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Electrolux kelvinator NEW DELHI, Sept 24: Electrolux Kelvinator Ltd (EKL) today said it would diversify its consumer electronics.....more WB
Govt encouraging KOLKATA, Sept 24: The West Bengal Government is encouraging Foreign Direct Investment and recogises the role......more LIC
settles almost cent TEJPUR, ASSAM, Sept 24: Continued public support has guided the Life Insurance Corporation(LIC) to retain the market.....more NICCO
looks for turnaround KOLKATA, Sept 24: NICCO Corporation Limited, the leading wire and engineering......more |
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Ranbaxy taking drugs to US, UK and Canada for trials NEW DELHI, Sept 24: India’s largest exporter of drugs, Ranbaxy Laboratories, today said it will take some more of its.....more IIL
registers KOLKATA, Sept 24: Ispat Industries Limited (IIL) has achieved exports of Rs 799 crores in 2002-2003 compared to......more IIL
registers KOLKATA, Sept 24: Ispat Industries Limited (IIL) has achieved exports of Rs 799 crores.....more Reliance
offers ISD NEW DELHI, Sept 24: Reliance Infocomm Ltd today launched in Punjab and Gujarat an ISD card that would enable the.....more |
Electrolux kelvinator to foray into ACs, microwave ovens NEW DELHI, Sept 24: Electrolux Kelvinator Ltd (EKL) today said it would diversify its consumer electronics and home appliance business by introducing air conditioners and microwave ovens this fiscal. Besides, the company would strengthen its existing business —refrigerators and washing machines — by launching new models, Electrolux kelvinator managing director Rajeev Karwal told mediapersons on the sidelines of CII-sponsored leadership summit here. The company would launch both split and window types of ACs in January next year, Mr Karwal said but refused to divulge the details of the number of models. Electrolux kelvinator would introduce three models of microwave ovens by this calendar year-end. In the existing business, the company would launch three models of frost-free refrigerators this year-end and seven to eight variants of semi-automatic washing machines in November. Besides, five models of "Oxi" refrigerators — swing, cool, fresh, plus and insta — are being introduced from this month. Each Oxi refrigerator has distinct advantages like swing model has a padel to help housewives to open the door of the refrigerator using legs when their hands are engaged. Mr Karwal expressed the hope that the new models of refrigerator would help the company achieve the target of increasing its market share from the present 15 per cent to 25 per cent by 2006. However, this fiscal the company expected to maintain the present level of 15 per cent, he said. EKL is the fourth largest player in refrigerator in India after whirlpool, LG and Godrej. On the company’s market size in washing machines, Mr Karwal refused to set any target, saying the company has only a miniscule presence. However, the company would have a complete range, including front loading, top loading, single and twins tub in the semi-automatic category. On reports of contract manufacturing, he denied that the company is talking to others to offer its manufacturing facility which has huge unutilized capacity. Instead, the company outsources two models of refrigerators to BPL facility, Mr Karwal added. The company has the largest installed capacity of 750,000 pieces in India but it remains underutilised to a great extent. The Rs 2,800 crore refrigerator industry in India is suffering from huge overcapacity. While the installed capacity is around 6 million pieces, annual sales are around 3.2 million pieces. (UNI) |
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WB Govt encouraging FBI for industrial development: Nirupam KOLKATA, Sept 24: The West Bengal Government is encouraging Foreign Direct Investment and recogises the role of private sector in industrial development, State Commerce and Industry Minister Nirupam Sen said today. Speaking on a seminar organised by CII on manufacturing excellence and outsourcing here, Mr Sen said the Government envisaged the creation of favourable environment for domestic and foreign industrial investment in the state and make the state the country’s principal gateway to the economies of the Asia-Pacific. Investment in our state shot up to Rs 2,325.95 crore in 2002 as against Rs 2,194.54 crore in the previous year. In 2003, the investment is expected to cross Rs 2,500 crore, Mr Sen said. The Left Front Government is committed to faster industrial development and to that end we have taken a number of proactive measures and put on place mineral policy, bio-technology policy, it and ITEs policies and export policy and the investements were results of these policies, the minister said. In West Bengal, the metals cluster of industries encompasses activities involved in basic metal productions—iron and steel, and aluminium and copper—and downstream transformation, he said, adding that in addition to the requirements of domestic and regional growth, many of these industries would have the opportunity to advance their productivity and technologies through investments in the knowledge and hardware used in industrial countries. (UNI) |
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LIC settles almost cent pc claims during 2002-2003 TEJPUR, ASSAM, Sept 24: Continued public support has guided the Life Insurance Corporation(LIC) to retain the market leadership with a share of 97 per cent in the life insurance businss during 2002-03 inspite of Government allowing private companies in insurance sector, according to general secretary of All India Life Insurance Employees Association(AIIEA) K Venu Gopal here. Mr Venu Gopal, who was here to attend the 44th annual general conference of AIIEU, claimed that LIC during the period settled the highest number of claims in the world amounting to Rs 20,221 crores. He informed that LIC during this period also issued two crores and 45 lakhs new policies. LIC’s premium collection also remained the highest with Rs 55,000 crores against the total collection of Rs 80,761 crores during the last fiscal, he said. Mr Venu Gopal said the company also generated a surplus of Rs 9,246 crores in the last financial year, out of which five per cent was given to the Government while the rest amounting to Rs 9, 246 crores were distrbuted among the policy holders. Along with LIC, four others public general insurance companies also registered a growth between 14 per cent to 23 per cent in premium collection and registered profits during 2002-2003, he added. He, however, apprehended that introduction of VRS schemes would affect the financial strength in the public sector general insurance companies, besides losing the experienced hands which in turn would affect the services provided by these organisations. To mobilise the people’s support against these policies , a people for India forum would be formed at 2000 centres througout the country, Mr Venu Gopal said. (UNI) |
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NICCO looks for turnaround by 2005-06 : Rajive Kaul KOLKATA, Sept 24: NICCO Corporation Limited, the leading wire and engineering goods manufacturer, having witnessed nearly 42 per cent decline in turnover last year despite diversification and restructuring programme, is looking for a turnaround by 2005-06. Speaking to newsmen in the sidelines of the company’s 20th annual general meeting here today company chairman Rajive Kaul said following the proposed venture through the CDR route the company was looking for a marginal profit by 2005-06 after wiping out the huge losses during the intervening period. Incidentally, the overall loss of the company stood at Rs 27 crores during 2002-03, Mr Kaul said. Earlier, speaking to shareholders, Mr Kaul admitted that loss had been incurred despite the diversification and restructuring programme undertaken and said, in spite of making forays into the large volume house wiring segment a few months ago and launching a financial restructuring programme through the Corporate Debt Restricting (CDR) mechanism huge losses were suffered primarily due to the stoppage of production of NICCO branded jelly filled telecommunication cables at its Kalyani plant and the divestment of its steel plant last year. As a result, Mr Kaul regretted, the company was not in a position to recommend dividend to its shareholders this year. About his other future programs, Mr Kaul said based on their top class expertise on nuclear fusion technology they had applied for a clearance certificate from the Atomic Energy Reviewing Board for the setting up of a new unit for producing different sterilised medical equipments like gauge, cottons and some specialized equipment. We hope to receive the green signal from the Government as well as from the AERB soon for the new project, Mr Kaul said but refused to divulge his plan for investment and the timeframe for the proposed venture. About his financial management programme Mr Kaul said the West Bengal Government had recently granted a soft loan of Rs three crores and agreed to convert Rs 3.37 crores of unsecured loan into cumulative preference shares carrying a five per cent rate of dividend and redeemable till the eigth year. This would go a long way in strengthening the company’s balance sheet to a great extent, the NICCO Corporation Chairman said. (UNI) |
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Ranbaxy taking drugs to US, UK and Canada for trials NEW DELHI, Sept 24: India’s largest exporter of drugs, Ranbaxy Laboratories, today said it will take some more of its products under development for trials to the United States, Britain and Canada. Ranbaxy, which recently tied up with Schwarz Pharma AG for development of its new drug RBX 2258 for the treatment of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasic (BPH), said it is considering taking some drugs under development for trials in the US and the UK. "We have five to six products under various phases of clinical trials and we will take some of them to the US and UK," Ranbaxy CEO and Managing Director D S Brar told newsmen here on the sidelines of a CII seminar on clinical research. The company is also thinking of taking its under development drug for Asthama RBX 7796 for phase one trials to the UK and Canada. Mr Brar said before the new patent regime comes into force in 2005 Ranbaxy would carry forward its new drug discoveries. He said that by 2007, the investment in clinical trials in India is expected to go up to one billion dollars from 250 million dollars at present because of the post 2005 patent regime. "As the Indian drug companies move forward from reverse engineering to new drug discoveries, this kind of investment will be needed," Mr Brar said. He said Venture Capitalists (VCs) would have to chip-in and Government will have to play the role of a partner for these types of investments. The Ranbaxy CEO said he is optimistic about Indian Pharma Industry. "In the next 10 years it will occupy high place in generics and churn out new drugs," Mr Brar said. Ranbaxy has set a target of five billion dollar turnover globally by 2012 through Novel Drug Delivery Systems (NDDS), New Drug Discovery Research (NDDR) and focus on expansion of manufacturing facilities in the country and strategic overseas locations. The company is close to its target of one billion-dollar revenues by 2004. Its global sales last year were 764 million dollars. (UNI) |
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IIL registers 298% export growth KOLKATA, Sept 24: Ispat Industries Limited (IIL) has achieved exports of Rs 799 crores in 2002-2003 compared to previous year’s exports of Rs 201 crores registering a growth of 298 per cent and major exports during the year were to USA, Europe, China and Middle East, IIL managing director V K Mittal said today. Talking to mediapersons after the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the company, Mr Mittal said with the gradual ramp-up of production, the focus would remain targetted on maximisation of exports and markets in Europe, Bangladesh, Nepal, South East Asian countries and korea were being intensively scanned for this purpose. Mr Mittal said with the global markets expected to be buoyant and the steel consumption anticipated to increase with the stepping up of rebuilding activities in the post Iraq-war scenario, global steel market was expected to witness a stable situation. He said the company would expand its markets and tap all possible global markets for hot rolled coils and all value added downstream products such as galvanised and colour coated steel to achieve better price realisation and also enhance volumes. At the same time the company will focus on establishing long term partnership with key domestic customers and maintain vigil on international price movements and demand-supply gaps, Mr Mittal observed. World crude steel production during 2002 was 902 million MT compared to 850 million MT during 2001, reflecting a growth of 6.12 per cent, he informed. (UNI) |
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IIL registers 298% export growth KOLKATA, Sept 24: Ispat Industries Limited (IIL) has achieved exports of Rs 799 crores in 2002-2003 compared to previous year’s exports of Rs 201 crores registering a growth of 298 per cent and major exports during the year were to USA, Europe, China and Middle East, IIL managing director V K Mittal said today. Talking to mediapersons after the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the company, Mr Mittal said with the gradual ramp-up of production, the focus would remain targetted on maximisation of exports and markets in Europe, Bangladesh, Nepal, South East Asian countries and korea were being intensively scanned for this purpose. Mr Mittal said with the global markets expected to be buoyant and the steel consumption anticipated to increase with the stepping up of rebuilding activities in the post Iraq-war scenario, global steel market was expected to witness a stable situation. He said the company would expand its markets and tap all possible global markets for hot rolled coils and all value added downstream products such as galvanised and colour coated steel to achieve better price realisation and also enhance volumes. At the same time the company will focus on establishing long term partnership with key domestic customers and maintain vigil on international price movements and demand-supply gaps, Mr Mittal observed. World crude steel production during 2002 was 902 million MT compared to 850 million MT during 2001, reflecting a growth of 6.12 per cent, he informed. (UNI) |
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Reliance offers ISD cards to
call Canada, NEW DELHI, Sept 24: Reliance Infocomm Ltd today launched in Punjab and Gujarat an ISD card that would enable the customers from India to call the United States and Canada for Rs seven per minute. "Speak to USA Canada" card excludes Hawaii and Alaska and can be used by registering the card from a Reliance India Mobile (RIM) phone. Initially being offered in the two states, the cards can be bought from any web world in Punjab and Gujarat and are available in four denominations from a minimum talk value of Rs 500 for 50 minutes to a maximum of Rs 2800 for 400 minutes. Thus, the net rate per minute on these cards can be as low as Rs 7 per minute depending on the denomination used, providing huge savings on calls to the states in the USA and Canada. "The speak to USA Canada cards can be registered on RIM phones with ISD facility," a company spokesperson said. To register the card and avail of the attractive rates, a customer just has to call 346 and follow the voice prompt to key in the secret pin on the card. On successful registration, calls made by the customer to the specified countries would be offset against the included minutes in the card. Usage beyond the included minutes or calls to other countries would be charged at standard isd rate and pulse as per the applicable reliance India mobile tariff scheme. Unused minutes can be carried forward by registering another card before the end of the validity period. However, if one does not register another card within the validity period, the unused minutes would lapse. (UNI) |
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World Bank proposes to double funding to India DUBAI, Sept 24: The World Bank proposes to double its funding to India from the present annual level of USd 1.9 billion in the next four years to hasten infrastructure, rural and social development. "The level of assistance could double in the next four years or so if India sustains its social reforms and continues to work aggressively towards poverty reduction programmes", a top bank official told PTI today. Besides the social sector, funding is being considered in the areas of infrastructure and rural development, he said. The official said the institution is highly satisfied with poverty reduction programmes and other social sector reforms in India. India’s achievement in the social and economic sectors have come into sharp focus at the ongoing annual meetings of the World Bank and IMF here. The likely increase in aid to India comes at a time when World Bank President James Wolfenson has expressed deep concern at the big fall in aid from the developed to the developing world. In his address to IMF-World Bank meetings yesterday, Wolfenson urged world leaders to make a new committment to aid as well as liberalising the trade for the third world countries. The bank recently approved a credit of 54 million dollars for the ‘food and drugs capacity building project’, a health project in India. One of the components of the project - food safety -deals with strengthening Government’s regulatory capacity for food safety besides educating consumers and upgrading related skills in private sector in this regard. According to officials, India borrows from the World Bank under the Variable Spread Loans (VSL) for which the repayment period is 20 years and variable interest rate is pegged at 1.71 per cent as on April 15, 2003. Besides a front end fee of one per cent, an effective committment charge of 0.25 per cent is charged on undisbursed loan amount. The IBRD and the IDA committments for India during 2003 stood at 1.52 billion dollars as against 2.19 billion dollars in 2002. India is among the top ten borrowers of IBRD assistance. During the last fiscal year, the World Bank strengthened its commitment to helping developing countries build infrastructure essential to make progress in key social priorities like education, health, water and sanitation, according to a bank release. (PTI) |
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Russia may complete WTO talks in
2004-US MOSCOW, Sept 24: Russia may still be able to complete negotiations on joining the World Trade Organisation (WTO) by the end of next year, United States Commerce Secretary Donald Evans said on Wednesday. "It’s unlikely it’s going to happen in 2003. You’re into 2005 but I would not rule it out in 2004 yet," Evans told a news conference in Moscow. "We are being very supportive in trying to move the process along so Russia understands the rules, laws and regulations that have to be implemented in order to accede to the WTO," he added. Russia’s chief negotiator said last week that the failure of a global WTO summit in Cancun, Mexico, may make it easier for Moscow to join the international trade club without having to liberalize its own trade rules. Russia had hoped to complete entry talks this year but has acknowledged this is no longer possible. WTO negotiators are pressing Moscow to open up Russia’s banking, insurance and telecommunications markets. The United States has expressed concern about pirating of computer software and compact disks. European Union Trade negotiators see Russia’s low domestic prices for gas and electricity as a significant stumbling bloc in the accession talks. "What needs to be realized is 146 other member countries need to agree," said Evans, adding: "Everyone becomes a member on the basis of the same standards and we have to make sure these have been implemented." "Intellectual property rights protection is an issue and market access is an issue. Our goal is to be as supportive as we possibly can to move the process along so Russia can become a member sooner or later," he added. (AGENCIES) |
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Metal prices remain steady on sufficient stocks MUMBAI, Sept 24: Key ferrous and non-ferrous metal prices remained steady on moderate demand from industrial users due to comfortable stocks, traders at the Bombay Metal Exchange (BME) said here today. Following were the rates (in rupees per quintal): ferrous metals: copper heavy 11,150, copper utensils 10,400, brass scrap utensils 8,500, brass cuttings 8,900, aluminum utensils 7,800. Non-ferrous metals: copper wire bars 12,650, aluminium ingots 9,300, zinc slab 6,700, lead ingots 3,800, tin slab 320 (per kg), nickel cathode 590 (per Kg). (UNI) MSE index improved by 27 points CHENNAI, Sept 24: MSE index increased by 27 points and closed at 3910.81 points on the Madras Stock Exchange today. Volume of transaction was 13,055 shares, of which Cochin Refinery 10,000. Following are the opening and closing rates of scrips traded today. ACC 195.20, Apolo Hos 159.40, BPCL 332, Cochin refinery 142.35 Colgate 138.60, Dr Reddy 1049, Global Tele 63.80, Himachel feat 22, HPCL 347, Infosys 4515, IPCL 167, L and T 305.70, MTNL 114, NIIT 140, Polaris 136, Reliance 415, Sathyam Compu 242, Silverline 5.70, SBI 424, Tisco 258, Zee Tele 108. (UNI) |
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