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| Thursday, March 15, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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Market
ignores commotion in govt MRTPC
pulls up Citi Bank ‘Develop
industrial area for readymade garments’ Balco
shares can’t be transferred: MD |
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SSIs to
have global links Crude
oil import norms relaxed Govt
firm on sell-off target Wind-up
notice to IDPL US 64
sales grow 63 pc NSE
FORECAST Cadila
Health a good pick
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Market ignores commotion in govt New Delhi, March 14 “The market has discounted the political turmoil. There is more sensation rather than anything substantial”, a senior investment banker in Mumbai told The Tribune. The market is convinced that the government is in no danger and there would be the usual ruckus in Parliament, he added. The market had drawn comfort from the assurances given by the NDA allies to the Vajpayee Government. The Telegu Desam Party’s disapproval of the demand for resignation of the coalition government helped sooten sentiments to a great extent. There was some knee-jerk reaction yesterday in the gloomy market but today the scene was different. The political
upheaval in New Delhi was overshadowed by hectic market activities. Backed by aggressive purchases by Indian financial institutions, the BSE 30-scrip index soared by 184 points in the Bombay Stock Exchange. The day’s trading in major bourses of the country was guided by the bullrun in major international markets like Nasdaq, New York Stock Exchange and Tokyo. Technology stocks led the sprint in the markets and cement shares fortified the gains. After a weak start at 3508.13 points, the BSE sensitive index later staged a smart recovery and gradually moved upwards to the day’s high of 3757.12 before closing at 3725.03 points as against 3540.65, a sharp rise of 184.38 points or 5.21 per cent. Reports from other bourses also indicated smart recoveries. The Madras Stock Exchange for instance rose by 186.96 points though volume of trading was below normal. The Delhi Stock Exchange index too, commenced the day on a firm footing and picked up further during the day. The DSE index recorded an increase of 30.47 points or 2.3 per cent at 909.10 points. Though the uncertainty over the political happenings seemed to have drifted away, a possible payment crisis in the Calcutta Stock Exchange continued to shake investors confidence. Market analysts said all the Indian financial institutions and mutual funds were heavy buyers at the best of the government. This spurred foreign institutional investors to jump into the ring once again and trading sentiments got a boost. The S&P CNX Nifty at the National Stock Exchange also shot up by over 50 points at 1175.35 points from the previous close. |
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New Delhi, March 14 Stating it as “deficiency in service on Citi Bank part,” the MRTPC acting Chairman R.K Anand and member M. Mahajan said “therefore, the charge of unfair trade practices having been established on the part of the respondents, they are directed to cease from carrying on such practices and also desist from following the same in future.” The complaint was filed by one J.L Jain against Citi Bank N.A. and Northern India Credit Factors Ltd who had arranged loan from the Citi Bank. The Bench said the practices as adopted and indulged in by the respondents had proved to be prejudicial to the interest of the consumer. The complainant had alleged that despite he had paid three months instalments of the loan taken from Citi Bank for financing a Maruti Gypsy, his driver was forced to hand over the vehicle’s key at gun point and was handed over a statement of accounts in which the payments already paid were not reflected. The complainant also said that the already paid instalments were duly acknowledged by the Citi Bank. The MRTPC had earlier issued a notice of enquiry against Citi Bank and Northern India Credit Factors. In its reply to the notice, the respondents said that for default of three
monthly instalments, they were within their rights to recover the vehicle in terms of the agreement executed between the parties. It further said non reflection of payment for three monthly instalments was on account of belated payment made in cash which was to be transmitted to Chennai office where the central accounting was done. However, the Bench also noted that vehicle was recovered before the expiry of the extended time granted by the respondents. The Bench said “by adopting deceptive method was not only a breach of a promise but an unfair trade practice adopted by the respondents.”
PTI |
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‘Develop industrial area for readymade garments’ LUDHIANA: The Punjab Government has earmarked an area of 1100 acres out of 2800 acres of the National Seed Farm which the State Government has acquired from the Central Government for development as industrial focal point. The remaining has been given to the Punjab Agricultural University and some area has been allotted to the Punjab Police for residential colony. This area is located along the river Sutlej downstream. The PSIEC and the Punjab Industries Department are negotiating with the Ludhiana industrialists for the establishment of the industrial focal point. The Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has also held a meeting with the industrialists. A large number of industrial units particularly hosiery and dyeing have come up on Rahon Road and the area suggested by the Readymade Hosiery Manufacturers Association is located adjacent to the Rahon Road based industrial units. According to Mr Prem Sagar Jain, founder President and Mr Vipin Kumar Dhand, General Secretary, Readymade Hosiery Manufacturers Association they have suggested the cluster of village for development as industrial area so that they could setup polluting industrial units including the dyeing units in this cluster and the same could be shifted from Ludhiana town. Mr Jain and Mr Dhand say that they have pressed upon the government that the land price should be tender based. They maintain negotiations for the price of the land are in progress and the government has suggested Rs 650 per
square yard for non-polluting industries and Rs 950 per square yard for the polluting units. The government will also setup a common treatment plant for the industrial effluents. They have further pressed upon the government that the soil should be got tested from a reliable lab for the construction of multistorey complexes and housing colony. The government should accept the actual charges and the development should be time-bound. The villages suggested for the designation of industrial area include Bahadurke, Noorawal and Kasabad. Enquiries made by this reporter show that Ludhiana has as many as 12,000 units engaged in the knitted and allied industry including woollen, cotton, spinning,
synthetic and dyeing. The export of readymade garments from Ludhiana is estimated at Rs 1200 crore per annum. Ludhiana industry manufacture cotton cloth which is consumed in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata by the cotton garments manufacturers who export their garments. There are about 3000 units engaged in the manufacture of readymade hosiery goods. The manufacturers maintain that there is scope for export of cotton garments from Ludhiana but the industry lacks certain sophisticated machinery and upgradation of the existing units. Moreover, there is a quota system for the export of cotton garments. Mr Jain explains that hosiery in Ludhiana is called a cluster and no exclusive unit can be viable. The USA has also started buying blended garments from Ludhiana now. He says that the hosiery units are located in the congested streets of the town and do not cause any pollution. Pollution is caused only by the dyeing units. Regarding the impact of the WTO on the industry, Mr Jain and Mr Dhand say that the industry is now being pushed into ocean and we are entering in the world market. ‘You have to acquire a ship to enter in the ocean. Our humble request to the government is that no ropes should be tied and no unnecessary taxes particularly duties should be imposed. If a ship can be provided it will be very good. We are confident that if our hands and feet are free — we are brave enough to cross the ocean’. |
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Balco shares can’t be transferred: MD
Korba, March 14 The agreement signed between Sterlite Industries and Central Government made it clear that the company, which was acquiring the management control of Balco, cannot transfer any percentage of its holding stake to anyone within a period of three years of signing the
agreement, new MD of the Company S.C. Krishnan said here. Mr Krishnan said the company could not do anything on its own even if the offer come from anyone including the Chhatisgarh Government. Asked to comment on the Ajit Jogi government’s offer to acquire 51 per cent share in the company, The MD said it was for the Centre to decide what it should do in the matter. Expressing concern over the continuing production loss in the one lakh tonne capacity aluminium complex, he said the management was trying its best to win the confidence of the striking workers. “So far at least 100 workers have decided to join and work under the new management but it was not possible to restart production with such a small workforce,” he said. The indefinite strike by the workers entered the 12th day today.
PTI
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SSIs to have global links SAS
Nagar, March 14 This was stated by Mr D.S. Guru, Director and Special Secretary, Industries and Commerce, Punjab while speaking at the inaugural session of “Vision 2001”, a two day-vendor development programme cum exhibition organised by the Small Industries Service Institute (SISI) , Ludhiana and Mohali Industries Association (MIA). The seminar was attended by more than 300 delegates from various units. The objective of the programme is to develop new vendors for government organisations particularly Rail Coach Factory (RCF), Kapurthala, the Ministry of Defense and the Punjab State Electricity Board. The items which are being procured by these organisations from outside the state or the country were put on display for the SSIs in Punjab with the aim of motivating these units to come forward to develop and supply them these products . Mr Guru said small scale industrialists in Punjab should avail the R&D facilities which are available within the state and should upgrade their technological level to become globally competitive. The government’s role as a facilitator in this regard has attained utmost importance and we assure assistance to our industry . Brig P.K. Mago, Additional Director, Ministry of Defence, New Delhi emphasised on the need to indigenise the components required for defence armaments, transportation. “Indigenisation of these equipments will save foreign exchange of the country and will also help in the development of the units here”, he said. He said details of the components were available in the exhibition and the progressive units can select items to work out their viability. Mr S.S. Sandhu, President of MIA spoke about the expectations of the industry in light of vendor development programme. He also put forward suggestions like requirement of a local R&D centre for the state . More than 50 units displayed their products in the exhibition. Laggar Steel of Jalandhar had put on display, a Toyota Milux, which has been made completely bullet proof and semi mine proof by the company on an order placed by the Royal Bhutan Army. The RCF, Kapurthala, has also put on display various components including models of latest coaches and other equipment . Other items being exhibited are electrical equipments, tools, power spray systems etc. |
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Crude oil import norms relaxed New Delhi, March 14 The decision, aimed at taking advantage of competitive prices worldwide, also ends the monopoly of Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) which till now had the mandate for worldwide crude shopping on behalf of other PSUs. The government step assumes significance in the wake of scheduled dismantling of all controls on the oil sector by April, 2002, sources said adding that India was expected to import upto 90 million tonnes of crude during 2001-02. While private and joint sector refineries were permitted to source their crude requirement on their own, IOC was importing for all national oil companies, they said adding that the decision would now enable Bharat Petroleum (BPCL), Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL) and other national oil companies to enter global market. The Cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, also enlarged the scope of imports by permitting term contracts even with those national oil companies that were not offering crude on official selling prices. Apart from spot buying, the IOC was entering into term contracts only with those countries where national oil companies offered selling prices, which are lower than the commercial trading prices. As per the Cabinet decision, crude could be imported from the list of 10 oil producing and trading MNCs like Shell, Mobil etc whose names figure among the list of Fortune 500 companies, sources said adding this would give ‘greater maneuverability’ to India, whose oil import bill during the current fiscal was estimated at Rs 80,000 crore. They, however, said that oil PSUs would be finally allowed to enter the global market after they develop necessary importing infrastructure which would be approved by the Petroleum Ministry. With a refining capacity of 112 million tonnes, including 37 million tonnes added during the last fiscal, India is now self-sufficient in the products, they said but added that only about 30 million tonnes of crude was available domestically necessitating import of 80-90 million tonnes in 2001-02. While Reliance Petroleum and joint venture MRPL are likely to import about 35 million tonnes of crude, rest would be imported by the national oil companies.
PTI |
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New Delhi, March 14 Lauding Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha for presenting a bold Budget, the Arthur Andersen report India Budget Statement 2001’ said that despite scepticism on privatisation, centre’s determination to meet the Rs 12,000 crore disinvestment target next fiscal “appears to be firmer and the approach more focussed on achieving the results”. “The Budget seeks to provide an impetus to greater industrial activity through a combination of fiscal as well as policy oriented measures,” it said. A reduction in corporate tax burden after withdrawal of surcharge and reduction of dividend distribution tax to 10 per cent will contribute to corporate profitability,” it said. Significant reduction in interest rate is also expected to bring down cost of fund of industry, the report said. “Significant reform is proposed in policies relating to employees through relaxation in Industrial Disputes Act as well as the Contract Labour Act, which when enacted, will serve to create more flexible labour markets,” it said.
PTI |
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Delhi, March 14 Stating that prima facie IDPL cannot make its networth positive within reasonable time after meeting all its financial obligations, a two-member BIFR Bench including its Chairman P.P. Chauhan and member T.R. Sridharan said, “it was just, fair and in public interest that the company be wound up”. The Bench observed that the company had failed to come up with a rehabilitation proposal despite being given ample opportunity and advertisement for change of management did not elicit any response. Giving its go ahead to the secured creditors to proceed with legal action for recovery, the board came very strongly on the management of IDPL saying that the creditors had waited for more than eight years.
PTI |
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US 64 sales
grow 63 pc Mumbai, March 14 The net sales of US 64 at Rs 789 crore as on February 28, 2001, registered a growth of 63 per cent from Rs 485 crore in the corresponding period in the last year. Upto February 2001, the total sales under the scheme, at Rs 2,415 crore (including reinvestments of Rs 607 crore), were up by 20 per cent.
UNI |
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Reforms fail to remove poverty Russia, March 14 The report, compiled by independent Russian experts, with the support of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), says Russia need a special programme to combat poverty, without which its ongoing economic reforms were doomed to fail. To highlight the magnitude of the country’s increasing poverty, the report quoted President Vladimir Putin as saying that “Russia is a rich nation of poor people”. Russia ranks 62 among the world’s 174 nations in terms of human development index, says Sergei Bobylev, chief author of the report. Economists say Russia’s many problems were caused by the dramatic changes the country experienced through its post-Soviet evolution. IPS Toyota to invest $ 6 billion Tokyo, March 14 The size of the capital investment is nearly unchanged from the previous year despite economic uncertainties amid tumbles in US and Japanese stock markets. The automaker mainly aims to increase production capacity in North and Latin America by investing in plant and equipment, the paper said. A Toyota spokesman declined to confirm the report, but said the company would forge ahead with plans to boost production in North America. Reuters Hyundai raises 19 bn won Seoul, March 14 It also stressed that recent reports of new financial assistance to the company were misleading as the aid was the same as previously promised . “The company succeeded in securing 19.1 billion won as of the end of February out of some 1 trillion won targeted for this year by faithfully carrying out reforms it had outlined earlier,” the FSS said. The amount was in addition to 1.3 trillion won raised by the company in 2000. The FSS said reports of new financial assistance to Hyundai and its affiliates, including Hyundai Construction, emerged after a creditors’ meeting on Saturday which was aimed at urging creditors to refrain from scaling back funds to the company. Bridge News Meeting on Tokyo stocks today Tokyo, March 14 Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda told a news conference that the new task force to tackle the ailing stock market and lacklustre real estate sector will hold its inaugural meeting tomorrow morning. In a hastily arranged meeting yesterday, Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori told Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa, Economics Minister Taro Aso and Financial Services Agency Minister Hakuo Yanagisawa to consider ways to boost the depressed stock market and deal with banks’ non-performing loans. Reuters 3.3 pc GDP growth ‘likely’ for Manila Manila, March 14 The projection is below the government’s 3.75-4.30 per cent growth target as the IMF was concerned about the intensifying impact of rising public debt on the economy. Bridge News
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IBP quality checks Summit on biotech STG operations Asian vendors Pinnacle Systems Sahara Group |
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