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SPIC to abolish Group Corporate Planning unit

M. Ramesh

CHENNAI, July 29

SOUTHERN Petrochemical Industries Corporation (SPIC) has decided to do away with its Group Corporate Planning division. In an internal circular, it is said the employees of the division would be absorbed elsewhere in the company.

In a parallel development, Mr T.K. Kameshwaran, Managing Director, SPIC Holdings and Investments Ltd (SHIL), has been relieved of his duties. However, a senior official of the company denied this and pointed out that Mr M.G. Thirunavukkarasu, Director-Fi nance, SPIC, has been appointed as the new Managing Director of SHIL.

The official said that Mr Kameshwaran had not been ``asked to resign'', as many in SPIC say, but had resigned because of his having reached the superannuating age of 60.

It may be mentioned that (a) Mr Kameshwaran resigned in the middle of a month and (b) there are many in SPIC who have crossed the age of 60 and are in service. Examples: Mr P.R. Sundaravadivelu, 64, who has been promoted as Vice-Chairman and Mr A. Santha nakrishnan, 62, who has been named as a member of the new Management Committee, formed under the chairmanship of Mr Ashwin Muthiah.

Other sources in SPIC link these moves to the need for austerity and expenditure control and also to Mr Ashwin Muthiah's desire to have a younger management team.

The Group Corporate Planning division was felt to be unnecessary because the group no longer plans to diversify into new areas.

As regards SHIL, the 5-year-old company does not have any major holding in any of the larger companies of the group. It holds some shares in TAC Investments Finance (Madras) Ltd, IND-ITAL Chemicals, SPIC JEL Engineering, Orchard Microsystems and SPIC Foo ds and Flavours. Other than these, only last year, it purchased some 12 lakh shares of South India Corporation (Agencies) Ltd, for Rs 3 crore.

Last year, SHIL made a net profit of Rs 1.03 crore, on an equity capital of Rs 20 crore. SPIC has invested Rs 22.50 crore in SHIL (including preference capital) and the total profit that SHIL has turned out in its five years of existence is Rs 1.76 crore .