Page 657 - Business Finance
Nifty April futures at steep premium
Turnover in F&O segment surges
Hong Kong Market rises 0.56%
China's industrial profits tumbled 14% in the January to February period, extending a 1.9% decrease in December, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics. Factory-gate prices in automobile, oil refining, steel and chemical all declined in the two month period from a year ago, dropping between 0.4% and 2.5%, dragging on profits of these sectors, the statistics bureau said. The combined decrease in profit shaved the headline profit growth by 14.2%age points, it said. The government releases combined economic data for the months of January and February as the timing of the Lunar New Year holiday shifts every year. Stripping the impact of the Lunar New Year holidays, total profits came in largely the same as last year, said Zhu Hong, an economist with the statistics bureau. China's producer-price index edged up 0.1% in the first two months from a year earlier, official data showed.
Swedish officials raid bank offices in money laundering case
Swedish authorities were raiding the headquarters of one of Sweden's largest banks on Wednesday as part of an investigation into whether Swedbank was connected to a massive money laundering scandal in the Baltic countries. Sweden's Economic Crime Authority said chief prosecutor Thomas Langrot is probing whether 15 of Swedbank's largest shareholders illegally received information about the bank's connection to the money laundering scandal before Swedish television reported on the issue for the first time last month. Broadcaster SVT had reported that Swedbank customers had been able to funnel at least 40 billion kronor (USD 4.3 billion) between Swedbank and Danske Bank in Estonia. On Tuesday, SVT also reported that an internal Swedbank report identified major breaches of anti-money laundering rules involving its business in Estonia. It said Swedbank had accepted customers who posed a high risk of money laundering and had "failed to report suspicious transactions and activities." The ...
Sebi defers implementation of amended norms for royalty payment
Regulator Sebi Wednesday deferred implementation of revised norms pertaining to royalty payment by listed companies to related parties by three months. Following the decision taken at the Sebi's board meeting here, the implementation of a provision of the amended norms would has been deferred till June 30, 2019. They were to be implemented from April 1 this year. Shareholders' approval would be needed for making royalty or brand payments to related parties exceeding 2 per cent of the particular listed entity's consolidated turnover. In a release, the watchdog said the decision has been taken in view of representations received on the matter. As per the revised norms, payments made to related parties towards brand usage or royalty are to be considered material if the transaction is more than two per cent of the listed entity's annual consolidated turnover during a financial year. This required approval of the shareholders with no related party having a vote to approve such resolutions.
GoZero Mobility enters India, launches two e-bikes
British electric bike and lifestyle brand GoZero Mobility forayed into Indian market Wednesday with the launch of two electric bikes, One and Mile. One is priced at Rs 32,999 and Mile is tagged at Rs 29,999. GoZero One is powered with 400Wh lithium battery pack optimised to provide 60 Km of range on a single charge, while GoZero Mile is powered by 300Wh lithium battery pack which provides a range of 45 km. The Birmingham-based firm has tied-up with Kolkata-based Kirti Solar to develop and manufacture current range as well as future products. "With the significant focus by the Indian government towards electric mobility, especially two-wheelers, we see this as an appropriate time for us to be here," GoZero Mobility CEO Ankit Kumar told reporters here. Both the products are meant for India, Africa and South-East Asia, he added. On sales target, he added, "We anticipate to sell 3,000 units in the first year and scale up to 75,000 in the next five years." The company also has plans to ...
Board of Blue Cloud Softech Solutions approves reduction of share capital and change in registered office
Approved the Change of Registered office of the Company from Plot No. 41, Vasanth Valley, Kondapur Village, Serilingampally Mandal, Hyderabad, Telanagana, INDIA - 500084 to 1-2-286, Domalguda, Hyderabad, Telanagana, INDIA - 500029.
Essar Steel CoC meets over distribution of Rs 42k cr, NCLAT to wait for the outcome
The lenders of Essar Steel Wednesday informed the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) that meeting of the Committee of Creditors of the debt-ridden firm is going on over distribution of Rs 42,000 crore coming from the resolution plan of global steel major ArcelorMittal. The appellate tribunal was informed that a decision by CoC on whether StanChart, an unsecured financial creditor, should get higher payout for its dues to Essar Steel would come by Friday, following which it adjourned the matter to April 9 for the next hearing. "We have to see the outcome of the Committee of Creditors (CoC) meeting," said a two-member NCLAT bench headed by Chairman Justice S J Mukhopadhaya. The NCLAT had on March 20 asked the resolution professional of Essar Steel to call for a fresh meeting of its CoC to reconsider distribution of Rs 42,000 crore fund. The Appellate Tribunal also said that the March 8 order of the Ahmedabad-based bench the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approving ...
Strides Pharma gets USFDA nod for Singapore facility
Drug firm Strides Pharma Science Ltd Wednesday said it has received approval from the US health regulator, USFDA, for its oral dosage facility in Singapore. With the commercialisation of this facility, the company will join the league of global pharmaceutical companies having manufacturing and research and development footprint in Singapore, Strides Pharma said in a statement. The facility will complement the company's existing manufacturing base and will help meet increased demand from its fast-growing regulated markets business across the US, Australia, the UK and Europe, it added. The facility, when operating at its peak capacity, will produce 1.4 billion tablets and hard gelatin capsules. The plant has already been approved by the Health Science Authority (HSA) Singapore and the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) Australia, Strides Pharma said. Shares of the company Wednesday ended 3.4 per cent up at Rs 460.25 on the BSE.
China Stocks gain on bargain hunting, stimulus hopes
Consumer staples and health care stocks rallied on defensive buying. Liquor distiller Kweichow Moutai added 2.7% on Wednesday, taking the gauge to just 5.7% shy of its all-time high seen in January 2018. Kweichow Moutai gained 2% to 788.50 yuan and rival Wuliangye Yibin advanced 4.2% to 87.98 yuan. Drug makers also rallied, with Changchun High & New Technology Industry Group surging 7.6% to 306.52 yuan and Shanghai RAAS Blood Products gaining 7.4% to 9.92 yuan.
Jet Airways shares continue upward march; close over 3% higher
Shares of Jet Airways continued their upward journey Wednesday and closed over 3 per cent higher after the company set an 'ambitious' target of flying 40 additional aircraft by the end of April. The stock closed at Rs 277.15, up 2.27 per cent on the BSE. During the day, it gained 5.79 per cent to Rs 286.70. At the NSE, shares went up by 3.21 per cent to close at Rs 279.60. In terms of volume, 23.40 lakh shares traded on the BSE, while over 2 crore shares changed hands on the NSE during the day. In the past two days, the stock has climbed 20 per cent. Jet Airways has informed the government that it has 35 aircraft in operation and it has set an "ambitious" target of flying 40 additional aircraft by the end of April, Civil Aviation Secretary P S Kharola said Tuesday. For the past few weeks, the full-service carrier has been grounding its aircraft in tranches due to non-payment of dues to lessors, bringing down its operational fleet from 103 to just 35. Giving up the chairmanship after ..
Sensex slips 100 points, Nifty closes below 11,450 ahead of F&O expiry
Benchmark Sensex erased early gains and ended over 100 points lower Wednesday as investor sentiment remained subdued ahead of expiry of derivative contracts. A weak rupee and lingering worries of a global slowdown also weighed on the markets, brokers said. The 30-share BSE Sensex settled 100.53 points, or 0.26 per cent lower at 38,132.88, while the broader NSE Nifty slipped 38.20 points, or 0.33 per cent, to 11,445.05. During the day, the benchmark indices witnessed sharp volatility after Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted that he will be addressing the nation, amid various speculations about the message. However, the markets rose during Modi's announcement that India had demonstrated anti-satellite missile capability by shooting down a live satellite. "Market gave up opening gains ahead of F&O expiry (on Thursday) and on worries over global economic growth as US 10-year yield slid further. However, bank index remains on positive trajectory in expectation of ease in liquidity ...
Currency in circulation as percentage of GDP declines since DeMo:FinMin official
Currency in circulation as percentage of GDP declined by over 1 percentage points to 10.48 per cent in the two years after demonetisation, a finance ministry official said. The government had demonetised currency notes of 500 and 1000 denomination on November 8, 2016, to check black money. "In terms of GDP, notes in circulation declined from 11.55 per cent as on November 8, 2016, to 10.48 per cent as on November 8, 2018, reflecting that it has actually contributed in reducing the currency in circulation," an official said. This reflects a decline of 1 percentage point or 100 basis points. Post note ban, Rs 15.31 lakh crore worth demonetised notes were deposited in banks within a stipulated time. This was 99.3 per cent of the Rs 15.41 lakh crore worth of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes in circulation on November 8, 2016. One of the objectives of demonetisation was to reduce cash-economy and encourage digital mode of payment. The notes in circulation had recorded an average growth rate of ...
City gas distribution rights to help oil marketing firms diversify: Fitch
The recent award of city gas distribution rights to oil marketing companies such as Indian Oil Corp (IOC) and Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) will help them diversify and maintain their market shares in the domestic cooking and auto fuel markets over the long term, according to Fitch Ratings. IOC and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) won city gas distribution rights in nine geographical areas each last month, and BPCL got rights to two areas. BPCL won the rights to 11 geographical areas in a previous auction in September 2018 as well. Fitch said it expects the state-owned oil marketing companies' increased presence in city gas distribution to help them diversify from their oil refining and marketing business and reinforce their existing strong positions in the auto fuel market, with piped natural gas (PNG) usage gradually competing with auto fuels and replacing liquefied petroleum gas in the domestic cooking fuel market. "The investment by the winners of each geographical area will
Three held for online cricket betting
Three people have been arrested on charges of operating an online cricket betting business from a rented room near the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation bus stand here, police sources said Wednesday. Another member of the gang managed to escape during the raid at the premises, the sources said. Police also seized Rs 62,700 and four mobile phones. The group had been operating the business with the help of a mobile application, police said. They also had a television set in the room.
Vedanta reports oil discovery in Krishna-Godavari basin
Diversified natural resources company Vedanta said on Wednesday it has made an oil discovery in Krishna-Godavari basin of Andhra Pradesh."Vedanta Limited has notified the Management Committee, Directorate General of Hydrocarbons and Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas of an oil discovery in the second exploratory well H2 located in the block KG-OSN-2009/3, Krishna-Godavari basin, East Coast of India," said the company in a statement.Vedanta holds 100 per cent participating interest in the block.Multiple reservoir zones were encountered in the well H2 within the Mesozoic sequence between the depths of 3,310 metres to 4,026 metres with hydrocarbon indications during drilling and downhole logging, it said."The zone from 3,403 metres to 3,431 metres was tested through conventional well testing (drill stem test) and flowed oil to the surface. Further appraisal will be required to establish the size and commerciality of the oil discovery in the Mesozoic sequence," said the statement.The ..
Volatile trading levels Sensex down 100 points to 38,133
Equity benchmark indices erased early gains in the afternoon session on Wednesday as many sectoral stocks witnessed a sharp downturn.The morning rally was led by banking and financial stocks. But the gains were capped by losses in petro and auto scrips as the day progressed.The BSE S & P Sensex closed 100 points lower at 38,133 while the NSE Nifty 50 was down 38 points at 11,445.Yes Bank, IndusInd Bank, Indiabulls Housing Finance, JSW Steel and Vedanta were top gainers at the National Stock Exchange.Significantly, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) gained 2.3 per cent higher at Rs 739.20 after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that India had joined the United States, Russia and China in an elite group of countries with capability to target satellites.Inox Leisure was at an all-time high with 9.9 per cent gain to close at Rs 324.15.But Hindustan Petroleum, Bharat Petroleum, Eicher Motors, Asian Paints and Tech Mahindra clocked losses.Meanwhile, Asian shares closed mixed as ...
Quick Wrap: Nifty PSU Bank Index gains 1.59%
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MERC approves PPA between Tata Power's generation and distribution arms
Tata Power Wednesday said the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) has approved 700 MW power purchase agreement between the company's distribution and generation business arms for the next five years. MERC has allowed the distribution business of Tata Power to have a power purchase agreement (PPA) with its generation arm for 700 MW to be supplied from its Trombay thermal and hydro plants for a period of five years from April 1, 2019 to March 31, 2024, a company statement said. After the due diligence for ensuring the reliability of supply and cost competitiveness for Tata consumers in Mumbai, the Commission, in its order on Tuesday, approved the arrangement, it said. "Tata Power has been serving the city of Mumbai for over a century and continues to be committed to supplying the most reliable and competitive power meeting the needs of their consumers," Tata Power CEO and Managing Director Praveer Sinha said in the statement. The process of power tie-up was undertaken ..
RIL to gain from personal data laws: Merrill Lynch
India's new policies around personal data protection (PDP) bill may fetch revenues to the tune of $1-2.5 billion for the Reliance Industries, while it will have negative implications for companies like Facebook, Amazon, Google and Walmart, said a Merrill Lynch report.
OBC allots 13.89 cr shares to govt following capital infusion
Public sector Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) Wednesday said it has allotted 13.89 crore equity shares to the government following capital infusion of Rs 1,186 crore into the bank. "Pursuant to the approval of the board of directors, the bank has allotted 13,89,89,804 equity shares of Rs 10 each at an issue price (including premium) of Rs 85.33 per equity share aggregating up to Rs 1,186 crore to Government of India on preferential basis on March 26, 2019," OBC said in a regulatory filing. Earlier in January, the government had infused capital in OBC, following which RBI removed the lender from its prompt corrective action (PCA) framework.