Grasim asked to shut plant: The Kerala State Pollution Control Board has ordered immediate closure of the carbon disulphide plant of the Aditya Birla flagship Grasim Industries at Mavoor following the hospitalisation of 10 persons, who were affected allegedly by gas leak from the plant, on January 20. Grasim officials in Mumbai said that it would be a "temporary closure of the plant for just about two days" during which some additional equipment would be added to comply with the state pollution norms.

Wockhardt six-month net up 7%: Wockhardt said on Wednesday it posted a 7.4 per cent rise in its netprofit for the six months ended December 31, 1998, to Rs 39 crore, compared with Rs 36.3 crore recorded in the corresponding period of the previous year. Revenues rose 27 per cent to Rs 258.5 crore, against Rs 204 crore in the previous year, it said.

IPCL Q3 net up to Rs 35 cr: IPCL said it posted a net profit of Rs 35.56 crore during the third quarter ended December 31, 1998, against Rs 11.75 crore posted in the same period last year. The cumulative net profit for the second and third quarters has wiped off the huge losses suffered during the first quarter, said a release.

McDowell 9-month net up 68%: The UB group flagship McDowell & Co said on Wednesday it posted a 68 per cent jump in its net profit for the first nine months of the current fiscal despite a mere 1.33 per cent rise in turnover and a steep 63.4 per cent fall in other income. For the third quarter, the net profit increased by 20 per cent on a 10.3 per cent jump in turnover, it said.

Swaraj Engines net up 43%: SwarajEngines said it posted a 43 per cent rise in its net profit during the first nine months of the current financial year. The net profit zoomed to Rs 10.45 crore, up from Rs 7.30 crore in the same period last year, while cash profit was 53 per cent higher at Rs 16.40 crore.

Novopan Q3 sales drop by 30%: GVK group company Novopan Industries Ltd said it posted a 30 per cent drop in gross sales to Rs 16.79 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 1998, against Rs 24.19 crore recorded during the same period last year. The net profit has declined to Rs 1.08 crore, versus the year-ago period figure of Rs 1.84 crore.

MSEB's funds pressure: The Maharashtra State Electricity Board will be hard pressed to recover the cost of buying power from the Dabhol Power Company, whose mega project is scheduled to be commissioned soon. The state power board will buy power at Rs 3 per unit, a huge 30.4 per cent premium over its average selling price of Rs 2.30/unit. The board will have to pay the companyaround Rs 1,800 crore in the first year of power purchase.

Ashok Leyland Information Technology: Ashok Leyland Information Technology has roped in ETCS of the US for developing software solutions for the apparel industry. The firm plans to inject about Rs 3 crore for developing the product at its Mumbai facility in association with the US company.

L&T ISO 9000 certificate: The human resources development department of ECC, the construction group of Larsen & Toubro, has won the ISO:9001 certificate and national award for `HRD Practices'. The ISO certificate by the Bureau Veritas Quality International and the award from the Indian Society for Training and Development were presented to the company in Chennai on Wednesday.

Sensex down 32 points: Profit-booking on the last day of the trading cycle on the local bourse saw the 30-share Sensex dip below the psychological barrier of 3,300 points to close at 3,297.86, registering a net decline of 32.07 points. Institutional participants,however, continued to be net buyers on the local bourses. The Skindia GDR index registered a marginal gain to trade at 620.70 points during mid-session.

Zurich India Prudence Fund: The Zurich Financial Services Group, which has a 74 per cent stake in Twentieth Century Mutual Fund, has assured the fund of continuing its investment in the Zurich India Prudence Fund, for the next one year, as the scheme is being converted to an open-ended scheme from January 31, 1999. Zurich India Prudence Fund, the rechristened fund of Twentieth Century Mutual Fund, has given a return of 13.55 per cent for the year ended December 31, 1998, against a 16 per cent fall in the Sensex.

Plantation companies: The Association of Agri-Plantation Companies of India has urged markets regulator Sebi to reduce the proposed Rs 10-crore net worth requirement for plantation firms to Rs 3 crore. According to the association, the proposed registration fee of Rs 25 lakh is also high, and wants it to be brought down to Rs 2.5lakh.

Service tax: The Mumbai high court on Friday stayed the operation of provisions of service tax on chartered accountants, which took effect from October 16 last year. The stay order has come as a relief for chartered accountants, who were opposing the imposition of the tax.

Terminal handling charges: The Chennai Port Trust chairman M Machendranathan in a communication to the Chennai Steam Agents Association has described as unauthorised and illegal the recent additions to the terminal handling charges and the operational cost recovery charges imposed on customs agents doing clearing work at the port.

Cross-border loans tumble 60%: The Asian financial crisis and country rating downgrades have taken their toll on cross-border loans with deals contracted during 1998 falling by over 60 per cent to $1.47 billion from $5.18 billion in 1997. Compared with 1997's $5.18 billion raised through 59 transactions, only $1.47 billion was secured in 23 transactions in 1998.