Top 10 biz headlines: DHFL dues, rise in Jio users, Huawei 5G trial, & more

From DHFL's dues claim to Bharat Forge increasing stake in Aeron Systems, here are the top 10 business stories that made news on Monday

Creditors of cash-strapped DHFL claim dues worth Rs 87,905.6 crore

Creditors to Dewan Housing Finance (DHFL) have claimed a total of Rs 87,905.6 crore in dues, according to the administrator appointed for the bankrupt company. Also, the lenders have expressed an initial desire to segregate the loan portfolio of the mortgage lender into retail, wholesale and SRA loans and invite expression of interest from investors separately for all three categories, sources aware of the development said. Read more...

Jio adds 9.1 mn users in October; subdued numbers for Airtel, Voda Idea

The festive season worked out favourably for Reliance Jio after the operator reported massive growth in subscriber addition for October, according to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai). Jio reported 9.1 million subscriber additions in the month — the third time it added over 9 million subscribers in a month. It had reported 9.3 million additions in January and 9.4 million in February. Rivals Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel reported subdued numbers with 189,901 and 81,974 additions, respectively. Read more...

Billionaire Hinduja brothers set to bid for Jet Airways by Jan 15: Report

The Hinduja Group is preparing a bid to buy grounded carrier Jet Airways India Ltd., according to people familiar with the matter. The U.K.-based group, run by brothers Gopichand Hinduja and Ashok Hinduja, plans to submit an expression of interest by the Jan. 15 deadline, signaling its intent to make a formal offer, the people said, asking not to be identified as the deliberations are private. Hinduja is seeking a partner to bid. Read more...

Huawei gets govt's approval to participate in 5G trials in the country

The wait may be finally over for Chinese telecom gear maker Huawei as the government has allowed all equipment manufacturers to conduct 5G trials in the country, without making any distinction. The decision provides a breather to the Chinese firm, which is battling security issues not just in India but worldwide. “We have taken a decision to give 5G spectrum for trials to all players,” Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Monday. Read more...

BSNL cleared Rs 1,700 cr in dues to vendors; paid November salaries: CMD

State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) has cleared Rs 1,700 crore of vendors dues, its CMD P K Purwar said on Monday. In October this year, the government approved a Rs 69,000 crore revival package for BSNL and MTNL that includes merging the two loss-making firms, monetising their assets and giving VRS to employees so that the combined entity turns profitable in two years. Read more...

Without buyer, Air India might be forced to shut down by Jun 2020: official

Struggling Air India might be forced to shut down by June next year unless it finds a buyer as "piecemeal" arrangements cannot be sustained for long, according to a senior airline official. Amid continuing uncertainty over the fate of the national carrier, the official said there is also need for funds to restart operations of 12 grounded narrow-body planes. The airline has a debt burden of around Rs 60,000 crore and the government is still working on the modalities for the disinvestment. Read more...

Reliance, BP pay $36 mn for exit of Niko in KG-D6 block, acquire 10% stake

Reliance Industries and UK's BP plc paid USD 36 million to get their defaulting Canadian partner Niko Resources to exit from the eastern offshore KG-D6 block. In a statement, Niko said it has exited from the KG-DWN-98/3 block and its 10 per cent stake has been taken over by Reliance and BP. The firm was paid USD 36 million to settle an arbitration it had initiated against Reliance and BP trying to force it out of the block over default in payment. Read more...

Internet shutdowns: Amazon, Flipkart may have lost 18-20% business

Intermittent clampdowns on the internet in December are learnt to have significantly affected online commerce as well as digital payments companies, apart from telcos, in the country. Though none is talking about the extent of the losses, industry sources say e-commerce majors such as Amazon and Flipkart may have witnessed an 18-20 per cent decline in their business volumes this month. December is usually a busy month for e-commerce companies because the bulk of their business is driven by year-end and festive shopping. A day’s shutdown can heavily affect sales. Read more...

Flipkart partners with ministry of housing and urban affairs (TOI)

Flipkart on Monday announced partnership with the deendayal antyodaya yojana - national urban livelihoods mission (day-nulm) under the union ministry of housing and urban affairs to induct them into ecommerce. under an mou exchanged between ecommerce company and the ministry, flipkart will collaborate with state missions under the day-nulm to establish the flipkart samarth program in 22 states in india to begin with, reported TOI.

Bharat Forge increases stake in defence tech supplier Aeron Systems

Automotive and defence supplier Bharat Forge on Monday increased its stake in aerospace and defense technology supplier Aeron Systems in its bid to increase its know-how in the defense technology. The Kalyani Group company paid Rs 2 crore to acquire 19,500 equity shares in Aeron, bringing its total stake in the latter to 22.42%, reported Economic Times.