VSNL in talks with cable companies for internet service
Mumbai: Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd.(VSNL)   has begun  talks with three Mumbai-based cable operators -- Siti Cable, InCablenet and Hathaway Cable & Datacom -- for distribution arrangements for providing internet services to homes and offices in Mumbai.

Amitabh Kumar, acting chairman and managing director of VSNL, said this move forms part of a broad strategy to increase VSNL's dominance of the internet services. The tie-up would not involve equity partnership, but will be based on a revenue-sharing arrangement.

Industry observers believe it will take close to a year for the service to be launched.
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Cyclicals not benefited from economic recovery
Mumbai: Companies belonging to cyclical industries have not yet benefited from the economic recovery, according to an Economic Times study covering 1,001 companies.

The study based on the first quarter results shows that steel and cement companies suffered on margins and bottomline, despite higher sales, indicating that while there is demand, and thus sales, rewards come only to the efficient few.

Infotech companies bucked the trend showing a sharp uptrend in performance in the first quarter of the current year with most of them recording impressive growth in sales as well as in bottomline.
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Investment ceiling in Saarc nations increased
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India has doubled the direct investment ceiling on joint ventures and wholly-owned subsidiaries being set up by Indian ventures in Saarc countries and Myanmar.

Under the new guidelines, RBI will consider applications for investment in Saarc countries and Myanmar up to $ 30 million against the existing ceiling of $15 million.

However, the ceiling of $15 million will continue to be applicable for investments in other countries Other terms and conditions for approval under the fast track route remain unchanged.

The existing ceiling of Rs 60 crore for Indian rupee investments in Nepal and Bhutan in respect of which applications are considered by the RBI has also been raised to Rs 120 crore.
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MRPL to start retail marketing
Mumbai: Mangalore Refineries & Petrochemicals Ltd. (MRPL)  is planning retail marketing of its petroleum products. According to Jagdeesh Mehta, managing director of the company, the company will award a mandate to an international consulting firm to carry out a study on retailing of oil products, in the next three to four weeks, .

MRPL is currently allowed to market both free and controlled products as per a notification by the government that any company investing Rs 2,000 crore in a refinery project can market all petroleum products.
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MRPL takes stake in pipeline project
Mumbai: Mangalore Refineries and Petrochemicals Ltd. (MRPL)  has taken a 13 per cent stake in the Mangalore-Hassan-Bangalore pipeline at a cost of Rs 22 crore. The other shareholders are Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (13 per cent) and Petronet (26 per cent). Financial institutions, notably Infrastructure Leasing and Finance Services, will hold the rest of the equity in the ICICI-appraised Rs 750 crore project.
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Rashtriya Ispat plans restructuring
Mumbai: Rashtriya Ispat Nigam has formulated a restructuring package and is awaiting the government's approval for implementation.

As part of the new strategy, Rashtriya Ispat plans to shift its product mix towards high value-added items.The company is planning to introduce 100 new grades of high value steel in the current year.

With accumulated losses of Rs 3,587 crore as at the end of 1997-98, the company is struggling to avoid being referred to the Bureau for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction.
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ACC will have exclusive dealers
Mumbai: Associated Cement Companies (ACC) is planning to introduce exclusive dealer outlets. It has evolved a strategy by which each retailer will sell ACC cement in a given territory.

The strategy forms part of a brand-building exercise. ACC's president (marketing) A.K. Jain said it will implement the concept selectively in cities where cement consumption is high. At present, Mumbai, Pune, and Bangalore have authorised dealers.
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Ceat to acquire 2-wheeler tyre unit
Mumbai: Ceat, the RPG group flagship company, will acquire a third plant to manufacture two and three-wheeler tyres. At present, Ceat outsources two and three-wheeler requirements to Zahi Tyres, which produces 25,000 tyres a month.

Late last year the company had acquired Rado Tyres, a two-wheeler facility with a capacity of 15,000 tyres per month. The capacity is being raised to 40,000 tyres a month.
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Honda Siel to import cars
New Delhi: Honda Siel Cars will import completely built cars from Honda Motor Company of Japan to improve the company's viability. The company also plans to become exclusive indenting agents for sales and servicing for various passenger car models of the parent company, which are not manufactured in India.

The imports are expected to improve revenues and the economic viability of the company's operations in light of the low volumes in the premium market segment in which it operates. At present it has a limited range of models being manufactured in India
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Philips tells workers to sit at home
Calcutta: Philips India has directed employees in its electronics factory at Salt Lake not to report for duty until further instructions. They will, however, continue to get their salaries.

The company,  in a release, said the move is to curtail the recurring expenditure of Rs 60 lakh per month on account of wages, maintenance and other expenses of the unproductive factory.
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VSNL not to invest more in ICO Global
Mumbai: Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (VSNL) has dropped plans to invest a further $40 million in ICO Global, the global satellite telephone company promoted by a consortium of telecom companies.

ICO Global, which  is struggling to raise $600 million equity through a rights issue,  has also decided to offer equity shares through the private placement route.

It has so far received commitments worth $501 million and has decided to extend the date last date for commitments to 10 August, 1999.

With this decision, VSNL will cease to become the second largest shareholder in ICO Global.
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Tele Shopping changes name
Mumbai: Tele Shopping Network will now be known as Total Shopping Network (TSN). Rajan Kaicker, managing director of United Tele Shopping & Marketing Company, promoted by UTV, said the company intends to set up a distribution network in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and the Middle East.

TSN has a 45 per cent market share in the Rs 75 crore tele-shopping industry in India. Walden Nikko Investments and Draper International have picked up stakes in the company.
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Daewoo Motor to rationalise operations
Seoul: Daewoo Motor Co, the South Korean carmaker, will slim down its operations and thereby boost profits.

The company said that through a proposed   restructuring it will achieve sales growth of 33 per cent to $12.5 billion this year and will maintain annual sales growth of about 30 per cent in the years to come.

The company also said that organisational and personnel restructuring would complete the first phase of restructuring plan that started late last year.
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AOL, Apple in tie-up
San Francisco: America Online has enlisted Apple Computer as an ally in its battle with Microsoft Corp. over internet instant messaging products.

AOL and Apple will work together to create new products linking Apple's Macintosh users to AOL's popular instant messenger service. The instant messaging programs are used by internet users to send short messages instantly while they are online. A version of AOL's instant messaging service for Macintosh users can already be downloaded free via internet.
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SmithKline Beecham to take stake in SkyePharma
London: SmithKline Beecham is close to taking a $10 million stake in SkyePharma, a British biotechnology company.

The investment is said to be part of a deal under which SkyePharma will reformulate SmithKline's Requip treatment for Parkinson's disease.
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