Founder Chairman and Managing Director Mr Pramod Saxena said, "enabling redBus services though OxiCash is an important category inclusion of travel services for large unbanked masses that needs booking of services at retail point of presence through Oxigen outlets or want to avail this service from mobile/web using OxiCash."

redBus CEO Mr Phanindra Sama added, "We are delighted to tie-up with Oxigen. Now a large base of OxiCash customers will enjoy the benefit of booking bus tickets using their mobile phone and web networks. We are always looking for new ways to add value to our customers and this partnership is a step forward for both Oxigen as well as redBus."

The tie-up will be particularly beneficial for those customers who don't own a debit or credit card and prefer paying by cash. The transactions adhere to the highest security levels and allay the fear of customers who hesitate to sharing their card details online.

DLF-Hilton Announce Seven New Hotel Developments in India

DLF and Hilton Hotels Corporation in India today announced that they have signed management agreements involving seven new hotel developments in the pipeline.

This marks the second stage in the DLF-Hilton Joint Venture Company's overall strategic development plans to build and develop 75 hotels in India in the next five to seven years. The new projects named today will bring the total number of new hotels under this DLF - Hilton alliance to 16, comprising 3500 rooms. All these 16 projects are in various stages of development and construction.

To be managed by an affiliate of Hilton Hotels Corporation, the seven new hotels will cover different market segments under the Hilton Family of Brands: Hilton, the upscale full service brand; Hilton Garden Inn, the mid-scale brand and the Homewood Suites by Hilton, an extended stay hotel brand.

The projects are:

-- Hilton Dwarka New Delhi - (300 rooms)

-- Hilton Garden Inn New Delhi / Dwarka - (400 rooms)

Homewood Suites by Hilton New Delhi / Dwarka - (100 rooms)

Hilton Residences Kolkata - (100 rooms)

Hilton Garden Inn Chennai / OMR - (250 rooms)

-- Homewood Suites by Hilton Chennai / OMR - (100 rooms)

Hilton Garden Inn Trivandrum - (200 rooms)

iQor Opens Second Call Center in India

iQor, Inc. (formerly IRMC), a premier provider of call center services, continues its global expansion with the opening of its second call center in India. With its new Center of Excellence in Delhi, iQor plans to employ more than 1,000 people by the end of 2008, nearly doubling its operations in India.

"India is well-established in the call center industry and we are pleased to have increased our footprint so quickly and dramatically over the last 18 months," said Vikas Kapoor, President and CEO, iQor, Inc.

Call center agents in India have the opportunity to work with one of the largest and fastest-growing global call center companies in the industry. As part of its ongoing commitment to employee retention, iQor rewards performance with no limits on income potential. iQor will provide employees with air-conditioned, home-to-home transportation to and from work.

IPods OK with pacemakers: study

Concerns over iPods causing cardiac pacemakers to malfunction appear to be unfounded, researchers at Children's Hospital Boston said Monday.
Cardiac electrophysiologists at the hospital launched their study after widely reported research last May concluded iPods did in fact interfere with pacemakers. The specialists have seen hundreds of children, teens and young adults with heart conditions requiring pacemakers, and questioned the results of that study.
"Many of our pacemaker patients have iPods and other digital music players, and we've never seen any problem," Dr. Charles Berul, director of the pacemaker service at the hospital, said in a release. "But kids and parents bring up this concern all the time, prompting us to do our own study."
Between September and December 2007, Dr. Gregory Webster, a cardiac fellow in training, along with the electrophysiology nurses and physicians, ran tests on 51 patients.
While last year's study was done on patients averaging 77 years of age, the average age in the Boston study was 22 (ranging from six to 60). Their pacemakers were tested against four digital music players â?? two kinds of Apple iPod (Nano and Video), SanDisk Sansa and Microsoft Zune. Each digital player was placed directly over the pacemaker.

Google Docs Aims At Microsoft Office Live With 'Gears'

Google (NSDQ:GOOG) took an important step forward Monday in its rivalry with Microsoft Office Live, reporting that Google Docs will allow users to edit word processing documents offline.
Google said users of its Google Docs word processing application can use Google Gears to save and then edit documents without being connected to the Internet.
"Cloud computing is great, but you need the cloud to make it work," Philip Tucker, software engineer, Google Docs, wrote in a Google blog. "On an airplane, on the shuttle commuting to work, or at home when my cable modem goes down, I want to work on my documents. And, until now, that usually meant saving a copy and editing on the desktop.

"Now there's a better solution. With Google Docs offline, I can take my little piece of the cloud with me wherever I go," Tucker added. "Once enabled, I have a local version of my document list and editors, along with my documents."
The editing feature, Google Gears, is an application programming interface introduced by Google more than a year ago to application developers to create Web applications that can run offline.
The technology already works within Google's news feed reader, Google Reader, and applications from independent Web developers such as task-management service "Remember the Milk," from an Australian-based company of the same name, Reuters reported.
"Everything I need is saved locally," Tucker said. "And I do everything through my web browser, even when I'm offline (the goodness that Google Gears provides). When my connection comes back, my documents sync up again with the server."

With this offline functionality, Google Docs has another important feature that it can sell as it competes with Microsoft Live, which capitalizes on the strengths of its Office suite.

Second South African now in running for top ICC post

A second seasoned South African cricket administrator is now reportedly being considered for the position of chief executive of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in the wake of Imtiaz Patel having declined an offer from the ICC to take up the seat.
The Afrikaans daily Beeld said here Tuesday Haroon Lorgat, a former national selector, is reportedly one of the new candidates that the ICC will consider after the world cricket authority said in a statement Monday that Patel had decided to remain in South Africa in his current position as head of television channel SuperSport.
Lorgat is reported to be a strong contender for the post, as he is believed to have the support of the president of Cricket South Africa, Norman Arendse.
Although the ICC a fortnight ago announced Patel's appointment to the position being vacated by Australian Malcolm Speed, Patel immediately said that he was still weighing his options.
Patel came under some pressure here for having waited two weeks before making a final call on the appointment, but his patriotism came through in his remarks in an ICC statement: "My family and I have reflected deeply on the wonderful opportunity which the ICC presented to me to fulfil such an important role in a sport which is in my blood.
"After considering my position carefully, I have, however, resolved to remain in my beloved country, South Africa, and continue in my challenging and fulfilling role as chief executive officer of SuperSport International."
Commenting on Patel's decision, ICC president-elect David Morgan said: "We are obviously disappointed that Imtiaz has chosen to withdraw his interest, having regarded him highly.
"However, the fact that Imtiaz has withdrawn does not mean that, by default, we will be left with a candidate who is, in any way, inferior to him. In fact, we have been fortunate to have several high calibre candidates on the shortlist, all of whom bring something slightly different to the table."
The Recruitment Committee charged with identifying a successor to Speed - ICC president Ray Mali, Creagh O'Connor and vice President Sharad Pawar - will now reconvene to consider the other candidates.
This was the second time in recent months that well-known South African sports administrators had left the international cricketing fraternity red-faced by rejecting an appointment after it had been announced.
Earlier, former South African national coach Graham Ford declined the position of coach to the Indian side after the Board of Control for Cricket in India had already announced it amid much fanfare.
Indo-Asian News Service

Hotels the next big thing on Tatas' African safari

The Tatas Group's African safari is getting bigger and better as the ambitious industrial house readies to set up luxury hotels and a multimillion-dollar ferrochrome steel plant in South Africa.
Indian Hotels, part of the Tata Group and owners of the famed Taj chain of hotels, is already developing properties in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town. "We hope the hotels will be in place by the end of the year or early next year," Syamal Gupta, chairperson, Tata International Limited and director, Tata Sons, told IANS.

The Tata Group is already established as a powerful Indian business brand in Africa with business interests in diverse sectors from vehicles and telecom to infrastructure and now hotels, said Gupta, a prime mover behind the group's ambitious business plans for Africa.
The hospitality sector is not virgin territory for the Tatas in Africa. The group set up a five-star hotel called The Taj Pamodzi in Zambia a few years ago. There is also a plan to set up a hotel in the Nigerian capital Lagos. In fact, the Tatas' presence in the hospitality sector in Africa is set to get bigger in the days to come with some of the African economies growing at double-digit figures and attracting more global business travellers and tourists than before.
Another big project in South Africa - a $100-million-plus ferrochrome steel plant at Richards Bay in KwaZulu-Natal - is under construction and set to be completed by next year, said Gupta.
He said the Nano small car had created a splash in Africa, like elsewhere in the world. "The Nano car has created a big buzz in Africa. India is increasingly seen in Africa as a source of high-end appropriate, adaptable and affordable technologies," said an upbeat Gupta, chairperson of the Confederation of Indian Industry's Africa Committee.
"Besides Western countries, which used to be their main source of capital and technology, African countries are now seeking alternatives like India. India is now one of their most important sources of investment."
"Africa is a very attractive destination for Indian investment. Besides the Tatas and Kirloskars, big Indian companies like ONGC Videsh, Vedanta, Mittal Group, Reliance, Essar, Ranbaxy and Dr Reddy's Labs have already made forays into Africa," he added.
VSNL, the former Indian state-owned telecom business in which Tata has a 26 percent stake and management control, has already invested in South Africa's second fixed-line operator.
The Tata Group, which has business interests in at least 18 African countries, has ambitious investment plans worth nearly $800 million in the auto, hospitality and IT sectors.
Tata Africa, the company arm that operates in Africa, and Tata Motors plan to start a vehicle assembly plant in South Africa soon. The group plans to pump $100 million into the vehicle assembly plant it acquired in Pretoria last year. The plant is likely to be operational by 2010.
The Tatas are also actively scouting for mining opportunities in Africa.
Indo-Asian News Service

Dr. Reddy's acquires part of Dow's small molecules business

Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Tuesday said it has entered into an agreement with the Dow Chemical Company to acquire a portion of Dowpharma Small Molecules business associated with its sites in Mirfield and Cambridge in Britain.
"The financial terms and conditions of the transaction are not being disclosed at this point in time. The transaction is scheduled to close on April 30, pending regulatory approval," Dr. Reddy's said in a statement.
The acquisition will include the relevant business, customer contracts, associated products, process technology, intellectual property, trademarks as well as the transfer of the facilities at Mirfield and Cambridge.
"This acquisition will add significant value to the company and will also bring strengths in industrial synthesis of complex prostaglandins and carbohydrate chemistry," said Satish Reddy, managing director and chief operating officer of the city-based Dr. Reddy's Laboratories.
With annual sales of $54 billion and 46,000 employees worldwide, Dow delivers a broad range of products and services to customers in around 160 countries.
Indo-Asian News Service

Equities market slips into red

The benchmark index of the Indian equities market, which had opened in the green Tuesday, slipped into the red in afternoon trade, thanks to fresh selling in index pivotals.
The market breadth turned negative in contrast to a strong breadth earlier in the day; 26 shares from the 30-member Sensex pack declined.
Other Asian markets that had opened before the Indian market were mixed.
The 30-share BSE Sensex hit a low of 15,301.85 shortly after noon before recovering somewhat by 1:15 p.m. to 15,617.01, still down 27.438 points or 0.18 percent from the previous close.

Earlier in the day, the index had hit a high of 15,827.87, 183.43 points above Monday's close.
At 1.15 p.m., the broader-based S&P Nifty was at 4,650.25, down 81.05 points or 1.74 percent compared to its previous close.
On BSE 1,214 shares declined as compared to 1,155 that advanced; 57 shares remained unchanged.
BHEL, L&T, M&M, Tata Steel, HDFC Bank, SAIL, Bharti Airtel and Wipro were among the top losers.
Among the frontline gainers were HUL, TCS, Hindalco, BPCL, ONGC, Cairn, ONGC and Suzlon Energy.
Indo-Asian News Service

World Bank lowers China growth forecast to 9.4 percent

The World Bank has scaled down China's growth rate for 2008 to 9.4 percent from its February forecast of 9.6 percent.
Louis Kuijs, senior economist of the World Bank's Beijing office, said Tuesday the adjustment was made purely on concerns over external factors.
As the world economy had slowed more rapidly in the past two months, this had a negative impact on the growth of Chinese exports, Kuijs said.
The Bank official said he was still optimistic of the domestic performance of the economy and was confident of adequate investment and robust consumption pattern.

The latest report said despite falling US import and rising volatility in global financial markets, China was expected to continue to perform strongly on rising domestic investment and consumption growth.
In 2007, the country's economy grew 11.4 percent, the highest in 13 years and also the fifth year of double-digit growth.
The report said growth in developing east Asia would fall by around 1 to 2 percentage points to around 8.5 percent in 2008 as a result of the unfolding financial turmoil in the United States and the resulting global slowdown.
Economies in the region reported a combined 10.2 percent growth in 2007, the highest in a decade.
According to the report, east Asia, especially China, has increasingly become a "growth pole" in the world economy, acting as a counterweight to the slowing industrial economies.
"The overall growth remains healthy across the east Asia and Pacific region", the Bank said.
Most countries were well positioned to navigate the global slowdown on back of the investments they had made over the past 10 years in structural reforms and putting sound macroeconomic policies in place, it added.
It warned the real challenge for governments in the region was the inflationary effect of mounting food and fuel prices, especially the harsh burden imposed on the poor.
Xinhua