Panel against FI nominees on company boards
Mumbai: The Kumar Mangalam Birla committee on corporate governance set up by the Securities and Exchange Board of India has said that investment and lending institutions should not have nominees on the boards of companies so that there is no conflict of interests. However, lending institutions may consider appointing a director on the board of a company if there is a likelihood of any default by the company, the panel has said.

The committee, which met here on 3 September, also discussed the constitution of company boards, agendas and proceedings of board meetings, accounting practices, and contents of annual reports. The committee discussed the tentative recommendations of a sub-group set up to look into the obligations and rights of shareholders, management and board. The committee's report will be finalised by end-September.
Back to News Review index page

SAIL not to accept McKinsey report
Calcutta: The Steel Authority of India Ltd has decided not to accept McKinsey & Co's recommendation to shut down the Alloy Steel Plant at Durgapur. It has instead reached an understanding with the central trade unions to mount a joint initiative to turn the ailing plant around.

The management and trade unions had an interactive session to address the problems related to the viability of the plant. SAIL chairman Arvind Pande made a categorical statement at the meeting that SAIL has decided not to accept the McKinsey recommendation for the closure of the plant.
Back to News Review index page

Government may not bail out SAIL, says Pande
New Delhi: Steel Authority of India chairman Arvind Pande feels the government appears to be not inclined to bail out the public sector steel unit. The unions need to give serious thought to the precarious condition of the company, he said.

In an interview to The Economic Times, Mr Pande said "unions will have to see" the reality that the government will not, unlike in the past, provide budgetary support to SAIL. The restructuring proposal, pending government approval for the past 10 months, seeks to shed flab, hive off uneconomic units like fertiliser and oxygen plans apart from selling off power plants.

He said the entire business orientation of the company has to change given the growing competition from domestic producers and imported steel.
Back to News Review index page

RCF signs LNG pact
Mumbai: Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers, the public sector fertiliser major, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Tata-Total-Gail for a joint venture to supply liquefied natural gas as feedstock for its plants near Mumbai. Tata-Total-Gail is expected to supply 2 million standard cubic metres of gas per day.

RCF is now using expensive low sulphur high stock at its Trombay plant and naphtha at Thal. With the proposed supply of LNG from Enron and current supply from Gail, it will tie up its entire requirement.
Back to News Review index page

ITC unit, Richard Ellis tie up
New Delhi: CB Richard Ellis, global real estate services major, has tied up with ITC's wholly-owned subsidiary Landbase India for management of housing projects in India.

Christopher J. Steel, managing director of CB Richard Ellis, said the company expects the tie-up to help in managing housing facilitates like building operations and maintenance, occupant management, financial management and other value-added services.

Under the tie-up Richard Ellis will manage Landbase's high class residential complex Laburnum at Gurgaon near Delhi.
Back to News Review index page

South African company interested in Shalimar Paints
Calcutta: A South African company is interested in equity participation in Shalimar Paints of the Jindals.  Johannesburg-based Barlow is said to have expressed interest in acquiring equity in the company.

At present, 40 per cent of the company's holdings are with Ratan Jindal, who is managing the company, and his associates. About 20 per cent of the stocks are with domestic financial institutions and government organisations, 20 per cent is with institutional investors and the balance with the public.

Barlow has interests in paints, pharmaceuticals, varnish and coal mines.
Back to News Review index page

HPCL plans upgradation of outlets
Mumbai: Hindustan Petroleum Corporation is working out a plan to upgrade its dealer outlets at its cost in a bid to combat competitors' plan to woo them.

The upgradation will be done provided the dealers agree to lease the station to HPCL on a long term basis.
Back to News Review index page

Compaq tops in sales
Bangalore: Compaq has topped the desktop and PC server market in India during January-June 1999. The company has a 7.7 per cent share by numbers and 14.8 per cent share by value, according to Compaq. The company has based its claim on studies made by International Data Corporation.

Compaq India shipped a total of 38,556 units of a total value of $84 million. The next biggest share is that of IBM, with total value in sales at $47.20 million, giving it an 8.3 per cent market share.
Back to News Review index page

Miel, Baltimore Tech in pact
Mumbai: Miel e-security, a Mumbai-based company, has concluded a deal with Baltimore Technologies of the UK for distributing Baltimore's products in India. The deal mainly covers digital certification, which is the starting block for business-to-consumer e-commerce.

Baltimore's products enable companies to adapt to cyber laws.
Back to News Review index page

Sahara Airlines planning to buy aircraft
Bangalore: Sahara Airlines is planning to acquire new generation aircraft through the asset-based financing route. This will enable the company to mortgage the aircraft to the agency financing the acquisition.

The airline will take Boeing aircraft and as such it is negotiating with US Exim Bank. Sahara is likely to look at the 100-seater B717, which has just entered the international market.
Back to News Review index page

Nelito, C&W in tie-up
Mumbai: Nelito Systems, a joint venture between the Tatas and Itochu of Japan, has concluded a tie-up with Cable & Wireless of Hong Kong for bringing in multimedia satellite-based services into India.

Nelito's chief executive officer Alok Chakravarti said the company will focus on providing services to the banking industry. "We will be offering services such as fixed time broadcasts," he said. These fixed time broadcasts will help banks acquire information in a dynamic and real-time environment from all its branches.
Back to News Review index page

Mahindras sets up website for used cars
Mumbai: Mahindra Network Services, a unit of Mahindra Information Technology Services, has launched an on-line used-vehicles website, automartindia.

The website plans to include vehicles of all makes and models so that a used-vehicle exchange is created and transactions via the internet can be made, Anand Mahindra, chairman of the unit said.
Back to News Review index page

Enron pulls out of Kerala JV
Mumbai: Enron Corporation is pulling out of its joint venture power project in Kerala.

The joint venture with the K.P.P. Nambiar group proposed to set the a 513 megawatt Kannur power project in Kerala. The partnership for the joint development of the project has been dissolved, an Enron spokesperson said.
Back to News Review index page

Virus to affect Word 97
New York: The "Thursday" virus is expected to strike Microsoft's Word programme on 13 December. The new virus will wipe out hard drives using MS Word 97 word processing tool on that date, says experts. However, the threat has been identified early so that remedial measures can be taken in time.

The virus can destroy information stored on hard disks on computers running Microsoft's Word 97. The proper name of the virus is W97M/Thus.A.
Back to News Review index page

Office software free on web
London: Microsoft Corporation says it plans to offer its top-selling Office software as a service on the internet.

The Financial Times said the move comes just days after Sun Microsystems announced plans to offer word-processing, spreadsheet and other office applications on the internet free of charge.
Back to News Review index page

Ford to pay $1.5 million in penalty
Detroit: Ford Motor Company has agreed to pay a record $1.5 million civil penalty for a deadly explosion at its Rouge complex, as part of a total $7 million settlement with state regulators.

The No 2 US automaker will spend $5.5 million on research and equipment for burn care at local hospitals, health and safety measures, an auto workers scholarship fund and potential third-party reimbursements.

Six Ford workers died and 14 others were injured when one of seven boilers in the power house of the plant exploded, causing damage of $1 billion, making it one of the costliest industrial accidents in US history. A total of 10,000 workers are employed in the plant.
Back to News Review index page

South Africa nod for Coca-Cola
Atlanta: Coca-Cola Company's $246 million bid for Cadbury Schweppes' soft drink brands in South Africa has won regulatory approval. The deal will give Coca-Cola nearly 95 per cent of the country's carbonated soft drinks market.
Back to News Review index page

Global Crossing hikes offer for Frontier
New York: Global Crossing increased its offer price for US long distance telephone company Frontier Corporation by about 9 per cent to $9 billion after a recent decline in its stock price eroded much of the premium it had offered previously.

Undersea fibre optic cable builder Global Crossing is now paying a higher price, and Frontier has given up its right to walk away from the deal if Global Crossing's stock sags.

Global Crossing's high-flying stock has fallen about 56 per cent in the five months since the two companies first agreed to link. The drop had erased much of the value of the earlier offer of $8 billion.
Back to News Review index page