Page 1581 - Business Finance
Govt may keep FY19 bank recap target at Rs 65,000 cr: Icra
The government is likely to keep its bank recapitalisation target unchanged at Rs 65,000 crore for the current financial year as lenders under RBI's prompt corrective action (PCA) framework will not maintain capital conservation buffers, rating agency Icra said Wednesday. It further said that most banks are likely to exit PCA framework only after FY20. "Government will keep the bank recapitalisation plan for FY19 unchanged at Rs 65,000 crore, as the capital support during the current year has been restricted to only those PSBs (public sector banks) that were breaching or likely to breach the regulatory capital ratio, i.e, capital to risk weighted assets ratio (CRAR) of 9 per cent," Icra said in its report. The recent softening in bond yields and consequent reversal of mark-to-market (MTM) losses on bond portfolios, coupled with significant reduction in risk weighted assets by state-run lenders, is also expected to lower the capital requirements of PSBs despite sizeable ..
Interim boss at Audi named as permanent head of luxury brand
Volkswagen's Audi division has named acting head Bram Schot as the luxury brand's permanent boss after his predecessor was jailed. Schot took over on an acting basis in June after Rupert Stadler was jailed while prosecutors investigate possible illegal manipulation of diesel engine emissions. Stadler has since left the company. Schot, 57, was acting CEO along with his duties as marketing head at Audi, which also oversees the Volkswagen Group's Lamborghini car and Ducati motorcycle brands. Volkswagen Group CEO Herbert Diess, who also heads Audi's board of directors, said in a statement Wednesday that with his new mandate Schot would "further accelerate the transformation of the enterprise." Schot was also appointed to the Volkswagen Group's management board, its top executive body.
Sebi expands OFS framework to all cos with market-cap of Rs 1k-cr and above
Capital markets regulator Sebi Wednesday decided to expand its offer for sale (OFS) framework to all the companies with market capitalisation of Rs 1,000 crore and above. Currently, the OFS framework is available to top 200 companies by market capitalisation. Also, if the seller fails to get sufficient demand from non-retail investors at or above the floor price on the first day of offer, then the seller may choose to cancel the offer post bidding in full (both retail and non-retail) on the first day itself and not proceed with the offer to retail investors on the second day. "OFS mechanism shall be available for shareholders of companies with market capitalization of Rs 1,000 crore and above," the regulator said in a statement issued here after its board meeting. Further, the board has cleared a proposal for change in norms requiring the filing of a fresh offer document in case of an OFS where there is a change in the number of shares offered for sale, or in the estimated issue size,
Gulf must brace for long-term low oil price: Experts
Gulf states which depend heavily on energy exports for most of their revenues should brace for a long period of low oil prices and subdued economic growth, experts warned on Wednesday. Signs of an "economic war" between the United States and China, the world's largest economies, and an expected global economic slowdown starting next year will dampen demand for oil, the experts told a conference in Dubai. "Oil prices will remain low for a long period," former Lebanese minister of economy and trade Nasser Saidi told the one-day Arab Strategy Forum. A cooling of the global economy will reduce demand for oil, which coupled with rising competition from renewable energy sources and shale crude will lead to low oil prices, said Saidi, who is now a consultant. "This will negatively impact growth in the whole (Arab) region...The whole area will face a financial and economic crisis," he said. The six member nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) earn more than 80 per cent of their ...
Tata Trusts appoints Vijay Singh, Venu Srinivasan as vice chairmen
Tata Trusts on Wednesday announced the appointment of former defence secretary Vijay Singh and TVS Group Chairman Venu Srinivasan as vice chairmen of different trusts under its fold. Their appointments were unanimously approved by the trustees of Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, Sir Ratan Tata Trust, J R D Tata Trust, R D Tata Trust, Tata Education Trust, Tata Social Welfare Trust and Sarvajanik Seva Trust in a meeting earlier Wednesday, Tata Trusts said in a statement. Singh had recently retired from the board of Tata Sons. He was a member of the board as a nominee of Tata Trusts. Srinivasan, on the other hand, is still a member of the board of Tata Sons, the promoter of the major operating Tata companies. Tata Trusts, the philanthropic trusts endowed by members of the Tata family, hold 66 per cent of the equity capital of Tata Sons. The largest of these trusts are the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and the Sir Ratan Tata Trust, which were created by the sons of Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata, the ...
Lower food prices ease India's November retail inflation to 2.33%
Lower food prices eased India's November retail inflation to 2.33 per cent from a rise of 3.38 per cent in October, official data showed on Wednesday.
Global Markets: Stocks cheered by Trump trade talk; sterling springs off lows
LONDON (Reuters) - Stock markets rallied on Wednesday as U.S. President Donald Trump sounded upbeat about doing a trade deal with China, while sterling jumped off 20-month lows as Prime Minister Theresa May vowed to fight a challenge to her leadership.
Kovind invites diaspora in Myanmar to invest in India
President Ram Nath Kovind on Wednesday addressed the Indian community in Myanmar and invited them to invest in India, saying the country is full of opportunities for business, social enterprise and cultural links. Kovind, who is in Myanmar to continue India's high level bilateral engagements under the rubric of the 'Act East' and the 'Neighbourhood First' policies, said that India is at the cusp of a transformative change. "I bring you good wishes of 1.3 billion citizens of friends and families in India," he said while speaking at the Indian community reception here. Myanmar has embarked on an exciting but challenging journey, he said. "I am here to reassure Myanmar that India is always ready to help it fulfil its aspirations for a brighter future. "India and Myanmar must pair hard infrastructure being created with soft infrastructure of legal arrangements, like a motor vehicle agreement, for people to travel legally and easily. This will help realise the full potential of our ...
SC asks forensic auditors to examine trail of home-buyers' Rs 3,000 cr diverted by Amrapali
The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked forensic auditors to examine the trail of around Rs 3,000 crore, the home-buyers' money allegedly spent by the Amrapali Group on buying shares of its sister companies and asset creation. Amrapali Group CMD Anil Sharma, directors Shiv Priya and Ajay Kumar returned to the court a total amount of Rs 1.55 crore of home buyers money "lying" with them. The top court grilled several accountants of the group as to how they have prepared the accounts statements which were submitted in the court and on what basis they created the accounts this year for financial years 2015-16, 2016-2017 and 2017-2018. It directed the forensic auditors to ascertain the numbers of flats which were 'benami' property, doubly booked or booked on a nominal value by Amrapali Group. A bench of Justices Arun Mishra and U U Lalit directed Debt Recovery Tribunal, Delhi to conduct the valuation of Amrapali's five-star hotel Tech Park in Greater Noida and sell it by January end. It also .
Sebi board relaxes norms for clubbing of investment limits for well-regulated FPIs
Markets regulator Sebi Wednesday decided to relax its norms for clubbing of investment limits for well-regulated foreign portfolio investors (FPIs). Currently, FPIs are treated as part of the same investor group and the investment limits of all such entities are clubbed for deriving the investment limit as applicable to a single FPI in case of the same set of ultimate beneficial owners investing through multiple entities. "The proposal that clubbing of investment limit for FPIs will be on the basis of common ownership of more than 50 per cent or common control was approved," Sebi said in a statement. However, the clubbing of investment limits would not be applicable in case of entities having common control if the FPIs are appropriately regulated public retail funds. Public retail funds typically include insurance companies, pension funds and mutual funds or unit trusts that are open for retail subscriptions. After considering the recommendations of a working group under the ...
New RBI chief, global cues push up equity market (Roundup)
Positive global markets along with value buying and hopes of an ease in the monitory policy with the appointment of Shaktikanta Das as the RBI chief pushed the key equity indices 1.8 per cent higher on Wednesday.
BYJU'S to close USD 400 million funding round
Online education start-up BYJU'S will close a USD 400 million (about Rs 2,879 crore) funding round led by South African media giant Naspers in the next few weeks, according to sources. About USD 300 million of the amount has already come in, with the remaining expected to be closed in the next few weeks, sources close to the development said. The new round of funding is expected to value the company -- which is backed by high-profile investors like Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI), IFC (a World Bank Group member) and Tencent Holdings -- at about USD 3.6 billion (around Rs 25,800 crore), they added. Private equity major General Atlantic is also participating in this round, one of the sources said. When contacted, a BYJU'S spokesperson declined to comment. In June this year, BYJU'S had said it has crossed Rs 100 crore in monthly revenue and had revised its revenue targets for this year to Rs 1,400 crore. "Growing consistently at 100 per cent annually for the last three years, BYJU'S is .
Sebi allows segregation of distressed assets by mutual funds
Markets regulator Sebi Wednesday decided to allow mutual funds to create segregated portfolios with respect to debt and money market instruments in case of credit events while ensuring fair treatment to all unit holders. Creation of segregated portfolios is a mechanism to separate distressed, illiquid and hard-to-value assets from other more liquid assets in a portfolio. It prevents the distressed assets from damaging the returns generated from more liquid and better-performing assets. With a segregated portfolio, investors who may take the hit when the credit event happens shall get the upside of future recovery, Sebi said in a statement after the conclusion of the board meeting. The board has cleared a proposal "to allow mutual funds to create segregated portfolios with respect to debt and money market instruments subject to various safeguards", the statement said. A credit event is marked by any change that negatively impacts a borrower's capacity to meet payment obligations in ...
BSNL loss widens to Rs 7,992 cr in 2017-18
State-run telecom firm BSNL's annual loss widened to Rs 7,992 crore for the fiscal year ended March 2018, Parliament was informed Wednesday. According to financial data shared by Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha in the Lok Sabha, BSNL had posted a loss of Rs 4,793 crore in 2016-17. The reason for the widening of loss was not given in the reply. As per another set of data shared by Sinha, the market share of the state-run firm in the broadband segment declined to 10 per cent by the end of the financial year 2018 from 19 per cent in financial year 2009. The broadband share of the public sector firm has remained stable at 10 per cent since fiscal year 2016. "...mobile expansion project is under rollout which envisages introducing 4G services in BSNL. This will also increase GSM Radio capacity, mobile coverage and provide faster data connectivity," Sinha said.
New RBI chief Shaktikanta Das promises to be more consultative, hints at more dovish stance
MUMBAI (Reuters) - New Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das said on Wednesday he would adopt a consultative approach and move quickly to meet the heads of state-run banks to tackle issues facing the banking sector.
Manufacturing lifts India's November industrial output higher
Higher production in the manufacturing sector, especially of capital goods and consumer durables, accelerated India's industrial output to 8.1 per cent in October from a rise of 4.46 per cent in September and 1.8 per cent during the corresponding period of the previous fiscal, official data showed on Wednesday.
PPL expands base, to issue warning notice against unauthorised playing of music
With the New Year fast approaching, the Phonographic Performance Ltd (PPL) will first issue public notice for hotels, night clubs and other establishments to get a proper licence from it for playing copyrighted music, said a top company official.
OBC representation in govt jobs less than actual quota: Govt
The government said Wednesday representation of the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in the central services is less as compared to the percentage of reservation for them as their quota started in 1993. Union minister of state for personnel Jitendra Singh said in the Lok Sabha that the representation of the OBCs as on January 1, 2012 was 16.55 per cent and this has increased to 21.57 per cent as on January 1, 2016, showing an increasing trend in the representation of the OBCs. "Representation of the OBCs in the central government services is less compared to the percentage of reservation for them because reservation of OBCs started in September 1993," he said replying a written question. Singh said there is reservation of 15 per cent for the members of the Schedule Castes, 7.5 per cent for members of the Scheduled Tribes and 27 per cent for the members of the OBC. As per data received from 78 ministries and departments, including their attached and subordinate offices, the ...
Nov retail inflation slumps to 17-month low on easing food prices
Retail inflation plunged to a 17-month low in November at 2.33 per cent, mainly on account of decline in prices of kitchen essentials like vegetables, eggs and pulses. Retail inflation, which is calculated on the consumer price index (CPI), for October this year has been revised slightly up at 3.38 per cent from 3.31 per cent earlier, data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) showed Wednesday. In the year-ago period (November 2017), it was at 4.88 per cent. Retail inflation, a key input for the RBI to decide on its monetary policy, was lower than this in June 2017 when it stood at 1.46 per cent, as per data by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI). The CSO comes under MOSPI. The overall food inflation showed a negative print of 2.61 per cent in November against an uptick of 0.86 per cent in October. Vegetables prices showed a sharp decline with inflation standing at (-)15.59 per cent in November as against (-) 8.06 per cent in the previous month. For ...
Industrial production jumps 8.1% in October 2018
21 out of 23 industry groups in the manufacturing sector shows positive growth