Anil to build defence choppers near Nagpur: The Times of India

Selects Mihan For $1bn Aerospace Project

The Anil Ambaniowned Reliance Group has selected Mihan near Nagpur in Maharashtra for developing India's first smart city for the defence sector. Known as Dhirubhai Ambani Aerospace Park (DAAP), the smart city will be developed at a cost of $1 billion to manufacture helicopters for both commercial and military applications.

The project would be the first integrated facility in aerospace structure, engine design and manufacture, fabrication and platform integration in the country.

The move is part of the Reliance Group's aggressive play in defence, seeking to capture aslice of the $100 billion worth of opportunities that the sector would soon throw up as part of the NDA government's `Make in India' programme to focus on indigenous manufacturing of defence equipment.

Confirming the move, Reliance Group chairman Anil Ambani said, “The group

plans to develop DAAP as a centre of excellence in the aerospace segment on the lines of the global centre of ship building at Pipavav in Gujarat.“ Earlier this year, the Reliance Group added heft in its defence manufacturing by buying out Nikhil Gandhi promoted Pipavav Defence and Offshore Engineering (PDOE), which houses India's largest dry dock facility to build warships. It subsequently committed investments of Rs 5,000 crore towards indigenization efforts.

For the full report, log on to http:www.timesofindia.com Reliance MediaWorks (RMW), part of billionaire businessman Anil Ambani's Reliance Group, is looking to sell some of its real estate properties, including the multiplex Imax Wadala, for Rs 200 crore to further deleverage the balance sheet of its parent firm Reliance Capital.The proposed sale indicates the group's strategic shift to focus on its core businesses of financial services, communications and infrastructure along with the new business of defence manufacturing.

RMW on Tuesday also announced the completion of the sale of its multiplexes businesses to Carnival Cinemas for Rs 700 crore, in the largest ever deal in the sector in India.The sale was announced in December last year and excluded real estate owned by RMW at Imax Wadala and other properties.

The entire sale proceeds for of the multiplex business have been duly received by RMW and will be used to reduce Reliance Capital's leverage by Rs 700 crore, through a combination of transfer of debt of RMW and infusion of cash proceeds, said a company statement.

“This will lower our debt-equity ratio to a conservative 1.75:1, among the lowest in the financial services sector in India,“ said Reliance Capital executive director Sam Ghosh, adding that the transaction is “in furtherance of Re liance Capital's stated objective of focusing purely on its core financial services businesses, significantly reducing exposure to non-core investments in the media and entertainment sector, and reducing overall debt“.

Reliance Capital had a debt of Rs 24,000 crore as on March 31, 2015, of which Rs 20,000 crore is on account of its lending portfolio. The strategy will free up management bandwidth and resources in Reliance Capital.