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Indian banks may shy MUMBAI, Oct 3: The margin trading system introduced recently to infuse the much needed liquidity in the Indian stock markets may provide an.....more Enron
sells Panna MUMBAI, Oct 3: US energy major Enron Oil and Gas India Ltd (EOGIL) has sold its 30 per cent stake in Panna Mukta and Tapti oil and gas fields to British gas for about US dollar 388 million......more Growth
of corporate NEW DELHI, Oct 3: There was a sharp fall in the number of new companies registered in July this year — from 2,346 companies in July 2000 to 1,842. ......more IPCL negotiating BARODA, Oct 3: The city-based Indian Petrochemical Corporation Limited (IPCL) is negotiating.....more |
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OPEC oil price slips again VIENNA, Oct 3: The basket oil price used by OPEC to set its output slipped again to 20.30 dollars, below the 22-dollar floor of the Cartel’s target range for a seventh trading day, its secretariat said today.....more RBI to undertake MUMBAI, Oct 3: Reserve Bank of India will undertake a mid-term review of the monetary and credit policy for financial year 2001-02 on October 22......more CHENNAI, Oct 3: Software education company, SSI Education, has tied up with Indian Institute of Materials Management’s (IIMM) Chennai chapter to deliver a short term high-end training programme on .......more Fear of ‘closure’ dogs CUTTACK, Oct 3: The small scale industries in the state engaged in the packaging of water are....more |
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Enron sells Panna Mukta stake to British gas for USD 388 mn MUMBAI, Oct 3: US energy major Enron Oil and Gas India Ltd (EOGIL) has sold its 30 per cent stake in Panna Mukta and Tapti oil and gas fields to British gas for about US dollar 388 million. ‘EOGIL has sold its exploration and production assets to the British gas group. The assets include the company’s 30 per cent interest in the Panna Mukta Oil and Gas Fields and the Tapti field both off the west coast of India’, Enron India spokesperson said here today. The sale is consistent with Enron’s evolving business approach to reduce some of its non-strategic international assets while placing greater emphasis on other business-lines around the world, he said. Last year, after annoucing its exit from oil and gas in India, the multinational had appointed credit suisse first boston as their investment bankers for sale of their stake in the fields. Financial institution sources said EOGIL had received several bids including those from oil majors like Marathon, British Gas, Unocal, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd, Indian Oil Corporation Ltd and the US energy major’s partners Oil and Natural Gas Corporation and Reliance Industries Ltd. ONGC holds a majority 40 per cent stake with RIL holding 30 per cent in the three oil and gas fields, which produce around 300 million cubic meters of gas and 29,000 barrels of oil per day. Sources said ONGC had put in a USD 400 million bid for acquiring the stake while Reliance had quoated about USD 350 million. Enron which was the operator of the joint venture, had in october last year sought Government permission to withdraw from the Panna-Mukta and Tapti fields as part of its asset rebalancing exercise. As per JV agreement, EOGIL would need Government nod on the prospective buyer though production sharing contract did not provide for first right of refusal to other partners. ONGC had hired merchant banker N M Rothschild India as its consultant for the two-stage bidding process comprising of non-binding EOI and a detailed financial bid. There were differences among the three promoters about the prospects and exact reserves in place in Panna-Mukta and Tapti oil and gas fields, sources said adding there was also a major controversy over the cost of the projects. While Enron has already had arbitration against ONGC and reliance for not paying the expenses incurred by them, the partners are of the view that EOGIL, the operator of the project, is not operating the fields in the cost effective way, sources added. (PTI) |
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Growth of corporate sector falls in July NEW DELHI, Oct 3: There was a sharp fall in the number of new companies registered in July this year — from 2,346 companies in July 2000 to 1,842. Of the 1,842 companies, 1,833 were limited by shares, while nine were registered as guarantee companies. The total authorised capital of the companies limited by shares put together amounted to Rs 479.1 crore. These companies consist of 117 public limited companies with an authorised capital of Rs 259.3 crore and 1716 private limited companies with an authorised capital of Rs 219.8 crore. The highest number of companies, limited by shares, registered during the month were from Maharashtra (420) followed by the national capital territory of Delhi (383), Tamil Nadu (205), West Bengal (143), Karnataka (138), Andhra Pradesh (124), and Gujarat (106). The analysis of new registration by Broad Industrial Classification during the month brings out that the highest number of companies were registered under the industrial classification financing, insurance, real estate and business services (537) followed by manufacturing (501) and wholesale and retail trade, restaurants hotels (420). The other important classification under which large number of companies were registered was, construction (147) and community, social and personal services (116). One hundred and thirty two non-Government companies (each with authorised capital of Rs 50 lakhs or above) were registered during the month of July, 2001 as against 142 in the previous month and 193 in July, 2000, an official press note said today. Thirty one companies ceased functioning, during July, 2001 either by going into liquidation or their names having been struck off under Section 560 of the Companies Act. Out of them, seven were public limited companies and 24 private limited. The number of such companies in the previous month was 77. Of the 31 companies, 13 belong to the state of Karnataka, seven to Delhi, five to Haryana, four to West Bengal and one each to Madhya Pradesh and Kerala. Out of the 31 companies, 18 belonged to manufacturing, nine to finance, insurance real estate, three to wholesale retail trade, one to mining and quarrying. (UNI) |
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IPCL negotiating with L&T for carbon fibre plant BARODA, Oct 3: The city-based Indian Petrochemical Corporation Limited (IPCL) is negotiating with Larsen and Toubro Company (L&T) for restarting its carbon fibre plant, closed down three years ago, according to IPCL sources. ‘The plant, which was producing carbon fibre for defence forces, has been handed over to the Department of Defence because of the Government’s intention of divesting stake in IPCL’, IPCL sources said here today. Failure of IPCL in marketing its product ‘Indocraft’, resulted in the closure of the plant, IPCL Employees Union sources said. The plant, commissioned in 1989 at a total cost of Rs 34 crore, with production capacity of 12 metric tonnes, had been producing carbon fibre under the trade name ‘Indocraft’. Carbon fibres, the high strength material with substantial stiffness, light weight, and improved fatigue resistance, along with other properties make the material an indispensable substitute for metals, special alloys and other substances. (PTI) |
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VIENNA, Oct 3: The basket oil price used by OPEC to set its output slipped again to 20.30 dollars, below the 22-dollar floor of the Cartel’s target range for a seventh trading day, its secretariat said today, The basket price, an average of seven world crudes, was down from 20.44 the previous day, said OPEC officials, who base the daily basket price on the previous working day’s world crude prices. Under a price mechanism system aimed at keeping prices within a 22-28 dollar range, OPEC could cut production by 500,000 barrels a day if the basket price remains below 22 dollars a barrel for 10 trading days in a row. The 10th day will be reached on Friday, if the price remains below 22 dollars. Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) ministers agreed at a meeting in Vienna last week to leave output unchanged, but signalled they would cut output in the coming weeks if oil prices remained weak. (AFP) |
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RBI to undertake mid-term review of monetary policy MUMBAI, Oct 3: Reserve Bank of India will undertake a mid-term review of the monetary and credit policy for financial year 2001-02 on October 22. RBI Governor Bimal Jalan will meet the Chief Executives of scheduled commercial banks for the first half review of the current year, the apex bank said in a release here today. Jalan, in the monetary and credit policy announced on April 19, had said that the October meet would be confined to a review of monetary developments and to such changes as may be necessary in monetary policy and projections for the second half of the year. The Governor had stated that changes in the bank rate or Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) do not necessarily form a part of bi-annual policy statements. These short-term measures are announced, from time to time, in the light of emerging developments in the domestic and international financial markets, Jalan had added. (PTI) |
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CHENNAI, Oct 3: Software education company, SSI Education, has tied up with Indian Institute of Materials Management’s (IIMM) Chennai chapter to deliver a short term high-end training programme on e-commerce to the students and corporate members of IIMM. The tie-up was part of SSI’s efforts to partner with professional training institutes and assist them in developing and delivering relevant collateral it skills to their students and members, SSI Education CEO Bala Gopal Menon said. The IIMM is the premier organisation of professional materials managers in the country founded to promote professional excellence in materials management. (PTI) |
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Fear of ‘closure’ dogs packaged water industry CUTTACK, Oct 3: The small scale industries in the state engaged in the packaging of water are apprehensive of a closure despite the tremendous potential for growth in the sector. Industry sources said though the demand for packaged water had grown manifold during the last four to five years, the chance of the SSI units being benefitted by the trend was remote due to various factors. Mr B C Mohanty, Director, Ori Drinks, feared that the SSI units would be wiped out if the authorities did not take immediate steps to remove the bottlenecks and provide some relaxation to these units. Entry of multinationals, easy availability of uncertified water packages, lack of initiative to enforce the norms set by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), and high license and testing fees posed a threat for the SSI units operating in the sector, he said. Mr Mohanty said the demand for packaged water was so high that it would soon overtake the sale of soft drinks. Realising, the high potential for growth, soft drink giants like Pepsi and Cocacola had already entered the sector and registered a 40 per cent annual growth during the last four years in the country. Director of Small Industries Service Institute Chandan Saha said he was, however, very optimistic about the growth of packaged water industry in the state. Mr Shah said as many as 50 small scale units located at Berhampur, Bhubaneswar, Rourkela, Cuttack and Puri were engaged in the production of packaged water in the state. More than 50 per cent of these units were located at Berhampur and they catered to the demands of southern and western Orissqa, where the demand for packaged water was very high in comparison to the coastal region, he said. Mr Mohanty alleged that though the Union Government’s recent order clarified that industries manufacturing packaged water without ISI certification would be heavily penalised and their equipment seized, the order had not yet been enforced. The market had been flooded with spurious products as the retailers promote uncertified products due to high profit margin, he said. Out of the 50 units, manufacturing packaged water in Orissa, only three had received the ISI certification till date, he added. However, Mr Yugal Agarwal, senior executive of Swastik Agro, said, instead of complaining, we should try and increase our marketing facility, improve efficiency and quality of the product to stay in the field. He suggested that a massive awareness campaign should be launched at the primary level to educate people about the importance of ISI marks. Stating that the license fee of Rs 84,000 and testing fee of Rs 10,800, laid down by the bis, was not affordable by small scale units, Mr Mohanty demanded that the Government give 50 per cent incentives to SSI units on license and manufacturing fees to boost local products. BIS Director, Bhubaneswar, A K Dutta said the fees were fixed to maintain the quality of water and keep the fake units away. The testing fee was justified as 44 elements had to be tested before allowing the release of the product in the market, he added. Meanwhile, the all Orissa Package Mineral Water Association, in a memorandum, urged the SSI to take up the issue of providing relaxation to the units with the centre to help them compete with the multinational companies. At a recent workshop, the participants suggested that the Government allow at least three years time to SSI units to get the ISI certificate for the balanced growth of packaged water industry. They also stated that the SSI units be allowed to get their products tested from any recognised laboratory at a certain interval or on random sample basis instead of setting up their own laboratory. Since the establishment of quality control laboratory was very expensive, the SSI units should be allowed to carry out the test in some reputed Government laboratories or in those set up by NGOs, they stated. The workshop stated that the license fee of the SSI units and a concession rate should be fixed on the basis of their turnover and for testing their products respectively. Strict enforcement measures should be enforced to check the growth and entry of spurious drinking water in the market, it held. (UNI) |
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