July 17: United Bank of India (UBI) has reduced the prime lending rate (PLR) to 14 per cent with effect from July 16, 1997. According to a release issued here today, the bank has also revised the interest rates on term deposits and advances. The rate of interest would be eight per cent on domestic term deposits for a period upto one year.

ICICI to offload stake in ICICI Bank: Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India Ltd (ICICI) will offer 25 per cent of its shares in ICICI Banking Corporation to the public aggregating a total of Rs 144.38 crore. The divestment by ICICI in its subsidiary, is pursuant to the banking licensing stipulated by the Reserve Bank of India, P V Maiya, chairman of ICICI Bank said today. The ICICI Bank shares of Rs 10 will be offered to the public at a premium of Rs 25, Maiya said adding that the promoter, ICICI had taken 1.5 crore shares in the bank at the same price last month. With the public offer, the stake of ICICI and its subsidiairies in the bank would come down to 74.24 per cent on a capital base of Rs 165 crore.

Repo auction: Reserve Bank of India today announced a three day repos auction of government of India dated securities for parties holding SGL account and current account with it at Mumbai. The bids would be accepted on July 21 upto 2:30 pm and auction results announced the same day evening, an RBI statement said adding payment by successful bidders would be on July 22 and repurchase by the central bank on July 25.

Bank strike: All India Regional Rural Bank Employees Association (AIRRBEA) would extend full support to the United Forum of Bank Union, which has given a call for parliament march on August 4, according to the AIRRBEA general secretary, Dilip Mukherjee. About 25,000 bank employees are expected to participate in the march, Mukherjee said adding that AIRRBEA would also extend full support to the nationwide bank strike on August 28 and 29.

Bharti Telecom to raise $150: Bharti Telecom proposes to float a $150- million debt issue through the external commercial borrowings route. The company is currently at an advanced stage of talks with the International Finance Corporation for a mandate to lead arrange the debt issue. The company has also included HSBC James Capel and DLJ to the list of lead managers for its issue. Bharti Telecom is also in talks with its suppliers of equipment for the Madhya Pradesh basic telecom circle , wherein they would provide immediate bridge loan.

HC defers hearing: The Delhi High Court has deferred the hearing on an application by Hasya Trading and Investment Pvt Ltd, one of the 40 companies whose accounts have been frozen in connection with the CRB scam, for defreezing its bank accounts. Justice MK Sharma asked the counsel for official liquidator B N Nayar to file a reply within a week.

Repo rate unchanged: The Reserve Bank of India maintained the three-day repo rate at 3.60 per cent at the auction conducted on Thursday. The repo rate was unchanged from Monday's repo rate. Today's repo auction received 20 bids totalling Rs 6,575 crore . The RBI accepted 18 bids worth Rs 6,365 crore at the cut-off repo rate of 3.60 per cent. The weighted average repo rate was 3.5620 per cent, the RBI release said.

91-day T-bill rate down: The Reserve Bank of India lowered the cut-off yield at its weekly 91-day treasury bill auction on Thursday to 6.77 per cent from 6.85 per cent. The RBI received 24 competitive bids worth Rs 614 crore and two non-competitive bids totalling Rs 150 crore for the notified Rs 400 crore issue, it said in a release. The RBI accepted 17 bids amounting Rs 265.41 crore and the balance were partially allotted to the two non-competitive bidders, the RBI release said.

14-day T-bill rate unchanged: The Reserve Bank of India awarded the cut-off yield at its weekly 14-day treasury bill auction at 4.96 per cent it said on Thursday. The cut-off rate was unchanged from the earlier auctioned level. The RBI received 17 competitive bids totalling Rs 2,019.50 crore and one non-competitive bid worth Rs 50 crore. All the bids totalling Rs 2,069.50 crore were accepted by the RBI.

Pay commission: Officers of the central secretariat service have expressed disappointment with the recommendations of the fifth central pay commission. In a statement, a representative of the central secretariat service association said that by setting up an intermediary grade between section officers and under secretaries, the pay commission had only sought to delay their promotion.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.