Page 70 - Business Finance
Tata Motors global sales dip 23 pc in May
Tata Motors Wednesday reported 23 per cent decline in global sales, including that of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) vehicles, at 82,374 units in May. The company sold 1,07,343 units in May 2018, Tata Motors said in a statement. In the passenger vehicle category, global sales stood at 50,884 units last month as against 66,354 units in May 2018, down 23 per cent. The category also includes JLR sales. The global wholesales of the luxury brand declined 18 per cent to 39,895 units last month as compared to 48,786 units in May 2018. Tata Motor's sales of commercial vehicles in May stood at 31,490 units, down 23 per cent from 40,989 units a year ago.
Indiabulls Housing Finance tanks 8 pc, moves out of 100 most-valued firms list
Shares of Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd (IBHFL) continued to fall Wednesday, dropping nearly 8 per cent, following allegations of siphoning off Rs 98,000 crore of public money, pushing the company out of the list of top 100 companies by market valuation. The scrip plunged 7.93 per cent to close at Rs 621.15 on the BSE. During the day, it tumbled 9.56 per cent to Rs 610.10. At the NSE, shares of the company tanked 7.93 per cent to close at Rs 621.05. IBHFL shares had dropped 8 per cent Tuesday also. Following the sharp plunge in its stock price, the company also moved out from the list of top 100 most-valued companies on the BSE. In two days, the company's market valuation fell by Rs 4,771.24 crore to Rs 26,558.76 crore on the BSE. A plea was filed in the Supreme Court Monday seeking legal action against IBHFL, its chairman and directors for alleged misappropriation of Rs 98,000 crore of public money. Meanwhile, IBHFL Wednesday moved Supreme Court, seeking urgent listing of the plea ..
Retail inflation spikes to 7-month high of 3.05 pc in May on costlier food items
Retail inflation spiked to a seven-month high of 3.05 per cent in May, though remaining within RBI's comfort level, as kitchen items like vegetables, meat and fish turned dearer, government data showed Wednesday. The consumer price index (CPI) based retail inflation for April was revised marginally upwards to 2.99 per cent from the earlier estimate of 2.92 per cent, as per the data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. Retail inflation stood at 4.87 per cent in May 2018. The previous high was in October 2018, when the retail inflation print came in at 3.38 per cent. Vegetables prices witnessed a sharp rise during May this year at 5.46 per cent as against 2.87 per cent in April 2019. Prices of meat and fish went up by 8.12 per cent (from 7.55 per cent), while the inflation print for cereal and products rose to 1.24 per cent (from 1.17 per cent) in May this year. However, prices of fruits continued to show a ...
CavinKare aims at 3-5 per cent rise in ready-to-drink segment
: Fast moving consumer goods major CavinKare expanded its dairy product portfolio by unveiling a new variant Milkshake Lite for health-conscious consumers and aimed to increase its marketshare by 3-5 per cent in the segment, a senior company official said Wednesday. The Milkshake Lite comes with no added sugar and has 23 per cent lesser calories compared to other milkshakes, the city-based company claimed in a statement here. "The beverages segment in the country has been growing at a rapid pace. A recent report by an international organisation states that flavoured milk has a saliency of 3 per cent", company business-head (Beverages and Dairy) B P Ravindran said. "In order to cater to the increasing health-conscious consumers, we have launched Cavin's Milkshake lite. With this launch, we are aiming at a 3-5 per cent increase in our market share," he said. The Milkshake Lite is available in three flavours - vanilla, strawberry and chocolate - in an easy-to-use 180 ml ...
States should work with Centre on ease of doing business:
Noted industrialist and chairman of Aditya Birla Group Kumar Mangalam Birla Wednesday said states should work with the Centre on ease of doing business. Speaking at the Ladies Study Group event here, Birla said "a lot more can be done on ease of doing business. The state governments have to collaborate with the Centre in this regard". Talking about the future in the next five years, Birla said sectoral approach is required for solving the problems and a generalised initiative would not work. Birla said that with 6.5 per cent to seven per cent growth that India is experiencing now, there was need for eight to 10 per cent growth for which both physical and social infrastructure would have to be developed. "I have faith this government will do what is needed for growth by seeing what it had done for rural India where there is a huge transformation", he said. On sectors which could be of interest for making a foray, Birla said "water is an interesting segment from the ...
Thmoson eyes 4% market share in TV space; introduce android TV
French electronics major Thomson, which has an exclusive online presence in the affordable television segment in India, is looking to capture around 4 per cent market share in the TV space, a company official said. The company has also entered into the android operated TV segment. Thomson's India brand licensee Super Plastronics Pvt Ltd (SPPL) has invested around Rs 150 crore to set up a separate line at its unit in Noida, UP, which would produce only Thomson's television. Super Plastronics, which also has TV brand licence for US-based Kodak and sells under Crown brand in southern market, aims to produce around 5 lakh units of TV in the current fiscal. "Out target this fiscal is to reach around 5 lakh units for SPPL, and in terms of Thomson, to acquire near 4 per cent market share," said SPPL CEO Avneet Singh Marwah. According to him, Thomson is among top three online TV brands in India and claimed to have sold around 2 lakh units of LED TVs in FY 2018-19. The Indian TV market is ...
Retail inflation in May at 3.05 pc, industrial production gains
The retail inflation in May rose to 3.05 per cent as compared to 2.99 per cent in the previous month, government data showed on Wednesday.The hike was mainly due to the rise in food prices, according to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.Food prices, which is a gauge to measure changes in kitchen budgets, grew 1.83 per cent in May as compared to 1.1 per cent in April.However, retail inflation is below the Reserve Bank of India's medium-term target of four per cent, giving it room for more interest rate cuts.Meanwhile, industrial production grew at a six-month high of 3.4 per cent in April mainly on account of improvement in mining and power generation.The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) had expanded by 4.5 per cent in April 2018. The expansion in the mining sector was 5.1 per cent compared to 3.8 per cent in the year-ago month.
Canon doing feasibility study to manufacture in India
Japanese digital imaging major Canon, which launched three high speed "Ink Tank" printers in the G-series in India on Wednesday, is doing research and feasibility studies to explore the possibility of manufacturing its products in India, a top company executive said.
New chairman for New Mangalore Port Trust
A V Ramana has been appointed as the new chairman of New Mangalore Port Trust (NMPT) by the Union Ministry of Shipping. Ramana took charge from the outgoing chairperson M Beena on Tuesday, a press release from the port trust said. Earlier, he was functioning as the deputy chairman of Cochin Port Trust and its acting chairman, the release said. Ramana had worked in different positions in the department of ports, including that of chief mechanical and electrical engineer of Kolkata port, it added.
Pak govt says no change in def budget; documents show 4.5% increase
The Pakistan government claimed that its defence budget was kept unchanged at Rs Rs 1,152,535 million for next fiscal (2019-20), but the official documents showed that there was nominal increase of 4.5 per cent in the defence expenditure as compared to the last year. The original allocation for defence for outgoing fiscal (2018-19) was Rs 1,100,334 million but it was revised later on to shot up to Rs 1,137,711 million, up by 3.4 per cent, by the end of year. So the actual rise from previous allocation was Rs 52,201 million, which is 4.5 per cent. But Minister of State for Revenue Hammad Azhar in his 2019-20 budget speech on Tuesday did not provide intricate details and just said that the defence budget would remain unchanged at Rs 1.15 trillion. Pakistan Army chief Gen Qamar Bajwa announced last week that the armed forces were "foregoing routine increase in annual defence budget". Prime Minister Imran Khan also said the military had "voluntarily agreed" to cut its expenditures due to
HMSI says will reconsider production expansion, additional investments in India
Japanese two-wheeler major Honda Wednesday said it will have to reconsider its future investments in India given the uncertain situation after the government's reported plan to push for 100 per cent changeover of below-150cc bikes to electric by 2025, a top company official said. The company, which is present in India through a wholly-owned subsidiary Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) would, however, said it will continue with its ongoing production capacity expansion project at its Gujarat plant. Besides, two-wheeler major would also continue to invest in new models and technologies for the Indian market. "We will continue to invest on new models, features, new technologies but production capacity needs to be reconsidered..additional investment is under consideration depending on the road map for the electric vehicles," HMSI President and CEO Minoru Kato told reporters here. He was replying to a query whether the company would continue to invest beyond Gujarat plant, hire ..
Siemens supplies propulsion system to Indian Railways
Siemens Ltd Wednesday said it is supplying indigenously-made propulsion system to Indian Railways, which is upgrading its electric locomotives. The Indian Railways is upgrading its electric locomotives from 6,000 HP to 9,000 HP as part of its rail electrification initiative, Siemens said. "The company is equipping the Railways 9,000 HP electric locomotive with the first indigenously-designed and produced integrated propulsion system and steel tank transformer," it added. These locomotives, Siemens said, will boost the haulage capacity of Indian Railways by around 50 per cent, thereby improving average speed and utilisation of rolling stock assets. The advanced technology aims to save traction energy cost, thereby reducing fuel expenses and carbon emissions. "This important milestone is a step towards fulfilling Indian Railways' vision of complete electrification, enhanced haulage capability and building high-technology systems in line with the Make in India initiative," said Tilak Raj
Ex-CEO of IL&FS arm helped Fitch official buy villa, says probe report; Fitch investigating matter
Investigation into the IL&FS fraud has found that a top executive allegedly helped a senior official of Fitch Ratings purchase a duplex villa at a discount when a circuitous transaction with a defaulter borrower was underway in 2012-13. In a statement on Wednesday, a Fitch Group spokesperson said it is probing the matter. "Fitch was first made aware of these historical allegations on Monday (June 10, 2019) via the media. We are investigating but have no further information at this time," the spokesperson said. The investigation by the government's white-collar crime probe agency SFIO has already unearthed connivance of auditors and independent directors with the then top management of IFIN (IL&FS Financial Services Ltd) in defrauding the company. IFIN and several other group companies have been found to have indulged in multiple circuitous transactions involving several illegalities, including fast disbursals to some borrowers despite their bad track record in servicing ...
CPI inflation rises to 3.05% in May 2019
Core CPI inflation eases to 4.23% in May 2019
Music Broadcast signs definitive agreement to acquire Reliance Broadcast Network
The company will acquire 24% of the equity share capital of RBNL on or before 31 July 2019 and (subject to receipt of the regulatory approval from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting) the acquisition of the entire equity stake of promoters in RBNL (by MBL) will happen after 31 March 2020, i.e. post the expiry of the lock-in period as prescribed under the applicable law.
Tata Motors group global wholesales fall 23% in May 2019
Global wholesales of all Tata Motors' commercial vehicles and Tata Daewoo range in May 2019 were at 31,490 nos., lower by 23%, over May 2018.
Edelweiss, Bank of Baroda to co-lend to SMEs
ECL Finance, the flagship non-banking financial company of Edelweiss Group, and Bank of Baroda, India's second largest public sector bank, on Wednesday, signed an agreement to form a strategic partnership to explore co-lending opportunities.Both entities will jointly offer loans and expertise for the growing needs of micro, small and medium enterprises besides self-employed as well as priority sector groups.Under the arrangement, both partners can widen their respective markets and offer timely delivery of credit to customers at a significantly lower cost.Chairman and CEO of Edelweiss Group Rashesh Shah said he is delighted to be partnering with Bank of Baroda in increasing the reach of credit to service the needs of a large section of India."I do believe that this model of partnership between banks and NBFCs is here to stay, truly democratising access to credit," he added.Bank of Baroda's Executive Director Vikramaditya Singh Khichi said the SME sector is the backbone of the Indian ..
Shapoorji Pallonji to invest Rs 400 cr on second phase of Gurugram project
Business conglomerate Shapoorji Pallonji Wednesday announced the second phase of its housing project in Gurugram with an investment of Rs 400 crore. In January this year, the company had launched the first phase of the 18-acre project 'Joyville Gurugram' on Dwarka Expressway. The project is being developed by a USD 200 million (about Rs 1,400 crore) platform established by Shapoorji Pallonji, ADB, IFC and Actis. "After the successful launch of our first phase, we are now launching the second phase comprising 516 units," Joyville Shapoorji Housing MD Sriram Mahadevan told reporters here. The company will sell apartments in a price range of Rs 65 lakh to Rs 1.2 crore. Shapoorji Pallonji Group will develop 1,550 units in three phases of the project with a total investment of Rs 1,200 crore. Mahadevan said the first phase of this project, having 516 flats, is completely sold out. He expressed hope that the 18-km long Dwarka Expressway would become operational by the time the project is ...
Govt will protect J-K Bank: Chief secretary
Defending the sacking of Jammu and Kashmir Bank chairman Parvez Ahmad, the state government said on Wednesday that it would protect the institution and work towards making it an internationally renowned bank. "I am saying this with full authority of the Governor (Satya Pal Malik) that the bank will be protected, it will be made a shining bank. It will be run by people of Jammu and Kashmir. We are interested that it becomes an internationally renowned bank. It should get branches all over the world -- London, Singapore, Dubai, etc.," Chief Secretary BVR Subrahmanyam told reporters here. He was responding to questions about the sacking of Ahmad by the government last week. "Please wait for three months and you will see results flowing out of J-K Bank," he said. The chief secretary said the government did not act against the bank. "The RBI gave us a letter saying that we are extremely concerned about governance issues in JK Bank. These issues have been pending in spite of repeated ...
India's MoM retail inflation up 3.05% in May
Higher food prices accelerated India's May retail inflation to 3.05 per cent from 2.99 per cent in April, official data showed on Wednesday.