Royal Airways - which plans to start a low-cost airline in the domestic market - has decided to raise money in the international markets to fund its aircraft acquisition plan.


The decision was taken at a meeting of the airline's board Tuesday where an approval was given to raise $90 million by issuing foreign currency convertible bonds, according to a communiqué to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Royal Airways, formerly Modiluft, is starting a budget airline under the brand name SpiceJet. Royal was among the first private sector airlines to take to the skies, but had to discontinue its services in 1996 because of litigations.

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Jet Airways gets Freddie Award

Jet Airways, a leading private sector airline, Wednesday said it has won this year's Freddie Award for its frequent flyer programme.

The Freddie Awards committee has given the award to Jet Airways for introducing an innovative loyalty programme that has made a strong impact on the industry.

Consumers are asked to rank airlines, hotels and credit card programmes before the awardees are named, said a Jet Airways statement issued to the National Stock Exchange.

The new 'Jet Privilege Programme' has five membership levels -- JP Blue, JP Blue Plus, JP Silver, JP Gold and JP Platinum, each with its unique level of benefits.

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Birla Sun Life increases capital

Birla Sun Life Insurance said Wednesday it has augmented its paid-up capital by an additional Rs.200 million to take the total corpus to Rs.3.70 billion ($84 million).

The joint venture partners, the Aditya Birla group and Sun Life Financial Inc., have equally contributed to the additional amount of Rs.200 million, said a company statement issued Wednesday.

"Shareholders are extremely pleased with the company's consistent performance," said Anil J. Jhala, chief financial officer of Birla Sun Life Insurance. "Our endeavour has been to show consistent growth with particular emphasis on the quality of business," he added.

Birla Sun Life's premium income at Rs.9.15 billion ($205 million) for year ended March 31 has registered a robust growth of 70 percent. The annualised sales for the year stood at Rs.6.27 billion ($142.5 million).

The total number of policies sold during the financial year was close to 200,000, said the company statement.

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Software Technology to raise resources

Software Technology Group International, one of the leading mid-size IT firms, said Wednesday it would raise additional resources in the near future for business expansion.

The board of director of Software Technology has approved the proposal to raise resources "through various means" for expansion of the company's operations, said a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

The company has also decided to shift its consulting division from New Delhi to Gurgaon in neighbouring Haryana, where the company's corporate office is also located.

Software Technology said the decision to shift the consulting division has been taken with a view to centralise operations for cost effectiveness.