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Thursday,
July 10, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Maruti
share drives in top gear
Take
labour-intensive works under SGRY, says minister |
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Indal not
to merge with Hindalco PCL to buy
back company shares China
far ahead of India despite similar challenges New
scheme for threatened breeds New
tariff plans for Connect Mobile Blood
Bank, AirTel launch Lifesavers Club
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Maruti share drives in top gear
Mumbai, July 9 Reflecting the continued investors’ interest from its initial public offer last month till listing, Maruti shares rose by Rs 39 to Rs 164 from the issue price of Rs 125 set by the government of disinvestment its 27.5 per cent stake in the company, though it touched the day’s highest of Rs 170 in the National Stock Exchange and Bombay Stock Exchange. Delighted with the response to MUL shares, Disinvestment Minister Arun Shourie said investors would be well rewarded for their confidence in the company. “I believe with the success of MUL issue, we have another reason to be proud. It is ‘the moment’ for India today all over the world”, Shourie said. The tremendous response to the Maruti IPO is expected to lead companies like TCS, LG Electronics, Hyundai and Patni Computers to launch their IPOs. Opening at Rs 158.90 at the 2nd largest bourse — Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) — the scrip shot up within minutes to Rs 163.50 a share following hectic demand, virtually reflecting the big rush for the public offer witnessed last month prompting the government to declare the selling price at Rs 125 for a share of Rs 5 face value against the reserve price of Rs 115. MUL Managing Director Jagdish Khattar rang the ceremonial gong on the BSE and the first deal was executed for one share at Rs 158.40, BSE spokesperson said. Over 36.7 lakh shares were traded in less than half an hour with foreign institutional investors as also domestic mutual funds evincing keen buying interest thus helping a buoyancy in MUL share prices. The price of MUL scrip at over Rs 160 takes the car leader among the top corporates in terms of market capitalisation which at present value should be nearing Rs 5000 crore. The government had divested 7.94 crore shares in the joint venture with Japan’s Suzuki Motor Corporation to mop up about Rs 983 crore late last month through the IPO which was oversubscribed by more than 10 times. In value terms, the issue was oversubscribed by 8.92 times. The securities of MUL were admitted for dealings on BSE in the list of specified securities (A group). Chairman, Maruti Udyog, Shinzo Nakanishi, and Director (Marketing and Sales) Kinji Saito, were also present at the time of listing of the company’s scrip on the BSE. “Maruti is an outstanding illustration of India’s success in a globally competitive industry. Its IPO has indeed created history,” a Maruti statement quoted Kotak as saying. “The retail response was unprecendented while the depth and quality of the institutional book was equally unmatched and rarely seen in Indian IPOs,” Kotak said. Kotak Investment Banking is the book running lead manager to the Maruti IPO.
— PTI
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Maruti scrip shines Creating a record on day one of its trading, Maruti Udyog shares closed at Rs 164 after recording a whopping trading volume of Rs 850 crore at the National Stock Exchange and Bombay Stock Exchange. The car major’s scrip, after moving between Rs 156.10 and Rs 170.25 at BSE, closed at Rs 164.05 with trading volume of 1.61 crore shares amounting to Rs 267.07 crore. At the
NSE, the scrip moved between Rs 155 and Rs 170.40 before settling at Rs 164.30 with total volume of 3.51 crore shares valued at Rs 583.55 crore.
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Take labour-intensive works under SGRY, says minister New Delhi, July 9 Addressing consultative committee attached to the Ministry of Rural Development here, Mr Rana said the works to be taken up under the SGRY would be labour intensive, leading to the creation of additional wage employment, durable assets and infrastructure, so that maximum number of ‘mandays’ were generated with the available resources, an official statement said. The minister informed the members that last year Rs 3,684.64 crore and 45.26 lakh tonnes of foodgrains were released as central allocation to the states under the SGRY. Against the total availability of funds and foodgrains during the year, utilisation was of the order of Rs 4707.63 crore and 38.96 lakh tonnes of foodgrains resulting in 71.76 crore of ‘mandays’, the minister said. In the current year, the central allocation under the scheme was Rs 4,125 crore and 50 lakh tonnes of foodgrains. Rs 1,893.11 crore and 21.39 lakh tonnes of foodgrains had already been released as first instalment to the eligible districts, he said. Referring to housing, the minister said as per the 1991 census, housing requirement in the rural areas of the country was 138.5 lakh. As against the central allocation of Rs 1,656.40 crore for housing, Rs 1,628.53 crore were released to various eligible districts, he said adding 15,24,380 houses were constructed.
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Indal not to merge with Hindalco
Kolkata, July 9 “There is no plan for merger right now. The two companies have many similarities, but presently we see a number of advantages in keeping them separate,” Agarwal told reporters after the company’s Annual General Meeting here. Asked whether he saw any possibility of merger in future, he said, “I can’t say anything about future... We will, however, continue to bring in more synergies between the two companies.” To a query on whether the group was looking for acquisition in the country, Agarwal replied in the negative. “Except Nalco there is no opportunity for acquisition within the country.” Hindalco with its subsidiary Renukeshwar Investments & Finance Ltd had acquired Indal’s about 74.6 per cent equity stake at an investment of over Rs 1000 crore and had consequently made an open offer that saw the former’s stake rising to 94.91 per cent as on November 2002 and further to 95.53 per cent currently. Subsequently, Hindalco was expected to approach Indal for applying to the stock exchanges for delisting of its shares, Agarwal said.
— PTI
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PCL to buy back company shares Chandigarh, July 9 A senior official of the company disclosed that board of directors has recommended to take steps to garner maximum business in the market. The company has reported a net lose of about Rs 15 crore during the financial year 2002-03 as against about Rs 5 crore net profit reported during the previous year. The annual income of the company, he said, had drastically come down from about Rs 165 crore in 2001-02 to about Rs 106 crore during 2002-03. However, the new management was taking number of decisions to attract new orders from big buyers like
BSNL, Reliance and ONGC, that would be reflected in the financial results after a gap of 12-18 months. In fact due to disinvestment move, he said, there was an atmosphere of total uncertainty last year and the management could not take any major policy decision especially regarding to technological upgradation or new investments. Further, a provision of about Rs 20 crore including a provision of Rs 2.17 crore for
VRS, has been made in the balance sheet to write off dead investments and bad loans. It has adversely affected the profit margins during the financial year ended on March 31, 2003. He claimed that an expenditure of about Rs 11 crore on VRS would be spread over six years. The company is expecting a turn around after the change in management. Mr Vishwajit Khanna, MD, Punjab State Industrial Development Corporation
(PSIDC) has been given the charge of MD. The Cabinet Sub Committee on Disinvestment in its recently held meeting had also decided to defer the decision of disinvestment. It had reportedly decided that the disinvestment process should be kept in abeyance till the restructuring of the company was completed. At present the share price of the company is hovering around Rs 52 in the stock market The officials in the Directorate of Disinvestment claimed that in view of the state government’s decision to disinvest 69.4 per cent share of the Punjab Electronics Development and Production Corporation Ltd. in the company, the decision would be welcomed by the shareholders. It would help improve the fortunes of the shareholders as the company is likely to buy back shares at substantially higher price than Rs 52 share price currently hovering in the market. The state government had earlier decided to cancel the lone bid of Shyam Telecom for 69.4 per cent share of the Punjab Electronics Development and Production Corporation Ltd. due to lower price of the bid. The management is now expecting that after offering VRS to about 50 per cent of the employees and restructuring, the financial position should improve this year.
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China far ahead of India despite similar challenges New Delhi, July 9 The Human Development Report 2003 released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) says that though both countries have achieved rapid, sustained economic growth, their rates of progress have been quite different. “China has enjoyed the fastest sustained economic advance in human history, averaging real per capita growth of 8 per cent a year over the past decade. Real per capita income in India grew at a robust though more modest average rate of 4.4 per cent”, the report says. China’s exceptional growth is partly explained by its market-based reforms that started in 1978, well before India embarked on a structural reforms programme in 1991. These reforms have enabled China to integrate with the global economy at a phenomenal pace. Presently, it is the largest recipient of foreign direct investment among developing countries, with annual investment rising from almost zero in 1978 to about $ 52 billion in 2002 ( nearly 5 per cent of GDP). Investment levels in India have also increased significantly, though at much lower rates, growing from $ 129 million in 1991 to $ 4 billion in 2002 ( less than 1 per cent of GDP). India again lags behind China in social investments, an important element of the modern development paradigm. In China, public spending on education is 2.3 per cent of GDP while that on health is 2.1 per cent of GDP. “The outcomes for human development are clear, Literacy stands at 84 per cent, infant mortality rates at 32 per 1,000 live births and under five mortality rates at 40 per 1,000 live births”, the report says. India, in contrast, has traditionally had lower spending levels. Health spending stands at 1.3 per cent of GDP Spending on education at 3.2 per cent falls short of the target of 6 per cent of the GDP. In India, literacy stands at 65 per cent, infant mortality at 68 per 1,000 live births, and under-five mortality rates at 96 per 1,000 live births.
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New scheme for threatened breeds New Delhi, July 9 Union Agriculture Minister Rajnath Singh addressing a meeting of the consultative committee of his ministry here today said the central assistance will be provided as 100 per cent grant to state government and NGOs. He said small ruminants, pack animals, equine and pigs are being maintained by six million small and marginal farmers and agricultural labourers in the country. He said the preservation of these threatened breed of livestock and improvement in their productivity can play an important role in providing rural employment and meeting the international obligation of conservation of such breeds for future generations. Participating in the deliberations, the members expressed the view that the amount sanctioned for the scheme is too little. They also expressed the need for effective monitoring of implementation of the scheme. Responding to the suggestions made by the members, the minister said during the mid-term review of the 10th Plan, efforts would be made to get the plan allocation for the scheme increased.
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New tariff plans for Connect Mobile Chandigarh, July 9 “With Connect Mobile, we have been able to maintain a clear advantage on recurring monthly expenses owing to our tariff plans that deliver maximum value for money, month on month. The new tariff plans are in continuation with our commitment towards our subscribers”, said Mr Jayant Keswani, General Manager, Connect. The new plans launched in the post-paid category are Connect Mobile Value 149 and Connect Mobile Value 500. In Connect Mobile Value 149, a subscriber will pay a monthly rental of Rs 149 and a plan fee of Rs 100 and get free calls units worth Rs 100. Effectively, he will pay a rental of Rs 149. The call charges to any landline phone, GSM and WLL mobile phone in this plan are Rs 0.99 per call unit for a local call. The same charges are applicable for calls made to destinations up to 50 km. Calls made beyond 50 km and within 200 km will be charged at Rs 1.99 per call unit. Charges for calls made within 200 to 500 km will be charged at Rs 2.99 per call unit and Rs 3.99 per call unit beyond 500 km. All ISD calls will be charged at Rs 1.20 per pulse. For local and STD calls, the pulse rate will be 60 seconds. In Connect Mobile Value 500, for a plan fee of Rs 500 a subscriber will get 250 call units worth Rs 300 free of cost. The subscriber will not be required to pay monthly rentals. Thus, effective fixed monthly commitment will be only Rs 200. Call charges for local calls to landline phone and WLL mobile will be charged at Rs 1.20 per pulse i.e. 120 seconds while calls made to GSM mobile will be charged at Rs 1.20 per minute. This plan will be most suitable for those users who have moderate to high calling needs.
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Blood Bank, AirTel launch Lifesavers Club Chandigarh, July 9 The basic objective of the club is to create a blood donors database of AirTel subscribers in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh who are willing to respond as blood donors. According to Mrs Kanta Saroop Krishen, Honorary Secretary, of the Blood Bank Society, once the database has been created, when a patient needs blood, all he will need to do is send an SMS to 107 detailing the blood group required as well as the STD code of the town he is in. AirTel will then send him three mobile numbers matching his criteria. Simultaneously, the donors will be intimated about the request with the requisitioner’s mobile enabling them to contact each donor who responds to the emergency call will be honoured by the Blood Bank Society as well as AirTel and his mobile number will not be sent again over the next three months.
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