Stake sale rumours pep up UTI Bank
Mumbai: Rumours of a stake sale by UTI helped the UTI Bank counter to excel in the recent past. Brokers were quoted as saying that the bank's shares on the bourses have been firming up ever since it became known that UTI-1 has sought government approval to offload the equity to a strategic investor. "If UTI were to offload its equity in the bank, it would mean change in management which in turn could trigger an open offer, thereby enhancing shareholder value," a broker said. The sale is also expected to improve the bank's capital adequacy ratio, which currently stands at 10.9 per cent as against the stipulated 9 per cent by the RBI.
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Transgene gains over 500% due to products launch
Mumbai: The stock price of the Hyderabad-based Transgene Biotek (TBL) gained over 500 per cent since the beginning of April thanks to various bio-technology products in the current fiscal and placement of shares to various foreign investors. The stock price of the company has increased from Rs 9.60 in the beginning of this year to Friday's closing price of Rs 61.55 on the BSE, a gain of 541 per cent. The stock has been witnessing low volumes. Dealers were quoted as saying that the main reason for low volumes is that the stock has being hitting upper circuit filter limit of two per cent. But what is interesting is that it has been on upper circuit of two per cent since the beginning of May without witnessing a fall even on a single day.
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JM Mutual Fund plans expansion
New Delhi: JM Mutual Fund is planning to increase the corpus of funds handled by it from the present Rs 3,700 crore to around Rs 5,000 crore by the end of the current financial year, according to the company CEO, Krishnamurthy Vijayan. Vijayan said the company is expanding its branch network aggressively. It already has 72 branches spread over seven States. The company plans to increase this number to 100 in the near future and cover more States. The company also has plans for exploring markets in the north-east, particularly Guwahati, Vijayan said.
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Chola MI 98 will be an open-ended plan
Kolkata: Cholamandalam Mutual Fund is planning to roll over its close-ended scheme, Chola MI '98, into an open-ended monthly income plan with a small but active equity component limited to 20 per cent of the assets. In its new form, the scheme will aim at generating regular income mainly through investments in debt and money market instruments. Returns, however, will not be guaranteed. Under normal circumstances, around 90 per cent of its investible funds are likely to be parked in debt and government securities. The allocation will be modified in line with the prevailing market conditions.

The proposed Chola Monthly Income Plan will carry the legacy of the close-ended scheme, which is due to complete five years this month, the roll-over being effective from July 31, said Vineet Potnis, chief marketing officer of Cholamandalam MF. "Chola MI '98 has had an unbroken record of dividend payments. So far, 59 dividends have been paid to investors and the sixtieth will be paid this month. The scheme currently has around 1,500 investors." The MF is looking at the possibility of tapping a cross section of the investor community for the MIP. Among them are retirees, especially individuals who have recently taken VRS and have sizeable amounts to invest.
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Rupee gains again
Mumbai: The domestic currency closed higher against the dollar at 46.1250/1350 on Friday, around 3 paise stronger as compared to Thursday's close at 46.16/1650. Dealers said the market was largely in selling mode, with foreign banks taking the lead in early trades, followed by others liquidating their short dollar positions.
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