Page 2627 - Business Finance
Valocity attracts investment from the Huljich family
Valocity, the leading cloud-based mortgage lending and valuation platform, has announced receiving growth capital from the New Zealand-based Huljich family, which acquired a 25.7% stake in the company.The capital raised from Valocity's now cornerstone shareholders, will be used to accelerate expansion opportunities in New Zealand, Australia and India.The Huljich family brings strong governance, growth and tech expertise to Valocity, through investments in a number of high-growth tech kiwi success stories.The family's investments include Diligent Board Member Services Inc, where the family invested as the sole pre-IPO funder in 2007, as well as NZX and ASX-listed Pushpay Holdings Limited, where the family holds a 21.8% stake.Peter Huljich joins Valocity's board complementing existing board members Jonty Kelt, Debra Hall, Andrew Harris and Valocity founders, Antony and Carmen Vicelich."We are delighted to welcome the Huljich family to our share register and Peter Huljich to our board. ..
Angel Broking files Rs 600-cr IPO papers with Sebi
Angel Broking has filed draft papers with capital markets regulator Sebi to raise an estimated Rs 600 crore through an initial public offering. The IPO comprises fresh issuance of shares worth Rs 300 crore, besides an offer of sale of the same size by promoters and other existing shareholders, according to the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) filed with Sebi. IFC will sell shares to the tune of Rs 120 crore in the offer for sale. Proceeds of the issue will be utilised for meeting working capital requirements and for general corporate purposes. ICICI Securities, Edelweiss Financial Services and SBI Capital Markets will manage the company's IPO. The equity shares will be listed on BSE and NSE. Angel Broking, a leading full-service retail broking house in the country, has presence across 1,800 cities and towns through a network of sub-brokers and over 110 branches. As of June 2018, the company managed Rs 1,13,02 crore in client assets and over 11 lakh active broking accounts.
Gold recovers on renewed buying, global cues
Gold prices surged by Rs 105 per 10 gram at the bullion market here Wednesday in sync with a firm global trend amid persistent buying by local jewellers. Silver prices, too, recovered marginally by Rs 15 per kg on mild offtake from industrial units. Standard gold (99.5 per cent purity) rose by Rs 105 to finish at Rs 30,265 per 10 gram from Tuesday's closing level of Rs 30,160. Pure gold (99.9 per cent purity) also surged by a similar margin to end at Rs 30,415 per 10 gram as against Rs 30,310 earlier. Silver (.999 fineness) gained by Rs 15 per kg to conclude at Rs 36,415 from Rs 36,400, previously. Globally, gold edged up, after slipping to a more than one-week low in the previous session, as the dollar eased despite concerns of an escalation in the trade conflict between the United States and China. Spot gold rose 0.2 per cent to USD 1,193.31 at early trade. Spot silver was up 0.1 per cent at USD 14.10.
Kurl-on to invest Rs 200 cr for expansion
Mattress brand Kurl-on plans to invest Rs 200 crore in innovation and new technology to double its product portfolio in the next two years and to consolidate the brand's growth in home furniture and furnishings segment. Kurl-on, which announced the launch of 'STR8 Technology' for its mattresses Wednesday, said it will rapidly expand the retail presence across the country to 2,000 stores by 2020. This will be done through both multi-brand and franchise outlets as well as its two exclusive brand outlets- 'Kurl-on Homes' and 'Home Komfort by Kurl-on'. "The company aims to expand the Kurl-on Home stores from 430 at present to 1,000 in the next two years and Home Komfort to another 100 outlets," the company said in a statement. The retail expansion, together with the increase in product portfolio will enable Kurl-on consolidate its growth and emergence as a serious and larger home furniture and furnishings brand, it added. Kurl-on Chairman and MD T Sudhakar Pai said its sales in the ...
Crisil withdraws D rating for RInfra NCDs
Reliance Infrastructure (RInfra) said Wednesday rating agency Crisil has withdrawn its D rating for the company's non-convertible debentures totalling Rs 710 crore. "Crisil has withdrawn its 'D' ratings for Reliance Infrastructure's NCDs totalling Rs 710 crore. The company has repaid the NCDs from the funds received from the sale of Integrated Mumbai Distribution Business to Adani Transmission," RInfra said in a statement. Instruments with Crisil D rating are in default or are expected to be in default soon. The company had informed the NCD holders that they would be paid out of the proceeds of the transaction, it said. Reliance Infrastructure said that earlier BWR (Brickwork Ratings) has withdrawn its 'D' rating for the NCDs amounting to Rs 418.70 crore and BWR C for the NCD amounting to Rs 50 crore of Reliance Infrastructure. The company last week completed a transformational transaction of sale of its Mumbai Power Business and entire proceeds were used to pay off above mentioned ...
Chinese e-commerce tycoon part of celebrity tech elite
The e-commerce billionaire who was arrested and released by Minneapolis police is a prominent member of a Chinese tech elite who enjoy the glamour of movie stars in their homeland. Admirers know Richard Liu's story well: The son of peasants built a Beijing electronics shop into JD.com, China's biggest online direct retailer, selling everything from clothes to toys to fresh vegetables. He appealed to customers by promising genuine products in a market buffeted by scandals over fake and sometimes deadly milk and other goods. Like a pop star keeping fans up to date, the 45-year-old Liu shares some details of his life on social media, including his 2015 marriage to a woman 19 years his junior. That celebrity meant Liu immediately attracted attention when news broke that police in Minneapolis arrested him Friday and released him a day later. JD.com said he was falsely accused and police found no misconduct. The company said Liu was back in Beijing on Monday. A police report said the charge
China central bank to boost support for smaller firms
BEIJING (Reuters) - China's central bank will improve its policy transmission mechanism to further step up financing support for smaller firms, its governor, Yi Gang, said in remarks published on Wednesday.
GeM should allow private cos to buy from portal: Prabhu
The Government e-marketplace (GeM) should consider allowing private companies to buy goods and services from the portal, Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu today said. Currently, only government departments and public sector units are allowed to procure goods and services from this platform. The ministry launched GeM in August 2016 with the objective of creating an open and transparent procurement platform for the government. Prabhu said that GeM, which is under the administrative control of the commerce ministry, should now think of expanding its scope to increase the volumes of goods and services traded. "I feel that we should now think of expanding the scope of GeM. One thing I would like GeM to do is that today private companies can register but the buyer is only government. To make sure that this expands even more, we would like to see that even private companies can buy," he said. Prabhu said this while launching the six-week national GeM mission initiative starting ...
Exports benefiting from weak rupee, says trade secretary
MUMBAI (Reuters) - Indian exports are rising driven by a fall in the rupee against U.S. dollar, by more than 11 percent so far this year, the trade secretary said on Thursday.
Govt to bring integrated policy to boost chemicals sector: Secy
The government will soon bring an integrated policy to boost the growth of India's chemical sector currently estimated at USD 160 billion. Addressing a CII conference here Wednesday, Chemicals and Petrochemicals Secretary P Raghavendra Rao said the new policy would aim to create an enabling environment for further growth of this sector. "We are coming up with an integrated policy for both chemical and petrochemical sector," he said. The draft policy has already been prepared and consultation process is on with the stakeholders to fine-tune it, he added. The secretary said the policy would become a reality during this financial year. Rao said the installed capacity of this sector is 22 million tonnes while production is 17-18 million tonnes. He said about 9 million tonnes capacity is currently being added. Stating that demand for chemicals is rising, Rao said there would be a gap of 7.5 million tonnes in ethylene alone. The country needs new manufacturing plants to boost domestic ...
Hike minimum selling price of sugar, fix compulsory export quota at 7 mn tonnes: ISMA to govt
Sitting on a huge stock of around 10 million tonnes of sugar, industry body ISMA Wednesday demanded that the government should hike the minimum selling price of sweetener to Rs 36 from the current Rs 29 per kg and fix compulsory export quota at 7 million tonnes to bail out the sector. India produced a record 32 million tonnes of sugar in the current 2017-18 marketing year (October-September). This is estimated to rise to 35-35.5 million tonnes next marketing year as against the domestic demand of 26 million tonnes. "Sugar sector is in a big crisis. We want minimum selling price of sweetener be raised to Rs 36 per kg," Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) Director General Abinash Verma told reporters on the sidelines of Kingsman Asia Sugar conference. This will help mills clear cane arrears that currently stands at about Rs 13,000 crore, he said. Increase in minimum selling price of sweetener would not hit consumer much as retail price would go up only by Rs 4 to Rs 43-44 per kg, ...
Germany still aims for 'fair taxation' of internet companies: finance ministry
BERLIN (Reuters) - The German finance ministry denied a newspaper report on Wednesday that Finance Minister Olaf Scholz had given up on plans to make internet giants, including Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon, pay more tax.
Century Plyboards (India) to shift registered office
With effect from 10 October 2018
Government says addressing concerns over investment rule changes
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The Indian government is addressing concerns arising from the market regulator's new foreign fund rules for non-resident Indians, a finance ministry adviser said on Wednesday.
Japan's Pioneer keen to set up mfg unit in India to tap fast growing auto segment
Japanese car audio and entertainment system maker Pioneer Wednesday said it is exploring the possibility to set up manufacturing facility in India to tap the fast growing automobile market here. The company is looking to supply its audio systems directly to vehicle manufacturers as factory fitments, a top company official said. Besides, the company, which presently has around 40 per cent market share in the after sales car audio segment, is looking to have 50 per cent market share in the next one year. OEM business and requirements from customer side have stress on starting local production, Pioneer India Managing Director Toshiyuki Yoshikawa told PTI, adding that "to meet that expectations, we might go for it". He however added: "We have not decided yet... we are studying the market." According to Pioneer, India is their one of the fastest growing markets globally in terms of growth ratio. Pioneer National Sales Manager Manvir Ahuja said the proposed plant may also help the company ..
Centrum acquires L&T Finance's supply chain finance business
Centrum Financial Services, the NBFC arm of the Centrum group, Wednesday said it has signed an agreement to acquire the supply chain finance business of L&T Finance, for an undisclosed sum. A subsidiary of L&T Finance Holdings, L&T Finance has a loan book of approximately Rs 800 crore, a staff strength of 50 professionals and operates out of 16 cities in the country. Centrum Financial Services managing director and chief executive officer Ranjan Ghosh said the supply chain finance business is a fast growing area and the company is looking to increase its presence in this space. "This acquisition will be a natural fit in our portfolio and will be a profitable accretive business in the first year itself," he added. This will also give the company lucrative cross sell opportunities, according to Ghosh. "We plan on infusing additional capital and are confident that the acquired L&T Finance team will play a significant role in helping us grow the business," he .
Thomas Cook India standalone entity to be debt free by Sept 30
Travel services firm Thomas Cook (India) group (TCIL) Wednesday said that its standalone entity will become debt free by the end of this month. The company will pre-pay Rs 67 crore non-convertible debentures by September 30, ahead of schedule, a release said. This, combined with the offer for sale (OFS) proceeds used to settle short-term debts, will result in a contribution of Rs 36 crore annually to TCIL's bottom line, it added. Debasis Nandy, president and group chief financial officer, Thomas Cook (India), said the company's organic growth and focus on working capital management has enabled it to generate strong and steady cash flows. "This has been used to deleverage the balance sheet and create a strong platform for acquisitions, as and when the opportunity should arise," he added. In addition to the above pre-payment, the company is targeting further reduction of its group debt over the next three financial years, the release said.
Britain's RBS to shutter another 54 branches, axe 258 jobs
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Royal Bank of Scotland said on Wednesday it will close a further 54 branches and axe 258 jobs, in what it called the final cut to its branch network until at least 2020.
Oil drops towards $77 as U.S. storm threat eases
LONDON (Reuters) - Oil fell towards $77 a barrel on Wednesday as a tropical storm hitting the U.S. Gulf coast weakened and moved away from oil-producing areas, easing supply concerns.
Global Markets: Emerging markets and equities reel as dollar flexes muscles
LONDON (Reuters) - The sell-off in emerging markets gathered pace on Wednesday and global stocks fell for the fourth day in a row as a looming deadline in the U.S.-China trade conflict kept the dollar holding firm near two-week highs.