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Thursday,
February 13, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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CORPORATE NEWS
SBI, Maruti pact for car loans
Bids reinvited for Daewoo assets |
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UK’s red carpet for IT firms Johl emphasises crop diversification
HSBC housing rates cut to 8.25 pc
AirTel launches multi-media service
Rupee slumps by 15 paise
Oil prices hit 27-month high
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CORPORATE NEWS
New Delhi, February 12 The acquisition added to NIIT Technologies a consulting team of 40 professionals and an access to Fortune 500 customers in the retail and financial services verticals, a company release said here. NIIT, however, did not reveal the cost of the deal saying there was NDA (Non-disclosure agreement) between them. “This acquisition is a key element of our strategy to address the attractive US corporate knowledge solutions market”, Arvind Thakur, President, NIIT Technologies said. The acquisition which is the sixth in a row, over the last 14 months adds to the list of companies acquired by NIIT, one in India, three in the USA and one in Germany. Ranbaxy herbal drugs soon
Ranbaxy will shortly be marketing herbal drugs and is aiming to become a leading player in the segment, a top company official said here. “Ranbaxy is getting into herbal drugs, it will give competition to Dabur with 60 per cent market share and there is no guarantee its (Dabur’s) share will not shrink,” Chairman of Ranbaxy Laboratories Tajender Khanna said here. Speaking at a seminar, he said a couple of herbal drugs would be marketed shortly and details would be available in the company’s corporate affairs section. It is measure of Ranbaxy’s corporate reputation that the sales in the USA alone have increased to $ 296 million in 2002 from $ 15 million in 1998 and targeted sales in the country are around $ 400 million for this year. The company’s Indian operations alone have pegged their sales at around $ 190 million and worldwide sales this year can be around $ 930 million though exact figures cannot be given offhand, he said.
Polaris enters Germany
Polaris Software Lab has entered into a strategic partnership with Deutsche Leasing, Germany’s leading company in movable assets to implement its “Orbipack” or products. The partnership agreement in this regard was signed here today by Arun
Jain, Chairman and Managing Director of Polaris, and Friedrich Jungling, member of Deutsche Board of Management. The 1.8 million euros deal was the largest for Orbipack suite after the Polaris-Orbitech merger and was expected to act as a “beta site” for showcasing the product pack to other geographies in Central Europe, where Duetsche leasing had a presence, Arun Jain told reporters on the occasion.
Reliance Cap forfeits shares
Reliance Capital has forfeited 12,61,455 equity shares due to non-payment of allotment/call monies, according to BSE. Out of these forfeited shares, 35,466 equity shares were annulled by the company, the BSE informed its members today.
Agencies
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SBI, Maruti pact for car loans
Mumbai, February 12 Under this tie-up, interest rate for car loans will vary from 10.50 to 11.25 per cent for a loan tenure between three years and a maximum of seven years. The two giants will utilise each other’s existing customer base — over 9,000 SBI branches and 256 Maruti outlets, to cross sell Maruti vehicles and SBI car loans in far-flung areas. SBI Chairman A K Purwar said as far as disbursements for car finance under the tie-up were concerned, “The bank can stretch to any level in tune with the demands of the market.’’ To a question, he said the SBI, which already commands a second position in car financing in the country, should be able to reach the first spot in about two year’s time. The SBI and Maruti will collaborate in communicating the benefits offered to customers through joint advertising and promotional activity. SBI Managing Director P.N. Venkatachalam said there would be no processing fees and no extra charge for repaying loans ahead of schedule, he said adding that subvention benefit would also be passed to customers. The total outstanding auto loan upto December end stood at Rs 1,400 crore and in the next year, the bank expects to increase this portfolio by around Rs 500 crore. Mr Purwar said as per the alliance, the SBI would not undertake any new tie-ups with car manufacturers at the national level. MUL would reciprocate by not entering into a similar arrangement with any other public sector bank. Car penetration in India was at six per 1,000 and finance was becoming more critical to expand the market, said MUL Managing Director Jagdish Khattar, explaining the rational for the tie-up. The customer would also benefit by getting upto 30 per cent
discount on the extended warranty charges, he said. UNI, PTI
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Bids reinvited for Daewoo assets
Mumbai, February 12 A total nine bids were received for current assets, finished cars and raw material, out of which three were for 312 Matiz cars. The bids were rejected due to very low offer prices compared to the expected price, D.B. Khade of Khade Bapat and Associates, receiver for the auction, said. “No bids were received for the entire property of the Surajpur plant near Delhi, except the current assets. The bids for items like engine, aluminium die casting and plastic paint units were not opened on the request of DMIL’s lender ICICI Bank Ltd. Hence the auction sale did not materialise”, Khade said. The bank made a request stating that it was procuring higher offer for the car company’s assets, he said, adding that further course of action would be decided through consultation with lenders, bidders and financial institutions. The term lenders, including the IDBI and EXIM Bank, with a total exposure of Rs 1,000 crore sought the postponement of the proceedings as many parties have evinced interest to participate in bidding process while banks, including Canara Bank, insisted on opening of bids filed with the receivers. FIs have an exposure worth Rs 1,000 crore while banks, which have extended working capital, have an exposure of Rs 80 crore. Three bids filed for Matiz cars were from Triumph Motors, final bid of Rs 1.32 lakh per unit, Deepak Motors, Rs 1.12 lakh per unit, and Dynamic Motors, Rs 1.07 lakh, which withdrew after bidding process once bids were opened. Khade, who conducted the bid proceedings, first rejected all three bids but later, as a procedure, asked the bidders if they wanted to raise the offer price. Triumph raised its initial bid price of Rs 1.17 to Rs 1.32 lakh. Tata Engineering filed a bid for the gear line while Sundaram Clyton bid for aluminium die casting. Both bids were not opened following a request from ICICI Bank Ltd.
PTI
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UK’s red carpet for IT firms
Mumbai, February 12 Griffith, who is currently visiting India to attend a four-day IT industry conference that started here yesterday, said Indian IT companies could make Britain a gateway to the emerging markets in Europe. "The British government is making it easier for Indian businesses to operate in Britain with quicker visa procedures and multiple-entry visas that are valid for long periods of 10 years," the minister told the conference. Many Indian companies such as Hexaware Technologies, HFCL and SSI have tied up with technology firms in Britain to tap outsourcing opportunities in third countries. Referring to reports that some U.S. states were mulling to ban off-shoring government contracts to India, Griffith said: "How can you be sure that the work you are putting in now with U.S. partners won't be undone by local politicians". According to reports, the state of Missouri, Maryland, Wisconsin and Connecticut in the USA are contemplating legislation that will prohibit outsourcing of federal business process outsourcing works to countries like India.
IANS
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Johl emphasises crop diversification Ludhiana, February 12 Dr Johl said there was a good scope for the development of horticulture in the state, for which he recommended high-tech nurseries. He said there was widespread scope for growing kinnows which could be sold to traders from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. He also stressed upon the need for a regulated market for forestry like other crops. There was also a need to develop dairy farming where cross-bred good quality cattle could be imported, he added. Speaking on the occasion, Mr S.K. Awasthi, General Manager, Punjab National Bank, New Delhi, said with the existing farm production techniques, the goal of self-sufficiency in food production was almost impossible, “But with the use of biotechnology in agronomic practices, it was possible.” Major biotech applications adopted in recent years included micro propagation through tissue culture, biological control of pests, bio-fertilisers and transgenic crops, he added. He said biotechnology had been successful in the development of tissue culture that had succeeded in multiplying propagation materials for agriculture, horticulture, medicinal, aromatic and forest plants. In his welcome address, Mr U.S. Bhargava, General Manager, PNB, said that on Republic Day, president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, in his address to the Nation, had envisaged a model of Providing urban amenities in rural area’ (PURA) for the eradication of poverty. Mr Bhargava said for this, it had been decided to develop at least one village in Punjab as a model village.
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HSBC housing rates cut to 8.25 pc
Mumbai, February 12 The floating rate for loans between four to five years has been reduced by 0.5 per cent to 8.25 per cent, HSBC said in a release here today. On fixed basis, the rate has been slashed to 8.99 per cent (9.75 per cent) for eight to 20 years loans. There was an additional offer of a free gold credit card for a year, for a limited period, and a chance to win 1,111 prizes. HSBC has already reduced its floating interest rate by 0.5 per cent from February 1 for existing customers. These rates, the bank claims, among the lowest in market place and apply to all customer segments, in each of the 16 cities where HSBC has branches in India. PNB Housing follows suit
PNB Housing Finance today slashed its interest rate on home loans by 0.25-1.50 per cent. As per the revised rates, effective from February 10, the interest for a 5-year loan will be 8.75 per cent, while it will be 9.25 per cent for 6-10 years, 9.5 per cent for 11-15 years and 9.75 per cent for 16-20 years, a company release said here today. For the fixed rate scheme, the interest will be 9 per cent for loans of five years, 9.5 per cent for loans of 6-10 years.
PTI
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AirTel launches multi-media service New Delhi, February 12 The service, which would be available to Airtel consumers across the country from February 15 onwards, would be free for the first 60 days, Mr Anil Nayar, President Mobility, Bharti Tele-Ventures said during a press conference here. The company also launched full roaming on its AirTel Magic (pre-paid), a mobile office for business consumers and an MMS Masala portal to support its MMS. Pre-paid subscribers will now be able to avail the facility of full two-way roaming in 14 states, without any roaming charges, Mr Nayar said. The company also launched SMS-based games and quiz bonanza for its customers.
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Rupee slumps by 15 paise
Mumbai, February 12 Some dollar demand was also seen from banks and importers, dealers said. The Indian unit opened on a steady note at Rs 47.74/75 per dollar and after flaring up to a high of Rs 47.92 per dollar, ended at Rs 47.89/92 per dollar, showing a loss of 15 paise over yesterday’s close of Rs 47.74.75 per dollar. The rupee also fell sharply against other major world currencies like the euro, pound sterling and yen.
PTI
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Kinetic plans Orchid awarded Hero Honda Textile exports Vectra sales Royal Sporting Powers for NPAs Project launched Zee contest |
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