Agriculture
`Govt keeping close watch on rice imports' -- Ready to extend wheat open sale scheme
THE Government is keeping a `close watch' on imports of rice from Pakistan, Thailand and Myanmar.
Banking and Finance
Corporation Bank Q3 net rises 29 pc
CORPORATION Bank has reported a 29 per cent increase in its net profit at Rs. 65.68 crores for the third quarter ended December 31, 1999 as compared to Rs. 50.86 crores in the year-ago period.
Corporation Bank launches gold deposit scheme
CORPORATION Bank is expecting to achieve a deposit target of 25 tonnes in the first year of operation of its CorpGold Deposit Scheme, which was launched on Saturday. The scheme would be initially operationalised in 15 branches across the country.
Consumer Electronics
Samsung launches free service month
SAMSUNG India Electronics Ltd (SIEL), a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics of Korea, and a leading provider of high-tech consumer electronics products in the country, is launching the first ever nationwide free service campaign for all Samsung consumer el
ectronics and home appliances products sold by the company in India. The month-long campaign begins on January 22.
Corporate
Sanmar Properties shares for Chemplast shareholders
THE shareholders of Chemplast Sanmar Ltd are to be offered shares of Sanmar Properties and Investments Ltd (SPIL), the exchange ratio for which is being worked out, Mr. N. Sankar, Chairman, Chemplast told Business Line.
Indo Rama Q3 net at Rs 2.17 cr
INDO Rama Synthetics (India) Ltd (IRSL) on Saturday reported a net profit of Rs. 2.17 crores for the third quarter ended December 31, 1999 as compared to a net loss of Rs. 30.07 crores in the corresponding period of the previous year.
Aurobindo Pharma declares 1:1 bonus
THE board of directors of Aurobindo Pharma Ltd (APL) today decided to issue bonus shares in the ratio of 1:1. The last bonus, also in the ratio of 1:1, was made in November 1998.
Escorts Q3 net profit at Rs 57 cr
ESCORTS Ltd, the flagship company of the Delhi-based Escorts group, has reported a total income of Rs. 378.50 crores for the third quarter of the current fiscal. The net profit during the quarter was Rs. 57 crores, as against Rs. 22.19 crores net loss re
corded during the same quarter last year.
Marico Q3 profit at Rs 10.6 cr
MARICO Industries Ltd has posted a profit (before tax and extraordinary items) of Rs. 10.6 crores on a sales turnover of Rs. 172 crores for the quarter ended December 31, 1999. The profit has risen by 4.7 per cent during the quarter as against the corres
ponding period in the previous year.
VisualSoft Q3 net at Rs 7.52 cr
VISUALSOFT Technologies Ltd, formerly VisualSoft (India) Ltd, has recorded a total income of Rs. 18.69 crores with a net profit of Rs. 7.52 cores for the third quarter ended December 31, 1999, as against a total income of Rs. 8.39 crores and a net profit
of Rs. 3.22 crores for the corresponding period last year.
Food & Dairy Products
Monitoring mineral water a grey area
HOW safe are those ubiquitous mineral water bottles from which one tends to guzzle water, blissfully oblivious about the lack of hygiene standards for bottled water in the country ? And even as a myriad mineral water brands battle for shelf-space, the is
sue of its monitoring remains a grey area with government agencies.
Hotels
Work on ITC's Rs 250-cr deluxe hotel begins
THE construction of ITC's Rs. 250-crore deluxe hotel project in Calcutta, `ITC Sonar Bangla', was formally flagged off today by the Chief Minister, Mr. Jyoti Basu. The hotel, with 250 rooms in the first phase, is targetted for completion around July 2002
.
Information Technology
L&T Info Tech to spend over $10-m on acquisitions'
L&T Information Technology Ltd (LTITL) plans to spend in excess of $10 millions in acquisitions. The company is looking at target organisations which provide software solutions in the areas of healthcare, telecom, e-commerce and financial services.
Fresh equity issue from DSQ Software
DSQ Software Ltd will issue 30 lakh fresh shares as per the price stipulated by SEBI guidelines, and these shares will be privately placed with ``strategic companies which will add value to the company's sales'', according to a company statement.
Kaashyap Radiant may acquire US co -- Plans preferential issue
KAASHYAP Radiant Systems Ltd (KRSL) is on the verge of acquiring New Jersey-based Software.com for a consideration of around $2.5 millions in a cash and stock deal.
Infrastructure
Marubeni keen on acquiring strategic stake in Mundra port
MARUBENI Corporation is in talks with Adani Port Ltd for acquiring a strategic stake in the Rs. 2,000-crore all-weather port at Mundra in Gujarat.
Miscellaneous
Factories Act may be amended
THE Centre is likely to amend the Factories Act, 1948, to allow women to work on the late night shift, according to the Joint Chief Inspector of Factories, Tamil Nadu, Mr. R. Thiruvengadam.
Factories Act may be amended
THE Centre is likely to amend the Factories Act, 1948, to allow women to work on the late night shift, according to the Joint Chief Inspector of Factories, Tamil Nadu, Mr. R. Thiruvengadam.
Unctad workshop on dispute settlement
A two-day workshop on dispute settlement, to familiarise professionals in developing countries and least developed countries (LDCs) with the subtleties of dispute settlement mechanisms in global trade, investment and intellectual property was held in Gen
eva, Switzerland
HSE card auctioned
HYDERABAD: A membership card of the Hyderabad Stock Exchange (HSE) fetched Rs. 16.25 lakhs in an auction conducted here on Saturday.
Mutual Funds
Unit Growth Scheme 2000 changing tack
UNIT Growth Scheme 2000 seems to be changing tack barely a year before it redeems fully. The scheme, launched by UTI as a special offer open only to investors of US-64, is choosing to invest in economy-related sectors _ particularly, auto, cement, metals
and engineering _ compared to its last year's strategy of increasing exposure to growth sectors such as software and pharma.
Pharmaceuticals
Aurobindo Pharma R&D centre operationalised
APL Research Centre, the research and development division of Hyderabad-based Aurobindo Pharma Ltd (APL), has commenced operations.
Power
Cogentrix quits; CLP stays, to have Indian partner
COGENTRIX has formally opted out of the vexed Mangalore power project. Its partner, CLP Power International (formerly China Light & Power International), which is now left with the designated lead promoter's 50 per cent stake too in Mangalore Power Co (M
PC), says it will execute the 1,000-MW project with an Indian partner, to be finalised in the next two weeks.
States
TN offers land for Singapore cos
THE Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Mr. M. Karunanidhi, has offered to make available land with world class infrastructure on the outskirts of Chennai for locating Singapore companies.
Stocks
SHCIL `Stock Direct' launched in Delhi
STOCK Holding Corporation of India Ltd (SHCIL) has introduced `Stock Direct' facility in Delhi in association with the State Bank of Patiala (SBP). The facility envisages bringing the investor's bank, broker, stock exchange and depository, as well as dep
ository participant, together under a single roof.
Sugar
Free-sale release upsets sugar industry
BY announcing a near 14 per cent increase in the free-sale quota releases of sugar for the coming two months, the Government has clearly signaled its intention to restrain the domestic industry from deriving any undue advantage from the recent decision t
o hike the import duty on sugar from 27.5 per cent to 40 per cent.
Travel & Places
Tourism Ministry order for HOPE
HOPE Ltd, engaged in design automation, has bagged an order from the Ministry of Tourism to set up the country's first touch-screen passenger information kiosks.
