Lodha backs off from Indo Gulf
Mumbai: Indo Gulf Fertilisers Ltd has informed the BSE that Lodha & Co, auditors of the company, has decided not to offer itself for re-appointment as statutory auditors. Lodha &Co holds office as auditors until the conclusion of the next annual general meeting.

Indo Gulf had earlier postponed its AGM citing shareholders' opposition to the appointment of Lodha & Co as auditors. The company said it was taking necessary steps to appoint another auditor in its place.
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Warburg Pincus offloads 3.35 percent in Bharti Tele
New Delhi: Private equity fund Warburg Pincus has offloaded a 3.35 per cent equity stake in Bharti Tele-Ventures for about $200 million (around Rs.960 crore) to bring down its holding in the telecom company to 15.17 per cent. The company had invested close to $300 million four years ago to pick up an 18 per cent stake in Bharti.

A statement issued by the company to the Bombay Stock Exchange, said: "We have been informed with respect to sale of 6.20 crore equity shares of Bharti Televentures constituting 3.35 per cent of the total paid-up capital of the company by Brentwood Investment Holdings Ltd."

Brentwood Investment Holdings is an investment arm of Warburg Pincus. Bharti is also in the process of floating an American Depository Receipt (ADR) to raise about $700 million. Warburg Pincus is expected to bring down its equity in the company by another 10 per cent through the ADR.

Indian promoters hold about 46 per cent stake while Temasek Holdings company SingTel, the largest foreign equity partner in Bharti, has another 28 per cent.
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Reliance Info rattles GSM operators with new tariffs
Mumbai: Reliance Infocomm has announced drastically reduced tariffs and roaming rates for its wireless prepaid service, delivering a body blow to GSM operators, some of whom increased tariffs over the last week.

The new tariffs, which have been brought down around 60 per cent, and were described as an 'Independence Day Special,' would roughly coincide with the launch of rival Tata Teleservices Ltd's prepaid services, also scheduled for this month.

Moving completely contrary to the recent trend in the wireless market, Reliance has introduced a sub-Re 1 tariff (90 paise a minute, down from Rs 2.49) from Reliance IndiaMobile (RIM) prepaid to any other Reliance India Mobile or Reliance India Phone (fixed wireless service) subscriber. Calls to GSM operators and landlines will cost Rs.1.79 a minute, down from the Rs.2.49-to-Rs.2.99 range.

Inter-circle calls from RIM prepaid to any RIM or FWP/FWT anywhere in the country will now cost Rs.1.79 a minute, down from Rs.2.99, and to other GSM operators and landlines Rs.2.49, down from the Rs.2.99-to-Rs.3.99 range.

As for the recent tariff changes by the GSM sector operators Orange and BPL Mobile in Mumbai, prepaid tariffs had been evened out to a flat Rs.2.75 a minute to both wireless and landlines (earlier tariffs to these lines were Rs.2.49 and Rs.2.99 a minute, respectively).

For the same value of a prepaid refill amount, say Rs 325, a customer will get twice as many minutes as he would with any other GSM operator, said Reliance Infocomm.
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BSNL clears 67,000 on the waiting list in Kerala
Thiruvananthapuram: Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd, Kerala Circle, has released 67,000 'Excel' prepaid SIM cards for customers who had made the booking during March this year.

With this, the Kerala Circle has cleared a waiting list of 1.77 lakh applications out of bookings of 2.1 lakh received. The rest of the waiting list will be released before Onam.
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World Phone's global calling cards in Karnataka
Bangalore: Internet service provider World Phone Internet Services Private Ltd (WPISPL) has announced that it will soon launch its World Phone Premium (WPP) international calling cards in major cities of Karnataka.

WPISPL has tied up with Paras Comminications as its channel partner for entire Karnataka for the distribution of the calling cards. The cards would be available in the denominations of Rs.100, Rs.250, Rs.500 and Rs.1, 000.

People in Karnataka can call more than 200 countries including the US, UK and Canada at tariffs starting from Rs.1.60 per minute onwards.

WPISPL is targeting a distribution network with over 2,000 channel partners and resellers within next six months to market the WPP card. Currently, the cards are available at select stores and retail outlets in major metros and mini metro cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Shimla, Hyderabad, Chennai, Baroda, Pune and Surat.
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Nimbus to collect Rs.300 crore from cricket telecasts
Mumbai: Nimbus Communications Ltd expects to garner around Rs.300 crore from the recent agreement signed with Doordarshan and Global Cricket Corporation (GCC) to telecast major ICC events for the period 2004-2007.

Following on from the successful telecast of the ICC Champions Trophy 2002 and the ICC Cricket World Cup 2003 on DD, GCC, Doordarshan and Nimbus will continue to telecast major ICC events for the period 2004-2007.

DD gets a revenue share towards network telecast fees, accompanied by a minimum guarantee, which, in turn, is backed by bank guarantees provided by Nimbus. DD is not required to make any investment in rights fees under this arrangement, the release stated.

GCC has appointed Nimbus Communications Ltd, India's leading broadcast airtime and sponsorship marketing company to exclusively handle on-air sales of these events, the release added.
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Sara Lee launches Hanes apparel brand in India
New Delhi: Sara Lee Apparel (India) Pvt Ltd, a 100 per cent subsidiary of Sara Lee Corporation, today announced the launch of Hanes brand in India. Hanes offers a complete selection of innerwear for men including briefs, boxers, vests and crewneck shirts, the company said in a statement here.

Sara Lee Branded Apparel (SLBA) is one of the largest apparel companies in the world and Hanes is the first brand from SLBA's global portfolio to be launched in India.

He said the Hanes products have been designed specifically for the Indian market, based on in-depth research and consumer "fit tests" done in association with the National Institute of Fashion Technology. The Hanes range will be made available in a phased manner across metros and mini metros.

Sara Lee Corporation is a Fortune 500 global consumer products company with leading brands in three businesses: branded apparel, food & beverages and household products. Sara Lee Corporation's annual sales in 2003 were $18.3 billion.
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