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Saturday,
September 21, 2002,
Chandigarh, India  
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HFCL to disinvest subsidiary
Chambers criticise S&P rating cut
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Industrial policy by October-end
India poised for smart card boom
Coke gets time to shed 49pc stake
NIIT eyes better Q4 performance
ONGC rules out open offer for MRPL shares
Everyone can fly scheme extended
Apollo Tyres ties up with Continental WWICS chief visits Canada
Honda to recall defective vehicles
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HFCL to disinvest subsidiary
Kolkata, September 20 “The company is considering disinvesting certain assets, such as its subsidiary HFCL Infotel and some of its strategic investments in core areas which are no longer considered core to its business,” top company sources said. The funds raised from such disinvestments would be primarily used for the reduction of HFCL’s debts and for enhancing working capital requirement for core business, sources said. The company was likely to maintain its focus on manufacturing of transmission and access equipment and providing turnkey services in telecom sector. HFCL Infotel had launched its basic telecom services project in the second half of 2000-01 in all the major towns of Punjab and the Union territory of Chandigarh. It had over 60,000 subscribers on its network and claimed to have the richest bouquet of services and products available in the industry. HFCL Infotel had recorded a net loss of Rs 162.96 crore in the previous fiscal on a total income of Rs 73.35 crore. It had drawn Rs 241 crore of term loans during the year for financing its project roll out and had also tied up fresh term loans of Rs 105 crore from Global Trust and Vysya Bank. The company had a total debt of Rs 568.08 crore as on March, 2002 and its interest charges amounted close to Rs 71 crore. HFCL is planning to infuse fresh funds by issuing equity shares and warrants, convertible into equity shares, on private placement basis and will move special resolutions in the coming Annual General Meeting to get approval of shareholders. These funds too would be utilised to repay high cost rupee debt, upgrading existing facilities, expansion and modernisation, corporate restructuring and other business purposes including working capital requirements. Incidentally, it had taken permission to go ahead with the proposal in an extra-ordinary general meeting in May, but could not complete the entire process within three months as required by SEBI guidelines and so a fresh consent would be sought. It will issue three crore shares or warrants convertible into equity shares of Rs 10 each on a one-to-one basis at a price of not less than Rs 63 per share. In addition, another resolution seeking permission to issue two crore warrants convertible into equity shares on preferential basis at a price of Rs 63 per warrant to promoter, promoter group, directors and their associates would be moved during the AGM. PTI
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Chambers criticise S&P rating cut New Delhi, September 20 CII president Ashok Soota said “there is absolutely no macroeconomic rationale for this downgrade. In an environment where nations are struggling to achieve even 3 per cent GDP growth, India is well above 5 per cent.” He said in a statement “it is believed the downgrading was driven by short-term factors such as delay in petroleum PSUs disinvestment and not based on any macroeconomic factors.” Strongly reacting to the rating, Assocham president K. K. Nohria said, “the rating is unfortunate, particularly at a time when the economy has started responding and signs of fresh investments are becoming visible.” Nohria said, “however, the confusing signals particularly on the disinvestment front will impact the flow of investment, domestic and foreign”. PHDCCI president Arun Kapoor said “the downgrading has been done without fully comprehending the strength of Indian economy.” He said rating has no meaning since it has not taken into consideration the fundamentals of the economy which includes a strong agricultural base and extensive industrial setup. Soota pointed out that “we are comfortable in both the macro-economic and foreign sector front. Also India has never reneged on her domestic or foreign liabilities. Not even if far worse times. What then, was the cause for this downgrade.” While the S&P downgrade was uncalled for, India should accelerate the process of reforms and communicate this well to the global investment community, Soota said. “Prime Minister should clearly say that the disinvestment programme is not going to be derailed, that it will meet its budget targets, and then this should be clearly communicated to investors,” he said. Expressing similar sentiments, Assocham President said there was a need for consensus amongst political parties, especially amongst the NDP partners and any derailment from the disinvestment path will have far-reaching effects and will rather
strengthen the hands of those who are opposing the much desired privatisation process. CII further said “it will not be of any significant. For one, hardly anyone abroad buys government securities. So S&P’s downgrade will not raise the cost of selling treasury bills.” “For another, as far as corporate paper is concerned, foreign investors care much more about the details of a company than with sovereign ratings,” CII said. CII said India currently has over $ 62 billion in foreign currency reserves — one of the highest among developing economies, and adequate to cover over 14 months of imports. “Today, thanks to a competitive exchange rate, India is again showing 20 per cent export growth, India’s current account deficit is at a historical low of less than 0.5 per cent to GDP — which can easily increase to over two per cent,” Soota said. “Also, our foreign debt is very comfortable 21 per cent of GDP, and the net value of this debt is less than 15 per cent of GDP,” he said. |
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Industrial policy by October-end Bathinda, September 20 For accomplishing this task at the earliest, the state industry department authorities have asked the Punjab State Industrial Export Corporation (PSIEC) to furnish it all the details regarding such pieces of land and their comments whether that pieces of land could be converted to residential areas or not. For finalising the industrial policy, the Minister of State for Industries, Mr Ashwani Shekri, will submit his paper regarding his suggestion for promoting the small-scale industries in Punjab to Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh shortly. Mr Shekri has collected these suggestions by interacting with the industrialists regarding their problems in detail. “The suggestion in my paper will be a significant part of the industrial policy which will be out by the end of October. The policy will be pro-industrialists and different types of sops could be offered to the entrepreneurs to boost industrialisation in Punjab,” pointed out Mr Shekri while talking to a group of mediapersons here today. He disclosed that a resolution moved by him for getting package for three border districts of Punjab from the Centre on the same pattern, which had been given to Jammu and Kashmir, had been signed by 38 MLAs of all the political parties. It would be submitted to Chief Minister for taking up the matter with the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee and the Union Finance Minister, Mr Jaswant Singh. In the next Parliamentary session, all MLAs and MPs of Punjab state would meet Mr Vajpayee and Mr Singh for giving that package for three border districts of Punjab. He added that under that package, sops including excise concession, sale tax exemption, income tax exemption and freight subsidy had been given to the entrepreneurs, who were setting up new units in Jammu and Kashmir. He claimed that if the same package were given to three border districts of Punjab, these would invite an investment to the tune of Rs 15,000 crore within a year. |
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India poised for smart card boom
New Delhi, September 20 And don’t be surprised if you may have to use your eyes or fingerprints to enter your office or security zones. These and many more such new products and technologies were on display at the 4th three-day International Conference and Exhibition of Smart Card Technology and Applications held in the capital which concluded here today. The next Smart Cards Expo will be held from September 15 to 17, 2003, in New Delhi. The expo with over 130 exhibitors attracted over 8,200 business visitors from all over the country. With the government taking a keen interest in getting smart card into the country a lot of international companies are looking forward for tie-ups and investing in the country. Paragon Converters from Malaysia are already setting up their manufacturing base for smart cards in Hyderabad. Other foreign companies participating for the first time in the expo and looking for Indian distributors are two card manufacturing companies Jiangsu Hengbao Co, China, and Intercard Limited, Hong Kong. e-Cube Technologies from Vadodara is planning to invest in R&D and infrastructure for m-commerce and for developing terminals as they foresee a huge growth in these sectors. The smart card industry big wigs were also present like Shonkh Technologies, e-Cube Technologies, ST Microelectronics, Gemplus, Infineon Technologies, Eltron, Smart Chip, Datastrip Limited, Atmel Corporation, Versatile Cards, Rainbow Technologies, etc. Some of the other products on display were higher density cryptomemory cards embedded with a special logical function to do away with the expensive micro-controller, downloading cash into the smart card through a telephone call and also making payments through smart cards via a telephone, library management through smart cards, etc. The expo was visited by many dignitaries, including former Prime Minister P.V. Narsimha Rao, who said: “The need and importance of security are obvious in the modern world where any lapse in security could often lead to disastrous consequences for an individual, business or the country at large.”
UNI |
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Coke gets time to shed 49pc stake
New Delhi, September 20 The decision to allow more time to Hindustan Coca-Cola Holdings Private Limited to divest its 49 per cent stake in Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Private Limited has been taken after the company agreed to comply with the disinvestment condition and took steps in this direction, a government statement said. The government, after taking into consideration the steps taken and proposed to be taken by the company to implement the disinvestment condition, extended the time for fulfillment of the divestment condition from August 16, 2002, to February 28, 2003 on the company’s representation, the statement said. Amid media reports that Hindustan Coca-Cola Holdings was given an exemption from making a public offer as part of stipulated divestment due to US pressure, the statement said the issue has been resolved as per entry terms of 1997. “As per the approval granted on July 17, 1997, Hindustan Coca-Cola Holdings Private Limited was required to fulfil the divestment conditions by way of Indian participation of up to 49 per cent in Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Private Limited, its wholly owned subsidiary, over a period of five years. As per this condition, the Indian participation can be in the form of participation by individuals, joint venture partners or general public or both, the government clarified. The company has proposed to divest around 39 per cent of its equity holdings in Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Private Limited to private investors and business partners and the balance 10 per cent in favour of te local resident, Indian employee welfare and stock option trusts, the statement said. The divestment in favour of employees and business partners is proposed to be completed by October 17, 2002 and the balance by February, 17-28, 2003, it said. UNI
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NIIT eyes better Q4 performance
New Delhi, September 20 “We had predicted tough times in April, 2001, and after taking initial hit the revenues are looking up each passing quarter. We see better times ahead,’’ NIIT Chairman Rajendra S. Pawar told UNI. NIIT’s net profit for third quarter ended June 30, 2002, fell 56.33 per cent to Rs 2.31 crore from Rs 5.29 crore year on year basis. In the second quarter of this fiscal the profits fell 95.84 per cent and in the first quarter the decline was 88 per cent. The company is also confident of overcoming the problems that some of its franchisees are posing. “The franchisees who went public with the complaints were basically businessmen who were looking for short-term profits, which is not possible when the industry is facing a slump. Our long-term partners are still with us,’’ Mr Pawar said. The company would continue with the franchisee model for its IT education business. As the high-end IT education market is facing downturn, NIIT is looking to other education delivery models and markets. “The company realised the limits of its traditional model five years back now we have tied up with state governments for IT education in government-run schools,’’ Mr Pawar said. “We are running the IT education programme in 2000 schools. Eight hundred each in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, 371 in Tamil Nadu and some in West Bengal and Punjab,’’ he said. “The government participation has brought down the cost of IT education delivery from Rs 50 per hour to Rs 10 per hour and we are looking to bring it down further to Rs 1 per hour. If we manage to achieve this goal it will open up a world of opportunities in IT education,’’ Mr Pawar said. The company said it would not seek grants to expand IT education as it come with strings.
UNI |
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ONGC rules out open offer for MRPL shares New Delhi, September 20 Speaking to newspersons after the Annual General Meeting ONGC Chairman Subir Raha said with the acquisition of equity, a debt restructuring with MRPL’s lenders was negotiated and finalised, leading to the ONGC gaining a majority equity of 51 per cent and management control of MRPL. “With the acquisition of MRPL, ONGC is the only refiner in India with the capability to run refineries on own crude”, Mr Raha said. The ONGC proposal of purchasing the MRPL equity is likely to get the government’s nod shortly, Mr Raha said. The ONGC was acquiring a stake in the Mangalore-Hassan- Bangalore Pipeline (MHBPL). The ONGC continues to be the most profitable Indian corporate group, with a net profit of Rs 6,197.87 crore, registering an increase of 18.5 per cent as compared to the profit of the previous year. |
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Everyone can fly scheme extended New Delhi, September 20 The “Everyone can fly” scheme, where passengers could get discounts ranging from 14 per cent to 60 per cent for tickets bought 21 days in advance, was initially from August 1 till October 31 but the private carrier announced that it was now extending it till March 31, except for a gap of one month during the peak holiday season from December 16 to January 15. Some of the major discounts offered under the Everyone can fly scheme are: Delhi-Chennai ticket for Rs 3695 (instead of Rs 8960), Delhi-Pune for Rs 3247 (Rs 6005), Delhi-Bangalore for Rs 5053 (Rs 8710), Delhi-Guwahati for Rs 4260 (Rs 7325), Kolkata-Bangalore for Rs 3620 (Rs 9155), Mumbai-Delhi for Rs 3620 (Rs 6095) Mumbai-Kolkata for Rs 3470 (Rs 6855), Mumbai-Trivandrum for Rs 3420 (Rs 6700), Chennai-Ahmedabad for Rs 4270 (Rs 7400), Chennai-Kolkata for Rs 3380 (Rs 7825) and Delhi-Bagdogra for Rs 5053 (Rs 8710). |
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Apollo Tyres ties up with Continental
New Delhi, September 20 As per the agreement, Apollo would source technology from Continental to produce these tyres starting 2004 with an initial capacity of 400 units daily which would be ramped up to 1,500 units by 2008, Apollo Tyres’ Head of Corporate Strategies Sunam Sarkar told PTI. Besides, Continental would relocate its closed manufacturing facilities in Austria and Belgium to Baroda for about $ 10.5 million. “The investment will be made from our internal accruals,” Sarkar said adding, the new plant would be set up at its existing facility at Baroda which currently produces passenger car radials and nylon tyres.
PTI |
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WWICS chief visits Canada Chandigarh, September 20 Mr Gurbax S. Malhi, MP, Canada, visited the WWICS office in Toronto and held discussions with Col Sandhu on various issues related to the settlement of new immigrants. He appraised Mr Malhi that the new Immigration Act was slightly tough to meet the benchmark of 75 score to qualify. Mr Malhi assured him to take up the case with the Immigration Minister and would impress upon him to look into the matter. Mr Raminder S. Gill, MPP, Ontario, also paid a visit to WWICS office and had a detailed discussion with Col Sandhu. |
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Phaneesh Murthy CII delegation Infotree Maharashtra bank Valufon Auto project SBI ATM
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