NEW DELHI, May 16: Delphi Automotive Systems, a part of the US-based General Motors Corporation, has bagged the government clearance to inject a fresh foreign equity of Rs 152.50 crore.

The company's paid up capital will more than double to Rs 285 crore from the present Rs 132.50 crore. The proposal has been approved by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB).

Delphi will continue to remain a 100 per cent foreign-owned company. Delphi's managing director Hari Radheshwar said that the company had no plans of entering into any joint venture or dilute its equity capital by inducting local partners.

The company plans to add a new range of automotive components to its existing product range. "We are expanding in view of the entry of major international automobile companies in India. We are getting new customers," Radheshwar said.

Delphi's turnover in the current financial year is expected to touch $100 million (about Rs 360 crore).

Delphi had set up its project in October 1995 in India with a small equity capital of Rs 19.90 crore. The company was later granted clearance to increase its foreign equity to Rs 132.50 crore. Radheshwar said that with the addition of fresh foreign equity of Rs 152.50 crore, the company could take up expansion plans of over Rs 300 crore since it operates on a 1:1 debt-equity ratio.

The major customers of Delphi, at present, are Maruti Udyog and Daewoo Motors besides General Motors India, which is a part of the same group. Delphi is the only company in India which designs and developes catalytic convertors. It will also be the first to manufacture charcoal cannisters in the country. The other products which the company is manufacturing and plans to expand further are shock absorbers, brakes, front axles, steering columns, wiring harnesses, condensers and air-conditioning components.

Radheshwar said that the company was also exporting automotive components, though, its primary objective is to capture the domestic market in the initial years. "Our plan is to become the leading automotive component company in India," Radheshwar said.

Delphi has three facilities at Gurgaon and one each in Noida and Bangalore. Delphi's components are primarily used in cars, though some of the products are also used in heavy vehicles.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.