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| Tuesday, May 30, 2000, Chandigarh, India  
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Punwire to approach BIFR PNB eyes gold business Common market
for power mooted Essar slashes cellphone rates SBP net profit grows by 30 per cent
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Microsoft, Compaq join hands After mistakes, this CEO goes slow
Punwire to approach BIFR SAS NAGAR, May 29 — Amidst charged atmosphere at the 24th annual general meeting of the shareholders of Punwire held at the PCA stadium here today, the Board of Directors decided to approach the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) for registering the company as a sick unit. The agenda was passed after the board told the shareholders that due to erosion of the networth of the company to the tune of Rs 139 crore, it was facing a number of cases of winding up and approaching the BIFR would help in rescheduling the payments of debts. The management of Punwire would approach the BIFR within 60 days to get it registered before an operational agency for a rehabilitation package is announced by the BIFR. At least 11 other items, including the re-appointment of Mr Gurpal Singh as Vice-Chairman of the company and re-appointment of the Executive Director, Mr Ved Parkash, were passed without any opposition. The proceedings of the AGM went on peacefully till the item of declaring the company as a sick unit came up for approval. The moment the item was announced, employees left their seats and raised objections and demanded a CBI probe into the reasons of erosion of the networth of the company. The shareholders also objected to the audited balance sheet and profit loss account for the year ending March 31, 1999. They said serious irregularities were committed in showing the losses made by the company. Mr R.I. Singh, Chairman, while admitting that the PSIDC had been kept in dark by the Director in charge of the company about its financial health, said: “The government is determined to identify the reasons and the individuals responsible for the financial quagmire of the company. Legal action will be taken against those found guilty in the probe being done by the commission”. Regarding a issue of items being stolen from the premises of the unit, Mr RI Singh said he had been informed by the new Managing Director of the company, Mr Satbinder Singh, and security personnel of PASCO would be given charge of security of the company from June 1. He said that certain elements in the company were playing mischief to destroy the company and they were on the job to trace such elements. The Rs 50 crore being arranged by the PSIDC had been halted because the Finance Department had objected to payment of arrears of salary of employees. “We have approached the government to relax the condition”. Mr Singh said that there were at least 25 petitioners for winding up of the company and going to the BIFR would help in saving the interests of the employees. While answering to a query, Mr RI Singh said a retired judge of a high court was heading a commission to look in to the conduct of the Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, Mr Gurpal Singh, who had been placed under suspension with effect from December 13, 1999. Mr S.S. Brar, Managing Director of the PSIDC was also present. |
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PNB eyes gold business JALANDHAR, May 29 — Punjab National Bank is all set to diversify itself into fields of insurance credit cards, net banking and gold business. Stating this at a press conference here today, Mr S.S. Kohli, CMD of the bank, said the bank will start providing these services to its customers soon. He said the bank has already computerised 512 of its branches and has plans to computerise 700 more branches. Mr Kohli, who was on his first visit to Punjab after assuming charge of the CMD, said the bank has already earmarked an investment to the tune of Rs 125 crore for updating its technology during the current financial year. He said the priority was being given to farm sector in Punjab. The bank had given PNB-Krishicards worth Rs 81.52 to 12,057 farmers. Mr Kohli said the Punjab zone of the bank, with 486 branches and 45 extension counters was doing a good job and was handling business worth Rs 12,800 crore, which was 18 per cent of the total business of the bank. He said the bank has registered a growth of 19 per cent in turnover of import and export business during the year 1999-2000. |
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Common market
for power mooted NEW DELHI, May 29 — The state governments of the northern region have planned develop a common market for the sale of power either through the Power Trading Corporation or long term inter-state agreement. The second summit of Chief Secretaries of the northern region organised by PHDCCI has resolved to develop a common market to nullify the mismatch between power surplus and deficit states in the region. Punjab, Haryana and Delhi, the main power deficit states, have offered to purchase power from new hydel projects in Himachal Pradesh because extensive use of hydro power will be economical to meet shortages. Mr Ashok Khanna, Chairman of PHDCCI, Northern Region Development Council, said the summit has also recommended to facilitate financial closure of pending projects by allowing certain innovative changes in agreements with independent power producers (IPPs) such as linking generation with distribution rights and allowing transfer of power among others. A task force comprising Chairman of state electricity boards, officials of power corporations and power developers has been formulated to discuss irritants faced by the IPPs in execution of their projects. |
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Essar slashes cellphone rates CHANDIGARH, May 29 — Essar Cellphone today slashed the airtime rates for both the pre-and post-paid cards in Haryana. In the post-paid card, the first two minutes will be totally free for all incoming calls after that a tariff of Rs 2 per minute will be charged. The outgoing calls have been kept at Rs 3 for the first minute followed by Rs 2 per minute subsequently. The monthly rentals have been placed at Rs 450. The tariffs will be applicable from June 1, 2000, says a company release. For the pre-paid card, the outgoing tariff has been announced at Rs 3 per 30 seconds. The incoming charges will be Rs 3 per minute. Mobile to mobile calls will also be charged at Rs 3 per minute. |
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SBP net profit grows by 30 per cent CHANDIGARH, May 29 — State Bank of Patiala has turned in a good all round performance during the year 1999-2000, said Mr A.K. Batra, MD, while addressing a press conference last evening. The Verma Committee adjudged SBP as one of the two best banks out of 27 public sector banks on the basis of seven major financial parameters. The operating profit of the bank increased by Rs 100 crore over the previous year figure. The net profit at Rs 130.69 crore grew by 30 per cent over 1998-99. Earning per employee increased to Rs 1 lakh, an increase of 30 per cent. The Rs 100 share of the bank has a book value of Rs 3167. The bank’s business level crossed Rs 16,000 crore and the total deposits crossed the Rs 10,000 crore benchmark, with the level at Rs 10182 crore, registering an increase of 15.08 per cent against 13.5 per cent. The core deposits in personal and agricultural segments at Rs 6,908 crore have clocked higher growth of 18.72 per cent. The NRE deposits also increased to Rs 838 crore. Mr Batra said advances under personal segment grew by 35 per cent. During the year, Rs 61 crore was disbursed for housing activities. Mr R. Sitarama Murty, CGM said the bank’s experience in financing agriculture and personal segments has been quite happy as the NPAs are comparatively, low and the income is high. The recovery percentage in agricultural advances is also quite healthy at 87 per cent. Mr Murty said the SBP will participate with SBI in marketing insurance products in the near future. SBI-Visa Credit Card will shortly be launched by SBP as co-branding bank for which necessary agreement has already been signed. The bank has planned to come out with an IPO this year, added Mr Batra. The others present were Mr R.S. Nanda, GM(R & D), Mr R.S. Sharma, GM (P & D), Mr B.M. Jain and Mr N.C. Sharma GMs. |
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Microsoft, Compaq join hands NEW DELHI, May 29 — US giant Microsoft Corporation and Compaq Computer India today announced an exclusive partnership under which they will invest Rs 1 crore to help Indian businesses and developers leverage the Internet for strategic gain. “For a three month period beginning May 15 the two IT giants will invest Rs 1 crore to leverage Windows 2000 and Compaq Hardware and provide Indian customers with an optimal e-business solution,” a joint press statement said here. Terming this arrangement as an extension of the worldwide frontline partnership between the two, the statement said “this Indian alliance is a result of a synthesis of Microsoft’s Business Internet vision and Compaq’s NonStop eBusiness offering. Through this alliance the companies will host technology showcasing at leading software technology parks across the country, it said. Also, a Compaq-Microsoft Competency Centre would be set up in Bangalore “as proof of concept for high-end technology like clustering, load balancing and inter-operatability between platforms including Windows, Novell Netware and Tru 64 Unix, the statement added. The partnership between the two IT leaders will target enterprises, small and medium businesses and the developer community in India to “communicate the advantages of Windows 2000-Compaq platform”. The two companies also said they were planning a joint marketing campaign comprising reseller events and a pan India consumer road show to educate larger audience. “Microsoft and Compaq have shared a long-standing relationship and this announcement marks a significant milestone in our joint initiatives for India,” MD Microsoft Corporation India Sanjay Mirchandani said. |
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After mistakes, this CEO goes slow NEW YORK, May 29 — This Indian American is one CEO who, unlike the average technology entrepreneur, actually shies away from high-speed growth. Delhi-born Sanjeev Gupta (35), President and CEO of SpeedtoMarket, learned from past mistakes after getting burnt with his first start-up, Thruput. The San Jose-based Speedto- Market focuses on research and development of new product technology, a niche Gupta says is rarely addressed by companies. Product development managers lack new product development software to accelerate time-to-market. Gupta and bunch of his Indian American friends founded the firm in July,1999. Before that, he founded Thruput Technologies in 1993, a supply chain managements software vendor. He sold it off in 1999 to Mapics, an enterprise resource planning company, “because we could not manage the rapid internal growth needed and the company fell into the chasm in Silicon Valley terms,” Gupta told IANS. Thruput achieved $8.5 million in sales by 1997. Its customers included Rockwell, Raytheon and IBM and about 75 mid-sized companies. In a by and large fragmented market, SpeedtoMarket has a few smaller companies as competitors. It achieved $2.5 million in revenues last year, Gupta says. Its customers include Lucent, Seagate, Elbitt and Johson Controls. The company was started by Gupta, Ajay Kapoor (34) and Ravi Radhakrishnan, (33) Kapoor and Gupta are graduates of IIT, Delhi, and Radhakrishnan is a Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, graduate. Gupta came to the USA in 1986 to do his masters in mechanical engineering from Virginia Tech and Management from Carnegie Mellon. He then worked for Xerox for five years and quit to found Truput. Gupta plans to grow the company to 150 persons in the next 12 months from the 20 right now. “I think this time we are going to be wiser because one of the critical pieces in growing the company is you have to set the culture and the knowledge and set it right before growing, “he says. SpeedtoMarket sells its software based on the number of people in the client company. If the company has 1,000 persons it pays about $1 million. It is an Internet-based software and proprietary to the company that buys it. Gupta believes his company is creating a new space. When executing large new product development programmes the coordination of resources and processes is complex and unpredictable, he says. “It is a difficult challenge to get the product out on time and that is what we help companies do,” he adds
— IANS  |
co
Home alone on Net CAPE TOWN: A Cape Town resident has spent the past 12 weeks alone in a house to establish whether it is possible to survive by using the Internet. Finance company Andersen Consulting decided to explore the status quo on e-commerce in South Africa and launched the project called “dotcoza” to get the answer from first hand practical experience. Chris Botha (24), a graduate from the University of Stellenbosch, was exploring how business and personal lives can be conducted in a fundamentally different way. Botha was chosen from a large list of applicants from all over South Africa. He came out as the person most comfortable with the Internet, able to communicate orally and in writing and was happy to spend large amounts of time alone. When Botha moved into the five bedroom, double storey house on March 6, there was no furniture, food, clothes or other household goods. He was required to purchase everything he needed on the Net and then have it delivered to the house. Cameras were set up throughout the house to ensure that the outside world can witness his every move on the Internet. The website www.Dotcoza.Co.Za has been receiving thousands of hits from around the world every day, and visitors to the site can send messages to Botha. He spends most of his day in the special Internet chat room, which was set up for him as well as answering e-mail from people around the world. He has been using the Internet to set up home and live his life. He is buying everything online, including peanut butter, moisturiser, lounge suites and wine. He has been banking online, communicating with the outside world online and entertaining himself online. He has been given a credit card with a limit of 7000 US dollars a month to spend on anything he wishes. “It sounds like a lot, but furnishing a four-bedroom house is an expensive business.” “Because the whole aim of the project is to test e-commerce, I have spent that amount every month,” he told reporters. Botha’s contract with the company ends on June 6, and he will leave the house for the first time in three months.
— Pool-PANA
From GP
to jeep LONDON: Maurice Wilks was not happy with the worn-out second World War Willys jeep he had on his Welsh farm. It was 1946, and parts for the war surplus American-built vehicle were hard to come by. It was also fast approaching the end of its working life. So Mr Wilks, prompted by his brother, set about designing a replacement four-wheel drive vehicle for farmers. He was well qualified for the task. His main job was chief engineer of the old Rover car company, and his brother was its Chairman. The Willys jeep had been a rush job. The US government had asked its motor industry in 1940 to come up with an all-terrain general purpose vehicle in 49 days. One company, Bantam, met the deadline. However, its finances were parlous and the contract for the GP vehicle — or jeep as it quickly became known — went to Willys-Overland. Willys and Ford modified the Bantam design and between them made 700,000 jeeps during the war years. Mr Wilks’s rival to the jeep for post-war Britain had to overcome materials shortages such as steel. He used flat aluminium panels for the bodywork, which had the added advantage of eliminating costly body pressing. The chassis was made of flat sheet steel plate formed into boxed-frame sections, which again cut costs. The first Land Rover was launched at the Amsterdam motor show in April 1948. It had three bucket seats in the front and a canvas roof. Doors, initially an optional extra, soon became standard. A metal alternative to the canvas roof was introduced two years later. The vehicle quickly found a market at home and abroad, not only among farmers, but also among foresters, the police, the armed forces and adventurers. Ford, the second largest motor manufacturer, had almost no 4x4 vehicles until it bought Land Rover from BMW last week. Now its new and smaller Maverick will compete head to head with the Freelander. Mr Wilks thought Rover could build better 4x4s than the Americans. The market will now decide whether that is still the case.
— The Guardian |
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Apollo Tyres net up 144.7 pc NEW DELHI, May 29 — Apollo Tyres Limited today announced a 144.7 per cent spurt in its net profit for the year ended March 31, 2000. The company registered a net profit of Rs 76.06 crore during the year under reference as compared to the Rs 31.08 crore recorded in the previous year. Apollo Tyres Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Mr Onkar S. Kanwar, attributed the profitability spurt to improved current asset management and introduction of contemporary technological and managerial practices in the company. EIH net profit drops by 25 pc NEW DELHI, May 29 (PTI) — EIH Limited, part of the Oberoi Group of hotels, today announced a 25 per cent decline in net profit during 1999-2000 at Rs 72.47 crore compared to Rs 96.41 crore in the previous year. The company, however, has maintained last year’s dividend level at Rs 5 per equity share. An amount of Rs 4.42 crore was paid as pro-rata dividend on 9.6 per cent cumulative redeemable preference shares of Rs 100 crore issued during last year, EIH said in a statement here. ICICI Bank to pay 15 pc dividend MUMBAI, May 29 (PTI) — The board of directors of ICICI Bank have declared a 15 per cent (Rs 1.50 per share) dividend on 16,50,00,700 equity shares for the year ending March 31, 2000. However, the underlying 3,18,18,180 equity shares allotted on March 31, 2000 pursuant to issue of 1,59,09,090 American Depository shares are not entitled for any dividend for the year in terms of the issue prospectus. Ceat Fin reports 46.75 cr loss CALCUTTA, May 29 (UNI) — Ceat Financial Services Limited, an RPG Group company, has reported a net loss of Rs 46.75 crore during the six month period ended March, 2000 against a net profit of Rs 4.52 crore in previous year. The company has made a provision of Rs 20.50 crore for non-performing assets and diminuation on the value of the investments and assets this year against Rs 7.60 crore last year. Change of guard at Alfa Laval PUNE, May 29 (UNI) — Mr Jos Bellinkx, Senior Advisor of the Alfa Laval Group, today took over as Chairman of Alfa Laval (India) following the resignation by chairperson Lila Poonawalla. Ms Poonawalla announced her resignation from the chairpersonship and also as the Director of Alfa Laval (India) at the annual general meeting (AGM), which she presided over in the presence of Mr Bellinkx, here today.
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Online forum Justice Sen PNB meet E-counters Radisson Export board Khadi board |
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