Page 440 - Business Finance

TRAI ropes in BECIL to audit systems of cable, DTH firms under new norms

TRAI has pulled up a number of operators, both Cable TV and DTH service providers, for violation of rules, as it acted on consumer complaints pertaining to specific offerings

Elections, earnings to prompt volatility in Indian equities (Market Outlook)

The general election along with fourth quarter results season is set to flare up near-term volatility in the Indian equity market, analysts say.

Pak appoints ex-IMF official as new SBP governor

A Pakistani economist working for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has been appointed as the governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), as the cash-strapped country seeks to finalise a multi-billion dollar bailout package from the global lender. Prime Minister Imran Khan's government Saturday removed chiefs of the SBP and the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), in a surprise move days after an IMF team visited Islamabad to hold talks for the bailout package. Both the SBP governor and the FBR chairman are key players in any IMF programme. "The President of Pakistan is pleased to appoint Dr Reza Baqir as Governor State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) for a period of three years from the date he assumes office," read a notification from the government issued late Saturday night. A Harvard and Berkeley University of California alumnus, Baqir has been with the IMF since 2000. He is currently serving in the IMF as senior resident representative to Egypt. Baqir has been the chief of the IMF's ...

Now, PSUs to rescue government's failing strategic sale plan

Cash-rich central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) will come to the rescue of government strategic sale programme with tepid interest coming from the private sector to take over controlling interest in some of these sick and loss making companies.

Aster DM Healthcare to invest Rs 750 cr to add 1,500 beds by Mar 2022

Healthcare services provider Aster DM Healthcare will invest around Rs 750 crore to add 1,500 beds in four new hospitals that it plans to open by the end of March 2022, a top company official said. The company currently has around 4,400 beds across 12 hospitals in India. "We will be investing around Rs 750 crore to add 1,500 beds in the four hospitals we will be opening in India by the end of March, 2022," Aster DM Healthcare founder Chairman and MD Azad Moopen told PTI. The new multi-speciality hospitals will come up at Bengaluru, Chennai, Kannur and Thiruvananthapuram, he added. "We will also be investing Rs 250 crore for the expansion of our existing facilities and for purchase of equipment," Moopen said. When asked how the company plans to fund the expansion, he said: "It will be through a mix of internal accruals and debt". The company which has a strong presence in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries across hospitals, clinics and pharmacy verticals also plans to open ...

India's MICE tourism growing at 8 pc a year: FICCI-Yes Bank report

A new report by industry body FICCI says that strong economic growth coupled with rapid emergence of India on the global horizon is poised to drive the growth of MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) tourism at a much faster rate.India is a late entrant in the segment with a little share on the global scale. Of the total 12,563 international meetings in a year, it hosts only 175 - or just 1.4 per cent to rank 24th worldwide.In 2018, MICE tourism in India was pegged at Rs 25,000 crore with 8 per cent growth year-on-year, said the report titled 'India Inbound Tourism: Unlocking the Opportunity'.The industry is estimated to have a space of 5 lakh square metres, which is expected to cross 15 lakh square metres over the next two to three years."This will result in doubling the growth rate," said the report highlighting enormous potential India has due to its strategic location and being a round-the-year destination.The global MICE tourism is estimated to be growing at a .

Buffett partner says 'ashamed' for missing Google boat

Charlie Munger, business partner of billionaire Warren Buffett, said Saturday the two are "ashamed" of not having invested in Google, which has become one of the world's most valuable companies. Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway empire, of which Munger is vice president, recently took a stake in Amazon and has a $40 billion stake in Apple, but has generally steered clear of the technology sector. "We are ashamed," Munger, 95, told a shareholder at the annual Berkshire meeting in Omaha, when asked about the absence of an investment in Google. "We just sat there sucking our thumbs," Munger said. "We screwed up," he said, without indicating whether Berkshire Hathaway aimed to catch up now.

People, not Modi, responsible for growth: Rahul

In an attempt to dent the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) vote bank, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, here on Saturday, criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for making false promises, like depositing Rs 15 lakh in bank accounts of people and creating over 2 crore jobs.

Note ban a failure, cash in circulation up: Congress

The Congress here on Saturday said the Narendra Modi-led government's claim of India increasingly becoming a cashless society after demonetisation has failed and the cash in circulation has increased.

Images of eyes can increase donations: Study

A new study has revealed that the presence of simple images of eyes can help increase charitable donations.Researchers at the School of Biology, Newcastle University, conducted an 11-week experiment in a supermarket where they displayed charity collection buckets with either eye images or control images and found that presence of the eye images increased donations by 48 per cent.In the research paper titled, 'Eye Images Increase Charitable Donations: Evidence From an Opportunistic Field Experiment in a Supermarket,' the researchers explained how eye images increase prosocial behaviour in humans.

LIC Housing Finance's Q4 net profit up 17%

LIC Housing Finance on Saturday reported 17 per cent rise in its net profit for the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2018-19.

Over Rs 8 cr cash, gold, diamond jewellery recovered in I-T searches of Coimbatore-based lottery group

Unaccounted cash over Rs 8 crore along with unaccounted gold and diamond jewellery were found in searches at premises linked to a Coimbatore-based business group which handles lotteries run by some state governments, the Income Tax (IT) Department said Saturday.According to the IT department, Rs 5.8 crore cash has been seized out of total Rs 8.25 crore of unaccounted cash which was recovered in the search. The remaining money has been kept under prohibitory orders for further verification."Prima facie, unaccounted gold and diamond jewellery of an approximate value of about Rs 24.57 crore were also found in the search which was also placed under prohibitory orders as verification is under process," the department said in a press statement.Income Tax Investigation Directorate, Chennai, conducted searches on suspicions of tax evasion."The group has been under the department's radar for quite some time due to the continuous and huge fall in its advance tax payments in the last two years" .

Jaypee Infratech lenders' panel to discuss NBCC offer on May 9

The creditors panel of debt-ridden Jaypee Infratech will meet on May 9 to discuss the bid of state-owned NBCC Ltd to acquire the Jaypee group realty firm. The meeting has been called as creditors on Friday rejected the bid of Mumbai-based Suraksha Realty group, which was the lone contender after NBCC's offer was rejected in absence of approvals from the government departments. In a regulatory filing, Jaypee Infratech's Interim Resolution Professional (IRP) Anuj Jain informed that a meeting of committee of creditors (CoC) has been called on May 9. The agenda of the meeting was not disclosed in the regulatory filing. However, sources said the panel will discuss the NBCC's bid. The CoC would also discuss the voting result on Surakshs group. Meanwhile, the court-mandated deadline for completing the resolution process ends on May 6. Lenders have sought extension of the deadline and the matter is pending before the Allahabad bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). After the ...

Haircuts can be due to delay in rescue process: IBBI

Amid concerns over low recovery in many insolvency cases, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) said on Saturday that haircuts for the creditors in the resolution process could be due to the delay in starting the process and that the matter has to be seen in comparison with the liquidation value.

Top Southern Railway official inspects Pamban bridge

: Additional general manager of Southern Railway Rahul Jain inspected the Pamban railway bridge Saturday and said the bridge was strongand that the construction of the new railway bridge has been speeded up. Talking to reporters here, he said the construction of the new Pamban bridge would be done without affecting the marine resources. The first phase of work on the extension of train service to Danushkodi has been completed, and the rest of the work would begin soon, he said. The new bridge uses 'Scherzer' rolling lift technology in which the bridge opens up horizontally. In the new bridge, a 63-metre section would lift vertically upwards remaining parallel to the deck. It would be done using sensors at each end, an official had told PTI. The entire bridge, including the navigational span, was being designed keeping in mind the railways electrification plan, according to PTI.

IndiGrid raises over Rs 2,500 cr via preferential issue

Infrastructure investment trust India Grid Trust (IndiGrid) Saturday announced closing of its preference issue of units after raising Rs 2,514 crore (USD 363 million) from eligible investors. As part of the transaction, global investment firm KKR and GIC have invested Rs 1,084 crore (USD 157 million) and Rs 980 crore (USD 142 million), respectively, the trust said in a release. KKR has also applied to become a Sponsor of IndiGrid and plans to acquire an additional 15 per cent of IndiGrid's total units from Sterlite Power, the release said. Following the closing of transactions, KKR and GIC will collectively own approximately 57 per cent of IndiGrid's outstanding units. The preferential issue of units had opened on April 30. IndiGrid, sponsored by Sterlite Power, in a regulatory filing said that the allotment committee of the board in a meeting on Saturday approved the closure of the issue following receipt of applications from eligible bidders. The committee also determined and ...

Indian fintech delegation explores UK market

A group of 18 Indian fintech companies is exploring expansion plans to the UK market as part of the UK-India Fintech Rocketship Programme. The companies, across sectors such as mobile tech, data analytics and online payment solutions, are among the new cohort to benefit from the Rocketship Awards, set up as part of the UK-India Tech Partnership to collaborate and raise funding for fintech entrepreneurs from the UK and India annually. "These businesses demonstrate the industry's ability to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) from all corners of the globe. Just last year we saw a 321 per cent increase from India," said Graham Stuart, UK Investment Minister in the Department for International Trade (DIT). "The UK is the top FDI destination in Europe and an undisputed global fintech capital, currently accounting for 11 per cent of the global fintech industry and contributing USD 3.3 billion to the UK economy. DIT will continue to support businesses to invest into the UK, reaffirming ..

LIC Housing Finance Q4 net up 16.7 pc to Rs 693 cr

LIC Housing Finance Saturday reported a 16.70 per cent growth in net profit at Rs 693.58 crore for the March quarter of 2018-19. The housing finance company had posted a standalone net profit of Rs 594.34 crore for the corresponding period of 2017-18 fiscal. Total income rose to Rs 4,655 crore during the fourth quarter, from Rs 3,887 crore in the same period of the previous fiscal, LIC Housing Finance said in a filing to the BSE. For the full 2018-19 fiscal, the company reported a net profit of Rs 2,430.97 crore, up from Rs 2,002.50 crore in 2017-18. The board of LIC Housing Finance has approved dividend at 380 per cent or Rs 7.60 per equity share of Rs 2 each for financial year 2018-19. The dividend will be paid on or after August 28, 2019, it added.

Offended Xiaomi issues own shipment figures for Q1

In a rare step, Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi has issued a statement against market research firms for reporting wrong shipment numbers for its devices in the first quarter of 2019.

NIIT Tech Q4 net profit up 22.5%

IT company NIIT Technologies Ltd on Saturday reported a 22.5 per cent rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 105.5 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2019, driven by broad-based growth across verticals. The company said it plans to invest Rs 70-80 crore as capex during FY2019-20. The consolidated revenue grew 23.2 per cent year-on-year to Rs 972.2 crore for the company, where Baring PE recently announced plans to acquire a substantial stake. The net profit at Rs 105.5 crore represents a growth of 22.5 per cent over Rs 86.1 crore notched in the year ago period, NIIT Tech said in a regulatory filing. "Consequent to recent judicial pronouncement in Australia, company has reassessed its position pertaining to applicability of GST, Fringe benefit tax and royalty tax in our acquired entity in Australia. Basis the reassessment, the company has filed voluntary disclosure with the Australian tax authorities. The impact of the same has been booked as exceptional items amounting to Rs ..