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B U S I N E S S

EPFO consultant moots investment in private debt instruments
New Delhi, August 2
Setting up an investment department in the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) and putting money in private sector debt instruments are the main recommendations of a consultant appointed to suggest investment options to the PF authority.

Mittal must ‘make offer’ for Arcelor Brasil 
Sao Paulo (Brazil), August 2
Mittal Steel Co. NV must make an offer to buy out shareholders of a Brazilian division of Arcelor SA as part of their blockbuster steel company merger, Brazilian regulators ruled , in a side deal that analysts have said could raise the cost of the $31.9 billion combination by another $5 billion.

India to help Myanmar build infrastructure 
New Delhi, August 2
Sensing the importance of strategic relations with its neighbour Myanmar, now actively wooed by the Chinese, India has decided to offer a helping hand in building its infrastructure.

Govt to set up 11 software parks 
New Delhi, August 2
India is likely to cross 25 crore telephone connections by the end of next year as the government has set a target of having 250 million users with a teledensity of around 22 per cent.

Banks increase interest rates on term deposits 
Chandigarh, August 2
In order to increase liquidity cover through fixed deposits, most of the private sector and public sector banks have increased their rate of interest by up to 1 per cent. As against interest rates hovering at around 7 per cent, a number of banks have increased these to anything between 7.5 to 8.5 per cent now.

Andhra Bank ups lending rate
Hyderabad, August 2
Andhra Bank today announced an upward revision of its benchmark prime lending rate (BPLR) by 50 basis points.


 

A model showcases Columbian design jewellery as part of the Hyderabad International Gems and Jewellery exposition in Hyderabad
A model showcases Columbian design jewellery as part of the Hyderabad International Gems and Jewellery exposition in Hyderabad on Wednesday. — PTI

 

SAP to invest $1 b in India
New Delhi, August 2
With designs to make India its research and development hub, German software major SAP AG announced today it would invest $1 billion (nearly Rs 4,500 crore) and double headcount in the country over the next five years, SAP CEO Henning Kagermann said here.
Indian actress Deepika Padukone poses for photographers at a press launch in Mumbai
Indian actress Deepika Padukone poses for photographers at a press launch in Mumbai on Wednesday after she was introduced into the international dream team of cosmetic brand Maybelline New York. Maybelline New York's international dream team is represented by a range of multi-ethnic models from across the world. In India, Maybelline New York has launched its latest and most innovative products suitable for Indian complexion. — AFP

Rare honour for Tata group
New Delhi, August 2
The Tata group has become the only Indian entity to feature among the top 20 companies worldwide in the 9th annual Global Most Admired Knowledge Enterprises (MAKE) study.

Hutch-Essar spat reaches Bombay HC
New Delhi, August 2
Even as Hutch moved the court against Essar's notice terminating a deal to sell BPL Mobile (Mumbai) to their joint venture Hutchison- Essar, the DoT today made it clear that its approval was not required for the merger.

Bangladesh investment proposal on, says Tata
Mumbai, August 2
Close on the heels of the Asian Development Bank asking Bangladesh to consider the Tatas’ $3 billion investment, the group said “our proposal is in front of the Bangladesh Government.

Sri Lankan MNC shifts base to India
Bangalore, August 2
Shifting its base to India, Sri Lankan multinational company, Brandix International, in association with the Andhra Pradesh Government, has decided to set up an apparel park in Visakhapatnam by investing $3 billion in the next three years.

Wipro, Motorola to invest $20 m in joint venture
Mumbai, August 2
Wipro and Motorola Inc. will jointly invest $20 million (Rs 92 crore) over the next three years in their newly formed joint venture for outsourced telecom services.

ony lauches its first 10 MP digital single-lens reflex (D-SLR) camera, Alpha 100, in Mumbai
Sony lauches its first 10 MP digital single-lens reflex (D-SLR) camera, Alpha 100, in Mumbai on Wednesday. The model has a super steadyshot anti-shake function which prevents blurry pictures caused by inevitable hand and body movements. The A100 model will be available for Rs 54,990 while A 100K and A100W will cost Rs 64,990 and Rs 74,990, respectively. — PTI

RIL-RNRL gas deal could have cost govt $7.5 b
New Delhi, August 2
The government would have lost about $7.5 billion (Rs 34,500 crore) in revenues if it had let Mukesh Ambani-managed Reliance Industries sell natural gas to brother Anil's group company at a price not discovered through competitive bidding, an official said today.

Oriental Insurance pays dividend
New Delhi, August 2
Oriental Insurance Company Ltd. today declared 50 per cent dividend and paid it to the Government of India.

CORPORATE RESULTS
Mphasis BFL Q1 net dips 29.74 pc 

Mumbai, August 2
IT services provider Mphasis BFL Ltd has reported a 29.74 per cent decline in net profit at Rs 10.65 crore for the quarter ended June 30 as compared to Rs 15.16 crore for the corresponding quarter in 2005-06.

 

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EPFO consultant moots investment
in private debt instruments

New Delhi, August 2
Setting up an investment department in the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) and putting money in private sector debt instruments are the main recommendations of a consultant appointed to suggest investment options to the PF authority.

The recommendations, made by Mercer Human Resource Consulting, also include the removal of existing limits prescribed in the case of public sector undertaking/public sector financial institutions securities and the removal of mandatory requirement in state government securities to increase flexibility.

Giving this information in the Rajya Sabha today, Minister of State for Labour and Employment Chandra Sekhar Sahu said the consultant had also suggested increasing the maximum maturity for deposits with public sector banks from one year to three years and permitting active management of portfolio through trading.

Mr Sahu said that the total investment made by the EPFO in 2005-06 was Rs 20648.58 crore while the total return earned stood at Rs 12936.16 crore.

The total corpus of the EPFO as on March 31 this year was Rs 166106.48 crore.

Meanwhile, in reply to another query, Sahu told the House that an amount of Rs 877.76 crore was lying in the unclaimed deposit account of the EPFO as on March 31, 2005.— PTI 

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Mittal must ‘make offer’ for Arcelor Brasil 

Sao Paulo (Brazil), August 2
Mittal Steel Co. NV must make an offer to buy out shareholders of a Brazilian division of Arcelor SA as part of their blockbuster steel company merger, Brazilian regulators ruled , in a side deal that analysts have said could raise the cost of the $31.9 billion combination by another $5 billion.

Minority shareholders of Arcelor Brasil SA, which trades as a separate company on the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange, had asked the Brazilian Security and Exchange Commission to rule on the issue after Mittal said it didn’t plan to offer a buyout.

Luxembourg-based Arcelor and Mittal are trying to create a steel titan with close to 10 per cent of the global production that will save the combined operations some $1.6 billion.

Mittal warned last month that its decision not to make an offer for Arcelor Brasil SA and Acesita SA could be challenged by Brazilian regulators or the units’ minority shareholders, but believed its position was in line with Brazilian law.

Brazilian regulators ruled that Mittal must make an offer for Arcelor, but not for Acesita.

Mittal and Arcelor must also resolve the fate of Canadian steel-maker Dofasco Inc.

Regulators had been trying to determine whether the tie-up represents a change in control of Arcelor Brasil. Arcelor Brasil told regulators there would be no change in control.— AP

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India to help Myanmar build infrastructure 
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 2
Sensing the importance of strategic relations with its neighbour Myanmar, now actively wooed by the Chinese, India has decided to offer a helping hand in building its infrastructure.

“The government has decided to take up the Kaladan multi-modal project (KMMP) and the Tamu Kalewa-Kalemyo road project (TKKRP) in Myanmar for improving the connectivity between Indian ports on the eastern coast and Sittwe port in Myanmar,” Minister of State for External Affairs E Ahamed informed the Lok Sabha today. He, however, denied that there was any proposal for re-opening Stilwell road for commercial use with Myanmar and China.

The project is estimated to cost around $105.4 million. The Indian contribution will be $95.4 million.

Mr Ahamed said the government was also proposing to extend a credit line of $10 million to Myanmar to help meet its contribution in the project.

Regarding the re-opening of Stilwell road for commercial use with Myanmar and China, the minister said the government was considering the commissioning of a pre-feasibility study on the matter of reopening of the road.

In response to another question on the opening of a Consulate in Lahore and setting up of a trade mission in Yatung in China following the opening of Nathu la border, Mr Ahamed said there was no such proposal. 

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Govt to set up 11 software parks 
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 2
India is likely to cross 25 crore telephone connections by the end of next year as the government has set a target of having 250 million users with a teledensity of around 22 per cent.

Meanwhile, IT and Communication Minister Dayanidhi Maran today informed the Lok Sabha that the government would set up 11 new Software Technology Parks in Bhopal and Gwalior, Patna, Haldia Berhampur (Orissa), Kakinada (Andhra Pradesh), Agra , Goa, Shillong (Meghalaya), Agartala and Gulbarga (Karnataka).

At present there are 47 software parks in 21 states, including, Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Manipur and Maharashtra.

According to Mr Maran, the total value of exports by the software parks in the last three years was Rs 1,00,965 crore (2005-06), Rs 74,019 crore (2004-05) and Rs 51,458 crore (2003-04).

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Banks increase interest rates on term deposits 
Ruchika M. Khanna
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 2
In order to increase liquidity cover through fixed deposits, most of the private sector and public sector banks have increased their rate of interest by up to 1 per cent. As against interest rates hovering at around 7 per cent, a number of banks have increased these to anything between 7.5 to 8.5 per cent now.

During the past one week, the Union Bank of India has come up with an offer "double your income", wherein they are offering 8 per cent per annum interest (on deposits for eight years and nine months). The State Bank of Patiala is now offering 8.5 per cent rate of interest for senior citizens (for six year deposits), while ICICI bank has increased its rate of interest to 8 per cent (for 13 months). Yes Bank, too, has increased its interest rates to 8 per cent (on deposits for 10 months).

The offer has come at a time when the banks are facing scarcity of resources because of the huge credit expansion witnessed in the Indian economy. With the rising income allowing banks to borrow more, the recent hike in interest rates on credit are unlikely to deter the consumers from taking fresh loans for houses, cars and other consumer goods.

Sources in the banking sector informed TNS that the postal deposits during this financial year had increased by 11. 7 per cent, as compared to 23 per cent in the corresponding period last year. On the other hand, bank deposits had increased by 20.7 per cent this fiscal as compared to an increase of 14. 9 percent in the corresponding period last year.

The volatile share market means that banks are unlikely to raise their capital from the open market. The banks have now decided to raise the rate of interest on fixed deposits, and thus attract more deposits to maintain their balance sheets. 

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Andhra Bank ups lending rate

Hyderabad, August 2
Andhra Bank today announced an upward revision of its benchmark prime lending rate (BPLR) by 50 basis points.

The BPLR will now be 11.50 per cent and would be the reference rate for all loans and advances with limits above Rs 2 lakh. The revision comes into effect from today, a bank release here said. — UNI

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SAP to invest $1 b in India

New Delhi, August 2
With designs to make India its research and development hub, German software major SAP AG announced today it would invest $1 billion (nearly Rs 4,500 crore) and double headcount in the country over the next five years, SAP CEO Henning Kagermann said here.

The company had already invested half-a-billion dollars so far in India, where it has two centres in operation — SAP Labs and SAP India.

He said the company would increase the headcount in India to 4,000 by year-end and hoped to double the number over the next five years.

Earlier in the day, he inaugurated the company’s new office in Gurgaon, which will operate as a new centre of excellence for catering to customer requirements in India.

SAP India, a leading enterprise software solutions company which completed a decade of operations in India this year, had empowered over 1,050 Indian companies.

SAP Labs India, which has facilities in Bangalore and Gurgaon, was the company’s second largest R&D and global services and support centre. The company’s expansion in Gurgaon was in line with increasing its presence in North India.— PTI

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Rare honour for Tata group

New Delhi, August 2
The Tata group has become the only Indian entity to feature among the top 20 companies worldwide in the 9th annual Global Most Admired Knowledge Enterprises (MAKE) study.

The Tata group has been recognised in the 2006 Global MAKE study — international benchmark for best practice knowledge organisations — for developing knowledge workers through senior management leadership.

“This award is a matter of great satisfaction for the Tata group. Innovation and speed have become the key differentiators in the market place and improvements in knowledge management processes in our companies are central to their being innovative and nimble footed,” Tata Sons Chairman Ratan Tata said. This is the first time that the group has been recognized as a Global MAKE Winner.

The company is one of the six winners from Asia. Toyota Motor Corporation leads the list of international corporate giants as the Overall Winner in this study for 2006.

The others that feature in the Top 20 include global giants like Accenture, Apple Computer, BHP Billiton, Buckman Laboratories, Dell, Ernst & Young, Fluor, Google, Hewlett- Packard, Honda Motor, McKinsey & Company, Microsoft, Novo Nordisk, Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Samsung group, Sony, 3M, Toyota and Unilever.

“These organisations have been recognised as global leaders in effectively transforming enterprise knowledge into wealth. They are building portfolios of intellectual capital and intangible assets, which will enable them to out-perform their competitors,” Teleos Managing Director Rory Chase said. Teleos administers the MAKE programme.— PTI 

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Hutch-Essar spat reaches Bombay HC

New Delhi, August 2
Even as Hutch moved the court against Essar's notice terminating a deal to sell BPL Mobile (Mumbai) to their joint venture Hutchison- Essar, the DoT today made it clear that its approval was not required for the merger.

Essar Teleholdings, the Indian partner in Hutchison-Essar, had yesterday called off the sale of BPL Mobile (Mumbai) to the JV citing absence of necessary approvals by the July 31 deadline for completing the share-purchase agreement.

However, Hutch has moved the Bombay High Court challenging the termination notice sent by Essar.

"If both the parties have gone to the court, it is amply clear that it is an internal dispute between them. Where is DoT in the picture," a senior DoT official said.

Meanwhile, the Bombay High Court has posted for hearing tomorrow the petition filed by Hutch, challenging the termination notice served to it by joint-venture partner Essar over the merger of BPL Mobile (Mumbai circle) into Hutchison-Essar.— PTI

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Bangladesh investment proposal on, says Tata

Mumbai, August 2
Close on the heels of the Asian Development Bank asking Bangladesh to consider the Tatas’ $3 billion investment, the group said “our proposal is in front of the Bangladesh Government.

The World Bank as well as the Asian Development Bank have given their support to it. The project is still under consideration,” Tata group Chairman Ratan Tata said here.

Addressing the 87th annual general meeting of Tata Power, he said it is a matter for the political parties there to clear the proposal.

ADB country Director Hua Duto last week said the (Bangladesh) Government had to consider the proposal.

The Tatas have proposed a 2.4 million tonne steel plant, a urea fertiliser factory with one million tonne capacity, a 500 MW coal-fired power station and a 1,000 MW gas-fired power plant in Bangladesh and even offered equity to that government.
— PTI 

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Sri Lankan MNC shifts base to India

Bangalore, August 2
Shifting its base to India, Sri Lankan multinational company, Brandix International, in association with the Andhra Pradesh Government, has decided to set up an apparel park in Visakhapatnam by investing $3 billion in the next three years.

Company CEO Shantha Kurumbalapitiya said here today the company had chosen India for its growing economy and predicted that India would become the second largest player in the apparel industry in the next few years.

He said the proposed apparel park would come up in an area of 1,000 acres in the export processing zone. It would be a major sourcing centre for apparels and was expected to generate employment opportunities for 60,000 persons. — UNI

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Wipro, Motorola to invest $20 m in joint venture

Mumbai, August 2
Wipro and Motorola Inc. will jointly invest $20 million (Rs 92 crore) over the next three years in their newly formed joint venture for outsourced telecom services.

The investment will be in tools and technology and the company is expected to start generating revenues by the third quarter of this fiscal, Wipro Chief Operating Officer A. L. Rao said here today.

“The company will be headquartered in Europe and will have two offices in India — in Bangalore and Delhi. Wipro will have a majority stake and the joint venture is aimed at tapping the large- scale outsourcing in network and communication space,” he said, adding that the venture would be operational by this month-end.

The company is targeting $8-10 billion outsourced telecom services market worldwide, which is expected to touch $48 billion over the next five years.

The network operations centre of the company will be based in Delhi.— PTI

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RIL-RNRL gas deal could have cost govt $7.5 b

New Delhi, August 2
The government would have lost about $7.5 billion (Rs 34,500 crore) in revenues if it had let Mukesh Ambani-managed Reliance Industries sell natural gas to brother Anil's group company at a price not discovered through competitive bidding, an official said today.

At $2.34 per million British thermal unit (mBtu), the price at which RIL proposed to sell 28 million standard cubic metres per day of gas to RNRL, the government would have got $1.105 billion in profit petroleum and royalties over the 17-year life of the gas field in Krishna Godavari basin.

But at $4.75 per mBtu, the price at which RIL currently sells gas from Panna/Mukta and Tapti fields, public exchequer would have got $8.55 billion in royalties and profit petroleum (government's share in output), he said.

"Clearly the difference is too huge... public exchequer cannot subsidise private deals," the official said. — PTI

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Oriental Insurance pays dividend

New Delhi, August 2
Oriental Insurance Company Ltd. today declared 50 per cent dividend and paid it to the Government of India.

The dividend cheque of Rs 50 crore was presented to Finance Minister P. Chidambaram by the Chairman-cum-Managing Director of Oriental Insurance M. Ramadoss. — TNS

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CORPORATE RESULTS
Mphasis BFL Q1 net dips 29.74 pc 

Mumbai, August 2
IT services provider Mphasis BFL Ltd has reported a 29.74 per cent decline in net profit at Rs 10.65 crore for the quarter ended June 30 as compared to Rs 15.16 crore for the corresponding quarter in 2005-06.

However, the total income rose 28.36 per cent to Rs 111.37 crore for the first quarter in 2006-07 from Rs 86.76 crore in Q1 FY 05-06, the Bangalore-based company said.

The group posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 15.16 crore in the April-June quarter as compared to Rs 33.69 crore in the same period a year-ago.

The consolidated total income of the group stood at Rs 263.65 crore in Q1 FY 06-07 as against Rs 225.35 crore during Q1 FY 05-06.

Indraprastha Gas

Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL), the sole supplier of CNG and piped natural gas (PNG) in the national capital territory of Delhi has registered overall growth of 37% in PAT in the first quarter. The company’s net profit for the quarter ended June 30 increased to Rs. 27.63 crore as against Rs. 20.24 crore in the corresponding period last year.

Patni Computer

Patni Computer Systems Ltd (Patni) has incurred a loss of Rs 14.69 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2006 compared to a profit of Rs 62.14 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

Announcing the results, the company said its total income in the quarter ended June 30, 2006 adjusted for additional provisions is $16.7 million.

The revenue of the group has increased by 38.69 per cent to Rs 656.06 crore from Rs 473.02 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

Operating profit rose to Rs 111.07 crore for the quarter under consideration compared to Rs 66.27 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

VIP Q1 PAT down

Luggage manufacturer VIP Industries Limited’s net profit has declined 20.26 per cent at Rs 4.17 crore for the quarter ended June 30, as against Rs 5.23 crore in the same period last year with the sales increasing by 10 per cent to stand at Rs 103.89 crore.

The company has attributed the reduction in profits to the major advertising campaign in the first quarter of this year and also to start-up costs of the new plant in Haridwar.

Uco Bank net jumps

Uco Bank has registered a jump of 36 per cent in its net profit at Rs 61.50 crore for the quarter ended June 30, as against Rs 45 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal.

The bank’s total income rose 23 per cent at Rs 1,336 crore from 1,084 crore in the same period last fiscal, the bank said in a release here today.

Its interest income grew 22.18 per cent during the quarter at Rs 1,223 crore as against Rs 1,001 crore in the quarter ended June last year.

The bank’s deposits increased 17.60 per cent at Rs 55,595 crore as against Rs 47,277 crore while advances were up 29.02 per cent at Rs 37,014 crore as against Rs 28,687 crore in corresponding period of last fiscal.

JK Cement net zooms

J K Cement has registered 843 per cent rise in its net profit for the quarter ended June 30, 2006, to Rs 33 crore from Rs 3.5 crore in the corresponding quarter last fiscal. The company said its total income has increased by 39.3 per cent to Rs 280.2 crore for the quarter compared with Rs 201.1 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

Net sales (net of excise) stand at Rs 279.5 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2006, compared with Rs 200.3 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.  
Agencies

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BRIEFLY

BHEL to set up 490-MW plant for NTPC
New Delhi, August 2
BHEL has secured a major contract from NTPC for setting up the first 490-MW unit at its National Capital Thermal Power Project (NCTPP), Stage-II, at Dadri in UP.

The project is slated for commissioning in fiscal 2009-10. BHEL has earlier supplied and commissioned boilers and steam turbine generators for the 4x210 MW Stage-I of NCTPP, Dadri, and was also associated with NTPC’s 817-MW combined cycle power project at the same location. —TNS

Desktop PC
Bangalore, August 2
Acer India has launched Acer Power 330 series PC, based on Intel’s latest Pentium 4 processor with hyper-threading technology. With system memory of 128 MB DDR RAM, upgradeable to two GB and storage capacity of 40 GB HDD hard drive @ 5400 RPM, the Acer Power 330 has an integrated 10/100 Network Integrated Card (NIC), 52 x CD ROM, PS/2 Acer Black 104 Keys Keyboard, black PS/2 Optical Mouse, multiple ports, a 15” CRT black monitor and on board sound and graphics, the company said. The PC is priced at Rs 17,999 with a one- year onsite warranty.  
— PTI

Ashok Leyland
Mumbai, August 2
Ashok Leyland, the second largest commercial vehicle maker, plans to set up a bus body building facility in West Asia and another one at its manufacturing facility at Alwar in Rajasthan. The company said it would set up manufacturing installations for its bus body at its facility in Alwar, Rajasthan, while the other location was yet to be decided. Meanwhile, the shareholders have approved the raising $150 million (about Rs 700 crore). — UNI 

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