News digest: Metal prices, battle for Essar Steel, Air India sale, and more

Metal headache: Commodity rally will put pressure on operating margins

The recent rally in metal prices would prove expensive for India Inc, which is still recovering from the demand shock and economic disruption caused by demonetisation and the roll-out of the goods and services tax.

Analysts expect cuts in corporate margins in the forthcoming quarters, given the negative correlation between metal prices and operating margins of domestic manufacturers.

Historically, domestic manufacturing companies (excluding energy, metals, and mining players) have reported higher core operating margins when commodity prices, including metals, have been low and vice versa. Read more...

Lenders to meet today to take a call on Essar Steel; JSW plans to bid solo

JSW Steel may go it alone if the committee of creditors (CoC) for Essar Steel decides to consider a fresh round of bids.  JSW Steel has cited parts of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) order, which was uploaded on Saturday.

Seshagiri Rao, joint managing director and group chief financial officer, JSW Steel, said his firm had evinced an interest in bidding for Essar Steel. Read more...

Modi government to allow holding company structure for Air India

A new owner of Air India will be allowed to operate the airline under a holding company. The entity will also be permitted to co-opt its existing airline brands under the holding company to build synergy.

This, the government believes, will allay concerns of potential suitors about the bidding condition which mandates operating Air India at arm’s length for three years. Read more...

Tiago becomes second-most sold car after Maruti Alto in small cars segment

A new pecking order has emerged in the country’s highly price-sensitive small car market. The Tiago, the two-year-old small car from Tata Motors’ stable, has notched the highest sales in the entry segment after Maruti Suzuki’s Alto. 

In the run-up to second place, the Tiago has overtaken Renault Kwid and Hyundai Eon, which now have third and fourth positions, respectively. Read more...

How SoftBank is steering e-commerce consolidation against Google, Amazon

Not just in India, global telecom giant SoftBank group, headed by Masayoshi Son, is out to consolidate the world’s e-commerce and telecom business against titans such as Google and Amazon, backed by its $100-billion Vision Fund. 

From e-commerce, ride-hailing, telecom, artificial intelligence, media, to solar power and even football, SoftBank is either making fresh investments or consolidating the investments it has already made in these areas.  Read more...