Agriculture
AP coconut prices improve
COCONUT prices have improved in Andhra Pradesh during the past fortnight bringing some relief to the farmers. But the overall market scenario is not all that encouraging as the price spurt has occurred owing to a marked fall in yields due to the eripohyd mite ravaging the crop in the State.

Decentralised grain procurement scheme not taking off: Sinha
THE Finance Minister, Mr Yashwant Sinha, has admitted that the system of decentralised foodgrain procurement and distribution, proposed in this year's Union Budget, had not achieved the desired level of progress.

Automobiles
Ashok Leyland -- mining more value out of assets
THE Ashok Leyland Managing Director, Mr R. Seshasayee, has often reiterated that the company's strategy to beat the recession is `mining more value' out of its assets. All assets, including human.

Banking and Finance
Short-term ratings in India -- Case for a downward adjustment
CREDIT-RATING in India is relatively new, compared to the developed economies. The economy was first introduced to the concept in 1987 when CRISIL was set up by ICICI in association with domestic banks and institutions, and with support from the Asian De velopment Bank. The initial years went in promoting the concept and developing a certain level of acceptability of credit rating among the corporates, representing the wholesale debt market - the subscribers of the rated debt papers.

Asset risk multiple
The article Too much emphasis on capital adequacy (Business Line, December 7) made interesting reading. In the banking sector, the terminology capital to risk-weighted asset ratio (popularly known as the capital adequacy ratio) is liberally used.

Coal
Paswan hauls over the `fake' coals
APPARENTLY many consumers of Coal India Ltd and its subsidiaries are merely spooks, and the Minister of Coal, Mr Ram Vilas Paswan, is out to exorcise them.

Commodities
Commodity market meet in France
AN international convention for the development community and the private sector called Driving commodity market development A new deal for producers and financiers is scheduled to be held in Lyon, France during February 25-26, 2002.

Moderate trading in leather
A MODERATE trading was reported in the leather market last week. While a fairly good movement was seen in goat, buffalo calf and light and cow calf skins, in both semi-finished and finished stages, trading in sheep skins continued to be dull.

Corporate
To boost LPG use in the region -- N-E refineries press for Numaligarh as dry port
THE refineries located in the north-eastern region have urged the Petroleum Ministry to abandon Vizag as the notional port for them. They have instead suggested that Numaligarh be treated as a (dry) port to boost the commercial use of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in the region.

Saregama shuts US distribution office
LONDON-BASED Saregama Plc has closed down its distribution office in the US, deciding instead to source its supplies from the UK, according to sources.

GE appoints new MD for Welch centre
BANGALORE: The General Electric Company has announced the appointment of Mr Guillermo Wille as the new managing director of the John F. Welch Technology Centre. Mr Wille was earlier responsible for the India Design Centre set up jointly by Satyam and GE in Hyderabad.

Malkani to take addl charge of Kuoni (Asia)
MR Ranjit Malkani, Chairman and CEO of Kuoni Travel (India) Pvt Ltd, has been entrusted with additional charge as CEO of Kuoni (Asia), from January 1, 2002.

Jindal, NKK sign technology pact
NEW DELHI: Jindal Steel & Power Ltd (JSPL) has signed a long-term technical collaboration agreement with NKK Corporation of Japan for its upcoming rail and universal beam mill project in Chhattisgarh, according to a company release.

South Asian Petro to sell 24 pc output locally
SOUTH Asian Petrochemicals Ltd, which is coming up with its simultaneous but unlinked public issue of five lakh equity shares of Rs 10 each at par aggregating Rs 5 crore and 96.5 lakh 14 per cent fully convertible debentures (FCDs) of Rs 100 each for cas h at par aggregating Rs 69.5 crore, will be selling around 24 per cent of its output in the domestic market.

Vijayanagar thermal plant renamed
BANGALORE: The 500-MW Vijayanagar Thermal Power Station, which had been allotted to the Karnataka Power Corporation (KPC), has been renamed Bellary Thermal Plant.

AP to host meet on globalisation
LEADING Indian corporate chiefs are expected to participate in a two-day national seminar on globalisation, The Global Manager, being organised by IIMNet, an alumni network of the six Indian Institutes of Management, in Hyderabad on December 15 and 16.

Godrej Consumer bullish on acquisitions
GODREJ Consumer Products Ltd (GCPL), having identified its five brands as thrust brands, is also looking at acquisitions in some of its categories. "We are open to acquisitions that are synergistic with our distribution,'' said Mr Hoshedar K. Press, Exec utive Director & President of the company.

Consolidated certification format gets ICAI nod
THE Central Council of the Institute of CharteredAccountants of India (ICAI) has given its in-principle nod to the proposed audit format for certification of the Consolidated Financial Statements (CFS).

Concorde Motors shuts Delhi, Lucknow arms
AUTOMOBILE financing firm Concorde Motors Ltd., the joint venture between the Tatas and Jardine Motor Company, has closed its operations in Delhi and Lucknow as a part of its restructuring exercise, according to the Managing Director, Mr. Alan Rosling.

Australian cos bullish on mining investments
AUSTRALIAN mining and minerals majors, BHP Billiton, Grenfell Resources Ltd, GRN and Minerals Deposits Ltd (MDL) are bullish on investments and expansion of activities in India.

Services to boost Praxair revenue
INCREASING capacity utilisation, tightening costs and foraying into services will help the Indian subsidiary of the US gas major, Praxair Inc, report a revenue close to Rs 470 crore in the current financial year, up 42.46 per cent from Rs 315 crore a yea r ago.

DCA panel recommends modernisation scheme
THE committee on modernisation and computerisation of the Department of Company Affairs (DCA) and its field offices has recommended a scheme entailing an estimated expenditure of Rs 70.27 crore over a period of next five years (coinciding with the Tenth Plan). This would facilitate the creation of a modern workflow infrastructure (site) with integration of information technology (IT)-based solutions.

Lease Plan to hike fleet strength
LEASE Plan India Ltd, a joint venture between ABN-Amro Lease Holding (AALH) and Travel House, is planning to raise the number of cars in its fleet to 5,000 by the end of next year, Mr Hugo Levecke, Chief Executive Officer, said on Monday.

Laudable steps
The efforts of the Nandi group in making meals affordable to the poor (Business Line, December 8) is commendable.

Ear to the ground
Castrol up on value buying
AFTER being beaten down sharply following the open offer by BP Amoco, Castrol India was in the limelight on Monday. The counter witnessed increased value buying from select institutional investors. On hectic buying, volumes in the counter soared. Volumes on the BSE and the NSE were 5.01 lakh and 4.54 lakh shares respectively compared with average volumes of around one lakh shares each on both the bourses. The scrip ended 4.17 per cent higher at Rs 184.45 on the BSE and Rs 184.65 on the NSE. Castrol shar es had touched a 52-week low of Rs 175 on BSE on Friday.

Economy
Plan panel for boosting share in leather trade
THE Tenth Five-Tear Plan (2002-07) should aim at augmenting Indias share in global leather trade from three per cent to about 7 to 10 per cent by the end of 2007 by proposing specific actions to realise the potentials with adequate investments into both marketing and manufacturing, a report of the Planning Commission said.

`TNCs curbing competition'
ALTHOUGH transnational corporations (TNCs) have grown from 7,000 in 1970 to 63,000 in 2000 they havent generated much in terms of employment or fostered competition, according to Mr Kavaljit Singh, Director of the Delhi-based Public Interest Research Cen tre.

Leave PPF alone
WITH the suspense over the proposed pension reforms continuing, there is growing concern among the middle-class about the shape the Public Provident Fund (PPF) scheme would take.

Encouraging growth
In the article Emerging tasks for Mr Sinha (Business Line, December 8), the author has impressed the need for new investments, public and private, and supportive policies to achieve seven per cent growth. There have been many suggestions for a permanent solution to the problem and reforming the agricultural sector is one of them. The importance of the role of the States in development has often been stressed.

Editorial
A steely silence
IT IS HIGH time New Delhi broke its silence on The Indian Iron and Steel Company Ltd, the ailing wholly-owned subsidiary of Steel Authority of India Ltd.

Education
Internal efficiency of primary education
UNIVERSALISATION of elementary education for children in the age group 6-14 was a constitutional obligation that had to be accomplished by 1960. Though the number of primary or junior basic schools has risen from 2,09,671 to 5,71,248, and the enrolment f rom 1,91,54,457 to 9,96,17,833 between 1950-51 and 1992-93, the gross enrolment ratio has risen only to 84.6 per cent in 1992-93 from 42.6 per cent in 1950-51.

Environment
EAM to bid for Chennai medical waste treatment
EAM Solution India Ltd, an Indo-British joint venture promoting the Logmed technology for disinfecting and disposing hospital (biomedical) wastes, is planning to make a bid for the common treatment facility for Chennai.

Foreign Trade
Dumping duty on Italian acrylic fibre mooted
THE Designated Authority in the Commerce Ministry has recommended imposition of provisional anti-dumping duty on all imports of acrylic fibre (below 1.5 denier) from Italy. In its preliminary findings on the investigations concerning imports of acrylic f ibre from Italy, the authority has recommended that a provisional anti-dumping duty of $0.32 per kg be imposed on acrylic fibre exported by Montefibre, Italy.

Forex
Forex reserves set to surpass $47-b mark
FOREX reserves, which have been rising steadily, have soared by $ 2.038 billion in the past two months. Reserves are now set to surge above $ 47 billion mark after having touched $ 46.891 billion for the week ended November 30. In November alone, reserve s rose by $ 1.730 billion.

Information Technology
`No move to deport Huawei Chinese staff'
THE Union Government has denied that Chinese software and telecom engineers working in Huawei Technologies India, a Bangalore-based 100 per cent subsidiary of Huawei Technology Co Ltd of China, are to be deported as no such decision has been taken.

Net access in 30 seconds -- TRAI sets benchmarks for ISPs
THE Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has laid down a set of regulations and benchmarks for dial-up and leased line Internet access aimed at providing faster and reliable Net-access for the customers.

No links with Taliban, says Huawei Tech
HUAWEI Technologies said here today that it had not received any intimation from the Ministry of External Affairs on the deportation of Chinese employees by the Government of India.

Mascon Global to issue Rs 75-cr pref securities
MASCON Global Ltd on Monday told the BSE that its board has decided to issue securities on a preferential basis for Rs 75 crore, including premium, as per SEBI guidelines.

Miscellaneous
Joyride
With Christmas fast approaching, preparations seem to be in high gear. Students in Bangalore took to their bikes to rehearse for the festival.

Mutual Funds
UTI draws up strategy to retain investors
UNIT Trust of India is going all out to retain investors, even if they are existing unitholders in a scheme that is soon due for maturity. It has offered a host of re-investment alternatives to investors in Monthly Income Plan 96 (IV), which is due for r edemption on December 31.

Off the ticker
Satyam, Wipro ADRs pip peers
THE recent outperformance of software stocks in the Indian markets compared to the US markets helped in narrowing the price difference between the Indian ADRs listed in the US markets and their underlying equities. Most ADRs, which were trading at consid erable premium as on November 1, are now trading at par or at lower premium. In some cases, the ADRs are now trading at a discount to their local stocks, implying that stocks in the local market have gained significantly to the ADRs in relative terms.

On the hedge
Satyam remains bullish despite spot price falls
The pullback in equity values in the spot market had its effect on the derivatives segment as well, as traders shifted to in-the- money equity calls. Here are some of the pointers from the days trading:

PSU
Rourkela Steel Plant -- Passing the loss game
"I fear explanations, explanatory of things explained." -- Abraham Lincoln

SC upholds Balco sale
IN a strong endorsement of the Centres disinvestment policy which Mr Arun Shourie and his officials in the Ministry of Disinvestment were looking for, the Supreme Court on Monday upheld the Union Governments decision to privatise Bharat Aluminium Company Ltd (Balco), ruling that it was not for the court to consider the merit of the economic policies of the Government.

`PSUs not big on adselling'
EVEN as they slug it out with the private sector, snazzy advertising complete with catchy visuals and hard-hitting punchlines do not seem to be going down well with public sector companies.

Petroleum
5 pc ethanol-petrol supply in all States
IN a far-reaching decision that will help save foreign exchange and boost prospects of sugarcane growers and the oil industry, the Government on Monday announced in the Lok Sabha that petrol will be allowed to be blended with ethanol for sale.

Gas price parity regime to be delayed
The linking of domestic natural gas pricing to 100 per cent parity with international fuel oil prices, which was envisaged prior to the dismantling of the administered pricing mechanism (APM) on April 1, 2002 will now be delayed by one year.

Will Ram Naik end RPL, IOC stand-off?
THE Petroleum Minister, Mr Ram Naik, is set to step in to end the stand-off between Reliance Petroleum Ltd (RPL) and Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) on the implementation of the contract between the two companies in the post administered pricing regime comm encing April 1, 2002.

ONGC Gujarat well leak yet to be plugged
THE Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) exploratory well (No: SK 108) in the north Gujarat town of Kadi, which began spewing gas and spilling oil on Friday night, was yet to be brought under control on Monday.

Pharmaceuticals
20.4 pc growth in pharma exports
THE pharmaceutical industry has clocked export sales of Rs 8,930 crore for 2000-2001, up 20.4 per cent over Rs 7,230 crore in the previous corresponding period.

Cipro `gift' to US turned down
WHATEVER happened to the `gift'of $ 1 million worth of Ciprofloxacin the Indian Government had offered the US in the throes of the anthrax scare?

Policy
Separate chapter for NGOs
THE Planning Commission Member, Mr N.K. Singh, on Monday promised a separate chapter for Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in the Tenth Five-Year Plan document that will come into force from April 1, 2002.

Power
Enron collapse -- Banks, FIs rendered powerless
However, Corporate America will not shed a tear for Enrons demise. It is perhaps the most-hated company in Corporate America. It dared to tread where even powerful MNCs and governments would not. It successfully built assets of $62 billion, with a report ed debt of around $15 billion.

Rubber
Slew of non-tariff curbs on rubber imports -- Tyre makers put up brave front
IN a major sop for rubber growers, the Centre announced a slew of non-tariff measures on Monday aimed at curtailing the level of natural rubber (NR) imports into the country. These measures, it claimed, are consistent with the World Trade Organisations ( WTO) rules and guidelines.

Case against Rubbermark official
A LOCAL court here has asked the police to register a case against a Rubbermark (Kerala State Co-operative Rubber Marketing Federation) official for downgrading RSS 4 rubber sheets while procuring it from a grower.

Rubber market closed
KOTTAYAM: Due to a State-wide hartal, sponsored by the Bharatiya Janata Party, the rubber market remained paralysed. Village level markets had also very little transactions while the dealers in the major market centres kept their shutters down.

States
Hartal in Kochi
Vehicular trafic on the busiest North overbridge in Kochi virtually came to a standstill on Monday in view of the hartal called by BJP in protest against the violence on the hardal day held on December 6 by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Uttaranchal annual Plan fixed at Rs 1,050 cr
THE annual plan of Uttaranchal State has been finalised on Monday at Rs 1,050 crore at a meeting between the Planning Commission Deputy Chairman, Mr K.C. Pant, and the State Chief Minister, Mr B.S. Koshyari.

Manipur Budget passed
THE Lok Sabha on Monday passed the Manipur Budget for the current year even with the 2001-02 fiscal running the ninth month because of the uncertain political situation and the imposition of the President's rule in the State.

Higher outlay for AP health care
THE budget for health care was raised to Rs 1,472 crore in 2000-2001 as against Rs 530 crore in 1994-95 and this has vastly improved the infrastructure at primary and secondary level hospitals in the State, the Chief Minister, Mr Chandrababu Naidu, said here at the 43rd annual conference of the Indian Medical Association.

Stocks
DSE to form subsidiary
THE Delhi Stock Exchange (DSE) has decided to form a subsidiary, which will allow members to get trading rights on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Cement stocks save the day on price hike hopes
THE Day's battle in the bourses ended in a stalemate with the bulls managing to hold their ground and not make any significant progress. Speculative buying in select technology stocks and news-driven purchases of cement stocks managed to hold the bears a t bay.

Taxation
Direct tax laws to be simplified
THE Finance Ministry is set to examine a slew of amendments in the direct tax laws in the ensuing 2002-03 Union Budget to simplify and rationalise procedures and provisions including changes in the Minimum Alternate Tax, levy of surcharge on tax on undi sclosed income, and amendments to make interest and penalty also liable to be recovered from the Directors of private companies.

Tea
Iced tea to cool parched throats this summer
WITH iced tea poised to enter the markets this summer, the traditional image of a morning cup of hot tea along with the days newspaper is poised to be rewritten.

Technical Analysis
Narrow movement
MONDAY's trading witnessed narrow movement. Bears managed to gain marginally from the days trading. However, the market sentiment reading continues to remain in favour of the bulls. In the normal course of trading on Tuesday, the prevailing bullish senti ment is likely to continue. Bear domination is likely to neutralise the prevailing sentiment reading. Thus neither favouring neither the bulls nor the bears.

Undertone bullish in Malaysian palm oil
Malaysian palm oil futures on the Malaysia Derivatives Exchange, or MDEX, closed lower despite a strong market earlier last week, following late news that India raised the minimum import prices for palm oil.

Technology
TICEL Bio Park achieves financial closure
THE TIDCO Center for Life Sciences (TICEL Bio Park Ltd) which is setting up the Rs 62.5-crore biotechnology park has achieved financial closure, and work on the project will commence in January 2002, according to Mr Madhavan Nambiar, Chairman and Managin g Director, Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO).

Telecommunications
VSNL divestment, ILD privatisation -- Cash registers not really ringing
THE Governments plan for the divestment of Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd is that, of the 52.97 per cent equity it holds, it would offer 1.97 per cent to employees and 25 per cent, along with management control, to a strategic partner. The sale to the strategi c partner is expected to fetch $500-700 million.

Terrorism
The enduring uncertainties
IT IS already two months since the US-led war against terrorism was launched in Afghanistan and three since the horrendous terrorist strikes of September 11 in the US. Is the world any the wiser as to how the terrorist strikes were conceived, planned and executed; who were the dramatis personae; where are the surviving members presently; what were the pre- September 11 ramifications of the international terrorist infrastructure radiating from the Afghanistan-Pakistan region and its network in other coun tries; how much of this infrastructure has been accounted for; what were the conventional and unconventional capabilities of this network; how much of these capabilities has been identified and damaged beyond repair? Is the world any the safer from acts of catastrophic terrorism as a result of the post-September 11 counter-terrorism actions by the international community? Definitive answers to these questions are unlikely to be available in the near future.

Textiles
`Tech only way out of commodity trap'
DESPITE the over-capacity syndrome haunting the cotton textile industry worldwide, companies should consider investing on technology on a continuous basis if they want to evade the `commodity trap in which too many textile manufacturers are locked today, according to Mr Herwig M. Strolz, Director-General, International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF).

``Textile sector imbalanced''
INDIA'S textile pipeline is imbalanced. While its spinning sector has been well developed technologically, the same cannot be said of its weaving or processing sectors, according to Mr Herwig M. Strolz, Director-General, International Textile Manufacture rs Federation (ITMF).

Source:Business Line