April 17, 2009
The Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd. agreed on April 11 to establish an optical fiber drawing company jointly with Universal Cables Limited on April 11. The new venture, which will be based in Goa, will begin operations in September.
1. Background and purpose
The core of Furukawa's information and telecommunications business is its optical fiber business, and expanding the sales of optical fibers overseas is a major goal for the Company. With the telecommunications sector in India set to experience rapid growth, demand for optical fibers should experience significant growth and Furukawa is accordingly interested in establishing a presence in this market. Meanwhile, Universal Cables is hoping to expand its optical fiber manufacturing business by introducing Furukawa's technologies. The two companies therefore entered into discussions about setting up a new venture, and ultimately were able to reach an agreement. The companies will discuss the expansion of the venture in step with growth of the market in India.
2. Profile of New Company
| (1) Name: | (To be determined) |
| (2) Head office: | Goa, India |
| (3) Establishment(launch of operations): | September 2009(scheduled) |
| (4) Business: | Manufacture and sale of drawn optical fibers |
| (5) Ownership: | Universal Cables : Furukawa Electric = 55:45 |
| (6) Paid-in capital: | 10 million US dollars (with capital of 200 million rupees and a capital surplus of about 300 million rupees) |
| (7) Number of officers: | 5 The president will be dispatched from Universal Cables. The vice president will be dispatched from Furukawa. |
| (8) Projected sales: | About 3-4 billion yen per year (from 2010) |
3. Profile of Universal Cables
| (1) Head office: | P.O.9 Birla Vikas, Satna-485 005 (MP), India (Madhya Pradesh, India) |
| (2) CEO: | D. R. Bansal |
| (3) Sales: | 5,630 million Indian rupees (about 11.1 billion yen; fiscal year ending March 2008) |
| (4) Established: | 1962 |
| (5) Business: | Manufacture and sale of power cables, electricity products, and optical fibers |