Page 932 - Business Finance
Supportive framework for EV transition "imperative": ICRA
: Rating agency ICRA Thursday said a supportive framework for electric vehicle transition was imperative and a clear roadmap on faster adoption on hybrid and electric vehicles would help auto-component indusry to firm up investment plans. According to the agency's report 'Indian Auto Component Industry, the Way Forward', incentives for taking up research and development investments and a supportive framework for electric vehicle transition was "imperative". "A clear roadmap and continuation of faster adoption and manufacture of hybrid and electric vehicle scheme would help the industry firm up its own electric powertrain investment plans, it said. For the domestic auto-component industry to grow, a supportive policy framework was critical, it said. The auto-component industry is expected to post revenue of 10-12 per cent between FY2018 and FY2022 while average industry operating margin was expected to be around 13.5 per cent to 14.5 per cent over the near term. The ...
Office rentals in Bengaluru may witness 6.6% growth in 2019: Report
Office rental values in Bengaluru may grow at 6.6 per cent in 2019, the third highest rate globally, a Knight Frank report said on Thursday. With a rate of 6.5 per cent in office rents, the rental growth rate in the national capital would be the fourth highest globally.
Wall Street falls as surprise drop in retail sales rattle investors
(Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell on Thursday, as consumer and retail stocks dropped after a sharp decline in retail sales in December suggested a slowdown in economic activity.
Suitors 'lining up' to buy Nestle Skin Health: CEO
LONDON/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The process to sell Nestle's skin health division is off to a good start, with strong interest in the business following an overhaul, the chief executive said on Thursday,
American double standards on India's e-commerce FDI rules: US official
US double standards on the recent changes in India's FDI norms for e-commerce being opposed by American giants Amazon and Walmart have been exposed by research pointing to such anti-monopolistic measures taken by the US itself in its rise to the top of the global economy and which has now turned protectionist.
Government initiates backdoor nationalisation of Jet Airways (IANS Exclusive)
In a major move on Thursday, the government, through its bankers, undertook a backdoor nationalisation of Jet Airways Ltd.
Govt shelves plan for strategic sale of SAIL's Durgapur Alloy Steels Plant
The government has shelved plans for strategic sale of SAIL's Alloy Steels Plant in Durgapur, West Bengal. Steel Authority of India (SAIL) had invited an expression of interest from global and domestic companies for its proposed strategic disinvestment of its Alloy Steels Plant. This was after the government's clearance for outright sale of state-owned SAIL's three special steel units -- Salem Steel Plant, Alloy Steels Plant and Visvesvaraya Iron and Steel Plant -- in 2017. "...the process of strategic disinvestment of 100 per cent stake in Alloy Steels Plant (ASP) at Durgapur by Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) ... has been annulled," the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) said in a notice. As part of the strategic disinvestment, Alloy Steels Plant was planned to be transferred to the strategic investor on a going-concern basis by way of slump sale through business transfer agreement.
Govt gets Rs 10,000 cr from additional offering of Bharat-22 ETF
The government has raised Rs 10,000 crore by additional offering of Bharat-22 Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) on Thursday. The additional 'on-tap' offering of Bharat-22 ETF was opened for a single day with a base issue size of Rs 3,500 crore and an option to retain over-subscription. The issue was over-subscribed 10 times and received bids for Rs 4,00,000 crore till 7pm. Bids will pour in till 8pm, the Finance Ministry said. "The Bharat-22 ETF issue received overwhelming response from all categories of investors including retail investors. The Government has decided to retain approximately Rs 10,000 crore as its divestment proceeds," the ministry said in a statement. The proceeds from the ETF sale would help the government move towards meeting the Rs 80,000 crore disinvestment target set for the current fiscal. With the successful Bharat-22 ETF offering, the government has mopped up approximately Rs 46,000 crore by way of disinvestment. The government has so far raised Rs 22,900 crore ...
Infibeam Avenues Q3 net profit zooms to Rs 26.6 cr
Infibeam Avenues Thursday said its net profit grew manifold to Rs 26.6 crore during the December 2018 quarter from the year-ago period. The net profit stood at Rs 1.9 crore in the October-December 2017 period, Infibeam said in a statement. The company's total revenue more than doubled to Rs 150.3 crore in the quarter, compared with Rs 73.6 crore in the October-December 2017 period, it added. "Our strong performance for the quarter was a result of strong traction in the payments business, GeM contribution, and the synergies being realised across our cloud platforms," Infibeam Avenues Managing Director Vishal Mehta said. He added that the company is already on track to process payments worth Rs 50,000 crore by the year end. "(This) is an important milestone for us as we enter FY20 with a strong focus on digital payments in India. Our strategic investments to expand our footprint and divestments of non-core business will go a long way in providing higher returns to our shareholders," he .
JK Tyre Q3 net surges over two-fold to Rs 27 cr
JK Tyre & Industries Thursday posted over two-fold increase in its consolidated net profit to Rs 26.89 crore for the third quarter ended December 31. The company had reported a net profit of Rs 11.32 crore for the October-December period of 2017-18. Revenue from operations rose to Rs 2,730.77 crore as compared to Rs 2,123.24 crore in the same period previous fiscal, JK Tyre & Industries said in a regulatory filing. Commenting on the performance, JK Tyre Chairman & Managing Director Raghupati Singhania said volumes have increased across segments, helping the company achieve robust growth in sales. He, however, added that increase in input costs especially petro based raw materials has impacted margins in the current quarter. The expansion of truck/bus radial capacity at Cavendish, a subsidiary of JK Tyre, is near completion, Singhania said. "Keeping in view the rising demand for company's truck/bus radials, a further expansion at the same facility has been taken up to ...
ONGC net profit jumps 65 pc in Q3
State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) Thursday reported a 65 per cent jump in its third quarter net profit as higher prices made up for a fall in oil output. Net profit in October-December 2018 at Rs 8,262.70 crore, or Rs 6.44 per share, was higher than Rs 5,014.67 crore, or Rs 3.91 a share, net earning in the same period of the previous fiscal, the company said in a statement. The company got USD 66.38 for every barrel of crude oil it sold in the quarter, 13.6 per cent higher than USD 58.42 per barrel realisation a year ago. Gas prices were 163 per cent higher at USD 3.36 per million British thermal unit. ONGC said crude oil production dropped 4.8 per cent to 6.03 million tonne but gas output rose 6.6 per cent to 6.7 billion cubic metre. Revenue from operations rose to Rs 27,694.09 crore from Rs 22,995.88 crore in the third quarter of 2017-18 fiscal. ONGC said its board also approved payment of an interim dividend of Rs 5.25 per share for 2018-19 fiscal. The total payout
As renewables soar, BP sees China hitting brakes on energy growth
LONDON (Reuters) - Global demand for renewable power will soar at an unprecedented pace over the coming decades, BP said in a benchmark report on Thursday, while China's energy growth is seen sharply decelerating as its economic expansion slows.
Nissan and Renault reaffirm alliance, but avoid talk of Nissan chairmanship
TOKYO (Reuters) - Top executives from Nissan and Renault on Thursday reaffirmed the importance of an alliance that has been pressured by the ousting of former Chairman Carlos Ghosn, but avoided discussing the potentially contentious issue of Nissan's next chairman.
U.S.-China trade talks move to higher level as deadline looms
BEIJING (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he was looking forward to trade talks with China on Thursday, as discussions in Beijing moved to a higher level in a push to de-escalate a tariff war ahead of a March 1 deadline for a deal.
Samsung eyes USD 4 bn sales from Galaxy A series in India this year
Electronics giant Samsung Thursday said it aims to garner USD 4 billion (around Rs 28,000 crore) in revenue from its Galaxy A series of smartphones in India this year, as it expands the range aimed at millennials. The company, which is locked in a battle for leadership in the hyper-competitive Indian smartphone market with Chinese player Xiaomi, will line-up new devices between March-June, priced between Rs 10,000-50,000. "Lats year, our mobile chief DJ Koh had announced that we will bring innovation across our smartphone range to mass and mid-price phones and not limit them to premium flagships. This year, we will have a strong lineup under our Galaxy A series to offer the features that millennials are looking for," Samsung India Senior VP (Mobile Marketing) Ranjiv Singh told PTI. He added that the company will launch a new device every month between March and June - priced between Rs 10,000-50,000. "Previous Galaxy A devices have done extremely well in the Indian market and with the
Jet Airways approves rescue deal to plug $1.2 billion gap
NEW DELHI/BENGALURU (Reuters) - India's Jet Airways said on Thursday its board had approved a rescue deal which will make its lenders its largest shareholders and fix a near 85 billion rupee ($1.2 billion) funding gap.
Project to help forecast fashion trends on the anvil:Irani
A project that will help India forecast fashion trends on its own is on the anvil, Union Minister Smriti Irani said Thursday. Inaugurating a Student Multi-Activity Centre and Girls Hostel at the NIFT-Chennai campus, Irani said, "Let me say this, one of the first attempts in Indian fashion and textile industry to forecast fashion, use of fabric, colour will find a foot in this campus of NIFT Chennai." The initiative, which will utilise Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning techniques, is aimed at making India self-reliant on forecasting fashion trends, which has been the monopoly of international agencies. Corroborating details of the project, NIFT Director General Sarada Muraleedharan said India has been a very difficult market in terms of understanding what Indian trends are. "We have been taking western trends, analysing it and Indianising it so far. Everybody in the business is buying these international references and that makes it very difficult," she ...
Oil gains on U.S.-China trade hopes, OPEC cuts
LONDON (Reuters) - Oil rose for a third day on Thursday to reach its highest so far this year as financial markets drew support from investor optimism that the United States and China could resolve their trade dispute.
'Black eye' for German economy as it flirts with recession
BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's economy stalled in the final quarter of last year, just skirting recession as fallout from global trade disputes and Brexit put the brakes on a decade of expansion amid signs that exports will stay subdued for the time being.
U.S. retail sales post largest drop since 2009; jobless claims rise
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. retail sales recorded their biggest drop in more than nine years in December as receipts fell across the board, suggesting a sharp slowdown in economic activity at the end of 2018.