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Rs 835-cr revival package for
RCoVL to replace Tata Power for Sensex
Order not changed on Chidambaram’s intervention: SEBI
100 acres okayed for Maruti jv in Haryana
Tatas zero in on Uttaranchal for
Rs 1 lakh |
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Suzuki bikes re-enter India
IT firms on hiring spree
Indiabulls to hive off realty biz
Force, MAN to build buses in India
Dabur promoters hike stake in PTL
US asks India to ease FDI norms
DLF joint venture to bid for highways
Andhra tops in IT exports’ growth
Bank Account
Auto Scene Boeing may buy Aviall for
$1.7 billion
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Rs 835-cr revival package for HMT likely
New Delhi, May 1 “We had sent our recommendations and the Board for Reconstruction of Public Sector Enterprises has approved a revival package of Rs 835 crore. The Ministry of Heavy Industry is likely to send a Cabinet note in this connection shortly,” HMT Chairman and Managing Director M.S. Zahed said. Mr Zahed said the holding company HMT and five of its subsidiaries would get separate revival packages. While the government had already approved schemes for HMT Bearings and Praga Tools, the other packages were being finalised, he said. The six pacakages would total about Rs 1,700 crore, he said, adding that in November last year, HMT Bearings had received a package of Rs 51 crore and Pragya Tools Rs 240 crore. HMT would be getting a package of Rs 835 crore and the balance about Rs 565 crore would be distributed among HMT Watches, HMT Chinar Watches and the holding company, HMT Ltd ,which also includes the tractor division. The packages are likely to include new loans, interest waivers and more funds for upgradation purposes. Praga Tools is to be merged with HMT, he said, adding that marketing activities had already been merged and the entire process would be finished within a few months. Mr Zahed said the sixth subsidiary HMT International, the export arm of HMT Ltd, has always been a profit- making division and so did not need a government bail-out. The government — through holding company HMT Ltd — has a 51 per cent stake in Praga, 97.25 per cent in HMT Bearings and 100 per cent equity in the other four subsidiaries. — PTI
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RCoVL to replace Tata Power for Sensex on June 12
Mumbai, May 1 The revenues of the company, whose subscriber base stood at 20 million customers as on March 31, 2006, touched Rs 2,970 crore for the quarter, the company said. The company has reported an EBIDTA (Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) of Rs 1,042 crore, a rise of 23 per cent over the previous quarter ended December 2005. RCoVL’s net worth for the quarter under review stood at Rs 11,742 crore. Meanwhile, Reliance Communication Ventures Ltd, whose market cap has touched Rs 65,000 crore, will replace Tata Power in the stock market benchmark Sensex — the index of blue-chip companies — on June 12. RCoVL will be the second telecom firm after Bharti Televenutres to find a place in Sensex, which features 30 top companies in terms of market capitalisation. Bharti, the Sunil Mittal company, commands the highest market cap of Rs 77,240 crore in the telecom space. FMCG major HLL would follow RCoVL with a market cap of Rs 63,385 crore. As of today, RCoVL would be among the top 10 companies in the index and incidentally would be the second Anil Dhirubhai Ambani group company after Reliance Energy to find a place in the key index. Reliance Energy’s market cap stands at Rs 12,405 crore. — PTI
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Indiabulls to hive off realty biz Mumbai, May 1 The demerger decision was made by the IBFSL Board of Directors at a meeting here today, said an official press note. J M Morgan Stanley and Suresh A.Shroff & Co advised the Board on the scheme of demerger, which proposes to demerge assets and liabilities of the real estate undertakings of IBFSL into Indiabulls Real Estate Limited with effect from May 1. The note said that all shareholders of IBFSL would be issued shares of Indiabulls Real Estate Ltd in the ratio of 1:1. For each equity share of the face value of Rs 2 fully paid up, held in IBFSL, shareholders will be allotted one equity share of Indiabulls Real Estate Limited of face value of Rs 2 each, fully paid-up. In addition, shareholders will receive corresponding number of shares in the demerged entity, which will allow them to participate equally in the growth area of real estate construction development business. Besides, the shares of the Indiabulls Real Estate Ltd will be listed on the bourses in India, where IBFSL is currently listed, thus providing liquidity to all shareholders. Indiabulls Real Estate Ltd will include IBFSL’s investments in the real estate undertakings such as Indiabulls Properties Private Limited, Indiabulls Real Estate Company Private Limited, Indiabulls Estate Limited & its subsidiaries and Indiabulls Infastructure Ltd.
— UNI
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Order not changed on Chidambaram’s
New Delhi, May 1 “We have not reversed or changed anything in the interim order,” SEBI chief M. Damodaran said here, emphasising that SEBI had to issue a clarification only because of mis-reporting. “Media can write any crap (sic). I can’t be denying each and everything. This is a democratic country. Anybody can say or write anything,” he said, adding that he had not met or talked to the Finance Minister for several days. The regulator said it would probe the 491- point drop in the market, which followed its interim order of Thursday barring 24 intermediaries from trading. “Today is only Monday. Yesterday and day-before were Saturday and Sunday. We shall be inquiring into it,” Mr Damodaran said. The market benchmark sensex crashed in initial trading a day after SEBI slapped the ban on the operators for their role in the IPO scam. But partial relief by way of deferring the ban on one of the intermediaries - Indiabulls - lifted the market sentiment and the market consolidated gains further on Saturday during a special trading session. — PTI
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100 acres okayed for Maruti jv in Haryana
Chandigarh, May 1 The Board also granted approval to Maruti Suzuki Automobile India Limited; another company incorporated by Maruti Udyog for car assembly with a total investment of Rs 2676.90 crore. The Board also approved the leasing of 100 acres of land to Maruti Suzuki joint venture vendors. Permission was also granted for utilisation of land by subsidiaries of Maruti Suzuki.— PTI
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Tatas zero in on Uttaranchal for Rs 1 lakh car unit
Dehra Dun, May 1 The company, which has lined up over Rs 2,000 -crore investments for the facility in the 1,100-acre site, is looking at multiple locations for the production/assembling of the car the production of which at Rs 1 lakh has been doubted by rivals, including Suzuki chief Osamu Suzuki. “The Tatas’ plan to have Pantnagar as one of the locations for their Rs 1 lakh car,” official sources said. They, however, declined to give further details. A spokesman for Tata Motors refused comment on the matter. “Tata Motors works on a number of projects. We have no comment to make on any plant or any location,” the spokesman said from Mumbai. Pantnagar is an industrial cluster where two-wheeler major Bajaj Auto and utility vehicle major Mahindra and Mahindra are also setting up their plants. The state offers a 10-year excise duty holiday and five-year income tax exemption to those who start production before March, 2007. Tata group Chairman Ratan Tata has has said it was looking at a ‘gearless’ vehicle, powered by a rear engine. Mr Tata said the proposed Rs 1 lakh car would be a vehicle that will seat four to five persons and have a rear engine and would not be a scooter, three-wheeler or an auto-rickshaw made into a car. “It will also not be a stripped -down car. It will be an inexpensive car,” he said, but added that it would obviously not have the finish or the high speed or the power of a larger car. The company has gone to Delphi for the engine management system for the car while on the styling front, it has taken help from Italian design house, IDEA, which worked with Tata Motors on its hatchback ‘Indica’. Apart from the Rs 1 lakh car, the Tatas will also use the Pantnagar location for its blockbuster light commercial vehicle ‘Ace’, which has been a runaway success in the market.
— PTI
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Kolkata, May 1 The company has set up a state-of-the-art manufacturing plant at Gurgaon with a capacity to manufacture one lakh units per annum, said an official of Suzuki Motorcycles India Private Limited, in which the Suzuki Motor Corporation of Japan has 74 per cent shareholding. The remaining 26 per cent was held by Mr Satya Sheel, Managing Director of the company. The Indian arm has launched Suzuki Heat, a motorcycle aimed at the semi-urban markets of the country. The company will shortly launch Suzuki Zeus, which is targeted at the youth. Asked how much market share the company was aiming at with the launches, the official said the first target was to consolidate the Suzuki brand in the motorcycle segment of the country. The company had appointed 43 dealers across the country, he said. While the two models were being manufactured in India, certain parts were being imported from Japan.
— PTI
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IT firms on hiring spree
Bangalore, May 1 Infosys, Wipro and TCS alone are expected to hire around 75,000 personnel this year. Other companies like iGate, Satyam and IBM are also on an expansion spree not to mention mid level and small players which are expanding fast to keep pace with the increasing business opportunities in this field. This could mean fabulous opportunities for youngsters, particularly fresh engineers in North India, who are known to start work close to their hometowns on salaries ranging from Rs 5,000 to Rs 8,000 a month. Besides going on campuses of prominent engineering colleges, IT companies have adopted an open-end way of recruitment. Prospective candidates can take tests online before coming down to Bangalore or other cities like Hyderabad and Chennai for further interviews. The move seems to have paid dividends for many. A fresh engineer from an engineering institute in Malout told TNS that he has been hired at a starting salary of Rs 55,000 per month by Microsoft, something he did not even dream was possible. Companies have even resorted to coming out with hoardings to attract freshers. One such hoarding of the IBM has a car with the back door open along with the slug “IBM is hiring, do you want to jump in”. Infosys has already disclosed its intentions to hire 25,000 personnel this year, which is very bold considering, it has staff strength of around 52,000 personnel. TCS is even being more ambitious with 30,500 employees. Wipro has not disclosed the number of employees it will hire but has announced that it will be strengthening all its centres this year. Satyam aims to hire 12,500 personnel. Infosys Chief Financial Officer TV Mohandas Pai, who steps down this month, encapsulated the mood of the industry by talking on this issue. He said Infosys wanted to keep pace with the percentage rise in revenues year on year and felt that a major recruitment drive would ensure this besides strengthening the company’s overall portfolio. Infosys had taken in 22,868 personnel last year in keeping with this trend. Recruitment is also on focus because of high attrition rates in IT companies. Infosys subsidiary, Progeon, had an attrition rate of 40 per cent last year. While the recruitment bonanza is a boon for youngsters, the same cannot be said for senior positions. Companies are resorting to higher packages and stock options to keep managerial staff with them. While major IT companies can stomach the additional burden the same cannot be said of small companies which will have to shell out much more to retain senior staff. They also risk becoming subsidiaries of bigger companies if this trend continues. There are presently around 10 lakh personnel involved in the IT and IT enabled services. There are a little more than a dozen big players with the majority of around 300 being medium players. There are a few thousand small IT companies which may be most affected by this trend.
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Force, MAN to build buses in India
Pithampur(MP), May 1 MAN would be the second European company after Volvo to build buses for the Indian market. Force Motors will hold a majority stake in the venture, sources said. The two companies have already inaugurated a plant to build heavy trucks for the Indian and international markets. The plant, inaugurated on Sunday, is located at Pithampur, near Indore, in Madhya Pradesh. Force Motors, owned by the Firodias, has a 70 per cent stake in the truck venture with the rest being held by MAN. The MAN -Force trucks company will manufacture 24,000 trucks annually of which half would be exported to Asia, West Asia and Africa. Production is to start later this year. According to Mr Anton Weinmann, Chairman of MAN’s Executive Board, MAN will also set up a design and development centre for diesel engines in Aurangabad in Maharashtra and India will be a base for sourcing components for automobiles.
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Dabur promoters hike stake in PTL
New Delhi, May 1 “We have increased our stake in Punjab Tractors to 12.5 per cent by buying an additional one per cent stake from the open market,” a senior company official confirmed. If the Burmans, who control FMCG major Dabur, hike their stake by another 2.5 per cent, they will have to make the mandatory open offer. Asked if the Burmans were in talks with private equity firm Actis buying it over fully or partially in the company, the official declined any comment. “Such things cannot be discussed in the media. These things are strategic and confidential and I cannot confirm on the way forward,” the official said. Actis is the largest stakeholder in the company with about 29 per cent while Burmans —who made their first purchase in PTL in November last year — hold around 12.5 per cent through their multiple investment companies. The Burmans have so far forked out around Rs 175 crore for the shareholding in the tractor company. Looking to play an active role in the functioning of the company, the Burmans had appointed Dabur India Group Director P D Narang as the family’s representative on PTL’s Board as non-executive independent director. It is speculated that Burmans and Actis may team up to effect top-level management changes in the company at its board meeting this month. — PTI
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US asks India to ease FDI norms
New Delhi, May 1 “India’s FDI policy should be more flexible to allow more foreign equity and ensure level-playing field for foreign and domestic companies,” US Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade Franklin L. Lavin said at the AGM of the American Chamber of Commerce and Industry. India attracts $5.9 billion of FDI from the US while flow of FDI into Singapore is $56.9 billion due to the simple FDI procedures, he pointed. “A vibrant IPR regime is critical to the promotion of a creative, technologically advanced (Indian) economy,” he said. India should be a global leader in the pharma sector but its lack of attention to IPR has proved to be a hindrance in its growth, Mr Lavin said. Addressing issues concerning the American business houses, Mr Lavin said: “India needs to sort through the challenge of its high trade barriers. The more India can lower its barriers, the better off its people will be. While India has significantly lowered tariffs on non-agricultural products, agricultural tariffs remain around 40 per cent”. He further said that India should allow entry of private companies in the agriculture sector to strengthen it. “As a significant exporter of services and in light of the benefits that India can achieve through the WTO Doha round, we believe that it would be beneficial for India to lower these high agricultural tariffs,” he said. — PTI
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DLF joint venture to bid for highways
London, May 1 “We have an expertise in areas of construction for railways, airports and highways. We would be participating in all these areas as and when the opportunity comes,” Laing O’Rourke (LoR) Director Mark Oliver said. Asked whether LoR would be bidding solo or in association with DLF, Mr Oliver said: “It depends on bidding conditions. We may bid alone, qualify and may execute the projects by the joint venture with DLF. The government is considering dedicated railway freight corridors, similar to the Golden Quadrilateral highway project connecting major metros, envisaging an investment of over Rs 50,000 crore in the 11th Five Year plan. LoR, which has an expertise in constructing airports, has also evinced interest to bid for airports modernisation in India other than Delhi and Mumbai for which the contract has already been awarded. Mr Oliver, however, said they would also consider bidding for construction of Delhi and Mumbai airports if desired by the two successful bidders — GMR and GVK —construction being their forte. LoR has been a major party in constructing $4.2 billion Terminal V at the Heathrow Airport and would also showcase its expertise in a big way in India. — PTI
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Andhra tops in IT exports’ growth
Hyderabad, May 1 The exports from the state for the year 2005-06 translated into Rs 12,521 crore, as compared to last year's exports of Rs 8,270 crore. This amount constitutes 12.5 percent of the national software exports totalling Rs 1,00,809 crore. The state now stands fourth at the national level in IT exports after Karnataka (Rs 37,000 crore), Maharashtra (Rs 15,500 crore) and Tamil Nadu (Rs 13,960 crore), and provides employment for 1,51,789 software professionals in the sector. A new company was formed in the IT sector every other day in Andhra Pradesh last year, Mr B.V. Naidu, Director for Hyderabad and Bangalore, Software Technology Parks of India, said at a press conference here today to highlight the state's achievements. As many as 173 new software units were added this year, out of which 69 had foreign equity, while 104 were Indian companies. These include major MNCs like Amazon, Verizon, UBS Service, Birlasoft, Ikanos, HCL Technologies, Microsoft Global Services and Aztec Software. Mr Naidu said it was significant to note that several existing companies had expanded their operations, contributing to the consistency in the growth. The year saw investments of Rs 1,760 crore, which came from the newly registered companies. Ms Ratna Prabha, IT Secretary in the state, said exports to new markets such as Europe and South-East Asia as well as development of tier- II cities such as Vizag and Vijayawada helped the growth. Big expansion plans of IT majors Infosys and Wipro and new companies like Honeywell setting up facilities, besides the upcoming hardware industry, including the Fab City, will lead to exponential growth of the IT sector in the state.
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Bank Account New Delhi, May 1 The bank also revised its benchmark prime-lending rate from exiting 10.75 per cent per annum to 11.25 per cent per annum. “The revised lending rates are applicable on all existing and new accounts where interest rate are linked with BPLR,” the bank said in a statement. The bank has hiked interest rate from 7.75 per cent to 8.25 per cent for home loans under floating rate option up to 5 years; from 8 per cent to 8.5 per cent for loans of 5-10 years; from 8.25 per cent to 8.75 per cent for loans 10-20 years, and from 9 per cent to 9.5 per cent for loans of 20-25 years period. Meanwhile, HDFC Bank’s housing loan across all segments become costlier by 50 basis point from tomorrow. The bank, in the announcement made this evening, however, did not revise its prime lending rate (PLR), which remains unchanged at 11.75 per cent. HDFC’s fixed lending rate for housing loans goes up to 11 per cent and of floating rate to 9.5 per cent with effect from May 2. ICICI Bank Non-resident Indians will get more interest from ICICI Bank for their fixed rupee deposits as well as those denominated in foreign currencies, with the bank hiking rates on NRE fixed deposits. ICICI Bank, the country’s largest private sector bank, today announced that it had hiked interest rates on NRE fixed deposits in the range of 0.33 to 0.35 per cent in various maturity schemes. The NRE fixed deposits between one year and less than 18 months would get 6.33 per cent, while those maturing between three years and 10 years will receive the highest 6.35 per cent rates. The bank also announced increase in deposit rates on foreign currency non-resident accounts. FCNR deposits in dollars have been raised in the range of 0.04 per cent to 0.12 per cent, in pounds from 0.09 per cent to 0.25 per cent, in euro from 0.09 to 0.23 per cent and in yen from 0.04 to 0.05 per cent. Allahabad Bank Allahabad bank has revised the interest rates on Foreign Currency Non-Resident (FCNR) deposits and Non-Resident (External) Rupee (NRE) deposits from today. Accordingly the revised rates for dollar, 5.33 per cent has now become from 5.29 per cent earlier for one year to less than two years, 5.34 per cent (earlier 5.29 per cent) for two years to less than three years, 5.35 per cent (earlier 5.27 per cent) for three years to less than four years, 5.39 per cent (earlier 5.30 per cent) for four years to less than five years and 5.43 per cent (earlier 5.31 per cent) for five years only. In case of pound deposits, the revised rates are 4.87 per cent 4.98 per cent 5.06 per cent 5.09 per cent and 5.10 per cent for respective maturities. Italian bank in Delhi Italian bank Banca Popolare di Vicenza has opened its first representative office in India to provide financial services to Italian firms keen to do business in this subcontinent nation. “The representative office will provide direct assistance to Italian entrepreneurs, who want to have business ties with India,” said Mr Gianni Zonin, Chairman of Banca Popolare di Vicenza after inaugurating the office in New Delhi. He said the bank would also offer Indian entrepreneurs, who would like to have business links with Italy. The bank will manage payment operations from Italy to India and vice-versa between the corporate houses of the two nations and provide finance and credit lines to entrepreneurs directly and through local banks. Besides the local requirement, the Delhi office will manage the bank’s business relationships with Pakistan, Afghanistan, Myanmar and Bhutan. State Bank of Indore The State Bank of Indore has reported a net profit of Rs 139.11 crore for 2005-06 compared to the previous fiscal’s Rs 133.18 crore. The bank has been focussing on income growth from core operations. During the year, total interest income increased by 19 per cent from Rs 1,109.83 crore to Rs 1,322.69 crore and interest on advances registered 36 per cent growth—an increase of Rs 224.52 crore, a release said today. The bank made a profit of Rs 78.32 crore from domestic treasury operations. — TNS, Agencies |
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Auto Scene
New Delhi, May 1 Car market leader Maruti Udyog Ltd today announced registering a 12.9 per cent increase in its sales with 43,127 vehicles sold in April 2006 as compared to 38,190 vehicles in the same period last year. Maruti’s
domestic sales showed a 12.4 per cent rise with 41,574 vehicles sold
in the month as opposed to 36,972 vehicles in the corresponding period
last year. Sales of Alto, WagonR, Zen and Swift rose by an impressive 26.4 per cent whereas sales of old favourite Maruti 800 fell by 16.6 per cent this April as against the same period last year. Maruti
Udyog Ltd’s exports stood at 1,553 units in the month, up by 27.5
per cent as compared to 1,218 units last year in the same period. Sales of other models like Omni, Versa, Baleno and Esteem grew by 4.4 per cent during the month compared to sales in April 2005. Honda
Siel Honda Siel Cars India today reported a 27.3 per cent increase in sales in April over the corresponding month in 2005. The company sold a total of 4,551 units in April as against 3,575 units in the same month last year. Cumulative sales for the calendar year period January-April 2006, also registered an increase of 22 per cent, at 17,430 units as against 14,275 units in the corresponding period a year ago. Honda City registered sales of 4,007 units in April while Honda Accord sold 231 units and the CR-V sales were 313 units, a company press note said. Hero
Honda Hero Honda today reported 6.34 per cent growth in total sales at 2,50,366 units for April, as against 2,35,422 units in the same month last fiscal. According
to information available on the company’s website, exports grew
by10.93 per cent for April, at 9,335 units as compared to 8,415 units
in the same month last fiscal. — Agencies
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Boeing may buy Aviall for
$1.7 billion
New York, May 1 A deal would be the first big acquisition for Boeing Chairman and Chief Executive Jim McNerney and could be announced as early as Monday morning, the report said, citing unnamed sources. A deal would give Aviall shareholders about $48 per share in cash, reflecting a 27 percent premium over Aviall’s Friday close of $37.70 on the New York Stock Exchange, and the Boards of both companies met on Sunday night the report said. The estimated price would be Boeing’s biggest purchase since the 1990s, when it bought McDonnell Douglas Corp. for about $29 billion. Representatives for Aviall and Boeing could not immediately be reached for comments.
— Reuters
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