Sinha on rupee depreciation
Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha has cautioned that if the depreciation of the rupee against the dollar persists, `there may be cause for concern'. He, however, said "I am not worried as such about what is happening in the forex market on a temporary basis. What worries me is the long-term trend,". The rupee which had lost 2.7 per cent of its value during 1999-2000, has depreciated 2.5 per cent of its value within the first few months of the current fiscal. It started falling from 43.67 a dollar on May 9 to 44.95 a dollar on June 8 but recovered to close at 44.69 on June 15.

Zee to sport a new logo
Zee TV will have a new channel identity, graphics and packaging with effect from Sunday to give it a contemporary and younger look. US-based Novocom, which has worked for international channels like Fox Sports, has designed the channel identity. The Zee logo will be golden in front while the background will be purple (replacing the pink and blue combination).

Tata Tea net dips to Rs 124 cr
Tata Tea has registered a 3.25 per cent drop in net profit to Rs 124.57 crore during the financial year ended March 31, 2000, from Rs 128.81 crore in the corresponding period last year. The company attributes the dip in profits to a decline in production and higher staff costs during the year.

Telstra buyout
The BK Modi group has paid around Rs 75 crore to buy out Australia's Telstra from Modi Telstra. Telstra's 49 per cent stake has been picked up by ModiCorp and associate Spice Telecom.

Neolab weighs local sourcing hub
Generic drugs must not be misconstrued as being unsafe just because they are more competitively priced, according to the chairman of the UK-based Neolab John H Davies. Neolab, which has a technical alliance with domestic pharmaceutical company Okasa for manufacturing generics at its units in Mumbai and Goa, is examining the option of developing India as its sourcing base.

Escorts net up 33% to Rs 112.35 cr
Tractor manufacturer Escorts has registered a 33 per cent jump in net profit at Rs 112.35 crore on an increased sales turnover of Rs 1,295.75 crore for the year-ended March 31, 2000. Escorts sales turnover in 1998-99 stood at Rs 1,105.60 crore. The company's profit before tax (PBT) for the year ended March 31, 2000, stood at Rs 142.35 crore as against Rs 110.17 crore.

ICICI's Safety Bonds
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has cleared an umbrella prospectus filed by term-lending institution ICICI for raising Rs 4,000 crore through its upcoming `Safety Bonds' issue. Sebi has permitted the institution a greenshoe of 100 per cent, allowing it to retain oversubscription up to Rs 4,000 crore. The `Safety Bonds' issue will be in the nature of unsecured redeemable bonds, with an option to raise the amount in more than one tranche during the year.