As part of its image-building exercise, BSE has invited suggestions and views from investors and their associations, to study "how better and faster services can be rendered to investors." Such views would help the committee (headed by retired Justice DR Dhanuka), set up by the BSE, to go into statutory provisions pertaining to investor protection and suggest measures to enhance their confidence in the market, BSE said.

Saw Pipes marches ahead

An impressive first-quarter bottomline growth, notwithstanding the drop in sales, and bright prospects make Saw Pipes an obvious choice for punters. Thanks to a 151 per cent jump in net profit for the quarter-ended September 30, 1999, and orders worth Rs 195 crore in hand, the stock has a long way to go.

Little returns for UTI MEP 1999

The sale of Master Equity Plan units for 1999 was a Herculean task for the Unit Trust of India if one goes by the expenses incurred during the launch of the scheme. These expenses accounted for 34.08 per cent of the total funds mobilised. However, despite incurring such a high expenditure, the investor apathy towards tax saving equity-linked schemes resulted in a mobilisation of only Rs 3.47 crore. The mobilisation is the lowest for any ELSS from the UTI stable.

GICMF to pay 30% dividend

GIC Mutual Fund has declared a dividend of 30 per cent for GIC Growth Plus II, an open-ended equity oriented scheme. The dividend is payable to all registered unitholders as on October 21. The dividend warrants are expected to be mailed to the unitholders by November 10. After book closure for dividend, the scheme re-opens for subscription from October 29.

Skindia GDR index down 0.18%

The Skindia GDR index, representing GDRs of 17 actively trading companies decreased by 0.18 per cent from 903.55 to 901.93 on October 26, 1999 as per the Skindia GDR index with a base January 3, 1995 equal to 1000. The Skindia GDR index P/E ratio was 60.73 as compared to 59.94, Skindia Finance specialising in Indian GDRs said in a press release.