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Ketan Parekh barred for
14 years HP heading towards
debt trap, says CII S&P ups ratings on RIL,
IOC FIIs can open accounts sans RBI approval Airtel launches
Value Plus Card |
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MUL circular to dealers iGate inks $20m
outsourcing deal Hotel allowed to open 57
suites GRAPHIC:
EXPORT OF CARS
Crisil acquires UK gas advisory firm
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Ketan Parekh barred for
14 years Mumbai, December 17 According to a press release issued by SEBI on Wednesday, Ketan, Kartik, along with their companies — Classic Credit, Panther Fincap and Management Services, Luminant Investments, Chitrakut Computers, Saimangal Investrade, Classic Infin and Panther Investrade — have been prohibited from dealing in securities in any manner with immediate effect. The action has been taken based on the findings of the investigations conducted in the wake of excessive volatility in the stock markets during mid-February and mid-March 2001, the release said. The order was passed on December 12 after giving them a hearing by the Chairman and it does not preclude action against these individuals and entities in the future, SEBI said in the statement. Ketan Parekh was arrested in mid-2001 after the scam broke. According to investigators Parekh had indulged in circular trading of shares by using bank finances to the tune of Rs 800 crore. The banks affected by such transactions include Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Madhavpura Cooperative Bank and the State Bank of India. The Madhavpura Co-operative Bank alone lost Rs 660 crore in 2001. Parekh is accused of routing funds amounting to Rs 660 crore by way of pay orders from the Madhavpura Co-operative Bank which were later discounted by Bank of India. The funds were used to ramp up prices of select shares in which Parekh had an interest. The shares were in turn used as collateral by Parekh with the Madhavpura bank to fund his line of credit, Reserve Bank of India officials say. In all, Parekh is reported to have pledged up to Rs 300 crore in stocks with the Madhavpura Bank for a credit of Rs 200 crore. However the stocks turned worthless after severe bear hammering in Parekh’s favorite stocks forcing the bank on the verge of closure.
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HP heading towards
debt trap, says CII Chandigarh, December 17 The committed liabilities like salaries, pension, interest payment and expenditure on establishment, which are increasing by nearly 10 per cent per year, have left far behind the increase in revenue collection. The state council of the CII in a representation made to the 12th Finance Commission has called upon the Centre to take measures to make the state self-reliant in the next few years. It urged the Centre to continue financial assistance to the state, which is reeling under financial crisis. Capt. Alok Sharma, Chairman, CII HP State Council, said the sharp increase in debt was a reflection of the state's high fiscal deficit. There was a clear case for enhanced fiscal support to the state from the Centre, so as to enable it to expand its tax base in the areas of manufacturing, tourism and floriculture. The CII said the state required to be nursed with the status of “special category state” like other hilly states and it needed more fiscal support for a few more years. In particular, there was a need for special allocation for augmentation of infrastructure in the Industrial areas. The state revenue deficit had been around 7.6 per cent of the GDP in 2002-03, in comparison to 5.6 per cent in 2001-02. The state’s borrowings and liabilities increased to Rs 2,131 crore in 2002-03 as compared to Rs 1,586 crore in 2001-02. |
S&P ups ratings on RIL, IOC Mumbai, December 17 All seven corporates have the BB rating according to the Standard & Poor’s rating. This follows Standard & Poor’s outlook revision on its foreign currency rating on India. This action reflected the significant improvement in the external sector of the country and rising current account earnings and external liquidity as a result of the growing dynamism of the private sector, said a S&P release issued here. The outlook on the NHPC local currency BB+ rating remains negative in line with the outlook on the sovereign’s local currency rating. Interestingly, Standard & Poor’s has not assigned a local currency rating to any of the Indian corporates other than these seven companies. —
UNI |
FIIs can
open accounts sans RBI approval Mumbai, December 17 In a circular, the Reserve Bank of India said it had done away with the requirement of obtaining clearance from the RBI separately for those foreign institutional investors registered with Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for opening bank accounts in India. Authorised dealers and banks were now allowed through general permission to open a bank account for a foreign institutional investor that had already been registered with SEBI, the circular said. This action initiated by the Reserve Bank of India is to simplify the procedure for registration of the
FIIs, once they were registered with SEBI. Till recently, on the basis of a “no objection” certificate from SEBI, a FII had to approach the Reserve Bank of India for opening a bank account to enable it to invest in the Indian market. —
UNI |
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Airtel launches
Value Plus Card Chandigarh, December 17 Addressing a press conference here today, he also launched new mobile number series starting with ''9872'', as the series of ''9815'' had been exhausted. Airtel services were now extended to 300 towns (175 in Punjab, 62 in Haryana and 63 in Himachal, and 2,700 villages in the region). Mr Sawhny also announced new schemes for post-paid customers in Punjab that would enable them to avail of STD/ISD on demand worth Rs 100 per month without any security deposits. To activate this service, the customer would have to send an SMS or call to 473. Airtel also introduced ''Airtel Optimiser'' wherein a person on the 150 tariff plan would be refunded the rental based on his usage. For usage between Rs 550 and Rs 650 a customer would be refunded Rs 50 from the rental. For usage between Rs. 650 and Rs 750 he would be refunded Rs 100 and for usage of Rs 750 plus, the entire rental of Rs 150 would be refunded. |
| MUL circular to dealers on price hike Chandigarh, December 17 In an e-mail sent to the dealers, Mr Arvind Saxena, General Manager, Sales, said, “ Through this mail I would like to inform you that Maruti will also be hiking prices in January across all models. |
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iGate inks $20m
outsourcing deal
New Delhi, December 17 As part of the agreement, iGate will assist in technology integration of various functions at ING Vysya Bank, according to an iGate press statement issued here. The deal, which will remain valid for five years, will also see iGate taking responsibility for all data centre operations, and systems and network management at ING Vysya locations. "It is extremely significant that ING Vysya has entrusted us with the entire technology function of the bank and we are confident of delivering on their expectations," said Phaneesh Murthy, CEO of iGate Global. "Going forward, this model gives us an opportunity to provide back-office services to them in line with our integrated technology and operations strategy," Murthy added. —
IANS |
Hotel allowed to open 57
suites Shimla, December 17 But the court had imposed a condition on the East India Hotel company that it would deposit 30 per cent received tariff of the rooms in a nationalised bank in the account of the Mashobra Resort and submit quarterly report to the state. |
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Crisil acquires UK gas advisory firm Mumbai, December 17 “The Board has approved the acquisition of 100 per cent equity of EconoMatters Ltd and its subsidiary companies and the total value of deal is over Rs 15 crore,” Crisil Managing Director R. Ravimohan said here today. The deal size was around 15 per cent of the company’s networth and the entire payment of acquisition would be met out of internally generated resources, Ravimohan added. The combined revenue of the company and EconoMatters were over $ 22 million for last year. The transaction was subject to relevant statutory approvals. The board of EconoMatters would be reconstituted, he said, adding that key people of the London-based energy and gas advisory entity would continue to work with the firm after acquisition, he said. Following the acquistion, EconoMatters would become a subsidiary of Crisil and “we will maintain the status of subsidiaries of EconoMatters as it is for some time,” he said. EconoMatters and its subsidiaries are serving global companies, multilateral agencies and leading international banks, he added. Ravimohan, Hemant Joshi and Rupa Kudwa (the latter two are executive directors at Crisil) would join the EconoMatters board; the Chairperson of the board would be Clare Spottiswoode. —
PTI Glaxo, Institut Pasteur ink deal LONDON:
GlaxoSmithKline Plc said on Wednesday it had signed an agreement with France’s Institut Pasteur to collaborate on the hunt for a SARS vaccine. Scientists from the two organisations aim to develop a so-called sub-unit vaccine, derived from viral proteins. Such a vaccine would protect individuals from the risk of infection, since viral proteins themselves are not infectious. GSK vaccine head Jean Stephenne cautioned, however, that the work “may take quite some time and effort”. —
Reuters Thermax sets up arm in Brazil Mumbai: Thermax Ltd said today it had set up a wholly-owned subsidiary in Brazil with an investment of $ 2,00,000 to expand business in the Latin American nation. The entity Thermax Do Brazil Energia E Equipamentos would initially cater to the “absorption chiller” market and subsequently explore business opportunities in other core segments of the company, it informed the BSE. —
PTI |
bb
Coke’s council GTB offers stake Haryana’s sops Harco rates cut 2 cancer drugs IBP dividend Reebok turnover |
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