Maharashtra state ties up with 3 banks
Mumbai: The Maharashtra Government has signed a memorandum of understanding with State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank and YES Bank according to which the latter would facilitate emerging and mid-size biotechnology companies in setting up businesses in the state by offering access to venture capital funding, loans, and financial advice.

The MoU will provide a framework for banks to provide funding to companies which want to set up their units in the biotechnology parks run by the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation.

For 2007-08 the government has set aside Rs700 crore for funding biotech ventures across the country. Ventures from Maharashtra are likely to attract a major percentage of funding.
Sunil Gulati, group president of YES Bank, said the bank will look at both small and midsize companies. To attract more biotech ventures the bank is planning to launch a life science fund, he said.
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NCR Corp gets contract from HSBC
Mumbai: NCR Corporation, manufacturer of automated teller machines, has received a contract from Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation to manage its off-site ATM centres in the Western and Southern regions of India.

NCR will provide first and second-line maintenance, caretaker services, site maintenance, consumables supply and management besides cash replenishment services, said a news release from the company.

The contract will ensure that the bank does not have to spend time and in-house resources on day-to-day operational management of its ATM network.
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Kotak Old Life considers raising capital by Rs150-cr
Bangalore: Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Life Insurance Ltd (KMOMLIL) a 74:26 joint venture between Kotak Mahindra group and Old Mutual of South Africa plans to raise its capital by another Rs150 crore next year in line with expanding business.

The officials said the bank is targeting premium accretion of Rs1,200 crore in 2008. The joint venture is currently capitalised at Rs365 crore.

During the current year, the company is likely to end with a premium of Rs1,000 crore. New premium accretions were expected to be around Rs 445 crore during the period.
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LIC to continue to offer sovereign guarantee
Mumbai: The sovereign guarantee that LIC enjoys will continue even after the public sector life insurer meets the minimum solvency margin requirements.

The government guarantee assures LIC policyholders the payment of sum assured, bonuses declared and guaranteed additions in the event of default by the life insurer.

LIC is ready to meet the 150 per cent solvency margin mandated by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda) by March 31, 2007. The solvency margin is a sum of certain percentages of both the reserves and the sum at risk.

For the current financial year, the 150 per cent solvency margin had been maintained on the 3 crore policies that were added. LIC had met 133 per cent solvency margin for policies underwritten from 1956-2006. LIC was setting aside reserves out of its income, earnings, investment returns and trading profit to make up for the remaining 17 per cent by March 31, said an LIC official.

LIC sources said the continuation of the guarantee would be a way of government backing an institution, which it uses for various purposes.

LIC has issued a total of 18.64 crore policies since 1956. Every year, over 3 crore new policies get added.
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LIC to invest in fixed deposits
Mumbai: The Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has decided to invest in fixed deposits, which is not a traditional investment avenue for the life insurer. The life insurer has not been a buyer of government bonds in recent days when the yields rose sharply on heavy selling by banks to tide over acute liquidity tightness caused by tax outflows, liquidity absorptions by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) through bond auctions and increased pre-emptions via cash reserve ratio (CRR).

The company feels that around 8 per cent return on government bonds compares poorly to 10-12 per cent returns offered by upto one-year deposits and long-term bond issues by banks for capital adequacy purposes.

LIC's gross investment for the year ending March 31 is expected to be Rs 80,000 crore. As per Irda norms, LIC invests 50 per cent in government securities, 15 per cent in infrastructure, more than 15 per cent in approved investments, below 15 per cent in other than approved investments.
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Forex reserves at $195.95 billion on March 16
Mumbai: The foreign exchange reserves rose to a record $195.95 billion on March 16, from $194.41 billion a week earlier, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in its weekly statistical supplement on Friday. Dealers attribute part of the increase in the re serves to the RBI's aggressive dollar purchases to protect the rupee's export-competitiveness against other currencies.
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UAE banks eye India
Dubai: UAE banks are eyeing India, Asia's second-fastest growing economy for expansion. The UAE banks, facing a profitability crunch at home have huge surplus liquidity and are looking for growth prospects elsewhere.

With 4 million people who have access to 47 banks, analysts say the UAE is an overbanked region.

The UAE has not allowed foreign banks to have full banking operations since the early 80s. At present, Bank of Baroda is the only Indian bank to have full banking operations, though other banks like ICICI bank, HDFC and Punjab National Bank have representative offices.
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Thomas Cook registers Rs38-cr profit for 14 months
Mumbai: Helped by double-digit growth in corporate and outbound travel businesses, Thomas Cook (India) has reported a net profit of Rs38.48 crore for the 14 months ended December 31, 2006. The company has booked operating revenues of Rs221.82 crore for the period. Since the company changed its accounting year-end from October 31 to December 31, the results for the period aren't comparable to the previous year's figures.

(Thomas Cook posted Rs121.78 crore in operating revenue for the previous 12-month period ended October 31, 2005). The board of directors also approved, in principle, a rights issue in the ratio of 1:3 (for every three shares held, one share will be issued) of up to Rs225 crore. The proceeds from the issue will be used to part-finance the acquisitions, with the rest coming from internal accruals.
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