Diesel price raised 40%
New Delhi: The government has increased diesel prices by 40 per cent, in order to bring about a Rs.6,600 crore reduction in the oil pool deficit. The price rise, which comes into effect immediately.

The ex-storage point price of high speed diesel has gone up from Rs.6,882 per kilolitre to Rs.9,634 per kilolitre. As a result, the price of diesel will go up from Rs.10.35 to Rs.13.91 in Delhi, Rs.10.52 to Rs.14.52 in Calcutta, Rs.12.23 to Rs.16.54 in Mumbai, and from Rs.11.27 to Rs.15.24 in Chennai.

Inflation is all set to rise since a diesel price hike gets passed on throughout the major sectors of the economy.
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DoT’s cost cutting exercise
Calcutta: The department of telecommunications is trying to reduce costs by cutting advertisement budgets, reducing expenditure on meetings, controlling long-distance service calls, decreasing the use of hired vehicles, and banning parties.

The DoT seems to be bothered about the reduction in STD rates, reduction in annual service charges and the expenditure it has to incur on its expansion programmes.
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SBI starts revamping subsidiaries
Mumbai: The State Bank of India has started restructuring its seven subsidiaries. It is appointing consultants to advise on the design, work flow and reporting relationships of the seven banks.

The seven subsidiaries of the SBI are the State Bank of Travancore, State Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Indore, State Bank of Saurashtra, State Bank of Mysore and State Bank of Hyderabad.
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Cement prices to go up
Mumbai: Cement prices will be increased in Mumbai from the current level of around Rs.150 per bag to Rs.155, from 11 October 1999. Major cement players such as ACC, Larsen & Toubro and Gujarat Ambuja Cements have all stated that they will support the hike in prices.
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Syndicate Bank to trim staff
Mumbai: K V Krishnamurthy, chairman and managing director, Syndicate Bank, has said that Syndicate Bank will cut its staff strength to control costs.

The Verma panel report on weak public sector banks has said that Syndicate Bank is potentially a weak bank, though it can be categorised currently only as a ‘distressed’ bank.
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RBI may set up ‘weak banks’ cell
Mumbai: As per the Verma panel recommendations, the Reserve Bank of India may set up a special cell to monitor Indian Bank, United Bank of India and Uco Bank. The special cell will monitor the weak banks in areas of deposit insurance, operations of their subsidiaries, disclosures and statutory compliance.
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Amex, Tata Finance JV to start operations
Mumbai: The Foreign Investments Promotion Board has approved the joint venture between Tata Finance and American Express Bank. The joint venture company will operate in the businesses of money changing and foreign exchange services.

The new company will be called Tata Finance Amex Pvt. Ltd. The initial paid-up capital of the company will be Rs.15 crore. The company will create a network in 35 locations in 21 cities.
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HDFC takes 15 per cent stake in Sri Lankan company
Mumbai: The Housing Development Finance Corporation Ltd. has taken a 15 per cent stake in NDB Housing Finance, a housing finance company promoted by the National Development Bank of Sri Lanka. The International Finance Corporation will also take a 15 per cent stake in NDB Finance.

HDFC’s investment will be made through its subsidiary, HDFC Investments Ltd. Apart from equity participation, HDFC will also provide technical assistance to NDB. HDFC will send some of its staff to Sri Lanka to help NDB structure its housing finance products and also to help set up its operations.
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Gold deposit scheme announced
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India has announced the norms for the gold deposit scheme, in which resident Indians can make investments. Each bank can fix its own interest rates for the scheme. The scheme will have a tenure of three to seven years, and will have an initial lock-in period, as specified by each bank.

Under the scheme, banks will accept scrapped gold, and on the scheme’s maturity, repay in the form of a gold bar or the rupee equivalent of the gold price.
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Stanchart to reward big card spenders
Mumbai: Standard Chartered Bank has unveiled a ‘Rewards Plus’ programme for its credit card holders, which will be made available from 11 October 1999. Rewards Plus is a points-based credit card programme, which will reward card holders on the basis of the points that they have accumulated.
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Newbridge to formally buy Korea First Bank
Seoul: Newbridge Capital, a US-based investment bank, has said that it will conclude the deal to take over Korea First Bank by November 1999. Newbridge says that it is committed to maintaining the values of the bank and increasing the wealth of its shareholders.
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