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| Thursday,
March 22, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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Israel
offers Punjab joint ventures Bilateral
trade to touch $ 1.2 b Tehelka
tapes: ad rush for Zee TV TIL seeks probe
into Hitech deals |
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Energy
centre opens in Mohali LIC
links branches Cabinet
nod for veg, non-veg food symbols
Hughes for long
term
Clean up the
stables
Fed move sparks
global sell-off Pak to step up
privatisation Banned from
business AP website hacked
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Israel offers Punjab joint ventures Chandigarh, March 21 The Chief Minister told the visiting dignitaries that concerted efforts are being made to industrialise the agricultural economy and undertake self-employment ventures. The Chief Minister said he had visited Israel and studied various aspects of development and discussed with the Israel Government collaborations in different fields. He said the Khalsa Heritage Complex at Anandpur Sahib has been designed by an Israeli architect, Mr Moshe Sefdi. The Ambassador said agriculture, dairying and industrial sectors are the main economic sectors of Israel, besides livestock development. He said his government is paying special attention to improve animal husbandry as a modern intensive sector, increase the number of heads of high productivity pure and crossbreed animals and expand combined fodder industry. He said Israeli soils are generally of high fertility suitable for various crops, including fruits and vegetables. The agro processing industry is an important sector and he offered to set up projects in Punjab. He said that since Punjabi farmers are known for their enterprising spirit and hard work, they can be motivated to collaborate in the farming sector and other allied activities with Israel which can fetch more income for them. The Chief Minister said that the most important project for the state in which experts and private companies can help is to conserve introducing drip irrigation in the state. It has become all the more important this year as there was not enough rain and the ground water level has gone done. He said state officers will be in touch with the Embassy and the Government of Israel for pursuing the proposals of collaboration. Jathedar Tota Singh Education Minister, and Mr Ramesh Inder Singh, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, were also present at the meeting, according to an official release.
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Bilateral trade to touch $ 1.2 b Chandigarh, March 21 Noting that the bilateral trade in 2000 surpassed $1 billion, Mr Aphek listed diamonds, (58 per cent ),
chemicals, textiles, tea and domestic apparel as India’s main exports to Israel. He said that the agriculture sector offered a great potential for collaboration between the two countries. Only 10 days ago, Israel had tied up a project for setting up of demonstration of farms at three locations in West Bengal, he added. Mr Aphek said that since the diplomatic relations were established in 1992, a legal framework for trade and economic co-operation was put in place by way of agreements between the two governments. The important agreements include according favoured nation status, avoidance of double taxation, bilateral investment
protection, customs, co-operation, joint industrial R&D and setting up of agricultural demonstration farm. Mr Gil Shaki, head of Economic Department, Embassy of Israel, said that developing joint ventures and imparting technical know-how were the two viable ways of co-operation between the two countries. The joint ventures, at present are mainly in the fields of telecommunications, agriculture, software and medical equipment. The Ambassador answered queries on issues ranging from IT professionals to potato processing to the
profile of Israeli visitors to India, from a distinguished audience of industrialists, professors and bureaucrats. Mr
S. P. Gupta, Additional Director and Mr Hem Raj Sharma, Joint director, both from the Department of Industries,
Haryana, Mr S.S. Sandhu, President of the Mohali Industries Association, Mr Malkiat Singh, Executive Director,
PSIDC, Mr Vijai Vardhan, MD, Haryana Tourism, Mr Atul Gupta, CMD, Pugmarks Interweb (P) Ltd, and Mr S.S.
Shergill, Chief Manager, Projects, Markfed were among those present. |
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Tehelka tapes: ad rush for Zee TV New Delhi, March 21 “The tapes have evoked tremendous response from advertisers,” Zee TV officials said, despite the fact the advertising slots had been priced at a whopping Rs 500,000 per ten seconds. The tapes will be aired over a four-day period till Sunday, for an hour each day, beginning 9 p.m. Zee TV is hoping that this will wean viewers from “Kaun Banega Crorepati” which is aired on Star TV in the same time slot. “We will show new, exclusive footage that has not been seen before,” a Zee TV official told IANS Wednesday, adding that only an “unedited version” and “bits and pieces” of the footage shot by Tehelka reporters posing as arms dealers to prove corruption in defence deals, had been aired so far. Asked to comment on Tehelka’s statement that there were no new revelations apart from what has already been made public, the Zee TV official said that, “obviously, we are showing more footage because it has not come out before.” He declined to elaborate, beyond saying, “wait and see.” Tehelka, in which Zee TV is planning to pick up a 26 per cent stake, claims to have shot over 80 hours of footage during its eight-month long sting operation. Some four hours of this were played out for a select audience in the Capital last and led to an immediate political storm which displays no sign of abating. Meanwhile, Star television’s lukewarm coverage of the Tehelka expose has sparked off speculation about an “understanding” with the government on a favorable deal for launching its Direct-to-Home (DTH) services, the guidelines for which were quietly issued on Thursday, two days after the expose was made public. Star, which reportedly has its DTH equipment in place, is said to have a distinct edge over rivals Zee and Sony, industry sources say. Besides, the sources say, Zee, unlike Star, has a much smaller business presence outside India that would enable it float front companies to tap non-resident Indians (NRIs) and overseas corporate bodies (OCBs) to raise funds for launching and sustaining a DTH platform. The government’s DTH guidelines stipulate a cap on all investments by broadcasters — domestic or foreign — at 20 per cent, in an attempt to treat the two at the same level. The cap on total foreign direct investment (FDI) stands at 49 per cent, with NRIs, OCBs and foreign institutional investors (FIIs) being the other investors. Star Television officials were unavailable for comment.
IANS Rs 1 lakh award for Tarun Tejpal Chandigarh, March 21 Mr Jaswinder Singh
Waraich, who hails from Majat village of Ropar district and runs a driving school in Toronto, has said that tehelka.com had brought a revolution in the media by carrying out a sting operation to expose the nexus among politicians, Defence Ministry officials and armed forces personnel in matters relating to defence procurement.
IANS
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TIL seeks probe into Hitech deals
Mumbai, March 21 In a letter to the SEBI, TIL Vice President (Finance) S H Rajadhyaksha said that Tatas would provide all support and cooperation in the process of investigation in the interest of transparency, fair dealing and to protect the interest of the investing public. The action initiated by the Tatas followed the reports appeared in a section of the Press that there was insider trading by a group of traders who allegedly had the prior knowledge of the Aban-Tata deal. The volume of transaction in Hitech Drilling spurted from an everage 2,000 to 5,000 shares a day to over 20,000 shares in three to four days prior to the agreement on Sunday.
UNI
Huntsman acquires ICI business
The $ 8.5 billion chemicals major Huntsman Corporation of US has acquired polyurethane business of ICI India, a subsidiary of british paints major ICI Plc, for a consideration of Rs 82.5 crore. “We have been keen to acquire these operations from ICI India ever since we bought their global polyurethane business in 1999,” Peter R. Huntsman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Huntsman Corporation said here today. He said that this acquisition would further strengthen the company’s position as a world leader in MDI (Diphenyl Methane Diisocynate) based polyurethane systems. “The Indian polyurethane business will offer an extended range of products through our speciality chemicals group, he said in a statement. At present Huntman’s, which operates through its subsidiary Hunstman International (India) Pvt Ltd having a manufacturing facility for mixing various polyurethane systems, would integrate it with its speciality chemicals division Huntsman Polyurethanes. Meanwhile IC India Executive Director Daljit Singh told PTI that the company would transfer its polyurethane business to huntman in about two weeks. ICI India, which is on a restructuring binge, had decided to exit from non core areas and align its business in line with its global parent. The restructuring would involve moving out of cyclicals, pharmaceuticals and bulk chemicals over a period of time, he said adding that sale of polyurethane business was a part of this plan. ICI had earlier sold its animal healthcare business to Glaxo.
Ashok Leyland IT
India’s Ashok Leyland Information Technology Ltd (ALIT) today signed a memorandum of understanding with AsiaSoft Pvt Ltd, under which the Sri Lankan company will carry out ALITFs services among its clientele in the country and the Middle East. “The main product that will be made available to AsiaSoft’s clients would be BaaN, a world-renowned Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) package,” AsiaSoft Chairman Ranjit Fernando told a press conference here.
PTI
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Energy centre opens in
Mohali SAS Nagar, March 21 This was stated by Mr Y.S. Rajan, Scientific Secretary , Government of India, TIFAC . He was here to inaugurate the first Energy Centre of Punjab today. The centre will offer scientific station for evaluating and improving the Energy Evaluation Ratio (EER) of air conditioners and heating equipment through repairs, retrofits and qualitative preventive
maintenance. Energy Centre will also offer alternative options for energy efficient air -conditioning through a new emerging technology called the En3 technology. “Energy Air Ambiator”, the world’s only airconditioning system which does not use a compressor will consume almost one-fifth of the power used by an ordinary AC”, said Mr. S D Dhaliwal, from Thermo Devices, who will shortly bring the product into the market. He said that Air Ambiator will be available at less than Rs 17,000 and save up to 80 per cent of energy. The company will initially focus on Haryana and later Punjab as its major markets. Mr Rajan said that many government departments, industries and other agencies have also adopted the recommendations of TIFAC for implementation in areas like agro- food processing, telecommunications, engineering, healthcare, biotechnology. |
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LIC links
branches Chandigarh, March 21 The policyholders can now deposit their premiums in any of these branches, irrespective of the branch to which their policies are attached. These branches will also handle enquiries on policies, give out policy status reports, revival and loan quotations. About three lakh policies are being serviced by LIC at these seven branch offices. Mr R.C. Sodhi, Sr. Divisional Manager, LIC, Chandigarh division inaugurated today the metro area network at Divisional Office, Chandigarh and then deposited a premium of a Chandigarh branch at the Manimajra branch. Patiala: The Union Government’s decision to amend the General Insurance Nationalisation Act, 1972 will weaken the General Insurance Sector. This was stated at a meeting of the Northern Zone Insurance Employees Association working here today. The employees demanded that the government should have monolithic General Insurance Corporation by meeting the subsidiaries of General Insurance in it, so that it could face the competitive environment. Mr Machanda said that the reduction in staff strength was not the adequate solution.
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Cabinet nod for veg, non-veg food symbols New Delhi, March 21 Under the proposal, a green tree mark would indicate vegetarian food while a red symbol would indicate non-vegetarian. At its meeting last night the Cabinet gave its assent to the proposal to issue a final notification for amending provisions of prevention of food adulteration rules, 1955, and introduce
printing of statutory symbols on labels of packed foods, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan said here today. The clause would be applicable six months after the notification to allow manufacturers to switch to the new labels, and would not affect those products already in the market, he clarified.
EPIL recast The government announced a financial restructuring package of Engineering Projects India Ltd (EPIL) converting its Rs 900 crore loan into equity. The Cabinet gave its nod for conversion of the company’s plan and non-plan loan of Rs 225.49 crore into equity. Similarly, interest on government loans as on March 3, 2000, amounting to Rs 675.95 crore, would also be converted into equity. Mr Mahajan said that an interest holiday would be given on the outstanding loan of Rs 125.97 crore. The Cabinet also permitted EPIL to participate in overseas projects subject to the condition that no plan or non-plan support or government counter-guarantee would be provided for them, he added. It was also decided at the meeting that the Centre would seek from the Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court a stay on the court’s earlier ruling that the industries engaged in manufacturing alcohol meant for potable use would be under the “total and exclusive control” of the states in all respects.
CVC Bill The Cabinet also approved implementation of all recommendations of the joint committee of both Houses of Parliament on the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) Bill, which includes retention of “single directive” principle for the CBI on getting government approval for probing corruption charges against Joint Secretaries and above. The Cabinet decided to accept all changes in the Bill recommended by the 30-member joint committee headed by NCP leader Sharad Pawar, who recently submitted its report to the government. The government will now try to get the Bill passed in both Houses in the next half of the on-going Budget session, he said. The Cabinet approved establishment of 22 industrial training institutes (ITIs) in the North-Eastern States and Sikkim through a centrally sponsored scheme at a cost of nearly Rs 50 crore and upgradation of 35 existing ITIs at an estimated cost of Rs 49 crore. Mr Mahajan said the Cabinet also approved the funding of recurring costs under centrally sponsored schemes beyond 2002-03 under the Tenth Plan.
Policy for women The national policy for empowerment of women under which a time-bound action plan will be drawn up by various ministries and departments for their “advancement, development and empowerment”, was also approved by the Cabinet. It was decided that national and state level councils would be set up to oversee implementation of this policy on a regular basis. While the national council would be headed by the Prime Minister, the state councils would be headed by the Chief Ministers. One of the recommendations of this policy was to enable women in factories to work on night shifts, with the proviso that suitable measures be taken for a support system to ensure their security and transportation, he said. Another decision taken by the Cabinet was the approval to the signing of a memorandum of understanding between India and Australia to promote tourism between the countries.
Auto policy The Cabinet has deferred a decision on the proposed auto policy as the item was not taken up for consideration at the Cabinet meeting. The policy proposes to amend the existing policy in line with the changes in world trade. The new auto policy is expected to be taken up at the next meeting, likely to be held next week.
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Ashok Kumar Hughes for long term Misery seems to be piling on at the Indian bourses. Just when it seemed that an exceptional Budget would retrieve the market, a spate of controversies ranging from taped conversations of the ex-BSE President, payment crisis at the Kolkatta Stock Exchange and finally, the ‘tehelka’ expose has rocked the markets violently. It now seems that the writing is on the wall. Perhaps, Greenspan and a Fed rate cut in the US might provide the proverbial silver lining amidst all these dark clouds. Yet, amidst these ruins, there are trading opportunities and bull
operators willing to take a punt could consider taking up long positions at the counters of DSQ Software at Rs 119 (square up at Rs 138) and BSES at Rs 162 (square up at Rs 177). Bear Operators could consider taking up short positions at the counters of Mahindra & Mahindra at Rs 140 (cover up at Rs 127) and Sterlite at Rs 119 (cover up at Rs 105). The long term portfolio pick of the week in Hughes Software, a fundamentally solid IT company of impeccable pedigree and with immense potential.
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Ashok Kumar Clean up the stables Not too long ago, the SEBI board, had taken an in-principle decision to ask existing listed companies to bring the public holding in these companies to levels of at least 25 per cent within an unspecified time frame, if they had made their initial public floats for 25 per cent of the companies equity. Several Indian companies had come out with public issues amounting to 25 per cent of the company’s equity, but subsequently, the holding of promoters has gone up to levels as high as 90 per cent in some cases, and over 75 per cent in many other cases, which indicates that the floating stock of these companies has shrunk to levels even lower than 10 per cent and the securities regulator has now corrected the lacunae in the system. The board has decided not to lay down a time frame for ensuring that companies bring the non-promoter holding to at least 25 per cent at this point of time, but has restricted itself to saying that all existing companies must have at least 10 per cent non-promoter holding within a year. In case of those companies that made public issues for 10 per cent of their equity, the minimum non-promoter holding requirement at all times would be 10 per cent. At present, there is no regulatory requirement to maintain a minimum floating stock post listing on a continuous basis. While this is a positive move by SEBI, it will have to ensure that unlike some of its many well-intentioned moves in the past, this one too does not lose its relevance. It would be important for SEBI to announce a time-frame within which these provisions will become applicable. Hypothetically, under the prevalent rules and regulations, a promoter could offer shares of Rs 10 at, say, Rs 50 to the investing public at large based on market conditions rather than pure fundamentals and onece the funds are in the kitty, undertake a market operation to hammer down the price and precipitate panic sales. They could then acquire the same shares at a substantially lower rate, say, Rs 20. In this way, public funds could be garnered and subsequently, the promoters stake could be enhanced at the expense of the shareholders. Once that is done, the floating stock in the market would be minimal and the promoter could quite easily tie-up with a market operator to push up the prices again. In this hypothetical scenario, which incidentally, can translate into far more than a theoretical possibility, the promoter gains at the expense of the IPO investors. As suggested by SEBI, all companies should be required to continuously maintain the non-promoter holding at the same level as applicable at the point of entry (10 per cent or 25 per cent). In case of existing listed companies, where the non-promoter holding is less than the applicable limit at the point of entry, the companies may be given time up to one year to raise the level of non promoter holding to at least 10 per cent. In case they fail to do so, they could be required to buy out the public shareholding in a manner similar to that provided in the SEBI’s takeover regulations. Finally, existing listed companies, may not be allowed preferential allotment and buy back if, as a result of this, the non promoter holding falls below the ceiling permitted under the entry norms. Hence, SEBI’s move is undoubtedly a welcome one, but more importantly, it needs to be implemented as soon as possible and within a fixed time-frame. Finally, the very fact that SEBI is using the lull in the primary market to clean up the stables, augurs well for the Indian capital market. |
cr
Fed move sparks global sell-off Singapore, March 21 Tokyo proved a major exception in early Asian trade today as investors cheered a cut in interest rates by the Bank of Japan there on Monday lifting the key Nikkei 225 two per cent to 12,434.03 points by noon. The Tokyo market was closed on Tuesday. The blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average closed on Tuesday at its lowest since March 24, 1999, while the technology-weighted Nasdaq Composite Index was at its lowest since November 13, 1998. That led to a slide in most other markets, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index leading the fall, although taipei alongside Tokyo also bucked the trend.
Reuters Pak to step up privatisation Islamabad, March 21 Privatisation Minister Altaf Salim told a seminar late last night that Pakistan was pursuing a “two-pronged’’ approach to privatisation, selling state firm shares on the stock markets, and offering strategic stakes with management control. The combined revenue from these 49 sales covering telecommunications, oil and gas, banking, power and other industries is estimated at $ 3 billion in the next 18 months, he said. Salim said the figure was worked out on the assumption that 51 per cent of each company would be sold. The military government of General Pervez Musharraf wants to speed the sell offs, and privatisation officials say the government is prepared to transfer management control in the firms even on the sale of a 26 per cent stake. Pakistan has often been criticised for dragging its heels over privatisation, despite promises to speed the process made to the International Monetary Fund, on which Islamabad depends for crucial balance of payments
support. Reuters Banned from business Beijing, March 21 “Those who are already involved in those businesses should quit or their parents should resign as leading officials, or face punishment by the department concerned,’’ the People’s Daily, the Communist Party newspaper, said today. The edict from the party’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection turns up the heat in a campaign against institutional corruption which syphons off billions of dollars every year and is undermining faith in the government. Relatives of government officials in China often use their influence to arrange business deals in exchange for kickbacks or to open businesses which profit from government contracts. The rules ban officials’ spouses and children from property development and management, working as commercial agents or consultants, and acting as lawyers in areas under their spouse or parent’s jurisdiction, the people’s daily said.
Reuters AP website hacked New York, March 21 Dominic Perella, the AP’s overnight supervisor in New York, told Reuters: “On the record, we are not commenting.” The web site of the press cooperative, www.ap.org, was down in the early hours today. Dotcom Scoop, a newsgroup focused on events within the Internet and technology sectors, reported on its own site early today that the vandals were a Brazilian group which claims responsibility for a total of 134 web site defacements.
Reuters |
bb
Rahul Bajaj gets Padma Bhushan Biscuit industry Markfed Life saving drugs Cisco Systems Compaq India |
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