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Three-member panel to review Tata airport plan:
In a fresh bid to revive the controversial Bangalore international airport project, the centre and Karnataka on Friday decided to constitute a three-member committee including a representative of the Tata consortium to thrash out contentious issues. This was decided at a meeting between Karnataka chief minister JH Patel and ministers of defence and civil aviation George Fernandes and Ananth Kumar in the capital.
Grasim, Indian Rayon not to discuss swap ratio:
Grasim Industries and Indian Rayon, in separate notices to the BSE, have clarified that the proposed board meetings of the two companies on Monday will not take up the issue of determination of swap ratio for the restructuring of the group's cement operations. Company officials said: "A perception has been created that Monday's meetings will discuss the possible swap ratio. But the independent valuer's report will take some time to be tabled." The valuation report, hence, will be takenup at a subsequent board meeting which will be announced shortly.
SC issues warrant against S B Petroleum's MD:
The Supreme court on Friday issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against managing director of Lucknow-based S B Petroleum V K Tiwari accused of defrauding public of Rs 12 crore for not being present in the court despite an earlier order. Tiwari is the son-in-law of Mayapati Tripathi, son of former chief minister of U P Kamalapati tripathi.
Corporate Monitor
Balco posts record profits:
Bharat Aluminium Company, a mini ratana company, has achieved an all time high turnover of Rs 848.50 crore as against Rs 760.57 crore last year registering an increase of 11.56 per cent. The gross margin also went up to Rs 183.64 crore and the company made a profit before tax of Rs 134.79 crore and profit after tax of Rs 79.84 crore registering an increase of 30 per cent. The company also declared a dividend of Rs 20 crore to the government.
Tatas refute Ananth Kumar'scharges:
In a strong protest against Union civil aviation minister Ananth Kumar's assertions on Tata Airline at the Economic Editors' Conference, the Tatas said the technical fee to be paid to Singapore Airlines would form 2.8 per cent of the revenue earned by the airline -- Rs 165 crore over five years and not Rs 300 crore as stated by the minister. During the same period, the revenues generated by Tata Airlines were expected to be about Rs 5,733 crore.
ABB not to supply equipment to Dabhol project:
Asea Brown Boveri is likely to be out of the race as an equipment supplier for phase 2 of the Dabhol power project. General Electric, one of the promoters in the project, will continue to be the supplier.
Ashok Leyland Fin's profit declines:
The net profit of Ashok Leyland Finance dropped to Rs 28.27 crore for the year ended June 1998 from Rs 34.43 crore in the previous year. It has recommended a 50 per cent dividend for this period. The drastic fall is due to the drop in leasingincome. During 1997-98 total disbursements touched Rs 1015 crore (Rs 675 crore in the previous year). Of this, hire purchase accounted for Rs 1000 crore (Rs 613 crore) while leasing accounted for Rs 15 crore (Rs 62 crore).
HFC Barauni unit facing closure:
Hindustan Fertiliser Corporation, Barauni, is facing closure. The actual capacity to produce 1.84 lakh tonne per annum of urea at the factory is now a distant dream owing to a strong lobby for imports going on in metropolitan centres. The HFC unit at Gorakhpur in UP is already closed and it has not produced a single gram of urea during the last 10 years.
ECONOMY & INFRASTRUCTURE
IDBI eyeing power, telecom sectors in Karnatake:
Industrial Development Bank of India is considering large exposures in the power and telecom sector in Karnataka. According to S Subramaniam, general manager, the main focus of IDBI would remain on the software sector. For it a Rs 100 crore venture capital fund has been set up by its subsidiary SIDBIjointly with Karnataka State Industrial Investment Corporation.
Market Pulse
Magistrate passes order against Mumbai firm:
The additional chief metropolitan magistrate has passed an order dated September 17, 1998, against CU Marketing, a Mumbai-based firm, for luring the public to deposit money in the guise of `advance for goods', which is in violation of the provisions of section 45S of the RBI Act, 1934. The magistrate has referred the complaint to the police for investigation and has asked it to submit the report to the court before October 5, 1998. The order is based on a criminal complaint filed by the central bank.
CII plans to better Indo-US business ties:
The Confederation of Indian Industry has drawn up a 11-point action plan to improve Indo-US business relations to be followed by its delegation during the forthcoming New York visit. The plan includes regular visits to the US to continue dialogue with the US Congress, organisation of India-focussed conferences andseminars in the US, partnership building with select states such as Massachusetts, New York, Texas and North and South Carolina.
AI flights to Los Angeles from Oct 1:
Air India will launch flights between India and Los Angeles on a code-share basis with Singapore Airlines from October 1. SIA will make available to Air India a block of 80 seats per week in each direction on the airline's daily Singapore-Los Angeles-Singapore flights. Passengers travelling by any of AI's 17 weekly flights from Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad to Singapore will be able to connect directly to Singapore Airlines service to Los Angeles and vice versa. No stopover will, however, be permitted at Singapore.
Karnataka HC dismisses 2,300 petitions:
The Karnataka high court has in a landmark judgment dismissed 2300 writ petitions filed by unincorporated bodies and partnership firms challenging the validity of the section 25 S of the Reserve Bank of India Act 1934 which prohibits them from acceptingdeposits from public. More than 4000 cases filed by various unincorporated bodies, individuals and firms are still pending in various high courts.
Politics & Policy
Governor issues show cause to Rabri ministry:
Bihar governor Sunder Singh Bhandari on Friday asked the Rabri Devi government to justify its dissolution of interim Jharkhand Area Autonomous Council. The government was also directed to explain why the executive councillors and councillors of JAAC were "abruptly removed".
Birla on Sebi governing board:
The finance ministry has appointed AV Birla group chairman Kumar Managalam Birla as a public nominee on Sebi's governing board. The board has two positions for public nominees. The other nominee is IIM Ahmedabad's JR Verma.
Govt plans Warehouse Receipt Act:
The centre plans to promulgate a Warehouse Receipt Act to make receipts obtained from warehouses a negotiable instrument in futures trading in the country. NN Mookerjee, secretary consumer affairs, said thegovernment had already decided to amend FCR Act to define the role of a broker.
Centre fixes minimum support price:
The centre has fixed the minimum support price of raw cotton of two basic varieties for the 1998-99 cotton season. The varieties include F-414/H-777/J-34 and H-4 cotton at Rs 1,440 and Rs 1,650 respectively.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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