Shimla consumer fair from May 22
CHANDIGARH, May 19 — The CII is organising a consumer fair at The Mall (Rani Jhansi Park) in Shimla from May 22 to 25. The highlight of the exhibition will be the display of CBZ - the official motor cycle of the Cricket World Cup 1999.

American Express,Tata Finance plan jv
NEW DELHI, May 19 — Tata Finance Limited has entered into an alliance with American Express for promotion of money changing/foreign exchange services in India.

Sugar exports ‘difficult’
NEW DELHI, May 19 — Indian sugar industry today welcomed the government’s move to allow sugar exports but saw limited scope for shipments of value-added sugar from the country.

• Orient loss up four-fold
• ICI to pay 55 per cent
• ITC Agro loss rises

Pak devalues Re, scraps official rate

ISLAMABAD, May 19 (PTI) —(Pakistan has announced devaluation of its currency as part of the much-awaited unified foreign exchange rates system which is expected to benefit thousands of people whose foreign exchange accounts in Pakistani banks have been lying frozen for the past one year.

In a notification late yesterday, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) abolished the official exchange rate for foreign currencies and announced that the inter-bank floating rates would now apply to all foreign exchange transactions.

The move means that the official rate of Rs 46 to a us dollar has now been abolished and the inter-bank floating rate, which is hovering around Rs 50.50 to 51 to a us dollar will now apply to all foreign exchange transactions.

The new rupee rates will also be applicable for converting frozen foreign currency accounts into Pakistani rupee.

Pakistan had been following three exchange rates for the last one year as apart from the official rate and the inter-bank floating rate there was also a composite exchange rate which was a mixture of official rate and inter-bank rate.

The latest move is likely to lead to a hike in the prices of petroleum products and wheat, the import of which was allowed at the official rate of Rs 46 to a dollar till date.

Full convertibility of the Pakistani rupee is one of the major conditions of a package reached with the International Monetary Fund by the present government.

The abolition of the official rate will benefit holders of frozen foreign currency accounts as they can now withdraw their foreign exchange at more than 10 per cent higher rates.

Escorts pact to set up cardiac centre
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, May 19 — GE Medical Systems today signed an agreement with Escorts Heart Institute for setting up a cardiac screening centre.

The new centre is the first of its kind in Asia for early detection and preventive care of people with a high risk of cardiac disease.

As part of the agreement, Escorts will install two advanced cardiac imaging systems procured from GE Medical Systems.

The agreement was signed by Dr Naresh Trehan, Executive Director, Escorts Heart Institute, and Mr Jeffrey R. Immelt, President and CEO, GE Medical Systems.

Dr Trehan said: So far there has been no easy and non-invasive method to detect cardiac disease at a very early stage to enable more effective prevention of heart attacks. The new cardiac screening centre can help bring down the need for invasive procedures like angiography, major surgeries and other expensive treatment.

He said Rs 450 crore was spent on cardiac surgeries alone in India. The new techniques could control the rising incidence of heart diseases, save medical expenses and unburden the medical system.

Canara Bank plans contact programme

BANGALORE, May 19 (UNI) — Canara Bank today launched a contact programme providing an opportunity of direct contact with the Chairman and Managing Director of the bank of account holders through a bilingual questionnaire.

The questionnaire will give the account holders a chance to express their views along with other details related to the operation of the bank. Bank Chairman T. Sridharan said such contact would act as feedback for improving the services of the bank.

CHANDIGARH (TNS): Canara Bank’s branch in Sector 17 C has secured the ISO-9002 certification from the Bureau of Indian Standards.

The certificate was received by Mr M. Gokuldas, Deputy General Manager of the bank, from Mr D.R. Kohli, Deputy Director General, BIS, at a function here on Tuesday night.

The bank’s Sector 17 branch is the second after Bangalore to secure this distinction, said Mr Gokuldas.

The bank has a total of 2375 branches - 179 in the Chandigarh circle comprising, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal, J and K and Chandigarh.

Guided by Mr H.D. Pai, General Manager, the Sector 17 branch does a business of Rs 250 crore, has 20,000 customers and is fully computerised.

Shimla consumer fair from May 22
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, May 19 — The CII is organising a consumer fair at The Mall (Rani Jhansi Park) in Shimla from May 22 to 25. The highlight of the exhibition will be the display of CBZ - the official motor cycle of the Cricket World Cup 1999.

Products made in Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh will be the other highlights. Hyundai, Whirlpool, Nestle, Goodless Nerolac, Colgate, Palmolive and Clearline Applicances are some of the prominent exhibitors participating in the Shimla fair.

Over 25,000 Shimlaites and tourists are expected to visit the fair, which has now become an annual event said a CII statement here today.

Coinciding with the fair, the Himachal Tourism Department in collaboration with the CII is organising a live performance by Silk Route of Dooba Dooba and Boondein fame at the Ridge on May 22. The event is jointly sponsored by Hero Honda and Morepen. There is no entry fee.

A conference to explore possibilities of investment in Himachal, specially in the tourism and power sectors, will also be held on May 22.

Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal will inaugurate the conference and Ambassadors of Portugal, Japan, Pakistan and Austria are likely to attend the conference, besides representatives from Switzerland and Germany.

American Express,Tata Finance plan jv
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, May 19 — Tata Finance Limited has entered into an alliance with American Express for promotion of money changing/foreign exchange services in India.

A Letter of Intent (LoI) for this purpose has been signed between Tata Finance Limited and American Express Limited.According to the LoI, a joint venture company would be set up to market money changing/ foreign exchange services through a large number of co-branded outlets across the country by the year end.

“While the details of the joint venture company are being worked out and will get finalised shortly, the alliance will include dealing in foreign exchange services, money changing activities and sale of American Express Travellers cheques”, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Foreign Exchange Service, American Express, Mr Stephen Flett said.

Tata Finance Limited’s electronically connected network of over 75 offices spread across the country would provide the infrastructure for distribution of American Express’s foreign exchange products and services, Managing Director of Tata Finance, Mr Dilip Pendse said.

Sugar exports ‘difficult’

NEW DELHI, May 19 (PTI) — Indian sugar industry today welcomed the government’s move to allow sugar exports but saw limited scope for shipments of value-added sugar from the country.

“We are more concerned about preventing cheaper imports coming into the country,” National Federation for Cooperative Sugar Factories Managing Director M. S. Marathe told PTI.

The private sector felt India would not be able to do much on the exports front as global prices for sugar were lower.

Marathe said the cooperatives saw some scope for exporting value-added sugar like cubes and customer packs.

“But we will have to incur tremendous loss in exporting the allocated quota,” he said.

The Cabinet Committee on Prices (CCP) last night allowed exports of 25,000 tonnes of value-added sugar.

Asked about the likely loss the industry could incur on exports, Marathe said while the global price for sugar was around Rs 8,500 a tonne, domestic wholesale prices were around Rs 13,500 a tonne.

The Rs 5,000 a tonne gap would be too large to bridge, he said.

As per the sugar control system in the country, domestic millers have to give 40 per cent of their total production for the public distribution system (PDS) at a price determined by the government. The loss in supply of sugar to PDS is offset by selling free quota sale at a higher price.

Asked about the 30,000 tonnes of sugar being exported to European Union and the USA under a special quota, Marathe said the obligations were being met without any failure.

“We are exporting 10,000 tonnes of raw sugar and 10,000 tonnes of white sugar to the European Union. We also export 10,000 tonnes raw sugar to the USA”, he said.

ITC Agro loss rises

MUMBAI, May 19 (UNI) — Faced with poor edible oil prices, ITC Agro-Tech today announced a whopping 147 per cent rise in net loss to Rs 13.6 crore for the financial year 1998-99 (April-March) compared with a net loss of Rs 5.5 crore the previous year.

ITC Agro said that its sales for 1998-99 shot up 48 per cent to touch Rs 86.38 crore from Rs 58 crore in the previous year.

Its Sundrop brand of edible oil grew by over 27 per cent in volumes this year and its market share increased to 16.3 per cent this year up from 13.9 per cent at the end of March 1998, the release said.

ICI to pay 55 per cent

CALCUTTA, May 19 (UNI) — The Board of Directors of ICI India Limited has proposed a higher dividend of 55 per cent for 1998-99 compared with 50 per cent in 1997-98.

Company sources here today said after a board meeting that net profit during the year increased by 21.52 per cent to Rs 61.38 crore against Rs 50.51 crore in 1997-98.

Net sales during the year registered a growth of 16.77 per cent to Rs 833.33 crore compared with Rs 713.61 crore in the previous financial year while other income remained stable at Rs 39.31 crore (Rs 39.74 crore last year), sources added.

Total expenditure during the year increased to Rs 771.52 crore from Rs 645 crore and after making a provision of Rs 27.56 crore for interest (Rs 20.12 crore last year), gross profit came down to Rs 73.56 crore from Rs 88.23 crore in 1997-98, sources said.

Orient loss up four-fold

CALCUTTA, May 19 (UNI) — Orient Paper and Industries Limited has incurred a four-fold increase in net loss at Rs 72.37 crore during the financial year ended March 31, 1999 compared to Rs 14.40 crore in the previous fiscal.

Official sources here said after a board meeting in New Delhi that decline in other income and increase in interest during the year had adversely affected the performance while turnover remained stagnant at around last year’s level.

Forex
US $ Rs 42.73/74
Stg £ Rs 69.13/15
Euro Rs 45.45/47
Jap yen (100) Rs 34.32/34

UCO Bank
Tribune News Service
CHANDIGARH, May 19 — The UCO Bank organised a Hindi workshop for senior branch managers/branch managers and clerical staff of Haryana Region respectively here on May 17 and 18.

Kinetic care
NEW DELHI, May 19 (UNI) — Pune-based Kinetic Motor Company Limited has launched a separate service brand — ‘Kinetic Care’ — a collection of service initiatives to meet post-sale requirements.

Honda City
NEW DELHI, May 19 (PTI) — Honda Siel Cars India Ltd (HSCIL) today exported the first consignment of its Honda City cars to Sri Lanka, in a bid to achieve the export target of $ 1 million during the current fiscal year. The first 10 completely built units (CBU) of Honda City cars were flagged off here by the company President and CEO, T Fujisaki.