Business Line articles from September 2001

Business Line archives from September 2001

India: Sops for stocks, exporters likely.
September 28, 2001... NEW DELHI, Sept. 27. THE Government is planning another round of sops for exporters and additional measures to pep up the sentiments in the stock market including easier share buyback norms and speeding up the introduction of individual stock...

India: ITC takes Agro Tech to London court.
September 28, 2001... HYDERABAD, Sept 27. ITC Ltd has approached the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) against Agro Tech Foods Ltd (AFTL), a subsidiary of the ConAgra Inc. of the US, with regard to the lease agreement of ITC's processing plant at...

India: Tata Tea: Positive move?
September 28, 2001... THE merger of unlisted subsidiaries with the parent company is usually not seen in positive light by the markets. However, in Tata Tea's case, the decision to merge a wholly owned subsidiary - Bambino Investments and Trading Company, may not...

India: HCL Tech: Not a large revision.
September 28, 2001... The downward revision in the rate of growth of earnings for the year ended March 2002 announced by HCL Technologies has not been as large as had been feared. This is likely to lead an uptrend in the stock price in the near term. In addition,...

India: Tatas to keep only 10% stake in shipping co.
September 28, 2001... NEW DELHI, Sept. 27. JAPANESE shipping company Nippon Yusen Kaisha Lines (NYK Lines) plans to buy out a 40 per cent stake out of the 50 per cent equity holding of Tata Tea in Tata NYK Transport Systems (Tata NYK). Tata NYK is a 50:50...

India: TVS buys out Suzuki at Rs 15 per share.
September 28, 2001... NEW DELHI, Sept. 27. THE TVS group and Suzuki Motor Corporation today parted ways from their 15-year-old joint venture with the former buying out the 25.97 per cent stake of the Japanese company for Rs 9 crore. TVS, through...

India: Nationwide I-T raids on Nirma.
September 28, 2001... AHMEDABAD, Sept. 27. INCOME-TAX officials on Thursday cracked down on more than 40 premises of leading detergent manufacturer Nirma Ltd across the country, including the corporate office. The raids, which involved some 200 I-T officers,...

India: Reliance signs deals for basic, cell services.
September 28, 2001... NEW DELHI, Sept. 27. RELIANCE has finally set the ball rolling for its ambitious telecom ventures by signing the first set of licences for basic and cellular services. According to official sources, while Reliance Communications Pvt Ltd...

India: Economy resilient, will overcome impacts: Sinha.
September 28, 2001... NEW DELHI, Sept 27. What is the overall impact of the attacks in the US on the Indian economy? I see a few areas where the impact is being felt or is likely to be felt. The first is the impact on the stock market. We have seen that world...

India: I-T men intercept Shankar Sharma.
September 28, 2001... NEW DELHI, Sept. 27. THE attempt by Mr Shankar Sharma of First Global and his wife, Ms Devina Mehra, to "leave the country for good" without settling their tax liability was thwarted by Income-Tax authorities at Chennai on Tuesday, according...

India: APM dismantling on schedule.
September 28, 2001... NEW DELHI, Sept. 27. THE fisc is likely to come under further pressure next fiscal, with the Finance Minister, Mr Yashwant Sinha, today indicating that the Government would take on the burden of kerosene and LPG subsidies on the Budget after...

India: Tata Power, IDBI discuss Dabhol.
September 28, 2001... MUMBAI, Sept. 27. TATA Power officials, along with advisors J.M. Morgan Stanley, are understood to have met senior officials of the Industrial Development Bank of India on Thursday to discuss the details of Tata's proposal to buy Enron's...

India: Despite crash in stock prices: Volumes not hit by US attacks.
September 28, 2001... MUMBAI, Sept. 27. DESPITE the fall in stock prices after the terrorist attack on US, volume and turnover in the domestic stock market has remained unaffected since September 11. Dealers and analysts attribute this factor to the high...

India: High volatility in TVS-Suzuki scrip.
September 28, 2001... MUMBAI, Sept. 27. THE TVS-Suzuki scrip today witnessed huge volatility on the bourses with intra-day volatility of over 30 per cent. The number of shares traded both on Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and National Stock Exchange (NSE) was very...

India: TRAI decision on CPP likely by December.
September 28, 2001... KOLKATA, Sept. 27. THE recommendations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on the issue of introduction of calling party pays (CPP) for cellular mobile services are likely to be made by December this year, according to Mr M.S....

India: CSIR fellowship.
September 28, 2001... NEW DELHI, Sept. 27. THE Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has instituted a special fellowship, 'Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee (SPM) Fellowship' awarded to the most meritorious CSIR-UGC JRF (NET) awardees. - Our Bureau

India: Glaxo SmithKline merger okayed.
September 28, 2001... MUMBAI: The amalgamation of Glaxo India Ltd and SmithKlineBeecham Pharmaceuticals India Ltd received approvals from the Karnataka High Court and Bombay High Court on Thursday. In a notification to the Bombay Stock Exchange, Glaxo India...

India: IT, Telecom Ministries poised for merger.
September 28, 2001... NEW DELHI, Sept. 27. THE Government has decided to merge the Ministries of Communication and Information Technology into one single unit. This was disclosed by Mr Pramod Mahajan, who heads the two Ministries, while delivering the...

India: Spencer & Co to spin off travel unit.
September 28, 2001... CHENNAI: Spencer and Company Ltd has decided to spin off its travel business into a separate business. The new company will be called Spencers Travel Services Ltd. Shareholders approved a proposal to this effect at the annual general meeting...

India: Munjal is 'Entrepreneur of the Year'.
September 28, 2001... MUMBAI: Mr Brijmohan Lall Munjal, Promoter-Chairman, Hero Honda Ltd, has received the Ernst and Young 'Entrepreneur of the Year' award (EOY) for the year 2001. Mr Munjal will now attend Ernst and Young's annual International...

India: United Phosphorus dividend pruned.
September 28, 2001... MUMBAI: Shareholders of United Phosphorus Ltd (UPL) have pruned its dividend to 10 per cent voicing concern over the company's liquidity problems and uncertain global economic scenario. At UPL annual general meeting, shareholders opined...

India: Shipping Corpn to relax VRS norms.
September 28, 2001... NEW DELHI, Sept. 27. THE Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) is set to relax the terms of its voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) by allowing professionals as MBAs and CAs to avail of the scheme. The on-going scheme was open to employees...

India: Consultant to help Tata Tea in integration with Tetley.
September 28, 2001... KOLKATA, Sept. 27. WITHIN the next two weeks, Tata Tea Ltd will appoint a consultant of international repute to help out the company with the integration of the operations of Tetley, according to the Vice-Chairman, Mr R. K. Krishna Kumar. ...

India: The mathematics of a TVS minus Suzuki.
September 28, 2001... CHENNAI, Sept. 27. MR Venu Srinivasan, Managing Director, TVS-Suzuki Ltd, has a Tamil nickname - 'moped mannar' (moped king). As things look today, the name may stick more than ever before. With Suzuki Motor Corporation getting out of the...

India: Burmah Castrol offers Rs 221 for Foseco share.
September 28, 2001... MUMBAI, Sept. 27. BURMAH Castrol Plc today announced its open offer to shareholders of Foseco India Ltd for acquisition of 12.79 lakh fully paid-up equity shares of face value Rs 10 per share. The company has offered Rs 221.8 per share. ...

India: SCI in a spot over LNG tanker project.
September 28, 2001... NEW DELHI, Sept. 27. SHIPPING Corporation of India (SCI) is faced with a Hobson's choice on the 137,000-cubic metre capacity LNG Laxmi, the tanker project it is developing jointly with Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and Atlantic Commercial Inc. (an...

India: FIs puncture Dunlop plans Our Bureau.
September 28, 2001... KOLKATA, Sept. 27. REPRESENTATIVES of financial institutions (FIs) today opposed key resolutions, including the one on adoption of the company's accounts for 2000-01, at Dunlop India Ltd's 74th AGM. Consequently, a poll was ordered, the...

India: Haldia Petro project cost goes up further.
September 28, 2001... KOLKATA, Sept. 27. THE project cost of the joint venture Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd has increased from Rs 5,600 crore - estimated in August 2000 - to Rs 5,900 crore. The initial estimate for the project was Rs 5,170 crore. According to...

India: SAB hikes stake in Mysore Breweries.
September 28, 2001... BANGALORE, Sept. 27. SOUTH African Breweries (SAB) India Ltd has increased its stake in Mysore Breweries Ltd (MBL) to 94.5 per cent following the buyback offer announced on July 2 this year. Under the Securities and Exchange Board of India...

India: Those were the days.
September 28, 2001... "JOINT ventures are like long-term friendships. They go through ups and downs. Circumstances and expectations may change which cause tensions in the joint venture. But if you have a robust working relationship, whatever be the tension, you...

India: Andrew Yule to develop defence sector products.
September 28, 2001... KOLKATA, Sept. 27 THE public sector Andrew Yule & Co (AY) is planning to develop defence sector items as part of its strategy to change its customer profile and improve cash-flow. Mr Arindom Mukherjee, Chairman and Managing Director of...

India: Ministry to scrutinise results.
September 28, 2001... KOLKATA, Sept. 27. THE auditors of Andrew Yule and Company Ltd (AY) have made several comments in their report on the company's latest annual accounts, saying that AY's losses for the year would in fact be Rs 29.2 crore as against the...

India: Unhappy September for tourism again.
September 28, 2001... KOCHI, Sept. 27. WHAT is the common casualty of terrorist attacks on the US, earthquakes in Latur and the outbreak of bubonic plague in Gujarat? The tourism industry, of course! These unrelated and disparate events were to take the Indian...

India: Indian steel has come of age: Minister.
September 28, 2001... KOCHI, Sept. 27. THE Indian steel sector has undergone structural changes in the post-liberalisation era forcing the existing steel producers to modernise, upgrade, cut costs and to adopt modern technologies to tackle the emerging competition...

India: President okays Registration Bill.
September 28, 2001... NEW DELHI, Sept. 27. THE President has given his assent to the Registration and Other Related Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2001, passed during the monsoon session of Parliament ending August 31. With this, the Bill has been notified in the Gazette...

India: Curbs on food ads.
September 28, 2001... NEW DELHI, Sept. 27. THE Health Ministry has proposed that the restriction on advertisement of any food which is misleading or contravening the provisions of Prevention of Food Adulteration (PFA) Rules 1955 be extended to print and electronic...

India: Margin Free Supermarket opens shop in Chennai.
September 28, 2001... CHENNAI, Sept. 27. THE Consumer Protection & Guidance Society, a registered co-operative, opened its first Margin Free Supermarket at Kilpauk in the city on Thursday. A company spokesperson told Business Line that the Society would set...

India: Leela Palace occupancy rate to see a hike.
September 28, 2001... BANGALORE, Sept. 27. LEELA Palace is aiming to reach an occupancy rate of about 60 per cent by next month. It is optimistic of weathering the recessionary pressure through strategic plans to target the top tier constituting eight per cent of...

India: Karnataka announces 25% subsidy on seeds.
September 28, 2001... BANGALORE, Sept. 27. The Karnataka Government has announced a subsidy of 25 per cent on certified seeds for small and marginal farmers to help them boost agricultural production. The announcement comes in the wake of failure of the kharif...

India: Karnataka Plan at Rs 8,941.56 cr.
September 28, 2001... NEW DELHI, Sept. 27. KARNATAKA'S annual Plan size for the current fiscal year has been finalised at Rs 8,941.56 crore with the permission for the State to go in for higher outlay if it could identify more resources at a later stage. This...

India: Reforms in transport sector mooted.
September 28, 2001... NEW DELHI: Sectoral reforms including rationalisation of tariff/user charges, strengthening of institutional, legal and regulatory framework in the transport sector have been advocated by Mr R.N. Malhotra, Chairman, Railway Board. "This will...

India: 'Use Tech Commercialisation Fund'.
September 28, 2001... NEW DELHI: The Minister of State for Non- Conventional Energy Sources, Mr M. Kannappan, on Thursday urged industry to utilise the 'Technology Commercialisation Fund' scheme formulated by the Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources as a...

India: Fast-track justice.
September 28, 2001... NEW DELHI: The Chief Justice of India (CJI), Mr Justice A. S. Anand, allayed the misgivings of lawyers and others over the evolution of Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanism (ADR). Speaking after laying the foundation stone for the...

India: French cos keen on road projects.
September 28, 2001... BANGALORE: French companies are keenly eyeing the upcoming national road projects which offer investment opportunities of $100 million, Mr Jean-Paul Peterschmitt, French Trade Commissioner in Bangalore, and Mr Herve Barbaret, Commercial...

India: Call for full rebate on business inputs tax.
September 28, 2001... NEW DELHI, Sept. 27. ANY value-added tax (VAT) regime that provides only a partial rebate on the business inputs would discourage investment as well as economic growth, according to Mr Satya Poddar, National Director, Tax Policy Services,...

India: Recession in commodity markets to continue: IMF.
September 28, 2001... MUMBAI, Sept. 27. GLOBAL commodity markets already reeling under the impact of world-wide economic slowdown are unlikely to recover soon. Indeed, the depressed conditions visiting commodity groups may be exacerbated by uncertain global...

India: SEBI probe into transfer of locked-in Pentamedia shares.
September 28, 2001... MUMBAI/CHENNAI, Sept. 27. THE Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has asked for information from depository participants (DPs), stock exchanges and the Registrar of Companies (RoC) about the alleged transfer by Pentamedia Graphics...

India: Asset targets corporate professionals.
September 28, 2001... BANGALORE, Sept. 27. FACED with a slump in the business from the student community due to the prevailing slowdown, Asset International, the technology training division of Aptech Ltd, is now eyeing corporate training and working...

India: Divestment of 25 pc VSNL stake by year-end.
September 28, 2001... MUMBAI, Sept. 27. THE disinvestment of 25 per cent stake in VSNL will be completed by the end of the current year, according to Mr S.K. Gupta, Chairman and Managing Director. Speaking at the company's annual general meeting on Thursday,...

India: Integrated SoftTech to focus on 3 areas.
September 28, 2001... CHENNAI, Sept. 27. INTEGRATED SoftTech Solutions, funded by Mr Ray Stata, venture capitalist and Chairman of Analog Devices, was launched here on Thursday. The company will focus on software services in the areas of networking, telecom...

India: ITI posts 39% dip in profits.
September 28, 2001... BANGALORE, Sept. 27. A RECORD turnover of Rs 2,144 crore notwithstanding, the profits of ITI, the public sector telecom equipment company, has shown a dip for the 2000-2001 fiscal at Rs 27.5 crore, as against Rs 45.7 crore the previous year....

India: Lycos break-even may not meet deadline.
September 28, 2001... BANGALORE, Sept. 27. LYCOS in India, which had targeted break even by December-end this year, now feels that "profitability may take some time coming". With the changed market conditions, everybody is reviewing plans as of now, according...

India: RBI to function tomorrow.
September 28, 2001... MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank of India has said that its offices in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai will conduct normal business on September 29. According to an RBI press release, commercial and co- operative banks would remain closed on that day on...

India: HCL Insys to seek nod for hiking FII limit.
September 28, 2001... NEW DELHI, Sept. 27. BARELY a week after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) permitted foreign institutional investors (FIIs) to raise their holdings in Indian companies up to the sectoral cap, HCL Infosystems Ltd proposes to increase the...

India: MUMBAI: Rupee ends firmer; gilts perk up.
September 28, 2001... THE rupee closed steady on Thursday at 47.8550/8650 similar to the previous levels in a thin forex market. Dealers said the market was still in the "wait and watch" mode and, therefore, there were not many players in the market. The...

India: Inspectors advised attitude change.
September 28, 2001... MANGALORE: Bank inspectors have to "transform" their attitude from one of "fault-finding" to "educating" field-level functionaries on the adherence to systems and controls, according to the Karnataka Bank Chairman, Mr Ananthakrishna. ...

India: Iffco-Tokio freebie comes with a bag of urea.
September 28, 2001... NEW DELHI, Sep. 27. HERE is a unique life insurance product targeted exclusively at farmers: buy a 50 kg bag of urea at the existing maximum retail price (MRP) of Rs 230 and get a policy free for Rs 4,000. Buy 25 bags and you are insured for...

India: SIDBI to set up technology incubation centre.
September 28, 2001... BANGALORE, Sep. 27. THE Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) plans to set a Rs 6-crore incubation centre for IT and biotechnology in the South. It is in talks with the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, and IIT-Madras...

India: Carrying forth the entrepreneurial spirit.
September 28, 2001... OVER 25 years in existence, with some of the top industrial names in its member's directory, and the Naraina Industrial Area is truly one of the important landmarks in Delhi's industrial map. The area has over 1,200 units comprising generally...

India: 'Supply chain management holds the key'.
September 28, 2001... CHENNAI, Sept. 27. LOGISTICS 2001, the third edition of the biennial event organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry, began here on Thursday. The event, which includes a seminar spread over one-and-a-half days and a four-day...

India: Blue Dart launches desktop software app.
September 28, 2001... CHENNAI, Sept. 27. BLUE Dart Express Ltd, on Thursday, launched 'shipdart' a desktop software application at the Logistics 2001 exhibition. Ms Tulsi N. Mirchandaney, Senior Vice-President, Blue Dart, said that this application which...

India: Exhibition draws 90 participants.
September 28, 2001... CHENNAI, Sept. 27. THE Logistics 2001 exhibition this year has an impressive range of exhibitors. It is being held at the Chennai Trade Centre at Nandambakkam, a Chennai suburb and has attracted around 90 companies. Besides offering...

India: Postal Dept all set to enter bulk cargo.
September 28, 2001... CHENNAI, Sept. 27. THE Department of Posts (DoP) is all set to enter the bulk cargo business. And, with its network and reach the department, in the words of its Secretary and Director-General, Mr B.N. Som, believes that the "sky is the...

India: The torch-bearers.
September 28, 2001... Pearl Polymer IT was in 1984 that Pearl Polymer Limited adopted the philosophy of excelling in quality products and services and since then it has put this philosophy into practice in all its companies in diverse fields - Pearl Polymer,...

India: Offloading foodgrains for work.
September 28, 2001... THE Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana (SGRY) is undoubtedly one of the most significant policy initiatives taken by the present National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Government at the Centre. True, the scheme's launch has less to do with any...

India: Rupee's fall.
September 28, 2001... This refers to 'Rupee's fall: Driven by speculation' (Business Line, September 19). The author has made several bold and telling points on the rupee's deliberate weakening and the lack of parity or correspondence with domestic purchasing...

India: Reforms: A disappointment.
September 28, 2001... THESE days when all the attention is focussed on the implications and the impact of the terrorist attacks on the US, it was a surprise to find a seminar in New Delhi discussing how the Indian media reported on economic reforms. It...

India: Denouncing SC.
September 28, 2001... IMMEDIATELY following the unceremonious unseating of Ms Jayalalithaa as Tamil Nadu's Chief Minister by virtue of a unanimous judgment of a five-member Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court, the AIADMK has descended perhaps to its lowest...

India: Scheme worth sowing.
September 28, 2001... AT LAST, THE Centre seems to be waking up to the financial and administrative realities of a time-worn foodgrains management policy that has not only proven costly, but has also failed to bring any discernible relief to the really needy....

India: US: Spectre of terrorism and recession.
September 28, 2001... AS THE US struggles to come to terms with the devastating terrorist attacks of September 11, the critical tests have begun. The US President, Mr George Bush, has declared a war on terrorism and vowed that it would not end "until every...

India: Ask Amma.
September 28, 2001... WITH our world glacially drifting towards World War III, our own local affairs become increasingly irrelevant. The US President, Mr George W. Bush, talks like a western lawman, bringing law and order, with his coalition gunslingers, to the...

India: BEML hands over mill rail to Army.
September 28, 2001... BANGALORE, Sept. 27. THE Rs 1,350-crore Bharat Earth Movers Ltd (BEML) has bagged a Rs 100-crore order from the Army for its mill rail. Speaking at the rollout of the mill rail's coaches and wagons from its factory at the Bangalore...

India: SPIC to shut down another division.
September 28, 2001... CHENNAI, Sept. 27. SOUTHERN Petrochemical Industries Corporation (SPIC) has decided to close down its 'Management Services and Systems (MS&S)' division. This move is in continuation of the corporate restructuring exercise, begun recently...

India: Geojit Sec UAE venture to open shop in October.
September 28, 2001... ABU DHABI, Sept. 27. BARJEEL Securities LLC, the brokerage services joint venture between the Indian firm Geojit Securities and a local UAE group, will begin operations in the first week of October. Mr K.V. Shamsudheen, Director of...

India: Sell advice puts Infosys, Wipro on backfoot.
September 28, 2001... FOLLOWING the trend in Asian markets, stock prices remained firm on Thursday. The firm trend in pivotals such as Reliance, Reliance Petroleum, Hindustan Lever and SBI helped the Sensex end the day in the positive territory. The Sensex,...

India: Bull domination.
September 28, 2001... THE bulls dominated the proceedings on Thursday. The movement in the index was around 25 points. It closed with a gain of around 15 points with respect to Wednesday's close. However, the market sentiment of the tradable counters remains...

India: Reliance takes the centre-stage.
September 28, 2001... LYONS RANGE (Up 2.82) AFTER a long while, the RIL counter overtook the Satyam Computer Services scrip and posted itself on the top of the turnover chart at the Calcutta Stock Exchange on Thursday. It recorded a turnover of Rs 30.18...

India: Follow-up open offers leave stocks cold.
September 28, 2001... WITH a temporary lull in the preparations for war at the global level, the stock markets appeared to welcome a couple of day's reprieve from their slide of the past couple of weeks. In fact, a host of pivotals managed to recover some lost...

India: DCM Fin Services AGM okays share issue on pref basis.
September 28, 2001... Book closure/Record date/Dividend Company, BC/RD, Date, Purpose Blue Chip Leasing & Finance BC September 26 to 29 AGM Elder Pharmaceuticals BC October 22 to 30 AGM & 20 per cent Dividend Kajaria Ceramics BC September 17 to 26 AGM...

India: Godrej Agrovet in tie-up with Stork.
September 28, 2001... MUMBAI, Sept. 27. GODREJ Agrovet Ltd, due to launch its poultry product under the brand name 'Real Good Chicken' in the Western region, has entered into a technical tie-up with Stork Group of companies to set up a poultry processing plant in...

India: No disruption in rubber trading, claims Govt.
September 28, 2001... NEW DELHI, Sept. 27. THE Government's announcement of minimum statutory price (MSP) for natural rubber, in line with statutory provisions and as per the directive of the High Court of Kerala, has not disrupted trading, Government sources...

India: DSM plans big splash in health foods segment.
September 28, 2001... PUNE, Sept. 27. THE Rs 500-crore DSM group, with interests in sugar, power, and chemicals among other things, is foraying into the food business, positioning itself in the 'health foods' segment. The company, which recently launched...

India: Bellary Steels may go ahead with asset revamp plan.
September 28, 2001... BANGALORE, Sept. 27. THE FI-devised plan for the asset restructure of Bellary Steels and Alloys Ltd is likely to go ahead even as its reconstituted board come up for approval this week. The reconstituted board is to be chaired by the IDBI...

India: Pepper prices up on US 'string' buying.
September 28, 2001... KOCHI, Sept. 27. PEPPER prices increased marginally on buying support both in spot and futures on Monday and Tuesday. However, on Wednesday, spot prices ruled steady, while futures dropped by Rs 25 to Rs 100 a quintal as compared to prices at...