Page 421 - Business Finance
Ruias move NCLAT against ArcelorMittal bid
Prashant Ruia-led Essar Steel Asia Holdings (ESAHL), the majority shareholder in Essar Steel, on Tuesday moved the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) seeking rejection of ArcelorMittal's bid to buy out the company.
Co-working space leasing in Q1 2019 up at 2.9 mn sq ft
Leasing activity in the flexible or co-working office segment during the January-March quarter (Q1) of 2019 surged by 277 per cent on a year-on-year basis to 2.9 million square feet across the country's major cities, a CBRE report said on Tuesday.
Toxic ILFS bonds: Ministry asks EPFO if it has surplus to pay interest (IANS Special)
Given the extent of the malfeasance due to the extraordinary risk exposure to virus-infected IL&FS bonds (IANS has done a series of stories), the Finance Ministry has now asked Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) whether the fund has enough surplus to pay the 8.65 per cent interest rate for 2018-19.
Exports of certain commodities to Maldives exempted from restrictions in 2019-20
Exports of specified quantity of essential commodities to Maldives have been exempted from any kind of domestic restrictions or prohibition in the current fiscal, according to an official notification issued Tuesday. "Export of potatoes, onion, rice, wheat flour, sugar, dal and eggs has been permitted to Maldives under bilateral trade agreement between India and Maldives during the period 2019-20 with effect from April," directorate general of foreign trade said. It said that the export of these items to Maldives will be exempted from any existing or future restrictions/prohibition. The fixed quantity for potatoes, onion, rice, wheat flour, sugar, dal and eggs are 15,492.36 MT (metric tonne), 25,744.26 MT, 89,454.22 MT, 78,612.26 MT, 46,444.74 MT, 161.65 MT and about 30.79 crore, respectively, it said. The specified quantity this fiscal is much more than that of 2018-19. The fixed quantity in 2018-19 for potatoes, onion, rice, wheat flour, sugar, dal and eggs were 5,308.7 MT, 9892.03 .
Pilots of grounded Jet Airways move SC seeking interim funding from SBI
Pilots of grounded Jet Airways moved the Supreme Court Tuesday seeking direction to SBI to provide the assured interim finance for restarting operations, suspension of which has affected the livelihood of around 22,000 employees. The petition filed by National Aviators Guild has sought a direction to the Centre and the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to disallow slots of Jet Airways to other airlines on permanent basis. The plea, filed by advocate Gaurav Agrawal, has sought that the airline should not get deregistered. The distressed airlines, which had 115 aircraft, started suffering losses and could not pay the employees from last December. The Board of Directors of the company had approved a plan on March 25 which envisaged infusing of Rs 1,500 crore over a period of time by SBI so that the company could be sold as a going concern but the promised funds were not disbursed, the plea said. It said that SBI's decision not to infuse money was responsible for the operations of
Rating woes for McLeod Russel
After Eveready Industries India Ltd downgrade, a rating agency on Tuesday downgraded the rating of bulk tea major McLeod Russels India with a negative outlook. The ICRA revised the long-term rating of McLeod Russels, part of the B M Khaitan group companies, from "A" to "BBB-" for Rs 1031 crore line of credit. The short-term rating of the company has also been revised from "A2+" to "A3" with negative outlook on the long- term rating, the company informed the bourses. Days before, another rating agency India Rating had downgraded the long-term credit rating for dry cell battery- maker Eveready with a negative outlook. McLeod closed at Rs 37.85 losing 9 per cent while Eveready closed at Rs 100.70 at BSE. Ind-Ra estimated Eveready Industries to reduce debt by Rs 130-140 crore in FY'20 to an acceptable level, which can only be achieved by the sale of its Hyderabad assets or full repayment of inter corporate deposits. McLeod recently hived off several tea assets while, ...
Post-poll: Brace for up to Rs 5 and Rs 3 per litre raise in petrol, diesel prices
Petrol and diesel prices may increase sharply soon after new government comes to power at the Centre with oil companies looking to raise the retail price of the two transport fuels between Rs 3-5 per litre in phases and make up for losses they incurred by keeping the prices at artificially low levels in the run up to elections 2019.
ABB India net profit grows over 13 pc to Rs 116 cr in Mar quarter
Engineering and power firm ABB India Tuesday reported over 13 per cent jump in its net profit to Rs 116.19 crore during the quarter ended March 31, 2019, helped by higher income. The company, which follows January-December financial year, had posted a net profit of Rs 102.49 crore during the corresponding period a year ago. During January-March 2019, the company said its total income rose to Rs 1,869.37 crore, from Rs 1,589.27 crore in the year-ago quarter. Its total expenses during the period was Rs 1,730.68 crore as against Rs 1,519.37 crore a year ago. ABB is a global player in electrification products, robotics and motion, industrial automation and power grids.
Ceat Q4 net profit falls 16 pc to Rs 64 cr
Tyre maker Ceat Tuesday reported a 16.26 per cent fall in its consolidated net profit to Rs 64.32 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 76.81 crore for the corresponding period of 2017-18. Revenue from operations, however, rose to Rs 1,760.47 crore for the fourth quarter as against Rs 1,686.09 crore in the year-ago quarter, Ceat Ltd said in a regulatory filing. For 2018-19, the company posted a net profit of Rs 251.08 crore, up 7.62 per cent, from Rs 233.29 crore in 2017-18. Revenue from operations during the last financial year stood at Rs 6,984.51 crore as compared with Rs 6,283.42 crore a year ago. "In the past year, we have endeavoured to sustain our growth trajectory during what was a rather a muted period. The impact of rising crude prices and production cuts by automobile manufacturers has been felt across the auto and ancillary industry," Ceat Ltd Managing Director Anant Goenka said. However, the company continues its capacity ..
Fabindia may pump Rs 90-100cr in expansion, thrust on
Fabindia, the country's leading lifestyle retail chain, has set its eyes on tier-II cities for expansion of its Fabindia Experience Centres, a top official of the company said. It all looks at expanding omni-channel model to all its stores to push e-commerce sales, Fabindia managing director Viney Singh said at the sidelines of the inauguration of Kolkata's first Fabindia experience centre. The measures constitute the company's aggressive retail expansion plan entailing an estimated investment of Rs 90-100 crore in the current fiscal, he told PTI. Fabindia Experience Center is a relatively new format, which are large stores to showcase maximum products categories under a single roof. Besides apparels, Fabindia has home furnishings, furniture, gifts, jewellery, organic food and personal care products. "We want to raise the number of the experience centres to 40 by this fiscal from 13 now. We have covered all metros and tier I cities. Now, we will open these in tier II ...
BSE Q4 net profit drops 16.46 pc to Rs 51.86 cr
The BSE Tuesday reported a 16.46 per cent fall in consolidated net profit to Rs 51.86 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2019. The exchange had posted a net profit of Rs 62.08 crore for the corresponding period of the previous year, the BSE said in a filing to the NSE. Its total income also fell to Rs 182.08 crore from Rs 195.34 crore in March 31, 2018. On a standalone basis, the stock exchange reported a profit of Rs 43.85 crore, down from Rs 61.11 crore during the quarter ended March 31, 2018. For the financial year 2018-19, the consolidated net profit was Rs 199.28 crore and the standalone net profit at Rs 201.05 crore, it added. The BSE has approved a dividend of Rs 30 per equity share of Rs 2 each, including interim dividend of Rs 5 per equity share paid in November 2018 for the year ended March 31, 2019, subject to approval of members at the ensuing annual general meeting. The exchange will buy back its fully paid-up equity shares of Rs 2 each at Rs 680 per equity share ...
Jalan panel to hold at least 2 more meets before final report on RBI capital size
A high-level panel looking into appropriate capital reserves the RBI should maintain will hold at least two more meetings before finalising the report, former Reserve Bank governor Bimal Jalan, who is heading the committee, said. The six-member Jalan panel was appointed on December 26, 2018, to review the Economic Capital Framework for the RBI. The committee was supposed to submit its report in 90 days from the first day of its meeting, which held on January 8. "At the moment, it is in the process ... We will have at least two more meetings," he said when asked whether the committee has finalised its report. The other key members of the committee include Rakesh Mohan, former deputy governor of RBI as vice-chairman, finance secretary Subhash Chandra Garg, RBI deputy governor NS Vishwanathan, and two RBI central board members, Bharat Doshi and Sudhir Mankad. The panel has been entrusted with the task of reviewing the best practices followed by central banks worldwide in making ...
Centrum's PE Fund invests Rs 15 cr in Ayurveda Experience, Dunzo
Kalpavriksh, the PE fund of Centrum Group, Tuesday said it has invested Rs 15 crore in two companies - The Ayurveda Experience and Dunzo. Kalpavriksh has invested Rs 10 crore in Delhi-based The Ayurveda Experience (TAE), which is engaged in manufacture, sales and distribution of Ayurvedic products in India and globally through its brands - iYURA and Ajara. "TAE company is looking to scale up its research and development facility to further strengthen its product portfolio and increase its geographic reach. As part of the agreement, Giri Krishnaswamy, CIO Kalpavriksh Fund will join the company's board," Kalpavriksh said in a statement. The PE firm has also invested Rs 5 crore in Dunzo, an app-based concierge services provider from Bengaluru. Dunzo's platform allows delivery partners to perform tasks like local grocery shopping, food delivery, arranging medical supplies, etc and deliver them to a consumer's residence for a fee. Dunzo plans to use the funds to expand operations in Pune, .
Sebi fines Ranklin Solutions, directors Rs 62.5 lakh for violating norms
Markets regulator Sebi Tuesday levied a total fine of Rs 62.5 lakh on Ranklin Solutions and its seven directors for misleading corporate announcements and disclosure lapses. A penalty of Rs 10 lakh was imposed on Ranklin Solutions, while the seven directors -- MJVVD Prakash, Venkateswara Rao, Jyotsana Lakshmi, JVV Raghava Kumar, M Satish Kumar, K S Chakravarthi and K VijayaRama Raju -- were fined Rs 7.5 lakh each. The regulator during its investigation between February 2010 and January 2011 found that Ranklin in a corporate announcement to the BSE informed that board of directors proposed to raise funds up to Rs 100 crore by issuance of Global Depository Receipts (GDRs). The firm, however, failed to come out with the issue. Besides, the firm in its corporate announcements recommended dividend of 10 per cent per equity share for the year 2009-10 and 5 per cent per share for 2010-11 but did not implement the same, the market watchdog noted. Sebi observed that Ranklin induced the ...
India IT & business services market to reach $14.3 bn by 2020: IDC
India's IT and business services market is likely to grow by over eight per cent to reach USD 13.1 billion by the year-end and expand further to USD 14.3 billion by 2020, according to research firm IDC. Of the total market, IT services segment contributed about 76 per cent in the second half of 2018, it said in a report. "The IT services market is slated to reach USD 10 billion by December 2019, growing at 9.1 per cent annually. The Indian government's higher spending on the Digital India and Smart Cities initiatives, and the increased adoption of next-gen technologies by organizations is driving growth in the IT services market," the report added. IDC estimated that the IT services market will grow at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 8.6 per cent between 2019-2023 to reach USD 14 billion by the end of 2023. "The India IT & Business Services market is expected to grow annually by 8.8 per cent to reach USD 13.1 billion by December 2019, the report said, adding that the ...
Essar Steel promoter moves NCLAT against Arcellor bid
Essar Steel's majority shareholder Essar Steel Asia Holdings (ESAHL) on Tuesday moved the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) seeking the rejection of ArcelorMittal's bid to buy out the company.
US IT firm Apolis to open at Technopark Trivandrum
Leading US-based Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software and ecommerce company Apolis on Tuesday signed up with the locally-based Technopark to set up its Global Delivery Centre (GDC) here.
Hughes, Airtel to combine India VSAT biz; Hughes to hold majority stake in combined entity
Telecom operator Bharti Airtel and Hughes Communications India Ltd (HCIL) Tuesday said they will combine their VSAT satellite operations in the country, with Hughes holding a majority stake in the merged entity. HCIL is a subsidiary of broadband satellite networks and services provider Hughes Network Systems. The combination is aimed at driving scale and efficiencies to serve enterprise and government customers in India, and according to sources, Hughes will hold 67 per cent stake in HCIL, the surviving entity, while Airtel will have 33 per cent stake. The announcement brings consolidation to the Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) industry, after similar moves seen in the past in mobile services and tower markets. VSAT is used to provide satellite based telecom and internet access to individuals and enterprise users, and is used extensively by banks and ATMs. According to Trai estimates, the total number of VSAT subscribers in India stood at 2.87 lakh as in December 2018. The net ...
Reliance to digitise 5 mn Indian kirana stores by 2023
As more and more neighbourhood kirana stores aim to modernise their tech infrastructure, the entry of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) would help expand the current 15,000 digitized store base to over five million stores by 2023, a Bank of America Merrill Lynch research said on Tuesday.
#BijliOnEMI campaign by Bajaj Finserv launches a contest for Customers
Bajaj Finance Ltd, the lending arm of Bajaj Finserv, had launched unique campaign #BijliOnEMI in April wherein customer buying air conditioners will also have the option to pay for their electricity bill on EMI.After an overwhelming response to the campaign, they recently released a video on social media engaging with customers regarding their problems during summer and the reaction on the 'Electricity bill on EMI' proposition along with 'AC on EMI' by Bajaj Finserv. Now the campaign has moved a step further by launching an interactive contest for customers on its website, allowing them to win exciting prizes.Through the contest, the customers are asked to take an interactive journey by easily signing up, moving ahead step by step and sharing the journey results on their social media profiles. Customers who finish the 4-step journey in the shortest possible time stand a chance to win a Shoppers Stop voucher worth Rs. 2,000.Through the #BijliOnEMI campaign, Bajaj Finance has reached ...