LIC puts up best show of decade
CALCUTTA, July 19 — LIC has registered the highest ever growth and the best financial performance of the decade during 1998-99.

ABB-Thapar firm stake deal cleared
NEW DELHI, July 19 — The FIPB today permitted ABB to buy out the joint venture partner of a Thapar group company — CG-ELSAG Bailey Limited.

Daewoo group may go bankrupt

SEOUL, July 19 (Reuters) — South Korea’s financial watchdog said today the country’s second largest conglomerate, the Daewoo group, may go bankrupt if creditors refused its request to roll over short-term debt.

Daewoo offered to provide 8.5 billion in collateral to its creditors to stay afloat amid a flood of maturing debt.

The financial watchdog said Daewoo faced bankruptcy if creditors turned down its request to roll over 7 trillion won (5.9 billion) in debts maturing in the next 10 days.

Daewoo said the 10 trillion won in assets offered as collateral included 1.26 trillion won in equity shares to be donated by Daewoo group Chairman Kim Woo-Choong.

The new loans, if extended, will go towards repaying maturing debts, creditors will be given discretion over what to do with the collateral if the reform plans stumbled.

Mr Kim will resign from his post after putting the prized auto units on a normal footing and the remaining affiliates will be run by professional managers.

The future India investment programmes of Daewoo Motor Company (DMC) may come under cloud as the parent company is faced with imminent bankruptcy, adds UNI.

Though the top management of Daewoo Motors India Limited (DMIL) tried to put up a brave face stating “it is business as usual for us”, the company has already put off major investment plans, including proposals to set up truck and multi-purpose vehicle manufacturing lines and even a retail financing arm.

According to Mr Byung-Soh Min, Deputy Managing Director of DMIL, “it is business as usual for us... These are minor hiccups in the path of a major restructuring exercise which has been going on for a long time and we will see it through. There is not likely to be any impact on the Indian subsidiary.”

Daewoo Motor Company controls 92 per cent stake in DMIL while the remaining is in the hands of the public and financial institutions.

The group said it would focus on the auto unit, along with trading and construction arm Daewoo Corp. It planned to cut the number of its affiliates to nine by the end of this year from 22 at the end of last month through mergers and sell-offs.

Daewoo’s financial health has been of increasing concern to the market for months. Analysts have said the group has lagged behind the other family-run conglomerates, known locally as chaebol, in restructuring their sprawling empires.

In April, the Daewoo group had unveiled plans to drastically slim down and pay off debt by selling its ship-building company, commercial car unit and hotels.

‘Reliance can’t do it’

NEW DELHI, July 19 (PTI) — Reliance’s bid to independently market petroleum products from its Rs.14,000 crore Jamnagar refinery has run into rough weather in view of the delaying tactics by the Government and objections raised by the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC).

Reliance approached the Petroleum Ministry a few weeks ago to seek permission for marketing its products independently from the refinery, that began cutting crude last week, saying that the Government had notified criteria for the purpose in 1997.

When contacted, a spokesman of the Reliance group declined to comment on any issue related to marketing.

Top Ministry officials, however, said subsequently the Cabinet had decided last year not to allow independent marketing rights to private refineries till administrative pricing mechanism (APM) was dismantled by the year 2002.

“We have yet to formulate new marketing guidelines for the private sector. After all the element of cross subsidies for kerosene and cooking gas will have to be taken into account,” a senior Ministry official said on the condition of anonymity.

Even the IOC wrote to the Government last week wondering where from Reliance Petroleum (RPL) would get products for independent marketing as the corporation had already tied up with RPL for marketing their products on its own or through a joint venture. 

“We have already tied up marketing rights for 52 per cent of their products for 10 years from 2002. For the remaining 48 per cent we have finalised a joint venture. We are just awaiting the Government’s clearance”.

For the period before 2002 the IOC has been asked by the Government to market 50 per cent of RPL products, while the other half is to be shared by Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum.

Petroleum Ministry sources said though the 1997 notification envisaged marketing rights for companies which put in an investment of over Rs 2,000 crore or produced three million tonnes of crude, it would not be possible to allow private companies at this juncture.

Ingersoll-Rand net jumps 56 per cent

INGERSOLL-RAND has recorded a 56.01 per cent jump in net profit during the first quarter of the 1999-2000 fiscal to touch Rs 14.54 crore as against Rs 9.32 crore a year earlier.

Sales during the quarter were up 15.97 per cent from Rs 71.36 crore to Rs 114 crore. Ingersoll Rand’s other income was Rs 3.21 crore while total expenditure stood at Rs 93.17 crore.

B.S. Software (Indian) Limited has registered a net profit of Rs 1.92 crore in the first quarter of 1999-2000 fiscal, up 41.2 per cent from Rs 1.36 crore a year earlier.

Sales in April-June 1999 were at Rs 12.31 crore, up 34.7 per cent from Rs 9.14 crore a year ago.

Surya Roshni Ltd has recorded a 7.17 per cent jump in its net profit in the first quarter of the current fiscal (1999-2000) at Rs 3.44 crore as against Rs 3.21 crore in the corresponding period last year.

Announcing this at the Board of Directors meeting held in the capital on Monday the company which recorded a turnover of Rs 718.51 crore last fiscal, also declared a dividend of 12 per cent to its shareholders.

The net profit during 1998-99 was up 17.01 per cent at Rs 12.93 crore as per audited financial results against Rs 11.05 crore in last fiscal.

Larsen and Toubro has engaged Eicher Consultancy Services to help it lay greater emphasis on shareholder value and corporate governance.

The company has also appointed HR Consultants and William M. Mercer as advisers to carry out an organisational analysis and job evaluation exercise. This will help streamline functions and responsibilities to ensure that they are in line with L and T’s new business strategy.

LG, Voltas tie-up: LG Electronics India Private Limited on Monday announced plans of a three-year tie-up with Voltas Limited to source six lakh refrigerators. — Agencies

If he says it’s fabulous, it is

PARIS, July 19 (AFP) — Francois Lesage is the doyen of embroiderers supplying the charmed circle of French haute couturiers, so it is praise indeed for him to describe a show as “fabulous.”

“It reminded me of some of most beautiful moments in Yves Saint Laurent”, he commented after watching the collection of Ritu Beri, the talented young Indian designer, who is already a leading light on India’s fashion scene but virtually unknown in Europe.

Her show, unveiled on Saturday in the gracious surroundings of the Indian embassy in Paris, was timed to coincide with the current round of winter couture shows on the official programme.

The 32-year-old designer, who has already been in the business for nine years and has boutiques in Delhi and Bombay, dedicated some of the models in her show to her mentor Lesage, after training at his Paris atelier five years ago.

“I advised her to stay true to being Indian. She designs good sportswear but I told her there are already lots of other people doing that. Her clothes are to dream about, and we all need to dream”, Lesage said, who is a great lover of India and finds Indians “very educated people, very culturally refined at all levels of society.”

LIC puts up best show of decade

CALCUTTA, July 19 (UNI) — LIC has registered the highest ever growth and the best financial performance of the decade during 1998-99.

Announcing the Corporation’s financial results during the last fiscal, LIC Chairman G. Krishnamurthy in a statement on Monday said the decade’s best performance was possible because of the all round growth in business throughout the year.

The Corporation’s total assets went up by a whopping 20.74 per cent to Rs 1,32,764.39 crore and the total income by 18.29 per cent to Rs 36,352.59 crore.

LIC’s total premium income registered a growth of 18.46 per cent to Rs 22,805.80 crore and the investment income a growth of 16.71 per cent to Rs 13,181.92 crore from the corresponding period of the previous year.

Mr Krishnamurthy said during the year (1998-99), the LIC had sold more than 1,00,006 new policies under various individual pension plans generating the first premium income of Rs 111.14 crore, showing a growth of 63 per cent and a record 131 per cent respectively.

ABB-Thapar firm stake deal cleared

NEW DELHI, July 19 (UNI) — The FIPB today permitted ABB to buy out the joint venture partner of a Thapar group company — CG-ELSAG Bailey Limited.

ABB will invest Rs 4.5 crore to purchase 2,040,000 shares held by Hartmann and Braun (HAB) of Germany, amounting to 51 per cent stake in CG-ELSAG, a joint venture company between Crompton Greaves and HAB.

This formed part of the 28 proposals cleared by the board today amounting to a foreign direct investment inflow of Rs 138 crore.

ANZ Grindlays has been allowed to set up a non-banking finance company in India through its subsidiary Esanda Finance and Leasing Limited.

The board also allowed Modi-Telstra to increase paid-up capital in the existing venture by Rs 5 crore to Rs 160 crore. Woolmark has been allowed to set up a 100 per cent owned subsidiary in India for conducting research and development activities and providing training regarding wool. It will be investing Rs 4.2 crore for the purpose.

A non-resident Indian Capt. Deepak Sethi has been given the nod to set up a wholly-owned subsidiary by investing Rs 30 lakh for freight forwarding and related activities.

Hunter Industries of the United States has been given the green signal for setting up a venture in India for producing and marketing ready to cook items. Hunter would hold a 55 per cent stake in the venture by investing Rs 55 lakh.

Marc Medicines of Russia has been allowed to produce drugs and medicines here through a venture, in which the Russian company would pick up 73 per cent stake for Rs 18.5 crore.

Track Polymers has been allowed to set up a venture for providing Internet services. The foreign partner in the venture would hold a 49 per cent stake by investing Rs 14.7 lakh.

Move to attach Amitabh’s flats

NEW DELHI, July 19 (PTI) — Canara Bank today moved the BIFR to appoint a court receiver for attachment of two flats of Amitabh Bachchan Corporation (ABCL) in Mumbai to recover its dues of Rs 14 crore.

Canara Bank, in consortium with Allahabad Bank, had extended credit facilities of Rs 14 crore, including Rs 10 crore from its coffers, to the entertainment company floated by Amitabh Bachchan.

The flats, measuring 1700 square feet each, are located at Juhu and are valued at over Rs 1 crore.

Forex
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Euro Rs 43.83/86
Jap yen (100) Rs 36.00/02

Dena Bank
NEW DELHI, July 19 (UNI) — The Dena Bank has improved its net profit by 4.8 per cent in 1998-99 over the previous year and increased dividend as well. The net profit for the year increased to Rs 110.09 crore from 105.04 last year.

Visa Gold card
Tribune News Service
CHANDIGARH, July 19 — Bank of India, has launched gold credit card in association with Visa International. The BOI Visa Gold card was launched by Mr Ratan Tata, Chairman of Tata group in Mumbai.

IDBI
MUMBAI, July 19 (PTI) — The IDBI is planning to raise Rs 6,000 crore this fiscal, through the private placement route, according to senior officials of the bank.