Page 1583 - Business Finance
India's November core consumer inflation at 5.7 percent vs 6.1 percent in October - analysts
MUMBAI (Reuters) - India's core consumer inflation was about 5.7 percent in November, compared with roughly 6.1 percent in October, two analysts estimated from inflation figures released on Wednesday.
India's November core consumer inflation at 5.7 percent vs 6.1 percent in Oct - analysts
MUMBAI (Reuters) - India's core consumer inflation was about 5.7 percent in November, compared with roughly 6.1 percent in October, two analysts estimated from inflation figures released on Wednesday.
AirAsia announces Chennai-Hyderabad route;services from Dec 21
: Budget carrier AirAsia Wednesday announced it would operate flights on the Chennai-Hyderabad sector and that services would begin from December 21. Passengers can book tickets via the airliners' mobile application and avail promotional fares from Rs 1,399 for flights between Chennai and Hyderabad and Rs 1,899 from Hyderabad to Chennai. The booking of tickets commenced Wednesday and would go on till December 23 for travel from December 21 to February 4, 2020, a company statement said. "We are happy to launch a new route connecting Hyderabad and Chennai and are proud to have created a demand for air travel", AirAsia India Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Sunil Bhaskaran said. "A study conducted by us shows that 26 per cent of flyers are first-time flyers, which goes on to show how we have enabled a lot more people to experience air travel", he said. Bhaskaran said the inaugural flight would leave Chennai at 1905 hours and reach Hyderabad at 20.45 hours on ...
CAIT slams CII report favouring 100% FDI in multi-brand retail
Traders' body CAIT Wednesday slammed industry chamber CII for favouring 100 per cent foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail and said any such move would affect livelihoods of crores of people. In a joint report released Tuesday, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and global management consultancy firm AT Kearney said the government should consider permitting 100 per cent foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail and further improve ease of doing business for the sector to promote growth in the segment. Reacting to the CII report, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) issued a statement alleging "the CII is a mouth-piece of MNCs and corporates who are destined to capture and monopolise the retail trade of India. Its demand for allowing FDI in multi-brand retail is to keep such companies in good humour as they are funding CII". The industry chamber's report said that to overcome the barriers and enable a smooth growth and harmonious coexistence of ...
Rupee tumbles 16 paise, breaches 72-mark vs USD
The rupee declined by 16 paise to close at 72.01 against the US dollar Wednesday amid strengthening of the greenback and rising crude oil prices even as the equity markets staged a sharp upmove. At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (forex) market, the local unit opened lower at 72.10 and fell further to touch the day's low of 72.17. The domestic currency, however, pared some losses and finally ended at 72.01 per dollar, down by 16 paise against its previous close. On Tuesday, the Indian rupee had plunged 53 paise to 71.85 per US dollar. The weakness in the rupee comes amid the prompt appointment of former bureaucrat Shaktikanta Das as the new RBI Governor. Fitch Ratings Wednesday said the resignation of Urjit Patel as Reserve Bank Governor highlights the risks to RBI's policy priorities and increased government influence on the central bank could undermine the efforts to address bad loan problems. Forex traders said the rupee came under pressure following strengthening of the dollar ...
India's industrial output grows 8.1 percent year on year in October - government
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's industrial output in October grew a stronger-than-expected 8.1 percent from a year earlier, government data showed on Wednesday.
India November retail inflation rate falls to 2.33 percent year on year - government
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's retail inflation rate fell to 2.33 percent in November, government data showed on Friday, due to weaker food inflation.
Ninjacart raises Rs 250 cr from Accel US, Syngenta Ventures, others
Agri-tech platform Ninjacart Wednesday said it has closed a Rs 250 crore funding round from Accel US, Syngenta Ventures and others. The series B round also saw participation from Neoplux, Jo Hirao (ZIGExN founder), HR Capital (Russia) and Trifecta Capital. All existing investors -- Accel India, Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani, Mistletoe and Qualcomm Ventures also participated in this round. With this funding round, Ninjacart has raised a total of Rs 310 crore so far. The funding will be used to expand to new geographies, strengthen the product and technology team and invest in bettering the supply chain infrastructure, Ninjacart CEO and co-founder Thirukumaran Nagarajan said. He added that Ninjacart aims to expand to more than 10 cities, open 200 distribution centres across India and scale hiring and onboarding talent in the near future. He, however, declined to comment on the valuation of the company post the fund-raise and revenue numbers. Launched in 2015, Ninjacart is a ...
Retail inflation drops to one-and-half year low of 2.33 pc in Nov
Retail inflation cooled to an about one-and-half year low of 2.33 per cent in November, official data showed Wednesday. The consumer price index (CPI) based retail inflation in October was revised upwards to 3.38 per cent from 3.31 earlier, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) said. Retail inflation stood at 4.88 per cent in November 2017. The rate of price rise has been on a decline for the past four months. The previous low than the latest print of 2.33 per cent was back in June 2017, when retail inflation stood at 1.46 per cent.
Sebi board clears easier startups listing rules; allows MFs to segregate distressed assets
In a series of reforms, capital market regulator Sebi's board on Wednesday cleared easing of norms to kick-start startup listings and allowed mutual funds to segregate distressed assets to safeguard investment returns. At a meeting held here, the Sebi board also approved a proposal to expand the offer-for-sale mechanism for reduction of stake in listed companies and relaxed clubbing of investment limit norms for well-regulated foreign investors. The expansion of offer-for sale scheme will include all companies with Rs 1,000-crore and above market-capitalisation.
Analysis: After dire 2018, chastened funds tout emerging FX again
LONDON (Reuters) - Emerging market currencies have had one of their worst years in a decade, but bruised investors tempted by what they see as cheap valuations are hoping the U.S. dollar's eight-month resurgence will end and the world won't tip into recession.
India far from perfect on global competitiveness: WEF Chief
India is far from being perfect on global competitiveness and is saddled in the "middle class" of the rankings, World Economic Forum (WEF) founder and executive chairman Klaus Schwab said Wednesday. "It's far from being perfect. I also think the very important indicator is that how long it takes to create business and you have some places today where it takes half a day. India is still in the middle class here," he added. Schwab, who is in the financial capital ahead of the WEF's annual meeting in the Swiss resort town of Davos, was replying to a question on how the country fares on the ease of doing business front. The country has moved eight places to be at 58 among 140 countries in WEF's global competitiveness rankings, while it has climbed much sharply to 77th in World Bank's ease of doing business ranking, from being 144th a few years ago. Schwab said the country should work towards creating the necessary ecosystem to boost entrepreneurship. Speaking to reporters ...
Will do everything possible to uphold autonomy, credibility of RBI: New Governor
Newly appointed Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das on Wednesday said that he would do everything possible to uphold the "credibility and autonomy" of the central bank."I will try and uphold professionalism, core values, credibility and autonomy of this institution. It's an honour and great opportunity to serve RBI. I will try my best to work with everyone and work in the interest of Indian economy," Das said at a press conference here.Reacting to the relations between the Central government and the RBI, the new Governor said, "I don't know if the relationship is good or not but we have to have stakeholders consultation. The government is not just a stakeholder but also runs the country, economy and manages major policy decisions. So, there has to be a discussion between the government and the RBI."Urjit Patel, the 24th RBI Governor, stepped down abruptly on Monday, weeks after differences between the Central bank and the government came out in the public.Das, a ...
New RBI Governor very sensible, forward-looking: NITI Aayog CEO
NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant on Wednesday said that the new Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das will add immense value to the central bank as far as its independence and autonomy is concerned. Kant also called Das "a very sensible and forward-looking officer.""Shaktikanta Das has been in the Revenue and Finance Departments (under Union Finance Ministry) and handled budgets of the Government of India. He will add immense value to the RBI as far as its independence and autonomy is concerned," Kant told ANI.Das, a member of the 15th Finance Commission and former Economic Affairs Secretary, was appointed RBI Governor, a day after Urjit Patel quit abruptly.Das, an IAS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre, will have a tenure of three years, according to a decision taken by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC).
Endurance International Group Appoints Manish Dalal as Managing Director of Asia-Pacific
Endurance International Group (NASDAQ"We are excited to welcome Manish to lead the growth and development of our APAC strategy," said Christine Timmins Barry, Chief Services Officer of Endurance International Group. "His expertise in the region coupled with his strong industry expertise in domains, web hosting, and online presence make him an ideal leader and instrumental to Endurance's future growth."Manish brings over 20 years of corporate experience to his role at Endurance. He has worked for leading technology companies such as Motorola, Yahoo! and Verisign, with roles that spanned engineering, product management, global partnerships, and general management. Most recently, he was Vice President and General Manager for Verisign APAC, where for the last eight years, Manish grew the company's online presence business across regions such as India, China, Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia."I'm impressed with Endurance's breadth of brands that support small business owners and am ..
Stocks, bonds rally as rate cut bets rise; inflation in focus
MUMBAI (Reuters) - Indian stocks and bonds closed higher on Wednesday after the government moved quickly to calm markets and appoint a new central bank governor whose predecessor quit after a months-long tussle over policy.
New RBI chief Shaktikanta Das to consult with banks, 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.
OYO Believes Budget Association Frenzy Misplaced; Will Lead to Price Increase Upto 40%
OYO, India's fastest growing chain of hotels, homes and living spaces, today confirmed that while they have received the recommendations made by FHRAI, the company believes that same are based on invalid claims by certain bodies, that seem to have been misleading the apex body.While OYO will continue to engage with FHRAI and with its asset owners on a one to one basis, to resolve issues if any, the company strongly condemns the misplaced demands of certain organizations, as the same is not in the best interest of consumers or asset owners."Today, OYO Hotels and Homes, a full-scale hotel chain like many others, operates over thousands of franchised and leased hotels in India and hosts millions of guests from around the world. More and more people choose OYO every year than any other hotel chain in the country, and that is because of our collective focus on delivering high-quality customer experiences. We are privileged to partner with asset owners and independent hoteliers across the ..
Central bank autonomy "sacred": Arvind Subramanian
With the reins rpt reins of RBI (Reserve Bank of India) governorship passing to an ex-bureaucrat, former chief economic advisor Arvind Subramanian Wednesday said central bank autonomy is "sacred", which should not be compromised. Progress on the steps taken by Governor Shaktikanta Das' predecessor Urjit Patel to restore financial system integrity will be a key thing to assess any damage to the institution. "What is going to be key is whether this (restoring financial system agenda) is maintained going forward. That is going to be the yardstick to measure what is happening on the bigger institutional front," he said, speaking at the Fifth India Economic Conclave here. "RBI has a very good reputation for very good reasons (and) maintaining the functional autonomy in decision-making and governance is absolutely sacred, we must not compromise on that," he added. He said under Patel, the RBI has done a "commendable" job on decisions like prompt corrective action (PCA), ...
CBIC to notify Korean Won, Turkish Lira in list of currencies for exchange rate
The CBIC Wednesday said it will include Korean Won and Turkish Lira in the list of currencies for exchange rates for the purpose of valuing imports and exports. The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) notifies the Rate of Exchange for the purpose of conversion of foreign exchange to Indian rupees and vice versa for assessment of imports and exports, under Section 14 of the Customs Act, 1962. "Currently, CBIC notifies exchange rates for 20 currencies for the purpose of valuation of imported and exported goods and it has been now decided to include 2 more currencies namely Korean Won and Turkish Lira in the list of such currencies," a finance ministry statement said. The ministry said that notifying Korean Won (WON) and Turkish Lira (TKY) by CBIC will facilitate trade and business by easing the process of conversion of these currencies into rupee and vice versa. The initiative is also anticipated to help the exporters claim the benefits of Merchandise Export Incentive ...