Page 727 - Business Finance
M Ravi Kanth gets extension for six months as HUDCO chief
Tenure of M Ravi Kanth as the Chairman and Managing Director of Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) Ltd was extended on Tuesday for six months, according to a Personnel Ministry order. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the six-month extension with effect from April 11, 2019, it said. Kanth, a 1986 batch IAS officer of Kerala cadre, joined as the CMD of HUDCO on April 11, 2014.
Sri Lankan bank selects Infosys Finacle for block-chain based transaction
Infosys said Tuesday Sri Lanka-based Hatton National Bank has selected its Finacle Trade Connect to enable a blockchain-based domestic and cross-border trade finance network. The Finacle Trade Connect solution will be used by HNB to pilot a trade network with other corresponding banking partners and its corporate clients. "Blockchain technology offers unprecedented opportunities to transform banking, with advantages increasing exponentially with increased collaboration. We are excited to collaborate with HNB in this promising journey," Sanat Rao, Chief Business Officer, Infosys Finacle said in a statement. Finacle is the industry-leading digital banking solution suite from EdgeVerve Systems, a wholly owned product subsidiary of Infosys.
Makhija named new non-executive chairman of Axis Bank
Axis Bank on Tuesday announced appointment of Rakesh Makhija as its new non-executive, part-time, chairman.
Defence spending up 5 percent in Trump's 2020 budget plan
President Donald Trump's 2020 budget provides for a five per cent increase in defence spending, notably to finance building his controversial border wall, while slashing funds for diplomacy by 23 percent. If approved as is -- an unlikely scenario given opposition in Congress -- military spending would increase to USD 750 billion for fiscal year 2020, which begins in October 2019. This figure includes USD 718.3 billion for the Pentagon and USD 32 billion for the Energy Department to maintain and provide fuel for America's nuclear arsenal. By comparison, proposed funding for the State Department and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) amounts to USD 42.8 billion, a decrease from the USD 55.8 billion granted by Congress the previous year. The proposed budget allocates USD 66.7 billion for ongoing external operations such as those in Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia and Syria, a three percent decrease from the previous year, according to military officials who spoke on condition
Honda re-recalls 1 million cars in US with defective airbags
American Honda is once again recalling a million cars in the United States after it found that replacement parts to fix defective Takata airbags were also defective, the company said Tuesday. The company said it will replace the defective airbags in 1.1 million Acura and Honda models ranging from 2001 to 2016 model years. The issue was discovered following a crash involving a 2004 Honda Odyssey minivan in which the airbag inflator ruptured, injuring the driver's arm, the automaker said in a statement. A subsequent investigation revealed that PSDI-5D inflators manufactured at Takata's Monclova, Mexico facility experienced manufacturing process errors, the company said. The repeat recall affects popular models like the Acura MDX, Honda Accord and CR-V. Millions of vehicles produced by some of the world's biggest automakers, including Honda, Toyota and General Motors, were recalled due to the risk its airbags can deploy with excessive explosive power and send shrapnel hurtling inside the
Nissan says to stop producing Infiniti cars in UK
Nissan will stop production of Infiniti cars at its factory in Sunderland, northeast England, the Japanese carmaker said Tuesday, one month after cancelling the plant's plans for the X-Trail SUV. Infiniti Motor Company, a division of Nissan, said in a statement that it would stop production of Q30 and QX30 crossover models in Sunderland by mid-2019 as part of a global restructuring, amid sector-wide turbulence partially attributed to Brexit. "Plant management will discuss any impact on the plant with employees and their representatives," the statement said. It said Infiniti cars would be electrified from 2021, while high-polluting diesel-powered models will be discontinued in response to strong consumer and regulatory demand for cleaner transport. The group will place more emphasis on growing market share in the United States and China, whilst also pooling resources more with parent group Nissan. "The company will place more focus on its SUV lineup in North America, bring five new ...
Axis Bank appoints Rakesh Makhija as non-exec chairman for 3 years
Private sector lender Axis Bank Tuesday has appointed Rakesh Makhija as its non-executive chairman for a term of 3 years, with effect from July 18. He will replace Sanjiv Misra, whose term as the bank's non-executive (part-time) chairman expires on July 17, the bank said in a regulatory filing. "Pursuant to the recommendations of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee of Directors, the board of directors of the bank at its meeting held today (Tuesday) approved the appointment of Rakesh Makhija, independent director, as the non-executive (part-time) chairman of the bank, for a period of 3 years," it said. The appointment is subject to the approval of the Reserve Bank of India and the bank's shareholders, it added.
CPSE ETF additional sale on Mar 19; govt to raise over Rs 3,500 cr
The government is likely to launch an additional offering of CPSE-Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) on March 19 to raise at least Rs 3,500 crore, officials said Tuesday. The ETF sale through follow-on fund offer (FFO) will come with the option of retaining up to Rs 5,000 crore through green shoe option, they said. "The additional offering of ETF would be on March 19. The base issue size has been fixed at Rs 3,500 crore, with an option to retain additional subscription," the officials said. During the last offering in November, the government mopped up Rs 17,000 crore, the biggest disinvestment transaction through ETF. The proceeds from the ETF sale will help the government move towards meeting the Rs 80,000 crore disinvestment target set for the current fiscal. As on February 28, the government has realised Rs 56,473.32 crore as disinvestment proceeds against the target of Rs 80,000 crore during the current financial year (2018-19). The CPSE (central public sector enterprises) ETF comprises .
Inflation at 4-month high in Feb, factory production slows down in Jan
Retail inflation inched up to a four-month high of 2.57 per cent in February, though it is still below the RBI's benchmark, raising hopes of another round of rate cut in April to boost industrial growth which slipped to 1.7 per cent on account of manufacturing sector slowdown. According to the data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) expanded by just 1.7 per cent in January, significantly down from 7.5 per cent growth in the year-ago month. The CSO, however, revised marginally upwards the IIP growth number for December 2018 to 2.6 per cent from the earlier estimate of 2.4 per cent. Slowdown in industrial production notwithstanding, a marginal increase in inflation raised the clamour for another round of rate cut by the Reserve Bank on April 4 to boost economic activity. The central bank had reduced the key lending rate (repo) by 25 basis points in February. Following the RBI rate cut, many banks announced up to 10 basis point ...
RCom's Mumbai data centre gets Tier-III certification
Reliance Communications (RCom) on Tuesday said its "IDC-4 Data Centre" in Navi Mumbai has received Tier-III certification from Uptime Institute.
RBI Board backed noteban in 'larger public interest': Official sources
The government's proposal to ban Rs 500 and 1000 notes was placed by the then RBI Deputy Governor Rama Subramaniam Gandhi before its board, which resolved to back the move in "larger public interest" though some directors raised concerns about short-term negative impact on GDP and hardships to some sections, official sources said Tuesday. The proposal, presented by R Gandhi to the Reserve Bank of India Board on November 8, 2016, said the move was necessitated due to a Finance Ministry letter received a day earlier advising the central bank that cash was facilitating "black money". The clarification follows reports citing an RTI reply saying that RBI Board had not agreed with the government's reasoning on the need for demonetisation. The sources claimed that the resolution of the central bank was forwarded to the government on "November 8, 2016 itself". Citing minutes of the meeting, they said some of the directors had observed that though demonetisation is a commendable measure, it ...
CBI books infra firm for alleged cheating to the tune of Rs 1,000 crore
The CBI has on Tuesday booked the promoters of the Ranchi Expressway Ltd, including its CMD K Srinivasa Rao, for allegedly causing a loss of over Rs 1,000 crore to a consortium of banks led by Canara Bank, officials said. The agency has registered an FIR against Ranchi Expressway Ltd CMD K Srinivasa Rao, its directors N Seethaiah, N Prithvi Teja and the company itself, besides Madhucon Project Ltd, Madhucon Infra, Madhucon Toll Highway Ltd and auditing firm named 'Kota and company'. The FIR has also been registered against unidentified officials of the consortium of banks. The matter pertains to four-laning of 163-km stretch on NH-33 connecting Ranchi to Jamshedpur for which the National Highways Authority of India had chosen Madhucon Project Ltd on March 18, 2011. A special purpose vehicle Ranchi Expressway Ltd was created for the project on the basis of design-build-finance-operate and transfer model, the officials said. With an estimated cost of Rs 1,655 crore for the project, a ...
Rs 70 cr deposits of Multi Level Marketing company frozen
Over Rs 70 crore worth of deposits of a Noida based Multi Level Marketing firm, including its two directors, have been frozen for allegedly cheating the public of about Rs 1,000 crore, police said here Tuesday. They said that Hitik Malhan, in charge of the day to administration of the company, was being questioned over a case booked against the company recently under the 'Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act, 1978.' eBiz.com Pvt. Ltd, an MLM firm set up in 2001 at Noida in Uttar Pradesh, has around seven lakh representatives as members, police said in a release, adding that the amount cheated from the people was expected to be more than Rs 1,000 crore. "The eBiz business model is a simple pyramid scheme in which early entrants earn money and as the number of representatives increases, finding more representatives (New Comers) to join becomes difficult or impossible, the release said.
Fuel price trends may upset poll prediction (with chart)
It may not be smooth running for the ruling BJP-led NDA government in the coming elections if one measures electoral fortunes of political formations based on public perception built over rising fuel prices.
Huawei re-enters smartwatch business in India
Chinese smart device maker Huawei Tuesday re-entered the smartwatch segment by unveiling new products in a lower price range. The company unveiled classic and sports edition of its top model Huawei Watch GT for Rs 16,990 and Rs 15,990 per unit, respectively, and Huawei digital bands in the range of Rs 1,699-Rs 4,699. The company has re-entered the segment after a gap of almost three years. In April 2016, Huawei had launched premium sapphire crystal-coated smartwatch for Rs 22,999 with a built-in heart rate monitor and six-axis motion sensors with a gyroscope and accelerometer that can track physical activities. Most of the functionality of the new models, especially around fitness monitoring, remain the same as that of its smartwatch launched three years ago. When asked about the company's strategy to compete with established brand in India in the wearable segment, Huawei India Country Manager (Huawei Brand) for Consumer Business Group Tornado Pan said: "Technology and innovation is ..
Retail inflation at 4-month high of 2.57pc in Feb as food prices rise
Retail inflation jumped to a four-month high of 2.57 per cent in February due to costlier food articles, according to official data released Tuesday. The Consumer Price Index-based inflation for January was revised down to a 19-month low of 1.97 per cent from earlier estimate of 2.05 per cent. The retail inflation number for February 2019 is the highest since October 2018 when it stood at 3.38 per cent, the data released by the Central Statistics Office under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) showed. Food inflation was lower at (-) 0.66 per cent in February against 3.26 per cent in the same month last year. The retail inflation in February 2018 was at 4.44 per cent. On monthly basis, consumer food price index moved up by 0.15 per cent in February against January 2019. Protein-rich items such as meat & fish and eggs witnessed a quick rise prices at 5.92 per cent and 0.86 per cent respectively in February. Prices of cereal and products went up at 1.32 .
Titan ties up with American watchmaker FTS
Titan Company Tuesday said it has entered into an alliance with FTS USA LLC to assist in setting up an assembly unit of the American watchmaker. As part of the partnership, Titan will further extend its support to FTS by supplying quartz movement kits and training the US engineers, it said in a statement. "We are happy to support FTS through this new facility, in helping them revive the American watch manufacturing industry," Titan Company CEO - Watches and Accessories S Ravi Kant said. According to him, the alliance signifies Titan's three-decade long expertise in watchmaking. Nearly all large-scale watchmaking for the US market is done outside America in countries such as Switzerland, China, Japan, the Philippines and India. "Through this alliance, FTS sees an opportunity to make more classic watches and movements. The new facility will lead to higher quality, fewer shipment delays and a better connect with the US customers," Titan added.
Metso eyes inorganic growth opportunities in India
Finland-based industrial equipment and services firm Metso Tuesday said it eyes inorganic growth opportunities in India and invested Rs 560 crore in the country last year to strengthen operations. The company is strengthening operations in India, Metso said in a statement. "Apart from investing EUR 70 million (Rs 560 crore) in the domestic market in 2018 by acquiring the valve automation division of Mumbai-based Rotex Manufacturers and Engineers Pvt Ltd and increasing the capacity of its Metso Park production facility in Alwar, the company is developing a 20,000-tonne capacity foundry in Vadodara," it added. The firm, which is in India for the past 25 years, provides equipment and services for the sustainable processing and flow of natural resources in the mining, aggregates, recycling and other process industries. It said Metso Park is among Metso's key global production sites. This latest investment increases Metso's crushing and screening plant production capacity in India by 35 ...
Indices rally as pivotals advance
Key benchmark indices gained sharply in steady session of trade on strong buying demand in index pivotals. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, gained 481.56 points or 1.3% at 37,535.66. The Nifty 50 index gained 133.15 points or 1.19% at 11,301.20. Positive global stocks also boosted sentiment on the domestic bourses.
Bharti Airtel to lower stake in Infratel
Bharti Infratel Limited said on Tuesday that its majority shareholder Bharti Airtel will lower its direct stake in the telecom tower company from 50.33 per cent to 18.3 per cent.Airtel's unit Nettle Infrastructure Investments will buy up to 32 per cent stake in Bharti Infratel by March 18, Infratel informed stock exchanges in regulatory filings.Nettle, which already owns a 3.18 per cent stake in Infratel, will buy Infratel shares for up to Rs 362.45 each.Airtel has faced bruising competition since the entry of Reliance Industries' upstart Jio in late 2016. Its profit margins were trimmed while the debts soared.