Executive Briefing

AIR, DD strike suspended
The indefinite strike by Doordarshan and All India Radio employees was suspended on the 11th day on Friday, with the agitating cadres hoping that the Government will open the door for negotiations.

Trishul test-fired
In a successful military exercise, India on Friday experimented its surface-to-air missilie8217;Trishul8217; on a target 8216;Nishant8217;, an unmanned air vehicle from the interim test range in Orissa, ITR sources said.

Bilt posts Rs 5.26cr Q2 net
For the second quarter ended March 1999, Bilt recorded a net profit of Rs 5.26 crore, against a loss of Rs 11.79 crore in the corresponding quarter the previous year.

Wyeth Lederle net up 9.62
Wyeth Lederle has registered a 9.62 per cent increase in its net profit to Rs 26.55 crore for the year ended March 31, 1999, against Rs 24.22 crore in the previous year. Net sales for the year improved by 9.2 per cent to Rs 226.48 crore Rs 207.27 crore.

Gautam Thapar is new Bilt MD
LM Thapar on Friday stepped down as managing director of the Thapar group flagship Ballarpur Industries, paving the way for his nephew Gautam Thapar to take over the reins of the company.

Philips strategy
Philips India aims to use the Rs 12-crore advertising campaign for the 1999 cricket World Cup as a platform to drive sales in the large-screen colourtelevision segment. The company is launching two feature-heavy sets in the 29-inch and the 34-inch segments, priced at Rs 39,900 and Rs 65,000 respectively.

Gujarat decision on Torrent
The unconditional clearance accorded by the Gujarat government to the equity sale by the Torrent group to British power major PowerGen in Gujarat Torrent Energy Corporation has upset the corporate sector as it is perceived that it would give an MNC unfair advantage over domestic players.

VSNL to rework terms
VSNL has decided to re-work the terms of revenue sharing for the distribution joint venture which it would set up with a private telecom operator for ICO Global8217;s satellite telephony. VSNL has also made it clear that ICO Global would have to bear part of the licence fee of 16 per cent of gross revenue to the Centre.

Sebi proceedings against Mathur
Markets regulator Sebi will continue enquiry proceedings against former BSE executive director RC Mathur irrespective of his laying downoffice. According to Sebi sources, Mathur, who had come on deputation from SBI, if proved guilty, could be made ineligible from holding quot;any public positionquot; in future.

Y2K compliance
The Bombay and National stock exchanges will disable terminals of members who are not Y2K-compliant by June 30. Acting on a Sebi directive, the two bourses have issued notices to their members warning of the disablement with effect from July 1.

Inter-connected exchange
The Inter-Connected Stock Exchange Ltd has successfully started its trading. Currently, 10 exchanges have logged into the system and it is expected that soon the exchange will emerge as a single window to its entire 14-member exchange nationwide, according to a release from the Bangalore Stock Exchange.

Corporation Bank plan
Corporation Bank has unveiled a business plan for fiscal 1999-2000 with a business target of Rs 25,000 crore. During the period, the bank will open 34 new branches taking the number of branches to650.

T-bills cut-off yield
The Reserve Bank of India has raised the cut-off yield of 14-day treasury bills by 52 basis points to 7.84 per cent. However, the cut-off yield of 91-day T-bills remains unchanged at 8.43 per cent. For the 14-day T-bills, the central bank received 12 competitive bids worth Rs 79 crore.

GDP to rise by 6: CMIE
The GDP is expected to rise by nearly 6 per cent during 1999-2000, against 5.8 per cent estimated for 1998-99, according to the CMIE.

Core group on LNG import project
The core group for LNG import has outlined several risks involved in the Rs 22,000-crore project including inaccutrate estimation of gas reserves, time and cost overruns and changes in policies.

Bharti pays Rs 14.75 cr
DoT and Bharti Enterprises are at variance over the cellular licence fee dues of the Delhi metro circle for the year ended March, 1999.

Cardamom to lose out
Domestic cardamom is set to lose out against heavy under-invoicing of imports, asthe Government has allowed to import the commodity at a stiff customs rate of 38.50 per cent.

Setback for NDDB
The Anand-based milk cooperative NDDB8217;s foray into the milk sector in UP has received a major setback with the UP government deciding to defer plans of selling its Rs 48.5-crore Noida Dairy Plant to its subsidiary, Amul.

Byculla Club Cup
The race is a handicap for horses in the highest classes, and its latest renewal this Sunday has five in opposition. It seems tailor-made for Executive Decision, who had run over 3,000 metres in the Wills Stayers Trophy.