Syngenta India to list on BSE

By Our Special Correspondent

MUMBAI, DEC. 23. Syngenta India, an Indian subsidiary of the world's leading agribusiness company Syngenta AG, aims to list on the Bombay Stock Exchange in January next.

The former agribusiness division of Novartis India became Syngenta India in November this year. Fiftyone per cent of the shares of Syngenta India is owned by Syngenta AG. The latter was formed by the global merger of the crop protection and seeds businesses of Novartis AG with the agrochemicals businesses of AstraZeneca. The parent company is listed on the London, New York, Stockholm and Swiss stock exchanges.

``We have applied to the Bombay Stock Exchange for listing,'' said Mr. Prakash Apte, President and Managing Director of Syngenta India. ``We expect our shares to be listed in January.'' The company has dispatched shares to its shareholders.

The Syngenta group at present has three entities in India. These are Syngenta India, Zeneca Agrochemicals and Zeneca Biosciences Pvt. Ltd. Their proforma turnover in 1999-2000 was about Rs. 550 crores. Syngenta India has its head office in Mumbai. The two Zeneca companies are based in Chennai. They are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Syngenta AG. Their names will be changed to reflect the Syngenta affiliation.

Syngenta is looking into plans to co-ordinate operations of the group companies in India to increase efficiency and customer satisfaction. This includes reviewing the benefits of operating a combined sales and marketing team, thus presenting a common face to the customer. Plans are on hand to re-launch all the companies' brands under the Syngenta banner. As announced globally for Syngenta AG, manpower requirements are under review. The Syngenta companies in India currently employ just under 1,000 people.

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Section  : Business
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