Pentafour net up 108 pc, to pay 40 pc
Pentafour Communications Limited today announced 108 per cent higher net profit of Rs 14.1 crore over a 71.3 per cent higher turnover at Rs 70.17 crore for 1998-99.

Farooq for self-reliance
SRINAGAR, May 28 — Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah has said “Economic stability is imperative for the state’s progress and it should strive to become self-reliant”.

Maruti seeks Zen, 800 registration
Kinetic scooters for USA

NEW DELHI, May 28 (UNI) — Maruti Udyog Limited (MUL) today approached the Delhi Transport Authority seeking unrestricted registration of Maruti 800, Zen (both petrol and diesel) and Esteem, the cars which comply to the year 2000 emission norms.

The permission for registering its Omni van and Gypsy will be sought later as the company is still working towards making these vehicles year 2000 compliant, company sources told UNI here today.

Production of these new versions will commence on June 7, when MUL’s Gurgaon factory reopens after the half-yearly maintenance shutdown.

Despite non-registration of its vehicles in the National Capital Region, Maruti Udyog is confident that domestic sales of its passenger cars for May will top 32,000 units.

Besides, production is also projected to cross a new high of 33,000 units for the month.

The total production figure includes Gypsy and the units earmarked for exports. The sales figure has been reached at by calculating the average with the total sales till date.

This will mark a 5.3 per cent increase over the sales figure of 30,372 units in April this year and a 0.83 per cent growth over May 1998 when the company sold 31,734 cars in the domestic market.

Kinetic exports

The Pune-based Kinetic Engineering Limited (KEL) has acquired the distinction of being the only two -wheeler manufacturer in India to export vehicles to the competitive market of the USA.

The company has, so far, exported more than 12,000 vehicles to the USA. The vehicles have been modified with in-house efforts to meet the safety and environmental requirements as prescribed by the US Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard.

“The fact that leading departmental stores in the USA are regularly stocking our products, indicates the growing consumer confidence in quality and design,” KEL Joint Managing Director Sulajja Motwani said here today.

RBI removes curbs on bank credit to NBFCs

MUMBAI, May 28 (PTI) — The ceiling on bank credit to non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) has been de-linked from their net-owned funds (NoF).

According to a recent RBI notification, issued by the Chief General Manager V.G. Damle, the apex bank, in a bid to give more operational freedom to banks in the matter of credit disbursement, has decided to “remove the ceiling on bank credit prescribed by the RBI, which was linked to NoF, in respect of all NBFCs”.

Such NBFCs should be statutorily registered with the RBI and the notification covers those companies whose principal business is equipment leasing, hire purchase, loan and investment activities.

However, in respect of residuary non-banking finance companies (RNBFCs), bank finance would continue to be restricted to the extent of their NoFs, the notification said.

In an earlier circular of April 15, 1997 the RBI had stipulated that bank credit was to be restricted to three or two times the NoF for NBFCs in the category of both equipment leasing and hire purchase companies, while the advances would be equal to the NoF in respect of loan and investment and RNBFCs.

This was applicable for those companies which had not yet registered themselves with the RBI, as at that time the process of registration was still going on.

With registration being compulsory now, the RBI has decided to lift the restriction.

According to the fresh notification, in case of those companies which do not require to be registered with RBI — which include Nidhis, chit funds, insurance companies, stock broking companies, merchant banking companies and housing finance companies, banks can take their credit decisions on the basis of usual factors such as the purpose of the credit, nature and quality of the underlying assets, repayment capacity and so on.

However, RBI has barred banks from lending to NBFCs for certain activities. Finance will not be provided for bill discounting and rediscounting by NBFCs, “except for rediscounting of bills discounted by NBFCs arising from sale of commercial vehicles, including light commercial vehicles”.

Credit is also not to be provided for investments made by the finance companies in shares, debentures and generally stock-in-trade investments.

But stock broking companies can be provided need-based credit against shares and debentures held by them as stock in trade, says the notification.

Other activities for which bank finance is barred are investments of NBFCs in and advances to subsidiaries, group companies or other entities and investments in other companies and inter-corporate loans or deposits in other companies.

No changes have been made in the instructions prohibiting grant of bridge loans to the finance companies, as also loans of a bridging nature in any form to these companies, including against capital and debenture issues.

VSNL to upgrade Internet accounts
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, May 28 — Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) today announced that all Internet shell accounts in VSNL will be immediately upgraded to TCP/IP accounts.

The upgradation will be carried out without any extra charge by the shell account holders. The conversion of the shell account will be effected immediately. With the upgradation accounts being made available, there will be no need for renewals or opening of new shell accounts, a VSNL release said.

VSNL also announced today the introduction of 25 hour TCP/IP account which will be offered at Rs 990 each. The introduction of 25 hour accounts is meant to encourage the first time users of Internet who would like to try out the new global information medium for their personal or professional use, the release said.

IFC to invest $ 25m in Moser Baer India
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, May 28 — The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector financing arm of the World Bank, today signed an agreement to invest $ 25 million in a floppy disk manufacturing project in India, while expressing the hope that the current tension on the Indo-Pak border would not last long.

“I hope that this is a short term set of events in India”, the IFC Director of South and South East Asia, Mr Rashad Kaldany, told newsmen here today.

Mr Kaldany said that IFC’s investment in India would come back to the past average of $ 150 to 200 million from 1999-2000.

In the latest deal, IFC signed an agreement to invest $ 25 million in Moser Baer India Limited (MBIL), the largest manufacturer and exporter of floppy disks in India.

The IFC’s financing consists of an equity investment of eight million and a loan of Euro 16.75 million ($ 17 million) for IFC’s own account.

The $ 91 million project will allow MBIL to set up a global-sized export oriented facility with a production of 95 million compact discs recordables (CD-Rs). In 1997, IFC invested to help MBIL expand its floppy disk capacity seven-fold.

ST forms disappear
From a Correspondent

YAMUNANAGAR: The registered dealers in Haryana face difficulties owing to unavailability of forms ST-14 in the State for the last over two months. State Government seems to be paying a little attention, the authorities say these forms are out of print.

The forms are required to be furnished when goods attracting sales tax at first point in the State are sold by one registered dealer to another certifying that the goods sold have suffered tax at the appropriate stage as provided in Section 18 of the Haryana General Sales Tax Act, 1973.

The real difficulty arises when the assessing authority demands these forms before considering the claim of exemption from payment of tax at the subsequent stage. What happens usually is that tax at the subsequent point is assessed solely on the ground of non-production of forms ST-14.

When the department itself is not providing the forms to the assessees in the State, why there is a levy of tax on the dealers at the successive stage (s), lament traders.

Clause (i) of Rule 24 of the Haryana General Sales Tax Rules, 1975, provides that it is open to the dealers claiming exemption from payment of tax at the successive stage (s) to furnish either a certificate form ST-14 or a copy of the bill issued by the seller along with a declaration in the prescribed format. However, the assessing authorities do not care to follow this statutory rule despite copies of the bills are produced having a printed declaration thereon.

Pentafour net up 108 pc, to pay 40 pc

Pentafour Communications Limited (PCL) today announced 108 per cent higher net profit of Rs 14.1 crore over a 71.3 per cent higher turnover at Rs 70.17 crore for 1998-99.

The company’s gross profit grew by 150 per cent to Rs 20.81 crore, and it declared 40 per cent dividend against 30 per cent in the corresponding period last year.

During the last fiscal, the company recorded exports worth Rs 19.09 crore.

JK Industries

J K Industries Ltd (JKI) has achieved an all-time high turnover of Rs 1.28 crore with operating profit of Rs 181 crore the year ended March 31, 1999.

The net profit is Rs 22 crore which is higher compared to last year’s annualised profit of Rs 20.88 crore. JKI has declared a final dividend of 15 per cent.

Philips growth 11 pc

Philips India Limited has recorded 11 per cent growth in sales during the first quarter of 1999 with a sale of Rs 397.5 crore as against Rs 358 crore of the corresponding period of 1998. The operating profit after depreciation and interest amounted to Rs 10.9 crores as against Rs 3.19 crore achieved during the first quarter of 1998. The net profit for the quarter was Rs 4.4 crore.

EIH net falls

The Board of Directors of EIH Limited, formerly East India Hotels, has recommended a dividend of 50 per cent despite registering 21.78 per cent decline in net profit at Rs 96.41 crore during the financial year ended March 31, 1999. The company had reported a net profit of Rs 123.25 crore in the previous fiscal.

Apollo Tyres to pay 40 pc

Apollo Tyres Limited has reported net sales of Rs 1,151.16 crore and a profit of Rs 75.32 crore before depreciation and tax for the year ended March 31.

The profit after tax stood at Rs 40.02 crore. The Board of Directors recommended a dividend of 40 per cent which is the same as last year.

Greaves net down

Greaves Limited has recorded a marginal decline in net profit at Rs 51.19 crore in 1998-99 against Rs 54.30 crore in the previous fiscal. The Board of Directors reduced the dividend on equity shares from 35 per cent last year to 25 per cent.

SAIL reports loss

Steel Authority of India (SAIL) announced a massive loss of Rs 1,574 crore for the fiscal 1998-99 as against the Rs 133 crore profit in 1997-98.

However, it managed a marginal increase of 2.3 per cent in turnover at Rs 14,994 crore.

IFCI net crashes

A massive increase in bad debts munched the net profit of the Industrial Finance Corporation of India (IFCI) to a dismal Rs 23.5 crore in financial 1998-99 from Rs 371 crore a year ago, down by a whopping 93.6 per cent. The company’s provision for bad debts shot up to Rs 308.9 crore in 1998-99 from Rs 28.7 crore in the previous year. The company will pay a dividend of Re one per Rs 10 face value share.

Alstom slips into red

Alstom Limited recorded a net loss of Rs 0.95 crore during the financial year ended March 31, 1999 compared with a net profit of Rs 3.84 crore in the previous fiscal. No dividend has been recommended.

IOC to pay 130 pc

Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) reported a 30 per cent rise in net profit during 1998-99 to Rs 2,214 crore as compared to the previous year’s figure of Rs 1,706 crore.

The Board of Directors have recommended a dividend of 130 per cent from the last year’s 50 per cent dividend.

ONGC declares 55 pc dividend

The Board of Directors of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) recommended a 55 per cent dividend for 1998-99 having registered a 2.8 per cent growth in net profit for the year. Net profit for the year stood at Rs 2,754.49 crore as against Rs 2,677.77 crore in the previous year.

Usha Intl’s net up 50 pc

Usha International, has registered 50 per cent higher net profit at Rs 5.4 crore on a turnover of Rs 390 crore for the financial year 1998-99. The company’s gross profit is also up, by 42 per cent at Rs 9 crore. Total exports have registered a healthy growth of 17 per cent at Rs 46 crore.

VST Industries

Cigarette company, VST Industries has decided to restructure its business to concentrate on its cigarettes’ business for future growth and exit from financial services and agri-products industries. — UNI, PTI

Farooq for self-reliance

SRINAGAR, May 28 (PTI) — Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah has said “Economic stability is imperative for the state’s progress and it should strive to become self-reliant”.

“Mobilisation of our own resources is essential for leading a dignified life,” he told a day-long convention of artisans, organised by the Jammu and Kashmir Arts Federation yesterday.

Forex
US $ Rs 42.91/93
Stg £ Rs 68.68/71
Euro Rs 45.07/08
Jap yen (100) Rs 35.48/51

Bank unions
NEW DELHI, May 28 (TNS) — The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), representing over 10 million employees, today criticised the government for the delay in the implementation of the wage agreement signed in the second week of March.

Canara Bank
CHANDIGARH, May 28 (TNS) — To promote enterpreneurship among women, Canara Bank organised a camp at Bapu Dham Colony here yesterday. The bank offers four time the loan amount on group savings for six months. About 60 persons attended the camp.