Rupee touches all-time low
Mumbai: On 20 August 1999, the rupee touched Rs.43.57, its all-time low. Interestingly, the previous all-time low was recorded on 20 August 1998, which was Rs.43.50.

The 1998 low was owing to factors such as the Russian crisis, the Pokhran effect and a general currency crisis in the South Asian region. The fall of the rupee now is owing to genuine dollar demand from companies. Some sections of the dealing community also attribute the fall to the negative stand taken by G-8 nations towards India’s draft nuclear doctrine.

The Reserve Bank of India, intervened in the markets in 1998, while this time around, the central bank is staying away.
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SBI may start exchanging examined gold
Mumbai: Four bankers – Credit Suisse First Boston, UBS, Bank of Nova Scotia and NM Rothschild – and the State Bank of India will enter an agreement to exchange assayed gold. This is part of the gold deposit scheme of the SBI, where the bank collects assayed gold. The bank will enter into an exchange for its assayed gold with standardised and tradable gold bars.

The State Bank of India already has a joint venture for gold assaying with CS First Boston and three other Indian banks.
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Govt. allows registration of private insurance firms
New Delhi: The government has allowed the registration of private insurance firms under the Companies Act, thereby bringing the sector closer to deregulation.

The Registrar of Companies will be allowed to register such firms with names containing words such as ‘insurance’ or ‘risk corporation’, after consulting the Reserve Bank of India and the Insurance Regulatory Authority.
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IndusInd’s forex mechanism to be speeded up by PwC.
Mumbai: PriceWaterhouseCoopers, global management consultancy firm, has been appointed by IndusInd Bank to make its foreign exchange trading system work faster.

PwC will offer advice on the bank’s treasury operations and any upgradation of software required. IndusInd envisages becoming the best foreign exchange service provider in India.
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Litigation comes down marginally because of Kar Vivad
New Delhi: Central excise litigation has not receded much after the introduction of the Kar Vivad Samadhan Scheme. The scheme’s objective was to reduce the quantum of disputes and offer fast track solutions.

The scheme has created a marginal impact as the number of disputes has come down to 47,801 cases as of 1 April 1999 from 47,911 cases as of 1 April 1998. The total amount under dispute is around Rs.8,000 crore.
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Feedback Ventures plans urban infrastructure fund
New Delhi: Feedback Infrastructure, wholly-owned subsidiary of Feedback Ventures, will launch an infrastructure fund. The corpus will be Rs.100 crore and it will be a closed-ended fund.

Feedback will participate in the equities of mid-sized urban infrastructure projects. Mid-sized projects are those between Rs.75 crore and Rs.250 crore in investment.
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Vijaya Bank, Hudco in take-out financing agreement
Mumbai: Vijaya Bank and Housing and Urban Development Corporation have signed a Rs.200-crore take-out financing deal for funding infrastructure projects. Both institutions would joint appraise projects. Vijaya Bank will then fund the projects for an amount not exceeding Rs.200 crore, with a tenure of 15 years. The loan will later on be taken up by Hudco after five years.
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US banks aim at Europe
New York: US banks JP Morgan, Chase Manhattan, and Citigroup are targeting the European market where banking activity is booming. They are hiring staff and are concentrating on boosting profits from this region.

The reason for the boom: Europe is currently seeing a wave of privatisation, and mergers and acquisitions.
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Japanese banking giant is open to alliances
Tokyo: The giant banking company that will be formed with the merger of Industrial Bank of Japan, Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank and Fuji Bank is open to the idea of tie-ups with foreign firms.

The banks will probably form a holding company which will manage the operations since an outright merger would be very difficult, given the size, according to Masao Nishimura, president, Industrial Bank of Japan.
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