Page 59 - Companies

Front running case: Individual settles case with Sebi, pays over Rs 44 lakh

An individual on Tuesday settled with capital markets regulator Sebi a case pertaining to the alleged front running of trades of its clients Aequitas after payment of over Rs 44 lakh towards settlement charges. Aequitas is a Mumbai-based boutique investment firm. The order came after the applicant (Pawan N Agarwal) filed a settlement application under the settlement regulations. "The instant proceedings initiated against the applicant vide show cause notice (SCN) dated April 22, 2022, is disposed of," Sebi said in a settlement order. Sebi received a complaint from Finsec Law Advisors alleging that Pawan N Agarwal and two others have violated the provisions of Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices (PFUTP) by engaging in front running/ mirror trading of trades of its clients Aequitas. Thereafter, an investigation was carried out by the regulator and it was observed that Agarwal had violated the provisions of PFUTP rules. Upon conclusion of the investigation, the regu

Cargo traffic at major ports declines 1.96% to 64.63 MT in June: IPA

Cargo traffic at the country's major ports declined 1.96 per cent year-on-year to 64.63 million tonnes (MT) in June, with seven ports posting a negative growth while five such facilities saw a surge in traffic, an official release said on Tuesday. There are 12 major ports spanning across India under the administrative control of the central government. These 12 ports are Deendayal (erstwhile Kandla), Mumbai, JNPT, Mormugao, New Mangalore, Cochin, Chennai, Kamarajar (earlier Ennore), VO Chidambaranar, Visakhapatnam, Paradip and Kolkata (including Haldia). "During June 2023, the major ports handled 64.63 million tonnes of cargo against 65.93 million tonnes handled during the corresponding period of last year. The overall fall in traffic was 1.96 per cent," Indian Ports Association (IPA) said in a statement. Of the seven ports, which witnessed negative growth in June 2023, VO Chidambaranar Port saw cargo traffic declining 14.15 per cent followed by Kamarajar Port (9.55 per cent drop)

Coffee Day Enterprises' total default at Rs 440.25 crore in Apr-Jun quarter

Coffee Day Enterprises Ltd (CDEL) on Tuesday reported a total default of Rs 440.25 crore in the quarter ended on June 30, 2023. Its "total financial indebtedness of listed entity including short term and long term debt" is Rs 465.25 crore, the company stated in a regulatory filing to bourses. According to CDEL, its total outstanding amount is Rs 220.48 crore from loans or revolving facilities like cash credit from banks or financial institutions. Of this, CDEL defaulted on Rs 189.70 crore as well as an interest payment of Rs 5.78 crore as of date. The company's total outstanding from unlisted debt securities such as NCDs and NCRPS is Rs 244.77 crore. Of this, the total amount of default as of date is Rs 200 crore along with an interest of Rs 44.77 crore, CDEL said. The company is trying to pair its debts through asset resolutions and has significantly scaled it down from the time when the trouble started after the death of founder Chairman V G Siddhartha in July 2019. In March 20

Dabur to increase ad, promo spends amid softening commodity prices

Dabur India anticipates expansion in its gross margins in the current fiscal amid softening commodity prices, which would help the homegrown FMCG major to increase advertising and promotion spending and gradually improve its operating margins. Besides, Dabur India now has a portfolio of 23 brands, with sales worth higher than Rs 100 crore each. The company has added five new brands in the list in the last one year, Dabur said in its latest annual report. Its juice brand Real has "remarkable growth" in FY23 with revenues surpassing Rs 1,600 crore and it is on track to cross Rs 2,000 crore-milestone in the next few years, it added. "In all, we now have 17 brands that are above Rs 100 crore but lesser than Rs 500 crore in size; 2 brands that are over Rs 500 crore but less than Rs 1,000 crore in size, and another 4 brands that have a turnover of more than Rs 1,000 crore," said its Chairman Mohit Burman addressing the shareholders. Currently, four brands -- Dabur Amla, Dabur Vatika, Dab

Competition Commission of India approves Concentrix-Marnix Lux deal

Anti-trust regulator Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Tuesday said it has cleared the proposed deal involving Concentrix Corporation and Marnix Lux. Concentrix Corporation is a US-based firm engaged in providing customer experience services. The proposed combination envisages indirect acquisition of Marnix Lux SA (Marnix Lux) by Concentrix Corporation and acquisition of around 22 per cent shareholding in the combined entity by Marnix Lux shareholders, according to an official release. Marnix Lux is the parent company of Webhelp S.A.S. (Webhelp). Webhelp is active in the business process outsourcing services and specialised services segment. Deals beyond a certain threshold require approval from the regulator, which keeps a tab on unfair business practices as well as promotes fair competition in the marketplace.

Hero MotoCorp starts Harley-Davidson X440 bookings, deliveries in Oct

Hero MotoCorp on Tuesday said it has started bookings for the Harley-Davidson X440 motorcycle across the country with deliveries expected to commence from October onwards. The 440-cc bike, which is being manufactured by Hero MotoCorp at its Neemrana plant, could be booked online with a booking amount of Rs 5,000. The bookings commenced at 4:40 pm on Tuesday. Additionally, customers can also reserve the Harley-Davidson X440 at all Harley-Davidson dealerships and select Hero MotoCorp outlets across the country, it added. The motorcycle is available in three variants Denim, Vivid and S at an introductory price point of Rs 2.29 lakh, Rs 2.49 lakh and Rs 2.69 lakh (ex-showroom), respectively. Deliveries of Harley-Davidson X440 will commence from October 2023 onwards, the company said. The Harley-Davidson X440 marks Hero MotoCorp and Harley-Davidson's foray into the 440cc segment for the first time in India. In October 2020, Hero MotoCorp and Harley-Davidson had announced a partnershi

Apple infringed essential mobile technology patents, UK court rules

Apple had previously argued that the relevant technology was not used in the UK, according to the judgment

Samvardhana Motherson International to acquire 81% stake in Honda Motor arm

Auto components maker Samvardhana Motherson International Ltd on Tuesday said it will acquire an 81 per cent stake in the four-wheeler business of Yachiyo Industry, a Honda Motor subsidiary. The company has entered into a partnership with Honda Motor under which it will form an 81:19 strategic partnership with the latter where both partners will drive the company towards a strong and sustainable future and be fully prepared for next-generation products and technologies, Samvardhana Motherson International Ltd (SMIL) said in a statement. Yachiyo Industry Co Ltd is a publicly listed firm on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. It is a subsidiary of Honda Motor Co Ltd. It has four-wheeler (4W) and two-wheeler (2W) businesses. "As a part of the overall transaction, the 2W business will be transferred to Honda Motor before Motherson acquires 81 per cent stake in Yachiyo's 4W business," the statement said. In a regulatory filing, the company said the cost of acquisition is at an "equity value of JP

Nova Agri, Netweb Tech India, EMS get Sebi's approval to float IPO

Agri-input manufacturer Nova Agritech, server maker Netweb Technologies India and sewerage solution provider EMS have received capital market regulator Sebi's approval to raise funds through initial public offerings. The three companies, which filed their preliminary papers with Sebi between March and April 2023, obtained the regulator's observations during June 26-30, an update with the markets watchdog showed on Tuesday. In Sebi's parlance, obtaining observation means its go-ahead to float the initial share sale. As per the draft papers, Nova Agritech's initial share sale comprises a fresh issue of equity shares worth up to Rs 140 crore and an offer-for-sale (OFS) component of up to 77,58,620 equity shares of shareholder Nutalapati Venkatasubbarao. The proceeds from the fresh issue worth Rs 14.20 crore will be utilised for investment in its subsidiary Nova Agri Sciences for setting up a new formulation plant, Rs 10.49 crore for funding capital expenditure by Nova Agritech and ...

SAIL selects mjPRO platform for project procurements, says mjunction

B2B e-commerce company mjunction on Tuesday said SAIL has selected mjPRO, its e-procurement platform, for all its project procurements. mjPRO is a cloud-based platform that comes with wide configurability and addresses key concerns of organisations such as access to new and credible suppliers, analytics and insights for decision-making, convenience of usage and integration with ERP systems, the company said without divulging commercial details. SAIL has selected mjPRO through an open tender for the implementation of an e-tendering solution for its project buys on a digital platform providing easy access to its global vendors to quote. The project is expected to go live within three months across five integrated steel plants of SAIL with connectivity with the steel major's in-house consultant, the company said. It can accommodate complex terms, multiple currencies and diverse evaluation criteria. It also provides access to registered vendors after due validation with procurement ...

India firms' deleveraging to slow down; little room for rating upgrade: S&P

Rated companies in good credit shape due to growth and accommodative balance sheets, says agency

Mankind Pharma's success boosts hopes of more consumer IPOs in India

The company, which raised Rs 4,330 crore ($528 million) in India's second-largest new share sale this year, has seen its shares jump 57% in almost two months, drawing a rush of buy calls from analysts

For advising on $64 billion HDFC Bank deal, bankers get a 0.0002% fee

HDFC's all-stock merger into HDFC Bank Ltd., which created one of the most valuable banks in the world, has about 18 advisers who got credit for a fee pool of just over $1 million

Govt calls off strategic disinvestment of Pawan Hans, scraps firm's bid

Majority owner in consortium that won stake sale for state-owned helicopter operator faces legal trouble

TVS Motor Company reports 3% jump in its total vehicle sales in June

The sale of its electric scooter, TVS iQube Electric, recorded a 209 per cent jump

Tesla sales jump 83% from a year ago on tax credits, broader adoption

Tesla's second-quarter deliveries rose 83 per cent from a year ago after the company cut prices several times on its four electric vehicle models and buyers took advantage of US government tax credits. The Austin, Texas, producer of EV, solar panels and batteries said Sunday that it sold a record 466,140 vehicles worldwide from April through June, nearly doubling the 254,695 it sold during the same period a year earlier. The vast majority of the sales were Tesla's popular Model 3 and Model Y versions. But the price cuts, both for special orders and on existing inventory, raised questions from analysts who expect the cuts to reduce Tesla's profit margins when it announces second-quarter earnings on July 19. Tesla's sales were better than Wall Street expectations. Analysts polled by data provider FactSet expected deliveries of 445,000 for the quarter. The company produced 479,700 vehicles from April through June, about 13,000 more than it sold, indicating that inventories may be ...

Addverb eyes Rs 8,000 cr revenue; to invest Rs 500 cr in manufacturing

Reliance Retail-owned robotics firm Addverb expects to cross Rs 8,000-crore revenue mark in five years, with scaling up of manufacturing operations and diversifying target market base, a senior company official said. Addverb Technologies co-founder and CEO Sangeet Kumar told PTI that the company will invest Rs 500 crore in its Greater Noida-based robot manufacturing facility in phases to realise USD 1-billion revenue in five years. "We will invest Rs 500 crore in our manufacturing facility in phases. Once this investment is done, we expect revenue of USD 1 billion, which will be over Rs 8,000 crore," Kumar said. The company has already invested Rs 200 crore in its Greater Noida manufacturing unit which was inaugurated by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath last week. Addverb manufacturing unit is spread over 6 lakh square feet, out of which the company has built facility in about 2.5 lakh square feet. "Last year, we did revenue of Rs 450 crore. This year we are planning t

Office space leasing falls 22% in Apr-June in 8 cities: Cushman & Wakefield

India's top eight cities have witnessed a 22 per cent decline in gross leasing of office space as global companies remain cautious about their expansion plans, according to Cushman & Wakefield. Real estate consultant Cushman & Wakefield data showed that the gross leasing of office leasing declined to 17.42 million square feet in April-June this year from 22.41 million square feet in the year-ago period as corporates are taking longer time in taking decisions especially for large office space requirements. However, the gross leasing rose 11 per cent from the previous quarter which saw absorption of 15.7 million square feet. Anshul Jain, Head of APAC Tenant Representation and Managing Director, India & South East Asia, said, "India's office real estate market continues with its growth momentum. A significant reason for its ability to buck the global recessionary headwinds is the rise in domestic demand." The entry of new GCCs (Global Capability Centres) and the ongoing ...

Leading Taiwanese cos look to relocate production bases to India: Experts

Leading Taiwanese technology firms are looking at relocating their manufacturing bases to India to bring down their exposure to the Chinese market, top policymakers in the Taiwan government have said, amid the self-governed island's increasingly tense relations with China. Deputy Minister for Taiwan's National Development Kao Shien-Quey said there is huge scope for collaboration between New Delhi and Taipei in areas of emerging and critical technologies including manufacturing of semiconductors and electronics equipment. In an interaction with a group of international journalists, she said major Taiwanese technology giants are looking at India as a key destination to strengthen their global supply chains. Kristy Tsun-tzu Hsu, the director at premier policy think-tank Taiwan ASEAN Studies Center at Chung-Hua Institution of Economic Research, described India as an important country for Taiwan and said Taiwanese companies operating in China are looking at "decoupling" the global supply

Sebi imposes Rs 7 lakh penalty on Reliance Strategic Investments Ltd

Sebi on Friday penalised Reliance Strategic Investments Ltd for alleged manipulation in certain trades in long-dated Nifty options in 2017. The case pertains to certain trades in long-dated Nifty options between Reliance Strategic Investments and Morgan Stanley France SA done back in 2017. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) conducted an investigation into the trades done on July 31, August 8 and August 10, 2017. Based on the findings of the probe, the regulator alleged violations of certain PFUTP (Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices) regulations by both entities. In an order on Friday, Sebi imposed a fine of Rs 7 lakh on Reliance Strategic Investments Ltd (noticee). "The observations relating to the conduct of noticee and other attending facts and circumstances of the case... when applied to the test of preponderance of probability, lead me to the undeniable conclusion that noticee had engaged in manipulation of the price/premium of 11400 PE at leas