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| Saturday, February 3,
2001, Chandigarh, India   
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Kandla damage hits wheat exports from Punjab & Haryana
Hyundai showcases latest cars in city
Matiz sales shoot up 298 pc Cell phone for $10 & laptop for
$20! W. Bengal to privatise Great Eastern
Hotel |
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Chambers to adopt quake-hit
villages VSNL soars on selloff news. Can it last?
Taxes boost sex life?
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Kandla damage hits wheat exports from Punjab & Haryana NEW DELHI, Feb 2 — The killer quake of January 26 has given a severe jolt to India’s trade with its nerve centre, the Kandla port, suffering heavy structural damages in the aftermath of the tremor. This is the second time in the past two years that the country’s largest port, handling approximately 17 per cent of India’s outbound and inbound cargoes, has borne the brunt of nature’s fury. Memories are still fresh in the minds of exporters who had suffered heavy losses in the wake of the super-cyclone that swept through the northern half of the Indian west coast inflicting heavy damages to the Kandla port. Notwithstanding assurances by the Union Government that the port will be ready for normal operations within a fortnight, worried exporters have already started issuing force majeure notices citing the earthquake as the sole reason for delay in execution of export contracts. Kandla port alone handled around 406 lakh tonnes of export cargo in 1999, while Gujarat’s many intermediate and minor ports such as Mumdra, Bhavnagar, Bedi and Dahej had export traffic of more than 200 lakh tonnes. Jetty and warehousing operations have been severely disrupted by the quake with three of the eight container berths and two of the five liquid cargo jetties being heavily damaged. Furthermore, the port is facing a serious shortage of manpower, as most of the labourers have either moved to safer places or are involved in relief operations. Operations at the port are further compounded by the lack of electricity. North Indian exporters are likely to be the worst hit in the wake of the damage to the port as majority of the commodities of the land-locked region, including wheat, rice, pulses, edible oil and soya meals are routed through this port. It was also the nearest port for the exporters of the region to access the foreign market. In addition to the damage to jetty facilities in the port, all major and arterial roads leading to the port have been heavily damaged. The force majeure notices issued by the exporters, however, may not be sustainable in any international arbitration as other ports are available on the western coast itself if proper navigational, jetty and warehousing facilities are not available at the Kandla port. Moreover, with meal prices falling sharply overseas, importers may find technical loopholes in deciding on not working out a fresh delivery schedule. Regarding wheat, fresh stock cannot arrive from Punjab and Haryana as the main roads leading to Kandla are damaged. Moreover, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) has already cleared its existing stock from the Kandla godown. New shipments, therefore, cannot unload their stocks unless the godowns are cleared. The Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has also suffered a huge loss with the foundation of a few a storage tanks in the port complex lying damaged. Consequently, piping and cabling systems were disrupted and all operations had to be shut down for want of power supply.
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Hyundai showcases latest cars in city CHANDIGARH, February 2 — Hyundai expects “Sonata”, its new car set to be launched in the country in a few months and capture at least 30 percent of the market share of its segment. The car will cost around Rs 14 lakh. Mr B.V.R. Subbu, Director Marketing and Sales, Hyundai, who was here to attend a three-day roadshow for the company cars, said that “Sonata” , which has already been launched in Korea and the USA will be here in India by July this year. “Though the market share for this segment is not very high and constitutes only 35,000 to 40,000 cars, it is expected to increase. Moreover this is the customer segment which prefers experimenting and shifting to higher levels in cars”, said he. For manufacturing , the company will be able to do with the same assembly line. Such a car, if imported would, cost not less than Rs. 20 lakh or so”, Mr. Subbu added. Hyundai has recorded a total sales of 85,000 cars in year 2000. The sales turnover of the company for the same year has been Rs. 2,313 crore in India. As a part of its “The Power to Drive the new Millennium”, roadshow programme across 32 cities in India, the largest car manufacturing company of Korea has showcased its cars here at the circus ground. Coupe, Grandeur XG and Sportage were the main attractions. Grandeur XG comes with a dual gate H-matic transmission, electronic traction control system, electronic brake force distribution whereas Coupe which is having In line- 4 cylinder, 16 valve DOHC engine configuration comes with features like full leather upholstery and electronic multipoint fuel injection system . NEW DELHI, Feb 2 — Matiz, the flagship brand of Daewoo Motors India Ltd (DMIL) made an impressive comeback last month by selling 2505 cars, a 298 per cent increase over the previous month. However, the other two brands of the company, Ceilo and Nexia, together could sell only 21 units during the month. Mr
Y C Kim, MD and CEO, DMIL, said the boost in sales of Matiz was mainly to the public education campaign against the wrong perceptions in the Indian market about Daewoo’s Korean reorganisation and the dealership quality enhancement campaign. The creditors committee in Korea has officially approved Daewoo Motors Korea’s “self-rescue plan” of $ 840 million, besides extending additional working capital of about $ 142 million for their February operations, he said.
— UNI
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Cell phone for $10
& laptop for $20! BANGALORE: A cell phone for $10 and a paper-thin laptop for $20! Unbelievable, but true. And making this happen is Randice Lisa Altschul, a 40-year-old woman, who plans to launch her paper-thin disposable mobile phones in Asia immediately after launching them in the USA. The relatively unknown “wacko” of an inventor is aiming to become the “next Bill Gates” with her phones, which would come with credited airtime and are tentatively priced at $10. All that she did for her latest invention was that she stretched the circuits of a regular phone — like chewing gum — and folded them back on themselves. “The circuits are thus the cover and the innards,” she was quoted as saying by Internet portal netpilgrim.com. After reducing the size of the phone, she included a credit card with the phone opening the doors for her target market segment — mothers and children. All that they need to do is purchase the phone, use the talk time of 60 minutes and throw it away after using it. “I guess I am just a certified wacko. I can see finished products in my head as if my mind is a catalog and I just make them happen. My greatest asset is that I don’t know anything, so I have no boundaries. Then I surround myself with people who are a lot smarter than me and we make it happen,” Altschul, founder of a company called Dieceland, said. The “self-confessed idea factory” holds nine patents in the U.S. Patents and Trademark Office. Altschul, who has refused to provide technical information about her cell phone invention, reportedly has a U.S. patent on “disposable portable electronic devices and method of making.” Based on super thin technology, the inventor believes that her technology could be used to reduce the costs of manufacture and size of many electronic devices. Her next product, a paper laptop, is still in the lab stage. Altschul says it would cost $20 only. But, Altschul has made it clear that her focus is now only on the cell phone. She is also the inventor of Barbie’s 30th birthday game.
— IANS |
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W. Bengal to privatise Great Eastern
Hotel KOLKATA, February 2 — West Bengal plans to transfer management of a 160-year-old hotel in Calcutta to French hotel giant Accor by the middle of the year, a government official said. West Bengal's government, a bitter critic of the country's privatisation initiatives, has decided to hand over control of the loss-making Great Eastern Hotel, built during British colonial rule, to the French firm. "We should be able to hand over the hotel to Accor by June 30 free of all encumbrances," Pranab Ray, principal secretary of the state's tourism department, told Reuters late on Thursday. He said a memorandum of understanding with Accor would be signed by the end of this month outlining steps to protect the interests of workers. The state government faced strong trade union protests when it announced the decision last year to hand over the hotel to Accor. Union leaders, who successfully blocked an earlier privatisation bid in 1995, said they were perturbed by a clause in the proposed deal allowing Accor to offer a separation package to employees aged 45 and above. Trade union leaders said the voluntary retirement scheme was a form of retrenchment for the hotel which employs 475 people, most of them older than 40. Government officials said the state had held two meetings with Accor representatives to discuss ways of protecting the interests of the workers. "We don't expect any problems from the workforce when they are told the terms of the new agreement," Ray said.
— Reuters |
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Chambers to adopt quake-hit
villages NEW DELHI, Feb 2 — Three leading chambers of commerce and industry have agreed to adopt clusters of quake-hit villages in Gujarat for relief and rehabilitation even as the Centre today expressed satisfaction over the pace of restoration of infrastructural facilities. “Ficci, CII and Assocham have agreed to adopt clusters of villages to extend immediate relief and also for long-term reconstruction and rehabilitation,” Minister for Information and Broadcasting and a member of the Empowered Group of Ministers (GoMs) Sushma Swaraj told newspersons here soon after the Group reviewed the situation in Gujarat. Stating that the details of the exercise were being discussed between Cabinet Secretary T R Prasad and representatives of the three chambers, Swaraj said, the chiefs of public sector undertakings were also holding meetings with Prasad for similar action. For greater coordination between various agencies and to help those bringing relief materials, the State Government has been asked to set up information kiosks at all entry points, she said adding the kiosks will also be armed with a information broucher containing name and telephone numbers of important officers, details about the 949 quake-affected villages and vital information about how to approach various quake-hit areas. To coordinate with the foreign agencies bringing in relief material and to liaison with foreign dignatories visiting Gujarat, Ministry of External Affairs has posted a Joint Secretary-level official in Ahmedabad, Swaraj said. The GoM meeting was chaired by Union Home Minister L.K. Advani. |
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VSNL soars on selloff news. Can it last? NEW DELHI, Feb 2
— The government's decision to sell a big chunk of its holding in telecoms blue-chip Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd (VSNL) sent the firm's shares soaring 16 percent, the daily limit, on Friday. Will the stock continue to soar Monday when trading resumes? Maybe, due to sheer momentum driven by speculative buying. But not because of the company's earnings fundamentals, analysts warn. "This rally is purely based on the disinvestment news. But going by fundamentals, I don't see an upside for the stock as its earnings are not growing," Sudhanshu Asthana, analyst at Birla Sunlife, told Reuters. VSNL's main business of international voice traffic faced threats from falling international tariffs and impending competition, while future growth avenues were unclear, he said. "I am neutral on the stock," Asthana said. Revenue from international voice traffic accounts for over 90 percent of VSNL's income. Other revenue comes from its leased lines and fledgling Internet access businesses. Recently the research firm Cazenove & Co recommended a reduce rating in the stock, citing pressures on VSNL's revenue from the impending loss of its monopoly status. Its future revenues are also threatened by falling international accounting rates and an impending entry of the much-cheaper voice over Internet. Still, that didn't stop investors from rushing to buy VSNL's shares on Friday, following news that the government will reduce its holding to 26 percent from 52.97 percent, by selling a 25 percent stake to a strategic partner. VSNL shares surged 16 percent, the daily limit, to 382.15 rupees before trading in the issue was suspended for the remainder of the day. The government's decision surprised the market, which expected a phased sale of about seven percent in the open market, a small portion to employees and the rest to a strategic partner. VSNL Chairman and Managing Director S.K. Gupta said the rally was justified and added his firm's shares were still undervalued. The company is one of India's most cash rich firms with over 60 billion rupees ($1.3 billion) in reserves and no debt. At around 3,000, VSNL also has many fewer employees than other state-run companies. By contrast, state-owned telecom's firm Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd has nearly 400,000 employees. And on price-earnings multiples, VSNL's valuation is far below some of its international peers. Even after Friday's leap, its shares are trading at just 7.2 times projected earnings for the year, compared to 27.26 for AT&T, Singapore Telecommunication's 22.66 and Sprint Corp's 17.1.
— Reuters |
co
Taxes boost sex life? BERLIN: It always seemed a bold claim. Now the German government has been taken to task for a campaign ad suggesting that controversial new taxes on energy can improve the love life of those forced to pay them. In a written question, a conservative member of parliament asked the Environment Ministry on Thursday on what basis a young female model featured in one of its ads claimed that "eco-taxes" introduced last year had meant more sex for her. "Those who turn their lights off more often get rewarded -- one way or the other," hinted the poster caption in a bid to get Germans to save more electricity. In its written reply, the Environment Ministry conceded it could not yet conclusively say what precise effect such energy conservation would have on human sexual behaviour.
— Reuters Be stupid,
be young! HONG KONG: Dashing Chinese movie star Chow Yun-fat, hero of the kung-fu epic "Crouching Tiger", says the key to staying young is stupidity. "You see I am very stupid. I don't understand or talk well. I take it easy every day. I am like an idiot. Be like this every day, and then you'll look young," Chow, who looks younger than his 45 years, bantered in Mandarin at a news conference. "Don't try to push yourself too hard," said the star. Chow, sometimes described as Hong Kong's Harrison Ford, is perhaps best known internationally for his role in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", which some tip will grab an Oscar nomination for best movie, and as lead actor in "Anna and the King" with Jodie Foster. Well loved in Asia for his good humour, affability and total absence of any airs, Chow was speaking at a news conference to launch a set of stamps and first-day covers issued by the South American nation of Guyana and featuring himself. The set includes six colourful stamps depicting Chow in his various movie roles. But in a spirited session full of wisecracks, the actor admitted he could not identify all six films.
— Reuters Bras trigger
washroom havoc LONDON: New-style underwire bras are sending washing-machine repair workers crazy. Bra wires have become the biggest cause of blockages or damage to washing machines in Britain, electrical repairs group Curry's Coverplan said on Thursday. "With underwired bras now accounting for over half the bra sales in Britain, it's a growing hazard for washing machines," said Sue Loder, of bra experts Triumph International. Triumph reckons 75 percent of British women wash their bras in the machine— more than any other Europeans. The deceptively simply if deeply unglamourous answer -- wash your underwired bras in a pillowcase, experts say.
— Reuters |
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IBM unveils fastest hard disk drive US light vehicle sales drop Virus stealing AOL users passwords Ex Daewoo executives face arrest |
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Star, but no TV Samsung printers Oriental Bank Padmini Tech UB group Citibank GAIL CMD CICST Director Donation |
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