The foreign currency assets (FCA) were down by $66 million to $29,613 million during the week ended April 16, 1999. The fall in FCA followed an increase of $112 million during the week ended April 9 and a whopping $960 million rise in the preceding week. During the week, total foreign exchange reserves were also down by $66 million to $32,581 million, with gold and special drawing rights remaining static at $2,960 million and $8 million respectively, according to Reserve Bank of India's weekly statistical supplement.

WMA shoots up to Rs 12,969 cr

The Ways and Means Advances (WMA) shot up to Rs 12,969 crore on April 9 -- way beyond the limit of Rs 11,000 crore limit for the first half as per the WMA agreement -- forcing the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to raise a record Rs 9,500 crore in the first week of the financial year itself. Bank credit went up by 1.1 per cent during the fortnight ended April 9 due to a Rs 4,446 crore rise in non-food credit. Depositsalso grew by 1.1 per cent during the fortnight ended April 1.

Hudco cuts interest on housing loans

Hudco has announced a further reduction in the interest rates for the housing loans under Hudco Niwas scheme launched on March 8. The slashed rates ranging from 0.25 per cent to 2 per cent for various slabs, will be effective from May 1.

Seven million mts wheat procured

Food Corporation of India (FCI) and other government agencies procured seven million mts of wheat till Saturday compared to 2.1 million mts procured during last year for the same period. Total wheat arrivals this year in the various state mandis has been 7.2 million tonnes, an FCI release said. In Punjab, the procurement has been 4 million mts compared 1.4 million mts last year, followed by Haryana 2.3 million mts, Rajasthan 195,000 tonnes and Madhya Pradesh 261,000 mts.

L&T open offer for Narmada Cement

Larsen & Toubro Ltd (L&T), which now holds a 74.5 per cent stake in the Narmada Cement Company Ltd, is likelyto make a `voluntary open offer' to the remaining shareholders of Narmada Cement. During an earlier public offer which closed on April 3, 1999, approximately 65.5 lakh shares were tendered at Rs 34 per share, an L&T release said on Saturday.

Nagarjuna, Infoquest Systems tie up

Hyderabad-based Nagarjuna group has entered into a joint venture with Infoquest Systems Pvt Ltd, Bangalore. Chairman of Nagarjuna group KS Raju would be the new chairman of Infoquest Systems while Satya Balli would be the vice-chairman and chief executive officer, according to a release on Saturday.

Skipper director arrested

Within a week of the Supreme Court pulling up Delhi police, crime branch officials have arrested Prabhjot Singh, director of Skipper Construction Company Pvt Ltd, in connection with a case pertaining to bungling of allotment of flats. Delhi Development Authority alleged that funds collected from various people for flats, which were to be constructed in Barakhamba property, were diverted andspent for construction at Jhandewalan property and elsewhere.

Birla Yamaha to build invertors

The battle in the invertor market is set to intensify with Birla Yamaha Ltd deciding to make a foray into the sector. Birla Yahama is the third company in the organised sector after Videocon and Exide Industries to venture into this fast growing industry. The company is launching 625 KA model invertor later this month in the Delhi market, said Birla Yamaha deputy general manager (marketing) Ajai Srivastava.

BPL offers free incoming call facility

In an attempt to expand its market share, BPL Mobile has introduced four new schemes in the market. Targeted at various segments, the scheme attempts to address the various needs of its customers like coverage in Tamil Nadu, free incoming calls, control over monthly phone bills and affordable initial price.

Wockhardt, Merind on rating watch

The Credit Rating Information Services of India Ltd (Crisil) has put the debt issues of Wockhardt andMerind Ltd on rating watch `with developing implications'. This follows Wockhardt's decision to demerge its non-pharmaceutical businesses and consolidate the pharmaceutical businesses of the two group companies to exploit synergies. Crisil said it was holding a dialogue with the management of both companies to ascertain the various modalities and implications of the above initiatives.

Western Coalfields to shut 5 units

The Western Coalfields Ltd (WCL) has decided to close down its five loss-making coal mines, including the neighbouring Kamptee Colliery in the current financial year. Chairman-cum-managing director of WCL, KC Vijh, however, made it clear that all the employees of these loss-making mines would be shifted to new projects and there was no threat to their employment due to the closure.

UB net profit dips 30.8%

United Breweries reported a 30.8 per cent drop in net profit for the fiscal ended March 31 to Rs 13.87 crore against Rs 20 crore for the corresponding period ofprevious year. Net sales of the UB group's flagship beer company registered a fall of 3.4 per cent to Rs 304.5 crore (Rs 315.3 crore).

Widia posts decline in net

Widia India Ltd has posted a decline in its net profit to report Rs 24.32 crore for the year 1998 against Rs 33.73 crore in the previous year. The turnover of the company during the period was Rs 201.11 crore (Rs 212.23 crore). An interim dividend of Rs 20 per share was declared by the board of directors.

Herbertsons turnover up

Herbertsons Ltd has reported a net profit of Rs 5.04 crore for the fiscal ended March 31, 1999 against Rs 5.02 crore for the previous fiscal. The company's net sales have gone up by 21 per cent to Rs 267.64 crore (Rs 219.58 crore) during the period. It achieved sales of over 7.6 million cases, registering a volume growth of 14 per cent.

Amendment to SCRA gets nod

The parliamentary standing committee has approved the amendment to the Securities Contracts Regulation Act (SCRA) to includederivatives under the definition of a security, thereby ruling out a further debate on the subject on the floor of the house. The SCRA amendment bill can now be passed within a month of the commencement of the next parliament session, joint director stock exchange division in the ministry of finance, MS Sahoo said.

Election for mayor on April 29

The next mayoral election for Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will be held on April 29, following the scrapping of the Mayor-in-Council system which was introduced on an experimental basis. The nomination forms will be filled on April 26.

RBI eases ceiling on interest rates

The Reserve Bank of India has eased the ceiling on interest rates charged on advances against deposits.