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Tuesday,
August 13, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Industry posts 4 pc growth
CORPORATE NEWS
No to crop insurance hits Haryana farmers
IT jobs market perking up
Haryana growth steady at 5.7 pc |
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Birla, Sun Life to invest in insurance venture
Boost trade, says South Asia Forum
IA launches Bharat Darshan scheme
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Industry posts 4 pc growth New Delhi, August 12 Industrial growth was 4 per cent in the first quarter as against 2.2 per cent in the corresponding period of the previous year, according to quick estimates of Index of Industrial Production released by the Central Statistical Organisation. While the manufacturing sector grew at 3.6 per cent in June compared to 3.4 per cent in the previous year, the mining sector showed a 9.1 per cent growth as against the negative performance of 4.1 per cent in June, 2001. Meanwhile, the latest CII ASCON survey for April-June, 2002, said 15 sectors have recorded an excellent production growth rate while 22 have registered a negative growth. The number of sectors that achieved a moderate growth are 68. The survey covered 127 manufacturing sectors and 12 services sector in the period under review. It said the improvement in the production trend was due to the revival in the economy due to pick up in the overall demand, stability in the government and the government's commitment to go on with the reform proposals. In the high growth category drugs and pharma, auto components, electronic components among others were included. Hardware and PCs, which were in the excellent growth category last year have moved to the high growth category. In all 74 of the 139 sectors have recorded growth of less than 10 per cent. The negative growth category includes eight sectors in capital goods, five in consumer durables and four in consumer non durables.
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CORPORATE NEWS New Delhi, August 12 HLL shareholders present and voting at the Bombay High Court-convened meeting on August 9, supported the proposed bonus debenture scheme as follows: the bonus debenture scheme was approved by shareholders, representing 430 of the shareholders present and voting at the meeting and holding 126,09,85,339 shares, representing 99.9994 per cent of the value of shares on which the poll was held. The scheme will now be submitted to the Bombay High Court. The company will also seek other statutory approvals. As per the Scheme, in addition to a Bonus Debenture of Rs 6 each per share, HLL will also pay a Special Dividend of Rs 2.76 per share as part of the Scheme. The entire tax on Bonus Debentures and Special Dividend will be deducted out of the Rs 2.76 Special Dividend, ensuring that the face value of the Bonus Debenture is uniform at Rs 6. Both the Bonus Debenture and the Special Dividend will be payable by reference to the same Record Date as may be fixed for allotment of Bonus Debenture. The interest on the Bonus Debentures, redeemable after a period of 18 months from the record date, will be 9 per cent. After their issuance, HLL has offered to buy back the debentures — less than 1000 debentures per original debenture holder and upto a limit of Rs 100 crore on a first-come-first-serve basis during the first 12 months commencing from the date of issue of debentures. A consortium, led by HSBC, will also offer a scheme to buy back the Debentures at a rate determined by the consortium. HLL had originally proposed the Bonus Debenture Scheme in 2001, entailing issuance of one Bonus Debenture of the face value of Rs 6 per share of Re 1, and this scheme had been approved by the shareholders on December 12, 2001. Before the Scheme could be implemented, the government changed taxation laws, as per the Finance Act 2002, making dividend taxable in the hands of the shareholders. HLL therefore revised its Bonus Debenture Scheme to make the Scheme self-financing such that shareholders, even at the highest tax bracket, do not have to pay tax on these Bonus Debentures (construed as deemed dividend) out of their own pocket. It is this revised Bonus Debenture Scheme which shareholders approved on August 9, 2002. The Scheme now includes Clause 4A which authorises the HLL Board to make necessary changes in the Scheme, within the existing financial parameters, should any changes be required due to any changes in the taxation laws, before the Scheme is implemented, in a manner which ensures equity amongst all shareholders. The Clause provides that, while implementing such changes, the withdrawals from the General Reserves and withdrawals from the Profit and Loss Account will not exceed Rs 1321 crores and Rs 608 crore respectively, as provided for in the Scheme. The Clause also mentions that in case the Dividend Distribution Tax or any such tax is reintroduced, HLL can adjust the resultant amount from the Special Dividend to release funds for meeting obligations arising from reimposition of such taxation. |
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No to crop insurance hits Haryana farmers Chandigarh, August 12 Nabard officials said the farmers of Gujarat, Rajasthan and other states, where the scheme is being implemented, would get compensation for the assured sum or the actual losses, whichever is less, by paying just 2-5 per cent premium of the sum assured. Mr D.B. Deshpandey, DGM, Nabard, said, ‘‘Under the scheme, the state and Centre governments have to make a contribution to the corpus fund in the ratio of 40:60, set up under the General Insurance Scheme. In case of any natural calamity, the state revenue departments would make an assessment of the actual losses and the compensation would be paid by the insurance company.’’ The scheme is available to all the farmers with small and large land holdings without any distinction whether they had taken loans or not from the nationalised or co-operative societies. Mr Jaswinder Singh Sandhu, Minister for Agriculture, Soil Conservation and Horticulture admitted that the state government had declined to take the scheme due to high rates of premium. He said, ‘‘We had asked the Centre Government not to demand uniform premium for high risk and low risk states. Since states like Punjab and Haryana have assured source of irrigation and have not faced natural calamities like Bihar, Gujarat and other states. So they should be given some discount for them. Now we have decided to take up the issue once again with the Union Ministry of Agriculture.’’ He claimed that the state agriculture department had estimated crop losses worth Rs 1000 crore so far, which were expected to increase during the girdawari, being conducted from August 5 to 20.
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IT jobs market perking up
Bangalore, August 12 After harrowing quarters of pink slips that saw tens of thousands of professionals out of the reckoning following tech meltdown that hit companies, the April-June period was encouraging as firms inclined significantly towards ramping up the head-count. Tata Consultancy Services hired 1,400 professionals in the quarter ending June 30, 2002. “We are planning to recruit 1,600 more in next three quarters,” a TCS spokesman told PTI. Wipro and Infosys are not lagging behind. Wipro reduced its staff strength by more than 300 between April, 2001, and March, 2002, but net additions in Q1 of 2002-03 alone was 919 which is being seen as “shape of things to come” for a weary sector which saw incentives and perks for employees dip during the recent trying times. But Azim Premji’s company will not say how many would be on board by this financial year-end. Its home-based rival Infosys, which saw a mere 75 people joining in the last quarter of 2001-02, welcomed 566 in the April-June period. “We expect to recruit 1,000 people in the current quarter (July-September, 2002),” said Infosys Head (Customer Delivery) D. Shibulal. “All recruitment offers that had to be deferred due to business reason have been honoured this year”. Significantly, this will include 800 freshers, which is in contrast with the industry trend as most companies looked for pros with experience instead of entry-level lads since they did not want them to go through the learning cycle. But employee stock options seem to be on way out and performance-linked salaries the in-thing. In fact, effective from last month, Infosys moved to a role-based structure and the compensation structure will be more aligned towards individual performance. But experts believe salaries in the software industry will largely remain flat and can be less by around 30 per cent compared to the boom period.
PTI |
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Haryana growth steady at 5.7 pc Chandigarh, August 12 He said that after INLD came to power in Haryana, 441 MoU were implemented and 37 letters of intent were converted into licenses involving a total investment of Rs 6,142 crore in large and medium industrial units. The spokesman said that the IT units at Gurgaon were exporting software to the tune of Rs 3000 crore per annum. He added that in terms of software export, Haryana occupied third place in the country after Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The spokesman said that proposals of Rs 185 crore had been referred to the Union Government for improving basic facilities in the industrial estates. Projects worth Rs 53 crore for providing basic facilities to textile industry were also awaiting sanction, he said.
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Birla, Sun Life to invest in insurance venture
New Delhi, August 12 "We are looking at an investment of Rs 450-500 crore in the next five years in the joint venture. This fiscal, the promoters will infuse about Rs 30-50 crore in the company," Birla Sun Life Insurance CEO Nani Javeri told reporters here today. He said the company started with an initial capital of Rs 100 crore and augmented the capital to Rs 150 crore by March 2002 on account of the growth in business. AV Birla group’s Indian Rayon holds 70 per cent and another sister concern Birla Global Finance has 4 per cent stake in Birla Sun Life Insurance while remaining 26 per cent is with Canada’s leading insurer Sun Life. Referring to the 50:50 joint venture with the Canadian company in mutual fund, securities form, trustee and distribution companies, Zaveri said the foreign partner was eager in hiking its stake in the life venture to 50 per cent when
government eases the foreign direct investment norms. Hike in stake by the foreign player comes in the wake of the higher capital infusion from promoters as the business grows. "We want to be top three private insurers in the next five years," Zaveri said.
PTI |
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Boost trade, says South Asia Forum New Delhi, August 12 At the first annual meeting of the SABF, organised by Ficci here today, the participants including industry representatives and senior officials from these countries emphasised the encouraging trade and investment in the region through mutual co-operation, higher levels of private sector participation and formalising the informal trade. “Non-tariff barriers and high transaction costs appear to be important determinants for very significant levels of informal trade in the sub-region”, said Mr Deepak Chatterjee, Commerce Secretary. He urged the private sector to reduce this transaction cost and help in formalising informal trade. Mr Suhel Ahmed Choudhury, Commerce Secretary of Bangladesh, said he expects India to grant duty free access on non-reciprocal basis to all goods produced in Bangladesh. Mr Sultan Hafeez Rehman, Director, South Asia Operations, ADB, said the absence of co-operation among these four nations which implies a huge cost in terms of lost opportunities.
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