Sidbi to set up $500-m overseas VCF
Mumbai: The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) will set up an overseas venture capital fund of $50 million focussing on information technology and knowledge-based sectors. As per a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed with IVG of Mauritius, Sidbi will put in $20 million, while IVG would contribute $10 million.

The central government and the Reserve Bank of India have approved the setting up of fund and the fund is expected to be operational in the next two to three months. The fund will have a three-tier strategy at the regional, national and international levels. Sidbi has 12 regional funds operating in ten states in the country.
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Kudremukh Iron expansion to cost Rs 560 crore
Bangalore: Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Ltd. (KIOCL), has chalked out major expansion and diversification projects estimated to cost around Rs 560 crore. The projects on various stages in planning include a sponge iron pipe manufacturing plant, a coke-oven plant and a new mining facility in the neighbouring state of Andhra Pradesh.

KIOCL had already signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the AP government to set up a new iron ore mine at Ongole. A detailed feasibility report (DFR) on the approximately Rs 240 crore project would be completed soon. The company has also submitted a proposal to the state Pollution Control Board, to grant environment clearance for a coke-oven manufacturing facility at Karwar at an estimated cost of Rs 135 crore. KIOCL plans to convert imported coal into coke, a product with good demand in the domestic market. The company is also contemplating joint venture for the coke project, and is having discussions with a few firms from China and US for a possible tie-up.

Another major project planned by KIOCL is a sponge iron pipe manufacturing plant in Mangalore costing Rs 140 crore. This is part of the diversification plan of the company. At present only one company manufactures such pipes - widely used for water supply and sewage projects - in the country. The project is at an advanced stage of implementation.
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Red Herring to start Asian edition
Hong Kong: Red Herring, a leading technology publication from the US is set to spread its operations world-wide with a regional Asian edition to be based in Hong Kong. The US-based publication is also believed to be keen to have an editorial presence in India.
Red Herring Communication, the holding company, is reported to be in talks with four media companies across Asia, including an Indian media house for signing a broad-ranging deal within next three to eight weeks.

New editions are planned in Hong Kong, Middle East Asia, London and Latin America, besides yet another US edition. Red Herring, which already has its own web and TV editions, has sizeable audiences in the Indian sub-continent. The magazine presently has just one edition that comes out from San Francisco and sells 3.5 million copies worldwide.
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Economic growth likely to slip to 6 per cent
New Delhi: India's economic growth will slow to six per cent this financial year from 6.4 per cent in 1999-2000, according to estimates by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO).

The advance estimates are the first acknowledgment that gross domestic product (GDP) growth will be below the ``6.5 per cent or higher'' rate projected by the government.

The slowdown is primarily on account of deceleration in the manufacturing sector. The growth in manufacturing will be down to 6.4 per cent from last year's 6.8 per cent. The sector as been hit by high global oil prices, a weak rupee and easier entry of imports.

The RBI, whose initial estimate for 2000-2001 was a 6.5 to 7.0 per cent growth, has since scaled down its forecast to 6 to 6.5 per cent. Also for the past several months, independent forecasters have been pegging growth around 6 per cent.

The CSO advance estimates put farm output growth at 0.9 per cent compared with 0.7 per cent in 1999-2000. The advance estimates are based on the expected level of agricultural and industrial production, an analysis of the budget estimates of government spending and the performance of key sectors like railways, communications and banking.
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