Page 2082 - Business Finance

Construction of 4 lakh housing units behind schedule in Delhi, Mumbai: Report

Construction of around four lakh housing units was running behind schedule in the Delhi-NCR region and Mumbai as of September, according to a report by real estate portal 99acres.com on Wednesday.

Increased flow of institutional funds to real estate sector expected

With the regulator in the real estate sector in place and various issues pertaining to real estate investment trust (REIT) getting sorted out, institutional funding is expected to flow into the domestic real estate sector, said an official of CBRE-India and South East Asia.

Shriram EPC bags Rs 236 cr water management order from

Engineering, procurement and constructing major Shriram EPC Ltd has bagged orders worth Rs 236 crore from the Jharkhand government for a drinking water project to be implemented over a period of 36 months. The order involves laying of 700 kms of pipeline, setting up of a 21.5 MLD water treatment plant, construction of elevated service reservoir and providing 25,543 house service connections in Jharkhand, the city-based company said in a statement here Wednesday. "This order win represents another big step forward for the company as it increases the scale of its presence in India", Shriram EPC Ltd., Managing Director and CEO, T Shivaraman said. The repeat order also strengthened the company's position as "a leading engineering company in the water management sector," he said adding it also demonstrated the quality of operations and excellence of its team.

L&T Q2 net profit jumps 28% to Rs 2,593 cr; says pvt sector investment cautious

Infrastructure giant Larsen and Toubro Wednesday reported 28.36 per cent jump in its consolidated net profit to Rs 2,593.41 crore for the quarter ended September 30. The company, however, said private sector investments in the country remain cautious in view of increased economic volatility. It also said that recovery of non-performing corporate debts through insolvency resolution has improved the business sentiments. The infrastructure conglomerate had clocked a net profit after tax of Rs 2,020.30 crore in the year-ago period. "Investment by private sector, however, remains cautious with increased economic volatility in terms of hardening commodity prices, weakening INR, rising crude oil prices, tight liquidity in the financial markets, coupled with unevenly distributed monsoon," L&T said in a statement. It also said that 'Make for India' initiative by the government, especially in Defence, is yet to create an impact due to various embroils. "Fiscal pressures and increased ...

Gold dips on strong dollar, but set for biggest monthly gain since January

BENGALURU (Reuters) - Gold slid to its lowest in nearly three weeks on Wednesday as the dollar jumped and stock markets regained momentum following a spate of heavy losses, but the metal remained on track for its biggest monthly gain since January.

Smelter closure, weak zinc ops depress Vedanta's profit

(Reuters) - Indian miner Vedanta Ltd reported on Wednesday a 34 percent fall in second-quarter net profit, hit by lower revenue from its zinc operations, rising costs and the shutdown of a smelter in southern India.

People have saved around Rs 600 cr in FY'19 under PMBJP: Mandaviya

Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya Wednesday said people have saved around Rs 600 crore in the current fiscal so far under the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP). The government's endeavour to provide quality medicines at an affordable price is now making an impact on the lives of common masses, Mandaviya said in a statement. In 2018-19 (up to October 2018), the total sales of Janaushadhi medicines have crossed Rs 150 crore, the Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers said. "This has led to total savings of approximately Rs 600 crore for common people, as these medicines are cheaper by 50 per cent to 90 per cent as compared to average market price of branded medicines," Mandaviya said. Currently, there are more than 4,300 Janaushadhi stores in 640 districts in the country, he added. "The average monthly sales per store have grown to Rs 1.50 lakh, as per a recent survey by the Bureau of Pharma PSUs of India (BPPI)," Mandaviya said. By the end of 2018-19, the ..

ED seeks Chidambaram's interrogation, opposes anticipatory bail plea

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday filed a reply in a Delhi court opposing an anticipatory bail plea filed by former finance minister P. Chidambaram in the Aircel Maxis case.The probe agency said that it has reached a "bonafide conclusion" that custodial interrogation of Chidambaram is required and granting him the anticipatory bail would "vitiate the investigation".The ED also mentioned that Chidambaram has remained evasive and is not cooperating with the agency in the investigation. The hearing in the matter will now take place on November 1.Last week, the ED filed a supplementary charge sheet under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) in the court in connection with the same case in which nine persons, including Chidambaram, were listed as accused.The Aircel Maxis case, which emerged out of the 2G spectrum cases, pertains to a grant of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) approval to firm M/S Global Communication and Services Holdings Limited, ...

GM profit races past expectations, sees strong full year

DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Co on Wednesday posted far stronger-than-expected quarterly profit and said its full-year earnings forecast would come in at the high end of its forecast due to strong demand in North America, driven by its new pick-up trucks.

Indian man nearly drowns at Dubai beach

An Indian man was rescued after nearly drowning at Dubai's popular JBR beach, the media reported on Wednesday.

Global Markets: Shares bounce as bulls fight back after brutal October

LONDON (Reuters) - Stock markets bounced on Wednesday, bringing some relief after a brutal October in which equities have suffered one of their worst drops in a decade and spooked investors.

Apple's India profit zooms 140% to Rs 896 cr in FY18

Tech giant Apple's India unit registered 140 per cent jump in its net profit at Rs 896.3 crore for the fiscal ended March 2018, as per regulatory documents filed by the company. The iPhone maker, which competes with the likes of OnePlus and Samsung in the premium smartphone category in India, had registered net profit of Rs 373.3 crore in 2016-17, the documents filed with the Corporate Affairs Ministry showed. The company saw its total income (including other income) rising about 12 per cent to Rs 13,097.6 crore in FY2018 from Rs 11,704.3 crore in the previous financial year, documents sourced by business intelligence firm Tofler showed. Apple did not respond to an emailed query. During the company's earnings call in July, Apple CFO Luca Maestri had stated that Apple was witnessing great momentum in emerging markets and that it had established new June quarter records for Mac sales in India. Earlier in the year, Apple CEO Tim Cook, too, had emphasised the importance of the Indian ...

Sebi bans Shrivallis Securities from capital markets

Sebi has barred Cuttack-based Shrivallis Securities, its seven directors and promoters from dealing in capital markets till further orders after finding a "prima facie" violation of public issue norms by the company. Besides, the market regulator directed the firm not to dispose of their assets or divert funds raised from the public through offer of RPS and cooperate with the regulator in providing the required information. After Shrivallis failed to submit the documents sought by Sebi, the regulator from the Registrar of Companies (RoC), Odisha, found that the company had issued Redeemable Preference Shares (RPS) to 421 persons during 2011 to 2013 to raise Rs 4.4 crore. Since the shares were issued to over 50 people, the offer of RPS qualified to be a "prima facie" public issue and required compulsory listing of securities on a recognised stock exchange among other requirements which it "prima facie" failed to do, Sebi noted. "The money mobilization on the part of Shrivallis ...

Tata Steel to continue discussions with EU for Thyssenkrupp JV

Tata Steel Wednesday said it will continue discussions with the European Union (EU) on proposed joint venture with Thyssenkrupp. The statement comes a day after the EU launched an in-depth investigation to assess if Tata Steel's proposed joint venture (JV) with German steel giant ThyssenKrupp would breach the bloc's merger regulations and reduce competition. The European Commission Tuesday launched an in-depth investigation to assess the proposed creation of a joint venture by Tata Steel and ThyssenKrupp. "Tata Steel to continue discussions with the European commission on proposed joint venture with Thyssenkrupp," Tata Steel said in a statement issued Wednesday. In June, Tata Steel had confirmed that it has agreed to the terms of a 50-50 joint venture with ThyssenKrupp to create Europe's second-largest steel company after Lakshmi Mittal's ArcelorMittal. "The proposed joint venture is subject to merger control clearance in several jurisdictions, including the European Union, and until .

Iran sanctions seen keeping oil above $75, but 2019 demand outlook darkens: poll

(Reuters) - Oil is likely to stay above $75 a barrel, fuelled by supply disruptions exacerbated by U.S. sanctions on Iran, but further gains could be limited as economists and analysts see demand growth slowing next year due to trade wars and economic weakness.

Strengthen NFRA to deal with challenges related to audit firms, says panel

A government-appointed panel has suggested strengthening the National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) to deal with "contemporary challenges" related to auditors, audit firms and networks operating in the country, according to a release. The committee, consisting of three government officials, was set up in April following directions from the Supreme Court in a case regarding multinational accounting firms. A release issued by the Corporate Affairs Ministry on Wednesday said the committee of experts has submitted its report on regulating audit firms and the networks to the government. "The global trend indicates a clear shift from self-regulation to independent regulatory structure in the domain of audit regulation due to the failure of self-regulatory model in regulating the professionals," the ministry said. As per the release, the committee found establishment of the NFRA as a necessary institutional reform which would align the Indian audit landscape with the global ...

HPCL continues to not recognise ONGC as its promoter

Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's assertion notwithstanding, oil refiner Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) continues not to recognise ONGC, its majority owner, as its promoter company. In a filing to stock exchanges on the company's shareholding pattern as of the end of September, HPCL continues to list "President of India" as its promoter with "zero" per cent shareholding. Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), which earlier this year bought the government's entire 51.11 per cent stake in HPCL for Rs 36,915 crore, is listed a "public shareholder", owning "77.88 crores" shares or "51.11 per cent" shareholding of the company. Calls made to HPCL Chairman and Managing Director M K Surana for comments went answered. ONGC, which had to borrow Rs 24,876 crore for the acquisition that helped the government meet its disinvestment target for the 2017-18 fiscal, had made its displeasure clear about not being recognised as a promoter of HPCL. In a strongly worded letter to HPCL, it a couple of ...

Siti Networks reports standalone net loss of Rs 49.72 crore in the September 2018 quarter

Sales rise 16.80% to Rs 219.34 crore

Indo Tech Transformers reports standalone net loss of Rs 1.13 crore in the September 2018 quarter

Sales rise 16.16% to Rs 49.88 crore

Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri standalone net profit rises 113.75% in the September 2018 quarter

Sales rise 6.01% to Rs 345.61 crore