Tata Steel Eyes For Vietnam Plant

Mumbai: Tata Steel, Baosteel of China and Evraz of Russia are in the race to acquire a majority stake in an integrated steel plant in Vietnam. The project, which could attract Rs 14,000 crore investment, will have local enterprises as minority partners. The Vietnam government is hoped to declare the winning bidder for the project next month. Tata Steel, if it wins the bid, will have to shell out over Rs 7,000 crore for the project. The local enterprises such as the state-owned Vietnam Steel Corporation and Ha Tinh Mineral & Trade Co will acquire minority stake in the project, to be established in centra Vietnam''s Ha Tinh province. Details of the Tata Steel proposal for the project could not be ascertained.

LIC Gets Govt Share In Maruti Stake Sale

New Delhi: Life Insurance Corporation, State Bank of India, Reliance Mutual Fund, Punjab National Bank, HDFC Mutual Fund and Corporation Bank have together secured over three-fourths of the 2.97 crore shares of Maruti Udyog Ltd (MUL) that was put on the block by the Government. The Group of Ministers nod on May 10, for sale of the government''s residual stake of 10.27 per cent in MUL marks the exit of the Government from the car manufacturing industry. The Government will realise Rs 2,368 crore from this stake sale at an average price of Rs 797 per share. About 43 per cent of the shares that were on offer went to LIC, which had bid for 1.3 crore shares at Rs 800 per share. This would take LIC''s shareholding in MUL from the current 8.1 per cent to 12.60 per cent.While SBI got 49.76 lakh shares at Rs 775 per share, Reliance Mutual Fund got 20 lakh shares at Rs 790 per share. PNB got 12.29 lakh shares at Rs 815 per share and HDFC Mutual Fund got 10 lakh shares at Rs 782 per share. Corporation Bank, which was the highest bidder at Rs 850 per share, got 5.88 lakh shares at this price.

OVL Discovers Gas In Iran''s Farsi Block

New Delhi: ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) remains with its success in Iran''s Farsi offshore block. The overseas investment arm of ONGC struck gas in the fourth well on the block recently. It has already discovered oil in the three previous wells. OVL and its partners will now present a development plan to the Iranian authorities to start production. The in-place reserves are estimated at around 10 trillion cubic feet and oil reserves at one billion barrels. On the expenditure made by the company during the exploration phase, Iran will pay 35 per cent rate of return.

LIC Takes L&T To Court In Esop Row

Mumbai: The Life Insurance Corporation, which is the single largest shareholder in L&T, went Mumbai high court against the company for issuing Esops to its nominee director, Kranti Sinha, without keeping it in the loop. LIC, which along with other financial institutions are the biggest shareholders in L&T, is miffed at the fact the Esops allotted to Sinha were transferred to his demat account instead of crediting it into a joint account between Sinha and LIC. The petition was filed on May 7, and it came up for hearing on May 9. In an ex-parte order, the Bombay High court had stayed Sinha from dealing in the 20,000 L&T shares till further orders on May 7. Larsen & Toubro in which financial institutions own more than 26 per cent stake also sought additional time.

ICICI Venture Puts ACE On Block

Two years after ICICI Ventures acquired ACE Refractories (formerly known as ACC Refractories), in what was the largest leveraged buyout by a private equity fund in India during that time, it is understood that the fund has now put the company on the block. A source told TOI that two international funds and two global players in refractories have shown interest in ACE Refractories. It is learnt international biggies Goldman Sachs, Carlyle, RHI and Calderys have offered to buy the company as rapid growth in the domestic market continues to lure foreign firms.

RIL To Sign 5 Year Communications Solutions Deal With BSNL

NEW DELHI: Mukesh Ambani''s Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) is set to ink a five-year communications solutions deal with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) projected to be worth Rs 500 crore. As per the deal, BSNL will link all undertakings of the group during this period, connecting 2,500 petrol pumps, about 15,000 retail outlets, 14 manufacturing units, all its upcoming SEZs and also provide global connectivity to RIL. The deal envisages that BSNL provide mobile, basic, broadband services, leased lines, virtual private network (VPN), multi-protocol label switching (MPLS) and enterprise solutions to RIL. BSNL will also give the bandwidth for RIL''s captive network, which interconnects all its outlets and offices.

LIC Housing Finance To Launch FD Scheme

Mumbai: LIC Housing Finance Ltd has for the first time decided to attract the fixed deposit segment to raise Rs 1,000 crore this fiscal. The scheme will offer an interest of 9 per cent per annum on a three-year deposit and 9.25 per cent per annum on a five-year deposit. The minimum deposit is Rs 10,000 with multiples of Rs 1,000 thereafter. As 85 per cent of its customers are on floating interest rate loans, they can pass on the interest rate increases.

ICICI To Seek Shareholders Approval For Issuing Shares

MUMBAI: Country''s largest private lender ICICI bank on May 8, said it will seek shareholders clearance for issuing shares of up to 25 per cent stake in the bank. It will also seek shareholder''s approval for decreasing the authorised share capital to Rs 1,775 crore from Rs 1,900 crore. The bank said the authorised capital will be changed to Rs 1775 crore, divided into 127.50 crore equity shares of Rs 10 each, 150 lakh preference shares of Rs 100 each and 350 preference shares of Rs one crore each. The bank has named N L Bhatia, practicing company secretary, as scrutiniser for conducting the postal ballot and the forms duly completed should reach him on or before June 7.

Tata Steel Likely To Unveil GDRs In Singapore

Kolkata: Tata Steel is looking at the Singapore Stock Exchange for listing a possible global depository receipt (GDR) issue for raising $500 million (Rs 2,100 crore) to part-finance its $12.9 billion (Rs 52,350 crore) taking over of Anglo-Dutch steel maker Corus. This will be over and above Rs 3,655-crore domestic rights issue and a Rs 4,350 crore convertible preference share issue the company declared last month. The Tata group favoured Singapore because Tata Steel had become an established name in the investor fraternity in the country following the acquisition of Singapore-based NatSteel a few years ago.

LIC Moves HC To Restrain From Selling Esops

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on May 7, restrained Kanti Sinha, nominee-director of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) on the Larsen & Toubro (L&T) board, from dealing with L&T employee stock options (Esops) that he received. The ex-parte order came after LIC moved court May 7. General Insurance Corporation (GIC) is also mulling to move court shortly, seeking a similar restraint on BP Deshmukh, its nominee-director on the L&T board. GIC''s and LIC''s nominee-directors got Esops worth Rs 4.5 crore and Rs 3.5 crore, respectively, from L&T under its 2003 stock option scheme.