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Insurance entry norms for banks eased
Mumbai: It will become easier for banks to enter insurance with the Reserve Bank of
India withdrawing the requirement that banks have non-performing asset levels of one
percentage point below the industry average in order to start an insurance business. The
RBI has also modified the maximum stake rule, allowing banks to retain up to 10 per cent
equity in an insurance firm.
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Sinha
hesitates on reforms
New Delhi: In an effort to mollify the Bharatiya Janata Party’s allies, finance
minister Yashwant Sinha said he did not rule out a correction in the prices of subsidised
foodgrains and fertilisers. He also said the next fiscal year would be a "difficult
one".
There is also hesitation on measures such as increasing limits for overseas acquisitions
by Indian companies, on privatisation, and other issues.
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Private power
rates may rise steeply
New Delhi: Most independent power projects that use liquid fuel are likely to raise
their power supply charges by up to 40 or 50 per cent to neutralise the impact of the rise
in global crude oil prices on their own viability. Companies such as Enron have contracted
‘pass-through’ agreements that protect them against any rise in fuel prices. The
state electricity boards have to absorb the higher cost, or pass it on to the consumer.
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46 FDI proposals
cleared
New Delhi: On 16 March industry minister Murasoli Maran cleared 46 foreign direct
investment proposals worth Rs 802 crore. Of these, 19 proposals involving aggregate
investments of Rs 494.55 crore are from the information technology sector.
The companies whose applications have been cleared include SSI, whose Rs 435-crore global
depository securities has been approved, and Nestle SA, whose application for raising its
holding in its Indian subsidiary by five percentage points has been passed. Caltex has
been allowed bring in Rs 180 crore for various infrastructure projects for import, storage
and distribution of LPG.
Others include:
- Universal ABB Power Cables, for issue of 13 per cent
cumulative redeemable preference shares worth Rs 30 crore for expanding activities into
insulated power cables with accessories.
- Dana Corporation, to create a wholly-owned subsidiary with
an investment of Rs 30 crore, for the design, manufacture, contract for buying and
selling, export and import of highway components.
- Chaitime, for setting up a wholly-owned subsidiary for
creating and designing of websites for Indian ethnic population worldwide with an
investment of Rs 22 crore.
- Asia Online, Hong Kong, for a wholly-owned subsidiary with
an investment of Rs 21.5 crore to develop, promote, engage and undertake business of
providing various information technology related services.
- Citicorp Finance (India), to acquire 74 per cent equity in
an unnamed downstream venture by bringing in Rs 14 crore.
- ABB Holdings (South Asia), for acting as a holding company
for ABB Switzerland's investments in India.
- Schenectady India, which is into manufacturing of wire
enamels and insulation varnishes and phenolic resins, to increase its foreign holding.
- Taib Capital Corporation, engaged in underwriting,
distribution and research functions in the capital markets, to increase its holding in the
Indian venture to 74 per cent from the current 51 per cent by bringing in an additional Rs
16.35 crore.
- Carlsberg for manufacture, distribution and sale of beer.
Sembawang Shriram Integrated to increase the foreign holding from 97 to 100 per cent by
bringing in Rs 7.59 crore.
- Thermax Energy Performance Service Ltd, to dilute its
holding by one per cent to 49 per cent.
- MTL Instruments, to increase its foreign holding from 74
per cent to 100 per cent by bringing in Rs 4 crore.
- H2mG, to set up a wholly-owned subsidiary for providing
IT-enabled Internet and e-commerce related back-end services and content provider.
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Prudential
norms for housing finance cos
New Delhi: The government has, prescribed prudential norms for housing finance
companies, which it has issued through the National Housing Bank. The aim is to keep
non-performing assets in check.
The NHB guidelines relate to issues like income recognition, accounting standards, asset
classification, risk weighted assets, capital adequacy and investments by HFCs. They
prevent a housing finance company from lending against its own shares.
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Modified
rules for retiring public sector
New Delhi: The Union government has issued new guidelines that prevent top
executives of public undertakings from joining the private sector for two years after
retirement. The guidelines have been issued in response to allegations of corrupt
practices, it is reported. Politicians have objected to PSU executives joining private
sector companies with whom they had had commercial dealings earlier. Bharatiya Janata
Party MP Kirit Somaiya had raised an objection in Parliament to a top executive of the
Indian Petrochemicals Corporation Ltd joining the Reliance group soon after his
retirement.
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Sidbi Act
amendment approved; $500-million line
New Delhi: On 16 March the Lok Sabha approved changes to a bill seeking to amend
the Small Industries Development Bank of India Act, 1989, which provides for establishment
of a principal financial institution for promoting, financing and development of
industrial concerns in the small-scale sector. The amendments, moved by minister of state
for finance Babasaheb Vikhe Patil, have already been approved by the Rajya Sabha.
Meanwhile, the US Exim Bank will extend a $500-million line of credit to the Small
Industries Development Bank of India for financing the sourcing of capital goods and
technology by the domestic small-scale industry.
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Rs 20,000 crore
lost power theft
New Delhi: According to Union power minister PR Kumaramangalam, India is losing around
Rs 20,000 crore annually on account of theft of power. He says ‘technical
losses’ account for a much lower part of the transmission and distribution losses
than theft.
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FMO
invests in Sundaram Home Fin
Chennai: FMO-Netherlands, a development finance company, is investing Rs. 7.5
crores in the equity capital of Sundaram Home Finance Ltd. Sundaram Finance will hold 65
per cent of the equity and International Finance Corporation 20 per cent.
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India in
multilateral astronomy project
Bangalore: India is joining a highly sophisticated international radio astronomy
project that will probe outer space with a radio astronomy satellite to be launched in
2002. The radio-astronomy project, which will be coordinated by Russia, will have a
satellite-borne space radio telescope with a 10-metre diameter.
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Vote-on-account
on general, railway budgets passed
New Delhi: On 16 March Parliament passed the vote-on-account on the general Budget
and the Railway Budget for 2000-01, completing the first phase of the budgetary exercise.
The second phase will commence on 17 April after a month.
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Amritsar
airport to be upgraded
New Delhi: The government plans to give Amritsar airport international status soon.
This was announced in the Lok Sabha by Union civil aviation minister Sharad Yadav. The
government is also considering giving international status to the Nedumbassery airport in
Kerala.
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Voluntary
retirement schemes for PSUs
New Delhi: The Union cabinet has cleared a new voluntary retirement scheme for
public sector undertakings, which takes into account the years of service of an employee
and the years of service left. While profit-making units have greater flexibility in
offering severance schemes, The latest decision will enable loss making units to offer
more attractive VRS plans than they could in the past.
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BankAm’s
ATMs for the blind
New York: Bank of America will install automated teller machines that talk. The
ATMs, to be deployed in California and Florida initially, have been developed by NCR Corp
and Diebold Corp. They will give spoken recorded instructions to people who are unable to
read messages on screens. To ensure privacy, they will be equipped with audio jacks.
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Foreign,
domestic banks now equal in US
Washington DC: America’s Federal Reserve has modified its rules bringing
foreign banks on par with domestic banks.
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