THE INDEX: Low key
RESULTS of Sonata Software were not different from what was expected. The company, like most of the other second rung software companies, has reported a modest growth of 30 per cent in its total income to Rs 226 crore for the year ended March 31, 2001. The figures of income and profit include the respective figures of its wholly owned subsidiary Sonata Information Technology Limited, which was spun off into a separate company with effect from July, 1 2001.

Asahi to increase stake in Floatglass India to 75%
ASAHI Glass Co Ltd, a co-promoter and single largest stakeholder of Floatglass India, has decided to increase its stake in the company from 49 per cent to 75 per cent.

Tata Chemicals cement unit sale delayed
THE proposed sale of Tata Chemicals Ltd’s Mithapur cement unit in Gujarat has been put on the backburner, according to sources close to the deal. This follows the recent fire at the company’s Mithapur plant after which production had to be halted for a fifteen-day period.

APL to start new service from India 
CONTAINER liner APL (American President Lines) is to launch a new liner service from India to the Far East and Middle East. The service, with a capacity of 4,900 TEUs (Twenty Equivalent Units), would be a fixed day, weekly service and the first vessel would call at NSICT on Wednesday. The ports of call for the liner service would be Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan in the Far East and Fujeirah in the Middle East. The launch of the liner service comes close on the heels of Indian maritime major Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) announcing plans to extend its liner service currently restricted up to Singapore to Far East.

Parle enters dairy segment with ‘N-joy’
PARLE Agro Ltd entered the dairy segment by launching a natural fruit and milk drink under the brand name “N-joy” on Monday.

Ford India not to import used cars
Ford India Ltd (FIL) has decided against importing second-hand models of its cars, currently operational in Europe and the United States (US). Ford has taken this in-principle stand as used car imports are impossible to guarantee for safety, clean emissions and availability of spare parts.

Gail likely to take part in GSEG expansion
HERO Honda Motors Ltd (HHML) launched a new motorcycle Joy on Thursday and said it would invest Rs 300 crore ($65 million) to increase manufacturing capacity at its Haryana plant to 1.5 million units.

Kesoram board weighs merger of 3 group firms
KESORAM Industries Ltd is working on the feasibility of merging with itself three companies promoted by the group, of which one is a subsidiary and another unlisted. The board of the BK Birla-owned company will be weighing the merger proposal at its meeting on April 23.

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