Indian shares continue to surge

Mumbai, June 20 (IANS) Indian shares continued to trade firm for the second consecutive day Wednesday, buoyed by strong buying in banking, auto and capital goods stocks with a key index gaining 0.81 percent.

The 30-share Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) nudged close to the 14,500-mark in early trade to close at 14,411.95 levels, a gain of 116.44 points or 0.81 percent.

The broad-based 50-issue National Stock Exchange Nifty rose 34.35 points or 0.82 percent to close strong at 4,248.65.

Leading the major gainers was cement producer Gujarat Ambuja Cements Ltd, up 4.60 percent at Rs.118.205, followed by the country's largest lender State Bank of India, up 3.85 percent at Rs.1,425.20 and multi-utility vehicle maker Tata Motors, up 3.53 percent at Rs.686.90.

Other major stocks that traded in the green were top car maker Maruti Udyog, textile major Grasim Industries, housing finance firm HDFC, top heavy electrical equipment maker BHEL, engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro and top private sector telecom service provider Bharti Airtel.

Pharma major Ranbaxy Laboratories led the major index losers of the day, down 1.91 percent at Rs.351.85.

Technology stocks continued to take a beating with top software exporter TCS losing 1.28 percent during the intra-day trading at Rs.1,145.80 followed by top thermal energy producer NTPC, down 0.05 percent at Rs.150.30.

Other major stocks that traded in the red were consumer goods maker Hindustan Lever, software exporter Infosys Technologies, top steel maker Tata Steel and private sector lender HDFC Bank.

Spice Communications plans Rs.5.2 bn IPO

New Delhi, June 20 (IANS) Spice Communications Ltd., one of India's leading private mobile service operators, Wednesday announced plans to raise Rs.5.2 billion through its maiden initial public offering (IPO).

The company, which provides mobile phone services in the GSM segment in Punjab and Karnataka, plans to utilise the money in repaying debts, payment of license fees and other related capital expenditures and also to expand its services to other areas.

"Our aim right now is to strengthen and consolidate our position in our existing markets of Punjab and Karnataka where we intend to be one of the leading players," Umang Das, managing director, Spice Communications, told reporters here.

"We have applied for licenses to be able to provide cellular services in additional 21 circles across the country," Das added.

He said the application was pending with the Department of Telecommunications and the company would focus on spreading a pan-India network if it is able to obtain the license.

The company recently concluded a pre-IPO placement of 24,873,889 shares at Rs.45 per share, thereby raising Rs.1.12 billion.

The price band for the IPO has been fixed between Rs.41 and Rs.46 per share. The issue opens on June 25 and closes on June 27.

"We will also seek to improve and expand our value added services like ring tones, games and other content services that our subscribers can access through their handsets," Das said.

The Modi Group, one of India's leading business houses, owns a 51 percent stake in Spice Communications, while the remaining stake is with Telekom Malaysia.

Court issues summons to Ansal brothers

New Delhi, June 19 (IANS) A Delhi court Tuesday ordered the city's leading builders Sushil Ansal and Gopal Ansal to appear before it to explain their alleged attempts to stop a campaign for justice to the victims of the 1997 Uphaar theatre fire tragedy.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Kamini Lau issued summons to the Ansal brothers and their two employees, Praveen Sharma and Deepak Kathpalia, asking them to appear before her July 9.

Lau issued summons to the four on a complaint by Association of Uphar Tragedy Victims president Neelam Krishnamurthy that she was abused and threatened by the two employees on May 10 after a hearing in a case involving "criminal culpability and murderous lapses" of the Ansal brothers leading to the tragedy, in which 59 people were killed and hundreds other injured on June 13, 1997.

Krishnamurty lost her two children in the fire accident.

In her complaint, she said the two employees began taking her photographs on their mobile phones after she emerged out of the court of Additional Sessions Judge Mamta Sehgal in the Patiala House court premises, where the trial of the case is underway.

She said in her complaint that as she objected to being photographed by them, they began "abusing her in filthy language" and threatened her with dire consequences for following the trial of the case.

Krishnamurthy also cited in her complaint some past incidents of such harassments by the Ansals.