Business Line articles from May 2001

Business Line archives from May 2001

India: Enron willing to continue project.
May 31, 2001... MUMBAI, May 30. ENRON today updated Indian lenders about the status of the project and discussed ways for resolution of the current crisis. According to sources, Enron showed a willingness to continue with the project even after all the...

India: CEA told to hold talks with States on DPC power.
May 31, 2001... NEW DELHI, May 30. IN view of Dabhol Power Company's (DPC's) willingness to reduce the cost of power from its project, the Union Power Minister, Mr Suresh Prabhu, has directed the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) to initiate discussions...

India: Modi Rubber: Meaningless revision.
May 31, 2001... THE marginal price revision made to the open offer price for Modi Rubber may leave the valuation of the stock unaffected. The promoters - the Modi group - have proposed an open offer to buy 35 per cent at Rs 80 per share. This price has now...

India: Dr Reddy's: Fuelled by research.
May 31, 2001... THE licensing arrangement between Dr Reddy's Laboratories and Novartis AG, Switzerland, for an anti-diabetes agent may lead to firm trends in the stock of the former. The agreement grants Novartis exclusive rights to development and...

India: L&T: Cement despatch gains.
May 31, 2001... INDICATIONS by the management of Larsen & Toubro that a deal is likely for the cement business with a foreign major may lead to some interest in the stock in the near term. Holderbank, Lafarge and Cemex - the three big global names - have...

India: JPC to meet RBI, SEBI officials to discuss follow-up steps.
May 31, 2001... NEW DELHI, May 30. THE Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probing the stock scam will meet officials of the Finance Ministry, RBI and SEBI in the second week of June to discuss the follow-up steps taken by them since the tabling of the...

India: Auto slowdown may impact insurance premium collection.
May 31, 2001... BANGALORE, May 30. INSURANCE companies are likely to face shortfall in collection of motor insurance premiums during the current financial year as a result of the slowdown in the automobile sector. However, none of the insurance companies...

India: GMR Vasavi team bags Hyderabad airport project.
May 31, 2001... HYDERABAD, May 30. THE GMR Vasavi group consortium has been selected as the preferred bidder for the proposed international airport at Shamshabad on the outskirts of the city. The GMR Vasavi and Malaysian Airport Holding (MAHB) consortia...

India: ITC net rises 27 pc.
May 31, 2001... KOLKATA, May 30. ITC Ltd has recorded a 27 per cent increase in PAT at Rs 1,006.26 crore in 2000-01 against Rs 792.44 crore in the previous year. PBT at Rs 1,600.3 crore (Rs 1,228.95 crore) for the period under review has shown an increase of...

India: First Global to close 8 offices, lay off 100.
May 31, 2001... MUMBAI, May 30. FIRST Global Stock Broking (FGSB) has decided to effect large scale closure of its branches and "deep and painful" lay- offs for its workforce. The move is necessisated as "all of First Global's businesses have been...

India: Drop in TVS-Suzuki, Yamaha mobike sales.
May 31, 2001... NEW DELHI, May 30. DESPITE a continuance of the growth in the motorcycles segment, the fortunes of the various manufacturers displayed a mixed trend in April this year. While many of the new entrants made inroads into the established...

India: Textile export quota notified.
May 31, 2001... COIMBATORE, May 30. THE Office of the Textile Commissioner has notified the allotment of export quota under the manufacturer-exporters' entitlement (MEE) for the year 2002 to exporters of yarn, fabrics and made-ups. According to an...

India: Call to maintain existing PCO franchising system.
May 31, 2001... NEW DELHI, May 30. INDIA'S vision of achieving universal access to telephones for the masses by 2010 will become a reality if the Government lets the payphone service providers operate, maintain the existing PCO franchising scheme and adjust...

India: Govt to replace MARR with WLL.
May 31, 2001... NEW DELHI, May 30. THE Government has decided to replace multiple access rural radio (MARR) technology with the wireless in local loop (WLL) to achieve the target fixed for providing village public telephones (VPT) in the country by the year...

India: 'Raids on Rahejas attack on press'.
May 31, 2001... NEW DELHI, May 30. THE searches and seizures by the Income-Tax Department on the Raheja Group of companies came in for sharp attack from the Editor-in-Chief of Outlook, Mr Vinod Mehta, who alleged that the raids were fundamentally directed at...

India: Dr Reddy's Labs net profit rises 54 pc.
May 31, 2001... HYDERABAD, May 30. DR Reddy's Laboratories Ltd (DRL), the pharmaceutical major which was recently listed on the New York Stock Exchange, has registered a growth of 25 per cent in turnover. It also registered a 55 per cent in earnings...

India: DCA caps company deposit returns at 14 per cent.
May 31, 2001... NEW DELHI, May 30. THE Department of Company Affairs (DCA) has capped the annual interest rate on public deposits mobilised by non-banking, non-financial companies at 14 per cent, signalling a drop of one per cent from the current rate of 15...

India: NSE index options from June 4.
May 31, 2001... MUMBAI, May 30. THE National Stock Exchange (NSE) is to commence trading in index options on the S&P CNX Nifty from June 4. The permitted lot size for the options contract will be 200 units. The NSE on Wednesday said the options contracts...

India: Finance Ministry may ease transfer pricing rules.
May 31, 2001... NEW DELHI, May 30. THE Finance Ministry may relax some of the requirements relating to the information and documentation stipulated in the transfer pricing rules for persons entering into an international transaction. "The Ministry is...

India: ADB lines up project lending worth $5 b.
May 31, 2001... NEW DELHI, May 30. THE Asian Development Bank (ADB) has lined up project lending worth over $5 billion spread over 33 loans in its current active portfolio in the next four years in India. Disclosing this at a seminar organised jointly by...

India: US Exim Bank seeks 'bankable security' for power projects.
May 31, 2001... BANGALORE, May 30. THE US Export Import Bank has conveyed that there would be no funding or guarantees for Indian power projects without any bankable financial security packages. A series of independent power producers (IPPs) had sought...

India: IA taxiing on the recovery runway.
May 31, 2001... NEW DELHI, May 30. INDIAN Airlines has started the current fiscal on a strong note with the total number of passengers carried by it registering close to a 10 per cent jump during April 2001 as compared to the corresponding month in the...

India: ICAI issues two exposure drafts.
May 31, 2001... NEW DELHI, May 30. THE Accounting Standards Board (ASB) of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has issued two more exposure drafts at their meeting held here on Wednesday. "The ASB has cleared an exposure draft on...

India: Centak Chem to shift regd office.
May 31, 2001... KOLKATA: The new management of Centak Chemicals Ltd has proposed to shift its registered office out of Kolkata to Pune. Akzo Nobel Chemicals International BV (ANC) recently bought out 34.98 per cent stake of the Kolkata-based B K Birla group,...

India: BIFR directs Nirlon to submit new projections.
May 31, 2001... NEW DELHI, May 30. NIRLON Ltd (NL) has been directed by the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) to submit the revised projections to the Bench, monitoring agency (MA) and all concerned, while continuing to implement the...

India: REC launches capital gains exemption bonds.
May 31, 2001... KOCHI, May 30. TO finance its ongoing programmes, Rural Electrification Corporation Ltd (REC) has entered the market with capital gains exemption bonds with a tenure of five years. This is the first time REC is coming out with capital...

India: Premier Instruments turnover up 25%.
May 31, 2001... COIMBATORE, May 30. THE dash-board instruments major Premier Instruments and Controls Ltd (Pricol) has recorded a more than 25 per cent jump in turnover in the 2000-01 financial year compared to the previous fiscal. The net profit also...

India: Chennai Petroleum net dips 14%.
May 31, 2001... CHENNAI, May 30. CHENNAI Petroleum Corporation Ltd (CPCL) has reported a lower net profit of Rs 122.43 crore for 2000-01, against Rs 143.41 crore in the previous year - a decline of 14.4 per cent. "The lower net profit is mainly due to...

India: L&T: Not as good as it seems.
May 31, 2001... LARSEN & Toubro's (L&T) performance has been helped by a very good quarter in the January-March 2001 period. The "high" prices have quite obviously led to a substantial jump in profits. Notably, the contribution of this quarter to the total...

India: 'Measures to boost industrial growth will deliver in 5 years'.
May 31, 2001... NEW DELHI, May 30. THE Union Minister of State for Industries, Dr Raman Singh, believes that once the policy initiatives start paying off, the industrial slowdown will become a thing of the past. The major infrastructure projects...

India: Topsgrup set to expand operations.
May 31, 2001... PUNE, May 30. TOPSGRUP, the total security solution provider, is all set to expand its presence in the country to 85 locations across seven regions from the present 79 by July-end. Speaking to Business Line, Mr Aneel Khanna, Chief...

India: Reliance's novel methods to reduce debt burden.
May 31, 2001... HYDERABAD, May 30. RELIANCE Industries Ltd (RIL) has demonstrated its financial flexibility and innovativeness during the last fiscal year by successfully exercising call options on its existing higher cost rupee debt and refinancing the same...

India: Mango candy from Nutrine.
May 31, 2001... CHENNAI: Nutrine Confectionery Company Ltd has launched a new brand called 'Mango Creame' which is blend of Alphonso mango juice and real milk cream. According to a press release, Mango Creame is priced at 50 paise per candy. The company...

India: Modi Hoover launches Aquapure.
May 31, 2001... NEW DELHI: Modi Hoover International Ltd (MHIL) has launched its water purifier brand, Aquapure, for the first time in the country. According to a company press release, 'Aquapure' with unique ultraviolet technology, uses a pre-filter...

India: Beautex unveils wet tissues.
May 31, 2001... NEW DELHI: Beautex India Pvt Ltd, Delhi-based manufacturer of tissue papers, has launched COO...OL, a wet tissue made of fabric, for the first time in India, says a press release. Unlike the other paper-based wet and dry tissues available...

India: Lotus Herbals' face wash capsules.
May 31, 2001... NEW DELHI: Lotus Herbals has for the very first time in India introduced a unique face wash containing active 'Mili Capsules', says a press release. The product contains active herbal extracts of jojoba and avocado filled in small...

India: TMG Enter taking sci-fi movie fest to 12 cities.
May 31, 2001... HYDERABAD, May 30. TMG Enter, the 24-hour technology channel from Technology Media Group (TMG), is set to hit Hyderabad in the first week of June with a week of fiction and action via the TMG Sci-Fi Movie Festival as a part of its 12-city...

India: Online auction to mark Chivas anniversary.
May 31, 2001... CHENNAI, May 30. BIRTHDAY parties can be great fun, and not just for the birthday baby. For premium Scotch whisky Chivas Regal, 2001 is the 200th anniversary of Chivas Brothers, its original parent company. Seagram, which currently owns...

India: Newar group, Pantaloons in deal to set up play corners.
May 31, 2001... MUMBAI, May 30. THE Kolkata-based Rs 35-crore Newar group has signed a joint agreement with the retail chain, Pantaloons, to set up small kiddies' corners of 50 sq. ft. for children below seven years of age. Targeting six Pantaloons stores...

India: Glaxo launches pills to help smokers quit in 7-12 weeks.
May 31, 2001... MUMBAI, May 30. GLAXO SmithKline India has launched an oral treatment for smoking, called Zyban. The pill (generic - Bupropion Hydrochloride) is reportedly the first product aimed at stopping smoking and is available at Rs 40 per tablet....

India: US to skip 'green' issues at Doha.
May 31, 2001... NEW DELHI: Republicans in the US Congress are not in favour of negotiating on environment and labour issues at the Doha Ministerial round of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the US Congressman, Mr Jim Kolbe, said at meeting organised by...

India: Consensus on new classification code for commodities.
May 31, 2001... NEW DELHI, May 30. THE Department of Commerce (DoC) is moving closer towards evolving common classification code for commodities under 8-digit level for purposes of Customs Tariffs and also in view of their pervasive use and importance in...

India: Duty waiver on used PCs for all schools.
May 31, 2001... NEW DELHI: The Government has accorded complete customs duty waiver on second-hand computers and computer peripherals - including printer, scanner, plotter, monitor, keyboard and storage unit - imported by recognised schools run on a...

India: iCelerate closes second-round funding.
May 31, 2001... BANGALORE: iCelerate, a global professional services firm, has closed its second round of funding of $11 million. Investors in this round include e4e, GIV and two private investors. The company has also announced that its board of...

India: Intersoft picks Tata McGraw-Hill.
May 31, 2001... MUMBAI: Intersoft International, a Hyderabad-based software company, has appointed Tata McGraw-Hill to market its human resource software-myHRSoft through nation-wide outlets. According to a press release, myHRSoft is a solution designed...

India: Renamed L&T Infotech.
May 31, 2001... MUMBAI: L&T Information Technology Ltd (LTITL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Larsen & Toubro Ltd (L&T), has changed its name to L&T Infotech. "The concept behind the new identity is to convey the company's vision for its global brand and...

India: Kanika Info firms up plans for Europe arms.
May 31, 2001... KOLKATA, May 30. AS part of its expansion in Europe, Kanika Infotech Ltd has firmed up plans to float wholly-owned subsidiaries in Ireland, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland and Sweden within the next one year. The software company...

India: HP launches Itanium systems.
May 31, 2001... SINGAPORE, May 30. HEWLETT-Packard Company (HP) today launched a range of Itanium processor family (IPF)-based systems, services and solutions, coinciding with the launch of the Itanium processor which the computing major co-developed with...

India: IT-enabled services: Compromising on cost suicidal: Expert.
May 31, 2001... CHENNAI, May 30. INDIANS in the business of call centers and outsourcing should not compromise on cost. Cost is attractive in India and should not be reduced. The available margins should be used to add value, Mr Simon Roncoroni, Consultant,...

India: MRO-Tek begins testing wireless laser network.
May 31, 2001... BANGALORE, May 30. MRO-TEK, the Bangalore-based company which manufactures and markets network access products, is now bringing a new technology into India - wireless laser networks. "Laser wireless can be used in areas where it is not...

India: Aksh Optifibre plans expansion.
May 31, 2001... MUMBAI, May 30. AKSH Optifibre Ltd has announced plans to expand its optical fibre, optical fibre cable (OFC) and fibre-reinforced plastic (FRP) capacities. The company would be investing Rs 107 crore in the near future towards these...

India: Partial IFC guarantee for Bharti bond issue.
May 31, 2001... MUMBAI, May 30. THE Rs 210-crore secured non-convertible debenture issue placed privately by Bharti Mobile has been oversubscribed by 180 per cent. Banks, insurance companies and mutual funds constituted the bulk of subscribers, said Mr....

India: IDBI board clears performance bonus.
May 31, 2001... MUMBAI, May 30. THE board of Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) has cleared a proposal to reward its employees on performance. The plan has been submitted to the Finance Ministry which, in turn, has assured a "favourable" view. ...

India: Interest rate dichotomy growing wider.
May 31, 2001... MORE than 30 per cent of the targeted Government borrowings for the current year have been lifted from the market at pretty low yields. Over the last two months, the Reserve Bank of India seems to have managed short-term liquidity and...

India: Indian Bank to bifurcate Chennai circle.
May 31, 2001... CHENNAI, May 30. INDIAN Bank has decided to bifurcate the Chennai Circle into two regions - Chennai Circle-North and Chennai Circle-South. This is being done to focus better on the region. The Chennai Circle which has 104 branches does a...

India: 'Customised product strategy a success'.
May 31, 2001... KOLKATA, May 30. HDFC Standard Life Insurance's strategy of offering customised products has worked, as almost 60 per cent of the customers have taken plans with at least one additional benefit, according to Mr Deepak Parekh, Chairman. ...

India: Tata-AIG mobile claims facility.
May 31, 2001... KOLKATA: As part of its endeavour to provide quality service to customers, Tata-AIG General Insurance Company on Thursday launched its "mobile claims service". According to a press release issued here, customers who "call-in" with a...

India: Karur Vysya scheme for senior citizens.
May 31, 2001... COIMBATORE: Besides hiking the interest rate for senior citizens, Karur Vysya Bank is also offering 'add-on' benefits to them. The bank will offer an additional interest of 0.50 per cent over the normal rate on all domestic term deposits...

India: GUJARAT: Adviser for special economic zone.
May 31, 2001... NEW DELHI: EA Water Pvt Ltd, an integrated water solutions company, has been appointed as the water adviser by Gujarat Positra Port Infrastructure Ltd (GPPIL), for the Integrated Special Economic Zone (ISEZ) at Positra in the State. ...

India: WEST BENGAL: New power board constituted.
May 31, 2001... KOLKATA: A new six-member board has been constituted for the West Bengal State Electricity Board (WBSEB). The board has a two-year tenure. The present board whose term expired on April 30, was given a month's extension in view of the...

India: WEST BENGAL: Syndicate Bank to boost self-employment.
May 31, 2001... KOLKATA: Syndicate Bank has offered to extend technical services to the State Government to promote self-employment schemes for unemployed youth in urban and rural areas of the State. The bank's offer was made to the Chief Minister, Mr...

India: Kerala to bring out white paper on finances.
May 31, 2001... THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, May 30. THE newly sworn-in Kerala Government has appointed a five-member Cabinet sub-committee under the helmsmanship of the Finance Minister to prepare a status report on State finances which have been reduced to "all but...

India: Sikkim to embark on e-governance.
May 31, 2001... KOLKATA, May 30. A HIGH-LEVEL delegation of the Sikkim Government comprising its Chief Secretary, Mr S.W. Tenzing, and the Chairman of Sikkim Industrial Development & Investment Corporation (Sidico), Mr P.D. Rai, on Wednesday met senior...

India: Kandla resumes normal operations.
May 31, 2001... KOLKATA, May 30. THE Kandla port, which suspended normal working since last Friday in view of the apprehended cyclonic storm, has resumed operations. "As soon as the report of the weakening of the cyclone was received on Monday, the port...

India: Vennar launches soil enricher.
May 31, 2001... BANGALORE: Vennar Organic Fertiliser Pvt Ltd of Bangalore has launched Rich Organics, a bio organic soil enricher that helps to improve productivity in any kind of soil. The fertiliser is made from bio-degradable organic matter,...

India: Govt delay lands trading houses in trouble.
May 31, 2001... MUMBAI, May 30. SOME prominent trading houses are in trouble for entering into export contracts for the supply of Indian maize (corn) to overseas buyers. This follows the inordinate delay on the part of the Government to notify export of...

India: European Central Bank versus euro.
May 31, 2001... IN THE past few months, the European Central Bank (ECB) has been soundly criticised and blamed for the sharp decline in the euro. Many analysts lament that if only the ECB and its President, Mr Wim Duisenberg, was as powerful as the Federal...

India: Profit-booking pulls down Sensex.
May 31, 2001... DALAL STREET (Down 80.03) NSE (Down 20.90) PROFIT-BOOKING in technology counters coupled with a decline in Nasdaq futures fuelled a downslide in the leading bourses on Wednesday. The 30-share benchmark sensitive index (Sensex) of...

India: L&T: Let down by results.
May 31, 2001... As the earnings season starts to hot up with many companies announcing their fourth quarter and yearly results, share price movements reflect the company's performance during the year. Cement major Larsen & Toubro announced its results...

India: Knowledge management in B-schools.
May 31, 2001... DEVELOPMENT and sharing of knowledge have been going on ever since man learnt to speak and write. Indeed, the first turning point in knowledge sharing came when man learnt to write, enabling future generations to have access to the knowledge...

India: Branding and technology.
May 31, 2001... With the explosion of technology in today's world, companies used to the old ways of marketing have to do some relearning and technology companies have to learn to do it better, says Hi-Tech Hi-Touch Branding. In this chapter, Branding...

India: Making the most of exhibitions and road shows.
May 31, 2001... THEY used to call it below-the-line activity, but it is gaining share of marketing budgets, and share of mind in marketing plans. No longer merely the preserve of the sales manager. No longer left to the flourishes of the more creative and...

India: Hamara Bajaj, Tumhara Digen aur Hum Sabka Amma !
May 31, 2001... Exhibitions and road shows become an opportunity to address a focused audience. Do you wait for the traffic that the exhibition will attract in any case, or do you proactively do something about it? ONE thing at a time and that done well"...

India: Of morals, ethics and risks.
May 31, 2001... 1. Recently, I came across an advertisement in a major newspaper as follows: "Readers are recommended to make appropriate enquiries before sending money, incurring expenses or entering into any advertisement published in this publication. The...

India: Fun now, sense later!
May 31, 2001... RAHUL has put in his papers!" "My God, not another one." "This won't be the last one either." "What do I do?" Can you relate to this conversation? I am almost sure you can. Anyone who runs a good department, a successful business unit or...

India: Scanner.
May 31, 2001... - Cool pastels MADURA GARMENTS, under the Louis Philippe brand, has launched the spring-summer collection called Farm Fresh Colours of Monet. The various colours of the countryside as depicted by the famous French Impressionist painter...

India: eFunds to invest over $20 m more in India.
May 31, 2001... CHENNAI, May 30. EFUNDS International (India) Pvt Ltd (eFund India), the Indian subsidiary of eFunds Corporation, plans to invest $20-25 million in the next three to four years in expanding its Indian operations on IT-enabled services (ITES)....

India: Overtaken!
May 31, 2001... CALIFORNIA'S Silicon Valley is fast losing its pre-eminence as a preferred destination for hi-tech entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. Europe and Asia are on the verge of overtaking it. The US, of course, still has many attractions,...

India: Kitply yet to get US court judgment.
May 31, 2001... KOLKATA, May 30. KITPLY Industries Ltd is yet to receive the judgment of a US court which is reported to have passed a verdict of $2.25 million against the company for supplying inferior quality goods to California Pacific Trading Corporation...

India: Air India chief sets aside chargesheet against Verma.
May 31, 2001... NEW DELHI, May 30. THE newly-appointed officiating Managing Director of Air India, Mr J.N. Gogoi, has set aside the chargesheet issued to the airlines Commercial Director, Mr V.K. Verma, by the recently- suspended former AI MD, Mr Michael...

India: Sitagita.co, L&T Trade.com tie up.
May 31, 2001... CHENNAI: Sitagita.com and L&T Trade.com have tied up to provide financial services on the former portal. Under the agreement, L&T Trade.com will provide financial products to sitagita.com's users through a co-branded section on the...

India: MSEB asks Dabhol to stop supply.
May 30, 2001... MUMBAI, May 29. THE Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB) today told Dabhol Power Company (DPC) that it would not lift power from it anymore. The board informed DPC to stop supply of power after the company asked it "to make up its mind...

India: Expert panel meets Enron officials.
May 30, 2001... MUMBAI, May 29. THE expert renegotiation panel, headed by Dr Madhav Godbole, today met a team of Enron officials, led by Mr K. Wade Cline, Managing Director, Enron India Pvt Ltd. According to all four parties - the Centre, the State...

India: Auto sector: Uninspiring numbers.
May 30, 2001... THE slowdown in the commercial vehicles segment may not augur well for the automobile sector stocks. The sales of commercial vehicles has declined by around 9 per cent in April 2001 as compared to the corresponding period of 2000. The insipid...