Business Line articles from November 2000

Business Line archives from November 2000

India: Stiff terms for insurance surveyors.
November 30, 2000... NEW DELHI, Nov. 29. ATTEMPTING to put a tight leash on yet another important segment of the insurance industry, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has issued detailed guidelines on insurance surveyors and loss assessors...

India: Nod for HCL, Dr Reddy's ADR float.
November 30, 2000... NEW DELHI, Nov. 29. HCL Technologies Ltd and Dr Reddy's Laboratories have obtained the Union Government's approval for issuing American Depository Receipts (ADRs) worth $500 million and $200 million, respectively. The ADR proposals, of...

India: SBI to close down London arm.
November 30, 2000... MUMBAI, Nov. 29. STATE Bank of India has decided to close down its fully- owned foreign subsidiary - SBI European Bank Ltd, in London. Senior SBI officials told Business Line that the bank's board of directors has approved the proposal...

India: ITC board clears ESOP.
November 30, 2000... CALCUTTA, Nov. 29. THE board of ITC Ltd, at its meeting in New Delhi today, has cleared the introduction of an employee stock option plan (ESOP) in the company. As per the scheme, the company will issue ordinary shares up to 5 per cent...

India: Vinsari Fruitech: Dampening open offer.
November 30, 2000... NEWS that an open offer is proposed to be made for 20 per cent of the paid-up share capital of Vinsari Fruitech Ltd may depress the valuation for the stock on the bourses. The company has informed the exchanges that a private acquirer had...

India: Ind Swift Labs: Getting noticed.
November 30, 2000... IND-SWIFT Labs' stock may perk up on the heels of UTI's investment in the company. The mutual fund has picked up an equity stake of 4.98 per cent in the company. Significant interest among institutional investors generally plays an important...

India: Don't fight, communicate!
November 30, 2000... BANGALORE, Nov. 29. WORLD peace through computers, modem and Internet infrastructure? Mr Kamran Elahian, founder of Schools Online, a San Jose-based non-profit organisation, says he is committed to "help people communicate so they will...

India: 'Rediff purveying pornography'.
November 30, 2000... PUNE, Nov. 29. IN a landmark order, a Pune judge has held Rediff.com responsible for spreading pornographic material on the Internet. In an order dated November 27, the First Class Judicial Magistrate, Mr S. Bhosle, held that there was...

India: We have strong policy on porn: Rediff.
November 30, 2000... MUMBAI, Nov. 29. RESPONDING to queries on the Pune court order, Rediff.com said, "The company would not like to comment at this point of time." It also said, "Rediff.com is not aware of any perfectly working filtering mechanism on the...

India: DotEx launches e-plaza for NSE brokers.
November 30, 2000... MUMBAI, Nov. 29. DOTEX, an NSE.IT and i-flex venture, has formally launched its DotEx plaza, an aggregate application service portal, which allows member brokers of NSE to directly trade on the exchange using a common Internet infrastructure....

India: DGFT clarifies on fuel imports.
November 30, 2000... CALCUTTA, Nov. 29. THE Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), through a recent notification, has clarified that import of fuel will now be allowed under the Standard Input Output Norms (SION), subject to certain conditions. One of the...

India: Govt plans thrust to IT services export.
November 30, 2000... MUMBAI, Nov. 29. THE Ministry of Commerce plans to work towards increasing exports of IT services and hardware as well as promoting the use of IT to reduce transaction costs in economic activity, according to Mr Omar Abdullah, Minister of...

India: TEC mulling plan on MSEB 'threat'.
November 30, 2000... MUMBAI, Nov. 29. TOP officials of Tata Electric Companies (TEC) are discussing the course of action to be adopted following a notice from the Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB) 'threatening' to disconnect the standby power facility...

India: Hyundai upbeat on meeting export obligation.
November 30, 2000... CHENNAI, Nov. 29. HYUNDAI Motor India Ltd today said that it was confident of meeting its export obligation under the EPCG scheme, but would appreciate some help from the Government in promoting the 'Made in India' brand. Hyundai...

India: ONGC board okays exploration strategy.
November 30, 2000... MUMBAI, Nov. 29. OIL and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC) has proposed to invest Rs 4,162 crore for exploration of crude oil and natural gas for the two-year period ending March 2002. The company's board has approved the investment plans....

India: Satyam-Ariba in tie-up.
November 30, 2000... CHENNAI, Nov. 29. SATYAM Computer Services Ltd, a software services provider, and Ariba Inc, a world leader in business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce platform providers, have announced a strategic alliance to offer scalable, B2B e-commerce...

India: Isibars to hive off rolling mill unit.
November 30, 2000... MUMBAI, Nov. 29. ISIBARS Ltd has decided to hive off its bar and rod re- rolling mill (rolling mill) as a going concern to a separate subsidiary company. The rolling mill, which has been a drag on the profitability of Isibars'...

India: Advantage Nicholas Piramal in Aventis stake race: Analysts.
November 30, 2000... MUMBAI, Nov. 29. IN the race to buy the 40-per cent holding of Aventis Pharma in Rhone Poulenc, Nicholas Piramal India Ltd appears to be the front runner, according to analysts. "Nicholas Piramal already has a co-marketing venture with...

India: Sinha to review customs collection.
November 30, 2000... NEW DELHI, Nov. 29. MULTINATIONAL companies that have stored a large chunk of imported goods in bonded warehouses may be asked to expedite clearance of their consignments. The Revenue Department plans to approach MNCs to shore up customs...

India: Grasim software unit hive-off approved.
November 30, 2000... MUMBAI, Nov. 29. THE board of directors of Grasim, the flagship company of the Aditya Birla Group, has approved the hiving-off of its software division - Birla Consultancy Software Services (BCSS) - as a going concern, into a separate...

India: ONGC installations unaffected.
November 30, 2000... CHENNAI, Nov. 29. THE cyclone that crossed Cuddalore today did not have any adverse impact on the oil installations of the Cauvery Project of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), sources in ONGC said. The operations, however, had to be...

India: FIs to press for stiffer terms.
November 30, 2000... NEW DELHI, Nov. 29. THE domestic financial institutions (FIs) are seeking stiffer conditionalities to back the Government in its proposed sovereign guarantee scheme for three power projects - the 3,960 MW Reliance-SEAP promoted Hirma project,...

India: 'End-use efficiency in power vital'.
November 30, 2000... CHENNAI, Nov. 29. THE need for a national energy map and an integrated look at power generation, transmission and distribution, and end-use efficiency were emphasised at the CII-organised Energy Summit, which began here on Wednesday. It...

India: Unemployment dole ruled out.
November 30, 2000... NEW DELHI, Nov. 29. THE Government has ruled out any unemployment allowance to the educated unemployed in the country, stating that "we are not in a position to do so". Replying to a spate of supplementaries on the main question raised...

India: Taiwan pleads for investment pact.
November 30, 2000... NEW DELHI, Nov. 29. TAIWAN has urged the Indian Government to sign a bilateral agreement to avoid double taxation besides an investment protection and promotion agreement to encourage more Taiwanese investments into India. "The draft...

India: Power sector must focus on green issues: Prabhu.
November 30, 2000... CHENNAI, Nov. 29. THE fourth bi-ennial Energy Summit organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry began here on Wednesday with the Union Power Minister, Mr Suresh Prabhu, emphasising the need for the power sector to focus on...

India: 6 jt venture pacts signed with Iraq.
November 30, 2000... NEW DELHI, Nov. 29. SIX joint venture agreements were signed on Wednesday between various domestic companies and the Ministry of Industry and Minerals of the Republic of Iraq on the occasion of the visit of Mr Taha Yassin Ramadhan,...

India: FIIs investment in ICICI below trigger.
November 30, 2000... MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank of India has notified that foreign investment in ICICI Ltd, under the portfolio investment scheme has fallen below the ceiling of 49 per cent. An RBI release said that foreign institutional investors, NRIs,...

India: Hind Newsprint gets ISO 14001.
November 30, 2000... KOCHI: The central public sector, Hindustan Newsprint Ltd (HNL) near here has been awarded the certificate for compliance of its Environmental Management System (EMS) to ISO 14001: 1996 Standard by the Bureau Veritas Quality International....

India: 'Derivatives trading picking up slowly'.
November 30, 2000... COIMBATORE, Nov. 29. DESPITE initiatives taken by the National Stock Exchange (NSE) to popularise trading in derivatives, the complexity of the issues concerned is making it a slow process. The stiff norms prescribed for trading in the...

India: Essar Steel upbeat on prospects.
November 30, 2000... HAZIRA, Nov. 29. DESPITE the sluggish international market for steel, Essar Steel Ltd (ESL), the flagship company of Essar Group, is bullish on future prospects, going all out to enhance its performance. According to Mr Prashant Ruia,...

India: Ford to expand dealer network.
November 30, 2000... CHENNAI, Nov. 29. FORD Assured, the branded used car business from Ford India Ltd, will be expanded to all its dealers across the country by 2001-end. At present, seven Ford dealers are in this business, with the eighth - a dealer in...

India: Axles' rights issue to fund drive heads project.
November 30, 2000... CHENNAI, Nov. 29. AXLES India Ltd, part of the TVS group, is putting up a Rs 5.2-crore project for producing 'drive heads'. Part of the proceeds of the company's forthcoming rights issue will go towards financing the project. Axles India...

India: Can CSE-DSE branding challenge duopoly?
November 30, 2000... NEW DELHI, Nov. 29. THE Calcutta and Delhi Stock Exchanges (CSE and DSE) are moving ahead for a common branding exercise that may eventually lead to a merger of the two bourses. A co-ordination committee, comprising three members from...

India: Godavari Fert in the red.
November 30, 2000... HYDERABAD: Godavari Fertilisers and Chemicals Ltd (GFCL) posted a turnover of Rs 495.56 crore and a net loss of Rs 7.40 crore during the half-year ended September 30, 2000. During the previous corresponding period, the company had accrued...

India: Deccan Drugs merger with Inventaa Chem gets approval.
November 30, 2000... NEW DELHI, Nov. 29. THE Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR), while approving the scheme for merger of Deccan Drugs Ltd (DDL) with Inventaa Chemicals Ltd (ICL) with effect from March 31, 2000, said that "the merged company...

India: TC Springs to expand basket of products.
November 30, 2000... PUNE, Nov. 29. TC SPRINGS, the 50:50 joint venture between Tata Auto Components (TACO) and CHKK of Japan, is planning to expand its basket of products with the stabiliser bar and the leaf springs for commercial vehicles, Mr Masahi Ito,...

India: Anti-dumping duty expected to help caustic soda industry.
November 30, 2000... KOCHI, Nov. 29. THE recent recommendations of the Director General of Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties (DGADAD) to impose anti-dumping duty on imported caustic soda are expected to make a significant impact on the overall performance of the...

India: Overdrive names Honda City best car.
November 30, 2000... CHENNAI: Overdrive, a Tata Infomedia publication on vehicles, has announced Honda City as car of the year based on its power, fuel efficiency, air-conditioning, refinement, space and driving pleasure. The motorcycle of the year ranking went...

India: Lego Toys' gesture.
November 30, 2000... NEW DELHI: The Denmark-based Lego group recently gave away profits earned in the annual international bazaar, organised by the Delhi Commonwealth Women's Association, for charity. About 40 embassies participated in the international bazaar...

India: Century Plyboards hires Euro RSCG.
November 30, 2000... NEW DELHI: Calcutta-based plywood company, Century Plyboards (I) Ltd, has signed on Euro RSCG as its ad agency for planned promotional activities, ranging from direct interfacing with end consumers to interactive and other media, according to...

India: TNT to host bowling meet.
November 30, 2000... CHENNAI: TNT Express will be organising the second annual corporate bowling competition in Chennai at Downunder on December 9 and 10. According to a press release, this year there are over 120 teams from 40 companies. The purpose of this...

India: Karnataka beer sales limp in wake of abduction, taxation.
November 30, 2000... BANGALORE, Nov. 29. THE Rajkumar abduction crisis and a nearly 30-per cent hike in cumulative taxation has nullified Karnataka's early gains in beer sales during the current financial year. The latest projections indicate that sales may not...

India: Nine Gold climbs up TRP charts.
November 30, 2000... NEW DELHI, Nov. 29. NINE Gold, the three-hour block of programming on DD Metro, has seen a consistent growth in its TRPs, since its launch in September this year, according to a company communique received here. Nine Gold has managed to...

India: The sound of virtual music.
November 30, 2000... CHENNAI, Nov. 29. WHAT'S happened to your grandfather's old LP records? Stashed away in some old cupboard. Forgotten. Everyone knows what happened to the old gramophone - it's a polished showpiece in your living room. What will happen to your...

India: Common investment framework sought for East, South Asia.
November 30, 2000... CALCUTTA, Nov. 29. THERE is an urgent need at the public sector level to arrive at a "common investment framework" within the East, South Asia Sub-region (ESAS) consisting of India, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal. Making a presentation on...

India: ADB keen to boost tourism in SAGQ countries.
November 30, 2000... CALCUTTA, Nov. 29. THE Asian Development Bank (ADB) is keen on helping the four nations of South Asian Growth Quadrangle (SAGQ) - India, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh - by way of funding studies for the joint development of tourism in this...

India: US proposes tariff rate quota reform.
November 30, 2000... MUMBAI, Nov. 29. IN what it claims to be an attempt to reduce trade distortions and limit protection, the US has said that reform to the system of tariff rate quotas (TRQs) was integral to further international agriculture trade reform. ...

India: 'Need for a nodal agency for trade facilitation'.
November 30, 2000... NEW DELHI, Nov. 29. THERE is a greater need for creating a central coordinating machinery to integrate the trade facilitation measures being undertaken by the country's multiple export promotion agencies and commodity boards in an...

India: The seven 'e-tools' of e-business.
November 30, 2000... MUMBAI, Nov. 29. THERE is nothing like an old economy company or a new economy company; there are only dumb companies and smart companies. That was Prof Mohanbir Sawhney's, professor e-commerce and technology, Kellogg Graduate School of...

India: Oviyam ties up with Un Nam.
November 30, 2000... THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Oviyam InfoSolutions and Technologies, a 100 per cent software solutions export company based here, has tied up with Un Nam International Pte Ltd of South Korea for co-operation in execution of projects abroad. ...

India: Ramco Systems pact with PwC.
November 30, 2000... CHENNAI: Ramco Systems Ltd has announced its tie-up with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in Thailand to launch its ASP service. The service also marks the first regional expansion for Ramco Systems, whose services in Singapore and Malaysia...

India: FEC implements B2B for Singapore co.
November 30, 2000... HYDERABAD: FEC Infosystems Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of HCL Infosystems Ltd, has implemented BroadVision B2B technology for East Lifestyle Corporation Pte Ltd, Singapore, a media and e- commerce corporation. The project is expected to help...

India: Pharmabiz to Webcast congress.
November 30, 2000... MUMBAI: Pharma portal, Pharmabiz.com, is Webcasting the Millennium Pharmaceutical Congress being organised in Hyderabad at its Web site. The congress is to be inaugurated by Mr Chandrababu Naidu, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. The...

India: Infocomm to launch training company.
November 30, 2000... CHENNAI, Nov. 29. AS part of expansion, the Hyderabad-based Infocomm Solutions Ltd plans to launch Infocomm Solution Services. This will include offering training in emerging technologies such as WAP (wireless application protocol),...

India: iGate plans more group companies.
November 30, 2000... NEW DELHI, Nov. 29. THE US-based iGate Capital (previously Mastech Corporation), which has 12 companies under its fold, is considering launching more group companies in India, the company CEO and co-founder, Mr Sunil Wadhwani, has said. ...

India: Kaybee buys 10% in Global Knowledge.
November 30, 2000... CALCUTTA, Nov. 29. KAYBEE, a Singapore-based venture financing outfit, has invested $1.5 million to take a 10 per cent stake in Global Knowledge Portals Pvt Ltd, a company started by Mr Derek O'Brien, the famous quizmaster. The overseas...

India: Bridge to provide info for DotEx.
November 30, 2000... MUMBAI, Nov. 29. BRIDGE Information Systems (Bridge), an international provider of financial information services, has announced a partnership with DotEx International Ltd, promoted by National Stock Exchange of India (NSE.IT) and i-flex...

India: Indo-Singapore ties to be strengthened.
November 30, 2000... BANGALORE, Nov. 29. CO-OPERATION between Singapore and India in many fields in addition to the information and biotechnology sectors is set for a flourishing period, according to the city-state's Minister for Trade and Industry, Mr George...

India: Epson sets up Indian arm.
November 30, 2000... BANGALORE, Nov. 29. EPSON Singapore Pte Ltd, a group company of Seiko Epson Corporation, Japan, has announced the setting up of a wholly- owned subsidiary in India. Epson India Pvt Ltd will be headquartered in Bangalore. "By becoming a...

India: Crisil assigns 'AAA' for SBI bond programme.
November 30, 2000... MUMBAI: Credit rating agency, Crisil, has assigned 'AAA' rating to the Rs 3,000-crore bond programme of State Bank of India (SBI), a release from the agency said. Crisil has also reaffirmed the 'P1+' rating to the bank's certificate of...

India: Peerless to maintain deposit growth at 15 per cent.
November 30, 2000... CALCUTTA, Nov. 29. PEERLESS General Finance & Investment Co Ltd (Peerless) hopes to maintain the deposit growth in the current financial year at the last financial year's level of over 15 per cent, says its Chairman, Mr D N Ghosh. In the...

India: Canara Bank's bond issue oversubscribed.
November 30, 2000... BANGALORE, Nov. 29. CANARA Bank's Tier-II capital bond issue was oversubscribed by over Rs 100 crore and the issue has now closed. A bank release said that it had the option to retain the oversubscription as part of the greenshoe option....

India: Spiralling inflation & interest rate regime.
November 30, 2000... KOCHI, Nov. 29. WITH the inflation rate on an upward spiral, some bankers feel that the easy money regime is behind them and that the interest rates would firm up in the medium term. Even as the industrial sector is witnessing the first...

India: ICICI 5th tranche of Safety Bonds opens on Dec 5.
November 30, 2000... MUMBAI, Nov. 29. ICICI Ltd is entering the market with the fifth tranche of its 'safety bonds'. The public issue of 'ICICI Safety Bonds- December 2000' of unsecured redeemable bonds in the nature of debentures aggregating Rs 250 crore would...

India: BoI to return part of IBRD loan.
November 30, 2000... MUMBAI, Nov. 29. BANK of India (BoI) has decided to return around Rs 50 crore out of its Rs 127-crore World Bank loan. The bank had received the loan for its IT strategy. BoI has so far availed of around Rs 70-80 crore of the 5-year World...

India: Narayana Murthy, Abdul Kalam on RBI board.
November 30, 2000... MUMBAI, Nov. 29. MR N.R. Narayana Murthy, Chairman and Managing Director, Infosys Technologies Ltd, and Mr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government, have been nominated as directors on the Central Board of Directors...

India: Concern over working of BOLT terminals.
November 30, 2000... MADURAI, Nov. 29. THE small investors in Madurai and in the adjacent districts are peeved at the working of the BOLT terminals here. For a good fifteen to thirty minutes, they are unable to trade, by which time the market may see wide...

India: TELK bags Rs 8-crore Oman order.
November 30, 2000... KOCHI, Nov 29. THE State-owned Transformers and Electricals Kerala Ltd (TELK) has received an export order worth Rs 8 crore for supply of two power transformers from the Ministry of Electricity and Water, Sultanate of Oman. The company...

India: KPTCL may want Enron to accept Jindal power tariff.
November 30, 2000... BANGALORE, Nov. 29. THE State-owned Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Ltd (KPTCL) has indicated that it is ready to lift power from Dabhol Power Company (DPC), provided it is available at the same tariff as was provided by Jindal...

India: TTP plant remains closed as accord fails to hold.
November 30, 2000... THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, Nov. 29. THE consensus to reopen the public sector Travancore Titanium Products Ltd (TTP) appears to have evaporated after the Coastal Uplift Association, which has been spearheading an anti- pollution agitation, failed to...

India: ANDHRA PRADESH: Crafts fete inaugurated.
November 30, 2000... HYDERABAD: A 12-day crafts festival to promote handicrafts of seven States of the north-eastern region was inaugurated here on Wednesday by Mr C. Krishna Yadav, Minister for Labour and Employment. Sponsored by the Union Ministry of...

India: ASSAM: Tender info for SSI units.
November 30, 2000... GUWAHATI: The All Assam SSI Association (AASSIA) has made arrangements with Sugal Infotech Ltd to provide marketing support to the local small-scale units. The firm has developed a Web site for tender information. The site will provide...

India: Good liquoring teas firm at Guwahati.
November 30, 2000... GUWAHATI: The CTC market opened to good demand which slackened towards the close of sale last week. Clean and good liquoring Assams continued to sell well at firm levels with selected lines even appreciating at times. Medium and browner...

India: Asian cassava output to remain at 51 mt.
November 30, 2000... MUMBAI, Nov. 29. GLOBAL cassava production in 2000 is forecast to rise to 175 million tonnes, up two per cent compared to 1999, reflecting increases in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, while little change is foreseen in Asia, the Food...

India: Food aid shipments may reach 10 mt.
November 30, 2000... MUMBAI, Nov. 29. PRELIMINARY iindications suggest that cereal food aid shipments in 2000-01 could reach 10 million tonnes, close to last year's estimated volume, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has said. Shipments to the...

India: Research on coffee sans caffeine.
November 30, 2000... BANGALORE, Nov. 29. THE Central Coffee Research Institute (CCRI), which completes 75 years of existence this year, is probably the oldest coffee institute anywhere in the world. CCRI's newest projects included work on growing natural...

India: A let-down for small investor.
November 30, 2000... IT IS UNFORTUNATE that the Government has chosen to dilute the provision in the Companies Bill relating to the appointment of a director from the constituent of minority shareholders. But the development itself hardly comes as a surprise as...

India: Transgenic animal import norms to be simplified.
November 30, 2000... NEW DELHI, Nov. 29. THE Government has decided to simplify the procedure for the import of 'transgenic' animals used by pharma companies and laboratories for scientific experiments. A notification is in the offing, which will enable a...

India: Poverty eradication: Not a number game.
November 30, 2000... THERE IS no doubt that the most widespread economic problem facing the country today is poverty. In the inaugural address to the UN Millennium Summit held at New York on September 6, the UN Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan, reminded the 150...

India: Should companies pay share premia?
November 30, 2000... A clear line must be drawn between the amount credited to the share capital account and the amount credited to the share premium account. While the former may be treated and serviced as hitherto, the latter needs a fresh look, says S....

India: Roll the dice.
November 30, 2000... FOR at least two more days, I would have to be meeting people I do not know, shaking hands with them for long moments, reciprocating their smiles and grins, reading colourful manifestos and assuring them of my best preference vote when my...

India: An economist's failed dream?
November 30, 2000... MUCH as they might hate it being said, the fact is that, generally speaking, economists are woolly-headed people. Most of them are so enamoured of their theories that they tend to forget ground realities. By and large, however, they are...

India: Dotcoms are simply bad businesses.
November 30, 2000... MANY suspected it, now the prejudices are confirmed. Many of the dotcoms are simply bad businesses. A PricewaterhouseCoopers survey has concluded that most Internet start-ups are unlikely to achieve long-term success because their owners,...