Page 2508 - Business Finance
Tesla faces criminal probe over CEO Musk's statements: Bloomberg
(Reuters) - Tesla Inc is under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice over public statements made by the company and its Chief Executive Elon Musk, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, citing two people familiar with the matter.
SEBI approves new KYC norms for foreign investors
Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on Tuesday approved revised framework for settlement of cases and new know-your-customer (KYC) norms for foreign portfolio investors (FPI).
UiPath raises $225 mn funding led by Capital G and Sequoia
UiPath, an enterprise robotic process automation (RPA) software company, Tuesday said it has raised USD 225 million, led by existing investor CapitalG and new investor, Sequoia Capital. Proceeds from the series C round, which valued the company at USD 3 billion and saw participation from Accel as well, will be used to strengthen its Indian operations by increasing the workforce from 250 to 1,200 by end of 2019, UiPath said in a statement. The company, which had in July said its annual recurring revenue has increased from USD 1 million to USD 100 million, has more than 1,800 global customers. "This is a milestone development that is going to change the market dynamics and play an important role in our expansion plans in India," said Raghunath Subramanian, President and CEO (India and APAC), UiPath. The company plans to use the additional funding to support its accelerated product development ambitions, deepen its ecosystem of partnerships to deliver complementary AI-enabled solutions, .
10 mn people developed TB in '17; India accounts for 27%: WHO
India accounted for 27 per cent of the 10 million people who developed tuberculosis in 2017, the highest among the top 30 high TB burden countries in the world, according to a latest report by the World Health Organization. The 2018 edition of the Global Tuberculosis Report, released here Tuesday, provides a comprehensive and up-to-date assessment of the TB epidemic and progress in the response at global, regional and country levels. The report said that globally, the best estimate is that 10 million people developed TB disease in 2017. Of these, 5.8 million are men, 3.2 million women and one million children. There were cases in all countries and age groups, but overall 90 per cent were adults, and nine per cent were people living with HIV. Of the global total, two-thirds were in eight countries alone - India 27 per cent; China nine per cent; Indonesia eight per cent; the Philippines six per cent; Pakistan five per cent; Nigeria four per cent; Bangladesh four per cent and South ...
Sebi plans to extend disclosure requirements related to sexual harassment of women to all listed cos
To strengthen disclosures relating to safety of women at corporate sector workplaces, markets regulator Sebi Tuesday decided to extend disclosure requirements pertaining to sexual harassment of women to all listed companies. At present, the Business Responsibility Report requires similar disclosures from top 500 listed companies. In the annual reports, listed companies will have to disclose about complaints filed during the financial year, number of complaints disposed of and number of complaints pending as at the end of the fiscal. The amendments to Sebi (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) norms have been approved to insert these disclosure requirement with respect to complaints under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace in the corporate governance report as part of annual reports of listed entities, Sebi chief Ajay Tyagi told reporters here after the board meeting. "Presently the Business Responsibility Report requires similar disclosures from top 500 listed ...
Sebi unveils slew of reform measures; to revise KYC norms for foreign investors, slash MF charges
Unveiling more reform measures for the securities market, Sebi on Tuesday decided to come out with revised KYC norms for foreign investors, reduce the listing time after public offer to three days and slash the charges levied by mutual funds from investors. In a significant move that would help deepen the commodities market, overseas entities have been permitted to trade in commodity derivatives segment subject to certain conditions. A common application form would be introduced for foreign portfolio investors seeking to enter the domestic markets. The watchdog would put in place a revised settlement mechanism that bars wilful defaulters and fugitive economic offenders from settling proceedings. The offenders would also not be allowed to make open offers, among others. During its meeting here, the Sebi board also cleared proposals for mandating large listed companies to raise at least 25 per cent of their long-term borrowings through corporate bonds and levying a flat fee of Rs 1 lakh
Bank unions oppose proposed merger of three banks led by BoB
Bank unions have opposed the government's decision to merge Bank of Baroda, Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank, alleging that the move is just a diversion from the main issue of NPAs and their recovery from big corporates. According to All India Bank Officers' Confederation (AIBOC), the central problem of the Indian banking industry is the enormous pile of NPAs worth over Rs 10 lakh crore, which have accumulated on account of faulty lending practices and the absence of any strategy to recover the amounts from delinquent corporate houses. The absence of strong penal action against the corporate fraudsters like Vijaya Mallya, Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksey etc. reflect the lack of political will on the part of the government, it said. "In this backdrop, the announced merger of three public sector banks is nothing but a diversion away from the core issue of NPA recovery. Mergers cannot resolve or clean up the balance sheets; rather the NPAs of the three merged entities would simply add up," it ...
Sebi mulls reaching govt for powers to intercept calls, messages of economic offenders
To bolster its evidence-gathering mechanism, Sebi Tuesday said it may approach the government to seek powers to intercept calls and electronic communications of those suspected of serious economic offences. The committee, headed by former law secretary and Lok Sabha's ex-secretary general T K Viswanathan, had suggested last month that Sebi may seek direct power to intercept calls and electronic communication by ensuring proper checks and balances, like some other regulatory agencies. After putting up the suggestion for a public consultation process, Sebi (Securities and Exchange Board of India) has discussed the proposal in its board meeting. "On the recommendation that Sebi may seek direct power to intercept calls and electronic communication under the Telegraph Act, it was decided that the matter may be referred to the government to take an appropriate view," Sebi Chairman Ajay Tyagi told reporters here after the board meeting. Currently, the regulator has powers to seek call data ..
Petrol nears Rs 90/litre in Mumbai, over Rs 85 in Chennai
Continuing an upward movement, prices of petrol and diesel scaled new highs on Tuesday, with petrol nearing Rs 90 per litre in Mumbai and crossing Rs 84 in Kolkata.
Prabhu woos Australian pension funds
Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu Tuesday sold the India growth story to Australian Superfunds to attract the rich superannuation funds, valued at a whopping AUD 2.6 trillion, to the Indian markets. The minister during his meeting with a five-member delegation of Australian Superfunds here highlighted that exposure of Australian super or pension funds to Indian market was still limited, despite continued greater than average market returns in the country, according to a release by the commerce and industry ministry. During the meeting, the minister highlighted the potential of India growth story and assured them of stability and certainty of business in long term. He said India provides abundant opportunities for Australian Superfunds and "our priority is to engage them to explore investing in India". These superannuation funds valued at 2.6 trillion Australian dollar are one of the world's largest in terms of volume. "The funds have exposure including in various ...
Sebi fines Premium Industries Rs 7 lakh for SCORES violation
Markets regulator Sebi Tuesday imposed a fine of Rs 6.7 lakh on Premium Industries for failing to obtain authentication with its online complaint redressal system along with redressing investor grievances within the stipulated time. In an order, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) said the Premium Industries is a listed company, but has neither obtained SCORES authentication within the deadline of September 14, 2012, nor has it done so subsequently. "Six grievances of investors are pending for redressal for period of more than 3.4 years. Such persistent non-compliance does not inspire confidence of investors in the market, whose protection is Sebi's prime mandate," the regulator said. Sebi imposed a total fine of Rs 6.7 lakh on the firm. Launched in 2011, SCORES helps investors view, track and follow up the action taken on their grievances.
Global Markets: Stocks rise as no harm seen in trade row, dollar steady
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Global equity markets gained on Tuesday as the latest tit-for-tat U.S.-Chinese trade dispute was seen as barely denting world growth, while U.S. Treasury yields rose in anticipation the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates this year and next.
Trump slaps tariffs on $200 bn of Chinese goods, Beijing hits back
US President Donald Trump has stepped up his trade battle with China by slapping 10 per cent tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports, prompting Beijing to retaliate by imposing duties on American products worth $60 billion.
ICICI Bank, Kochhar have replied to show-cause notices: Sebi
Markets watchdog Sebi Tuesday said, ICICI Bank and Chanda Kochhar have replied to its show-cause notices on the probe into the alleged regulatory lapses by the bank's CEO-on-indefinite-leave in lending to Videocon group and her husband's business deals with the Dhoot family. ICICI Bank and the business dealings of the Kochhar family have come under the regulatory glare of Sebi and other agencies after a whistleblower has reported to the government agencies that the Kochhar family had some quid pro quo in its dealings with the now bankrupt Videocon group. In FY 2012, the bank had, by allegedly flouting its own lending norms extended a Rs 3,250 crore loan to the Videocon group, which has since turned dud for the bank, which is though is not the lead lender. Addressing the media after a board meeting here this evening, Tyagi, when asked about the ICICI Bank issue, said, "I think there was some reply to our show-cause notice, but I man not very sure about their consent application." Whole
Gadkari says record fuel prices hurting people
As fuel prices inch closer to the psychological Rs 90-mark in the city where petrol and diesel are the costliest, Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari Tuesday admitted that fuel prices are "very high and hurting the public". While petrol was selling at Rs 89.54 a litre in the city Tuesday, up 10 paise from Monday, and diesel at Rs 78.42, up nine paise, in over a dozen cities in the state, petrol is already selling at Rs 90-91 a litre, and diesel over Rs 80. ".... one thing is there that (fuel) rates are very high and it is a situation where definitely people are facing problems," Gadkari said while addressing the third Bloomberg India Economic Forum here. Gadkari also said he has been told that there is a likelihood of the global crude prices going down. He, however, did not clarify on the source of his information. The minister, who is in charge of shipping, ports, road transport and also Ganga rejuvenation, was replying to a specific question on high fuel prices and .
HPCL launches REMINERO packaged drinking water
Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) Tuesday forayed into the packaged drinking water sector with the launch of REMINERO, a product in partnership with city-based Indian Institute of Chemical Technology HPCL entered into an agreement with IICT to seek their expertise in 'Membrane Technology', along with infrastructure support, for manufacturing Re-Mineralised Nano-Filtered packaged drinking water adhering to the prevailing standards. This initiative, besides being a value added service to customers visiting retail outlets, would make available packaged drinking water fortified with minerals to the public at large, HPCL Executive Director (Retail), G S V Prasad said. "A modern plant has been commissioned at the IICT campus with the latest technology for manufacturing packaged drinking water and it has been licensed by BIS and FSSAI," he said. As of now 'REMINERO' would be made available through HPCL's retail outlet network within the twin cities of Hyderabad and ...
Sebi to soon come out with revised KYC norms for FPIs
In a significant move, Sebi Tuesday said it would soon come out with revised KYC norms for foreign investors and also allow overseas entities to trade in the commodity derivatives market. Foreign entities with exposure to the Indian physical commodity market would be allowed to trade in the commodity derivatives segment, Sebi Chairman Ajay Tyagi told reporters here. Such foreign entities would be allowed to hedge their exposures with derivatives trading in all commodities traded on Indian exchanges, barring sensitive commodities. Besides, Sebi's board, during its meeting here, has cleared a proposal to introduce a common application form for foreign investors to enter into the domestic capital market. The move expected to improve ease of doing business. Tyagi said that the proposed Know Your Client (KYC) requirements and eligibility conditions for Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) were discussed by the board. The discussions came against the backdrop of the circular issued on April ..
Tata Steel acquires 51 stake of Creative Port Development
Tata Steel said Tuesday it has completed the acquisition of 51 per cent equity stake in Creative Port Development Pvt Ltd (CPDPL). "The company has today concluded the acquisition of 51 per cent equity stake in CPDPL," Tata Steel said in a BSE filing. In January 2017, the steel major had announced to acquire 51 per cent stake of Creative Port Development Pvt (CPDPL) from CI Mega Projects Pvt Ltd for an undisclosed amount.
Ireland recovers 14bn euros in Apple 'back taxes'
Apple has completed payment of 14.3 billion euros ($16.7 billion) in back taxes to the Irish government, Dublin said Tuesday, following a European Commission ruling that the tech giant had benefitted from illegal tax breaks in the country. The money has been paid into an escrow account, a type of third-party account used in transactions. The payments were issued over the second and third quarters of 2018, creating "one of the largest funds of its kind to be established," finance minister Paschal Donohoe said in a statement. But Dublin continues to deny that Apple -- which has established its European headquarters in Ireland -- benefitted from preferential treatment from revenue services, as the Commission ruled in 2016. In his statement Donohoe referred to the recovered funds as "alleged state aid" and said the ruling continues to be formally challenged. But he said Ireland had made the recovery as a result of its obligations as an EU member state. "The government fundamentally ...
Not filed for consent settlement with SEBI: ICICI Bank
Hours after an official of securities market regulator SEBI said that ICICI Bank has filed for settlement through consent mechanism, the private lender denied filing any such application.