HDFC Lifes scheme for terror attacks
New Delhi: HDFC Standard Life Insurance (HSLI) has launched a group term insurance package that provides coverage against terrorist attacks. HSLI had asked its foreign partner Standard Life to develop the product for India.
The premium would depend on the threat perception on a company or organisation. If a company has already been attacked, the premium would be high. The premium would increase, if a company is attacked during the tenure of the policy.

This policy is targeted at companies whose officials visit abroad frequently or employees work in the overseas division.
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ONGC Videsh to pick up 20% in Russian oil field
New Delhi: ONGC Videsh, the overseas subsidiary of Oil & Natural Gas Corporation has invested $1.7-billion for acquiring 20 per cent interest in Russian oil field Sakhlain-I. The investment is expected to fetch oil and gas equivalent to the prime oil property of Mumbai High, according to OVL managing director Atul Chandra.

The discovered oilfield has already registered a growth in its oil reserves by 20-25 per cent from the time that the agreement was signed. Exploration is likely to be completed by middle of next year and development would begin soon after. The Russian far East Sakhalin Oil Field is estimated to contain 2-8 billion barrels of oil reserves.

OVL would earn about Rs 2,500 crore from the venture from 2010 when loans for acquiring Sakhalin stake are paid off.
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Bajaj Auto motorcycle sales up 103%
Mumbai: Bajaj Auto has recorded a 103 per cent growth in motorcycle sales at 68,179 units in October 2001, compared to 33,478 units in same period of last year.
Overall sales of two- and three-wheelers at 1,30,939 units in October, was higher by 21.6 per cent against 1,07,691 in corresponding month of 2000, the company said in a release here on Friday.

"Our expectation and preparation of October festivity has proved its gains this year with Dussera/Navratri season lifting the sales volumes in western and northern India," said R L Ravichandran,vice-president of business development and marketing, Bajaj Auto.

Croma, Boxer, Aspire and Eliminator got the best of demand followed by Saffire and Spirit, he added.
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ICICI gets $50 million loan from KfW
Mumbai: ICICI Ltd has received a $50 million loan from German public development bank KfW for infrastructure and industrial projects. The 12-and-a-half-year loan has a moratorium on repayments for four and a half years.

ICICI last week announced that it will merge with ICICI Bank to create India's second largest commercial bank. ICICI Bank was founded by ICICI in 1994.
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Canon launches `lightest' mobile printer
Bangalore : Canon India has launched a mobile printer (BJC-55) in the Indian market. The cordless printer that weighs 900 grams is priced at Rs 19,995.
This battery-operated printer claimed to be the lightest can easily be connected to a laptop through infrared board. This flexible product can be kept as away as 80 cms from the laptop.

By attaching a software cartridge to it, the printer will have scanning capability. The scanner cartridge will cost an additional Rs 5,000.

The printer can work on various platforms including Windows 98, Window 2000 and Mac OS. It can print on various surfaces like coated paper, glossy paper, high gloss film, transparencies, fabric sheets and T-shirt transfer material.
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VSNL applies for long distance telephony
New Delhi: Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd has filed an application with the government to enter the national long distance telephone business.

State-run VSNL, due to lose its monopoly over its mainstay overseas calls business next April, had been promised a free entry into the NLD business as part of a government plan to compensate it for the loss of its monopoly ahead of schedule.

Other companies need to pay Rs 100 crore in entry fees.
Other firms eyeing the NLD business, which was thrown open to private competition last year, include India's largest business conglomerate, the Reliance group, and New Delhi-based unlisted telecoms group Bharti enterprises.
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BPLnet transfers subscribers to Now
New Delhi: BPLnet.com, the ISP arm of the BPL group, has transferred all its existing subscribers to Data Access, which offers Internet access under the Now brand name, in a cash-free transaction.

The move will help the BPL group a hassle-free exit from the ISP business without the liability of servicing its existing customers.

Data Access was in talks with two more ISPs for a possible acquisition.

According to the agreement reached between the two companies, all subscribers in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Cochin and Coimbatore will be transferred to Data Access.

BPlnet.com has around 700 corporate clients and 30,000 dial-up clients.
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National Housing Bank cuts rate
New Delhi: National Housing Bank has effected an across the board 0.5 per cent cut in interest rate on refinance for direct housing loans disbursed by primary lenders in rural and urban areas.

The interest rate cut in rural areas would be to the tune of 1.75 per cent, whereas it would be 1.25 per cent in urban centers, a NAB release said on Friday.

NAB had also increased the cap on individual housing loans eligible for refinance up to Rs 20 lakh from the earlier ceiling of Rs 15 lakh.

Considering the general increase in cost of inputs and labour, the lowest loan slab of up to Rs 50,000 had been enhanced to Rs one lakh with interest rates pegged at 9.0 per cent for rural areas and 10.0 per cent for urban areas for construction or acquiring of new dwelling units.

For loans over Rs 1.0 lakh and less than Rs 2.0 lakh, the revised interest rates would be 10.25 and 10.50 per cent for rural and urban areas respectively, it said.

Interest rate would be 10.75 per cent for both rural and urban areas for loans above Rs 2.0 lakh, but less than Rs 5.0 lakh, Rs 5.0-10.0 lakh and Rs 10.0-15.0 lakh, it added.

For loans over Rs 15 lakh, but less than Rs 20.0 lakh, the interest rate would be 11 per cent for both rural and urban areas, NHB said.
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Govt to sell 30% stake in Nalco
New Delhi: The government plans to sell 30 per cent of its equity in National Aluminum, in the domestic and overseas markets this year, disinvestments secretary Pradip Baijal said on Friday. The State-run firm is 87 per cent owned by the government.

"We plan to sell 30 per cent in Nalco through American depositary receipts, global depositary receipts and the domestic market," said Baijal.

He said the government also planned to go in for a strategic sale in Shipping Corporation of India, the country's largest shipping firm, reversing an earlier plan to sell shares in SCI to public and institutional investors.
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UTI introduces touch-screen kiosks
Mumbai: Unit Trust of India (UTI) has introduced touch screen kiosk system whereby the existing investors will be able to obtain information on UTI schemes. The kiosk will disseminate information on schemes, NAVs including the historical NAVs, taxation on investments in UTI schemes, NRI investments and branch network. As part of the pilot plan, UTI has installed the touch screen kiosk at its two branches at Mumbai, UTI said in a press release.
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ICICI sells Tolani shares to parent
Mumbai: ICICI Ltd has sold its entire shareholding of 10 lakh shares in Tolani Bulk Carriers Ltd (TBC) in the open offer by the promoter group company, Tolani Shipping Co Ltd (TSC). ICICI said that the development financial institution decided to tender its entire bloc of shares at the offer price of Rs 10 per share in the open offer being made by TSC.ICICI held 4.17 per cent of the TBC's paid-up equity capital of Rs 24 crore which it had acquired many years ago.

The TBC shares have been ruling below par value of Rs 10 per share during the last three years.

The TBC shares are likely to be delisted from the stock exchanges as the offer, when completed fully, is likely to result in TSC group holding the 100 per cent of the shareholding.
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Greaves to exit from jt ventures
Mumbai: Greaves Ltd plans to exit from its two joint ventures, Same Greaves Ltd and Same Greaves Tractors Ltd, the company informed the Bombay Stock Exchange.Negotiations are currently on for the sale of Greaves' equity in both the joint ventures, to Same. The talks will take some more time to be concluded.

Greaves had invested approximately Rs 27 crore by way of equity in the two joint venture companies, its equity share at both entities described as ``close to 50 per cent,'' management control being vested with Same.

The two companies cumulatively accounted for a turnover of about Rs 40 crore.

Same Greaves Ltd makes engines, while Same Greaves Tractors Ltd, as the name indicates, is into the manufacture of tractors.
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Goodyear loss at Rs 14.10 cr
New Delhi: Goodyear India Ltd (GIL) has reported a net loss of Rs 14.10 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2001 as against a net loss of Rs 12.60 crore recorded in the same period the previous year. Net sales declined by 8.42 per cent to Rs 130.05 crore (Rs 142.01 crore).

For the nine-month period ended September 30, 2001, GIL has reported a net loss of Rs 34.08 crore (Rs 15.07 crore) on net sales of Rs 405.56 crore (Rs 454.28 crore).
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Cadbury Schweppes to introduce iced tea
Mumbai: Cadbury Schweppes planning to re-enter the Indian beverages market by launching its global iced tea brand Snapple in collaboration with Tata Tea.

Tata Tea is helping Cadbury Schweppes in conducting market research for the bottled ice tea.

Cadbury Schweppes had launched soft drinks in India in 1995. But Coca Cola took over Cadbury Schweppes's soft drink business, including brands like Crush, Canada Dry and Schweppes, in 155 countries in 1999. As a result, Cadbury Schweppes Beverages India became a part of Coca Cola India.
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BIFR orders Weston Electronics closure
New Delhi: Weston Electronics has been ordered to wind up its operations by the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction.

The BIFR said that it was not likely that Weston would be able to make its net worth exceed its accumulated losses within a reasonable time frame. In the interest of the public, Weston should be shut down, the BIFR added.
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Ispat Energy buys two 55-mw power plants
Mumbai: ISPAT Energy has purchased two 55 MW power plants from GE Alstom of France. The company will invest Rs 530 crore in the phase-one of the project which includes installation of these plants at Dolvi in Raigad district of Maharashtra.

The two second-hand power plants will be fired with gas from the two million tonne per annum blast furnace operated by Ispat Metallics, a subsidiary of Ispat Industries.
The company has already dismantled the first power plant, and the second plant is in the process of being dismantled. However, the company is yet to pay the full consideration for the purchase so as to ship it to the installations site.
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Barista Coffee breaks even
Mumbai: Barista Coffee Company Ltd, in which Tata Coffee holds a 34.3 per cent stake, has achieved a break-even in the first one-and-a-half year of operation.

The company, by the end of the current financial year, would make a marginal net profit, said Baristas managing director Ravi Deol.
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Telco inks pact with Sundaram Fin
Chennai: Tata Engineering (Telco) has entered into a strategic agreement with Chennai-based Sundaram Finance group (Sundaram Finance and Lakshmi General Finance) for promoting sale of Telcos passenger cars and multi-utility vehicles. The arrangement provides Sundaram Finance Ltd (SFL) and Lakshmi General Finance (LGF) preferred financier status.

Under the arrangement, customers of Telco would get vehicle loans on a preferential basis from both SFL and LGF at attractive terms of interest.
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UTI picks up 17.1% in Strand Genomics
Mumbai: UTI Venture Funds (UVF) has picked up a 17.15 per cent stake in Strand Genomics, a Bangalore-based bioinformatics company, a spin-off of the prestigious Indian Institute of Science here, for an undisclosed sum.

Strand Genomics, a provider of custom high-end software solutions to biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, started a year ago by four scientists of IISc, on Friday launched Sphatika, a product for speeding up the determination of protein structures.
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Pernod to merge with Seagram in India
Bangalore: Groupe Pernod Ricard is being merged with Seagram's Indian operations, paving the way for the largest multinational liquor entity in the country.

Pernod Ricard entered India in 1996 picking up 74 per cent stake in UAL with bottling facility in Kohlapur.

The company received Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) nod for acquiring Seagram's Indian business a fortnight ago.

The new entity will have a single board and its constitution was not yet finalised.
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