The Hindu Business Line : Tuesday, December 16, 2003

Wipro acquires lease rights on Chandrika
WIPRO Ltd said it has entered into an agreement with the Chandrika family partnership to acquire long-term lease rights of `Chandrika' soap for use in India and the SAARC countries. However, Wipro did not detail the cost and timeline for the ... More

Novar to source electric tools from Chennai plant
NOVAR Plc is using its Chennai plant as a testing centre and also to supply electric equipment to the global market. The Chennai plant, one of the UK-based Novar's 17 manufacturing locations, makes low voltage products such as switches and ... More

BPCL board meet on Dec 26 to consider interim dividend
CLOSE on the heels of public sector oil companies HPCL and IOC informing the stock exchanges that their boards would meet on December 22 and 26 respectively to consider payment of interim dividend, it was the turn of BPCL on Monday. BPCL has ... More

ACCOUNTING STANDARDS

`Political consensus on accounting system needed'
A STRONG political consensus on a new direction for the accounting system is essential before any overhaul of the Government accounting system is undertaken, the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India (CAG), Mr V.N. Kaul, said here ... More

COURTS/LEGAL ISSUES

AP High Court stays proceedings in liquor tender case
THE Andhra Pradesh High Court on Monday suspended all further proceedings in the Rs 550-crore liquor scam, wherein a Special Court had directed the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) to investigate allegations of corrupt practices in finalising liquor ... More

CORPORATE BONDS

Anil Ambani raps NSE for delaying bond issue
THE Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries, Mr Anil D. Ambani, has accused the the NSE for delaying the clearance of an application made by the Group for listing its bonds. "Currently the law stipulates that ... More

RESTRUCTURING

Casino group to focus on core competence
THE Casino group of hotels, the pioneers of resort/holiday tourism in Kerala, will be getting out of fringe business and will focus on its core competence — resort, health, nature and ecotourism. The group is in the process of selling ... More

MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

Zee Tele arms to merge — Plans southern music channel
THE board of directors of ETC Networks Ltd on Monday approved an in-principle merger with Econnect India Ltd (Econnect). Both the companies are subsidiaries of Zee Telefilms Ltd (ZTL). The board of Zee Tele, which gave its nod to this merger, ... More

Magors may divest Williamson Tea stake
WILLIAMSON Tea Assam Ltd is in the news because of reports that its promoters, the UK-based Magors, are prepared to hive off their share in the company. Among others, a leading multinational company (MNC) with operations in India including the ... More

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

Listed cos cry foul on regulatory overkill
CAPTAINS of Indian industry are an unhappy lot. Some of them are feeling the heat of what they consider as regulatory over-kill and even complain that listed companies are being over regulated under the guise of ensuring good corporate ... More

To stop unethical practices, frauds — SEBI panel moots whistle-blower policy
IN a bid to stop unethical practices by corporates and prevent frauds, the Securities and Exchange Board of India's committee on corporate governance has suggested "whistle-blower policy" where an official of a company who observes an unethical ... More

REGULATORY BODIES & RULINGS

SEBI seeks more powers under Companies Act
THE turf war between the Department of Company Affairs (DCA) and Securities & Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for overseeing the functioning of the listed companies continues unabated. The capital market regulator, it appears, is still not happy ... More

SICK UNITS

ITI declared `potentially sick' — DoT turns down plea for Rs 790-cr package
Even as telecom equipment major ITI Ltd has been declared a "potentially sick" company, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has turned down its plea for financial assistance of Rs 790 crore that would help it turn around. According to ... More

OUTLOOK

Tata Chemicals hopeful of better growth this fiscal
TATA Chemicals Ltd recently went in for a $20-million external commercial borrowing (ECB) at an interest cost of 3 per cent to meet its regular corporate requirements, Mr Ratan Tata, Chairman of the company, told shareholders on Monday. The ... More

Ready-mix concrete to be thrust area for Grasim
GRASIM'S cement division is planning to sharpen its focus on ready-mix concrete (RMC) market in the light of the brisk growth that the segment has been recording. The company has drawn up plans to grow in this segment by setting up RMC plants and ... More

PERFORMANCE

WS Industries to set off losses against reserves
WS Industries, which makes porcelain insulators for electrical installations such as transmission towers and substations, will set off some of its accumulated losses against the general reserve. The company had earlier set up a subsidiary, WS ... More

PEOPLE

New GM for NTPC Simhadri power plant
VISAKHAPATNAM: Mr R. Rama Rao on Monday took over as the General Manager NTPC Simhadri power plant at Visakhapatnam following transfer of his predecessor Mr S.R. Yadav to NTPC Vindhyachal Station in Madhya Pradesh. Prior to the ... More

NEW PRODUCTS & SERVICES

Gas conservation programme launched
THE Union Petroleum Minister, Mr Ram Naik on Monday launched a nation-wide natural gas conservation programme. Termed the first Natural Gas Conservation Programme of GAIL (India) Ltd, the conservation programme is aimed at the user industries ... More

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