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| Tuesday, October 17, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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FM expects high growth, deficit at 5.1
per cent
SEBI asked to review takeover code Ballarpur net surges 2.3 times to Rs 23 cr Korean offer for power
plant at Yamunanagar |
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Mobile PCs in two years Daewoo Chairman resigns Radhakrishna
Ruia dead Wall Street arrives at reality checkpoint
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FM expects high growth, deficit at 5.1
per cent NEW DELHI, Oct 16 — The Union Finance Minister, Mr Yashwant Sinha, today defended the Centre’s Rs 350 crore package to Punjab to overcome the paddy crisis in the state. Addressing the inaugural session of the three-day Economic Editors Conference here, Mr Sinha said the concessions given to Punjab farmers was a measly amount compared to the Budget and was well deserved. He however, admitted that there was some political pressure which came in the way of fiscal measures. Speaking on a whole range of subjects, the minister said there was no cause for concern over the international credit rating agency, Standards and Poor, downgrading the economic outlook of India adding the prophets of doom will be proved wrong. Though he refused to speculate on the exact quantum of GDP growth for this year, he said on the basis of his past experience he was confident that there would be reasonable growth this year. He was hopeful that rising inflation, slowdown in industrial and agricultural growth and soaring global oil prices would not retard economic growth. He said that though rising inflation was a cause of concern for the Government, it was inevitable in an economy where a number of items were under the administrative price mechanism. “As we go along inflation will once again come to reasonable levels”, he said. Mr Sinha said the country would continue to achieve a high growth rate this year with fiscal deficit being contained at 5.1 per cent. The Government was taking urgent measures to reverse the slowdown in some sectors of the industry pushing reforms, he added. He said the government was fully in control of fiscal situation as a result of strict expenditure control and buoyant revenues. The increase in global oil prices would push India’s oil import bill to $ 18 billion but then the situation was manageable as India’s foreign exchange was more than $ 35 billion, he said. While assuring domestic industry protection from unfair business practices by overseas firms, Mr Sinha said they would however, have to fend for themselves in the new economic climate. The Finance Minister felt there would not be any pressure on interest rates due to rise in inflation rate and large Government borrowing. Referring to second generation reforms, the Minister said the Government would bring in four major legislations in the Winter session of Parliament including the Fiscal Responsibility Bill. The Sick Industries Companies Bill and Bankruptcy laws would be converged before its introduction in Parliament. On the slowdown of Foreign Direct Investments in the country, Mr Sinha said most of the $ 1.6 billion foreign investment approvals have been in the telecom sector and the performance was better than last year. |
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SEBI asked to review takeover code NEW DELHI, Oct 16 — The leading chambers in the
country have urged SEBI for an urgent review of the takeover code and strengthen regulations, especially in the case of creeping acquisition, in the wake of flaring corporate battle between Nusli Wadia of Bombay Dyeing and Jute baron Ajay Bajoria. In the interest of fair corporate governance, the asymmetry between acquirer and the promoter ought to be removed. If the acquirer’s trigger continues to remain at 15 per cent, then the promoter’s trigger should be the same,” the CII president, Mr Arun Bharat Ram, said. According to SEBI’s takeover code, the acquirer can purchase upto 15 per cent from the secondary market in any given 12-month period without triggering off an open offer. The promoter, on the other hand, can only acquire five per cent. The FICCI president, G P Goenka said “existing
rules and guidelines of SEBI cannot be set aside while judging the claims of Arun Bajoria. At the same time an atmosphere of hostile takeovers should not be envouraged. Five per cent creeping acquisition by the promoter does not provide level playing field against corporate raiders and FIs should not disrupt existing management”. Assocham President Shekhar Bajaj said “it is easier for an outsider to mount an offensive than an insider to defend his own turf. Today, a raider can keep acquiring shares upto 15 per cent of a company equity without having to make an open offer, whereas a promoter can raise his holding in his own company by only 5 per cent every year through the creeping acquisition route, this is unfair.” He said the promoter should be allowed to raise holding at his own pace upto 51 per cent without any annual ceilings. Reports indicate that Bajoria has acquired 14 per cent equity in Bombay Dyeing from the market and has reportedly control over 2 per cent more through friends and relatives. |
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Ballarpur net surges 2.3 times to Rs 23 cr NEW DELHI, Oct 16 (UNI) — Balarpur Industries Limited (BILT) has recorded a 65.63 per cent surge in the operating profit for the first quarter ended September 30, 2000, while profit after tax rose 2.3 times to Rs 23.09 crore from Rs 10.13 crore a year ago. During the period, the profit before tax has gone up 2.5 times to Rs 25.19 crore from Rs 10.13 a year ago. For the first time Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) as applicable at 8.25 per cent, including surcharge, stands provided in these quarterly results. The turnover for the period was Rs 377 crore against Rs 296 crore in the corresponding quarter ended September 30, 1999. As a per centage, operating profit was 19.14 per cent of the turnover as against 14.71 per cent during last year’s corresponding quarter. For the year 1999-00, this percentage was 16.54 per cent. The financial results show a significant improvement in comparision to last financial year, which ended at a PBT of Rs 69 crore with an average quarterly PBT of Rs 17.25 crore against which the company has made Rs 25.19 crore in the first quarter. During the period, it allotted equity shares to the shareholders of APR Ltd., in pursuance to the scheme of arrangement and reorganisation. This has added Rs 11.89 crore to the equity capital. The earnings per share (EPS) works out to Rs 3.23 per share for the current quarter as against Rs 1.7 in the quarter ended September 30 and Rs 9.51 for the previous financial year 1999-2000. |
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Korean offer for power plant at Yamunanagar SEOUL, Oct 16 (UNI) — Hanjung, a Korean public sector company, today offered to participate in the setting up of the proposed Mega Thermal Power Plant at Yamunanagar in Haryana. The offer was made by Hanjung Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Yaung Suk Yoon to visiting Haryana Chief Minister Om Parkash Chautala at a meeting here early this morning. It was agreed at the meeting that the company would soon send a mission delegation to visit Haryana to make an indepth study of the project. The company, producing 26000 MW power in Korea, is
already in the process of setting up a 280 MW power plant at Kunda Palli, in Andhra Pradesh, and a 440 MW unit at Palghat, in Kerala, in collaboration with the Essar Group. The Korean minister complimented Mr Chautala Mr Chautala for bringing Haryana on the world map with his progressive information technology and industrial policies. He said that a number of Korean companies were considering the possibility of joining the progress of Haryana by setting up their units in the state. The Chief Minister also had a luncheon meeting with Korea International Trade Association (KITA) Vice-Chairman Kun Ho Cho and urged him to sponsor Korean companies to utilise outstanding facilities available in Haryana for seeting up their units.
Mr Chautala said that 70 per cent of Indian cars, 50 per cent Indian tractors, 60 per cent scooters and motorcycles, 25 per cent bicycles and 30 per cent Indian refrigerators were produced in his state. |
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Mobile PCs in two years NEW DELHI, Oct 16 — The Bluetooth technology which replaces cables and allows portable devices like mobile phones and mobile PCs talk to one another through short-range radio links will be a built-in feature in communication devices within the next two years. Mr Mack Palomaki, an expert in this field and Managing Director of A U Systems, Singapore, said here today that more than 100 million mobile phones and millions of other communication devices like headsets and desktop computers would have this technology by that time. This wireless link between mobile devices can handle speech and data, work around the world with low power and low cost radion interface. It can do home automation, personal entertainment, electronic commerce, surveillance, industrial control and countless other things. He said its signals can be transmitted through walls and briefcases. There is a strong layer of security. It facilitates real-time voice and data transmissions. It connects any portable and stationary communication device as easily as switching on the lights. It can send e-mails on portable PC or notebook regardless of whether it is wirelessly connected through a mobile phone or through a wire-bound connection. Mr Palomaki said there has been on evidence that these radio signals on the Bluetooth specification can create any health problem. Microwave ovens act in the same frequency range but up to 600,000 times the output power compared to a Bluetooth unit. Mr Palomaki is here at the invitation of Infocomm solutions to conduct seminars on this exciting area. Mr Palomaki said this is in fact a three-in-one phone, like cordless telephone connecting to the public switched telephone network at home, being charged at a fixed line rate. It makes calls via a voice base station, and makes direct calls between two terminals via the base station. When it connects directly to other telephones it acts as a walkie-talkie or handset extension without the need for charging. According to him, it will shortly have new profiles like car, personal area network, human interface network, printing, audio/video, still imaging, extended service discovery and local positioning.
— UNI |
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Daewoo Chairman resigns NEW DELHI, Oct 16 (PTI) — Mr S.G. Awasthi today resigned as Chairman of Daewoo Motors India Ltd (DMIL) while another top Executive B.S. Min was recalled to Korea amidst reports that General Motors and Fiat were jointly negotiating for taking over the Korean company Daewoo with its world wide operations including DMIL. When contacted, Awasthi told PTI that his resignation had nothing to do with the ongoing talks between the parent company and GM-Fiat combine. “I have resigned on personal grounds. I have accomplished my responsibility in DMIL and it is time for a change,” Awasthi said but declined to comment on his future plans. DMIL’s Deputy Managing Director B.S. Min said he was returning to Korea as part of the company’s personal movement order. Mr Awasthi said he worked for over 16 years in the company and established the Daewoo brand and products in the Indian market. Min said he worked for about four and a half years with DMIL and now the parent company has asked him to come back to Korea and added that he would be leaving on November 3. Meanwhile, General Motors India Vice-President P. Balendran said negotiations between the parent company and Fiat with Daewoo Motor Company and its creditors have been initiated about a week ago for a joint takeover of the debt-ridden car company. |
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Radhakrishna
Ruia dead MUMBAI, Oct 16 (PTI) — Prominent industrialist and philanthropist Radhakrishna Ruia died here today following cardiac arrest. He was 84. Ruia played an important role in developing Mumbai’s textile industry and cotton research. He ran three textile mils (Phoenik, Dawn and Bradbury Mills), Kolhapur Sugar Mill and various other factories. Radhakrishna was among others the Chairman of the Millowners Association from 1963 to 1969, Chairman of the Indian Cotton Mills Federation during 1969 and 1970 and chairman/deputy chairman of the Bombay Textile Research Association from 1973 to 1987. Ruia is survived by two sons. |
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Wall Street arrives at reality checkpoint EVER since the devaluation of the Thai baht in July 1997 set off a domino effect around south-east Asia, it has been obvious that financial instability would not and could not be confined to the minnows of the global economy. And so it has proved. Those who believed that there was something new and different about America’s speculative bubble were deluding themselves. The mood has clearly changed since the International Monetary Fund said last month that 2000 would be the best year for the world economy in more than a decade. As Nick Parsons of Commerzbank noted caustically last week, that was the biggest sell signal of the lot. The arrival of Wall Street at reality checkpoint has coincided with an escalation of the crisis in West Asia. Corporate earnings are already being squeezed by a slowdown in consumer demand and companies now face the prospect of an increase in energy costs at a time when the tightness of the labour market means that they are less able to resist demands for higher wages. Analysts, who at the beginning of the year were merrily ignoring traditional measures of stock market value, have suddenly rediscovered their faith in a relationship between the earnings of a company and its share price. Their calculations belatedly confirm what the Cassandras have been saying since the mid-1990s - Wall Street is grossly overvalued and heading for a big correction. The bear market in equities was under way long before the attention of the world’s media started to focus on what was happening in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. But the prospect of Lebanon, Syria and perhaps even Saudi Arabia being sucked into a wider geopolitical struggle has added to the sense of panic. Even the dimmest dealer knows that it was a former crisis in West Asia - the Yom Kippur war 27 years ago this month - that prompted the oil cartel, Opec, to raise the price of crude five fold in late 1973 and early 1974, bringing first inflation and then recession to the West. As such, it is no surprise to find that there are some who believe thathistory is about to repeat itself. The Anglo-Saxon countries have enjoyed a long boom since the start of the 1990s and look just as vulnerable to an oil shock as they were in 1973. Should the price of crude stay at its current level - let alone rise to $40 or $50 a barrel - then the consequence would be a surge of inflation that would be followed by a severe monetary tightening and wave after wave of redundancies. After dabbling with 1970s music and 1970s fashion, we could complete the set with a dose of 1970s stagflation. What are the chances of this happening? Well, obviously, it would be utterly daft to rule it out. The odds on a hard landing in the USA are shortening by the day, with companies under pressure to justify their inflated share prices, the banking sector awash with bad loans and
consumers borrowing heavily to fund their spending habit. Financial deregulation and capital liberalisation - forced down the throats of other nations by the US treasury and Wall Street - may not look quite so clever when the hot money flows into America are reversed, bringing down the dollar and adding to inflationary pressure. We could, therefore, stand on the threshold of a new age of crisis. In years to come, we may look back on the last years of the 1990s as a brief oasis of prosperity in a desert of economic dislocation. However, let’s try to look on the bright side. An alternative way of looking at recent events is to see them as a catharsis, with a crash on Wall Street not just the culmination of the financial turmoil that started in south-east Asia three years ago but the final thunderous chords of a symphony of darkness stretching back to the mid-1970s. Seen in this light, the trouble in West Asia would not be the overture to a new crisis, but a coda to the last. One important reason for optimism is that we live in a disinflationary age. In the medium term an improvement in the growth-inflation trade-off could - with the right policy response - herald the start of a new golden age of full employment. But not if policymakers insist on fighting the battles of the past. Inflation in Britain excluding oil and petrol is 1.6 per cent and prices of goods in the high street are falling. Japanese inflation is negative. There is little price pressure in Germany, and not a great deal - given the strength of the booming economy - in the USA. The immediate threat to the west may be inflation; the spectre in the shadows is deflation. — By arrangement with The Guardian. |
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A prayer for the husband New Delhi: She woke up long before sunrise on Monday, in anticipation of the rituals that would fill up her day. Already, in a corner of her home a new sari, a set of red bangles and some henna were ready and waiting, the prayer room too had been cleaned a day in advance. This was the first time in her six-year-old marriage that Shalini Singh, a Delhi resident, was observing the “Karva Chauth” festival. The annual Hindu festival, which fell on October 16 this year, is celebrated by thousands of married women in northern India who fast the whole day and pray for the well-being of their husbands. Says Shalini, “I am observing it for the first time even though Bihar, the state I hail from, has no tradition of Karva Chauth. Ever since I came to Delhi a few years ago, I have been watching my Punjabi friends celebrate the festival and its rituals fascinates me.” “After some prayers in the evening, we eagerly look forward to the appearance of the moon. After looking at it through a sieve, we look at the husband’s face — a ritual that is believed to ensure his well-being and long life — and then break our fast,” said Neelu Mahajan, a resident of the Capital. Legend has it that it a queen once prayed to goddess Gaur Mata to win back her husband who was bewitched by another woman. Ever since the festival has been celebrated on the 4th day of the dark half of the Indian month of Kartika (October-November) in states like Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab. “One reason behind the popularity of the festival is its commercialisation. And, of course, cinema has given star status to domestic rituals,” says sociologist Patricia Oberoi of the Institute of Economic Growth. Oberoi’s words are borne out by the glitzy song and dance sequences centering around the festival in all time hit movies like ‘Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge.’ Nowadays, in many urban homes, even husbands take the day off to give company to their wives. — IANS On the prowl
for ‘sex’ SINGAPORE:
Internet prowls for the word ‘’sex’’ outnumber all other subjects almost anywhere in Asia with related terms such as nude, porn, erotic and gay also popular, data from search engines showed on Monday. Compilations by the portals Lycos Asia and Catcha.com of the top 100 search words at their websites revealed that sex emerged first in Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, the Philippines, India and Hong Kong. The results published in The Straits Times showed sex defeated four other Chinese terms to become the only English word in the top five of Lycos Asia’s Taiwan site. In second and third place were the Chinese equivalents. The word also topped Catcha’s Indonesian site. Surfers use search engines to look for websites and information on the world wide web. Lycos Asia runs country-specific search engines, and Catcha provides country-specific portals. After sex, people search for information about music, celebrities, travel and mobile communications. MP3, the format for storing and downloading digital music, ranked second in Catcha’s search engine in Singapore and Malaysia, third in Indonesia and among the top 10 in three other countries. The other popular search words are bank and jobs.
— DPA Sharing dreams & aspirations NEW DELHI: A Delhi-based web site management and software development company on Monday launched a portal called aapkesapne.com, a dedicated place to share one’s dreams, needs, aspirations, concerns and resources. Giving a presentation of the portal, Mr Vinayak Jain, CEO, Web Media Solutions, said their effort is to support people in making their dreams a success. Sections of the portal deal with glamour, consisting of fashion updates with information on models, designers and fashion shows, and films, comprising details on actors, and behind the screen happenings. The other sectors include music, choreography, entertainment, career, information technology, consultancy and chatting. The company has already hosted sites like delhicomputermarket.com, tendertrading.com and sportskiduniy.com.
— UNI
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NIIT net soars 57 pc, to pay 42.5 pc NEW DELHI, Oct 16 (PTI) — NIIT, today announced 57 per cent jump in its net profit at Rs 224.1 crore for the year ended September 30, 2000, against Rs 142.8 crore the previous year. Revenues of the company crossed the four figure mark at Rs 1,237.1 crore during October-September 1999-2000 against Rs 880.03 crore in the previous year. The company has declared an annual dividend of Rs 4.25 per share of Rs 10 face value, NIIT Chairman Rajendra S. Pawar, told reporters here. Announcing the audited annual financial results, Pawar said during the year software and education contributed in the ratio of 49 and 51 per cent. Asked whether the company was planning to emphasise more on the faster growing software business, Pawar said, “We are not going to put any artificial constraint on any type of business. In the business model pursued by NIIT, both will have their own share.” The company is also looking at alliances and acquisitions both in the domestic and overseas markets, V.K. Thandani, CEO of NIIT, said adding that “a team has been created to look at the issue of pursuing deals.” As part of the alliances and acquisition, NIIT had picked up minority stake in two US-based companies, Relativity Technology and One Web System, Thandani said adding that one more such alliance was expected shortly but refused to give details. NIIT’s revenues during the year constituted 37 per cent of the global revenues up from 14 per cent in the previous year. Paramount net rockets 108 pc Paramount Communications Limited, a telecom cable company, has earned Rs 1.46 crore of net profit during the second quarter of this fiscal, up 108 per cent over Rs 70 lakh during the previous 2. The company’s turnover stood at Rs 40.44 crore during the period ended September 30,2000 against Rs 21.90 crore in the corresponding period of last year. For the first six months, Paramount’s net profit rose to Rs 2.16 crore from Rs 1.39 crore, while the turnover increased from Rs 61.35 crore against Rs 46.71 crore. The company recently bagged an order worth Rs 120 crore from the Department of Telecommunication for the supply of jelly filled telcom cable within the current financial year. Essar Cell announces new rates CHANDIGARH, Oct 16 (TNS) — Essar Cellphone announced today a new tariff option for its subscribers in Haryana. Customers opting for this new plan, Suvidha will be billed at Rs 2.00 per pulse of 30 seconds to all outgoing calls. All incoming calls will be billed at Rs 2 per pulse of 60 seconds. Besides, the monthly rental for this plan has been fixed at Rs 275 per month. The entry costs for a new subscriber have been kept at Rs 1,999 which includes Rs 1,000 as the security amount and Rs 999 as the activation charges. DSP Merrill Lynch declares 4 pc NEW DELHI, Oct 16 (UNI) — DSP Merrill Lynch Investment Managers Limited has declared 4 per cent dividend for its DSP Merrill Lynch Bond Fund (Dividend Option) for the sixth month ended September, 2000. The company’s board also declared a dividend of 2 per cent for DSP Merrill Lynch Government Securities Fund-Plan A (Dividend Option) and 3 per cent (Rs 0.30 per unit) for DSP Merrill Lynch Government Securities Fund-Plan B (Dividend Option). The dividend from all schemes is tax free in the hands of the investors since the fund would bear the dividend/distribution tax of 22 per cent. The record date for consideration of dividend payout is October 13. Canbank MF to pay 10 pc interim The Board of Trustees of Canbank Mutual Fund, have declared an interim income distribution of 10 per cent, on the units of Canpremium scheme. The record date for income distribution is October 24, 2000 and all unit holders whose names appear in the registrar as on that date are eligible for income distribution and the income is tax free in their hands. Canpremium is a balanced scheme with exposure to Debt/Money Market instruments up to 75 per cent of the portfolio and equity up to 40 per cent. The performance of the scheme is consistent since conversion w.e.f. 1.2.1998. The scheme has posted growth of 15.05 per cent for last one year and 17.65 per cent over one year period and since the date of conversion 1.2.1998, based on the NAV of 12.76 as on 29.9.2000.
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NABARD chief Kryon Intl Jasc Software Faber Heatkraft SBP Band-X |
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