Page 663 - Business Finance
Sebi imposes Rs 40 lakh fine on Sybly Industries MD, director for GDR manipulation
Markets regulator Sebi has slapped a total fine Rs 40 lakh fine on the managing director and the director of Sybly Industries in a matter related to manipulation in issuance of global depository receipts (GDR). The ruling came after the regulator conducted a probe to investigate irregularities in the company's allotment of 1.51 million GDR amounting to USD 6.99 million on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange in June 2008. Sebi noted that the entire 1.51 million GDR were subscribed by only one entity, Vintage FZE (now known as Alta Vista International FZE). The subscription amount for GDR was paid by Vintage after obtaining loan from European American Investment Bank (EURAM). It was observed that directors of Sybly in its board meeting in March 2008 passed a board resolution that authorised EURAM Bank to use Sybly's GDR proceeds as security in connection with the loan. It also authorised the firm's managing director Mahesh Chand Mittal and director Umesh Kumar Mittal, to sign any application,
Jet Airways to fly 40 more aircraft by April end
Jet Airways' management on Tuesday informed the Civil Aviation Ministry that it would fly 40 more aircraft by April end and also assured that it would not ground any more aircraft, Civil Aviation Secretary Pradeep Singh Kharola said.
Mindtree not to buy back shares after L&T open offer
Global software major Mindtree on Tuesday decided not to proceed with its proposal to buy back its shares after infrastructure major Larson and Toubro (L&T) made an open offer to acquire 31 per cent of equity capital for Rs 3,050 crore.
CCI dismisses complaint against AISTA
The fair trade regulator CCI has dismissed a complaint alleging anti-competitive practices against All India Sugar Trade Association (AISTA). In a ten-page order, the regulator said, "the Commission finds no case of contravention of the provisions of Section 3(3) read with Section 3(1) of the Act". Section 3 of the Competition Act pertains to anti-competitive agreements. The ruling came over complaint filed by a Delhi-based individual who alleged that AISTA is circulating price sensitive information, and forthcoming policy changes by the government in relation to sugar industry on WhatsApp to leading sugar traders, millers, refiners and other unknown persons. It also alleged that chairman of the association, Praful Jagjivandas Vithalani, in addition to holding a fiduciary capacity, runs few trading firms in Mumbai and entered into an arrangement with AISTA, forming a cartel and indulged in bid rigging by way of pre-determining prices through information exchange. "The commission does .
Cong nominee Vasantha Kumar declares Rs 412 crore assets
Congress candidate from Kanyakumari Lok Sabha constituency H Vasantha Kumar, who owns a consumer durable retail chain, has declared a total asset of Rs 412 crore and a 45 per cent increase in income in the past five years in his nomination papers. Vasantha Kumar has movable assets with a value of Rs 230,20,95,302 crore. The total approximate market value of his immovable assets, which includes self-acquired and inherited is Rs 182,25,00,000 and the total value of assets is Rs 412,45,95,302 crore. His borrowings from banks and financial institutions stands at Rs 154,75,11,439 crore and he owes no dues to the government. His income, which was Rs 19.87 crore as per the 2013-14 income tax return, climbed to Rs 28.93 crore in 2017-18, about a 45.59 per cent increase. The Congress leader, also a sitting MLA and his spouse are shareholders in Vasanth & Co Media Network Private Limited, which owns the Tamil satellite television channel 'Vasanth.
Adobe launches AI-powered 'Experience Platform'
Software major Adobe on Tuesday announced the global availability of "Adobe Experience Platform" for customer experience management (CXM).
Milkbasket acquires Veggie India
Daily grocery delivery start-up Milkbasket Tuesday said it has acquired Noida-based Veggie India for an undisclosed amount. As per the deal, all Veggie India employees, including founders Jainendra Upadhyay and Shailendra Upadhyay, will join Milkbasket. "The acquisition is in line with our growth plans for 2019 and adds further strength and distribution capabilities to the existing business," Milkbasket co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Anant Goel said in a statement. Veggie India, operated by Ocado Garden Fresh Pvt Ltd, is an online grocery delivery platform founded last year. The company has presence in Noida and Ghaziabad. "Jainendra and Shailendra have done a remarkable job with Veggie India, and within a year of operations, the company has acquired substantial business in their region with loyal customers. I am certain that their experience will be beneficial to the company, as Milkbasket embarks on an even aggressive growth path," Goel said. Milkbasket has established ...
Bajaj launches Platina 100 Kick Start at Rs 40,500
Bajaj Auto Tuesday said it has launched Platina 100 Kick Start (KS) bike priced at Rs 40,500 (ex-showroom Delhi). The entry level commuter bike will now have various features, including CBS (Combi Brake System). "With the introduction of the Platina 100KS, we are now able to offer great value at an unbeatable price point," Bajaj Auto President Motorcycle Business Sarang Kanade said in a statement. ****** Step Industries bags Rs 132 cr order Delhi-based cable and wire maker Step Industries Tuesday said it has bagged a rural electrification project of over Rs 132 crore from Jharkhand Bijli Vitran Nigam. This would be a full scale supply and erection (Composite contract) rural electrification project comprising East Singhbhum, West Singhbhum & Saraikela-Kharsawan districts on a turnkey basis under the Jharkhand Sampurna Bijli Achchhadan Yojna (JSBAY) Phase-1, a company statement said. It is a full scale electrification project and will be completed over a period of 18 months, ...
Sensex ends 441 pts higher, PSU Bank Nifty up 3%
The benchmark Sensex advanced by 424 points on Tuesday while the Nifty jumped 129 points over a strong recovery in global markets. The gains on the bourses were led by banking and finance stocks.
PFC to pay entire Rs 14,500 cr for REC acquisition on Thursday
State-owned Power Finance Corporation (PFC) on Thursday will make the entire payment of Rs 14,500 crore to the government for acquiring 52.63 per cent stake in REC, a source said. The deal would help the government meet its disinvestment target of Rs 80,000 crore for the current financial year ending on March 31. "The entire consideration of Rs 14,500 crore for acquiring 52.63 per cent equity of Government of India will be paid by the PFC through RTGS (real-time gross settlement) mode on March 28, 2019," the source privy to the development told PTI. The source said PFC Chairman and Managing Director Rajeev Sharma will hand over the RTGS advice to Power Minister R K Singh on Thursday to mark the conclusion of this acquisition deal and the money would be transferred to the government's account. PFC has raised money from Bank of Baroda, Life Insurance Corporation and State Bank of India, among others, to make the payment, the source added. Earlier on March 20, PFC had inked a share ...
Sebi fines 5 entities Rs 28 lakh for fraudulent trade
Capital markets regulator Sebi imposed a total fine of Rs 28 lakh on five entities for fraudulent and manipulative trading in illiquid stock options segment on the BSE. After observing a large-scale reversal of trades in the illiquid stock options segment, Sebi conducted a probe from April 2014 to September 2015 and found that 81.38 per cent of the trades executed in stock options were non-genuine, which led to the creation of artificial volume. The regulator noted that the five entities were among those that executed reversal of trades. The entities placed buy and sell orders in a synchronised manner and reversed the trades within a short time with wide variation in prices of the trades. The reversal trades executed by the entities are non-genuine trades as they are not executed in the normal course of trading, lack basic trading rationale, and lead to false or misleading appearance of trading in terms of generation of artificial volumes, the regulator said. The fraudulent trades ...
In Maharashtra, MPs got Rs 772 cr against Rs 1,200 cr entitlement
During their tenure between 2014-2019, Maharashtras 48 Lok Sabha MPs who were entitled to a total Rs 1,200 crore under the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme, were sanctioned only Rs 722.50 crore by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party at the Centre, according to latest official data.
Sebi issues guidelines for business continuity plan for market infra institutions
Regulator Sebi on Tuesday came out with guidelines for business continuity plan and maintaining disaster recovery site for market infrastructure institutions, including clearing corporations. In June 2012, the watchdog prescribed framework for Business Continuity Plan (BCP) and Disaster Recovery Site (DRS) for stock exchanges and depositories. "With the advancement in technology and improved automation of processes in terms of transitioning time, wherein the operations can be moved from the Primary Data Centre (PDC) to the DRS, it was felt that the extant framework needs to be re-examined," Sebi said in a circular. Now, the framework has been revised and would also be applicable for clearing corporations. "The stock exchanges, clearing corporations and depositories (collectively referred as Market Infrastructure Institutions) should have in place BCP and DRS so as to maintain data and transaction integrity," the circular said. To ensure zero data loss, stock exchanges and clearing ...
Asian firms failing on innovation projects: Oracle
Fewer than 20 per cent of innovation-focused projects are coming to life, primarily because of lack of focus and leadership, poor processes and an ongoing resistance to change, an Oracle survey said on Tuesday.
SBI chalking out plan to pay Jet employees: Sources
The new interim management of the cash-strapped airline Jet Airways led by state-run SBI to oversee the daily operations and cash flow on Tuesday drew up a plan in consultation with the Civil Aviation Ministry to address the disbursal of pending salaries of employees, sources said.
India becomes second largest market for Marks & Spencer after UK
India has emerged as the second largest market after the UK for Marks & Spencer, and the British retailer is looking at a double digit growth in terms of store addition this fiscal, said a top company official. M&S has opened one store each in Chennai and Hyderabad on Tuesday. As part of expansion, M&S is now looking at the fast emerging tier II & III cities and also plans to increase the products range with more local relevance. "India has now the largest market for us outside UK," Marks & Spencer India MD James Munson told PTI. For M&S, India is a "strategic market", where there is acceptance of international brands and has space to grow. After recent openings, M&S now has 76 stores across 32 cities and is expanding its presence. As part of its expansion drive, M&S has opened six stores in last 48 days. "We are really excited to be reaching the landmark of our 75th store opening, as well as continuing to improve the online experience for our ...
FinMin seeks EC nod for announcing govt's borrowing calendar for Apr-Sept FY'20
The Finance Ministry has sought the Election Commission's approval for announcing the government's borrowing programme for the first half of the next fiscal year beginning April 1, an official said. The government in the Budget had proposed to borrow a gross amount of Rs 7.10 lakh crore from the market during 2019-20, higher than Rs 5.71 lakh crore in the current fiscal. Finance Ministry officials and representatives of the RBI Tuesday finalised the borrowing calendar for the April-September period of next fiscal, but did not make any announcement as the model code of conduct for the ensuing general elections is in place. "We have sought Election Commission's approval and will announce the borrowing schedule after receiving its nod," the official said. The government borrows money from the market to meet its fiscal deficit, which is the difference between total expenditure and total receipts. Fiscal deficit for 2019-20 has been pegged at Rs 7.04 lakh crore or 3.4 per cent of the GDP.
Uber to acquire Dubai-based Careem for $3.1 billion
Ride-hailing giant Uber on Tuesday said it is acquiring the Dubai-based rival Careem for $3.1 billion, which will comprise $1.7 billion in convertible notes and $1.4 billion in cash.
CCI approves Tirumala Milk Products' acquisition of Sunfresh Agro Industries, Prabhat's dairy biz
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) Tuesday said it has given nod to Tirumala Milk Products to acquire Prabhat Dairy's subsidiary Sunfresh Agro Industries as well as the company's dairy business. In a tweet, the fair trade regulator said CCI "approves acquisition by Tirumala Milk Products Pvt. Ltd of (a) Prabhat Dairy Limited's subsidiary Sunfresh Agro Industries Private Limited; and (b) dairy business of Prabhat Dairy." In January, Prabhat Dairy in a regulatory filing said the France-based Lactalis' Indian subsidiary Tirumala Milk Products was acquiring its dairy business for Rs 1,700 crore, which is 1.09 times its sales in 2017-18 of Rs 1,554 crore. Besides the dairy business, the transaction also involves sale of 100 per cent shareholding in Sunfresh Agro Industries, a step-down subsidiary of Prabhat, via a share purchase agreement, the company said. In a separate tweet, the CCI also said it "approves acquisition by Varun Beverages of 9 manufacturing plants and franchise ...
Azure Roof Power Surpasses 100 MWs of Operating Solar Rooftop Capacity
/ -- - Azure Power's Solar Rooftop Portfolio of over 200 MWs, one of the largest in the country - Operational rooftop capacity has a levelized weighted average tariff of INR 5.82 (~US 8.4 cents) per kWh, 139% higher than the lowest solar power bid in India Azure Power, a leading solar power producer in India, announced that it has surpassed 100 MWs of operating solar rooftop capacity, making the operating portfolio of Azure Roof Power one of the largest in the country. This milestone was achieved with the company's recent rooftop project commissioning of various capacities under Delhi Jal Board, Indian Railways and Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI). With this, the company's operational rooftop capacity now has a levelized weighted average tariff of INR 5.82 (~US 8.4 cents) per kWh, 139% higher than the lowest solar power bid in India. (Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/819565/Azure_Power_Logo.jpg ) (Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/841326/Azure_footprint_India.jpg .