B U S I N E S S

Clear dues, IDBI tells Essar
MUMBAI, March 20 — Essar Steel is unlikely to get any financial support from the Industrial Development Bank of India till it clears at least a part of loan overdues.

IT professionals look forward to Clinton's visit
HYDERABAD, Mar 20 — The visit of the US President Bill Clinton to "cybertowers", Andhra Pradesh on March 24 will be a defining moment for the flourishing software industry in the state.

US official to meet OPEC leaders
WASHINGTON, March 20 — In a bid to reduce sky-rocketing world oil prices, US Energy Secretary Bill Richardson was due to meet ministers from several oil producing countries from Monday to urge them to increase oil production to reduce petrol prices.

Pak hikes petro prices
ISLAMABAD, March 20 — The Pakistan's military-led government today raised the prices of petroleum products, citing price hike in the world market.

Tassar — a threat to muga silk
SUALKUCHI (Assam), March 20 — Tassar silk is posing serious threat to Assam's golden fabric 'muga silk' due to high cost of muga yarn and time consuming methods of its production.

NY hospitals to sue cigarette makers
NEW YORK, March 20 — Nearly 125 New York hospitals are planning to join a lawsuit that will seek repayment from cigarette companies for treating smoking-related illness, Newsday has reported.

Clear dues, IDBI tells Essar

MUMBAI, March 20 (PTI) — Essar Steel is unlikely to get any financial support from the Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) till it clears at least a part of loan overdues.

The IDBI executive committee, which discussed the issue on March 15, felt the company should evolve a plan for rendering its operations profitable, and arrange for clearance of overdues, before it could think of funding floating rate notes' (FRN) redemption scheme, IDBI sources said here today.

FRN was due for redemption in July 1999 and even the negotiated rollover of redemption later could not be implemented due to the company's inability to tie up funds.

The committee decided that the matter of funding the company would be considered after it complied with the earlier mutually agreed conditionalities, including restructuring of group operations and hiving off some of them, they said.

Essar group's interest overdues alone to the IDBI stood at Rs 332 crore as on January 31, 2000, consisting Rs 147 crore from Essar Steel and Rs 185 crore from other group companies, they said adding their principal overdues on that day were Rs 86 crore and Rs 32 crore, respectively.

"Essar steel reported a net loss of Rs 427 crore last year and Rs 396 crore for the nine month-period ending December 1999," they said adding the committee has felt the need for correcting the company's debt-equity ratio, which is 3.4:1 now.

IT professionals look forward to Clinton's visit

HYDERABAD, Mar 20 (PTI) — The visit of the US President Bill Clinton to "cybertowers", Andhra Pradesh (AP), on March 24 will be a defining moment for the flourishing software industry in the state.

Growing at a rapid pace during the past few years, the software industry is expected to be the biggest beneficiary of the trade spin-offs from the historic visit, industry-watchers say.

That Mr Clinton has chosen to spend a major chunk of his five-hour schedule in the city among it professionals, reflects the growing international recognition for the state's cyber initiatives, experts said.

"With AP already setting a role model in IT-related initiatives, Bill Clinton's visit will boost US investments in the state in a way that were never witnessed before," former president of the Software Technology Park of India (STPI), Hyderabad, Mr J.A. Chowdhary said.

The reasons for optimism and excitement are not far to seek. From a mere Rs 2 lakh export earnings in 1991-92, the city has come a long way as its software exports are set to cross Rs 2,000 crore mark this year.

"The number of software companies registered with the STPI, Hyderabad, have grown phenomenally from seven in 1991-92 to 158 in 1998-99. The figure is likely to cross 200 this year," Mr Chowdhary, who is also an advisor to the Central Government on promotion of software industry, said.

US official to meet OPEC leaders

WASHINGTON, March 20 (DPA) — In a bid to reduce sky-rocketing world oil prices, US Energy Secretary Bill Richardson was due to meet ministers from several oil producing countries from Monday to urge them to increase oil production to reduce petrol prices.

The initiative follows truck drivers' protests and heated political debate in the USA over the rising fuel prices and comes prior to a March 27- meeting of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Vienna.

Over the past year, the price of oil has tripled to more than US $ 30 per barrel.

Mr Richardson was due to meet energy ministers from the UAE, Nigeria, Algeria and Indonesia, reports said.

Pak hikes petro prices

ISLAMABAD, March 20 (AFP) — The Pakistan's military-led government today raised the prices of petroleum products, citing price hike in the world market.

"The new rates will come into effect immediately," an official from the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources, Pakistan, said.

Prices of regular petrol and super petrol were raised by 1.85 percent and 1.72 per cent, respectively. High speed diesel price goes up by 11.76 percent and that of furnace oil by around 5 percent.

"The prices of petroleum products had registered a sharp increase in the international market during the past three months. As soon as they drop, the benefit will be passed on to the consumers," he said.

Tassar — a threat to muga silk
by Durba Ghosh

SUALKUCHI (Assam), March 20 (PTI) — Tassar silk is posing serious threat to Assam's golden fabric 'muga silk' due to high cost of muga yarn and time consuming methods of its production.

''Weavers are now increasingly mixing tassar with muga to create fabrics which poses threat to the muga silk industry of the state which has flourished since time immemorial'', says Mr S.N. Mishra, Assistant Director of the Central Silk Board here.

The main reason for this trend of mixing tassar with muga was the prohibitive rise in the price of muga yarn.

"The cost of the muga yarn shot up substantially during the past few years forcing the weavers to take recourse to tassar" says Mr D. Choudhury, executive member of the Assam Resham Silpi Samanway Samiti.

The price of muga yarn varies from Rs 5,000 to Rs 3,200 per hundred kg while tassar cost ranges from Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,000 a kg.

"As a result of the high price of the yarn many weavers decided not to purchase muga cocoons last year, so that the prices would fall," he said.

"The prices have relatively come down this year but is yet to reach the level of tassar and as a consequence the use of tassar might continue. Moreover, the tassar silk coming from China is sold at low rate which is a major reason threatening the muga silk industry of the state," he added.

Mr Mishra, however, points out that the trend must be contained to save the traditional silk industry of the state. The Central Silk Board has decided to purchase an overhead projection microscope from Lubant, a French company, to detect the type of yarn used in the fabric.

"The microscope is capable of detecting even 1 mm of a strand of yarn used in the fabric and will prove immensely helpful in checking the quality and type of yarn used. The machine would be installed at Sualkuchi so that the buyers could avail of this facility at a nominal cost'', he said.

The weavers would be asked to put their fabrics under the microscope and those producing only muga silk fabrics would be given certificates to that effect by the board.

''The practice of giving certificates will not only enhance the credibility of the weavers but even help the buyers who can directly approach the weavers possessing the certificates without any uncertainty about the quality of the fabric,'' he said.

Muga yarn production is still a household industry and over the years though the demand and value of muga yarn had increased yet the technology used is traditional.

NY hospitals to sue cigarette makers

NEW YORK, March 20 (DPA) — Nearly 125 New York hospitals are planning to join a lawsuit that will seek repayment from cigarette companies for treating smoking-related illness, Newsday has reported.

In the suit, the hospitals will contend that the cost of caring for patients with those illness should be borne by the tobacco companies — essentially the same argument 46 states used to win a settlement with the industry that will bring $ 25 billion to the New York state in the next 25 years.

The hospitals will seek $ 2.3 billion dollars in compensation, although that figure could change depending on the number of facilities that decide to join, according to the Healthcare Association of New York state, a trade group coordinating the suit.