Govt clears Rs 1400 crore for IDPL
New Delhi: The government on Tuesday cleared a Rs 1,400 crore bailout package for the Indian Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Limited (IDPL). This will help IDPL clean up its books so that it can start the process of privatisation. The cabinet approved the conversion of a Rs 500 crore loan into equity, an interest waiver of 670 crore rupees besides a payment of about Rs 100 crore for outstanding statutory dues.
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Swissair cuts 9,000 jobs
Zurich: The Swiss national carrier has cut 9,000 jobs to try and recover from the brink of bankruptcy. The airline has cut fare prices to lure more passengers. It had left tens of thousands of passengers stranded during a sudden shutdown last week, but was able to resume partial service after being promised a $281 million loan from the Swiss government.
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New CMC board finalised
Mumbai: The new structure of the 12-member Computer Maintenance Corporation (CMC) board has been finalised. The board will comprise six members from the Tata group, four public representatives and two from the government.
Post disinvestment, Tata Sons hold 51 per cent in CMC, while 32 per cent lies with the government and rest with the public. Out of the 16.69 per cent, Unit Trust of India and other mutual funds hold 2.52 per cent, banks and financial institutions hold 8.31 per cent and holdings of foreign institutional investors figure around 0.34 per cent.

CMC will continue to operate as an independent entity, contrary to rumours of it being merged with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), currently a division of Tata Sons.
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HLL to hike FII limit to 49%
Mumbai: The Rs 10,604 crore Hindustan Lever Ltd (HLL) is inclined to hiking the FII limit to 49 per cent from the current 24 per cent. Informing the stock exchanges on Tuesday, the company said its board of directors will consider this proposal at its meeting to be held on Tuesday, October 16.

HLLs Anglo-Dutch parent, Unilever holds a majority stake of 51.57 per cent in the Indian subsidiary and public shareholding is in the range of 21-23 per cent, the FIIs hold around 13 per cent while the balance is held by domestic institutions and corporate bodies.

The HLL stock has been moving up ever since the RBI announced the hike in the FII limit on September 20.
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HLL plans to issue bonus debentures
Mumbai: Hindustan Lever Ltd (HLL) is planning to issue bonus debentures. The companys board will meet on October 16 to consider issue of bonus debentures by drawing upon the general reserves of the company.
Approximately Rs 1,320 crore from the general reserves would be utilised for issue and allotment of debentures of the face value of Rs 6 each which would be issued and allotted to the existing members of the company by way of bonus debentures in the ratio of one fully paid debenture of Rs 6 each for every 1 equity share held in the company on a record date to be fixed by the board.

As on December 2000, HLLs general reserves stood at Rs 1,609 crore as against the previous years Rs 1,474.66 crore.
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Cadila Pharma wins brand name
Ahmedabad: Cadila Pharmaceuticals Limited (CPL) has won yet another legal bout with the Gujarat High Court dismissing Cadila Healthcare Limiteds (CHL) appeal to grant an injunction in its favour, in an ongoing brand name case to enable it to refer the case to the Supreme Court.

The Gujarat High Court had in August dismissed an application moved by CHL challenging the sale of a drug, Superdac, a combination drug containing ciprofloxacin and tindazole, manufactured by Swiss Pharma Limited and marketed by CPL on the grounds that the name was similar to an anti-bacterial infection drug containing sparfloxacin, Spardac manufactured by CHL.
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Timex to focus on mid-segment range
Bangalore: Timex Watches Ltd has decided to focus on the mid-segment range of Rs 1,000-5,000 per watch, where growth has been minimal. It also plans to leverage its strength from the US markets by bringing in international styles and designs.
Timex will be competing head-on with its erstwhile joint venture partner in India - Titan. Timex is also looking at India as a sourcing opportunity.

Timex, Netherlands has a 79.3 per cent stake in the Indian arm, the rest of the equity being held by institutional investors and public.
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Bellary Steel management reshuffled
Mumbai: Financial Institutions (FIs) have forced a change in the management of Bellary Steel & Alloys Ltd (BSAL). The company, which till September 30 was headed by managing director S Madhava, is now being headed by FI nominee Mr SK Gupta. Mr Gupta, who is now the chairman of BSAL, is also the executive vice-chairman of Jindal Vijayanagar Steel (JVSL). Mr TM Subramanyam has taken over as managing director of BSAL from October 1.
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France Tele seeks higher stake in Batata
Mumbai: France Telecom, which owns a 26 per cent stake in BPL Mobile, is seeking a higher than the 9.3 per cent stake being offered to it post BPLs merger with Birla-Tata-AT&T. The French telecom giant is also seeking some shareholder rights.
France Telecom is looking at a stake of about 12 per cent in the merged entity as that would give it minority shareholder rights under the Companies Act.
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Gesco to invest Rs 300 crore in residential complexes
New Delhi: Gesco Corporation, a leading developer, has decided to venture into the residential sector for the first time, with plans to invest Rs 300 crore to build two large-scale residential complexes in Gurgaon and Noida.

The Gesco group housing complexes, to be built over 5 lakh sq ft of area each, will offer 2 to 4-bed apartments ranging from 1,400 to 4,500 sq ft in area at a price of between Rs 25 to 80 lakh. The 4,500 sq ft penthouse apartments will cost between Rs 70 to 80 lakh.
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NDDB registers Rs 565.59cr turnover
New Delhi: National Dairy Development Board posted a turnover of Rs 565.59 crore during 2000-01 with an excess of income over expenditure to the tune of Rs 99.7 crore.

Releasing its annual accounts for the last financial year on Tuesday, NDDB said, as part of its restructuring process and efforts to enhance operational effectiveness, the board has corporatised its units.

Under the restructuring process, it has established 17 state offices across india to assist milk cooperatives to make them more vibrant and competitive, NDDB said in a release here.
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UB to launch 'UB Ice'
New Delhi: United Breweries will launch the niche, premium 'UB Ice' in Delhi soon, specifically targeting the city's youth. The brewery controls 40 per cent share of the countrys beer market.

The company's flagship 'Kingfisher Lager' was the single-largest beer brand in India with 29 per cent share of the total market.

"'UB Ice' is a niche, premium beer with a distinctive sharp taste. It is positioned at the youth and should be launched in Delhi as soon as the Delhi government clears the proposal.
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Bajaj Tempo to ramp up tractors sale
Hyderabad: Bajaj Tempo Ltd (BTL) has worked out an aggressive network expansion programme for its tractors division.

Launching the new series of tractors Tempo Balwan and Ox 25 tractor, the BTL Chief Operating Officer, Tractor Division, Rakesh Jinsi, said the company aims to sell close to 6,000 tractors during the current fiscal year as against 2,000 tractors sold in last fiscal.

BTL plans to expand its dealers network across the country to 250. BTL expects its tractor division to contribute around Rs 200 crore to the total turnover during the current fiscal.

The company proposes to launch higher horse power tractor, Balwan-600, during the next fiscal year and cater to the entire tractor industry. The new state-of-the-art tractor manufacturing unit of the company at Pune, which commenced commercial operations on September 28, 2001, has an installed capacity to manufacture around 24,000 units per annum.

BTL is currently extending its assembling services to Mercedes Benz India for the assembly of engines, their testing and completion. Around 800 engines are being supplied to Mercedes Benz per annum.
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Mohan Clothing to tap market
New Delhi: Mohan Clothing Company, which markets the decade-old Blackberrys brand of ready-to-wear trousers, shirts and jackets for men and women, is planning to tap the capital market next year for strategic brand investments and to take the Blackberrys brand to international markets.

The company expects to generate a turnover of Rs 45 crore in the current financial year, and is hopeful of touching the Rs 100-crore mark in the year 2003-04.

The company plans to set up 30 exclusive outlets in the next financial year. These stores will focus on ambience, in-shelf displays and product range.
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ABB bags Haryana power board order
New Delhi: ABB has bagged a Rs 37.7-crore order from Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam Ltd (HVPNL) to construct and augment 132 KV and 220 KV sub-stations.

According to an official release, the scope of the turnkey order includes design, manufacture, procurement, supply, associated civil works, erection and commissioning of 220 KV and 132 KV substations.

The project comprises of three packages and will be completed in 18 months. The HVPNL project is financed by the Power Finance Corporation (PFC)
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Dainippon to take majority stake in Coates
New Delhi: Dainippon Ink and Chemicals (DIC) of Japan is all set to acquire a controlling stake in Coates of India through its wholly-owned subsidiary Sun Chemicals.

Sun Chem Group BV of The Netehrlands is acquiring 51 per cent shares in the Indian company from Coates Brothers Plc at an average price of 1.7143 pounds (Rs 119.57) per share.

Sun Chem has sent a notice to the Bombay Stock Exchange. Coates of India was originally promoted by Coates Brothers Plc of the United Kingdom and became a public limited company in 1976. In 1991, Coates Brothers got acquired by the French TotalFina, a leading player in the petroleum sector, which also acquired a 51 per cent stake in the Indian company. Then, in 1999, TotalFina exited the printing inks business worldwide in favour of Sun Chemicals, a DIC subsidiary. Coates of India has manufacturing plants at Kolkata, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore and Noida.
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Hughes Spaceway scouting for partners
New Delhi: Hughes Spaceway, the broadband Internet satellite network of General Motors company is scouting for joint venture partners in India for its proposed satellite broadband Internet venture that would cover the Asian region.

The broadband Internet satellite service will allow users to transmit and receive video, audio, multimedia and other digital data at a faster rate than the conventional phone lines.

The Asian satellites network is expected to cost anywhere between $500 million to $1 billion. The work on the Asian satellite network will begin after 2003.
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Samsungs festival offer
Kolkata: Samsung India Electronics (SIEL) aims at garnering sales worth Rs 275 crore through its festival offer which will remain open for one month and 10 days from tomorrow. The company would spend Rs 15-10 crore for prizes and the balance for the promotion of the offer called Samsung 'Phod Ke Dekho'.

The festival offer, he said, would help the company grow handsomely over the previous year's Rs 1,210 crore.

Samsung's target is a turnover of Rs 2,700 crore this year ending December 2001. The previous year the company's turnover was Rs 1,950 crore.

The offer, which gives two sure-shot silver coins and the third coin containing the name of the gift, is applicable for all Samsung consumer electronics and home appliances products with a price tag of Rs 6,000 to Rs 1.90 lakh.

After the promotion, SEIL will be carrying out 23 roadshows in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu to "increase the brand awareness" in small cities and towns.
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