Bizbits

Forex level up

MUMBAI: The country8217;s foreign currency assets increased by 23 million to 26.55 billion in the week to December 4. However, gold reserves held with the RBI declined by 21 million to 3.04 billion, the central bank8217;s weekly statistical bulletin said on Saturday. While, special drawing rights increased by 1 million, the net effect on total foreign currency reserves was a marginal rise of3 million.

VSNL-Intelsat

NEW DELHI: VSNL has hired eight transponders, each with a capacity of carrying two channels, from Intelsat for analog broadcast services in the country. The company plans to charge 900,000 from customers per channel. VSNL has already received firm bookings from a number of broadcasters for the transponders, capable of carrying two channels per transponder.

BSE badla rates

MUMBAI: Carryforward rates on the BSE fluctuated in the band of 11.5 per cent to 17.5 per cent annualised before closing at 12.2 per cent for the week ended December 11. The badla turnover on the BSE, excluding the undha badla backwardation volumes, touched a high of Rs 663 crore.

CNBC Asia

MUMBAI: CNBC Asia has announced its search for quot;The CNBC Complete Manager,quot; an all-India contest for the managers of tomorrow. The search for the first among equals, covers 60 premier institutes and 13 cities, spanning the whole of India. The contest which is currently underway and goingthrough its regional rounds, will see over 8,000 future managers competing with each other, collectively battling their way through 15,000 testing hours and three lakh questions.

Adfactors

MUMBAI: PR Week, the international public relations journal, has in its latest issue featured the marketing campaign of State Bank of India8217;s Resurgent India Bonds RIBs by Mumbai-based Adfactors PR. This is perhaps the first time that an Indian PR case study is being featured in the prestigious journal published from the UK and the USA.

MasterCard

MUMBAI: Gurpreet Singh has been appointed by MasterCard International as Director Acceptance Development for India. In his new role, Singh will liaise closely with MasterCard member banks to identify new areas of merchant acceptance as also to expand the existing merchant acceptance base in India for MasterCard International8217;s range of payment products including credit and debit cards.

Anji Reddy

MUMBAI: DR K Anji Reddy, chairman of the Rs 500crore Dr Reddy8217;s group of pharmaceutical companies, received the FAPA-Ishidate Award given to an outstanding Asian pharmacist excelling in pharmaceutical research by the Federation of Asian Pharmaceutical Association FAPA. The award was presented to him in Mumbai by the FAPA president at the Indian Pharmaceutical Congress of Indian Pharmaceutical Congress Association IPCA organised jointly with the Asian Congress of Pharmaceutical Sciences of FAPA.

Toyo Engineering

MUMBAI: Toyo Engineering India Ltd has bagged the export award for 1997-98 from Overseas Construction Council of India in the category of maximum foreign exchange earned and repatriated in engineering service contracts. Toyo is one of the prominent technical consultancy organisations in India and its services are acknowledged by Indian petrochemical, fertilisers and chemicals manufactures.

MM Softek

MUMBAI: M M Softek Ltd, a Bangalore-based provider of IT solutions, has announced a public issue of shares. It is planning toset up of a state-ofthe-art 100 per cent EoU at the Software Technology Park of India, involving a cost of Rs 2 crore.

MM Rubber

MUMBAI: MM Rubber Company Ltd, the largest manufacturer of natural latex foam mattresses in the country, has introduced its two new innovative mattresses adding to its wide quot;MM Foamquot; range of high quality mattresses, with the aim of providing customers with ultimate comfort and luxury.

Bunka Orient

MUMBAI: Intuitive Manufacturing Systems, Inc, USA has signed a strategic alliance with Bunka Orient India, the Indian arm of Bunka Orient Corporation, Japan. This is the second alliance between BOC, Japan and IMC. The objective of the alliance is to provide ERP/MRP II solutions based on Microsoft technologies through MRP9000, the flagship product of IMS.

BSEL Information

MUMBAI: BSEL Information Systems has entered the field of software education training by tying up with Canadian Government-owned Sheridan Collage to set up state-of-the-art authorizedtraining centres ATCs in India.