Saturday, April 17, 1999
today's calendar
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B U S I N E S S | Saturday, April 17, 1999 |
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Himachal to float Rs 400 crore
loan SHIMLA, April 16 — The Himachal Government has decided to float a loan of Rs 40 crore at an interest rate of 12.5 per cent per annum from April 21. BSE eases demat terms for investors MUMBAI, April 16 — The BSE has decided to allow small investors to deliver physical shares, in scrips mandated for compulsory dematerialised trading, up to Rs 25,000 in value or 500 shares in number, beginning tomorrow. |
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Rupee stages smart rally
against dollar
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Jobs in Canada no
problem: expert GDP to rise by 6 pc,says CMIE HR coil price cut soon Low CD ratio in northern States Time to go in for stocks: HSBC J & K Bank net profit up 70 pc Namaste Exports declared sick unit HMT Tractors posts 407 crore
turnover Ballarpur operating profit up |
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Himachal
to float Rs 400 crore loan SHIMLA, April 16 — The Himachal Government has decided to float a loan of Rs 40 crore at an interest rate of 12.5 per cent per annum from April 21. The interest on the loan, which is being floated with the approval of the Government of India, will be payable half yearly on October 21 and April 21. Disclosing this year
today, a spokesman said the proceeds of the loan would be
utilised for financing the capital expenditure of the
development programme of the State Subscription will be
received on April 21 up to the local of banking hours. In
the event of April 21, 1999, being declared a holiday,
the subscription will be received 1 on the next working
day upto the close of the banking hours. |
BSE eases demat terms for investors MUMBAI, April 16 (PTI) — The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) has decided to allow small investors to deliver physical shares, in scrips mandated for compulsory dematerialised trading, up to Rs 25,000 in value or 500 shares in number, beginning tomorrow. The facility will reduce the inconvenience caused to investors in terms of time consumed to get the shares dematerialised, a BSE spokesman, Dr Manoj Vaish, said. Only registered holders of the shares would be allowed to avail the facility to deliver the shares in the physical form and as such the market deliveries would not be permitted, the exchange said in a statement here today. The ‘C’ group window on BSE’s on-line trading (BOLT) system would be activated in these scrips for the purpose of placing orders for sale or purchase of the physical shares within the aforesaid stipulated limits, it said. The facility for trading in odd lots of scrips mandated for compulsory demat trading had been discontinued as the market lot of these scrips had changed to one unit. The ‘C’ group window would now accept trades in earlier market lots of 100 or 50 as well as odd lots in the scrips mandated for compulsory demat deliveries, BSE added. However, members buying
physical shares through this route would be compulsorily
required to transfer and dematerialise the same so as to
be eligible for further sale in the market, BSE said. |
Rupee stages smart rally against dollar MUMBAI, April 16 (PTI) — The rupee staged a fairly smart rally against the US currency on unwinding of long dollar positions by banks following the news of unconditional support to the Vajpayee Government by the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) in moderately active trade at the interbank foreign exchange (forex) market here today. The Indian unit closed at Rs. 42.7200/7250 per dollar, sharply higher from the overnight finish of Rs. 42.79/80 after moving in a range of Rs. 42.7200 and Rs. 42.7800 and posting an opening quote of Rs. 42.77/79. The assured support of the INLD and DMK almost confirmed the BJP-led coalition government’s survival at the confidence vote tomorrow which induced banks and corporates to liquidate a major portion of the long dollar positions built earlier to enable the rupee to post a good rally, dealers said. Although, the rupee remained under pressure due to the prevailing political uncertainties, most operators were not inclined to go long on the dollar. A clear picture will
emerge on Saturday after the vote of confidence and if
the government survives the rupee will extend its rally
and may rule around Rs. 42.65-dollar on Monday. |
Jobs in
Canada no problem: expert CHANDIGARH, April 16 — The Canadian economy is growing fast, providing tremendous employment opportunities to immigrants, particularly in the fields of information technology, telecommunication and construction activity. This was announced by Mr Curtis Panke, Director, Employment Services, Global Placement Services Canada Inc, at a press conference here today. Mr Panke is here to address a seminar at the TTTI, Sector 26, to be organised by the World wide Immigration Consultancy Services Ltd tomorrow. Since the unemployment rate is low— just 6.8 per cent — immigrants can expect to secure employment within a few weeks or months, provided they have relevant knowledge and they bring with them the required information and documents, he said. Problems that new immigrants face on arriving in Canada relate to accreditation and not employment. The accreditation system, managed at the State level, is complicated. “The federal government,” Mr Curtis Panke said, is now standardising accreditation norms. Col. B.S. Sandhu,
President, WWICS, said so far 2,000 professionals have
migrated to Canada through WWICS and about 3,000
applications are in the process. |
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MUMBAI, April 16 (PTI) — The overall gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to rise by nearly 6 per cent during 1999-2000 against 5.8 per cent estimated for 1998-99, according to Centre for monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE). Fiscal 1998-99 ended on a happier note than anticipated and 1999-2000 begins on a note of some optimism, CMIE said in its March-April review of the Indian economy. Thanks to a substantial
increase shown in estimates released by the Union
Agriculture Ministry, Agriculture is estimated to have
grown by an impressive 6.8 per cent during 1998-99 as
against the 5.4 per cent decline recorded in the
preceding year. |
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NEW DELHI, April 16 (PTI) — The Steel Ministry’s recommendation to reduce floor prices on hot rolled (HR) coil imports by $ 29 to $ 273 per tonne is likely to be notified by the Commerce Ministry soon, official sources said here today. The Ministry has also
recommended reduction in floor price of HR sheets to $
288 from $ 317 cost-insurance freight (CIF) per tonne,
the sources said on conditions of anonymity. |
Low CD
ratio in northern States NEW DELHI, April 16 —Tendency of banks to invest surplus funds in treasury bills is one reason for the continuing low Credit Deposit Ratio (CDR) in northern India, says a study conducted by the PHDCCI. The States of Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh have a low CDR compared to the national average.Only Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi are the only States where the CDR is above average. The CDR is an important indicator that shows the extent of contribution made by the banks to the development activities in the concerned State. However, it depends not only on the efforts made by the banks, but also on various other factors such as credit absorptive capacity of the region, physical, social and institutional infrastructural support, and most importantly the overall policy framework. The study observes that low CDR in most northern States is not a new trend. In many States, the ratio has been declining consistently in the last couple of years, irrespective of high or low CRR and SLR by the RBI. Haryana is the only example in the region that has made substantial recovery during the last year.The CDR of Haryana increased from 42.7 per cent in march 1997 to 47.4 per cent in September 1998. The northern region
accounts for nearly 37 per cent of the total bank
deposits of the nation, whereas, it gets only less than
32 per cent of the total country’s bank credit ,
which shows that hard earned of the people of the region
are diverted to other advanced States. |
Time to go in for stocks: HSBC NEW DELHI, April 16 (PTI) — The political situation is fluid, and taking any stance can be risky. But the market fundamentals provide a good opportunity to enter the market, “HSBC Securities. The broking arm of HSBC has said in its “India strategy” report for April. The two key factors driving the market will be increased domestic liquidity in the stock market and the bumper crop boosting fundamentals. These will be supported by benign interest rates and the currency environment. “The market is highly liquidity driven and investment by foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have had a major impact on the stock market ever since they were permitted to invest in the country’s bourses in 1993”, HSBC said. A survey of a few farmers in Punjab pointed to a bumper wheat crop although. For the entire crop to be harvested. Another 20 days of clear sky are required. The firm also expects a bumper apple crop in Himachal Pradesh. A rise of 50 per cent over last year’s crop. HSBC has also upgraded its agricultural growth forecast for 1999-2000 to 5 per cent from the earlier forecast of 3 per cent. Also, the resultant fall in prices has been less than the increase in production. This was expected to boost farmers’ disposable income by close to Rs 500 billion over the last year, close to 4 per cent of GDP. “This will also impact industrial and service sector output during the fiscal 1999-2000 and 2000-01. The sectors that would
gain from the bumper crop are fast moving consumer goods
(FMCGs), tractors, two-wheelers, agrochemical and cement. |
J & K Bank net profit up 70 pc NEW DELHI, April 16 (UNI) — The Jammu and Kashmir Bank Limited has recorded a 70 per cent surge in net profit during the 1998-99 fiscal to touch Rs 85.20 crore from Rs 50.37 crore in the previous year while non-performing assets (NPAs) dropped to a mere 3.5 per cent. The bank has on March 31, 1999, recorded a 105 per cent jump in its forex turnover. Mr M.Y. Khan, Chairman
of Jammu and Kashmir Bank said, according to unaudited
financial results, the capital and reserves of the bank
have increased by 55.5 per cent to close at Rs 428.24
crore. The bank’s business turnover has crossed the
Rs 9,000 crore mark, to stand at Rs 9,400 crore. Deposits
have recorded a phenomenal growth of 32 per cent to
register Rs 6439.88 crore and the advances have increased
to Rs 2947.92 crore. |
Namaste Exports declared sick unit NEW DELHI, April 16 (PTI) — The Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) has declared Namaste Exports Ltd (NEL) a sick company and appointed IDBI as the operating agency for reviving the company. The board decision to declare NEL sick came after the company’s net worth (share capital plus reserves) of Rs 71.60 crore was wiped out on account of its accumulated losses to the tune of Rs 79.10 crore. BIFR has asked the promoters of NEL to submit a rehabilitation proposal with means of finance fully tied up. It has also asked IDBI
to independently examine the techno-economic viability of
the company and examine various proposals for reviving
the company. |
HMT
Tractors posts 407 crore turnover CHANDIGARH, April 16 — HMT’s tractor business group has sold 19,009 tractors valued at Rs 407 crore registering a profit of Rs 33.05 crore during the financial year 1998-99. During the year, HMT launched two new models namely the HMT 2522 Orchard Special catering to the fruit growing community and HMT 3522 DX which has been equipped with direct axle for power farming. The sale of tractors
picked up in the last quarter of the financial year with
a record sale of 7,449 tractors, the highest ever. |
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NEW DELHI, April 16 (UNI) — The results of Ballarpur Industries Ltd. (BILT) for the second quarter ending March 31 showed 35 per cent rise in the operating profit as compared to the corresponding quarter of the last year March 31, 1998. Profit before interest and depreciation was Rs 31.39 crore in the quarter as against Rs 23.19 crore in the corresponding quarter of last year. The turnover during the quarter was Rs 301.16 crore as against Rs 274.78 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. The increased turnover reflects additional quantity of production of paper as well as despatches. Approving the results, the Board of Directors at a meeting held here today, cleared the appointment of Gautam Thapar as Managing Director of the company. Mr L.M. Thapar will
continue to be Chairman of the company. |
NEW YORK (IANS): An Indian American Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has emerged as a leader in a project that will take computing one big step further, making it “free and plentiful, just like oxygen.” The project, called Oxygen for its desire to make computing as ubiquitous as the air we breathe, aspires to put computing in “everybody’s hands,” says Anant Agarwal, (39). Agarwal is one of three co-principals of the project that is being funded by the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency, or Darpa, the research arm of the Pentagon that also established the early Internet. Oxygen proposes to build a brand new creative computing environment that will form the “sheet rock” of the new digital world of the 21st century. Computing will be within easy reach of everybody, and there would be no need to “carry 16 gadgets,” he adds. Handy 21, a device that is already being developed, has the capability to work as a cell phone or as a word processor. “All a user has to do is say ‘turn yourself into a cell phone’ and the handheld unit will go search for the appropriate software to work as a cell phone, download it” and then function as a cell phone, Agarwal explained. Insecure CHENNAI (PTI): A job the very next day on successful completion of the course, a 5-digit salary and highly sought-after abroad — an ideal kick-start to one’s career. But why is an Indian software professional still feeling insecure? Absence of a proper human resource development mechanism in the Indian information technology (IT) industry is posing many challenges to companies which are finding it difficult to answer many issues concerning their employees, says an industry expert. “So far, the Indian IT industry has not given priority to developing and maintaining a good human resources system like other sectors. This has resulted in many issues cropping up for our software people who have started feeling insecure,” says the Senior Vice-President of Chennai-based Polaris Software, Dr Aditya Tyagi. Drugs software NEW DELHI (UNI): To assist the authorities involved in regulating precursors, narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, the United Nations International Drug Control Programme (UNDCP) has developed a user-friendly national database software. The new system, which will greatly facilitate the work of departments such as the police, Customs, import and export control and industry, has been installed at the relevant departments in Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Other projects in south Asia will soon follow. The database has been classified into four categories — reference information, import/export documents, individual seizure information and forms to be submitted to the international narcotics control bureau. Intel products NEW DELHI (UNI): Intel Corporation has launched 14 networking products, including hubs, switches, netports and adapters to help businesses take advantage of growth in e-commerce. As part of Intel’s strategy to be a leading supplier of Internet and Intranet equipment in the country, the new product range aims at small to medium enterprises with two to 50 users with no information technology departments, says Mr Rob Chapman, Product Line manager, Network Communications Group (NCG) of Intel. Essar roaming NEW DELHI, (UNI): Essar cellphone announced the launch of bilateral automatic roaming service between Delhi and Scandinavian countries in Finland and Sweden. The service has been made possible in association with Sonera Limited of Finland and Europolitan AB of Sweden. It will enable Essar
subscribers to use their existing SIM cards and retain
the same mobile number while seamlessly roaming anywhere
in Finland and Sweden. At the same time, subscribers of
Sonera and Europolitan will remain connected while they
are on the move in Delhi. |
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| Forex rates MUMBAI, April 16 (PTI) — The following were interbank forex and RBI rates (in rupees per unit): US $ Rs 42.72/73 The RBI reference rate was Rs 42.76 Gold gains PF returns |
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