3 february 2002

lic mops up rs 10,680 crore 1st year premiums
mumbai: the life insurance corporation of india (lic) has mopped up rs 10,679.74 crore in first year premium in the nine and half months of the current fiscal.

the increase in mobilisation of premium till 15 january 2002 reflects a growth of 279.52 per cent over the corresponding period last fiscal when lic mopped up a little under rs 2,814 crore.

the growth in lic's performance is a result of the high returns that were being offered by lic on several of its schemes, and the rush to avail of the high returns before withdrawal of the plans.

the growth has been maximum in individual pension plans, with lic mopping up over rs 2,558.61 crore in first premium income, reflecting a growth rate of 1,067 per cent. it sold more than 6.87 lakh policies during the period ended 15 january 2002.

2 february 2002

union bank's profit up 77.4%
chandigarh: union bank of india has recorded rs 99 crore net profit during the third quarter ended december 2001 against rs 55.80 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year, an increase of 77.4 per cent.
the operating profit was up 63 per cent increasing to rs 225.40 crore from rs 138.50 crore.

the total income of the bank has shown a growth of 14.7 per cent during the nine months rising to rs 3,345 crore from rs 2,916 crore.

the aggregate deposits went up by rs 3,000 crore reaching rs 36,750 crore - an increase of 9 per cent till december 2001. the year on year growth over december 2000 was 15 per cent.

in advances the bank achieved a year on year growth of 24 per cent with total advances being rs 20,860 crore, an increase of 15 per cent.

rabo to set up rural mktg centres
new delhi: rabo india finance pvt ltd is in talks with companies like mahindra & mahindra, escorts and rallis for setting up agri-service centres in rural areas.
the finance company is offering a 28-29 per cent return for companies investing in such centres. thus, the investments would attain break-even in about three years.

each of these centres could cost between rs 10 lakh and rs 50 lakh.

rabo india wants the government to be a minority stakeholder in these centres and declare these as infrastructure projects.

the centre would not only store products that are consumed in rural markets but also provide information to farmers about crops, arrange credit and sell other services like insurance.

31 january 2002

rabobank, kmfl get rbi nod for banks
mumbai: the reserve bank of india has given its approval to rabobank and kotak mahindra finance ltd to set up banks in the private sector.

the in-principle approvals will be valid for a period of one year. during the period, the applicants will have to mobilise the required capital of rs 200 crore and fulfil other conditions.

the central bank had received as many as 10 applications in response to its new guidelines for setting up banks.

as per the new guidelines, both the applicants have to raise a minimum paid-up capital of rs 200 crore each with a provision that it should be increased to rs 300 crore within three years.

sbi q3 net triples
mumbai: state bank of india has reported a 178.97-per cent rise in net profit at rs 613.89 crore for the third quarter ended december 2001 as compared to rs 220.05 crore in the corresponding previous quarter.

the bank's total income for the quarter rose to rs 8,366.46 crore from rs 7,262.60 crore. this includes higher income on investments at rs 3,632.37crore (rs 2,706 crore).

total expenditure at rs 6,993.87 crore (rs 6,138.01 crore) included interest expended at rs 5,194.42 crore (rs 4,490.50 crore) and operating expenses at rs 1,799.45 crore (rs 1,647.51 crore).

for the nine months, the net profit was higher by 43.81 per cent at rs 1,815.93 crore as against rs 1,262.70 crore.

kvb net up at rs 25 crore
coimbatore: karur vysya bank has posted a 53 per cent growth in its net profit for the quarter ended december 2001, as against the corresponding quarter of the earlier fiscal.

the net profit increased to rs 25.09 crore (rs 16.38 crore).

the total income increased to rs 150.60 crore (rs 125.24 crore), registering 20 per cent growth, while the total expenditure (excluding provisions and contingencies) amounted to rs 103.05 crore (rs 96.06 crore), increased by 7 per cent.

the total deposits stood at rs 3,566.42 crore, while the advances moved to rs 1,964.25 crore.

sbm net up 57.76 pc
bangalore: state bank of mysores third-quarter net profit rose by 57.76 per cent over the corresponding previous period to touch rs 24.18 crore.

operating profits rose 28.74 per cent to rs 59.23 crore compared to rs 46 crore in the corresponding previous period.

vrs expenses of rs 23 crore, being written-off on a pro-rata basis, are included in the calculations.

dena bank trims losses
mumbai: dena bank has reduced its net losses during the quarter ended december 2001 to rs 1.09 crore as compared to rs 6.90 crore for the corresponding period of the previous year.

the bank has prepared a revival plan for the current fiscal which is under implementation under the supervision of the top management.

the bank's npas have risen by 8.63 per cent and it has recorded fresh slippages of rs 314.67 crore during the nine-month period up to december 2001.

srei reports 29% rise in q3 pat
kolkata: srei international finance has registered a 29 per cent growth in its profit after tax at rs 7.66 crore for the third quarter ended december 2001 over rs 5.90 crore in the coresponding quarter of previous fiscal.

however, provision of rs 2.13 crore for deferred tax in the quarter under review, which was not made last year, led to a decline in profit to rs 5.53 crore from rs 5.90 crore last year.

total income during the quarter stood higher at rs 29.84 crore from rs 26.49 crore last year, but expenditure increased to rs 21.36 crore from rs 20.40 crore.

gross profit stood at rs 8.48 crore against rs 6.08 crore in the third quarter of last fiscal.

fis moot tax-free bonds to refinance dpc foreign debt
new delhi: the centre is planning to allow the idbi-led financial institutions to raise tax-free bonds for re-financing the offshore loans of $746 million of the dabhol power company.

the centre is also considering to exempt customs duty on lng, being used for the power project. the government is actively contemplating levying a concessional customs duty, as is applicable to power projects, on equipment imported for lng terminals.

fis had asked the government to grant soft loans for squaring off the loans of the offshore banks for phase-i besides conversion of the dollar loans extended by domestic banks and subsidiaries of the indian banks.

they had also sought central guarantees for raising fresh loans. but the finance ministry has turned down both these proposals.

icici bank cd gets top icra rating
new delhi: icra has assigned an a1+ rating, indicating highest safety in the short term, to the rs 5 billion certificates of deposit programme of icici bank.

the rating takes into consideration ibl's strategic importance to its parent icici, ibl's comfortable profitability and capital adequacy, the good control on asset quality.

besides, highest safety rating also factors in the technology and retail initiatives of the bank, which have increased ibl's potential to increase its fee based income apart from enabling it to raise deposits at low cost.

idbi bank net up 20.97%
mumbai: idbi bank has posted a 20.97 per cent rise in net profit at rs 8.94 crore for the third quarter ended december 2001 compared to rs 7.39 crore in the same period last fiscal.

the total income for the period under review grew by 32 per cent at rs 23.05 crore as against rs 17.54 crore in the third quarter of 2000-01.

the net non-performing assets were down to 2.03 per cent on december 2001 from 2.76 per cent as on september 2001.

net profit and total income for the nine month period ended december 2001 stood at rs 41.88 crore (rs 9.22 crore for apr-dec 2000) and rs 466.83 crore (rs 438.25 crore) respectively.

lic relaunches 3 pension plans
mumbai: the life insurance corporation of india has relaunched its three pension plans in the market with lower assured returns. it has also introduced a new scheme jeevan anand, a policy where the life insurance cover continues even after the term of the basic policy.

jeevan anand will be a combination of the endowment assurance and whole life plans. it provides for the payment of the sum assured and the bonus amount on the survival of the policyholder at the end of the selected term.

the risk cover for the full sum assured will, however, continue as long as the policyholder is alive. upon his death, his survivors will receive an amount equal to the sum assured.

30 january 2002

icici merger approved
mumbai: icici bank shareholders have approved the merger of icici, icici capital services and icici personal finance with the bank.

in the meeting of equity shareholders of the bank, an overwhelming majority of 99 per cent of the votes cast were in favour of the merger resolution.

icici said the scheme was subject to approval of the shareholders of icici at their meeting to be held on 30 january, the approval of the high courts at ahmedabad and mumbai, rbi and such other authorities as may be required.

idbi q3 net plunges 77 pc
mumbai: industrial development bank of india (idbi) has taken a hard knock on its bottomline with net profit for the third quarter plunging to less than a fourth compared year on year. the institution's total assets have also contracted three per cent year on year.

the net profit for the quarter ended december 2001 has fallen 77 per cent to rs 35.2 crore compared to rs 154.8 crore for the quarter ended december 2000.

idbi's total assets stood at rs 70,130.2 crore as on 31 december 2001 compared to rs 72,523 crore on 31 december 2000.

29 january 2002

kmfl net up 4.2%
mumbai: kotak mahindra finance has reported a 4.2 per cent rise in net profit to rs 10.8 crore for the quarter ended december2001, against rs 10.4 crore in the previous quarter.

during the nine-month period, the company's net profit fell by 4.1 per cent to rs 35.2 crore, from rs 36.7 crore in the previous year.

the kmfl board declared an interim dividend of 20 per cent for the shareholders of the company. two of the company's subsidiaries, kotak mahindra capital company and kotak securities, have become companies with limited liabilities, effective 27 november 2001.

the board also approved the merger of kotak mahindra investments with kmfl's wholly owned subsidiary, hamko financial services.

apiic, irda to set up insurance body
hyderabad: andhra pradesh industrial infrastructure corporation limited (apiic) and insurance regulatory and development authority (irda) will jointly establish a global institute for insurance, risk management and other allied financial services here.

irda would take part in the equity of the institute in its capacity as a sponsor.

the apiic would take part in equity of the institute equivalent to the cost of land transferred by apiic to the institute.
the government would provide necessary infrastructure such as approach roads, power and water connectivity in tune with industrial policy of state government.

dpc takeover by fis mooted
mumbai: the maharashtra government has proposed a management takeover of the 2,184 mw dabhol power project by financial institutions.

the suggestion came at a recent meeting of the representatives of power ministry, maharashtra state electricity board (mseb) and financial institutions, convened by the ministry of finance
documents incriminating dpc have been obtained and it is reported that nearly 74 crates of documents have been removed from the premises of dpc without authorization and many documents have also been destroyed.

the idbi-led consortium of domestic lenders has also set a target of starting the due diligence process for the sale of enron's stake in dpc by this month end.

28 january 2002

rabo india fin to advise on biotech park
mumbai: maharashtra industrial development corporation has mandated rabo india finance as advisors for the development of biotechnology park in pune. under the mandate, rabo india will also scout for a technological partner, who would infuse equity in the project and take the project forward.

rabo india will scout for partners in europe and india for equity infusion in the biotech park. the project is estimated to cost around $ 50 million.

tata aig to provide accident cover for commuters
mumbai: tata aig has introduced personal accident cover of up to rs 1 crore on loss of life to daily commuters.

the policy covers accident while commuting between home and place of work, driving or riding in public or private vehicles, or while traveling as a passenger in a common carrier anywhere in the world.

for a monthly premium of rs 99 plus a 5 per cent sales tax, the cover pays up to rs 1 crore should the policyholder die on any holiday mentioned under the negotiable instrument act, and as applicable in respective states.

on holidays, the probability of accidents taking place is lower, and the company wants to pass on this benefit to the customer in terms of higher claim benefits.

should the fatal accident take place not on a holiday in a common carrier, his beneficiary will be given rs 5 lakh, and rs 3 lakh if the accident took place in a private vehicle.

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