IA waives bank guarantee for agents
Mumbai: Indian Airlines has decided to do away with bank guarantees against issue of tickets and instead insured itself against defaults by travel agents. The move gives agents a free hand to sell as many tickets as they can without the earlier financial implications. IA has decided to return the bank guarantees of agents who have not defaulted in the past 12 months. The domestic carrier has also made it mandatory for agents to take out a fidelity insurance for their employees. It has already negotiated with Oriental Insurance to offer fidelity insurance policies at reduced rates.
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State-owned insurers to soon get new chiefs
Mumbai: The government has reportedly finalised the posts of chairman for the three state-owned general insurance companies New India Assurance, National Insurance, and Oriental Insurance. According to sources, R Beri, general manager, New India Assurance, who is currently the chief executive of the Mumbai-based company, is likely to be elevated to the post of chairman. H S Wadhwa, currently the general manager, National Insurance, is likely to be appointed chairman of that company. S L Mohan, general manager, United India Insurance, has reportedly been short-listed for heading Oriental Insurance. V Jagannathan, chairman, United India Insurance, is expected to continue in his post. According to sources, the appointments are expected to be notified this month. Incidentally, the Lok Sabha recently cleared the Bill to amend the General Insurance Business Nationalisation Act. Following the amendment, the four companies will cease to be subsidiaries of the General Insurance Corporation (GIC). They have already been given functional autonomy by way of a notification.
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Harish Bharti takes battle to Pizza Hut
NEW YORK: Harish Bharti, the Indian American lawyer who fought and won a $10-million settlement from McDonalds, has taken his battle to the worlds largest pizza chain Pizza Hut. Exactly a month before an Illinois court on May 1 gave preliminary approval to the McDonalds settlement, the Seattle-based Bharti had filed a suit against Pizza Hut that claims yet another American chain had lied about what was contained in its vegetarian pizzas. McDonalds had said oil used to cook its popular French fries contained no beef extracts, a claim Bharti proved wrong. The April 1 class action for Pizza Hut has been filed at a Superior Court in Washington in and for King County. Bhartis brief alleges the chain "intentionally failed to publicly disclose its continued use of beef product in its pizza and other food items sold as vegetarian." Pizza Hut spokesperson Patty Sullivan denied the claim. Pizza Hut is a subsidiary of Tricon Global Restaurants and is recognised as a leader in the $25-billion pizza category.
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CCI cuts 2001-02 loss to Rs 227.33 cr
Mumbai: Cement Corporation of India (CCI) has managed to reduce its net loss in 2001-02 mainly due to the improved performance of its three live units. CCI's net loss was down to Rs 227.33 crore, from Rs 230.76 crore in 2000-01, while sales rose 80 per cent to Rs 135.39 crore from Rs 74.35 crore in the previous fiscal.
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Oriental Bank to mop up Rs 200 cr
New Delhi: State-owned Oriental Bank of Commerce will soon tap the markets with a bond issue of Rs 200 crore in a bid to shore up its Tier-II Capital as part of efforts to expand its operations. As on March 31, 2002, the bank's Tier-II captial stood at Rs 200 crore.
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Tatachem results on May 31
Mumbai: Tata Chemicals will announce its fiscal 2001-02 results on May 31, according to a release issued by the company to the Bombay Stock Exchange on Monday. The company reported a net profit of Rs 164.95 crore on total income of Rs 1,734.11 crore in FY01.
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Samtel India board okays hive-off of deflection yoke division
Mumbai: The board of Samtel India has approved the hive-off of its deflection yoke unit to Samtel Color, according to a release issued by the company to the BSE on Monday.
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