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Reuters wilts, Bloomberg blooms London, April 2 Reuters said today that it saw its share of the global financial information market decline by two percentage points to 37 per cent in terms of revenue last year. The overall end user market represents 60 per cent of the group’s so-called recurring revenue base, it added.
Groz Beckert’s new needle plant in City Beautiful
Maruti to make cars at Manesar too
It’s a scam, allege HP drug producers
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All that glitters is silver
Chennai, April 2 Spurred by “tremendous” investor interest, silver prices in the market here touched a never before level of Rs 12,470 per kg, gaining a whopping Rs 565 from the previous position, when the market ended for the day today. Mphasis acquires Kshema Bangalore, April 2 IT firm Mphasis BFL Group today announced the acquisition of Bangalore-based Kshema Technologies for $ 21 million through a combination of stock and cash deal to strengthen its technology offering to global customers. MTNL reduces ISD charges, raises pulse New Delhi, April 2 MTNL, the state-owned telecom operator in Mumbai and Delhi, today reduced the ISD rates by seven to 25 per cent for its landline and mobile phone customers with effect from April 10. ICICI Bank IPO oversubscribed Mumbai, April 2 ICICI Bank Ltd’s equity issue of Rs 3,050 crore with a green shoe option of Rs 450 crore has received bids in excess of Rs 3,150 crore less than two hours after it opened for bidding today. 
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Groz Beckert’s new needle plant in City Beautiful
Chandigarh, April 2 Speaking on the occasion, Justice Verma complimented the
management of Groz Beckert for contributing to the economy of the region
and generating employment for the people of the city. Mr Heimo Richter,
the German Ambassador, said since the time this company was established
in 1960, it had continued to be the leader in manufacturing world class
hosiery and knitting machine needles and the new plant for SMN, would
further help the country’s economy in vital import substitution as well
as in exports. With the setting up of the manufacturing facilities of
the SMN in India, Groz Beckert’s share is expected to go up
substantially due to low manufacturing costs in India, which will
provide a competitive edge to the company in the world market, he
added. He expressed company’s gratitude to the Chandigarh
Administration for their support as also its employees for their
enthusiasm, dedication and diligence. The state-of-the-art production
facility has been set up on 10-acres of land in Phase 1 of Industrial
Area giving direct employment to 150 technically skilled persons. |
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Enter EU via Germany, suggests envoy
Chandigarh, April 2 Mr Richter said the statistics did not present the true
magnitude and dimensions of the actual trade ties between the two
countries. He urged the Indian companies to enter the European Union
market through Germany. The country was infrastructurally strong,
technologically sound and institutionally well organised, with high
quality standards and a peaceful stable environment. India, which has
Germany as its fourth largest trading partner after USA, UK and Japan is
at present exporting engineering goods, leather goods etc, while Germany
is exporting pharmaceuticals and machinery. The ambassador while
expressing satisfaction said at present, over 260 Indian companies were
operating in Germany. There is great potential in future bi-lateral
trading in the fields of software development, chemicals,
pharmaceuticals, agriculture, bio-technology and bio-informatics.
Similarly, there is scope for tie-ups between the two countries in the
educational and health sectors. Mr SC Agrawal, Principal Secretary,
Industry and Commerce, Punjab, said that Punjab had the inherent
strength to provide a strong manufacturing base for German companies. He
said the Punjab government would work with CII to organise strong
participation of SME companies from the State in the relevant
forthcoming trade fairs in Germany. Mr Vivek Attrey, Director IT,
Chandigarh Administration, speaking on outsourcing from UT to Germany,
mooted the starting of German language classes in Chandigarh so that
career aspirants here could pick up the required language skills to
improve their career prospects. Ddr G Krugger, Member of Board,
Groz-Beckert Asia Limited, Mico-Bosch (I) Ltd. & Former Director General
IGCC, offered practical tips on “doing business with Germany” to Indian
companies seeking to establish their business there. |
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Maruti to make cars at Manesar too
New Delhi, April 2 According to company
officials, the land has already been allotted by the state government
that will help in reducing the severe production constraint in the face
of rising sales. The proposal for the new facility will be placed before
the board for formal approval soon, MUL Managing Director Jagdish
Khhatar said. On February 20, the Haryana government decided to allot
500 acres to MUL at the Ch Devi Lal Industrial Model Township, Manesar,
in Gurgaon district. The state government said the land would be
allotted at Rs 19.50 lakh per gross acre to MUL, adding that the total
cost of the project during Phase-I was about Rs 1,200 crore. The
company, 54.2 per cent held by Japan’s Suzuki Motor Corporation,
currently has its manufacturing facility in Gurgaon, which comprises
three integrated plants with flexible assembly lines. Installed
capacity at the plants stands at about 3.5 lakh units and the company
has been achieving production in excess of the capacity since the fiscal
1999. It can be stretched to 5 lakh units with some modifications,
company officials say. The MUL saw record sales this fiscal which
jumped 30 per cent to 4,72,122 units, the highest since the company
began operations in India 20 years ago. This includes exports of 51,175
units, the highest ever since Maruti began exporting cars in 1988. |
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Hotel giants Hilton, Oberoi ink pact
Mumbai, April 2 They would also build a 400-room hotel in north Mumbai by
2007. As a part of the alliance, Oberoi Towers in the city would also
be renamed Hilton Towers, for which EIH would spend Rs 5 crore to
refurbish property in two years, Oberoi Hotels and Resorts
vice-president Rattan Keswani told reporters here. Mr Keswani said the
10-year alliance was the culmination of six months’ brand preparation
and training interaction between EIH and Hilton International. Oberoi
would continue to manage all hotels and undertake domestic marketing,
promotion and reservations in India, he said adding, Hilton would be
responsible for international marketing, promotion and reservations
through its global network. On setting up a new hotel in north Mumbai,
Mr Keswani said the downturn in the industry delayed plans but now with
India being marketed as a business destination, the prospects looked
good. The next three-four years would be good for the hotel industry in
Mumbai and new property would be built and opened in 2007, he
added. He, however, declined to elaborate on the plans for Mumbai
property and said EIH would make some announcement within next 3 to 4
months. — PTI |
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India-China trade pegged at $20 bn
New Delhi,
April 2 Trade
between the two countries had already notched up a figure of $ 1.87
billion during the January-February period this year and could exceed $
10 billion by this year end, the Ambassador said while addressing the
CII. “I am very positive, there is a desire on both sides to take the
relationship to a qualitatively new level. Economics will be a driving
factor,” Mr Surie said. With regard to his prediction of India-China
trade reaching the $20 billion mark by 2010, he added a rider: provided
there is a change in the export basket and anything additional will be a
bonus. |
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Herbal revolution showcased
New Delhi, April 2 The
total global market of medicinal plants, as per the estimates of the
Exim Bank, is worth over $ 60 billion. The exports of herbal drugs from
the country are expected to rise from Rs 512 crore in 2002-03 to over Rs
3,000 crore by 2005. The annual domestic market is nearly worth Rs 4,000
crore, and is growing at a rate of 7 per cent per annum. A visit to the
three-day 4th International Healthcare and Herbal Expo Exhibition that
began at Pragati Maidan here today revealed that countries like the USA,
Korea, New Zealand and German are showing keen interest in the
‘alternative medical system of India.’ All leading brands like Dabur,
Zandu, Shahnaz Hussain, Ayur Herbals, Panacea Biotech, Hamdard and a
number of non-government organisation involved in this sector had their
stalls in the exhibition that attracted delegates from the foreign
countries also. “It is not the information technology or biotechnology
but the herbal revolution that has the potential to eliminate the
poverty from the rural India. The world is moving toward herbal
medicines, cosmetics and food supplements,” said Dr Hamid Khan, a
scientist at the National Institute of Health, Maryland, USA. He was
here to participate in the exhibition. The exhibition was jointly
organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry
(FICCI) and VHERDS, an NGO from Chennai. The participants claimed some
of the states like Uttaranchal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka were
giving incentives for the plantation of medicinal plants. “Since nearly
50 per cent of the agricultural land has not be spoiled by the overuse
of fertilisers and pesticides, there is a vast scope for introduction of
organic cultivation of herbal plants,” said Mr Khan. A large number of
women customers showed keen interest in herbal cosmetics and food
supplements. However, some of the customers were skeptical about the
efficacy of herbal drugs. “There is no doubt that large number of
traditional plants in India have medicinal properties, but due to the
lack of standardisation, safety and quality norms, herbal product market
is still in a nascent stage,” Mr Romesh Dutt, a businessman, who had
come from Kolkata, said. |
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It’s a scam, allege HP drug producers
Shimla, April 2 Mr
Ashok Sharma, president of the association, said medicines worth over Rs
15 crore had been procured without observing the codal formalities and
the entire purchase policy was designed to oblige the favourites. The
previous BJP government gave orders to the units owned by it’s
favourites. As a result a number of units wound up. The number of
ayurvedic manufacturing units came down from 110 in 1998 to 60 in
2003. The Congress while in Opposition made a hue and cry over the
purchase policy of the Dhumal government. It was expected to set the
things right after coming to power. However, it took no corrective steps
and decided to procure from outside the state without inviting tenders
instead. He said the government had been taking the plea that the
medicines manufactured within the state were of poor quality whereas the
fact was that as many as 17 manufacturers had the necessary
certification, more than any other state. No purchase was made during
the year and the department withdrew the funds from the treasury at the
end of the financial year and entire purchase was made on March 31 in a
hush-hush manner. |
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All that glitters is silver
Chennai, April 2 Right
from when market began in the morning, there was indications of the
trend, as silver began being quoted at Rs 12,185 per kg, up by Rs 280
from the previous position. It rallied further to end the day with Rs
12,470, registering a Rs 565 per kg gain. Madras Jewellers and
Diamond Merchants Association Vice President C.V. Pandurangan told PTI
that the tremendous upsurge in silver prices was due to heavy
industrial demand. There were also reports that production in China
was constrained and hence, reflecting on the arrivals. However, gold
prices did not show similar promise like silver, with Standard Gold
(ten grams) firming up by a mere Rs 20 to settle at Rs 6140 against
the previous price of Rs 6120 per 10 gram. Ornament gold rose by Rs 2
per gram to close at Rs 569 against yesterday’s close of Rs 567. —
PTI |
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Mphasis acquires Kshema
Bangalore, April 2 Mphasis will
pay $ 6 million in cash to acquire 33 per cent stake with the rest (67
per cent) in stock of Kshema, which has over 400 persons working in
embedded solutions space in industrial automation, healthcare and life
sciences and enterprise applications. “It (Kshema) will provide a
fillip to our service offerings in the embedded solutions and industrial
automation space and help us stay ahead of our competitors in a
challenging global market,” Mphasis BFL Chairman and CEO Jerry Rao told
reporters. — PTI |
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MTNL reduces ISD charges, raises pulse
New Delhi, April 2 The new tariff comes a day after
the BSNL, which provides telecom services across the country except
Delhi and Mumbai, slashed both ISD and STD rates by up to 25 per cent.
MTNL has, however, left the STD rates untouched. The reduction in ISD
rates comes in the wake of a cut in the ISD carriage charges by VSNL,
the international traffic carrier, two days ago. MTNL, however, seems
to have made the tariff cut revenue neutral for landline users by
marginally raising the pulse. — UNI |
ICICI Bank IPO oversubscribed
Mumbai, April 2 Investors have put in
cumulative bids for about over 11 crore shares at various price
points, according to data available with National and Bombay Stock
Exchanges. The institutional investors have shown strong interest and
at average weighted price of Rs 270 per share, the response aggregates
to over Rs 3,050 crore mark, investment banking sources said. The
book building route has a price band of Rs 255 to Rs 295 per equity
share for bidding process and most bids are in the range of 260-275
per share, the sources added. The bidding process would close on
April 7. — PTI |
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