Media Cos in limelight.. Zee rises 4 percent on news of strategic investor
Mumbai: Media companies scrips saw their price surging and volumes picking up in the last couple of trading sessions.

Jain TV, Sri Adhikari Brothers, Pritish Nandy Communication, Tips and Cinevista stocks gained momentum since Monday and were seen clocking huge volumes.

Jain Studio led with a gain of around 80 per cent from Rs 38.65 on May 18 to Rs 69.85 today.

While Pritish Nandi Communication gained 22 per cent from Rs 38.30 on Friday last to close at Rs 46.80 today, Sri Adhikari Brothers surged 26 per cent in last four trading session from Rs 73 to Rs 92.50.

Sources say the markets are tired of the woes of the IT sector and are looking for new success stories.

Media giant Zee Tele staged a smart rally today after the announcement of plans to rope in a strategic partner.

The stock flew as high as Rs 141 during the day but closed 4 per cent higher at Rs 137. Other media stocks such as Balaji Tele and Sri Adhikari Brothers however wilted under profit booking at higher levels.

Balaji Tele was down 2 per cent at its close of Rs 162 while Sri Adhikari Brothers slipped 3 per cent at its close of Rs 93.
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Zee cancels $1.5 billion ADR plan
Mumbai: Zee Telefilms has dropped its plans for the $1.5 billion American Depository Receipt (ADR), in the pipeline since last year.

Rajesh Jain, president, corporate finance and strategy, Zee Telefilms confirmed that the ADR issue plans have been completely dropped as the markets are in a recessionary mode and the company would not be able to maximise the value of the ADR.

In lieu of this the company in bringing in a strategic partner who will give it the necessary capital.

The media conglomerate had been dilly-dallying on its ADR issue for quite some time now, lately even announcing plans of slashing it to $200 million.

Zee Telefilms may also have to delay plans for getting its broadcasting functions under one umbrella because it would have to comply with the 49 per cent FDI cap in the media sector, when it ropes in the international strategic partner.
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UTI's GSF-Petro beats other open-ended funds
Mumbai: The Unit Trust of India's (UTI) Growth Sector Fund-Petrochemical (GSF-Petro) beat all sector-specific funds in the six months ending May 18.

The fund, focused on the petrochemical sector, also outperformed the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex and the S&P CNX Nifty during the period.

In the last six months the net asset value (NAV) of the fund has given a return of 24.26 per cent, while the BSE Sensex dipped by 6.04 per cent and the S&P CNX Nifty witnessed a 5.78 per cent fall in the same period.

In the last six months, the NAV of UTI's other funds such as GSF - Brand saw a decline of 2.84 per cent, while GSF - Pharma dipped by 10.39 per cent. GSF - Software, a UTI fund dedicated to the software sector, was the worst hit as its NAV slumped by 48 per cent in the same period.

The service sector-specific fund of UTI has been underperforming the Sensex as its NAV dipped by 16.67 per cent in the last quarter, while that of UGS 10,000 has declined by 4.65 per cent.
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L&T, ICICI, Tisco in ECB race
Mumbai: Five Indian corporates Larsen & Toubro, ICICI and Tata Steel have joined Reliance Petroleum and NTPC are in a race to raise funds from the overseas market. This is largest borrowing programme in the overseas markets in recent times as taken collectively the amount to be raised by all the five comes to $850 million.

The mad rush to raise forex resources is to beat the May 31 deadline, after which external commercial borrowings (ECBs) will be subject to withholding tax. L&T is raising $105 million to re-finance an existing high-cost facility.

Tata Steel is raising $50 million to re-finance an old loan while ICICI is raising a fresh $75 million ECB.

This is in addition to RPL’s $500 million and NTPC’s $120 million offerings.

The three-and-a-half year L&T facility carries an all-in cost of 70 basis points over six-month Libor. Six-month Libor is now pegged at 4.25 per cent.

ABN Amro, HSBC and Citibank are managing the issue. L&T will draw the loan in July. ICICI is in the market with a five-year bullet loan of $75 million.

The facility, lead managed by BA Asia and Tokai Bank, carries an all-in cost of 80 basis points over Libor. ICICI is raising the loan for its normal lending activities.

Tata Steel has entered the market with a $50 million re-finance issue, carrying an average maturity period of three years. The loan carries an all-in cost of 67 basis points over Libor.

NTPC will draw down its $120 million loan from September and there will be a bullet repayment in March 2004.
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