HDFC eyes insurance sector
HDFC is planning to enter the insurance sector in collaboration with a UK-based company and has signed a memorandum of understanding with Standard Life Assurance Company, Europe's largest mutual life company. Chairman Deepak Parekh said HDFC's entry into the high growth area of mutual funds, to offer a wide spectrum of savings products, was also on the anvil. HDFC is also planning to launch a "real estate mutual fund".

Real estate activity picks up
February saw the Mumbai real estate market abuzz with activity. Residential property and freehold land held out promise to both buyers and sellers, particularly in the mid-budget segment. Out of the 72 realty transactions, 34 were residential, 11 related to transfer of freehold land, while 24 transactions were of commercial premises. Rates in the premium segment were seen taking a dip while the mid-budget segments looked up.

Taximen plan stir in city
Nearly 55,000 taxis in Mumbai will go on an indefinite strike from the midnight of Monday protesting against the transport department's decision to ban 15,000 taxi operators from plying their vehicles, following the Mumbai high court order making it mandatory for vehicles, which are more than 15-year-old, to undergo pollution under control tests.

Death penalty sought for Sharif
Prosecutors on Monday called for a death sentence or life imprisonment for former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on charges of hijacking, attempted murder and hijacking. Raja Qureshi told an Anti-Terrorism Court that the prosecution had proved its case against Sharif and six others and that the law called for a "death penalty or imprisonment of life".

Apollo Hospitals' new strategy
The Rs 300-crore Apollo Hospitals Enterprises Ltd is planning to franchise clinics across the country. The group is planning to have them in metros, semi-urban and rural areas and all would be networked. The consultant for this project is Arthur Anderson who will be drafting out the modalities between Apollo and the franchisees.

GM names new Cadillac head
General Motors Corp on Monday named Michael O'Malley as marketing general manager for the Cadillac luxury vehicle brand. O'Malley, 48, previously regional general manager for the north central US region, replaces John F Smith, who was recently appointed GM vice president and general manager of GM's service parts operations.

Yahoo! to launch market directory
Internet media company Yahoo! Inc on Monday said it would launch a directory of the ever-increasing number of online marketplaces of business supplies, materials and equipment. Santa Clara, California-based Yahoo! said its new site, Yahoo!B2B Marketplace, would feature more than 48,000 initial listings in more than 650 categories.

HP, Xerox settle patent suits
Hewlett-Packard Co and copier company Xerox Corp said on Monday they had resolved the pending patent-infringement lawsuits against each other. The companies said in a statement that they had agreed to settle to avoid the costs, time and distractions of lengthy legal battles, including the six patent-related lawsuits filed between May 1998 and June 1999.

SGS sets up local food division
SGS India Ltd, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Swiss inspection, testing and verification major SGS, has set up a food services division in the country. This gives Indian consumers the advantage of world-class certification that ensures quality food products from manufacturers, retailers and catering and hospitality establishments.

UTI goes after Infy stock
The Unit Trust of India has aggressively bought Infosys Technologies in most of its equity schemes. The mutual fund leader has zeroed in on Infosys in its attempt to add information technology stocks in the equity portfolios of most of its schemes. UTI's drive to add Infosys to its portfolio explains the dramatic rise in the value of the Infosys scrips over the last few moths.

SUN F&C dividend on Value Fund
SUN F&C Mutual Fund on Monday declared a final dividend of 30 per cent and 7.6 per cent for its Value Fund-Dividend Plan and Money Value Fund-Bond Option respectively. Including the interim dividend of 25 per cent and 7.5 percent on VFDP and MVF, the total dividend on these schemes sum up to 55 per cent and 15.1 per cent respectively, the MF said in a statement here.

Vijaya Bank's profits improve
The Vijaya Bank's total business will cross the Rs 16,000-crore mark by March 31, 2000. The bank's profits has improved steadily from Rs 34.77 crore in 1996-97 to Rs 116.14 crore in 1998-99. The unaudited working results for the nine month period from April-December 1999 reveal that the operating profit further improved to Rs 136 crore. The bank is expected to post a net profit of minimum of Rs 60 crore during 1999-2000.

IDBI suspends Essar Steel funding
Essar Steel is unlikely to get any financial support from the Industrial Development Bank of India till it clears at least a part of loan overdues. The IDBI executive committee, which discussed the issue on March 15, felt the company should evolve a plan for rendering its operations profitable, and arrange for clearance of overdues, before it could think of funding Floating Rate Notes' redemption scheme.