ONGC has decided to make a foray into refining along with IOC. It will participate in the equity of the IOC-promoted 9-million-tonne east coast refinery in Paradip, Orissa. The Rs 8,000-crore project is expected to be commissioned by the end of 2002. The partners are expected to thrash out issues relating to marketing products of the refinery during the next few weeks. ONGC is likely to share IOC's own infrastructure.

IFC plans to tap domestic debt market

IFC, the private investment arm of the World Bank, is contemplating tapping the local debt market for the first time to raise rupee resources for its funding operations. An IFC source said the corporation has initiated the process and may enter the market later next year. He said international rating agencies Moody's and S&P's have assigned `AAA' rating for IFC and it will help the corporation raise funds at very cheap rates.

FIPB okays 31 proposals

FIPB on Monday approved 31proposals, involving an FDI of Rs 1400 crore. The proposals included the one by the Italy-based Fiat Auto to increase its paid up capital by Rs 1090 crore to Rs 2,000 crore in its local arm.

Gail net up to Rs 1,060 crore

Gail posted a net profit of Rs 1060 crore, a 4 per cent increase over last year's Rs 1020 crore, on a turnover of Rs 6643 crore. It has declared a dividend of 35 per cent.

Bombay Dyeing net dips 12%

Bombay Dyeing Manufacturing Company has reported a 12 per cent drop in net profit to Rs 20.23 crore for the year ended March 31, 1999 against Rs 23.02 crore in the previous year. Its sales have plummeted to Rs 861 crore from Rs 906.64 crore. It has recommended a dividend of Rs 3 per share.

Ciba Specialty net at Rs 11.9 crore

Ciba Specialty Chemicals' net has risen to Rs 11.9 crore in 1998-99, from Rs 8.5 crore in the previous fiscal. Its sales have declined to Rs 308.2 crore, from Rs 311.8 crore.

Sundaram Fasteners net up 15.7%

Automobile component makerSundaram Fasteners' net has risen 15.7 per cent to Rs 29.54 crore for 1998-99, compared with Rs 25.53 crore last year. Its sales have risen 5.5 per cent to Rs 343.96 crore against Rs 326.18 crore.It has raised its dividend to 70 per cent.

Essar Oil net declines

Essar Oil on Monday reported 15 per cent increase in net sales to Rs 236.59 crore for the year ended March 1999. Net profit however dipped to Rs 18.92 crore (Rs 20.24 crore). The company has so far poured in Rs 4,605 crore to set up 10.5 million tonne per annum refinery at Vadinar in Jamnagar, Gujarat. The plant is expected to go on stream in the last quarter of 2000.

Eicher net up 19.3% to Rs 29.16 cr

Eicher, the flagship company of Eicher group, has posted an increase of 19.3 per cent in net profit to Rs 29.16 crore in 1998-99, compared with Rs 24.45 crore last year. Its sales have risen 10.7 per cent to Rs 657 crore against Rs 593 crore.

Titan net rises 16.4% to Rs 17.04 cr

Titan Industries' net has risen 16.4 percent to Rs 17.04 crore in 1998-99. Its turnover has grown 9 per cent to Rs 484.45 crore from Rs 445.22 crore.

Kirloskar Brothers posts Rs 16.13cr net

Kirloskar Brothers has registered a net profit of Rs 16.13 crore for year ended March 31, 1999 against Rs 10.74 crore last year. Its sales have gone up to from Rs 337.53 crore last year to Rs 339.74 crore this year.

Raymond eyes Rs 500 cr

The Vijaypat Singhania-promoted Raymond expects to net around Rs 500 crore from the sale of its cement division. The deal for the 2.2 mtpa cement plant at Bilaspur in Madhya Pradesh is likely to be finalised by August.

MTNL board to review Internet prices

MTNL is planning to offer a new tariff package for Internet connections in an effort to corner a large chunk of the burgeoning Internet market. MTNL, which entered the Internet market in early February, is also planning to quadruple its capacity in Delhi and Mumbai to 20,000 each.

SHCIL back-office failure

The investigation report onthe recent systems breakdown at the Stock Holding Corporation of India carried out by the depository has pointed out that it was a case of back-office failure and not a technology problem which led to loss of connectivity between the depository and its participant.

United Western Bank net at Rs 37 cr

United Western Bank has reported a net profit of Rs 37.11 crore for the year ended March 31, 1999, registering a 10.67 per cent increase against the Rs 33.53-crore net in the previous year.

Bharti Duraline info highway

Bharti Duraline will build a high capacity information highway for the MSRTC, along the Mumbai-Pune expressway, according to a company release.

Rice exports set to decline

Exports of basmati and non-basmati rice are likely to fall by nearly half to 21 lakh tonnes during the current fiscal due to dip in global demand.