document.writeln("
ACC
to finance capex through FCCB issue
Mumbai:
Associated Cement Companies (ACC) which successfully
completed its $100 million FCCB offering, will utilise
the foreign currency bonds to finance a number of projects
currently under implementation. ACC has.28 million tonne
capacity. The projects include the modernisation of the
Gagal Plant I including clinkerisation and upgrading of
pollution control equipment of which the cost has been
pegged at Rs48 crore.
The Chaibasa cement work, which is being converted from
a wet process to a dry one is expected to be completed
by mid-2005 and will cost around Rs221 crore. A 15 MW
captive power plant at Chaibasa, also expected to be completed
by mid-2005 will cost Rs57 crore. ACC's newly acquired
subsidiary Bargarh Cement Ltd (BCL) is also considering
increasing clinker capacity and setting up a 15 MW captive
power plant. Both these projects would involve an estimated
outlay of Rs100 crore. Besides utilising the net proceeds
of the offering, the expansion programme will be funded
through existing and future debt facilities and internal
resources.
Back
to News Review index page
May
bloodbath leads to wealth erosion of over Rs2000,000 crore
Mumbai:
The market crash seen on the Indian bourses in May
has led to a huge amount of wealth erosion. The wealth
(market capitalisation of BSE shares) of investors declined
by over Rs2,16,028 crore or 17.9 per cent to Rs9,92,666
crore on June 4, 2004 from Rs12,08,694 crore on May 4,
2004. During this period the Sensex fell by a sharp 758
points (-13.4 per cent) to 4,889 on June 4 from 5647.15
on May 4, 2004. The market capitalisation (M-cap) of the
BSE's 'A' group decreased by an amount of Rs 1,81,426
crore during May, i.e. from Rs10,82,651 crore on May 4,
2004 to Rs9,01,224 crore on June 4, 2004.
ONGC with the largest M-cap earlier, lost value by Rs27,207
crore.
Indian Oil registered Rs17,100 crore M-cap loss enabling
Reliance Industries to keep its number two position without
any appreciation in stock price. RIL:'s value decreased
by Rs13,541 crore over a one month period. Bank stock
also declined. State Bank of India (SBI) lost Rs8,078
crore in market cap, a decline of 24 per cent over the
level on May 4 at Rs33,696 crore, while ICICI Bank showed
a decline of 12.5 per cent. Punjab National Bank (PNB)
lost Rs2,581 crore in M-cap during the month.
Reliance Energy (REL), Tata Power also lost value. REL
lost 27.6 per cent, while Tata Power declined by 36.3
per cent during the study period.
The biggest gainers were IT stocks as in the case of i-gate
Global Solutions (17.5 per cent), Arvind Mills (16.2 per
cent), Adani Exports (11.3 per cent), Sun Pharma (8.4
per cent), HCL Technologies (6.6 per cent) and i-flex
Solutions (4.5 per cent). The top five companies in terms
of market cap in descending order in the'A' group on June
4, 2004 were ONGC (Rs92,785 crore), Reliance Industries
(Rs60,531 crore), Indian Oil (Rs43,181 crore), Wipro (Rs34,987
crore) and Infosys Technologies (Rs34,778 crore) against
the month ago position when the top five in terms of M-cap
in descending order were ONGC (Rs1,19,992 crore), Reliance
Industries (Rs74,072 crore), Indian Oil (Rs60,281 crore),
Wipro (Rs37,140 crore) and Infosys Technologies (Rs34,762
crore).
Back
to News Review index page
Rupee
gains
Mumbai:
Volatility was the order of the week in the foreign
exchange and government securities markets. The spot rupee
moved both ways by 10-12 paise against the US dollar almost
every day. It opened the week at 45.43/46 and closed stronger
at 45.11/12. Reverse intervention by the Reserve Bank
of India — selling dollars to pull up the rupee--
was aimed at providing a cushion for oil payments, some
of which are due this week. Crude oil prices closed the
week at $40.96 per barrel in New York Exchange.
Dealers feel the appreciation of the rupee is the most
effective instrument to mitigate the effect of the surge
in oil prices on the domestic economy. Forward dollars,
on the other hand, returned to a premium last week, reflecting
the bearish sentiment on the spot rupee. Six-month and
one-year forward dollars closed the week at 0.4 per cent
and 0.35 per cent, respectively. Gold importers were active
in order to hedge their future payments.
Mutual funds and foreign banks are understood to have
sold heavily to cut losses in the bonds market, which
has witnessed a rise in yields on a daily basis. Mutual
funds alone sold to the tune of Rs 400-500 crore as gilt
schemes are incurring losses in view of the rising yields
dealers added. Some dealers feel the continuous rise in
yields has triggered limits to the extent losses can be
borne by MFs in their respective portfolios.
In the last fortnight, the ten-year benchmark yield has
gone up from 5.16/17 per cent to a high of 5.30 per cent.
It had earlier touched around 5.28 per cent on May 17.
Some dealers also attribute the sales by banks and mutual
funds to redemption pressure. The bearish sentiment in
the domestic market is also due to several interest rate
related factors in most Asian emerging markets. In India,
the new government has signaled several welfare activities
which have triggered fears of a higher government borrowing
programme. These factors hint towards an increase in interest
rates any time now forcing most gilt scheme managers and
trading banks to reshuffle portfolios and realign them
with the new rate structure.
Back
to News Review index page
