M&M offers reduced conversion price for FCCBs
Mumbai: Mahindra & Mahindra has given its foreign currency convertible bond holders an option to convert them into GDRs at a revised price of $10 per issue. The original conversion price fixed when the bonds were floated in July 1996 was $11.935. The offer is available till 17 September.

The company management says it wants to encourage early conversion of  the bonds. The offered price is at a premium on the domestic share price. The company had contemplated a price of Rs 417 per share at the time of the issue. At the present conversion rate of the dollar, the price will be around Rs 435 per share.
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Essar Steel mortgages shares to IDBI
Mumbai: The Essar group has mortgaged 4.11 per cent of its equity in Essar Steel to the Industrial Development Bank of India. The shares, 1,37,60,000 in number, have been pledged for eight years. The group will repay its dues to IDBI within this period.

Pledging of promoters' shares was one of the 10 conditions laid down by IDBI for sanctioning additional funds to steel companies to complete their projects. Financial institutions have sanctioned Rs 92 crore to Essar Steel on condition that it will adhere to IDBI's terms.
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Essar Projects gets Gujarat contracts
Mumbai: Essar Projects has bagged four water pipeline contracts worth Rs 174 crore from the Gujarat government. The company will lay pipelines, construct filtration plants, pump houses and storage reservoirs for Gujarat Water Supply and Sewerage Board.

The projects are to be implemented over the next one year. They involve laying of 250-km long pipelines for water deficit districts in the state.
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ASC Enterprises will tie up funds by year-end
New Delhi: ASC Enterprises of Subhash Chandra plans to achieve financial closure by 1999-end. The company is implementing a Rs 3,300-crore mobile satellite telephony service project covering India and West Asia. It has an alliance with the US aerospace major, Lockheed Martin.

Financial institutions including IFCI and IDBI have sanctioned loans worth Rs 300 crore for the project. ASC plans to have a total debt finance amounting to Rs 1,250 crore. It  will raise Rs 100 crore through private placement.
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Escorts plans divestment in subsidiaries
New Delhi: Escorts plans to divest 25 per cent of its equity each in Escorts Construction Equipment and Escorts Hospitals, at a premium.

Rajan Nanda, chairman of the group, said Escorts had retained full equity in these subsidiaries as part of the group's  restructuring. It now plans to divest part of the equity as these companies have started making reasonable profits.

The group plans a systematic divestment and the proceeds will become a source of non-operational income for it every year, Mr Nanda said. He said another group company, Escorts Communications, which has not performed well, is likely to be wound up.

The group is planning to expand its activities in agri-business  and venture into computer software through a new company, Ecosoft.
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Thapars plan to hike stake in Thai company
New Delhi: The L.M. Thapar group is planning to hike its stake in Phoenix Pulp and Paper of Thailand. This will be done in two phases. From the present 12.5 per cent to 26 per cent in the first phase and to 40 per cent thereafter.

Phoenix Pulp and Paper recently appointed L.M. Thapar as chairman of the company. Thai companies hold 40 per cent stake in Phoenix, the European Development Corporation 24 per cent and the public 20 per cent.
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CA signs pact with NIIT for training courses
Mumbai: Computer Associates India has concluded a strategic training partnership with NIIT to impart higher training in implementation of Unicenter TNG to Indian software professionals. NIIT will offer training in CA products in eight Indian cities.

NIIT is designing two programme modules of  two days and five days. The fee for the course has been fixed at Rs 5,000 per day.
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Videocon to go ahead with Calcutta plans
Calcutta: Videocon International will go ahead with its plans to set up a consumer goods manufacturing unit in Calcutta

Venugopal Dhoot, chairman of Videocon group, told  Business Standard that the group plans to start work on a new project by November 1999. If the case pending in the Calcutta High Court is resolved by then, the group will work on the expansion project.

Mr Dhoot said the group has committed a total of Rs 200 crore to the project. The Philips Employees' Union has filed a case in the Calcutta High Court opposing the sale of Philips colour television unit to Videocon.
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Voltas employee-shareholders criticise company plans
Mumbai: Employee shareholders of Voltas criticised the voluntary retirement scheme, cost-cutting measures and sale of real estate initiated by the company at its annual general meeting on 7 September.

A.H. Tobaccowala, chairman, said the company cannot carry out its plans for consolidating offices at one location to reduce costs and improve operating efficiency overnight and it was a long-term plan. This will be Mr Tobaccowala's last AGM as chairman of the company as he will retire at the end of 1999.
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Pentafour gets nod for ADR
New Delhi: Pentafour Software and Exports has been given "in-principle" permission by the finance ministry to mop up $60-million from the American equity markets during 1999-2000.

The company proposes to float American depository receipts or global depository receipts to raise equity. The final route -- ADR or GDR -- will be decided after the  evaluation, the company's chairman and managing director V. Chandrasekharan said.
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RPG plans more alliances in Lanka
Mumbai: The RPG group is planning to set up more joint ventures in Sri Lanka and expand its alliance with Associated Motorways of Sri Lanka.

R P Goenka, chairman of the group, said the group is pleased with its collaboration for tyre manufacture with Associated Motorways. It wants to expand operations in Sri Lanka.
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VSNL rejects BT proposal
Calcutta: Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd has rejected a British Telecom proposal for across-the-board reduction in Indo-British global telecom accounting rate. British Telecom had proposed a 25 per cent cut. VSNL has informed the company that it can agree to a maximum of 10 per cent reduction in the existing rate.

The present rate is bilaterally negotiated between VSNL and UK carriers for international calls between India and the British Isles. The revenue is split equally between VSNL and the UK carriers.
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Haldia Petrochem raises another loan
Mumbai: Haldia Petrochemicals has raised $40 million through a stand-alone loan facility at 245 basis points above the six-month London Inter Bank Offered Rate. The loan was raised from the foreign offices of the State Bank of India in addition to another $50-million raised through a syndicate led by ANZ Grindlays Bank.

Haldia Petrochemicals has completed the foreign currency component of its debt-raising programme with this loan. The Rs 5,170-crore refinery is expected to commence production in March-April 2000.
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Matiz sent to Egypt
New Delhi: Daewoo Motors has sent its first consignment of 300 Matiz cars to Egypt. The company has an export order for 2,000 cars to Europe. It also expects orders from  Sri Lanka, Daewoo Motors' managing director S.G. Awasthi said.

In the Indian market, the company proposes to introduce a new Matiz model, priced at a premium.
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Honda targets 11,000 cars
Mumbai: Honda Siel Cars India proposes to sell 11,000 Honda City cars in the financial year 1999-2000. The company has sold 3,814 cars in the first five months of the current year.

Honda is planning to import cars not manufactured in India to improve the viability of the company's Indian operations, which have been affected by low volumes. The import application is pending with the director general of foreign trade.
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Viacom to buy CBS
New York: Viacom, the promoter of MTV and Paramount Pictures, is into a deal to buy CBS Corporation, a US television and broadcasting major and one of the Big Three US broadcasters, once dubbed "the Tiffany network", for $37 billion in stock. The deal, if it materialises, will be the largest ever media transaction.

After the takeover, Viacom will have access to one of the largest collections of US radio stations and outdoor advertising properties. Viacom's activities include theme parks, the UPN broadcast network and cable television networks Nickleodeon and the Nashville Network. The union will create a multimedia colossus, analysts say.

The new company, to be called Viacom, will be led by Sumner Redstone, at present chief of Viacom.
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Lucent introduces Stinger
New York: Lucent Technologies said it is introducing a new product, Stinger, which is of immense use in high speed, high volume voice and data transmission over telephone lines.

Lucent said that with Stinger, internet service providers and phone companies can offer what is called DSL service -- high speed video, data and voice sent over traditional phone lines -- without compromising the quality of voice.

Stinger facilitates transmission of data and voice over copper phone lines at speeds of about 30 times faster than the traditional service. Stinger can also split the line, making it capable of carrying up to 16 different lines using a single connection.
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Daewoo gets additional help
Seoul: Daewoo's creditors in Korea have agreed to provide the group $900 million in additional loans. A spokesman for Korea First Bank, representing the group's local creditors, said the creditors have agreed at a meeting on 7 September to expand the credit limits on seven of the 12 Daewoo companies placed under the debt rescheduling agreement.

The loans will amount to $235 million in local currency and $700 million in foreign exchange.

The second largest conglomerate in Korea is facing disintegration and its creditors have taken control over the management after the core companies in the group were placed under a restructuring plan.
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BASF to acquire Norsk Hydro unit
Frankfurt: BASF, Europe's largest chemical group, is acquiring a coil coating unit of Norwegian Norsk Hydro. The division, which had sales of $32.31 million last year, will bolster its position in the automotive coating business.
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Hilton acquiring Promus Hotels
Beverly Hills: Hilton Hotels is buying Promus Hotels for $4 billion in cash, stock and debt. The unified entity will have 1,700 hotels and 85,000 staff.

Hilton is paying $38.50 per share in cash for 55 per cent of Promus stock. The rest of Promus shares will be exchanged for Hilton common stock at an exchange rate to be set later.
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British Biotech-Schering deal
London: British Biotech is planning a deal with US pharma company Schering-Plough. The deal involves British Biotech's cancer products. Schering-Plough will develop and commercialise two products, Marimastat and BB-3644, and help to market them in North America and Europe.

British Biotech has a similar deal with Tanabe Seiyaku of Japan.
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Telstra joins Maosco group for Multos system
Melbourne: Telecommunications company Telstra Corporation said it is becoming a member of the Maosco consortium that operates the Multos smart card operating system

American Express, MasterCard International's Modex smart card and Motorola are the present members of the consortium. Australia's Keycorp developed the Multos 4 smart card operating system.
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