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| Tuesday, May 2, 2000, Chandigarh, India  
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Spill hot coffee on your lap &
sue McDonald’s 310 industrial unit-holders
allotted plots Panel pulls up NTPC, PowerGrid NABARD loan for Machhiwara bridge China again tries holiday
economics Small investors spurn bid to split
Microsoft NFL records Rs 30 crore profit Restructure government banks:
Assocham Daikin launches jv with Siel |
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Cyberspace on the prowl NIIT to set up subsidiary Mahindras quit Otis board HP Forest Corporation earns 40.12
crore Silk reeling unit closed down HCL arm ties up with US firm Exports up by 14 pc Arraycom to float 58.5 crore IPO
Spill hot coffee on your lap &
sue McDonald’s AMERICA has the most truthful advertising in the world. Not because US advertisers are by nature more truthful than their British counterparts. The incentive for Americans to be honest is “product liability”. Contingency fees (pay if you win), the “deep pocket” principle (go for where the money is) and partisan juries (typically retirees who have been screwed by big business all their lives) tilt the board towards the litigant (the “little guy”) however frivolous the law suit. Spill a scalding cup of coffee on your lap and you can sue McDonald’s - not, of course, the $4.75-an-hour assistant who overheated the liquid - and get $2.7m. And thanks to Mrs Lieback (as famous in her way as Rosa Parks, she who would not sit at the back of the bus in 1955) fast-food outlets all over America now post terrifying warnings that their coffee is piping hot. They used to “promise” it would be. What next? “Lukewarm dogs”? Prescription drugs are punitively expensive for the 40m Americans not “covered” by health care insurance. Increasingly, they get medication cut-price from mail-order suppliers which advertise on late-night TV (when the rates plummet), from the Net or, if they are lucky enough to live on the border, from Mexico where pharmacists ask no questions. The four pharmaceutical best-sellers are witness to the poor folk who have nothing better to do than watch all-night television. They are fat-blockers (brand leader Xenical), smoking cures (brand leader Zyban), baldness remedies (brand leader Rogaine) and (why else would you be watching TV at three o’clock in the morning?) impotence therapy agents (brand leader Viagra). All four drugs work, which is one up to the American pharmaceutical industry. All work at a cost, however. American law, and legal prudence, require that the manufacturers indicate upfront precisely what those costs to the consumer are. Informed choice is the name of the game. Xenical is only for the very fat and very brave. You will, probably, lose 13.5 kilos of lard - and most of your friends as well. The makers of Viagra (Pfizer) confess to the usual clutch of minor symptoms- “facial blushing, headaches, nausea, diarrhoea.” A small price to pay, one might think, to fix “erectile dysfunction” (the ads studiously avoid the I-word). Some of Viagra’s side-effects are less tolerable, such as “prolonged, painful, or inappropriate erection of the penis’’ (and more facial blushing, presumably). The oddest side-effect posted in the ads, however, is “a temporary inability to tell the colours green and blue apart”. It’s hard to see what law suit might emerge from this (“sign-painter loses job after night of love’’?, “Fenian joins Tory party”?) All is clear, however, when you see the pills themselves - Viagra comes as a vivid blue tablet. Sleeping tablets are routinely a restful green. It could really ruin one’s big night. Rogaine (“your hair will grow again”) is so safe it’s now off prescription. The makers have, however, been constrained to alert users to one odd little side effect: “There are reports of women who have applied Rogaine developing permanent hair on their foreheads . . . To date, no men have reported this problem.” It’s the word “permanent” which worries one (“have you been using my razor again, dear?’’) Zyban began life as an anti-depressant. Its anti-nicotine effect was an unexpected bonus. If, however, you are a depressed smoker who wants to quit smoking, the dosage required to kick the habit may precipitate “delusions, hallucinations, psychosis, concentration disturbance, paranoia and confusion”. It’s enough to drive you to drink. And yes, there is a prescription drug for that - Revia, from Du Pont. Side effects? The usual suspects: nausea, dizziness, weight loss. And you may get addicted to it. They haven’t got a pill for that yet. —By
arrangement with The Guardian |
310
industrial unit-holders allotted plots JAMMU, May 1 — The Minister for Industries and Commerce, Mr Mustafa Kamal yesterday visited industrial estates at Bari Brahamana and Kartholi. The minister was apprised that land has been allotted to 310 unit holders in the industrial estates Bari Brahamana so for. Of this, 180 units have started functioning while 38 are under implementations. While as 22 units have been closed and land sanctioned in favour of 70 units have been cancelled. The minister was told that the industrial estate Bari Brahamana has been developed with investment of Rs 320 crore and turn over is of Rs 500 crore annually. This estate is spread over an area of 4,204 kanals of which an area of 3,993 kanals has been allotted to the unit holders while as an area of 150 kanals has been reserved for development. In addition, an area of 632 kanals has been brought under green belt and for the construction of drainage and roads. To provide power to the units, a power and grid station of the capacity of 101.5 MVA has been constructed. Out of this 70 MVA electricity is being utilised by Bari Brahamana, B.B. Town, MES Kaluchak, PHE and Gangyal. To provide water to the units, nine tubewells are commissioning and augmenting 74,000 k.ls per minute. While inspecting the export promotion industrial park at Katholi, Dr Mustafa was told that this park is being developed on an area of 125 acre with an investment of Rs 13.88 crore of which Rs 8.70 crore is Central assistance. The park is being developed with the latest infrastructures which include road network, water storage and distribution system, power supply, drainage and effluent treatment, telecommunication, office-cum-commercial complex, land scaping and greenary and warehousing facilities etc. Referring to the demands
of the Bari Brahamana Industries Association, the
Minister said a four members committee has already been
constituted by the Government to look into the problems
of the industrialists and suggest measures to remove the
bottlenecks. |
Panel pulls up NTPC, PowerGrid NEW DELHI, May 1 (PTI) — A Parliamentary Panel has pulled up public sector National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and Power Grid Corporation for not being able to mobilise the targeted internal resources and External Commercial Borrowing (ECB) leading to slippage in generating capacity addition. The failure of PSUs to raise targeted bonds/debentures, had forced the Power Ministry to scale down internal and external budgetary resources (IEBR) component of Plan outlays to Rs 4,519.44 crore from Rs 6,786 crore in 1998-99 and to Rs 5,280 crore from Rs 6,660.27 crore budgeted for 1999-2000. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Power in its third report also said the low utilisation of IEBR component had also resulted in delays in major projects like Ramagundam, Rihand II, Sipat, Simhadari and Talcher-II in case of NTPC and Power Grid’s NERLDC and WRLDC transmission projects. Rejecting Government contention that variations in IEBR were not an indication of the inability of PSUs to mobilise resources but on account of non-availability of statutory clearance, the Committee said “the reasons advanced are such which should have been visualised in advance and sufficient cushion provided in the physical and financial targets.” Even if the argument put forth by the Ministry was accepted, it does prove the lack of understanding of the ground realities on the part of planners in fixing over-ambitious targets and faulty project implementation machinery which tend frustrate the IEBR target, it said. Central plan outlay for power fell short by Rs 1550.35 crore in 1999-2000 when it was revised to Rs 8049.92 crore from the budgeted figure of Rs 9600.27 crore, the report said adding that the budgetary support for Central Power Research Institute and National Power Training Institute were reduced by Rs 15 crore during the year. There had been reduction of Rs 16.25 crore for energy conservation due to slow progress of the scheme during the first half of 1999-2000, it said. The Committee noted with concern the under-utilisation of Rs 74.52 crore external budgetary assistance by Power Grid for the Nathpa Jhakri Transmission line and Unified Load Despatch and Communication facilities — Northern Region due to deferment of supplies and erection to ensure that transmission project was in tune with the delayed generation project. The Committee
recommended that the Government should consider ground
realities while projecting targets for IEBR and also
strengthen project formulation and implementation
machinery lest IEBR target should go haywire. |
NABARD
loan for Machhiwara bridge CHANDIGARH, May 1 — NABARD has sanctioned a loan of Rs 2,367.92 lakh to the Government of Punjab for the construction of a bridge over the Sutlej river at Machhiwara to link Ludhiana and Nawanshahr districts and construction of six minor bridges and two causeway on the Khanna, Samrala, Machhiwara, Rahon, Nawanshahr, Garhshankar road. This is the fourth tranche of assistance sanctioned to the Punjab Government. The project will be completed by March, 2003, said a NABARD release here today. The total cost of the project is placed at Rs 2724.00 lakh. The proposed bridges, when completed, will provide improved connectivity to 54 villages and 11 marketing centres and benefit a population of over 2 lakh residing on either side of the Sutlej. The Machhiwara bridge
will reduce distance by 30 km for vehicles travelling
from the Ambala and Khanna side to the
Hoshiarpur/Pathankot side and vice-versa. Besides the
bridge will also reduce traffic congestion on National
Highway No 1 between Ludhiana-Khanna and
Jalandhar-Dasuya. |
China again tries holiday economics BEIJING, May 1 (PTI) — China today marked Labour Day by kicking off a week-long holiday for millions of workers by which the government hopes to spur sluggish domestic demand. By working on April 29 and 30, the Chinese Government allowed people to enjoy an extended labour day break till May 7 and by an extended holiday, the Chinese Government expects the public to go on a shopping spree and travel widely, fuelling economic growth. This is the second time that China has resorted to holiday economics to spur demand. The precedent for the unorthodox economic policy was first tried last October, the 50th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic. A seven-day break that time had led to a sharp rise in consumer spending. With travel agents being
swamped by customers eager to travel extensively,
indications are that the government plan may succeed this
time around too. |
Small
investors spurn bid to split Microsoft THE US Justice Department’s attempt to break up Microsoft, the world’s largest computer software company, failed to win support from middle America at the weekend. Charlie Munger, Vice-Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway and the right-hand man of Warren Buffet — the world’s most successful investor — prompted rounds of applause from 15,000 shareholders at the company’s annual meeting in Omaha when he attacked the government’s landmark anti-trust lawsuit. The Justice Department and 17 States have called for Microsoft to be broken in two in order to end its alleged abuse of a monopoly position. Mr Munger said: “(America) finally gets a huge leadership in a newfield, software, that’s needed all over the earth, and somebody drawing a salary from the US Government gets the bright idea to dramatically weaken the one place where we are winning big.” Shares in Microsoft have fallen more than 40 per cent since it was found to have acted illegally last month. Mr Munger said Microsoft, in which Berkshire has a tiny stake, was a perfect example of capitalist success. “It is hard for me to see how Microsoft is sinful because it tried to improve its products every time and make next year’s business position stronger. If that’s a sin, every subsidiary of Berkshire is a sinner, I hope.” Mr Buffett, a long-term friend and mentor to Microsoft’s Bill Gates, said: “I think we have something that is working very well and it probably doesn’t make a lot of sense to tinker with too much.’’ Such comments at “America’s capitalist Woodstock” may underline the lack of political support for the case outside Washington. George W. Bush, the Republican Presidential hopeful, has warned the judge against damaging the US economy but has stopped short of directly criticising the Justice Department. The government’s call for a breakup and restrictions on how Microsoft does business were more onerous than some other options available. Vivek Varma, a Microsoft lawyer, said the company could ask for a new “mini-trial” to present further evidence to Judge Thomas Penfield as he decides on a remedy. The Justice Department has argued that a break-up is the only way of preventing Microsoft from abusing its stranglehold on the world’s computer market. It believes that Microsoft is too contemptuous of the courts to comply with legal restrictions on its conduct, presenting evidence that Microsoft continued its unlawful anti-competitive conduct after the launch of the case. The court case did not stop Mr Gates from appearing in a video at Berkshire’s annual meeting. In the video Mr Buffett appeared on a game show dangers of an overinflated stock market. He compared the run-up in internet shares with other manias such as a tripling of prices for farmland in Nebraska in the 1980s. ``For society, the Internet is a wonderful thing. For capitalists, it’s a net negative.’’ The man who has built one of the world’s biggest personal fortunes during 35 years of investing used the annual meeting to criticise the increasing use of share options for senior executives. “What is happening at the top level is really unbelievable”. Mr Buffett, the world’s second richest man who is paid far less than the average US chief executive, said he could see no end to the increase in payouts because they were driven by “ego as much as money”. He directed particular criticism at the pay consultants who stoke corporate greed and institutional investors who “get involved in the details of corporate governance, which frankly don’t mean a damn in terms of performance”. During a six-hour question and answer session with shareholders after the five-minute annual meeting, Mr Buffett said he was no longer invited to sit on compensation committees after objecting to 1980s Wall Street excesses. “You can only belch so many times at the dinner table and be invited back.’’ However, Mr Buffett, a board member and major shareholder of Coca-Cola, defended last year’s multibillion-dollar severance package for Doug Ivester, the former chief executive, as “the right decision”. Mr Buffett revealed his
dissatisfaction with the equity market. Speaking about
selling Walt Disney shares, he said: “We have more
generally reduced equities as prices began to get more
full. General ownership of equities over the next 10-15
years is not going to be very exciting.”—By
arrangement with The Guardian |
NFL
records Rs 30 crore profit NEW DELHI, May 1 — The National Fertiliser Limited recorded a net profit of Rs 30.36 crore with a gross profit of Rs 262 crore and it achieved 111.8 per cent of the capacity utilisation during 1999-2000. The company produced 31.37 lakh MT of urea against the target of 30.57 lakh MT during the fiscal. NFL altogether made 14.82 lakh MT of fertiliser nitrogen, thereby achieving a capacity utilisation of 108.2 per cent. The overall capacity utilisation, inclusive of industrial nitrogen is 110 per cent, a company release said today. The Vijaipur, Panipat and Bathinda plants of the company exceeded their production targets during the year. The Vijaipur-II plant made a record production of 9.03 lakh tonnes of urea, which is higher than 4.8 per cent over last year’s achievement. The Panipat unit, during the year, produced 5.33 lakh tonnes of urea by achieving a capacity utilisation of 104.2 per cent. The Bathinda unit
produced 5.43 lakh tonnes of urea against 5.11 lakh
tonnes, recording 106.2 per cent of the installed
capacity. |
Restructure
government banks: Assocham NEW DELHI, May 1 — The public sector banks as companies under the Companies Act should be restructured and the parliamentary statue under which banks are at present incorporated should be scrapped, the Assocham said in a note sent to the Union Finance Ministry. ‘‘There is need for a higher level of functional autonomy to top management of banks in taking crucial decisions with regard to lending,’’ the chambers said. The note said in respect of all loans and advances, the discretion to link it to PLR or not should be left to the individual banks. ‘‘This is so because prudent banks will not be handing sub-PLR rate unless warranted by commercial consideration.’’ While the government’s announcement that its shareholding will go below 50 per cent in some PSU banks is welcome, so long as banks are under the parliamentary statue, they will continue to be covered by the CVC and the CBI even if government has a minority share, the noted observed. The size of banks investments in shares should be left to the judgement and risk perception of the banks within broad prudential parameters with a view to revive primary capital market. There is need to reduce the margin limit for shares from 50 per cent to 25 to 30 per cent and to 10 per cent for UTI repurchase price, the Assocham said. Apart from making current account convertibility fully effective, gradual steps needs to be taken by RBI as recommended by the expert committee so that resident Indians are able to undertake more capital account transactions without having to obtain case by case approval, the chambers said. The note also called for a complete review of directed credit, within the priority sector. All capital subsidy linked schemes linked to bank loans be abolished on account of their unsatisfactory performance and be replaced, if absolutely necessary by interest-subsidy schemes. ‘‘There is also need for an overhaul of the laws, in particular, the need for introducing a system of private foreclosure of debts,’’ the chambers said. The note said the
government should consider the outright sale of some of
the public sector banks so that the overall share of
public sector banks declines to a lower level. The sale
will also result in substantial revenue that could be
used for reducing overall public debt, the note added. |
|
NEW DELHI, May 1 (PTI) — Air conditioning major Daikin Industries of Japan today announced a joint venture with Shriram group company Siel Ltd to manufacture and market ACs in India. The JV company, Diakin Shriram Airconditioning Pvt Ltd, which was announced last December and was formally launched today, will have 80 per cent controlling equity by Daikin. “We are very glad to be able to establish a JV with Siel Ltd and expect the JV to grow and become the number one integrated AC manufacturer in the South Asian market in the near future,” President of Daikin Industries Noriyuki Inoue told reporters here. With an initial capital of Rs 19,5 crore, the JV will invest another Rs 20 crore over the next three years and is targeting Rs 40 crore worth of sales within the first year of operations, Inoue said. “We are targeting Rs 40 crore sales turnover this year and Rs 160 crore by year 2005,” he said adding two Shriram representatives would be on the JV’s board. The company would
manufacture and sell Daikin’s vast commercial as
well as residential window and split AC range besides the
Shriram range. |
|
MUMBAI, May 1 (UNI) — Armed with a phenomenon growth of 278 per cent in revenues in the quarter ended March 31, Cyberspace Infosys Limited, has set its eyes on acquiring high-end application software development firms at home and abroad. Currently, it is engaged in negotiations to acquire a North India based software company which has its core expertise in the application development of medical imaging and smart card technologies and has a work commitment from the Fortune 100 companies. The company has a revenue earnings of Rs 5 crore and has business order worth of Rs 25 crore. The estimated cost to acquire the firm is around Rs 60 crore, said Mr Pankaj Kumar, Director of the company. Cyberspace has also identified three more high-end software firms in the USA for acquisition and necessary applications are placed before the authorities like the Reserve Bank and SEBI for approval. The company is contemplating to issue preferential shares to the promoters of the take-over company in lieu of cash transactions. The pricing of the share will be in range of Rs 550-600 per share. However, a final decision would be arrived after getting necessary approval from SEBI. Currently, the price of the company share is being quoted around Rs 570 on the National Stock Exchange. Cyberspace has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Gulf Business Machines, the largest technology company in West Asia with revenues in excess of US $ 100 million, to expand its business network. The MoU entails the positioning of Cyberspace Infosys resources within the Gulf Business Machines to work as one team to win software services business and it has opened up a wide range of software services opportunities within the blue chip clientele of Gulf Business Machines. Mr Kumar hoped that the
income generation of the company would spurt to Rs 120
crore by the month of June, 2001, from the current level
of Rs 25 crore. For the quarter ended March 31,2000,
total income of the company rose to Rs 13 crore from Rs 3
crore in the same quarter previous year. Net profit was
Rs 3 crore during the quarter as against Rs 1 crore in
the same quarter last year. |
|
NEW DELHI, May 1 (PTI) — NIIT today announced it would set up a separate subsidiary — NIIT Online Learning Ltd — which would focus on web-based learning. “The new entity would give sharper focus and speed to NIIT’s online learning initiative so as to create exceptional value for NIIT customers,” Rajendra S Pawar, Chairman of NIIT said in a statement here. NIIT portal will offer a complete range of services including career opportunities, career counselling,online training and testing of students. The portal will have access to digital content from the company’s learning software business, he said adding that NIIT’s online sales and delivery channel — eNIIT, would also be integrated into NIIT Online Learning. The new subsidiary would
leverage the company’s intellectual property, online
learning brand and relationship building experience base
created through NetVarsity in the last four years. |
|
NEW DELHI, May 1 (PTI) — Otis Elevator Company India today announced revamping of its board, including exit of its Chairman Keshub Mahindra as a follow up to the sale of Mahindra and Mahindra’s entire stake in the company. R.R. Bajaj, currently Managing Director of Otis India, has been appointed the new Chairman while Ashok Malhotra, Executive Director, takes over as the Managing Director. Apart from Keshub Mahindra, his son Anand Mahindra and P.K. Palit, have also resigned from the board of Otis India, according to an Otis statement. The Mahindras had sold their entire stake of 23.89 per cent to Otis in October last year, increasing the stake of the American company in the Indian venture to 69 per cent from the earlier 45 per cent. Otis India said this was “another step to more closely integrate the company with the global operations of Otis”. Otis USA, a wholly-owned subsidiary of United Technologies Ltd, is the world’s largest elevator manufacturer. “The new management
is looking into expanding its products and service
portfolio that will clearly benefit the customers in
India,” the Otis statement said. |
HP Forest
Corporation earns 40.12 crore DHARAMSALA, May 1 — The North Zone of the Himachal Pradesh Forest Corporation has earned a revenue of Rs 40.12 crore, by undertaking multifarious activities in eight districts of the State. Disclosing this the Director of the North Zone, Mr D.P. Sinha, said that the three timber depots, located at Dhanotu in Mandi district and at Bhadroa and Nurpur in the Kangra districts, were not only engaged in the supply of fuel and timber wood to the consumers but had made substantial earnings. Mr Sinha, revealed that the maximum profit had been registered at the Bhadroa timber depot, at Rs 16 crore, while there was a turnover of Rs 15.44 crore at the Dhanotu depot and Rs 8.16 crore at the newly set up Depot at Nurpur. The North Zone covers the districts of Lahaul Spiti. Kullu, Mandi, Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Chamba, Kangra and Una. There are a total of eight working divisions falling under the North Zone. Resin tapping is another important area, and a total of 51,071 quintals of resin was extracted and sent to the Rosin and turpentine factory. “In order to save
the pine trees from degradation we have switched over
from the cup and lip method to the rill method,” he
disclosed. A chemical treatment plant has been set up at
Baijnath to enhance the life and durability of ordinary
timber through ASCU treatment, he added. |
Silk
reeling unit closed down NURPUR, May 1 — The reeling unit of the lone silk weaving factory of Himachal Pradesh, the Nurpur Silk Mills, Bodh, near here, has closed down today. This unit of Himachal Pradesh State Industrial Corporation (HPSIC) has been facing closure for the past a few years. The HPSIC had advised the female workers, most of them regular to adopt voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) until April 30. According to the information, only 18 out of 51 workers have opted VRS. The sources reveal that the remaining 33 workers would be dealt with Industrial Disputes Act as the HPSIC had failed to run this sick unit following the failure of the State Government to come to the rescue of this prestigious unit known for its quality silk produce in the Northern India. In the meanwhile, Mr
Ranjit Bakshi, the local ex-MLA in a statement today
criticised the State Government for closing down this
employment generating unit. |
|
NEW DELHI, May 1 (UNI) — HCL Infosystems Limited (HCL Insys’) today announced that its U.S. Subsidiary, Infosystems America INC., has signed a partnership agreement with Rightworks Corporation, a leading provider of business-to-business exchange software for powering digital marketplaces. Under the partnership, Infosystems America will contribute to Rightworks product development efforts. Infosystems America will
provide an offshore team of consultants to staff the
Rightworks Technology Centre. |
Exports
up by 14 pc NEW DELHI, May 1 — India’s exports grew by 14.93 per cent in rupee terms, touching a figure of $ 37,537.54 million during 1999-2000. The exports during the corresponding last year was $ 336.46 million, an official release said today. Imports during the fiscal 1999-2000 was valued $ 46,153.77 million which is 10.19 per cent higher than the import figure of $ 41,886.63 million during the last fiscal. Oil import during the
fiscal 1999-2000 was valued at $ 9,655.77 million which
is 64.26 per cent higher than oil imports valued at $
5878.35 million during the previous fiscal. Arraycom to float 58.5 crore IPO NEW DELHI, May 1 (PTI) — Arraycom India Ltd today announced it would raise Rs 58.5 crore through a public issue of 90 lakh equity shares of Rs 5 each at a premium of Rs 60 per share to part finance its Rs 72.7 crore expansion plans. The issue which opens on May 9 and closes on May 15, also includes 1.3 lakh shares to be issued to employees, Atul J. Parekh, Managing Director of Arraycom India, said here. The company plans to utilise the proceeds of the issue for installing a manufacturing plant in the USA, setting up a software development centre, acquisition and pre-payment of foreign currency loan, he said, adding that the fund requirement would be met out of the present issue and internal cash accrual of Rs 14.2 crore. “About Rs 17.5 crore will be used for acquiring state-owned Gujarat Communication and Electronics Ltd (GCEL), Rs 20 crore for prepayment of loan to IFCI, Rs 7.5 crore in the proposed manufacturing unit and Rs 15 crore as working capital requirement,” he said. The company which focuses on communications, industrial electronics, IT and networking systems consists of three business units — Materials and Components Division (MCD), Communication Solutions and Automation Division (CSD) and Software and IT Division (SID). The equity shares of the
company are proposed to be listed on Bombay Stock
Exchange (BSE), National Stock Exchange (NSE) and
Ahmedabad Stock Exchange. |
Premji: better to be respected than being the richest BANGALORE: — The reticent king of the Indian information technology (IT) industry, Azim Hasham Premji, says he would prefer a label like “the most respected industry leader in India” than being branded the richest Indian. Interacting with the media for only the third time in as many years to announce Wipro Ltd’s stupendous 77 per cent increase in profit after tax — Rs 3 billion, a target set and announced in 1995 when the company had recorded just Rs 322 million profit after tax — Premji’s performance was comparable with that of a diplomat. Premji did not say when the company would seek to raise “in excess of $ 500 million” through American Depository Receipts (ADRs) or Global Depository Receipts (GDRs) in spite of market volatility. “I suppose when investors take them up too high unrealistically, when some investors start selling they bring them down too low unrealistically”, he said. Nevertheless, Premji had no views to offer on Wipro’s stock price which fell 60 per cent from Rs 9,800 on February 22 after a 276 per cent rise since December 1999. But he does not think it is happening because of speculators because the buying and selling is taking place from “very large institutional investors who are not necessarily short term.” But he did not hesitate to reply to a question on his facing 10-year-old charges under the erstwhile Foreign Exchange Regulations Act (FERA) which, reports say, has denied him the chance of being on the board of RBI. The IT industry was a target at that time because it had a high component of imports. “If there are breaches, they are of a purely technical nature. You must appreciate these are not personal cases. These are general cases, against the company, We have not wilfully violated any law,” Premji said. “We were being investigated and so were half a dozen others, including three multinational companies and two other companies. None of these cases has been resolved as yet. I think Wipro was more newsworthy. Somebody thought of making headlines out of it. It is unfortunate,” he said. But, more than his company’s plans, it was questions on broader issues like the Net boom in India, the government-IT industry relationship and the shift in the social focus of Wipro that Premji answered for the first time in public. “It is a change of
focus for Wipro... within limits of reasonability”,
he said. “Don’t expect too much from us. I am
not saying that we have done as much as some other
companies. Some other companies have done more than us
and that is to their credit. But I think we have talked
less about what we have done also. That has also
contributed to us getting less credit than we have
contributed”. — IANS |
co
Jain Studios net leaps to 3.05 crore NEW DELHI, May 1 (UNI) — Jain Studios Limited (JSL) has reported a jump in net profit from Rs 2.90 lakh to Rs 3.05 crore for the fiscal ended March 31, 2000. Total income for the year has also gone up to Rs 17.88 crore from Rs 93.81 lakh during the same period in 1998-99, a statement issued here today said. The net profit during the fourth quarter also shot up to Rs 85.26 lakh in 1999-2000 as against Rs 0.95 lakh in 1998-99. The total income during the fourth quarter of current year was reported at 9.62 crore from Rs 26.73 lakh in the same quarter last fiscal. Company registrations up by 48 pc NEW DELHI, May 1 (PTI) — The financial year 2000-01 has begun on a strong note for the corporate sector with companies registration increasing by 48 per cent to 4,461 in April compared to 3,006 in the corresponding period last year. The number in April is even higher compared to 3,003 companies registered in March 2000, an official statement said today. Out of the 4,461 companies, 4,455 were limited by shares, six companies were registered as guarantee companies . Of these, the highest number of companies registered were in Maharashtra (1,134) followed by Delhi (861) and Andhra Pradesh (430) and Tamil Nadu (358). Rates of company fees revised NEW DELHI, May 1 (PTI) — The rates of fees payable by companies to the Registrar of Companies for filling forms and returns under various provisions of the Companies Act, 1956 have been revised with effect from today. The fees for certificate of incorporation has been revised from Rs 10 to Rs 50 while the fees for registering any document relating to a foreign company has been increased to Rs 1,000 from the earlier Rs 200, an official statement said. The revision was done by notifying a new Schedule X superceding the earlier schedule in the Gazette of India extraordinary. Alps Industries net rises NEW DELHI, May 1 (UNI) — Alps Industries Ltd. logged a turnover of Rs 96.11 crore during the financial year ending March 31, 2000 as compared to Rs 76.02 crore in the previous year, an increase of 26 per cent. The net profit also went up from Rs 4.4 crore in the previous year to Rs 4.85 crore in the financial year 1999-2000. The book value of the share has also climbed up to Rs 75. The company has declared a dividend of 20 per cent. In the Indian market , the company is better known for its Vista Levolor range of blinds, awnings and curtain rods. Mascon Global gets US contract CHANDIGARH, May 1 (TNS) — Mascon Global Limited, the Chennai-based global IT company, has bagged a prestigious contract from Drexel University, Philadelphia, to provide consulting services to formulate a strategy for distance learning programmes. Drexel University chose Mascon for this project due to Mascon’s vision 2020 program — a Mascon initiative that blends corporate management experience and academic leadership to create a strategy for colleges and universities. CMC net up 76.36 pc CHANDIGARH, May 1 (TNS) — CMC Ltd., has achieved total sales of Rs 45,792,02 lakh for the financial year 1999-2000, which is an increase of Rs 11,969.65 lakh over the corresponding figure for last year. The company recorded an increase of 76.36 per cent in net profits reaching Rs 1289.12 lakh as compared to last year’s figure of Rs 730.94 lakh. Rajasthan Spinning net zooms CHANDIGARH, May 1 (TNS) — Rajasthan Spinning and Weaving Mills (RSWM), has recorded rise in net profit of 49 per cent over 1998-99. The company of the over Rs 1500 crore LNJ Bhilwara Group, saw a shoot up of the net profit to Rs 14.56 crore in 1999-2000 as compared to Rs 9.76 in 1998-99.
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Honda City sales surge 56.9 pc in April HONDA Siel Cars India Limited has recorded a 56.9 per cent surge in sales of its mid-size car “City” in April 2000 to 923 units as against 588 units in the same month a year ago. The sales in April were, however, 29 per cent lower than its March sales of 1,311 units, the company announced on Monday. The company had sold 9,698 units during the entire 1999-2000 fiscal, missing the 11,000 sales target by 1302 units. Sales for the fiscal was up by only 67 units from the previous year’s 9631 units. March had represented the third successive month when the company had sold over 1000 units. The sales were achieved through a network of 20 Honda exclusive authorised dealers (heads) spanning 17 cities. The network is scheduled to expand further and cover more cities. Ford to export Ikon: Ford India will start export of its mid-size car Ikon from the third quarter of the current year and accelerate the indigenisation drive of the model, a top company official has said. “We will begin exports of completely knocked down and semi-knocked down kits of the Ikon from the third quarter of this year, “Ford Motor India Vice-President (External Affairs) B.S. Rathor told PTI here. He, however, declined to reveal details about the export destinations or the number of cars that would be exported saying “we are at present working on the details”. The localisation content of the Ikon will also be increased within a period of one to two years to a “high” level from the current level of 70 per cent, he said. “We are concentrating on indigenising the power train of the car,” Rathor said adding that the company has also initiated steps to increase the production of the Ikon to 100 units per day from the current level of 80 units. Since its launch in November 1999, Ford India has delivered over 6287 Ikons and in the month of March 2000, the car had emerged as the top selling model in the mid-size segment with a sales of 2134 units. Asked about the target for the current year, Rathor said Ford expected to sell about 25,000 to 30,000 Ikons in the current calendar year. The company at present has a plant in Tamil Nadu with an installed capacity of about one lakh cars annually. The car is at present available in five models — the 1.3 CLXi (petrol), the 1.6 Rally Sport, the 1.6 CLXi (petrol), the 1.6 ZXi (petrol) and the 1.8 ZXi (diesel). Hyundai plan: South Korea’s largest conglomerate Hyundai is putting together a fresh reform plan aimed at calming market jitters over its troubled financial arm. The restructuring plan will be announced this week, Hyundai Construction Co. head Kim Yun-Kyu told reporters in Seoul after talks with group founder Chung Ju-Yung. Government officials have demanded Hyundai work out drastic reform measures, including the use of the Chung family’s private wealth to rescue Hyundai Investment Trust and Securities Co. The ailing investment trust slipped into crisis last week, dragging down the stock market and other Hyundai affiliates. Daewoo Motors: Daewoo Motors India Ltd. has achieved the ISO 9002 certification for application of a quality system for manufacturing and servicing of passenger cars and manufacturing of vital auto components at its manufacturing facility at Surajpur. This certification has been accorded by the certification body of TUV Management Service, GmbH. DMIL has adopted a unique programme called Parivartan aimed at creating the right kind of atmosphere for manufacturing world class cars. The main focus has been on the change of mindset which in turn helps in the implementation of several innovative activities that improve efficiency, make one quality conscious and also cost competitive. Hero Puch: Hero Group company ‘Hero Puch’ has bagged a long-term order from an Indonesian two-wheeler company to supply 50 cc and 75 cc plastic scooters, a top company official said here today. The company has modified its 75 cc ‘Hero EZ’ according to Indonesian road and climatic conditions. The model will be formally launched in Indonesia in a couple of weeks, Hero Puch Managing Director Pankaj Munjal told PTI. He, however, refused to divulge the name of the Indonesian company. During the first year of the contract, Hero Puch would supply 12,000-14,000 scooters and earn about Rs 30 crore from the transaction, Munjal said. Hero Puch has made several changes in the ‘EZ’ model to enhance acceptability of the scooter in Indonesia, he said. —
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