document.writeln("
Reliance hikes petrochem prices
Mumbai:
Reliance
Industries Ltd has raised the prices of petrochemicals
for August between 4.5 per cent and 9.5 per cent. The
price of partially oriented yarn has gone up by Rs 6.65
to Rs 75.65 a kg. Polyester staple fibre will cost Rs
2.50 higher at Rs 66.50 per kg. Purified terephthalic
acid and mono ethylene glycol prices are up Rs 1.80 per
kg and Rs 2.90 per kg to Rs 42 and Rs 52 each. Polyethylene,
polypropylene and polyvinyl chloride prices are up by
Rs 4.50, Rs 4.70 and Rs 2 per kg to Rs 56.20, Rs 55.70
and Rs 48 respectively. Linear alkyl benzene prices have
been hiked by Rs 5 to Rs 58.90 per kg.
Back
to News Review index page
Oppenheimer acquire stake in
Micro Inks
Hyderabad:
Micro Inks Ltd, formerly known as Hindustan Inks, has
announced that Oppenheimer Funds Inc, EMIC, and Lloyd
George Investment Management have acquired five lakh equity
shares of the company, constituting 2.29 per cent of its
paid-up capital, from Bilakhias, the promoters of Micro
Inks. Consequent to this sale, the promoters' holding
will go down from 74.40 per cent to 72.11 per cent. Micro
Inks began operations in1986 and is part of the $239-million
Bilakhia Group, which has diverse interests in printing
inks, resins, flushed pigments and crop protection chemicals.
Back
to News Review index page
Alto edges out the Maruti 800
New
Delhi: Alto
has overtaken the Maruti 800 as the largest selling car
in the Maruti portfolio. While in July, the Alto sold
11,111 units, only 9,554 units of the Maruti 800 were
sold in the month - a decline of 41.7 per cent as compared
to July 2003.
Alto
currently comes in three variants - the standard non-airconditioned
version, Alto LX (Rs 2.65 lakh), and Alto LXi (Rs 2.85
lakh). The company is producing Alto VXi (the 1.1 litre
variant) but only for the export markets. Meanwhile, Maruti's
total sales have risen by 3.9 per cent to 43,419 units
in July, as compared to 41,781 units sold in July 2003.
Sales of the company's midsize cars - Baleno and Esteem
- grew by 84.6 per cent in the month to 2,335 units.
Back
to News Review index page
Hero
Honda July sales rise 44 pc
New Delhi: Hero Honda Motors Ltd, has recorded
a 44 per cent increase in sales to 2,05,654 units in July
2004, as against 1,43,141 units sold in the same month
last year. For the period April-July 2004, the cumulative
sale of the company stood at 8,14,777 units, translating
into a growth of 35 per cent. The company had sold 6,01,930
units during the corresponding period last year. Hero
Honda also announced a uniform national price of Rs.30,
899 for its model CD Dawn.
Back
to News Review index page
TVS
Motors posts 3 pc rise in sales
Chennai: TVS Motor's total two wheeler sales in
July 2004 were 1,00,224 units (97,613 units), higher by
3 per cent over the previous July's sales. In July 2004,
the company's motorcycle sales dropped by 7.45 per cent
in relation to the previous year to stand at 52,958 units
(57,227 units). However, July's motorcycle sales grew
by 10 per cent in relation to the previous month's sales
of 48,159 units. The company's total sales in the month
increased over the previous year because of the growth
in other kinds of two wheelers. Moped sale in July 2004
grew by 17.16 per cent over the previous year to stand
at 24,765 units (21,137 units). Scooterette sales in the
month came to 22,501 units. The company exported 4,452
units in July.
Back
to News Review index page
Eicher
sales up 44 per cent
New Delhi: Eicher Motors Ltd (EML) has registered
a growth of 44 per cent in the sales of its commercial
vehicles in July 2004 with sales of 1,651 vehicles as
against 1,148 in July 2003. EML's cumulative sales volume
for the period April-July 2004 witnessed a 26 per cent
increase at 5,308 (4,207). Eicher Motors Limited is part
of the Rs 1,600 crore Eicher Group.
Back
to News Review index page
LG
Electronics sales up 45 per cent
New Delhi: LG Electronics India Pvt Ltd (LGEIL)
has clocked a turnover of Rs.3, 360 crore in the first
half of this year (January - June 2004), registering a
turnover growth of 45 per cent over the same period last
year. LG Electronics has sold more than 1.3 million CTVs
in H1 2004, a growth of 50 per cent over H1 2003 in terms
of volumes. In the refrigerators category, LGEIL has recorded
a 57 per cent growth from Rs.503 crore last year to Rs.715
crore this year.
In
air conditioners segment, the company has achieved sales
of more than 3 lakh units in H1 2004, registering a growth
of around 65 per cent over the same period last year,
with a value turnover of Rs.680 crore. It has registered
a growth of 36 per cent in the washing machine segment
in H1 2004. Further, in the microwave ovens category LG
has recorded a growth of 35 per cent during the period,
registering a value turnover of Rs.62 crore.
Back
to News Review index page
GM
India July sales up 19.43 per cent
New Delhi: General Motors India has recorded a
19.43 per cent increase in sales in July 2004 to 2,311
cars as against 1,935 cars in the same month last year.
These included 733 units of Chevrolet Optra, 900 units
of Chevrolet Tavera and 665 units of Opel Corsa. GM India
is a wholly owned subsidiary of General Motors Corporation.
Back
to News Review index page
Revenue
per mobile user down 64 pc in 5 yrs
New Delhi: Cellular operators' earnings per user
have plummeted by 64 per cent over the last five years
from Rs.1, 319 per month in 2000 to Rs.469 in 2004, despite
a 53-per cent increase in minutes of usage, from 197 minutes
to 302 minutes during the period. According to a TRAI
report, revenue per minute cellular services has declined
from Rs.6.70 to Rs.1.55 in the five-year period. However,
the good news is that the subscriber base of mobile operators
grew 159.15 per cent year-on-year to 33.69 million as
on March 31 this year, 75 per cent of who opted for pre-paid
services, the report said.
For Internet Service Providers (ISPs), the average minutes
of usage has been reported to be around 400 per month
and average revenue Rs.310 per month. At the end of March
2004, BSNL was at the top position with a subscriber base
of 11.28 lakh Internet users. MTNL followed with a subscriber
base of 7.69 lakh. Sify had 6.58 lakh users, while VSNL
had 6.01 lakh and Dishnet DSL 2.65 lakh. The share of
public sector ISPs has shown an increase of 91.62 per
cent over last year, from 9.91 lakh on March 2003 to 18.98
lakh as on March 2004. On the quality of service , TRAI
said that while fixed-line operators improved on most
parameters, metering and billing was an area of concern;
the performance had deteriorated as compared to last year's.
Back
to News Review index page
Bharti
joins the EDGE bandwagon
New Delhi: Bharti Cellular has announced the launch
of its high-speed data services on the EDGE (Enhanced
Data for GSM Evolution) platform. The commercial deployment
of EDGE starting with the rollout in Chandigarh is the
first in a series of pan India deployment of the services.
Hutch and Idea had already launched EDGE services for
their customers. In the first phase, Bharti will roll
out EDGE in 14 cities, including the four metros.
The
rollout would be completed across the country by the third
quarter of the current financial year. As an introductory
offer, the EDGE service will be available to customers
at a rental of Rs.600 per month with unlimited usage.
Idea had announced a similar package for Rs.500 a month.
The move from the cellular operators is in line with global
trends where mobile operators are stressing on offering
data services in the light of decreasing revenues from
voice calls.
Back
to News Review index page
HP
ties up with Moser Baer for CD market
New Delhi: Hewlett-Packard has announced that it
has entered into an agreement with Moser Baer India, which
manufactures removable data storage products, to bring
HP-branded CD storage media into India and SAARC region.
Moser Baer will manage the manufacturing, marketing and
distribution of HP-branded DVD+R, DVD+RW, CD-R and CD-RW,
storage media.
Back
to News Review index page
'Hi-speed'
diesel from BPCL
Mumbai: Having pioneered the concept of branded
fuels in India, Bharat Petroleum has launched yet another
brand called 'Hi Speed Diesel'. The new fuel is a blend
of diesel and multi-functional additive sourced from Afton
Chemicals. The additive uses GreenBurn combustion technology.
The product will be available at 18 retail outlets in
Mumbai and would be rolled out across the country in a
phased manner, the release said.
Back
to News Review index page
