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Steel to remain stable this month
Global firms bid for AT&T’s stake in Idea
Maruti sales accelerate
Rs 10 crore IT plans for Haryana |
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IT ROUND-UP
Reliance mobile told to pay Rs 12,000 fine
Indian Airlines hikes fare |
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Sydney-Mumbai flight from Sept 1
Oxfam hails G-20 proposals
CORPORATE NEWS
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Steel to remain stable this month New Delhi, June 1 The Indian Steel Alliance (ISA), association of major flat steel producers in the country, including Steel Authority of India (SAIL), Tata Iron and Steel Company (TISCO), Essar Steel, Jindal Vijaynagar Steel Limited (JVSL) and Ispat Industries, made an announcement in this regard here today. Speaking at a press conference, Mr Jamshed Irani, Chairman, ISA, said: “The steel industry has just emerged from a bad cycle and is beginning to get back on its feet. With international steel prices softening, I will not be surprised if the companies retained the prices. I think prices would stabilise at the current level.” The steel prices in the domestic market are currently prevailing around Rs 25,000 per tonne. Essar Steel Ltd, Ispat Industries and SAIL officials also told mediapersons that they would not be revising prices for this month. The steel producers seem to have taken this decision after Union Minister of Steel Ram Vilas Paswan assured the small scale sector that government will take all the necessary steps to bring down steel prices. The SSI sector, which was badly hit by the rise in steel prices by over 60 per cent over the past year, had also raised the issue with previous government. Following this the government had withdrawn export incentives to steel producers under duty entitlement pass book (DEPB) scheme from March 27, 2004. The steel cartel, which has earned huge profit this year due to increase in steel prices, massive exports after increase in steel demand in China, are pressing upon the government to restore these benefits. It has also called upon the government to maintain the present level of import duty of 15 per cent on steel. After hiking the prices to Rs 29,000 per tonne, hot rolled coils producers brought them down to Rs 25,000 per tonne for three months from March after talks with the previous Government. While Rs 2,000 per tonne was reduced because of a cut in excise duty from 16 per cent to 8 per cent, Rs 2,000 per tonne was absorbed by the industry. They had also assured that the prices would be held steady till June-end at Rs 25,000 per tonne. “We will assess the pricing level next month only and would decide if the price is to be revised on quarterly basis,” Essar Steel Ltd Director (Commercial) P.R. Dhariwal said. Ispat Industries Executive Director (Marketing) Vindo Garg said, “We have already announced the same prices for this month. We will consider revision next month only.” An executive with Steel Authority of India Ltd said the company would not hike the prices from the current Rs 25,000 per tonne as the market situation was stable. In the international market, after the fall in steel consumption in China, prices for flat-rolled products have recently dipped by $ 50-60 per tonne, while that of scrap products had fallen by $ 30 per tonne. Prices of raw materials like metcoke also witnessed a fall, while freight costs came. |
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Global firms bid for AT&T’s stake in Idea
Mumbai, June 1 “An agreement between the consortium and Idea has been reached and a final deal is expected to be formalised in the next few days,” Idea Chief Executive Officer Vikram Mehmi told PTI over phone from Pune today. The final transaction would be completed after due diligence and necessary approvals in the next few weeks, he said. Mehmi did not divulge the price of the deal, but said it would be announced “soon”. The deal, he said, would make Idea the leading mobile telephony major in the country. Industry sources pegged the deal at around $ 350 million. The other two stakeholders, AV Birla group and Tata Group, would continue to hold their existing 33 per cent in the company, he said.
— PTI |
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Maruti sales accelerate
Mumbai, June 1 The growth in May, 2004, is over a relatively higher base. Sales in May, 2003, was unusually high. During May, 2004, Maruti volumes in the domestic A2 segment (Alto, WagonR, Zen) grew by 64 per cent and in the A3 segment (Baleno, Esteem) by 37 per cent. Hero Honda
Hero Honda today announced 30 per cent growth in sales of motorcycles in May this year. The company sold 2,12,177 units in May this year, the highest ever in a single month by any company, compared to 1,63,582 units sold in the same period of 2003. Meanwhile the company said it was considering renewing its pact with Honda Motors of Japan tomorrow.
Bajaj Auto
Bajaj Auto Ltd (BAL) has reported a 8.8 per cent dip in its two-wheeler sales in May, 2004, at 1,01,022 units as compared to 1,10,726 units in May, 2003. It recorded a 7.8 per cent drop in two and three-wheelers at 1,17,200 for April as against 1,27,156 units in the same period last year, a company release said here today.
TVS
TVS company reported a 15.91 per cent drop in sales of two-wheelers to 80,895 units in May compared to 96,203 units during the same period last year. The company recorded a 32.5 per cent fall in motor cycle sales last month at 43,180 units as against 63,973 units in the same period last year, a TVS release said here today.
— Agencies |
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Rs 10 crore IT plans for Haryana Chandigarh, June 1 The over Rs 2.11 crore IT plan approved for cooperative sugar mills will include functional modules for cane management and accounting system, payments to the transporters and loading contractors at outcane purchasing centres, performance of these centres, cane growers information window, sales management system and payroll accounting. An IT plan for the Labour Department will cost Rs 87.14 lakh. The software developed for the department will have the modules for registration and renewal system for shops and commercial establishments, employees or owners information system of the establishments, challans monitoring system and common application like payroll. The committee also approved an IT plan for Labour Courts. It will be Rs.31.7 lakh. The modules will include generation of daily cause lists, classification of cases as per stages, judgment writing, storage and its retrieval and monthly statistical reports. Similarly, a Rs.97.12 lakh IT plan for urban development was approved. The IT plan for consumer disputes redressal system costing Rs 34.2 lakh will also be launched in a phased manner. The pollution control board will also introduce an IT plan at about Rs 92 lakh. The board will develop and maintain the back end of industrial portal and link it with the application software. The social beneficiaries schemes will include old age pension, handicapped pension, widow pension, financial aid to destitute children, kanyadan scheme. |
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IT ROUND-UP
Mumbai, June 1 These agreements included tasks such as application development, IT consultancy; infrastructure related service and awareness programs on Six Sigma quality standard. Patni Computers
Patni, one of the country’s top IT services company, today announced plans to set up its first development centre in Bangalore which would employ 1,100 persons. Positioned for growth, the company plans to increase its presence in the South, as currently its operations are concentrated in the western and northern regions.
AMD processors
Microprocessor company AMD today unveiled four new processors in the AMD Athlon 64 processor family, featuring enhanced virus protection capability for more secure business and consumer desktop computing.
— Agencies |
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Reliance mobile told to pay Rs 12,000 fine Jhajjar, June 1 According to information, Dr Ajay Khatri, resident of Jhajjar, took a Reliance mobile connection (number 373636) from Rohtak. After some time, he started receiving mobile bills of somebody instead of his own connection. He approached the company to rectify the error but to no avail. Later, the company disconnected his mobile connection stating that bills were pending against his name. Dr Khatri filed a complaint in the consumer forum against Reliance and the forum today directed the company to pay Rs 12,000 fine and Rs 1,000 as litigation charges to the subscriber. |
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Indian Airlines hikes fare
New Delhi, June 1 An
Indian Airlines spokesman said in view of continuing trend of increase
in fuel process, the domestic flag carrier will levy a fuel surcharge of
Rs 200 on international and domestic sectors forming part of an
international journey. He said the levy comes into force with immediate
effect. The fuel surcharge would also be applicable on child and infant
tickets as well as pre-paid ticket advice sold in India, the spokesman
said. However, fuel surcharge applicable on Indo-Sri Lanka and
Indo-Maldives sectors would be only Rs 150 per ticket, the spokesman
added. — PTI |
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Sydney-Mumbai flight from Sept 1
Sydney, June 1 Australian flag carrier Qantas has decided to resume direct flights between Sydney and India’s commercial capital Mumbai, Qantas Airways Ltd Marketing Head Rob Gurne said. Initially, the flights will operate thrice a week on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. “Depending on the number of passengers, Qantas may consider starting a flight to Delhi as well,” he said. — UNI |
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Oxfam hails G-20 proposals New Delhi, June 1 The proposals have been submitted in response to the demands made by the European Union (EU) and the USA at a recent meeting held in Paris. The G-20 had opposed the so-called “blended formula” proposed by the US in the run-up to the ministerial conference of Cancun. The blended formula would have allowed the EU and the US to keep their peak tariffs, while developing countries would have to open up their markets.  |
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CORPORATE NEWS
Kolkata, June 1 Hindustan Lever Network (HLN), the direct-selling arm of HLL, has recently launched a complete range of ready-to-eat food category under its ‘‘Indus Valley’’ brand to expand its presence in this segment, a company spokesman told PTI today. The product range in these categories include mutton and chicken biryani, mushroom and vegetable pulao and jeera rice in packs of 170 grams, he said. HLL entered the direct-selling market in 1999 through ‘‘Aviance’’ and launched HLN last year, the spokesman said, adding that it had expanded its network by over three times with about 2.5 lakh marketing personnel. HLL’s drive into the direct-selling segment comes at a time when the company is faced with stiff competition in the FMCG segment resulting in a 22.9 per cent dip in its net profit to Rs 294.88 crore in first quarter of the current year ended March 31. Orchid drugs in Canada
Orchid today announced that it had entered into an agreement with Canadian pharma company Apotex Inc for an exclusive supply and marketing arrangement in the Canadian market. Announcing this here today, Orchid Managing Director K. Raghavendra Rao said through this arrangement Apotex would market Orchid’s generic antibiotic injectible formulations in the Canadian market. Interestingly, Orchid had early last year tied up with Apotex Corp for the distribution of its generic antibiotic injectible formulation range in the US market. Under the exclusive agreement Orchid would supply the injectible antibiotic finished dosage forms, exclusively to Apotex, and Apotex would source them exclusively from Orchid for marketing in the territory.
HPCL to pay 160 pc
Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) has posted a net profit of Rs 527.05 crore for the quarter-ended March 31, 2004, as compared to Rs 634.12 crore for the quarter-ended March 31, 2003, a decrease of 16.88 per cent. HPCL said its total income has increased from Rs 13,896.94 crore in the MQ-03 to Rs 14,700.9 crore in the quarter-ended March 31, 2004. The board has recommended a final dividend of 160 per cent in addition to the interim dividend of 60 per cent paid during the year.
— Agencies |
bb
Global oil prices up
A-I surcharge
Airtel Jubilant Org Nike
Duke outlet BoB-NIC pact |
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