17 march 2002

india's forex rises to $ 51,436 million
mumbai: india's foreign exchange reserves jumped further by $ 692 million at $ 51,436 million during the week ended 8 march.

the foreign currency assets (fca) rose to $ 48,374 million, an increase of $ 692 million in the reporting week, according to reserve bank of india.

while gold reserves remained static at $ 3,052 million, special drawing rights were up by rs one crore.

rbi clears bob cap dealership
mumbai: the reserve bank of india has granted the final approval to bob capital markets ltd to operate as a primary dealer in the government securities market.

with this the number of primary dealers in the government securities market has gone up to 18.

16 march 2002

hdfc to replace rpl in sensex
mumbai: the bombay stock exchange (bse) has decided to bring in hdfc ltd to fill in the slot left vacant in the sensex by reliance petroleum limited (rpl) following its merger with reliance industries limited.

the change will be effected on the day rpl stops trading on the exchange, a bse press release said.

similarly, icici bank ltd will replace icici ltd in the sensex after the merger between the two.

sbi launches project uptech for farmers
pune: state bank of india (sbi), for the first time in history, has taken the initiative to help grape-growers in maharashtra, through project uptech, to increase their yield. the bank is also looking at apple-growers in himachal pradesh as their second project, which is expected to roll out during the next season.

talking to press persons, officials said sbi is allocating rs 30 lakh initially for the project. to begin with, sbi has identified 25 farmers each in tasgaon (sangli), pimpalgaon (nasik) and pandharpur (solapur). the project will be completed in four years.

the benchmark that sbi has kept for itself is that by the end of the project, it will bring under its fold about 1,000 acres of grapes under organic farming. they estimate that the yield of grapes will increase by 30 per cent, while the shelf-life will increase by 25 per cent.

the bank officials said for technological and consultancy support, sbi has entered into an arrangement with nrc grapes located at manjari, pune.

central bank selects ramco for erp
mumbai: ramco systems ltd has won the central bank of india order for its flagship erp product: ramco eapplications.

the order includes the implementation of human resources management, payroll, terminal benefits and investments.

the implementation has commenced and will be completed by the end of may 2002, says a company press release. to begin with, the scope of the order includes 100 users at the central office in mumbai.

the solution will later be deployed across the banks zonal and regional offices.

world bank opens office in chennai
chennai: the world bank has opened its chennai office. world bank senior vice-president and cfo gary perlin told press persons that the chennai office will process all of the banks accounting functions and its global payrolls.

the chennai office has already recruited 90 skilled personnel. all of them had undergone training in washington, dc. the chennai office is spread over 26,000 square feet.

tamil nadu chief minister j jayalalithaa, who was the chief guest at the function, asked the world bank to move its entire back office operations to chennai.

she said the world banks investments in chennai are not a cost-cutting exercise but a value-addition proposition. with the kind of facilities it has, tamil nadu will establish itself as the it-enabled service and business process outsourcing capital of the world.

uti bank chalks out major expansion
mumbai: uti bank plans to add another 200 atms, 20 branches and around five extension counters in the next fiscal.

the bank currently has a network of 106 branches, 27 extension counters and 456 atms. the branches are spread across over 50 centres. it recently opened a new branch at koparli road in vapi, gujarat, according to a bank press release.

in the current financial year, the bank has signed a memorandum of understanding with the postal department for the purpose of providing value-added services to the customers of both the organisations.

idbi to finance films through consortium
mumbai: industrial development bank of india (idbi) is planning to set up a consortium involving commercial banks for taking up film financing projects. idbi has also initiated talks with bank of india (boi) towards this end.

speaking at frames 2002: global convention on the business of entertainment here, idbi chairman p p vora said: in the last one year, we have financed nine feature films, of which two have been released and one is due to be released next month.

he acknowledged that the evaluation of projects in this arena is not easy. enumerating some of the benchmarks for film financing, vora said the industry needs to corporatise itself. first convert yourself into a limited liability company. then we need a complete script that will be evaluated by an advisory committee set up for this purpose.

apart from expediting the corporatisation process in the film industry, it needs to nurture a habit of ploughing back earnings, he said. the industry needs to standardise functions and become transparent in accounting practices.

in case there is a delay in completion of films, there should be a financial institution for undertaking the completion bond, he said. on an average film budgets are in the range of rs 10-25 crore. sometimes we do take up a line of credit to a big production house.

idbi drops reform-based finance plan
mumbai: the industrial development bank of india (idbi), which has a large presence in power projects, has dropped its plans to adopt a reform-based financing pattern for independent power projects.

instead, it is planning to continue with its traditional three-tier payment security mechanism - escrow cover, letter of credit and state guarantee - for financing new power projects. indias leading financial institutions, including idbi, were pursuing a reform-based approach in the power sector financing, as the concept was projected as an economically feasible mode for financing power projects.

under the reform-based financing, state governments, state electricity boards and other lenders to the projects have to enter into a memorandum of agreement. the state and its seb also have to undertake obligations to achieve reform milestones in a time-bound manner as prescribed by the lenders.

also, the lenders will enjoy a charge over the revenues of sebs along with the banks that provide capital. moreover, the escrow cover will have to be made available to the lenders 31 days before the commercial operation of the project. but the idbi board recently decided that the security mechanism has to be ensured before financing any new project and, under the given circumstances, idbi feels escrow is the most viable security mechanism.

"the payment risks continues to be the most important impediment to financing power projects, as the financial health of the sebs is deteriorating day by day. besides, problems of lack of tariff rationalisation, high transmission and distribution losses are the other major hurdles in the indian power sector," says a top idbi source.

the industrial development financial corporation was the first financial institution that implemented the reform-based financing in the karnataka state for the karnataka power trading corporation two years ago. the outcome of this new experiment is yet to be known.

following this, the andhra pradesh government had introduced this for financing around six projects with an installed capacity of over 2,500mw last year. but an fi source say the process did not go any further from the preliminary levels.

aptransco, a party to the agreement, had failed to provide escrow cover to two projects even after their successful commissioning. these projects together generate over 550mw (300mw from the kondappally project and 250mw from the spectrum project). andhra then promised to evolve a business plan for the transmission companies by february 2002. but, so far, no headway had been made, the source say.

idbi plans consortium for film financing
mumbai: industrial development bank of india (idbi) plans to set up a consortium involving commercial banks for taking up film financing projects, according to idbi chairman and managing director p.p. vora. idbi has initiated talks with bank of india (boi) towards this end.

idbi had set up an initial corpus of rs 100 crore last year for financing films. in the last one year, idbi has financed nine feature films of which two have been released and one is due to be released next month.

according to vora, on an average film budgets are in the range of rs 10-25 crore.

sbi proposes new housing scheme
mumbai: state bank of india (sbi) proposes to offer a housing loan scheme with a variable instalment repayment facility. the details of the scheme are yet to be worked out.

the idea is to make the scheme of repayment to be tailored to the requirements of the borrowers. the scheme will be structured in such a way that both the banker and borrower will sit across the table and try to anticipate the latter's financial commitments in the future and work around them.

a borrower can opt for a smaller instalment for the first few years of the tenure of the loan and then, if he feels that his income may go up in the next few, he can pay a larger instalment. similarly, borrowers can pay large amount in the initial period and opt for a smaller instalment later.

uti bank plans expansion
mumbai: uti bank plans to add another 200 atms, 20 branches and around five extension counters in the next fiscal.

the bank currently has a network of 106 branches, 27 extension counters and 456 atms.

the bank has signed a memorandum of understanding with the department of posts for the purpose of providing value-added services to the customers of both the organisations.

world bank announces $665 mn loan for india
washington: the world bank has announced loans and international development association credits totalling $ 665 million for transport projects and economic reforms in mizoram, kerala, karnataka and andhra pradesh.

andhra pradesh will get an additional amount of 65 million pounds from the united kingdom.

mizoram state roads project gets $ 60 million ida credit which will improve road capacity, quality and safety through rehabilitation and maintenance, the world bank said in a statement.

the mizoram project will rehabilitate over 700 km of the state's core road network over the next five years.

kerala state transport project receives from world bank $ 255 million. the kerala project will address the rapid increase in demand for road services.

15 march 2002

royal sundaram, repco bank tie up
chennai: royal sundaram alliance has tied up with the south-based repatriates cooperative finance and development ltd (repco bank) for distribution of general insurance products.

royal sundarams commercial and personal products will be sold to repco banks key audience, including traders (shopkeepers and small establishments), house, vehicle and hire purchase loan prospects and social sector customers.

through the tie-up, royal sundaram targets traders through its policy scheme, trader shield gold, and women social sector clients with its shakti security shield repco. this is royal sundarams first

alliance with a domestic cooperative bank; the company already has agreements with citibank, standard chartered bank, amex bank and abn amro bank.

"regional banks have an immense clout in their respective geographical areas," says royal sundaram alliance deputy managing director antony jacob. repco bank has 31 branches in southern states.

corporation banks 97^th foundation day
mangalore: corporation bank celebrated its 97^th foundation day on 12 march at the founders branch at its birthplace in udupi, karnataka.

according to a press release issued here, the banks top brass assembled in udupi to participate in a function to mark the occasion.

ap govt salaries through syndicate bank
hyderabad: syndicate bank has been notified by the andhra pradesh state government to disburse the salaries of its employees in the state.

currently the bank has a network of 306 branches in the state, of which 44 branches are located in the twin cities of hyderabad and secunderabad. apart from being one of the leading public sector banks in the state, syndicate bank is also having lead-bank status in five districts: anantapur, cuddapah, kurnool, nellore and prakasham.

in the first phase, the salaries will be paid through all the branches of the bank located at district headquarters, apart from the branches in kakinada, tirupathi and the twin-cities, according to a bank communiqu.

pnb plans to network its branches
hyderabad: punjab national bank (pnb) has chalked out a major programme for networking its branches.

addressing mediapersons here on the eve of announcing the banks initial public offer (ipo) of 5.3, pnb executive director t s narayanasami said the bank proposes to implement centralised banking solutions by establishing connectivity between its branches. the programme will cover over 2,000 branches and all atms by 2004 at a cost of rs 200 crore.

the bank expects this programme to result in lowering of its cost of funds, which currently stands around 6.97 per cent. pnb has a large network of branches throughout the country, enabling it to raise cheaper funds. narayanasami says the bank has a domestic network of 4,265 offices, which include 3,864 branches and 401 extension counters.

the bank also has specialised branches to cater to the needs of corporate and industrial finance, international banking, non-resident indians, hi-tech agricultural finance and small-scale industries. as many as 365 of pnbs branches were awarded iso-9002 certification.

lic to chip in for 'janraksha' scheme
new delhi: life insurance corporation along with four psu general insurance companies may come up with the proposed health insurance scheme 'janraksha' for the rural population, which would offer free medical treatment worth rs 30,000 for an annual premium of just rs 365.

finance minister yashwant sinha, in his budget, announced the 'janraksha' scheme, which entitles a rural poor of free medical treatment worth rs 30,000 in designated hospitals with a premium payment of only a rupee per day or rs 365 annually.

the scheme would also offer free out-patient treatment upto rs 2,000 per annum from government and private clinics, which would provide a stimulus to the rural poor for greater health care.

lic in talks with foreign mfs for offloading amc stake
new delhi: life insurance corporation of india is in talks with foreign companies, including capital international of the united states and aig, to sell a substantial stake in its mutual fund asset management company (amc). lic mutual fund (licmf) has a corpus of around rs 2,000 crore spread over 16 equity and debt schemes.

capital international is keen to find a new local partner after its 60:40 venture with birla mutual fund broke off.

lic will prefer to hold a majority stake, being a government-owned institution, but may settle for a 50:50 joint venture.

earlier, licmf had initiated talks with a few foreign banks, including deutsche bank, abn amro, commerzbank, in this regard.

online financial training in the offing
mumbai: ft knowledge financial learning, part of the pearson plc family of companies which includes the financial times and the economist, has tied up with the walchand centre for financial excellence to distribute online financial training programmes in india.

ft knowledge has distribution arrangement of its online programmes with moneypickle.com, a personal finance portal belonging to the walchand capital group. participants will have an option of paying for these programmes in indian currency.

the online programmes will cover a wide range of topics including brokerage, operations, risk management, corporate finance and derivatives.

after going through the comprehensive training and testing module, participants will get a certificate from ft knowledge financial learning.

vysya joins centurion race
mumbai: the bangalore-based vysya bank has thrown its hat into the ring for a stake in centurion bank.

vysya banks decision to join the race for centurion bank is also the first attempt by an old private sector bank to pick up stakes in a new-generation bank.

sources said a vysya bank team came to the centurion bank headquarters to look at the books.

centurion bank expects formal bids by the end of this month and the deal is likely to be struck next month.

citibank, ifc to offer education loans
chennai: citibank india and international finance corporation plan to offer personal loans to students in premier management institutes and engineering colleges.

citibank had got approval from the centre in january for the scheme for which rs 400 crore has been earmarked.

citibank has a 25 per cent market share of the personal loans segment in the country and is hoping to grow at about 23 per cent this year in terms of disbursals.

fis to sell stake in modi rubber
new delhi: financial institutions have agreed to sell their stake in modi rubber at rs 90 per share on a deferred payment basis to the promoters.

modi will have to spend around rs 100 crore to pick up the 44 per cent stake. the financial institutions have agreed to accept 25 per cent of the payment upfront and the remaining 75 per cent within the next year.

last year, b k modi, with elder brother vinay kumar modi, had made an open offer for a 35 per cent stake in modi rubber at rs 90 per share.

icici cuts rate on safety bonds
mumbai: icici has slashed the interest rates on its safety bonds by a quarter percentage point.

icici has reduced interest rates across all instruments by 25 basis points. the tax-saving bond, the largest-selling instrument in the safety bond family, would now offer a lower return of 8.75 per cent for three-year maturity. for a six-year maturity, the rate has been pared to 9 per cent from 9.25 per cent.

the institution is offering multiple options under six instruments - tax-saving, encash monthly income, regular income, money multiplier, children growth - to collect an aggregate of rs 600 crore with a right to retain over-subscription of a like amount.

idbi to issue 2002-c series flexibonds
chennai: industrial development bank of india (idbi) is coming out with its 2002-c series flexibonds. the size of the issue is rs 250 crore, with an option to retain oversubscription up to rs 250 crore. the issue will open for public subscription on 15 march and close on 10 april 2002.

the flexibonds issue consists of four instruments: regular income bond, money multiplier bond, retirement bond and infrastructure bond. none of the instruments carry any call option, an idbi press release said.

the regular income bond offers a return of 9.75 per cent and 10 per cent annually for a period of seven and 10 years, respectively, with an annual interest option, and 9.25 per cent and 9.50 per cent, respectively, for seven and 10 years with a monthly interest option.

the money multiplier bond has two options. under option a, an investor receives rs 10,000 after a maturity period of seven years and five months for an investment of rs 5,000 (yield to maturity: 9.79 per cent annually). under option b, the maturity value after nine year and seven months is rs 12,500 (ytm: 10.03 per annum).

for the retirement bond, the investor receives a monthly payment of rs 500 and rs 450 (comprising interest and a part of principal) after a waiting period of one year and two years, respectively, for an initial investment of rs 25,000 (five bonds of rs 5,000 each), giving a ytm of 9.80 per cent for seven years and 9.91 per cent for 10 years.

the infrastructure bond has three options - annual interest (two options) and cumulative (one option). the investor has the option to receive the interest at the rate of 9 per cent annually for three years, or 9.50 per cent annually, for five years under the annual interest option.

under the cumulative option, the initial investment of rs 5,000 after three years and seven months gives a maturity value of rs 6,825 with a yield to maturity of 9.07 per cent.

pnb housing starts flexi rate scheme
new delhi: pnb housing finance has announced the introduction of a new scheme, flexi apna ghar yojana, a combination of fixed rate and variable rate schemes. the scheme will be offered in addition to the existing fixed rate scheme, in which the interest is fixed for the full term.

the new scheme, which will be introduced with effect from 1 april 2002, will offer borrowers three options. option one will be the one-year flexi scheme, in which the interest rate offered will be in force up to the current financial year ending on 31 march, plus one subsequent year and, thereafter, the prevalent rate for flexi scheme up to one-year option will be applicable automatically for another period of one year up to next 31 march.

thereafter, every one year as on 1 april, the then current rate of interest applicable for the flexible one-year scheme will be applicable. to start with, the interest will be 11.75 per cent per annum.

option 2 offers an interest rate reset every three years - initially, the remaining period of the financial year in which the loan is availed of plus three financial years. the starting interest rate will be 11.50 per annum.

under the third option, the interest rate offered will be reset every five years. the starting rate of interest will be 12 per cent.

borrowers can choose any of the three options based on their perception of the interest rate scenario. no extra charge will be collected for the automatic change of interest at the end of the option period.

switchover will not be permitted during the currency of the contract period. but, it will be allowed at the end of the option period every time.

rbi rejects plea for interest in eefc
mumbai: the reserve bank of india (rbi) has ruled out permitting banks to offer interest on the balances held by exporters in their exchange earners foreign currency (eefc) account. this is because such balances are in the current account and cannot be treated as deposits.

explaining as to why the rbi did not agree to the exporters request, rbi general manager k ramasubramanian said the payment of interest will make the eefc account an investment account. the eefc account is a current account meant for trade-related payments and, therefore, the payment of interest cannot be permitted in this account.

speaking at a seminar (international trade finance - the present and the future) here, ramasubramanian said the rbi is also revising the project export memorandum. the revised project export memorandum will facilitate project exporters to know the exchange control regulations in a consolidated and simple manner.

on the retail dispensation towards foreign exchange, ramasubramanian said for all current account transactions, except those indicated under the current account rules framed by the government, the retail dispensation of foreign exchange is freely permitted.

bank of rajasthan to open more branches
mumbai: the reserve bank of india (rbi) has permitted bank of rajasthan (bor) to start eight new branches and three extension counters.

four of the new branches will be located in mumbai, while kolkata, gurgaon and rajasthan will have one each. the new branches in mumbai will be located at malad, bandra, thane and navi mumbai, and will include a special treasury branch, said a bor press release.

bor presently has 314 branches and 39 extension counters. it has applied for extending its branch network, which is under consideration with the rbi, the release added.

13 march 2002

gtb recalls rs 185 crore loans from hfcl
new delhi: global trust bank has recalled all short-term loans amounting to rs 185 crore from himachal futuristic communications limited (hfcl) after the company failed to produce documentary proof for end use of funds.

ernst & young had been appointed by the board of gtb to examine and review the adherence to norms in respect of loans granted to hfcl group of companies.

the internal staff accountability committee has also completed its study on the advances made to the hfcl group of companies. both the reports are being considered by the accountability and legal compliance committee of the bank, which will soon submit an action taken report to the joint parliamentary committee.

on a review of the transactions in the account of hfcl, it was observed by the bank that rs 312 crore was transferred from various ketan parekh group accounts to hfcl accounts.

12 march 2002

sec to set up shop in singapore
mumbai: icici securities and finance company could set up shop in singapore.

the investment bank organised a two-day investor conference in the city which saw 17 indian companies from the information, communication and entertainment sector interacting with potential investors.

the indian companies included bpl communications, escotel mobile communications, tata teleservices, bharat sanchar nigam ltd, shyam telecom, tv 18 india, balaji telefilms, broadcast worldwide, sabe tv, tv today, icici infotech services, mascot systems, moser baer india, mphasis bfl, polaris software lab, satyam infoway and infotech enterprises.

ing eyes investment opportunities
new delhi: the netherlands-based $68-billion ing group is exploring investment opportunities in india. the group is looking at an asset size of $3 billion in the country in the next ten years. at present, the group has an investment of around $1 billion.

the group plans to outsource a large part of the groups it requirements from india. the group expects to save up to $ 500 million by outsourcing it requirements from india.

ing also plans to venture in the pension schemes in partnership with the vysya bank.

ing wants to increase its stake in vysya bank to 49 per cent from 20 per cent.

i-sec to set up shop in singapore
mumbai: icici securities and finance company could set up shop in singapore.

the investment bank organised a two-day investor conference in the city which saw 17 indian companies from the information, communication and entertainment sector interacting with potential investors.

the indian companies included bpl communications, escotel mobile communications, tata teleservices, bharat sanchar nigam ltd, shyam telecom, tv 18 india, balaji telefilms, broadcast worldwide, sabe tv, tv today, icici infotech services, mascot systems, moser baer india, mphasis bfl, polaris software lab, satyam infoway and infotech enterprises.

unichem to expand foreva brand
mumbai: unichem laboratories has decided to bring its psychiatry and neuroscience products under the fold of brand foreva. currently foreva has only gynaecological products.

the brand extension is being done to make foreva more woman focused. it will also cover a number of other afflictions, besides gynaecological problems.

unisearch will now have diabetes and cardiovascular while the psychiatry and neuroscience will be moved to foreva.

the new portfolio will now also include pills for anti depression, tranquilizers and anti-epileptics.

ing eyes investment opportunities
new delhi: the netherlands-based $68-billion ing group is exploring investment opportunities in india. the group is looking at an asset size of $3 billion in the country in the next ten years. at present, the group has an investment of around $1 billion.

the group plans to outsource a large part of the groups it requirements from india. the group expects to save up to $ 500 million by outsourcing it requirements from india.

ing also plans to venture in the pension schemes in partnership with the vysya bank.

ing wants to increase its stake in vysya bank to 49 per cent from 20 per cent.

chinese luxury coaches set to drive into india
new delhi: the china-based king long has entered into an alliance with the chandigarh-based jcbl ltd to produce luxury buses.

initially, the project will be implemented by a division of jcbl, with transfer of technology from king long. after three years, a jv firm will be formed with king picking up a 50 per cent stake.

the buses will be more expensive, almost double, than the existing ones in the market.

the debut vehicle, a 11.2-metre luxury coach would be priced at rs 35 lakh. the chinese buses boast of features like air suspension, power steering, power windows, air conditioner, an audio-visual system, refrigerators and even a minibar.

the first lot would be imported into india as ckd units over the next 6 months. the first 50 buses, would have 40 per cent local content, to be hiked to 60 per cent within 5 months.

volvo's revenue jumps 25%
new delhi: the indian unit of sweden's ab volvosaid its revenue in calendar 2001 grew nearly 25 per cent over the previous year to rs 2.5 billion.

volvo india private ltd makes multi-axle heavy trucks, inter-city luxury coaches, construction equipment, marine and industrial power systems.

volvo said its truck sales crossed 1,000 units in january since their launch in august 1998 and it had received orders for over 20 buses in the first two months after their introduction in october 2001.

lineo sets up shop in india
bangalore: us-based lineo, an embedded software developer which uses the free-to-use linux operating system, launched its indian operations here on 11 march.

based on the open-source linux, lineo's embedded software is used in handheld computers, digital television sets and other new applications.

lineo aims to closely work with indian computer hardware manufacturers and offer a suite of embedded software solutions.

lineo has a six-month-old partnership with wipro under which it bundles wipro's software into its own products and services.

reliance gets dupont licence
mumbai: reliance industries has signed an agreement to licence a new resin technology from dupont polyester technologies and will expand its polyester packaging unit in western india.

ril will expand capacity of its relpet resin to 300,000 tonnes per year from 80,000 by building a new unit based on dupont's technology.

ipcl effects wage hike
ahmedabad: the ipcl management has effected a wage hike for its 8,000 employees.

the management signed long-term wage revision pacts with labour unions in its petrochemical complexes at vadodara and nagothane last week. the new agreement will be with retrospective effect from 1997.

the agreement is expected to bolster the cost per head in ipcl by rs 3000-4000. the annual wage bill is expected to go up by rs 30 crore.

l&t aims stake in eil, bhel
mumbai: larsen & toubro plans to acquire stakes in bharat heavy electricals and engineers india when they come up for disinvestment in the next fiscal.

if successful, this could give a tremendous boost to l & ts brand presence, both in the domestic markets and abroad.

the company is also hunting for a process company in the united states.

l&t expects its engineering and construction businesses to get a boost following the divestment of government stake in bharat petroleum corporation and hindustan petroleum corporation.

authorized capital of hudco doubled
kolkata: the authorized capital of hudco has been doubled from rs 1,250 crore to rs 2,500 crore.

the union cabinet has decided to infuse more capital in hudco to help it take up large-scale housing projects. during the current financial year, the government would provide rs 158 crore, and another rs 255 crore during 2002-03.

siel promoters hike stake
new delhi: the promoters of siel have infused rs 8 crore worth of fresh equity in the company, hiking their stake by 10.56 per cent over nine months ended december last year.

the equity was infused to meet a precondition set by the financial institutions last year so that the company's rs 300 crore debt could be restructured.

the total promoter stake in siel rose to 40.31 per cent by december 31 last year against 29.75 per cent in march.

siel posted rs 3.6 crore net loss for the first-quarter ended september 2001 with rs 118.79 crore sales turnover.

aptech reports rs 1.6-cr net
mumbai: aptech ltd has reported a net profit of rs 1.6 crore - after tax and before extraordinary items - for the year ended december 2001.

its global revenues, including that of subsidiaries, stood at rs 296.6 crore for the period.

during the year under review, the company's software business was merged with that of hexaware technologies, a group company.

financial results for the year include the transactions for three months up to 31 march 2001 for the training and education division and transactions for nine months from 1 april 2001 for the software and consultancy business of hexaware technologies.

ipcl redeems foreign currency bonds worth $176 million
new delhi: ipcl has redeemed foreign currency convertible bonds of $176 million (rs 860 crore), which matured on 11 march 2002.

ipcl had placed fccb for $150 million with a green shoe option of $25 million on 24 february 1997.

the bonds for $175 million were issued at a face value of $100 with a coupon rate of 2.5 per cent per annum payable every six months.

the bondholders had the option of converting the bonds into shares at a conversion price of $13 for three underlying shares.

in the event of non-conversion, the bonds were to be redeemed at a premium of 11.71 per cent at the end of five years expiring on 11 march 2002.

aaa rating for reliance industries
new delhi: fitch ratings india has affirmed the `aaa' debt rating of reliance industries ltd (ril) following the announcement of the merger of reliance petroleum ltd with ril.

the rating agency has put the `ind aa +' debt rating of rpl on rating watch with positive implications. the `ind aaa' rating indicates highest credit quality.

the rating affirmation takes into account the positive impact of the merger through increased size and greater integration of operations. the combined ril will be the largest private-sector company in india with annual cash accruals of over rs 6,000 crore.

the rating affirmation recognises the global scale and efficiencies of the combined ril's operations in its businesses including refining, polymers and polyesters.

rockwell auto to invest $2 m in india
new delhi: rockwell automation india ltd plans to set up its first centre of excellence outside the us in india with an investment of $2 million.

the centre will serve as a hub for the company's asia-pacific operations.

the company is planning to open a few more centres of excellence in europe and north america.

saregama to market warner classics
kolkata: saregama india ltd has tied up with warner home video to tap the home video market.

talks are also on with major production houses including mgm for some more tie-ups in the english movie segment.

under the agreement signed with warner, sil will market and distribute its classic films, latest hits and cartoons on video cassette discs and in the fast-emerging digital video disc format.

the first 10 titles will be launched by next week through rpg's chain of musicworld stores. besides india, the videos, priced between rs 150 and rs 299, would also be sold in bangladesh.

talwalkars to set up centres in chennai
chennai: the mumbai-based talwalkars fitness studios is set to commence operations in chennai later this month.

the first of the fitness centres will commence operations from 18 march. a captive manufacturing facility at mumbai has manufactured most of the equipment and the rest has been purchased from other manufacturers or imported. talwalkars operates 19 fitness centres at mumbai, pune, pimpri and bangalore.

the facility here will include a gymnasium, steam and sauna, nutrition counselling and massage.

a team of 400 trained staff including physiotherapists, doctors, dieticians and trainers will constantly monitor the programme.

gvk bio ties up with ricerca
hyderabad: gvk biosciences pvt ltd has entered into a three-year global partnership with the us-based drug discovery company ricerca llc.

the partnership is for setting up medicinal chemistry and discovery biology facility at the icici knowledge park here.

gvk bio will undertake medicinal chemistry and discovery services for ricerca's clients and also take up jointly owned proprietary discovery programmes.

the us company will have exclusive worldwide rights to market the gvk bios medicinal chemistry facilities.

fleetguard forms jv with german firm
pune: fleetguard filters pvt. ltd and hollingsworth & vose gmbh & co. kg of germany have formed a 50:50 joint venture to manufacture special grade filter paper. the venture will act as the global hub for the special grade filter paper. the plant, located at nandur near pune, has a capacity of two tonnes per day and will produce 10 different grades of filter paper.

celebrity portal launched
mumbai: new leisure media india pvt ltd, a subsidiary of the us-based leisure media worldwide, has launched celebnceleb.com, a portal dedicated to providing information on indian celebrities from all walks of life - films, arts, sports, fashion and business.

fifth estate bags mahindra park account
chennai: fifth estate communications has bagged the advertising account of mahindra industrial park ltd (mipl).

the 1,420-acre industrial park, being developed near maraimalainagar, intends to provide an ideal eco-friendly environment for multinational companies to set up their operations in india.

the industrial park is targeting automobile, auto ancillary, information technology and telecom companies among others.

the advertising agency will create a communication plan to rope in companies in specific sectors, by highlighting the advantages of the park.

o&m bags abby award
mumbai: o&m has won the agency of the year award at the abby annual award function. it also won 17 silvers and one special silver award, scoring a total of 23 points.

the agency won the first gold of the evening for its m-seal advertisement in the daily household products category as well.

the other winning ads from o&m included the ones from mtdc, onida ky thunder, asian paints and the best continuing campaign for fevicol.

leo burnett won the next gold for its public service eye donation campaign. in the corporate communication press single ad, the same agency also won a gold for schindler.

the fourth and the last gold was won by rmg david for its united colours of benetton ad.

held by the poolside at juhu centaur in mumbai, the presentation of the 35th all-india awards for excellence in advertising, popularly known as the abby awards, had film personality shah rukh khan as its chief guest.

bombay dyeing plans buyback
new delhi: bombay dyeing is all set to go in for another round of share buyback which will raise the stake of promoters, the nusli wadia family and associates, to around 51 per cent from the existing level of about 41 per cent.

the buyback is expected to cost rs 20-22 crore.

the wadias had raised their holding in the company to about 41 per cent by acquiring five per cent stake through the creeping acquisition route during 2001.

banks and financial institutions hold 16.36 per cent stake in the company while the public holding in the company is 26.29 per cent. non-resident indians (nris) hold 2.73 per cent.

johnie walker to enter india
new delhi: guiness udv is planning to launch its premium whisky johnie walker in the indian market within the next six months.

the company has also lined up a range of its other international brands like johnie walker red label, j&b whisky, gordon gin, guinness stout beer and baileys irish cream for india.

after the recent cut in duty on imported alcoholic beverages, johnie walker black label will now cost rs 3,300 against rs 4,100 for a 750 ml bottle.

johnie walker red label will be available at rs 1,450 per bottle against its earlier price of rs 1,800 while j&b whiskys price will come down to rs 1,250 from rs 1,450.

gail to seek isp licence
new delhi: gas authority of india ltd is likely to apply for an internet service provider (isp) licence later this month.

the service will be launched under the brand - gailtel - the umbrella brand for all initiatives related to the telecom sector.

gailtels 2.5 gbps delhi-mumbai link is expected to be ready by the end of this month.

delhi-mumbai is the highest traffic route of the country, accounting for 18 per cent of overall telecom traffic in the country.

gailtel is likely to be floated as a separate legal entity for the telecom business in the near future.

the firm plans to invest rs 3,200 crore in its telecom business by 2010.

railtel proposes jv with mtnl, bsnl
bhubaneswar: railtel, the indian railway subsidiary, which is laying optic fiber cables along the railway lines all over the country, is proposing a strategic joint venture with bharat sanchar nigam ltd (bsnl) and mahanagar telephone nigam ltd (mtnl).

the state bank of india (sbi) has offered to take on lease the communication network infrastructure of railtel for its e-banking operations.

railtel is also talking to the indian postal department, cellular operators association of india (coai) and the private basic telecom operators to lease out the facilities.

rado to expand retail outlets
mumbai: rado, the leading swiss watch manufacturer, plans to expand the number of its retail outlets from the existing 65 to 80 this year.

the company is also planning to introduce a new brand in june this year.

as part of the marketing strategy, the company has set up its first rado customised counter at pallazio, a leading premium lifestyle store at the retail mall crossroads.

grasim bhiwani unit to up capacity
new delhi: grasim suiting is planning to augment its manufacturing capacity by 50 per cent at its textile unit at bhiwani.

grasim is planning to increase the manufacturing capacity by 4-5 million metres per year in the next 4-6 months at an investment of about rs 20 crore in automation.

with an ad budget of rs 5 crore for the next 2-3 months the company will be focusing on delhi, punjab, tamil nadu, west bengal, up and bihar.

grasim is planning to add 10 new exclusive stores in the next one year in six different locations.

hindujas to divest part of indusind holding
mumbai: the hindujas have decided to divest a part of their holding in indusind bank, with the reserve bank of india rejecting other modes of stake dilution proposed by the private bank.

a roadmap will be submitted by the bank to bring down the promoters holding to 40 per cent or below over the next one year.

hzl bids deadline on 20 march
mumbai: the government has fixed 20 march as the deadline for bidding for the 76 per cent holding in hindustan zinc.

all companies, who qualified earlier are eligible to participate in the exercise.

indo gulf corporation, sterlite industries, bhushan steel and phelps dodge along with metdist are among the likely bidders.

satyam plans china arm
mumbai: satyam computer services is planning to convert its liaison office in china into a wholly owned subsidiary.

satyam computer is banking on the credit card business, datawarehousing and database implementation in the region.

bharti nets 30,000 subscribers in punjab
new delhi: bharti claims to have registered 30,000 customers for its cellular services in punjab in the first month itself.

airtel has services in 40 towns and cities in punjab and plans to extend the services to a total of 81 towns by 31 march 2002.

oyzterbay to start jewellery export to gulf
chennai: the bangalore-based jewellery company oyzterbay will soon export its range of jewellery to the gulf countries.

the company will soon be showcasing its jewellery in duty free shops across international airports and also in in-flight duty free shops.

oyzterbay would be tying up a second round of funding worth $4 million in the next six months.

the company plans to be present in 50 locations across the country, up from the present 26 locations within the next one year.

vatika lines up rs 170 crore projects
new delhi: vatika group plans to build real estate projects worth over rs 170 crore within the next few years. these projects include commercial projects as well as resorts and restaurants.

while its rs 50-crore vatika triangle commercial project in gurgaon is likely to be ready for rent-out by september this year, the group plans to build a rs 100 crore commercial project - vatika business centre - with about 3.5 lakh sqft space. vatika business centre is expected to be ready by 2004.

the group plans to concentrate its projects in gurgaon since it has a land bank of over 250 acres near gurgaon, and another 1500 acres at sohna.

l&t may merge tractor arm with itself
mumbai: larsen & toubro (l&t) is looking at merging its wholly owned subsidiary tractor engineers with itself and utilise the arm's facilities for manufacturing defence equipment.

tractor engineers' product portfolio includes crawler undercarriage systems for excavators, blast-hole drills, bulldozers, amphibious dredgers and mobile crushers. it also designs and manufactures track modules and crawler lowers.

the company's manufacturing units are located at powai in mumbai and vashi in navi mumbai.

the company plans to kick off defence production at the vashi unit and then extend it to powai.

escorts plans rs 1,000 crore agri-trading thrust
new delhi: escorts is in talks with two overseas companies to foray into the business of foodgrain storage with an investment outlay of rs 1,000 crore.

the company is reportedly in talks with multinational grain trading firm, cargill, for a possible joint venture.

escorts will set up a new downstream subsidiary for the venture, which will have an equity base of rs 250 crore.

escorts will submit its expression of interest for foodgrain storage bids invited by the food corporation of india.

the fci recently invited private industrial houses to submit expressions of interest in the grain storage and trading business.

adlabs to enter film production
mumbai: adlabs films is entering into film production and theatre management.

the company's core business is film processing in which it enjoys a market share of 70 per cent.

the company is planning to route its film production through a wholly-owned subsidiary -- entertainment one. this subsidiary will focus on medium budget movies ranging from rs 4 crore to rs 6 crore.

gm to set up development centres in india
mumbai: general motors is contemplating setting up technical development centres in india.

the company is planning to make use of the countrys software and design engineers for its global requirements, extending beyond the automotive business.

the company has tied up with the indian institute of science, bangalore, for setting up one such centre.

general motors is also planning to engage other premier educational institutes, including the indian institutes of technology, for jointly developing exclusive educational programmes for its employees.

the company may even look at setting up a research and development institute in the country.

thomas cook to vend tata aig products
mumbai: thomas cook india ltd has entered into an agreement with tata aig general insurance company to sell travel-related insurance plans.

thomas cook informed the bombay stock exchange (bse) that india alive tours ltd has been appointed preferred corporate agent of tata-aig for procurement of all general insurance business.

rbi extends export credit rate cut to sept
mumbai: the reserve bank of india will extend a cut in interest rates on rupee export credit by six months to 30 september.

the rbi had announced in september 2001 a reduction in the ceiling on interest rates for export credit by one percentage point. the cut was applicable to both pre-shipment and post-shipment credit and was meant to last till 31 march 2002.

11 march 2002

icici buys gilts worth rs 20,000 crore
mumbai: icici has bought close to rs 20,000 crore of government securities in the run-up to its reverse merger with icici bank.

the merged entity will need government paper worth around rs 23,000 crore to meet its statutory liquidity ratio.

the merger is slated to take effect on 31 march.

the institution will also reduce its asset base by another rs 2,000 crore by the second week of march.

meanwhile, uti bank is in the final stages of picking up assets worth rs 450 crore from icici.

the institution is also in talks with a uk-based bank and two other new private sector banks for scaling down its corporate assets.

sbi plans to set up office in uae
abu dhabi: state bank of india is considering opening a representative office in the uae to facilitate direct contact with the bank's large nri clientele in the gulf.

sbi had earlier applied for a licence for opening a branch but no clearance has been obtained so far, as the uae authorities had stopped issuing fresh licences for new foreign banks in the country.

currently, sbi has a secondment arrangement with the emirates india international exchange.

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