Bhel eyeing foreign buys, plans diversification

Bharat Heavy Electricals is planning overseas buys to gain new markets and technologies and will diversify into areas such as transmission, transportation and nuclear power. Europe and the former Soviet republics were focus areas for the firm. Acquisitions are made to acquire intellectual property rights or to acquire a market. 
 
Bhel is in talks with global firms like Areva, Toshiba and Westinghouse Electric for nuclear technology tie-ups. It already has a similar deal with a joint venture of General Electric and Hitachi. It will sign a joint venture with an overseas partner for the power-transmission business in three months. Bhel also plans to jointly bid with GE-Hitachi to supply engines to the Indian Railway.
 
The firm had won 200 billion worth of contracts since the fiscal year began in April, taking its total order book to Rs1.25 trillion. BHEL was on target to boost manufacturing capacity to 15,000 megawatts (MW) by March 2010, at a cost of Rs2,400 crore.