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| China Netcom files 1.5 bln IPO with US Securities WASHINGTON, Oct 16: China Netcom, the only unlisted company among China’s four big telecoms operators, filed on.....more Delhi HC
directs NEW DELHI, Oct 16: Delhi High Court has directed the Central Board of Excise and Customs to hear and dispose of.....more CM
distributes DALTONGANJ, Oct 16: Jharkhand Chief Minister Arjun Munda inaugurated the Krishi mela yesterday and distributed.....more Titan
ropes in NEW DELHI, Oct 16: Titan Industries has signed filmstar Aamir Khan as its brand Ambassador........more |
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ADB to hold its AGM in India in 2006 HYDERABAD, Oct 16: Asian Development Bank will hold its annual general meeting in India in May 2006 after a gap.......more FX reserve
rises USD MUMBAI, Oct 16: Extending its gains on sixth straight week, the foreign exchange reserve of the country rose by US......more BSNL to
slash phone rates CHENNAI, Oct 16: BSNL today said call charges between Indian and Sri Lanka would be slashed to Rs 12 per minute from Rs 18 with effect from Oct 21......more India’s
forex MUMBAI, Oct 16: India’s foreign exchange reserves rose by US dollar 20 million during the week ending October 11..........more |
China Netcom files 1.5 bln IPO with US Securities WASHINGTON, Oct 16: China Netcom, the only unlisted company among China’s four big telecoms operators, filed on Friday with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to raise as much as 1.5 billion in an initial public offering. The Beijing-based company said it plans to sell 941.4 million common shares but did not say in a preliminary offering document how many common shares represent each American Depositary Share (ADS), which will be sold in the IPO. The carrier has news corp ltd chief Rupert Murdoch and former Goldman Sachs president John Thornton as non-executive directors. To improve its appeal, the company plans to pay 35 to 40 percent of its profit as dividends, giving it a dividend yield of about 4 percent, against the 2.6 percent yield of fixed-line market leader China telecom corp.. Asia’s richest tycoon, Li-ka-Shing, has said he plans to buy shares in China netcom. But some fund managers said they were not interested in the IPO. "You should only buy the market leader in China’s telecom sector," said Yang Liu, a fund manager at Atlantis investment. The estimated price of each ADs was not disclosed in the sec document as it may be revealed in an amended document filed at a future date with the sec. The company said it is seeking a New York Stock Exchange listing under the symbol "CN" for the ADSS and also plans to list shares on the Hong Kong Stock Market. As part of the US offering, China Netcom will offer ADSS equivalent to 846.3 million common shares and shareholders plan to sell ADSS in the amount of 95.1 million common shares. China Netcom said it plans to sell another 104.6 million common shares in Hong Kong, totaling more than 1 billion common shares in a global offering. China International Capital Corp Ltd, Citigroup global markets inc. and Goldman Sachs (Asia) Llc will underwrite the IPO, according to the prospectus. Parent company China network communications group corp. Has created a Hong Kong vehicle for the listing that will own former monopoly networks in the cities of Beijing and Tianjing and the provinces of Shangdong, Hebei, Henan and Liaoning. It will also include networks in Shanghai and Guangdong in the southern region, where it competes with China telecom, and the former Asia global crossing, which provides international telecoms services in the region. Eventually, the listed company is expected to buy its state-owned parent firm’s remaining provincial networks, following the trend of other big chinese companies that have listed a portion of their assets overseas. The IPO will help the company pay for infrastructure. It plans to spend about 8.54 billion between 2004 and 2006 to expand its networks, sources have said. The underwriters will have the option to buy 156.9 million more shares from the company and shareholders to cover over-allotments, the company said in the sec document. The sec document shows that for six months ended June 30 China Netcom revenues were 3.9 billion and profits from operations reached 1 billion. China Netcom said in the sec filing that it also plans to use the proceeds for debt repayment and development of new applications for data communications and voice services. (AGENCIES) |
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Delhi HC directs CBEC to dispose
of pleas NEW DELHI, Oct 16: Delhi High Court has directed the Central Board of Excise and Customs to hear and dispose of within a week pleas by pharma majors Woekhardt and Tridooss seeking a stay on recovery of excise due worth Rs 42 and Rs 38 crore against them respectively. A division bench comprising Chief Justice B C Patel and Justice BD Ahmed also directed the CBEC to hear and dispose of within further one week the appeals by the companies challenging the order of the excise authority in Daman imposing a higher rate of tax on certain pain killer drugs manufactured by them. Deputy Commissioner of Excise had imposed higher tax under the medicinal and toiletries price act on the medicines on the ground that they contained narcotic substance. This was, however, contested by the companies. Their appeals against the order to the Commissioner of Excise, Daman and then administrator of the Union Territory of Daman had earlier been dismissed. While their appeals were now pending with the CBEC, the excise authority in Daman asked them to pay the entire differential of the increased assessment since 1981 when the drugs were being manufactured, and also secure appropriate licence for manufacturing such pharmaceuticals items. Fearing coersive action like attachment of their plant and properties in case the tax was not paid while the appeals were still to be heard by the board, Woekhardt and Tridooss sought early hearing of their matters but not getting the desired response they moved the High Court. The Judges have also asked the petitioner companies to present their matters before the board coming Monday. (UNI) |
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CM distributes agricultural equipment worth Rs 2.5 crore DALTONGANJ, Oct 16: Jharkhand Chief Minister Arjun Munda inaugurated the Krishi mela yesterday and distributed agricultural implements worth Rs 2.5 crore among the peasants. Earlier, addressing the gathering after the inauguration of Navratra Ramayana Mahayagya, Mr Munda said,"Ramayana should not be seen as a mere religious scripture. Instead, it is also a text replete with the virtues of Lord Rama and one may well become great by pursuing the ideology of Lord Rama." He, however, added that people are now lost in this materialistic world which more often than not becomes the cause of their woes. (UNI) |
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Titan ropes in Aamir Khan as its brand Ambassador NEW DELHI, Oct 16: Titan Industries has signed filmstar Aamir Khan as its brand Ambassador. The actor will endorse Titan watches and play a key role in brand and product communication on television and in print and outdoor media. Titan watch division CEO Bijou Kurien said Aamir had been chosen due to his universal appeal, "There is a perfect fit between Aamir Khan and Titan - their stature, timelessness, and the love and trust they both share with the people both nationally and internationally, makes this an ideal partnership," he said. The move is part of Titan’s new strategy to focus on watches as a fashion accessory and catch up with international brands retailing in india that have tied up with various film and sports personalities to endorse watches. The 950-crore company has more than 5,000 multi-brand outlets and 175 exclusive outlets. (UNI) |
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ADB to hold its AGM in India in 2006 HYDERABAD, Oct 16: Asian Development Bank will hold its annual general meeting in India in May 2006 after a gap of 16 years, said ADB president Mr Tadao China. The Manila-based bank had, only once in the past, organised its AGM in India in 1990 at New Delhi. The AGM that will take place at hitec city here is expected to be attended by 3000 delegates from 70 countries, said Mr Tadao China. Mr Tadao China, who visited the city to review arrangements for the meeting, is impressed with the warm greetings from the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajashekara Reddy, said an official press release issued here yesterday. The delegates include experts from various fields including finance, banking and business. Congregation of such a large number of experts could provide a boost to the economy of Andhra Pradesh, hoped Mr Reddy. The Chief Minister has assured the ADB president that the state-of-the-art international convention centre under construction near Hitec city for the meet would be completed five months in advance. He also narrated the strides that the United Progressive Alliance and the State Government are making to develop rural economy, it added. (UNI) |
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FX reserve rises USD 20 million to USD 119.304 billion MUMBAI, Oct 16: Extending its gains on sixth straight week, the foreign exchange reserve of the country rose by US Dollar (USD) 20 million to USD 119.304 billion during the week ended October 8, on upvaluation of some non-US currencies. According to Reserve Bank of India (RBI)’s latest weekly statistics report, the foreign currency assets moved up by USD 21 million to USD 113.809 billion during the week, while the reserve positions in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) edged down by USD one million to USD 1302 million. Gold reserve and the Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) remained unchanged at USD 4192 million and USD one million respectively. Forex reserve which shot up by USD 1.782 billion in the last six weeks from a low of USD 117.522 billion touched during the week ended Aug 27, however, is still down by USD 1.802 billion from its record high of USD 121.106 billion hit in the week ended July 16. The foreign currency assets, expressed in USD terms, include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US currencies like euro, yen and pound sterling held in the reserve. The effect of the valuation of some non-US currencies, helped the forex reserve to maintain its uptrend, even as the RBI stayed inactive in the forex markets and allowed rupee to appreciate in a bid to contain inflationarry pressure, forex dealers said. During the week, the rupee shrugged off the rising oil prices which hit new record highs, and ended 10 paise stronger at 45.80/81, amid strong capital dollar inflows into the rising stock markets. The loan and advances of the Central Government continued to be nil, while that of the State Governments rose by Rs 2,763 crore to Rs 3,631 crore during the week. The aggregate deposits of the scheduled commercial banks stood at Rs 16,01,014 crore as on October 1, surging up Rs 15,362 crore (1.0 per cent) from a fortnight back, while the total bank credit jumped by Rs 16,655 crore (1.8 per cent) to Rs 9,35,905 crore. Food credit rose by Rs 449 crore to Rs 38,638 crore whereas the non-food credit shot up by Rs 16,206 crore to Rs 8,97,267 crore. (UNI) |
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BSNL to slash phone rates to Sri Lanka from Oct 21 CHENNAI, Oct 16: BSNL today said call charges between Indian and Sri Lanka would be slashed to Rs 12 per minute from Rs 18 with effect from Oct 21. The peak hour internet charges would be cut from Rs 24 per hour to Rs 9.60 per hour, BSNL CMD A K Sinha said at the launch of international long distance operations here. (PTI) |
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India’s forex reserves up by USD 20 mn MUMBAI, Oct 16: India’s foreign exchange reserves rose by US dollar 20 million during the week ending October 11, 2004 compared to USD 515 million a week earlier. Foreign currency exchange reserves for the week under review grew by USD 20 million to USD 1,19,304 million, the Reserve Bank of India said in its weekly statistical supplement released today. Foreign currency assets were also up by USD 21 million to USD 1,13,809 million, the RBI said. Special drawing rights and gold remained static at usd USD 4,192 million and USD one million respectively, the Central Bank said. India’s reserve tranche position with the international monetary fund fell by USD one million to stand at USD 1,302 million, it said. Loans and advances to Central Government had a nil balance while that to State Governments were up by Rs 2,763 crore to Rs 3,631 crore. During the fortnight ending October one, aggregate deposits grew by Rs 15,362 crore (one per cent) to Rs 16,01,014 crore. Demand deposits also grew by Rs 9,359 crore to Rs 2,26,487 crore while the time deposit base rose by Rs 6,003 crore to Rs 13,74,528 crore. Food credit rose by Rs 449 crore to Rs 38,638 crore while non-food credit went up by Rs 16,206 crore to Rs 8,97,267 crore. (PTI) |
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‘Grahak Mitra’ initiative for Guwahati SBI customers GUWAHATI, Oct 16: The State bank of Guwahati has introduced the ‘Grahak Mitra initiative’ for better liaison with customers. SBI General Manager Mr U S Sohoni told reporters today that under this initiative the designated bank employees would interact with customers, not only behind the counter, but also in the lobby, to ensure that customers get their work done in the minimum possible time. The drop box facility was also introduced in SBI, Guwahati, which will enable customers to drop their local clearing cheques. Presently seven branches of SBI in the city and its outskirts are offering these facilities. (UNI) |
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Kalam inaugurates 250 mw unit at Panipat power plant PANIPAT, Oct 16: President A P J Abdul Kalam today inaugurated the seventh unit of 250 mw at the Tau Devi Lal thermal power station here. Set up by state-run Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited for Haryana Power Generation Corporation Ltd, the unit is a part of a Rs 1438 crore contract for installing two such units on Turnkey basis. With the commissioning of this unit, an additional 60 lakh units of electricity will be added everyday to the grid of the power-deficit state. (PTI) |
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Upgraded version of TVS Victor GL 110 rolled out CHENNAI, Oct 16: TVS motor company, India’s leading two-wheeler manufacturer, today rolled out its new generation TVS Victor GX 110 cc, an upgrade of Victor GL 110 for discerning two-wheeler customers in the country. The new version had a slew of improvements, including ‘Dura Life,’ a new engine to enhance the engine life and sported a new look with vibrant colours and laser streak body graphics, a release here said. Having sold over one million vehicles in a short span of time, TVS Victor was today a testimony of one of the greatest success stories in the automobile industry and the new Victor GX would provide further impetus to the trust and reliability, the company enjoyed in the market. The new model was designed after extensive market research on the needs of customers in the emerging popular segment, the release said. (UNI) President dedicates first 250 mw
generating PANIPAT, HARYANA, Oct 16: President A P J Abdul Kalam today inaugurated the state’s first 250 megawatt thermal generating unit set up by Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) on Turnkey basis. The 250 mw (unit 7) at Tau Devi Lal Thermal Power Station in Panipat of Haryana Power Generation Corporation Limited (HPGCL) has been set up as part of a Rs 1,438 crore epc contract for two such units. The 250 mw (unit 8) at the same power station is also in advanced stages of completion and is likely to be commissioned on schedule. With this, an additional 60 lakh units of electricity will be added daily to the grid of the power deficit state. In Haryana, 100 per cent of the installed generating capacity of 1,720 mw is contributed by BHEL supplied sets. This includes Panipat Thermal Power Station (4 x 110 mw, 2 x 210 mw and 1 x 250 mw) and Faridabad extension thermal power station (3 x 60 mw) besides NTPC’s 430 mw combined cycle power project, also at Faridabad. (UNI) |
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