The rupee on Thursday closed at an all-time low of 43.57/575 against the greenback, owing to high dollar demand by a few public-sector units like PowerGrid and ONGC. The rupee opened at 43.555/565 against the dollar, one paise up from the previous close of 43.544/55. It recorded an intra-day low of 43.58, to finally settle at 43.57/575 on dollar sales by PSU units and banks, dealers said.

Kale Consultants oversubscribed Boosted by huge investor demand, both retail and institutional, for software stocks in the primary market, Kale Consultants' maiden public offering has been oversubscribed more than 50 times, according to initial estimates. The Pune-based company offered 31,87,500 equity shares at a premium of Rs 110 per share aggregating Rs 38.25 crore.

L&T to spin off Pithampur unit

Larsen & Toubro will shortly spin off its construction equipment business in Pithampur, Madhya Pradesh, as a 50:50 joint venture with Case Corporation of the US. Case was recently acquired worldwide by New Holland.

Aluminium majors mull price hike

Primary aluminium producers Hindalco, Nalco, and Balco are gearing up to effect a price rise in the range of Rs 5,000-Rs 7,000 a tonne-the highest ever at one go-for the third quarter. This follows the steep differential in landed and domestic prices at Rs 17,000 per tonne.

Auto sector recovery

Domestic automobile sales surged in August as the industry's comeback over the last six or seven months strengthened. Car sales jumped 70.3 per cent compared to the same month of last year, truck sales 25.39 per cent, and those of two-wheelers 14 per cent as economic revival combined with new product offerings to stoke demand.

Colgate market share

Colgate-Palmolive (India) chairman S Peter Dam hinted at a revival in the company's dwindling market share in the Rs 1,000-crore toothpaste market in India at the company's 58th AGM held in Mumbai on Thursday. Dam told shareholders that the company's overall market share in toothpaste had risen by 0.5 per cent to 52 per cent in August.

VSNL issue oversubscribed

VSNL has received oversubscription to its public issue of shares to the extent of around 125 per cent of its targeted amount of Rs 75 crore. According to market sources, subscriptions totalling nearly Rs 94 crore were received, mostly from retail investors. ITC Hotels Rs 1,500cr investment planITC Hotels has chalked out an ambitious plan to add 1,500 new deluxe rooms, with an investment of Rs 1,500 crore in the next five years, to its 32-property hotel chain. In the next five years, ITC Hotels plans to add six new hotels.

IBM kicks off local manufacture of PCs

IBM India has formulated a multi-pronged strategy to fuel its India growth plans. The company has decided to begin manufacturing personal computers in the country, while increasing its focus on E-business opportunities.

TI Cycles to hive off paints unit

TI Cycles, part of the Rs 3,000-crore Murugappa group, will hive off its paints unit, as part of a WTO audit undertaken by the group for all its products. The paint unit within TI will be owned by others or contracted to somebody else and would be, in effect, a `factory within a factory'.

Value Soft targets US firm

The Chennai-based Value Software Technologies has set its sights on aggressive growth, with a strategic overseas acquisition almost in the bag and a domestic initial public offering likely next year.

Alcoa plans to expand presence

Aluminium company Alcoa plans to expand its presence in India and is exploring business opportunities for the same, a senior company official said.

AI's new terminal

Air India on Thursday commenced operations from the new terminal of the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, with the first outgoing Boeing 747 flight to Doha-Bahrain departing at 1330 hrs. Trials will continue till September 26, and if no operational difficulties are experienced, all departures and arrivals would be gradually moved into the new terminal, the airline said in a release.

Sensex up 49 points

The rally on the bourses broad based on Thursday, with the Sensex gaining 49 points to close at 4735.81 points, marginally lower than the day's high of 4736.30 points. Reliance Industries and financial institution ICICI were the star performers of the day.

Sebi curbs hand-delivery trades

Markets regulator Sebi on Thursday said it had decided to restrict hand-delivery trades. Hand-delivery trades refer to transactions where brokers take up delivery of shares on behalf of foreign institutional investors and local funds, for which they collect a charge.

Venture-capital fund gets Sebi nod

The National Venture Capital Fund for Software and IT, a Rs 100-crore venture-capital fund promoted by Sidbi, IDBI, and the Department of Electronics, has been registered with Sebi. It can now formally start the venture-capital business.

IDBI arm bags RBI approval for PD

The RBI on Thursday gave its final approval to IDBI Capital Market Services Ltd to operate as a primary dealer in the government securities market. "With the grant of final approval to the aforesaid entity, the number of primary dealers in the government securities market has gone up to 14," an RBI statement said. IDBI Capital Market Services was given in-principle approval on August 7, 1999.

BoB revises FCNR deposits

Bank of Baroda on Thursday revised the rate of interest on FCNR(B) deposits across all maturities and currencies. The new rates will be effective from September 27. The six-month to less than one year pound sterling deposit will now offer 5 per cent.

Compiled by S Hariharan