Sugar import duty hike soon: Sinha NEW DELHI, Dec 21 The government is actively considering to hike Customs duty on sugar to curb cheap imports and a decision would be taken soon, Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha said today.

Indica bookings from Jan 14

• FIIs ‘neutral to negative’ on stocks
• JF Electra buys 36 p.c. stake in Moser Baer
• Royal & Sun, DCM Shriram part ways
• Oil prices down

Mangalore refinery holds lessons for Punjab
From T.V.Lakshminarayan
Tribune News Service

MANGALORE, Dec 21 — The Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL), promoted jointly by the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd and the Aditya Birla Group here, could provide many lessons for Punjab, which will be having its first major refinery in Bathinda.

MRPL, which after the completion of an ongoing expansion project in November 1999, would have a capacity to produce nine million tonnes per annum of petroleum products, the same capacity as that proposed in the Punjab refinery, would in all probability act as a model refinery for the Bathinda project.

The Mangalore refinery projects a perfect harmony between the environmental concerns of the Karnataka Government and its drive for industrialisation and it is this aspect that could be a source of inspiration for the Punjab Government.

The Mangalore refinery despite producing an array of products like Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), petrol, naphtha, superior kerosene oil, high speed diesel, aviation turbine fuel, fuel oil, bitumen and sulphur has invested heavily in maintaining the fragile environment of the port town.

According to Mr S.K.Mukherjee, Managing Director (Technical) of MRPL, the company has invested Rs 287 crore on environmental controls, which percentagewise is one of the highest investments on this account in the country.

For instance under the direction of the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board, the Mangalore refinery ensures that only 30 per cent of the total waste water that is generated in the refinery is let out in the sea, that too after treatment. Seventy per cent of the water is reused for the cooling towers.

The confidence of MRPL officials on the efficacy of the waste water treatment plant was displayed by one of the Directors of the company, Mr S.K.Kerr, who had no qualms in tasting the water.

MRPL has also developed a green belt around the refinery and has planted more than 118,000 saplings in the area.

The process units of the refinery are designed to achieve higher overall thermal efficiency and reducing fuel consumption and emissions. Sulphur emissions have also been contained with the usage of low sulphur fuel oil in furnaces. A highly efficient sulphur recovery unit also recovers elemental sulphur from hydrogen sulphide, thus reducing sulphur emissions further.

The setting up of the refinery here has also helped boost economic activities in the region and this trend would be repeated in Punjab too, says Mr Kerr.

Of the total 777 employees employed by the refinery, 58 per cent of them are from the district and other parts of the State and only 42 per cent are from rest of India. The high living standards of the MRPL employees has had a spin off effect on the all-round prosperity of the Mangalore town.

Compared to the Mangalore refinery, the Bathinda project would be much larger as it would also have a 500 mw power project. As against the Rs 6387 crore spent by MRPL on the two phases of its project — Phase one is of three million tonnes per annum capacity and Phase two is of six million tonnes per annum capacity — the Bathinda refinery is expected to cost around Rs 10,000 crore. The Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, has estimated the cost at around Rs 16,000 crore.

The Bathinda refinery like the MRPL would also be a joint venture company and this has its distinct advantages. A tie-up between a public sector giant and a private sector company is run more professionally as there is little government interference. The MRPL is a perfect example as there is a perfect harmony between the Directors of the HPCL and the Aditya Birla Group. HPCL is the sole marketing agent of the MRPL.

According to HPCL sources, the company is already negotiating with several international companies for a tie-up for the Bathinda refinery. As in the case of the MRPL, where both HPCL and the Aditya Birla Group have a stake of 26 per cent each, the joint venture at Bathinda too would be in similar lines.

The Punjab Government has also a cause to cheer as the MRPL refinery has been contributing around Rs 400 crore per year to the State Government since 1996-97. Similar amounts or more are expected to flow into the coffers of the Punjab Government once the Bathinda refinery is commissioned.

Banks’ credit in Punjab rises by 26 p.c.
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Dec 21 — Mr Rashid Jilani, Chairman & Managing Director, Punjab National Bank, said here today that the gross bank credit in Punjab had expanded by Rs 2504 crore from Rs 9535 crore as in Sept ‘97 to Rs 12039 crore in Sept ‘98, thus exhibiting a record growth of 26.3 per cent. The priority sector advances have grown by Rs.1236 crore from Rs.4891 crore. The advances to the SSI sector registered a growth of 27.8 per cent during the period under review. Agriculture advances also showed an increase of 27.3 per cent.

Addressing a meeting of the state level bankers committee (Punjab) here, Mr Jilani said the aggregate deposits of the banks in Punjab had increased by Rs.4657 crore from Rs.25440 crore (Sept ‘97) to Rs.30,097 crore (Sept ‘98).

The banks have achieved all national goals except advances under the DRI schemes. The recovery position of priority sector advances has improved from 69 per cent to 72 per cent.

Mr Rajan Kashyap, Principal Secretary, Finance, Punjab, said that a committee of bankers should identify areas of development so that the state can take advantage once recession is over. In the area of infrastructure development, private initiative is being encouraged. He appreciated the efforts made by banks, particularly the RBI, in providing relief to farmers who had suffered losses due to crop damage by unseasonal rains.

Welcoming the participants, Mr S.K. Chawla said the Planning Commission has finalised the Punjab plan outlay at Rs. 2,500 crore for 1998-99 — up by Rs. 400 crore over the previous year’s outlay. Of this, Rs 1,300 crore will be raised from by the State’s own resources.

It has been decided to form a committee of Punjab and Planning Commission Officials to prepare a report on soil depletion, crop diversification and indebtedness among farmers.

Banks have launched kisan credit cards, prepared by NABARD and circulated by the RBI, to increase the flow of credit to farmers.

Mr K. Vijayaraghavan, Regional Director, RBI, said that targets under the PMRY 1997-98 had been surpassed both in sanctions and disbursement, but for 1998-99, the progress achieved so far is not up to the mark. It might be due to the fact that bank branches were busy in disbursing loans under the programme for the year 1997-98.

Mr S.K. Awasthi, General Manager, PNB, Mr N.R. Kannan, Chief General Manager, NABARD, Mr D.S. Guru, Director Industries (Pb), Ms P.Kumar, DGM, RBI, Mr B.K. Batra, General Manager, IDBI, Mr N.S. Kang, MD, PFC Mr PES Vidyasagar, General Manager, SIDBI, and Prem Chand, Director, National Commission on SC/ST, were among those present.

Sensex vaults 98 pts as attack halts

MUMBAI, Dec 21 (PTI) — Share prices skyrocketed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) here today and the sensex shot up by 98.28 points to 2973.37 on brisk buying by domestic funds, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) and local operators in the wake of reports that the USA and Britain had halted their four-day attack in the Gulf regions.

The news acted as a catalyst to boost investors’ confidence and speculators and FIIs rushed to wind up their outstanding positions on the first day of trading for the current settlement.

Introduction of the Companies (Amendment) Bill slated to be placed in Parliament this week with some relaxed buyback norms and expected to save investors from hardships also boosted sentiment.

A number of shares from the software companies such as Satyam Computers, Infosys Tech, NIIT, Pentafour Software and Zee Tele flared up on hectic buying from the foreign funds. The FIIs also purchased shares of pharmaceutical and consumer goods companies. As a result Castrol, Dr Reddy’s, Ponds India, Proctor & Gamble, Glaxo, Ranbaxy, Tata Chem, Britania, HLL, Cadbury and German Reme ended with substantial gains.

Cement shares were bolstered by reports that the government was considering using cement in a big way in construction of highways.

Infosys Tech hit the circuit breaker after the bonus issue announcement on Friday. Other securities which reached their upper limit were Telco, Tisco, Ashok Leyland, bpl Ltd, Cadbury, Crompton Greaves, Essel Packaging, Gujarat Gas, IPCL, Pentafour Software, SKF Bearings, Titan Ind and Zee Telefilm.

News that Tisco had sold its cement unit lifted the share of the company by Rs 7.75 to 104.75.

Reflecting the firm trend. The BSE sensitive index opened at 2921.27, flared up to a high of 2977.03 and closed at 2973.37, showing a rise of 98.29 points from the previous close of 2975.09. The BSE-100 ended at 1316.50, with a gain of 43.33 points from the previous close of 1273.17. The BSE-200 closed higher at 304.82 and the Dollex at 119.27 from the last close of 115.60. The total turnover on the bolt system was Rs 1295.54 crore.

Bill to double tax holidays of EOUs

NEW DELHI, Dec 21 (PTI) — The government today introduced in the Lok Sabha a Bill for doubling the tax holidays to exporting units and cut down the depreciation rates for commercial vehicles in a bid to revive the economy.

Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha, who introduced the Income Tax (Second Amendment) Bill, also tabled a Bill to amend the Customs Act, 1962, to provide for payment of interest by the government for delayed reimbursement to exporters under the drawback scheme.

The proposal to extend tax holidays for new units, set up software technology parks in free trade zones, from five year to 10 years would give added thrust to exports.

A similar extension would be given to export-oriented units also. The move to cut down depreciation rates and offer full depreciation for commercial vehicles was to remove sluggishness in the automobile sector.

This would be available for vehicles bought between October 1 last and March 31 next.

Sugar import duty hike soon: Sinha

NEW DELHI, Dec 21 (PTI) — The government is actively considering to hike Customs duty on sugar to curb cheap imports and a decision would be taken soon, Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha said today.

“The proposal (to raise import duty on sugar) is under active consideration of the government,” Sinha said replying to discussions on supplementary demand for grants (general) in the Lok Sabha.

Stating that the hike in duty should not lead to increase in the commodity’s retail prices, he said the consumers, farmers and industry’s interests would be kept in mind while raising the duty.

FIIs ‘neutral to negative’ on stocks

NEW DELHI, Dec 21 (PTI) — Indian stock markets are likely to experience a net outflow of funds next year. “FIIs are taking a neutral to negative outlook for global emerging markets including India,” Vinod Sethi, Managing Director of Morgan Stanley Asset Management, which manages funds to the tune of $ 1.5 billion in Indian bourses said here today.

Sethi was addressing a seminar on capital markets organised by the CII. India has already seen an outflow of $ 300-400 million from stock markets during 1998. Vice-Chairman of Kotak Mahindra Finance Limited Uday Kotak said while deciding on a preferential issue, the board should take into consideration what was best for the company and not the promoter.

JF Electra buys 36 p.c. stake in Moser Baer

NEW DELHI, Dec 21 (PTI) — Jardine Fleming (JF) Electra (Mauritius) Ltd has acquired 36 per cent stake in computer floppy disc maker Moser Baer India Ltd (MBIL) by investing $ 8 million. The private equity arm of Electra Fleming and Jardine Fleming, JF Electra is investing in India for the sixth time during the past three years, a company statement said here. The investment would be partly used to fund a factory for manufacturing blank optical media for export to the USA and European countries. IFC Washington and MBIL have also pumped in $ 3.36 million as additional equity towards the new facility.

Royal & Sun, DCM Shriram part ways

NEW DELHI, Dec 21 (PTI) — Royal and Sun Alliance Insurance plc today called off their proposed insurance joint venture with DCM Shriram Consolidated. Royal and Sun Alliance in a statement said however it remained committed to India and was holding talks with many companies for partnership to work in insurance business. The Decison to part ways follows from DCM Shriram’s decision to concentrate on core business areas.

Oil prices down

WASHINGTON, Dec 21 (PTI) — Huge inventories, newer oil fields and reduced demand on account of better technologies have kept the world oil prices plunging despite the Iraq crisis, which was expected to lead to a rally in oil prices like the previous Middle East crisis, analysts here say.

“The world is awash in excess oil inventories. New oil fields are being brought on line, and new technologies are shaving production costs, and softening world demand,” according to a Washington Post analyst. The plunge in prices in the last two years is amazing.

Indica bookings from Jan 14

PUNE, Dec 21 (PTI) — Telco today said that bookings for its ambitious Indica car would begin on January 14 but maintained a veil of secrecy over its price.

Telco Chairman Ratan Tata told newsmen here that the price would be announced on December 30 when the indigenously developed car is formally launched.

He, however, said Indica would compete with Maruti models, 800 and Zen, Fiat Uno and the Korean cars Santro and Matiz.

“The bait would be Maruti 800 but Indica offered more than it”, he said.

Commenting on the fuel efficiency of the car, he said “what we have is a larger car with a smaller engine, priced like a small car”.

Telco General Manager Ravi Dubey said full payment would be accepted for 10,000 cars from January 14 and deliveries of Indica would begin from the first week of February. “It will be a limited period opening and all the first 10,000 units will be produced by March-end”, he said.

Tata, unveiling the roll-out plans for the first car from the Telco stable, said Telco would not be a one car company. Plans are underway for introduction of variants of Indica. Mr Ratan Tata said the group had been increasing its stake in Telco as in other major group companies.

Confirming that the group holding in Telco had increased by 2 per cent in the last six months, Mr Tata told newsmen at the Telco plant here that the group would go by the creeping acquisition route permitted by SEBI. He noted that SEBI now permitted creeping acquisition to the extent of 5 per cent and said the enhanced ceiling would be considered.

Gold recovers
NEW DELHI, Dec 21 (PTI) — Silver and gold firmed up on the bullion market today on local traders buying support and closed with gains. Standard gold and ornaments recovered by Rs 15 each at Rs 4300 and Rs 4150 per 10 gram, respectively. Sovereign was also quoted higher by Rs 25 at Rs 3750 per piece of eight gram. The quotations: Silver .999 (ready) 7410, and delivery 7415, silver coins buyer 10,500 and seller 10,700, standard gold 4300, ornaments 4150 and sovereign 3750.

SBI branch
Tribune News Service
CHANDIGARH, Dec 21 — To provide prompt and personalised service to its customers, the State Bank of India has fully computerised its Haryana Civil Sectt. branch here. The branch was inaugurated by Mr R.S. Verma, Chief Secretary, Haryana. Mr K.K. Narula, CGM, SBI, said Chandigarh Circle has computerised its 88 branches.

Forex rates
MUMBAI, Dec 21 (PTI) — The following are interbank forex and RBI rates (in rupees per unit):

US $ 42.5400/5450
£ 71.56/58
D. Mark 25.54/56
Jap Yen (100) 36.81/83
The RBI reference rate was Rs 42.55.