AHMEDABAD
SWEDISH multinational, Asea Brown Boveri is effecting a minor hike in the foreign equity of its Indian subsidiary -- ABB Limited.According to sources, this follows the recent restructuring in the company's Indian operation which led to the merger of ABB's three group companies in India with ABB Limited.

The three group companies which have merged with ABB India are ABB Lenzohm Services, ABB Instrumentation and ABB Analytical.

Post restructuring, ABB's stake is going up from 50.99 per cent to 52.11 per cent. ABB India would issue preference shares to its parent - ABB Zurich for taking the additional equity stake.When contacted an ABB official confirmed the development and said that it has already obtained the neccessary approvals from the government.

Though financially the impact of the merger is insignificant, but overall it will help the company in streamlining operations and complimenting each other in various operations like finance, marketing and human resources. It would also lead to significant savings for the group in India.

The three companies together have a total turnover of Rs 70 crore, which is roughly 10 per cent of the total ABB India turnover. While ABB Analytical Limited manufactures valves, ABB Lenzohm Services is in the business of services, which has been identified as one of thrust areas of the company.

Following its sale of the power division to Alstom recently, the company has identified industrial IT services, project management, manufacturing products for oil and gas and petroleum sectors as its corea areas of operation. ABB India has also hired the former managing director of Volvo India, Mr Ravi Uppal, as the new managing director of ABB to give shape to the company's new found philosophy of a customer-centric approach.