Page 45 - Business Finance
Finally,Jet Airways lands in NCLT as banks give up revival bid
Harried bankers Monday decided against an outright sale of Jet Airways to the lone bidder, instead voted to send it for bankruptcy to recover their Rs 8,000 crore dues. The once largest private sector airline, started over 25 years ago by airline-ticketing-agent-turned-entrepreneur Naresh Goyal, stopped flying on April 17 after it ran out of cash and the unpaid lessors took away most of its 100-odd operational airplanes. The nascent bankruptcy process has been fraught with inordinate delays with only a fraction of the cases have been resolved within the timeline, while the asset in on the books of the once the largest airliner are just fraction of its dues which run into over Rs 36,000 crore. After a meeting of the 26 lenders here Monday, SBI in a statement said, "after due deliberations, the lenders have decided to seek resolution for Jet Airways under the bankruptcy code since only a conditional bid was received". The statement further said the move was necessitated ..
Bounce raises USD 72 million funding
: City based start-up, Bounce,a smart mobility solution provider, Monday said it has raised USD 72 million as a part of its series C round. Bounce has deployed a fleet of over 5,000 keyless scooters in city and the app allows the users to pick up a scooter and drop it at any legitimate parking spot. B Capital Group, a global technology fund and Falcon Edge Capital, a New York based hedge fund led the investment, the company said. This also saw participation from Accel Partners India, Accel Partners USA, Chiratae Ventures, Maverick Ventures, Omidyar Network India, Sequoia Capital India and Qualcomm Ventures, the investment arm of Qualcomm Incorporated. The funding will go towards the company's plan toexpand its presence nationally, especially in smart cities and will also be deployed towards strengthening the tech, it saidin a release. "This round of funding will help accelerate our expansion nationally across various cities. We appreciate theongoing support of our ...
U'khand CM requests Tanakpur-Bageshwar railway line to be included in fiscal year 2019-20
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat on Monday met Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal and requested him to include the Tanakpur-Bageshwar rail line project in the current fiscal year 2019-20 to speed up the process of social and economic development of this region.The Chief Minister informed that at present the rail line is established till Tanakpur. The movement in other districts of Kumaun Mandal, Pithoragarh, Bageshwar is difficult because of the mountainous terrain. The Tanakpur-Bageshwar railway project, he said, is extremely important for speeding up the process of social and economic development of this region as well as to develop the tourist spots.He further said that "the state's borders are also linked to Nepal and China hence the places are also of strategic importance."The CM also informed the Union Railway Minister that there is currently no direct rail service in the morning and afternoon between the Dehradun and Kumaun area, whose final railway station is .
Vistara adds 62 new flights, announces 48-hour sale
Increasing its flight network by more than 50 per cent, Vistara announced on Monday that it has added 62 new flights -- connecting Mumbai and Delhi with other cities across the country -- from the beginning of this month. It also announced a 48-hour 'Grand Vistara Monsoon sale', which will start from 0001 hrs of June 18 and end at 2359 hrs of June 19. During the sale period, the passengers would be able to purchase tickets for travel between July 3 and September 26, the airline said. A tranche of the 62 new flights have already started operating and the remaining ones will start flying in the coming few days. With the addition of 62 new flights, Vistara will now operate direct flights from Mumbai to 10 cities, adding Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Chennai and Varanasi to the six other cities it already flies to from India's commercial capital. The six cities are Amritsar, Bengaluru, Delhi, Goa, Hyderabad and Kolkata. "These (62) new flights represent an over 50 per cent increase in the size ..
Tech Mahindra to acquire Canada's Objectwise Consulting worth CAD 2.75 mn
Information technology firm Tech Mahindra Monday said it will acquire Canada-based Objectwise Consulting Group Inc worth 2.75 million Canadian dollars (about Rs 14.33 crore). "The Investment Committee of the Board of Directors of the company has approved the proposal to acquire 100 per cent equity shares of Objectwise Consulting Group Inc through a new entity to be formed under its wholly-owned subsidiary viz, Tech Mahindra (Americas) Inc," Tech Mahindra said in a BSE filing. It added that Objectwise would bring with it strong capabilities in implementation and support of Pega software. "The transaction is expected to close by July 31, 2019... The equity value is CAD 2.75 million," the filing said adding that the consideration of the deal would be cash. Objectwise's revenue for the financial year ended September 30, 2018 stood at CAD 13.6 million. It was incorporated in August 1996.
UAE assures supply of oil, LPG to India despite tanker attacks: Pradhan
Oil cartel OPEC member UAE has assured India of uninterrupted supply of oil and LPG despite disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said Monday. India is 83 per cent dependent on imports to meet its oil needs and is reliant on nations like the UAE to meet half of its cooking gas (LPG) needs. Pradhan in Twitter posts said he held telephonic discussions with UAE Minister and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) Group CEOP Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber over tensions in the Gulf region following attacks on two oil tankers last week. "Expressed concern at the supply disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. Dr. Jaber assured me of oil and LPG supplies to India despite the disruptions," he tweeted. The attacks on oil tankers last week raised concerns over supplies through the Strait of Hormuz that is the conduit for a fifth of the world's oil. "Spoke to UAE Minister of State and Group CEO @AdnocGroup H.E. Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber and discussed ways to collaborate and work
Fitch lowers India's FY20 growth forecast for a 2nd time
Fitch Monday cut India's growth forecast for the current fiscal for a second time in a row to 6.6 per cent as manufacturing and agriculture sectors showed signs of slowing down over the past year. The global rating agency had earlier in March lowered the growth estimate for 2019-20 to 6.8 per cent, from 7 per cent projected earlier, on weak momentum of the economy. The cut in growth forecast comes ahead of the presentation of the Union Budget on July 5. Indian economy grew at its slowest pace in five years at 6.8 per cent in 2018-19. In the January-March quarter, the growth slumped to a five-year low of 5.8 per cent. Following this India lost the fastest growing economy tag to China, which grew at 6.4 per cent in the same quarter. "We see growth for FY2019-2020 printing at 6.6 per cent, before stepping up to 7.1 per cent in FY 2020-2021 and 7.0 per cent in FY 2021-2022," Fitch Ratings said in its latest Global Economic Outlook. RBI has projected a growth rate of 7 per cent for the ...
Vistara, GoAir launch summer offer
Local carriers Vistara and GoAir on Monday launched sale of tickets offering an attractive deal for flyers. Many popular destinations such as Goa, Kolkata and Bengaluru are covered under the pre-monsoon sale.
Bandhan Bank slashes microloan interest rate by 70 bps
Bandhan Bank on Monday said it would reduce its microloan interest rate by 70 basis points (bps) to 17.95 per cent, which would be applicable to new disbursements from June 18.
India's trade outlook fragile due to tension with US: Report
India's near-term trade outlook is fragile as its retaliatory tariffs on US products come amid a global slowdown, a report said.
Pfizer acquires Array Biopharma, valued at USD 11.4 billion
US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer on Monday announced the acquisition of Array BioPharma, a biotechnology firm that specializes in cancer drugs, the latest in a long list of biotech mergers in recent years. In a statement, Pfizer said it offered USD 48 per share in cash for Array, putting an USD 11.4 billion value on the company. "The board of directors of both companies have approved the merger," Pfizer said. The proposed acquisition "sets the stage to create a potentially industry-leading franchise for colorectal cancer alongside Pfizer's existing expertise in breast and prostate cancers," Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said. Array's portfolio includes two drugs, Braftovi (encorafenib) and Mektovi (binimetinib), that when combined are effective in treating BRAF-mutant melanoma. The combination of the two drugs was authorized in September by the European Commission, several months after the US Federal Drug Administration gave its approval. Besides melanomas, BRAF mutations occur in up to 15 ..
French billionaire Drahi acquires Sotheby's in $3.7 bn deal: auction house
French telecoms and media mogul Patrick Drahi is acquiring Sotheby's auction house, one of the world's biggest art brokers, in a $3.7 billion deal, the British-founded company said Monday. Drahi, the billionaire head of the Altice empire which owns Virgin Mobile and several French media houses including BFM news channel and Liberation newspaper, is acquiring Sotheby's in a deal that values the auction house at $57 per share, Sotheby's said.
Uniform tax rate on lotteries: Ker Assembly adopts resolution
: The Kerala Assembly Monday adopted a resolution against the Centre's proposal to impose a uniform tax rate on lotteries instead of the current differential tax rate system. State Finance Minister Thomas Isaac, in a resolution moved in the assembly said that as of now, a state-organised lottery attracts 12 per cent GST, while a state-authorised lottery attracts 28 per cent tax. The main opposition Congress led UDF supported the resolution. "The Centre's move is to reduce the tax on lotteries run by intermediaries and bring it on par with the state-run lotteries. This will affect thousands of lottery agents and sellers in Kerala. This move will affect the tax revenue of the state, as well as the Centre," Isaac said. The Finance Minister said that the beneficiaries would be the intermediaries in the business. Opposition Congress Leader Ramesh Chennithala said the move to unify the tax rate on lotteries showed how influential the lottery mafia was. The rate for lottery ...
RBI won't hesitate on steps for financial stability: Governor
Assuring the crisis-hit NBFC sector will be monitored, Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das on Friday said the central bank will not hesitate to take any required measure to maintain the financial stability of the economy.
Intuit's QuickBooks Assistant wins Asia-Pacific Stevie Award
Intuit Inc (NASDAQQuickBooks Assistant won the bronze under the innovative use of technology in Customer Service. QuickBooks Assistant is a chatbot experience that solves a common problem for QuickBooks customers quickly and easily by staying on top of their finances.In addition to the Bronze award for Innovative Use of Technology in Customer Service, the QuickBooks India customer success team was the recipient of the silver award on how an innovative approach to customer service management helped a lean team win the day. The award was recognition of how the team addressed the unprecedented 300 percent surge in contact volumes following the roll out of GST in July 2017.Launched earlier this year QuickBooks Assistant is an offering from Intuit that unleashes the power of technology to transform how we best serve our customers. Winning the awards at Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards 2019 demonstrates how this innovation based on the latest, cutting edge AI technology is designed to help our ...
IndiGo prefers CFM over Pratt & Whitney for $20 bn engine order
India's largest carrier IndiGo on Monday said it had placed an order worth $20 billion with CFM International for LEAP-1A engines to power 280 Airbus A320neo and A321neo aircraft.
Impose green cess on polluting vehicles to support EVs: SMEV
Electric vehicle makers' body SMEV Monday called for imposition of 'green cess' on polluting vehicles besides seeking putting of EVs in priority lending sector to accelerate creation of a robust ecosystem. In its Budget wish list, the Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV) also asked the government for a dedicated allocation for 'clean air' campaign, which could be integrated under the Swachh Bharat Mission. "We strongly advocate the imposition of a notional green cess on the polluting vehicles and use it to accelerate electric mobility," SMEV Director General Sohinder Gill said in a statement. He further said funds generated from such a cess can help reduce burden on the government exchequer. "This fund could be utilised in the frontloading of incentives to customers and bring electric two-wheelers prices down to the level of petrol two-wheelers," Gill said. Calling for putting of electric vehicles (EVs) in the priority lending sector, he said it will help create a ...
Fitch pegs India's growth at 6.6% in 2019-20
Fitch Ratings on Monday saw India's growth for FY 2019-20 at 6.6 per cent and 7.1 per cent in 2021-22.
Aditya Birla Fashion collaborates with Intellecap for 'Circular Apparel Innovation Factory'
Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd (ABFRL) are joining a unique and pioneering industry-led platform, 'Circular Apparel Innovation Factory' (CAIF) in collaboration with Intellecap.CAIF is India's first industry-led platform, aiming to build a circular apparel and textile industry in India. Its mission is to search, seed, support, and scale circular textile and apparel innovations in India by building an enabling ecosystem of brands, manufacturers, enterprises, and innovators across the value chain.Through the association, ABFRL will be demonstrating its commitment to shift the industry from its current 'take-make-dispose' approach, to one that encourages the use of sustainable material, maximize utilization of clothing & textile and thereby promote recycling. These initiatives will help ABFRL retain its focus on creating significant social impact."We are pleased to partner with Intellecap to accelerate sustainable fashion concept through CAIF to build industry level platform ...
Eurozone growth remains frigile amid mounting risks: IMF
Growth in the eurozone rebounded earlier this year but it remains fragile while risks have increased, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Monday.Euro area countries have had more frequent and severe recessions than other advanced economies over the past 20 years, it said in a blog post written by Shekhar Aiyar, John Bluedorn and Romain Duval."An even greater cause for concern is that differences between member countries' growth and unemployment rates after euro area-wide downturns have widened. This widening was most stark following the 2008 global financial crisis."While euro area countries have made substantial progress in improving fundamental aspects of the economic and monetary union since then, they have more to do -- from completing the banking and capital markets unions to establishing a central fiscal capacity for macroeconomic stabilisation.But euro area-wide architectural improvements cannot fully substitute for the economic flexibility provided by national ...