Tata Steel cuts prices and asks others to follow
Mumbai: Tata Steel has cut prices by Rs.2,000 a tonne from midnight Sunday. The company has decided to reduce prices of all its major products in a bid to arrest the rising prices of steel and their end products.

The prices of the company's major products range from Rs.25,000 to Rs.30,000 a tonne and this will be reduced by Rs.2,000 with immediate effect, a Tata Steel official has clarified. "It is expected that this price reduction will contribute in arresting or moderating the pressures on price increases by major users on their products. It is sincerely hoped that other steel manufacturers and members of the steel trade will display a sense of responsibility by rolling back their steel prices in the interest of curbing inflationary trends," Ratan Tata, Chairman, has said.

He said it is at such times that the industry must stand together and display moderation and desist from making exploitative profits in order to arrest the scourge of inflation, which could negatively impact the current growth rate in the economy. Steel prices have been increasing across the globe due to higher demand and rise in inputs cost. Last Friday, the Union Government reduced customs duty on non-alloy steel, melting scrap for iron and steel and ships for breaking on Friday.

The move was to curb inflation, which is now close to 8 per cent.
At the beginning of this month, steel companies increased steel prices between Rs.500 and Rs.1,000 a tonne on retail sales of hot and cold rolled products.
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TCS: Investors may get 17 shares against bids of 50
Mumbai: The retail investors who had participated in the initial public offering (IPO) for Tata Consultancy Services Ltd will get 17 shares of Re one each against 50 applied for, according to market sources.

The Tata group company, which will list its stock on NSE and BSE on August 25, has also decided to exercise the green shoe option comprising over 80 lakh shares.

The retail portion of IPO was oversubscribed by 2.9 times. The institutional investors segment was oversubscribed by seven times. The non-institutional investors segment was oversubscribed by about 19.2 times.

The IPO comprised of 5.5 crore shares excluding 15 per cent green shoe option. The bidding for the issue opened on July 29 and closed on August five.
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Singareni Collieries in amicable settlement with union
Hyderabad: Singareni Collieries Company Ltd, a public sector undertaking, has entered into a memorandum of settlement with the Singareni Coal Mines Labour Union, a recognised union of the company, on 10 issues pertaining to the welfare of the employees. According to the company, the settlement would cost the company up to Rs.5 crore per annum initially and substantially more in the long run. The management nevertheless was happy with the settlement arrived at, without the workers having to resort to strikes.

Expressing the hope that the settlement would lead to increased productivity of workers, the company said that it had targeted to produce 35 million tonnes of coal in the current fiscal, against a production of 33.85 million tonnes last year.

The settlement also involved, apart from other things, review of cases of former workmen who were dismissed on account of absenteeism, enhancement of allowances being given to mining staff, simplification of procedures for provision of medical facilities and career growth scheme for supervisory personnel in mining, electrical and mechanical engineering disciplines.
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Fidelity picks up 29 percent stake in Covansys
Chennai: The US-based Fidelity National Financial Inc (FNF) will pay a lower price for a 29 per cent stake in technology company Covansys Corporation.

It will now pay $121 million against the previously agreed price of $131 million of stock purchase agreements with Covansys and its founder and Co-Chairman of the board, Rajendra Vattikuti. Covansys has a strong offshore base in India with over 3,000 employees working in Chennai, Mumbai and Bangalore.

FNF, a Fortune 500 provider of products and outsourced services and solutions to financial institutions and the real estate industry, said that the price cut to $11 a share was due to Covansys' delayed filing of its first-quarter 2004 financial statement. The deal is subject to Covansys shareholder approval and other closing conditions, and is expected to close on September 15, says the information on FNF and Covansys Web sites.

Under the new agreement, the FNF's Fidelity Information Services (FIS) unit will buy 8.7 million common shares from Covansys and 2.3 million common shares from Vattikuti for $11 a share. The FIS will also receive four groups of warrants, each for one million common shares, with strike prices between $15 and $24 per share.
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VSNL broadband service at dial-up rates
New Delhi: VSNL is aggressively expanding its Internet and broadband business by extending its reach to over 100 cities. The broadband services will be launched in eight cities initially for as low as Rs.389 for a connection that offers 200 megabits download or 20 hours of surfing, making it one of the cheapest in the market.

According to company officials, pricing will be a key tool for VSNL's broadband strategy and it will offer broadband services at price points that is similar to that of a dial-up account, something that is unmatched within the industry. Almost 70 per cent of VSNL's investments are being utilised to ramp up its broadband network. VSNL currently has 30,000 broadband customers and eight lakh dial-up users.

The broadband connection will be built into VSNL's 'Total Internet' package, which would allow its dial-up subscribers to access broadband services. VSNL plans to launch broadband services in four metro cities and Bangalore and Pune this year.

The company has already launched a pilot service in Mumbai and is in the process of laying a `Metro Area Network' in eight cities. The `Metro Area Network' is the basic infrastructure required to offer broadband services.

VSNL is also in talks with large national banks for selling its Internet package through the ATM. The company already has a similar tie up with ICICI Bank across over 2,000 ATMs. It is also looking at ramping up its cyber cafes and launching Wi-Fi enabled services. VSNL has taken its reach from 22 cities in January to 100 cities in August.
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Electrolux to offer larger air-conditioner range
Chennai: Electrolux is expanding its range of split air-conditioners, making available to the Indian customer some of its international products.

It will soon import 1.5 tonne split air-conditioners from its facilities in China. Recent changes in customs duty allow Electrolux to import these units and offer them at competitive prices here. The advantage is that the outdoor units in these split ACs can be matched with a range of indoor units for variety. It will manufacture air-conditioners of other sizes at its facility at Uttaranchal.

The company recently launched a 0.75-tonne unit at Rs.12,990 and 1-tonne units for Rs.15,990 under an exchange scheme.
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