The Hindu Business Line : Wednesday, December 17, 2003

ITC proposes to re-enter tea biz
ITC plans to re-enter the tea business through its international business division. Mr S. Shivakumar, CEO of the division, told Business Line here today that the company was poised to venture into organic Darjeeling tea exports. ... More

RPG group in consolidation mode
THE RP Goenka group is looking at an investment of about Rs 2,000 crore in its group companies within the next two to three years. Mr Sanjiv Goenka, Vice-Chairman of the group's flagship company CESC, said that the group might tap the market to ... More

Crisil board to discuss `acquisition' today
CREDIT rating agency Crisil Ltd on Tuesday said it is considering a business takeover. The company's board of directors is meeting on Wednesday to discuss a business acquisition, the agency said in a notice to the Bombay Stock Exchange. ... More

Abhishek Ind gets shareholders' nod

PREFERENTIAL ALLOTMENTS

Malwa cotton board meet tomorrow
MUMBAI: Malwa Cotton Spinning Mills Ltd has informed the Bombay Stock Exchange that a meeting of the company's board of directors will be held on December 18, to consider the preferential allotment to the company's promoters. ... More

OUTSOURCING

Nirlep bags Rs 1.68-cr outsourcing contract
IF you thought outsourcing to India pertains only to IT, ITES, auto ancillaries and textiles, think again. Aurangabad-based, Duraware Pvt Ltd, the marketing and manufacturing arm of Nirlep non-stick cookware, recently bagged a 300,000 euros ... More

AWARDS & HONOURS

Quality award for Micro Labs
PHARMA company Micro Labs has for the third time in a row bagged the Quality Excellence Award 2003 of IDMA (Indian Drug Manufacturers Association). The annual award is given on the basis of turnover, the company said. Micro said it had won the ... More

Orient Paper bags environment award
NEW DELHI: Orient Papers and Industries Ltd, a C.K. Birla company, has bagged the Greentech Environment award in the paper sector for the year 2002-03. Instituted by the Greentech Foundation, an Indo-German non-Government organisation, ... More

COURTS/LEGAL ISSUES

Coca-Cola directed to stop ground water use — Given 2 months time to find alternative source
THE Kerala High Court today directed Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Private Ltd to find alternative source of water for its bottling plant at Plachimada in Palakkad in a month. Mr Justice K. Balakrishnan Nair also directed the Panchayat not to ... More

MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

Ricoh, NRG make open offer for 24% stake in Gestetner
RICOH Company Ltd of Japan and NRG Group Plc of the UK on Tuesday made an offer to acquire 24 per cent stake in Gestetner (India) Ltd at Rs 32 per share. The company is the manufactuer of office equipment. NRG holds 51 per cent in Gestetner, ... More

Merrill Lynch gets 5.10% stake in Satnam Overseas
MERRILL Lynch Capital A/C Merrill Lynch Capital Mkt. Espanan, has acquired 10 lakh equity shares of Satnam Overseas Ltd, a basmati exporter, through the market on December 10, according to a company release. Merrill Lynch has thereby acquired ... More

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

Quarterly results: Adding to corporate burden?
YET another corporate governance issue could soon come to boil. After having seen the back of mandatory listing in the regional bourses, listed companies seem to have set their eyes on the regulatory norm that requires them to make quarterly ... More

`Good corporate governance is good business'
THE Securities and Exchange Board of India Chairman, Mr G.N. Bajpai, has called on the corporate sector to adopt good corporate governance standards, stating that such an approach would make business sense. Speaking at the Institute of Company ... More

NEW PROJECTS

CPCL expansion set for `commissioning activities'
CHENNAI Petroleum Corporation Ltd (CPCL) has completed the mechanical part of its expansion project. The project will raise the refiner's capacity from 7.5 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) to 10.5 mtpa. The next step is "commissioning ... More

El Forge plans to invest Rs 12 cr to expand capacity
EL Forge Ltd, which produces automotive forgings, proposes to invest Rs 12 crore in expanding its capacities from 9,000 tonnes a year to 21,000 tonnes over the next three years. This is because the business is good, and getting better. "A ... More

Exide commissions solar-wind hybrid unit in Maharashtra
EXIDE Industries Ltd, the storage power systems major, is commissioning its second wind-solar hybrid power unit at Aurangabad in Maharashtra taking a firm step forward in its increasing foray into the area of non-conventional energy. Company ... More

Coca-Cola bottler plans Rs 12-cr expansion
BRINDAVAN Agro Industries, among Coca-Cola India's biggest bottlers - has put in place a Rs 12-crore capacity expansion exercise in anticipation of better sales next summer. This comes even as the final verdict by the Joint Parliamentary ... More

REGULATORY BODIES & RULINGS

Rajya Sabha okays repeal of SICA
THE curtains have fallen for the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) and the Appellate Authority for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (AAIFR) today with the Rajya Sabha given its consent for the repeal of the Sick ... More

TRADE & LABOUR UNIONS

MCF talks with workers fails
MANGALORE: The management of Mangalore Chemicals and Fertilizers Ltd (MCF) has resorted to alternative methods of bagging and despatch of materials with effect from December 16. This follows the failure of its discussions with 140 ... More

Unions protest move to wind up Coal India
THE Joint Action Committee of five Central trade unions operating in the public sector companies has given a call to coal workers throughout the country to organise a movement against any move by the Centre to wind up Coal India Ltd (CIL) in the ... More

ALLIANCES & JOINT VENTURES

ABL Bio, Shantha may part ways in joint venture
FOLLOWING the differences on `speed and style' of running the Chennai-based joint venture, both ABL Biotech and Shantha Biotech are on the verge of parting ways in the joint venture - Shantha Marine Biotechnologies. The joint venture is an ... More

PCBL pact with global tyre co for committed supplies
PHILIPS Carbon Black Ltd (PCBL) has signed an MoU with a global tyre major for meeting the latter's carbon black needs on a committed sales basis, PCBL Chairman, Mr Sanjiv Goenka, has said. Addressing a press conference, he said the company ... More

NPCL inks pact with 2 foreign coal suppliers
RIO Tinto of Australia and PT Adaro of Indonesia have entered into a 12-year coal supply agreement with the Nagarjuna group for fuel supply to the 1015 MW power station under implementation near Mangalore. Sources said that coal requirement for ... More

Pearl Academy, Liberty Shoes tie up
PEARL Academy of Fashion and Liberty Shoes today announced a joint collaboration for design talent promotion and Continuum 2003 - the 10th anniversary celebrations of Pearl Academy. The academy indicated expansion plans including ... More

IPOS

TV Today IPO at Rs 80-95 price band
SUBSCRIPTION revenue could be a reality for free to air channels, according to Mr G. Krishnan, Executive Director and CEO, TV Today Network Ltd. As conditional access systems and direct to home platforms become a reality, free to air channels ... More

OUTLOOK

GM looks to double sales in 2004
WITH new launches lined up for the next year and targeting higher sales of its existing models, General Motors India is looking to double its sales to about 30,000 units in 2004. According to sources, the company will be rolling out its ... More

PERFORMANCE

Shaw Wallace back on growth curve
SHAW Wallace & Co Ltd, the second largest Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) company, stated its spirits sales were up 15 per cent in 2003-04. This marks the company's return to the growth trajectory after it suffered a 9-per-cent drop in sales in ... More

PEOPLE

TASMAC Consulting head
BANGALORE: Mr Ashok Chaudhuri, well-known in the field of management consulting, has joined the TASMAC Group as the head of its newly formed division, TASMAC Consulting. Mr Chaudhuri, who has worked with SKF in India (Swedish ... More

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