In a move aimed at facilitating co-ordination between power transmission companies KEC International and RPG Transmission (RPGT) ahead of the completion of the merger of the companies, the RPG group yesterday made major changes in the top management of the two firms.
The management changes in the transmission business are also aimed at better utilisation of resources. The changes made by Harsh V Goenka, chairman of the two companies, include appointing S C Khanna as executive director of RPGT with effect from April 7, 1998. Khanna takes over from R K Dwivedi, who moves to RPG Dholpur Power Project by May 14, 1998. To facilitate closer co-ordination, Khanna will report to H M Singh, president, KEC International.
The group has also appointed K V Mani as executive director (operations) of KEC International. T N Balasubramaniam has been made executive director (finance) of KEC. In another significant appointment with an eye to growing in the business through partnerships abroad, S G Mani has been designated as vice-president (business development) with the specific responsibility of forging joint ventures in various countries. In the interest of better co-ordination between the two companies, V N Deshpande, vice-president (human resource development) at KEC would also co-ordinate HRD activities at RPG Transmission.
H K Nigam, who is the erstwhile head of manufacturing at RPG Transmission, Jabalpur, has been appointed vice-president (technical) at KEC International, with specific responsibility of information technology and research and development, including plant engineering.
The new appointees would report to H M Singh, president, KEC International, who would continue to report to R Sunderarajan, president and chief executive of the transmission sector.
Recently, the RPG group had also ushered in major changes in its entertainment business. The merger proposal of the two companies envisages making the merged entity a truly global company, with a healthy order book of Rs 1,600 crore. Among the advantages of the merger, are drawing on the strength of both the companies -- KEC's demonstrated international experience and competitiveness and RPGT's design/testing skills and cost effective manufacturing base.
Financial, management and material resources would also be utilised optimally and the merger would also create a global entity which would be able to tap global capital at global costs to further enhance competitiveness.
The merged company will have an installed capacity of 1,30,000 MT per annum, turnover of over Rs 1000 crore and exports of about Rs 650 crore.
The combined balance sheet of the new company will provide customers worldwide the reassurance of the entity's capacity to undertake large projects and also raise finances for the funding of BOT, BOLT and BOOT projects.
KEC is already the largest power transmission company in Asia and the second largest in the world and enjoys 35 per cent market share in the Indian power transmission sector.
Results leakage alleged
The Indian Aluminium Company (Indal) finds itself in a spot over allegations of leakage of price sensitive information having insider trading implication a couple of days before the company board approved the results for 1997-98. Worried about the development, the company has already run a check on its managerial staff to ascertain the source of the leak.
The controversy relates to the reports appearing on the profit estimates in a section of the press before the board met here yesterday.
The figures given in the report were too close to the mark raising suspicion about vested interest elements in the company leaking the information to the press for pecuniary benefits.
Admitting to the implication of such leackages, the chief financial officer of the company, Partho S Datta, said the management is running a check on its managerial employees to ascertain the source of the leak.
The company secretary and vice-president, legal, Vijaya Sampath, however, dismissed the allegation about involvement of company employees in the incident and said, all the managerial staff of the company have been asked to submit a written statement on the issue.
