Business Line articles from June 2000

Business Line archives from June 2000

India: 'India-EU meet, a push towards better ties'.
June 30, 2000... LISBON, June 29: THE just-concluded historic India-European Union (EU) summit at the highest level has helped in understanding the underlying currents and untapped potentials between the world's two giant groups, the European Commissioner for...

India: Non-trade eco issues link with trade opposed.
June 30, 2000... NEW DELHI, June 29: INDIA will not support the attempts being made by certain member-countries to integrate non-trade related environment issues with trade matters even as it stands by its obligations towards environment and its protection...

India: World Bank support for pvt financing in hydro power.
June 30, 2000... NEW DELHI, June 29: THE World Bank has provided financing support of the order of $130 millions to be channnelised through the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) for private sector financing of small hydro power stations of up...

India: Cyberscape plans IPO to raise Rs 3.4 cr.
June 30, 2000... MUMBAI, June 29: CYBERSCAPE Multimedia Ltd on Thursday announced plans to enter the capital markets with an initial public offering (IPO) of 34,00,000 equity shares of Rs. 10 each for cash at par aggregating to Rs. 3.40 crores. Out of...

India: Desktops, servers ruled 1999-00 computing market: IDC report.
June 30, 2000... NEW DELHI, June 29: COMPUTING products such as desktops and servers dominated the Indian hardware market in size and growth in the 1999-2000 fiscal, a study by International Data Corporation (India) has said. During 1999-2000, computing...

India: Eonour to acquire 2 US cos soon.
June 30, 2000... CHENNAI, June 29: EONOUR Software Ltd proposes to acquire two companies in the US, the first of which is expected to be completed 'shortly'. The company is also planning a joint venture with Best Group International of Hong Kong. Mr. R....

India: Sun grows 70 pc, widens range.
June 30, 2000... BANGALORE, June 29: SUN Microsystems, which has been on a bullish path in the last three years, is expanding activities in India, just as it had promised the IT Minister, Mr. Pramod Mahajan, during his US visit. The company, which has...

India: Tricon to refresh Pizza Hut brand equity.
June 30, 2000... NEW DELHI, June 29: EVEN as its popular Mexican fast food restaurant chain, Taco Bell, remains a distant dream in India, Tricon Restaurants International, the international operating division of Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC, is set to get its...

India: Dockers hits Bangalore market.
June 30, 2000... BANGALORE, June 29: DOCKERS, the international khaki brand from Levi Strauss & Co, is now available in Bangalore at select premium stores. The brand has witnessed a phenomenal success in Mumbai where it was launched a month ago. ...

India: Geojit Sec cuts Net trading commission.
June 30, 2000... KOCHI, June 29: AFTER having signed memorandums of agreement with three new generation private sector banks for setting up payment gateways to facilitate Internet trading, Geojit Securities has announced a reduction in Net trading commission....

India: Steel Consumers Council meet.
June 30, 2000... CHENNAI: The 14th National Steel Consumers Council meet is to be held at Bangalore on July 7. The meeting will be inaugurated by the Union Minister for Steel, Mr. B. K. Tripathi. The Council is a forum set up by the Union Government to...

India: MUMBAI: Rupee steady.
June 30, 2000... THE forex market on Thursday remained quiet with the rupee remaining at the level of 44.66/67 against the dollar, unchanged from the previous close of 44.66/67. Dealers said the spot market was particularly quiet with all deals done at...

India: Deltagram offers satellite fax service.
June 30, 2000... MUMBAI, June 29: DELTAGRAM Innovative Ltd today announced the launch of Deltafax, a satellite-based fax that will enable users to send faxes to anywhere in the country at a flat rate of Rs. 15 per page. The company expects to earn a...

India: Redesigned Salora CTVs hit the shelf.
June 30, 2000... NEW DELHI, June 29: WITH its Japanese partners virtually running the television manufacturing joint venture, Matsushita TV and Audio Co Ltd (MTAIC), Salora International Ltd has now turned its attention towards its own brand of televisions....

India: Archies says you care, on Yahoo!
June 30, 2000... NEW DELHI, June 29: GREETINGS and gift provider Archies Greetings & Gifts Ltd (AG&G) has entered into an alliance with Yahoo! India, to make Archies' e-greetings available on the popular horizontal portal. Mr. Anil Moolchandani, CMD,...

India: Concor's train flagged off from Chennai.
June 30, 2000... CHENNAI, June 29: CONCOR's first dedicated goods train from Chennai (Tondiarpet terminal) to Calcutta (Shalimar terminal) left on Thursday with the full capacity of 60 TEUs (twenty-equivalent units). The train from Calcutta arrived with...

India: India moves four places up in HDI rank to 128.
June 30, 2000... NEW DELHI, June 29: INDIA has been ranked 128th amongst 174 countries for which the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has released its latest computations of the Human Development Index (HDI). As per the Human Development Report...

India: India, Portugal sign pact to boost ties.
June 30, 2000... LISBON, June 29: INDIA and Portugal have resolved to reinforce economic and commercial interaction between them in a manner which is commensurate with "the warm and friendly political linkages." In a statement issued after the visiting...

India: Hometrust Housing FD on rating watch.
June 30, 2000... MUMBAI: Crisil has placed Hometrust Housing Finance Company Ltd's fixed deposit on 'rating watch with positive implications', a news release said. The programme was assigned an outstanding rating of 'FA-' which indicates that the degree...

India: BSE completes first settlement in index futures.
June 30, 2000... MUMBAI, June 29: THE Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) today completed the first settlement in index futures. Though the volumes are still too low, the investor response is encouraging. The volumes are expected to increase as investors get familiar...

India: Konkan Railway allowed to pre-pay overseas debt.
June 30, 2000... MUMBAI, June 29: KONKAN Railway Corporation Ltd (KRCL) has been allowed to pre-pay 20 per cent of its $115 millions outstanding overseas debt, according to Mr. R.K. Sinha, Director, Finance. Mr. Sinha told Business Line that the Ministry...

India: Dakshin Bharat quotes low tariff for southern States.
June 30, 2000... BANGALORE, June 29: DAKSHIN Bharat Energy Consortium, promoted by Grasim and CMS Energy, has quoted a tariff of Rs. 1.90 per kWh in the first year and a levelised tariff of about Rs. 2.50. Sources said this was among the lowest tariffs...

India: NSIC forays into Gulf markets.
June 30, 2000... ABU DHABI, June 29: THE National Small Industries Corporation of India (NSIC), which in recent years has been acting as a facilitator in the setting up of small enterprises in overseas markets, has made an initial foray into the Gulf market...

India: NSE picks up 30% stake in IL&FS debt portal.
June 30, 2000... MUMBAI, June 29: THE National Stock Exchange (NSE) has acquired a 30 per cent equity stake in debtonnetindia.com, a portal promoted by the Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Ltd (IL&FS). The acquisition is for a total consideration...

India: Archies net up 52%.
June 30, 2000... Archies Greetings and Gifts Ltd has achieved a growth of 18 per cent in its sales and 52 per cent in the net profit for the year ended March 31, 2000. The company has reported a net profit of Rs. 13.40 crores on a turnover of Rs. 71.21...

India: Ministry studying sale options for IBP Co.
June 30, 2000... NEW DELHI, June 29: THE Petroleum Ministry is examining options for sale of the Government's equity in IBP Company Ltd. The two crucial policy issues under scrutiny are whether the company is to be sold in the existing administered...

India: Pokarna Granites.
June 30, 2000... HYDERABAD: Pokarna Granites Ltd has posted a turnover of Rs. 35.33 crores and a net profit of Rs. 5.33 crores during 1999-2000. The company's turnover has increased by 70.56 per cent and the net profit has gone up by 72.65 per cent when...

India: Sona Koyo Steering.
June 30, 2000... NEW DELHI: Sona Koyo Steering Systems Ltd (SKSSL) has posted a turnover of Rs. 229.57 crores and a profit after tax of Rs. 9.07 crores for the year ended March 2000. This represented a 48 per cent jump in sales income from the previous...

India: Adlabs Films to commission IMAX theatre by year-end.
June 30, 2000... MUMBAI, June 29: ADLABS Films Ltd will commission the world's biggest IMAX dome theatre at Wadala here, by November/December this year. The multiplex project, comprising the IMAX dome and four regular theatres, totally costs Rs. 52...

India: Business Club Australia launched.
June 30, 2000... HYDERABAD: Business Club Australia, an initiative of the Australian Government to connect international business people with their counterparts from Australia, has been launched here. The membership to the club is free. According to Mr. A.K....

India: Garware Wall Ropes acquisition.
June 30, 2000... MUMBAI: The board of directors of Garware Wall Ropes Ltd has decided to acquire 51 per cent of the share capital of Subhashish Investments and Trading Co. Pvt. Ltd, a software company. After acquisition, Subhashish Investments will become...

India: Kotak Mahindra's tax-free dividend.
June 30, 2000... MUMBAI: Kotak Mahindra Mutual Fund (KMMF) has declared a tax-free dividend of seven paise per unit for investors under the K Gilt Savings Plan. According to a release, the record date for this dividend was June 26 and the cum-dividend and...

India: Shree Krishna Petro rechristened.
June 30, 2000... MUMBAI: The shareholders of Shree Krishna Petro Yarns Ltd, flagship company of the Shree Krishna group, have approved changing of the company's name to Eskay'n'IT (India) Ltd at its extraordinary general meeting. The new name would...

India: Indiaproperties.com pacts for finance.
June 30, 2000... MUMBAI, June 29: INDIAPROPERTIES.COM has entered into a strategic alliance with ANZ, CanFin Homes and Dewan Housing to make available online housing finance for the consumers on their portal. This tie-up is in addition to the existing...

India: Zydus Cadila Chairman gets award.
June 30, 2000... MUMBAI: Mr. Ramanbhai B. Patel, Chairman, Zydus Cadila Healthcare Ltd, has got the 'Gujarat Businessman Award' for 1999-2000 conferred by the Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The award is in recognition of Mr. Patel's...

India: Monsanto Chemicals board okays merger of Monsanto Technologies.
June 30, 2000... Gujarat Industries Power Co: The Gujarat Government has appointed Mr. G.L. Bhagat, IAS, as the Managing Director in place of Mr. J.N. Singh, IAS. JB Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals: At the meeting held on June 16, the board had approved a...

India: Kanoria Ind declared sick.
June 30, 2000... NEW DELHI, June 29: THE Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) has declared Kanoria Industries Ltd (KIL) sick in terms of Section 3(1)(o) of the Sick Industrial Companies (Special Provisions) Act. The bench has formed...

India: Visual Quest places thrust on WAP.
June 30, 2000... HYDERABAD, June 29: VISUAL Quest India, a Hyderabad-based IT company, while unveiling its Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) mortal (mobile portal) - Indiawapservice.com - announced its strategy to slot itself as a one-stop solutions...

India: Planetasia's WAP move to focus on content.
June 30, 2000... BANGALORE, June 29: BOOKING a flight ticket when you are on the move, transacting shares while awaiting traffic signal or redirecting the car as mobile beeps about a commotion ahead - Planetasia's content management systems for the WAP market...

India: Kanika Infotech to enter market for Rs 3.6 cr.
June 30, 2000... MUMBAI, June 29: KANIKA Infotech Ltd is entering the capital markets with an initial public offering (IPO) of 36,00,000 equity shares of Rs. 10 each for cash at par aggregating Rs. 3.60 crores. Speaking to newspersons, Mr. Sunil Kumar...

India: Metamorphosis at RBI or not?
June 30, 2000... A LONG way the Reserve Bank of India has travelled down the path of liberalisation. Indeed, it is a metamorphosis of sorts for a central bank which once frowned on banks using repo facilities as a substitute for call money borrowing, to be...

India: Short-term money rates surging ahead of BoJ meet.
June 30, 2000... RISING expectations that an end to the Bank of Japan's zero interest rate policy may be imminent have sent short-term money market rates surging on loans lasting longer than one month. With the economy showing patchy signs of a...

India: Sinha showcases India's growth, exudes hope.
June 30, 2000... LISBON, June 29: THE Union Finance Minister, Mr. Yashwant Sinha, reassured European investors that it would be the endeavour of the Government to put economic growth on a higher trajectory of about eight per cent per annum on a sustained...

India: LML net drops to Rs 6.2 cr.
June 30, 2000... NEW DELHI: LML Ltd has reported a net profit of Rs. 6.2 crores for the year ended March 31, 2000 as against the net profit of Rs. 39.5 crores in the 18-months period ended March 31, 1999. The turnover for the fiscal 1999-2000 stood at Rs....

India: Handling record by Rajiv Gandhi box terminal at Kochi.
June 30, 2000... KOCHI, June 29: THE Rajiv Gandhi Container Terminal at Kochi Port has achieved a record performance in container handling recently. The container movement from the vessel Tiger Cloud, which anchored on June 19, recorded 162 moves within...

India: Senior citizens left high and dry.
June 30, 2000... POLITICAL parties do not take much cognisance of senior citizen. Small in numbers and scattered all over the country, senior citizens are not perceived as a tangible vote bank. Political parties are more concerned about SC/STs, OBCs -...

India: Cement scrips corner the limelight.
June 30, 2000... THE Federal Reserve's decision to keep the interest rate unchanged and the overnight Nasdaq gains helped buoy the BSE Sensex by 43.94 points (or 0.93 per cent) to close for the day at 4792.74 points. Even though the gains were modest, the...

India: HSL diversifies into structural fabrication.
June 30, 2000... VISAKHAPATNAM, June 29: WITH the dark clouds of depression continuing to shadow the global shipbuilding industry, India's premier shipbuilding yard, Hindustan Shipyard Ltd (HSL) has set in motion a novel experiment to firm up its flagging...

India: Strong intra-day.
June 30, 2000... THURSDAY'S market saw the Sensex also breaking into an uptrend. Now both the indices are in the uptrend. The intra-day movement in both the exchanges was strong, however, during the close the market turned weak. The trends of 70 per cent of...

India: HC restrains revamped Chennai Port Trust.
June 30, 2000... CHENNAI, June 29: THE functioning of the newly-constituted Chennai Port Trust (ChPT) has been stayed by the Madras High Court. The High Court gave the interim order based on a petition filed by the Madras Port Trust Traffic Supervisory...

India: New PDS: Yet another hidden agenda.
June 30, 2000... THE CENTRE'S latest ration food pricing decisions have baffled many. In his Budget speech, the Finance Minister, Mr. Yashwant Sinha, said this was aimed at lowering the Centre's Budget deficit. The food subsidy will be lowered to Rs....

India: Supreme Court ruling on damage liability of carrier.
June 30, 2000... THE position of law in respect of liability of common carrier for loss of damage to goods has to be taken as fairly well settled, that the liability of a carrier in India, as in England, is more extensive, and the liability is that of an...

India: Equities firm on buying support.
June 30, 2000... DALAL STREET (Up 43.94) INDUSTRIALS continued to rule firm on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on Thursday, boosted by sustained buying by local funds and interested retail investors' support, which pushed the benchmark index up by...

India: Oak Brook to deploy SAP for Pratibha Syntex.
June 30, 2000... HYDERABAD, June 29: OAK Brook Technologies, the Hyderabad-based subsidiary of Oak Brook Technologies Inc, specialising in SAP implementation for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and custom-designing e-commerce solutions, has bagged a major...

India: L&T's proposed debt scheme rated 'AAA'.
June 30, 2000... MUMBAI: Larsen & Toubro Ltd propose to raise Rs. 100 crores through issue of debentures. Crisil has assigned a rating of 'AAA' to the debenture programme, a news release said. The rating factors in L&T's diversified revenue stream with...

India: Capexil to be registering body.
June 30, 2000... CALCUTTA, June 29: CAPEXIL has been named by the Ministry of Commerce as the competent authority for registration of units making ossein and gelatine and other bone products, for exports to the EU region. The decision was taken at a...

India: ICICI CBO units.
June 30, 2000... CALCUTTA: ICRA has assigned an 'LAAA (SO)' rating to the issue of primary units by ICICI CBO Fund-1, a close-ended scheme with a tenure of 42 months. The rating, an ICRA press note states, indicates the highest safety. The fund would be...

India: ColorPlus to sponsor Bowling Championships.
June 30, 2000... CHENNAI: ColorPlus, the premium casualwear brand, will sponsor the ColorPlus Championships. The National level bowling event in association with International Management Group (IMG) begins on July 24, says a press release. The ColorPlus...

India: AIDS: Alarming statistics.
June 30, 2000... THE latest set of statistics released by the UNAIDS on the global status of HIV/AIDS, as health experts get ready to debate the impact of this scourge in Durban next week, is alarming, to say the least. The report says that over a third...

India: A summer of silence from the Fed.
June 30, 2000... DESPITE growing signs of a broad-based economic slowdown and benign inflation statistics, some voting members of the Federal Reserve seem eager to raise interest rates even more, over and above the six tightening moves made over the last ten...

India: CPT to bring out white paper on users' woes.
June 30, 2000... CALCUTTA, June 29: CALCUTTA Port Trust (CPT) will soon bring out a white paper to highlight how the users of the port are being harassed and fleeced by different agencies and self-styled leaders in the dock areas on one pretext or another....

India: RBI playing the markets solo.
June 30, 2000... RBI has clamped down on the dollar-rupee swap market, though one cannot understand what is wrong in prepaying ECBs. By insisting on trades on a fully-matched basis - every dollar/rupee sway has to be fully matched by a reverse deal - the...

India: Exim Cyclopaedia on CD ROMs.
June 30, 2000... CHENNAI: AGL, an e-publishing house, will hit the market with a CD ROM that will provide complete information on the Government of India's Exim Policy procedures, regulations and tariffs. The CD ROM, titled Exim Cyclopaedia, will be a...

India: LAF: A casualty of RBI's multi-point agenda.
June 30, 2000... JUST four weeks in operation and much of the hopes (about stability in money market rates and the emergence of a short-term rupee yield curve) which rested on the Reserve Bank of India's Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF) now seem belied....

India: SBI group lifts PSB bottomline.
June 30, 2000... CHENNAI, June 29: THE net profits of 24 (of the 27) public sector banks in the country grew by around 37 per cent during 1999-2000. The results of UCO Bank, Indian Bank and Allahabad Bank are still awaited. Profits of the other 24 grew to a...

India: PNB Gilts finds business from individuals rising.
June 30, 2000... CHENNAI, June 29: PNB Gilts Ltd is bracing itself for doing more business with individuals who want to invest in Government gilts. The company has entered into an arrangement with National Securities Depository Ltd (NSDL), under which an...

India: Sundaram Finance net down 18 pc.
June 30, 2000... CHENNAI, June 29: SUNDARAM Finance Ltd (SFL) has reported a net profit of Rs. 51.58 crores for the year ended March 31, 2000, which represents a drop of 18 per cent from the Rs. 63.31 crores reported for the previous year. The board of...

India: UCO Bank posts Rs 36.64-cr net.
June 30, 2000... CALCUTTA, June 29: UCO Bank earned a net profit of Rs. 36.64 crores in 1999- 2000. This was against a loss of Rs. 68 crores in 1998-99. The UCO board, which met here on Thursday, cleared a medium-term restructuring plan for 2000-2003. ...

India: Out of favour with investors, BoB loses out on bourses.
June 30, 2000... IF there is one thing which upsets senior officials at the Bank of Baroda, it is the fate that has befallen their bank's stock at the bourses. The Bank of Baroda stock is currently trading at levels of Rs. 43 (at about half its offer...

India: Infosys donates breathalysers.
June 30, 2000... BANGALORE, June 29: INFOSYS Technologies Ltd, a leading IT solutions provider, has donated 22 breath alcohol analysers to the Bangalore city traffic police. Mr. N.R. Narayana Murthy, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, handed over the...

India: National IT policy soon.
June 30, 2000... NEW DELHI, June 29: THE Government will soon come out with a National Information Technology policy, on the lines of the National Telecom policy, to provide a roadmap for the country in reaching its pronounced goals in the IT sector. The...

India: Worry over delay in long-distance services open-up.
June 30, 2000... NEW DELHI, June 29: THE telecom industry has expressed serious concern over the inordinate delay in opening up national long distance (NLD) services to private sector and has castigated the attempts by the Department of Telecommunications...

India: London SE drive to attract IT firms.
June 30, 2000... CALCUTTA, June 29: LONDON Stock Exchange hopes to have 40 more Indian technology companies listed on it in the next five years. Already, 19 Indian companies, including two telecom and two IT companies, are listed on the exchange. One...

India: Singapore to invest more in Karnataka.
June 30, 2000... BANGALORE, June 29: THE Singapore promoters of International Tech Park (ITPL) here have already begun planning the third phase, even as the park is due to get its formal seal for its $ 150-million expansion into the second phase next month....

India: Eveready profit falls to Rs 8.51 cr.
June 30, 2000... CALCUTTA: Eveready Industries India Ltd, which approved the audited financial results for 1999-2000 here on Thursday, recommended that the interim dividend of Rs. 2 per share of Rs. 10, already paid, should be treated as final. Eveready...

India: Action on judicial autonomy issue urged.
June 30, 2000... NEW DELHI, June 29: THE Government has advised all the State Governments and Union Territory administrations to take appropriate action on the recommendations made by the Chief Justices conference and the three-judge committee constituted by...

India: Hindustan Inks.
June 30, 2000... MUMBAI: Hindustan Inks and Resins Ltd (HIRL), flagship company of the Bilakhia group, has registered a net profit of Rs. 24.33 crores for the financial year ended March 31, 2000. An increase of 3.71 per cent over last year's Rs. 23.46 crores....

India: Rhone-Poulenc.
June 30, 2000... MUMBAI: Pharma firm Rhone-Poulenc (India) Ltd has registered a 21 per cent increase in its profit after tax at Rs. 36.91 crores for the year ended March 31, 2000 as against Rs. 30.54 crores in the previous year. The board of directors...

India: IOC, Nepal sign two agreements.
June 30, 2000... MUMBAI, June 29: INDIAN Oil Corporation (IOC), on Thursday, signed two agreements with Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) for supply of petroleum products and for sharing of technical expertise. As part of the supply agreement, IOC will meet...

India: Govt joining drive to conserve coral reefs.
June 30, 2000... NEW DELHI, June 29: THE Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) is set to join a global initiative to conserve coral reefs. It is in the process of initiating a 'Coral Reef Degradation in the Indian Ocean' (CORDIO) project, to be...

India: Monsoon arrives in Capital.
June 30, 2000... THE southwest monsoon kept its date with the Capital, arriving on Thursday with heavy showers that brought down the sweltering summer temperatures. The other welcome development was the promise of the monsoon finally progressing into Gujarat...

India: Retention prices lowered for 15 urea units.
June 30, 2000... NEW DELHI, June 29: IN an attempt to rein in the mounting fertiliser subsidy bill on account of 'gold-plating' by the industry, the Government has reassessed the capacities of 15 urea units and announced a downward revision of the retention...

India: Ranjana Kumar takes over at Indian Bank.
June 30, 2000... CHENNAI, June 29: MRS. Ranjana Kumar today assumed charge as the Chairperson and Managing Director of Indian Bank. She is the first woman to head a nationalised bank in India, according to a press release. Previously, Mrs. Kumar was the...

India: Govt taking 'real steps' to sort out leather controversy.
June 30, 2000... NEW DELHI, June 29 EVEN as a number of animal rights organisations continue to take up the cudgels against the domestic leather industry for their alleged inhuman treatment to cows, the Government has sought to underplay the ongoing adverse...