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Modi group
to launch branded sugar soon Mercedes rouses ire of
Maneka
Tax deduction of
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Hema Malini speaks before 'muhurat' for the opening of trading of the Hindu New Year, at the BSE, in Mumbai on Saturday. — Reuters
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Forex
reserves cross $ 91 billion
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Modi group to launch branded sugar soon New Delhi, October 26 “We are focussing mainly on the FMCG sector and our objective is to enter the consumer’s arena in a big way”, Chairman, President and CEO of Modi Group of Industries Umesh K Modi told The Tribune in an exclusive interview. Building upon its experiences in the sugar industry, the company is shortly going to launch branded sugar “in an array of innovative packaging solution”. At present, the company produces 1,80,000 tonnes of sugar in its manufacturing unit at Modinagar and “the objective is to convert 20 to 25 per cent of the total produce to specialised sugar”. “We are looking at the production of various kinds of sugar such as candy sugar, coffee sugar, flavoured sugar and cubes. Moreover, there is a huge market for low-calorie sugar in India”, Mr Modi said, adding that the products are expected to hit the market early next year. In fact, sugar is the flagship product of the company with Modi Sugar Mills set up in 1932 in western Uttar Pradesh. Subsequently, SBEC Sugar Ltd was set up as a joint venture between Modi Group and SBEC Systems of the United Kingdom. The company has also formulated exhaustive plans to expand its pharma division and planning a major foray into the over the counter (OTC) drug segment. “The products in the OTC drug segment will be healthcare supplements. We are looking at bringing into India established overseas brands in the this area.”Win-Medicare, one the pharma divisions of the group, has established licensing arrangements with Merz and Co. GmbH, Germany, for marketing its hepatotherapeutic and other products and with IBSA of Switzerland for bolstering it’s gynaecological portfolio. Modi-Mundipharma, set up as a joint venture with the Mundipharma group of Switzerland, is focussing on introduction of differentiated products to address the diseases such as asthma. “The products will have strong technological inputs and will certainly not be “me-too” products. We have a product called Contratubex which is a post-operative scar removal cream. But we are positioning it as a prescription drug and not as an OTC drug”, Mr Modi stressed. OTC drugs will have strong nutritional elements. “The whole taste of India is changing”, he observed. The company also proposes entering the packaged food business. “These will basically be in the domain of ready-to-cook category and will have a range of Italian and other European delicacies such as pastas”, the Chairman said. On growth initiatives of Modi Revlon he said schemes are afoot to add new products to the portfolio. “But this will not include soaps and oil, at least in the short to medium term”. The company which, at present, has a group turnover of Rs 1,000 crore is projecting a growth of 15 to 20 per cent per annum. “Our profitability is growing at the rate of 8 to 12 per cent”, Mr Modi said. The company is also “working out the feasibility” of setting up hyper-markets and super-markets under its brand name “but it is at a very nascent stage and still a thought”. At present marketing companies “continue to be the exclusive domain of multinational companies while Indian companies are concentrating mainly on core areas such as iron and steel. We plan to turn ourselves from an iron and steel company to a complete marketing company. As tariffs come down more and more brands are entering India”, Mr Modi said.
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Mercedes rouses ire of Maneka
New Delhi, October 26 “However, before I begin, I thought that you might like to change your attitude and offer non-leather,’’ Ms Gandhi said in her letter to Mr Hans-Michael Huber, Managing Director and CEO of DaimlerChrysler India. The letter follows an action in 2002 in which Jeanne Daniels, a member of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) and the owner of a shopping centre in the USA, removed the leather from her new Mercedez Benz, replaced it with a luxurious synthetic material and had Peta’s “cow” mascot return the leather to DaimlerChrysler’s headquarters. This was apparently done “as a strong message that supporting cruelty to animals through the use of leather will not be tolerated,” Peta said in a statement here today.
— UNI
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by Lalit Batra
Sensex cheerful on ‘muhurat’ trading After a four-day rout, the market bounced back on Friday and during the special Muhurat trading session on Saturday. Sensex ended at 4,802.28. The NSE’s S&P CNX Nifty Index closed at 1,521.95. Thus many short sellers were caught on the wrong foot and covering by them propelled the Sensex up. However, the Sensex closed the week with a loss of 128 points, while the S&P CNX Nifty Index shed 47.40 points. The weakness in the market for a larger part of the week was partly due to the unwinding of positions by traders in the derivatives markets, where huge positions had been build up over the past few months. The derivatives segment also witnessed some forced liquidation after the NSE stepped up risk management and slapped exposure margins ranging from 10-25 per cent on major 19 stocks. After a roller coaster ride of 12 months, the Sensex climbed by almost 60 per cent to 4802.28 after crossing the 4900 mark just ahead of Divali. This was an important Divali for the markets, as the Sensex not only touched a 39-month high but the FII investments hit an all-time high. Moreover, the total market turnover (cash and F&O) scaled a new peak. The long-term outlook on the Indian bourses remains bullish as FIIs are looking at India as a long-term growth story, and are expected to continue their buying frenzy in the New Year as well. The market displayed strength during the special muhurat trading session on Saturday evening and the volumes indicate that the undertone in the market is bullish. The market will, however, remain volatile and possibly weaken during this week.
Satyam Computers The highlight of the last week was the result of Satyam Computers. Satyam reported a 25 per cent rise in the net
profit. The company also revised upwards its full year earnings guidance. It hopes to earn between Rs 16.69 and Rs 16.94 per share for the full financial year 2003-04. The enthused Board of Directors meet also declared an interim dividend of 60 per cent for the financial year 2003-04. The stock is trading at 17.7 times its projected earning and it thus leaves little scope for gains on new investments though the stock may gain on the sentiment prevailing in the stock market. Therefore long-term investors should book profit on every rise in the scrip and can re-enter on declines.
Marico Industries The owner of some of the best FMCG brands, such as Parachute (coconut oil), Shanti Amla Saffola, SIL Jams and Revive, has declared a 14 per cent increase in sales of Rs 222 crore. Whereas the growth in profit is modest, only at 4 per cent to Rs 13.50 crore during the second quarter ended 30 September 2003. The noteworthy point to notice is that the fine-tuning of the companies’ strategy to chase volume growth in high margin products (even at the cost of decline in the low margin products/brands has started shaping up well. The reasons for the slowing down of the net profit growth are investments in the new business areas and money having been spent on brand-building exercise. Marico has consistently launched new products to upgrade its brand portfolio. This is a healthy sign and one of the key determinants of the company’s long-term success. Marico is trading at 10.5 times its projected earnings as against 20-22 times earnings enjoyed by its peers. This leaves room for gains by long-term investors.
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Forex reserves cross $ 91 billion
Mumbai, October 26 The country’s foreign exchange reserves rose from $ 90,353 million to $ 91,315 million in the period under review, according to the RBI’s weekly statistical supplement released here yesterday. The reserves have gone up mainly due to fresh inflow and depreciation of US dollar vis-a-vis other foreign currencies. The RBI said the foreign currency assets grew by $ 962 million at $ 87,392 million.
HDFC home loans at 7.75 pc
MUMBAI: HDFC yesterday unveiled a Divali bonzana scheme by offering home loans at 7.75 per cent for up to 20 years under floating basis. The “Divali Home Loan Bonanza” scheme will be available from October 27 to November 5, HDFC said in a release here and added that processing fee has also been waived. The current floating rates are 8.75 per cent (for up to five years), 9 per cent (6-10 years) and 8.5 per cent (11-20 years).
— PTI
Punjab, Canada sign pacts
CHANDIGARH: An MoU was signed by Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and Canadian Minister for Natural Resources Herb Dhaliwal regarding the cooperation in the field of geospatial information technology here yesterday. The agreement will ensure cooperation and sharing of information in the field of remote sensing as applicable to agriculture between the Canadian Earth Sciences Centre, and Punjab. Another MoU was also signed between the Punjab Agro Industries Corporation (PAIC) and Global Connect Inc of Canada, a project consultant organisation to assist PAIC. It will directly benefit several Indian and Canadian companies. Some of the projects to be taken up included grain handling system, development of hybrid seeds, organic farming, grain-based distillery and brewery and milk processing project. Mr Himmat Singh, M.D., PAIC, and Mr Bill McKnight, Chairman Global Connect Inc. signed the MoU.
— TNS
Onion prices go down
NEW DELHI: Improvement in supply line both in Maharashtra and Delhi has had a sobering effect on onion prices and the government feels further stabilisation is likely after the Divali festival. With increased mandi
arrivals, it is expected that they will fall further in the next one week,” official sources told PTI. According to the latest official data, onion retail prices here are now quoting at Rs 13 a kg even though consumers claim they have to shell up to Rs 17 per kg.
— PTI
Promoter ups stake in Kesoram
KOLKATA: Kesoram Industries (KIL) promoter B K Birla has increased his stake in the company by 0.10 per cent during the six month period ended September, 2003, despite a not-so-encouraging response to the buyback scheme. According to latest data available, the promoter had increased his stake to 23.87 per cent as on September 30 from 23.87 per cent as on March 31, 2003. It was found that not a single share was lodged by the shareholders under the company’s buyback scheme after June, 2003, as the market price of the share increased sharply, thereafter, to be quoted at around Rs 56 at present.
— PTI
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Diversified business conglomerate the Modi group of Industries has worked out an elaborate growth plan aimed at pitchforking the company as a major player in the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) arena involving pharmaceuticals, branded sugar, packaged food and cosmetics.