Page 3329 - Business Finance

China's cross-border e-commerce players value India, Middle East markets

China's major cross-border e-commerce players put much focus on the Indian and Middle Eastern markets, a report revealed on Sunday.

Pak SC bans Zardari, his sister from travelling abroad

Pakistan's Supreme Court today banned former president and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur from travelling abroad in the wake of the recent revelations in a fake bank accounts case, a media report said. Chief Justice Saqib Nisar ordered the names of 20 people, including Zardari and Talpur, be placed on the Exit Control List, Geo TV reported. Those persons on the list are prohibited from leaving Pakistan. The order came as Chief Justice Nisar took notice of the slow pace of inquiry into a fake bank accounts case. The apex court has summoned the seven fake bank account holders and 13 beneficiaries on July 12. Zardari, Talpur, Tariq Sultan, Erum Aqeel, Muhammad Ashraf and Muhammad Iqbal Arain are among those who have been issued notices to appear before the top court on the given date. The top court also directed the Sindh inspector general of police to ensure that all persons that have been summoned appear before the court. Nasir ...

Pharma sector may post 17% revenue growth in June qtr: Report

The pharmaceutical industry is likely to report a 17 per cent revenue growth in the June quarter, driven by strong domestic growth and currency tailwinds, said a report. "Overall revenue for the pharma sector is likely to grow 17 per cent YoY (year-on-year) and PAT 50 per cent YoY," Edelweiss Securities said in its report. "Domestic sales are likely to spike 26 per cent on the back of a low base due to GST-related disruption," it added. The US sales in constant currency is expected to grow 6 per cent in annual terms, but fall 2 per cent in quarterly terms, on lack of any meaningful launch during the June quarter, according to the report. Currency tailwinds, namely the rupee's 4 per cent depreciation against the US dollar and 11 and 5 per cent fall against the euro and yen, respectively, are likely to drive EBITDA margin expansion of 350 bps in annual terms and 100 bps in quarterly terms in the June quarter, it said. Edelweiss Securities said that the optimism is on ...

Sobha's property sales bookings up 22 pc at Rs 762 cr in Apr-Jun 2018

Realty firm Sobha Ltd's sales bookings increased by 22 per cent to Rs 762.4 crore during the first quarter of this fiscal on higher volume as well as price realisations. According to its latest operational update, the Bengaluru-based developer sold 9,60,085 sq ft area during April-June quarter of this fiscal, up 18 per cent from 8,15,230 sq ft in the same period of last financial year. The Bengaluru region contributed 64 per cent of total sales volume during Q1 of FY19. In terms of value, the sales booking stood at Rs 7,62.4 crore as against Rs 623.4 crore during the period under review. The average sales realisation also rose to Rs 7,941 per sq ft in the first quarter of this fiscal from Rs 7,647 per sq ft in the year-ago period. The Bengaluru, Gurugram and Kochi property markets continued to perform well and were ably supported by Coimbatore and Mysore, the company said. "Sobha has entered the new financial year confidently with many new launches in the pipeline. During this ...

SBI Cards plans to launch 4 new products this fiscal

In a bid to increase its portfolio, SBI Card plans to introduce four new products in the market during the three quarter of the current fiscal. The second largest credit card issuer promoted by SBI, with 74 per cent stake, also intends to grow the number of card-holders and bring down the delinquency ratio of 1.9 per cent in 2018-19. Currently, delinquency rate is around 2 per cent in line with industry, SBI Card Managing Director Hardayal Prasad told PTI. "Going forwards, we will be launching few innovative products -- minimum 4 products, including co-branded card," he said. Last year, the card issuer launched four products, including a Doctor's SBI Card. On acquisition of new customer, Prasad said, the company is issuing Rs 2 lakh new cards each month and trend is likely to continue to the months to come. As on June 30, 2018, the total number of cards were 6.59 million. To improve customer experience, the company recently launched ELA (Electronic Live Assistant), a virtual assistant

Rupee may hit 70 mark this week, say bankers

Continued strengthening of the US dollar, lack of foreign investment inflows and concerns over rising oil prices are likely to keep the rupee under pressure and push it down to the 70 mark this week, said bankers. They added 69.30 remains a crucial level for the domestic currency, which if breached, could further plumb down to the 70 mark against the dollar. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), however, will not be comfortable with the currency touching 70 and would strongly defend the same, according to them. The rupee had touched an all-time low of 69.10 against the dollar on June 28. It closed at a lifetime low 68.95 on Thursday and 68.87 on Friday. "Concerns over widening current account deficit due to higher crude prices and demand for dollar from oil companies and general importers is impacting the rupee. It may briefly touch the 70 mark this week but would not remain there," said a senior bank official. Those companies who have to repay their external commercial ...

Fraud risk, bad governance make investors skeptical about India: Kroll

Foreign portfolio investors have pulled out more than USD 6.6 billion from the Indian equity markets so far this year

'GST a mixed bag for hotels, restros; rationalisation needed'

The goods and services tax (GST), which celebrated one year of rollout on July 1, has been a mixed bag for the hospitality and restaurant sector, and firms are expecting further rationalisation of the tax structure. The initial days of GST were full of confusion, according to Garish Oberoi, president, Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI). "While the hospitality sector was under the impression that it will be kept under one slab, we found out that we were kept in all the slabs right from 0 to 28 per cent," Oberoi told PTI. However, he said it is too soon to comment on the real impact and the sector will wait for further rationalisation of the GST mechanism. "Overall, it has been a mixed bag and mostly not very positive for the industry," he added. Oberoi further claimed that the implementation of GST lead to the industry losing some international high-end meetings, incentives, conferences and events (MICE) business. "No where in the world do you

Pakistan's central bank tightens currency movement

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has taken stringent measures to tighten currency movement within the country amid depreciation of the national currency following the grey-listing of Pakistan by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

India will achieve double-digit growth soon, says BSE Chief (IANS Interview)

Despite the global equity market volatility, along with banking sector woes, the macro-economic scenario is extremely positive in India, says the top executive of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

GSPC to commission Mundra LNG terminal in 2-3 months

Gujarat State Petroleum Corp (GSPC) will commission a 5 million tonnes a year liquid gas (LNG) import terminal at Mundra in Gujarat in next two to three months, its Managing Director Jagdip Narayan Singh said. Mundra will be the third import terminal in Gujarat to import super-cooled natural gas (liquefied natural gas or LNG) in cryogenic ships and then re-converting the liquid fuel into its gaseous state before transporting it by pipelines to customers. GSPL LNG Ltd, a GSPC group firm which is implementing the project in partnership with Adani Group, will look at inducting a strategic partner like Indian Oil Corp (IOC) once the terminal is fully operational, he told PTI here. "We will commission Mundra terminal by August-end or mid-September. It will operate at 1.5 million tonnes a year capacity for first one and a half years before scaling up to full capacity," Singh, who is also the Chief Secretary of the state, said. The Mundra terminal, whose capacity will be expandable to 10 ...

My Property Boutique plans to raise USD 4 million for expansion

Real estate startup My Property Boutique is in talks with a few investors to raise up to USD 4 million (about Rs 27.50 crore) in its first round of funding for expansion. The company currently has three boutiques or retail showrooms in Chennai and Bengaluru where properties of various real estate developers are put on display for prospective buyers. The fourth one at Coimbatore would be opened in the next three months. The Chennai-based firm, an online and offline real estate aggregator, was co-founded by Neelesh Bora and Karthikeyan Kumar. Before starting their new venture, both had worked for leading property consultant JLL India. "In last 18 months of our operations, we have received a good response from developers as well as customers. Now we want to open 100 such boutiques or expo centres across the country in the next three years," Bora told PTI. "We are in discussions with few investors to raise our first round of funding. We are looking to raise up to USD 4 million for our ...

ALTBalaji plans to invest up to Rs 500 cr over 3 yrs

Reliance Jio-backed Balaji Telefilms' video on demand platform ALTBalaji plans to invest up to Rs 500 crore over the next three years, majority of which will be to strengthen its content offerings. ALTBalaji, which began operations in April last year, is aiming to more than double its subscriber base to over 8 million (excluding Jio customers) by 2021 from 2.8 million at present. "We plan to invest Rs 150-170 crore every year, out of which 70 per cent would be invested in strengthening our content offerings. Over the next 3 years, we plan to invest Rs 450-500 crore," ALTBalaji CEO Nachiket Pantvaidya told PTI. At present, ALTBalaji has 21 original shows on its platform. It is aiming to launch 45 to 50 shows in the next two years. "About 95 per cent cent of the content on ALTBalaji is original. We are planning to launch 45 to 50 original shows in the next two years. We are investing in good quality content and we aim to reach subscriber base of over 8 million by 2021," Pantvaidya ...

IKEA to open first store in Hyderabad on July 19

Swedish furniture major IKEA is set to foray in India by opening its first store at Hyderabad on July 19. Almost five years back, the company got a go-ahead from the government for its Rs 10,500 crore investment plan for setting up stores in India. The Hyderabad store has come up with an investment of Rs 1,000 crore. According to a company spokesperson, IKEA aims to reach 200 million customers in India in the next three years. She said there would be 1,000 direct and 1,500 indirect employment at the store and 50 per cent of them would be women. At present, 20 per cent of the IKEA products are locally sourced and the long-term goal is to source 50 per cent or more, she added. "In the long term, IKEA will focus on becoming a multichannel retailer of choice with big and small format stores and online presence (with) up to 30 big and small format stores by 2025," she said. Going further, the company will launch stores in Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi-NCR, Ahmedabad, Surat, Pune, Chennai and ..

IRFC, IRCON may hit capital market by Sep; to raise Rs 1,500 cr

Two rail CPSEs - IRFC and IRCON- are likely to come out with their initial public offerings (IPO) in the next two months, which could together fetch about Rs 1,500 crore to the exchequer, according to official sources. While IRCON has already approached Sebi with its IPO papers, IRFC would soon file the draft prospectus with the market regulator to seek its nod for initial share sale and subsequent listing. The government plans to launch the IPO of these two central public sector enterprises (CPSE) after the resounding success of RITES IPO, which was subscribed 67 times last month. The scrip listed on the bourses at a 3 per cent premium. "We are planning to float IPOs of IRCON and IRFC (Indian Railway Finance Corporation) during August-September after the companies finalise their audit reports by the middle of this month," an official told PTI. The government is divesting 10 per cent stake or over 99 lakh shares through the IRCON IPO. "We are hoping to garner Rs 1,000 crore from IRFC .

Choice Hotels to add 11 properties in India by end-2020

Hospitality chain Choice Hotels India plans to add 11 properties under the franchise model by end of 2020 in India, a top company official has said. The company, which is a subsidiary of the US-based hospitality major Choice Hotels International, currently has 29 operating hotels in India. "We will be opening 11 hotels in India by the end of 2020 under the franchise model. The upcoming hotels are under various stages of development," Choice Hotels India CEO Vilas Pawar told PTI. The hotels will be present in locations including Port Blair, Gorakhpur, Ooty, Lucknow, Lakhimpur and Kochi among others, he added. The company operates in India offering five brands -- Sleep Inn, Comfort Inn, Quality Inn, Clarion and Ascend Collection, he added. In reply to a question, Pawar said: "The hotels will be under Comfort Inn, Quality Inn and Clarion brands." On the investments that the company plans to make for the expansion, Pawar said: "As we follow the franchise model we don't invest in the ...

Global sales to account 50% of total farm equipment revenue in 3 yrs: M&M

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) is revving up globalisation of its farm equipment sector, targeting 50 per cent of overall revenue of the vertical to come from international markets over the next three years, according to a senior company official. The company is focussing on three key markets --Americas, including the US, Canada, Mexico and Brazil; Japan and Turkey to be the primary growth drivers. It expects revenues from Americas to touch USD 1 billion in the next three years, up from USD 600 million at present, while it is also aspiring for business in Japan to touch USD 1 billion over a period of time as compared to USD 450 million currently. Besides, the homegrown farm equipment major is also charting out strategy to re-enter China in the implements segment after exiting from an earlier joint venture for tractors. The farm equipment sector (FES) of the company had clocked a revenue of USD 3.4 billion in 2017-18. "Currently, our global operations constitute 37 per cent of the ..

Jaiprakash Associates gets Rs 2,850-cr contract in J&K from Chenab Valley Power Projects

Crisis-hit Jaiprakash Associates Ltd (JAL) has bagged a Rs 2,850-crore contract from Chenab Valley Power Projects to construct diversion tunnel and concrete face dam for a hydro-electric project in Jammu and Kashmir, taking its order book to about Rs 14,000 crore. According to sources, JAL -- the flagship firm of debt-ridden Jaypee group -- has secured Rs 2,853 crore contract from Chenab Valley Power Projects for certain works in 1,000 MW-Pakal Dul hydroelectric project. The scope of work in the contracts includes construction of diversion tunnel, concrete face rockfill dam, surface and tunnel spillway, intake structure, head race tunnel and other allied structures of Pakal Dul hydroelectric project, they added. After bagging this contract, JAL's order book from EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) business has gone up to Rs 14,000 crore from Rs 5,500 crore a year-ago. Chenab Valley Power Projects Pvt Ltd is a joint venture company of NHPC Ltd, JKSPDC Ltd and PTC (India) ...

CCI dismisses complaint against IOCL, BPCL, HPCL

The Competition Commission has dismissed a complaint alleging unfair business practices against oil marketing companies -- IOCL, BPCL and HPCL -- with regard to terms and conditions in the tenders for transportation of liquefied petroleum gas through tank trucks. In an order, the fair trade regulator said "no case of contravention under Section 3 or Section 4 of the (Competition) Act" is made out against Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL). While Section 3 pertains to anti-competitive agreements, Section 4 relates to abuse of dominant market position. The complainants, whose identities were not revealed by the CCI, had challenged the alleged anti-competitive terms and conditions in the notice inviting tenders floated "identically/ jointly/ parallelly" in different states by IOCL, BPCL and HPCL (Opposite Parties) for the transportation of bulk liquefied petroleum gas by road through tank trucks from ..

India's crude steel output up 6% at 26 MT

India's crude steel output grew six per cent to 26 million tonne (MT) in the first quarter of the ongoing financial year, according to official data. The country had produced 24.5 MT of crude steel during April-June, 2017-18, the Joint Plant Committee (JPC) said in its latest report. The JPC, under Ministry of Steel, collects and maintains data on the domestic iron and steel sector. "During April-June, crude steel production was 26.08 MT (provisional), a growth of 6.2 per cent over same period of last year," the report said. State-run SAIL, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL), Tata Steel, Essar Steel, JSW Steel and Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) together produced 15.6 MT during the three-month period, registering a growth of 12 per cent over the year-ago period. During the reported quarter, the output of hot metal was at 17.88 MT as compared to 16.10 MT during the year-ago period, an increase of 11 per cent. The output of pig iron rose 5 per cent to 2.58 MT from 2.45 MT in April-June .