Premier cuts Padmini prices: The price-war fever has caught up with Premier Automobiles too. The company has slashed the prices of the Padmini 1.37D from Thursday as part of a strategic attempt to retain some specific markets where it is popular. The ex-showroom price in Mumbai of the taxi version will now be Rs 2.62 lakh, down from Rs 2.66 lakh, and the Cool Cab will now cost Rs 2.90 lakh, against the earlier Rs 3.11 lakh.

IMF package for Brazil: With the 8 per cent devaluation of the Brazilian currency real threatening to throw the global markets out of gear, the IMF has urged Brazil to push on with spending cuts and structural reform. Thailand, which triggered Asia's economic crisis in mid-1997, could face the brunt of the real's devaluation, analysts said.

Rallis Q3 net zooms 110%: Rallis India said on Thursday its net for the third quarter ended December 31, 1998, zoomed 110.4 per cent to Rs 8.48 crore, from Rs 4.03 crore during the same period the previous year. This has been achieved despite a drop in net sales during the period to Rs 288.34 crore (Rs 340.04 crore), the company claimed.

Sonata posts Rs 3-crore net: Sonata Software on Thursday said it posted a net profit of Rs 3.1 crore on net sales of Rs 29 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 1998. Export revenues were Rs 16.3 crore, constituting about 56 per cent of the turnover, it added.

Dabon International's target: Dabon International, the 50:50 joint venture between Dabur India and Bongrain of France, plans to break even in three years. The company, which launched LeBon cheese, has garnered a market share of around 10-15 per cent in Delhi, and aims to achieve a turnover of Rs 15-20 crore in its first year of operations, Dabon International CEO and director PK Gupta said.

IOC's plan: Indian Oil Corporation will hit the domestic market to offload 5 per cent of Government equity in March next as part of the disinvestment drive. According to people in the know of the matter, the IOC disinvestment in the domestic market is expected to fetch Rs 800 crore. This, they added, is in addition to the cabinet decision of selling the company's equity through buyback, or to another PSU, which was expected to mop up Rs 1,700 crore.

VSNL to hike bandwidth: The state-owned VSNL will increase the broadband network from 125 mega byte bandwidth to 400 mega byte by the year-end, chief general manger DK Nimal said at the ISP '99 conference in Mumbai on Thursday. Initially, the bandwidth will be increased by 45 mega byte.

Sensex down 18 points: Selling pressure pulled down the 30-share Sensex by 18.18 points on Thursday. Dealers said barring select infotech counters, overall selling pressure was noticed in the market. Reflecting the weak trend, the Sensex opened its innings at 3222.45 points, touched the day's high of 3333.80 points, and the low of 3251.18 points, before closing at 3292.28 points.

RBI's direction: The Reserve Bank on Thursday directed banks to put in place an asset-liability management system in place by April 1999. But it has allowed the banks to initially capture 60 per cent of the data on asset and liabilities in the first year, and the rest by April 2000.

Electronic clearing service: The Reserve Bank is likely to make it mandatory for corporates to route their dividend and interest payments through its electronic clearing service, which will facilitate large disbursals. The central bank has proposed to extend the service to 29 new centers in addition to the existing 16 centers.

HSBC's new service: HSBC on Thursday launched its private-banking services for high net worth individuals in the country with a minimum relationship size of Rs 50 lakh. The services will be initially provided in Mumbai. This on-shore service includes, among others, individually-tailored investment advice, in addition to the personal-banking services being provided by HSBC in the country.

Indica schemes: Car financiers in Mumbai are wooing customers to buy the Indica with attractive schemes, under-cutting one another in the process. Bookings for Telco's small car are slated to open on January 17.

Roche sales up 31 per cent: Swiss pharmaceuticals and diagnostics group Roche Holding AG on Thursday said 1998 group sales rose 31 per cent in Swiss franc terms to 24.66 billion francs, in line with analysts' expectations. The company posted sales of 18.767 billion francs in 1997. Roche also said it now expected the 1998 group net income to rise from the 4.3 billion Swiss francs profit before special charges it posted in 1997.