New Delhi, September 28
The shareholders of GAIL (India) Ltd today strongly opposed the government’s directions to the company to pay Rs 320 crore subsidy during the first half year of the current financial year to the oil marketing companies.

Talking to reporters after the company’s AGM held here today, GAIL Chairman Prashanto Banerjee said, “ the share holders found it difficult to understand why the company should pay Rs 320 subsidy in the first half of the current financial year, including Rs 220 crore kerosene subsidy, since company had nothing to do with the kerosene.”

However, he said, the company would continue to follow the directions of the government.

The company will make every effort, he said, to supply LNG fuel at the cheapest price for Dabhol project. Despite contrary media reports, the company is hopeful that power tariff would remain at the lowest level.

GAIL also plans to acquire a small or medium-sized upstream company and is looking at participating in the Rs 25,000-crore Nabucco pipeline project in Europe as part of its strategy to become an integrated global gas major.

The gas monolith plans to invest Rs 800 crore over the next two years in E&P activities and is also looking at acquiring stake in exploration blocks in Iran and Myanmar.

New Delhi, September 28
Escorts today sold its Heart Institute to Ranbaxy-controlled Fortis Health Care for Rs 585 crore, group Chairman Rajan Nanda announced here.

“We have sold 90 per cent equity in Escorts Heart Institute and Research Centre (EHIRC) to Fortis on a total valuation of Rs 650 crore. We are getting Rs 585 crore in the all cash deal,” Mr Nanda said..

The deal is important for crisis-ridden Escorts group, which was in the process of business restructuring to overcome its liquidity and debt repayment problem.

“This takes care of quite some of our problems...It gets Escorts all the liquidity needed to build the business,” Mr Nanda said.

Asked about the remaining 10 per cent equity, he said, Fortis has the option to buy this.

The deal comes amid stiff resistance from Rajan’s younger brother Anil, who moved the Delhi High Court today to prevent the deal.

Anil Nanda had moved the Delhi High Court today to prevent the process.

Apprehending litigation on the issue, Rajan Nanda had, earlier, filed a caveat to pre-empt an ex-parte hearing. He, however, refused to comment on the issue.

“I moved the court because the institute was supposed to be a charitable trust. And even after converting it into a limited liability company, going for sale is illegal in my view as it is misuse of public funds. I call it misuse because they will be using the money to clear its financial mess,” Mr Anil Nanda said. — PTI

Shimla, September 28
In order to ensure a comfortable stay and facilitate easy travel arrangements, Himachal will soon become the first state in North India to launch online hotel reservation and payment facility.

The Department of Tourism and Civil Aviation will sign an agreement for the launch of online reservation facility with a private organisation next week. The reservation facility will be both for the hotels owned by the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation as well as private ones.

It is Shoghi Communications, which has developed the software and has been entrusted the task of managing the entire online reservation work. One can avail the online reservation facility after logging onto the HP Tourism website.

The Tourism Department will not have to bear any financial burden as the entire investment would be borne by the software developer firm. Hoteliers will be charged 15 per cent of the total reservation amount for online reservation.

“The department will get 8.5 per cent of the total amount of reservation while the private agency will get 6.5 per cent,” informed a tourism official.

Interestingly Himachal is one of the few states, which offers this facility. Andhra Pradesh, too, offers similar facility down South.

The online reservation facility will give complete details about the location, hotel, tariff and packages along with photographs. The department has now decided to focus on aggressive marketing and publicity so that there is increase in the number of visitors, coming to the state.

New Delhi, September 28
Aditya Birla Group today raised its stake in Idea Cellular to 50.15 per cent after it bought Cingular Wireless’s stake for a consideration of $150 million (about Rs 650 crore).

In a notice to Bombay Stock Exchange, Aditya Birla Group’s flagship company Indian Rayon & Industries Ltd said it had acquired 16.45 per cent stake in Idea Cellular for a price of $150 million.

The 16.45 per cent of Idea’s paid-up equity, that is 371.8 million equity shares which were earlier held by US-based Cingular Wireless have now been acquired by Indian Rayon, it said in the notice to the BSE.

This acquisition has raised the company’s shareholding in Idea to 20.74 per cent and that of the Aditya Birla group to 50.15 per cent, it added.

“We and our partners (Tatas) aim that Idea will be known as the company that sets operational and service standards which become the benchmark for the industry,” Birla’s nominee on the Board of Idea Cellular Sanjeev Aga said.

Tatas could not be contacted despite repeated attempts.

About two months ago, Tatas and A V Birla group had announced to buy out their foreign partner Cingular Wireless from joint venture Idea Cellular for about Rs 1,300 crore.

Both Tatas and A V Birla Group were supposed to share 32.91 per cent stake of Cingular Wireless equally.

Aga said although technically Birla have majority stake in Idea Cellular but management control would be shared equally. — PTI

Taipei, September 28
Taiwan is ready to lift its decades-old ban on local banks to conduct currency exchange business in Chinese yuan, the government said today.

The policy, approved at the regular Cabinet meeting, will take effect next Monday only on a trial basis in the outlying islands of Kinmen and Matsu.

It will allow the Chinese currency, with the ceiling fixed at 20,000 yuan each transaction, to be directly exchanged for the New Taiwan dollar.

“This is an expedient measure for the travellers either from Fujian Province or from Taiwan to exchange currencies,” Premier Frank Hsieh said.

When asked about the timetable for a full-scale opening of the business, Hsieh urged central banks on both sides to negotiate as early as possible so as to establish a cross-strait liquidation mechanism.

“Both sides should open talks on this matter so as to facilitate cross-strait exchanges,” he said.

China and Taiwan have been governed separately since the end of the 1949 civil war. Since then, direct postal, trade and shipping links across the Taiwan Strait has been prohibited on national security grounds.

Taiwan opened limited, direct transportation between its Kinmen and Matsu islands and the mainland’s Xiamen and Mawei ports in January 2002 in the absence of full-scale direct links. — Kyodo

New Delhi, September 28
Union Minister for Food-Processing Industries Subodh Kant Sahai said today that the government was in favour of allowance of 100 per cent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in agri-business to accelerate its growth to about 10 per cent in the next decade.

Sahai announced that 100 per cent FDIs, not only in agri-business and agriculture, including food-processing was essential, as this sector would contribute substantially to the overall GDP of the country.

He was addressing a conference on `Emerging opportunities in processed sector & role of integrated food law’ organised by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham).

He said by permitting liberal FDIs in agri-business and agriculture sector, including that of food-processing, the farmers will be beneficiary in the sense that they will get higher returns on their produce and a synergy would be established between the retailers and the farmers.

“In order to give greater fillip to the food-processing and agri-business, the ministry is finalising a Cabinet note which aims at substantially reducing the excise and other domestic levies even below 4 per cent. In addition, the ministry has been negotiating with all state Chief Ministers and Empowered Committee on VAT so that zero per cent VAT is imposed on perishable food items and not beyond 4 per cent application of VAT is levied on non-perishable food items,” he said.

The Minister said the government would soon constitute a committee to deliberate on the integrated food package before it is presented to the Cabinet.

Ludhiana, September 28
A 12-member delegation from Eastern University (EU), Sri Lanka, visited the Ludhiana Stock Exchange (LSE) here today. The team is in India for exploring the areas of research and industry interaction.

The team members, who visited the LSE were: Mr V. Kangasingam, Dean, Faculty of Commerce and Management, Ms V.R. Ragel, Senior Lecturer, Ms S. Sritharan. Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Commerce and Management, Mr N. Logeswaran, Mr A.D. Harris, Registrar, Mr A Velmanickam, Mr M. Murugaverie, Mr S. Thilagarajah, Ms M.A.M. Arifa, M. Dhayaparanm, Ms N. Suthagiri and Mr K. Poheenthiran.

Mr H.S. Sidhu, Executive Director, and Mr Naresh Bishnoi, Chief Executive Officer, LSE Securities Ltd, delivered a presentation on ‘India : A Benchmark for the Globe.’

During his presentation, he touched upon various aspects of the Indian capital market, its regulatory framework and reforms being initiated by Sebi to promote and develop the capital market. He also elaborated upon the surveillance and risk management system prevailing in the market.

Mr V. Kangasingam, Dean, expressed his gratitude to the LSE for the valuable interaction and discussions on the Indian capital market.

The subsidiary company of Ludhiana Stock Exchange, LSE Securities Limited, has recorded highest-ever turnover of Rs 37,516 crore as on March 2005, as compared to earnings of Rs 37,163 crore as on March 2004.

Interestingly, LSE Securities’ performance has outclassed that of its parent company, Ludhiana Stock exchange, which became inactive a few years back.

Posting a growth of 8.47 per cent in profit, the LSE Securities earned profit before interest and tax of Rs 160.38 lakh in 2004-05 as compared to Rs 147.86 lakh in year ago period, as per the 6th annual report. — PTI

New Delhi, September 28
Cellular service provider Hutch today spiced up competition in the pre-paid mobile segment by introducing recharge coupons that start from as low as Rs 10 and promise users full talk-time and no access fee.

Mumbai, September 28
Dr Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd announced the formation of India’s first integrated drug development company called Perlecan Pharma Pvt Ltd.

Informing the Bombay Stock Exchange today, the company said India’s leading venture capital investors such as Citigroup Venture Capital International Growth Partnership Mauritius Ltd (Citigroup Venture) and ICICI Venture Funds Management Company (ICICI Venture) and the company have committed equity capital of $52.5 million for the new entity.

Citigroup Venture and ICICI Venture will contribute $22.5 million each and the company will contribute $7.5 million towards Perlecan Pharma’s initial equity capital, the company said.