Bizbits

HLCL to pay 160 dividend
MUMBAI: The board of Hind Lever Chemicals Ltd HLCL today recommended a dividend of 160 per cent for year ended December 1999 following improved performance. HLCL posted a 26.6 per cent increase in profit after tax at Rs 53.7 crore in 1999 as against Rs 42.4 crore in 1998 while there was a 60 per cent rise in turnover at Rs 1,475.6 crore in 1999 as against Rs 923.4 crore last year.

Kotak Mahindra to launch IT fund
MUMBAI: Kotak Mahindra Mutual Fund is launching two new equity schemes, K-Tech and K-MNC. Both the schemes are open-ended and will open for subscription at Rs 10 per unit during the intial public offering opening on February 24 and closing on March 24, 2000. K-Tech will invest in technology companies and K-MNC will invest in the choicest of MNCs. Kotak Mahindra Mutual Fund currently has four schemes, namely K-Gilt, K-Bond, K-Balance and K-30, and manages assets of more than Rs 1,000 crore. K-30, the other equity scheme from Kotak MF, was launced onDecember 21, 1998 at Rs 10. The sectors that K-Tech has identified for investment are IT services, IT enabled services, software products, e-business, telecom, media, life science and biotechnology.

Gold Festival 2000 draw winners
MUMBAI: The Mumbai Gold Festival 2000 at a grand gathering held recently for the prize distribution of its third draw, about 50 lucky winners walked away rich with 20 gold prizes and 30 other prizes. Subsequent to the fourth draw held on February 17, 20 people won 20 gold prizes of 100 grams each. In addition, there were add-on prizes too which included 10 prizes by Electrolux washing machines. In addition to these weekly draws, there will be one grand finale where the bumper prize would be 7 kg of gold.