Volvo proposal cleared NEW DELHI, Nov 11 — Volvo’s proposal to infuse $22 million (about Rs 95 crore) into its Indian venture, is among 43 foreign investment proposals worth Rs 233 crore, cleared by the Government.

Sun Pharma to pay 60 pc

Infranet ’99 — an investment in a better tomorrow
CHANDIGARH, Nov 11 — The country today faces a silent crisis in infrastructure, with few takers for projects despite the availability of deployable resources to the tune of Rs 50,000 crore, through bilateral and multilateral lines of credit.

VSNL signs pact with Hughes Escorts Comm
NEW DELHI, Nov 11 — Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd and Hughes Escorts Communication Ltd today entered into an agreement to provide Internet services.

Hughes Software closes at Rs 1625
NEW DELHI, Nov 11 — Shares of Hughes Software Systems (HSS) today soared by 157 per cent at Rs 1625 a share in their first day of trading at the Delhi Stock Exchange after the General Electric Group Company became the first in India to offer its initial public offering through the book-building route.

• Maruti pays Rs 19.74 cr dividend

IRA to re-define contracts

CALCUTTA, Nov 11 (PTI) — Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) would re-define definition of terms of contract between the insured and insurer, which at present is heavily loaded in favour of the latter.

Chairman of IRA, N. Rangachary, said at a seminar here today that insurance contracts were made at the whims and fancies of insurance companies and this problem gets highlighted during settlement of claims when the insured is not attended properly.

Rangachary also said IRA would lay down certain rules to guide relationship between the insured and the insurer.

Stressing the need for insurance education in the country, the IRA Chief said that regulator would ensure both the insured and insurer were aware of mutual obligations.

Rangachary said that IRA intended to bring out a customer education series to highlight the respective obligations of insurer and insured.

Regarding insurance intermediaries, Rangachary said that they would have to be professionally qualified. For this purpose, IRA proposed to conduct technical test for insurance agents and to set up an institute for surveyors.

For non-life insurance business, Rangachary said that there was a large scope with general insurance industry targeting to mobilise Rs 8,000 crore as premium income. For life insurance, he said that LIC has been able to mobilise Rs 22,000 crore annually a premium income.

The chairman of GIC, D. Sengupta, said that insurance education was of primary importance and the National Insurance Academy would be revamped for this purpose.

Insurance sector to improve FDI

NEW DELHI, Nov 11 (PTI) — The opening up of the insurance sector will help increase Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the country, a senior Government official said today.

“With opening of the insurance sector, inflow of FDI will increase along with innovation in insurance products,” Joint Secretary, Finance Ministry (Insurance Division) C.R. Rao said at seminar on Insurance organised by FICCI.

He said after privatisation, foreign pension funds will also come in the insurance market and bring various products to the domestic market.

In this regard, Rao said the Government will welcome the new insurance products but stated that regulation of the sector has to be stronger in the free market.

“Competition and regulation can go together in the market economy,” he said adding that the Insurance Bill had set a minimum solvency margin of Rs 50 crore in order to regulate the market properly.

Currently there are no solvency margins imposed by the Government for the State-owned insurance firms and this measure is undertaken to keep the safety of the insurance market in the country, he said.

Rao said with the opening of the sector the share of State-owned insurance companies will fall but overall growth will continue as there is huge untapped insurance market in the country.

Volvo proposal cleared

NEW DELHI, Nov 11 (PTI) — Volvo’s proposal to infuse $22 million (about Rs 95 crore) into its Indian venture, is among 43 foreign investment proposals worth Rs 233 crore, cleared by the Government.

Industry Minister Murasoli Maran also cleared proposal of Bharati Tele Spatial Ltd to set up a company to participate in telecom ventures in the country with a foreign investment of Rs 43 crore, an official statement said today.

The foreign partner would hold 20 per cent stake in Bharati Tele Spatial Ltd.

Among the cases cleared, on the recommendations of FIPB, was a proposal of Infotech Enterprises Ltd to increase the foreign equity from 12 per cent to 26 per cent.

Infotech Enterprises, engaged in a wide range of services from software development to internet applications, would infuse a foreign investment of Rs 34.15 crore to increase the stake.

The Minister cleared the proposal of travel goods major Samsonite to increase its stake in its Indian venture from 60 per cent to 65 per cent.

There will be no additional foreign investment flow from the stake hike as it would be done on a reduced paid-up capital.

Infranet ’99 — an investment in a better tomorrow
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Nov 11 — The country today faces a silent crisis in infrastructure, with few takers for projects despite the availability of deployable resources to the tune of Rs 50,000 crore, through bilateral and multilateral lines of credit. This crisis, more serious than the balance of payments imbroglio which sparked off the liberalisation wave of early 90’s is affecting India’s GDP to the extent of 3 per cent said Mr Vinayak Chatterjee, Deputy Chairman (Northern Region), (CII) and Chairman Infranet ’99 at a press conference to announce CII’s flagship infrastructure meet to be held from December 16 to 18 in New Delhi.

A curious paradox of ‘enough money for investment and enough demand, yet no projects’ exists today. With only 5 Infra projects reaching financial closure last year, serious issues need to be addressed in this sector.

Infranet ’99 with Malaysia as partner country and Rajasthan as partner state offers not only a platform to influence Government policy, but a forum for direct interaction between policy makers, operators and all those involved in infrastructure development.

India opened up its infrastructure as part of the economic reform programme launched in 1991, but would need $ 300 billion over the next 10 years to meet its infrastructure needs. Besides the requisite funds, the situation demands, well thought out coordination mechanisms at the Centre, Centre-State and State-State levels to remove the existing logjams in infrastructure.

Private capital in infrastructure can come in only if, the pricing of public goods start moving towards market driven recoveries and a series of coordinated steps need to be taken to achieve this in a given time frame, said Mr Chatterjee. Also required, are independent regulatory authorities with clear-cut defined roles, in water, civil aviation, roads, ports etc. Such regulatory authorities are an acknowledged precondition for attracting private capital in infrastructure.

Other measures can include, integration and coordination of various sectors like roads and railways, adoption of few high visibility fast track projects for demonstration effect and central fully empowered secretariat to cut across the Gordian Knot of complications, hampering Infrastructure development today.

The topics and sectors to be covered during the conference include:

• Key Issues in Infrastructure financing
• Evolution of regulatory authorities in the Indian Infrastructure Scenario
• Public Private Participation and Market Pricing of Public Goods
• Multilateral Institutions and Indian Infrastructure
• States and Infrastructure
• Session on ‘Malaysia; Focus Country’

The leading Malaysian companies expected to participate are Renong Bhd, toll operator Projek Lebuhraya Utara Selaran Bhd (Plus), Westport Malaysia, Bina Puri, HSS Integrated Sdn Bhd and construction firm IJM Corp, according to Mr Vinayak Chatterjee.

The Principal co-sponsors of Infranet ’99 are L&T, Indian Oil, Indian Railways, Hudco, Governments of Gujarat and Haryana. The associate co-sponsors are IDFC, Oracle and HCC so far.

VSNL signs pact with Hughes Escorts Comm
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Nov 11 — Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd and Hughes Escorts Communication Ltd today entered into an agreement to provide Internet services.

Following this agreement, HECL will buy Internet access time in bulk and act as virtual ISP to their corporate clients using VSNL Internet Infrastructure, a release said.

The company’s corporate clients can now access their server by placing orders for the product online through Internet, thus eliminating the delay involved in the paper and postal method. Their dealers would use VSNL access network to dial to Internet and to connect their corporate website.

This service would be available from Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Calcutta, Pune and Bangalore.

Hughes Software closes at Rs 1625

NEW DELHI, Nov 11 (UNI) — Shares of Hughes Software Systems (HSS) today soared by 157 per cent at Rs 1625 a share in their first day of trading at the Delhi Stock Exchange after the General Electric Group Company became the first in India to offer its initial public offering through the book-building route.

The information technology company, which focuses on Internet-based technologies and services, first traded at Rs 1700 at DSE, 170 per cent above the IPO price of Rs 630.

Mr Arun Kumar, President and Managing Director, HSS, flagged off the trade in the presence of DSE President Ashok Aggarwal and other top officials from the exchange.

Maruti pays Rs 19.74 cr dividend
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Nov 11 — Maruti Udyog Limited today paid a dividend of Rs 19.74 crore to Union Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Manohar Joshi for 1998-99.

MUL has declared a 30 per cent dividend, having earned Rs 784.14 crore as profit before tax in 1998-99, a company release said.

Sun Pharma to pay 60 pc

Sun pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, has announced the first interim dividend of 60 per cent for the year 1999-2000.

This was announced at a Board meeting held in Mumbai on Thursday. The company had announced a dividend of 80 per cent for 1998-99.

The company had recently announced its first half results-PAT was up 61 per cent to Rs 42.82 crore (Rs 26.67 crore) and turnover increased 41 per cent to Rs 215.81 crore (Rs 152.84 crore). Domestic formulation sales was up 58 per cent to Rs 158.25 crore (Rs 100.41 crore). Total exports including those through Sun Pharma exports crossed Rs 46.45 cr, up by 25 per cent as against Rs 37.09 cr in the first half in 1998.

A “P1+” rating to the Rs 40 crore commercial paper programme of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (Sun) has been reaffirmed by the Crisil.

National Fert

The National Fertilizers Limited (NFL) on Thursday paid a dividend for Rs 12.05 crore to the Government for the financial year 1998-99.

Mr Dinesh Singh, CMD of NFL, a ‘Mini Ratna’ public sector undertaking and a leading producer of nitrogenous fertilisers, presented the cheque to Mr Suresh Prabhu, Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers.

The NFL declared 30 per cent dividend on post-tax profit of Rs 44.15 crore in 1998-99 on a record sales turnover of Rs 2,302.21 crore. It achieved an overall capacity utilisation of 111.11 per cent in 1998-99, a company release said.

Tube Investment

Tube Investment of India Limited (TII) has acquired a steel tube manufacturing facility in Mohali, Punjab from Steel Strips and Tubes Limited (SSTL).

The plant in Mohali is the third such facility of TTI. The company has plants at Avadi, Tamil Nadu and Shirwal, Maharashtra.

Siemens Information Systems

Siemens Information Systems Ltd expects to earn $ 20 million next financial year by selling its healthcare information system (HIS) to the overseas market. Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, SISL vice-president, Mr Akella Brahamayya, said the company has got firm orders from Argentina, Sweden and Norway.

SISL, a Rs 164-crore software joint venture of Siemens Ltd and Siemens Business Services, expects to earn around $ 250 million from HIS over the next five years. — TNS, agencies

Forex
US $ Rs 43.38/39
Stg £ Rs 70.53/55
Euro Rs 45.16/18
Jap yen (100) Rs 41.26/28

PSB branch
Tribune News Service
PATIALA, Nov 11 — Punjab and Sind Bank opened its 23rd branch in this district today at Officers Colony which was inaugurated by Deputy Commissioner Jasbir Singh Bir.

Kothari Pioneer
MUMBAI Nov 11 (PTI) — Kothari Pioneer Mutual Fund (KPMF) today announced the launch of its Balanced Fund that would invest 60 to 70 per cent of its corpus in equity and the remaining in high quality fixed income and money market instruments.

Schemes
Tribune News Service
JAMMU, Nov 11 — After having earned a profit of Rs 1.50 crore after a gap of eight years, the State Financial Corporation has introduced several schemes for the rehabilitation of small industrialists, tourist taxi operators, hoteliers and handicap persons.

Siemens
NEW DELHI Nov 11 (PTI) — Siemens Information Systems Limited (SISL) has bagged a Rs 13.8 crore contract for implementing its fully integrated Healthcare Information System (HIS) at the Bhopal Memorial Hospital trust project in Bhopal.