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GoM to fix PSU share prices for disinvestment
Oversubscribed, NTPC issue listing on Nov 5
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India, US ink power reform programme
Broadband Policy formulated
Petrol price likely to go up
Singapore firm taps India
Ind-Swift plans to raise Rs 35 crore
Rs 5-lakh Ford edition launched
Corporate briefs
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GoM to fix PSU share prices for disinvestment
New Delhi, October 14 Deputy Chairperson of Planning Commission will also be a member of the GoM. Briefing newspersons, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said the GoM would determine the price bands of shares of the PSUs that may be put up for disinvestments. All other matters will be decided by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs. Mr Chidambaram gave a rather cryptic reply on whether a consultative paper has been drafted on PSU disinvestment. “There is nothing in the Finance Ministry. But there may be something in the respective ministries,” he said. The Cabinet also decided to extend up to December 2004 the period of maintenance of buffer stock for sugar. The extension has been given on a retrospective basis, effective from December 18, 2003. Mr Chidambaram said the buffer assistance and additional credit received from banks against the stock has to be utilised for payment of cane price dues to the farmers. The government had created a buffer stock in December 2002 for one year when the cane price arrears were on the higher side, millers were facing problems of liquidity and stocks had piled up. The Government also announced a Rs 3,750-crore package for Bihar and three backward districts of Orissa. The package comes under the Rashtriya Sam Vikas Yojana. The continuation of the scheme was decided by the Cabinet Committee on Economic
affairs (CCEA) at its meeting yesterday. As per the package, Rs 1,000 crore would be allocated per annum for the Special Plan for Bihar for the remaining three years of the 10th five-year plan, Finance Minister P Chidambaram told mediapersons today. In addition, Rs 250 crore per annum would be allocated for the Special Plan for the undivided Kalahandi-Bolangir-Koraput (KBK) districts of Orissa during the remaining years of the 10th plan. At present there are three districts in place of undivided KBK district. The Cabinet has also approved for signing of air services agreement between India and Brazil. Under the new arrangement, both the countries shall have the right to designate one or more airlines for operating the services, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said here today. The decision was taken at the Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh yesterday. The Cabinet also approved the project Indus for prevention and elimination of child labour in the hazardous sectors. The project, prepared by the Ministry of Labour and Employment along with the US Department of Labour, will be working under the International Labour Organisation - International Programme for the elimination of Child Labour
(ILO-IPEC).
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Oversubscribed, NTPC issue listing on Nov 5
New Delhi, October 14 The exact price of the IPO, offered at a price band of Rs 52-62 through the book building route, will be fixed within two to three days, company CMD C P Jain told mediapersons here. Sources said the IPO, comprising 86,58,30,000 shares, was oversubscribed by over 11 per cent so far. The IPO was fully subscribed within a few minutes of its opening on October 7. The shares will be listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange. Most of the subscription has come from overseas investors. Mr Jain said subscription by overseas investors speaks of their faith in the country’s power sector, particularly the NTPC. Half of the total issue comprises fresh issuance of equity while the rest is offloading of the Government stake by little over 5 per cent. Post issue, the equity capital of NTPC is expected to increase from Rs 7,813 crore to Rs 8,245 crore. ICICI Securities Ltd, Enam Financial Consultants Pvt Ltd and Kotak Mahindra Capital Company Ltd are the book running lead managers to the mega issue. The issue would raise Rs 5,386 crore at the top end of the price band, making it the second-largest IPO in the Indian capital market history. —
UNI
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India, US ink power reform programme
New Delhi, October 14 As one element of the drum beat, American and Indian counterparts will examine the US experience in rural electrification and tailor it to India’s context, said Power Secretary R. V. Shahi, who inaugurated the function to mark the launching of the initiative, said. Demonstrating commercially viable and accountable distribution utilities is the focus of the work, Mr Shahi. “We are partnering with the Union Government to demonstrate that commercially viable power utilities are the key to meeting consumer needs and expanding supply,” US Ambassador David C. Mulford said. Drum will establish pilot electricity distribution projects in select areas to test out approaches, design alternative financing schemes to find upgrades and expansion, train utility staff at all levels in engineering techniques and customer service to cut current losses in the system and link water conservation with higher quality power services for agricultural and residential customers. An agreement to this effect was signed between The Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) and the US Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS).
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Broadband Policy formulated
New Delhi, October 14 The prime consideration guiding the policy includes affordability and reliability of Broadband services, incentives for creation of additional infrastructure, employment opportunities, induction of latest technologies, national security and bring in competitive environment so as to reduce regulatory interventions, Mr Maran said. Broadband has been defined as an always-on data connection supporting interactive services including Internet access with minimum download speed of 256 kbps per subscriber. The service providers are encouraged to select technologies and equipments offering higher data rate. The new broadband policy aims to target three million broadband subscribers and six million Internet subscribers with a timeframe of December 2005. By the end of year 2010, the policy aims to target 20 million broadband subscribers and 40 million Internet subscribers. The new policy encourages creation and growth of infrastructure through various access technologies which can mutually co-exist like optical fibre technologies, digital subscriber lines on copper loop, cable TV network, satellite and terrestrial wireless technologies. The choice is left to the service provider. By this new policy, the Government intends to make available transponder capacity for VSAT services at competitive rates after taking into consideration the security requirements. The Department of Telecom, in consultation with the concerned Ministries, will soon propose additional measures with regard to Open Sky Policy for VSAT operators. VSAT operators would be closely associated while determining the transponder usage charges, the Minister said. The service providers shall be permitted to enter into franchisee agreement with cable TV network operators. However, the Licensee shall be responsible for compliance of the terms and conditions of the licence.
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Thermal plant stone laid
Yamunanagar, October 14 Addressing a well-attended public gathering, Mr Chautala claimed that the late Chaudhary Devi Lal conceived the thermal plant but the project could not take off because of the Congress government at the Centre. According to him the then Central government (of Congress) on March 28,1993 had written to the state government that there were no funds for the plant. “The letter is in file and Congress people are welcome to see it”, said the Chief Minister. Senior officials of Reliance Energy Limited, including its Director S.S Gupta, were present on the occasion. The thermal plant is expected to provide direct employment to about 4,500 persons. Reliance Energy bagged the Rs 2,097 crore turnkey EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) contract in a competitive bid awarded on September 30. The first unit of the project would be commissioned by March 2007.
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Petrol price likely to go up
New Delhi, October 14 Talking to reporters, he said, “The oil marketing companies will let you know the decision (to change prices or to keep them unchanged) by the scheduled time of announcement tomorrow evening.” Public-sector oil companies have demanded a Rs 1.60 per litre increase in diesel prices and Rs 0.65 per litre hike in petrol prices in step with the surge in international oil prices that have breached the $ 54 a barrel mark. They have claimed that they had suffered losses worth over Rs 3,000 crore during the past three months due to the hike in international crude oil prices.
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Singapore firm taps India
Ludhiana, October 14 Mr Shaily Grover, managing director, Osim India, says the company had earmarked a budget of Rs 25 crore to set up over 50 outlets across the country in three years. While two outlets have already been opened in Delhi, by the end of this year, the company plans one outlet each in Ludhiana and Kolkata, two in Bangalore and two more in Delhi, he discloses. One of the Singapore’s most popular homegrown brands, the company’s products range from massage chairs to warm air turbos. The company, which is present in over 20 countries offers products in the price range between Rs 250 and Rs 2.69 lakh. “We are not merely selling these products. Our idea is to convey that health is an attitude towards life. So why not go in for products that give you better health and happier life,” he says.
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Ind-Swift plans to raise Rs 35 crore
Chandigarh, October 14 The board of directors of Ind Swift will meet on October 26 to consider the preferential issue afresh. The company is currently focusing on contract research and manufacturing services (Crams) and hopes to generate 40 to 45 per cent of its business from this business within the next 2 to 3 years. Sources say the company plans a higher preferential issue as it requires more money to fund its expansion plans. These include setting up a new research and development centre, setting up a new facility for manufacturing a new active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) as well as expand the existing capacities. The company is also in the process of finalising a deal with two generic pharmaceutical companies for the manufacture of statins (cholesterol-busting drugs) which is likely to be finalised by the end of next month.
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Rs 5-lakh Ford edition launched
Chennai, October 14 The sale of Ford Ikon cars during the first nine months of this year has gone up by 40 per cent with the company selling 18,000 cars, Mr Vinay
Piparsania, Vice-President Marketing, Ford India, said here today. Mr David Friedman, President, Ford India Limited, said, “The projected sale of Ford Ikon this year is 27,000 cars.” Popularly known as the “Josh Machine”, the Ford
Ikon, launched in October 1999, is today India’s leading mid-size car with over 190,000 units sold, including exports, he said. The company plans to grow from 90 dealer outlets in 71 cities in 2003 to 105 dealer outlets in 86 cities by the end of 2004.
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iGate earns Rs 3.04 cr profit
Bangalore, October 14 Hero Honda Hero Honda Motors today said its profit went up by 24.1 per cent at Rs 194.36 crore during the second quarter of this fiscal over Rs 156.55 crore during the year-ago period. Net sales soared 39.3 per cent at Rs 1,757.1 crore during July-September 2004 over Rs 1,261 crore during the same period last year, a company statement said. UTI Bank UTI Bank today reported a 27.98 per cent fall in the net profit for the second quarter ended September 30, 2004, at Rs 46.22 crore as against Rs 64.18 crore registered for the same period during the previous year. Total income for the July-September quarter decreased to Rs 445.72 crore as compared to 543.79 crore in the corresponding period of 2003-04, the bank informed BSE. — TNS, PTI
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Crude prices HDFC Bank Dividend Ashok Leyland
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