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Xenitis launches seven projects in West Bengal

Special Correspondent

Signs MoU for passenger car, mobile handset units

KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on Saturday presided over a function where seven agreements were signed by a single group, including for a passenger car project and a mobile handset manufacturing facility.

While lauding the entrepreneurship zeal of the 40 plus Santanu Ghosh, Mr. Bhattacharjee remarked: "seven projects were launched in one hour, I assure you of the State Government's cooperation during your initial stage, but I would also advise you to go slow and steady.''

Mr. Bhattacharjee said his government's focus was on setting up manufacturing industries with special emphasis on auto industries — an area where the State had lagged behind, since the setting up of Hindustan Motors decades ago. West Bengal Industry Minister Nirupam Sen was also present on the occasion.

Talking to the press later, Mr. Bhattacharjee said efforts were on to bring in Ashok Leyland and Mahindras for two automobile units in Haldia.

Mr. Ghosh, who started his entrepreneurial journey by setting up what he describes as the country's first computer hardware facility (near his hometown of Chinsurah in Hooghly district) has now stepped into the automobile field, launching a bicycle and a two-wheeler, which is being assembled at a facility near the computer unit, with technology support from Guangzhou Automobiles of China.

The Chinese company, which is an OEM supplier for Honda and Hyundai, tied up with Mr Ghosh's group Xenitis, to manufacture passenger cars in West Bengal. The automobile foray is being led by Global Automobiles, a Xenitis group company

Agreements were also signed with auto ancillary units for supplying auto components to the proposed four-wheeler factory and existing two-wheeler unit.

Xenitis tied up on Saturday with Indian Oil Corporation for locating Global Automobiles' service-points at 350 of IOC retail outlets throughout the state.

At the function, Xenitis also signed an MoU with the Singapore-based Longcheer Technology for manufacturing handsets in West Bengal. Mr. Ghosh said that the mobile-sets would be sold under the company brand and also supplied to large mobile handset makers.

For Technolab Pvt. Ltd., the training wing of the Xenitis group, an MoU was signed with City & Guilds - a UK based accreditation body. This association is likely to help Xenitis Group to endorse the hardware training course with international certification according to company sources.

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