 |
| Tuesday, March 13, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
|
Separate unit for crop insurance planned
Shift focus to other crops, Borlaug tells farmers
Govt clears 19 FDI proposals Cheap imports hit textile units |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Markfed, 3 agencies exporting wheat Govt to hive off
two HCL units Berkowits opens centre in city 3 more IOB branches
under ABB network Small recovery possible this week Shareholders sue
Mitsubishi executives
|
|
Separate unit for crop insurance planned New Delhi, March 12 “Discussions are being held for floating a separate insurance for crop insurance”, Mr Yashwant Sinha told the Lok Sabha while introducing the General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Amendment Bill, 2001. The Bill seeks to delink the four subsidiary companies of the GIC. The companies within the GIC will do business as separate entities under the control of the government. The GIC, which was until now involved in civil aviation insurance and crop insurance, would focus on reinsurance business as it had experience of dealing with this vital sector. Defending the government’s move to delink the functions of the GIC, Mr Sinha refuted the Opposition charge that the GIC would be weakened by the proposed move. Mr Sinha said reinsurance was essential as millions of dollars were being lost by India as it had not developed reinsurance capacity. While civil aviation insurance would be transferred to New India Assurance, the GIC would retain crop insurance till the new company was formed. Strongly contesting CPI-M member Roop Chand Pal’s charge that Parliament was being bypassed, Mr Sinha pointed out that it was mentioned at the time of introducing the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Bill that there would be three types of insurances—life insurance, general insurance and reinsurance. Responding to allegations of the Opposition member that four subsidiaries were being delinked from GIC to boost operations of private insurance firms, Mr Sinha said it was proposed to transfer back to the Centre, the share capital of the subsidiary companies by making necessary amendment in the General Insurance Business Act, 1972. Mr Roop Chand Pal said the delinking process had been initiated in November and Parliament had been kept in dark during the Winter session.
|
|
Shift focus to other crops, Borlaug tells farmers New Delhi, March 12 “The Indian government probably cannot afford to give enough subsidies for enabling Indian wheat exporters to maintain parity with the international price line”, Prof Borlaug, who is currently on a visit to India, said. Prof Borlaug, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1970 for his pioneering contribution for enabling food security, observed that maintaining an internationally competitive price by the Indian wheat exporters may entail “domestic subsidies which may be burdensome”. Underlining the need for exhaustive research in the field of agriculture, the Nobel laureate urged Indian farmers to shift focus to other crops. Pointing out that the use of chemical fertilisers were necessary for maintaining productivity, he said environmentalists were wrong in their observation that chemical fertilisers were ecologically harmful. Emphasising the need for larger state support for scientific research, he said “there has to be realisation among political leaders about the importance of institutionalised scientific research”. “Science cannot operate in vacuum”, Prof Borlaug said adding that India should emphasise on research in new crops to occupy areas that are now covered by wheat. Praising Indian scientists and farmers for making the country food surplus, Prof Borluag said diversion of some areas from wheat and rice to maize would provide better prices and nutrition to the farmers and consumers.
|
|
New Delhi, March 12 While Norcool will invest the amount, which will be brought in by converting loan into equity, to produce refrigeration units; Bharti Duraline will become a 100 per cent foreign-owned company after this approval, to manufacture telecommunication products, as per an official statement issued here. While Radiant Group was given approval to bring in Rs 23 crore FDI for software development, UCB SA of Belgium will invest Rs 17.29 crore to again increase foreign holding to 100 per cent from the present 50.99 per cent, it said. Also, Analjit Singh-promoted Max India has been granted permission to bring Rs 2.56 crore for manufacturing bulk drugs so that foreign equity holding in the company goes up by 21 per cent to 95 per cent. The government also cleared telecom major RPG Cellular’s proposal to invest Rs 9.3 crore, which will be invested in group companies and in operating cellular services. In yet another one by the RPG Group, Rs 2.1 crore will be brought into India for financing telecom projects via RPG Communications Holdings. In the only advertising industry proposal, Ambience & Arcy Advertising Pvt Ltd was given permission to hike foreign equity by 23 per cent to 74 per cent with Rs 70,000 FDI for the purpose of advertising, media planning and corporate communications. Also, Alfa Laval India will bring Rs 2.47 crore FDI to manufacture flow equipment and thus increase foreign equity holding to 100 per cent. In the Infotech sector, two proposals for software development in India were cleared apart from Radiant; New Horizons Cybersoft will conduct equity swap issue of two million shares amounting to Rs 8 crore, while IT Microsystems India will increase foreign holding fractionally to bring in Rs one lakh worth
FDI.
|
|
Cheap imports hit textile units Ludhiana, March 12 With the opening of the economy under the WTO, cheaper goods are coming through Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Bangladesh makes cotton shirts worth less than Rs 100 each. Chinese garments and fabrics are arriving in India through Nepal which have also
affected the local textile industry. A Chinese acrylic pullover is available for Rs 150 and a muffler for Rs 30 shereas an Indian pullover is not available for less than Rs 400 per piece. In the recent Budget problems of the industry have been addressed to a large extent and the textile industry has been given a special focus. According to Mr D.L. Sharma, President and Executive Director, Mahavir Spinning Mills, an attempt has been made to adopt the principle of value added tax throughout the value chain of textile manufacturing by bringing the garments under the excise net. Branded garments are proposed to be taxed at 16 per cent excise duty. The differential duties on processed fabric as applicable on the composite mills and independent processors have been done away. It is proposed in the Budget to tax all processed fabrics whether produced by composite mills or independent processors at the same rate of tax on ad valorem basis. This will boost the organised sector to modernise the textile industry mainly in weaving and fabric processing and garment manufacturing. Mr Sharma feels that as the government has already dereserved the garment sector, the textile policy and the proposals in this Budget will go a long way in attracting foreign direct investments. Further the government has imposed 16 per cent duty on branded garments with Modvat for the first time. Hosiery goods made of knitted fabric have been exempted from the levy of this duty. This will check the evasion of duty. The spinning of cotton has also been dereserved as it was earlier covered under the small scale and was exempted from excise duty. There was largescale evasion of excise duty. This exemption has been withdrawn now. To upgrade the textile machinery, the government has imposed 5 per cent to 15 per cent import duty on selected machinery to compete in the world market. Accelerated rate of depreciation has been allowed to all textile investments under the TUF (technology upgradation fund). The profit making companies will make best use of this facility. Industry sources point out that the area left to be addressed pertains to the Indo-Nepal treaty which was signed first time in 1991. Under this treaty, the goods from Nepal are allowed to be imported without any Customs duty if they are manufactured in Nepal. They explain that the basic principle was that the Indian raw material would be used in Nepal. In 1996, the treaty was amended and the Nepalese could import raw material from any country without Customs duty. This has hit the Indian textile industry the most. The textile industry wants that the Nepalese should restrict the quantitative restrictions and give a level-playing field to the local industry. Indians should be allowed duty free import of fabric from any where or they (manufacturers in Nepal) should use the Indian raw material only. Despite the above benefits granted in the central Budget, the textile industry will continue to face problems as the supply position of textile raw material — yarn and fabrics — are available in abundance. There is over capacity in India. |
|
Markfed, 3 agencies exporting wheat Ludhiana, March 12 According to sources here today, these agencies had already started sending consignments to different countries, including Bangladesh, Sudan, Korea, Muscat, Iraq and West Asian countries. Enquiries showed that the export of wheat by these agencies was started in December and they would have to make the payment to the Food Corporation of India of the negotiated stocks before March 31. The stocks could be lifted by end of April. Some of the private agencies were making purchases of wheat from Punjab, Gujrat and Rajasthan at the rate of Rs 4150 per tonne. All stocks were being purchased from the stocks of the FCI. Wheat being exported was meant for both human consumption and animal consumption. Wheat being sent to Korea was for animal consumption, the sources said. The official agencies had contracted the wheat export at the rate of $100 to $105 US per tonne. |
|
Govt to hive off two HCL units New Delhi, March 12 Official sources told PTI the month long exercise came to an end last month with interested parties having completed their study of the data room and the plants. Four parties, namely Birla Copper, Sterlite Industries, new owners of
Balco, international metals major Glencore and Phelps Dodge-Metdist combine had evinced interest in picking up stake in the copper major. The government had decided to hive off two of the units of the public sector copper major namely Khetri and Taloja units into a separate company. The value of the assets of the two units will form HCL’s 49 per cent contribution in the new company. The remaining 51 per cent equity would be infused by the strategic partner. The government has mandated a consortium headed by Industrial Development Bank of India
(IDBI) and Sumitomo Bank to act as global advisors for the process. The bidders were given two days each for conducting a site visit to the two plants. Three days were reserved for inspecting the data room of the company set up at Kolkata and another two days for inspecting the data room for the Khetri plant set up at Delhi. The outgo on account of VRS had been fixed at Rs 445
crore.
Dabur Foods likely to break-even Dabur Foods Ltd, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Dabur India, said today that it expects to post maiden profits in 2000-01 and announced a slew of new product launches including fruit-based beverages, papads and pickles. The company, which will complete three years of operations this fiscal, expects to break-even mainly on the high-volume growth of real brand of fruit juices, and is going in for a major producer portfolio expansion next fiscal. “We expect to make profits for the first time this year, mainly due to good sales of Real. This brand alone contributes over 75 per cent of our sales
tunrover,” CEO of Dabur Foods, Amit Burman said. PTI
|
|
Berkowits opens centre in city Chandigarh, March 12 Berkowits also offers height increasing, treatment for white patches, warts and fracles and specialized treatment for inch and weight loss. With the opening of this centre Berkowits now has as many 14 centres throughout the country, including centres in Ludhiana and
Patiala.
3 more IOB branches
under ABB network Chandigarh, March 12 It was inaugurated by Mr.S S Madan,General Manager of the bank here today. "The bank plans to bring as many as 236 branches under the ABB network by the end of this year" said Mr.
Madan. The bank now has 163 branches under the ABB network. Elaborating on the future plans, he said 100 more branches will be computerised during the year.
LiquiRent, scheme for the financing of rent receivables, has also been launched by the bank" The bank plans to bring out more innovative retail products", said Mr.
Madan. Meanwhile, IOB also opened an extension counter at Dhanwantri Ayurvedic College, Sector 46,
today.
|
co
Small recovery possible this week With two black Fridays and a steep fall of ten per cent in Sensex in ten days, the Indian stock market has suffered one of its worst crisis. Last Monday when it was announced that the payment crisis in Mumbai was over and a ban was imposed on “naked sales”, the general view was that the market would recover soon. But this Friday proved to be blacker than the
previous Friday and a serious payment crisis surfaced at Kolkata. It is now reported that a large part of the payment crisis has been overcome but it remains to be seen whether the market would register some recovery this week. There are, of course, some factors which counter the possibility of an early recovery this week. Some banks have started selling pledged securities in the market on the failure of their clients in furnishing additional funds against advances. There is also a report that the RBI may direct the banks to impose ten per cent ceiling on all advances against pledged shares. It is also on the cards that some big brokers and a large part of small traders may not be able to survive the crisis. But there are also indications that this week, some recovery may come in the stock market, particularly in old economy shares with sound fundamentals and trusted managements. The FIIs and financial institutions have been buyers even last week. It may also be noted that while the ICE scrips have been consistent losers, some old economy shares have stood their ground. Nestle, Hindustan Lever and other FMGG scrips have not been tarred by the black Fridays. The same may be said of the pharma shares. There are also many small investors with ready funds to pick up good scrips with good prospects of an early rise in prices. It is true that many bargain hunters have been hunted out last week when they picked up scrips in the belief that these shares had touched their bottom but later found that these “pick ups” have gone much lower than their purchase-prices. The new economy scrips would of course take a long time to recover. The chairman of NIIT has announced the second quarter revenue of the company would be lower by $ 7 million than the previous forecast. This has been attributed to slowdown in the US economy. There is also a report CISCO Systems, a top US ICE company, was slashing its workers by 5 per cent. Moreover, some ICE scrips which were regarded as the favourites of a top BSE broker, who is now facing serious problems, would have no support in the market. Among these shares are HFCL, Global Tele, Penta Graphic. Even Satyam and Infosys have lost ground due to general distrust of ICE shares and reports of slow down in the US economy. Some good shares to pick up are (as I view the situation), Indian Shaving (around or lower than Rs 430/-), Larsen & Toubro (around Rs 255/-), Vikas WSP (around or lower than Rs 25/-) Coates of India (around Rs 95/- or so). Vikas WSP has declared 50 per cent interim dividend and has announced that the two new units would go in production by October this year. Even though this scrip is not a favourite with the mutual funds, it has very good fundamentals. Coates of India has announced its annual results. Even though its net profit is slightly lower than the last year’s net profit, the company has announced a higher dividend of 42 per cent as against 40 per cent declared last year. At Rs 95, this share has the potential of a 20 per cent rise within the next three months. Its future prospects are good. |
cr
Shareholders sue
Mitsubishi executives Tokyo, March 12 "We are suing 11 Mitsubishi Motors' executives, looking for them to return 1.1 billion yen to the company," said Naohiko Nomachi, a spokesman for shareholders' rights Ombudsman Group. "The suit says that the executives were responsible for damaging trust, which led to a slowdown of sales," he added. Last year, Japan's fourth-largest automaker admitted to hiding defects and customer complaints for more than 20 years, a scandal that forced then-president Katsuhiko Kawasoe to resign. Mitsubishi Motors' closed up three percent at 113 yen, outperforming a 3.62 percent slump by the benchmark Nikkei share average, which hit a 16-year closing low. The loss-making carmaker's shares had been trading just under 500 yen last summer before news broke that Mitsubishi had systematically covered up customer complaints for decades rather than reporting them to the authorities for possible recalls, as the law required. The scandal also prompted DaimlerChrysler AG, which owns 34 percent of the company, to tighten its grip on Mitsubishi by sending in chief operating officer Rolf Eckrodt to play troubleshooter.
Reuters Hitachi profit seen under forecast Tokyo, March 12 The Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported on Saturday that Hitachi was expected to report a consolidated operating profit of 280 billion to 290 billion yen ($2.34-$2.42 billion) for the business year to March 31, compared with the company's forecast of 335 billion yen. A Hitachi spokesman declined to confirm the figures, saying the company was still in the process of compiling group-wide numbers, but acknowledged that the business environment had softened since the company issued its latest forecasts last October. The 2000/01 sales target of 8.4 trillion yen was likely to be met, the Nihon Keizai said, although net profit was likely to be only a little more than 100 billion yen, compared with the October forecast of 125 billion yen. Three other Japanese chipmakers -- Toshiba Corp, NEC Corp and Fujitsu Ltd -- have all issued profit warnings for the 2000/01 business year over the past several weeks, as a slowdown in the U.S. economy late last year.
Reuters Sony, Toshiba, IBM join hands Tokyo, March 12 The three companies said they would invest $ 400 million over the next five years at an IBM facility in Austin, Texas, to design the powerful new chip for the broadband communications age. PlayStation2 console maker Sony Computer Entertainment Inc will license to make 0.10 micron-sized chips — 10,000 times thinner than a human hair. The alliance will marry SCEI’s leadership in the home console market, IBM’s computer and semiconductor track record and Toshiba’s expertise in system large-scale integration of chips, a joint statement said.
AFP |
bb
Insurance results IBM Solutions Forum MTIIL network ICICI Bonds Max India Infotech meet SBP hi-tech branch Nestle India |
 |
| Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir | Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs | Nation | Editorial | | Business | Sport | World | Mailbag | In Spotlight | Chandigarh Tribune | Ludhiana Tribune 50 years of Independence | Tercentenary Celebrations | | 121 Years of Trust | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
