Top headlines: HDFC-HDFC Bank mega merger, India's export boom explained

The Centre may increase the allotment of its shares in the IPO of LIC. More on that and other stories in our top headlines this morning.

Sashidhar Jagdishan on what the deal with HDFC means to HDFC Bank

The country’s largest housing finance company and the biggest private sector bank announced on Monday that their boards have approved an all-stock amalgamation of HDFC Ltd into HDFC Bank, subject to regulatory approvals. At present, HDFC is the parent company of the bank. Sashidhar Jagdishan, managing director and chief executive officer of HDFC Bank, tells Business Standard what the deal with HDFC means to the bank and the opportunities it provides. Read more
 

LIC IPO: Govt may increase allotment size to align offer with Sebi's rules

The Centre may increase the allotment of its shares in the initial public offering (IPO) of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), to align the offer with the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (Sebi’s) listing guidelines. The market regulator has approved the insurer’s updated draft red herring prospectus (DRHP), paving the way for the Centre to file the red herring prospectus (RHP) for India’s biggest IPO. Read more

The $400 billion story: India's export boom mirrors neighbourhood surge

India’s surging export numbers is similar to a trend seen in other countries in the neighbourhood. Vietnam, Indonesia, South Korea and Japan all have export numbers which are near or at their highest in at least a decade; shows an analysis of data from the World Trade Organisation. The international numbers appear with a lag. Numbers till January have been considered as a common cut-off for the analysis. Read more

Recovery tracker: Retail and recreation visits go up, shows data

More people stepped out for retail and recreation visits even as the number of daily Covid-19 cases slipped below the three-figure mark. Retail and recreation visits were 8.9 per cent higher than before the pandemic took hold, shows mobility data from search engine Google. It tracks peoples’ movements using anonymised location data. This helps understand mobility trends across countries during the pandemic. Workplace visits also moved higher. Read more

Explained: Why Bharat Petroleum Corp divestment is on the slow track

Delays in due diligence, policy opacity and now the Ukraine crisis have brought the process to a near-standstill. The government has said BPCL’s due diligence is yet to be completed. This step is critical because the transaction advisers can invite financial bids through request for proposal (RFP) documents to qualified shortlisted bidders only after due diligence is completed. Read more