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NEW DELHI: Dunkin¶ Donuts, one of the largest coffee and baked goods chain and Starbucks¶ biggest
competition in the US, is in talks to enter India through a franchisee deal with Jubilant Foodworks, two
people familiar with the development said.

Unlike Starbucks, which is likely to operate in the premium segment in India, Dunkin¶ Donuts will target
the mass coffee segment in the country, an official familiar with the potential deal said.

Originally started as a donut and other baked goods retailer in 1950, Dunkin¶ Donut today gets more than
half of its $6-billion global sales from coffee.

Jubilant Foodworks, which runs Domino¶s Pizza chain in the country, is keen on keeping the momentum
in sales growth and it has held talks with several global players in the food and beverage retail segment
since it went public last year, said another official closely involved in the development. Both the officials
said an announcement was expected soon.

The Rs 425-crore Jubilant Foodworks is holding a press briefing on Thursday for an undisclosed business
announcement. ET could not confirm whether this is related to Dunkin¶ Donuts tie-up.

The Jubilant Foodworks spokeswoman declined comment on the development. In an e-mail response,
Michelle King, director, global public relations, of Dunkin¶ Brands, which owns Dunkin¶ Donuts said, ³It is
our company¶s policy that we do not comment on rumours or speculation.´

An alliance with Dunkin¶ Donuts will diversify Jubilant Foodworks¶ portfolio, besides reducing its
dependence on a single brand. The Delhi-based firm has been in talks with a few global food and
beverages chains, including the iconic US coffee chain Starbucks.

Last month, Starbucks announced a deal with Tata Coffee to source coffee from India and explore
opening retail stores in the country.

But it is learnt that Starbucks is keeping its options open on standalone stores in the country.

Donuts hopes to take on the country¶s largest coffee chain Cafe Coffee Day, Italian chain Lavazza-owned
Barista and UK-based Costa Coffee run by PepsiCo bottler Ravi Jaipuria.

Traditionally popular in South India, coffee has gained a broader acceptance in the country over the last
decade as chains such as Cafe Coffee Day and Barista made it popular among college-goers and young
executives.

The organised coffee retailing segment in India is estimated at around Rs 600 crore and the cafe culture
is spreading across the country fast. The chain business has a huge potential, considering that half of
India¶s population is less than 25 years.

The Massachusetts-based Dunkin¶ Donuts operates more than 9,700 restaurants in 31 countries and is
fast expanding its global footprint. Earlier this month, Dunkin¶ Brands CEO and Dunkin¶ Donuts President
Nigel Travis said the firm posted a 50% increase in development agreements in 2010 and opened 574
new locations worldwide.
Jubilant Foodwork¶s scrip price has more than tripled since its listing in February last year at Rs 160 per
share.

On Wednesday, it closed at Rs 512.05, up 0.54 % on the Bombay Stock Exchange in a weak market.

The Bhartia family-promoted company is valued at Rs 3,300 crore, more than the group¶s flagship
pharma company Jubilant Lifesciences (Rs 2,659 crore) at the closing price on Wednesday.

For the quarter ended December 2010, the pizza business made a profit of Rs 19 crore on sales of Rs
186 crore, compared with a profit of Rs 44 for its pharma business on sales of Rs 867 crore.

Domino¶s set up 25 new stores in the October-December. The pizza chain, which competes with Yum!
Restaurant¶s Pizza Hut, operates 364 stores across 87 cities as of now.

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NEW DELHI: Chinese truck manufacturers plan to start operations in India, buoyed by rising opportunities
in the world's fast growing truck market.

Sinotruk, one of the largest heavy truck makers of China , plans to set up an assembly unit in India after
expanding in a big way in other overseas markets.

"We are hoping for an India partner to introduce our products into local market. Our India strategy is to
establish a local assembly facility, which invites lower taxes in order to tap the buoyant local market that is
ideal for our range of big trucks," said Shen Xiangke, Sinotruk's international spokesman.

Beiqi Foton Motor , the largest Chinese truck maker by volume, is close to finalising locations for its Indian
subsidiary. Shandong Shifeng , a specialised manufacturer of agricultural light trucks, has already started
making such vehicles with Kolkata-basedHindustan Motors .

The Indian heavy truck market grew 65% to 2.62 lakh units in 2010, bypassing China's 40% growth of last
year.

Backed by strong demand from housing and infrastructure sectors, sales of trucks have shown significant
surge in recent years. This is expected to bolster sale of heavy truck in India to over 5-lakh units by 2013-
14, analysts said.

"The potential for the Indian commercial vehicle market in the medium term is very positive. It is the
demand for light vehicle of up to 5 tonne backed by development of retail sector and heavier trailers
trucks of over 25 tonne- driven by significant investments and improvements in road infrastructure in India
- that will lead to growth of this segment," said PR Easwaran, director Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India.

Consistent demand for new trucks and improvement in the domestic freight market have resulted in the
entry of some European and American truck makers in the past five years. World's largest truck company,
Daimler AG launched a dedicated brand 'BharatBenz' for India.

In the past, couples of joint ventures were announced where Force Motors of Pune started a joint-venture
with MAN AG of Germany to make big trucks in the 25 tonnes and above range. Utility vehicle maker
Mahindra& Mahindra had also inked a similar venture with American firm Navistar.

        

NEW DELHI: India's largest automobile company Maruti Suzuki will supply its latest compact car A-Star
to Volkswagen AG . The car, which will undergo some modifications and design changes, will be sold in
India and Asian markets under a new brand, according to senior officials in the automobile industry.

The agreement to supply A-Star, Suzuki's fifth global model after Swift, Ritz, SX4 and Grand Vitara will be
inked soon. Volkswagen holds 20% stake in Maruti's parent company Suzuki.

Volkswagen's decision to choose A-Star comes after two years of Maruti's success of supplying A-Star to
another Japanese carmaker Nissan Motors, which re-badges the same car as Pixo for sales through its
own network in Europe. A-Star sold as Alto in overseas markets is exclusively made by Maruti Suzuki at
its Manesar plant in Haryana. It's a futuristic product specifically developed by parent Suzuki Motor Corp
(SMC) for developed markets meeting all its stringent crash safety tests, emission norms and
environment regulations.

Maruti's engineering team would work closely with VW to tweak the car as per its global market needs,
said a senior official from the automobile industry. "There could be some changes in the basic design
though the overall technical specs won't be altered," the official added.?

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BANGALORE: India¶s third biggest software firm, Wipro, plans to achieve billion dollar in revenues by
selling hydraulic cylinders and manufacturing components for aviation and defence contractors in around
3-4 years, as the company seeks to grow its portfolio beyond software.

Having restructured its software exports business last month, Wipro¶s Infrastructure Engineering division,
which contributes less than 10% of the group¶s business, has identified Brazil and China as new
manufacturing hubs for its hydraulics business.

The company has also received regulatory approvals for setting up its defence manufacturing unit at
Devanahalli on the outskirts of Bangalore.

³We want to more than treble our cylinder manufacturing capacity and flesh out a more focussed strategy
for addressing the lucrative defence offset market,´ said Pratik Kumar , who now heads Wipro¶s
infrastructure engineering division.

Wipro, which counts the world¶s biggest maker of construction equipments Caterpillar among its top
customers, set up its ninth manufacturing unit at Wujin hitech industrial zone in Changzou, China last
year. The company is now preparing to set up another unit in Brazil sometime this year.

³We are exploring both Greenfield and acquisition route to expand in Brazil, it¶s an opportunity we cannot
afford to get late in addressing,´ said Mr Kumar. ³The economy is growing 7-8 %, and with the Olympics
ahead, prospects are looking bright,´ he added.

Experts say Wipro¶s diversified business helps it steer through economic downturns more effectively, but
the company needs to ensure that it picks the right bets. ³Wipro¶s biggest strength is its soaps to software
positioning, but our concern is that it should not spread too thin. Also, sectors like defence bring other
regulatory risks and long sales cycles,´ said an analyst at a Mumbai-based brokerage firm who tracks the
company.?

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NEW DELHI: Reliance¶s tie-up with BP will help it more than double the gas output from the D-6 block to
120 million cubic metres a day and endorse its capital expenditure in developing the country¶s biggest gas
field, which is being scrutinised by the national auditor, industry officials said.

The expertise of BP, which is buying 30% in Reliance¶s offshore exploration blocks for $9 billion, will
expand Reliance¶s recoverable reserves significantly and boost output.

³It could be in multiples,´ a person close to the deal said, referring to the potential gain in gas output.

As per BP estimates, Reliance already has 15 trillion cubic feet of reserves, which can be doubled with
the help of its international experience and expertise.

Shashi K Mukundan , head of BP Group¶s Indian operations, told ET that the jump in output would be
significant but he did not elaborate.

Industry experts familiar with the technical aspects said the output from D-6, currently stagnating at about
50-55 million standard cubic metres a day (mmscmd) can be raised to 120 mmscmd.

Reliance started pumping natural gas from its D-6 field in 2009 and was expected to ramp up the output
to 80 mmscmd. But output rose to only 60 mmscmd and fell because of some technical issues, sparking
concerns among investors and analysts.

³We believe that through this deal RIL will primarily get access to BP¶s deepwater expertise, which it
needs to tackle technical issues in the sub-surface of D-6 block,´ Goldman Sachs had stated in a report.

Mukundan said BP had the technology to boost the pressure of gas from the field to increase gas
production.

³It is a win-win-win situation. Reliance is good at execution strategies and we are good at sub-surface
(development) with latest technologies,´ he said. Analysts tracking the sector agree.

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Mukundan said he was also hopeful of a liberal gas pricing regime in the country, particularly after other
companies such as ONGC and Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) start producing gas, as
output from multiple sources would help establish the appropriate market price.

BP is buying 30% in Reliance¶s gas-rich D-6 and 22 other blocks for an initial payment of $7.2 billion and
another $1.8 billion after commercial discoveries.

Analysts said the deal would also help Reliance justify its capital expenditure in developing the D-6 block,
which is being scrutinised by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India. Oil ministry officials say the
expenditure has already been verified by an independent auditor and industry officials say expenditure in
a high-risk and specialised business as oil exploration has its own globally-accepted norms.

³BP¶s involvement will also validate development spending and internationalise the gas pricing issue,´ JP
Morgan said in a research note.

The entry of a global oil major in the Indian gas market is expected to accelerate gas pricing reforms in
India, which are already under the government¶s consideration. The oil ministry is considering a nearly
uniform price of gas throughout the country to replace the current situation of multiple prices depending
on the source of supply.

Mukundan said gas prices in India vary from $4.2 per unit for D-6 to $12 per unit which customers pay for
imported liquefied natural gas (LNG).

³Once you have multiple players, the government has no reason to control prices,´ he said, adding that
gas producers needed a good price, particularly for output from technologically challenging deep-sea
regions, where cost of production is high.?

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AHMEDABAD: Keen on attracting Indian investments , France today said it offers the best incentives on
research and development (R&D) in Europe to the industry.

"France is offering the best incentives on R&D in Europe. One can get tax credits of up to 40 per cent of
R&D costs in first year and 30 per cent in subsequent two years," Guillaume Page, Inward Investment
Officer at Embassy of France in India , said.

"A new tax regime on productive investments of foreign businesses is giving a strong push to innovation
in France," he said, adding that the country has about 70 competitive clusters spread across sectors like
pharma, IT, auto and renewable energy.

Considering the competence of Indian companies, France offers immense investment opportunities in
sectors like infotech, pharma, renewable energy and logistics, said Page, who was in the city for trade
promotion.

"Automotive industry through acquisition route offers good opportunities in France as well," Page said at a
CII-organised event here.

"Last year 15 Indian companies set up businesses in France," he said.

The bilateral trade between India and France last year stood at USD 9 billion. The two-way trade is
expected to reach USD 12 billion by 2012, he said.
State-run Invest in France Agency annually approaches between 700 to 800 Indian companies for making
investments in the European country, Page said?