BALCO deal is sealed
New Delhi: The government on Friday has sealed the deal for sale of its 51 per cent stake in Bharat Aluminium Company (BALCO) to Sterlite Industries for Rs 551.5 crore. The government signed the deal with Sterlite after it won the parliament’s approval for the sale on Thursday. Sterlite Industries handed over a cheque for Rs 551.5 crore to the government after signing the shareholders' agreement and share purchase agreement.

The agreements were signed by Ms. Aruna Bagchi, joint secretary, ministry of mines, on behalf of the government, Mr. S C Tripathi, additional secretary, ministry of mines and chairman and managing director, BALCO, on behalf of the public sector company and Mr. Tarun Jain, director (finance), for Sterlite Industries.
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UTI Global ropes in Mercer
Mumbai: UTI Global Bank - the merged entity of UTI Bank and Global Trust Bank -- has appointed William M Mercer as consultant for the integration of human resources.

The consultant will submit a report on the behavioral aspect of the staff to the bank management.

The HR exercise is concentrated on the top management up to the vice-president level in both the banks. UTI Bank has around six layers of management, while GTB has eight.

William M Mercer, one of the biggest human resource consultants, was also involved in the merger of TimesBank with HDFC Bank. The consultant's report will be one of the inputs that the management will look into apart from personal track record and performance of the executives while deciding on their placements.
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Atlas Copco reports 130 percent jump in net
Mumbai: Atlas Copco (India) Ltd., a Pune-based construction and mining tools manufacturer, has reported a 130.60-per cent jump in net profit to Rs 15.75 crore for the year ended December 31, 2000, as compared to Rs 6.83 crore in the previous year.

Atlas Copco, after the amalgamation of Chicago Pneumatic India Ltd., has reported 80 per cent growth in income from operations at Rs 208.99 crore during the year compared to Rs 116.09 crore last year. The Atlas Copco board has recommended a dividend of 37.5 per cent (Rs 3.75 per share) on the enlarged Atlas Copco equity capital of Rs 11.28 crore.

The financial results for the year ended December 2000 include that of Chicago Pneumatic for the nine-month period April-December 2000. Profit before tax was Rs 26.43 crore. The extraordinary income was Rs 82 lakh after considering income of Rs 4.85 crore from sale of residential property and expenses of Rs 1.79 crore towards amalgamation costs and Rs 2.24 crore towards voluntary retirement scheme introduced by the company. Atlas Copco had issued 40.27 lakh shares of Rs 10 each paid-up on February 12, 2001 to the shareholders of erstwhile Chicago Pneumatic.
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FDI proposals worth Rs 713 crore cleared
New Delhi: The government on Friday cleared 34 foreign direct investment (FDI) proposals worth Rs 713 crore, including the Rs 35-crore proposal of Fosters India Ltd. and Rs 31.18-crore proposal of Tata Asset Management.

Fosters India Ltd.'s Rs 35-crore FDI proposal to carry on the business of making beer involves issuing of redeemable non-cumulative preference share. The Rs 31.18-crore FDI proposal of Tata Asset Management Ltd is 50 per cent of investment required for carrying out financial advisory services.

The government has also cleared a proposal of SRF Ltd. for manufacture and sale of nylon industrial yarn, cord, fabrics, industrial fabrics and leather auxiliaries. The SRF proposal however, does not involve fresh inflow of foreign investment. Lufthansa Cargo Indian Pvt. Ltd.'s Rs 1.25 crore FDI proposal involving increase in foreign equity from 95 per cent to 100 per cent for international air cargo transportation was also amongst the proposals cleared.

The FDI proposals, which cover various sectors including chemicals, consumer and confectionery items, food and beverages, telecommunication and software development amongst others, were based on the recommendations by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB).
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