• Investment World
• eWorld
• Brand Line
• Mentor
• Life
• Canvas
• Praxis
• Urban Pulse
• Brand Quest
• The New Manager

Stocks

• Quotes
• SE Diary
• Scoreboard
• Open-End Mutual Fund

Cross Currency

• Rates
  
  

Shipping

• Ports
  
  

Archives

• Yesterday
• Datewise
• Resources
• In Focus
• In Depth

Group Sites

• The Hindu
• Business Line
• Sportstar
• Frontline
• The Hindu eBooks
• The Hindu Images

Our Bureau

To expand operations in India, overseas locations

Mumbai , June 26

SIDBI Venture Capital Ltd, the venture capital arm of SIDBI, has invested Rs 10 crore in a logistics and freight forwarding company, Direct Logistics India Private Ltd. Its stake in the company was not disclosed. "It would be a minor stake,'' Captain Sunil Devrani, Managing Director, Direct Logistics, said.

There is immense scope for logistics services because of India's growing international trade with China and Direct Logistics has been growing over 100 per cent, said Mr Ajay Kumar Kapur, CEO, SIDBI Venture Capital. The company's international presence also makes it a strong player in the market, he said at a press conference.

SIDBI Venture has invested in the company through its Rs 500-crore SME Growth Fund.

Expansion plans

The company plans to apportion the investment in expanding its operations in India and overseas locations such as China, Taiwan, Afghanistan and Kazakhstan. "The current investment would propel our growth in India and provide us leadership and directional support,'' said Capt. Devrani.

It plans to set up nine offices in India at Pune, Jaipur, Ludhiana and Coimbatore, among others. "To ramp up sales and other growth initiatives, the company would recruit 125 logistics and freight forward professionals from India,'' he said. It also plans to open six offices in China and one in Taiwan within the next 18 months.

"We plan to issue an IPO in the next three to four years,'' said Capt. Devrani. Direct Logistics is also looking at future venture capital funding as per its growth requirements. Mergers and acquisitions would also depend on its future needs, he said.

"In this investment, our exit route would be through an IPO,'' said Mr Kapur.

The company plans to increase its sales from Rs 39.5 crore during 2005-06 to Rs 147 crore in 2006-07.

More Stories on : Venture Capital | Supply Chain Management

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
TN CM dedicates 683-km-long petroproduct pipeline to nation

Copyright © 2006, The Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu Business Line