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Friday,
August 2, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Birlas sell MRPL stake to ONGC
ONGC to pump in Rs 900 cr in MRPL
UTI issue: Sinha ‘won’t be let off’
LML unveils Freedom
Punjab relief for
small farmers |
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Industry welcomes tax concessions
Exports register 11.29 pc growth
HFCL clocks
49 pc drop
in net profit
Ind-Swift’s breast cancer drug soon
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Birlas sell MRPL stake to ONGC
Mumbai, August 1 In separate communications to BSE, the group’s four companies Hindalco Industries, Indo Gulf Corporation, Indian Rayon, and Grasim said they were selling their holdings in MRPL to ONGC at Rs 2 per share. An AV Birla group spokesperson confirmed the sale of equity but declined to comment on the actual amount of the transaction. The companies said the share purchase agreement would be executed shortly. HPCL and the AV Birla group hold 37.39 per cent each in MRPL. The group’s equity is divided among its companies with Grasim holding the highest stake of 18.92 per cent, followed by Hindalco at 12.04 per cent, Indian Rayon at 5.16 per cent and Indo Gulf Corporation at 1.27 per cent. At Hindalco’s annual general meeting yesterday, group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla told shareholders that the group planned to exit petrochemicals business. Another reason for the exit from MRPL was its failed partnership with HPCL due to “cultural differences”, he said. PTI
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ONGC to pump in Rs 900 cr in MRPL New Delhi: ONGC will inject about Rs 900 crore in MRPL after buying out the Aditya Birla group’s stake in the joint venture for Rs 59.5 crore. After acquisition of the AV Birla group’s 37.39 per cent stake the ONGC will pump in about Rs 600 crore as additional equity capital for gaining controlling stake in the 9 million tonnes refinery, ONGC officials said. Besides, ONGC will also pump in about Rs 300 crore as working capital in the loss-making refinery where HPCL is equal partners with the Birlas. Earlier in the day, Birla group companies Hindalco, Indian Rayon, Grasim Industries and Indo Gulf informed the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) about their decision to sell their 29.71 crore equity shares in MRPL for Rs 2 a share. As a result, the ONGC would have close to 60 per cent stake in MRPL while HPCL stake would fall from 37.39 per cent to 15-16 per cent. ONGC sources exuded confidence of inking the deal by this month after approval from the Cabinet, for which the Petroleum Ministry is likely to send a proposal soon. The state-run exploration firm’s takeover of the refinery would coincide with financial engineering by financial institutions who have agreed to convert part of their Rs 4,500 crore debt into equity and waiver of interest liability. For the ONGC, which recently got permission from the government to sell petrol and diesel, acquisition of majority control in MRPL is step closer to its objective of entering retail marketing of petrol and diesel. PTI
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UTI issue: Sinha ‘won’t be let off’
New Delhi, August 1 Speaking on the condition of anonymity, two members of the committee said they were surprised at the attempt made to give a clean chit to Mr Sinha in a draft report prepared by the Lok Sabha secretariat under the supervision of Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) chairman Sri Prakash Mani Tripathi. Mr Tripathi is a retired Lieutenant-General of the Indian Army and an MP belonging to the BJP. One of the most widely publicised remarks in the draft report pertains to former Finance Secretary Ajit Kumar. The retired bureaucrat has been criticised for not immediately informing Mr Sinha, who is now External Affairs Minister, about the UTI Board’s proposal to freeze redemptions in the Unit Scheme of 1964 (US-64). Mr Ajit Kumar, according to the draft report, “considered the problem in a routine and casual manner, which is not expected from an officer of his rank”. Mr Ajit Kumar received a letter from former UTI Chairman P.S. Subramanyam on June 30, 2001, the contents of which were disclosed to Mr Sinha on the morning of July 2. It transpires that Mr Subramanyam met Jaimini Bhagwati, Joint Secretary (Capital Markets) in the Finance Ministry, on June 29. Bhagwati told the JPC that the meeting was informal since the former UTI chief did not seek prior appointment. Hence the advice that he gave Mr Subramanyam was in his “individual” capacity because he had not sought “formal clearance of any sort or any formal reaction from the government”. According to what Mr Subramanyam told the JPC, when he met Mr Sinha at 10.30 a.m. on July 2, 2001, before the UTI Board of trustees met and decided to freeze transactions in US-64, the then Finance Minister advised him to go ahead with the Board meeting. Mr Subramanyam told the JPC that “neither did the Finance Minister dispute nor did he endorse what was informed to him and the impression he got was that, in the Finance Minister’s view, the decision was left to the Board (of trustees of the UTI),” the draft report stated. On July 9, Mr Sinha told reporters in New Delhi: “I’m telling you with full sense of responsibility that the Ministry of Finance was not taken into confidence about the freeze on the sale and repurchase of US-64. Vital facts were not shared with the ministry, neither by the board nor the Chairman of the UTI.” Given this public statement, the question arises as to whether Mr Sinha should now concede that he was incorrect in claiming that officials in his ministry were kept in the dark. More importantly, should Mr Sinha not admit his own “constructive” responsibility as Finance Minister in the UTI fiasco, asked a JPC member. IANS
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LML unveils Freedom Chandigarh, August 1 Mr Deepak Singhania, Managing Director, LML Limited, was here during the launch of Freedom, a Rs-40K machine, targeted at the smart commuter segment. Freedom is aimed at foxing Splendor and Passion from the Hero Honda family and Victor from the TVS stables. This 8.5 bhp, 109 cc, 4-stroke bike, was launched amidst much fanfare. “Punjab, a scooter-dominated market, is slowly shifting towards mobikes and we hope to capture 15 per cent market share in this state,” Singhania says. “We have rejigged the manufacturing unit and by the end of this fiscal year plan to have a mobike-scooter production ratio of 72:10, the rest being utilised for the manufacture of gearless vehicles. Nearly 7 to 8 per cent of the components are being imported for the production line,” he adds. LML’s entry into the mobike category has been fairly recent. The company forayed into this category in September, 2000, through a technical alliance with South Korea’s Daelim Motors. Besides Freedom, it manufactures Adreno FXV, Energy and Adreno FX. But it suffered a blow in 2002 Q1 ending June 30 with losses widening by nearly 35 per cent. LML plans to launch economy segment motor cycles the next year and contemplates entry into four-stroke gearless scooter. As per a latest survey, Hero Honda, Bajaj Autos and TVS Suzuki have been christened market leaders (in the same order) as far as motor cycle category goes. LML has been placed in the ‘others’ category. So will LML now mean “Launching Motor cycles to Lead” for consumers as well as the company? Wait and decide. |
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Punjab relief for small farmers Chandigarh, August 1 This was reportedly decided at a high-level meeting, called by Ms Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, Rural Development & Panchayats and Agriculture Minister, here today. Mr Ram Pal, Director, Department of Agriculture, said the meeting discussed the reports from the different areas of the state. Regarding these reports, he said, ‘‘most of the losses to paddy crop are so far confined to the cotton belt and in the Kandi area — Mansa, Sangrur, Bathinda and Nawanshahr districts — due to shortage of canal water and fall in water table. However, in rest of the state, the paddy crop has not suffered any major loss due to assured water supply through tubewells.’’ Officials admitted that at present according to department reports not a single block in the state had suffered crop losses up to 50 per cent, a basic unit to declare drought in any area. However, in some villages in Sangrur and Faridkot districts, the crop loss had crossed 50 per cent. Otherwise, said Mr Ram Pal, the paddy crop had suffered 10-15 per cent decline in the sown area. Perhaps that is the reason, that the state Revenue Department is delaying the “Girdawari” (crop loss assessment) in the state. Mr Bhagat Singh, Finance Commissioner, Department of Revenue and Rehabilitation, said,‘‘ We have fixed August 10 to start our assessment of the crop losses. Prof K.S. Aulakh, Vice-Chancellor, PAU, felt, ‘‘it is only the individual farmers, who have to spent more money or diesel or maintenance of tubewells to water their fields. The actual loss to the crop may be negligible, thus affecting any chance to provide them any financial help under the present rules.” The officials claimed that a meeting of all the deputy commissioners in the state has been called by the Revenue Department on August 7 here. |
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Industry welcomes tax concessions New Delhi, August 1 In a reply to the debate on the supplementary demands for grants he announced in the Lok Sabha yesterday a slew of measures which includes the increase of tax exemption limit on interest income by Rs 3000 from the existing Rs 12,000 to Rs 15,000. Dividend income on mutual fund for senior citizens upto an enhanced limit of Rs 2,500 will not be subject to tax deduction at source, up from the present limit of Rs 1,000. Mr Singh’s announcement sought to address most of the unpopular measures announced by his predecessor Yashwant Sinha in his Budget speech earlier this year. Further the government will float a new scheme of tax relief bonds. Welcoming the measures the CII said reiteration of the government’s commitment to tax reforms would send out the right signals to the industry. The decision to set up task force to simplify procedures in indirect taxes and better tax administration would help the industry in terms of eliminating external limiting factors to its competitiveness. The President of Assocham K.K. Nohria complimented the Finance Minister for displaying a strong commitment to boosting small savings and investment by
announcing the tax incentives. The hike in tax exemption limit on specific instruments under Section 80L by Rs 3,000 and the announcement of new tax-free bonds will held channelise small savings for investment. |
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Exports register 11.29 pc growth New Delhi, August 1 Exports during April-June 2002-2003 were valued at $ 11525.45 million as against $ 10356.40 million during the same quarter in the previous fiscal. In rupee terms, the exports were Rs 56429.77 crore during the period under review, which was an increase of 16.16 per cent. Exports during June were valued at $ 4075.77 million which is 12.84 per cent higher than the level of $ 3612.15 million during June, 2001. In rupee terms, the exports were Rs 19957.61 crore which is 17.55 per cent higher. India’s imports during April-June 2002-03 were valued at $ 13190.82 million, representing an increase of 3.17 per cent over the level of imports valued at $ 12785.85 million in the same period of the previous year. Oil imports during the period under review were valued at $ 4341.19 million representing an increase of 11.40 over $ 3897. 10 million achieved in the corresponding period of last year. |
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HFCL clocks 49 pc drop in net profit
New Delhi, August 1 Jindal Polyester
Jindal Polyester has registered a net profit in the first quarter of this fiscal Rs 15.42 crore. This was an improvement of 175 per cent over the corresponding period in the previous year during April-June 2002.
Jindal Strips
Jindal Strips today reported an over 60 per cent growth in the net profit at Rs 10.61 crore during the first quarter as compared to Rs 6.61 crore during the same period last fiscal. The company saw a 58 per cent jump in profit before tax at Rs 18.92 crore, a company release said.
Agencies |
Ind-Swift’s breast cancer drug soon MUMBAI: The Ind-Swift group will soon launch a anti-cancer drug to treat the breast cancer at an affordable
price. The company intends to file a non-infringing process patent for the drug after the launch. This will be the first drug by the company in the Oncology segment. The new molecules in this segment are growing at a growth rate of 80 to 100 per cent whereas the old molecules are de-growing, Director of the company V.K. Mehta said in a statement issued here today.
UNI
Take part in TV games via Spice CHANDIGARH: Spice Telecom today announced its agreement with Star TV. A Spice subscriber will be able to send an SMS to 7827 and participate in the popular Star TV game shows such as Khulja Sim Sim, a popular game show on Star Plus, and V Crush, a show on Channel V. The users will also be able to vote, participate in contests, and make requests and bid at ‘live’ telecast auctions on various interactive programs on the channels.
TNS
Hero Honda sales rev up New Delhi: Hero Honda Motors said today its sales during July, 2002, rose by 32 per cent to 1.36 lakh motor cycles from 1.03 lakh units in the same month last year. The July sales were, however, lower by 2.6 per cent as compared to 1.39 lakh motor cycles sold in June this year, the company’s Director (Finance) Ravi Sud told PTI here.
PTI
TVS sales shoot up 113 pc MUMBAI: TVS Motor Company has posted a strong sales performance with motorcycle sales in July, 2002 going up by 113 per cent over the corresponding period last year. TVS sold 54,986 units in July, 2002 as compared to 25,862 units in July, 2001. From April to July, ‘02, the total motorcycle sales were 2,16,495 units as compared to 1,12,932 units in the same period last year.
UNI
Bajaj Auto logs 5.7 pc jump in sales KOLKATA: Bajaj Auto has registered a 5.7 per cent jump in sales in two and three-wheelers for July, 2002, at 1,14,128 units as compared to 1,07,920 units in the corresponding period previous year. Company sources said here today that motorcycle sales during the period increased by 20.2 per cent to 61,485 units as against 51,150 units, while the three-wheeler sales grew by 9.6 per cent to 16,353 units.
UNI
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