Asia Africa Intelligence Wire articles from February 2003

Asia Africa Intelligence Wire archives from February 2003

Icy inspiration.
February 1, 2003... (From ABIX - Australasian Business Intelligence - Apparel) In order to inspire artists, Creative New Zealand and Antarctica New Zealand send two artists per year to the Antarctic. Fieke Neuman, a fashion designer, was fortunate to be one of...

Sharon Ng showcased in new Blanchet store.
February 1, 2003... (From ABIX - Australasian Business Intelligence - Apparel) Byline: Nicole Curin-Birch Sharon Ng designs will be sold at Nicholas Blanchet retail fashion stores. Franchise holder Jude Riddell offered Ng a presence in the New Zealand...

All and sundry stake their claim to a slice of the surfwear market.
February 1, 2003... (From ABIX - Australasian Business Intelligence - Apparel) Many New Zealand surfwear retailers are struggling to maintain sales due to discount stores selling cheaper products. Mike Holland, of Surf & Streetwear in Auckland, believes that...

Sweet by name and street by nature.
February 1, 2003... (From ABIX - Australasian Business Intelligence - Apparel) Byline: Nicole Curin-Birch Children's fashion label Caramel was created by a New Zealand mother, Jocelyn Bray. She was dissatisfied with the variety of childrenswear on offer...

NZ textiles adorn the Middle East's best-dressed chairs.
February 1, 2003... (From ABIX - Australasian Business Intelligence - Apparel) The Four Seasons Hotel in Jordan will be upholstered in New Zealand fabric supplied by Auckland's Maxwell Rodgers Fabrics. The terms of the contract include the provision of 1.7...

Beyer Textiles' moves with the changing times.
February 1, 2003... (From ABIX - Australasian Business Intelligence - Apparel) Paul Roughton, of Beyer Textiles, believes that the textiles industry has changed during the 45 years the company been in business. Formerly known as Beyer silks, the New Zealand...

Ecco footwear launches into retail.
February 1, 2003... (From ABIX - Australasian Business Intelligence - Apparel) Ecco Shoes (New Zealand) Limited opened two stores in Auckland in late 2002. Ecco Shoes (New Zealand) is a subsidiary of Denmark's Ecco SKO A/S. The Ecco footwear brand, one of the...

Poynter looks set to kick it with the best in NYC.
February 1, 2003... (From ABIX - Australasian Business Intelligence - Apparel) Kennedy Poynter is a footwear designer from Auckland who is trying to break into the US market. After three months of research and design in early 1999, Poynter launched his first...

Making your mark.
February 1, 2003... (From ABIX - Australasian Business Intelligence - Apparel) Byline: Jonathan Aumonier-Ward The New Zealand apparel industry is competitive and brand distinction is increasingly vital. Strong trademarks need to be protected through...

Negotiating salaries.
February 1, 2003... (From ABIX - Australasian Business Intelligence - Apparel) Byline: Donna Whittle Negotiating a salary increase requires compromise. Inflexibility on either side can have negative consequences. An employee who will not budge on his/her...

Pollock & Milne closure marks the end of an era.
February 1, 2003... (From ABIX - Australasian Business Intelligence - Apparel) The closure of New Zealand's Pollock & Milne in March 2003 will be a sad occasion for the store's proprietor, Robert Pollock. His father Jack established the fabric store in 1933 in...

Video surveillance industry bucks the trend.
February 1, 2003... (From Network Computing Asian Edition) Byline: Oo Gin Lee Terrorist activity and incidents have resulted in companies and government institutions re-evaluating their video surveillance systems. Because of this, the video surveillance...

Can smart cards sow the seeds of trust?
February 1, 2003... (From Network Computing Asian Edition) Byline: Oo Gin Lee There is much potential for smart cards to become the platform for maintaining the privacy and security of online identities. Speaking at the Gemplus Developer Conference at...

OCBC Bank: Developing a new IT architecture.
February 1, 2003... (From Network Computing Asian Edition) Byline: Oo Gin Lee In 1999, Singapore's OCBC Bank developed a new IT architecture to support its strategy to become a leading financial services institution in the region. A critical driver in...

Wipro sees big growth in Web services for 2003.
February 1, 2003... (From Network Computing Asian Edition) Byline: Butler Group THE Butler Group recently caught up with Indian software services company, Wipro, about its move into provisioning enhanced Web services to its clients. The company has built...

Tech Outlook: Web services.
February 1, 2003... (From Network Computing Asian Edition) Byline: - Wireless Web services to drive J2ME mobile apps. Designed to connect. Moving to the forefront. Wireless Web services to drive J2ME mobile apps As application development moves...

Cover: Category 6 Cabling.
February 1, 2003... (From Network Computing Asian Edition) Byline: David Chin The long-awaited Cat 6 cabling standard (ANSI/TIA/EIA-854-A) was finally ratified last year, and it defined a higher bandwidth transmission of 250MHz as compared to 100MHz for...

Tech Outlook: VoIP.
February 1, 2003... (From Network Computing Asian Edition) Byline: - Hello? 2003? Hello? 2003? In the enterprise, the impact of VoIP has been significant. Seventeen percent of businesses began implementing VoIP networks in 2000, according to Philips...

Assessment tool aids VoIP installation.
February 1, 2003... (From Network Computing Asian Edition) Byline: Greg Teo Avaya is preparing for more VoIP installations with the help of its ExpertNet pre-deployment assessment tool, which identifies potential bottlenecks during the design phase of an...

VoIP implementations for Service Providers.
February 1, 2003... (From Network Computing Asian Edition) Byline: Lukman Kusuma About three years ago, I was involved with a few integration works for regional service providers that involved integration between TDM switches and VoIP access gateways via...

Books.
February 1, 2003... (From Network Computing Asian Edition) Byline: Sng Chee Khiang Books for Jan/Feb book of the month Networking Complete, Third Edition Published by Sybex (US$24.99). This book is an invaluable source of information for...

Product watch.
February 1, 2003... (From Network Computing Asian Edition) Byline: NC Team A look at the latest networking solutions for the enterprise 3Com XRN Interconnect Kit The 3Com Interconnect Kit has two modules, an interconnect cable and version 3.0 of...

Tech Outlook: Emerging technology.
February 1, 2003... (From Network Computing Asian Edition) Byline: - N1?s computing-on-demand to drive network services N1?s computing-on-demand to drive network services The next big thing for Sun, and the industry, is the N1 architecture, which...

Tech Outlook: Infrastructure.
February 1, 2003... (From Network Computing Asian Edition) Byline: - Open networks: boon or bane? Grappling with applications. Tough going? Pool your resources. L2TPv3 eases IP migration. Open networks: boon or bane? I like the freedom from...

Understanding Routing Protocols.
February 1, 2003... (From Network Computing Asian Edition) Byline: Dr Seamus Phan If you are an Internet Service Provider (ISP), or a multinational organisation running large networks with your own bank of IP (Internet Protocol) addresses and provide...

DNS Tutorial Part 1: Naming the Internet.
February 1, 2003... (From Network Computing Asian Edition) Byline: Graeme K. Le Roux The Domain Name Service (DNS) exists for two deceptively simple reasons: to allow humans to deal with text names rather than IP addresses, and to allow one host in one...

News Briefs.
February 1, 2003... (From Network Computing Asian Edition) Byline: - Security tops Asian CIO spending. Infosecurity processes will see the money. Festive jump in security violations. Regional server spending stands firm. Goodbye Windows 95. Security...

Switching Systems.
February 1, 2003... (From Network Computing Asian Edition) Byline: Oo Gin Lee When M1 launched its ?first 12 seconds free? policy several years ago, I had a friend who would try to end his mobile-to-mobile conversation with me (read M1 user) within the...

All about SSL and TLS.
February 1, 2003... (From Network Computing Asian Edition) Byline: David Greenfield There's been a lot of talk about secure sockets layer (SSL), both in terms of its use for e-commerce, and more recently as a means for connecting remote workers to...

Analyst report: The WLAN surge in Asia.
February 1, 2003... (From Network Computing Asian Edition) Byline: Frost & Sullivan According to Frost & Sullivan's most recent Asia-Pacific WLAN market report, the industry secured US$421.2 million in revenue at the end of 2002. It is expected to grow at...

Global Wi-Fi ZONE makes its debut.
February 1, 2003... (From Network Computing Asian Edition) Byline: - The Wi-Fi Alliance has announced the first phase of a global programme to promote the availability of public access services around the world. The primary goals are to create a globally...

Tech Outlook: Wireless LAN.
February 1, 2003... (From Network Computing Asian Edition) Byline: - Enhanced security and QoS to boost WLAN Enhanced security and QoS to boost WLAN Enterprise wireless networks are growing by leaps and bounds. Research firm META Group estimates that...

NetMotion: Mobility 4.0.
February 1, 2003... (From Network Computing Asian Edition) Byline: Andy Dornan Some day, mobile IP will enable seamless roaming between LANs and WANs. Users will remain logged on even as they unplug their Ethernet cables and move in and out of different...

Using Kerberos for Net Authentication.
February 1, 2003... (From Network Computing Asian Edition) Byline: Rik Farrow There are two reasons why Microsoft decided to use the open source Kerberos authentication scheme. Firstly, Kerberos provides a strong and tested design for network...

Virus protection strategy for your enterprise.
February 1, 2003... (From Network Computing Asian Edition) Byline: Greg Teo To bolster anti-virus protection within an enterprise, Trend Micro has come up with a flexible architecture called Enterprise Protection Strategy (EPS) to proactively plan for and...

CSI Conference maps the security road ahead.
February 1, 2003... (From Network Computing Asian Edition) Byline: Dario Forte Dario Forte details infosecurity trends mapped out at the 29th Annual Computer Security Conference in this report exclusively for Network Computing Asia. Dario Forte...

Tech Outlook: Security.
February 1, 2003... (From Network Computing Asian Edition) Byline: - Host-based distributed security: the final solution? Host-based distributed security: the final solution? Some existing security measures companies are likely to have put in place...

Cisco Systems: PIX Firewall 515E.
February 1, 2003... (From Network Computing Asian Edition) Byline: Dario Forte The Cisco PIX 515E firewall is intended for SME environments and provides up to 188Mbps of firewall throughput with the ability to handle as many as 125,000 simultaneous...

WatchGuard Technologies: Firebox III 2500.
February 1, 2003... (From Network Computing Asian Edition) Byline: Dario Forte I recently got the chance to test the WatchGuard Firebox III 2500, an appliance that comes with its own setup and management software that can be installed on any network...

Software maturing for storage resource management.
February 1, 2003... (From Network Computing Asian Edition) Byline: Oo Gin Lee While storage is getting cheaper by the day, owning and maintaining the storage is not. And software that helps companies to manage their storage will increasingly become more...

Computer Associates launches Brightstor ARCserve Backup 9.
February 1, 2003... (From Network Computing Asian Edition) Byline: Oo Gin Lee It?s been in the making for almost three years, but Computer Associates (CA) is confident that the latest version of its Brightstor ARCserve Backup (version 9) is well worth...

Tech Outlook: Storage.
February 1, 2003... (From Network Computing Asian Edition) Byline: - The death of DAS. Storing for the future. The death of DAS The way most enterprises employ storage technology?with disk drives directly attached to servers?is rapidly going...

Why won't it work?
February 1, 2003... (From Network Computing Asian Edition) Byline: David Chin I am unapologetically a Mac person and was glad when our company decided to acquire a couple of new iBooks for editorial use. I was glad-to say the least. But I must confess...

Perl-ing your Blogs.
February 1, 2003... (From Network Computing Asian Edition) Byline: Dr Seamus Phan Weblogs, or blogs, have become the underground movement for online journalism. With blogs, it is very easy for users who have no experience in writing HTML code, or using...

BUDGET MAY NOT BRING BIG-BANG TAX REFORMS (because of political compulsions).
February 1, 2003... (From India Business Insight) The Government of India will be finalising its 2003-2004 Budget by 10 Feb 2003. According to sources from the Ministry of Finance, the Government is unlikely to introduce sweeping tax reforms in Budget...

RELIANCE Q3 NET SPURTS 24% TO Rs1,083 CRORE AS SALES RISE 6.8% (net turnover rises to Rs10,973 crore from Rs10,266 crore in quarter to 31 Dec 2001).
February 1, 2003... (From India Business Insight) Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has reported a 24-percent jump in its net profit to Rs1,083 crore for the third quarter to 31 Dec 2002 from Rs873 crore in the quarter to 31 Dec 2001. Its net turnover has...

INTL TRACTORS BIDS FOR PUNJAB TRACTORS (plans acquiring jointly with Renault).
February 1, 2003... (From India Business Insight) International Tractors (IT) has submitted its expression of interest for acquiring 23.6 percent stake in Punjab Tractors (PT) of Punjab State Industrial Development Corporation. It is planning to acquire...

MARUTI IPO MAY GARNER Rs700 CRORE (by Mar 2003).
February 1, 2003... (From India Business Insight) The Government of India will be disinvesting 25 percent of its equity in Maruti Udyog Ltd (MUL) by Mar 2003. It expects to raise around Rs700 crore from the public offer in MUL. With this, the total...

TAX HOLIDAY FOR EOUs, EPZS, SEZS, MAY CONTINUE (Government not to accept Kelkar panel recommendation on tax holiday).
February 1, 2003... (From India Business Insight) Ministry of Commerce, Government of India, is not averse to continue the nine-year tax holiday for existing 100-percent export-oriented units (EOUs) and units set up in export processing zones (EPZs). It is...

HLL TO LEVERAGE ON EXPERIENCED HANDS (for its new ventures).
February 1, 2003... (From India Business Insight) Hindustan Lever Ltd (HLL) is intensely searching for mid-career employees in the age group of 41-49 years to be hired for its new ventures. The company may place mid-career recruits across all levels,...

ICICI BANK Q3 NET AT Rs330 CRORE (up from Rs285 crore in the quarter to 30 Sep 2002).
February 1, 2003... (From India Business Insight) ICICI Bank has reported a 16-percent rise in its net profit to Rs330.30 crore for the third quarter to 31 Dec 2002 from Rs285 crore in the quarter to 30 Sep 2002. The Bank has no year-on-year comparable...

PRUDENTIAL ICICI TO TAP SIB NETWORK FOR SOUTHERN FORAY (to launch services in 100 SIB branches by Jul 2003).
February 1, 2003... (From India Business Insight) Prudential ICICI AMC (PIA) will be drawing on the wide branch network of South Indian Bank (SIB) of Thrissur to tap the south Indian market. Under a tie-up signed in this regard on 31 Jan 2003, SIB is looking...

IOB DECEMBER QUARTER NET UP 157% AT 117 CRORE (from Rs45.57 crore in the quarter to 31 Dec 2001).
February 1, 2003... (From India Business Insight) Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) of Chennai has increased its net profit by 157 percent to Rs116.95 crore for the quarter to 31 Dec 2002 from Rs45.57 crore in the quarter to 31 Dec 2001. Its total income inclusive...

INDUSIND NET RISES 50% TO Rs25 CRORE (up from Rs16.50 crore in quarter to 31 Dec 2001).
February 1, 2003... (From India Business Insight) IndusInd Bank has reported a 50 percent growth in its net profit to Rs24.83 crore for the third quarter to 31 Dec 2002 from Rs16.50 crore in the quarter to 31 Dec 2001. Interest earned has increased by 13...

KURIEN WILL HEAD WIPRO HEALTHCARE VERTICAL (to report to Vivek Paul Vice-Chairman and CEO of Wipro).
February 1, 2003... (From India Business Insight) Subsequent to the departure of D A Prasanna, Vice-Chairman in charge of Wipro's health science business, there has been a re- alignment of portfolios in the company. TK Kurien, currently Chief Executive of...

BHARTI TELE ADDS MUSCLE TO FREE C2C REGIME (special features in Bharti's four new plans will result in huge savings for the subscribers).
February 1, 2003... (From India Business Insight) With effect from 1 Feb 2003, cell-to-cell incoming calls will be free and subscribers will not have to pay any airtime on incoming calls from another cellular phone in any network. Bharti Teleservices has...

STEEL GIANTS SEE DOUBLE-DIGIT GROWTH IN Q3 (increased demand for steel from housing and infrastructure sectors has helped in achieving good results).
February 1, 2003... (From India Business Insight) Steel companies have shown a remarkable improvement in performance during Oct-Dec 2002 with all the large producers recording double-digit growth in net sales and also doubling their net profits. Some of the...

2-WHEELER BIG THREE RIDE BIKE, COST-CUT WAVE (Hero Honda, BAL, TVS Motors record excellent performances in Oct-Dec 2002 as well as in Apr-Dec 2002).
February 1, 2003... (From India Business Insight) With a motorcycle wave sweeping across India, Hero Honda, Bajaj Auto Ltd (BAL) and TVS Motors have recorded excellent performances during Oct-Dec 2002 as well as during Apr-Dec 2002. Motorcycle sales have...

SBM Q3 NET LEAPS 46% TO Rs35 CRORE (total income rises 9.42%, from Rs301.35 crore in Oct-Dec 2001 to Rs329.75 crore in Oct-Dec 2002).
February 1, 2003... (From India Business Insight) The net profit of Bangalore-based State Bank of Mysore (SBM) has risen by 46.23 percent, from Rs24.18 crore in Oct-Dec 2001 to Rs35.36 crore in Oct-Dec 2002. Total income rose by 9.42 percent, from Rs301.35...

NRI GUJARATIS HELP TO POWER MAX NEW YORK (New York Life accounts for 25% of the ethnic Indian insurance market in USA, with 400 ethnic Indians as its agents).
February 1, 2003... (From India Business Insight) The ethnic Gujarati community in USA is providing indirect assistance to Delhi-headquartered Max New York Life Insurance (MNYL) in which New York Life is a 26-percent stakeholder. New York Life accounts for...

INDIAN HOTELS ACQUIRES COVER AGAINST REGENT LIABILITIES (the policy has been bought to cover various representations and warranties given by the sellers).
February 1, 2003... (From India Business Insight) Indian Hotels of the Taj Group has taken a representation and warranty cover from ICICI Lombard General Insurance. This policy will protect Indian Hotels from liabilities that may have been incurred by Regent...

SUNDARAM FASTENERS NET UP 43% (net profit increases from Rs7 crore in Oct-Dec 2001 to Rs10.03 crore in Oct-Dec 2002).
February 1, 2003... (From India Business Insight) The net profit of Sundaram Fasteners Ltd (SFL) has increased by 43.28 percent, from Rs7 crore in Oct-Dec 2001 to Rs10.03 crore in Oct-Dec 2002. SFL has reported a 21.79 percent increase in sales, from...

ESPANIA EYES SOUTH INDIA (plans to open a store through the franchise route in either Bangalore or Hyderabad during Feb-Mar 2003).
February 1, 2003... (From India Business Insight) Indo-Spanish joint venture, Interiors Espania, which started operations in India in 2001, is looking to expand operations in south India. Interiors Espania runs a 22,000-square foot lifestyle store at Gurgaon...

CALL RATES END AT 6.25% (tightened liquidity conditions in the system, war fears sharply drive bond prices lower).
February 1, 2003... (From India Business Insight) Call money rates opened around 6.00-6.20 percent, traded in a range of 6.10-6.25 percent and closed around 6.10-6.25 percent at the overnight call money market on 31 Jan 2003. There were tightened...

Re ENDS AT 47.8 AGAINST $ (interbank forex market witnesses generally quiet but cautious trade with fears of war between USA and Iraq).
February 1, 2003... (From India Business Insight) The rupee traded in a tight range of Rs47.795-Rs47.8225 and closed at Rs47.80/47.805 per dollar on 31 Jan 2003. The interbank foreign exchange market witnessed generally quiet but cautious trade with light...

NUMBERS GROW, BUT VALUE DOWN (Business Standard Research Bureau lists 110 billionaires in Dec 2002 against 88 in Dec 2001).
February 1, 2003... (From India Business Insight) Business Standard Research Bureau has listed 110 billionaires as on 31 Dec 2002 as compared to 88 Dec 2001, and shown a decline of Rs2,000 crore in their aggregate wealth. Azim Premji, Founder Chairman of Wipro...

Rs10,000 CRORE EXPENDITURE SAVINGS LIKELY IN 2002-2003 (savings from reduction in interest payments, and in defence and Plan expenditures).
February 1, 2003... (From India Business Insight) The Government of India expects to save Rs10,000 crore out of the budgeted expenditure of Rs4,10,309 crore for 2002-2003. The savings are from reduction in interest payments, and in defence and Plan...

RBI DEBUNKS NRI INFLOW MYTH (nonresident Indian remittances for arbitrage gains is not the reason for foreign exchange reserve growth).
February 1, 2003... (From India Business Insight) Department of Economic Analysis and Policy (DEAP), Reserve Bank of India (RBI), conducted a study of foreign exchange reserves. It identified exports of merchandise and software, and increased private...

GDP GROWTH RATE REVISED UP TO 5.6% (Central Statistical Organisation revises estimate for 2001- 2002 from 5.4 percent estimated in Jun 2002).
February 1, 2003... (From India Business Insight) Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) has revised its estimate of rate of growth of gross domestic product (GDP) for 2001-2002 to 5.6 percent. It had estimated the growth rate in Jun 2002 at 5.4 percent. It...

RBI STUDY DEBUNKS NRI INFLOW MYTH (disproves that growth in foreign exchange reserves is owing to nonresident Indian remittances).
February 1, 2003... (From India Business Insight) Department of Economic Analysis and Policy (DEAP), Reserve Bank of India (RBI), conducted a study of foreign exchange reserves. It has disproved that growth in the reserves was owing to non- resident Indian...

CONSORTIUM SETUP TO HELP LENDERS SELL SEIZED ASSETS (services in disposal of assets seized under securitisation bill).
February 1, 2003... (From India Business Insight) Meghraj Financial Services (MFS), an investment banker, has floated a consortium to offer services to banks and financial institutions in disposal of assets seized under the Securitisation Bill. The other...

FLAT TV RATES MAY TOUCH NEW LOWS (dealers are cutting marked prices and offering flat sets at lower prices).
February 1, 2003... (From India Business Insight) Retail sales of television (TV) sets are picking up. Dealers are offering conventional 21" colour TV sets at Rs9,000-10,000 to increase their market share during the World Cup Cricket in Feb-Mar 2003. They are...

UTI TAKES Rs419 CRORE HIT ON SALES/REDEMPTIONS (losses incurred in 43 of 66 schemes during Jul-Dec 2002).
February 1, 2003... (From India Business Insight) Unit Trust of India (UTI) incurred sales and redemption losses of Rs419.01 crore in 43 of its 66 schemes during Jul-Dec 2002. It posted profits from 18 schemes. Unit Scheme-64 (US-64) incurred a loss of...

RBI GROUP ON Re DERIVATIVES FOR PHASED APPROACH (introducing less complex interest rates in the first phase).
February 1, 2003... (From India Business Insight) Working group on rupee derivatives set up by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recommended a phased approach to the issue beginning with the introduction of less complex interest rates in the first phase. Jaspal...

ICI TO GET NEW CHIEF, MANAGING DIRECTOR (Aditya Narayan will takeover as Chairman; Rajeev Jain as Managing Director).
February 1, 2003... (From India Business Insight) Aditya Narayan will take over as Chairman of ICI India Ltd with effect from 3 Apr 2003. His resignation as Managing Director of the company will become effective on 1 Apr 2003. Narayan will take over...

COLGATE-PALMOLIVE NET UP 33% (at Rs21.1 crore for the third quarter to Dec 2002).
February 1, 2003... (From India Business Insight) Colgate-Palmolive (India) Ltd has announced a 32.7 percent rise in net profit at Rs21.1 crore for the third quarter to Dec 2002 (Rs15.9 crore for the third quarter to Dec 2001). This is despite net sales...

RAYMOND NET RISES 5.5 PER CENT (to Rs57.8 crore during the quarter to Dec 2002).
February 1, 2003... (From India Business Insight) Raymond Ltd has announced a 5.5 percent rise in net profit at Rs57.8 crore for the quarter to Dec 2002 (Rs54.8 crore for the quarter to Dec 2001). Net sales grew by 7.8 percent to Rs737.7 crore (Rs684.2...

NOVARTIS CLOCKS Rs12.2 CRORE NET (for the quarter to Dec 2002).
February 1, 2003... (From India Business Insight) Novartis India Ltd (NIL) has announced a net profit of Rs12.2 crore for the quarter to Dec 2002 (Rs17.53 crore for the quarter to Dec 2001). Total income grew to Rs141.41 crore (Rs128.38 crore). The company has...

BIRLA COPPER, STERLITE COPPER GET LME NOD FOR `GRADE A' LISTING (approval is expected to stamp the two Indian companies as being among the best in the world in terms of quality).
February 1, 2003... (From India Business Insight) London Metal Exchange (LME) has approved Birla Copper and Sterlite Copper for listing as Grade A copper brands. The approval is granted after copper cathodes produced by the two companies were tested by...

FOREX FLOOD: IT'S JITTERY COMPANIES, EXPORTERS BRINGING BACK $ (remittances by exporters comprised 22.2% of growth of $12.6 billion in forex reserves during Apr-Nov 2002).
February 1, 2003... (From India Business Insight) Growth in foreign exchange (forex) reserves of India has been attributed to concerned exporters and corporate companies who are bringing back dollars because of the weakening dollar. The growth is therefore...

RIL LIFTS ITS THIRD QUARTER NET PROFIT 24% WITH COST and PRICE PLAY (to Rs1,083 crore during Oct-Dec 2002 on net sales Rs10,973 crore).
February 1, 2003... (From India Business Insight) Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) recorded an increase of 24 percent in its net profit during Oct-Dec 2002. The company's net profit was Rs1,083 crore during Oct-Dec 2002 while its net sales grew by 6.8 percent to...

EXCISE-DUTY CUT MAY MAKE CARS CHEAPER (excise levy on passenger cars likely to be cut by 4% from 32%).
February 1, 2003... (From India Business Insight) Excise duty on passenger cars is likely to be reduced by 4 percent from 32 percent, which will be in line with the Kelkar Committee proposals that had fixed a rate of 20 percent for the auto sector. The...

UTI MAY FORECLOSE FOUR ASSURED-RETURN SCHEMES (final view on foreclosure to be taken after the board of advisors consults SEBI and the Ministry of Finance).
February 1, 2003... (From India Business Insight) The Unit Trust of India (UTI) plans to foreclose 4 of its assured return schemes-Children's Gift Growth Fund, 1986; Children's Gift Growth Fund, 1999; Rajalakshmi Unit Plan-II, 1994; and Rajalakshmi Unit Plan,...

PROMOTERS CAN NOW GIFT EQUITY TO NRI RELATIVES (but it should not exceed the annual ceiling of Rs10 lakh per company).
February 1, 2003... (From India Business Insight) Promoters or shareholders of Indian companies will be permitted to gift equity to their `close' non-resident Indian (NRI) relatives but subject to many conditions. The transfer of such gift will be...