Bangalore, Sept 22 (ANI/Business Wire India): Biocon, India's pioneering biotechnology enterprise, announced today that the company has been ranked as the 7th largest employer amongst the top global biotechnology companies, according to a report released by Med Ad News.

The report takes into consideration drug based firms, as these companies provide the best numbers to track the progress of the sector. Companies have been ranked by number of employees and Biocon Limited is the only Asian company to feature at Number 7.

BIO 2008, held in San Diego recently, stated that the global biotechnology industry will be a $100 billion annual business by 2010. The actual revenue has reached 85 billion dollars in 2007.

There are close to 5000 biotech companies across the globe. The top 25 biotech companies represent 62 percent of all biotech sales and probably over 90 percent of income.

Reacting to the listing, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Chairman and Managing Director, Biocon Limited said, "It is a matter of immense pride for Biocon to be ranked amongst the top global league of Biotech companies. This is a validation of our consistent effort at attaining global leadership and also highlights the true potential of this sector in a country like India. This industry will be a key driver in India's progress towards economic development."

Biocon Limited is India's pioneer biotechnology enterprise established in 1978. Biocon and its two subsidiaries, Syngene and Clinigene form a fully integrated biotechnology enterprise, with specialized focus on biopharmaceuticals, contract research and clinical research. Strategic international acquisitions, such as acquiring a majority in the German pharmaceutical company, AxiCorp, have given Biocon wider global access and greater market penetration. Many of our products have USFDA and EMEA acceptance. (ANI)

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Mumbai, Sept 22 (ANI/Business Wire India): Ashish Bajaj has been appointed Head of Citi's Commercial Banking and Global Subsidiaries business for South Asia.

In this role, he will lead unified client coverage across Small and Mid-Market Enterprises and subsidiaries of global corporates in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Ashish will closely work with relevant product teams to oversee the coordination and delivery of all of Citi's relevant financial products and services into Citi's corporate and consumer bank client base.

Ashish will continue to report to Sanjay Nayar, CEO of South Asia. Additionally, he will report to Farhan Faruqui, Asia Pacific Head of Corporate and Commercial Banking.

"Our Commercial Banking business in South Asia is very successful and we believe Ashish is the right person to build on that. There is tremendous opportunity in this space especially as customers look for sophisticated and global banking solutions," said Sanjay Nayar.

Ashish is a 21-year Citi veteran and has worked in several senior positions in New York, London and India. He has built up a wealth of experience in the Cash Management and Trade businesses since he joined the Bank in 1987. From 2003, he has been heading Global Transaction Services (GTS) for South Asia and under his leadership; the GTS business has grown six-fold in as many years.

"Ashish's new role reflects the growing opportunities we see in helping our clients in South Asia expand into newer markets and tap new growth opportunities by offering them access to the full suite of Citi's capabilities," said Farhan Faruqui.

Citi has operated in India for more than 100 years and was the first bank to set up its Commercial Banking Business in 1998 as a dedicated strategic business unit focused on emerging local corporates. T

Today, Citi India has a SME balance sheet size of over US 2 billion dollar. The bank has over 22,000 clients and a pan-India footprint of 28 cities. The asset portfolio is concentrated on industries like chemicals and pharmaceuticals, automotive components and engineering goods, apparel, home furnishing, and leather goods (footwear and accessories). (ANI)

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Mumbai, Sept 22 (ANI/Business Wire India): Vinayak Deshpande has taken charge of Hindustan Construction Company's (HCC) construction business as President, COO - EPC and Construction.

He will be responsible for driving the EPC and Construction business of HCC which currently involves about 39 large construction projects all over India. He joins HCC after a successful 19-year stint with the Tata Group.

Deshpande will be responsible for the operations of HCC Construction's verticals, namely, Hydro, Water, Transport, Nuclear and Thermal Power, Integrated and Special Projects, and Buildings and the EPC business.

The company has recently been restructured into five business sectors - HCC Infrastructure, HCC Construction, HCC Real Estate, Lavasa and HCC Capital. The restructuring process at HCC is a result of the strong growth the company has witnessed in all segments in which it operates and this reorganisation will help focus on untapped segments.

A senior business professional, Deshpande brings to HCC over 28 years of work experience. In his last assignment, Deshpande was the Executive President - Operations at Tata Teleservices Ltd. In this position, he handled the company's Rs 7500 crore-revenue business across India, and achieved sustainable growth and enhanced profitability. He managed a team of over 4000 people.

In 19 years with the Tata Group, Deshpande spent substantial time giving shape and form to the Tata joint venture with Honeywell (now Honeywell Automation India). He successfully laid the foundation, and was in charge of building and nurturing the company to become a well known automation company having a super-brand status.

He started his career with Century Enka, moving to Thermax and then to Gujarat Carbon before joining the Tata Group in 1988, and has worked in various positions such as plant engineer, process design manager, projects and finally in general management.

He was active in raising standards of quality and innovation across Tata companies. Deshpande was involved in many group initiatives such as the Tata Business Excellence Model (TBEM) and various regional quality forums.

He has been a member of the TBEM Mentor Program and has monitored the assessment processes of organizations such as Titan, Tata Teleservices and Tata Ryerson. He was also a member of the Tata Group Innovation Forum (TGIF), focused on fostering innovation at the group level.

Deshpande is a Chemical Engineer from IIT, Kharagpur from the 1980 batch. He lives life passionately and is an active trekker, regularly discovering newer heights in the Himalayas. He also participates in car rallies frequently.

HCC is a leading construction and infrastructure development company with a rich heritage of experience. The company specializes in large-scale infrastructure development and developing new age construction technologies.

The Company has managed and executed several technically complex and high value projects across segments like transportation, power generation infrastructure, marine projects, oil and gas pipeline constructions, irrigation and water supply, utilities and urban infrastructure. (ANI)

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New York, Sept 22 (ANI): As financial crisis grip the world economy, the Wall Street's catastrophe has trickled down to Manhattan's mammary meccas.

According to the sources, bar traffic and lap dances have significantly reduced with fewer customers visiting these joints.

The crisis has hit clubs hardly, they add.

"The strippers at Penthouse Executive Club are all moaning and groaning," the New York Post quoted an insider as saying.

"They say they aren't making anything at all since the market crashed," the insider added. (ANI)

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