Business Line articles from February 2002, page 4

Business Line archives from February 2002

STD rate cut: BSNL shoots itself in the foot.
February 22, 2002... NEW DELHI, Feb. 21. BHARAT Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) seems to have unwittingly harmed itself by slashing STD rates in mid-January. The increase in national long distance (NLD) traffic, needed to compensate it for the revenue loss of Rs 3,000...

IFCI offloads DFHI, STCI stakes.
February 22, 2002... NEW DELHI, Feb. 21. THE troubled financial institution, IFCI Ltd, has divested its holding in Discount & Finance House of India (DFHI) and Securities Trading Corporation of India (STCI) to the Industrial Development Bank of India through a...

Cummins EGM to seek nod for plant sale.
February 22, 2002... MUMBAI, Feb. 21. AN extraordinary general meeting (EGM) of the shareholders of Cummins India Ltd is scheduled to be held on March 26, to seek shareholders approval for the disposal of Plant II. At the EGM, shareholders approval for...

BHEL hopes to pay off short-term debts by Oct.
February 22, 2002... KOLKATA, Feb. 21. BHARAT Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL), the country's largest engineering and manufacturing PSU, is planning to become a zero-debt company. Sources said that apart from the liability of servicing the long-term bonds that...

R Systems merges with Indus Soft.
February 22, 2002... PUNE, Feb. 21. IT services provider R Systems International has announced its merger with Indus Software Pvt Ltd, a Pune-based banking and finance software and services company. In a joint statement, Mr Rekhi Singh, Chairman and Chief...

No specific level for rupee, says Jalan.
February 22, 2002... AHMEDABAD, Feb. 21. THE Reserve Bank of India Governor, Dr Bimal Jalan, has said that the apex bank had set no specific target level for the rupee. Speaking at a meeting with the members of the Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry...

Attachment of SHCIL assets -- IndusInd Bank to appeal against vacation order.
February 22, 2002... KOLKATA, Feb. 21. INDUSIND Bank Ltd has decided to appeal against the verdict of the Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT) in a case relating to payment receivable from Stock Holding Corporation of India Ltd (SHCIL). In a recent order passed by...

BEL surges on higher defence spend hopes.
February 22, 2002... MUMBAI, Feb. 21. THE tension on the border could be a disconcerting factor for the stock markets, but not for the public sector Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL), the sole supplier of technical equipment for defence forces. On expectation of...

Stealth shows up on mobiles!
February 22, 2002... MUMBAI, Feb. 21. IMAGINE the red faces in the Pentagon. The brass out there have spent something worth $40 billion in developing stealth aircraft only to find that a bunch of nerds at Roke Manor Research have stumbled across a means of...

'No new coal linkages to non-core sector'.
February 22, 2002... KOLKATA, Feb. 21. NO fresh coal linkages will be given to non-core sector industries by the state-owned coal companies till the ongoing process of screening existing consumers is complete. This was stated here on Thursday by Mr N.K. Sharma,...

Kochi LNG project still facing hurdles.
February 22, 2002... THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, Feb. 21. EVEN as various measures are underway to implement the 2.5-million-tonne LNG terminal at Kochi within the stipulated timeframe, the lack of enough customers has cast a veil of uncertainty over the project. ...

SNF India to set up Vizag unit.
February 22, 2002... HYDERABAD, Feb. 21. FRENCH firm, SNF Floerger, a manufacturer of water treatment products, has completed the acquisition of Ion Exchange, having picked up a further 60 per cent equity, and is now planning a new manufacturing base at...

TRAI makes the right call.
February 22, 2002... THE TELECOM REGULATORY Authority of India's recommendation (reaffirmed by the Communications Minister at a public forum) to open up Internet telephony from April 1 is one more progressive step in liberalising telecom services. And as an...

Tea Board increases brokerage for buyers: Auctions disrupted at Siliguri.
February 22, 2002... KOLKATA, Feb. 21. TEA auctions are likely to be hampered in the next few days as the Tea Board has increased the broker charges payable by the buyers by three to five times. The new rates will be applicable at all the three auction centres in...

Essar Power variable cost set to fall.
February 22, 2002... AHMEDABAD, Feb. 21. ESSAR Power (EPL) is going in for a makeover of its generation factor whereby the variable cost of the Hazira-based plant will become cheaper by some 50 paise per unit. The incremental annual savings that will accrue on...

Visvesvaraya Award.
February 22, 2002... MADURAI, Feb. 21. THE Madurai District Tiny and Small-Scale Industries Association has invited applications for the ninth Visvesvaraya Award for the best unit in SSI sector in the southern districts. According to a communication here,...

Birla Global's loan offer to fund investors.
February 22, 2002... Kolkata, Feb. 21. BIRLA Global Finance's offer of loans for large investors willing to avail of the 40-per cent dividend benefit declared by Birla MNC Fund has evoked a 'favourable' response, it is learnt. The loan scheme ends on Friday,...

Drug firms' plea on export obligations.
February 22, 2002... NEW DELHI, Feb. 21. SMALL drug manufacturers, having waited for a reprieve for four years following the abolition of the 'value-based licence' (Vabal) scheme, have sought a one-time extension to help clear their export obligations. This...

Macmillan into e-learning.
February 22, 2002... BANGALORE, Feb. 21. IN its 110 years of existence in the country, Macmillan India Ltd banked heavily on the business of education. With the advent of the Internet, eMacmillan was born with e-learning as its core business. "Though it has...

IBP buy will de-risk business, says Pathan.
February 22, 2002... HYDERABAD, Feb. 21. THE acquisition of IBP by Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) is a positive step towards de-risking in the highly competitive sector, according to Mr M.A. Pathan, Chairman of IOC. The price was also good, he added. "We will...

Sundaram Info software for hire purchase sector.
February 22, 2002... CHENNAI, Feb. 21. SUNDARAM Infotech Solutions, a division of the Chennai-based Sundaram Finance Ltd, has announced the launch of a software to address the needs of the hire purchase (HP) sector. Called Sarva Nidhi VSP (vertical service...

Menswear cos target choosy males -- Factory outlets, sales propel brands.
February 22, 2002... Despite the slowdown Arvind Brands and Madura Garments have grown last year by 20 per cent and 30 per cent respectively. CHENNAI, Feb. 21. THE Indian male, one learns, is getting fashion-conscious. The evidence lies in the large discount...

Selling coffee through English, IT.
February 22, 2002... BANGALORE, Feb. 21. THE English language advantage that the Indian IT industry boasts of could be strength in marketing coffee too. "You have good coffee, the language to talk about it, and IT skills to communicate on the Internet," said...

Ruia Coatex set to acquire Jessop.
February 22, 2002... NEW DELHI, Feb. 21. RUIA Coatex, promoted by Mr Pawan Ruia, Kolkata-based chartered accountant, is set to acquire a controlling stake of 72 per cent in Jessop & Company Ltd, a subsidiary of Bharat Bhari Udyog Nigam Ltd. The company is...

Daewoo Motors gets reprieve from lenders.
February 22, 2002... NEW DELHI, Feb. 21. DAEWOO Motors India Ltd has got a reprieve from its lenders, who have assured the loss-making car maker they would not press for repayment of interest and principal until April, a top company official said on Thursday. ...

Birla Sun Life to expand presence.
February 22, 2002... HYDERABAD, Feb. 21. BIRLA Sun Life Insurance Company, the insurance joint venture between the Aditya Birla group and the Canada-based Sun Life Financial, has chalked out a growth programme for the near future. The company plans to expand...

Railway Budget 2002-03: Will Nitish get the behemoth on track?
February 22, 2002... THE Railway Minister, Mr Nitish Kumar, who is to present his third Rail Budget (he held the rail portfolio during the BJP-led coalition in 1998-2000), can ill-afford to follow the path taken by Ms Mamata Banerjee. The stormy petrel from West...

Company to promote studies in Australia.
February 22, 2002... The number of Indian students in Australia in the current academic year is 12,500. A majority are in post-graduate courses, with subjects such as biotechnology, healthcare, media studies, and hospitality and tourism in demand. This is a...

Zee's open offer for ETC at Rs 31.52.
February 22, 2002... MUMBAI, Feb. 21. ZEE Telefilms Ltd (ZTL) will make a open offer to the shareholders of ETC Networks Ltd to acquire up to 20 per cent stake (23.40 lakh shares) at Rs 31.52 per share. ZTL had earlier announced that it had acquired 48.32 per...

Motorola's smallest GPRS handset.
February 22, 2002... NEW DELHI: Motorola has launched its smallest, lightest tri band GPRS-enabled mobile handset V.66 in the country. The mobile handset allows the owner to stay connected in Asia, Europe and the Americas. Weighing just 73 gm, the handset has...

It's a long haul for aviation sector, say experts.
February 22, 2002... Mr M.A. Pathan (centre), Chairman, Indian Oil Corporation Ltd, Mr Sher Bahadur Pandey (right), Chairman, Nepal Oil Corporation Ltd, and other dignitaries at the inaugural session of the 11th International Aviation Conference in Hyderabad on...

Parent hikes stake in Timex to 83.58 pc.
February 22, 2002... NEW DELHI, Feb. 21. NETHERLANDS-based Timex Watches B.V. has hiked its stake in its Indian subsidiary, Timex Watches Ltd, to 83.58 per cent by investing Rs 20 crore. Mr Kapil Kapoor, Managing Director, Timex Watches Ltd, said: "This...

Kotak Mahindra up on conversion hopes.
February 22, 2002... NON-banking finance company Kotak Mahindra Finance was locked in the 20-per cent upper circuit on Thursday. The aggressive buying in the last few days was mainly on expectation that a foreign bank may take equity stake in the company once it...

Colgate rated top Indian brand.
February 22, 2002... MUMBAI: Colgate has been rated as India's number one brand across all categories in A&M's annual survey of India's top brands conducted by TNS Mode. The brand's power score rose to 56.2 in 2001 from 53.91 in the earlier year. In the...

Electra lowers stake in Moser Baer.
February 21, 2002... NEW DELHI, Feb. 20. PRIVATE equity fund, Electra Partners, has sold a part of its stake in Moser Baer India Ltd (MBIL), the world's fifth largest optical storage media maker, to a number of foreign institutional investors. After the...

Alfa Laval in pact with 2 foreign cos for gasohol.
February 21, 2002... PUNE, Feb. 20. PUNE-BASED engineering company Alfa Laval has entered into a technological collaboration with two foreign partners to tap the evolving market for gasohol. The Managing Director, Mr Satish Tandon, said the company recently...

TRAI's green signal for Net telephony from April.
February 21, 2002... NEW DELHI, Feb. 20. THE Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has favoured the introduction of Internet telephony from April 1. In its recommendations presented to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) on Wednesday, the...

FMCG cos may top popularity charts at IIM-B.
February 21, 2002... BANGALORE, Feb 20. FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) is hot again while finance is cooling its heels! It's campus recruitment time at the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore this weekend and students are expecting half of last year's...

ABB net up at Rs 65 cr; to pay 50 pc dividend.
February 21, 2002... MUMBAI, Feb. 20. FOCUS on exports, product upgradation and cost- cutting have pushed up the net profit of Asea Brown Boveri Ltd (ABB Ltd) by 20.9 per cent for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2001 to Rs 65.32 crore (Rs 54.01 crore). ...

Madhusudan cancels EGM -- 51 pc stake sale to Duravit hangs fire.
February 21, 2002... AHMEDABAD, Feb. 20. MADHUSUDAN Oils & Fats Ltd (MOFL), owners of the Cera brand sanitaryware, has withdrawn the notice to its shareholders for the extraordinary general meeting (EGM) scheduled on February 26. The EGM was to ratify the...

IBP's Mathur hangs up his boots sans regrets.
February 21, 2002... KOLKATA, Feb. 20. MR S.N. Mathur, who resigned as the Chairman and Managing Director of IBP Co Ltd, now a subsidiary of the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), is a much relaxed man today. "For the past one year or so, I have been trying hard...

SWC has no plans to offload stake in beer, liquor business.
February 21, 2002... BANGALORE, Feb. 20. SHAW Wallace & Co Ltd (SWC) has no immediate plans to offload equity in beer and liquor businesses to foreign partner. A SWC spokesperson told Business Line, "As of now, Shaw Wallace has no plans of offloading equity...

Tata Steel ties up with Nippon Steel.
February 21, 2002... KOLKATA, Feb. 20. TATA Steel has signed a three-year technical agreement with Nippon Steel Corporation. The agreement is effective from April 1. A Tata Steel statement said the pact would take the company's cold rolled automotive steels...

Positive signs seen in M&M revamp move.
February 21, 2002... MUMBAI, Feb. 20. RATING agency, Crisil, informed today that it sees the proposed restructuring at Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd (M&M) with three of its subsidiaries being amalgamated with itself as a "positive development." However, the...

And the Oscar goes to Ogilvy.
February 21, 2002... In an industry dominated by unorganised players, Ogilvy's outdoor media evaluation tool has brought in accountability and the much needed professional approach. I can tell you exactly how many hoardings there are near traffic signals...

Six Continent to bolster Indian presence.
February 21, 2002... NEW DELHI, Feb. 20. SIX Continent Hotels, a global hospitality chain, plans to have hotels in Mumbai and Goa shortly and is looking at having a presence in Bangalore and Chennai, the chain's Chief Executive Officer, Mr Daniel Desbaillets,...

Kale Consultants-IATA pact for 'CEO Cockpit'.
February 21, 2002... MUMBAI, Feb. 20. THE aviation and banking software company, Kale Consultants Ltd (KCL), on Wednesday announced a "development and commercialisation" agreement with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to create a new product for...

Moser Baer debt assigned 'P1+'.
February 21, 2002... MUMBAI: Credit Rating Information Services of India Ltd (Crisil) has assigned an 'P1+' rating to the Rs 150-crore short-term debt programme of Moser Baer India Ltd. The rating reflects Moser Baer's strong market position the compact disk...

Coke, Pepsi ready cricket promos.
February 21, 2002... NEW DELHI, Feb. 20. EVEN as India takes on Zimbabwe in the Pepsi Test Series beginning in Nagpur on Thursday, another kind of match is ready to break, both on and off the cricket field. The two cola majors, Coca-Cola and Pepsi India, are...

HDFC Standard launches personal pension product.
February 21, 2002... MUMBAI, Feb. 20. HDFC Standard Life on Wednesday announced the launch of its personal pension plan, aimed at offering customers financial security after retirement. Addressing presspersons here today, the Managing Director and Chief...

IBP divestment: Whose money is it anyway?
February 21, 2002... THE Disinvestment Minister, Mr Arun Shourie's decision to sell management control in VSNL and IBP as part of the divestment programme is a step in the right direction. It will give the economy the momentum for growth and development and send...

Aishwarya Rai to star in Coke summer campaign.
February 21, 2002... NEW DELHI, Feb. 20. COCA-COLA India is set to break its summer campaign featuring one of Bollywood's leading actresses, Aishwarya Rai, on Thursday, sources at Coca-Cola said. The campaign theme remains 'Life ho to aisi', an adaptation of...

Unilateralism running amok -- Stop US before it wreaks havoc.
February 21, 2002... FOREIGN offices round the world are abuzz with speculation as to who put in the State of the Union Address of the US President, Mr George W.Bush, to the US Congress the graphic phrase "axis of evil" clubbing together Iran, Iraq and North...

OmegaTech, Vasta in marketing pact.
February 21, 2002... CHENNAI, Feb. 20. THE US-based OmegaTech Inc, a biotech R&D company, has entered into a marketing agreement with Vasta Marketing, Chennai, to market DHA Gold, a long chain fatty acid applicable as a nutrition supplement and food additive...

Letter that triggered CSE payment controversy.
February 21, 2002... KOLKATA, Feb. 20. A LETTER written by the Calcutta Stock Exchange broker, Mr H.C. Biyani, remains at the core of the recent payments controversy on CSE and the subsequent legal tussle between IndusInd Bank and Stock Holding Corporation of...

DCA probing 6 Reliance cos.
February 21, 2002... NEW DELHI, Feb. 20. THE Government has ordered the inspection of books of accounts and other records of six Reliance group companies, including the flagship Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), based on a complaint by Mr Rashid Alvi, Member of...

NJMC petition against tribunal award rejected.
February 21, 2002... KOLKATA, Feb. 20. THE Calcutta High Court has dismissed the writ petition of National Jute Manufacturers Corporation Ltd (NJMC), challenging the award of the National Tribunal adjudicating under Section 10 (1A) of the Industrial Dispute...

MphasiS hopeful of attaining targets.
February 21, 2002... BANGALORE, Feb. 20. SOFTWARE services and e-solutions firm MphasiS BFL Ltd expects to maintain the momentum in client acquisition as well as in volume growth in the current quarter, even as pricing pressure chokes scope to hike billing rates,...

FCB-Ulka merges Net, DM in new media offering.
February 21, 2002... MUMBAI, Feb. 20. FCB-Ulka has integrated its database, direct and interactive operations into a new division called FCB-Ulka Interactive to offer clients a 'media neutral' solution for one-to-one communications. "There's a growing realisation...

J&K Bank Maestro deposit access.
February 21, 2002... NEW DELHI: Jammu and Kashmir Bank (J&K Bank) has launched the Maestro deposit access programme, MasterCard International's online PIN-based debit programme. J&K Bank Maestro debit cardholders will now be able to purchase goods and...

Oversight, out of sight.
February 21, 2002... THE propensity of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), as also that of the other self-regulatory organisations (SROs) in the country, to import square wheels from other countries, especially the US, has been the focus of...

Reliance, Bharti among 5 to get letters of intent for ILD.
February 21, 2002... NEW DELHI, Feb. 20. THE Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has issued letters of intent (LI) to five companies - Reliance, Bharti, Data Access, Connecting Networks and Pacific Net Invest - for starting international long-distance...

Immediate outlook on Reliance looks negative.
February 21, 2002... MOST equity calls ended in the negative territory on Wednesday's trading in the derivatives segment on the NSE. Here are some buy/sell strategies based on the day's trading: Equity options: The February 320 calls on Reliance Industries...

Canara Bank, LIC to take CDSL stake.
February 21, 2002... CHENNAI, Feb. 20. GLOBAL Trust Bank, Canara Bank and Life Insurance Corporation are set to pick up stake in Central Depository Services (India) Ltd (CDSL). While GTB had announced some time back its intention to pick up a stake in CDSL,...

Panel meet on print FDI next wek.
February 21, 2002... NEW DELHI: The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology is likely to take up the issue of allowing foreign direct investment in the print media at its meeting next week. According to sources, this proposal did not come...

Satyam in alliance with Hummingbird.
February 21, 2002... HYDERABAD, Feb.20. SATYAM Computer Services Ltd, has announced a global strategic alliance with Hummingbird Ltd, an enterprise software US company, to jointly offer software and consulting services. The alliance is expected to cover...

Ritspin forays into branded womenswear.
February 21, 2002... KOLKATA, Feb. 20. RITSPIN Synthetics Ltd, primarily a manufacturer of speciality yarn, has completed forward integration into branded women's garments. It expects to register net profit in the next financial year. Addressing a press...

PSU general insurers chart phased revamp: Besides aiming at a leaner structure, the revamp plan has been prepared to cut down the rising operational costs of the companies.
February 21, 2002... NEW DELHI, Feb. 20. PUBLIC sector general insurance companies have together prepared a blueprint for the complete overhaul of their organisational structure. The revamp plans include a phased rationalisation of their office network through...

IRFC basic fund-raising mandate in for review.
February 21, 2002... NEW DELHI, Feb. 20. THE basic mandate of the Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC) to mobilise monies from the market purely to finance the rolling stock requirements of the Indian Railways is in for a review. Official sources said...

Bears march ahead.
February 21, 2002... BEARS exerted further pressure on Wednesday's trading. However, the sentiment reading of tradable counters continues to remain neutral. Bear domination on Thursday is likely to change the sentiment in favour of the bears. On the other hand,...

Creating confidence main task: Bajpai.
February 21, 2002... MUMBAI, Feb. 20. "MY main objective would be to create investor confidence and bring back public participation in the risk capital." With these words, Mr G.N.Bajpai, today assumed charge as the SEBI Chairman. After taking charge from his...

Aditi shifts focus to enterprise clients.
February 21, 2002... BANGALORE, Feb. 20. ADITI Technologies, a Bangalore-based software products and services company, is getting more aggressive in its marketing with a fresh focus on enterprise clients and renewed focus on SMEs. The company hitherto sold...

Tea shipments through Amingaon ICD may drop.
February 21, 2002... KOLKATA, Feb. 20. THE total throughput of Amingaon inland container depot (ICD) in the current tea shipment season (2001-02), which is coming to a close soon, is estimated to be 1,993 TEUs (twenty-feet equivalent units) compared to the actual...

IBRD grants loan for water projects in UP, Rajasthan.
February 21, 2002... NEW DELHI, Feb. 20. THE World Bank on Wednesday approved two lines of credit for India to improve income and fight rural poverty in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh through two water restructuring projects totalling $289.2 million. The two...

SEBI throws the book at Mallya, Chhabrias -- 'Divest wrongfully acquired shares in Herbertsons'.
February 21, 2002... SEBI said the case arose from allegations that Mr Mallya had transferred approximately 27 per cent of his shareholding (held in the name of various investment companies) in Herbertsons to the Kishore Chhabria group in 1993, bringing his...

Seamen's union opposes SCI privatisation move.
February 21, 2002... CHENNAI, Feb. 20. THE Forward Seamen's Union of India has announced a strike on Friday to protest against the move to privatise Shipping Corporation of India Ltd. The General Secretary of the Seamen's Union, Mr Sadhan Kanjilal, told...

Tata Info holds e-learning conference.
February 21, 2002... BANGALORE: Tata Infotech Education, in partnership with Smart Force, an e-learning company, organised an e-learning users conference here on Wednesday. "E-learning marks a paradigm shift from instructor-based to learner-centric...

HLL plans rural thrust for toothpaste brands.
February 21, 2002... MUMBAI, Feb. 20. HINDUSTAN Lever Ltd (HLL) is rejigging its oral care portfolio to arrive at a 50:50 sales turnover ratio between its rural and urban sales for its two toothpaste brands, Closeup and Pepsodent. After removing Aim from its...

Rewarding the women behind successful men!
February 21, 2002... KOLKATA, Feb. 20. COME April and the wives of a select lot of employees of United Bank of India (UBI) will receive awards from the bank management for the "excellent" work put in by their husbands. The awards will be presented at a...

Titan Industries on buyers' list.
February 21, 2002... THE Titan Industries stock seemed to be on the favoured list of most funds. The stock has been put on the market outperformers' list by some prominent mutual funds. Market sources say that the stock is expected to remain on the recommended...

Compaq to develop new solution.
February 21, 2002... BANGALORE: Compaq is working with Intel to develop a 'thin server fat client' solution to cater to the educational institution market and would launch the solution in a couple of months, according to Mr Sai Chandrashekar, Head-Product...

Mindshare launched in India.
February 21, 2002... MUMBAI : Mindshare, the media investment management company of the WPP Group has been formally launched in India. This company has been formed by converging the media buying divisions of Contract, HTA and O&M. Mindshare, will be headed by...

e-nabling TN rice farmers.
February 21, 2002... COIMBATORE, Feb. 20. THE International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) is collaborating with the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) to impart training to farmers on rice cultivation through e-learning. Agricultural training...

Kyndal plans arm for knowhow sale.
February 21, 2002... NEW DELHI, Feb. 20. SCOTTISH liquor major Kyndal Spirits Ltd, one of the largest producers of scotch whisky in the world with 9 per cent share of the global market, has decided to set up a wholly-owned subsidiary in India with an investment...