Saturday, November 6, 1999
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B U S I N E S S | Saturday, November 6, 1999 |
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SBI plans foray into
insurance |
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Revision of WPI base suggested Chandigarh to host Texcon '99 New policy on food processing soon SBI signs agreement with Haryana
corporation Essar, IOC sign pact Award for Chhabra |
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SBI plans foray into insurance NEW DELHI, Nov 5 (UNI) — Well on a road to privatisation through RBI reducing stake below 51 per cent, the State Bank of India today announced its plans to enter the insurance sector along with a foreign joint venture partner. Chairman and Managing Director G.G. Vaidya said the SBI is working on a multi-pronged strategy for becoming a private bank through RBI rights renunciation and emerging as a leading player in the insurance sector set to open for competition. The privatisation plan would soon be placed before the Government as the latter has given enough indications of its inability to bring in additional funds for meeting the capital adequacy ratio of the bank of the size of the SBI. “I have a CAR of 12.51 per cent but a bank of our size should not go below 12 per cent. So naturally, I will need additional equity and by all indications the Government is not coming to finance the increasing requirement”, Mr Vaidya said after signing a Rs 750-crore term loan for the National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd. The agreement was signed with the NTPC Chairman Rajendra Singh. Unlike in other banks, the Government has a holding in SBI through RBI which in turn has a 59.74 stake in it. For privatising the bank, the government would need to amend the SBI Act which provides that the government holding cannot be less than 55 per cent and the foreign holding more than 20 per cent. Banking Secretary Devi Dayal had said recently that the government has drawn a blueprint for privatising the public sector banks. Mr Vaidya said he would propose an increase in the foreign equity CAP from 20 to 30 per cent. SBI’s forays into insurance would be through a joint venture with a foreign partner. It would be an independent joint venture with a foreign partner getting a 26 per cent equity at a premium for the bank’s brand equity, Mr Vaidya said. Mr Vaidya said SBI would also work for merger of its seven associate banks since “there is no future for the small banks”. He would discuss the proposal with the unions to seek their support.However, the bank’s privatisation plan would not await its merger with the associate banks. For forays into
insurance, SBI is in the process of shortlisting
consultants who help it select a foreign partner.
“We will soon select a consultant”. The bank
plans to enter the Life Insurance “since we have
synergies with the Life Insurance business”. Between
500 and 2000 specific branches will be identified for the
insurance business.” The selection of these branches
will be on the basis of business potential”, SBI
Chief said. |
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NEW DELHI, Nov 5 (UNI) — SBI ruling out any cut in the interest rates, it became certain today the interest rate regime would remain unchanged even after RBI pumped in extra liquidity into the system. “I am ruling out
any interest rate cut at least for the next two months
after which it will depend on the demand-supply” SBI
Chairman G.G Vaidya told reporters here today. Mr Vaidya
said in the same breath that the demand for credit is
looking up and would continue to firm up with industrial
recovery. |
SC notice to Centre on TRAI power NEW DELHI, Nov 5 (PTI) — The Supreme Court today issued notices to the Centre and Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on a petition challenging the Delhi High Court decision that the regulatory body had no power to issue directives to the government in its role as service provider. A Division Bench comprising Justice S.P. Kurdukar and Justice R.P. Sethi issued the notices after hearing brief arguments advanced by Senior Advocate Gopal Subramaniam on behalf of petitioner Matrix Paging (I) Pvt Ltd. The question of law raised by the petitioner was “whether definition of ‘service provider’ as per section 2 (J) of the TRAI Act includes Government as a Constitutional entity and licensor or is it limited to only that of department of the government which renders the service”. A Division Bench of the High Court on October 12 had upheld the ruling of its Single Judge Bench and said: “The licensing authority i.e. the Central Government while exercising the power to grant licence under Section 4 of the Indian Telecom Act is not bound to seek recommendation of TRAI.” The High Court had said “licensing powers of the Government are statutory powers which cannot be allowed to be impliedly interfered or subjugated to another authority.” The High Court had also said that it was unable to read anything in the relevant provisions of the TRAI Act which could permit the Authority to give directions in discharge of functions under Section 11(1) of the Act to the Government in its role as a licensor. The power of granting licence had been given to the Government under a statute and “it is the Government which alone could enjoy this power,” the court held. Rejecting arguments of the appellants that the Government as service provider had to abide by the direction of TRAI, the court said “there is clear distinction between the government as service provider and the licensor.” It said “the entire
scheme of the Act is such that this was never intended to
be so. Rather it is the Government which is empowered to
give direction to TRAI under the Act,” the court
said. |
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MADURAI, Nov 5 (PTI) — Madurai Telecom is introducing for the first time in the country a new Internet facility — “Internet for all” that will enable any person having telephone access and requisite hardware (personal computer with modem) to get internet access. To get access to the Internet under the new facility, there is no need for either registration, obtaining user name and password or authentication by the node. The subscriber would pay according to usage without the fear of lapse of registration due to time limits. There is no need for initial lumpsum payment for 100 hours etc. plus detailed billing facility. The Internet user need
not wait for obtaining user name and password, and
browsing time is unlimited with secured accessing. |
Revision
of WPI base suggested NEW DELHI, Nov 5 — A working group for the revision of the wholesale price index has recommended that the base of the WPI should be revised to 1993-94, to keep it in tune with the changed structure of economy which underwent a major change in the nineties. The working group headed by the Planning Commission Member, Prof S.R. Hashim, presented the report on the Revision of WPI to the Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Murasoli Maran, here today. The current series with base year 1981-82 was revised in 1989. The WPI is released every week by the Office of the Economic Adviser to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. A number of new items have been included in the new index and a number of earlier items dropped. The weights assigned to different items has also undergone change reflecting the changing structure of the economy. The proposed weights of the four major groups in the two indices are: Primary articles 22.02 (1993-94 is equal to 100), fuel power, light and lubricants 14.23 and manufactured items 63.75. The existing weights for the four major groups are 32.29, 10.66 and 57.01 respectively. The revised basket of items contains 435 items for which price quotations will be obtained from sources dispersed throughout the country. The working group has
also recommended a Standing Committee to advise on change
in the items and sources of data as and when such changes
become imminent. This has been recommended to enable
faster adjustment to the changes taking place in the
economy. |
Chandigarh
to host Texcon '99 CHANDIGARH, Nov 5 — For the first time, Chandigarh will host a five-day international textile conference titled Texcon ‘99 being organised by the CII from December 2 to 4. Addressing a press conference here, Mr S.P. Oswal, who is Chairman of Texcon’99, said six technology seminars will be held covering various aspects of knitting, spinning, weaving, garmenting and processing. Mr Oswal called for dereservation of knitting and garmenting sectors to make the textile industry globally competitive. He said the Government must put an end to discriminatory tax policies for the composite and processing sectors. Welcoming technology upgradation fund set up for the textile industry, Mr Oswal hoped it would help textile units in modernising machinery. Handloom items, which can be imported, should not be reserved for the handloom sector. Mr Piyush Bahl, CII Senior Director, said Woolex’99, an exhibition on wool and winter wear will be held as also a fashion show. The conference-cum-exposition will be inaugurated by the Union Textile Minister, Mr Kashiram Rana, on December 2. Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, Chief Minister, Himachal Pradesh will also join the event. Prominent speakers
include Dr Karl Ulrich of Roland Berger International
Ltd; Mr Dinesh Himatsingka, Mr Shyamal Ghosh, Secretary
Textiles, Mr G.P. Gupta, IDBI Chairman, Dr Sailendra
Narain, SIDBI Managing Director, Mr Govind Mirchandani,
President, Arvind Clothing Ltd, and Dr Rakesh Mohan,
Director General, NCAER. |
New policy
on food processing soon NEW DELHI, Nov 5 — A new policy on food processing industries will be formulated soon, the Minister of State for Food Processing Industries, Mr Syed Shahnawaz Hussain, said here today. The Minister disclosed this to a delegation of Punjab farmers who called on him here. The farmers led by Sukhvinder Pal Singh Grewal of Kisan Morcha, told the Minister that there was a need to start the food processing industries in Punjab. They informed him that in the absence of adequate food processing facilities a large amount of food crop was either destroyed or sold at a very low price resulting in the losses to the farmers. Mr Hussain informed the delegation that the Ministry would act as a catalyst in setting up food processing units in the country. The Ministry would make
available low interest loans to entrepreneurs for setting
up these units. He also assured that adequate measures
would be taken to realise the potential of Punjab in the
area of food processing. |
SBI signs
agreement with Haryana corporation CHANDIGARH, Nov 5 — SBI has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Haryana Land Reclamation and Development Corporation for extending housing, car, consumer durables and personal loans to the employees of the corporation. The MoU was signed by Mr T.S. Bhattacharya, General Manager, SBI (Chandigarh Circle) and Mr R.P. Chander, MD of the corporation. The bank will extend
financial assistance under its different schemes and the
corporation will remit the repayment after deducting
instalments from the salaries of the employees. SBI has a
unique scheme called ‘Personal Loan Scheme’
under which loans upto Rs 1.5 lakh are granted to the
executives/officers of the PSUs/corporations etc. for
meeting the various family needs. |
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Cadbury India Ltd’s
net profit has increased by 31.6 per cent to Rs 13.62
crore, while the sales for the third quarter ended
October 10, 1999 rose to Rs 166.77 crore as against Rs
147.46 crore in the corresponding period last year. Surya
Roshni Ltd has registered a 10.3 per cent increase in its
net profit at Rs 7.30 crore for the six months period
ending on September 30 on an 8 per cent rise in turnover
to Rs 354.82 crore over the corresponding period last
year. — PTI |
Essar,
IOC sign pact NEW DELHI, Nov 5 —
Essar Cellphone and IOC today signed an agreement to
provide services to its customers. As part of the
agreement, 122 petrol pumps of IOC will serve as retail
outlets for selling prepaid cards, its recharge coupons
as well as First Mobile Cards. All such outlets will also
serve as collection centres for the Essar Cellphone
customers. The 122 petrol pumps are spread across Delhi,
Ghaziabad, Noida and Gurgaon. |
Award for
Chhabra CHANDIGARH, Nov 5 —
Chhabra Land and Housing Limited of Ludhiana has been
awarded the Udyog Rattan and Excellence Award for being
the best colonisers developing rural areas of Punjab. Mr
K.L. Chhabra, Managing Director, received the award from
Mr G.V.G. Krishnamurthy, ex-Election Commissioner of
India, and Mr Bhisham Pratap Singh, ex-Governor of Tamil
Nadu and Assam, in New Delhi. |
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