BUYBACK

CORPORATE DISPUTES
Birla Corp focused on growth, says Lodha
FOR the first time since Priyamvada Birla's will was read out to the Birla clan two months ago, Mr Rajendra Singh Lodha, Co-Chairman of Birla Corporation, today sent out a strong signal to his opponents about his feelings and intentions. In ... More

Confusion over chairing Birla Corp AGM
TODAY'S Birla Corporation annual general meeting started with an enormous amount of confusion over who would chair the meeting. Not surprisingly, this led to a mood of confrontation among the shareholders. The meeting started off with Mr ... More

CLB clarifies on chairing of Birla Corp AGM
AN hour before the annual general meeting of Birla Corporation Ltd, the flagship company of M.P. Birla Group, was to be convened on Wednesday, the company approached the Company Law Board seeking clarification whether Mr R.S. Lodha, ... More

Birlas knew M.P. Birla died intestate: Lodha's counsel
This statement was made on Wednesday by Mr Anindya Mitra, counsel for Mr R.S. Lodha, during his arguments in the matter pertaining to the application for seeking discharge of the caveat filed by the four Birlas in the probate petition of Mr ... More

COMPANY LAW
Why change horses midstream
The Concept Paper does not propose any path-breaking directional change to company law, say S. Kannan and V. S. Sowrirajan More

AUDITING

COURTS/LEGAL ISSUES
Bombay High Court asks BCCI not to grant telecast rights till case is over
THE Bombay High Court on Wednesday told the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) not to award the broadcast rights for cricket matches from October 2004 to September 2008 till the petition filed by ESPN-Star Sports is heard and disposed ... More

RESTRUCTURING
State Govt clears suggestion to restructure SILK
THE State Government has approved the recommendations of the Enterprises Reforms Committee (ERC) for restructuring the public sector Steel Industrials Kerala Ltd (SILK). A Government order says that the specific proposals for implementation of ... More

Sagar Cements plans to hive off grinding unit
SAGAR Cements Ltd (SCL) is planning to hive-off its grinding unit at Bayyavaram in Anakapalle taluk of Visakhapatnam district. The grinding unit is engaged in producing cement by grinding the surplus clinker made available from the company's ... More

NEW PROJECTS
Govt to seek clarifications from Suzuki as NOC issue crops up
SUZUKI'S plan to create a wholly owned subsidiary to manufacture cars in India may run into trouble as the company has not taken a formal clearance from the Ministry of Heavy Industries. The Government is a joint venture partner in Suzuki's ... More

Electrosteel puts off opening of Haldia coke oven unit
THE scheduled commissioning of the Rs 100-crore new coke oven plant of Electrosteel Castings Ltd (ECL) at Haldia with an installed capacity of 1.5 lakh tonnes per annum (tpa), has now been pushed back by six months to January 2005. Originally ... More

REGULATORY BODIES & RULINGS
Hikal gets US nod for its API facility in Bangalore
HIKAL Ltd on Wednesday announced that it has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration, Department of Health & Human Services (USFDA) for its active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufacturing facility at Jigani, Bangalore. .. More

ALLIANCES & JOINT VENTURES
Long-term gas supply — Wartsila in talks with GAIL, GSPC
WARTSILA India, makers of diesel-fired power generating sets is in talks with GAIL India and Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation for long-term natural gas supply. Rising international oil prices, coupled with improving natural gas supplies ... More

Hatsun may strike deal with Britannia, HLL for supply of dairy whiteners
HATSUN Agro Product Ltd is negotiating with Hindustan Lever and Britannia to supply them dairy whiteners. According to Hatsun Agro's Chairman and Managing Director, Mr R.G. Chandramogan, the talks are at an advanced stage and the deal could ... More

EVENTS
CII-Godrej Green Biz Summit next week
ENTHUSED by the response to the Green Business Summit organised last year, the CII-Godrej Green Business Centre (GBC) has decided to institutionalise the event and is now organising its second edition from September 21 to 23 here. Announcing ... More

PEOPLE
Reliance announces team for Trevira
THE Reliance Group today announced a new management team for Trevira GmbH that it acquired from Deutsche Bank AG earlier this year for 80 million euros (around Rs 450 crore). The ownership of Trevira was transferred to Reliance Industries Ltd ... More

Punit Goenka to head Zee Sports
ZEE Telefilms Ltd (ZTL) appears determined to go ahead with its sports channel. It announced today that Zee Sports will be headed by Mr Punit Goenka, CEO and full-time President of ASC Enterprises Ltd. Mr Goenka has been appointed as the ... More

TRENDS
Rise in number of complaints against defaulting cos
THE Ministry of Company Affairs has seen a rise in the number of complaints received against defaulting companies. It received 12,283 complaints against such companies from shareholders and the public in 2002-03, up from 12,245 complaints in ... More