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| Bajaj Allianz launches unit linked pension products Excelsior Correspondent JAMMU, Nov 8: Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Limited has launched new unit linked pension products namely Unit Gain Easy Pension and, Unit Gain Life Pension plan. The plans are available in two variants; regular premium and single.......more Infy to sponsor 16 m shares in ADS float: EGN on Dec 18 BANGALORE, Nov 8: The Board of Directors of IT bellwether infosys technologies today approved the sponsoring of a .....more Mobilisation through bonds declines 15 pc in H1: Prime NEW DELHI, Nov 8: Bonds on private placement could mobilise only Rs 21,202 crore......more ITC to open 40 John players’ outlets NEW DELHI, Nov 8: ITC’s menswear brand John players is planning to open 40 flagship outlets across the country by the end........more |
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Dollar hits record euro low, gold sets 16-yr high SINGAPORE, Nov 8: The dollar slipped to a record low against the euro on Monday on concerns about bloated US budget and current account deficits, .........more Assam SSI units allege Government ignorance GUWAHATI, Nov 8: Assam unit of North Eastern Small Scale Industries (NESSIA) today alleged that the Congress Government led by Chief Minister ......more Around 55 lakh quintal sugar stocks lying in mills’ godowns KOLHAPUR, Nov 8: Sugar factories in Kolhapur and Sangli districts of western Maharashtra are facing tough .....more Reliance to consider IPO plan by 2005-end: Mukesh NEW DELHI, Nov 8: Reliance group chairman Mukesh Ambani today said his Telecom company did not have any immediate plan to come out with an .........more |
Bajaj Allianz launches unit linked pension products Excelsior Correspondent JAMMU, Nov 8: Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Limited has launched new unit linked pension products namely Unit Gain Easy Pension and, Unit Gain Life Pension plan. The plans are available in two variants; regular premium and single premium. This was informed by Branch Manager of Bajaj Allianz, Jetinder Koushik, while talking to mediapersons, here today. "Unit Gain Life Pension offers valuable life cover along with a choice of additional benefits while Unit Gain Easy Pension is a deferred pension plan without life cover," he explained. Highlighting key features of the pension plans, Mr Koushik said that in deferred pension plans of the Bajaj Allianz, the customer has the choice of having life insurance protection and retirement age between 45 and 70. Low Market management charges, open market option to purchase the best annuity available at the time of retirement, 5 fund options to choose from Equity Plus, Equity Index, Debt Plus, Cash Plus and Balanced Plus, flexibility to manage funds- 3 free switches every year and option to take 1/3rd of the accumulated amount at retirement, are other key features of the plans, he added. Mr Koushik said that the pension plans would be a focus for the company because they provide an opportunity for people to plan for their retirement. "In an era of declining interest rates, increasing longevity and less than 10 per cent of the workforce having an opportunity to participate in the pension plans, these plans will go a long way in helping people live independently and happily after retirement," he explained. The Branch Manager said that with the addition of unit linked pensions in its portfolio, Bajaj Allianz has become a player that provides comprehensive pension solution- both traditional and unit linked. Currently Bajaj Allianz has a product portfolio of 19 products and more need-based products are in the pipeline, he informed. Mr Koushik also disclosed that the Bajaj Allianz is planning to open 10-15 more branches in Jammu and Kashmir State by next year. |
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Infy to sponsor 16 m shares in ADS float: EGN on Dec 18 BANGALORE, Nov 8: The Board of Directors of IT bellwether infosys technologies today approved the sponsoring of a secondary American Depository Shares (ADS) offering against equity shares held by its existing shareholders in India. The offering, the second secondary ADS float by the Nasdaq-listed company, would consist of a maximum of 16 million equity shares, including the greenshoe option, infosys said in an announcement to the Bombay Stock Exchange. One equity share of infosys is equivalent to one ADS. The board approved the convening of an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) on December 18 to seek approval for the offering. "All equity shareholders in India as on a specified date to be determined would be eligible to tender their equity shares in the offering on a pari-passu (pro-rata) basis. The company will not be issuing any new shares in the offering," infosys said. The underwriters would determine the price of the ADSs and the proceeds would be proportionately distributed to the selling shareholders after the expenses of the offering were met, the company said. The roadshows would be undertaken in January and February and the pricing of the issue was expected to be completed by mid-March, a top company official told UNI. Infosys’ first sponsored secondary ADS offering last year for six million ADS’ (then equivalent to three million equity shares) was priced at US dollar 49 per ADS. Infosys currently has 267.86 million shares outstanding, of which 21.2 million, or 7.93 per cent, are traded on the Nasdaq. If the offering is fully subscribed the float will increase to 13.9 per cent. At close of trading on Friday, the infosys stock was quoting at US dollar 65.55 on the Nasdaq, a premium of about 54 per cent over the Rs 1,976.10 close on the BSE. Infosys floated its first ADS in March 1999, raising US dollar 60 million for its listing on the Nasdaq. (UNI) |
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Mobilisation through bonds declines 15 pc in H1: Prime NEW DELHI, Nov 8: Bonds on private placement could mobilise only Rs 21,202 crore during the first half of this fiscal, down 15 per cent during the previous H1, says eminent primary market expert Prithvi Haldea. As much as Rs 25,025 crore was mopped up during the first half of the last fiscal. Sixty nine institutions and corporates mobilised money through bonds on private placement during this H1, Mr Haldea of prime, which operates the country’s premier database on debt private placements, said. Only such deals which have a tenor and put/call option of more than one year are reflected in this database. According to prime, the key sector that witnessed a decline in mobilisation compared to the same period in the previous year was all-India financial institutions/banks. They collected Rs 10,176 crore, down by 28 per cent from Rs 14,116 crore. Leading the pack of mobilisers in this sector was IDBI (Rs 3,493 crore), followed by HDFC (1,650) and NABARD (1,000). The biggest fall, as per prime, came in the raisings by PSUs at 49 per cent. The PSUs mopped up Rs 1,354 crore against Rs 2,618 crore. Major PSU mobiliser was Konkan Railway (Rs 588 crore). An increase in mobilisation came in all other sectors as per prime database. State level undertakings recorded a 21 per cent increase to Rs 2,453 crore compared to Rs 2,032 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year. Most of the funds raised by slus continued to be for the infrastructure sector, mainly power, roads and water resources. An increase was also recorded, according to prime, in the mobilisation by the private sector. The share of this sector at Rs 7,144 crore was 55 per cent higher compared to Rs 4,613 crore in the same period in the previous year. Significantly, most of the private sector debt was of AAA category and was from financial companies. Leading the mobilisers in this sector was Tata teleservices (Rs 970 crore) followed by citifinancial (900), Tata power (600) and M and M financial (525). Government organisations and financial institutions, put together, witnessed a fall in their domination, mobilising only 66 per cent of the total amount, down from 82 per cent in the previous year’s corresponding period. Among Government organisations, All-India Financial Institutions/Banks led with a 48 per cent share, followed by a 12 per cent share by slus, a 6 per cent share by PSUs and a 1 per cent share by SFCs. According to prime, in addition to the one-year tenor mobilisation, a significant additional amount of Rs 5,316 crore was raised through 149 deals of less than 1 year tenor debentures by 37 issuers. Moreover, an amount of Rs 21,202 crore in 43 deals was raised through pass-through certificates (securitised paper). (UNI) |
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ITC to open 40 John players’ outlets NEW DELHI, Nov 8: ITC’s menswear brand John players is planning to open 40 flagship outlets across the country by the end of the current financial year to take on market leader Peter England as part of its expansion plans. "We are aiming to increase our exclusive brand outlets to 40 by march next from the present 16. We are open to any location for setting up our store in the country. "Currently, our team is evaluating locations for the expansion of John players brand," ITC chief executive (lifestyle retailing business division) Chitranjan Dar told UNI here. John players, which has its outlets in Delhi, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Mumbai, Chandigarh, Saharanpur and other cities, aims to play a pan-India game and be a market leader on quality and pricing fronts. Mr Dar said, "we are providing better quality products vis-a-vis other players in the market with competitive pricing. We are confident of beating the existing brands in the next few years as we expand futher." The John players’ collection includes a contemporary range of menswear, shirt, trousers, denims and T-shirts. He said the latest fall winter collection is a vibrant interpretation of the haute international looks for the young Indian male. Over the past five years, ITC’s lifestyle retailing business division has not only extended its market reach but also augmented its basket of offerings beginning with its initial offering of wills sport premium relaxed wear to the formal segment with wills classic formalwear and to the social evening segment with wills clublife eveningwear. Having consolidated the wills lifestyle chain operations, itc looks forward to the next level of jumping by infusing John players brand in the consumers’ minds. (UNI) |
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Dollar hits record euro low, gold sets 16-yr high SINGAPORE, Nov 8: The dollar slipped to a record low against the euro on Monday on concerns about bloated US budget and current account deficits, weighing on Asian exporters’ stocks and sending gold to 16-year highs. The dollar slumped to 1.2973 per euro in early Tokyo trading, revisiting a record low touched in New York on Friday despite data showing a surprising increase in the number of new US jobs created in October. "There’s going to be more dollar-selling in the short term," said Osama Takashima, chief forex analyst at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi. Asian stocks got off to a weak start, ignoring solid gains on wall street on Friday. Toyota Motor Co., Sony corp and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd. All fell on the dollar’s weakness, which makes their exports more expensive for US consumers. Tokyo’s nikkei average finished the morning down 0.22 percent at 11,037.57, and MSCI’s index of Asian stocks outside of Japan had lost 0.54 percent by 0208 gmt, led lower by a 0.97 percent decline on South Korea’s Kospi. Global stocks as measured by the MSCI world index, at their highest since June 2001 in the wake of US President George W Bush’s re-election, were slightly higher. Spot gold was at 433.75 an ounce after hitting 434 an ounce, up from 433.25 last quoted in New York on Friday. Key 10-year Japanese Government bond futures fell sharply after the US jobs data increased speculation the federal reserve would continue raising rates through the end of the year. US non-farm payrolls rose 337,000 in October, double what economists on average had forecast and the biggest rise in seven months. The US treasury market had largely priced in a rate raise in November but the data fuelled expectation that the fed would continue increasing rates in December, sending US bond yields higher. The December Japanese Government bond futures contract was at 137.53, down 0.28 point on the day. The dollar was at 1.2951 per euro and bought 105.52 yen after marking the day’s low of 105.36 yen in early trade. The dollar bought 1.1798 swiss francs within sight of eight-year lows hit on Friday. The market has been awash with concerns about the twin US deficits, which have been a key driver of dollar weakness. The US budget deficit is about 427 billion, or 3.7 percent of gross domestic product, while the current account —the broadest trade measure since it adds investment flows —hit a record 166.18 billion shortfall in the second quarter. The Australian dollar eased slightly to 0.7608, while debt futures firmed after Australia’s Central Bank maintained a tightening bias in its quarterly policy statement but said there was "no pressing need for higher interest rates at this stage". US crude futures edged lower in light technical selling and dealers said prices were likely to head below 48 a barrel. Nymex crude futures for December delivery fell to a low at 49.28 a barrel before rebounding to 49.42, marking a loss of 19 cents. (AGENCIES) |
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Assam SSI units allege Government ignorance GUWAHATI, Nov 8: Assam unit of North Eastern Small Scale Industries (NESSIA) today alleged that the Congress Government led by Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has been ignoring the interest of the state’s small scale industries to please the major industrial houses from outside. In a press release here today, the NESSIA also criticised the State Government for its ‘’anti-SSI" policies. The NESSIA held a meeting under the presidentship of Sailen Baruah at the Bamumimaidan industrial estate here last week to formulate their future course of action. Later talking to newsmen, Mr Baruah expressed doubt over the Government "sincerity" for the growth and survival of the SSIs. Mr Baruah alleged that various Government rules and regulations like hike in the fees payable to the State Pollution Control Board to establish and operate industries and monthly charge of power supply by the Assam State Electricity Board (ASEB) to SSI units caused deep resentment among the small entrepreneurs. Blaming the Government for deterioration of the state’s industrial scenario, Mr Baruah also pointed out that only because of the "apathy" of the respective Government departments in the state, altogether 2,500 power looms and 15,000 SSI units had been closed down so far. Mr Baruah, on behalf of the NESSIA, demanded proper coordination from the Government with the SSI association before formulating any industrial policy in future. Mr Baruah said against the payment of Rs 500 only, SSI units now had to pay Rs 5,000 to pollution control board to secure clearance for any proposed project with a prospective investment of Rs 10 lakh and above. Mr Baruah urged the ASEB and State Electricity Regulatory Commission to review its decision to hike power charges for SSI units. (UNI) |
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Around 55 lakh quintal sugar stocks lying in mills’ godowns KOLHAPUR, Nov 8: Sugar factories in Kolhapur and Sangli districts of western Maharashtra are facing tough times ahead as around 55 lakh quintal sugar stock remains unsold in the godowns blocking almost Rs 900 crore. Unless the last year’s stocks get cleared, there is no room in the godowns to stock new arrivals, a source from a sugar factory said. He said to run the sugar cooperatives they borrow heavily from the fiancial institutions but as the last year’s stocks have not got cleared the interest on the loans is also mounting. Last year, the market rates of sugar were lower which had resulted in heavy buying by the traders who had stored it for future release. Now when sugar mills are reeling under strains they are selling it at highter rates to meet the factories needs, he pointed out. NCP senior leader and MP Sadashivrao Mandlik, the founder chairman of a cooperative sugar factory in this district, said the sugar factories in Maharashtra were facing shortage of cane for crushing as well as financial constraints, besides farmers’ demand for hike in price for cane supplied. Only the Government could bring out the industry from the mess, he felt. Demanding early implementation of the recently announced relief package by the Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, Mr Mandlik said it could help the sugar industry to survive in the long run. He said about 60 per cent of sugar was being produced by the cooperative sector and the rest 40 per cent by private operators located in the neighbouring Karnataka border areas. The crushing season in Maharashtra begins in November, while in Karnataka it starts in September. The private owners there offer attractive prices to cane growers in Maharashtra, which is adversely affects co-operative sugar factories. Mr Mandalik said a policy decision regarding the commencement of the crushing season should be taken by the Central Government and the chief director of sugar should issue compulsory order to avoid variation in cane rates and sugar rates, and also sugar production, Mr Mandlik said. (UNI) |
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Reliance to consider IPO plan by 2005-end: Mukesh NEW DELHI, Nov 8: Reliance group chairman Mukesh Ambani today said his Telecom company did not have any immediate plan to come out with an IPO but will mull the possibility by 2005-end. "Reliance infocomm does not have any plan for an IPO for the time being. But we will review the decision by 2005-end," Mr Ambani told UNI here. Reliance Infocomm’s closest rival in the CDMA segment — Tata teleservices — is already a listed company. Among GSM players, Bharti is traded on stock exchanges, while Hutch and idea are mulling IPO plans. Of the state-owned telcos MTNL is a listed entity, while BSNL is not. Reliance infocomm has posted a net loss of Rs 50 crore during the second quarter ended September ‘04, compared to a loss of Rs 125 crore in the first quarter this fiscal. Reliance Info is confident of wiping out the losses by the fourth quarter of the current financial year or probably before that, Anil Ambani, vice-chairman and managing director of Reliance industries, which owns 45 per cent of infocomm, had said. The company currently has a subscriber base of 10 million and plans to increase its capacity to 40 million subscribers by the end of this fiscal. It plans to roll out its network in an additional 3,800 towns by March 2005. It is currently present in 1,100 cities and towns across 20 circles. The enterprise broadband solutions will be available in 200 cities initially. (UNI) |
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Railways to set up 4300 crore captive power plant NEW DELHI, Nov 8: Indian Railways, in collaboration with the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) will set setting up a joint venture captive thermal power plant at an estimated cost of Rs 4300 crore. The JV company named ‘rail bijlee company’ is to be set up at Nabinagar in Bihar and will generate 1,000 megawatt power for traction requirement of the Indian Railways at a reasonable cost. The joint venture ‘rail bijlee company’ will have equity partnership of 51 per cent by railways and 49 per cent by NTPC, an official release said. The railways has decided to set up its own captive power plant as the State Electricity Boards have been charging super commercial rates from the railways, making electric traction unviable. (UNI) |
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Economic development to be prioritised in the NE: Therie DIMAPUR, NAGALAND, Nov 8: Nagaland Finance Minister K Therie has urged the people of the northeast to prioritise economic development of the region instead of fighting over political boundaries. Addressing the valedictory function of the three-day winter festival 2004 organised by the North East Zonal Cultural Centre (NEZCC) here last evening, Mr Therie said, "the primary duty of national workers is to protect the citizens and not threaten society." The State Finance Minister also expressed concern over the political situation in the northeast and blamed the people of the area for the current state of turmoil in the region. He stressed the need for a strong federal Government and a strong federal culture so that the people of the northeast could live in peace and harmony. Nagaland Chief Secretary P Talitemjen and NEZCC director Angau Thou also spoke on the occassion. (UNI) |
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Mandal to hold demonstrations against introduction of VAT TIRUCHIRAPALLI, Nov 8: The Bharatiya Udyog Vyapar Mandal (central body of All India Industrial and Business Bodies) has said that its members would hold demonstrations in Delhi in the second week of December to protest against the introduction of VAT. The members of the mandal would hold Aloft Placards and banners and distribute handbills outside Parliament. A procession would also be taken out through the main thoroughfares of Delhi on December 16, the national president of the mandal, Shyam Behari Mishra, said in a statement here. From December 10 to 15, traders would stage a dharna at Chandni Chowk in Delhi, the statement said. (PTI) |
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