Top 10 biz headlines: Maruti Q1 plunge, Jio emerges biggest telco & more

From Vedanta's exit from Anglo American investment to Maruti Suzuki Q1 results, here are the top business headlines on Friday

1. Maruti Suzuki net profit plunges 27% to Rs 1,435 crore in Q1; outlook grim

Maruti Suzuki India, the country’s largest carmaker, on Friday posted a 27.3 per cent drop in net profit for the April-June quarter amid an industry-wide slowdown in demand, even as it beat analysts’ estimates. The company reported a net profit of Rs 1,435 crore in Q1FY20, compared to Rs 1,975 crore in the year-ago period.

The decline in consumer interest is manifested in Maruti’s balance sheet — net sales in the first quarter fell 14.1 per cent to Rs 18,735.2 crore, compared with Rs 21,810.7 crore in the corresponding period last year.  Read more here

2. Retirement decision not linked to transfer, says ex-finance secy S C Garg

Subhash Chandra Garg, who announced voluntary retirement soon after being appointed as power ministry secretary, has clarified that his decision to quit the IAS is not linked to his transfer.

3. IndiGo Airlines wants to bid for grounded Jet Airways' assets and slots

IndiGo Airlines is interested in bidding for some of the assets as well as slots of Jet Airways. However, it has ruled out acquiring the Naresh Goyal-founded airline, which closed operations in April and is now under the insolvency process.

According to Section 29 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) Regulations, any resolution professional (RP) has the powers to sell unencumbered assets of the corporate debtor “if he’s of the opinion that such a sale is necessary for a better realisation of value”. Read more here

4. Apple gets into 5G race; acquires Intel phone modem business for $1 billion

American technology company Apple has announced the acquisition of chip-maker Intel's smartphone modem business for $1 billion. Approximately 2,200 Intel employees will join Apple, along with intellectual property, equipment and leases, the Cupertino-based iPhone maker said in a statement late Thursday

5. Jio emerges biggest telco after Vodafone Idea unveils Q1 numbers

After losing 14.1 million subscribers from April to June (Q1), Vodafone Idea lost the tag of the country’s biggest telco by subscribers to Reliance Jio. Vodafone Idea, while declaring its Q1 numbers on Friday, said it had 320 million subscribers at the end of the June quarter as against 334.1 million in the March quarter. Read more here
 

6.Govt plans to privatise 20-25 airports in next phase: AAI chairman

After privatising six airports, the government is set to privatise 20-25 more in the next phase, Airports Authority of India Chairman Guruprasad Mohapatra said on Friday.

Last year, the government had decided to privatise airports in Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Mangaluru, Thiruvananthapuram, and Guwahati for operation, management and development through public-private partnership (PPP) model. Read more here

7. Anil Aggarwal's much-discussed Anglo investment ends with a whimper

It once looked like Anil Agarwal could shake up the mining industry by amassing the biggest stake in Anglo American Plc. But in the end the Indian tycoon’s lack of financial firepower forced him to unwind his investment

Agarwal will likely make about $500 million from his investment and pocket between $200 million and $300 million after fees, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified. It’s a small gain considering Anglo shares had soared more than 80 per cent since March 2017, when Agarwal first announced he would buy a stake. Read more here

8. Arbind Modi panel wanted no tax on income below Rs 6 lakh, 0.5% wealth tax

The first panel constituted by the previous Narendra Modi government to rewrite India’s income-tax law proposed to lighten the tax burden on the middle class by raising the zero per cent threshold to Rs 6 lakh. However, this went with eliminating tax-saving deductions like those under Section 80C of the existing law.

The panel proposed a 15 per cent income-tax rate if income was Rs 200,000-600,000 and 30 per cent for above Rs 300,000. Read more here
 

9. IBBI sets one-year timeline for liquidation process of insolvent companies

The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) has changed the process of liquidation to make it time-bound. The new rules say that the process must be finished within one year of its commencment. The new regulations also say that a compromise between the stakeholders must happen within 90 days of the liquidation order

10. In 3 years, banks collect 10K-cr fine for not maintaining minimum balance

Twenty-two scheduled commercial banks (SCB) collected nearly 10,000 crore in the last three years as penalty for not maintaining minimum balance in regular saving bank accounts, reports The Hindu Business Line