 |
Tuesday, April 9, 2002, Chandigarh,
India  
|
India, Singapore ink pacts on telecom Reliance merger to provide growth opportunities: Ambani
PowerGrid plans pact with staff |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Australia attracts Indian students
India, Bangladesh begin trade talks
Luxor to set up offices in USA, Dubai
|
|
India, Singapore ink pacts on telecom Singapore, April 8 The agreement on telecom was signed by India's Disinvestment Minister Arun Shourie and David T.E. Lim, Singapore's acting minister for information, communications and the arts. The signing ceremony was witnessed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who is here on an official visit, and his Singaporean counterpart Goh Chok Tong. "Through the memorandum of understanding, both countries hope to promote telecommunication investments and foster greater industry joint ventures," a statement issued by the Singapore government said. "Both countries will work towards evolving a mutual recognition agreement for telecommunications product certification." The handing over of the three stone sculptures, three decorative art pieces and five paintings was also under an agreement signed on Monday in the area of culture and the arts. "Singapore is the first country to have secured a loan agreement of such a long-term nature from the Archaeological Survey of India and the National Museum, New Delhi — both custodians of India's national collections," an official communique said. The three stone sculptures of Vishnu, Sri Devi and Bhu Devi date back to the Chola dynasty in 12th Tamil Nadu, while the decorative arts are from Hyderabad and belong to the 18th century. The miniatures range from an early 17th century folktale depiction of the epic Ramayana to one of a Sikh noble in the 19th century. Briefing reporters later, Singapore's Trade and Investment Minister George Yeo said the agreement on telecom paved the way for closer economic ties between the two countries in the knowledge-based sector. He specifically mentioned aerospace and biotechnology as areas that offered vast potential for cooperation. Shourie, who addressed the media with Yeo, said India had a large research and development base and that needed to be pursued closely. He said over 6,000 multinational corporations in Singapore were interested in conducting research in other countries, adding that India could be a good base for that purpose. On the issue of India's official talks with Singapore, Shourie said the discussions were mainly economic, but also covered terrorism without elaborating any further.
IANS
|
|
Reliance merger to provide growth opportunities: Ambani Mumbai, April 8 The merger would provide an opportunity in a deregulated petroleum sector and ongoing privatisation of public sector enterprises, RIL Chairman Dhirubhai Ambani said addressing the extraordinary general meeting (EGM) seeking shareholders approval for the merger here today and added that equity share capital of merged entity would be Rs 1,396 crore. Ambani said aggregate shareholding by Reliance Industrial Investments and Holdings Ltd (RIIHL), a subsidiary of RIL, and other RIL associates may be leveraged to pursue acquisition and growth opportunities in domestic and global markets. RIL shares, against the holding of RPL shares by RIIHL valued at over Rs 3,300 crore ($ 680 million) at current market prices, would be directly issued and allotted to a “trustee”. These shares, representing 7.5 per cent of RIL equity, and would be held for the benefit of RIIHL, he said. RPL shares held by other RIL associates representing 14 per cent of the petroleum company’s equity share capital would be exchanged into RIL shares and would constitute 4.7 per cent of the fully diluted capital of RIL with a value of over Rs 2,100 crore ($ 430 mn) at current market prices, he said. On benefits from the merger, he said it would directly result — in accretion of over Rs 1,300 crore to RIL’s net profits and acquisition of facilities, which have been valued at over Rs 21,000 crore. Ambani said under the proposed terms of merger, shares of RPL held by RIL, representing 28 per cent of RPL’s equity share capital would be cancelled. Replying to shareholders query about sending a management team to leading global multinationals to study the functioning of those organisations, Ambani said “it is being done”. The merged entity would adopt a dividend distribution policy in line with existing policies of RPL, he said. Even after the merger, RIL’s sales, profits and assets would be less than 10 per cent of respective figures for the largest global energy companies, he added. The boards of RIL and RPL had last month approved the merger and recommended an exchange ratio of one share of RIL for every 11 held of RPL. According to a company spokesman proxies were received in case of 63 crore shares, which represent 60 per cent of RIL’s equity share capital. The poll result of the EGM would be known later.
PTI
|
|
PowerGrid plans pact with staff New Delhi, April 8 “We are considering the idea of forming JVs with specially formed societies of the employees of PGCIL. We currently studying the blueprint where the employees’ society will hold a majority of 51 per cent stake and the balance 49 per cent by PGCIL”, Chairman of the company R.P. Singh told newspersons here today. The plan will take at least two months to fructify. Depending on the success on the plan, PGCIL eventually plans to expand the scope of equity participation to other public sector employees and other government sector employees, Mr R.P. Singh said.
|
|
Mittal 22nd in Britain’s rich list
London, April 8 Mittal occupies the position with a wealth estimated at £ 900 million. Topping the envious list is the Duke of Westminster with an estimated wealth of £ 4,700 million. He has fallen two spots from last year when he was at the 20th position at £ 1,000 million. Among the almost 50 richest Asians in the list, most are of Indian origin but none are in the top ten. The Hinduja brothers have risen from their position last year at 37 to 35 this year at £ 700 million. Lord Swaraj Paul has seen a major fall in his fortunes this year. From 95, at £ 330 million in 2001, he has slipped down to £ 122 at 280 million. His steel business Caparo made a profit of only £ 1.5 million on sales of £ 358 million, though it had assets worth £ 236 million. Among the fastest rising millionaires at tenth position are the Jatania brothers. They have shown a meteoric rise from being at 105 last year, with an estimated wealth of £ 300 million, to 52 this year with £ 548 million. Picking up niche brands in the cosmetics and beauty sector and revitalising them has been extremely profitable for the four brothers, Mike, George, Vin and Danny. The most recent acquisitions include the Harmony hairspray brand from Unilever. The family’s other wealth includes a property portfolio. Baljinder Boparan is the new entrant to the list of 100 wealthiest women in Britain. Along with her husband Ranjit, they own Boparan Holdings, a West Midlands chicken processor and a number of other subsidiaries. Both aged 35, rank 514 with £ 70 million. This position is shared by Pratibha Sachdev. She and her husband Ramesh, started Life Style Care nursing homes in 1987 and sold it 11 years later but retained the Life Style name and started up again. The new Life Style has assets worth £ 50 million and is set to make a profit of £ 7 million on sales of £ 20 million in 2001-02. Meena Pathak of the famous Pathaks brand have fallen to 794 from 634 last year. At £ 45 million, they have fallen from £ 45 million. Gulshen Bhatia, 69, a widow started with a small hotel 15 years ago. Her wealth is now estimated at £ 40 million , placing her at 874. Her position is shared by Bobby Dhillon and her brother Tej who run Dhillon Property Developments. Perween Warsi has seen a fall in her profits this year. Last year, with an estimated wealth of £ 58 million, they were at 619. But this year, with only £ 40 million, they are at 874. The richest husbands and wives category, that has people like Madonna and Guy Ritchie, also include Navin and Varsha Engineer who own Chemidex Pharma and Chemidex Partnership. The top 20 political donors include two Indian Labour donors, L. N. Mittal who donated £ 125,000 and Ghulam Noon, who donated 100,000. Reuben Singh, 25, in the Internet and fashion business and Moe and Mohinder Kohli, 30 and 24, respectively in the restaurant and household goods business, are among the 100 richest young people at seventh position with £ 30 million. Others in the category include Sanjay Dhir, 29, and Sunny Tuli, 30, with £ 17 million.
UNI
|
|
IT deptt honours Munjals, others Chandigarh, April 8 Others who got the honour were Mr Lakhpat Rai, Proprietor Rai Enterprises, Mr Ashok Malhotra, Proprietor, Modern Publishers, Mr Ashok Verma, Savi International, Ms Baljit Bawa, Baba Skin Company, all of Jalandhar, Mr Gurmeet Singh, Proprietor, Gurmeet Singh & Company, Chandigarh, Mr Jagdish Chander Bhatia, Bhatia Surgical Company, Amritsar and Mr Narpat Singh, Duke Sewing Machine Works, Ludhina and Diwan Ramesh Chander were given away the Rashtriya Samman in the business category. The awards were given away by Mr Ashutosh Mokhopadhyay, Member, Information Technology, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT). The Rashtriya Samman for the professional category of the North West region was cornered by former Assam Governor and the lawyer D.D. Thakur. Three of the four salaried category honours went to Hero Cycles group promoters, Om Prakash Munjal, Mr Brij Mohan Lal Munjal and Mr Satrya Nand Munjal. Mr Anil Vohra, working with the Czeck Republic Airlines, was the fourth person in this category to be awarded. Aaykar Samman, a regional honour, was given to Ms Harinder Kaur from Amritsar, Mr M.L. Sarin, Chandigarh, and Ms Manjit Kaur, Executive Vice-President of Dhillon Beverages. The honours were conferred upon them for their performance during the last five years before the assessment year 1998-99. Mr Mukhopadhyay hinted that the income tax provisions of this year Budget, considered to be harsh on the salaried, were being reviewed in the wake of protests from the people. He, however, explained the final decision has to be taken by the Parliament and the Finance Minister. The Chief Commissioner, Chandigarh, Mr S. C. Grover, the Chief Commissioner, Panchkula, Ms Hardeep Kaur, were among others who participated in the function. |
|
Australia attracts Indian students Chandigarh, April 8 He said Australian universities attracted more Indian students compared to universities in the UK in 2000 and Australia’s market share of Indian students increased to 8.4 per cent in 2000. “Not only is it a safer destination, but also study in Australia is almost 40-60 per cent cheaper than the USA or the UK. This has also resulted in a change in the choice of people from the USA to Australia”, he said. The government is promoting education and is positive towards exchange programmes and more of tieups in this field. Talking about the increase in the number of Indian students going there, he said students visas which was 570 in 1994-95, increased to almost 4,500 last year. The students from here to Australia doubled between 1997 and 2000 (there were 10,500 students in 2000). While currently there are around 12,500 Indian students in Australia, this number is expected to double within three years, he said. To study in Australia, students are now required to clear IELTS examination. The next examination will be conducted in Chandigarh on May 4. He said the student visa would take between two and three months. However, application has to be given at the right time. For instance, the universities open in July -August, for which one must apply with all documents by mid of May. On the courses that are taken up by a majority of students he said while business studies is the most popular field of study for Indians attracting 46 per cent additional students, biotechnology, IT, agriculture, engineering and science are other popular fields. |
|
India, Bangladesh begin trade talks
Dhaka, April 8 The officials said Dhaka would insist New Delhi allow duty free access for over 100 items to reduce Bangladesh’s annual trade deficit of more than $ one billion with India. They said India in return would ask for facilities to transport its goods through Bangladesh territory to its bordering states of Assam, Tripura, West Bengal and Mizoram. “The duty-free access is most important to narrow the yawning trade gap of about $ 1.1 billion with India,’’ a Bangladesh Commerce Ministry official told Reuters. Bangladesh’s annual imports from India are worth $ 1.2 billion against exports of $ 100 million. Dipak Chatterjee, Commerce Secretary of India and his Bangladesh counterpart Sohel Ahmed are leading the talks. He said: “We believe there is a long way to reach an agreement, but we want the negotiation to start from some point,’’ the Indian official said.
Reuters
|
bb
Nabard Symphony Aptech FICCI convention Dr C.S. Prakash Motorola Nortel |
 |
| Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir | Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs | Nation | Editorial | | Business | Sport | World | Mailbag | In Spotlight | Chandigarh Tribune | Ludhiana Tribune 50 years of Independence | Tercentenary Celebrations | | 122 Years of Trust | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
In
video: (
