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Tuesday,
July 24, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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Brokers on strike against ban on Badla
Hero Honda to be on top: report
Opel Swing launched |
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SIDBI objects to
CEO's appointment Amul enters pizza market Top Indian officer
quits Nortel Shiv Nadar launches
PG courses in IT Markfed launches
ready-to-eat foods
Polaris Software nets 15.5 cr
Now software for
heart patients
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Brokers on strike against ban on Badla New Delhi, July 23 All major bourses, including the BSE and NSE, witnessed sharply lower trading volumes as the brokers refrained from trading. Some institutional and foreign brokerage firms did not participate in the protest. The brokers were protesting a ban on buying and selling of shares using borrowed money, or carry-forward trade. The strikers are likely to meet officials at SEBI on Monday to demand that it reverse the move. "To draw attention of SEBI, government authorities and investors towards various issues affecting capital markets, the brokers community is abstaining from trading today," the BSE Brokers Forum said. Since taking effect on July 2, the ban on "badla", as the trading practice is popularly known, has reportedly put more than half of 800 brokers at the Bombay exchange, Asia's oldest, out of business. "We are not against the introduction of rolling settlement or other new trading mechanism in the capital market," said Kavi Kumar, president(brokerage) of online broking firm Indiabulls.com. "While we support the market watchdog's attempt to introduce new systems in line with international standards, it should not scrap a decade-old mechanism which helps generate volume at the bourses at one stroke," Kumar told IANS. Following the recent stock market scam, SEBI banned carry-forward trade that is unique to the subcontinent. It accounted for up to 90 percent of the daily turnovers of most bourses. In the absence of alternative financing of stock purchases, the ban has caused daily trading value to plunge to about Rs.9 billion from Rs.40 billion as on January 1. A compulsory rolling system was instead introduced in 414 stocks to prevent practices such as insider trading and excessive speculation, which are alleged to have triggered a crash in early March in several bourses, particularly the BSE. Under the rolling settlement system, which is in vogue in most major bourses in the globe, every deal will have to be compulsorily settled within five trading days and no deal can be carried forward from one settlement period to another. "When the market was already in the grip of a liquidity crunch, scrapping the carry-forward trade was not a prudent move. In fact, it could have been modified to suit the changing times. A ban on carry-forward will do more harm than good to the market," said Vijay Bhusan, director of New Delhi-based Bharat Bhusan Securities Ltd. "The regulator didn't bother to take the views of the brokers before banning the trading mechanism. In the US markets, all major changes are introduced after public debate and a host of experts from different fields are involved in the process," he said.
IANS |
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Hero Honda to be on top: report New Delhi, July 23 “Hero Honda is a pure play on fastest-growing motor cycle market, which constitutes 59 per cent of the total 2-wheeler industry. The recent cut in excise duty is likely to shift customer preferences in favour of better and higher-end motor cycles, which will benefit Hero Honda the most,” the research report titled ‘HSBC’s India 50’ said. “While the margins of all other players halved, Hero Honda reported a marginal decline (in recent times),” the report prepared by HSBC
Securities and Capital Markets said. Hero Honda will be followed by ACC, Hoechst Marion Roussel, Nestle, Asian Paints, Ranbaxy, ONGC, Britannia, Hughes Software and Sun Pharma, in terms of “incremental value spread” during 2001-04, the report said. HSBC’s incremental value spread, measured in terms of return on invested capital in excess of weighted average cost of capital. Hero Honda was expected to have a value spread of 27.5 per cent while that of ACC would be 12.5 per cent and 12.2 per cent for Hoechst Marion. Other old economy majors, including Reliance Industries, Bharat Petroleum, Telco, ITC, Hindustan Lever, Grasim, L&T, Tisco, BHEL, Reliance Petroleum, Hindalco, Hindustan Petroleum, are
unlikely to achieve even 10 per cent incremental value spread, the report said.
PTI |
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Opel Swing launched Chandigarh, July 23 "The target is to sell at least 1,000 cars by the end of this
calendar year. Booking for 125 cars has already been done within two weeks of the launch in the country," said Mr Rajiv Chaba, vice-president (marketing) while addressing a press conference here. The main features of Swing include a flexi-boot, raised roof rails, low loading height for baggage, a luggage compartment cover, apart from nearly 11 km per litre of fuel consumption (with AC). Swing is being projected as "an unstationed" station wagon, he said. Swing will come in passion yellow, callypso green , vermello beta, cashmere , cosmic blue and casablanca white colours. |
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SIDBI objects to CEO's appointment Chandigarh, July 23 In a letter to the Chairman, Punjab Venture Capital Ltd (PVCL), Mr G.S. Pirzada, the bank authorities have stated that a clearance from SIDBI was required for the appointment. Mr Bhandari, who is still not relieved from the PSIDC, said: "A SIDBI representative was present at the meeting when the decision was taken and it is only due to some lack of communication that they have asked for such an explanation." SIDBI has 50 per cent stake in the fund. At a board meeting of PVITL in June, Mr Bhandari was initially appointed for two years and simultaneously recommended for a 15-day tour to the USA to attend various seminars and business conferences. However, Mr Bhandari, the sole nominee of the PSIDC on PVCL and its MD designate, managed to get state government's nod to attend a seminar from June 24 to 28 in Washington DC, USA. The PSIDC board is expected to take up the matter after SIDBI clears the appointment of Mr Bhandari. Mr Bhandari not only got the duration of his tour extended from 5 to 11 days, but also took $500 per day as daily allowance. According to documents available with The Tribune, he also carried $2,200 as fee for the event and drew air ticket expenses of Rs 1.75 lakh. He also got $500 sanctioned for entertainment. "I took only $125 or even less per day while my entitlement is up to $500," he said. As a nominee of the PSIDC on the board of PVCL, Mr Bhandari is required to deposit any remuneration/ sitting fee for attending board meetings with the PSIDC till he continues to be on the rolls of the PSIDC. An audit objection is already pending against him for overdrawing DA when he took $ 350 per day besides $1,000 towards entertainment. Mr Bhandari, however, said there was no audit objection and that he had always given complete details of his expenses. Meanwhile, of the Rs 20 crore fund, Rs 6 crore has been sanctioned to the Trident group and Rs 4 crore to USA-based Dcomax Inc. |
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Amul enters pizza market Ahmedabad, July 23 Amul's latest entry into fast food with pizzas is set to take Indian cities by storm, judging by the response they have generated in Ahmedabad and now New Delhi. If the serpentine queue that forms outside the Amul outlet that opened here last week is any indication, its pizzas are already a rage. The Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), the owners of the Amul brand of milk and milk products, opened its first pizza outlet at Surat about a month ago. Opening pizza outlets was part of a pilot project and a dairy in Surat was a test case. "We enjoy 75 per cent of the cheese market. The idea was to further popularise our cheese," GCMMF Managing Director B.M. Vyas told IANS from Anand, about 75 km from Ahmedabad. Priced a mere Rs.20 a piece, Amul pizza was a runaway success, prompting the GCMMF to go for a bigger plan that includes opening 3,000 outlets in 300 cities across the country. "Of course we want to sell more cheese," said brand manager Pawan Kumar. The GCMMF sells about 3,500 tonnes of Amul cheese annually. Kumar expects its sales to go up by about 1000 tonnes. As part of the project, the GCMMF inaugurated its first pizza outlet last week in Ahmedabad. Outlets have opened in New Delhi even as trade inquiries are pouring in at Anand. The GCMMF plans to open outlets in cities where it already has strong presence. Ahmedabad alone may have about 100 outlets this year. Vyas says that federation will position its pizza as a mass consumption product and will leverage its countrywide distribution network to promote it. Mushroom, margarita, tomato-onion and fruit are some of the toppings that Amul offers to begin with. That the GCMMF is pretty serious about its latest venture is obvious because it has included the "Jain pizza" among its offerings. The Jain pizza will not have any root produce like onion, ginger or garlic in the dressing. This keeps in mind the fact that the Jain community does not consume roots. With projected sales of 100 pizzas a day at each outlet in the very first year, Amul will indeed have a tall order at hand.
IANS |
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Top Indian officer quits Nortel New York, July 23 The decision comes barely a month after Nortel announced that Jaipur-born Khatod would be on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. telling legislators how to "untether" America and create a profitable wireless Internet. Khatod, however, says he wanted to do it a long time ago. In an interview with IANS from his home in Atlanta, Georgia, 42-year-old Khatod said he left because he had grown out of Nortel. "I have been thinking of it on and off. I resigned four years ago, but because of my relationships and friendships, Nortel asked me to stay. Then again in March 2000, I decided to leave but again because of the relationships, and because I needed to continue, I decided against it. The time is now to grow out of it. I have accomplished all I could accomplish. Khatod denied there had been any souring of relationships with anyone in Nortel, including CEO John Roth, who is himself destined to resign shortly after shareholders pummeled him for leading the company fast down the slippery stock market slope. Khatod, who graduated from the Potdar Institute of Management, Jaipur, obliquely hinted he may choose to remain in Georgia, his home of 15 years.
IANS |
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Shiv Nadar launches PG courses in IT New Delhi, July 23 This will be conducted through the Sivasubramaniya Nadar Educational and Charitable Trust (SSNECT), founded by Mr Shiv Nadar. The classes will be held at the SSN School of Advanced Software Engineering at Chennai. Thirty students will be initially taken for the two courses, the Master of Science in Information Technology and Software Engineering, Mr Nadar and Dr Raj Reddy of Carnegie Mellon University, said here today after exchanging the memorandum of understanding for the programme. The institute will be equipped with state-of-the-art computer centres, modern labs and networked campus with high speed Internet connectivity. The students would have a six-month practicum in the US leading to the Masters Degree from Carnegie Mellon. The expenses would be affordable and there would be an imperative that scholarship winners would have to work for three years in India otherwise pay back Rs 10 lakh to the college, which was incurring heavy expenditure for the education. Integration of IT within education and training is a national priority, said Mr Reddy. Tests for admission to the college would be held on August 16.
UNI |
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Markfed launches
ready-to-eat foods Chandigarh, July 23 Mr D.S. Bains, MD, Markfed, launched these products at the Teej festival organised by the Chandigarh Press Club. Mr Bains said Markfed has exported these products. Dubai and Canada are the main buyers. The recipes of the new products such as aloo-wari, kari-pakora, palak-paneer and aloo mathee among other have been prepared by celebrity chef Jiggs Kalra. Mr Bains said the products have been prepared for Indians especially Punjabis who are settled in other countries. Markfed plans to replace the traditional tins with easy-to-open soon. |
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Polaris Software nets 15.5 cr
Chennai, July 23 According to figures released by the company here today the total revenues for the quarter stood at Rs 71.34 crore as against Rs 52.80 crore the corresponding quarter last year.
Tata Infotech net rises
Tata Infotech (TFL) has posted a net profit of Rs 5.42 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, 2001 as compared to a loss of Rs 89 lakh in corresponding period last fiscal. The net sales stood for the Q1 stood at 131.73 crore as against Rs 108.83 crore in the quarter ende June 30, 2000.
Tata Elxsi net up
Tata Elxsi has posted a net profit of Rs 15.74 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2001 compared to Rs 13.52 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2000. Total income of the company for the quarter ended June 30, 2001 has been at Rs 260.91 million as against Rs 290.14 million in the quarter ended June 30, 2000.
Escorts net dips
Escorts Ltd today reported a 62.6 per cent dip in net profit at Rs 33.23 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2001.
Cadila net surges 33.88 pc
Cadila Healthcare has posted a 33.88 per cent increase in the net profit at Rs 19.17 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, 2001, as compared to Rs 14.32 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal. Total income stood at Rs 144.17 crore for the reporting quarter as against Rs 133.30 crore in the quarter ended June 30, 2000.
Exide net dips
Exide Industries registered a marginal increase in sales to Rs 954 crore with a 14 per cent drop in net profit at Rs 41.5 crore during 2000-01. Meanwhile Exide Industries is planning to form a joint venture with Austrian firm Jungfer AG for manufacture of polyethelene separators for the lead acid battery industry in India. The Board of Directors recommended payment of final dividend at the rate of 15 per cent for 2000-01.
Timken nets 20 cr
Timken India Limited achieved its highest gross turnover of Rs 172 crore and earned its highest profit after tax of Rs 20 crore in 2000-2001.
Reliance MF
Dividend of 0.678 per cent has been declared in the Monthly Dividend Option by Reliance Capital Mutuel Fund of its monthly income plan. The record date of the dividend was July 20, 2001. Reliance Capital Mutual Fund has also declared dividend at the rate of 0.155 per cent per unit in the weekly dividend option of the treasury plan of Reliance Liquidity Fund.
Compudyne Winfo
Compudyne Winfosystems (CWL) has achieved a sales turnover of Rs 836.46 lakh for the quarter ended June 30, 2001, against Rs 373.01 lakh in the corresponding period last year, registering a growth 124 per cent. The net profit for the reporting quarter increased to Rs 195.62 lakh as against Rs 107.98 lakh for the corresponding previous year, recording a growth of 81.16 per cent, a company release said.
Bombay Dyeing net falls
Bombay Dyeing and Manufacturing Co has posted higher net loss of Rs 9.19 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, 2001 as compared to Rs 5 crore net loss for the corresponding period last fiscal.
Asian Paints net up
Asian Paints has recorded a rise of 14.39 per cent in its net profit for the quarter ending June 30, 2001 at Rs 21.22 crore as against Rs 18.55 crore for the same period last year.
Agencies |
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Now software for heart patients Thiruvananthapuram, July 23 New York-based analyst Saji Salam has developed a software program that will alert a cardiologist on the move to a patient's condition and help him promptly relay the course of treatment by the hospital staff. According to Salam, who is in Silverline Technologies, the cardiologist can get a message on his mobile phone indicating the patient's name and type of cardiac complication. On seeing this, he can relay the treatment protocol to be followed by his staff. A medical doctor by profession who strayed into the field of computers, Salam says the prototype of the new software — Wireless Cardiology Alert System (WCAS) developed by him for Silverline — is almost ready. The only impediment for it to become operational is the lack of technology. "Nokia and Motorola are now giving finishing touches to the WAP push technology and in a matter of six months, this software could be activated," he says. The WAP push technology is a must for WCAS to run.
IANS Chinese battery
at Rs 1.50 New Delhi From a small quantity of 5.37 million pieces in 1997-98,imports of pencil batteries, technically and commercially known as ‘AA’,’R6’ or ‘UM3’ from China leapfrogged to 36.60 million numbers in 1998-99 and a whopping 46.80 million pieces in the first six months of the financial year 2000-2001.
UNI Cheers for Shaw Wallace beer Kolkata A company source said here the SWC had become the first company in India to sell over one crore bottles in any state in a single month. The company’s leading beer brands Haywards 5000, Haywards 2000 and Royal Challenge premium lager sold over 33 lakh bottles and Haywards 2000 sold 6 lakh bottles, thus taking the total number of bottles sold in the month to over one crore.
UNI NIIT ties up with Microsoft New
Delhi Under the arrangement, NIIT will act as Microsoft’s exclusive computer literacy skill certifier in India, an NIIT statement said today. The certification, titled “Microsoft Office User Specialist”, is a credential that demonstrates computer skills, also measures competence, improves productivity and identifies opportunities for skill
development. PTI |
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SBP branch Office-bearers Search engine Indian Oil Corpn Wipro Infotech Reliance feat Canara Bank Customers’ meet |
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