National Westminster Bank Plc said on Friday it was in talks to acquire life assurance and pensions group Legal & General Group Plc in a deal expected to be worth $17.24 billion. Industry sources said the boards of both companies would meet at the weekend to give final approval to a recommended cash and stock offer, worth 210 pence a share.

HC upholds order on ModiLuft chief

The Delhi high court has upheld its earlier order directing examination of SK Modi, chairman of ModiLuft, a company under winding up process, in the court by counsel of the parties to whom it owed payment. A division bench comprising chief justice SN Variava and justice SK Mahajan on Thursday dismissed Modi's appeal against an order of a single judge bench allowing his questioning by the counsel of the affected parties saying there was nothing wrong in the order.

Fire at Ananda Bazar Patrika

A major fire, raging through the third and fourth floors of the Ananda Bazar Patrika officesince early Friday morning, seriously damaged the advertising, editorial and circulating departments of the leading bengali daily. Fire brigade officials supervising the operations said there were no immediate reports of casualty.

Cipla targets Rs 700 cr sales

The Mumbai-based Cipla expects to close the current fiscal with sales "slightly in excess" of Rs 700 crore, even as profits are expected to be in the region of Rs 125 crore. The company has also sewn up an alliance with Zenith Goldline, an affiliate of American giant Ivax Corporation, for the supply of flutamide, used in the treatment of advanced prostatic cancer.

Tobaccowala to step down from Voltas

One of the two remaining satraps of the JRD Tata era is finally set to step down. Voltas chairman Akhtar Hydarali Tobaccowala, also a director on the board of Tata Sons, the holding company of the group, will relinquish his positions by the end of the current fiscal.

Corporate Monitor

Maruti's four-prongedstrategy

Auto giant Maruti Udyog has formulated a four-pronged strategy to retain its leadership position in each segment of the passenger car market and enter the new millenium with confidence. "We are looking with confidence at the new millenium which will give us immense strength. We have developed a medium-term policy to exploit the huge potential emerging in year 2000," MUL managing director Jagdish Khattar said.

SAIL not to implement McKinsey proposal

SAIL has decided not to implement McKinsey's recommendation for closure of subsidiary alloy steels plant in Durgapur, SAIL officials said on Thursday. Instead, the company would find ways and means to make the plant viable, the officials said.

Berger Paints in pact with Nippon

Berger Paints has finalised a technical alliance with Japanese paint major Nippon for the automotive OEM segment as part of its long-term strategy to build an expanding market in the non-decorative segment. Berger Paints MD Subir Bose said that thealliance, which was clinched last month, could help the company capture a major part of the market share in the increasingly growing Indian car and two-wheeler segments.

Polar Latex sets sights on Bangladesh

Polar Latex of the Calcutta-based Polar group is targeting the Bangladesh latex condom market with two of its brands. It is expecting annual sales of 150 million pieces within a few years. Polar Latex MD Kalyan Chattopadhyay told The Financial Express, "In the current year we are expecting sales of Rs 8 crore, which would be around 15 per cent of our total exports."

NTPC says no to tie up with CIL

Spurning the offer to develop captive coal mines, NTPC has reached an agreement with Coal India Ltd for its three upcoming projects with combined capacity of 5,500 mw. Coal ministry had earlier conveyed to the power ministry its decision to allow NTPC captive coal mines for two mega power projects of 2000 mw each in Bihar.

Banking and Finance

HSBC new CEO

Zarir J Camawill takeover as CEO of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation in India from 1 October. Cama replaces current incumbent, Dyfrig John, who is to become HSBC Bank Malaysia Berhad's deputy chairman and CEO. In a release issued, HSBC said that Cama will also be the chairman of the group's investment banking companies in India--HSBC Capital Markets India Pvt Ltd, and HSBC Securities India Holdings Pvt Ltd.

ICICI to focus on fee-based activities

ICICI Ltd, will shift its focus from lending to fee-based activities in order to reduce risk and improve profits, KV Kamath, the FIs managing director said. "We plan to focus on fee-based activies like securitisation and corporate gurantee in order to de-risk our asset portfolio," Kamath said.

Centurion Bank treasury operations

Centurion Bank has achieved a 400 per cent jump in its treasury operations in this fiscal. This follows a restructuring exercise being carried out by the bank in its treasury and investment business. Centurion Bank hasalso drawn up plans to shortly launch a debit card and a co-branded credit card, apart from joining the Visa, MasterCard and Swadhan card networks.

Sunflowers looks set to bag trophy

The 1999 Pune meeting has virtually reached the halfway mark. There are a fair number of prestigious events carded for September, and this weekend sees two such races being run. First, older horses square off over 2000 metres in the Grade 3 Eve Champion Trophy this afternoon, while the younger generation takes one further step in determining the identity of its leaders in the Grade 3 General Rajendrasinhji Million over 1800 metres scheduled for tomorrow.