Religare-Aegon, Bennett Coleman sign insurance JV
Mumbai: Ranbaxy group firm Religare which signed an MoU with Netherlands' insurance major Aegon earlier this year is inducting Bennett, Coleman & Company as the third partner in a life insurance company planned to be launched in India.

Bennett, Coleman will own a 30 per cent stake in the proposed life insurance joint venture, while Religare will hold 44 per cent and the remaining 26 per cent would be held by Aegon.

Bennett Coleman is a prominent media house with interests in print, television, radio and internet.
Back to News Review index page  

SBT launches tax saver term deposit scheme
Chennai: The State Bank of Travancore (SBT) has launched a new deposit scheme, "SBT Tax Saver Term Deposit Scheme", from August 16.

As per the scheme, a depositor can claim income tax exemption up to a maximum of Rs 1 lakh under section 80C of the Income Tax Act in a financial year.

The deposit has to be made for a period of 5 years and will earn interest at 8 per cent per annum. The annualised return from the deposit will be 9.72 per cent.

The SBT tax saver term deposit can be opened in a single name or jointly with another individual including a minor, either as a simple or a cumulative term deposit, according to the bank.

Being a tax saver scheme, the depositor's PAN has to be quoted while opening the deposit. The bank added that premature withdrawal or loans were not permitted under the scheme.
Back to News Review index page  

IL&FS looks to acquire Philippine company
Mumbai: Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) has put in a bid for acquiring a Philippine company, Maynilad Water Services (MWS), which supplies water to the western half of the Philippine capital of Manila.

OL&FS is currently examining the financial details and will submit its bid in a few days. The Philippine company MWS had defaulted on pesos 17 billion ($333 million), before the Philippine government acquired 84 per cent of the company - a joint venture between French utilities group Suez and local conglomerate Benpres Holdings, after a court-supervised debt restructuring last year.

The Philippine government wants a minimum of pesos 3 billion (over $58 million) for buying out its stake and will sell the company to the successful bidder in October this year.

The winning bidder will also have to invest about pesos 20 billion (over $392 million) for expansion and upgrade of existing systems by 2013.

Other companies which have complied with the requirement are Malaysia's YTL Power Bhd, the Philippine property unit of Hong Kong's Fist Pacific Company, with local partners and Manila Water, a profitable joint venture of United Utilities of the UK and the Philippine property developer Ayala Corp.

Manila Water supplies water to the eastern half of the capital city.
Back to News Review index page  

IDBI to give 8.25 per cent interest on Suvidha deposits
Mumbai: Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI Bank) has a deposit scheme offering 8.25 per cent, the highest annual return provided by any bank thus far.

IDBI Bank said it will pay 8.25 per cent for a 500-day fixed deposit under a new scheme called IDBI 'Suvidha Plus'.

The public sector bank expects to initially garner at least Rs500 crore through this scheme which will be open till September 31, 2006, a senior IDBI official said. ICICI Bank is offering 8 per cent interest per annum for a 390 day deposit.

Most public and private banks offer 6.5-7.25 per cent for fixed deposits in the maturity bracket of 365-720 days. IDBI's offers interest rate of 7 per cent for deposits of one year to 18 months.
Back to News Review index page  

ICICI Bank upgraded to investment grade
New Delhi: Global rating agency Fitch has upgraded the long term foreign currency issuer default rating (IDR) of India's largest private sector bank ICICI Bank from non-investment to investment grade following the recent upgrade of India's sovereign ratings. It also gave the bank's short term currency rating to fair quality grade. The IDR has been upgraded to 'BBB'- from 'BB+' while the short term foreign currency has been upgraded to 'B' from 'F3'. The long term rating outlook is stable, the rating agency said in a release.

The rating on the bank's outstanding Rs50 crore bonds have also been upgraded to investment grade (BBB-) from earlier non-investment grade (BB+), it said.

ICICI's foreign currency ratings continue to reflect the bank's improved financial condition, the rating agency said.
Back to News Review index page  

India may not meet MDG targets: ADB
Manila: Despite making significant improvement in access to primary education, India will not meet the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets as in the case of other countries in the Asia Pacific region said the Asian Development Bank.

ADB in its annual statistical publication, Key Indicators 2006 said the MDG targets for universal primary enrollment and a two-thirds reduction in child mortality were unlikely to be met unless governments rapidly intensified efforts to improve basic education and access to primary health care for the poor. The multilateral funding agency said India along with Bangladesh had made significant progress in improving access to primary schooling but concerns remained regarding the quality to basic education and inequalities in enrollment rates.

ADB also said India was in danger of falling short of the target to reduce the under-five child mortality rate to two-thirds of 1990 levels by 2015. ADB put Cambodia, Pakistan and several Central Asian republics in the same category as India which were unlikely to meet the target.
Back to News Review index page  

RRB profits dip on higher costs, arrear payments
Kolkata: According to National Bank for Agriculture & Rural Development (Nabard), regional rural banks (RRBs) have reported a dip in aggregate profits for the fiscal '05-06. This has been attributed to a rise in establishment cost and payment of arrears during the fiscal, Nabard said.

According to data collated by Nabard, profit-making RRBs have only made a profit of Rs834 crore for 2005-06, which is Rs120 crore less than Rs954 crore, the aggregate profit reported for 2004-05. There are a total of 105 RRBs across the country, 20 of which are making losses.

Senior Nabard officials said establishment cost has shot up by about 10 per cent in the last fiscal and this, together with the payment of arrears, has dented the profitability of RRBs. Till date, 132, of the 196 RRBs, have been amalgamated to form 41 new entities.

Meanwhile, RRBs have witnessed a significant business growth during '05-06. On aggregate, they have witnessed a 21 per cent rise in credit offtake and a 17 per cent % jump in deposit mobilisation in the last fiscal.

As on March 31, 2006, RRBs' aggregate loan portfolio stood at Rs39,764 crore, as against Rs32,940 crore a year ago. Their total deposits stood at Rs72,510 crore (Rs62,284 crore). RRBs have also managed to increase the share of their low-cost deposits.
Back to News Review index page