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Technology Stocks : Satyam Infoway Ltd-(Nasdaq:SIFY) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mohan Marette who wrote (828)	2/23/2000 6:44:00 AM
From: puborectalis	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1471

Intel Sees Pakistan Computer Growth By Tahir Ikram ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Sales of personal computers should grow by a third in Pakistan this year, pushed by a rapid rise in Internet use, Intel China president James Jarrett said. Jarrett said 260,000 personal computers were expected to be sold in Pakistan this year, a 30 percent increase over 1999. Intel products, mainly its microchip processors, have roughly an 80 percent share of the Pakistani market. ''So, the computer industry here is alive and growing,'' Jarrett said in an interview late on Tuesday. Jarrett said he was encouraged by the growing popularity of the Internet in Pakistan and saw potential for rapid growth. ''There is a potential here, which is considerably larger and that is why we are here,'' he said. Jarrett said keeping down the cost of using the Internet was crucial for its growth in Pakistan, where the average annual salary is $470. Information technology analysts say the average cost of an hour of Internet use in Pakistan was 35 rupees ($0.67), which should fall as competition increased among service providers and telecommunication charges were reduced. Good Infrastructure Needed ''The very basic thing to do is to provide a very good infrastructure for the Internet...'' Jarrett said. ''There is a very clear inverse relationship between the penetration of the Internet into an economy and the cost of the Internet access as an average annual income,'' he said. ''If the cost exceeds 10 percent of the annual income, it will have very low penetration in the Internet,'' he said. Jarrett, who met government officials in Islamabad, said the government was quite open toward the Internet and aware of its benefits. ''Our view is that every company is going to become an e-company in a few years because every company can benefit from the effective use of the Internet,'' he said. Pakistan has an estimated 3,000 assemblers which meet about 80 percent of domestic demand for personal computers but analysts say demand will grow as more businesses turn to the Internet.

To: Mohan Marette who wrote (828)	2/23/2000 8:06:00 AM
From: Mohan Marette	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1471

OT Hindustan-Lever earnings up at $245.4 million-Beats estimates hll.com Hindustan Lever ྟ Profit Rises 33%, Beats Estimates (Update2) 2/23/00 4:20:00 AM Source: Bloomberg News (Adds figures on distribution network in 10th paragraph, target for sales, profit growth, comment on Modern Food.) Mumbai, Feb. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Hindustan Lever Ltd., India's biggest consumer goods company, said profit for the year ended December rose 33 percent as an economic rebound increased sales of shampoos and other products. A unit of Unilever Plc., the world's biggest household goods maker, the company earned a better-than-expected 10.7 billion rupees ($246 million) in the year ended December, up from 8.06 billion rupees in the previous year. Five analysts polled by Bloomberg forecast a profit of 10.2 billion rupees. The company, which sells 'Clinic' shampoos, now commands 71 percent of the shampoo market. That's 8 percent more than a year ago, Hindustan Lever said. The company's total sales for the year rose 7 percent to 101.4 billion rupees. Hindustan Lever's soaps and detergent business grew 11 percent, personal products 18 percent, ice creams 10 percent, branded staples 67 percent and animal feed 19 percent. Sales of packaged tea, though, fell 16 percent and contributed 15 percent to total revenue, compared with 19 percent in the year-ago period. Tea sales fell because of an 8 percent excise duty imposed by the government in 1998, the company said. 'Tea sales will boost top-line growth' in the first quarter ending March 2000, said Sujay Mishra, an analyst with BNP Prime Peregrine. The company will benefit from a rise in tea prices and withdrawal of duty since March 1999. Mishra has a 'buy' rating on the stock. E-commerce Hindustan Lever also plans to link 3,000 wholesalers, 30,000 retailers and its 100 suppliers through the Internet to enable the company achieve 'real-time' inventory management. The first phase of networking all dealers will take between two- and-a-half and three years. 'We have over 7,000 distributors all across the country. If we can re-orient their role (towards e-commerce) you've got a big bang in store,' said K.B. Dadiseth, chairman of the company. He did not disclose details. Hindustan Lever could extend its profit gains in the quarters ahead as the economy rebounds from a three-year slump. Its extensive distribution network -- with products sold through more than 1 million shops in 100,000 villages and 3,000 towns -- puts the company in a good position to gain from an expected pick up in consumer demand, especially in rural India, analysts said. The company's products are bought by an estimated 500 million people, about half the population of the world's second-most populous country. 'The rate at which people move into the company's target market is growing rapidly,' said Zaheer Sitabkhan, a fund manager with Lloyd George Management in Hong Kong. Hindustan Lever makes up 5 percent of his $40 million Lloyd George India Fund. The company's profit for the three months ended Dec. 31 jumped 51 percent to 3.45 billion rupees on year. Sales during the quarter rose 7 percent to 24.97 billion rupees. The company's ambition is to increase sales by an annual 19 percent, though realistically it expects 13 percent sales growth for the next two to three years. It expects profit to double every four years, Dadiseth said. Its purchase from the government last month of a 74 percent stake in Modern Food Industries Ltd., a New-Delhi based baker, will also help Hindustan Lever increase its distribution network. 'Here is one major reason for Modern Food -- it is a huge strategic building block which will give us access to a huge distribution network,' Dadiseth told an analysts' briefing. The company will distribute all its wheat products through that network. 'Close-Up' Hindustan Lever, which is 51 percent owned by Unilever, is riding on demand from India's almost 1 billion people for consumer products, such as, its 'Close-Up' brand of toothpaste, its shampoos and hair oil, as the economy recovers. India's economy expanded 6.8 percent in the fiscal year ended March 1999. The economy slowed to a gain of 5 percent in the fiscal year ended March 1998, from an average 7.5 percent in the previous three years. It is expected to expand more than 6 percent in the current fiscal year. The company's board also approved a ten-for-one share split to attract more investors. Hindustan Lever shares, which have risen 25 percent this year, fell 1.1 percent, or 33.25 rupees, to 2,871 rupees at close of trading on the Mumbai stock exchange. Earlier in the day the stock rose as high as 3,136.55 rupees. ========== Wednesday, February 23 3:11 PM SGT India's Hindustan Lever FY Net INR 10.70B ($245.4 million) Vs INR8.06B ($184.8 million) >P.HLV Hindustan Lever Ltd. - Bombay FY Ended Dec. 31: All figures in rupees. 1999 1998 Net Profit 10.70 bln 8.06 bln Profit Before Exceptional Item 10.70 bln 8.37 bln Gross Sales 109.18 bln 102.15 bln Net Sales 101.42 bln 94.82 bln Pretax Profit 11.30 bln 11.30 bln Dividend/Shr 29.00 22.00 EPS/Shr 48.62 36.70 ($1=INR43.61) The company said it is paying a final dividend of INR17.0 taking the full dividend for the year to INR29.0 against INR22.0 for the previous year. (DowJones) ==========