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https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/company/corporate-trends/greater-pacific-capital-buys-100-mn-stake-in-enzen/articleshow/70137706.cms | Empower Your Corporate Journey with Strategic Skill Courses Offering College Course Website University of Western Australia UWA Global MBA Visit IIM Kozhikode IIMK Chief Product Officer Programme Visit Indian School of Business ISB Chief Digital Officer Visit
New Delhi: Greater Pacific Capital GPC ) has bought a $100 million stake in Enzen , a consulting and engineering company set up by former Wipro executives a decade ago that boasts of top-tier clients such as London's main water suppler and electricity distribution company.This is the first investment from the UK-headquartered PE firm’s second fund of $700 million that it raised in August last year. Though the exact quantum of stake bought by GPC could not be ascertained, a well-placed source said it was in the range of 15-20%. “The investment in Enzen is in line with our strategy focused on partnering with scaled and fast growing Indian businesses that operate in or are looking to expand into international markets,” said Ketan Patel, GPC’s chief executive officer.Patel, a former Goldman Sachs executive, started GPC along with his colleague Joe Sealy almost 11 years ago. The investment firm has raised $1 billion worth of funds since inception. “We are delighted to partner with GPC as we embark on the next phase of our growth journey,” Enzen’s chairman Satheesh Kumar said. Kumar, a former Wipro technologies executive, founded Enzen with agroup of colleagues, including Dileep Viswanath, Harsha Anand and Kutty Prabakaran. The Bengaluru-headquartered company derives a bulk of its revenues from international markets and has operations in 26 countries.Its largest customers are based in the UK and Australia though it also provides services to electricity, water and gas distribution companies in the US, Latin America and parts of Europe and Asia. The company posted sales of over $200 million in the previous financial year and employs around 3,600 people worldwide.Enzen has hardly any debt and has used its profits to expand its business over time, a person close to the company said. Most of its contracts are long-term deals with work being carried out over a period of several years.The type of contracts it carries out includes operational turnarounds of electricity and water utilities by preventing losses arising out of leakages or implementing technological enhancements to make the operations more eco-friendly. | the investment is in the range of 15-20%, a well-placed source said. the company boasts top-tier clients such as London's main water suppler and electricity distribution company. it is the first investment from the UK-headquartered PE firm’s second fund of $700 million that it raised in august last year. the company posted sales of over $200 million in the previous financial year and employs around 3,600 people worldwide. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/startups/newsbuzz/wework-signs-office-deal-with-commonwealth-bank-of-australia/articleshow/76091498.cms | BENGALURU: At a time when companies are shrinking offices following the Covid-19 crisis, WeWork India is close to signing a 2400 seats office deal with Commonwealth Bank of Australia The office space will come up at WeWork’s Manyata tech park facility in Bengaluru. "The workspace will be fully fitted by WeWork and has a 4 years lock-in period,” said three people aware of the deal.The Commonwealth Bank of Australia went live with Tata Consultancy Services BaNCS platform in 2010 that supported its first Indian branch in Mumbai. The new office space at WeWork will function as shared services centre for CBA Services India catering to US, Australia and Asian markets.Last year, Commonwealth Bank of Australia appointed industry veteran Pankajam Sridevi as MD India to scale up business. WeWork India did not comment on the deal.Separately, WeWork India is reviewing and modifying spaces in common areas and conference rooms at its properties to ensure social distancing norms. The company is ensuring a minimum of 6ft distance between two people across its properties.WeWork India, a fully-owned subsidiary of Embassy Group Had earlier told ET that it plans to raise $200 million (about Rs 1,421 crore) to expand its India operations. The company currently has 40,000 members and 57,000 desks in 34 locations.Since the launch of the American shared workspaces provider in India, the Bengaluru-based Embassy Group has invested Rs 1,500 crore in the WeWork affiliate. It currently operates desks across the top six markets in the country, including Bengaluru, Gurgaon and Mumbai.The company holds the franchise for WeWork in India till the end of 2021. It would like to retain the brand but WeWork global holds the first right of refusal and can buy the Indian realty developer out.Embassy Group had paid around $200 million for the franchise two years ago. Currently, the developer holds 80% stake in the franchise. | weWork India close to signing a 2400 seat office deal with Commonwealth Bank of Australia. the office space will come up at WeWork’s Manyata tech park facility in Bengaluru. the deal has a 4 year lock-in period and is being reviewed by the company. weWork india currently has 40,000 members and 57,000 desks in 34 locations. | Positive |
https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/gail-may-partner-with-strategic-investors-for-city-gas-distribution-business/1591885/ | Gas utility GAIL India is looking to partner with financial and strategic investors for its subsidiaries and joint venture companies in the city gas distribution business, a senior company official told FE.
“In view of the heavy capital expenditure involved in building a city gas distribution network, the company may evaluate proposals from both strategic as well as financial investors in its joint ventures and subsidiaries that are focused on city gas distribution,” the official said.
GAIL has a total of nine subsidiaries and joint ventures that are involved in supplying natural gas in various states across the country. These include Indraprasth Gas, Mahanagar Gas and GAIL Gas.
The company has planned a capital expenditure of `54,000 crore over the next three years with a debt to equity ratio of 60:40. The plan is to invest close to Rs 12,000 crore in the CGD business of its own over the next three years to sell compressed natural gas (CNG) to automobiles, and piped natural gas to households in towns such as Varanasi, Ranchi, and Patna.
GAIL, which owns and operates 14,000-km of gas pipeline network in the country, is laying 6,000 km of new lines at a cost of Rs 32,000 crore to take gas to unconnected areas in the east and the south. Another `10,000 crore will go into the expansion of petrochemical manufacturing capacity, GAIL India CMD BC Tripathi told reporters in Mumbai.
Currently, most of the gas pipelines in the country are concentrated in the western and northern part of the country. GAIL is now laying a pipeline up to Haldia in West Bengal and parts of Odisha and will extend it to the northeastern region. Also, it is laying pipelines in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
GAIL’s investment is critical to realising the government’s objective of raising the share of natural gas in the energy basket to 15% by 2030 from the current 6.2% and create a gas-based economy.
The sector has begun attracting interest from financial investors. In December 2018, roads developer Ashoka Buildcon received Rs 150 crore for a 49% stake in its city gas distribution business, Unison Enviro. The Wall Street investor is expected to invest more funds as and when required in order to bid for new projects and set up the gas network infrastructure. | company may evaluate proposals from strategic as well as financial investors. it has nine subsidiaries and joint ventures that supply natural gas in various states across the country. plan is to invest close to Rs 12,000 crore in the CGD business of its own over the next three years. presently, most of the gas pipelines in the country are concentrated in the western and northern part of the country. | Positive |
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/markets/banks-financials-pushing-the-market-higher-should-you-trust-the-rally-5352571.html | Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty closed with healthy gains on June 3, with the Sensex surging 284 points and Nifty settling above 10,000.
The rise in benchmarks was led by banking and financial heavyweights such as HDFC twins, ICICI Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank.
Nifty Bank index jumped 2 percent, extending its winning streak into the seventh consecutive session.
The rally of the last week was also propelled by the banking and financial stocks and experts point out that whenever the banking conglomerates start participating in any rally, it is a robust one.
Why are banking stocks surging?
Experts point out that the banking stocks are rising as the perception about them has changed after the resumption of economic activities.
"Indian banking sector was the worst hit due to fall in outlook with a fear that asset quality will downgrade heavily given stringent lockdown. This view is changing due to the expectation of a re-opened economy, fall in the cost of funds, stable liquidity and big equity deals announced by banks with easy placement to foreign and domestic investors at fair valuations," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.
Sameer Kalra, Founder, Target Investing, said: "There was an easy trade in the last couple of months to short these stocks that reversed due to massive short-covering in the last few days, trapping a lot of traders. Secondly, as the economy reopens there is a global flow change of selling defensive and buying cyclical.
Rusmik Oza, Executive Vice President & Head of Fundamental Research at Kotak Securities has a similar view.
"Since March, the price correction in BFSI stocks had been very steep and most of them were in a heavily oversold zone. Most retail banks were worst hit under the lockdown but now as the economy opens up in a phased manner they are regaining strength," Oza said.
"Last week we saw the Banking Index gain 10 percent in just last two last days of the monthly expiry indicating heavy short-covering. Indian markets are following the trends of developed markets and moving in tandem with them. Since BFSI is the largest sector by weight in Nfity50 and valuations on price/book Value have gone to abysmally low levels we are seeing some fresh buying in them," said Oza.
Moreover, banking and financial stocks are pinning hopes on RBI for the restructuring of loans, while their valuation had made them attractive for investors.
"Rally in banking and NBFC stocks are primarily led by valuation; few large banks and NBFC were almost trading at 1time FY22 adjusted book value. The ability to raise sufficient liquidity at low cost would be the key criteria for banks to navigate the current situation, as asset side inflow would be limited," said Jaikishan Parmar, Senior Equity Research Analyst, Angel Broking.
"The rally is led by large private banks that have a very strong liability franchise. These large banks have adequate provision coverage for a bad asset. Additionally, there is hope that RBI may allow a one-time restructuring of the corporate loan," Parmar said.
What lies ahead?
There is not much hope for the banking and financial stocks or for the market, for that matter, unless the COVID-19 comes under control and the economy opens completely.
Today is the seventy-first day of India’s nationwide lockdown, meant to curb the novel coronavirus pandemic. Confirmed COVID-19 cases in India stand at 2,07,615. The death toll from the outbreak in India is at 5,815. Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Delhi and Gujarat have reported the highest number of cases.
The Centre has extended the lockdown, called 'Unlock 1', till June 30. A number of activities will be allowed to resume in a phased manner over this month.
The rally in the market is propelled by hope. The market is expecting that things will come to normal gradually and has factored in weakness in the economy and earnings. However, this could be illusionary and there could be a wave of selling in the market if fresh negative reports regarding the coronavirus pandemic and the economy emerge.
"The market has been rallying on the optimism of easing lockdown. But we do not expect a V-shape recovery for the market. Banks are a proxy to overall economic consumption and we do not see a V-shape recovery in banks either. We should focus on banks with better value because fund-raising would be needed somewhere down the line given the overall anticipated economic space," said Pankaj Pandey, Head of Research, ICICI Securities.
"We expect a consolidation in the market going ahead. The market will be in the range of 10,500-9,000 in the next 3-4 months," said Pandey.
Oza of Kotak Securities feels that the frontline banks and NBFCs could face resistance after the recent sharp run-up as the sector is still prone to heavy earnings downgrades in the coming quarters.
Sameer Kalra of Target Investing believes banking and financial stocks are witnessing technical bounce and not a fundamental reversal as the real impact of COVID-19 will be seen in Q1FY21 results.
There is a diverging trend in India's economy and the stock market.
While the lockdown has been eased significantly and the market seems to be cheering it, there is a possibility of reintroducing restrictive measures or one-third to one-fourth of the population staying at home and not participating in the economic activities.
"Certain sectors and segments like cinemas, airlines, consumer durables, etc would continue to be impacted till successful vaccines are found and a majority of people are vaccinated. Therefore, in our view, significant contraction in the Indian economy in FY2021 is inevitable," said G Chokkalingam, Founder and CIO, Equinomics Research & Advisory.
Experts warn that the market cannot ignore deteriorating macroeconomic indicators for a long time and ultimately it has to behave in sync with earnings expectations and trajectory of economic growth of the country.
Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts on Moneycontrol.com are their own and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions. | equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty closed with healthy gains on June 3. the rise in benchmarks was led by banking and financial heavyweights such as ICICI Bank. experts point out that the banking stocks are rising as the perception about them has changed. the banking sector was the worst hit due to fall in outlook with a fear that asset quality will downgrade heavily. | Positive |
https://www.financialexpress.com/market/cafeinvest/gold-prices-hit-fresh-record-highs-twice-in-april-imf-cautions-recession-worse-than-1930/1947350/ | By Jigar Trivedi
Gold is up substantially over the last year, but we’re still very likely in the early stages of this bull run. The Fed is expanding the monetary base, a very constructive development for gold. The U.S.’s incredible debt burden is also a favorable catalyst. Low-interest rates and amplified inflation are also constructive factors for gold. We expect substantially higher gold prices going forward.
Gold has performed quite well in recent years. In fact, the yellow metal is up by around 35% over the past year alone (24% in 2019 & 12.5% in the 2020 year till date), while the S&P 500 and other major averages are down by around 15% or more since their all-time highs were reached earlier in the year.
However, despite gold’s stellar performance, the precious metal is still very likely in the early stages of this remarkable bull market cycle. Unprecedented monetary expansion, immense debt, amplified inflation, extremely low-interest rates, and other constructive factors are likely to send gold prices substantially higher over the next 2-3 years.
Fed’s Unprecedented Stimulus
The Federal Reserve is in the process of creating an unprecedented amount of new money to deal with the fallout from the coronavirus epidemic. The Fed has announced several multi-trillion-dollar monetary programs designed to provide massive liquidity to markets to prevent the economy from collapsing. Coupled with Fed stimulus, the Government is coming out with bailout programs to inject capital into various segments of the U.S. economy as well.
There is only one problem: the U.S. government doesn’t have any money. So all these trillions are coming from the Fed. The Fed can simply digitize all the dollars it needs to buy Treasuries, corporate bonds, junk bonds, or just about any other kind of debt it wants to inject immense capital into the financial system.
The problem is that this kind of monetary policy is bound to significantly dilute the U.S.’s monetary base. We can already see that the monetary base has increased to around $3.9 trillion and is floating about on par with prior all-time highs. However, the Fed’s printing presses are just getting started, and the eventual post-CV monetary base could be around $10 trillion or more.
We know that the monetary expansion is just getting started, and while the monetary base is at around $3.9 trillion today, it is likely to climb substantially higher as the Fed continues to monetize debt and inject liquidity into various areas of the market. Currently, the monetary base is at around $3.9 trillion, but a couple of years down the line it could be at $10 trillion, or possibly higher even.
This monetary expansion likely means substantial higher prices for gold going forward as well.
The Bottom Line: This is an Ideal Environment for Gold
Gold has been a great store of value and a way to diversify the portfolio throughout time. Given current government interventions, I think it is prudent to keep some gold in the portfolio. Whether that is physical gold, trusts, ETFs, gold miners, or royalty companies will be much more dependent on individual preferences.
A gold centred portfolio can by itself have even higher volatility than the stock market. It is also worth highlighting that gold mining equities can have extreme volatility and be very correlated to the overall stock market in the short term, as was seen during the month of March this year, but is often a good hedge over time.
(Jigar Trivedi is Fundamental Research Analyst – Commodities at Anand Rathi Shares and Stock Brokers. Views expressed are the author’s own) | gold is up by around 35% over the past year alone. the gold price is still very likely in the early stages of this bull run. the monetary base has increased to around $3.9 trillion. the eventual post-CV monetary base could be around $10 trillion or more. gold is up by around 35% over the past year alone. the gold price is expected to rise by around 10% in the next 2-3 years. | Positive |
https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/sme/msme-other-govt-bets-more-on-small-businesses-for-defence-production-number-of-msmes-increases-21-per-cent/1890185/ | Number of MSMEs in the domestic defence production sector till the second quarter of the financial year 2020 increased 21 per cent from the entire FY19, according to the data shared by the MSME Minister Nitin Gadkari in Rajya Sabha recently. The total number of MSME vendors of Defence Public Sector Enterprises/Ordnance Factory Board stood at 15,089 in FY17, which declined to 7,591 MSME vendors during FY18 followed by a marginal increase to 8,643 vendors during FY19. However, it increased further to 10,506 till Q2 FY20. The increase in MSMEs share in India’s defence manufacturing space gains significance amid the government’s focus on leveraging small businesses and startups in the defence sector.
Subhash Chandra, Secretary, Department of Defence Production (DDP), Ministry of Defence speaking at a FICCI event last year stressed for the integration of MSMEs and startups into the defence manufacturing ecosystem. “Industry concerns have also been taken into consideration and demystifying of work processes will come only through interactions. The three-armed forces also need to open their doors for discussions with the industry,” he said. Last month, the government had announced a challenge for startups seeking their solutions to help counter-terrorism unit National Security Guard (NSG). The number of startups, till December 4, 2019, in the aeronautics, aerospace, and defence sector stood at 194 registered with Startup India, Defence MoS Shripad Naik had informed in Lok Sabha.
Also read: Parliamentary Panel seeks priority clearance of MSME dues during resolution process; suggests this step
Moreover, In November last year, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, in order to help India achieve its goal of indigenization and self-reliance in the defence sector with the contribution of startups and MSMEs, had announced the third phase of Defence India Startup Challenge (DISC) under its Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) — programme to boost innovation in the defence sector. “Looking at the talent India possesses, I am pretty confident that we can become $10-trillion economy in the next 10-15 years,” Rajnath Singh had said at an event. Through iDEX and startup challenge, the government is looking to invest in 250 startups and “achieve 50 tangible innovations in the next five years” Chandra had said. | number of MSMEs in defence production sector increased 21 per cent from FY19. total number of MSME vendors of defence public sector enterprises/Ordnance Factory Board stood at 15,089 in FY17. increase in MSMEs share in india’s defence manufacturing space gains significance amid government’s focus on leveraging small businesses and startups in the defence sector. last month, the government had announced a challenge for startups seeking their solutions to help counter-terrorism unit National Security Guard (NSG). | Positive |
https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/ril-bp-begin-extracting-gas-from-indias-first-ultra-deep-water-gas-project-kg-d6-r-field/2152656/ | Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd and Britain’s BP Plc today announced the commencement of gas production from ultra-deep-water gas field in block KG D6 R-Field of Krishna Godavari basin. The project will be the first of the three projects that are expected to meet 15% of India’s gas demand, and account for nearly 25% of domestic production. Oil-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance Industries is the operator of KG D6 with a 66.67% participating interest and BP holds a 33.33% participating interest.
The two gas majors are developing three deep water gas projects in block KG D6 – R Cluster, Satellites Cluster and MJ. “We are proud of our partnership with bp that combines our expertise in commissioning gas projects expeditiously, under some of the most challenging geographical and weather conditions. This is a significant milestone in India’s energy landscape, for a cleaner and greener gas-based economy. Through our deep-water infrastructure in the Krishna Godavari basin we expect to produce gas and meet the growing clean energy requirements of the nation,” said Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries Limited.
The next project, the Satellites Cluster, is expected to come onstream in 2021 followed by the MJ project in 2022. By 2023 the peak gas production from the three fields is expected to be around 30 mmscmd — about 25% of India’s domestic production.
R-Field is located about 60 kilometers from the existing KG D6 Control & Riser Platform (CRP) off the Kakinada coast and comprises a subsea production system tied back to CRP via a subsea pipeline. It is at a water depth of more than 2000 meters making it the deepest offshore gas field in Asia. “The field is expected to reach plateau gas production of about 12.9 million standard cubic meters per day (mmscmd) in 2021,” RIL said in a statement.
Production from older fields in the KG-D6 block was stopped in February this year. Operations at R-Field were expected to start earlier this year but were delayed owing to the pandemic.
“Growing India’s own production of cleaner-burning gas to meet a significant portion of its energy demand, these three new KG D6 projects will support the country’s drive to shape and improve its future energy mix,” said Bernard Looney, Chief Executive, BP. | the project will be the first of three projects that are expected to meet 15% of India’s gas demand. by 2023 the peak gas production from the three fields is expected to be around 30 mmscmd — about 25% of India’s domestic production. the oil-to-telecom conglomerate is the operator of KG D6 with a 66.67% participating interest and BP holds a 33.33% participating interest. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/expert-view/we-are-trapped-in-11000-11140-range-on-nifty-laurence-balanco-clsa/articleshow/68284174.cms | Unlock Leadership Excellence with a Range of CXO Courses Offering College Course Website IIM Lucknow IIML Chief Marketing Officer Programme Visit IIM Lucknow IIML Chief Operations Officer Programme Visit Indian School of Business ISB Chief Digital Officer Visit
In the near term, we have not seen any conclusive breakout from the range that we have seen since December. That has caused the underperformance by India relative to other emerging markets , said, Technical Analyst,, in an interview with ET Now Edited excerpts:We can make a case for the emerging markets from a chart that we have seen, a base formed between October and February. We have seen a breakup from that and that shows up when you look at the emerging markets relative to the developed markets ratio. If emerging markets are well placed to have base in place, something more significant. If you look at developed markets, there is a mixed picture. We always have had a very sharp recovery in US markets but we could remain in a broader trading range. Out of the global markets, the emerging markets look most compelling with the basing action that we saw through the fourth quarter and the lows in January and the move up something.In the near term, we have not seen any conclusive breakout from the range that you have seen since December. That has caused the underperformance by India relative to other emerging markets. In the shorter term, we are likely to remain trapped in this range. The top of the range is what we are chasing currently the 11,000 to 11,140 area and that looks like we will spend a bit more time ranging in that pattern but ultimately we still have an upside target of over 12,000 and the key factor that gets us to those marginal new highs would be driven by the CNX bank index.They will participate in the move but there are some totally standout banking stocks after six months now. Axis Bank is the first one which have broken out of a four- year trading range and that would be also the key buy candidate even when this market is trapped in the trading range as it is currently so. That is a stand out. But if you look at ICICI and State Bank of India , you have got multi-year trading ranges where those two stocks are expected to emerge as standouts.Yes, I think so. We have shifted into a higher volatility period and we should see essentially VIX trading in the lower teens or mid teens. We have transitioned into a higher volatility environment.Like the equity market, the rupee has been one of the weaker emerging market currencies and it has been above the 68-69 area in August 2018 and we saw that breakout. Right now, we have seen a consolidation about that 69 area but from a longer term side, that break above the 68-69 area still gives an upside target of 76. It is one of the weaker EM currency setups. You would really need to see rupee break below that 68-69 to suggest anything as far as straightening goes but as long as it remains above that I would have a broader weakening trend for the rupee.In the short term, it is likely to remain range-bound ahead of the elections. We continue to see this sort of shorter-term rotation but from a longer term side, the banks index is going to be the next leadership group for the market. | axis bank is the first one which have broken out of a four-year trading range. if emerging markets are well placed to have base in place, something more significant. if we look at developed markets, there is a mixed picture. axis bank is the first one which have broken out of a four-year trading range. | Positive |
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/startup/revv-raises-rs-100-cr-in-series-b-funding-led-by-hyundai-motor-2871511.html | Delhi-based car-sharing startup Revv has raised Rs 100 crore in Series B funding led by Hyundai Motor. Existing investors Edelweiss and Beenext also participated in the round with other investors.
With its strategic investment in Revv, Hyundai Motor gains its first foothold in the Indian car-sharing market.
Moneycontrol had first reported about the investment plan earlier this week
The company will use the funds to expand its product offerings for both long-duration and on-demand use cases, strengthen its technology team and build brand awareness. It also plans to increase its geographical footprint to 30 cities during the next 12 months.
Hyundai Motor plan is to co-develop the company’s new growth engine by developing innovative mobility services that combine technologies such as autonomous driving and artificial intelligence with the sharing economy to transform people’s loves.
“Hyundai Motor India has been growing rapidly with its outstanding performance and has become a strong market leader in India,” said Y K Koo, MD and CEO, Hyundai Motor India Ltd.
He added, “We are just about to step forward and expand our business into the future mobility field with Revv. Hyundai Motor India will build a prominent system with both ‘Open Innovation’ strategy and India’s fastest growing self-drive car-sharing company, Revv.”
“We feel privileged to have Hyundai Motor on-board for this journey. During the past 3 years of our existence, we have stayed focused on delivering great customer experience through a combination of innovative products suited to the varied needs of users. Strong traction with our users and thoughtful use of technology, e.g. an artificial-intelligence based driver assistance system that dramatically improves users’ safety, has helped us scale rapidly,” said Anupam Agarwal and Karan Jain, co-Founders of Revv. | Hyundai Motor has raised Rs 100 crore in Series B funding. the company will use the funds to expand its product offerings. it plans to increase its geographical footprint to 30 cities in the next 12 months. the company will combine technologies such as autonomous driving and artificial intelligence with the sharing economy to transform people’s loves. 'we feel privileged to have Hyundai Motor on-board for this journey,' said anupam Agarwal and Karan Jain, co-founders of revv. | Positive |
https://www.financialexpress.com/opinion/automate-now-pay-later-an-outcome-based-pricing-model-for-automation-makes-great-sense/2085984/ | By Swapnil Pitale
The post-pandemic era is beginning to take shape and is bringing about a massive disruption in the way businesses operate. While everyone expects the world economy to slow down, there is also an acceleration in the shift towards automation. Enterprises today are being compelled to take the edge off of humans and instead employ Intelligent Automation to get work done more efficiently, effectively and swiftly while their employees work remotely.
The pandemic has totally changed the way businesses imagine their continuity plans, forcing them to rethink and redesign their operating models. It has made them see automation in a different light—a stark contrast, from the resistance or scepticism toward automation in the pre-pandemic era to being very open to adoption. However, given the sky-high stakes in the current scenario, organisations would like their automation partner(s) to have more skin in the game as opposed to merely playing a detached consultative or spec-based implementation role. This has given rise to emphasis on “Automate Now, Pay Later”, best represented by the outcome-based model.
While the outcome-based model has been around across industries for a long time, due to a better understanding of business functions and digital technologies at the customer-side, there is a greater demand for more innovation and cost-effective service, resulting in higher consideration now.
What’s an outcome-based model?
An outcome-based is a model where the pricing is based on the “outcome” in terms of the measurable cost or revenue impact delivered to the customer. Unlike other models, the outcome-based model doesn’t lay out detailed technical specifications or tasks performed; rather, it stresses on the ultimate business outcome. The outcome here could have different connotations as per the stakeholder involved, e.g. the outcome for a CEO might be the percent revenue generated, but for a CMO, it could be the change in the customer’s buying behaviour, growth in market-share or client/market penetration.
Why is it so lucrative now?
The outcome-based model means more skin in the game on the part of the automation partner, which naturally puts a lot of pressure on them to do their best, thereby ensuring more value for the customer. Another aspect of the outcome-based model that lures organisations is that they pay for the final result and not for the digital technologies leveraged in the automation process. Unlike traditional models, the business won’t continue to bear the brunt if the desired impact isn’t achieved. This also means minimised risk for the customer. Moreover, since the success of the partner substantially depends on the overall success of the engagement, there is more sincere effort, more transparency and better trust amongst both the parties. Last but not the least, there are no surprises or hidden expenses, unlike those encountered in the traditional models. Overall, it is a win-win situation!
While the outcome-based model may seem very bankable, there are some factors to ponder before considering this approach to make sure it is the right one. One needs to be equipped with better understanding/expertise of digital technologies and have dedicated time and resources at hand. Clarity of what’s qualified as an “outcome” is of utmost importance. If there’s slightest of misunderstanding about the definition of the outcome, this misalignment can lead to a lot of chaos in the automation timeline.
Another vital factor to consider is that the outcome should be quantifiable. Clear communication is yet another mandate for this type of model. Not only is it essential to have a clarity of the desired outcome, but it is equally important to communicate this clearly to the automation partner so that both parties are on the same page. This will help the automation partner validate expected value/benefits being realised within specified timelines. God is in the detail in this case, so it makes perfect sense to plan all the milestones in greater detail to set up a fair foundation and, at the same time, ensure accountability.
Robust governance is the key to an outcome-based relationship as it ensures adherence to the agreed milestones and overall structure.
We all know now that the outcome-based model is not optimal for situations where people are most likely to shift blame, avoid governance or avoid accountability. It becomes a success only if the relationship between the customer and the automation partner is collaborative, trustworthy and genuine. This is definitely not a model that runs like clockwork from day one—rather, it will evolve over time with concerted efforts from both parties. As times get more competitive in the post-pandemic era, it’ll be interesting to see how the outcome-based model evolves into a joint endeavour between the customer and the automation partner to achieve stupendous results in their automation expedition.
The author is Global head, Intelligent Automation, Consulting Practice, LTI
Views are personal | post-pandemic era is beginning to take shape and is bringing about massive disruption in the way businesses operate. there is also an acceleration in the shift towards automation. organisations would like their automation partner(s) to have more skin in the game as opposed to merely playing a detached consultative or spec-based implementation role. outcome-based model is a model where the pricing is based on the ‘outcome’ in terms of the measurable cost or revenue impact delivered to the customer. | Positive |
https://www.financialexpress.com/market/strong-global-cues-lead-indian-share-market-sensex-nifty-end-up-for-2nd-day-check-what-pushed-d-st-higher/2093448/ | Domestic equity market benchmarks BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 started the week on a strong footing, gaining over 1.5 per cent coupled with positive global cues. BSE Sensex ended 593 points or 1.59 per cent up at 37,982, while the broader Nifty 50 index jumped 177 points or 1.60 per cent to close at 11,227. Index heavyweights such as ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, HDFC, Bajaj Finance and Reliance Industries (RIL) were among the top index contributors. The broader market outperformed equity benchmarks. BSE MidCap index jumped 2.68 per cent or 384 points to end at 14,721, while the BSE SmallCap index finished 2.54 per cent or 368 points higher at 14,863. “Global cues were also positive following positive industrial profits data from China, setting aside concerns about the increasing virus infections and related impact. Indian markets were also banking on further stimulus and other measures by the government to boost the economy,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
IndusInd Bank top performer: 27 out of 30 stocks ended in the positive territory with IndusInd Bank gaining nearly 8 per cent. Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank, Power Grid Corporation of India, ONGC, SBI, Maruti Suzuki and RIL were among other gainers. Just three stocks Hindustan Unilever, Infosys and Nestle India were the top Sensex losers, falling 0.66 per cent, 0.15 per cent and 0.12 per cent, respectively.
Media stocks rally: On the sectoral front, all the Nifty sectoral indices ended in the green. Nifty Media index was the top sectoral gainer, up 4.77 per cent led by PVR, INOX Leisure, Hathway and Dish TV. Nifty Bank index jumped 3.26 per cent with IndusInd Bank, Bandhan Bank and Federal Bank as index gainers. Nifty FMCG index gained 0.85 per cent.
Global markets: European stocks jumped in Monday’s session with FTSE up 1.51 per cent, DAX up 2.83 per cent and CAC up 2.09 per cent. “European stocks partially recovered from last week’s hefty losses on Monday, helped by bargain shopping by foreigners, upbeat industrial profits data from China and as banking stocks bounced off record lows,” said Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities. Asian stock markets too gained on Monday. Japan’s Nikkei advanced 1.32 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 1.04 per cent and South Korea’s Kospi added 1.29 per cent.
Technical take: “The markets kept the upward momentum on for the entire day. However, the level to watch out for is 11300-11350. We need to get past and close above that price zone. That would signal that an intermediate bottom has been made and we have entered into an uptrend. Until then, there is always a possibility of a U-turn from the current levels and the Nifty might attempt to go and test the 10750 level,” said Manish Hathiramani, proprietary index trader and technical analyst, Deen Dayal Investments. | broader market outperformed equity benchmarks. broader market also outperformed. 'positive industrial profits data from china'. 'positive' global cues. 'positive' global cues. 'positive' global cues. 'positive' global cues. 'positive' global cues. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/ontario-teachers-to-invest-350-mn-in-edelweiss-alternative/articleshow/77893907.cms | Mumbai: Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board (Ontario Teachers), Canada's largest single-profession pension plan, has agreed to invest $350 million (Rs 2,600 crore) in Edelweiss Alternate Asset Advisors (EAAA), the Mumbai based leading private debt manager.Despite the global economic uncertainty amidst the current pandemic, this commitment from Ontario Teachers is a strong endorsement of the Indian alternative asset management space, said a company statement.Last week, Asia focused private equity firm PAG had acquired a 51% stake in Edelweiss Group’s wealth management business for Rs2,244 crore."The need for long term patient capital in India presents a huge opportunity for private debt managers," said Rashesh Shah , Chairman and CEO, Edelweiss Group.EAAA is a part of the Edelweiss Asset Management business which manages customer assets aggregating Rs. 1 lakh crore across Alternatives, Mutual Funds and Distressed Assets."This partnership will further expand our presence in, and provide additional insights on, the important Indian market," saidGillian Brown, Senior Managing Director, Capital Markets at Ontario Teachers.The Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board (Ontario Teachers') is the administrator of Canada's largest single-profession pension plan, with $205 billion in net assets as on June 30.Last year, leading Canadian pension fund Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ”), had invested Rs.1800 crore ($250 million) in Edelweiss Financial Services ’ non-banking financial company (NBFC) arm, ECL Finance Ltd.
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Top Trending Stocks: Sensex Today Live | the Ontario Teachers' pension plan board (Ontario Teachers') has agreed to invest $350 million (Rs 2,600 crore) in Edelweiss Alternate Asset Advisors (EAAA) the Mumbai based leading private debt manager manages customer assets aggregating Rs. 1 lakh crore across alternatives, mutual funds and distressed assets. the partnership will further expand our presence in, and provide additional insights on, the important Indian market. | Positive |
https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/technology/indias-tws-market-defies-slowdown-witnesses-723-growth-in-third-quarter-check-top-earbuds-brands-products-here/2137360/ | India’s TWS market: The TWS or true wireless stereo market in India has grown at a whopping 723% in the third quarter of 2020, as compared to the data from a year ago. A report released by Counterpoint has stated the TWS segment was one of the few that were able to tackle the economic slowdown that came this year, and instead report the highest ever growth in the segment for a single quarter’s shipments. The TWS segment is the market of the wireless earbuds.
A statement released by the research team quoted Research Associate Anam Padha as saying that the significant growth in the segment was aided by a high number of new launches and the inventory build-up that took place before the festive season in the country. Apart from that, new players like Infinix, OnePlus and Vivo entering the mix also played a key role in this increase. Moreover, while the pandemic snubbed most markets, this was one aided by the work-from-home and study-from-home trend that gained momentum during the coronavirus pandemic-induced lockdown.
Biggest brands
While the segment saw new entrants, the biggest holder of market share continued to be domestic Earwear Audio company boAt, with a share of 18%, according to Counterpoint’s data. This was followed closely by Chinese brand Xiaomi with a 16% market share, Realme with a 12% share, JBL at 8% and then Apple with 6% market share.
Most sold products
In the third quarter, Redmi Earbuds 2C was the best-selling TWS model, followed by boAt Airdopes 441. Realme stood at the third and fourth position with its Buds Q and Buds Air Neo respectively, while Apple’s AirPods (2nd Gen) was the fifth most sold earbuds.
The statement cited Research Analyst Shilpi Jain as saying that the India TWS ASP saw an increase for the first time since 2019, and this was driven largely by the increase witnessed in the shipments of Apple AirPods and new launches in higher price tiers. Jain added that Apple’s move of not including wired earphones with the latest iPhone, the iPhone 12 series has helped increase the demand for AirPods and consequently, an increase in the TWS segment, significantly. | the TWS segment is the market of the wireless earbuds. the biggest holder of market share continued to be domestic Earwear Audio company boAt. this was followed closely by Chinese brand Xiaomi with a 16% market share. the report cited the increase witnessed in the shipments of apple AirPods. the earbuds segment is expected to grow at a whopping 723% in the third quarter of 2020. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/with-lowest-interest-rates-ever-best-time-to-buy-a-home/articleshow/76354237.cms | ET Spotlight
The famous saying by Suze Orman,is currently quite a top of the mind notion. While it has been a common desire amongst many to be a home-owner, but somewhere had taken a back seat in the world of choices of being adventurous and spending on extravagance. Living in unprecedented time of the COVID 19 pandemic, there is a growing acceptance that home-ownership brings stability and security for family, when compared to other investment options. Now when people are grappling for job and security, having a home of your own and not having to pay rents (that is futile and no asset building occurs) is way more secured. So clearly, home has become an integral part of lives and a tangible investment unlike other asset classes, further accelerating the trend of buying.There is already a growing desire of owning a home as consumers look at it as a necessity now. Also a recent study by Anarock states that residential real estate is the best investment option during this crisis largely due to lower risks attached. Additionally, a public poll that was conducted by a finance and digital expert on Twitter revealed 76% of the respondents choosing the safety of a home over other asset classes. All these put together, are definitely a testament to the growing interest of owning a home in the country.There is vast chatter on affordability and livability. Speaking of affordability, it is not just the price of the unit but also at what price do you get to financing buy it. 25 years back, home loan rates were in excess of 10%. Now, with RBI slashing the repo rate by 40 basis points (100bps=1 per cent), the repo rate is now at an all-time low of 4 per cent. The RBI has slashed the repo rate by 115 bps ever since the lockdown has begun, which is great news for home loan borrowers who want to purchase their dream house. Interest rates are now headed downwards, thereby reducing EMIs and making home ownership increasingly affordable, EMI has gone down to almost 7.5% and it may go down further.With the cheaper rates and the availability of 80-90% loan amount sanction this is the right time to take a home loan and buy the house that one always wanted. Buying a home is in effect building a high sense of comfort for yourself and your family. With interest rates at all time low, it allow considerable amount of savings or one could look at a larger / spacious home without any increase in EMI outflow. On the other hand, a borrower can use the saving resulted from reduced EMI to avail of a top-up loan, which is also available at a lower interest rate. This allows the buyer to furnish his/her dream house and make the purchase complete. Given these factors, the affordable and mid-segment will emerge as the most preferred category in these times.The survey by Anarock also suggests that 36% of home buyers would prefer the affordable segment while 37% would opt for the mid-segment. Also with the labour issues in the market there is an expected delay in under-construction projects, resulting in consumer inclination towards ready home which is absolutely risk-free.The current home loan scenario also comes with another benefit. Borrowers can now look at the possibility of going for a fixed rate over a floating one. The latter tends to get volatile and can go north based on monetary policy decisions by the RBI. Hence, opting for fixed rates home loans is the perfect option at this time when rates are at their nadir. There is more for buyers looking at property for investment purpose. One can now earn rental income, which is currently pegged at 2.5% of capital value in a metro city such as Mumbai. With home loans in the region of 7.5%, the net effect, if a home is purchased for letting out comes to 5%. This is another win-win situation, which ensures that you are ahead of inflation because of the neat combination of various factors working in your favor while looking at buying a home for investment purpose at this time.Not stopping at that, many reputed developers are burnishing the available benefits with additional offers and value additions, making the purchase a good deal for consumers.For example, the “Apna Ghar Apna Desh” initiative by a reputed developer wherein consumers get an additional rebate of 1.5% on top of the already low home loan interest rate will lead to considerable savings via substantial reduction in EMIs.For most aspiring home-buyers, it is a once in a lifetime moment as well as may be the only biggest financial commitments of their lives. Looking at the current market scenario, it is predominantly a buyer’s market to make the investment and fulfill the dream of owning that dream house. | a recent poll shows 76% of respondents choosing the safety of a home over other asset classes. a home loan is now at an all-time low of 4%, a record low for a home owner. a home loan is a good investment, but it is not a good investment. a home loan is a good investment, but it is not a good investment. | Positive |
https://www.financialexpress.com/economy/economic-boom-in-india-coming-soon-massive-number-of-consumers-eligible-for-credit-heres-what-it-means/1175548/ | Signalling that a major economic boom in India may be in the offing, a latest study estimates that nearly 150 million consumers who are currently not ‘credit active’ are potentially eligible to become retail credit borrowers. Tapping into this untapped huge potential borrower market could provide significant growth opportunities for retail lenders and provide a major boost to the Indian economy, a TransUnion CIBIL study said.
According to the report, the total population of credit-eligible consumers in India is roughly 220 million, out of which only about one-third—72 million—are currently ‘credit-active’, or have a live account with a bank or lending institution. The remaining population, a whopping 150 million are not currently credit active, but would meet the age and income requirements that would make them potentially attractive to lenders, said the report. Notably, this group includes two set of consumers, the first, who were previously credit active but are currently dormant, and second, those who have never availed a retail loan or credit card.
Watch video: An economic boom just around the corner? What credit data shows
The retail lending market could see a major boom with the addition of these incremental growth opportunities for credit products such as credit cards, personal loans and consumer durable loans, the report noted.
“After significant growth in retail lending over the past decade, many lenders and industry observers have asked whether the retail credit market is nearing the saturation point and could soon face a slowdown. Our study paints a much brighter picture for the industry,” Yogendra Singh, Vice President of Research and Consulting for TransUnion CIBIL said. According to the expert, this untapped market presents an opportunity for sustained, prudent growth for lenders over the next five years and beyond. “Lenders need to find ways to reach this untapped market, which likely has credit needs that are not being met currently,” he observed.
The TransUnion CIBIL study calculated that approximately 220 million consumers meet the target age range—from 20 to 69—and minimum income level, which is assumed as at least Rs 250,000 per year, to be attractive to lenders for retail credit products. “This addressable market size is forecast to continue to grow at a rapid pace, as more consumers enter the target age range and economic growth raises income levels.
The study forecasts that the addressable market will increase by 14-16 million consumers per year, reaching an estimated 295 million by the end of 2022,” the report said. According to Singh, as more consumers reach adult age and have disposable income, they will increasingly seek credit to help finance purchases of housing, vehicles, and household goods. “As well, in an increasingly digital marketplace, they will want credit cards to help facilitate online transactions. These developments bode well for continued robust growth in the retail lending market,” continued Singh.
Apart from a robust economic boom due to potential eligible borrowers, the study finds that household debt levels in India as a percentage of national income are modest in comparison to other emerging countries such as China, Brazil and South Africa. If India follows the growth trajectories of other countries, total household debt could increase from Rs 37 trillion at the end of 2017 to between Rs 78 – 94 trillion by the end of 2022, noted the report. This supports the conclusion that Indian households will have additional borrowing capacity and could continue to finance growing consumption levels. | 150 million consumers who are not currently credit active are potentially eligible to become retail credit borrowers. the remaining population, a whopping 150 million are not currently credit active, but would meet age and income requirements. the retail lending market could see a major boom with the addition of these incremental growth opportunities for credit products. approximately 220 million consumers meet the target age range—from 20 to 69—and minimum income level, which is assumed as at least Rs 250,000 per year. | Positive |
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/economy/india-russia-to-boost-ties-to-achieve-30-bn-bilateral-trade-by-2025-4331081.html | India and Russia have called for diversifying and deepening of economic ties in priority sectors to meet the bilateral trade target of USD 30 billion by 2025, the commerce ministry said on Tuesday.
This was emphasised upon by Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Trutnev and Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal during a business session from August 11-13 in Vladivostok, Russia.
A delegation including chief ministers of Haryana, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Goa and about 140 Indian companies was led by Goyal at the session.
He urged companies of both countries to discuss partnerships directly and come up with concrete project proposals.
The ministry said in a statement that a number of MoUs were signed between regions of the Russian Far East and five states of India to expand and strengthen cooperation in the areas of trade, economy, investment, scientific and technical cooperation.
An MoU was also signed between Amity University and Far East Federal University to enhance relations and develop academic and cultural exchange in areas of education and research.
An agreement was also concluded on the establishment of the representative offices, the Centre for Yoga, and the Pushkin Centre for Russian Language and cultural studies, the statement added.
Chief ministers of the four states sought investments and collaboration in the field of energy, agriculture and food-processing.
Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani talked about possibilities of collaboration in gold and diamond mining.
In 2018-19, the bilateral trade between the countries stood at USD 8.3 billion. | the bilateral trade target is set at USD 30 billion by 2025. the two countries have signed several MoUs. the talks were held in a business session in Vladivostok, Russia. the bilateral trade between the countries stood at USD 8.3 billion in 2018-19. a number of regional MoUs were signed between the two countries. a number of universities were also signed to enhance relations. | Positive |
https://www.financialexpress.com/market/ipo-news/investors-bag-handsome-ipo-returns/2151588/ | By Urvashi Valecha,
Investing in initial public offerings (IPOs) in 2020 has been very profitable for investors despite the Covid-19 pandemic. After the initial panic that gripped the markets, the primary market revived soon after the secondary market showed signs of a sustained pick-up. From September onwards, companies such as Rossari Biotech, Route Mobile, Happiest Minds Technologies and Burger King, along with many others, have tapped the market very successfully with returns ranging between 10% and 125%.
The financial year has so far seen stellar listing gains for some companies because the markets have perceived them as good quality companies and pricing for some issues was attractive. Additionally, the rush of new investors in the stock markets since the market crash in March 2020 and heightened liquidity in the markets have also contributed to the strong momentum in the IPO market.
Calendar year 2021 is expected to see heightened activity too as far as fresh issues are concerned. The initial public offer (IPO) activity is expected to be dominated by resilient sectors such as new-age technology, health care and consumer. Experts said the recovering sectors such as hospitality, commercial real estate (REITs) and banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) are expected to play an important role in 2021.
Out of the 12 IPOs that the primary markets have seen so far, only three have listed with negative gains. They are UTI Asset Management Company, Angel Broking and Equitas Small Finance Bank, which were down by 13.9%, 8.9% and 0.76% on their listing day, data from Prime Database show. The top four IPOs of this year are: Rossari Biotech, Route Mobile, Happiest Minds Technologies and Burger King India, which have from the date of their listing gained 94%, 221.6%, 94.7%, and 232.1%.
According to Bloomberg and NSE data, all the IPOs that have taken place so far this fiscal, even the ones that listed with negative gains, are trading above their IPO issue price.
Market experts said while valuations of companies may be debatable, good quality IPOs has had takers. Sanjeev Hota, head of research, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas, said: “The good quality companies will always have takers in the market. Additionally, the rise of new investors and liquidity in the market could have also contributed to the momentum in the IPO market. Valuations at which the companies are quoting since they have run up could be debatable.”
The markets have seen new investors open their demat accounts ever since the markets crashed in March 2020. The new account openings have increased 135% CAGR over FY20 and FY21 so far. Rusmik Oza, head of fundamental research, executive vice president, Kotak Securities, said, “The type of opening of new demat accounts that have opened in the past in the last 6 to 7 months is one of the reasons for the stellar performance of the IPO markets. Going forward the momentum in the market is likely to continue unless there’s some huge global phenomenon that causes the markets to crash which is unlikely.” | primary market revived soon after secondary market showed signs of a sustained pick-up. from September onwards, companies such as Rossari Biotech, Route Mobile, Happiest Minds Technologies and Burger King have tapped the market very successfully. calendar year 2021 is expected to see heightened activity too as far as fresh issues are concerned. IPO activity expected to be dominated by resilient sectors such as new-age technology, health care and consumer. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/indicators/retail-inflation-for-industrial-workers-softens-to-3-97-in-april/articleshow/64414481.cms | Saab Bags India’s First 100% FDI in Defence Project India has cleared the first 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) in the defence sector, with permissions granted to Sweden’s Saab to set up a new facility that will manufacture rockets.
Steady Loan Demand, Fall in Provisions Lift SBI Profit 8% State Bank of India (SBI), the country’s largest lender by loans outstanding, met D-Street expectations to report an 8% increase in the second-quarter net profit on steady credit demand and lower provisions as the nation’s most-valued government entity wrote back some accounts where recovery was delayed. The lender expects robust loan growth, underpinned by broad-based economic expansion. | first 100% foreign direct investment in defence sector cleared. permission granted to Sweden's Saab to set up rocket manufacturing facility. 8% increase in second-quarter net profit on steady credit demand. lender expects robust loan growth, underpinned by broad-based economic expansion. sBI expects robust loan growth, underpinned by broad-based economic expansion. | Positive |
https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/banking-finance/paytm-banks-big-digital-push-vijay-shekhar-sharma-led-bank-to-issue-1-crore-virtual-debit-cards/1901899/ | Vijay Shekhar Sharma-led Paytm Payments Bank Ltd (PPBL) Wednesday announced that it will start issuing Visa virtual debit cards to the customers. Over 10 million new digital debit cards are targeted to be issued in FY21, PPBL also said in a statement. “As we continue to strive and bring half-a-billion Indians to the mainstream digital economy, it is indeed a proud moment for us to partner with Visa. This partnership will allow millions of our customers to avail the benefits of Visa debit cards along with the power to make international transactions”, Satish Kumar Gupta, CEO & Managing Director, Paytm Payments Bank Ltd, said.
Virtual debit card
Visa virtual debit cards would enable its customers to transact at all merchants accepting payments through cards. For the first time, the bank’s customers would also be able to make international transactions using their Visa debit cards, it said. Soon, the customers will also have an option to request for a physical card. This will enable customers to make contactless payment through their chip-inserted cards. “Debit cards, because of their ease to use and familiarity, continue to be the first choice of newly banked customers. They play a critical role to migrate these customers to the digital economy and help them make non-cash transactions. We are extremely delighted to partner with Paytm Payments Bank and provide virtual debit cards to their customers and reinforcing the vision of a less-cash society”, TR Ramachandran, Group Country Manager, India & South Asia, Visa, said.
Meanwhile, Paytm recently acquired a brokerage license for its wholly-owned subsidiary Paytm Insurance Broking Private Limited (PIBPL) to sell life and non-life insurance from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI). | over 10 million new digital debit cards are targeted to be issued in FY21. bank's customers would also be able to make international transactions using their Visa debit cards. customers will also have an option to request for a physical card. PPBL recently acquired a brokerage license for its wholly-owned subsidiary Paytm Insurance Broking Private Limited (PIBPL) to sell life and non-life insurance. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/infrastructure/delhi-mumbai-highway-to-cut-travel-distance-by-280-km-to-be-ready-in-3-years-nitin-gadkari/articleshow/73775568.cms | New Delhi: Three years from now, you will be able to drive from Delhi to Mumbai in 12 hours with the construction of a new highway that will cut the travel distance on the route by 280 km, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Thursday. "We are building a highway worth Rs 1,03,000 crore between Delhi and Mumbai. I assure you that within three years from now, you will be able to drive to Mumbai from Delhi in your car and reach there within 12 hours," the Minister for Road Transport Highways and MSMEs said.He said the land acquisition for the highway has been completed and 32 contracts out of 60 have already been awarded."The highway starts from Sohna near Gurugram and will cut the travel distance between Delhi and Mumbai by 280 km," Gadkari said at a conference of Assocham.The minister also said Rs 16,000 crore have been saved on land acquisition for the project, owing to the highway passing through socially and economically backward tribal areas of five states, including Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh , Gujarat, Maharashtra and Haryana."Had we taken the alignment of Delhi-Ahmedabad-Surat-Vadodara-Mumbai, the land acquisition cost would have come to Rs 6 crore per acre, but now, this cost has come to Rs 80 lakh per acre," Gadkari said.Besides, on the 59-minute-loan scheme for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) launched earlier, the minister said a review of the loan disbursement record by banks shows that several loans have been sanctioned but have not been disbursed by lenders, owing to conditions not being fulfilled.He said a scheme has been prepared whereby Rs 10,000 crore have been earmarked under a fund of funds and the Centre will fund 10 per cent equity of an MSME coming forward to enter the capital market."Our target is to raise the contribution of the MSME sector in the country's growth to 50 per cent in the next 5 years so that we can achieve our target of making India a USD 5-trillion economy," Gadkari said.The minister said it has also been decided to raise the MSME sector's contribution to India's exports to 60 per cent and create five crore new jobs. | the highway will cut the travel distance between Delhi and Mumbai by 280 km. the highway starts from Sohna near Gurugram. the minister says Rs 16,000 crore has been saved on land acquisition. he says the highway will also create five crore new jobs. he says the project will also raise the contribution of the MSME sector to the country's exports. | Positive |
https://www.financialexpress.com/economy/indian-imports-from-10-key-partners-can-go-up-by-21-billion-export-headroom-at-17-billion/2104569/ | Indian imports from key trading partners can rise by USD 21 billion, while the set of 10 countries represent an export headroom of only USD 17 billion, a report by a foreign lender said on Tuesday.
Imports from the US, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and the UK have the greatest opportunity for growth, Standard Chartered Bank said in its study, adding that the largest trading partner US alone enjoys a USD 5.7 billion opportunity.
It can be noted that the Indian government has been looking at ways of increasing exports, especially on the manufacturing front through production linked incentives scheme, as the country tries to serve businesses looking at opportunities beyond China.
As economies and businesses look to recover from the impact of COVID-19 pandemic, there will be markets and sectors with new opportunities to grow trade, the study said.
“Businesses in India and across the world have faced unprecedented challenges over the last few months. Looking ahead, they need to look for new growth avenues and build more resilience,” the bank’s managing director and head of trade for India and South Asia Gaurav Bhatnagar said.
He said India offers an “unexplored potential” of USD 21.1 billion for global exporters and its exporters look at a USD 16.8 billion opportunity with the key trading partners.
Thailand and Germany are the largest markets with export potential for Indian businesses’ perspective, representing an opportunity of USD 2.6 billion each, as per the study.
From a growth perspective, Thailand is the topmost with an opportunity of 48 per cent of the present exports to the country, followed by Indonesia at 26 per cent and Malaysia at 25 per cent.
The research contrasts actual export values with potential export values ? calculated by an economic model ? to uncover medium-term opportunities, looking to a post-COVID-19 world as economies begin to reopen, it said.
The scope covers high-potential exports, defined as goods or services where businesses have added value within the borders of their home market, it added. | imports from the US, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and the UK have the greatest opportunity for growth, a study by a foreign lender said. the largest trading partner US alone enjoys a USD 5.7 billion opportunity. the study also found that the country is looking at ways of increasing exports. it said businesses in india and across the world have faced unprecedented challenges. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/startups/newsbuzz/byjus-valuation-surges-to-10-5-billion/articleshow/76656978.cms | (This story originally appeared in on Jun 27, 2020)
BENGALURU: Famed Silicon Valley investor and analyst Mary Meeker's Bond Capital has invested in education technology startup Byju's at a valuation of $10.5 billion. The move comes as the sector continues to get consumer transaction and strong investor interest amid the pandemic. The new valuation is a 30% increase from the $8-billion tag Byju's got just in January, and makes it the second-most valued startup in the country after Paytm. With this, Byju's has entered the club of 'decacorn' startups - those valued at over $10 billion.The company did not disclose the valuation or the investment size, which sources briefed on the matter pegged at below $100 million. The deal will be the first investment in India for Bond Capital, which raised a $1.2-billion fund last year and has backed Australian graphic design startup Canva and UK's digital banking app Revolut Byju's has already announced that it has raised $400 million from Tiger Global Management and General Atlantic this year, and sources said that the company plans to mop up about $1 billion in fresh funding this year. The capital is likely to be used by the company to push its global expansion and also for acquisitions. "This crisis has brought online learning to the forefront and has helped parents, teachers and students alike to experience and understand the value of it," said founder and CEO Byju Raveendran in a statement.The 39-year-old Raveendran had started the company as an offline coaching class for the Common Admission Test (CAT) to enter IIMs back in 2007. Then several of his students joined him in 2009, and in 2011 he registered his company as Think & Learn Private Limited. The company tried out a tablet-based format, but tasted major success after launching an app in 2015. Since then, it has attracted investments from top-tier global investors and seen its valuation jump from $1 billion at the start of 2018 to over $10.5 billion now.This has been driven by the financial metrics of the company. Byju's claimed that it doubled its revenues from $189 million (Rs 1,430 crore) in FY19, when it was also profitable, to Rs 2,800 crore in FY20. What has helped the company is that revenues from overseas markets, especially the US, have jumped from $25 million to about $70 million in the period, according to a source briefed on the matter.Byju's also says that it has 57 million registered students, 3.5 million paid subscribers and annual renewal rates as high as 85%. Over the years, it has also entered into a partnership with Walt Disney to use its characters to teach kids, besides also becoming the lead sponsor for the Indian cricket team."Byju has built a profitable company and, while education has always been considered a large market, he has been able to mine it well. So, in terms of building a startup, it is the closest to a Silicon Valley story out of India," said Vinod Murali, managing partner at Alteria Capital | the deal will be the first investment in India for bond capital. it is the first time the company has invested in india. byju's is the second-most valued startup in the country after paytm. the company has raised $400 million from Tiger Global Management and general Atlantic this year. it has also raised $400 million from the likes of asian firm ibm. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/market-movers-telcos-bpcl-see-a-bounce-48-stocks-flash-buy-signals/articleshow/77018883.cms |
NEW DELHI: Domestic equity investors shrugged off lacklustre trend in Asian and European markets and lapped up stocks on Friday enthused by some better-than-expected June quarter earnings.BSE flagship Sensex rallied about 550 points while Nifty climbed 160 points to surge past the 10,900 mark. Earlier in the day, Britannia reported doubling its bottom line for June quarter while HCL Tech’s net jumped 32 per cent, boosting the mood on Dalal Street. Meanwhile, reports said BPCL has found many suitors.“PSU stocks fired up the market as privatisation talks gained ground. RIL and select financials lent support to the bulls on a day that saw hectic activity on the broader market too, with several stocks on the rural theme participating,” said S Ranganathan, Head of Research at LKP Securities.Telecom stocks rallied during the session ahead of the telecom tribunal’s judgment that stayed the regulator’s order to block premium plans. Voda Idea rose 12.83 per cent to Rs 8.88 while Bharti Airtel advanced 0.84 per cent to Rs 567.Bharat Petroleum jumped about 13 per cent to Rs 443.90 on BSE after reports said major energy companies such as Roseneft, Exxon Mobil and Aramco have lined up to buy the state-owned company. In the last two days, the stock has gained over 20 per cent.Royal Enfield maker Eicher Motors, which saw about 3 per cent week-on-week decline, snapped four week gaining streak. On Friday, however, the stock added 1.38 per cent to Rs 18,896.20.Aided by cheap liquidity, stellar June quarter earnings and hopes of a vaccine for coronavirus, Nifty rose for the fifth straight week, recording the best streak since April 2019. Sensex and Nifty both have risen over 10 per cent in the last one month.Promoters of JSW Steel revoked pledge on 17.5 lakh shares, following which the stock added 2.78 per cent to Rs 206.75. On the other hand, shares of VMV Holidays rose 0.88 per cent to Rs 28.65 even though a promoter of the company sold 10,000 shares of the company.Some 315 stocks listed on BSE hit the upper daily limit set by the exchange. They included Hathway Cable, Orient Cement , PC Jeweller, Spandana Sphoorthy, Graphite India, Future Retail, Edelweiss Financials, Infibeam Evenues and Suzlon Energy, among others.As many as 48 stocks flashed ‘buy’ signals on BSE as prices crossed above the signal line of MACD indicator. They included BPCL, Tata Steel, Captain Polyplast, Cadila Healthcare, M&M, Edelweiss Financials, Cyient, Berger Paints, Strides Pharma and Bajaj Auto, among others.Nifty traded in range-bound movement for most part of the trading session, but in the last hour a break-out was seen and a fresh intra-day high was achieved with Reliance , HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Bajaj Finance aiding the surge. “On charts, momentum remains positive for these stocks and further upside is not ruled out. At present level, support comes at 10,750 while resistance is seen at 11,040-11,100 level in coming trading sessions,” Sumeet Bagadia, Executive Director at Choice Broking | Sensex rallied about 550 points while Nifty climbed 160 points to surge past the 10,900 mark. meanwhile, reports said BPCL has found many suitors. Sensex and Nifty both have risen over 10 per cent in the last one month. a spokesman for bpl said the market was 'not ready to take a hit' | Positive |
https://www.businesstoday.in/markets/global-markets/fpis-invest-over-rs-9000-crore-in-indian-equity-markets-in-may-so-far-here-is-why/story/404785.html | Reversing their selling trend, foreign investors have infused over Rs 9,000 crore into the Indian equity markets in May so far amid attractive valuations of stocks and a mega block deal involving HUL.
Experts believe foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) will keep a close watch on how India manages to keep COVID-19 cases under check with relaxations in lockdown curbs, and how quickly it revives growth.
The inflow comes following a net withdrawal of Rs 6,883 crore in April and Rs 61,973 crore in March on fears of a coronavirus-induced global recession.
Also read: Coronavirus India Live Tracker: Maharashtra opposes flights from May 25; COVID-19 cases top 1.25 lakh
Prior to that, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) had put in over Rs 1,820 crore in February.
According to depositories data, FPIs invested a net sum of Rs 9,089 crore in the equity markets during May 1-22.
However, they pulled out a net Rs 21,418 crore from the debt markets during the period under review.
"FPIs are selectively positive on only few Indian equities in the current month. Positive FPI flow in the month of May is only due to strong participation by FPI in mega HUL block deal of Rs 25,000 crore on May 7.
"FPIs were net sellers in the Indian equity market in last 12 out of total 15 trading sessions in May," said Asutosh Mishra, head of research at Ashika Stock Broking.
"Attractive valuation after the sharp correction in the equity markets this year, and significant depreciation of Indian rupee against USD provided FPIs a good entry point," said Himanshu Srivastava, Senior Analyst Manager Research, Morningstar India.
Arjun Mahajan, head of Institutional Business at Reliance Securities, said that positive inflows in May could be due to liquidity infusion by the US, Japan, UK, EU and other countries. Cheap valuations of Indian stocks could be the other factor for the inflow, he added.
With regard to the debt market outflow, Mahajan attributed this to the sell-off in global debt markets, FPIs booking profits and also a very high chance that passive debt funds needed liquidity for margins.
"Since the COVID-19 pandemic has spread across various countries and regions, foreign investors have turned risk averse. Consequently, they shifted their focus towards safer investment options or safe havens such as gold or US dollar, as against investing in fixed income securities of emerging markets like India.
"Here the risks are relatively higher and returns not commensurate with the risk involved," Srivastava said.
He further said foreign investors will be closely watching how India manages the COVID-19 crisis and the macroeconomic situation.
Also, India would continue to witness rotational trend. Hence, bouts of sharp net outflows or net inflows from Indian financial markets cannot be ruled out, he said.
"One could expect this trend to stabilise when the situation on the coronavirus front normalises or shows signs normalisation," he added.
Also read: Odisha allows home delivery of alcohol with 50% 'Special COVID Fee'; all you need to know
Also read: Coronavirus vaccine: 6 Indian firms race against time to develop cure but patience only option | foreign investors have infused over Rs 9,000 crore into the Indian equity markets in may. the inflow comes amid attractive valuations of stocks and a mega block deal involving HUL. the inflow comes after a net withdrawal of Rs 6,883 crore in April and Rs 61,973 crore in March. experts believe the inflow is a result of a combination of factors. | Positive |
https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/unstable-coalition-govt-at-the-centre-may-hamper-indias-growth-warns-arun-jaitley/1351738/ | Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday said India needs a strong and decisive leadership at the Centre to continue on its high growth path and take swift decisions. A weak leadership could not have handled the IL&FS issue the way the present government did, he said.
“A crisis in the making was handled with swiftness,” Jaitley said, addressing the 98th annual session of Assocham. He cautioned that India doesn ot need an ‘unstable coalition’ at the Centre with individuals, who lack understanding of policies, at the helm.
General elections are due in April-May next year.
“India needs a government and leadership which have absolute clarity about the direction so that this unique position which IMF refers to as a sweet spot in the world we continue to occupy for next two decades. If you are able to do that, we can get rid of the curse of poverty and in our lifetime probably see India as a developed country,” Jaitley said.
India’s economy grew by 6.7% in FY18 and it expanded by 8.2% in the April-June quarter of FY19.
Pointing to headwinds to economic growth, Jaitley said global oil prices have risen on account of “artificial shortages” and being a net buyer of oil, any rise in global crude prices would adversely impact the country. “Therefore we have to face that challenge by making our economy so resilient itself that we have the capacity to bear that challenge,” the minister added.
On Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed to oil producing countries and global energy giants to review the ‘payment terms’ with India so that the rupee, which has fallen by nearly 14% in the last one year, gets some support. Although a government statement did not spell out what the payment terms sought by Modi were, sources said he meant greater facility for Indian crude importers to pay their overseas suppliers in rupee rather than dollar.
Rising crude prices could derail the fiscal consolidation path, lead to a rise in current account deficit as well as inflation, posing problems for the government ahead of several state assembly elections and general election. Jaitley hoped that “such transient effects will not be everlasting.”
Listing out several reforms such as Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code, the minister expressed hope that India’s rank in ease of doing business, which improved from 140 to 100 in three years of the Modi government, would show substantial improvement in the next edition of the data to be published by the World Bank. | a weak leadership could not have handled the IL&FS issue the way the present government did, he said. general elections are due in April-May next year. india's economy grew by 6.7% in FY18 and it expanded by 8.2% in the April-June quarter of FY19. a 'crisis in the making was handled with swiftness', he said. | Positive |
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/world/us-election-2020-indian-americans-overwhelmingly-support-joe-biden-new-poll-shows-5961541.html | Image: AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster
A large majority of Indian Americans plan to cast ballots for the Democratic ticket of former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Kamala Harris, according to a survey released on October 14, despite elaborate overtures by the Trump White House to win their support.
The survey, by the polling firm YouGov, found that 72% of Indian American voters planned to vote for Biden, with just 22% planning to go for President Donald Trump.
While Indian Americans hold a wide variety of political views, the presence on the Democratic ticket of Harris, whose mother immigrated from Chennai, India, has had a galvanizing effect on a voting bloc that could help Biden in battleground states like Pennsylvania, Florida and Michigan.
Their potential impact on the presidential election highlights the growing importance of Indian Americans in U.S. politics: As the second-largest immigrant group in the country, Indian Americans are gaining influence, making political donations, vocally supporting candidates and causes and, most notably, running for office, from the school board to Congress.
“We have arrived,” said Ramesh Kapur, a Democratic Party fundraiser.
Kapur, 72, who owns a gas processing and distributing company in Medford, Massachusetts, and supported Harris’ 2016 Senate race and her run for the 2020 presidential nomination, said that Indian Americans donated $3.3 million to the Biden Victory Fund at a single fundraising event he organized in September.
But Harris isn’t the only reason many Indian Americans support the Democratic ticket this year, Kapur said. They are also turned off by the president’s frequent attacks on immigrants and people of color, despite standing to gain from Trump’s economic policies.
“Even though they are supposedly saving taxes, to the Indian American community, when you get the president of the United States saying to an elected official, ‘Go home,’ that scares the hell out of us,” he said, referring to Trump’s tweet in July 2019 about a group of four minority congresswomen.
While the approximately 2 million Indian American voters comprise less than 1% of the electorate, they are voters who both parties seek to attract. The larger Indian American population is twice as rich as the rest of the country as a whole, and two times as likely to hold a bachelor’s degree or higher.
And at the rate the community is growing — doubling in size every decade since the 1980s — they represent an increasingly formidable force in U.S. politics.
The apparently wide support among Indian Americans for Biden comes despite high-profile efforts by Trump and the Republicans to win their votes.
A year ago, Trump drew 50,000 people to a rally in Houston with India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, an event that organizers called “Howdy, Modi.” The prime minister, a right-wing populist whose bellicose views on two of India’s rivals, Pakistan and China, helped win his party a landslide reelection in 2019, and who has generally received support from the Indian diaspora, lauded Trump’s name as “familiar to every person on the planet.” He returned the favor in February with an even larger spectacle for Trump in India.
The rallies did win Trump some support, said M.R. Rangaswami, the founder of Indiaspora, a nonpartisan group that promotes the interests of Indians in the United States.
“Trump has invested in India, has invested in Indian Americans with the ‘Howdy, Modi’ visit and with going to India, and it has shown results,” Rangaswami said. “The question is: Will it outweigh the Kamala factor?”
Indeed, the survey reported that 45% of respondents said that Harris’ nomination had made them more likely to vote, and 49% said they were more enthusiastic about supporting Biden. It also showed that respondents cared more about health care, the economy and the environment than U.S.-India relations.
YouGov conducted the survey as part of a research project by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Johns Hopkins University and the University of Pennsylvania.
Trump has also lost some favor in India, where the news media criticized him for casting doubt on the integrity of Indian government coronavirus statistics during the presidential debate last month.
Rangaswami, who attended the Houston rally and is registered as an independent, said the audience appeared to consist largely of older Indian Americans, who he said leaned conservative and most likely voted for Trump in 2016.
That Indian American voters lean liberal overall is partly because a younger generation, born in the United States, is far less convinced by the conservative cultural mores brought by their parents and grandparents from India, Rangaswami said.
“There’s definitely that schism in the Indian American community,” said Raj Bhutoria, 20, a junior at Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, California, who has dreamed of running for office since working as a volunteer on the successful 2016 campaign of Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., an Indian American.
Khanna’s victory and Harris’ nomination show that “now being Indian is no longer a barrier to run for office or get elected,” Bhutoria said.
Despite wishing that the Democratic nominees were more progressive on some issues, Bhutoria said he was supporting them — though with perhaps less gusto than his parents, Ajay and Vinita Bhutoria, Bay Area tech entrepreneurs in their 40s who, as avowed liberals, are somewhat of an exception for their generation. They have starred in three ads supporting the Biden-Harris campaign, set to Bollywood music and featuring slogans in a variety of Indian languages.
Bhutoria cited Trump’s trade disputes with India, pressure on countries not to trade with Iran — an important source of cheap oil for India — and the suspension of H-1B visas for high-skilled workers, a large number of which go to Indians.
“The ‘Howdy, Modi’ event was wonderful to look at, but they were only beautiful picture moments,” he said. “Trump has not done much for India or Indians Americans.”
By Emily Schmall
c.2020 The New York Times Company
Follow Moneycontrol’s full coverage of the 2020 US presidential elections here | 72% of Indian american voters plan to vote for Joe Biden, with just 22% planning to go for President Donald Trump. the larger Indian american population is twice as rich as the rest of the country as a whole, and twice as likely to hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. the larger Indian american population is twice as likely to hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. | Positive |
https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/technology/apple-now-lets-you-buy-custom-macbook-and-mac-pc-configurations-in-india-if-you-can-afford-them/1973382/ | Apple is finally adding a configure-to-order (CTO) or build-to-order (BTO) option for MacBook and Mac PC buyers in India. This means MacBook and Mac PC buyers in India can now opt for “specific” RAM, ROM, or graphical power configurations as per their need and budget from Apple Authorised Resellers. Apple now offers such opt-ins across its entire Mac portfolio including MacBook Air, Mac Mini, iMac and basically every other Mac computer or laptop that’s currently sold in India.
Configure-to-order or build-to-order has existed in the Western markets like the US for some time now, especially after Apple started making computers and laptops so high-end, it seemed like borderline insane for average buyers. These are configurations Apple usually talks about at length at its keynote events and highlights in press releases, literally showing off how powerful things could get should you need and afford them.
In India, however, because the option to order custom configurations wasn’t available (until now), buyers had to make do with select basic, sort of entry-level models of Mac computers and laptops, without customisations. Take the recently launched 13-inch MacBook Pro (2020) for instance. The 13-inch MacBook Pro for 2020 can go up to 10th-generation quad-core Intel Core processors with Turbo Boost speeds of up to 4.1GHz, up to 32GB RAM, and up to 4TB SSD storage.
But in India, the 13-inch MacBook Pro was launched and made available in two processor configurations. While the base model shipped with a 1.4GHz quad core Intel Core i5 Gen 8 (Turbo Boost up to 3.9GHz) processor, the top-end model came with a 2.0GHz quad core Intel Core i5 Gen 10 (Turbo Boost up to 3.8GHz) processor. The base model was paired with 8GB of 2133MHz LPDDR3 RAM and either 256GB or 512GB SSD, while the top-end model came with 16GB of 3733MHz LPDDR4X RAM and either 512GB or 1TB SSD storage.
With configure-to-order in place, buyers in India can now ask for specific upgrades. Apple will deliver these custom Mac laptops and computers to buyers in about a month’s time depending on availability of components.
Apple is in the midst of perhaps its biggest India push at this point of time with CEO Tim Cook being quite vocal about India as a ‘key’ market for Cupertino’s growth in the future even as it sees sales dip in its home market. All its focus has been on the iPhone so far, but it seems, Apple has finally started to widen its horizons by adding the Mac to that list.
Apple is gearing to launch its first online store in India this year, and its first physical retail store here in 2021. The move will also help Apple bring its hallmark services like Apple Care to India as is so Apple users here would be able to make more out of their purchase. | configure-to-order (CTO) or build-to-order (BTO) option added. buyers in India can now ask for specific upgrades. configurations are available across the entire Mac portfolio. this includes MacBook Air, Mac Mini, iMac and basically every other Mac computer or laptop that’s currently sold in India. if the configurations aren’t available, buyers will have to make do with basic entry-level models of Mac computers and laptops. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/sme-sector/cii-partners-with-whatsapp-to-train-smes-across-india/articleshow/66411816.cms | Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) will work with WhatsApp to educate and train small-medium business owners (SMEs) and entrepreneurs on how the WhatsApp Business app can help them connect with their customers and grow their businesses, CII said in a statement.CII said WhatsApp and CII will work to enhance business communication for Indian SME's through CII’s SME Technology Facilitation Centre. This was set up in November 2016, with the objective of creating awareness amongst SMEs in India on technological solutions that can be optimally adopted to enhance their overall competitiveness. There will be on-ground training around the country to explain the features and best practices on the App. In addition to this, business owners can attend training webinars to help them grow and expand their businesses.According to a survey demonstrating the economic impact of WhatsApp in India, 70% of SMEs on WhatsApp in India say that they built their business on the platform. 78% of these SMEs say they have increased sales because of WhatsApp. Until the launch of the WhatsApp Business app earlier this year, small businesses didn’t have a formalised way to use WhatsApp to connect with their customers.Neerja Bhattia, executive director, CII said: “CII SME Technology Facilitation Centre, is CII’s initiative to provide latest technology support to SMEs in India. It’s operating as a one stop solution centre, summating different upgraded and latest technology from our multiple large technology partners with an aim to enhance access to technology for Indian SMEs and create technical literacy amongst them.The Centre also provides an opportunity to its technology partners to expand their market and reach out to SMEs spread through out the country with their product and services.”Ben Supple, public policy manager, WhatsApp, said, “Whether it’s a chai stand or saree shop, small businesses are at the heart of vibrant communities and the engine that makes the Indian economy grow, and by partnering with CII, we’re committed to helping SMEs achiceve success. Small businesses need to meet their customers where they are, and in India, that’s on WhatsApp. With the WhatsApp Business app, small businesses can easily and efficiently connect with their customers, and we’ll be introducing new features in the future to continue helping them grow.”Launched in January 2018, the WhatsApp Business app was developed to improve SMEs’ communications with their customers, by creating an official presence for those companies in the app and enhancing their customer care, with specific tools to make communicating with customers easier and more efficient. More than three million peopleare already using the WhatsApp Business app worldwide.WhatsApp and CII will develop content to be distributed among entrepreneurs both in physical and digital formats, addressing the advantages of the professional use of WhatsApp Business and promoting the creation of networks for knowledge sharing. WhatsApp will also give workshops to CII team members across the state, to expand contentdissemination and offer local support for cities across India. The partnership starts on 29th October with training in Pune and is expected to reach small and medium businesses along with start-ups and members of CII. | CII will work with WhatsApp to educate and train small-medium business owners (SMEs) and entrepreneurs on how the WhatsApp Business app can help them connect with their customers. there will be on-ground training around the country to explain the features and best practices on the App. 78% of these SMEs say they have increased sales because of WhatsApp. Until the launch of the WhatsApp Business app earlier this year, small businesses didn’t have a formalised way to use WhatsApp to connect with their customers. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/internet/digital-is-the-key-to-unlock-this-disruption/articleshow/76333752.cms | Elevate Your Tech Prowess with High-Value Skill Courses Offering College Course Website MIT MIT Technology Leadership and Innovation Visit IIM Kozhikode IIMK Advanced Data Science For Managers Visit Indian School of Business ISB Professional Certificate in Product Management Visit
Mumbai: The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated several global business trends in favour of digitalisation, and focussing on digital avenues and collaborating beyond boundaries will be the stepping stones for the global economy to climb out of this disruption, said the keynote speakers at ET Unwired Reimagining Business Series on Thursday.Sir Martin Sorrell, executive chairman, S4 Capital and founder WPP, said that India is in the midst of a shopping revolution. The multi-billion-dollar investments by Facebook and several others in the telecom-technology-commerce triple play of Jio Platforms show that.“People who run enterprises may have been resistant to the change to digital but now all that has vanished as the pandemic has forced us towards the digital age,” Sorrell said. The lockdowns to contain pandemic have inculcated new “e-habits” in people, said Harsh Mariwala, chairman, Marico. “E-learning, shopping, e-consultation with doctor, virtual meetings, working from home — we have been doing these for over two months now, so we have become good at it. Digital is the way forward,” he said.Biocon executive chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw rued that “the pharma industry still has not heeded the message.” There is competition to find a billion-dollar vaccine for Covid-19 and “instead of knowledge collaboration, knowledge competition is happening,” she said.Talking on the importance of virtual learning, Sal Khan, founder & CEO, Khan Academy said that the viral pandemic will catalyze a lot of things and education is the first half of rapid evolution we are going to see. "At this time, if you do not have internet access you will feel isolated. That’s where bridging the digital divide comes in. We are seeing positive energy to close the divide; within weeks things are being addressed, added Khan. | the covid-19 pandemic has accelerated several global business trends in favour of digitalisation. focussing on digital avenues and collaborating beyond boundaries will be the stepping stones for the global economy to climb out of this disruption. the lockdowns to contain pandemic have inculcated new "e-habits" in people, said Harsh Mariwala, chairman, Marico. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/debt-funds-get-rbi-booster-medium-long-term-schemes-to-gain-most/articleshow/74862141.cms |
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India's ( RBI ) much needed liquidity injection and rate cuts provide some relief to debt funds which were facing tough times due to foreign institutional investors’ unabated selling pressure.RBI finally bit the bullet on Friday and responded to the coronavirus-induced crisis with a whopping 75 basis points cut in the repo rate, bringing it down to 4.4 per cent, its lowest ever.The central bank also announced targeted LTROs (TLTRO) at monetary policy review and said it will help in reducing the yields on corporate bonds which have been reeling under pressure in recent times amid low volumes.The RBI said it will conduct auctions of targeted term repos of up to three years' tenor of appropriate sizes for a total amount of up to Rs 1 lakh crore at a floating rate linked to the policy repo rate.Liquidity availed under the scheme by banks has to be deployed in investment-grade corporate bonds, commercial paper, and non-convertible debentures over and above the outstanding level of their investments in these bonds as on March 27, 2020, it said. These also have to be held to maturity.Nimesh Shah, managing director and CEO of ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund said the TLTRO worth Rs 1 trillion is aimed at soothing the bond market which over the last one month had witnessed a spike in yields.“This measure will aid in enhancing liquidity in corporate bond markets and consequently will lead to easing in short-term bond yields of high-rated corporate bond papers,” Shah said.He continues to remain positive on the overall fixed income space and believes the up to 5-year segment offers relatively better risk-reward benefit.“We are also positive on the accrual segment, as it provides opportunity to invest when the yields and spreads are at elevated levels,” he added.Along with all the liquidity measures and rate cuts, MPC has widened the LAF (liquidity adjustment facility) corridor, discouraging banks to park funds with RBI as they want them to avoid risk aversion.According to Dwijendra Srivastava, CIO-Fixed Income, Sundaram Mutual Fund, the shorter end of the curve will realign to the new repo rate, or even reverse repo rate since the market is flush with even more liquidity.“Right now, the maximum benefit will happen to 3-year funds. Slowly it will become overpriced assuming we get out of the Covid-19 crisis in a timely manner and the curve will become steeper,” he added.Currently, medium-term funds will benefit the most, he said adding that going ahead, long and medium duration funds will benefit as well.Others shared the view.Lakshmi Iyer, CIO (Debt) & Head of Products, Kotak Mutual Fund, said the RBI has intended to infuse liquidity not only into the banking system but also into the corporate bond markets.Iyer pointed out that TLTRO is a step in that direction, and is likely to see spread compression, especially in high-grade corporate bonds.“Given the comfortable liquidity in the banking system, we expect the reverse repo rate to be the operating rate for sometime. Investors with north of 3-12 month horizon could look at ultra-short, low duration funds,” she added. | RBI responded to coronavirus-induced crisis with 75 basis points cut in repo rate. also announced targeted term repos of up to three years' tenor. measure will help in reducing yields on corporate bonds. 'this measure will aid in enhancing liquidity in corporate bond markets', says mr Shah. 'this measure will aid in enhancing liquidity in corporate bond markets', he said. | Positive |
https://www.businesstoday.in/markets/company-stock/aarti-drugs-share-price-rises-sensex-q1-net-profit-bonus-issue/story/416325.html | Aarti Drugs share has become a multibagger during the coronavirus crisis and the ensuing market crash since March this year. The pharma share which traded in a range of Rs 563 to Rs 693 between September 18, 2015 to February 28, 2020 has delivered over eight times returns to investors in the next five months. The mid cap share rose 782% from Rs 422.25 on March 19 this year to Rs 3,724 on August 25, 2020. During the same period, Sensex gained merely 37% from 28,288 on March 19 to 38,843 on August 25 this year.
Aarti Drugs share hit its 52-week low on March 19 as Indian market took into account the impact of rising coronavirus cases on the global economy. During the short period of five months, Aarti Drugs share touched all-time high of Rs 3,724 from Rs 422, its yearly low.
An investment of Rs 1 lakh in Aarti Drugs share on March 19 would have grown to Rs 8.82 lakh on August 25.
Strong financial performance accompanied by announcement of bonus issue has contributed to the meteoric rise in the stock. The firm reported a 280.62% rise in Q1 net profit to Rs 85.45 crore against profit of Rs 22.45 crore in Q1 of last fiscal.
In March quarter of previous fiscal, the firm logged a 11.90% fall in net profit to Rs 110.35 crore. Management was confident of clocking profit after tax growth of 15-20% over the medium term on the back of ongoing capital expenditure.
Jhunjhunwala earned Rs 5.6 crore per day with this stock for 111 sessions
Management expects growth in agro/pharma to compensate for weak demand in other segments such as auto and textiles.
Sales rose 34.34% to Rs 544.67 crore in Q1 against Rs 405.43 crore during the corresponding quarter ended June 2019.
Rakesh Jhunjhunwala earned Rs 2.71 crore per day with this stock for 100 sessions
Number of foreign portfolio investors holding the stock rose to 41 in Q1 against 31 in Q4 of last fiscal. Number of shareholders with share capital up to Rs 2 lakh rose to 21,421 in Q1 against 17,601 in Q4 of last fiscal.
For quarter ended June, earnings per share (EPS) rose to Rs 31.34 against 9.19 in June quarter 2019. In Q4 of previous fiscal, EPS stood at Rs 24.28.
The pharma firm logged its higher profit ever in last fiscal despite slowdown in global and Indian economy.
It reported Rs 141.40 crore net profit in last fiscal compared to Rs 89.75 crore profit in corresponding period of previous year. Sales rose 15% to Rs 1806 crore in FY 19-20 against Rs 1560 crore in FY18-19.
Earnings per share climbed to Rs 60.57 in last fiscal against Rs 38.48 in 2018-19 fiscal.
Return on equity stood at 21.67% in FY 19-20 against 16.51% in FY 18-19. Debt to equity ratio fell to 0.52 in last fiscal against 0.87 in FY 18-19 and 1.12 in FY17-18 which implied the firm improved its financial performance despite reducing debt.
This stock turned Rs 1 lakh into Rs 3 lakh in four months, did you miss the rally?
A nod to the bonus issue of shares by its board also led to a significant rally in the stock. Aarti Drugs share price rose 20% intra day on August 20 to Rs 2,892.75 against previous close of Rs 2410 on BSE. Later, the share closed 17.76% or Rs 428 higher at Rs 2,838.
Of late, the share has pared gains due to volatile market conditions and profit-booking.
Currently, the stock is down 21.45% or Rs 799 from its all-time high. The share closed 1.36% or Rs 40.35 lower at Rs 2,925 against previous close of Rs 2,965 on BSE. The stock has fallen after three days of consecutive gain. Aarti Drugs share stands higher than 5 day, 20 day, 50 day, 100 day and 200 day moving averages. The stock has gained 564% in one year and risen 405% since the beginning of this year.
Aarti Drugs Limited is a pharmaceutical company. The company offers active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in a range of therapeutic categories, such as anti-inflammatory, cardioprotectant, antifungals, antibiotic, antidiabetic, sedative and vitamins. Its products under APIs include Aceclofenac, Diclofenac Potassium, Diclofenac Diethylamine, Clopidogrel Bisulphate and Telmisartan.
Share Market Highlights: Sensex ends 323 points lower, Nifty at 11,519; Hindalco, Bajaj Finserv top losers | pharma share has delivered over eight times returns to investors in five months. mid cap share rose 782% from Rs 422.25 on march 19 this year to Rs 3,724 on august 25, 2020. firm reported a 280.62% rise in Q1 net profit to Rs 85.45 crore. firm logged a 11.90% fall in net profit to Rs 22.45 crore in last fiscal. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/munot-led-sbi-mf-bought-into-most-bearish-stocks-in-april-offloaded-old-warhorses/articleshow/75713586.cms |
SBI Mutual Fund, India’s largest asset management company, stopped accumulating banking names and instead turned to traditional economy stocks from energy, electronics and engineering sectors in April.The biggest addition to its portfolio in April was cigarette-to-notebooks maker ITC, which it had also acquired in large chunks in March. The fund house bought 3.11 crore shares of ITC during the month.The stock has found favours with Dalal Street analysts in recent times after a sharp drop in share price. It currently trades at 13 times its earnings, a large discount to its FMCG peers, making a case for buying. Analysts at JM Financials find it “too cheap to ignore” and see “deep value in the stock at current price”. It has a price target of Rs 315, an upside of nearly 100 per cent from last close. SBI MF also bought 1.5 crore shares of Bharat Electronics, which manufactures defence products, and 81 lakh shares of State Bank of India, India’s largest bank by asset size.Among other major stocks on its April shopping list, the fund house bought 10-69 lakh shares of GAIL, Engineers India, IndianOil, Torrent Power, NTPC, Tata Power, Sun Pharma and BPCL. There were two more interesting additions -- Chalet Hotels and Lemon Tree Hotels – which the fund house bought at a time when the tourism industry was staring at a bleak future.Another name that stood out among its top buys was a smallcap firm that manufactures compressors -- Elgi Equipments. The fund house bought 33 lakh shares of the company. The stock is tracked by just three analysts and they are mostly bearish on it. Navneet Munot , who heads the investment team at SBI MF, said the recent rise in markets has been too sharp given the challenging economic backdrop, and therefore, bouts of volatility can’t be ruled out.Blue chip index Sensex added 14.41 per cent in April while BSE Midcap Index rose 13.65 per cent and BSE Smallcap index 15.53 per cent.“There will be significant implications for investors from pricing tail risks to dealing with unpredictability, from enhanced ESG focus to asset allocation choices. The fundamental tenets of investing will always remain unaltered; however. Investors will have to adapt to the changing paradigm and evolve,” Munot said.Meanwhile, the fund house sold 10-31 lakh shares each in Ambuja Cements, Emami, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bharti Airtel, Chennai Petroleum Corporation, ICICI Lombard General Insurance and Kajaria Ceramics.Some of the buying and selling of shares mentioned above might have been done by passively managed index funds. The fund manager completely exited CESC, GSK Consumer (which sold its Horlicks portfolio to HUL), JB Chemicals, Prestige Estates, SBI Cards, Shreno, SAIL, Triton Valves and UFO Moviez in April. On the other hand, CCL Products, Cyient and Metropolis Healthcare were new additions in the portfolio.SBI MF continues to be the largest mutual fund house with an asset under management (AUM) of Rs 3.58 lakh crore at the end of April. It is followed by HDFC AMC with AUM of Rs 3.45 lakh crore and ICICI Prudential AMC at Rs 3.22 lakh crore.April saw a sharp drop in net inflows into equity mutual funds , which crashed to Rs 6,212.96 crore from Rs 11,723 crore in March. Large and multicap funds, which saw increased interest from investors last month, could not sustain the momentum. Inflows to midcap and smallcap funds stood in the range of Rs 350-500 crore, Amfi data showed. | biggest addition to portfolio was cigarette-to-notebooks maker ITC. fund house bought 3.11 crore shares of the company during the month. it also bought 1.5 crore shares of Bharat Electronics, which manufactures defence products. also bought 81 lakh shares of state bank of india, india's largest bank by asset size. meanwhile, a smallcap firm that manufactures compressors -- Elgi Equipments - also bought. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/internet/covid-19-lockdown-accelerate-online-gaming/articleshow/75640044.cms | Elevate Your Tech Prowess with High-Value Skill Courses Offering College Course Website IIM Lucknow IIML Executive Programme in FinTech, Banking & Applied Risk Management Visit IIM Kozhikode IIMK Advanced Data Science For Managers Visit Indian School of Business ISB Professional Certificate in Product Management Visit
Kuldeep Malik, director, corporate sales, MediaTek India
NEW DELHI: Quite a few online games that are becoming popular during the lockdown have innovative survival scenarios, in keeping with the Covid-19 health scare. Even as the best medical minds try and control the outbreak and find a cure for Covid-19, people in lockdown are finding gaming the best avenue to connect and socialize with family, friends and colleagues. Time spent on games has dramatically increased, more people are playing online games and more gaming companies are cashing in on the rising interest in India.According to a Google-KPMG report, the online gaming segment is pegged at $1.1 billion by 2021. India is among the top five mobile gaming markets in the world with around 300 million gamers. With Covid 19, this trend of more users and more time being spent on games is only multiplying.Parth Chadha, founder Ewar Games says, “more and more people are seeking thrill and entertainment in the world of online gaming as we see casual gamers turn into serious ones.” Ewar is a gaming app started in January 2019. It offers 20 games including Knife Dart , Ludo, CandyJam along with gruesome battles in hardcore shooting games like PUBG , FreeFire and Call of Duty.Faisal Kawoosa, founder & chief analyst TechArc says, “the biggest trend in gaming is that multiplayer gaming has started to pick up. Earlier only PUBG like game was encouraging multiplayer mode, now employees, friends etc are connecting remotely even for playing games like Ludo. People are looking at games to socialize and connect.”New gaming ventures are also entering the India market. For instance, Paytm First Games, gaming arm of the digital payments platform Paytm started in 2019 and witnessed 200% increase in user base during lockdown. Paytm First Games offers around 300 games including Fantasy Cricket, Teen Patti and Rummy. Another startup Gameberry Lab has seen significant growth in daily instalment and user engagement. `Play with friends’ format has seen a sharp rise in lockdown with 18 to 45 year olds spending more time on gaming than before.Kuldeep Malik, director, corporate sales, MediaTek India says, “companies are leveraging innovative technologies like XR (Extended Reality) and AIoT (Artificial Intelligence of Things) to create seamless game play experience for end customers.”Chip maker MediaTek sees a big opportunity in gaming. The MediaTek Helio G series chipset (G stands for gaming) was “conceptualised with the aim of making every millisecond matter for the gaming enthusiast,” says Malik. Its gaming chipsets power several devices including Realme C3, Realme 6i and the Xiaomi Note 8 Pro.Kawoosa points out that gaming has been a big focus for smartphone makers, particularly for devices above Rs 15,000. “Smartphones will keep on adding further gaming capabilities,” he says.And its not just entertainment as Chadha of Ewar Games says, “real money gaming too has evolved. The skill acquired gives the players the confidence and ambition to pursue real money gaming. Gaming now has the ability to stand out as a profession in itself.” That might just be one of the other big benefits of gaming. | online gaming is booming in india with more people playing games. paytm first games saw 200% increase in user base during lockdown. a number of startups are launching in the country. a number of them are launching in india. a number of them are launching in the country. a number of them are launching in the country. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/motorola-one-power-review-the-device-puts-an-end-to-battery-anxieties/articleshow/66159205.cms | Rs 15999****Stock & bloat-free Type-C, 5,000mAh, 205 grams Android interface, 2 to 3 day battery life , includes fast charging (TurboPower), good performance, metal back panel & solid build qualityBattery anxiety is a real thing — it’s why power banks are so popular. Apart from making hardware that’s more efficient, the obvious way to improve battery life in a smartphone is to fit a physically larger battery inside. And that’s exactly what Motorola has done with the One Power.The phone name is quite literal actually: One for Android One, and Power because it has a massive 5,000mAh battery inside. That brings with it another set of downsides: the phone becomes thicker, bulkier, heavier and generally goes against what many people want in a smartphone. It’s the classic adage of ‘win some, lose some’.Motorola phones always had close-to stock Android interfaces but the partnership with the Android One platform means that you’re assured of timely updates. And we’re not just talking about security updates either — the phone is going to get updated to Android 9.0 soon and will continue to be supported by Google directly for the next two years at a minimum.As is usual for Android One, you get the rounded icons, zero bloatware apps, built in Assistant and Google lens. Motorola has added their own enhancements like Dolby Audio, Moto Display (lockscreen notifications), screen colour temperature adjustment and Moto Actions (flashlight and camera gestures).The design of the phone is unremarkable but it has an air of efficiency and no-nonsense. The notch design has been done to death so we hardly consider that an advantage. It does have a metal back, sturdy design, triple slot (dual SIM + expandable memory), 3.5mm jack, USB type C port (fast charger included) and a conveniently placed rear fingerprint scanner.The Snapdragon 636 processor is a good performer and you won’t find a cause to complain, especially for the asking price. As for the camera app, it’s fairly basic — includes a portrait mode (the only place where the depth sensing camera comes into play), auto mode and expert mode (all manual controls). Response is snappy and results are acceptable in good light. However, there is a tiny bit of shutter lag and we’ve seen far better camera performance from competitors like the Mi A2. The selfie camera fares better actually — it offers good results in most scenarios and also has a front LED flash.Other things we like are the Widevine L1 certification (it can stream Netflix and others at full HD unlike many others at this price range) and the stellar LTPS IPS display (nice colour, high resolution and high viewing angles).The use case for this phone is clear: it’s for the person who wants a fuss-free phone that lasts really long without constantly plugging in to a power outlet. Asus’ Zenfone Max Pro M1 does pretty much the same thing for cheaper. If you’re not too concerned with battery life but need a more stylish phone with better performance, consider the Realme 2 Pro. For anyone looking for better camera performance, consider the Mi A2. | Motorola One Power has a massive 5,000mAh battery inside. it has a metal back, sturdy design, triple slot (dual SIM + expandable memory), 3.5mm jack, USB type C port (fast charger included) and a conveniently placed rear fingerprint scanner. the phone is going to get updated to Android 9.0 soon and will continue to be supported by Google directly for the next two years at a minimum. | Positive |
http://www.livemint.com/Money/c93aKF0pT5AajkwGiDvwMI/All-eyes-on-GDP-data-as-BSE-Sensex-Nifty-hit-threeweek-hig.html | Mumbai: Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty climbed 0.9% on Monday to three-week closing highs, mirroring gains in world equities, after the US Federal Reserve’s monetary policy report released on Friday suggested a gradual pace of interest rate hikes in 2018.
All eyes are now on crucial macro data on the domestic front—the GDP for December quarter will be released on Wednesday. Fed officials are surprised at how much the recently enacted tax cuts are boosting the US economy, but were still not impressed enough to lift estimates for long-term growth.
BSE’s 30-share Sensex climbed 0.89%, or 303.60 points, to close at 34,445.75 points, while the National Stock Exchange’s 50-share Nifty rose 0.87%, or 91.55 points, to close at 10,582.60 points. It was the highest close since 6 February for both the indices.
“It is a bounceback," said Ajay Bodke, chief executive and chief portfolio manager at brokerage Prabhudas Lilladher Pvt. Ltd. “Global markets showed traction. Volatility has come down, and all this is getting reflected in our market."
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were, however, net sellers of Indian equities on Monday to the tune of Rs1,119.51 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) stocked up a net of Rs1,409.45 crore worth of the asset class.
So far in February, DIIs have helped cushion the outflows by FIIs, and the strong inflows into mutual fund schemes are helping.
“Overall, we feel comfortable that earnings season has provided a positive direction to the market," said Deven Choksey, group managing director, KR Choksey Investment Managers Pvt. Ltd. “The economy looks to recover, and that should refect in the GDP numbers."
A Reuters’ poll estimates the Indian economy grew at 6.9%—its fastest pace in a year—in the October-December quarter as consumers, businesses and the government stepped up spending, and disruptions from ban on high-denomination currency notes in November 2016 and as early woes from the implementation of the goods and services tax (GST) are fading.
The BSE realty index and BSE auto index led the gains in the market, rising 3.3% and 2.2%, respectively.
Bloomberg contributed to this story.
Milestone Alert!Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world 🌏 Click here to know more. | Sensex and Nifty climbed 0.9% on Monday to three-week closing highs. it was the highest close since 6 February for both the indices. foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers of Indian equities. domestic institutional investors (DIIs) stocked up a net of Rs1,409.45 crore worth of the asset class. | Positive |
https://www.financialexpress.com/infrastructure/roadways/big-infra-upgrade-in-tripura-north-eastern-state-to-get-nine-national-highway-projects-details/2114672/ | The Northeast state of Tripura is all set for a massive infra upgradation! Today, Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, is laying the foundation stones of nine NH projects in Tripura. These National Highway projects will cover a distance of around 262 km in total and will cost over Rs 2,752 crore. According to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, on completion, these highway projects will provide faster and hassle-free inter-state as well as international road connectivity to the neighbouring country, Bangladesh. Also, these highway projects will be a major stride towards strengthening the state’s tourism sector.
The new national highway projects will offer better connectivity, fast and safe traffic movement to various tourist places, religious and historical places in the entire state. Besides, the projects are expected to generate employment and self-employment opportunities for the skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled manpower of the region. Once these projects are launched, they will reduce travel time, save fuel as well as reduce the maintenance cost of the vehicles. These highway projects will improve the transport of agricultural goods as well as access to greater markets, thereby minimizing the cost of goods and services. Additionally, these projects would lead to the creation of easy and speedy access to health care and emergency services as well as give impetus to the state’s GDP. Here is the list of projects: | nine NH projects are being planned in the northeast state of tripura. the projects will cover a distance of 262 km and cost over Rs 2,752 crore. the projects will provide faster and hassle-free inter-state and international road connectivity to the neighbouring country, Bangladesh. the projects are expected to generate employment and self-employment opportunities for the skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled manpower of the region. | Positive |
https://www.financialexpress.com/economy/teri-proposes-rs-40-lakh-crore-green-stimulus-to-revive-growth-jobs/2065365/ | The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) has proposed to revive the Indian economy by exploiting potential of around Rs 40 lakh crore in clean energy projects over the next 10 year through government policy interventions but with minimum public spending.
TERI has released a discussion paper on ‘A Fiscally Responsible Green Stimulus’ to revive the Indian economy by creating demand and jobs with policy and regulatory interventions using minimal government spending, a TERI statement said.
The Green Stimulus proposed by the TERI is about Rs 40 lakh crore (or USD 540 billion), spread over this decade by 2030. TERI suggested incentivising cleaner transport, which has the investment potential of Rs 1.6 lakh crore per annum. It suggested subsidising fleet modernisation of existing vehicles to BS-VI, use of electric vehicles and provision of buses for public transport. The Institute has also pitched for producing renewable energy from agricultural residues which have an investment potential of Rs 22,470 crore per annum.
The Energy and Resources Institute suggested that the government should announce a commercially viable procurement price for the next five years for briquettes made from crop waste. It has also asked for creating RE from animal husbandry waste, which has an investment potential of Rs 88,000 crore per annum.
The study suggested the introduction of a commercially viable feed-in tariff for the purchase of electricity generated from animal husbandry waste (excreta from cattle, poultry, pigs, etc.) by power distribution companies. It says promoting solar generation in rural India has an investment potential of Rs 27 lakh crore. It made a case for a commercially viable feed-in tariff for the purchase of electricity generated from rural areas in the kilowatt range by power distribution companies.
Supporting MSMEs to become more green and competitive has savings potential of Rs 15,000 crore every year. The stimulus package envisaged by the government can be used to finance investments in the MSME sector for enhancing competitiveness through energy efficiency, it added. This would involve the replacement of energy-inefficient boilers, pumps and motors. Creating domestic manufacturing capacity for solar power and energy storage has an investment potential of Rs 2,94,000 crore by 2030, as per the study. It has suggested that the government should invite bids for solar power with storage along with the condition that manufacturing with full value addition would be done in India.
Renewable Energy Secretary Indu Shekhar Chaturvedi said in the statement, “The paper adopts a holistic approach on issues related to clean energy and environment. It focuses on interventions in areas that are rather neglected such as generating waste to energy or animal waste to energy or agriculture waste to energy.”
He further said some of the recommendations are already being acted upon by MNRE, such as the PM-KUSUM scheme. “We hope to have a framework where domestic solar manufacturing gets impetus. We also have plans for generating energy from surplus biomass.”
On renewable energy, the secretary added, “India’s installed renewable energy capacity has grown by 2.5 times in the past six years. However, our share in RE electricity generation remains at 12 per cent or 1/10th of overall production. Rapid technological changes in the coming years will help us reduce renewable energy costs and costs associated with integrating RE into the grid.” | TERI has released a discussion paper on ‘A Fiscally Responsible Green Stimulus’. it proposes creating demand and jobs with policy and regulatory interventions. the green stimulus package envisaged by the government is about Rs 40 lakh crore (or USD 540 billion) spread over this decade by 2030. TERI suggested incentivising cleaner transport, which has the investment potential of Rs 1.6 lakh crore per annum. | Positive |
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/companies/lic-beats-private-sector-in-new-premium-collection-for-april-july-registers-52-growth-4332691.html | live bse live
nse live Volume Todays L/H More ×
Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has posted a higher-than-industry growth of 51.86 percent year-on-year (YoY) in new business collection for the April to July 2019 period. LIC collected new premiums of Rs 60,106.66 crore for the period compared to Rs 22,039.81 crore collected by the private companies.
The life insurance industry collected Rs 82,146.47 crore in the April-July 2019 period, showing a 44.25 percent YoY growth. Among private sector players, Tata AIA Life had the highest growth rate at 91.79 percent YoY growth to collect new premiums of Rs 818.76 crore.
LIC's market share stood at 73.17 percent in terms of premium collection. The life insurer saw a premium growth across its business segments including individual and group business.
All the listed life insurance companies posted a double-digit growth in new premiums. HDFC Life Insurance collected first year premium of Rs 5,384.79 crore in the four-month period, showing a YoY growth of 41.98 percent.
ICICI Prudential Life Insurance collected Rs 3,170.10 crore of new premiums, showing a 25.46 percent YoY growth in the April to July period. SBI Life Insurance collected new premiums of Rs 4,496.36 crore, a YoY growth of 35.45 percent.
This is a positive development considering that the first half of the financial year is usually a slow period of premium growth for the life insurance companies.
However, the number of new policies still remained flat showing a growth of 0.96 percent YoY growth to 70,00,277 policies in April-July 2019 period. This meant that while the number of new policies sold are not high, the ticket-sizes of the insurance products are going up. | life insurance corporation of india (LIC) has posted a higher-than-industry growth of 51.86 percent year-on-year (YoY) in new business collection for the April to July 2019 period. Among private sector players, Tata AIA Life had the highest growth rate at 91.79 percent YoY growth to collect new premiums of Rs 818.76 crore. | Positive |
https://www.financialexpress.com/opinion/covid-19-relief-package-farm-sectors-1991-moment/1978199/ | By Sanjiv Lal
On May 15, the finance minister announced a string of reforms that promise to completely change the country’s farm sector, and more importantly the lives of millions of farmers. As part of the third tranche of the economic stimulus package announced to counter the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, three major reforms were set in motion. First, a host of agriculture commodities were taken out of the ambit of the Essential Commodities Act (ECA). Two, the FM said a new set of legal framework will be created to promote contract farming in India, and three barriers that were hitherto restricting the movement of agricultural products across the states will be knocked out for good. These three reforms have the potential to completely change the face of rural India.
For over seven decades, save for the Green Revolution initiated in the late-sixties to the early-seventies, the Indian farm sector has not seen any major reform. All discussions around this subject have been subordinated to the larger agenda of food security.
Over the decades, the contribution of agriculture to the overall national GDP has continued to fall steadily. The sector continues to dominate the economy due to the sheer number of livelihoods it supports. Today, agriculture accounts for only a fifth of India’s GDP (around 17%) but provides a livelihood for nearly 50% of the working population.
In financial terms, the third tranche of the stimulus package aimed at India’s rural economy is set to be around Rs 1 lakh crore, a substantial part of which will go into building a more modern and efficient agricultural infrastructure. But, the centre-piece of the latest round of measures are the new laws to promote contract farming. The changes in the ECA and creating a ‘One Nation One Market’ will now allow private sector investment.
Large scale contract farming backed by the financial muscle of the private sector will solve two of the oldest and most persistent challenges faced by the Indian farm sector, which is the scale of operations and diversity of farm produce. Today, a little over 80% of Indian farmers are small and marginal. These cannot afford to mechanise operations or adopt modern agricultural practices. And, this has a bearing on productivity.
Contract farming will allow large groups of small and marginal farmers to combine their efforts and resources to produce a single crop, thus, unleashing the potential of more modern and scientific agricultural practices. Contract farming will also provide small farmers with a certain level of income guarantee, which until now, was provided by the government in the form of MSP. Moving away from the MSP regime will encourage farmers to diversify into more value-added products.
With the entry of private investors in the farm sector, the role of local mandis will be substantially reduced. Adopting a one-nation-one-market model, similar to the tax reforms that gave birth to the GST, will effectively address inefficiencies in the agrarian landscape, which is dominated by too many intermediaries. The latest round of reforms must be seen in the broader context of the government’s intention to double farmers’ income.
These reforms have to been on the lines of the economic reforms of the early 1990s that benefitted the manufacturing and the service sector.
Agriculture is an ‘economic activity’ that deserves all the benefits that come with a market economy approach, including technology, innovation, world-class infrastructure, and above all, a lot less dependence on government policies.
MD & CEO, Rallis India, a subsidiary of Tata Chemicals. Views are persona | three major reforms set in motion as part of third tranche of stimulus package. a host of agriculture commodities taken out of ambit of the essential commodities act. two, new set of legal framework will be created to promote contract farming. three barriers that were hitherto restricting the movement of agricultural products across the states will be knocked out for good. contract farming will allow large groups of small and marginal farmers to combine their efforts and resources to produce a single crop. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/blogs/et-commentary/higher-circulation-better-business/ | By Rajiv Memani
How can we prepare for tomorrow’s climate today? The rise of ‘circular economy’ has presented part of the answer. Unlike a linear economy, which treats resources as infinite, circular economy principles aim to use resources for as long as possible, extract maximum value from them, and recover — as well as regenerate — materials at the end of their lifecycle.
The approach promotes production and consumption through ‘reduce, reuse, and recycle’.
A December 2016 United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) study (bit.do/fmYEk) shows that a circular economy path to development could bring India annual benefits of Rs 40 lakh crore ($624 billion) by 2050, along with reduction in greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by 44%, compared with the current development path.
The Union environment ministry’s draft National Resource Efficiency Policy (bit.do/fmYED) has provided a sound starting point, setting the targets to double the recycling rate of key materials to 50% in the next five years and enable waste upcycling.
Although India has a high recycling rate compared to other countries, the recyclables are often processed and disposed in an unsafe manner, owing to lack of stringent norms and access to technology, and weak enforcements. Here are a few resource recovery models in five sectors:
Automobile waste: Though the Indian automotive industry and Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) have formulated guidelines regarding automobile recycling, lack of comprehensive legal framework pertaining to recycling of end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) has led to proliferation of the informal sector handling automobile waste. A comprehensive regulatory framework based on standards and guidelines agreed upon by relevant ministries is urgently needed. A financially sustainable model of recycling automobiles with adequate cost recovery and transparency principles will further incentivise participation of private sector or the public-private partnership (PPP) model in development of appropriate infrastructure.
e-Waste: India produces 15 lakh metric tonnes of e-waste annually, of which the formal recycling system has the capacity to handle only 20% of the waste generated. Further investments are critical for developing recycling industries. In California, manufacturers and resellers of computers collect up to $5 per piece of covered device under the California State Environmental Fee. GoI, too, can consider initiating a dialogue with industry for implementing recycling framework on similar lines. GoI can also create large, dedicated recycling zones to address low capacity. This can be quickly achieved through PPP with well-balanced risk distribution, wherein GoI takes on land acquisition and statutory compliance whereas the private sector invests in establishing and operating the facility.
Plastic waste: There is a gap in plastic waste collection infrastructure, and market for products made from recycled plastics. Several successful trials using low-value plastics as raw material for construction of bitumen roads have been conducted. But technical and procurement requisites need to be modified to scale up its use in road construction. Alternatively, low-value plastics, leather and textiles can be used as substitute fuel for incineration in industries such as cement manufacturing. However, cost of transportation has been a deterrent, as most cement plants are located at sandstone mining areas making it unviable for the manufacturers. GoI can explore fixing a rate for transportation (on a per-km per-tonne basis) and allowing businesses to utilise their corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds to pay for the transportation of plastic waste to cement plants. In a country that produces 25,000 tonnes of plastic waste per day, most of which is dumped in landfills, it is important to explore ways of increasing economic value of plastic in ways that reduces its wastage and usage through the value chain.
Organic waste: The organic or biodegradable fraction is the biggest component of India’s municipal solid waste. While GoI has been providing financial support by giving a subsidy of Rs 1,500 per tonne of compost, it has not been effectively utilised due to bureaucratic red tape. As a first step, the process of obtaining the subsidy should be streamlined and be enhanced to Rs 2,500-3,000 per tonne of organic compost/soil enrichers.
Construction & demolition (C&D) waste: As per the C&D Waste Management Rules 2016, recycled portions of C&D waste should be used in construction activities if available within 100 km of the construction site. The Delhi government has taken the lead in this regard, and has operationalised the directive by modifying appropriate documents such as schedule of rates, and mandated the use of 2-10% recycled C&D waste products in government buildings and road works. Other state governments can modify appropriate technical and procurement requirements to create markets for usage of recycled C&D waste products.
The writer is chairman, EY India
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END OF ARTICLE | a circular economy path to development could bring india annual benefits of Rs 40 lakh crore ($624 billion) by 2050. the approach promotes production and consumption through ‘reduce, reuse, and recycle’. the formal recycling system has the capacity to handle only 20% of the waste generated. e-waste: a financial sustainable model of recycling automobiles with adequate cost recovery principles will further incentivise participation of private sector or the public-private partnership (ppp) | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/expert-view/psu-banks-good-trading-bets-it-pharma-story-not-over-yet-ashwini-agarwal/articleshow/79655804.cms | Unlock Leadership Excellence with a Range of CXO Courses Offering College Course Website IIM Lucknow IIML Chief Marketing Officer Programme Visit Indian School of Business ISB Chief Technology Officer Visit IIM Lucknow IIML Chief Executive Officer Programme Visit
If liquidity remains ample and interest rates remain low, then the market would attain new highs , says, Co-founder,We saw record flows in November from overseas. We are seeing reports from pretty much all retail brokerages or even CDSL saying that the number of new accounts and new folios continue to increase at a time when there are fairly significant redemptions from mutual funds! So yes, while the market is on a tear and everything seems to be good. There is an element of excessive optimism that is starting to feed through. There are fundamental reasons behind it. Covid cases, at least in India, are turning out to be quite manageable. We do not really have a second spike despite the winter setting in the Diwali festivities and inoculation should be available in the next few weeks as per our Prime Minister.There are reasons to be optimistic but at the same time, looking at the kind of stocks that are now attracting investors, I cannot help but feel a little bit cautious that one has to wait for a breather for the traditional investors to become interested again but you know that is my caution. The fact is that the RBI last week said pretty much in Mario Draghi style they will do whatever it takes to get the growth to become broad-based. If liquidity remains ample and interest rates remain low, then the market would have new highs ahead of us.Fundamentals, momentum and liquidity are multiple facets of what drives the market and it is very difficult to separate one from the other. If you are a very strong fundamentals-oriented person, you may argue that the rally in the PSU banks is completely unwarranted because these banks have very large loan losses to provide for. On the flip side, from a fundamental perspective, one can argue that these banks are trading at price to book ratios which have never been seen in the history of their trading, Even if you adjusted to book value for all the losses that could potentially come through, the price to book values are still relatively attractive.I have started to try and become more considered in my approach. One has to take everything into account as the momentum comes and fades. People are buying and selling and one has to build an investment case to convince yourself that you want to own a security whether it is for a few days or few months or few years and it depends on who you are.I am somewhat cautious and expect investment demand to take off in a significant way. The government is pushing PSUs to spend as much as they can but the government itself does not really have much money to spend. The private sector is spending in a few areas like pharmaceuticals. Companies are investing money but in largecap private sector, we are not seeing signs of significant capex pick up. UltraTech has announced plans to expand capacity in a significant way but the long term history of Ultratech shows they are very sensitive to market share and may be preparing for potential gains two, three, five years down the line in the market. They do not want to miss any market share for want of capacity.Also, companies tend to have a much longer investment horizon than financial investors and to read UltraTech’s decision as a revival of private capex in the near term might be a very difficult thing to do. Financial investors including ourselves think that two to three years is the maximum that we can look out into. A 5-10-year view is too far out. But as a corporate, when you are putting assets into the ground, it is a very different situation.The one way to play on industrial recovery potential is through the banking system. If the industrial recovery is to come down the road which is not visible today, then financials would be an excellent way to play that because these stocks are trading at reasonable valuations. The asset quality will pick up if the industrial investment demand is to come through. The stress on account of Covid-19 appears to be lower than what was initially feared.Liquidity continues to remain aplenty and that helps the liability side in a big way. Now whether you want to go down the quality curve or go up the risk curve and want to embrace PSU banks, that is entirely one investor’s view versus another’s. The PSU banks history tells us that they tend to have much higher NPLs than other challenges but at the same time, one has to accept that the valuations are also extremely attractive at this point in time. If there is liquidity and a tailwind behind the sector, I would not ask you to avoid PSU banks, especially if you are looking to trade on short-term momentum.I also don’t think it is over for IT and pharma. IT and pharma is a structural story for the next three to five years and there is going to be a significant amount of business opportunity for them. Valuations are not as attractive as they were six months ago but investors can expect returns which are equivalent to at least the earnings growth in most of these companies. These companies will report earnings growth between 15% and 25% per year and that is not a bad return to aspire for.The challenges are obvious. Number one is that the Covid second wave is raging in the west and even though inoculations have started in the UK and probably will start in the US shortly, it will take a while for a large number of people to get vaccinated. There are challenges out there from a health perspective.Then there is a new administration in the US. Their economic policy and outlook is still to be seen. The markets are at all-time highs all over the world, who knows you could see a global selloff and that is a risk that will not spare India in the short run. That is a big worry that happens elsewhere in the world.The second one closer home is the debate between the revival in demand being a result of a pent-up demand or a continuation of a momentum that we have seen in demand over the last three-four months in the next 12 months. Anecdotally, a lot of small and medium size businesses have done poorly over the last six months but India is a country where small businesses have always been able to pull themselves up by their bootstraps and they have an amazing amount of resilience.I am hoping that just like we saw after demonetisation and GST, the medium and small scale enterprises that have bore the brunt of the Covid slowdown will also be able to come back as strongly as they did in the previous two rounds. It is just a hope. We do not know if that is the case and if you read RBI monetary policy minutes, that is exactly what the RBI governor said we need to see for pent-up demand to turn into a much more broad-based recovery. I do not think the answer is apparent right now.Consumption relating to home improvement and investment in your homes sounds logical because there has been a significant amount of government focus on reviving demand in housing especially low price housing. If you invest money into a new apartment you would like to put the furniture and make the tiles that you like. I am not surprised that these companies are starting to see the benefits of that demand.The question again is how long will this demand sustain, cost of ownership or cost of purchase of a new apartment in terms of EMI relative to income levels is probably the lowest that we have seen since 2002-2003, after which we saw a significant real estate rally. So is this going to be a repeat of that time again? I do not know.2008 is a different comparison because in 2008, the corporate debt level and the corporate health levels were at very different levels. Number two, fiscal deficit and government indebtedness was much lower than what it is today.If you remember 2005-2006-2007 were years when tax collection surprised on the upside and fiscal deficits were very low. There was a possibility for the government to spend a lot of money which it did and which did not end up creating the supply side response that we would have hoped. This resulted in inflation and taper tantrums. The 2008-2010 cycle was a very different one.This time around, the government does not have as much fire power. Do the consumers have enough fire power? I think yes, but it is a cautious yes because I would not want to extrapolate what we are seeing from home buyers or what we are seeing from autos into the rest of the economy. A large number of people have been through salary cuts and job losses but at the same time, people have also cut back on expenses on eating out or travelling or entertainment.As the economy limps back to normal, some of those areas of expenditure will go back up. It is not a very clear picture.Aviation and hospitality will come back eventually. There is a wonder lust among all of us and we have been denied that for almost a year. All of us, my friends, family, everybody is itching to go some place, if they have not already done so. So travel will come back. Multiplexes is a more difficult one because the ability to entertain yourself at home through very high quality content and with the bandwidth being available to download high quality movies and shows has somewhat changed the way we consume entertainment.Yes, in a country like India where there are very few outdoor places to go to, shopping and cinema becomes the kind of a place that you go to for getting away from home and not necessarily for entertainment. So, some footfalls probably will come back but will they come back in the same amount of strength that we saw prior to the pandemic? I do not know. Also, by regulation, the cinema halls will require to maintain social distancing at least for some time to come and that has a significant impact on their operating leverage.Two years from now, they could be back to normal is an argument I hear very often but I would like to separate travel and hospitality from near at home entertainment if that is the term to use. | if liquidity remains ample and interest rates remain low, then the market would attain new highs. if momentum comes and fades, one has to take everything into account, says co-founder. he says the market is on a tear and everything seems to be good. he says the market is a'very strong fundamentals-oriented person' | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/indicators/non-metro-markets-likely-to-propel-indias-recovery-post-coronavirus-ey-survey/articleshow/77129785.cms | Non-metro markets likely to propel India's recovery post coronavirus: EY Survey
The non-metro markets are likely to recover faster than metro markets, once the pandemic is over, finds an EY survey.
Synopsis
The report, ‘Will non-metro markets propel India's recovery’, reveals that a higher percentage of respondents from non-metro markets expect to spend more than before on several categories compared to metro markets. | higher percentage of non-metro markets expect to spend more than before on several categories compared to metro markets. higher percentage expect to spend more than before on several categories compared to metro markets. higher percentage of non-metro markets expect to spend more than before on several categories compared to metro markets. 'will non-metro markets propel India's recovery', says survey. | Positive |
https://www.businesstoday.in/markets/market-perspective/sensex-rises-483-points-nifty-at-9313-as-oil-prices-attempt-recovery/story/401839.html | Sensex and Nifty closed on a bullish note on Thursday, amid positive cues from global counterparts that rallied on oil prices rebounding from recently incurred losses.
While Sensex closed 483 points higher at 31,863, NSE 50-share index Nifty rose 126 points to 9,313.
ICICI Bank, Kotak Bank, TCS, Infosys were among the top gainers. On the other hand, Titan, M&M, Maruti, PowerGrid, Tech Mahindra and HDFC Bank were among the laggards.
In sectoral terms, barring FMCG and PSU Pharma, all other sectors closed in the green. IT gained 4%, while banking and financials ended 2-3% higher.
Bucking the bullish trend, European markets opened in red today, though CAC index recovered later to trade marginally higher. Meanwhile, US DOW futures were trading lower since early morning and fell 45 points or 0.21% lower at 23,209 by today's closing session.
SGX Nifty also ended at 1.5% or 140 points higher at 9,306. Except for Shanghai and Strait Times, all the other Asian indices ended in the green. Asian stocks edged higher, tracking gains on Wall Street, as investors took some comfort from earnings reports and signs the coronavirus outbreak was easing, with oil prices rebounding.
US stocks had closed higher as a rally in US oil prices, better-than-expected US corporate earnings and promise of more US government aid kept market sentiment positive. Investors were optimistic over slowing of new virus cases, with death toll slowing down in countries considered corona hotspots.
Earlier in the opening session, markets opened flat, accompanying SGX Nifty overseas, although gained momentum within few minutes of trade.
Domestic benchmarks climbed to day's high, with Sensex and Nifty rising to 31,959 and 9,343, backed by strong overseas markets that rose amid a recovery in crude prices.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures bounced back to green territory and traded 8.89% higher at $22.18 per barrel.
Tracking rally in Asian counterparts currencies and a positive trend in domestic equity indices, Rupee gained 60 paise to close at 76.07 per dollar as against the last close at a record low of 76.67 per US dollar.
Amid the lockdown-led uncertainty, market regulator SEBI has relaxed buyback norms, where listed companies can raise capital after 6 months. This has been reduced from the earlier restriction of 1-year expiry of the buyback period, for companies to not raise further capital.
Expressing views over today's market trend, S Ranganathan, Head of Research at LKP Securities said, "Market rose today led by Banking & IT heavyweights. The relaxation in fundraising for corporates by SEBI due to the Pandemic also lifted street sentiments today".
Commenting on Nifty's technical outlook, Manav Chopra, CMT, Head Research - Equity, Indiabulls Securities said,"Nifty was up by over a hundred points and market breadth was on a positive side. Overall markets have remained in a range between 8,900-9,400. We continue to remain contrarian bearish and believe there is likely to be limited upside beyond 9,500 levels.the next bigger move is likely to happen on the downside and we do expect a retest of lows of 7,500 zone from a broader perspective. 8,850 remains key level on the downside below which index is likely to weaken and resumption of downtrend likely."
Share Market Update: Sensex ends 742 points higher, Nifty at 9,187; Zee Ent, RIL, Asian Paints top performers
Holding SBI Cards share? Here's why it may rally 30% in an year
Britannia Industries share price rises 10% ahead of Q4 earnings | Sensex and Nifty close on a bullish note, amid positive cues from global counterparts. Sensex closed 483 points higher at 31,863, while NSE 50-share index Nifty rose 126 points to 9,313. european markets opened in red today, though CAC index recovered later to trade marginally higher. a rally in oil prices and signs the coronavirus outbreak is easing kept market sentiment positive. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/cryptos-open-secret-its-multibillion-dollar-volume-is-suspect/articleshow/65982983.cms |
Four months ago, BitForex was just one of many obscure exchanges offering users the ability to trade cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin Today, the Singapore-based platform is regularly reporting daily transactions that exceed $5 billion -- nearly matching turnover on London’s 217-year-old stock exchange.How did BitForex -- and other startups like it -- expand so quickly despite tumbling digital-asset prices and slowing activity on more established venues?Many market participants say they suspect these fast-growing exchanges are either offering incentives that encourage users to inflate volumes, or not doing enough to stop abuse on their platforms. One red flag at BitForex: Its reported volume is by far the biggest among 219 platforms tracked by CoinMarketCap.com, despite traffic on its website amounts to a tiny fraction of most peers.For individual investors lured to exchanges with inflated volumes, the risk is that cashing out at prevailing market rates may prove much harder than the reported figures suggest. Doubts about the integrity of crypto markets have deterred some professional money managers from investing in virtual currencies and prompted regulators to take a closer look at exchanges, even as some venues go to great lengths to avoid manipulation.“Some exchanges will say ‘everyone’s doing it, so I’m doing it,’” said Neil Woodfine, a former crypto exchange executive who now runs Clavestone, a Bitcoin key management service. “New traders will get feedback very quickly from engaging with the market on trades not executing at the price they want.”Trading has surged on BitForex because of the exchange’s so-called transaction mining system, Garrett Jin, vice president at BitForex, said in an emailed response to questions.Transaction mining, also known as trade mining, is a controversial practice. On BitForex, users earn the equivalent of $1.20 in digital tokens issued by the exchange for every $1 they pay in transaction fees. It’s a system that critics say is tailor-made to encourage wash trading -- in which a trader, or a team of traders, buy and sell the same asset repeatedly to inflate market activity.If the coins distributed by BitForex retain their value, customers can effectively earn free money by using automated programs, known as “bots,” to swap cryptocurrencies back and forth between accounts under their control. (Not all trade-mining exchanges offer rebates that exceed the value of trading fees paid by customers.)“All users are contributors to this exchange” and should be rewarded, Jin said by email, adding that BitForex “opposes” all kinds of manipulation and that the incentive program is set to end soon. He didn’t elaborate when asked whether the venue has tools to monitor and prevent abusive trading. Jin said it’s “technically possible” for users to trade with themselves using two accounts, and that the exchange is working to address the issue.Exchanges including DOBI Trade, FCoin, CoinSuper and CoinBene, which offer or have offered similar transaction mining incentives, didn’t reply to requests for comment.CoinMarketCap.com, which compiles its data from the exchanges, publishes an “adjusted” ranking that excludes volume from trade-mining venues and some other platforms. “We have multiple automated alerts detecting anomalies in the data,” CoinMarketCap.com spokeswoman Carylyne Chan said in an email.Like other crypto exchanges in Singapore, BitForex isn’t directly regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. “Digital tokens are mainly traded on opaque markets, with no regulatory protection for investors,” MAS said in an emailed response to questions. “There may not be enough active buyers or sellers and consumers may not be able to exit their token investments easily.”U.S. authorities have expressed similar concerns. Bloomberg reported in May that the U.S. Justice Department has opened a criminal probe into suspected illegal practices in crypto markets, including wash trades. In a report last week, New York’s attorney general said the industry has generally failed to adopt serious market surveillance measures to detect and punish suspicious trading, though it didn’t single out any venues for wrongdoing.Market participants say quantifying the scale of suspected volume exaggeration is difficult. But Calvin Cheng, a Singaporean entrepreneur who bought a stake in China’s first Bitcoin exchange in January and founded another venue in April, estimated in an interview that most of the trades recorded by crypto platforms globally are bogus. Combined volumes at all exchanges tracked by CoinMarketCap.com totaled about $15 billion over the past 24 hours.Even the largest exchange operators can’t be trusted, warned Asim Ahmad, who recently left BlackRock Inc. to start Eterna Capital, a blockchain investment firm. He based the assessment on his own trading experience and time spent watching exchanges’ order books.Both Ahmad and Clavestone’s Woodfine said automated, high-frequency trading strategies are likely fueling inflated volumes. Automated trading is widely used in traditional markets under regulatory oversight, though it can facilitate manipulation when unmonitored. The report from New York’s attorney general said it’s "of particular concern" that many platforms have no formal policies governing automated trading.BitForex may just be “one of the worst offenders in this parade of inflated volume,” said Dmitriy Budorin, chief executive officer of cybersecurity firm Hacken and founder of Crypto Exchange Ranks, which scores venues on metrics including liquidity and security.As a rough check on exchanges’ numbers, some traders have started comparing reported volumes to website traffic. On that metric, DOBI Trade, BitForex and Liquid stand out as having reported transactions many times larger than website visits (see the above chart for more details).Liquid, operated by Japan-based Quoine, said its volume doesn’t correlate with website traffic because of users who deploy automated trading programs. Quoine CEO and co-founder Mike Kayamori said clients who have attempted wash trades have been banned from the platform and that the exchange, which is regulated by Japan’s Financial Services Agency, adopts “stringent compliance measures.”Almost 40 percent of trades at the top 30 exchanges ranked by CoinMarketCap.com came from the eight venues with the highest volume-to-visits ratio, data compiled by Bloomberg show.CoinFi, a cryptocurrency research firm co-founded by former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. analyst Timothy Tam, performs a similar analysis comparing exchanges’ reported volumes to the value of assets held in their crypto wallets. High volume-to-asset ratios can be red flags, Tam said, adding a caveat that some of the data on exchange wallets may be incomplete.Of course, not all digital currency exchanges are raising concerns among investors. Major venues in the U.S. appear to be reporting “pretty accurate” figures and are willing to work with regulators, said Michael Kazley, a Goldman Sachs and Cedar Lake Capital Ventures alum who co-founded Crescent Crypto Asset Management in New York.Gemini Trust Co., the New York-based crypto exchange owned by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss , has hired Nasdaq Inc. to conduct market surveillance for Bitcoin and Ether trading as well as the auction that helps price Cboe Global Markets Inc.’s Bitcoin futures. The twins, famous for their early role in Facebook, have also set up a self-regulatory organization called the Virtual Commodity Association to root out bad behavior in the industry and work with the government.Jim Bai, CEO of EverMarkets Exchange, says he’s optimistic crypto venues will become more trustworthy as the industry grows.“Fake volumes are unfortunately all too common in today’s crypto-exchange ecosystem,” he said. “The industry will mature of course. As it does, more legitimate exchanges will come along and provide enough real, beneficial structural incentives so that people won’t be misled into trading on questionable venues. It will be a healthier marketplace.” | bitcoin today reports daily transactions exceeding $5 billion. it's the biggest reported volume among 219 platforms tracked by CoinMarketCap.com. critics say the system is tailor-made to encourage wash trading. some experts say the system is a good way to encourage users to buy and sell cryptocurrencies. but others say it's a good way to encourage users to buy and sell. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/fresh-support-of-only-rs-12-13-lakh-cr-in-pm-modis-economic-stimulus-report/articleshow/75712578.cms | Mumbai: Of the Rs 20-lakh-crore package that Prime Minister Modi announced to defend the economy against COVID-19 disruptions, fresh support may be only around 60 per cent of the offer as it counts the first financial stimulus and liquidity support that Reserve Bank has given already, and will overburden bond market, says a report. In a big push to revive the COVID-hit economy, Modi on Tuesday announced massive new financial incentives on top of the previously announced packages for a combined stimulus of Rs 20 lakh crore.Modi outlined a Rs 20-lakh-crore which is 9.7 per cent of GDP support package, of which new allocations could only be 50-60 per cent of the offer. But until more details are known, financing burden will fall on the bond markets, Radhika Rao, the economist at Singaporean lender DBS Bank said in a note on Wednesday.She further noted that "the new fiscal package is upsized and its scale lends a positive surprise, at a bigger-than-anticipated size with emphasis on making the economy more self-reliant via local manufacturing and improved supply chains".It can be noted that the government had in late March announced fiscal measures worth Rs 1.7 lakh crore while the RBI offered liquidity support of Rs 3.7 lakh crore in March and Rs 2 lakh crore in April."The new fiscal measures might account to around 60 per cent or Rs 12-13 lakh crore. If this includes a wider net of RBI measures, then the new package might amount to Rs 10 lakh crore," Rao said.She further said coordinated approach is needed to cushion a part of the after effects of the growth slowdown, which will impact incomes, jobs and business viability.The nuances of the measures are key, particularly details on how much is about short-term relief for Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), sector-specific payouts, cash handouts to the poor, loan guarantees, capital infusion into banks, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNEGRA) etc, and on medium-term priorities like infrastructure, labour/land reforms etc."This will dictate the extent of economic cushion to growth, incomes and employment outlook this year," she said.On the fiscal side, the report said revenue shortfall is already translating into an increase in deficit from budgeted 3.5 per cent to at least 5.5 per cent now. Assuming only part of the spending is reflected in the FY20 fiscal math and capital spending is scaled back, the deficit might rise by another 2.5-3 per cent of GDP.On the financing side of the package, the report said it will have to be seen whether bulk of it will be raised through borrowings especially whether the states will participate, or alternate sources like COVID-19 bonds, multilateral loans, tapping offshore investors/ markets, fresh revenue streams (indirect or income taxes on HNIs) etc."Until clarity is available, funding burden will fall on bond markets in the near-term and to stabilise markets, focus will return to RBI's participation," she said adding market borrowing is likely to rise further, by at least Rs 7-10 lakh crore assuming all is raised domestically and through bond issuances.But the report warns that the pressure will be on the Reserve Bank of India to step up bond purchases given the limited absorptive capacity of domestic investors and risk-averse foreign portfolio investors. | new: a report says the new fiscal measures might account to around 60 per cent. the package includes the first financial stimulus and liquidity support that the RBI has given. the package is 9.7 per cent of the GDP support package. the report says the package is upsized and its scale lends a positive surprise. the government has announced a package worth Rs 1.7 lakh crore. | Positive |
https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/iocl-total-form-jv-to-make-market-bitumen-derivatives-in-india/2036912/ | State-run oil refining and marketing company Indian Oil (IOCL) has formed a joint venture (JV) with Paris-based energy firm Total for the manufacturing and marketing of bitumen derivatives for the road construction industry. The JV will set up manufacturing units across the country and will explore possibilities to cater to other South Asian markets.
“The operations of this JV would commence by taking over an existing plant of Total at Jodhpur and subsequently set up new greenfield plants,” IOCL chairman Shrikant Madhav Vaidya said.
The partnership is eyeing a robust bitumen market with the government’s focus on road infrastructure through mega projects like the ‘Bharatmala’, which envisages development of 34,800 km of roads at an estimated investment of over Rs 5 lakh crore in the first phase.
Among other products, the JV will manufacture polymer-modified bitumen, which is used to lay heavy duty roads to endure substantial traffic loads and extreme weather events. The research and development team of IOCL has already been working to increase the usage of waste plastic in road construction.
“The demand for aggregate material and manufactured material for the highway construction and rehabilitation sector in India is very high, especially for good-quality bitumen derivatives,” the companies said in a joint statement. | the joint venture will set up manufacturing units across the country. it will also explore possibilities to cater to other south Asian markets. the partnership is eyeing a robust bitumen market with the government’s focus on road infrastructure through mega projects like the ‘Bharatmala’. IOCL has already been working to increase the usage of waste plastic in road construction. | Positive |
http://www.financialexpress.com/world-news/donald-trump-sets-new-target-as-dow-races-to-25000-points/1002188/ | US President Donald Trump has set a new target of 30,000 points after the Dow Jones industrial average traded above 25,000 points for the first time, saying the surge in stock market is reflective of the American economy. The Dow shot above 25,000 points for the first time today. The Dow broke through five 1,000-point barriers in 2017, on its way to a 25 percent gain for the year. “We broke a very, very big barrier — 25,000. And there were those who’d say we wouldn’t break 25,000 by the end of the eighth year, and we’re in the eleventh month. We broke 25,000 just as we came in now,” Trump told reporters at the top of his meeting with Republican Senators on immigration.
The market he said up about 150 points, he said referring to the latest information he had just before entering the Roosevelt Rook of the White House. “I have to be a little careful, because as we walk out maybe it goes down,” he said amidst laughter from the Senators.
“You always have to be careful with that,” he added. “We did, in fact, break 25,000 — very substantially break it, very easily. So I guess our new number is 30,000. But what it means is every time you see that number go up on Wall Street it means jobs, it means success, it means 401(k)s that are flourishing,” he said. | the Dow Jones industrial average shot above 25,000 points for the first time today. the market he said up about 150 points. he said the surge in stock market is reflective of the american economy. the market he said up about 150 points. the market he said up about 150 points. he said the market he said up about 150 points. | Positive |
https://www.businesstoday.in/markets/commodities/rupee-vs-dollar-rupee-rises-22-paise-to-7148-per-us-dollar-as-trump-avoids-military-action-on-iran/story/393436.html | The Indian rupee advanced 22 paise to 71.48 per US dollar in opening trade on Thursday as global markets stabilised after the US and Iran toned down their war rhetoric.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened strong at 71.44 against the greenback.
The domestic unit had settled at 71.70 per dollar on Wednesday.
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said Washington did not necessarily have to respond to Iranian attacks at American military bases in Iraq.
The comments came after Iran fired rockets at US facilities in Iraq in response to the killing of its top general Qassem Soleimani.
Reports said there were no US or Iraqi casualties from the Iranian strikes, amid speculation that Tehran may have deliberately pulled its punches to avoid a wider conflagration.
Taking cues from the easing tensions, Asian stocks darted up in opening trade while oil markets recovered from supply disruption fears.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures was trading 0.64 per cent up at USD 65.86 per barrel.
Domestic equity benchmarks too participated in the relief rally.
The 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 449.56 points or 1.10 per cent higher at 41,267.30 and the broader NSE Nifty surged 134.05 points or 1.11 per cent to 12,159.40.
Foreign funds sold shares worth a net Rs 515.85 crore on Wednesday, provisional data showed.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.03 per cent lower at 97.27.
Stocks in focus: RCom, Vodafone Idea, Bharti Airtel, TCS, MMTC, NMDC, BHEL and others
Share Market LIVE: Sensex climbs 450 points, Nifty above 12,150; Bharti Airtel, YES Bank, TCS top gainers | rupee opens strong at 71.48 per dollar in opening trade. domestic unit settled at 71.70 per dollar on Wednesday. easing tensions between the two countries helped boost global markets. global oil benchmark Brent crude futures trading 0.64 per cent up at USD 65.86 per barrel. broader nifty and Sensex also surge in opening trade. | Positive |
https://www.financialexpress.com/market/bharat-bond-etf-kicks-off-this-week-check-date-investment-return-taxation-other-details/1788427/ | India’s first PSU corporate bond ETF issue– Bharat Bond ETF –will kick off for subscription on December 12. The government on Monday said that the public offer has received SEBI’s approval. The issue will remain open for subscription till December 20th. The offer size for the issue is likely to be Rs 7,000 crore, with a green-shoe option of Rs 8,000 crore. The ETF will invest in 3-year and 10-year government securities. NABARD, HUDCO, NHAI, PFC, REC, PGCIL, IRFC, NHPC, NTPC will be the firms borrowing through Bharat Bond ETF. Through this public offer, retail investors will have an opportunity to invest in quality PSU debt for as low as Rs 1,000. “We are giving the retail investor an option to earn more than the fixed deposit rate, and also participate in the development of the country. Bharat bond ETF will be the first corporate bond ETF in the country,” FM Nirmala Sitharaman said in a press briefing last week.
Also read: Yes Bank share price jumps ahead of board meet to approve allotment of preferential shares
The FM explained that each bond ETF will be priced at Rs 1,000 per unit. Retail investors can invest with the minimum investment amount of Rs 1,000 and in multiples of Rs 1000 thereafter, subject to maximum investment amount of Rs 2,00,000 (Rupees Two Lakhs Only). Notably, the weight of bonds in the index will be based on total outstanding amount of each issuer. Single issuer weight will capped at 15%, Edelweiss AMC, which is managing the issue said in a FAQ guide. The bond ETF will also be listed on the exchanges. Accordingly, investors can buy or sell shares using three methods– via stock exchange, through the market makers or directly through the AMC. The Bharat Bond ETF will have a transparent NAV (periodic LIVE NAV during the day). Bharat Bond ETF will have a fixed maturity period, like close-ended mutual funds and the units will be also be listed on stock exchanges.
Notably, there are ‘NO’ assured returns for Bharat Bond ETF. “During the investment period, value of investments can go up or down depending on market conditions, and are dependent on interest rates movements in the economy. However, if investors stay invested till maturity of the ETF then return can be inline with the yield of the portfolio at the time of investments,” Edelweiss AMC explained. According to Zerodha, the yield would be around 7%.
Explaining the tax implications of investing Bharat Bond ETF, Edelweiss AMC said that as it will be investing in Fixed Income securities, Debt Taxation will be applicable to investors. Accordingly, investors should brace for Short Term capital Gain (STCG) taxed at marginal rate and Long Term Capital Gain (LTCG) for redemption after 3 years, which are taxed 20% post Indexation Benefit. The ETF will have a very low cost (0.0005%) expense ratio. | the public offer has received SEBI's approval. the issue will remain open for subscription till December 20th. the offer size for the issue is likely to be Rs 7,000 crore. the bond ETF will invest in 3-year and 10-year government securities. the weight of bonds in the index will be based on total outstanding amount of each issuer. the unit will also be listed on the exchanges. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/sensex-jumps-380-points-nifty-at-4-month-high-on-strong-global-cues/articleshow/76806921.cms | NEW DELHI: Buoyed by strong global cues and buying by foreign institutional investors, domestic equity indices climbed in early Monday trading even as Covid-19 cases continued to mount.Net-net, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) were buyers of domestic stocks to the tune of Rs 857.29 crore on Friday. Meanwhile, the total number of Covid-19 patients in India reached nearly 7 lakh while fatalities climbed above 19,700 levels.At 09.22 am, BSE flagship Sensex was at 36,400, up 379 points or 1.05 per cent while NSE benchmark Nifty gained 124 points or 1.02 per cent to 10,732. Nifty rose above 10,700 for the first time since March 9. Banks, financial services and metal stocks were in high demand while pharma counters saw some pressure.In the 30-share pack Sensex, buyers came back to IndusInd Bank as the scrip was the biggest gainer, up 3.07 per cent at Rs 502.20, followed by Bajaj Finance , HDFC Bank, ITC, Tech Mahindra and ONGC that gained in the range of 1-3 per cent. Hindustan Unilever was the biggest loser in the pack, down 0.42 per cent followed by Bajaj Auto that was the only other member of the losers club.Broader market indices lagged headline peers as Nifty Smallcap gained 0.75 per cent while Nifty Midcap added 0.74 per cent. Broadest index on NSE, Nifty 500 was up 0.83 per cent.All sectoral indices on NSE were trading with gains. Nifty Private Bank was the biggest gainer, up 1.81 per cent. Nifty Bank, Nifty Financial Service and Nifty Realty were among other top gainers.Globally, Asian shares scaled four-month peaks as investors counted on super-cheap liquidity and fiscal stimulus to sustain the global economic recovery, even as surging coronavirus cases delayed re-openings across the United States.MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan climbed 1 per cent to its highest since February.Eyes were on Chinese blue chips, which jumped 3 per cent, on top of a 7 per cent gain last week, to their loftiest level in five years. Even Japan's Nikkei, which has lagged with a soft domestic economy, managed a rise of 1.3 per cent.E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 also firmed 0.8 per cent, while EUROSTOXX 50 futures added 1.8 per cent and FTSE futures 1.5 per cent. | domestic equity indices climbed in early Monday trading. Sensex was at 36,400, up 379 points or 1.05 per cent. nifty rose above 10,700 for the first time since march 9. scrip was biggest gainer, up 3.07 per cent at Rs 502.20. meanwhile, the total number of covid-19 patients in india reached nearly 7 lakh. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/startups/newsbuzz/bira-91-owner-b9-beverages-raises-20-million-in-bridge-financing-from-sequoia-capital-sofina/articleshow/75368726.cms | NEW DELHI: B9 Beverages, which owns and sells craft beer brand Bira 91 , has raised $20 million (about Rs 153 crore) in bridge financing from two of its existing investors - Sequoia Capital India and Belgium’s Sofina The latest capital raise is part of B9 Beverages’ larger $30 million pre-Series C equity financing round, the proceeds of which are earmarked for business expansion in India with a focus on increasing market share in the premium beer segment, said Ankur Jain, chief executive of New Delhi-headquartered B9 Beverages.“We continue to grow our business in both existing and new markets. Our market shares in several markets are now higher than 5% in overall beer and more than 20% in premium beer,” said Jain.In 2019, the now five-year-old company had commissioned two new breweries--in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka—in a bid to quadruple production capacity. The company now operates four breweries in India and has a presence in 400 cities across 10 nations.B9 Beverages entered the mass market beer segment in February last year with its product Boom. “2020 is a key inflection point for the company where we expect to reach double-digit market share in a number of states through the year,” Jain said.The pre-Series C round kicked off in May last year after the company brought on board consumer-focused investment firm Sixth Sense Ventures, which invested an estimated Rs 30 crore at the time.Bira competes with the likes of global beverages giants Anheuser-Busch InBev, Carlsberg and United Breweries, among others. Additionally, the round has also seen participation from Korean private equity fund Neoplux and multiple family offices, whose names have not been disclosed.Sofina, which has earlier backed Flipkart Byju’s and Hector Beverages--the maker of ethnic drinks brand Paper Boat--first invested in Bira in 2018, news of which was broken by ET.Separately, marquee venture capital firm Sequoia Capital, one of India’s most active investment firms, has been an early backer of the company, having initially invested in 2016.The development comes at a time when sale of alcohol in India has stopped due to the nationwide lockdown imposed by the government to stop the spread of coronavirus infection.The Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies has urged states to impress upon the Centre about an urgent need to restart sale of liquor in non-Covid zones, according to news agency PTI.Pointing out that states have already lost about Rs 20,000 crore in liquor revenue due to the lockdown, the apex body of the Indian alcoholic beverage industry has urged the Centre as well as the states to allow opening of liquor shops, besides considering online sales to check overcrowding at outlets. | the company owns and sells craft beer brand Bira 91. it has raised $20 million (about Rs 153 crore) in bridge financing from two of its existing investors. proceeds of which are earmarked for business expansion in india. the five-year-old company had commissioned two new breweries in andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/india-russia-ink-action-plan-for-second-nuclear-plant/articleshow/66094152.cms | Apple Rings Louder: Sept Qtr Sees Record Revenue in India Apple Inc set a new quarterly revenue record in India with a strong double-digit year-on-year growth in the September quarter, chief executive Tim Cook said on Friday, adding that the world’s second-largest smartphone market is a key focus for the Cupertino, US-based company where it currently has a low share.
Young & Restless Driving Change at Motown’s Luxe St Luxury car buyers in India are getting younger with two out of five Audi buyers aged less than 40. At Mercedes-Benz India, buyers have an average age of 38 years, the youngest for the German luxury carmaker globally. The scenario is similar at BMW India where consumers aged 35-40 contribute bulk of the sales. | apple set a new quarterly revenue record in india with a strong double-digit year-on-year growth in the September quarter. the world's second-largest smartphone market is a key focus for the cupertino, us-based company where it currently has a low share. luxury car buyers in india are getting younger with two out of five Audi buyers aged less than 40. | Positive |
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/economy/heres-what-experts-are-saying-about-rbis-additional-liquidity-measures-5158191.html | RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das (PTI)
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das, in a press conference on April 17 announced a number of additional measures to help the economy fight the challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
This was the Governor's second press conference after he earlier unleashed a number of reinforcements for the economy on March 27 where he announced a 75 basis point cut in repo rate.
Here is what the experts think about the same.
Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) CEO Keki Mistry said that the measures announced by the RBI would ease the liquidity situation “quite a bit”.
Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services appreciated the additional liquidity support. “Some of our requirements have been met,” it said.
COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions View more How does a vaccine work? A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine. How many types of vaccines are there? There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine. What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind? Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time. View more Show
Rashesh Shah, the chairman and CEO of the Edelweiss Group, said, “LTRO is going to help the bond markets and, thus, NBFCs. Even corporates are in the market to borrow money.”
“It is in RBI's hands to make sure that the financial sector remains viable. We will need more measures going forward. Cash inflows are 5 percent of normal but outflows are 40-50 percent of normal,” he added.
Nilesh Shah, Managing Director - Kotak Mahindra Asset Management, said, “Cut in reverse repo should push banks to lend. There should be a limit on reverse repo if banks do not start lending.”
Nirmal Jain of IIFL Group has said that it will need more clarity on the threshold for what classifies as a small or medium-sized NBFC.
“Need to ensure credit off take picks up fast after the lockdown. We expect that things will get back to normal sooner than most expect. Would look at OMCs, gas utilities, PSU banks,” he added.
Sundaram Finance has said that it will wait for circular. “Seems like there is relief at the headline level,” it said. “It seems like there is relief on the older accounts as well.”
Former chief statistician Pronab Sen said the RBI governor is walking a tightrope. “The government has done what was within its capacity,” he said.
Raj Kiran Rai, MD & CEO - Union Bank, found the announcements By the RBI 'very positive'. “Can always go back to RBI if required. That’s the message today,” he said. “We believe more measures will come in that will help credit growth.”
He said the loan growth would definitely pick up.
Sunil Mehta, CEO - Indian Banks Association (IBA), said, “Once accounts do not slip into NPA, bankers will be willing to lend to them.”
“Seems like our wishes would have been granted today if we asked for something bigger from God,” he told CNBC-TV18.
“For now, it is sufficient. I’m not sure if it’s substantial,” former Deputy Governor RBI HR Khan said. “Need clarity on banks’ lending to NBFCs and MFIs' eligibility for moratorium.”
On March 27, the Governor had also announced a three-month moratorium on term loans of which installments were due between March 1 and May 31.
Piyush Goyal, Minister of Railways and Commerce & Industry, has said that steps by RBI to support the economy will provide liquidity for growth and help India emerge as a world leader in a post-COVID-19 world.
RBI Governor’s announcement to do “whatever it takes” is a massive confidence booster for the economy. RBI is continuously monitoring the economy to support growth. IMF has also projected India as one of the fastest growing countries in the current financial year.
— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) April 17, 2020
LIVE coverage of RBI governor's press conference | RBI governor announces measures to help economy fight challenges brought on by COVID-19 pandemic. this was the governor's second press conference after he earlier announced a 75 basis point cut in repo rate. experts say the measures will ease the liquidity situation "quite a bit" a vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. a vaccine also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. | Positive |
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/world/uk-chancellor-rishi-sunak-unveils-1-57-billion-pounds-arts-culture-covid-19-rescue-package-5512621.html | UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak has unveiled a 1.57-billion pounds rescue package of emergency grants and cheap loans for arts, culture and heritage industries to help them weather the impact of coronavirus lockdown.
Thousands of organisations across a range of sectors including the performing arts and theatres, heritage, historic palaces, museums, galleries, live music and independent cinema will be able to access the funding boost put in place on Sunday night.
“Our world-renowned galleries, museums, heritage sites, music venues and independent cinemas are not only critical to keeping our economy thriving, employing more than 700,000 people, they're the lifeblood of British culture,” said Sunak.
“That's why we're giving them the vital cash they need to safeguard their survival, helping to protect jobs and ensuring that they can continue to provide the sights and sounds that Britain is famous for,” he said.
The Indian-origin finance minister indicated that many of Britain's cultural and heritage institutions have already received financial assistance to see them through the pandemic including loans, business rate holidays and participation in the Coronavirus Job Retention or furlough scheme, introduced by him earlier this year at the height of the pandemic.
COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions View more How does a vaccine work? A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine. How many types of vaccines are there? There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine. What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind? Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time. View more Show
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said the new package represents the “biggest ever one-off investment in UK culture” and will provide a lifeline to vital cultural and heritage organisations across the country hit hard by the pandemic.
“From iconic theatre and musicals, mesmerising exhibitions at our world-class galleries to gigs performed in local basement venues, the UK's cultural industry is the beating heart of this country,” said UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
“This money will help safeguard the sector for future generations, ensuring arts groups and venues across the UK can stay afloat and support their staff whilst their doors remain closed and curtains remain down,” he said.
The arts industry had been lobbying for support for some time and many agree that this package would help them stay afloat while their doors remain closed under the lockdown restrictions still in place for most venues. Funding to restart paused projects will also help support employment, including freelancers working in these sectors.
The new package will be available across the country, including 33 million pounds to Northern Ireland, 97 million pounds to Scotland and 59 million pounds to Wales and ensure the future of many multi billion-pound industries are secured.
“Our arts and culture are the soul of our nation. They make our country great and are the lynchpin of our world-beating and fast growing creative industries,” said UK Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden.
“I understand the grave challenges the arts face and we must protect and preserve all we can for future generations. Today we are announcing a huge support package of immediate funding to tackle the funding crisis they face. I said we would not let the arts down, and this massive investment shows our level of commitment,” he said.
Of the total sum, 1.15 billion pounds support will go for cultural organisations in England delivered through a mix of grants and loans, made up of 270 million pounds of repayable finance and 880 million pounds grants.
Targeted support of 100 million pounds will go for the national cultural institutions in England and the English Heritage Trust.
Capital investment of 120 million pounds will be available to restart construction on cultural infrastructure and for heritage construction projects in England, which was paused due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Decisions on awards of the different funding will be made working alongside expert independent figures from the sector, including the Arts Council England and other specialist bodies such as Historic England, National Lottery Heritage Fund and the British Film Institute.
The government said the repayable finance, to be set out in the coming weeks, will be issued on “generous terms” tailored for cultural institutions to ensure they are affordable.
“This is welcome news for the museum sector, both in the scale of funding and as a strategic commitment to our role in the life of the country,” said Sir Ian Blatchford, Chair of the National Museums Directors Council.
Julian Bird, Chief Executive, Society of London Theatre & UK Theatre, added: “Venues, producers and the huge workforce in the theatre sector look forward to clarity of how these funds will be allocated and invested, so that artists and organisations can get back to work as soon as possible.
“Our industry's united ambition is to be able to play its vital role in the nation's economic and social recovery and this investment will allow us to do so.”
Follow our full coverage of the coronavirus pandemic here. | Chancellor of the Exchequer unveils 1.57-billion pounds rescue package. arts, culture and heritage industries will be given emergency grants and loans. 'world-renowned galleries, museums, heritage sites, music venues and independent cinemas are critical to keeping our economy thriving,' says Chancellor. many cultural and heritage institutions have already received financial assistance. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/earnings/ajanta-pharma-q4-results-net-profit-up-45-to-rs-129-crore/articleshow/75849347.cms | New Delhi: Ajanta Pharma on Wednesday reported a 45 per cent rise in its consolidated net profit to Rs 129.16 crore for the quarter ended March 31, mainly on account of robust sales in all markets.The company had posted a net profit of Rs 88.89 crore in the corresponding period of the previous financial year, Ajanta Pharma said in a filing to the BSE.Consolidated revenue from operations of the stood at Rs 682 crore for the quarter under consideration as against Rs 515 crore for the corresponding period a year ago.For the financial year ended March this year, the company posted a net profit of Rs 468 crore as against Rs 387 crore for the previous fiscal year, Ajanta Pharma said.The revenue from operations of the company for the fiscal year ended March 2020 stood at Rs 2,588 crore as against Rs 2,055 crore for the year ago fiscal year, it added.Shares of Ajanta Pharma closed at Rs 1,442.20 per scrip on the BSE, up 3.41 per cent from its previous close. | ajanta Pharma's net profit rises 45 per cent to Rs 129.16 crore for the quarter. firm posted a net profit of Rs 88.89 crore in the corresponding period of the previous financial year. shares of the company closed at Rs 1,442.20 per scrip on the BSE, up 3.41 per cent from its previous close. | Positive |
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/stocks/accumulate-jk-cement-target-of-rs-1413-dolat-capital-5591631.html | live bse live
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Dolat Capital's research report on JK Cement
JK Cement in its FY20 annual report, highlights about growing together and staying ahead of the curve. JK Cement has posted a strong all round performance in a challenging year and a challenging external environment that was dampened by the Covid-19 pandemic. The company was able to demonstrate such growth driven by resource efficiency, expanding capacities, growing prominence across urban and rural markets. The company continuously improves resource efficiency in clinker and cement production process by optimizing energy usage, utilizing generated waste and targeting higher alternate fuel and raw material usage. Also, they are trying to limit the usage of natural resources in grey cement manufacturing and increase the share of additives like fly ash and slag. On the demand front, outlook remains buoyant and any weakness is likely to be transient.
Outlook
Cement demand is likely to return to its normal growth trajectory, especially aided by the rural market where pandemic seems to have had a limited impact.
For all recommendations report, click here
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Read More | the company has posted a strong all round performance in a challenging year. the company is trying to limit the usage of natural resources in grey cement manufacturing. the outlook remains buoyant and any weakness is likely to be transient. the company is able to demonstrate such growth driven by resource efficiency. the report concludes that the company is a "growth company" | Positive |
https://www.financialexpress.com/market/alembic-pharmaceuticals-rating-buy-a-good-performance-by-the-company-in-q4/1941541/ | Alembic continued to benefit from ongoing disruptions in the sartans market in the US. It reported US sales of ~$75 m in Q4 (vs Q3 sales of c$74 m). It expects no change in market dynamics for sartans for another 6-9 months; hence sartans’ benefit should continue in the near term. The company hopes to maintain the pace of new launches (10 launches planned for 1HFY21 after 22 launches in FY20) and keep benefitting from supplies opportunities emerging in the market on the back of its nimble manufacturing and supply infrastructure.
Shortly, it will launch azithromycin in the US which is seeing increasing demand due to COVID-19. On a robust US sales outlook and improving trend for India sales, it expects to maintain gross margins at the 70-75% range (Q4 gross margins at 78.1% benefitted from favourable mix and weaker INR vs USD).
India sales saw strong growth: After several quarters of lacklustre growth for its India formulations business, Alembic recorded strong sales growth of 13.2% yoy during Q4. It expects growth momentum to continue now after going through business hygiene initiatives. After facing initial disruptions due to the lockdown, Alembic states that its production capacity is now back to 70-80% of usual levels and glitches in transportation have been resolved. So far, there is no impact of the lockdown on its India formulations business. Per Alembic, its supplies to export markets are proceeding normally.
Investments continue for the US market: Alembic continues to invest towards R&D and capex projects in the US. It has completed construction of new plants for oncology injectables, general injectables, derma and new oral solid dosages and it has started/is preparing to start ANDA filings from these plants. While cost pressure will continue on ongoing R&D spend for its US pipeline and costs associated with new facilities, we believe scale-up in US sales will sustain steady margins of ~21% over FY21-22e.
Buy with higher TP: We believe the outlook remains strong for its US business. We change our FY21-22 estimates post Q4 which leads to 7.5%/7.3% increases in our FY21/FY22 EPS estimates. Our revised TP of Rs 770 (from Rs 715) is derived by discounting back the 1-yr forward fair value, which is based on 21x (Gordon growth-based PE, unchanged) March 2022e EPS of Rs 39.76 (earlier Rs 37.04). | sartans' benefit should continue in the near term. shortly, it will launch azithromycin in the us which is seeing increasing demand due to COVID-19. india sales saw strong growth of 13.2% yoy during Q4. it expects growth momentum to continue now after going through business hygiene initiatives. sartans' benefit will continue in the near term. | Positive |
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/startup/competition-hots-up-groww-goes-live-with-stock-trading-5390221.html | Bengaluru-based financial services platform Groww has gone live with stock trading, expanding its horizon beyond mutual funds and gold.
After testing the service for a few months, Groww recently opened it for its users, claiming to have already opened one lakh accounts. Moneycontrol was the first to write, on May 28, that Groww was beta testing a stock-trading platform.
“We needed to get the broking licence then build the product which took some time. We have been doing internal testing since October 2019 and added more users in April this year. Now, we are opening it for others as well,” chief executive officer Lalit Keshre told Moneycontrol
Its users had been demand stock trading since 2018 and the company had been working on it for quite some time.
The company was targeting the next million investors, young traders who would be attracted to the product because of the simplicity and the user friendliness of the platform, he said.
COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions View more How does a vaccine work? A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine. How many types of vaccines are there? There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine. What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind? Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time. View more Show
Having started with buying and selling of stocks, the startup is working on futures and options trading, intra-day trading and others features that it hopes to take live over the next few months.
Any new player in a space has to go up against the incumbents and in stock-trading, Groww will have to fight for its share with the largest stock-broker in the country Zerodha, another tech startup.
ALSO READ: Zerodha makes TOTP mandatory to counter phishing; here is how to get one
Speaking of competition, Keshre said that they were trying to make stock-trading more democratic and expand the market.
“When we had entered into mutual funds, there were already entrenched players there, even in stock-trading, there is competition but our aim is to grow the market and chase new investors and traders,” he said.
During a previous interaction Abhishant Pant, an angel investor in fintech startups, had said the coronavirus outbreak had thrown up opportunities as well as challenges for new players in the fintech ecosystem.
Groww could leverage the growing interest among Indians in stock trading as many were trying to lap up some scrips cheap during the pandemic, he said.
Given the economic stress, many investors with surplus wealth might chose to save money rather than invest it and that was a challenge.
“Markets cannot be predicted, we can only create good products and offer de-risking capabilities to our investors, we are building Groww along those principles,” Keshre said.
Groww was launched in 2017 by former Flipkart executives Keshre, Harsh Jain, Neeraj Singh and Ishan Bansal. The startup is backed by YCombinator, Sequoia Capital and Ribbit Capital.
In terms of equity support, Keshre said they were in a comfortable position as a low burn gave them quite a long runway. | groww has gone live with stock trading, expanding its horizon beyond mutual funds and gold. the company claims to have already opened one lakh accounts. a vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. it also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. groww is a financial services platform based in Bengaluru. | Positive |
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/coronavirus-crisis-pm-modi-announces-rs-20-lakh-crore-economic-stimulus-package-5257711.html | Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 12 announced a stimulus package totalling Rs 20 lakh crore to rescue the economy reeling under the impact of coronavirus. This amounts to nearly 10 percent of India's GDP.
The Rs 20 lakh crore stimulus includes packages worth nearly Rs 7-8 lakh crore already announced by the Finance Ministry and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced a Rs 1.7 lakh crore package while RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das had announced liquidity support in two tranches in March and April amounting to over Rs 5 lakh crore.
"I am announcing an economic package of Rs 20 lakh crore, which is almost 10 percent of India's GDP, to help India become a self-reliant nation," PM Modi said in his fifth address to the nation since the coronavirus outbreak.
This economic package, he said, will focus on areas like land, labour, liquidity and law.
COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions View more How does a vaccine work? A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine. How many types of vaccines are there? There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine. What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind? Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time. View more Show
While PM Modi said the details of the package will be shared in due course he said it is time for us to do our bit for the street hawkers, daily wage workers, migrant labourers, fisherman, etc. and the stimulus package has special provisions for them.
"The crisis has made the nation realise the importance of these people in the local supply chain. Time has taught us that we have to realise the importance of local traders, craftsmen, and brands," he said.
He noted that only when the people of a country realise and promote local products will they get accepted as global brands.
The government was earlier considering a measured approach to deal with the situation despite mounting pressure from industries.
However, late last week it announced a 54 percent or nearly Rs 4.2 lakh crore increase in its borrowing target for FY21 to Rs 12 lakh crore providing it more wiggle room.
Key highlights of PM Modi's address | prime minister Narendra Modi announces economic package totalling Rs 20 lakh crore. package includes packages worth nearly Rs 7-8 lakh crore already announced. a vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. a vaccine helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. a vaccine is a vaccine that is based on a virus, not a vector. | Positive |
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/primary-markets-emerge-as-major-fund-raising-source-for-realty-firms-4180191.html | Real estate developers in India raised more funds from primary markets in the first half of 2019 than they did in a decade.
As of June, the developers raised about Rs 10,023 crore from the primary markets through two qualified institutional placements (QIPs) and a real estate investment trust (REIT) initial public offering (IPO), marking an eightfold increase over 2018 and the most in the past decade, according Prime Database.
“Equity market instruments got more attention from large real estate companies in the last two years as investors showed a strong preference for organized branded real estate developers with low debt levels and a positive track record of execution," said Subhrajit Roy, executive director and head, equity capital market origination at Kotak Investment Banking.
“Besides, commercial real estate has seen a strong growth trend contributing to the investors’ interest in subscribing to the recent QIPs issued by realty firms, especially those with a presence in Delhi NCR, Mumbai, and Bengaluru," he said.
Real estate companies that had so far fulfilled most of their funding requirements through non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and secondary markets are now finding primary markets an attractive route for raising capital with Indian corporate bond markets facing their worst slowdown in a decade. The pace of growth for Indian bond markets had been slowing since 2017 and marked its lowest rate in more than a decade in May at 9.7%, Bloomberg reported in June citing its economics index.
Investor sentiment in the secondary market, already shaken since the Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS) crisis in September 2018, soured further after mortgage lender, Dewan Housing Finance Corp. Ltd delayed interest payments on its outstanding bonds. This has led to a liquidity crunch making it expensive for NBFCs and, in turn, real estate companies to borrow funds from secondary markets.
However, even as equity investments in real estate companies are peaking, the interest is restricted to large firms with low debt levels.
“It was after the implementation of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act (RERA) that investors’ faith returned in large companies with strong balance sheets, but there are still a lot of developers in the market that remain cash strapped and are finding it tough to raise funds. That itself indicates that there will be major consolidation in the sector," said Girish Nadkarni, managing director at Motilal Oswal Investment Banking.
“What we are also seeing is that promoters of large firms are being able to make the most of equity markets as stock prices have recovered and valuations have become reasonably better, making it easier for them to raise funds via equity capital markets," he said.
In March, Blackstone-backed Embassy Office Parks REIT raised Rs 4,750 crore through India’s first REIT, while DLF raised around Rs 3,200 crore through a QIP, followed by another QIP by Godrej Properties that raised Rs 2,100 crore from the primary markets.
Such issuances, according to Salil Pitale, joint managing director and co-chief executive officer at Axis Capital, will only increase as the recent QIPs by big brands such as DLF and Godrej Properties will give a positive fillip to good brands within the real estate space to tap the primary markets.
Agreeing with Pitale, Nadkarni at Motilal Oswal said “As investors make money on QIPs of large real estate firms and their risk appetite increases, more mid-market players with strong balance sheets, along with some of those who want to raise funds to refinance their debt requirements, will also hit the primary markets." | developers raised about Rs 10,023 crore from primary markets in the first half of 2019. this is an eightfold increase over 2018 and the most in the past decade. the pace of growth for Indian bond markets had been slowing since 2017. investors are finding primary markets an attractive route for raising capital. the pace of growth for Indian bond markets had been slowing since 2017. | Positive |
https://www.businesstoday.in/union-budget-2020/columns/budget-2020-govt-must-change-tax-slabs-increase-nps-deduction-limit-other-policy-measures/story/394747.html | Budget 2020: Nirmala Sitharaman is scheduled to present the Union Budget in a matter of a week. Amid a host of requests from various stakeholders, income tax cut ranks very high up. A cut in income tax would also put more disposable income in the hands of the people, driving up consumption. Moreover, a boost to the real estate sector could go a long way in reviving the slowing economy.
Here are a few policy measures the govt could aim for in Budget 2020:
1. Rejig of tax slabs and tax rates:
With high of cost living and rising prices, there is high expectation from individuals that the government would take adequate measures to increase their disposable incomes so as to meet their consumption requirements as well as plan for future savings. In order to do so, here's what the government can do in Budget 2020:
a. Keeping in view the cost of living trend in the economy, the government could consider increasing the minimum slab limit for the amount not chargeable to tax, from Rs 250,000 to Rs 500,000. The limit was last raised in the Budget of 2014, which was 6 years back.
b. Similarly, the slab rate of Rs 10 lakh for levy of the highest tax rate of 30 per cent, can be increased to Rs 20 lakh. This may be accompanied by a new slab for Rs 10 to 20 lakh at a 20 per cent tax rate and the 10 per cent tax rate could be re-introduced for the Rs 5 to 10 lakh income slab.
c. Keeping in view inflation rates the Finance Minister could consider increasing the tax slabs and also bring down the tax rate by 5 per cent making the maximum slab rate at 25 per cent. This would leave some more money at the disposal of the common man.
A cut in personal tax is one of the most popular and long pending demands of salaried individuals considering rising cost of living standard and inflation.
This is quite likely as the government may want to increase the purchasing power of and consumption by individuals to boost demand in the economy.
FULL COVERAGE: Union Budget 2020
2. Restructure of Section 80C
The government could focus on savings and investments, expenditure outside the purview and raise the limit for deduction. Restructuring of Section 80C could be done with the following in mind:
a. Re-introduction of the deduction in respect of subscription to Infrastructure bonds by individuals. This will also help the government mobilise funds for investment in infra sector and thereby boost the economy.
It is recommended that the benefit under section 80CCF be reintroduced to promote raising of funds for infrastructure development with a maximum deduction up to Rs 1 lakh.
b. Deduction under Section 80C has remained static since Finance Act, 2014. The section is meant to provide relief to individuals for specified investments and expenditure, while at the same time channelise investments into areas that support the economy. However, over the years, the scope of this deduction has become too wide as compared to its very modest limit such as - life insurance premium, deferred annuity, contributions to provident fund, subscription to certain equity shares or debentures, tuition fees, principal repayment of housing loan etc.
It is expected that there will be an increase in these limits in line with the increased cost of living. Currently, Section 80C allows a maximum deduction of Rs 1.5 lakh from the gross total, which generally gets exhausted through Provident Fund (PF) contributions, tuition fee expenses, payment of housing loan principal and life insurance premium. As such, the exemption limit under Section 80C can be enhanced from Rs 150,000 to Rs 250,000 which would provide tax savings in the range of Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000 depending upon the level of income.
Alternatively, it should carve out a separate deduction for expenses such as children's tuition fees, life insurance premium and housing loan principal payments as compared to the investment-oriented items in that scope.
c. As per an important data point that was shared in the 2018 Budget speech which reflects Indian situation, individual business taxpayers (including professionals) paid an average tax of only Rs 25,753 each as compared to Rs 76,306 from the salaried taxpayer.
Hence there is a need to increase the standard deduction of Rs 50,000 to at least Rs 100,000 to take care of the salaried employees increasing expenses like increase in cost of the petrol/diesel, cost of food, medical expenditure etc
Also read: Budget 2020: Date, timings, where to watch, expectations from Modi govt's most challenging Budget
3. Boost to realty sector
One of the sectors that have taken a beating amid the economic slowdown is real estate. Affordable housing benefit and interest deduction for let-out property should be the focus of the government in the Budget 2020.
a. The government's motto is to provide housing for all. To boost the real estate sector, the government should consider enhancing the limit for deduction of interest paid on housing loan to Rs 300,000 in case of a self-occupied property which would not only provide tax savings but also promote the housing sector.
Budget 2017 had limited the amount of housing loss that could be claimed in the same year to Rs 2 lakh, and provided for carry forward of the remaining loss for eight years for set-off against the house property income. The government should consider either increasing the limit to Rs 4 lakh that could be claimed in the same year against any head of income or reinstate the provision which existed prior to Budget 2017 (i.e. allow full deduction in case of let out property)
The rationale is that if the taxpayer does have not positive house property income during the following eight years for set-off, the loss brought forward would lapse and the taxpayer would lose the tax benefit in total.
This has restricted Investment in real estate as the amount of interest paid is always higher than the rental income.
b. Additional deduction of Rs 150,000 was provided to first time home buyers in the Finance Act 2019. One of the conditions to avail this benefit is that the stamp duty value of such property should not exceed Rs 45 lakh - this denies full usage of the benefit of additional deduction of Rs 1.5. lakh as the middle-income group taxpayers even in Tier-2 cities may not qualify for such a deduction owing to higher housing costs. As such, the ceiling on the cost of the house needs to be significantly enhanced to derive the full potential of the benefit i.e. raise the limit of the value of the house and also the period for taking a loan should be extended up to March 31, 2021.
Also read: Budget 2020: Microfinance institutions seek more refinance from development financial institutions
4. With growing mobile population internationally, the government needs to look at issues FTC at withholding stage, ESOP taxability for multi country services faced by employees.
a. Taxation of employees stock options
1. Currently, stock options are subject to tax at the time of allotment of shares, taxable value being excess of fair value of shares over the exercise price.
When an employee takes up assignments outside India, the benefit from stock options has to be prorated based on the assignment tenure in each country during the vesting period. In case of mobile employees who qualify as non resident or resident but not ordinarily resident who exercise stock options, only pro-rata value in respect of days spent in India during the period grant to vest should be subject to tax in India based on OECD commentary and various judicial precedents.
This principle is not expressly stated in the income tax laws. Hence, some companies reduce taxes on the entire income instead of income only attributable to the India service period. This increases the tax outflow for the employee. Explicit provisions in income tax laws can remove such ambiguity. It is recommended that the Act should specifically provide for prorate taxation in respect of mobile employees who qualify as NR or NOR.
2. The valuation basis for stock rewards where the stock is on an overseas stock exchange, is also complex and is arrived at based on a Category I merchant banker's certificate. Adopting stock price from an overseas stock exchange could help ease the procedural complexity.
b. FTC credit at withholding stage
Over the past few years, there have been additional compliances, especially with respect to reporting of overseas assets, and claims of treaty relief. Official foreign travel typically results in compliances in more than one country. Taxation is triggered based on the country of residence and/or source.
Employers should be able to claim credits for taxes paid in the overseas location as part of the payroll process and the tax laws and rules should provide a framework to do the same to avoid disputes. Under current laws, these are not expressly provided. The law should specifically provide for claiming FTC at withholding stage for individuals who qualify residents and ordinarily resident of India. Such a process would avoid claiming of refund at the tax return stage and avoid cash flow issues to the individual
Also read: Budget 2020: Strategic disinvestment, a questionable source of off-budget financing
5. Enhance the LTCG exemption for equity investments
Current LTCG exemption for equity investments of Rs 1 Lakh is too low as many individuals hold MF investments for many years. To incentivise retail investments into equity MFs, the government could consider increasing the limit of Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2 lakhs to encourage tax payers to make investment in capital market for holding beyond say 2 years (other situations exceeding such limits can continue to be taxed at 10 per cent).
6. Deduction on contribution to National Pension Scheme (NPS)
a. An additional deduction of Rs 50,000 is allowed on self-contribution towards NPS for those who have exhausted the limit of deduction of Rs 1.5 lakh under Section 80C. Considering the returns and additional tax benefit which NPS provides, it is an attractive investment option for a taxpayer. The government could consider raising the limit of Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh which will encourage the investor to save more for retirement and help in further increasing the popularity of the scheme.
b. The contribution by employer to NPS up to 10 per cent of basic pay of the individual, is deductible. NPS for the government sector was increased to 14 per cent last year - a similar increase is expected for the private sector as well.
7. Increase deduction limit for health insurance
Healthcare costs continue to rise and hence people need a higher health insurance cover. The government may consider increasing the investment limit in respect of payment towards health insurance premium under section 80D from Rs 25,000 to at least Rs 50,000 for self and family, and for senior citizens dependent parents from Rs 50,000 to at least Rs 75,000.
(The author is Partner, Deloitte India)
Also read: Budget 2020: Govt may raise import duties on more than 50 items including electronics, handicrafts | govt could cut income tax and put more disposable income in the hands of the people. a boost to the real estate sector could go a long way in reviving the slowing economy. a restructure of Section 80C could focus on savings and investments. a cut in personal tax is one of the most popular demands of salaried individuals. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/startups/newsbuzz/vc-funding-back-in-q2-with-big-bets-on-digital/articleshow/77968727.cms | Bengaluru: Early stage venture investments have picked up significantly since July, after a relatively slow period of deal-making in the previous quarter, multiple investors told ET. The pandemic is throwing up opportunities for new digital businesses, prompting more entrepreneurs to enter the fray.Deal flow and the number of startup ideas a venture firm evaluates registered a 50 per cent-plus uptick from the previous quarter, according to at least six funds ET spoke to, with some also attesting to an improvement in the quality of founders.“There has been a gradual realisation in July-August that this post Covid-19 world is going to be the new normal for some time,” said Karan Mohla, executive director at Chiratae Ventures India Advisors, which is evaluating more than 250 deals every month — a level comparable to its deal flow in January.Other funds such as Inventus Capital Partners , Lightspeed Venture Partners, Matrix Partners, WaterBridge Ventures and Orios Venture Partners said deal activity had picked up relative to April-June.The massive fundraising of Reliance Jio Platforms has also piqued the interest of many new investors, said venture capitalists.These new investors are eager to grab a share of India’s digital and technology sector, said venture capitalists, who have been galvanised into action by the realisation that the calendar year is ending.In contrast, in the first half of 2019 — one of the busiest years for early stage VC funds and startup investments — number of early stage deals was 476, compared to 240 in 2020, Tracxn data showed.“New investments slowed down for a quarter, but now the pace of deals is similar to last year. It is exciting to see founders who have factored in the new world and are starting up,” said Vikram Vaidyanathan, managing director, Matrix Partners India. He reckons there is an “overall jump in mass digital adoption” across every sector — from fintech, agriculture, health and education to consumer and gaming. “So it’s a broader set of sectors that seem interesting,” he said. The fund has invested in six startups since the lockdown, including CampK12, Vegrow, Zupee and GoDutch, with three more deals to be announced.In a recent interview with ET, Dev Khare, a partner at Lightspeed, said his fund had been investing through Covid-19. “When we look at our investment track record or investments done per year... it is actually very consistent over the last 20 years.... markets will go up and down in the short term but in the long term, (India) is up in the right direction.” The fund has disclosed recent investments in ed-tech startup FrontRow and a platform for blue collar workers, Apna. Early stage fund Whiteboard Capital said it has seen at least a 30 per cent increase in deal evaluations during the last six weeks, compared to the level in April-May. “We have committed to four new investments in the last six weeks, in addition to five follow-on rounds in our existing portfolio, that is the highest investing activity for us since the inception of the firm,” said Anshu Prasher, a partner. | early stage venture investments have picked up significantly since July. deal activity has picked up relative to the previous quarter. the pandemic is throwing up opportunities for new digital businesses. some investors also attest to an improvement in the quality of founders. in the first half of 2019, number of early stage deals was 476, compared to 240 in 2020. a total of 240 startups have been invested in the first half of 2019. | Positive |
http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/news-live-hsbc-sees-fy19-gdp-at-7-as-gst-impact-wanes-2489823.html | Top Headlines:
1. Maruti Suzuki’s new concept at Auto Expo will be a SUV-like hatchback
2. Idea posts wider Q3 loss at Rs 1,284.5cr, blames IUC rate cut
3. HSBC sees FY19 GDP at 7% as GST impact wanes, reports PTI
4. TCS becomes second co to surge past the Rs 6L cr M-Cap mark, reports PTI
5. Liberty House, Deccan Value reject low price bids for Amtek Auto, reports The Economic Times
6. ArcelorMittal opts out of Bhushan Power & Steel race, reports The Economic Times
7. Lalu Prasad convicted in third fodder scam case, reports PTI
8. India aims to become a $5 trillion eco by 2025, says Modi
9. Fadnavis woos foreign investors, targets $1 trillion eco tag for Maha, reports PTI10. Shape of Water, Three Billboards lead best picture race after Oscar nominations, reports Reuters
22:38 That's all for today, readers. Thanks for staying on with our coverage of the day's action. Your enthusiasm encourages us to better our coverage every day. Do come back tomorrow for more news, views and insights.
21:48 Success of Aamir's films can warm Sino-India ties: China media
The goodwill generated by Aamir Khan's latest movie - 'Secret Superstar' - among Chinese audiences should be extended to politics and economy for improving China-India relations, an official media commentary has said.
"Aamir Khan's latest film 'Secret Superstar' has taken Chinese audiences by storm within four days of its release, becoming a hot topic against the relatively cooler China-India relationship," the commentary by state-run Xinhua news agency said.
21:46 India, Vietnam need to enhance cooperation in oil sector, says President Kovind
President Ram Nath Kovind today asserted that India-Vietnam relations are on an upward curve, and said the two countries need to enhance cooperation in oil and gas sector.
"We need to redouble our efforts to reach the target of USD 15 billion in bilateral trade by 2020," Kovind said, welcoming Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, who had called on him at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
21:43 Show cause notice to 15 Congress councillors for boycotting mayoral election
The Amritsar District Congress chief today issued show cause notice to 15 municipal councillors for boycotting the official programme of the election of Amritsar mayor.
They were also asked to respond why disciplinary action should not be taken against them for not attending the official programme yesterday.
20:36 Merkel says protectionism must be shunned, lauds India for multilateral cooperation
German Chancellor Angela Merkel today joined world leaders, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in voicing open criticism of protectionism and lauded India and China for continuing to pursue an approach of multilateral cooperation with the European Union.
Citing examples, she said if major countries like India, China and the US start framing their foreign policies nationally, they "will fail".
20:16 Fresh plea in SC against controversial movie 'Padmaavat'
Tryst of controversial movie 'Padmaavat' with the Supreme Court does not seem to be ending!
A lawyer, who failed in his twin attempts in the Supreme Court in getting Deepika Padukone-starrer stalled from being released, filed his third petition against the film on the eve of its all-India release and mentioned it before a bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra today.
The bench, also comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, agreed to hear the fresh plea on January 29.
19:00 India ranks 177 out of 180 in Environmental Performance Index
India is among the bottom five countries on the Environmental Performance Index 2018, plummeting 36 points from 141 in 2016, according to a biennial report by Yale and Columbia Universities along with the World Economic Forum.
While India is at the bottom of the list in the environmental health category, it ranks 178 out of 180 as far as air quality is concerned.
Its overall low ranking -- 177 among 180 countries -- was linked to poor performance in the environment health policy and deaths due to air pollution categories.
The report was released on the sidelines of the ongoing World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
18:07 Future will be about 'made on the internet': Jack Ma
With e-commerce growing, Chinese giant Alibaba's chief Jack Ma today predicted the future will be about 'made on the internet' and not labels like 'made in China' or 'made in America'.
Speaking at a session at the World Economic Forum (WEF) on 'Enabling e-commerce: Small enterprises, global players', Ma said in the future, every young person and small business will be able to buy, sell, pay and travel globally.
17:18 Protests staged in the area near Chittorgarh Fort in Rajasthan against the screening of Padmaavat
A day before the release of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's film Padmaavat, Rajasthan witnessed a spate of protests with protesters from fringe outfits taking out rallies, blocking roads and damaging vehicles in different parts of the state.
Members of the Karni Sena damaged windows of two state roadways buses and blocked a road in Kalwar area in state capital Jaipur.
16:24 InterGlobe Aviation Q3 profit rises over 56% YoYInterGlobe Aviation, the owner of India’s biggest airline IndiGo, said net profit rose over 56% YoY in the third quarter, helped by higher passenger ticket revenue, reports Reuters. Net profit for October-December was Rs 7.62 billion compared with Rs 4.87 billion in the year-ago quarter. Passenger ticket revenue rose 21.8% for the quarter to Rs 53.22 billion.
16:20 HC for EC reply on Dhinakaran plea for suitable name and symbol
The Delhi High Court sought response of the Election Commission on TTV Dhinakaran's plea to use a suitable name or symbol for his faction till his plea laying claim to the two-leaves symbol is decided, reports PTI. Justice Rekha Palli also issued notice to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister EK Palaniswami and his deputy O Panneerselvam, to whose group the EC has allotted the 'two-leaves' symbol of AIADMK and sought their stand on the matter. The court listed the matter for further hearing on February 6.
16:18 No stay on AAP MLAs disqualification
The Delhi High Court refused to stay the Centre's notification disqualifying 20 AAP MLAs for holding office of profit but restrained the Election Commission from taking any "precipitate measures" like announcing the dates for by-polls till January 29, reports PTI.
16:10 Ashok Leyland bags Rs 350cr order from VRL for 1,200 trucksHinduja group flagship firm Ashok Leyland has received an order for 1,200 trucks worth over Rs 350 crore from VRL Logistics (VRL). The trucks will come fitted with the latest in features and technology that will help VRL to have reduced maintenance time, fewer stop overs, better efficiency resulting in better uptime and increased profitability, the company said in a statement.
16:08 Markets scale fresh highs; telecom stocks in red
Benchmarks Sensex and Nifty ended at fresh life-time highs for yet another session today, powered by unabated buying by participants and healthy corporate results. However, telecom stocks tumbled up to 6.5% after Reliance Jio decided to offer extra data on some plans, intensifying the tariff war in the sector. Speculators covered their short positions ahead of the January derivatives expiry on Thursday, building up the momentum.
The 30-share Sensex rallied to an all-time high of 36,268.19 intra-day. However, emergence of profit-booking at record levels ahead of January derivatives expiry sent it lower to 36,036.51. It finally settled 21.66 points, or 0.06%, higher at 36,161.64 - surpassing its previous record closing of 36,139.98 reached on Tuesday. After hitting a fresh intra-day record of 11,110.10, the 50-share NSE Nifty ended at 11,086, recording a modest rise of 2.30 points, or 0.02%. It breached its previous record closing of 11,083.70 hit on Tuesday.
16:01 HSBC sees FY19 GDP at 7% as GST impact wanes
British lender HSBC said waning effects from the GST impact will help push the Indian GDP growth to 7% in FY19, reports PTI. It can be noted that International Monetary Fund has come out with an estimate of 7.4% growth two days ago. "For India, we are expecting the economy to grow in the next three years (FY18-20) by 6.5%, 7% and 7.6%," the bank’s chief economist Pranjul Bhandari said.
She added that growth has slid from previous year’s 7.1% to 6.5% in FY18 due to the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST). "As some of the short-run disruptions caused by GST get ironed out, we expect growth to rise in the next couple of years," she noted.
15:54 Bawana fire: Court allows 5-day police custody of accused
A Delhi court has sent the owner of the firecracker storage unit in New Delhi’s Bawana area, where 17 people were killed in a massive blaze, to five-day police custody, reports PTI. Metropolitan Magistrate Jitendra Pratap Singh allowed the police custody of accused Manoj Jain, 49, who was arrested on January 21 in connection with the fire tragedy which took place on January 20.
15:19 Maruti Suzuki’s new concept at Auto Expo will be a SUV-like hatchback
At the upcoming Auto Expo 2018 India’s largest car maker, Maruti Suzuki, will unveil its concept Future-S, a cross-over between a hatchback and an SUV, a top company official has confirmed. This new concept will be positioned below the best-selling SUV Vitara Brezza making it one of the smallest vehicle of its kind in the line-up, reports Moneycontrol News’ Swaraj Baggonkar. The company will gauge the response of viewers at the Expo and decide on whether it should go for commercial production.
CV Raman, Executive Director (engineering), Maruti Suzuki said, “We believe that going forward SUV kind of vehicles are increasing in demand and we have a line up where we have the S-Cross, Brezza just under 4 meters but we believe that going forward SUV taste is going to be liked by customers. So looking at that we have made a concept vehicle which is going to be less than 4 meters and less than Vitara Brezza size and we have let our designers experiment on the design of the vehicle and they have come out with a product which has an upright stance, upright A-pillar.”
14:58 Syria says claims it uses chemical weapons "lies"
The Syrian government said that claims by the French and US foreign ministers that it was still using chemical weapons were “lies”, reports Reuters. On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the Syrian government may still be using chemical weapons, following a suspected chlorine attack in the rebel enclave of eastern Ghouta on Monday.
14:52 Shape of Water, Three Billboards lead best picture race after Oscar nominations
Fox Searchlight’s fantastical romance “The Shape of Water” and its dark comedy “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” emerged as front runners for the Oscar best picture prize on Tuesday after capturing nominations in all of the major categories, reports Reuters. “The Shape of Water” earned a leading 13 nominations, including nods for best picture, screenplay, director Guillermo del Toro and actors Sally Hawkins, Richard Jenkins and Octavia Spencer.
14:43 Idea posts wider Q3 loss at Rs 1,284.5cr, blames IUC rate cutIdea Cellular posted deeper losses of Rs 1,284.5 crore for the quarter ended on December 31, 2017, and said a "sharp" cut in call connect charges and "unrelenting" rate pressure hit its earnings. India's third largest telecom operator had registered a loss of Rs 383.9 crore in the year-ago period, according to its regulatory filing.
The revenue from operations came in at Rs 6,509.6 crore for the quarter ended December 2017, almost 25% lower than Rs 8,662.7 crore in the same period previous year. "The regulation imposed 57% sharp decline in IUC (Interconnect Usage Charges) settlement rates negatively impacted Idea’s revenue and EBITDA for this quarter by Rs 820 crore and Rs 230 crore, respectively," the company said in a statement.
14:26 Vijaya Bank Q3 net tanks 65.45% YoY to Rs 79.56 crore
State-owned Vijaya Bank reported a 65.45% decline in net profit at Rs 79.56 crore for the third quarter ended on December 31, 2017 due to rise in provisions. The bank had posted a net profit of Rs 230.28 crore in the October-December quarter of the 2016-17 fiscal. The bank's total income also declined 7.09% to Rs 3,450.81 crore in the quarter under review from Rs 3,714.37 crore in the same period a year ago, Vijaya Bank said in a BSE filing.
During the quarter, Vijaya Bank's provision (other than tax) and contingencies grew by 62.35% to Rs 676.92 crore as against Rs 416.95 crore in the year-ago period. The bank's gross non-performing assets (NPAs) improved marginally to 6.17% as against 6.98% in the same quarter last fiscal. Net NPA's also came down to 3.99% in the quarter under review compared to 4.74% a year ago.
14:16 Gunmen attack Save the Children Jalalabad’s office, 11 injured
Gunmen blasted their way into Save the Children's office in Afghanistan's restive east, witnesses and officials said, in an ongoing attack that has wounded at least 11 people. After blowing up a car outside the British charity's compound in Jalalabad city, the attackers used a rocket propelled grenade to storm the complex, reports AFP.
13:48 Devendra Fadnavis woos foreign investors, targets $1 trillion eco tag for Maha
Wooing foreign investors to come and invest in Maharashtra, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has promised to make his state a trillion-dollar economy in the next 7-8 years, reports PTI. "Our state GDP is currently about $400 billion and we are growing at about 10%. We are expecting to reach a size of $1 trillion in the next 7-8 years," Fadnavis said.
13:31 ICICI Bank looking at new growth opportunities in Indian ecoICICI Bank is looking at new areas of growth opportunities in the Indian economy as new areas are coming up to be tapped post demonetisation and introduction of GST, its chief Chanda Kochhar said. She said more SMEs are becoming part of the formal economy, creating big opportunities for growth, adding that the government has also provided a strong impetus to increase lending to MSMEs.
"Further, as the resolution process progresses and government capex picks up, the investment climate will improve leading to private corporate investments eventually looking up. We will look to participate in this pick up as and when it happens," Kochhar said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum.
13:23 Lalu Prasad convicted in third fodder scam case
A special CBI court in Ranchi convicted Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo and former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad in the third fodder scam case, reports PTI. CBI judge SS Prasad also found another former chief minister Jagannath Mishra guility in the case pertaining to fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 37.62 crore from the Chaibasa treasury in the 1990s.
Out of the 56 accused in the case, six were acquitted. The 69-year-old Prasad is currently lodged in the Birsa Munda Jail. On January 6, Prasad was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in jail and fined Rs 10 lakh by a another CBI judge in a fodder scam case relating to fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 89.27 lakh from the Deoghar Treasury 21 years ago.
13:10 Power minister supports tax incentives for electric vehicles
Power Minister RK Singh made a pitch for tax incentives for electric vehicles and said the ministry will soon come out with regulations for promoting e-mobility in the country, reports PTI. The minister also said that the electricity amendment bill which seeks renewable of distribution licences for discoms among other proposals is likely to be moved in the upcoming Budget session.
Addressing an e-mobility conference in New Delhi, the minister said tax incentives are needed to promote electric vehicles. The ministry will soon bring in regulations for electric vehicles to address issues such as whether charging is a service for promoting e-mobility in the country.
12:32 Rajiv Gandhi assassination case: Convict in SC seeks recall of its conviction order
The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the CBI to respond to a plea filed by one of the convicts in former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's assassination case seeking recall of the apex court's May 1999 order upholding his conviction.
A bench comprising Justices Ranjan Gogoi and R Banumathi asked the probe agency to file its response to the application filed by convict A G Perarivalan within three weeks and posted the matter for hearing on February 21.
12:26 Delhi HC to hear plea of 9 AAP MLAs against disqualification
A Delhi High Court judge will hear later in the day the plea of eight AAP MLAs against their disqualification for holding office of profit.
Justice Vibhu Bakhru said he will hear the pleas of the MLAs, challenging the Centre's notification which had disqualified 20 legislators, after lunch.
Observing the crowd in his courtroom before taking up the matter, the judge said he was unable to conduct hearing of other matters.
12:10 Global investors welcome to participate in railways upgrade: Piyush Goyal
Promising a major technological and modernisation upgrade at railways, Union Minister Piyush Goyal has said there are plans to equip the entire rail network with Wi-Fi and CCTV system and foreign investors are welcome to participate in this growth story.
Goyal, who is here to attend the World Economic Forum annual meeting, said there is a huge scope for innovation in railways including in signalling systems for which latest technologies of the world are being brought in.
12:03 2018 global growth to roll to highs not seen in eight years: Reuters poll
The global economy is expected to grow at a robust pace this cear and reach an altitude not seen since 2010, as momentum builds in developed economies and inflation revives, according to a Reuters poll of over 500 economists.
Major central banks are expected to move away from ultra-easy monetary policy this year, but borrowing costs are still accommodative and should underpin growth. The poll, covering more than 45 countries, not only underscored optimism on growth but also showed inflation forecasts were either upgraded or left unchanged in nearly 70 percent of those economies.
11:46 UPDATE: Third fodder scam case, the Chaibasa Treasury case: Former Bihar CM Jagannath Mishra also found guilty by Special CBI court in Ranchi
11:37 JMC Projects bags orders worth over Rs 751cr
Civil engineering and EPC firm JMC Projects (India) said it has bagged new construction projects worth Rs 751 crore. The company has received contracts for two commercial projects and a residential project in south India, totalling Rs 448 crore, the company said in a BSE filing.
It has also secured order for construction of two residential projects and one industrial project worth Rs 303 crore in northern and eastern India, it said. The company is an arm of Kalpataru Power Transmission.
11:35 Dilip Buildcon bags NHAI road project worth Rs 1,522cr
Highway developer Dilip Buildcon (DBL) said it has bagged a road project worth Rs 1,522 crore from NHAI in Odisha, reports PTI. "The company has been declared L-1 bidder by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for a new hybrid annuity project...in Odisha," Dilip Buildcon said in a BSE filing. The project is for rehabilitation and upgradation to six laning of Chandikhole-Bhadrak section of NH-5 (new NH-16) from km 62 to km 135.5 in Odisha, the company added.
11:21 Idea Q3 net loss may widen to Rs 1,292cr
Idea Cellular, which is scheduled to report its results for the quarter ended December on Wednesday could report a net loss of Rs 1,292 crore compared to Rs 1,106 crore reported in the previous quarter, according to a poll conducted by CNBC-TV18. According to estimates, the telecom major is expected to report 10% fall in revenues for the quarter ended December to Rs 6,738 crore compared to Rs 7,465 crore reported in the previous quarter, weighed down by interconnection usage charges (IUC) cut by TRAI and sharp fall in realisations.
10:57 After rallying 3,985% since 2008, V-Guard bets on Internet of Things
After a 3,985% rally since its 2008 listing, V-Guard Industries, which has evolved into one of India’s leading consumer-durable companies, has found its next big growth plan: Internet of Things, reports Bloomberg. The company, which started 40 years ago with a mere Rs 100,000, now has products ranging from food mixers to fans and is betting that rising personal incomes in the world’s second-most populous nation and more than a billion mobile-phone connections will boost its sales further.
“IOT is the next big step for our company as smart-phone users are expected to rise every passing day and more people are becoming tech savvy,” Managing Director Mithun Chittilappilly said. The company plans to sell “smart fans” after introducing water heaters and power back-up systems that use similar technology, he said.
V-Guard expects sales to rise 12% in FY18, missing its FY22 target of 15% annual growth, after it passed on a higher tax rate to its customers following the recent introduction of a goods and services levy. Revenue growth is expected to recover to at least 15% in FY19, Chittilappilly said.
10:49 AirAsia to add around 30 jets this year amid strong demand
Budget airline group AirAsia plans to add around 30 jets to its airline affiliates across Asia this year due to strong demand growth across the region, Chief Executive Tony Fernandes told Reuters. AirAsia, which flies close to 200 airplanes and is the largest operator of Airbus’s best-selling A320 jet, has airlines in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, India and Japan and plans to grow in China and Vietnam.
10:26 Liberty House, Deccan Value reject low price bids for Amtek Auto, says report
Lenders to Amtek Auto, which is facing Rs 12,722 crore of claims from financial creditors, decided to reject the only two offers they received for the auto component maker unless the bidders raised the price, sources told The Economic Times. The lenders plan to renegotiate the offers with UK-based metals group Liberty House and US-registered hedge fund Deccan Value Investors after their offers came in below the liquidation value, sources said. They could also call for a second round of bidding, sources added.
10:13 ArcelorMittal opts out of Bhushan Power & Steel raceArcelorMittal has withdrawn from bidding for bankrupt Bhushan Power & Steel after it conducted due diligence on the Indian company, reports The Economic Times. ArcelorMittal informed the Bhushan Power & Steel committee of creditors of its decision through a letter sent by its financial advisor Goldman Sachs, sources said. Tata Steel, JSW, Vedanta, AION Capital and a Dubai-based billionaire remain in the fray for the bankrupt company ahead of the January 29 deadline for final offers.
09:49 US Senate confirms Jerome Powell as next Fed chairman
The US Senate confirmed former investment banker Jerome Powell as head of the Federal Reserve, putting President Donald Trump's pick in a role of enormous influence over the world's largest economy, reports AFP. Powell, a current Fed governor, was confirmed by a vote of 85-12, paving the way for him to replace current Chair Janet Yellen when she steps down next month. In choosing to replace Yellen, Trump dismantled another piece of his predecessor Barack Obama's legacy, making Trump the first US president in nearly 40 years not to reappoint the incumbent Fed chair.
09:40 Bitcoin may split 50 times in 2018 as forking craze mounts
Bitcoin God arrived last month. Bitcoin Pizza was delivered in January. Bitcoin Private’s issuance date is... still a secret. They’re just a few of the growing stable of so-called forks - a type of spinoff in which developers clone Bitcoin’s software, release it with a new name, a new coin and possibly a few new features, reports Bloomberg. Often, the idea is to capitalise on the public’s familiarity with Bitcoin to make some serious money, at least virtually.
Some 19 Bitcoin forks came out last year - but up to 50 more could happen this year, according to Lex Sokolin, global director of fintech strategy at Autonomous Research. Ultimately, the number could run even higher now that Forkgen, a site enabling anyone with rudimentary programming skills to launch a clone, is in operation. In a January 14 tweet, hedge fund manager Ari Paul predicted more than 10% of the current value of Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash will reside in new offshoots.
Motives behind the efforts vary. Some backers try to improve on Bitcoin. Others seek a quick profit. Developers typically score a cache of newly minted coins in a process called post-mining. Yet prices don’t necessarily hold up for long.
08:53 Japan's January manufacturing activity hits highest in almost four years
Japanese manufacturing activity expanded at the fastest pace in almost four years in January, a survey showed on Wednesday, with solid output and employment levels pointing to a bright outlook for an economy that continues to grow at a healthy clip, reports Reuters. The Flash Markit/Nikkei Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) rose to a seasonally adjusted 54.4 in January from a final 54.0 in December.
08:45 Jio hikes per day data limit by 500 MB on popular plans
Stepping up the tariff war, Reliance Jio has decided to offer 500 MB extra data to its subscribers using 1GB and 1.5GB per day data packs with effect from January 26, sources told PTI. Besides, the telco as part of its 'Republic Day offer' will double the validity of Rs 98 pack to 28 days from the current 14 days from January 26 onwards, sources said.
"Jio will always offer more value to its customers, and offer Rs 50 lower price than competition and 50% more data on its plans. As part of Republic Day offer, all existing 1 GB per day packs enhanced to 1.5 GB per day, 1.5 GB per day packs enhanced to 2 GB per day," sources said. With this new offer, Jio's flagship Rs 399 plan will provide free voice, unlimited 4G data with 1.5 GB daily, unlimited SMS and premium subscription to Jio Apps for 84 days. The Rs 98 pack at present offers 2.1 GB data at 4G speed and thereafter speed drops to 64 kilobit per second with 14 days validity.
08:40 NPPA fixes retail price of 5 formulations
National drug pricing regulator NPPA said it has fixed the retail prices of five formulations including those used for the treatment of hypertension, asthma and heart failure. The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has also revised the ceiling price of Metronidazole injection used for treatment of the bacterial infections.
08:37 ONGC ties up Rs 18K cr loan from 3 banks for buying HPCL
State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) said it has tied-up over Rs 18,000 crore loan from three banks to part finance its Rs 36,915 crore acquisition of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL). In a regulatory filing, ONGC said it had on Monday entered into loan agreements with Punjab National Bank, Bank of India and Axis Bank for the borrowing Rs 18,060 crore for the acquisition.
ONGC said the loans are of one-year duration. The pact with PNB is for loan of up to Rs 10,600 crore and with Bank of India for another Rs 4,460 crore. With Axis Bank it has secured Rs 3,000 crore credit. The company is likely to sign-up more loan agreements to pay for acquiring government's 51.11% stake in HPCL for Rs 36,915 crore.
08:26 United Spirits Q3 net profit slips 9% YoY to Rs 135cr
Liquor major United Spirits reported a decline of 8.8% in its standalone net profit to Rs 134.7 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, mainly due to market changes in certain states. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 147.7 crore in the October-December period last fiscal, Diageo-controlled firm said in a regulatory filing.
Its total income during the quarter under review was at Rs 7,160.9 crore, up 1.17%, as against Rs 7,077.8 crore in corresponding quarter previous fiscal. Total expenses were up 1.34% at Rs 6,964.5 crore as against Rs 6,872.1 crore in the same period last fiscal.
08:15 Indiabulls Housing Finance Q3 net rises 55% YoY to Rs 1,167crIndiabulls Housing Finance reported a 55.38% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 1,167.73 crore for the third quarter ended December 31. The company had reported net profit of Rs 751.49 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.
Revenues grew by 36.65% YoY to Rs 4,105.66 crore during October-December quarter of the current fiscal, up from Rs 3,004.47 crore in the year-ago period, Indiabulls Housing Finance said in a BSE filing. Gross non-performing asset (NPA) stood at 0.77% of total advances, and net NPAs were at 0.21% in the quarter under review.
08:03 Domestic air traffic up 17.69% YoY in December 2017
Domestic air traffic registered a growth of over 17% in December last year as compared to the same month in the previous year, government data stated. Domestic airlines carried 11.24 million passengers in December 2017 as compared to 9.55 million compared to the year-ago period, registering a growth of 17.69%.
According to the monthly traffic data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the passenger load factor (PLF), which is a measure of number of seats occupied in a plane, was the highest for SpiceJet with 95.6% of its seats being sold. GoAir was at the second spot with 92% of seats occupied, followed by IndiGo (90.8%), Jet Airways (88.5%), Vistara (87.7%) and Air India (81.8%).
IndiGo regained its top position in terms of punctuality or on-time performance (OTP) with 81.1% of its flights taking off and landing on time. It was followed by SpiceJet (78.4%), Vistara (74.5%), Air India (70.8%), Go Air (68.4%) and Jet Airways at the bottom (52.2%).
IndiGo also continues to be the market leader cornering 39.4% of the market share, DGCA data stated. While market shares remained more or less flat for most airlines, GoAir witnessed an increase from 8.9% to 9.6%, while Jet Airways saw a dip from 15.2% to 14.6% in November as compared to October.
07:36 PE investments in realty to reach $100bn by 2026, says JLL
With India emerging as an attractive investment destination, private equity inflow in real estate is likely to reach $100 billion by 2026. According to property consultant JLL, in the next 10 years, private equity inflow in the sector is likely to grow at 10% CAGR to $100 billion by 2026, with Tier I and II cities being the prime beneficiaries of it. In the past 12 years (2006-2017) India has seen investments of $42 billion, while the next 10 years (2017-2026) is expected to see inflows to the tune of $58 billion, the report said.
07:23 India aims to become $5 trillion economy by 2025, says Modi
India is moving towards becoming a $5 trillion economy by 2025, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual gathering. Pitching India as an attractive investment destination, he said those wanting wealth with wellness and peace with prosperity should come to the country.
The first Indian prime minister in two decades to attend the WEF summit in Davos, he delivered the speech at the opening plenary where he raised concerns about protectionist tendencies. He said the country is moving towards becoming a $5 trillion economy by 2025 and emphasised that the government is following the principle of reform, perform and transform. Currently, India's gross domestic product (GDP) is around $2.2 trillion. | goodwill generated by 'Secret Superstar' among Chinese audiences should be extended to politics and economy, an official commentary has said.'secret superstar' has taken Chinese audiences by storm within four days of its release, becoming a hot topic against the relatively cooler China-India relationship,' the commentary said. 'we need to redouble our efforts to reach the target of USD 15 billion in bilateral trade by 2020,' says president. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/interviews/there-is-a-lot-of-pent-up-consumer-demand-for-digital-services-and-india-is-at-an-inflection-point-kkr-executives/articleshow/75897786.cms |
Private equity firm KKR said it decided to bet on Jio Platform because of it is a unique combination of a profitable, market-leading telco business with a number of high-growth digital B2C- and B2B businesses built on top. KKR's India CEO -Sanjay Nayar and Head of Technology Asia - Lucian Schönefelder spoke to Devina Sengupta & Arijit Barman on their investment thesis. Edited excerptsWe have had a very active dialogue with Reliance for many years and have a longstanding relationship with the family through Henry Kravis and myself.Reliance was looking for partners that understand technology and that can add value to Jio over the next few years. KKR comes with a unique proposition of having a well established India franchise, with deep understanding of the local economy, coupled with a strong global track-record of technology investing.We will always try to add value through best-practice sharing from other technology companies in our portfolio and access to our global network.Jio is a unique combination of a profitable, market-leading telco business with a number of high-growth digital B2C- and B2B businesses built on top. We haven't seen such a combination anywhere else in the US or Europe, and it was certainly one of the key attractions for us to invest.Over the last couple of years, Jio really built one of the most modern, scalable and cost-efficient telecom infrastructures in the world. Even though Jio a telco business at its core, it is built on best-in-class technology that has allowed them to ramp up and scale very efficiently.What gets us really excited is the potential that this platform has to distribute digital services to consumers through the MyJio app. We think there is a lot of pent-up consumer demand for a lot of digital services and that India is really at an inflection point in that regard.The other thing that got us really excited about this opportunity, and which can easily be overlooked, is the B2B opportunity that is ahead of Jio.If you look at IT software spending as a percentage of GDP, India stands roughly at 0.20% of GDP compared to the US at around 1.1% of GDP and Europe at 0.6% There are all sorts of B2B software services that we think Jio can cross-sell together with its B2B connectivity services.From a macro standpoint, what attracted us is that India is digitizing rapidly, and Indian consumers want to consume content and other digital services at an affordable price point, which is now achievable since data prices have fallen. Secondly, Jio’s compelling entrepreneurial vision. I think the digitized offerings that they are putting together is very impressive, and is a winner all the way.We have a track record of supporting technology companies through minority investments. Our investments in GoJek in Indonesia or Bytedance in China are examples of minority deals in the technology sector, invested out of our private equity funds. In addition to this, the investments out of our growth equity funds, are almost always minority investments.This is coming from our Asia private equity and growth technology funds.Jio has excellent connectivity infrastructure and are rolling out exciting digital offerings on top. On the connectivity front, they’ve also been very thoughtful in observing how Indians are consuming data and have been able to offer data at affordable price points.Then there’s the MyJio app, which is bundled with various digital applications for both consumers and small businesses, also at affordable prices. So all in all there is a very stable Telco core with a lot of growth potential on top. And I think what underpins our confidence is Reliance’s proven ability to always deliver on their promises and execute.KKR has made a number of very successful B2C invetsments. If we look in our Asian portfolio, ByteDance and Go-Jek are B2C companies. We've made an investment in a Chinese company called Huohua, which is an online education business, and also B2C.We invested in Trainline in the UK, which is the largest B2C online marketplace for rail tickets globally, which we successfully listed in the UK.So we've seen quite a lot of momentum in our B2C investing activities. That said, what we've historically stayed away from -- and what we have got to continue staying away from – are really low-margin business models with challenging economics.We’re more attracted to businesses like ByteDance and GoJek, which are interesting because they have the ability to achieve attractive economics.It’s too early to say anything. | KKR's India CEO -Sanjay Nayar and Head of Technology Asia - Lucian Schönefelder spoke to Devina Sengupta & Arijit Barman on their investment thesis. KKR comes with a unique proposition of having a well established India franchise, with deep understanding of the local economy. despite being a telco business at its core, it is built on best-in-class technology that has allowed them to ramp up and scale very efficiently | Positive |
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/world/how-boeing-went-from-appealing-for-government-aid-to-snubbing-it-5215291.html | In just six weeks, Boeing Co went from seeking government aid to announcing it no longer needed it. The company's $25 billion bond issue this week made all the difference.
The upsized deal, this year's largest investment-grade bond issue and the sixth largest on record, surpassed Boeing's expectations. It underscores how the Chicago-based company capitalised on US government support, even without having to accept taxpayer money as aid.
On March 24, Boeing's Chief Financial Officer Greg Smith told Reuters in an interview that the credit markets were "essentially closed" to the largest US plane maker, and that the entire US aerospace industry urgently needed capital to cope with the fallout from the coronavirus outbreak.
A $2.3 trillion US stimulus package, enacted into law at the end of March to provide relief to the US economy which was hit hard by the pandemic, subsequently carved out $17 billion in aid for Boeing and other companies critical to national security.
Boeing itself had lobbied extensively for aid and had called for at least $60 billion in government loans for the entire aerospace manufacturing sector. "We can't let 'anything happen to' Boeing," US President Donald Trump said last month, in one of the many instances he expressed support for the company.
COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions View more How does a vaccine work? A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine. How many types of vaccines are there? There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine. What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind? Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time. View more Show
Several bond investors in interviews with Reuters cited the US government's backstopping of Boeing, as well as the Federal Reserve's support of the credit markets in the aftermath of the pandemic, as reasons for the success of the capital raise.
"Boeing is pretty vital to, not just the US economy, but to national security interests. Also, you can't argue (with the fact that) the Fed support is what has been the primary driver of what is allowing risk assets to boom," said Mark Heppenstall, chief investment officer at Penn Mutual Asset Management.
Already saddled with $39 billion in debt as of the end of March, Boeing started the week searching for cash, to cope not just with impact of the coronavirus outbreak on air travel, but with the long grounding of its flagship 737 Max aircraft as well, following a string of accidents.
Smith and Boeing Chief Executive David Calhoun had taken what they called a "balanced" approach, reiterating on Wednesday that they were exploring a mix of government aid and commercial funding.
One potential source of government aid, the $17 billion national security-related fund administered by the US Treasury Department, came with significant strings, including the possibility of the US government getting a stake in Boeing. That could have led to Boeing's shareholders getting diluted.
Then Boeing had a breakthrough. Its plan was to gauge investor interest for a bond issue of between $10 billion and $15 billion, according to people familiar with the deliberations. Yet demand for the bonds on Thursday peaked at more than $70 billion from over 600 investor accounts, according to the sources.
Credit rating agencies told Boeing it could borrow as much as $25 billion through a bond issue and just about retain its investment-grade rating, according to the sources.
This was important for Boeing, to reign in its borrowing costs and attract more investors to the bond offering, the sources said. Investors that traditionally invest in junk-rated debt, such as hedge funds, also flocked to Boeing's bond issue, because it was priced at premium to investment-grade deals, according to the sources.
Boeing priced different bond tranches spanning several maturities at between 450 basis points and 593 basis points, whereas the average spread for bonds of Boeing's credit rating is 306 basis points, according to ICE BofA Data.
"Let's face it, Boeing is not an investment-grade company by any stretch of the imagination," said Nick Maroutsos, co-head of global bonds at Janus Henderson Investors.
Boeing declined to comment on its internal planning for the capital raise.
But Boeing announced on Thursday that as a result of the strong response to its bond offering, it did "not plan to seek additional funding through the capital markets or the US government options at this time."
CONCESSIONS
Boeing had to make concessions to cajole the credit rating agencies and bond investors. It agreed to increase interest payments by 25 basis points each time the two biggest credit rating agencies lowered its rating by one level into junk, according to the bond issue's prospectus. It capped these concessions at 100 basis points per credit-rating agency and 200 basis points in total.
Boeing expects the money from the bond issue to cover its funding needs for the year, barring any unexpected event. Before announcing it would no longer seek government aid, it stress-tested its financial assumptions and considered numerous scenarios to ensure it has liquidity for the remainder of the year, according to the sources.
Boeing has also had to take several cost-cutting measures, including announcing plans to shed about 16,000 jobs this year, about 10 percent of its workforce, through early retirements and likely layoffs.
On Friday, Smith told Boeing employees in a message he wanted "to thank the administration for the actions they have taken to support our economy and the credit markets." | a $25 billion bond issue this week surpassed Boeing's expectations. the deal is the largest investment-grade bond issue on record. a $2.3 trillion stimulus package carved out $17 billion in aid for Boeing. a vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. a vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. a vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. | Positive |
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/markets/history-repeats-these-5-traits-must-for-a-multi-million-player-to-become-a-multi-billion-giant-5508461.html | Manish Jain
'Multi-baggers': what an alluring yet elusive concept. A dream that every investor cherishes and yet only a few are able to achieve. The trick is to identify a company early in its life cycle, and hold on to it for a long time. Sounds simple but believe me it is quite complicated to execute.
The moot point here is — how do we identify a great company? A business that would continue to register steady yet consistent growth year after year, to help us compound our wealth. Well, in my 16 years in equity markets, I have seen many such companies, which have gone from being multi-million to multi-billion dollar in market cap. Each one of these businesses have five common traits. Look out for businesses that possess these and you have hit a home run!
Let’s take a look at these common traits:
A. Insatiable hunger for growth: Be it volume growth or margin expansion, great businesses never rest on their laurels. Their hunger for growth is always insatiable. However, not just growth, but sustainable and steady growth while containing the balance sheet risk. A steady mid-teens growth over long periods of time works wonders for the power of compounding.
B. Market leadership: A strong leadership position with competitive advantage is extremely important. As industry grows all participants benefit but the bulk of the benefit goes to the top player. A leader should be able to shape the industry growth path, overcome obstacles and lead into the future. These traits make for a sound long-term investment.
C. Constant innovation: This is needed to create new categories, which can be the second and third leg of growth. When the current business starts maturing, there needs to be a backup option or maybe even two. Great leaders always think ahead and are preparing for the long term. The innovation needs to be synergistic and should expand the horizon.
D. Great HR practices: Nurturing talent is always very important. Any business is only as good as the people who lead it. It is not only important to just attract talent, but to retain it and constantly create a work environment, which is conducive to personal and professional growth. This is fairly easy to gauge. Any great company is a breeding ground for talent and industry should be filled by people who have started and built their careers in these companies.
E. Balance sheet balance: Leverage can be a boon as well as bane. All great businesses are built on the foundation of a strong and light balance sheet, which are ideally free, or as low as possible. When the business cycle goes in to a downturn, it is businesses with strong balance sheets that survive and thrive.
At "Coffee Can" we say, history is a mirror into the future. The way businesses have performed in the past, is the way they are likely to behave in the future as well. So invest for growth, steadiness and consistency, and don't fall for the value trap. A strong portfolio of leaders, long term and low churn is the ideal way to make money in equities.
(The author is Fund Manager - Coffee Can PMS at Ambit Asset Management.)
Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment expert on Moneycontrol.com are his own and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions. | manish jain has seen many companies go from being multi-million to multi-billion dollar in market cap. each of these businesses have five common traits. look out for businesses that possess these and you have hit a home run. a steady mid-teens growth over long periods of time works wonders for the power of compounding. a strong leadership position with competitive advantage is extremely important. | Positive |
https://www.financialexpress.com/economy/saudi-prince-sees-useful-returns-from-expected-100-billion-investment-in-india/1493346/ | Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Wednesday said that he saw investment opportunities of more than $100 billion in India over the next two years as he began his first official visit amid tensions between arch foes India and Pakistan.
India rolled out the red carpet for Mohammed bin Salman as it seeks diplomatic support against Pakistan following a militant attack in Kashmir. The crown prince was also given a lavish welcome this week in Pakistan where the two sides signed memoranda of understanding valued at about $20 billion to help prop up Pakistan’s economy.
In a joint press appearance after talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the crown prince said terrorism was a common concern and Saudi Arabia was ready to share intelligence with India to tackle it. India blames Pakistan for not doing enough to roll up militant groups that operate from its soil including the one that claimed responsibility for the Pulwama terror attack on Thursday last week.
Also read| Homebuyers’ wait for GST relief continues! Council defers decision on tax on under construction houses
Pakistan denies any involvement in cross-border terrorism and said it would retaliate against an Indian attack. “We face similar challenges, chief among them extremism and terrorism … and we reaffirm to India that we are ready to work in the intelligence and political arenas to coordinate our efforts…” the crown prince said.
Saudi Arabia’s formidable domestic security structure helped put down an al Qaeda bombing campaign over a decade ago. But the kingdom continues to face occasional attacks by Sunni Islamic State fighters and Shia militants in its Eastern Province.
SAUDI ARAMCO IN TALKS
Riyadh also leads a coalition of Arab states fighting in support of Yemen’s internationally recognised government against the Iranian-aligned Houthi fighters, who regularly fire rockets across the kingdom’s southern border.
The crown prince also said he wanted to expand commercial relations with India. “Today we expect the opportunities we are targeting in India in various fields to exceed $100 billion in the coming two years… we want to work with you, Mr Prime Minister, to ensure these investments are made and to ensure useful returns for both countries.”
Giant petroleum and natural gas company Saudi Aramco said it was in talks with India’s Reliance Industries Ltd for possible investments and was seeking other opportunities.
Both India and Pakistan had expected a scaling up of investments on the crown prince’s first tour of the region since the storm over the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist, at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October.
The killing of Khashoggi, a known critic of the crown prince, has strained Saudi Arabia’s ties with the West and battered the prince’s image abroad. He’s next due in China.
The European Commission has added Saudi Arabia to an EU draft list of countries that pose a threat to the bloc because of lax controls against terrorism financing and money laundering, sources told Reuters last month. But Modi has sought to use India’s fast-growing economy to attract more investment from Saudi Arabia and other Islamic nations since he took office.
During the press briefing, Modi said he had agreed with the prince to strengthen cooperation on counter-terrorism and naval and cyber security. The two countries signed agreements on investment in infrastructure, housing sector and tourism. | the crown prince said he saw investment opportunities of more than $100 billion in India over the next two years. he was also given a lavish welcome this week in Pakistan where the two sides signed memoranda of understanding valued at about $20 billion. the two sides have signed memoranda of understanding valued at about $20 billion to help prop up Pakistan's economy. | Positive |
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/india/mutual-funds-add-7-lakh-folios-in-april-total-tally-surpasses-9-crore-mark-5316741.html | The mutual fund industry has added nearly seven lakh investor accounts in April, taking the total folio tally to 9.04 crore, amid volatility in broader markets.
This is 71st consecutive month witnessing a rise in the numbers of folios, according to data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India.
Folios are numbers designated to individual investor accounts. An investor can have multiple folios.
According to data, the number of folios with 44 fund houses rose to 9,04,28,589 at the end of April, from 8,97,46,051 in the end of March, registering a gain of 6,82,538 folios.
This comes following an addition of over 9 lakh investor accounts in March.
In February, the industry added 3 lakh folios, 14 lakh folios in January and in December, the number was over 6 lakh.
The addition in folios comes at a time when broader market witnessed volatility amid concerns over the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
In the midst of uncertainty over the possible impact of the lockdown, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, on the global as well as domestic economy, investors are looking at this scenario as an investment opportunity, industry experts said.
They, further, said the addition of folios suggests investors' understanding of the market risks associated with the mutual fund schemes.
Of the total 9.04 crore investors account, the number of folios under equity, hybrid and solution-oriented schemes, wherein the maximum investment is from the retail segment stood at about 8 crore.
The number of folios under the equity and equity-linked saving schemes rose by 6 lakh to 6.33 crore in April-end as compared to 6.27 crore at the end of the preceding month.
However, the number of folio count in debt-oriented schemes dropped by 4.37 lakh to 60.91 lakh at April-end from 61.35 lakh at March-end.
Within the debt category, liquid funds continued to top the chart in terms of number of folios at nearly 19.5 lakh , followed by low-duration fund at 93,53,79.
Overall, mutual fund schemes witnessed an inflow of Rs 46,000 crore last month across all segments. The inflow has pushed the asset base of the mutual fund sector to Rs 23.93 crore at the end of April from Rs 22.26 crore at the end of March. | mutual fund industry has added nearly seven lakh investor accounts in April. this is 71st consecutive month witnessing a rise in the numbers of folios. folios are numbers designated to individual investor accounts. folios are numbers designated to individual investor accounts. inflow of Rs 46,000 crore across all segments of mutual fund schemes. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/recos/hold-tata-motors-target-price-rs-78-emkay-global/articleshow/75285659.cms | Creditors have withdrawn 26,518 insolvency cases involving defaults of as much as ₹9.33 lakh crore before their applications were admitted by the adjudicating authority since the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) came into force.
IndiGo may introduce a premium class of seats along with hot food and a loyalty programme by the end of 2024, as India’s largest airline looks to court more business flyers and rival Air India on international routes, said people with knowledge of the matter.
The initial public offering (IPO) market is in an unprecedented bull wave. Three of the four IPOs — Tata Technologies, Flair Writing Industries, and Gandhar Oil Refinery — which opened on Wednesday were fully subscribed within hours of opening.
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Top Trending Stocks: SBI Share Price | creditors have withdrawn 26,518 insolvency cases involving defaults of as much as 9.33 lakh crore. IndiGo may introduce a premium class of seats along with hot food and a loyalty programme by the end of 2024. the initial public offering (IPO) market is in an unprecedented bull wave. three of the four IPOs — Tata Technologies, Flair Writing Industries, and Gandhar Oil Refinery — which opened on Wednesday were fully subscribed within hours of opening | Positive |
https://www.businesstoday.in/current/economy-politics/nitin-gadkari-tells-amazon-to-list-products-from-rural-india-separately/story/410463.html | KEY HIGHLIGHTS:
Gadkari asks Amazon to list products from rural India separately on their platform to promote them globally
He also urged Amazon to help Indian MSMEs in better design and packaging
While e-commerce players like Amazon and Flipkart have not disclosed volume of their imports, local traders' body CAIT estimates it to be 70% of total sales in India
Amazon India head said the retailer was committed to digitise 10 million MSMEs, enable 1 million incremental jobs, and drive $10 billion dollar in e-commerce exports by 2025
Union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium enterprises (MSMEs) Nitin Gadkari has urged e-commerce giant Amazon to list products from rural India separately on their platform to promote them globally. He has also asked Amazon to help micro entrepreneurs in better design and packaging.
While he lauded the retailer's move to onboard over 60,000 MSMEs on Amazon Global Selling, the Minister teased the company for selling imported items through its platform.
"I am not asking you a question about what are the imports coming to India. I will request you as an Indian company, because (of) your presence in India, let's find out what is to be import substitute which is coming from abroad here in India. The same thing (products) if it is possible to get with low cost and better quality. That can also be a good initiative," Gadkari said in a lighter vein.
While e-commerce players like Amazon and Flipkart have not disclosed the volume of their imports, local traders' body Confederation of Indian Industry (CAIT) has estimated the share of imported items (mainly from China) sold on these popular e-commerce platforms is 70%.
Gadkari noted the high potential of Indian handicraft and handloom sector and urged Amazon to help local industry with better design and packaging to take local products to global stage.
"I know that your role is related to marketing. I will only request you to find out solution for the MSMEs with your international exposure like if you can plan product design, giving new visions to the entrepreneurs about global choices," he said.
Gadkari said that khadi and village industries' turnover is currently Rs 88,000 crore and the idea is to take it to Rs 5 lakh crore within 2 years.
Referring to a meeting with social entrepreneur, banker and Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, Gadkari said that providing finances to small entrepreneurs could boost economy and jobs.
"A lot of IIT people were there (at the meeting). Now we are planning for social micro finance. I am going to request Niti Aayog, and IIT to come into it and make a proposal (as to how social micro finance could be started). .... RBI will give them license. They will finance only to the extent of Rs 5-10 lakhs. The social micro finance institutions will provide finance to small entrepreneurs," he said while launching Amazon's 3rd edition of Exports Digest.
The Digest provides business insights and seller success stories of Amazon Global Selling Program.
Speaking at the event to launch of the Digest, Amit Agarwal, Senior Vice President and Country Head of Amazon India said, "We remain committed to digitise 10 million MSMEs, enable 1 million incremental jobs, and drive $10 billion dollar in e-commerce exports by 2025".
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Also Read: 'Sharing a Coke, wearing Bata shoes': HDFC Bank chief Aditya Puri takes a walk down memory lane | e-commerce giants like Amazon and Flipkart have not disclosed volume of their imports. local traders' body estimates it to be 70% of total sales in india. minister urges amazon to help Indian MSMEs in better design and packaging. he lauds retailer's move to onboard over 60,000 MSMEs on amazon global selling. khadi and village industries' turnover is currently Rs 88,000 crore and the idea is to take it to Rs 5 lakh crore within 2 years. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/lt-ideaforge-sign-pact-for-high-tech-drone-manufacturing/articleshow/74006048.cms | New Delhi: Infrastructure giant Larsen & Toubro (L&T) on Friday said it has entered into a pact with ideaForge , domestic unmanned aerial vehicles manufacturer, to offer drones and allied systems for defence use. "L&T and ideaForge...have entered (into) an MoU (memorandum of understanding) to offer drones and allied systems for defence use," the company said in a filing to the BSE.Both companies will combine their strengths to offer hi-tech integrated drone solutions to enhance security and surveillance.They will also offer anti-drone solutions to counter the threat of malicious or unintended usage of drones."The MoU involves collaboration on technology, products, deployment and go-to-market strategies," it said.It will unlock the full potential of unmanned systems in security, surveillance and protection solutions.With the ever-increasing adoption of drone technology, the partnership will redefine the landscape of unmanned systems."We are teaming as partners of choice to provide indigenously developed unmanned systems for Indian and global markets. We are confident that this alliance will create a successful 'Make in India' collaboration between a diversified engineering conglomerate and a young, technology-driven company for across-the-range offerings," J D Patil, whole-time director and senior executive vice-president (defence and smart technologies), L&T, said. | Larsen & Toubro and ideaForge have entered into a pact to offer drones and allied systems for defence use. the partnership will unlock the full potential of unmanned systems in security, surveillance and protection solutions. the infrastructure giant is teaming as partners of choice to provide indigenously developed unmanned systems for Indian and global markets. the company is confident the alliance will create a successful'make in India' collaboration. | Positive |
http://www.financialexpress.com/india-news/india-peru-fta-talks-to-take-stage-in-march/1008609/ | With bilateral trade between India and Peru touching an all-time high of $1.57 billion, the second round of talks for the trade agreement between the two countries is scheduled to take place in March. The FTA between the two countries aims at liberalising norms for trade in goods and services with a view to further boost bilateral economic ties and to expand India’s trade and investment, especially in agri-business and commodities. Talking to FE, Arup Kumar Saha, head of Chancery, Embassy of India, Peru, said, “Peru could be used by Indian investors as a gateway to the region. With the government of Peru planning to rebuild after last year’s devastating floods, there is a huge opportunity for Indian companies to invest in various sectors, including construction of roads, highways, ports and airports.” The sudden spurt in the trade figures is a result of Peru’s increase in export of commodities including gold, silver and copper, officials told FE. The LatAm nation is the world’s sixth largest producer of gold, second largest of sliver, and third largest of copper, tin, zinc and lead. Peru started exporting gold to India only in 2012, but imports from Lima seem to have increased within short span of time. In fact, to meet the rising demand of gold in India, three Indian investors have decided to invest in gold mines in Peru.
As reported earlier by FE, while India is working on a different model for pepping up economic relations with Peru, “The first round of discussions between the two sides had taken place in Lima last year. An FTA between the two countries is not going to happen soon, so the government has decided to work on a new, unique model, wherein the government has agreed to do single undertaking discussions on services investment and goods.” In 2015, Peru became the second largest exporter of table grapes — Red Globe variety — to India, a position it holds even today. These grapes are typically available in Indian supermarkets between December and April every year. Also, Indian importers have shown a growing interest in Peruvian avocados, leading to a steady increase in its consumption since 2016.
“Open trade barriers between the two countries provide Peru with a new and significant trade partner, because of which the economy is enjoying a surge,” said a statement issued by the Commercial Office of the Embassy of Peru. | bilateral trade between the two countries is at an all-time high of $1.57 billion. talks for the trade agreement between the two countries are scheduled to take place in march. sudden spurt in the trade figures is a result of Peru’s increase in export of commodities including gold, silver and copper. in 2015, Peru became the second largest exporter of table grapes — red globe variety — to India. | Positive |
https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/pending-investor-grievances-drop-16-till-fy18-end/1281721/ | Investor grievances pending with Sebi dropped by 16 per cent to nearly 3,800 at the end of 2017-18 with the markets regulator working on their expeditious disposal, according to a Sebi report. The number of pending actionable grievances stood at 4,476 as on March 31, 2017. According to the SCORES data, such complaints numbered at 3,771 as on March 31, 2018, registering a fall of 15.75 per cent from the year-ago period. Pending actionable grievances exclude the complaints against which regulatory action has been initiated. Also, there has been a 13-fold plunge in number of the pending grievances at the end of the previous fiscal in comparison to the conclusion of the financial year 2008-09, when the number stood at 49,113. “… the number of pending grievances has been steadily declining over the years due to expeditious disposal at the end of Sebi,” the report said.
Out of the pendency of 3,771 grievances, 3,124 are pending for less than six months. “Further, only 647 grievances are pending for more than six months as on March 31, 2018 as compared to 984 grievances being pending for more than six months as on March 31, 2017,” the report noted.
The Sebi Complaints Redressal System (SCORES) is a centralised web-based grievance remedial platform. It enables market intermediaries and listed companies to receive complaints online from investors, redress them and report redressal online. The regulator received 43,131 investor complaints during 2017-18, as against 40,000 in the previous fiscal, according to the report.
“The number of investor complaints received by Sebi on cumulative basis increased from 30,03,454 as on March 31, 2017 to 30,46,585 as on March 31, 2018,” the report said. Also, 43,308 complaints were redressed by Sebi during 2017-18, in comparison to 49,301 in 2016-17. Cumulatively, the number of redressed complaints stood at 29,19,690 till the end of 2017-18, while 28,76,382 grievances were taken care of till the conclusion of the previous fiscal. | investor grievances pending with Sebi dropped by 16 per cent to nearly 3,800 at the end of 2017-18. the number of pending actionable grievances numbered at 3,771 as on march 31, 2018, registering a fall of 15.75 per cent from the year-ago period. there has been a 13-fold plunge in number of the pending grievances at the end of the previous fiscal. | Positive |
https://www.businesstoday.in/technology/news/corning-unveils-next-generation-gorilla-glass---victus/story/410899.html | US-headquartered Corning, a leading name in the glass protection, has unveiled the next standard mobile glass protection - Victus. Used by all major smartphones OEM across the world, and addressing consumer demand for improved durability, the new Gorilla Glass Victus has significantly improved drop and scratch performance over the previous generation Gorilla Glass 6. Devices with Victus will be available in the second half of 2020, whereas Samsung will be the first customer to adopt Gorilla Glass Victus in the near future.
According to the company, in the lab tests, Gorilla Glass Victus achieved drop performance up to 2 meters when dropped onto hard, rough surfaces. It also surpassed Corning's own Gorilla Glass 6 with up to a 2X improvement in scratch resistance, which was used in all flagships of late 2019 and early 2020. Corning claims that the scratch resistance of Gorilla Glass Victus is up to 4X better than competitive aluminosilicate glasses.
Corning has analysed feedback from more than 90,000 consumers indicating the importance of drop and scratch performance has nearly doubled in seven years. In the top three largest smartphone markets in the world - China, India, and the United States - durability is one of the most important purchase considerations for smartphones, second only to the device brand. When tested against features such as screen size, camera quality, and device thinness, durability was twice as important, and consumers were willing to pay a premium for improved durability.
"Dropped phones can result in broken phones, but as we developed better glasses, phones survived more drops but also showed more visible scratches, which can impact the usability of devices. Instead of our historic approach of asking our technologists to focus on a single goal - making the glass better for either drop or scratch - we asked them to focus on improving both drop and scratch, and they delivered with Gorilla Glass Victus. Corning's extensive consumer research has shown that improved drop and scratch performance are key components of consumer purchasing decisions," said John Bayne, senior vice president and general manager, Mobile Consumer Electronics, Corning.
Built on more than a decade-long legacy of delivering tough glasses for smartphones, laptops, tablets, and wearables, Gorilla Glass Victus provides consumers and OEMs with significantly better drop and scratch performance compared to competitive aluminosilicate glasses from other manufacturers.
Over the last decade, Gorilla Glass has been designed into more than 8 billion devices by more than 45 major brands. | the new gorilla glass protection is called the gorilla glass Victus. it is used by all major smartphones OEMs across the world. the new glass will be available in the second half of 2020. the company claims that the scratch resistance of the glass is 4X better than competitive aluminosilicate glasses. the company has analysed feedback from more than 90,000 consumers. | Positive |
https://www.financialexpress.com/market/financials-bank-stocks-lead-nifty-bank-gaining-3-check-whats-contributing-to-sensexs-up-move-today/1973180/ | Extending gains from the previous session, BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 were trading nearly one per cent higher on Thursday mirroring the gains in Asian markets ahead of the expiry of futures and options contracts of May series. Sensex touched day’s high of 31,986, while the broader Nifty 50 index surpassed the 9,400-mark. Private bank stocks were the leading the rally today with index heavyweights such HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra and Axis Bank among the top index contributors. Among the top gainers were IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank. Larsen & Toubro (LT) and Kotak Mahindra Bank. The losers were led Infosys, ITC, TCS, HCL Tech and Tech Mahindra. The broader market, mid-caps and small-caps, were also trading higher, as their sectoral indices on BSE gained 0.94 per cent and 1.20 per cent, respectively.
“The markets opened above the crucial 9350 level and we need to hope it stays above those levels for a couple of trading sessions. If we are successful in doing that, the Nifty50 should attempt 9700 levels in the June series itself. The support range of the market has now been upgraded to 9000 – 9050 levels,” said Manish Hathiramani, proprietary index trader and technical analyst, Deen Dayal Investments.
Nifty Bank index top sectoral gainer: Nifty Bank index surged nearly 3 per cent in trade led by gains in IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, Bandhan Bank and RBL Bank. On the contrary, Nifty IT index was down over one per cent weighed down by Wipro, Infosys, HCL Tech and TCS.
Corporate earnings: Federal Bank, CEAT, Heidelbergcement India, Lupin, TVS Motors, IIFL Finance, Muthoot Capital Services, Radico Khaitan, Rain Industries, Tata Steel Long Products and Wendt (India) are among 24 companies are scheduled to announce their March quarter earnings.
Uflex shares jump 17%: Uflex share price surged 16.76 per cent to Rs 202.65 apiece on BSE in Thursday’s after the company in a press release said that it has developed a Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Coverall ‘Flex Protect’ in joint collaboration with lIT-Delhi and INMAS, DRDO, Delhi.
Global markets: In overnight trade on Wall Street, US stock market indices rose as the further easing of lockdowns lifted optimism for an economic recovery. The Dow Jones rose 2.2 per cent, the S&P 500 gained 1.48 per cent, and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.77 per cent.
FII and DII data: Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth Rs 334.74 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth Rs 2,408.85 crore on a net basis on Wednesday, according to the provisional data available on the NSE. | Sensex touched day’s high of 31,986, while the broader Nifty 50 index surpassed the 9,400-mark. private bank stocks were the leading the rally today with index heavyweights such as HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra and Axis Bank among the top index contributors. losers were led by infosys, ITC, TCS, HCL Tech and Tech Mahindra. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/expert-view/speciality-chemicals-to-be-next-pillar-of-indias-exports-varun-goel/articleshow/75032130.cms | Unlock Leadership Excellence with a Range of CXO Courses Offering College Course Website IIM Lucknow IIML Chief Executive Officer Programme Visit Indian School of Business ISB Chief Digital Officer Visit IIM Lucknow IIML Chief Marketing Officer Programme Visit
There is no denying the fact that the consumer demand in the short term is definitely going to be impacted. As far as the situation in the last one month is concerned, we have seen a significant impact on the demand especially on the discretionary side. As far as staples are concerned, maybe because people have been hoarding and now there is a lot of demand for food items and personal wash products, we are seeing a lot of sales there.But generally, this quarter is going to be extremely muted. Hopefully, if the coronavirus curve stabilises like we have been seeing some news flow for the last four to five days in the western part of the world, be it the UK and the US; if the situation continues to be that way in India, too, we should hope that the impact will be limited to this quarter and the second half onwards, we should start seeing a significant revival as far as consumer demand is concerned in line with what is happening in China.I think the biggest attraction for consumer companies at this point of time is the fact that there is no debt. Please keep in mind that any company which is under leverage now will see significant issues in terms of liquidity and we are going to face challenges going forward. So those companies which have cash rich balance sheets, have good clean corporate governance will continue to pay and as and when demand comes back, we will see these companies coming back very strongly.If you see today, chemicals is a $36 billion industry already and various studies show that in the next six to seven years, this can become a $100 billion opportunity. The biggest learning for the world in this coronavirus crisis is that it is not a good idea to concentrate all manufacturing in one country or one manufacturing location. We see a lot of business coming to India. It was already anyway coming in the last few years because of trade war issues. Our per capita cost in terms of labour is also lower than China; so business was anyway shifting and this will again accelerate going forward.So agrochemicals and APIs, pharma and a lot of consumer durables use a lot of chemicals. All these industries continue to show very good growth and as a result, we believe some of the speciality chemical companies should have a fairly long runway. Just to put things in perspective, despite a 30-year run now, IT today is a $100-110 billion export industry out of India. We missed the bus on semiconductors, we have missed the bus on electric vehicles but speciality chemicals would be that industry which should be the next great export pillar after the IT industry as far as India is concerned.There is no denying that as far as the financial industry is concerned, the next few quarters are going to be extremely challenging. With this current situation, people are going to find it very difficult to pay their installments and EMIs and term loans for the next one to two quarters. Those financial institutions and banks which have done unsecured lending are going to be impacted.For all others also, we are going to see some pressure in margins because we have to keep surplus liquidity. There would be an increase in NPAs. It is quite likely that all of them will see an increase in NPAs for this year. The growth will have to come down considering that environment is very challenging. The important thing to see is whether this slowdown is temporary or more longer term in nature. For some of these well-managed NBFCs and banks and even the small financial banks which have done good underwriting, which know their borrowers quite well, have good solid collateral against the loans that they have given out should see this as a more of one or two quarter problem.For those institutions which have done very aggressive lending in the last few years, we have seen things have really become very difficult in the last month or so and we could see more trouble going ahead. But it is very important that one goes with cautious careful management at this point of time and the industry as a whole might see a difficulty here in FY21.In various interactions that we had with our investors and distributors, one thing is very clear that this is a very news flow-based event in the sense that we do not know how the coronavirus problems will play out and how soon it can end. If it ends the way it has happened in China, things can come back to normal in a matter of one quarter. If it extends beyond that, things could be more difficult in the sense that the slowdown could be a little longer.So a lot of our clients and distributors are also taking a call that one needs to be cautious. So the best thing that we are seeing is that while we continue to see inflows, although the quantum has been reduced, they are staggering out the investments. What people are doing is looking to put 25-30-35% of their money to work right now considering the fact that we have seen a very-very significant correction of around 35% to 40%. We are seeing investors looking to build the portfolio in the next 9 to 12 months which we believe is the most prudent approach considering the fact that a lot of these uncertainties in the market will soon get addressed over the period of next six to nine months.With valuations being so attractive, these are great time to build the equity market portfolio for the next three to five years and that is what our investors are doing, which is to gradually put money to work; not go all in at this point of time but stagger out the investments over the next 9 to 12 months. | agrochemicals is a $36 billion industry already and in the next six to seven years, this can become a $100 billion opportunity. if the coronavirus curve stabilises, we should start seeing a significant revival as far as consumer demand is concerned. agrarian sanjay gupta: "we are seeing a lot of business coming to india. we are seeing a lot of business coming to our country" | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/ipos/fpos/rossari-biotech-plans-to-launch-rs-500-crore-ipo-next-week/articleshow/76817093.cms | New Delhi: After a lull of nearly four months, IPO market is likely to see some buzz next week with the launch of specialty chemicals manufacturer Rossari Biotech 's Rs 500-crore initial share-sale, market sources said.This would be the first company to brave the current volatile markets.There has been a lull in the IPO market since the initial share-sale of SBI Cards & Payment Services which closed on March 5. In fact, many companies that had received Sebi's go-ahead deferred their issue to a later date.Going by the draft papers, Rossari Biotech's IPO comprises fresh issuance of shares to the tune of Rs 150 crore and sale of more than 1 crore equity shares by the company's promoters through offer-for-sale route.It raised Rs 100 crore in a pre-IPO placement in March, sources said.The shares were offered at Rs 425 apiece and the IPO price is expected to be in the same range. At this price, the company will have a market capitalization of Rs 2,200 crore, they added.Net proceeds from the issue are proposed to be utilised for funding working capital requirements, repaying certain indebtedness availed by the company and for general corporate purposes.Axis Capital and ICICI Securities are the merchant bankers for the share-sale. The equity shares will be listed on National Stock Exchange (NSE) and Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).The company, which had filed its draft papers with Sebi in December 2019, received clearance from the regulator in February to launch the IPO.Rossari Biotech is a specialty chemicals manufacturing firm with focus on home and personal care, performance chemicals, textile specialty chemicals and animal health and nutrition products. Apart from India, it has operations in 17 countries including Vietnam, Bangladesh and Mauritius. | the company raised Rs 100 crore in a pre-IPO placement in march. the shares were offered at Rs 425 apiece and the IPO price is expected to be in the same range. the company has operations in 17 countries including Vietnam, Bangladesh and Mauritius. it has operations in 17 countries including. the united states,. pakistan,. pakistan,. pakistan,. egypt,. pakistan,. | Positive |
https://www.businesstoday.in/technology/news/online-training-platform-intellipaat-sees-25-percent-uptick-in-enrolment-since-covid19-outbreak/story/407693.html | With an uptake in online learning across age groups, IntelliPaat, an online professional training and certification platform, has registered a significant increase in the number of students enrolling for professional courses. Offering both paid as well as free courses, the company has witnessed a 25 per cent uptick in enrolments since the outbreak of COVID-19.
IntelliPaat has tied up with nearly 200 companies in India and is helping their employees' learn new skills. "During the COVID-19 pandemic, many new companies have expressed an interest in having their employees trained online by us. Recently, a leading financial player expressed an interest in having between 800 to 900 people trained by us. Some of the names include Nuance, McCormick, CommScope, etc," says Diwakar Chittora, Founder & CEO, IntelliPaat.
Available in over 55 countries, approximately 50 per cent of IntelliPaat learners are from India. "Within India, our students tend to be from Tier I cities like Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, and Mumbai. Most of our students come from these cities because IT companies have a massive presence in these regions," adds Chittora.
Some of the popular courses on the platform include data science, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, cloud computing and DevOps, digital marketing, and programming. In all, IntelliPaat provides training in over 150 courses in the mentioned technologies. IntelliPaat offers single courses, master courses, and PG courses. The duration of a single course is between 35 to 40 hours, a masters course duration is of 90 hours, and a PG course is nine months long. The platform expects students to commit six hours every week to attend instructor-led courses and an additional four hours each week to complete assignments.
"The Intellipaat Expert Classes has industry experts from top product and service companies deliver webinar sessions to learn new skills and provide guidance to young engineers to become high in demand software developers. We recently launched IntelliPaat, our free platform, and at the beginning of June, there were over 8,000 enrolments. The free platform has video lectures that are created by subject matter experts and students are awarded a certificate upon completion of the free courses as well," adds Chittora.
More than 500 employers are registered with Intellipaat. These companies regularly hire Intellipaat's students. "Within three months of completing their course, approximately 75 per cent of our students are employed in the area they studied or promoted internally to work in such roles," quantifies Chittora.
The company aims to raise capital and use it to hire people in marketing, launch new courses, and develop products. It will also focus on the enterprise side of the business and hire more people in every department. IntelliPaat aims to deeply penetrate in markets including India, the United States, and Canada, where they already exist and increase presence in tier 2 and tier 3 cities. | a 25 per cent increase in the number of students enrolling for professional courses. the company has tied up with nearly 200 companies in india. approximately 50 per cent of the learners are from india. the platform offers single courses, master courses, and PG courses. the course is free and students are awarded a certificate upon completion. a single course is between 35 to 40 hours, a masters course is of 90 hours, and a PG course is nine months long. | Positive |
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/markets/taking-stock-aap-sweeps-delhi-assembly-election-nifty-closes-above-12100-4932231.html | Bulls remained in control throughout the session on Tuesday pushing Sensex and Nifty50 above crucial resistance levels. The S&P BSE Sensex reclaimed 41,000, while the Nifty50 settled above 12100 levels.
On the political front, Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) returned to power with 63 seats ahead of BJP which claimed 7 seats.
Positive global cues helped benchmark indices reclaim key resistance levels, but selling pressure at higher levels suggest that lingering concerns around coronavirus will cap upside.
On the macro front, the D-Street would react to the macro data on IIP and CPI inflation which will be out post-market hours on Tuesday.
"Easing concerns over the coronavirus issue after the drop in fresh cases came as a breather for markets. Since the full impact of the virus issue still remains unknown the extended shutdown is expected to dent economic growth this quarter,” Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services Ltd told Moneycontrol.
“We expect the domestic market to stay focused on the last batch of Q3 numbers and CPI inflation for the month of January. As per the consensus, inflation is expected to remain elevated confirming the recent action by the central bank,” he said.
Let’s look at the final tally on D-Street – the S&P BSE Sensex rose 236 points to 41,216 while the Nifty50 closed with gains of 76 points at 12,107.
Sectorally, the action was seen in Power, Metals, Bankex, Energy, Healthcare, and Consumer Durables space while profit-taking was seen FMCG and telecom space.
Mixed performance was seen from the broader market space as the S&P BSE Midcap index rose 0.35 percent while the S&P BSE Smallcap index fell 0.18 percent.
Top Nifty gainers – NTPC, Bharti Infratel, JSW Steel, GAIL India
Top Nifty losers – BPCL, Nestle India, and Yes Bank
Stocks & Sectors:
Sectorally, the S&P BSE Utilities index rose 1.6 percent, followed by the S&P BSE Power which was up 1.5 percent, and the S&P BSE Metal index gained 0.92 percent.
Profit-taking was seen in the S&P BSE FMCG index which fell 0.25 percent, followed by the S&P BSE Telecom index was down 0.11 percent.
Volume spike of 100-800 percent was seen in Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Torrent Power, Glenmark Pharma,
Long Buildup was seen in stocks like Balkrishna Industries, OIL, Sun TV and Siemens.
Short Buildup was seen in stocks like NALCO, Godrej Consumer Products, Tata Global.
Stocks in news:
SBI rose 2 percent ahead of SEBI nod for the IPO of SBI Cards
Siemens closes with a gain of 1 percent after reporting margin above estimates. We saw volume spike of about 800 percent on Tuesday.
GAIL India share price rose almost 6 percent after the company posted better-than-expected numbers in the quarter ended December 2019.
Shares of Lakshmi Vilas Bank spiked almost 10 percent after a media report suggested that US fund house Tilden Park Capital Management has sounded out the Reserve Bank of India for buying a sizeable stake in the private sector bank.
Share price of National Aluminium Company (NALCO) fell 3 percent after the company posted a consolidated loss of Rs 33.90 for the quarter ended December 31, 2019.
Technical View:
Nifty formed a Grave Stone Doji kind of pattern on daily charts.
It closed below its 50-DMA placed at 12,120.
In the next trading session if the index trades below 12,099 levels then it can come under selling pressure which can eventually drag it down towards recent lows of 11,990.
If bulls manage to defend 12,099 levels then the sideways trend may prevail but a strong close above 12,170 is required for resumption of the up move towards 12,266 levels.
Traders are advised to wait for at least a strong close above 12,138 levels before initiating fresh longs whereas intraday traders shall consider a short side trade if Nifty remains below 12,099 levels suggest experts.
Three levels: 12099, 12172, 12200. | bulls remained in control throughout the session pushing Sensex and Nifty50 above crucial resistance levels. political front, arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) returned to power with 63 seats ahead of BJP which claimed 7 seats. on macro front, the D-Street would react to the macro data on IIP and CPI inflation which will be out post-market hours on Tuesday. | Positive |
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/companies/reliance-retail-silver-lake-deal-private-equity-giant-silver-lake-picks-1-75-stake-for-rs-7500-crore-in-reliance-retail-5815181.html | Private equity giant Silver Lake Partners will invest Rs 7,500 crore in the retail unit of India’s Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) in exchange for a 1.75 percent stake.
The investment values Reliance Retail at a pre-money equity value of Rs 4.21 lakh crore, RIL said in an exchange filing on September 9.
RIL, an oil-to-telecom conglomerate, is expanding its retail business and lining up a posse of global investors to take on rivals such as Amazon India and Walmart-owned Flipkart in India’s huge market.
The Reliance arm is India’s biggest brick-and-mortar retail business and its footprint spans across 11,806 retail stores in over 7,000 towns with 28.7 million sq ft of retail space. Reliance Retail, founded in 2006, said in end August that it would buy the retail and logistics businesses of Kishore Biyani’s Future Group in a deal valued at $3.38 billion, including debt.
Reliance Retail launched an online grocery service named JioMart in May and now sells a raft of items such as electronics, jewellery, apparel and vegetables, among others. It acquired British toy chain Hamleys last year, and also runs the outlets of global brands such as Burberry, Armani and Jimmy Choo, among others, in India.
RIL, controlled by India’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani, has raised more than $20 billion from a clutch of global investors including Facebook Inc by selling stakes in its Jio Platforms, its digital business. Silver Lake was the first US private equity firm to invest in Jio after the Facebook deal, pumping more than Rs 10,200 crore.
With the latest investment, Jio Platforms and Reliance Retail account for over Rs 9 lakh crore of RIL valuation.
The latest investment by Silver Lake, the world’s largest tech investor, in Reliance Retail underscores its clear belief that the RIL unit is set to lead a disruptive, technology led transformation of Indian retail sector particularly relevant in the post-pandemic India.
Silver Lake has a terrific track record of investing in some of the largest and successful tech companies globally such as Twitter, Airbnb, Alibaba, Dell Technologies, ANT Financials, Twitter, Alphabet’s Waymo and Verily, among others.
This investment is another strong endorsement of RIL’s tech and consumer business capabilities, disruptive business models and secular long-term growth potential. It further reaffirms RIL’s continuing attraction among global investors for best representing India’s vast tech-led growth potential, a deep understanding of the Indian markets, the rapid digitisation opportunity in the post-Covid world, and capabilities to bring cutting-edge technologies and tools such as AI, Blockchain, AR/VR, Big data into play for all Indians.
Commenting on the transaction with Silver Lake, Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director, Reliance Industries, said, “I am delighted to extend our relationship with Silver Lake to our transformational efforts of building an inclusive partnership with millions of small merchants while providing value to Indian consumers across the country in the Indian retail sector. We believe technology will be key to bringing the much-needed transformation in this sector so that various constituents of the retail ecosystem can collaborate to build inclusive growth platforms. Silver Lake will be an invaluable partner in implementing our vision for Indian Retail.”
Egon Durban, Co-CEO and Managing Partner of Silver Lake, said, “We are pleased to deepen our relationship with Reliance with this investment. Mukesh Ambani and his team at Reliance have created an outstanding world leader in retail and technology through their courageous vision, commitment to societal benefits, innovation excellence and relentless execution. The success of JioMart in such a short time span, especially while India, along with the rest of the world, battles the COVID-19 pandemic, is truly unprecedented, and the most exciting growth phase has just begun. Reliance’s New Commerce strategy could become the disruptor of this decade. We are thrilled to have been invited to partner with Reliance in their mission for Indian Retail.”
The transaction is subject to regulatory and other customary approvals.
Morgan Stanley acted as financial advisor to Reliance Retail and Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas and Davis Polk & Wardwell acted as legal counsels. Latham & Watkins and Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co acted as legal counsels for Silver Lake.
Reliance Retail Limited, a subsidiary of RRVL, operates India's largest, fastest growing and most profitable retail business serving close to 640 million footfalls across its ~12,000 stores nationwide.
Reliance Retail’s vision is to galvanize the Indian retail sector through an inclusive strategy serving millions of customers by empowering millions of farmers and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and working closely with global and domestic companies as a preferred partner, to deliver immense benefits to Indian society, while protecting and generating employment for millions of Indians.
Reliance Retail, through its New Commerce strategy, has started a transformational digitalization of small and unorganised merchants and is committed to expanding the network to over 20 million of these merchants, helping them benefit from the use of technology tools and efficient supply chain infrastructure to deliver a superior value proposition to their own customers.
Disclosure: Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd | silver lake will invest Rs 7,500 crore in the retail unit of india’s Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) in exchange for a 1.75 percent stake. the investment values the unit at a pre-money equity value of Rs 4.21 lakh crore. the company is expanding its retail business and lining up a posse of global investors to take on rivals such as amazon India and Walmart-owned Flipkart. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/mf/analysis/pharma-sectors-outlook-is-positive-for-the-next-3-5-years-sailesh-raj-bhan-of-reliance-mf/articleshow/65697613.cms | The pharma sector funds are among the top three mutual fund categories in the return chart in the last year. Reliance Pharma Fund is the topper among the pharma funds, with 32 per cent annual returns. Even though the pharma funds are offering great returns Sailesh Raj Bhan , fund manager, Reliance Pharma Fund, believes that valuations in the pharma space are still at a discount to comparable consumer staple businesses, which makes this space attractive for the long term. Edited Interview:Reliance Pharma Fund has been focused on buying leaders in each of the categories in the pharma space with a three to five-year investment horizon. During the difficult times of the US markets, the fund focused more on domestic leaders which were attractively valued with a strong long-term potential. This segment of the market was at 30-40 per cent discount to leading consumer companies, while it had all the advantages of a consumer business and hence was attractive to invest in. Over the last six months, with US business showing early signs of stability, the fund last year added to exposures in the space enabling the performance. Hence following the investment framework of growth at a reasonable valuations at all times has worked well for Reliance Pharma Fund.The big challenges of the last three years – US FDA plant-related issues at many companies, US pricing pressure, rising R&D spends and GST related issues impacted earnings growth and it was a perfect storm for the sector. However, most of these challenges are showing signs of improvement and stability. US plant issues have seen more resolutions in the last 12 months, US pricing pressure which had worsened considerably is now showing early signs of stability, cost measures to improve R&D productivity and lower general costs are underway in the industry and growth in domestic market is back to its potential of double digit. Hence, most of the one-off issues are getting sorted out, while the challenge of faster growth in the US remains.The Indian Pharma industry has decades of growth ahead. On the domestic front, there is significant under penetration of pharmaceuticals, especially in chronic therapy and a huge unmet need. New initiatives like Ayushman Bharat, rising health insurance, expansion of diagnostic networks and increased awareness will lead a growth in the sector in the long term.The domestic opportunity is significantly underpenetrated with India having a huge burden of chronic diseases. Given the huge unmet need, it creates an attractive opportunity for businesses who provide solutions to the chronic needs of the population. Global and Indian leaders in domestic pharma space hence have a multi-year growth opportunity with strong profitability, which should have positive impact on investors in this space. Interestingly, the valuations in this space are still at discount to comparable consumer staple businesses, which makes this space attractive for the long term.Full earnings cycle revival would start getting visible over the next 12-18 months for companies in the US space, while the domestic recovery has been strong and its benefits on earnings are already there. The R&D investments which are significant can start paying off in the next three years especially on the speciality space in the US, which will provide one more lever for growth over the medium term. Hence the outlook for the sector is positive from the next three- to five-year point of view.Like any sector strategy, investors should take a long term view of investments. The sector has strong long-term potential, given India’s cost and scale advantages. The pharma sector in India is perhaps the most globally competitive sector out of India, it sells products in over 100 countries, and services huge unmet domestic needs. Hence it is an attractive opportunity to participate in for long-term investors. | pharma sector funds are among the top three mutual fund categories in the return chart in the last year. Reliance Pharma Fund is the topper among the pharma funds, with 32 per cent annual returns. despite the pharma funds offering great returns, valuations in the pharma space are still at a discount to comparable consumer staple businesses. the fund has been focused on buying leaders in each of the categories in the pharma space with a three to five-year investment horizon. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/recos/neutral-on-havells-india-target-price-rs-515-motilal-oswalnbsp/articleshow/76400007.cms | Motilal Oswal has given a neutral rating to Havells India with a target price of Rs 515. The share price moved up by 1.56 per cent from its previous close of Rs 541.55. The last traded stock price is Rs 550.According to the brokerage, compared with peers, Havells has always focused on higher in-house manufacturing content. In its core portfolio, the company manufactures more than 90 per cent of products in-house against 20– 50 per cent for peers, making it one of the best ‘Make in India’ examples. The company is adopting the same philosophy toward the Lloyd business as well. The new AC plant, now operational, is a state-of-the-art facility, featuring the best manufacturing processes that showcase the Industry 4.0 philosophy.Under the ‘Rural – Vistaar’ initiative, the company added 1,700 rural distributors, covering 18,000 outlets. Havells now has direct reach in 2,000+ rural towns, with a numerical reach of more than 21,000 outlets. The plan is to reach 3,000+ towns in the next 18 monthsAccording to the brokerage, Havells would continue to focus on brand building, growing the portfolio through R&D, and expanding the distribution network, with a key focus on the semi-urban and rural markets . It seeks to maintain a lean balance sheet accommodating growth and acquisitions. It expects FDI inflows to increase, opening up multiple opportunities for Havells for strategic partnerships.Source: MOFSLThe brokerage forecasts FY20–22E revenue/EBITDA/PAT growth of 6 per cent/9 per cent/5 per cent as FY21 is expected to be a washout. Note that the brokerage estimate of adjusted PAT growth is lower than EBITDA growth as tax rates should normalize to 25.2 per cent from 18.7 per cent in FY20. The brokerage maintains a neutral rating with target price of Rs 515 as it waits for a better entry point in the stock.For the quarter ended March 31, 2020, the company reported consolidated sales of Rs 2217.44 crore, down -2.46 per cent from last quarter sales of Rs 2273.29 crore and down -19.51 per cent from last year's same quarter sales of Rs 2754.77 crore. The company reported net profit after tax of Rs 177.73 crore in the latest quarter.Promoters held 59.52 per cent stake in the company as of March 31, 2020, while FIIs held 23.04 per cent, DIIs 8.5 per cent and public and other 8.94 per cent. | havells India manufactures 90% of its products in-house. company is one of the best 'Make in India' examples. company has direct reach in 2,000+ rural towns. has a numerical reach of more than 21,000 outlets. brokerage forecasts FY20–22E revenue/EBITDA/PAT growth of 6 per cent/9 per cent/5 per cent as FY21 is expected to be a washout. | Positive |
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/markets/fiis-bet-big-on-india-raise-stake-in-over-350-cos-in-q1-cy18-do-you-own-any-2554469.html | The big theme emerging from the latest Sebi data on FII shareholding pattern is the small- and mid-cap stocks cementing their place in the portfolios of the foreign institutional investors. Initially, FIIs invested only in quality large-caps. But as market matures, stocks are discovered and search for growth continues, foreign investors are now turning their attention to small- and mid-cap stocks related to the economy or theme India.
Foreign investors net bought Rs 15,000 crore of Indian equities in the first three months of 2018, and raised their holdings in 364 companies, according to Sebi’s April 17 data. As per BSe data, share prices of some of the stocks in which FIIs raised their stakes almost doubled in the three-months ending March.
DK Aggarwal, Chairman and Managing Director, SMC Investments & Advisors, advises caution. “There may be cases where FIIs might have turned positive on economy related stocks, but we need to look at the quantum of FII shareholding in companies. At times, we see FII holding is increasing, but this is not enough. One should also look at whether FIIs hold significant share in the floating shareholding (other than promoter). Sometimes, the stock also runs up because of low liquidity factors.”
Stocks which delivered 40-100 per cent return in which FIIs raised stakes include names like Excel Industries, Omax Autos, Infinite Computer Solutions, Vishal Fabrics, Asian Hotels North, Godawari Power and Ispat, Shakti Pumps India, Venky’s (India), Nelco, among others.
Ritesh Ashar, Chief Strategy Officer, KIFS Trade Capital, said the consumption sector is a reflection of economic growth and remains a key sector with immense potential.
“This space is vast and includes categories like cement, auto, personal care and power. The rural economy is strengthening since last year’s normal monsoon. There will be great consumption demand in times to come. If the monsoon predictions are accurate, the agricultural sector is set for a boost. Moreover, sectors like fast moving consumer goods, auto, fertilisers and cement are likely to get a boost,” he said.
Fertiliser companies like National Fertilizers, Zuari Agro Chemicals and Nagarjuna Fertilizers and Chemicals saw an increase in FII stake in the March quarter. Nearly 40 companies saw the FIIs more than doubling their stakes in them. Godawari Power & Ispat saw an increase of over 8,000 per cent. This was followed by Poddar Pigments in which FII stake rose by 1,975 per cent. Gravita India witnessed an over 600 per cent rise in FII stake, according to Sebi’s April 17 data.
In the pharmaceutical sector, a huge consolidation has taken place over the years. Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company saw an increase in FII stake to 6.98 per cent from 6.7 per cent in the previous quarter. Firms in which FIIs raised their stake but saw double-digit share price cuts include Hindustan Copper, Lovable Lingerie, Anant Raj, Titagarh Wagons, PTC India Financial Services, PC Jeweller, Reliance Communications, Jaiprakash Power Ventures and Vakrangee.
About 250 stocks have given negative returns in the quarter under review but FIIs used this selling to buy into names such as Vakrangee, Jaiprakash Power Ventures, Reliance Communications, PC Jewellers, Titagarh Wagons among others.
But the billion dollar question is whether these stocks are value buys at current levels. “Many times, big investors have some information or insight on the future of companies because of which they increase their ownership in anticipation of gains," DK Aggarwal, Chairman and MD, SMC Investments & Advisors, said.
He added that these investors tend to make a fraction of their investment in companies that are in a bad shape but are near to some resolution. “Some of the companies that you are talking about are there in the National Company Law Tribunal and any positive outcome may result in windfall gains.”
Are these stocks value buys at current levels?
Are all stocks in which FIIs have raised stake be considered value buys? May be not. Experts feel investors should do their own research before buying based on FII outlook. “We do not think of these names as value buys, although some of these increased allocations can be definitely given a thought. Stocks like HDFC Standard Life Insurance, Venkys and Excel Group companies can be considered attractive buys,” said Pritam Deuskar, Fund Manager at Bonanza Portfolio.
He likes HDFC Standard Life Insurance as it is the most trusted brand after Life Insurance Corporation and is increasing its market share. On his buy rationale for Venky’s, he said: “The company has already proved its mettle. Demand for chicken continues to grow at 15-18 per cent per annum and Venky’s is well equipped to cater to this growing demand.”
Deuskar added that fertilisers and rural consumption stocks are worth looking at. “As monsoons are expected to be normal, subsidies will reduce. The government’s emphasis on increasing the minimum support price of farm produce will also boost rural income.”
Ashar of KIFS Trade Capital is betting on Titagarh Wagons and PC Jewellers as value buys after the recent correction.
Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by the investment expert on moneycontrol.com are their own and not that of the website or its management. moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking an investment decision. | foreign investors net bought Rs 15,000 crore of Indian equities in the first three months of 2018 and raised their holdings in 364 companies. some of the stocks in which FIIs raised their stakes almost doubled in the three-months ending March. if the monsoon predictions are accurate, the agricultural sector is set for a boost. | Positive |
https://www.businesstoday.in/current/economy-politics/india-clocked-10-per-cent-growth-under-manmohan-singh-tenure-nda-panel/story/281401.html | Indian economy clocked a 10.08 per cent growth rate in 2006-07 under the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the highest since liberalisation of the economy in 1991, according to an official data.
The highest ever growth rate since Independence was recorded at 10.2 per cent in 1988-89 when Rajiv Gandhi was prime minister.
The back series data on GDP has been prepared by the Committee on Real Sector Statistics, constituted by the National Statistical Commission. The report has been released on the website of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI).
The report compares growth rates between old series (2004-05) and new series based on 2011-12 prices.
As per the old series (2004-05), the expansion in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at constant prices was 9.57 per cent during 2006-07, when Manmohan Singh was Prime Minister. As per the new series (2011-12), the growth number stands revised at 10.08 per cent.
This is the highest growth rate recorded by the country after launch of the economic liberalisation programme launched by then Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao.
"The GDP backseries data is finally out. It proves that like-for-like, the economy under both UPA terms (10 year avg: 8.1%) outperformed the Modi Govt (Avg 7.3%), the Congress party said in a tweet.
"The UPA also delivered the ONLY instance of double digit annual growth in modern Indian history," it said.
The GDP numbers for the later years too have been revised upwards, according to the report.
The National Statistics Commission had set up the Committee to recommend suitable measures to strengthen systems and processes for collection, collation and dissemination of these statistics with possibility for improving timeliness. | india's economy clocked 10.08 per cent growth rate in 2006-07 under then Prime Minister. this is the highest growth rate since liberalisation of the economy in 1991. the highest growth rate since independence was recorded in 1988-89. the back series data on GDP has been prepared by the committee on real sector statistics. back series data has been released on the website of the ministry of statistics and programme implementation. | Positive |
https://www.financialexpress.com/market/ril-sbi-cards-hul-sbi-cards-and-payment-services-q4-earnings-icici-securities-gsk-no-longer-hold-any-hul-shares-reliance-industries-reliance-jio-stake-sale/1952003/ | In-line with Asian peers, Indian stock markets gained 2 per cent in Friday’s opening session. The rally was led by firm global cues, Rs 19,000 crore inflows from FPIs on the previous day and reopening of various manufacturing plants to revive the economy battered by the fast-spreading coronavirus. In the morning session BSE Sensex reclaimed 32,000-mark while Nifty 50 was trading near its crucial 9,400. On Thursday, Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth Rs 19,056.49 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), too, bought shares worth Rs 3,818.41 crore on net basis, according to the data available on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).
Reliance Industries (RIL): Mukesh Ambani led company announced that US-based technology firm Vista Equity will invest Rs 11,367 crore in Jio Platforms for a 2.32 per cent equity stake. This is the third investment announcement by the company in less than three weeks. The investment by Vista Equity Partners in Reliance Jio values Jio Platforms at an equity value of Rs 4.91 lakh crore and an enterprise value of Rs 5.16 lakh crore. RIL (Reliance Industries) share price gained 2.64 per cent at Rs 1547 apiece on BSE in the opening session.
SBI Cards and Payment Services: SBI Cards and Payment Services share price was trading 1.41 per cent higher at Rs 581.90 ahead of its March quarter results. Reliance Power, Reliance Infrastructure, Reliance Home Finance and Reliance Capital are among other companies set to announce their quarter earnings today.
Tata Motors: Tata Motors has decided to withdraw the issue for private placement of unsecured non-convertible debentures (NCD) in view of the higher cost expectations from the market participants due to the tight money market conditions. Tata Motors shares were trading nearly 2 per cent higher at 84.10 apiece on BSE.
Hindustan Unilever: GlaxoSmithKline Pte Limited and Horlicks Limited agreed to the sale of 133,772,044 ordinary shares in HUL at a volume-weighted average price of approximately Rs. 1,905 per share. Following settlement of the sale, GSK will no longer hold any HUL shares, GSK said in a filing. GSK has offloaded its 5.7 per cent stake in Hindustan Unilever for around Rs 25,480 crore. HUL shares gained over 3 per cent to trade at Rs 2,057.95 per equity share.
ICICI Securities: ICICI Securities reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 156 crore in the March quarter, up 28 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y). The company reported consolidated revenue of Rs 482 crore in the quarter ended on March 31. ICICI Securities share price jumped 7.16 per cent to Rs 403.95. | rally was led by firm global cues, Rs 19,000 crore inflows from FPIs. reopening of various manufacturing plants to revive economy battered by coronavirus. foreign institutional investors bought shares worth Rs 19,056.49 crore. domestic institutional investors bought shares worth Rs 3,818.41 crore. sbi cards and payment services shares were trading nearly 2% higher at 84.10 apiece on BSE. | Positive |
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/markets/bear-rally-turns-stronger-amid-stimulus-hope-of-economy-reopening-but-market-could-be-rangebound-5160531.html | Vinod Nair
The bear rally is getting extended given the positive trend in the global market in expectation of further large stimulus package to be announced by Federal Reserve leading to reduction in selling by foreign institutional investors (FIIs).
This will limit the downside risk of the global equity market. At the same time, domestic market was gearing up for the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) monetary measures to support the financial market with additional set of cheap long-term loans for banks and non-banking financial companies (NBFC) via rate cut and long term repo operations (LTRO).
The domestic market is also positive in anticipation of second fiscal package to be announced by the Indian government soon. This time it is viewed that this package will be larger than Rs 1.7 lakh crore announced in March, which focused on providing free food, cash in hand and job safety for the below poverty line (BPL) section.
This time it may provide some tax benefits, support to medium and small enterprises (MSMEs), farmers and daily workers. Though no specific benefit is expected for corporates, the government's intention to relax economic restrictions and open the economy in a phase wise manner itself will provide a boost to the market.
As a result, we have been publishing positive view on domestic oriented stocks and sector with outperformance rating, especially for stocks with low debt/equity, strong reserves and brand name. Sectors which can do well could be FMCG, Staples, Chemicals, Pharma, Healthcare, large private banks, Agriculture and e-commerce.
The market has rallied well in the past three weeks, Nifty50 has moved up by 22 percent from four-year low of 7,610 dated March 23 to 9,266 on April 17. The sustainability of trend will depend on the probability and time of opening the economy. Today market hopes that economy will revert by July. The recent spurt of virus cases in domestic and continuity in rest of the world is a point of concern for the market.
Nifty50 is likely to trade in a broad range of 8,500 to 9,500 in the near-term. We suggest accumulation as a good strategy for the next two to three months, based on a best-case analysis that Q1FY21 will be the worst period for the domestic economy. If we have a successful lockdown we will see improvement in the economy on a quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) basis.
The Q4 earnings season has started, we can expect mixed results with negative bias. Sales and profitability of the broad market will have limited impact from 10-day lockdown while full impact will be during Q1FY21. But due to supply chain issue in China and rest of the world during January to March some sectors will be highly impacted like Auto, Metals, Oil & Gas, Pharma, Consumer Durables and Chemical.
Nevertheless, Q4 number may not be very important for the market since it has factored in poor earnings of Q4FY20 and Q1FY21. It will focus to know what is the implication going forward, like is the outlook for Q2FY21 sustainable and what will be the changes in public preferences? The stimulus announced in the world will be able to sustain the economic outlook going forward, if we will be able to overcome the health crisis by the end of Q1FY21.
The author is Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment expert on Moneycontrol.com are his own and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions. | market is positive in expectation of further large stimulus package to be announced. domestic market is also positive in anticipation of second fiscal package. today market hopes that economy will revert by July. nifty50 is likely to trade in a broad range of 8,500 to 9,500 in the near-term. if we have a successful lockdown we will see improvement in the economy on a quarter-on-quarter basis. | Positive |
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/economy/infra-funding-requirement-pegged-at-rs-111-lakh-crore-during-2020-25-finance-ministry-5203991.html | Since the lockdown rules have lifted significantly, I’m sure a lot of you are itching to go out on a road trip. If you’re in the market looking for something that will help ferry the entire family, here’s a list we think could make that choice easier.
To augment infrastructure and create jobs in the country, a government task force has projected total investment of Rs 111 lakh crore in infra projects over five years, the Finance Ministry said on Wednesday.
The final report of the task force on National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) for 2019-2025 presented to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman suggested steps like deepening bond markets, setting up of development financial institutions and land monetisation to meet the funding needs, the ministry said in a statement.
The task force was set up following Prime Minister Narendra Modi Independence Day speech of 2019 where he alluded to an investment of Rs 100 lakh crore in infrastructure.
"For the development of modern infrastructure, an amount of Rs 100 lakh crore has been earmarked for this period which will create new job opportunities besides improving the living standards," Modi had said.
Headed by Economic Affairs Secretary Atanu Chakraborty, the task force in its final report has suggested setting up for three committees for monitoring, implementation and funding of infrastructure projects.
The task force in its initial report released in December had projected investment of Rs 102 lakh crore in various projects to be implemented in the next five years.
The final report of NIP Task Force is projecting total infrastructure investment of Rs 111 lakh crore during the period FY 2020-25 in light of additional/amended data provided by Central Ministries/State Governments since the release of summary NIP Report, it said.
"Out of the total expected capital expenditure of Rs 111 lakh crore, projects worth Rs 44 lakh crore (40 per cent of NIP) are under implementation, projects worth Rs 33 lakh crore (30 per cent) are at conceptual stage and projects worth Rs 22 lakh crore (20 per cent) are under development Information regarding project stage is unavailable for projects worth Rs 11 lakh crore (10 per cent)," it said.
Sectors such as energy (24 per cent), roads (18 per cent), urban (17 per cent) and railways (12 per cent) amount to around 71 per cent of the projected infrastructure investments in India, it said.
The Centre (39 per cent) and States (40 per cent) are expected to have an almost equal share in implementing the NIP in India, followed by the private sector (21 per cent), it said.
"The final report identifies and highlights recent infrastructure trends in India as well as global in all sectors of infrastructure. It also captures sector progress, deficits and challenges. In addition to updating existing sectoral policies, the Final Report also identifies and highlights a set of reforms to scale up and propel infrastructure investments in various sectors throughout the country," it said.
NIP is a first-of-its-kind, whole-of-government exercise to provide world-class infrastructure across the country and improve the quality of life for all citizens.
It aims to improve project preparation, attract investments (both domestic and foreign) into infrastructure, and will be crucial for the target of becoming a USD 5 trillion economy by FY 2025, it said.
The report also has suggested ways and means of financing the NIP through deepening Corporate Bond markets, including those of Municipal Bonds, setting up Development Financial Institutions for the infrastructure sector, accelerating Monetisation of Infrastructure Assets, Land monetisation, etc, it said.
It further said, while basic monitoring will vest with the Finance Ministry and project agency, there is a need for a higher level of monitoring on reforms to be undertaken and to deal with issues of stalled projects.
The NIP project database would be hosted on India Investment Grid (IIG) shortly to provide visibility to the NIP and help in its financing with prospective investors; domestic and foreign, able to access updated project-level information, it said.
Each line Ministry/State would further add new projects and update their respective project details at pre-defined time intervals so that updated data is available to prospective investors, it added.
The NIP has been made on a best effort basis by aggregating the information provided by various stakeholders including line ministries, departments, state governments and private sector across infrastructure sub-sectors identified in the Harmonised Master List of Infrastructure.
To draw up the NIP, a bottom-up approach was adopted wherein all projects (Greenfield or Brownfield, Under Implementation or under conceptualisation) costing greater than Rs 100 crore per project were sought to be captured, it said.
As per the draft report projects worth Rs 19.5 lakh crore to be implemented during the current fiscal, followed by Rs 19 lakh crore in 2021-22. In the remaining three years, it would be Rs 13.8 lakh crore during 2022-23, Rs 12.8 lakh crore in 2023-24 while Rs 11.1 lakh crore in the terminal year of 2024-25.
On the financing, the Finance Minister in December had said, the government will look at deepening of the debt market and alternative investment funds which will provide the bulk of the debt financing necessary for this.
"We are looking at various steps to reform the PPP based contracts which have to be implemented. Dispute resolution related, enforcement of contracts which is a very critical component, all this is also being looked at when we're talking about reforming the entire process as per the suggestion was given by various sub-groups under the task force," she had said.
She also announced that the first edition of Annual Global Investors'' Meet will be held in the second half of the coming year to meet investors at a single platform.
Follow our full coverage of the coronavirus pandemic here. | government task force has projected total investment of Rs 111 lakh crore in infra projects. government suggested steps like deepening bond markets and setting up of development financial institutions. a total of Rs 100 lakh crore has been earmarked for this period which will create new job opportunities. the final report of the task force suggests setting up for three committees for monitoring, implementation and funding of infrastructure projects. | Positive |
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/markets/a-morning-walk-down-dalal-street-market-teeming-with-positive-sentiment-but-consolidation-likely-in-coming-sessions-4466551.html | live bse live
nse live Volume Todays L/H More ×
Key benchmark indices surged for the second straight session on September 23 as investor risk appetite was rekindled after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman delivered a cut in corporate tax rates which would boost corporate earnings significantly.
Both key indices, Sensex and Nifty jumped over 8 percent in the last two sessions.
Strong gains of the last two sessions have made investors richer by Rs 10.35 lakh crore as the cumulative market capitalisation of BSE listed firms jumped to Rs 1,48,89,652.44 crore from Rs 1,38,54,439.41 crore on September 19. On September 23 alone, investors' wealth increased by Rs 3.52 lakh crore.
The recent measures by the government, including the reduction in corporate tax rate, the abolition of enhanced tax surcharge and updated norms of FDI and CSR spending, are seen as long-term positives by most foreign brokerages.
Morgan Stanley has raised the target for Sensex to 45,000 by June 2020, saying that it sees green shoots in the offing.
Citi has raised March 2020 target for Sensex to 40,500 from 39,000. Goldman Sachs has raised Nifty50 target to 13,000 from 12,500 while JP Morgan has raised Nifty's target to 12,200. Nomura has also raised March 2020 Nifty target to 12,545.
While the market is riding the wave of positivity, analysts state that there is a risk of consolidation as well.
"The Indian market is trading near peak valuations so we would remain cautious on the markets and expect it to consolidate in the near term. However, the recent announcements made by the FM are definitely positive for the Indian economy from a long-term perspective. Hence, investors should focus on accumulating fundamentally sound stocks," said Ajit Mishra, Vice President - Research at Religare Broking.
The Indian rupee erased the day's losses to settle almost flat at 70.93 against the US dollar on September 23.
On the institutional front, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth Rs 2,684.05 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) too bought Rs 291.95 crore worth of shares in the Indian equity market on September 23, as per provisional data available on the NSE.
Big News: Tax cut gives a new lease of life to banking, financials
Banking and financials emerged as the biggest sectoral gainers in two consecutive sessions ending September 23 as the sector could benefit the most from corporate tax cuts.
"This clearly benefits domestic banks, NBFCs and rating agencies. Banks in the higher tax bracket, such as HDFC Bank, SBI, Kotak Mahindra Bank, DCB Bank, Federal Bank, and RBL Bank, will gain due to the move," Joindre Capital Services said.
Prabhudas Lilladher retained its overweight rating on NBFC and increased the weightage on Bajaj Finance.
"Bajaj Finance is expected to be one of the key beneficiaries of the anticipated demand recovery in the festive season, bountiful monsoons and improving operating leverage. BAF continues to maintain an edge over others owing to less than 2 percent GNPA and 65-70 percent provision coverage ratio across cycles, 40 percent positive ALM gap in short maturity buckets and diversified liability mix," the brokerage explained.
Technical View:
Nifty formed a bullish candle which resembles a Spinning Top kind of pattern on daily charts on September 23 as the difference between opening and closing price was only one-fifth of today's gains.
Spinning top is often regarded as a neutral pattern that suggests indecisiveness in the market. It can be formed in an uptrend as well as a downtrend.
Experts feel the consolidation is likely in coming sessions especially after solid rally was seen in the previous two consecutive sessions, hence traders are advised to avoid taking fresh longs.
Three levels of Nifty:
Intraday low- 11,471.3 | Intraday high- 11,694.8 | 200-DMA- 11,234
Max Call OI: 11,600, 11,700
Max Put OI: 11,500, 11,400
Stocks in news:
Wipro: The company collaborated with FEBRABAN to develop noomis, an online platform for the financial services industry in Brazil.
Manappuram Finance: The board of the company has approved raising upto Rs 465 crore via NCDs.
Indosolar: Promoter IDBI Capital has cut stake to 0.88 percent from 2.88 percent.
NCC: Promoter released a pledge on 1 lakh shares (0.02 percent equity) on September 17.
Zensar Technologies: The company has expanded operations in Cape Town, South Africa.
Technical Recommendations:
We spoke to Rajesh Palviya, Head- Technical & Derivatives Research at Axis Securities and here’s what he has to recommend:
Siemens: Buy | LTP: Rs 1,445.10 | Target: Rs 1,490-1,530 | Stop Loss: Rs 1,350
State Bank of India: Buy | LTP: Rs 313.60 | Target: Rs 335-345 | Stop Loss: Rs 295
IGL: Buy | LTP: Rs 354.80 | Target: Rs 385-395 | Stop loss: Rs 335
(Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment expert on Moneycontrol.com are his own and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.) | both key benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty jumped over 8 percent in the last two sessions. strong gains of the last two sessions have made investors richer by Rs 10.35 lakh crore. the cumulative market capitalisation of BSE listed firms jumped to Rs 1,48,89,652.44 crore from Rs 1,38,54,439.41 crore on September 19. | Positive |
https://www.livemint.com/Companies/5Ss3dgoyztrUXS72xVEu3L/Aramco-eyes-bigger-market-share-in-Asia-ahead-of-possible-Op.html | Dhahran, Saudi Arabia: Saudi Aramco will expand its market share in Asia despite likely OPEC limits on output next year, and is eyeing deals in China and Africa as it aims to become a global leader in chemicals, the head of the world’s top oil producer said on Monday.
Amin Nasser, chief executive of the state oil giant, told Reuters that his company would abide by any OPEC agreement to cut crude production in 2019, less than two weeks before the exporter group meets to decide output policy.
But he added that he still sees growth opportunities in Asia - identifying China, India, Malaysia and Indonesia - and will push ahead with refining ventures to guarantee new outlets for Aramco’s crude.
“We are always going to be attempting to expand our market share but at the same time the company is obliged to meet any agreement by OPEC," Nasser said in an interview in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.
“Asia is a very important market for us. We are looking at two potential JVs (joint ventures) for refineries in China right now ... We continue to expand our market share in different markets.
“We are looking at India, we are looking at Malaysia, we are looking at Indonesia, we are looking at China. All these markets are very important to us. And other markets as well, even in Africa," he added.
Aramco said last week it would sign five crude oil supply agreements with Chinese customers, taking its supply to China to a record-high 1.67 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2019.
Nasser did not explain how Aramco would meet that higher demand if the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, of which Saudi Arabia is the de facto leader, decided to restrict production next year.
Asked whether the company planned to reduce crude exports to the United States as inventories there increase, he said: “All markets are important for us. Asia is the biggest market for sure, then Europe and the U.S."
Nasser added that plans to expand the company’s Motiva refinery in the United States and move into petrochemical production at that plant were going ahead as scheduled.
OPEC meets in Vienna on Dec. 6, amid expectations that Saudi Arabia will push for a production cut of up to 1.4 million bpd by the producer club and its allies to prop up sagging oil prices.
Benchmark Brent crude was trading near $60 a barrel on Monday, clawing back some losses after plunging nearly 8 percent the previous session amid fears of a supply glut.
Saudi Arabia’s crude production has hit an all-time high in November of about 11.1-11.3 million bpd, an industry source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday.
Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said earlier this month that Aramco would ship less crude in December compared to November due to lower seasonal demand.
A chemical leader
Aramco aims to become a global leader in chemicals and the world’s largest integrated energy firm, with plans to expand its refining operations and petrochemical output.
The company plans to raise its total refining capacity - inside the kingdom and abroad - to 8-10 million bpd from around 5.4 million bpd now, Nasser said.
“We are the industry leader when it comes to upstream oil and gas. But when it comes to downstream, even though we have a big position in refining ... our ambition is much bigger, we are looking at 8-10 million bpd in refining," he said.
“Chemicals is a major area for expansion. We are going to be the global leader when it comes to chemicals."
To get there, Aramco is embarking on the possible acquisition of a strategic stake in Saudi Arabia’s SABIC, the world’s fourth-largest petrochemicals maker.
Nasser said he hoped to finalise talks “soon" with the Public Investment Fund to buy the sovereign wealth fund’s stake in SABIC.
“We are doing partly the due diligence and the negotiations at the same time. These things take time," he said.
“And then if we are able to conclude the negotiations, still there is the process of antitrust in different countries and that also takes some time. We did not put a timeframe that we need to have but we are hoping to have it soon."
Aramco aims to allocate some 2-3 million bpd of its crude production to petrochemicals, Nasser said.
(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)
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Topics | amin Nasser said his company would abide by any OPEC agreement to cut crude production in 2019. but he added that he still sees growth opportunities in Asia - identifying China, India, Malaysia and Indonesia. he said he is looking at two potential JVs (joint ventures) for refineries in china right now. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/company/corporate-trends/puma-india-elevates-india-md-abhishek-ganguly-to-general-manager-se-asia-and-india/articleshow/74462698.cms | Empower Your Corporate Journey with Strategic Skill Courses Offering College Course Website Indian School of Business ISB Venture Capital and Private Equity Program Visit Indian School of Business ISB Leadership in AI Visit Indian School of Business ISB Chief Technology Officer Visit
German sportswear brand Puma on Tuesday elevated the company’s current India managing director, Abhishek Ganguly, to general manager-Southeast Asia & India. With this change in role, Ganguly will take on additional responsibility of overseeing 11 key markets in Southeast Asia including Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore and Philippines.In a letter to the brand’s business partners, Bjorn Gulden, global CEO of Puma SE, announced Ganguly’s elevation in the company adding that that he will continue to work out of Puma’s India head office in Bengaluru.This move makes Ganguly the first India-based manager to get a large global portfolio. As MD for Puma India , Ganguly was responsible for India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan until now. Ganguly had joined Puma’s founding team in 2006 as director-sales and marketing.The organisational communication by Gulden also mentioned that the sportswear maker’s Southeast Asia operations will now be part of its larger EEMEA (Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa region) business region.“The Puma board has decided that the area Puma Southeast Asia will become part of the region EEMA which is led by our general manager Arne Freundt. This ensures that the area gets the required focus and attention that is needed to support the strong growth and also ensures seamless front-and-back end responsibilities,” Gulden said in the letter.For FY-19, Puma India reported a total income of Rs 1413 crore, up 23% from the same period a year ago. The sportswear retailer competes with Adidas Reebok and Nike . In India, Puma operates through a single brand foreign direct investment route.About 77% of the brand’s India business comes from offline and 50% of which comes from its exclusive stores. Puma has celebrities like Virat Kohli, Sara Ali Khan and Mary Kom as its brand ambassadors. | abhishek Ganguly will take on additional responsibility of overseeing 11 key markets in Southeast Asia including Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore and Philippines. Ganguly had joined Puma’s founding team in 2006 as director-sales and marketing. for FY-19, Puma India reported a total income of Rs 1413 crore, up 23% from the same period a year ago. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/sensex-rises-for-2nd-day-jumps-595-points-nifty-ends-may-fo-series-at-9490/articleshow/76068634.cms |
Sensex up 1.88%, or 595,37 points, at 32,200; Nifty gains 1.88%, or 175.15 points, to 9,490
27 Sensex stocks close higher. L&T top gainer, up 6.17%;·Hero MotoCorp 5.52%, IndusInd Bank 4.95%
ITC down 0.83%, SBI 0.19%, Bharti Airtel 0.05%
Bulls ruled, number of advancing shares were double the number of those declined
BSE Midcap Index rises 1.34%, Smallcap Index 1.42%; all sectoral indices close higher
BSE Capital Goods index top sectoral gainer, up 5.11%; Bharat Forge up 6.54%, BHEL 6.34%
BSE Auto rises 3.54%; Eicher Motors up 8.33%, Motherson Sumi Systems 6.76%
Ujjivan up 8.38% after it reported an 80% jump in consolidated March quarter profit.
FIIs pump in $835.37 million (Rs 6,316.62 crore) so far in May; DIIs Rs 2,563.09 cr
Short Covering in banking stocks
India playing catchup
Expectation of fresh stimulus
Rise in global markets
The March quarter GDP data due on Friday. It will provide an insight on the early impact of the lockdown.
The pace and extent of spread of coronavirus infections in the country will be closely watched.
Investors will watch out for relaxations or extension of the fourth phase of lockdown that ends on May 31.
MUMBAI: Financials again led the way for the domestic market on Thursday as dealers opted to cover shorts on the expiry of monthly derivatives contracts. Firm cues from global markets and hopes of economic recovery too helped the sentiment back home. However, analysts maintained that the rally could be short-lived amid rising Covid-19 infections and US-China spat.Bank and NBFC stocks contributed the most to benchmark Sensex’s 595-point gain. Private lender HDFC Bank was the top contributor and rose 4.56 per cent. Mortgage lender Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) climbed 3.46 per cent.The 30-share index gained 1.88 per cent to close at 32,201, while the 50-share Nifty climbed 1.88 per cent, or 175 points, to 9,490. As many as 27 of Sensex stocks closed higher. Engineering and construction major L&T was the top gainer, up 6.17 per cent. Two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp and private lender IndusInd Bank rose 5.52 per cent and 4.95 per cent respectively.On the other hand, cigarettes-to-hotels business ITC, top lender State Bank of India and telecom major Bharti Airtel shed 0.83 per cent 0.19 per cent and 0.05 per cent respectively. Hemang Jani , equity strategist and senior vice-president at Motilal Oswal Financial Services said there was a lot of shorts in bank stocks, which got covered, leading to the rally. "A part of the rally that we are seeing right now was led by short-covering. Also, we have to reckon that there has been a very swift revival across most of the global markets and somehow India was actually lagging behind,” he said.The bulls continued to rule as advancing shares were nearly twice the declining ones on the BSE. The broader market, too, joined the rally, with BSE mid and smallcap indices rising 1.34 per cent and 1.42 per cent, respectively.All sectoral indices closed in the green with BSE Capital Goods index as the top sectoral gainer with a 5.11 per cent jump. Bharat Forge and BHEL rose 6.54 per cent and 6.34 per cent, respectively. BSE Auto index followed next as it rose 3.54 per cent. Eicher Motors and Motherson Sumi Systems climbed 8.33 per cent and 6.76 per cent, respectively.Ujjivan Financial Services jumped 8.38 per cent after the NBFC reported an 80 per cent rise in consolidated March quarter profit.“Further stimulus measures are also expected to boost demand in the economy and help the most impacted sectors to recover. The market is rising on the back of expectations while there has been little change in ground realities,” Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have invested a net of $835.37 million (Rs 6,316.62 crore) so far this month, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) have infused a net of Rs 2,563.09 crore in the same period.Nair expressed doubt if this bouyancy can sustain. “Given the dynamics of our own country and the way the financial sector is going to behave in the next three to six months, it looks difficult to sustain this rally," he added.Asian markets had subdued trading on Thursday even as futures of US equity indices traded flat amid growing tensions between China and the US. But that failed to affect the enthusiam on Dalal Street. Chinese lawmakers approved a proposal for new national-security legislation in Hong Kong, in defiance of US President Donald Trump A Bloomberg report stated that Trump was preparing to sign an executive order that could penalize social-media giants for the way they moderate content on their sites, leading to a fall in US stock futures.There was momentum in banking stocks for the second day in a row most bank and NBFC stocks witnessed short covering on the expiry of monthly derivative contracts, dealers said. Some positions also got rolled over.Indian stocks remained laggards over the past few weeks amid a swift revival across most of the global markets. Lagging far behind, Indian stocks are now trying to catch up, as sentiment improves on domestic front with the opening up of factories and more sectors of the economy.The market is building up expectation of further stimulus measures to boost demand in the economy and help the most impacted sectors to recover. While there has been no such indication from the government, the Finance Minister has indeed promised to reassess the damage at a later stage.Global stocks climbed while US futures fluctuated as investors weighed fresh fiscal stimulus from the European Union against increased friction between America and China, Bloomberg reported. Futures on the S&P 500 Index dipped 0.1 per cent while Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained 0.7 per cent. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.8 per cent. | Sensex up 1.88%, or 595,37 points, at 32,200; Nifty gains 1.88%, or 175.15 points, to 9,490. private lender HDFC Bank was the top contributor and rose 4.56 per cent. 'we are not going to be able to sell our shares,' said a spokesman. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/mf/analysis/year-end-special-quality-and-growth-style-of-investing-made-axis-bluechip-fund-the-topper-among-largecaps/articleshow/67172709.cms | Strong corporate governance/Strong promoter pedigree,
Secular growth rate of the sector, which is anywhere around 1.5 to 2x of GDP;
Strong business model, which demonstrates its pricing power in the product category and the business it is in, and ultimately
Good ROE’s and cash flows
Most actively-managed largecap funds had a bad year in 2018. However, Axis Bluechip Fund was a notable exception. The scheme figure among the top five largecap schemes in 2018. ET.com Mutual Funds spoke to, fund manager of Axis Bluechip Fund, to find out how he pulled off the feat.At Axis MF, we diligently follow our clearly defined investment process and focus on bottom up stock selection approach with a quality and growth bias. We pride ourselves on building portfolios that are index agnostic and build portfolios with a long term investment outlook. Market has rewarded quality and growth style of investing post demonetization, which is reflected in our performance. Axis Bluechip Fund by definition invests at least 80% in large cap companiesOur approach to quality involves an in-depth understanding of the businesses that we invest in. This process is twofold. Firstly, we evaluate the quantitative aspects like financials, past track record and other key metrics. Second and the most crucial is our interpretation of the qualitative aspects like management credentials and the potential of the business. Such an approach of ours has enabled our portfolios to ride out significantly volatile periods of the market.The fund house philosophy has always remained quality focused. The rally that started in mid-2013, had in a since an affected patch somewhere in 2016 when market rewarded stocks having low long term ROE (while during some period ROE of those companies improved) and high beta, and we didn’t have some of those companies as per our philosophy. The reversal of this trend saw our return to the top of the charts as high RoE and growth returned to fore. Calendar year 2017 and 2018 have seen our funds materially outperform their respective benchmarks. Axis Bluechip Fund beat its benchmark, the NIFTY 50 with significant alpha in 2017 and YTD 2018 as of November 30th 2018.Since our inception, we have been guided by our investment philosophy and will continue to drive our portfolios on this basis, given our long term fundamental approach to investing.At Axis MF, we primarily follow bottom-up stock selection approach with a minimum 2-3-year view on stocks. Bias towards high quality and growth with strong fundamentals are the key look outs for our fund managers to select companies for their portfolios. Our approach with quality has enabled us to navigate through pockets of pain in the market.There are four principles that the investment philosophy at Axis MF is driven by. These are:Financials have been a theme we like for over 18 months now. In particular, we have focused on retail focused financial institutions. Our philosophy around this play revolved around the consumption play and the seminal growth that this sector has witnessed with the entry of niche business players over the past decade. However as reflected in our portfolios we have remained very selective in our picks in this space.Our stock ideas have focused on responsible growth more particularly companies with strong governance and risk management systems. Given the nature of these businesses, procedure plays an important role in business development. This has helped us more so recently wherein asset liability mismatches raised concerns over liquidity concerns in select NBFC’s, particularly in housing finance companies. Our portfolio stocks in this space have seen limited impact of the financial squeeze faced by the industry in September 2018 and October 2018 as companies with strong asset liability management (ALM) practices and prudent disbursal norms thrived in an otherwise nervous environment.We continue to believe in the financial sector given the opportunities available in the sector. Currently, we have increased our allocations to private sector retail banks given our risk reward view on the sector.Passive funds have been successful globally as market efficiency has improved in those markets. In domestic markets, we still believe active funds have a role to play and have been long term performers given the opportunities across the market spectrum. We are testament to this fact as we have been benchmark agnostic investors since inception and our fund performance has been consistent through good times and bad.While passive funds are likely to become a part of the fund management ecosphere, actively managed funds are likely to remain an important part of investor portfolios in the times to come.Volatility is part and parcel of equity markets. Short-term events have always played with market sentiments affecting investor perception. In the long run, fundamentals have driven domestic markets and given the strong corporate earnings that we have seen, we remain optimistic for the New Year. Elections are likely to drive markets in the short term and market volatility is likely to persist over the course of the year. While we remain optimistic as long term investors, we do advise investors to look at markets with a 3-5 year view and invest periodically over the coming year. | Axis Bluechip Fund beat its benchmark, the NIFTY 50 with significant alpha in 2017 and YTD 2018. fund manager robert mcdonald says he is a'very good investor' and believes in a long term investment outlook. mcdonald says he is'very proud' of his fund and believes it is a good investment. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/money/how-to-choose-the-right-group-health-insurance-policy-for-your-employees/articleshow/78072261.cms | Samvat 2080 Opens on a Positive Note Samvat 2080 started on a steady note for investors with India’s stock benchmarks gaining over half a per cent in the special 60-minute Muhurat trading session on Sunday evening to mark the start of the traditional Hindu new year.
Insolvency Gets All Personal Now in Boost for Recoveries Supreme Court (SC) order allowing bankruptcy proceedings against personal guarantors of loans to defaulter companies will open up a new window of recovery, potentially multiplying banks’ realizations. | india's stock benchmarks gained over half a per cent in the special 60-minute Muhurat trading session on Sunday evening. the move marks the start of the traditional Hindu new year. bankruptcy proceedings against personal guarantors of loans to defaulter companies will open up a new window of recovery. a new ruling by the supreme court will open up a new window of recovery. | Positive |
https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/mahindra-aero-flying-high-adds-botswanas-major-blue-air-as-first-customer-for-10-seater-turboprop-aircrafts/1291830/ | In a historic feat, Mahindra Aerospace has added Botswana’s Major Blue Air as its first customer for Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certified new 10-seater turboprop aircrafts.“Delighted that Major Blue Air of #Botswana has become our 1st customer of FAA certified new 10 seater turboprop #aircraft frm @Mahindra_aero. Heartiest congratulations to @arvind_mehra ,Keith Douglas & #Airvan team on their #flying success,” SP Shukla, Group President, Aerospace & Defence at Mahindra Group said in a tweet.
Congratulating the team for the major feat, Anand Mahindra said that it’s a historic milestone for the company. “A historic milestone for Mahindra Aerospace. A product developed and certified by Gipps Aero post acquisition by us. May you Rise with it to the skies, Team @Mahindra_Aero,” he said.
Earlier, Mahindra Aerospace had received a FAR 23 type certificate from Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority for its Airvan 10, the company had announced. Australia’s first 10-seat, single-engine turbine aircraft has also received a type certificate from the FAA. Notably, while Mahindra Aerospace is based in India, its subsidiary manufacturer GippsAero, is based in Australia.
Explaining the features of the new aircraft, SP Shukla said that the aircraft provides a panoramic view and is popular with wildlife tourists. “Botswana is indeed Airvan8 country. This versatile #aircraft from Mahindra_Aero is most popular with tourists for scenic flights to view wildlife. Wide windows provide panoramic view & this plane has all window seats. Low maintenance is added bonus,” he said in a tweet. Mahindra’s Airvan 10 follows in the footsteps of the piston engine 8-seat Airvan 8, and the turbocharged version of the same aircraft, which now operates in 29 countries, according to a company statement in May this year. Australia-based GippsAero is involved in the manufacture of makes the Airvan 10 aircraft.
Mahindra Aerospace is a newcomer on the local aerospace scene and its Airvan aircraft are targeted at niche markets where there are few direct competitors. Earlier in 2015, Mahindra Group clinched a multi-million dollar aerospace contract with European consortium Airbus Paris Air Show, proving the major fillip to the ‘Make in India’ initiative. | Mahindra Aerospace has added botswana’s Major Blue Air as its first customer for FAA certified new 10-seater turboprop aircrafts. the aircraft provides a panoramic view and is popular with wildlife tourists. the company has received a FAR 23 type certificate from australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority for its Airvan 10. the aircraft follows in the footsteps of the piston engine 8-seat Airvan 8, and the turbocharged version of the same aircraft. | Positive |
http://www.financialexpress.com/world-news/bangladesh-lifts-ban-on-exports-of-its-national-fish-hilsa/1006855/ | Bangladesh today lifted a 2012 ban on the export of its national fish hilsa, whose key markets include India, to check its smuggling and tap into the growing global demand for the popular but scarce food species. The country’s new fisheries and livestock minister, Narayon Chandra Chanda, announced the decision here, just a day after he assumed charge. Bangladesh’s Ministry of Commerce had banned the export of hilsa on August 1, 2012 due to its low availability. Chanda said the ban appeared “largely futile” and so “we will export hilsa in official channel to stop its smuggling”. “Our hilsa production has (also) increased and there is demand in the international market so we want to move towards exports,” Chanda told journalists. Bangladesh had launched a frantic campaign to protect hilsa, its most precious but dwindling aqua resource, several years ago. It had eventually imposed the ban for an indefinite period in 2012, even risking its ties with neighbouring India and several oil-rich Middle Eastern nations.
Chanda said despite the ban, hilsa fish was being smuggled out of the country and “as a result the government is losing out in taxes (and) if we allow exports it will open the way for legal trade and diminish smuggling significantly”. He said the government, however, will continue its conservation campaign particularly to protect the female hilsa. According to official statistics, hilsa makes up nearly 11 per cent of total fish produced in Bangladesh and its trade contribution to the country’s gross domestic product stands at one per cent.
Bangladesh’s water bodies produce nearly 75 per cent of world’s hilsa yield, while the country and last year the patent office named hilsa a “geographical indication product”. Hilsa is globally reputed for its unique taste but apart from the fish itself, its roe or egg tastes as good as, if not better than, caviar, one of the world’s most cherished dishes. Bangladeshi people are also known for their skill to cook hilsa in more than 50 ways with mustard, curd, brinjal, green banana, baking in young plantain leaves, smoke, fry, and so on.
According to literature on fish resources, the roaming ground of hilsa ranges from Persian Gulf to Gulf of China through Bay of Bengal but 75 per cent of it are produced in Bangladesh. The species is regarded the best in terms of taste. Basically a sea-water fish, hilsa makes its way up fresh water rivers travelling up to 1300-km during mating season, a feature that gives it the repute of being the most mobile fish species having its roaming ground both in sea and fresh water. | ban on export of hilsa lifted to tap into growing global demand for the popular but scarce food species. hilsa makes up nearly 11 per cent of total fish produced in Bangladesh and its trade contribution to the country’s gross domestic product stands at one per cent. hilsa is globally reputed for its unique taste but apart from the fish itself, its roe or egg tastes as good as, if not better than, caviar. | Positive |
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/markets/fiis-bet-big-on-india-raise-stake-in-over-350-cos-in-q1-cy18-do-you-own-any-2554469.html | The big theme emerging from the latest Sebi data on FII shareholding pattern is the small- and mid-cap stocks cementing their place in the portfolios of the foreign institutional investors. Initially, FIIs invested only in quality large-caps. But as market matures, stocks are discovered and search for growth continues, foreign investors are now turning their attention to small- and mid-cap stocks related to the economy or theme India.
Foreign investors net bought Rs 15,000 crore of Indian equities in the first three months of 2018, and raised their holdings in 364 companies, according to Sebi’s April 17 data. As per BSe data, share prices of some of the stocks in which FIIs raised their stakes almost doubled in the three-months ending March.
DK Aggarwal, Chairman and Managing Director, SMC Investments & Advisors, advises caution. “There may be cases where FIIs might have turned positive on economy related stocks, but we need to look at the quantum of FII shareholding in companies. At times, we see FII holding is increasing, but this is not enough. One should also look at whether FIIs hold significant share in the floating shareholding (other than promoter). Sometimes, the stock also runs up because of low liquidity factors.”
Stocks which delivered 40-100 per cent return in which FIIs raised stakes include names like Excel Industries, Omax Autos, Infinite Computer Solutions, Vishal Fabrics, Asian Hotels North, Godawari Power and Ispat, Shakti Pumps India, Venky’s (India), Nelco, among others.
Ritesh Ashar, Chief Strategy Officer, KIFS Trade Capital, said the consumption sector is a reflection of economic growth and remains a key sector with immense potential.
“This space is vast and includes categories like cement, auto, personal care and power. The rural economy is strengthening since last year’s normal monsoon. There will be great consumption demand in times to come. If the monsoon predictions are accurate, the agricultural sector is set for a boost. Moreover, sectors like fast moving consumer goods, auto, fertilisers and cement are likely to get a boost,” he said.
Fertiliser companies like National Fertilizers, Zuari Agro Chemicals and Nagarjuna Fertilizers and Chemicals saw an increase in FII stake in the March quarter. Nearly 40 companies saw the FIIs more than doubling their stakes in them. Godawari Power & Ispat saw an increase of over 8,000 per cent. This was followed by Poddar Pigments in which FII stake rose by 1,975 per cent. Gravita India witnessed an over 600 per cent rise in FII stake, according to Sebi’s April 17 data.
In the pharmaceutical sector, a huge consolidation has taken place over the years. Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company saw an increase in FII stake to 6.98 per cent from 6.7 per cent in the previous quarter. Firms in which FIIs raised their stake but saw double-digit share price cuts include Hindustan Copper, Lovable Lingerie, Anant Raj, Titagarh Wagons, PTC India Financial Services, PC Jeweller, Reliance Communications, Jaiprakash Power Ventures and Vakrangee.
About 250 stocks have given negative returns in the quarter under review but FIIs used this selling to buy into names such as Vakrangee, Jaiprakash Power Ventures, Reliance Communications, PC Jewellers, Titagarh Wagons among others.
But the billion dollar question is whether these stocks are value buys at current levels. “Many times, big investors have some information or insight on the future of companies because of which they increase their ownership in anticipation of gains," DK Aggarwal, Chairman and MD, SMC Investments & Advisors, said.
He added that these investors tend to make a fraction of their investment in companies that are in a bad shape but are near to some resolution. “Some of the companies that you are talking about are there in the National Company Law Tribunal and any positive outcome may result in windfall gains.”
Are these stocks value buys at current levels?
Are all stocks in which FIIs have raised stake be considered value buys? May be not. Experts feel investors should do their own research before buying based on FII outlook. “We do not think of these names as value buys, although some of these increased allocations can be definitely given a thought. Stocks like HDFC Standard Life Insurance, Venkys and Excel Group companies can be considered attractive buys,” said Pritam Deuskar, Fund Manager at Bonanza Portfolio.
He likes HDFC Standard Life Insurance as it is the most trusted brand after Life Insurance Corporation and is increasing its market share. On his buy rationale for Venky’s, he said: “The company has already proved its mettle. Demand for chicken continues to grow at 15-18 per cent per annum and Venky’s is well equipped to cater to this growing demand.”
Deuskar added that fertilisers and rural consumption stocks are worth looking at. “As monsoons are expected to be normal, subsidies will reduce. The government’s emphasis on increasing the minimum support price of farm produce will also boost rural income.”
Ashar of KIFS Trade Capital is betting on Titagarh Wagons and PC Jewellers as value buys after the recent correction.
Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by the investment expert on moneycontrol.com are their own and not that of the website or its management. moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking an investment decision. | foreign investors net bought Rs 15,000 crore of Indian equities in the first three months of 2018 and raised their holdings in 364 companies. some of the stocks in which FIIs raised their stakes almost doubled in the three-months ending March. if the monsoon predictions are accurate, the agricultural sector is set for a boost. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/australia-shares-end-1-3-firmer-as-central-bank-fans-swift-recovery-hopes/articleshow/76064520.cms | Australian shares hit a two-and-a-half-month high on Thursday, with financial stocks powering the gains, after the country's central bank said the economic downturn due to the coronavirus crisis would likely be less severe than initially feared.The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 closed 1.3 per cent higher at 5,851.1, hovering near its strongest level since March 11. A sub-index of financial firms advanced 3.1 per cent and was on track for its best week.Financial stocks have rallied globally this week as countries reopen for business and investors buy into the sector, which was among the hardest hit by the pandemic and has so far lagged a recovery in broader markets.Analysts at RBC Capital Markets also attributed the surge to short-covering, and said future moves would partly depend on whether investors believe the economic fallout will be milder than expected.Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Governor Philip Lowe pointed to the country's success in curbing the spread of the pandemic and said employment in the June quarter may have fallen less than an earlier estimate.Lowe's comments, along with optimism over countries easing restrictions and potential stimulus measures, spurred hopes of a quicker-than-expected recovery, even as tensions between the United States and China over a new Hong Kong security law escalated."The monetary and fiscal landscape across the world suggests that galactic levels of easing and stimulus are still at the top of the agenda of governments and central banks," OANDA analyst Jeffrey Halley said."In this context, it isn't so surprising that the global recovery trade seen across financial markets has acquired such powerful momentum."New Zealand's S&P/NZX 50 bourse dropped 1.7 per cent to 10,856.69 after three straight sessions of gains.The country's employment suffered a record plunge in April, while a survey showed outlook for business sentiment was improving "painfully slowly". | australian shares hit a two-and-a-half-month high on Thursday. financial stocks are on track for their best week. the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 closed 1.3 per cent higher at 5,851.1. the country's central bank said the economic downturn would likely be less severe than initially feared. the country's employment suffered a record plunge in April. | Positive |
https://www.financialexpress.com/money/this-childrens-day-instill-habits-of-saving-investment-to-make-your-child-financially-independent/1764585/ | The best gift to your child on this Children’s Day would be developing the quest in your child to achieve financial independence through imparting the knowledge about savings and investments. It’s a dream for everyone to have enough passive income to acquire the status of financial independence and spend rest of the life without having to be employed or dependent on others.
Apart from successful business and profession, one may start saving and investing early to have enough income to pay one’s living expenses for the rest of the life and achieve the financial independence. For that one should become financially independent early to start investing as early as possible to take full advantage of the power of compounding.
To make your child financially independent early, you may do the following:
Teach them to save
Gift children piggy banks on first birthday itself and encourage them to put whatever money they get in the piggy bank even before they learn how to count. Show them how to use piggy banks by putting the money gifted to them in front of them, so that they also develop a sense of ownership of the piggy bank and the money in it.
Open savings accounts for them
When they start going to schools, open savings accounts for them, which apart from providing practical knowledge about financial systems, have them sense of responsibility and ownership as well. Explain to them that apart from making their saved money safer, deposits in banks also draw interests unlike the money lying idle in piggy banks.
Teach financial lesions
When they start learning about buying, selling, profit, loss, interest etc in their mathematics classes, show them how much interest they got in their savings account, so that they develop more interest in the subject and themselves calculate the rate of interest they got from time to time.
Inflation Explained: What is Inflation, Types and Causes?
Teach them the importance of investing
In their teenage, introduce the concept of inflation to teach them the importance of investing by showing the calculation how inflation eating up the purchasing power of the money kept in the saving accounts. Let them calculate the money that would be required for their higher education. Show the valuation of the investments that you started for them, so that they may compare the returns and get encouraged about the goal-based investments.
Encourage them to invest early
As soon as they start earning, encourage them to curtail unnecessary spending, save as much as possible and start investing through systematic investment plan (SIP). Demonstrating them how length of investment plays a crucial role in the wonder of the power of compounding and would help them in achieving financial goals and ultimately the status of financial independence over time. | it’s a dream for everyone to have enough passive income to acquire the status of financial independence. one should start saving and investing early to have enough income to pay one’s living expenses for the rest of the life. for that one should become financially independent early to start investing as early as possible to take full advantage of the power of compounding. to make your child financially independent early, you may do the following:. | Positive |
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/real-estate/mumbai-property-market-gets-it-mojo-back-after-coronavirus-lockdown-5535651.html | Property buyers came out of hiding in Mumbai, India’s priciest real estate market, to boost the sagging fortunes of a segment crippled by the coronavirus lockdown.
A raft of transactions for commercial and residential properties were finalised in the Mumbai registration and stamp duty department after it reopened for business on May 18.
At least 1,642 documents such as agreements of sale, mortgages and tenancy as well as sale deeds valued at Rs 176 crore were registered in May and June, according to data shared by the stamp duty department of Mumbai.
Though many of these agreements were simply waiting to be signed after the registration and stamp duty department reopened, the pace of deals signals a recovery in the Mumbai real estate market.
Compare the May and June deals with the transactions before the lockdown. Up to 4,073 documents were registered and Rs 194 crore collected in March before the lockdown. In April, when the lockdown set in, there were zero registrations, an unprecedented event in Mumbai, India’s financial hub and India’s richest municipality.
Roughly 20 residential transactions registered in June were valued at more than Rs 10 crore, brokers in the know told Moneycontrol. Below are the notable deals:
1. Romesh Sobti, a former managing director of IndusBank, bought two sea-view apartments in Oberoi Realty’s uber luxury project in Mumbai’s Worli at Rs 38.15 crore. These properties were registered at Rs 4.60 crore each.
2. In June, a buyer bought a property in an Indiabulls project in Lower Parel for Rs 15.2 crore and registered it for Rs 76 lakh.
3. A unit in a project named The Residences by Runwal Developers in Malabar Hill was sold for Rs 25.47 crore and registered for Rs 1.27 crore in June, brokers privy to the registration details said.
4. A 3,261 sq ft property in Artesia project in Worli by K Raheja Corp was bought for Rs 19 crore and registered for Rs 95 lakh, according to brokers.
In housing, the number of registrations bounced back by 33 percent with 1,250 transactions in June. In value terms, these sales are worth roughly Rs 1,920 crore, said people familiar with the matter. The Mumbai registration and stamp duty department also amassed Rs 2,581 crore in 2019-2020 compared with the targeted Rs 2,630 crore for both commercial and residential properties.
That was fast
As it happened, housing deals began on a strong note at the start of the year. In January and February, there were 4,300 and 4,250 transactions — 6-8 percent higher than the monthly average — valued at around Rs 5,750 crore each, according to statistics by CRE Matrix, a real estate intelligence firm.
The transactions halved to 2,500, or Rs 3,000 crore, in March 2020 as a slowing economy and coronavirus fears smothered the market.
“The uptick in transactions is promising given that we are still grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic and a vaccine is yet to be found,” says Abhishek Kiran Gupta, CEO of CRE Matrix.
But there is a caveat …
A section of industry experts said some of the deals registered after reopening may have already been finalised earlier and both buyers and sellers may have been waiting for the sub-registrar offices to reopen. Some deals may have been the result of discounts or incentives offered by developers for a limited period, they said.
Several property transactions were closed in the last quarter of 2019 but registrations were still pending. “The registration taking place now do not mean that the deals are taking place during COVID-19. As many as 60 percent of registrations concern deals that may have taken place pre-COVID,” said Ritesh Mehta, Senior Director & Head - West India, Residential Services, JLL India.
A buyer is usually given three to six months to make payments and register the property. Registrations that were to take place in February and March had to be postponed on account of COVID-19 and the subsequent lockdown. “Those registrations are taking place now,” he said.
In March, the Maharashtra government said it is reducing stamp duty on properties by 1 percent (from 6 percent) for Mumbai, MMRDA Region and Pune for two years.
Around 63 percent of the sale transactions in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) during FY20 were at a 20 percent premium to ready reckoner (RR) rates, according to a recent study by Propstack, a data analytics firm. Propstack analysed ready reckoner premiums in MMR based on 38,000 sale transactions.
Around 8 percent deals during the year-ended March were below the RR rates. The highest percentage of transactions, below the RR rate, were in south and central Mumbai at 23 percent and 16 percent, respectively, according to the data.
RR rates — also known as circle rates or guidance values — are the minimum values set by a state government below which a property cannot be registered. Each area within a city has its own RR rate on which stamp duty is calculated.
To align circle rates with the actual market prices, most state governments previously regularly reviewed and increased the RR rates in cities either year-on-year or in two years. However, market values increased only marginally in the same period.
Another report by real estate consultant ANAROCK said the average housing price quoted by developers across major cities are higher by 6-75 percent than the government's circle rates, the value at which stamp duties are paid and properties registered. | at least 1,642 documents such as agreements of sale, mortgages and tenancy were registered in the month of may and june. the transactions are worth more than Rs 10 crore, according to brokers. in housing, the number of registrations bounced back by 33 percent with 1,250 transactions in June. in march, there were no registrations, an unprecedented event in Mumbai. | Positive |
https://www.financialexpress.com/market/govt-gives-grants-for-onion-storage-units-built-by-farmers/1896621/ | The government has allocated a grant of `60 crore to farmers for developing onion chawls (warehouses) for storage of the commodity under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) 2019-20. The central government’s scheme is aimed at enhancing the storage facilities in the state so that farmers are not forced to sell their produce in distress and retain the commodity until the market conditions improve. Around 6,500 farmers from 28 districts in Maharashtra, who have developed onion chawls or open onion storage structures will be eligible for the grant given by the government.
According to industry people, the scheme which falls under the National Horticulture Mission (NHM) gives a grant of 50% on the construction of a 25-tonne chawl, which have to be properly ventilated structures with proper storage. Normally, a 25 tonne storage capacity chawl requires an investment of `1.75 crore, of which a 50% subsidy is offered to onion farmers for setting up such structures.
The 27th State Level Project Approval Committee had given the green signal for setting up onion storage structures across Maharashtra in the wake of the price volatility and to prevent farmer from distress sale. Around `150 crore will be spent on the project and accordingly, the government has approved `60 crore within a year. The scheme envisages 50% of the funds to be invested by the farmer and the remaining 50% would come from the government in the form of a grant.
Accordingly, 6,789 beneficiaries will receive a grant of `60 crore for the project. Since this is a centrally sponsored scheme, 60% of the funds will be borne by the Centre and the state government shall bear 40% of the expenses for the project. Accordingly, Nashik has some 521 beneficiaries, Ahmednagar has 2,525 beneficiaries, 636 beneficiaries from Jalna, 700 from Aurangabad, 594 from Beed, 203 from Parbhani and 330 from Solapur, among others.
Meanwhile, MahaFPC — the apex body of farmer producer companies in Maharashtra, has signed tripartite agreements with 16 farmer producer companies in the state and Nafed to develop a value chain for onion procurement, storage and disposal. MahaFPC managing director Yogesh Thorat said the federation had signed agreements with 9 Farmer Producer Companies (FPCs) initially and another 9 FPCs had come on board last week. Around 14 structures are under various stages of construction and should be ready by the end of March, he said.
This is a joint project proposed by Nafed and MahaFPC with contribution of 25 FPCs in the state to execute a Public Private Partnership (PPP) Integrated Agriculture Development (PPP-IAD) project under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY-RAFTAAR) for building storage capacities for onion and setting up marketing infrastructure. Thorat pointed out that the `60 crore allocation is for individual farmers and this project is separate. This `25-crore project will see the government investing 50% while the rest will be raised by Nafed and FPCs.
The project will enable FPCs to remove monopoly of traders in onion markets. The project envisages building storage infrastructure for 25,000 tonne of onion in the state wherein each FPC will establish a cluster on a 1-1.5 acre land parcel for 1,000 tonne each. Each cluster will be set up for `1 crore where 20% of the investment will come from the FPC (from around 100 farmers in each FPC), 25% from Nafed, 5% from MahaFPC and the remaining funds from the state government under the RKVY scheme.
Each cluster will contain onion chawls (warehouses) grading houses and weighing bridges. Agreements were initially signed with 16 farmer producer companies and we are now identifying land for the remaining 9 FPCs in the state for the project. Approvals from the government have already come in and work on the project will commence from the second week of January and begin from March 2020.This coming season, the Centre, under the Price Stabilisation Fund, is looking at procurement targets for 25,000 tonne of onion and MahaFPC would be a major player in this, Thorat had stated.
Maharashtra produces about 30 % of the total onion output in the country. Onion is normally grown in kharif (June- July), late Kharif (August- September) and Rabi (November-December) seasons. The crop produced in kharif and late kharif has limited shelf life and farmers have to sell the crop in the market since the shelf life is low but Rabi onions can be kept in good condition if stored in scientifically built storage structures.Farmers store their produce in dust proof and moisture proof structures on field called kanda chawls and offload the same till the arrival of the next crop.
Onion prices have been on the rise since late September due to a disruption in supply, a decline in production in 2019-20 and late harvesting of the bulb leading to a mismatch in demand and supply.
The Centre has already offloaded onions from buffer stocks, banned exports, expedited imports, and imposed stock holding limits on wholesalers and retailers. In September 2019, the government banned onion exports and also imposed a MEP of $850 per tonne. The move came after prices had started skyrocketing due to supply-demand mismatch.
There was a shortage of onion as kharif crop was adversely affected due to excessive rains and floods in key producing states, including Maharashtra. The government ordered onion imports which led huge wastage as onion arrivals picked up. The government has now lifted the ban on export which is expected to begin from March 15. | the scheme is aimed at enhancing the storage facilities in the state. around 6,500 farmers from 28 districts in Maharashtra will be eligible for the grant. the scheme falls under the national horticulture mission (NHM). it gives a grant of 50% on the construction of a 25-tonne chawl. a 25 tonne storage capacity chawl requires an investment of 1.75 crore. | Positive |
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