FIPB clears Ballarpur Industries plan to let Saudi firm pick up 17% stake
The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) has cleared Ballarpur Industries's proposal to give a 16.7% stake to AL Murjan Trading & Industrial Company of Saudi Arabia. The Thapars are expanding the equity base of the company from Rs 50 crore to Rs 60 crore to allot one crore equity shares to the Jeddah-based company at a premium of Rs 80 per share.
RBI eases curbs on opening letters of credit
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has allowed banks to open letters of credit (LoC) and make remittances in the case of companies importing goods into bonded warehouses. The measure is seen as another step towards an easing of exchange controls. Earlier, applications for opening LoC and remittances to pay for such imports were required to approved by the apex bank.
Valuers to fix Lloyds reverse merger swap
The Guptas of Lloyds group have set in motion a process for the reverse merger of Lloyds Steel with Lloyds Metals. Two valuation firms have been appointed to work out the swap ratio. The reverse merger will be effective April 1, 1997, and the markets are looking at a swap ratio of 5:1 -- one share of Lloyds Metals for every five shares of Lloyds Steel.
ICICI hikes short-term PLR to 14%
ICICI has hiked its short-term prime lending rate for loans upto one year by 200 basis points to 14 per cent -- 50 basis points higher than the minimum short-term prime rate offered by the Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) and the Industrial Finance Corporation of India (IFCI). It has also raised the medium-term prime rate by 14.25 per cent.
IFCI refuses to play game to JCT debt plan
The Industrial Finance Corporation of India (IFCI) has refused to stand guarantor to JCT's proposed $47-million external commercial borrowing (ECB) issue unless the company submits a specific proposal for repayment of its outstandings with the financial institutions. The total outstanding with the FIs and the banks is estimated to be over Rs 220 crore.
