Dismantling APM may be hit by Opec decision
New Delhi: The efforts of the government to dismantle the administered price mechanism (APM) is likely to get derailed with the recent decision of the oil cartel, Opec, to go in for a production cut.

The production cut, which is likely to lead to a hike in international crude prices, will increase the subsidy bill in the sector and affect bottomlines of refining companies.

The oil import bill, already at a high of $17 billion this year as against $11 billion last year, is also estimated to go up following the hike in prices.

The production cut of approximately 1 million barrels per day from April 1 has been taken in view of the projected demands in the coming months, affected as it is by the onset of summer and the growing recession in the US.

Refining companies like Indian Oil, Reliance Petroleum, Bharat Petroleum, and Hindustan Petroleum are likely to see their interest burden go up as they gear up for greater borrowings following the price hike.
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India-born develops new chip to unite wireless systems
San Francisco: Jacksonville-based Ashvattha Semiconductor, a radio frequency chip producer founded by an Indian American, has announced that it has figured out how to unite disparate wireless standards on one chip without compromising call quality.

According to the chief executive, the company has used its patented technology to design RF chips capable of transmitting and receiving various standards of wireless transmission, including GSM (global services in mobile), Blue-tooth and GPS (global positioning systems) standards.

By putting all standards in one chip, the product is seeking to do away with the traditional problems of having to use three different chips which was necessitated by the fact that combination of various standards usually led to deterioration in quality of the call. The product should be ready to be shipped by the end of the year, he said.
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ICICI sets in motion plan to bring down NPAs
Mumbai: According to Ms. Kalpana Morparia, senior general manager ICICI, the financial institution is planning to take a massive one-time write off of bad loans in its balance sheet for ‘00-01. This is being done with the aim of bringing down its net non-performing assets closer to the targeted 5 per cent from the present level of around 7.2 per cent of net advances. The FI’s net NPAs’ outstanding as on December 31, ‘00 was Rs 4,215 crore.

This move is likely to bring the financial institution closer to getting a clearance from the Reserve Bank of India for setting up a non-life insurance subsidiary. The institution has apparently already set up a task force for the non-life business and has identified a CEO, besides recruiting executives from the non-life industry.

While the exact figure of the provisioning is not clear indications are that the amount is to be about Rs 1,000 crore, going by the last available figures. According to ICICI sources, the extent of provisioning will be decided by the net profit for the year.

This year, the bank’s profits for the first nine months of the fiscal worked out to Rs 794 crore. The institution has also earned an extraordinary income of Rs 186 crore from the sale of a 4.99 per cent stake in ICICI Bank to Prudential of UK.
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Company secretary certification to become compulsory
New Delhi: The government has now made it mandatory for companies, not having a full time company secretary and with a paid-up capital of more than Rs. 10 lakh, to obtain a certificate from a full-time practising secretary.

For issuing certificates, the secretary shall have a right to access the registers, books, papers, documents and records of the company whether kept in pursuance of the Act or any other Act, or otherwise and whether kept at the registered office of the company or elsewhere, and shall also be entitled to seek from officers of the company such information and explanations as may be required for the purpose.
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Assocham projects huge potential in Indian biotech market
New Delhi: Apex industry body, the Association of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, (Assocham), has predicted that the Indian biotech segment is likely to be worth $2.5 billion by the end of 2001.

The research paper prepared by Assocham states that India has strong advantages tomake a significant global player in the biotech field and a preferred destination for multinational companies.

It said according to the latest figures available, human health biotech accounted for 60 per cent of sales while agriculture and veterinary biotech together accounted for 15 per cent of the total revenue.

Other avenues which the paper mentions includes growing crops on arid land, multi-purpose animals like cows which produced all milk requirements and bacteria that reduced pollution by eating contaminating molecules.

The large population in the country would ensure the demand for biotechnology growth is fuelled in the country and the market for human health biotech products alone was expected to grow to $1.5 billion by end of this calendar year.

This was being pushed by a huge unmet demand for vaccines of common diseases like rabies, typhoid tuberculosis and aids which was growing at a rate of about 20 per cent annually.

The paper cautioned that the biggest drawback was lack of funding as the industry is highly capital intensive. In the US close to $10 billion had been spent in research and development for biotechnology.

The paper also stressed that contemporary education was an imperative to give the segment a fillip.
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HC passes pathbreaking order in domain name case
New Delhi: In a landmark decision by the Delhi High court, a Hyderabad-based software company was ordered to transfer the domain name, drreddyslab.com, to the pharmaceutical company, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, with immediate effect.

The order was issued following a suit by Dr Reddy's Laboratories alleging that the Hyderabad-based firm Ramada Soft by using its domain name had harmed its business and may lead to dilution of the distinctiveness of the trademark.

The judgement is historical since it is for the first time in India, a court has ordered the transfer of domain name from one entity to another. Earlier, in all the orders related to the infringement of domain names, the court had only restrained the parties from using it.
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PPF rate cut to hit old accounts also
Mumbai: Contrary to expectations after the budget, it is now understood that the new rate of interest, of 9.5 per cent, will be applicable not only to new PPF accounts but to old contributions as well.

It is learnt that old accounts which have been carrying an interest rate of 11 per cent will get only 9.5 per cent from March 15 this year.

Ideally, some experts feel, the reduced interest rate should have been made applicable only to fresh account holders. T P Ostwal, a chartered accountant told ET "The PPF scheme is silent on the issue of change in interest rate. The PPF is like a recurring deposit account. The institution or government cannot revise the interest rate downward mid-way.
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Government does not extend counter-guarantee
New Delhi: The Tata Electric-promoted 1,000 mw Mangalore power project being executed with CLP Power International, has run into a roadblock with the government refusing to extend counter-guarantee to the project till the Karnataka government agrees to commit escrow at least three months before the commercial operation date (COD) of the project.

The Mangalore power project, also called Cogentrix project, is one of the eight fast track projects, for which the Centre had agreed to extend counter-guarantees. However, unlike the Dabhol phase-I project, the counter-guarantees for the remaining seven fast track projects would cover only the foreign debt and, that too, in case of a project termination.

While the Karnataka government has asked the Centre to issue counter guarantee to the project based on the state's guarantee and on the reform and recast process proposed to be undertaken by it, this proposal has been rejected by the Union finance ministry.

Besides this, the Centre has also clarified that "the counter-guarantee on the basis of a legally-binding agreement, establishing the charge provided to foreign creditors/financial institutions in lieu of a legally binding agreement establishing an irrevocable escrow account, cannot be the basis of the counter guarantee."
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