Probe into CMC scrip price hike: Shourie
New Delhi: Union disinvestments minister Arun Shourie on Tuesday called for a probe into the sharp rise in the share price of CMC Ltd after the government decided to privatise the computer maintenance giant.

The share price of the public sector company had more than doubled from Rs 150 to Rs 319 a share in just two months after the government announced its decision to disinvest.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), which has quoted a price of Rs 200 a share, has emerged as the sole bidder for CMC.

Prevailing high prices of CMC at the time of sale could cause problems for both the government and TCS.
Back to News Review index page  

IFCI pleads for a bailout
New Delhi: IFCI has asked Power Finance Corporation (PFC) to take over its $ 120-million loan guarantee given to three private power projects in the south.

PFC has decided to take up the issue at its board meeting on October 5. If the loan guarantee given to the three power projects in Tamil Nadu are transferred, PFC stands to gain the guarantee fee of 2.5 per cent annually from the power producers, apart from one-time guarantee management fee of 1 per cent, which IFCI would have to give to PFC.
Back to News Review index page  
Enron turns down Tata Power and BSES offer
Mumbai: Enron Corporation has rejected offers of Tata Power Company (TPC) and BSES Ltd to pick up stake in Dabhol Power Company (DPC).

The equity value is included in the cost incurred by the stakeholders in developing, constructing and operating the three billion dollar project over last nine years.

BSES Ltd wanted the capital cost of the 2,184 MW project to be brought down, foreign loans be converted into rupee debts and a moratorium imposed over their repayment.

TPC, on the other hand, has appointed Ernst & Young as consultants to study the feasibility of the project.
Back to News Review index page  

IA-Canada 3000 alliance on anvil
New Delhi: Canada 3000 will join hands with Indian Airlines by this weekend to provide inter-line domestic connectivity, according to Canada 3000 director (India) Nutan Gupta.

The airline already has an agreement with IA to handle its ground handling operations in the country.
Canada 3000 would begin its India operations on October 9. It has ruled out any fare hike in immediate future.

Canada 3000 is starting India's first non-stop polar flights over the North Pole from Delhi to Vancouver and Toronto from October 9.
Canada 3000 would use the latest long-range Airbus A340-300 aircraft for the Delhi-Vancouver flights and plans to use the A330-200 for operating from Mumbai.
It has invested $150 million for launching its services to India.
Back to News Review index page  
SilkAir starts flights to Kochi
Singapore: SilkAir, wholly-owned subsidiary of Singapore Airlines will launch direct flights to Kochi from October 28. Kochi is SilkAir's second destination in India after Thiruvananthapuram.
Flights to Kochi will depart Singapore on Wednesdays and Sundays, with the frequency to be increased to four times a week from February 1, 2002.
Back to News Review index page  

Coke seeks IPO waiver for 5 years
New Delhi: Coca-Cola, India, is reported to have asked the government for a five-year moratorium on mandatory disinvestment of 49 per cent stake on the plea that continuing losses in its eight-year stint had eroded its net worth significantly.
The company has sought relaxation in the disinvestment clause under its foreign collaboration agreement after accumulated losses mounted to 66 per cent of Coke's total investment of over Rs 3200 crore in India over the last eight years.
Back to News Review index page  

Usha Group may offload 49% equity in Usha India
New Delhi: Usha Group is planning to offload 49 per cent of its semi-conductor business Usha India. Usha India has defaulted in payment to financial instituions in last six months due to slowdown and has sought rescheduling of its loan liabilities of about Rs 73 crore.

The company has approached IFCI for a two-year moratorium on interest and pay back of principle in about seven years.

Usha India, the Rs 100 crore company is generating a cash profit of about Rs five crore.

With a capacity of 60 million units, Usha India has cut cost by 20 per cent as part of austerity drive at its production facilities at Delhi-Faridabad.
Back to News Review index page  

Gujarat Positra ties up with Radisson Hotels
Mumbai: Gujarat Positra Port Infrastructure Ltd (GPPIL) has tied up with Radisson Hotels to manage its five star hotel in the Positra Special Economic Zone (SEZ). GPPIL has also signed a MoU with the Manipal Institute of Management to provide it with land for its business and engineering colleges at the SEZ.
The 200-room five-star hotel, under the Radisson chain, would be developed at a cost of Rs 150 crore by GPPIL.
The first phase of the hotel would be operational by 2004. Radisson hotel chain already operates in Calcutta, Chennai and New Delhi.
The Manipal Institute would invest around Rs 250 crore to develop an engineering college with 500 seats and a management college with 100 seats in addition to a 500-bed hospital for its medical college.
The National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) is also scheduled to start a training center with 250 seats at Positra.
GPPIL had earlier entered into a MoU with BSES to execute a 261 MW power project, which would go up to 1,700 mw in the second phase to meet the requirements of the Positra SEZ.
Back to News Review index page  

RPL to get $113.5 m forex loan from PFC
Mumbai: The state-run Power Finance Corporation (PFC) has sanctioned a foreign currency loan of $113.55 million to Reliance Power for its petcoke-based power plant at Jamnagar. BSES has already expressed its desire to pick up 100 per cent equity in this Rs 2,909 crore project.
PFC has sanctioned Rs 5,556 crore as terms loans and guarantees to 26 private power projects to generate 6,191 MW power. The projects funded include Jayprakash Hydro project, Maheshwar Hydel project, Ispat Energy Ltd, Bina Power Supply Co, Vemagiri Power Generation Ltd and Samalpaty Power Corporation.
The company has also decided to sanction Rs 380 crore to the National Thermal Power Corporation for renovation and modernisation of old plants/thermal power stations.
Back to News Review index page  

RPL, Shell, Kuwait Petroleum, IOC in race for IBP
Kolkata: Reliance Petroleum Ltd, Indian Oil Corp, Shell and Kuwait Petroleum Co are in race for picking up 33.58 per cent stake in IBP Co Ltd. IBPs sell-off has attracted 12 domestic and foreign companies. IBP reported a turnover of Rs 8,388 crore in 2000-01.

The central government holds 59.58 per cent stake in IBP, followed by the financial institutions and banks with 21.85 per cent, the public with 18.15 per cent and employees 0.42 per cent.
Reliance wants to pick up a stake in the IBP with a view to strengthening its marketing network for its Jamnagar refinery that produces 27 million tonne of petroleum products a year.
Back to News Review index page  

Infy ties up with consultancy firms
Kolkata: Infosys is in talks with four global consultancy majors, PricewaterhouseCoopers, KPMG, Accenture and Cap Gemini Ernst&Young, to help it outsource banking applications softwares.
The move to have a tie up with such consultancy firms is aimed at helping Infy focus on its key area of developing cutting-edge banking software and also making its solution services more cost-effective for its customers.
Infosys off-the-shelf banking products are already operational in 15 countries across the world and the tie-up would help the company offer better services to a wider global clientele.

Infosys has products like Finacle, BankAway and PayAway for the banking and financial segment.

Infosys clients include a range of private and public sector banks and foreign banks.
Back to News Review index page  

US' Headstrong sets up office in India
New Delhi: The US-based global consultancy firm, Headstrong, has set up a 50:50 joint venture with Satish Jha in India.

Based in Delhi, Headstrong India plans to pitch for clients in the infotech and telecom consultancy areas.

Jha has also taken a 25 per cent stake in Delhi-based e-services company Infocus Interactive for an undisclosed amount. The privately-held company employs about 100 software professionals and had revenues of Rs 2 crore in the last fiscal ended March 2001.

Headstrong seeks to offer a full range of services, from strategy to solution implementation through application maintenance worldwide. Its global client list includes IBM, Oracle, Sun Microsystems, Siebel and Informatica.
Back to News Review index page  

Aztec sacks 10% staff
Bangalore: Aztec Software has sacked 10 per cent of its staff on account of uncertainty in business.

Company officials said the move was needed because customer acquisition time in the US has lengthened and project outsourcing decision has almost frozen. Aztec does not foresee any further reduction in its workforce.
Back to News Review index page  

Beeyu to brew instant coffee with Tata
Kolkata: Beeyu Overseas and Tata Coffee will be manufacturing instant coffee in Russia through a joint venture.

The company has been exporting coffee to Russia. Efforts are on to increase the companys presence in the overseas market primarily in Russia. Lately, it has initiated steps to make a presence in Dubai and other Middle East nations which are the largest importers of tea from India.
Back to News Review index page  
B4U turns pay channel
Mumbai: The B4U Entertainment Channel will become a pay channel from January next year. To start with, B4U movies will be encrypted from November. The B4U Music channel will remain free.

The average rate per subscriber per month is proposed at Rs 6.50. B4U plan to subsidise the price of the boxes and distribute them against refundable deposits of around Rs 8000 per box. B4U has a vast library of both current hits and blockbusters from the Bollywood industry besides old classics.
Back to News Review index page  

M&M to roll out high-power tractors
Mumbai: Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) and South Korean partner Tong Yang Mulsan are developing a series of high-power tractors under the brand name Horizon IV.

The 85-100 horsepower tractors expect to take on John Deere and Case New Holland in the Indian and global markets.

M&M markets Tong Yang's tractors in the US under its own brand name. The marketing alliance has now been extended to Europe.

M&M is planning to introduce 20 new models, including four-wheel tractors from the Arjun range (which is part of Horizon II series), by 2003.
Back to News Review index page  

Essar to enter petro-product retailing
Mumbai: Essar Oil plans to retail products of other oil companies by mid-2002. The company has begun talks with other companies and is waiting for government nod while its own refinery is yet to attain completion.

Essar plans 250 outlets the first year, which will be a combination of company owned or funded and dealer owned. The company will target North and West where product supply is below demand.
Back to News Review index page  

No fresh FDI in retail sector
New Delhi: The government will not allow fresh foreign direct investment (FDI) in the retail-trading sector. However, companies already having foreign financial collaborations will be spared. Walmart, Mark & Spencers, and C&A, which had plans of entering India, will be affected by this decision. RPGs association with Dairy Farm International in FoodWorld will not be affected.

While 100 per cent FDI in retail trading was allowed for a while, the government bowed down to pressures from the domestic trader community who felt the move would have a disastrous impact on them.
Back to News Review index page