The State Bank of India remained unfazed by the "discrimination law suit"filed against it in the New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan. Thetriple-currency five-year Resurgent India Bond issue closed on Monday aftermopping up over $3.5 billion from non-resident Indians and overseascorporate bodies the world over.

Raju revises Sri Vishnu Cement offer price: BV Raju andKalahastheeswar Finance Pvt Ltd have revised their open offer price for SriVishnu Cements from Rs 25 to Rs 55. This follows ICICI's sale of 15,05,200shares of Sri Vishnu Cements to Raju at Rs 55 per share in a negotiated deallast week, a release said on Monday.

Citibank to syndicate L&T unit loan: Citibank has bagged the mandateto arrange a $350 million foreign currency loan for the Rs 2,500-crore 574mwBhillai thermal power project jointly promoted by L&T, SAIL and PSEG of theUS. Citibank will source the loans from US Exim, Overseas Private InvestmentCouncil, IDBI, SBI and other foreign commercial lenders.

TVS Suzuki Q1 sales up 27%: TVS Suzuki Ltd has registered a 27 percent increase in turnover at Rs 394 crore and an 18 per cent increase inprofits in the first quarter of the current fiscal. The company registered a20 per cent rise in the number of vehicles sold in the first quarter at216,000.

Tata Tea's investment plans: Tata Tea has formed plans for a majorexpansion of its packet tea business in the current year, earmarkingsubstantial investments towards enhancing production and marketingfacilities. According to chairman Ratan Tata, the company has decided tomove out of trading in coffee and focus on packet tea sales.

MAC Agro to merge with parent: MAC Agro Industries Ltd, a subsidiaryof South India Corporation (Agencies) Ltd, is set to be merged with itsparent. Shareholders of the subsidiary will receive one share of SICAL forevery three shares of MAC Agro held by them. The boards of both thecompanies cleared the merger on Monday.

Kirloskar Oil writes off receivables: Kirloskar Oil Engine Ltd has"cleaned up" its balance sheet for 1997-98 by writing off old debts andreceivables worth Rs 8 crore. The move is expected to help the companyregister a growth of about 3 per cent to 5 per cent per annum and a higherproductivity norm per employee.

Stay on MRTPC's CESC probe unheard: The hearing on the stay grantedby the Calcutta high court with regard to the investigations by MRTPCagainst RPG flagship CESC Ltd has seen no progress for the last eightmonths. The MTRPC had initiated investigations against the RPG power utilityunder Section 11(2) of the MRTP Act of 1969 on the issue of fuelsurcharge.

BoB Cards plans to tap market: BoB Cards Ltd, the wholly-ownedsubsidiary of Bank of Baroda, is exploring the option of going public, andoffering more travel-related services. BoB chairman and managing director KKannan said the issue will hit the market "sometime down the line."

BSE clearing bank: IndusInd Bank may well become the second clearingand settlement bank for the Bombay Stock Exchange. According to sources, therecent settlement-related problems at the exchange's clearing house, BoIShareholding, seem to have prompted the exchange to spread its settlementactivities across various banks.

Dollar-denominated futures trading likely: The government isconsidering a proposal to introduce dollar-denominated trading forinternational commodity futures to attract better foreign participation, atop civil supplies ministry official said on Monday. According to theofficial, the issue is pending with the Reserve Bank for clearance.

ICICI plans market-making for bonds: ICICI is planning market-makingoperations for the first two tranches of its safety bonds under the umbrellaprospectus allotted to it by Sebi. ICICI zonal manager VM Ketkar said thatthe encashment of the bonds was being organised through NSE brokers.

DoT blocks VSNL's regional hub project: The Department ofTelecommunications has put VSNL's $500-million regional hub project on thebackburner. DoT is likely to decide on the partner for the project onlyafter a new CMD is appointed for VSNL.

Sops for domestic IT companies: The national task force oninformation technology plans to put manufacturers on a par withexport-oriented units and technology parks in terms of benefits provided tothem in a bid to promote the domestic market.

State to unveil agroprocessing policy: The Maharashtra government plans to release twoseparate policies on agro processing and bio-technology to attract privatesector investment in a big way.