HYDERABAD -- E M Warburg Pincus Inc, the world's largest health-care investment fund, is all set to pick up anywhere between 11 per cent to 25 per cent equity of Hyderabad based Neuland Laboratoires.

Confirming the move Neuland managing director Dr D R Rao told The Indian Express that the two had just concluded the first round of talks and a final deal could be struck soon.

Managers from $ 7 billion US-based fund are expected to visit again after finalising their investment strategy, Rao said refusing to divulge further details on the extent and price for the investment being negotiated. NLL has issued capital of Rs 4.5 crore and redeemable preference shares of Rs 3 crore.

NSE down

MUMBAI -- Lack of FII participation saw the prices of index-based stocks move down further on the NSE on Monday with the Nifty losing 16.15 points to close at 1,144.30. Domestic institutions like LIC and UTI helped the Nifty recover from the day's low of 1,119.65 points. The exchange recorded a net turnover of Rs 2,184.50 crore, with ITC contributing Rs 982 crore and Reliance - Rs 350 crore.Hotel stocks up

MUMBAI -- Shares of hotel firms were market outperfomers at the NSE on Monday as a fall in the rupee gave funds an incentive to buy into the sector. At the NSE, Indian Hotels gained Rs 6.50 to Rs 608.0, EI Hotels rose Rs 4.40 to Rs 393.0, Orient Hotels added Rs 4 to Rs 330.50 while Asian Hotels was unchanged at Rs 200. Analysts consider hotel firms as an automatic hedge against any depreciation of the rupee as a majority of the earnings come from tax free foreign exchange. Exim Bank MD

MUMBAI -- Y B Desai, has been appointed as the managing director of Exim bank. A notification to this effect has been issued by the Ministry of Finance on 22 Aug 1997. Prior to this appointment, Desai was the executive director of the bank. He joined the bank in 1982 when the bank was set up.

Before joining the Exim Bank, Desai was with State Bank of India.Thermax

MUMBAI -- Pune-based Thermax Babcock & Wilcox, a joint venture between Thermax and the US-based Babcock & Wilcox, has proposed to supply power plant equipment to cater to short-gestation power projects.

Among others, the company will be supplying atmospheric lignite fired fluidized bed boiler and heat recovery steam generators. It has already secured orders from Larsen & Toubro for its cement plant at Awarpur, Gujarat Heavy Chemical Ltd for its plant at Veraval, Raymond Cement and Arvind Mills.

II session

MUMBAI -- The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) will hold a seminar on the latest trends in control and instrumentation for chemicals and petrochemicals on August 29, 1997 at Hotel Leela, Mumbai. It will highlight the present scenario of control & instrumentation in these sectors and the strategic role of such industry in R&D to develop new technology. Eminent people will present papers. SCB stir

MUMBAI -- Employees of the Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) are to go on a day's strike on August 27 to protest against the management's `arbitrary and high-handed action' against its staff.

The strike, which would precede the two-day nation-wide strike by bank employees (August 28 and 29), would lead to disruption of Standard Chartered Bank's operations for three days.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.