68 countries sign global telecom agreement

Sixty-eight countries around the globe have agreed on a landmark pact which would open up most of the world’s $600-billion telecommunications market and was hailed as offering a boost to the international economy. The deal came after hours of last-minute haggling when the US made known it would come on board, bringing an end to over three years of on-off negotiations to bring free trade principles to the booming telecom sector. “We are celebrating a very important victory,” Mr. Renato Ruggiero, Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), told a news conference just after officials from the 68 countries had signalled their assent.

Volume-linked capital norms for insurers likely

The norms for capital requirements of private sector insurance companies in the post-liberalised set-up are likely to be linked to the volume of business transacted by the company. According to top-level Finance Ministry officials, the Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) and the Government are considering outlining a graded pattern for capitalisation of the companies, keeping in view the amount of business handled by them. However, no exact formula has emerged in this regard yet.

Kukdong-led combine emerges lowest bidder

A consortium of Kukdong Engineering of South Korea, Marubeni of Japan, ACER Consultants of the UK and local Subhas Projects and Marketing Ltd (SPML) has emerged the lowest bidder for the Rs. 570-crore Tirupur Area Development Project. Kukdong leads the consortium, according to sources. The objective of the World Bank-aided project is to develop this Tamil Nadu town, which has become synonymous with knitwear exports.