Bata India net profit falls 75% in 2001
Kolkata: The post-tax profit of Bata India Limited has fallen by more than 75 per cent at Rs 3.98 crore for the financial year ended December 2001.

The company's net profit stood at Rs 15.60 crore in the previous year.

Its turnover at the end of December 2001 remained almost stagnant at Rs 759.98 crore as compared to Rs 760.15 crore in the same period in the previous year.
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HLL, IOC in Forbes Global list
New York: Hindustan lever, Hindustan Petroleum and Indian oil are among 401 most successful companies worldwide, according to ratings released by financial magazine, Forbes Global.

Hindustan Lever has the highest five-year return on equity among the three Indian companies - 54.4 per cent.

While for Hindustan Petroleum and Indian Oil the figure stood at 19.1 and 18 per cent respectively.

The US leads with 53 per cent companies in the list followed by Europe which accounts for 32 per cent. Japanese and Asian companies account for mere 4 per cent each.
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M&M plans to reduce stake in MIDL
Mumbai:  Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) is planning to reduce its stake in Mahindra Infrastructure Developers Ltd (MIDL), its joint venture (JV) with International Finance Corporation (IFC).

The company was set up in mid-last year to develop, promote and manage infrastructure projects. While M&M has an 80 per cent stake in the venture, IFC holds a 20 per cent stake.

MIDL is involved in the development of infrastructure projects with primary focus on water and sanitation services, solid waste management and other infrastructure facilities such as inter-city bus terminals, industrial and technology parks.
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Star TV launches new China channel
Beijing: Rupert Murdochs Star TV has begun transmitting a new channel for China.

The channel, called Xingkong Weishi, began transmission on 28 March, and is available via cable to about a million homes.

Star and two other foreign channels will be able to tap potentially lucrative advertising revenues. AOL Time Warner Incs Hong Kong-based CETV channel and HongKongs Phoenix Satellite TV -- 28 per cent owned by News Corp -- also won airing rights in Guangdong last year, making the province a test-bed for foreign programming.
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Ford for global style for its cars
New York: Ford Motor Co plans to use the same basic styling for all its high-volume Ford passenger cars worldwide. Ford will have a global look for its vehicles.

Ford will take the look of its newest European models including the Mondeo, the Fiesta, and the Focus and use them as the basis for its global look. He said the cues will show up in the design of the Ford Five Hundred, a new sedan Ford will begin building in 2004.
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UTI's plea on MEP-92 rejected
New Delhi: The ministry of finance has shot down the Unit Trust of India's proposal to extend its Master Equity Plan '92 by another 10 years.

Earlier this month, UTI had sought approval of the department of economic affairs and the department of revenue to roll over the scheme for another 10 years till 31 March 2012.

It had also sought permission of the Securities & Exchange Board of India to do the same. The scheme is due for redemption on 31 March 2002.
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ICICI to sell 62% in IT arm
Mumbai: ICICI is selling its controlling stake in ICICI Infotech in which it currently holds 92 per cent stake.

ICICI is divesting 62 per cent of the equity holding in favour of the group venture capital arm, ICICI Venture. The balance 8 per cent of the equity in ICICI Infotech is with Emirates Bank of UAE.

The move is a part of the regulatory requirement which lays down that the new entity will not have an equity holding in the software company beyond 30 per cent following the merger of ICICI with ICICI Bank.
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Bombay Dyeing unveils financial rejig
Mumbai: The board of directors of Bombay Dyeing & Manufacturing Co Ltd has approved a proposal to utilise an amount not exceeding Rs 186 crore out of the balance standing in the securities premium account.

This is for adjustment of the balance of miscellaneous expenditure (to the extent not written off or adjusted); balance of certain capital and capital-related items; proposed estimated voluntary separation payments; trade debts due, the recovery of which is currently doubtful; and the diminution in the value of certain financial investments in equity-linked mutual funds.
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White Circle unit goes on stream
KAKINADA: White Circle Oxides Private Ltd, a unit for the manufacture of high-value synthetic material for refractories in steel and cement industries, set up at Peddapuram in East Godavari district at a cost of Rs 20 crore, has been commissioned. The unit has a capacity of 6,000 tonnes per annum.
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Indica launches sports car
Coimbatore: Tata Engineering has launched two new motorsport cars -- Zero and Double Zero Pace cars -- that will take part in the first leg of the Servo Mill and Monsoon Rally beginning here 30 March.

The petrol 'Indica Rally' has been especially designed for the rally with a roll cage, sump guards, and underbody skit plates.

India's formula-3 driver, Narain Karthikeyan, would drive these cars during the rally.
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Tatas to buy Swissair's 75% stake
Mumbai: The Tatas are set to acquire Swissair's 75.1 per cent stake in the joint venture Airline Financial Support Services.

The Tatas, who currently hold 21.9 per cent stake in the Mumbai-based IT enabled services company, have started the valuation exercises and are set to start due diligence next week.

AFS is primarily engaged in revenue accounting and software management for frequent flyer programmes.

PricewaterhouseCoopers and Raiji & Company are undertaking the valuations for the airline, while an internal team from the Tata group is in the process of arriving at a price.
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Net4India signs pact with deltathree
New Delhi: Net4India has signed an agreement with Deltathree, a global IP communications network solutions provider, to offer Internet telephony services from 1 April.

The agreement will enable the customers of Net4India to make overseas voice calls from their PCs using the companies IP network and Deltathree's back-office services.

Net4India will be offering pre-paid calling cards through www.phonewala.com, a new Web site that has been launched for the purpose. 5,000 free calling cards are being offered as an inaugural offer to customers on a first-come-first-serve basis.
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TVS Electronics net profit down
Chennai: TVS Electronics has posted a slump in net profit to Rs 1.63 crore on net sales of Rs 215.98 crore for the year ended 31 December 2001, as compared to a net profit of Rs 3.84 crore on net sales of Rs 224.12 crore for the previous year.

For the fourth quarter ended December 2001, the company reported a net profit of Rs 1.23 crore on net sales of Rs 52.67 crore as compared to a net profit of Rs 2.01 crore on net sales of Rs 59.47 crore in the same period, the previous year.

The export revenue grew 32 per cent during the year to Rs 29.42 crore.
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Intertec sets up German arm
Bangalore: Intertec Communications Ltd, a software solutions provider, has set up a wholly-owned subsidiary in Germany.

The German subsidiary Intertec Deutscheland Gmbh, based in Munich will initially cater to the German market and focus on business development activities.

The company will look at catering to about five to six surrounding nations in the Central European region.

The company has invested close to $50,000 in the German subsidiary. The German outfit is the company's third overseas subsidiary, with the other two being in the US and the UK.
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Jumpstart plans office in US
Bangalore: Venture capital fund, Jumpstartup is planning to open an office in the US.

Jumpstartup's chairman Kiran Nadkarni is already in the US looking after portfolio companies and identifying potential investments..
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Hidesign launches new collection
Chennai: Hidesign has launched the Pepa collection of leather bags in red, black, white and brown colours.

The collection is targeted at young women and is priced between Rs 800 and Rs 1,200.

Pepa collection is available at all Hidesign outlets across India, UK, United States, South Africa and Australia.
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Modicare starts e-com initiative
Chennai: Modicare has launched an e-commerce initiative on its Web site www.modicare.com.

It also has two other Web sites www.mymodicare.com and www.modicareconnect.com, which have been designed to supplement the company's brick and mortar business.

This integrated e-commerce platform is a distribution portal that will help partners attract and service customers using Modicare's infrastructure throughout the country. The Web sites offer product details, distribution network and online ordering of products.
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