Indians can invest in US treasuries
New Delhi: Sun F&C Asset Management has launched the country's first ever mutual fund scheme with an option to invest in overseas fixed income instruments.

For the domestic retail investor, who was only permitted to buy local assets till now, this will be a boon primarily in hedging risks, in addition to capital appreciation. He can now pick and choose from US treasuries, Freddie Mac reference notes and British gilts.

SUN F&C's is the first such scheme since the recent Union budget in which the government allowed mutual funds to invest up to 4 per cent of their portfolio - with a cap of $50 million - in top grade foreign debt of countries with freely convertible currencies.

Sun F&C will initially invest in US and UK instruments maturing between one and three years with technical assistance from UK-based Foreign & Colonial group, of which it is a part.
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Insurance bill passed
New Delhi: The Lok Sabha approved a bill seeking to delink four subsidiary companies carrying on insurance business from the General Insurance Corporation (GIC).

The General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Amendment Bill, 2001, was passed by a voice vote.

Replying to the discussion, minister of state for finance, Balasaheb Vikhe Patel said ever since the four companies were demerged, they have been doing well with their capital having increased to Rs 8,050 crore.

Allaying apprehensions of members that the four companies were not economically viable, he said they were progressing well and there was no question of retrenching any of the staff.

He said even the expert committee headed by former RBI Governor R N Malhotra had recommended that Life Insurance Corporation be demerged.
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Mobile phone industry grows 81%
New Delhi: India's mobile phone industry kept up its pace of strong growth in April with user base rising 81 per cent over the same month last year.

The subscriber base jumped to 6.71 million users in April 2002 from 3.70 million in the same month last year, data from the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) showed.

Bharti Tele-Ventures, the first and only listed mobile phone operator, had a little over 1.4 million users at the end of April, making it India's largest mobile operator.

New Delhi-based Bharti, in which Singapore Telecom holds a key minority stake, was followed by the Indian unit of Hong Kong's Hutchison Telecom, whose various operating companies together had over 1.35 million users.

However, the COAI said net subscriber additions in April totalled 283,939 users, 28 percent lower than the preceding month, posing a minor worry for the industry billed to be among the world's fastest growing this decade.
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