Business Line articles from June 2001

Business Line archives from June 2001

India: Batata, BPL in mega cell venture.
June 29, 2001... MUMBAI, June 28. THE two cellular giants - Birla-Tata-AT&T and BPL Communications - today announced they were entering into a deal to form a joint venture whose enterprise value they put at over $2 billion (Rs 9,400 crore). ...

India: GE Shipping in race for Essar drilling business.
June 29, 2001... MUMBAI, June 28. GREAT Eastern Shipping Company Ltd is in the race for acquiring the drilling business of Essar Oil Ltd. A company source said GE Shipping is among the four parties which have shown interest in the drilling division. Others...

India: IVP: Flat trends.
June 29, 2001... THE buyback plan announced by IVP may not enthuse the markets. There is unlikely to be any upside linked to the programme. IVP plans to buyback 10.32 lakh shares covering 10 per cent of the company's equity at a price of Rs 22 per share. The...

India: Charminar Breweries: Limited action.
June 29, 2001... THE proposed merger of Charminar Breweries and Skol Breweries is unlikely to lead to an improvement in the valuation of either of the stocks. The board of directors is to consider the merger on July 2. The merger may lead to better scale...

India: Alpic Fin being taken to court.
June 29, 2001... MUMBAI, June 28. SOME of the banks in a 13-bank lending consortium are dragging Alpic Finance Ltd (AFL) to court for defaulting on loans and non- convertible debentures (NCDs) totalling Rs 225 crore. The Oriental Bank of Commerce, which...

India: Tata Steel, Zee in balancing act.
June 29, 2001... NEW DELHI, June 28. THE story appears to be more-or-less the same for both old and new economy stocks with market capitalisation of companies in the steel and entertainment sector moving within a five per cent range during the first three...

India: States willing to buy only 700 MW surplus from DPC.
June 29, 2001... NEW DELHI, June 28. THE Central Electricity Authority (CEA) has told the Power Ministry that the neighbouring States will be willing to purchase only 700 MW of surplus power from the Dabhol project. Some States have said that they are...

India: IOC wants to abandon Gujarat power project.
June 29, 2001... GANDHINAGAR, June 28. INDIAN Oil Corporation Ltd (IOC) has told the Gujarat Government that it was dropping the 1,000-MW vacuum residue-based power project which was scheduled to come up at Savli near Vadodara. The State Government, in...

India: HC adjourns Modi hearing.
June 29, 2001... MUMBAI, June 28. THE writ petition filed by Mr M.K.Modi, one of the Modi brothers, against the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), which came up for hearing on Thursday at the Bombay High Court, has been adjourned to July 2. ...

India: Texprocil to shut offices at Coimbatore, Bangalore.
June 29, 2001... COIMBATORE, June 28. THE Cotton Textile Export Promotion Council (Texprocil) is closing down its Coimbatore and Bangalore offices from July 1. Exporters served by these offices for shipping bill endorsement have been advised to take the...

India: Nocil net up at Rs 11 cr; mulls recast.
June 29, 2001... MUMBAI, June 28. THE board of directors of National Organic Chemicals Industries Ltd (Nocil) today decided to explore alternative options to go ahead with its restructuring plans, following the Shell group's decision to withdraw its earlier...

India: Additional quota for textile exports.
June 29, 2001... NEW DELHI, June 28. THE Ministry of Textiles on Thursday announced release of additional quota of textile items for exports through the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) and Cotton Textile Export Promotion Council (Texprocil) in a bid...

India: Definitive duty imposed on caustic soda.
June 29, 2001... NEW DELHI, June 28. THE Finance Ministry has imposed definitive anti-dumping duty on all imports of sodium hydroxide, commonly known as caustic soda, originating in or exported from the US, France, Iran, Japan and Saudi Arabia. Based on...

India: Bank of Baroda net dips 40 pc.
June 29, 2001... MUMBAI, June 28. BANK of Baroda's net profit for the year ended March 31, 2001, has dropped 40 per cent to Rs 301.13 crore from Rs 502.77 crore for the year ended March 31, 2000. According to Mr P.S. Shenoy, Chairman and Managing...

India: Hyundai set to launch one more used car exchange.
June 29, 2001... BANGALORE, June 28. HYUNDAI will be the next major car manufacturer to step into the used car business with its Hyundai Exchange here. Slated to be launched tomorrow by two dealers - Advaith Hyundai and Trident Hyundai - the South Korean auto...

India: Final rules soon on transfer pricing.
June 29, 2001... NEW DELHI, June 28. THE Revenue Secretary, Dr S. Narayan, has ruled out any reduction in penalties to be imposed on assesses who fail to comply with transfer pricing regulations in the near term. "We are, for the present, not in favour of...

India: Bid to remove DSE President fails.
June 29, 2001... NEW DELHI, June 28. THE bid on the Delhi Stock Exchange (DSE) today to oust the sitting President, Mr Sudhir Joshi, through a board resolution failed due to lack of quorum. Mr Joshi's selection as President early this year was through...

India: DoT in a spot over recovery of Rs 455 crore from Bharti.
June 29, 2001... NEW DELHI, June 28. THE Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has tied itself up in knots over the recovery of outstanding dues of Rs 455 crore from Bharti Mobile Ltd. Even as it has given an undertaking before the Delhi High Court that...

India: 'Include Indo-Pak trade issues in summit agenda'.
June 29, 2001... NEW DELHI, June 28. THE Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) has suggested the inclusion of Indo-Pak trade and investment relations in the agenda for the forthcoming talks between the Pakistan President General...

India: Crude import bill rises to $18 b.
June 29, 2001... NEW DELHI, June 28. THE Union Petroleum Minister, Mr Ram Naik, has said that during its meeting on July 3, the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) would increase crude production and bring down prices to the $22-25 per barrel...

India: Coordinated effort to combat drug trade urged.
June 29, 2001... NEW DELHI, June 28. THE Revenue Secretary, Dr S. Narayan, today called for a close coordination among different agencies Governmental and non- Governmental involved in combating drug trafficking to ensure quick conversion of seizures into...

India: EEPC hopeful of bagging $30-m deals.
June 29, 2001... KOLKATA, June 28. A 11-MEMBER multi-product delegation of the Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC), back from its recent trip to the US, is confident of bagging business worth $30 million within the next 12-18 months. Describing...

India: Siemens consortium to rope in more cos.
June 29, 2001... BANGALORE, June 28. THE three-member Siemens consortium, which is in the race for the Bangalore international airport, plans to expand its team and is looking at FIs as well as several foreign domestic companies. It may offer 14 per cent...

India: Alstom suspends operations at unit.
June 29, 2001... KOLKATA: Alstom Ltd has suspended operations at its 'Paharpur works' in Kolkata following an "illegal and unjustified" agitation at the factory resulting in serious threat to the safety and security of the plant and personnel. The...

India: CII joint mission to China.
June 29, 2001... NEW DELHI: For the first time, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is organising a joint delegation of Members of Parliament, trade unions and chief executive officers (CEOs) to China from July 1 to July 7. The 26-member...

India: FII holding in Dr Reddy's hits ceiling.
June 29, 2001... MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank of India has notified that no further purchases of equity shares of Dr Reddy's Laboratories Ltd should be made on behalf of foreign institutional investors (FIIs) without its prior permission. The RBI has stated...

India: Sun declares dividend in MIP.
June 29, 2001... MUMBAI: Sun F&C Mutual Fund has declared dividend in monthly income plan (MIP). The dividend declared under monthly income option is 0.8 per cent (Re 0.08 per unit) and 2.4 per cent (Re 0.24 per unit) in the quarterly option. Sun F&C MIP...

India: Philips India to continue selling handsets.
June 29, 2001... MUMBAI, June 28. PHILIPS India Ltd will continue to market and sell Philips-branded mobile phones in the country despite its parent company, Philips Electronics NV's recent decision to close down its loss-making handset business and shift...

India: Philips aims for 5% market share in CTVs.
June 29, 2001... KOLKATA, June 28. PHILIPS India Ltd hopes to end 2001 with a higher market share of five per cent, in terms of value, in the colour television (CTV) sector from the existing 4.5 per cent. In terms of volume, the existing share is said to be...

India: OTCEI starved of volumes; awaits rolling settlement.
June 29, 2001... KOLKATA, June 28. VOLUMES are disappearing fast at the Over The Counter Exchange of India (OTCEI), the country's first bourse to introduce screen-based trading and market-making in securities. These days, quite in tune with the rest of...

India: MUL to change gear on performance appraisal.
June 29, 2001... NEW DELHI, June 28. RENEWING its efforts at cutting costs and improving productivity, Maruti Udyog Ltd (MUL) has drawn up a new human resources policy, which for the first time, entirely links performance to pay packets for all its executives...

India: Thapar Institute in pact with AIM for eMBA course.
June 29, 2001... MUMBAI, June 28. THAPAR Institute of Engineering & Technology (TIET) has tied up with the Asian Institute of Management (AIM), Manila, to conduct its executive management programme eMBA in the country. The course, to be conducted at the...

India: Sical net drops to Rs 21.51 cr.
June 29, 2001... CHENNAI, June 28. SOUTH India Corporation (Agencies) Ltd (Sical) has reported an 8.8 per cent drop in net profit and a 12.5 per cent increase in net sales for the year ended March 31, 2001 over the previous year. It recorded a net profit...

India: Cadbury royalty.
June 29, 2001... MUMBAI: Cadbury India Ltd has informed BSE that it has received permission from the Reserve Bank of India for payment of one per cent royalty on domestic sales and exports for use of trade marks to Cadbury Schweppes Overseas Ltd, UK, the...

India: Nagarjuna Fert posts Rs 58.62-cr profit; extends accounting period.
June 29, 2001... HYDERABAD: Nagarjuna Fertilizers and Chemicals Ltd (NFCL) has incurred a net loss of Rs 10 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2001. The company posted a sales income of Rs 267.05 crore and other income of Rs 15.56 crore, while its...

India: Lanco Ind.
June 29, 2001... Lanco Industries Ltd has registered a significant fall in turnover and incurred a net loss for the year ended March 31, 2001. According to the audited financial results taken on record by the company's board, it has incurred a net loss of...

India: Oil Country.
June 29, 2001... Oil Country Tubular Ltd has registered a significant fall in sales turnover and incurred a net loss for the year ended March 31, 2001. According to the audited financial results taken on record by the company board, it has incurred a net...

India: Abbott Labs.
June 29, 2001... MUMBAI: Abbott Laboratories India Ltd has registered an 84.51 per cent increase in net profit at Rs 3.23 crore in the year ended March 31, 2001 as against Rs 1.7 crore the previous year. The board of directors has recommended a final...

India: Pru ICICI RD.
June 29, 2001... MUMBAI: Prudential ICICI Mutual Fund (Pru ICICI MF) has decided June 29 as the record date for monthly dividend under its monthly income plan (MIP). The fund has also announced June 26-29 as the shut-out period during which no purchase or...

India: Apollo Tyres net profit slips 66.58%.
June 29, 2001... NEW DELHI, June 28. APOLLO Tyres Ltd has reported a 66.58 per cent decline in net profit for the year ended March 31, 2001 to Rs 25.42 crore as against a net profit of Rs 76.06 crore recorded in the same period the previous year. Net...

India: Apollo Tyres: Time for retreading?
June 29, 2001... REFLECTIVE of the overall negative trend in the industry, tyre major - Apollo Tyres - has reported a sharp deterioration in performance. For the year ended March 2001, the turnover declined by 15 per cent to Rs 1,142.1 crore while the...

India: 'Indian shoes must aim global'.
June 29, 2001... NEW DELHI, June 28. THE domestic shoe industry should place more emphasis on obtaining a higher unit value realisation for its products, the Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Mr Omar Abdullah, has suggested. Inaugurating the...

India: Daewoo in talks with FIs for rescheduling of debt.
June 29, 2001... NEW DELHI, June 28. DAEWOO Motors India Ltd (DMIL) is in talks with domestic financial institutions (FIs) for rescheduling their outstanding loans, as part of its financial restructuring plans. Talking to newspersons at the company's plant...

India: Revision in duty drawback not adequate: CLE.
June 29, 2001... CHENNAI, June 28. THOUGH the Council for Leather Exports is happy at the Union Government revising upwards the duty drawback rates, it feels that the rates are still below the levels that the industry expected. According to a CLE press...

India: M&M's Bolero GLX.
June 29, 2001... MUMBAI: Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd's (M&M) premium Bolero GLX 7-seater MUV is equipped with a 2.5 litre, 72.5 bhp diesel engine, synchromesh 5-speed gear box and features like electronic speedometer, odometer, door opening/seat belt warning...

India: Steel re-rollers told to ensure quality, low cost.
June 29, 2001... NEW DELHI, June 28. THE Union Minister for Steel, Mr B.K. Tripathy, has urged the steel rerollers to ensure quality and cost-effectiveness of their products which are used in buildings, bridges and other construction works including the...

India: Wella strips J.L. Morison of marketing rights.
June 29, 2001... NEW DELHI, June 28. IT is the tale of another relationship between a foreign company and its Indian collaborators turning sour. And this time, it is Wella AG of Germany being frustrated with the standards displayed by its Indian partners. ...

India: Kingfisher to focus on apparel line.
June 29, 2001... NEW DELHI, June 28. AFTER the derby, high fashion and bottled water, Kingfisher - United Breweries' flagship brand - is putting its energies behind apparel for brand building. United Breweries has announced plans to expand its apparel...

India: Shopping safari at the Great Mall of Hyderabad.
June 29, 2001... HYDERABAD, June 28. THE Department of Tourism, Government of Andhra Pradesh, in league with Ogilvy & Mather (O&M), on Thursday announced "The Great Mall of Hyderabad - the Royal Indian Shopping Adventure". Organisers claim that it is the...

India: Rupa scouts for foreign partners.
June 29, 2001... KOLKATA, June 28. RUPA & Co Ltd, the Rs 150-crore hosiery major catering mostly to the mass markets, is in talks with well-known brand majors of Europe and America to emerge a bigger player in the high-end Indian market. Bolstered by a...

India: UN panel mulls fiscal management reform.
June 29, 2001... NEW DELHI, June 28. THE high-level panel on financing for development under the UN umbrella has recommended a series of measures to ensure improved governance and economic management, more resources for the poor, a consolidated global...

India: The elephants can't ignore the ants: Maran.
June 29, 2001... NEW DELHI, June 28. CLOSE on the heels of the inconclusive General Council meeting of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in Geneva on Wednesday, India has warned against "over-burdening" the multilateral trading system in the garb of a new...

India: Let trade be on Indo-Pak agenda.
June 29, 2001... MUMBAI, June 28. THE forthcoming summit meeting between Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee and General Pervez Musharraf has raised considerable expectation in both India and Pakistan, although sceptics have expressed reservations about a favourable...

India: Asia-Pacific Net users to pip US numbers.
June 29, 2001... COIMBATORE, June 28. THE number of Internet users in the Asia-Pacific region is increasing at an unprecedented rate. According to a study by the International Data Corporation (IDC)'s Asia-Pacific Internet Market Research, the number is...

India: Eonour calls EGM on July 2.
June 29, 2001... CHENNAI: The board of Chennai-based Eonour Software will meeting on July 2, to fix the time and date for an extra-ordinary general meeting. The purpose to consider the sub- division and splitting of shares; to consider increasing the...

India: IBM Unix server sales revenue up 57 pc.
June 29, 2001... BANGALORE: IBM Unix servers grew 57 per cent by revenue in Asia-Pacific and gained 7.2 per cent points in marketshare in the first quarter of 2001 year on year, outpacing Sun and HP, according to IDC. IBM was the market leader in the...

India: Matrix launches global roaming card.
June 29, 2001... NEW DELHI: Matrix Cellular Services has announced the launch of a pre-paid GSM international roaming SIM card - Genie - that cuts call costs by up to 80 per cent compared to the existing roaming rates offered by cellular providers. ...

India: NIIT centre opened at Guwahati.
June 29, 2001... GUWAHATI: NIIT has launched its first centre for advanced technology studies (CATS) with a Microsoft certified technical education centre (CTEC) at Guwahati. Mr R.B.Sinha, Territory Manager for North East, said that NIIT was also...

India: TCS working on banking backbone.
June 29, 2001... HYDERABAD, June 28. TATA Consultancy Services is working towards developing a backbone for IT infrastructure for the banking sector in the country. The Chief Executive Officer of TCS, Mr S.Ramadorai, said that project taken up jointly...

India: Royal Airways to deploy Mercator solutions.
June 29, 2001... ABU DHABI, June 28. ROYAL Airways, which is based in Delhi, has chosen Mercator, the Emirates airline IT services subsidiary based in Dubai, to provide its reservations and departure control systems. A start-up carrier, Royal will start...

India: SRG Infotech to hike face value of shares.
June 29, 2001... NEW DELHI, June 28. THE New Delhi-based SRG Infotech, which split its Re-10 share into 10 shares of Re 1 each in August last year, has now decided to go in for reverse consolidation of the company's equity structure. For this, the...

India: Computer Sciences Corpn to expand India operations.
June 29, 2001... NEW DELHI, June 28. NOTWITHSTANDING the US economic slowdown which has severely impacted the IT industry, California-based, $11-billion Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) has decided to considerably expand its operations in India. CSC...

India: Stag Software plans fault management tool.
June 29, 2001... BANGALORE, June 28. STAG Software is planning to launch a fault management tool in a bid to offer a comprehensive defect prevention system for software testing. The company is currently offering consultancy, educational and test...

India: Aalayance close to signing up partner.
June 29, 2001... BANGALORE, June 28. AALAYANCE Ltd, the Indian subsidiary of US-based software solutions provider Aalayance Inc., is seeking to raise between $5 million to $12 million in the first round funding. It is planning to enter into a strategic...

India: Tata AIG lead insurer for Mangalore Chemicals.
June 29, 2001... BANGALORE, June 28. TATA AIG has emerged as the lead insurer for the Mallya- owned Mangalore Chemicals and Fertilisers Ltd (MCFL). For the Tatas, this is the first major non-captive insurance contract. This insurance cover would be shared...

India: Andhra Bank embarks on major tech drive.
June 29, 2001... THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, June 28. THE Hyderabad-based Andhra Bank has embarked on a major technology drive, costing Rs 100 crore, to turn itself into a "new generation public sector bank" in the next couple of years, according to Mr B. Vasanthan,...

India: Allahabad Bank to put on hold plan for IPO.
June 29, 2001... NEW DELHI, June 28. SIGNALLING tough times ahead for bank issues, the Kolkata-based Allahabad Bank has decided to put on hold its proposed initial public offering (IPO). The bank's decision comes in the wake of a twin blow of a less than...

India: Cuts PLR.
June 29, 2001... KOLKATA: Allahabad Bank has decided to reduce its prime lending rate (PLR) from the existing 12.5 per cent to 12 per cent. The revised PLR rate will come into force from July 1, according to bank sources. Despite RBI's permission to banks...

India: LIC Housing blueprint for building arm.
June 29, 2001... HYDERABAD, June 28. LIC Housing Finance Ltd (LIC-HFL), the company with the widest network of offices among the housing finance companies (HFCs) in the country, has chalked out a detailed plan to diversify into construction activity. ...

India: Plea to scrap entry tax on imported furnace oil in Kerala.
June 29, 2001... KOCHI, June 28. THE Kerala Industrial Fuel Users Association has demanded the State Government to abolish levy of entry tax on imported furnace oil, saying that the industry would not be able to sustain itself for a long time and would become...

India: Coimbatore ACP outlay at Rs 2,407 cr.
June 29, 2001... COIMBATORE, June 28. COIMBATORE district has achieved a new landmark with the launch of Annual Credit Plan (ACP) with an outlay of Rs 2,407.37 crore for 2001-02, which is the highest ACP for any district in Tamil Nadu. The ACP for current...

India: Bengal TUs to join hands to boost industrialisation.
June 29, 2001... KOLKATA, June 28. IN a rare show of unity, West Bengal's warring trade unions have agreed to jointly work towards creating a conducive atmosphere for industrial investment in the State. The meeting, among the TUs, who do not see...

India: CDR to launch 'brain clinics'.
June 29, 2001... HYDERABAD, June 28. CDR Hospitals here is set to launch 'Brain clinics' from July 1 offering preventive, predictive diagnostic and treatment solutions for diseases of the brain, according to the Chairman of the hospitals, Dr C. Dayakar Reddy....

India: Chamber hails Kerala move on CIAL divestment.
June 29, 2001... KOCHI, June 28. THE Cochin Chamber of Commerce and Industry has welcomed the move of the Kerala Government contemplating disinvestment of its holdings in the Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) from the present 51 per cent to 26 per cent....

India: Little progress in Mormugao unloader acquisition plan.
June 29, 2001... KOLKATA, June 28. MORMUGAO Port Trust's plan to acquire four barge unloaders of the capacity of 750-tonnes per hour each is not making much headway. The tender, floated nearly a year ago, attracted bids from several firms. However, there...

India: Onion exporter sues ChPT for damages.
June 29, 2001... CHENNAI, June 28. THE Madras High Court has admitted a writ petition filed by an onion exporter seeking damages from the Chairman, Chennai Port Trust (ChPT), the Secretary, Ministry of Surface Transport (MoST) and unions representing...

India: Lift mandatory packing for urea in jute bags: SAC.
June 29, 2001... KOLKATA, June 28. THE Standing Advisory Committee (SAC), constituted under the Jute Packaging Materials (Compulsory use In Packing Commodities) Act, 1987 has recommended that for the jute year 2001-2002 (July-June) there should not be any...

India: Global meet on safety of biotech foods.
June 29, 2001... MUMBAI, June 28. AN international conference on 'New bio-technology food and Crops: Science, safety and society' to take the international debate on the safety of new bio-technology food and crops further will be held in Bangkok (Thailand)...

India: How to make transfer pricing effective.
June 29, 2001... The Finance Ministry has woken up to the large-scale leakage of revenue by the misuse of the transfer pricing mechanism. Guidelines have been issued seeking information and stipulating documents to be maintained between parties to...

India: Bush being put to the test on free trade.
June 29, 2001... WHAT has emerged in Washington under President George W. Bush has been a somewhat schizophrenic US posture on global issues. There is Bush I, who projects nationalist and unilateralist tendencies on defence policy (as well as in some other...

India: Patent regime and pricing innovations.
June 29, 2001... Mr Jaidka, the first Indian individual to get an American patent for his invention that will transmit smells, aromas and perfumes using digital signals through the Internet and via cables to television sets, alleged that the NRDC has not been...

India: WorldJam.
June 29, 2001... IN the era of globalisation, companies are getting bigger and bigger with thousands of personnel manning offices at far-flung locations within a country and round the globe. Size can often turn out to be an insuperable hindrance to...

India: Should the leaders meet?
June 29, 2001... THE more one thinks about it, the more one wonders what precisely were the considerations that weighed with the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee, in deciding that the time was ripe for smoking a peace pipe with the Chief Executive of...

India: Looking to a brighter future.
June 29, 2001... WHILE the global commodity markets are experimenting with various new products and forms of derivatives, the Indian commodity market is still in a state of flux. This is ironical because India has had a long history of commodity derivatives...