Page 3059 - Business Finance

Sri Lanka reverses hybrid car incentive

Sri Lanka today sharply increased customs duties on imports of the top-selling Japanese hybrid car, in an apparent shift in its policy of encouraging greener vehicles. The duty on the popular Suzuki Wagon R hybrid model was raised from 825,000 rupees (USD 5,156) to 1.25 million rupees (USD 7,812) with immediate effect, finance ministry officials said. According to the latest data, out of 5,190 new cars registered in the country in April, more than half (2,619) were the small hybrid Suzuki models. Only last November the government reduced duties on electric and hybrid cars as part of its plans to phase out fossil fuel vehicles by 2040 in the island nation of 21 million people. The new announcement came as the central bank warned that car imports had inflated the trade deficit by USD 700 million year-on-year to USD 4.9 billion for the first five months of 2018. Sri Lanka's rupee has been under pressure this year with the local currency losing over four per cent of its value against the .

Volkswagen profit jumps, but 'great challenges' ahead

Volkswagen today reported a leap in second quarter profit thanks to strong sales, but the German car giant warned that strict new emissions tests and global trade tensions posed "great challenges" in the months ahead. The Wolfsburg-based group said net profit jumped 6.8 percent year-on-year to 3.3 billion euros (USD 3.8 billion) between April and June, beating analyst expectations. The positive result comes even after VW had to shell out another 1.6 billion euros "in connection with the diesel crisis", as the fallout from its 2015 emissions cheating scandal rumbles on. Revenues were up 3.4 percent to 61 billion euros after the VW group -- whose 12 brands include luxury Porsche and Audi as well as the more affordable Skoda -- delivered a record 2.8 million vehicles in the second quarter. Despite the good news, VW's new chief executive Herbert Diess sounded a note of caution. "We cannot rest on our laurels because great challenges lie ahead of us in the coming quarters -- especially ...

Rio Tinto falls as profit miss highlights cost concerns

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Global miner Rio Tinto said on Wednesday its first-half profit grew 12 percent, missing estimates and sending its shares lower even though it earmarked an additional $1 billion to buy back London-listed stock.

Oil falls to around $73 on U.S. inventories, OPEC supply

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil slipped below $74 a barrel on Wednesday, pressured by an industry report that U.S. stockpiles of crude rose unexpectedly and by higher OPEC production, adding to indications of more ample supply.

Amazon led IaaS Public Cloud market in 2017, Microsoft second: Gartner

Amazon was the top infrastructure as a service (IaaS) vendor in 2017 as the IaaS Public Cloud Services market grew 29.5 per cent in the year to hit $23.5 billion -- up from $18.2 billion in 2016, Gartner said on Wednesday.

RBI refuses to comment on ICICI Bank mess

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today refused to comment on the corporate governance issues plaguing ICICI Bank whose MD and CEO Chanda Kochhar was asked to proceed on leave till an external enquiry into her alleged malafide actions favouring Videocon group and the companies of her husband Deepak Kochhar was completed. Replying to a question whether the regulator is engaged with the bank and also if there is a bigger issue of governance at private sector banks, RBI's deputy governor NS Vishwanathan said, "We are alive to what is happening in the banking system and we are dealing with those situations as they are emerging, but I cannot say what we are doing with a specific bank." "I think it is not appropriate for us to discuss any specific bank," Vishwanathan, who is in-charge of the banking regulations department, said without naming ICICI Bank. When asked about ICICI Bank's systemic importance as a too-big-to-fail bank, he said these are global standards which are ...

Myntra acquires omnichannel retail platform Pretr

Online fashion retailer Myntra today said it has acquired Mumbai-based Pretr, a move that will enable the Flipkart Group company to forge omnichannel partnerships with brands on its platform. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. "This acquisition will enable Myntra to forge omnichannel partnerships with brands on its platform and provide a comprehensive solution to retailers to enhance their own omnichannel journey," Myntra said in a statement. Pretr was founded in 2016 by Bhavik Jhaveri and Ankur Joshi. Its omnichannel suite, deployed at retailers in India and the Middle East, provides retailers with solutions like 'endless aisle', order management and store analytics among others. "Omnichannel is a key priority for Myntra as it enters its next phase of growth and this acquisition will help strengthen its footprint in this segment," the statement noted. Customers on Myntra will have a unified view of a brand's inventory online and offline, and will be able to avail value-added ..

Housing sales to get affected with RBI's decision to hike policy rates: Realtors

Housing sales are likely to be affected post RBI's decision to hike key policy rates as this could lead to increase in interest rate on home loans, according to property developers and consultants. The Reserve Bank for the second time in two months has raised its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points on inflationary concerns. "From a real estate perspective, this hike will negatively impact buyer sentiment with the logical result on quantum of sales," Realtors' body NAREDCO President Niranjan Hiranandani said. Real estate sector is facing a multi-year slowdown due to low demand and significant delays in execution of housing projects by developers. Property consultant Knight Frank India CMD Shishir Baijal said the increase in repo rate was on expected lines given the current inflationary trend. "However, looking at the challenging residential market scenario, we were hoping that the RBI would have paused the rate hike thereby providing a fillip to the buyer sentiment," he ...

AGC Networks consolidated net profit rises 307.04% in the June 2018 quarter

Sales rise 19.42% to Rs 188.31 crore

Vedanta consolidated net profit rises 0.67% in the June 2018 quarter

Sales rise 21.44% to Rs 22206.00 crore

Mahanagar Gas standalone net profit rises 3.22% in the June 2018 quarter

Sales rise 16.67% to Rs 619.34 crore

Gagan Polycot India reports standalone net loss of Rs 0.40 crore in the June 2018 quarter

Sales decline 93.66% to Rs 1.27 crore

Texel Industries standalone net profit rises 65.57% in the June 2018 quarter

Sales rise 16.63% to Rs 27.00 crore

Fortis Malar Hospitals reports standalone net loss of Rs 0.70 crore in the June 2018 quarter

Sales decline 0.83% to Rs 33.56 crore

Mansoon Trading Company reports standalone net loss of Rs 0.02 crore in the June 2018 quarter

Sales reported at Rs 0.02 crore

PTL Enterprises standalone net profit rises 43.28% in the June 2018 quarter

Sales rise 18.26% to Rs 15.80 crore

Huhtamaki PPL standalone net profit rises 97.10% in the June 2018 quarter

Sales rise 17.02% to Rs 588.18 crore

AGC Networks standalone net profit declines 72.05% in the June 2018 quarter

Sales rise 17.26% to Rs 71.87 crore

Vedanta standalone net profit rises 282.35% in the June 2018 quarter

Sales rise 8.53% to Rs 9690.00 crore

IGC Industries reports standalone net loss of Rs 0.10 crore in the June 2018 quarter

Reported sales nil