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BUDGET 1999
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August 31, 1999

Next Stop: 5000
The Sensex seems tantalisingly close to the dream figure.

Sensex completes a 'hat-trick' of all-time highs, touches 4965, closes at 4905
The 30-share BSE benchmark index spurted 31 points. The S&P CNX Nifty closed at 1421.50, an all-time high, while the rupee remained steady at 43.49 to US $.

'No tax hikes in my next budget,' says Sinha
'If the BJP-led coalition returns to power and if I am around as finance minister, I'll take a bet that taxes won't be raised,' Yashwant Sinha told a television show.

Vote the lesser evil for economic growth
'There will be fierce opposition to opening up the economy and reordering national priorities. So my vote will go to the Congress for being the lesser evil and marginally more credible and reassuring than the BJP-led NDA,' says Dilip Thakore.

ICICI to delist from London SE, enlist at NYSE, offer ADRs
GDR-holders would be given an option to get their instruments converted into ADRs in 1:1 swap ratio.

Bank Brussels Lambert gets FIPB nod to pick up Vysysa Bank stake
In all, 25 proposals were approved by the board today, amounting to a total foreign direct investment inflow of Rs 7.50 billion.

Markets

BSE: Another day, another all-time high: Sensex up 35 points to 4905
NSE: Nifty, too, makes it three-in-a-row, scales fresh all-time high at 1422
Forex:Rupee steady at 43.49 to US $

August 28-30, 1999

'AP's CEO has surrendered the state to corporates'
Kerala Chief Minister E K Nayanar dissects the Indian economy.

Tata Tea to set up arm in Europe for Tetley takeover
The company will invest around 75 million sterling pounds for buying shares of UK-based Tetley. The company plans to raise 100 million US dollars through issue of securities in order to finance the project.

WB-funded unit to launch afforadable ice-creams for the 'common man'
To start with, Metro Dairy's ice-creams would be available in Calcutta, North and South 24 Parganas, Howrah, Hooghly and Nadia districts of West Bengal at 'very competitive prices'.

Cash-strapped Goa bans extravagant govt business
Heavy salary bill, lavish working styles, pilferage and losses of revenue in excise, electricity and other revenue earning departments characterise Goa's financial indiscipline.

Mitsubishi, M&M deny break-up, to continue tie-up for Voyager
Mitsubishi has not received any partnership proposals from M&M, so the question of rejecting them does not arise, a joint statement said.

Mahindra sets up subsidiary for customising automobiles
Mahindra Auto Specialities Limited will customise and redesign any vehicle as per the customer's demand. This will include altering the vehicle design and bullet-proofing for high-worth individuals and armed forces.

Markets

BSE: Sensex up 24 points to 4870, an all-time high
NSE: Nifty up 15 points to 1417, an all-time high record close
Forex:Rupee gains a tad at Rs 43.50 to US $

August 27, 1999

Today's Kids, Today's Investors
Children in urban India are increasingly becoming money-savvy, according to a Cartoon Network survey

SEBI suspends 3 brokers in share price manipulation case
The case pertains to BPL, Videocon and Sterlite share prices in June 1998 that caused payment crisis on the National and Bombay Stock Exchanges.

RPG group, Hong Kong's Dairy Farm forge tie-up
The joint venture would acquire the 29 Foodworld supermarkets, currently being operated by Spencer in Madras, Bangalore and Hyderabad at a cost of Rs 250 million.

Piaggio's termination of JV for LML is invalid, contend Singhanias
the agreement could be The joint venture agreement could be terminated only by an arbitration tribunal or a civil court, not on Piaggio's own. So the purported termination is invalid in law.

Mitsubushi ends alliance with M&M, fate of tie-up for Voyager unknown
The Japanese auto major also claimed that it still has the option to buy ten per cent equity in Hindustan Motors. The latter has, however, dropped plans to offer the equity.

Clean up the toxic legacy in Kerala, Greenpeace tells Grasim
'Grasim can't just close and move out of Mavoor after three decades of polluting existence. Grasim should not be allowed to do a repeat of the Union Carbide escape act in Bhopal,' the international environment group said.

SEBI debars 62 directors of vanishing companies
The directors will not be able to raise resources from the capital market or deal in securities in any manner, and their association with capital market intermediaries has been restricted.

Markets

BSE: Sensex up 128 points to 4846.31, an all-time high
NSE: Nifty up 30 points to 1402, an all-time high record close
Forex:Rupee gains a tad at Rs 43.51 to US $

August 26, 1999

Reverse Swing
Rumours that media revelations are imminent about the 'UTI-broker nexus', savaged the bull run today. Basudeb Sen, UTI's executive director, denied any wrongdoing. "Let the article get published, if at all, then we will see," he told rediff.com.

RBI's intervention in forex market not political but precautionary, says Jalan
The RBI governor also defended India's crawl towards capital account convertibility.

Sony, HDFC Bank tie up to hardsell car audio systems
HDFC Bank car loan has been increased by upto five per cent of the car price to enable buyers to install Sony stereo systems in their cars.

Colas like Coke, Pepsi are injurious to health, assert Mexican consumer watchdogs
All soft drinks contain substances that are harmful to living organisms, but ''caffeine and phosphates are what make colas particularly unhealthy'', according to physicians' reports.

Markets

BSE: Sensex down 74 points to 4718
NSE: Nifty down 13 points to 1372
Forex: Rupee steady at Rs 43.52 vs $

August 25, 1999

BCCI-DD deal for cricket telecast rights smells fishy
High-profile satellite channels like ESPN-STAR, Sony and Zee realise the business of television rights and picture production is a veritable minefield.

RBI puts 99-00 GDP growth at 6.5 pc; service sector's contribution rises
Industrial production is likely to increase at about 7 per cent, the central bank said in its annual report.

Sensex, Nifty close at all-time high
At the end of Tuesday's trading, the BSE-30 index was up 1.31 per cent at 4792 and the NSE's S&P CNX Nifty was up 1.15 per cent at 1385. The rupee closed at 43.52 to US $.

Indian banks need not blindly ape Japanese mega-merger, says Mankad
The shareholders' interest should be given maximum importance, the finance secretary said. Majority shareholding in most of the Indian banks is held by the Union government.

Govt to wind up 10 PSUs, says Bakht
''It is not the government's business to do business,'' the industry minister said.

Discovery to invest $ 13 million in India, plans to launch pay-channels
'We have not started making profit as yet in India and hence require capital investments from the parent company for our needs,' Discovery India's CEO and MD Kiran Karnik said.

HPCL to invest Rs 100 billion during Ninth Plan period
The public sector unit is aiming to emerge as a leading world class petroleum and energy company.

Birla Mutual Fund to treble branches by year-end
Cities like Visakhapatnam, Ludhiana, Baroda, Nagpur, Kanpur, Coimbatore, Panaji have significant business volumes without having the direct presence of a mutual fund, according to a BMF official.

Markets

BSE: Sensex up 62 points to 4792
NSE: Nifty up 16 points to 1385
Forex: Rupee down 2 paise to Rs 43.52 vs $

August 24, 1999

A Matter of Time
Global brands excite India's watch industry.

FIPB nods to Pfizer plan for 100 pc drugs arm
In all, 38 proposals were approved by the board amounting to a foreign direct investment inflow of Rs 2.60 billion.

Maruti's Zen Classic looks like Suzuki's Cervo-C, priced at Rs 364,000
'The Zen Classic reflects Maruti's recognition of the sub-segments within the Zen market. As the market matures, opening up such segments is critical to success,' said Jagdish Khattar, MD.

Fiat hikes stake in Ind Auto to 76 per cent
The Italian auto major has pumped in Rs 2.5 billion and rechristened its joint venture with Premier Automobiles as Fiat IndAuto.

Hyundai to make small car Verna in India
The Korean car major aims to sell 3,000 Vernas by the end of 1999 and another 12,000 in 2000.

British Bank of Middle East to merge with HSBC in India
With the merger of three BBME branches for rationalisation and improved marketing, HSBC will have 26 branches in India.

Markets

BSE: Sensex up 84 points to 4730
NSE: Nifty up 22 points to 1369
Forex: Rupee recovers 7 paise to Rs 43.50 vs $

August 21-23, 1999

Eyeing Ears
Entrepreneurs see big business opportunities as 150 FM radio stations loom over broadcast industry.

Maruti to target Rs 100 billion turnover in 2000-01
The cake is getting bigger and we are selling whatever we have been producing. In fact, due to production constraints, we have not been able to produce more and meet the growing demand for our vehicles, Maruti's new MD Jagdish Khattar said.

Rupee closes at all-time low of 43.57 to US $
Fears of Chinese yuan devaluation, liquidity squeeze due to moderate FII activity, US attempt to link sanctions to India's N-doctrine have hit the sentiment. Traders feel the rupee may test 43.60 level on Monday.

Amartya roots for Manmohan as PM, wants next govt to focus on land reforms
''Dr Singh, my very close and dear friend, may one day very well become the prime minister. He has many years to go. He may well be the prime minister in his full bloom," the economics Nobel laureate said.

Taj group to acquire 2 Kirloskar hotels in Maharashtra
Indian Hotels Company will acquire Blue Diamond in Pune and another hotel in Baramati at an estimated cost of Rs 400 million.

Markets

BSE: Sensex up 16 points to 4645
NSE: Nifty up 2.3 points to 1347
Forex: Rupee down 8 paise to all-time-low close; Rs 43.57 vs $

August 20, 1999

Progress Report on FM Band
Yashwant Sinha lists his achievements, projections

ICICI agrees to three-tier equity offering for Rs 22 billion
The break-up: a preferential allotment to domestic FIs for Rs 5 billion at Rs 73 per share, a public issue for Rs 2.75 billion at Rs 73 per share, and an international offering including ADRs.

Panel calls for govt divestment from BHEL, 4 other PSEs
The Disinvestment Commission has said that the government should offer to strategic buyers 51 per cent of the equity of HIL, RCFL, RINL, 33 per cent equity of HOCL, and 20 per cent equity of BHEL.

Khan, former IDBI chief, to head urban infrastructure fund
The fund, an initiative of the Feedback Ventures Group, is expected to catalyse urban infrastructure projects worth Rs 15-20 billion.

Daewoo Corp recast will strenghten Indian arm, says Awasthi
India has been identified as a key market for growth for Daewoo's auto business, the DMIL chief said.

Honda-Siel to guide prospective buyers of Honda-Japan cars
The exercise is expected to help the company in collating data about the Indian customers' preferences for particular models and in finalising future introductions in India.

Markets

BSE: Sensex down 75 points to 4630
NSE: Nifty down 18 points to 1345
Forex: Rupee down six paise; Rs 43.49 vs $

August 19, 1999

Welcome, Foreign Investors
Communist-led Kerala discards aversion to capitalists, paves way for mega projects. Italian consortium to set up India's biggest business centre in Kochi.

ICICI enters personal finance segment
The loans would be available for purchase, construction and extension of residential premises and purchase of residential plots. ICICI would also launch its credit cards soon.

Maruti Baleno priced at Rs 725,000
MUL will produce 1,250 units of the Baleno and 3,000 units of the Wagon-R this fiscal. These figures would be hiked to 8,000 and 30,000 respectively by 2000-01.

Tourism sector remains active amid Kargil unrest
Foreign exchange earnings during July were $ 222.26 million (Rs 9.57 billion), up 10.4 per cent from July 1998. The 1999 foreign exchange earnings till July have been $ 617.77 million (Rs 69.13 billion).

SEBI panel to finalise Net-based trading norms
The first working group would look into the standardisation of interface and security protocols for Internet trading at various levels. The second group will examine surveillance and monitoring related issues.

India and Kazakhstan to boost trade ties
The two countries would explore the possibility of joint production and processing of oil and natural gas.

Markets

BSE: Sensex up 84 points to 4705
NSE: Nifty up 41 points to 1363
Forex: Rupee down one paisa; Rs 43.43 vs $

August 18, 1999

Changing India Inc
Reinvention of companies, careers, government and its agencies shapes the New Millennium Mindset.

Govt relents, puts off aircraft buying for IA
The government that will assume office after the national election will invite commercial bids, and carry out technical and financial evaluation of bids for aircraft acquisition.

SEBI tightens screws on vanishing finance companies
The market regulator has also sought to streamline depositories's functioning. Registration rules for FIIs' clients have been relaxed.

India urges G-15 to act against WTO's imbalances
It was necessary to recognise the sovereign rights of nations over their biological resources, Commerce Minister Ramakrishna Hegde said.

Markets

BSE: Sensex up 63 points to 4621.00
NSE: Nifty up 13 points to 1322.70
Forex: Rupee steady; Rs 43.42 vs $

August 17, 1999

13 questions
Bibek Debroy on why the government should not be in business

Bhaskarudu quits Maruti, Khattar to occupy driver's seat from Tuesday
MUL's board of directors has maintained a 30 per cent dividend for the fiscal 1999-2000, resulting in a total outgo of Rs 400 million.

FIPB approves 43 proposals worth Rs 4.25 billion FDI
Honda Motor Company of Japan has got the nod to set up a wholly-owned subsidiary for producing scooters and motorcycles in India. Motorola will invest $ 2 million to acquire Grass Check Technologies.

BJP-led NDA promises 8 pc GDP growth and $10b annual FDI
The alliance said it will enact the Fiscal Responsibility Act to check government finances, while maintaining a "strong nationalist thrust" in economic reforms.

Indian Rayon to exit magnesia biz, seek buyback at premium
A V Birla group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla expects that the price range for the purpose of buyback would be between Rs 70 and Rs 90 per equity share.

Markets

BSE: Sensex up 70 points to 4558.23
NSE: Nifty up 18 points to 1309.90
Forex: Rupee inches up; Rs 43.42 vs $

September 1999

August 1-15, 1999

July 16-31, 1999

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