Economy & Business  

Will in favour of auditor plunges
Birla empire into despair

What is India News Service, July 14, 2004, 1700 hrs IST


Priyamvada, the late M P Birla's wife, has bequeathed the assets of her husband's companies to the group's auditor, leaving one India's biggest business empires in shock and disbelief.

The group, divided since M P Birla's time, has come together to fight a legal case. "We'll contest together. We intend to move the court within the next fortnight," Basant Kumar Birla, patriarch of the family, said in Kolkata. 

Besides a host of charitable trusts and foundations which run schools and hospitals, the group owns eight companies with a combined annual sales of about Rs 1,778 crore, and market capitalisation of Rs 927 crore. Hindustan Times, the Delhi-based newspaper, and Hindustan Motors, which makes Ambassador cars, are among the companies under the Birla umbrella. Priyamvada died in Kolkata last week.

Transaction tax re-look: Finance minister P Chidambaram is likely to revise the 0.15 per cent transaction tax on shares. He met representatives of stock brokers in the presence of SEBI chief G N Bajpai on Tuesday.

Infosys posted profit: At Rs 388.34 crore, Infosys beat street expectations and posted a 39.23 per cent increase over last year in net profit. Nandan Nilekani, CEO, said globally, the tide had turned towards IT services and solutions. 

Daewoo in trouble: The government has decided to crack the whip on Daewoo Motors India Ltd, the Indian subsidiary of the bankrupt Korean chaebol, for over invoicing consignments and siphoning off company funds.

Day traders pull down sensex: Talk of a below-normal monsoon, coupled with the day-long strike by day traders protesting the new transaction tax, pulled down the stock market by 46 points on Tuesday. The rupee ended at Rs 45.86 to the dollar, 18 paise lower than Monday.

Overall:

Will shocked the Birla group: The grand old lady of the family has bequeathed the empire to a low-key auditor.

Infosys shone: It exceeded market expectations and posted nearly 40 per cent profit.

Day traders went on strike: They want the 0.15 per cent proposal to collect a transaction tax withdrawn.