Page 641 - Business Finance
Grasim acquires premium fabrics maker Soktas India for Rs 135 crore
Aditya Birla-led Grasim Industries on Friday announced the acquisition of Soktas India for Rs 135.12 crore.Soktas India is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Soktas Tekstil Sanayi ve Ticaret AS, a world-renowned producer and marketer of premium shirting fabrics with its main facilities at Soke in Turkey.Hutokshi Wadia, President of Grasim Industries, said: "The acquisition of Soktas India is a compelling strategic fit, and will further strengthen the company's leadership in the premium cotton and linen fabric market in India."Grasim acquired 100 per cent share capital of Soktas India for cash consideration and the transaction is complete.Soktas Chairman Muharrem Kayhan said: "Grasim is uniquely positioned to grow Soktas India more than ever, with its significant presence and resources in the Indian and world markets."Soktas India was incorporated on February 15, 2007, and clocked a turnover of Rs 186.17 crore in 2017-18."The offer was deemed by Soktas to be highly beneficial for its Indian .
High trade deficit pushes India's Q3 CAD to $16.9 bn
India's current account deficit (CAD) widened to $16.9 billion during the third quarter of 2018-19 from $13.7 billion reported in the corresponding period of 2017-18, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data showed on Friday.
HMSI crosses 1,000 dealership mark
Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) Friday said it has crossed 1,000 dealership milestone in the country. The company opened its 1,000th dealership in Zirakpur (Punjab). With this, HMSI's total network count, including sales and service touchpoints, in the country has now crossed the 6,000th outlet mark. "This landmark achievement brings Honda closer to the hearts of its customers, who have reposed their trust in the brand," HMSI President & CEO Minoru Kato said in a statement.
Govt mulls sending official delegation to US to resolve trade issues
The government is considering sending an official delegation to the US next month from the commerce ministry to discuss ways to resolve trade related issues, sources said. The government is also expected to again extend the deadline to impose retaliatory duties on 29 US items till May 1. The current deadline will end on April 1. Although officials of India and the US were negotiating a trade package, the Trump administration earlier this month announced its decision to withdraw export benefits provided by them to India under the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) programme. US companies have raised concerns over price capping on medical devices like stent. They also want greater market access for their dairy products and reduction in duty on Harley Davidson motorbikes. According to exporters, withdrawal of incentives under GSP would impact India's export worth USD 5.6 billion to the US under this initiative. Sources said that trade dialogue would help in resolving the issues as ..
Pound falls after UK parliament rejects Brexit plan
The pound fell Friday after Britain's parliament again rejected a proposed deal to withdraw from the European Union. Sterling had been mostly stronger against both the dollar and the euro in the runup to the vote, but then fell to its lowest point against the greenback in more than two weeks. "Sterling's midday bounce felt a long way away on Friday afternoon, as MPs inflicted another embarrassment on a Theresa May premiership defined by them," said Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell. Lawmakers in parliament's lower House of Commons defied May's plea to end a political deadlock over Brexit, defeating her withdrawal agreement by 344 votes to 286. "No-one really wants to say it but we are in danger of sleepwalking into an unintended no-deal scenario here, an outcome that looked highly unlikely just a couple of weeks back, and this poses a major risk for the pound," said XTB analyst David Cheetham. The EU Commission seemed to agree, saying after the vote that a no-deal Brexit was now a ...
April-Feb fiscal deficit up to 134% of target
Lower tax collection pushed India's budgetary fiscal deficit for April-February 2018-19 period to 134.2 per cent or Rs 8.51 lakh crore of the Rs 6.34-lakh crore annual target, official data showed on Friday.
RBI sets NBFC-MFIs' average base rate at 9.21% for Apr-Jun
The Reserve Bank Friday set the average base rate to be charged from borrowers by non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and micro-finance institutions (MFIs) at 9.21 per cent for the first quarter of the next fiscal. The applicable average base rate to be charged by Non-Banking Financial Company Micro Finance Institutions (NBFC-MFIs) to their borrowers for the quarter beginning April 01, 2019 will be 9.21 per cent, the RBI said in a notification. The regulator in February 2014 had issued directions to NBFC-MFIs regarding pricing of credit. The RBI, on the last working day of every quarter, comes out with the average of the base rates of the five largest commercial banks for the purpose of arriving at the interest rates to be charged by NBFC-MFIs to its borrowers in the ensuing quarter.
Disappointed with S&P rating downgrade: JLR
Tata Motors-owned Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) Friday said it is disappointed by S&P's decision to downgrade its credit rating but added that it expects better cash flow in the fourth quarter. In a regulatory filing, JLR said it expects improved financial results in the fourth quarter period to March 31, 2019, compared to the first nine months of the financial year, with significant positive cash flow in the fourth quarter. The company is continuing to execute its product plans and Project Charge turnaround strategy to deliver 2.5 billion pounds of cash flow improvements by March 2020, it added. Earlier this week, S&P Global Ratings downgraded the credit rating of Tata Motors and JLR, citing weak profitability. S&P had cut its rating on senior unsecured notes of JLR and Tata Motors to 'B+' from 'BB-'.
Govt gives GI tag to five coffee varieties
The government Friday said it has awarded Geographical Indication (GI) tag to five varieties of Indian coffee including Coorg Arabica coffee. The move is expected to help the growers get maximum price for their premium produce. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, has recently awarded this tag to -- Coorg Arabica coffee from Karnataka, Wayanaad Robusta coffee from Kerala, Chikmaglur Arabica from Karnataka, Araku Valley Arabica from Andhra Pradesh, and Bababudangiris Arabica coffee from Karnataka. The Araku coffee is produced by the tribals, who follow an organic approach in which they emphasise management practices involving substantial use of organic manures, green manuring and organic pest management practices, the ministry said in a statement. Similarly, it said, Bababudangiris Arabica coffee is selectively hand-picked and processed by natural fermentation. It added that In India, coffee is cultivated in about ...
Isuzu to hike prices of CV pick up range by up to 2% from April
Isuzu Motors India Friday said it will increase prices of its commercial pick-up range - D-MAX Regular Cab and D-MAX S-CAB by up to 2 per cent with effect from April 1. "The increase in price is due to the increasing input and distribution costs," the company said in a statement. Currently, D-MAX Regular Cab is priced at Rs 7.4 lakh while S-CAB is tagged at Rs 8.88 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).
SC agrees to hear plea on suspension of nearly 6,000 lawyers, seeks BCI reply
The Supreme Court Friday agreed to hear a plea challenging a notification of the Tamil Nadu and the Puducherry Bar Councils suspending licences of 5,970 advocates for nonpayment of dues towards the Advocates' Welfare Fund. A bench of Justices S A Bobde and S Abdul Nazeer issued notice to the Bar Council of India and sought its reply within four weeks. The two bar councils issued a notification on March 22 suspending the licences of 5,970 advocates for nonpayment of dues towards the Advocates' Welfare Fund. Due to the suspension of licences, the lawyers cannot practice in any court or tribunal. The plea filed by one of the suspended lawyers, Sabarish Subramanian, has sought quashing of the notification saying they were not served the notice for payment of the dues. Every lawyer, who enrols with the Bar Council of India, has to pay some amount towards the Advocates' Welfare Fund.
More looks to invest Rs 1,000-cr in 5 years to scale up operations
Aditya Birla Group's retail chain 'More' plans to invest around Rs 1,000 crore to scale up its operations in the next five years, a top company official said Friday. The retail chain, in which US-based e-commerce major Amazon and Samara Capital jointly invested around Rs 4,200 crore last year, also expects its turnover to grow three-fold in five years. The company operates two retail formats -- supermarkets and hypermarkets, apart from its online channel. It currently has around 600 supermarkets and 20 hypermarkets. According to Aditya Birla Retail CEO Mohit Kampani, More has now become a debt-free company, which is helping the retail chain to expand. "The mandate from our our board is that in the next five years, the company has to grow three times. That's our target," Kampani told PTI. More has a present turnover of around Rs 4,500 crore, he added. "You can expect our supermarket count to grow to 1,200 from 600 and hypermarket, you can expect us to grow at five times of today, which
Govt's gross borrowing pegged at Rs 4.42 lakh crore in H1 FY20
The central government is looking at raising Rs 4.42 lakh crore through borrowing in the first half of the 2019-20 fiscal, Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg said Friday. Parliament has approved a gross borrowing for Rs 7.1 lakh crore for the entire 2019-20 fiscal. "We will be raising Rs 4.42 lakh crore (gross) in the first half (of FY 2019-20), or Rs 17,000 per week for 26 weeks," Garg told reporters. The remaining Rs 2.68 lakh crore or 37.7 per cent of the total gross borrowing would be raised from the markets by floating government bonds and treasury bills during the October-March period. Net borrowing in the first half (April-September) would be Rs 3.40 lakh crore. In the second half, net borrowing would be lower at Rs 1.33 lakh crore. "So in the second half, it would be Rs 83,000 crore plus buyback of Rs 50,000 crore. Net borrowing for the full year is Rs 4.23 lakh crore," the secretary said. The government, in the interim Budget in February, had proposed to restrict
Nation set to become big player in space, says Antrix Corp
: With ISRO having launched over 300 satellites including those of other countries from Indian soil, seeds are being sown for the country to become a big player in commercial space, a top official of Antrix Corporation, the commercial arm of ISRO, said Friday. "India with its space pedigree and track record of launching more than 300 satellites from Indian soil, it was ideally positioned in garnering the large growth in space domain," chairman and managing director of Antrix Rakesh Sasibhushan said here. He was addressing a gathering at a session "Building on Discontinuities in Digital and Technology" at the CII annual regional meeting and summit on 'Industry Future Forward.' Noting that there was a booming presence of startups in the space sector, he said it is something that adds to the fact that space is affordable for many industries to come into. "So, the seeds are being sown for India to become a big player in the commercial space," he said. With space technology ..
Rahul outlines Congress plans to boost jobs
Congress President Rahul Gandhi has given broad hints of his partys plans for boosting entrepreneurship, start-ups and jobs by promising to do away with the angel tax and incentives based on the number of jobs created.
HDFC Bank says not party to United Spirits case in PMLA court
HDFC Bank Friday said it is not a party to the proceedings in the PMLA court regarding liquidation of shares of United Spirits to recover dues owned by Vijay Mallya companies. PTI had erroneously reported on Thursday that HDFC Bank had moved the special PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) court here against SBI-led bankers' consortium attempting to recover dues by liquidating shares of United Spirits Ltd (USL). Such an application was filed by HDFC Ltd, which a separate entity. "We would like to state that our name has been mentioned erroneously as we are not a party to the proceedings in the PMLA Court," HDFC Bank said in an e-mailed statement. The SBI-led bankers consortium had raised Rs 1,008 crore by selling 7.4 million pledged shares of United Breweries on Wednesday and wanted to recover more by liquidating shares of USL. Banks are seeking court permission to liquidate 65.85 lakh shares of United Spirits which were pledged by two Vijay Mallya companies -- United Breweries ..
PNB to sell stake in PNB Housing to General Atlantic, Varde Partners for Rs 1,851 cr
State-owned Punjab National Bank (PNB) Friday said it will partially sell its stake in PNB Housing Finance to global private equity firm General Atlantic Group and alternative investment firm Varde Partners for Rs 1,851.6 crore. PNB has entered into agreements in relation to two independent transactions on March 29, 2019 for sale of 1,08,91,733 equity shares held in PNB Housing Finance (PNBHF) to General Atlantic Group at Rs 850 per share for Rs 925.80 crore and the same number of shares to VardePartners for Rs 925.80 crore, PNB said in a regulatory filing. The bank has a target to fetch up to Rs 8,600 crore this fiscal, which is ending on March 31, 2019, by selling stake in non-core assets. PNB said these transactions are subject to satisfaction of customary conditions and post these transactions, it would continue to hold strategic stake of 19.78 per cent of the paid up capital of housing finance subsidiary. "PNB would continue to hold strategic stake of 19.78 per cent of the paid ..
Fresh crackdown on GST evaders on the cards
Tax sleuths are planning a fresh crackdown on traders evading the payment of Goods and Services Tax (GST) by seeking new registration for their businesses without revoking an earlier application.
Lenders send feelers for stake sale in Jet Airways
To stave off any haircut in Jet Airways, the lenders of the company have already started approaching prospective investors, informed sources said on Friday.
Huawei defends security record as annual sales top USD 100B
Chinese tech giant Huawei's deputy chairman defended its commitment to security Friday after a stinging British government report added to Western pressure on the company by accusing it of failing to repair dangerous flaws in its telecom technology. Guo Ping's comments came as Huawei Technologies Ltd., the biggest global maker of network equipment for phone and internet companies, announced last year's sales surpassed $100 billion despite U.S. pressure on American allies to shun it as a security threat. Accusations that Huawei, China's first global tech brand, might facilitate Beijing's spying threaten to hamper its access to global carriers that are preparing to invest billions of dollars in next-generation technology. Britain's National Cyber Security Center added criticism Thursday on a different front, accusing Huawei of "poor software engineering." The agency said in a report British researchers saw no sign that was due to Chinese government interference, but it said Huawei had ..