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https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/realtors-say-rbi-decisions-to-boost-liquidity-seek-quick-transmission/1911323/ | The RBI’s decision to cut key rates and give three-month moratorium on all term loans will boost liquidity and ease debt pressure, provided banks pass on these benefits to customers quickly, according to property developers and consultants. The RBI cut repo rate to 4.4 per cent and reduced the cash reserve ratio maintained by the bank by 100 basis points. The reverse repo rate was cut by 90 bps to 4 per cent.
Commenting on the development, CREDAI Chairman Jaxay Shah said, “The economy is going through hard times. The decisions by RBI Governor today is a much awaited comprehensive package to ease the burden of all financial classes across the nation.” “We are assuming that the moratorium covers all home loans, auto loans and personal loans of any nature. It’s very important that the hard working tax paying middle income segment of our society is provided this flexibility,” he added.
NAREDCO President Niranjan Hiranandani said the RBI’s move to pump fresh liquidity in the system will certainly help to mitigate the stressed cash flow and debt pressure in the economic system. “The success to masterstroke announcement by RBI will be in quick transmission of these liquidity tools down the line to uplift the appetite among the India Inc to notch up the economic revival,” he added.
Anarock Chairman Anuj Puri said RBI’s move will push credit flow into all industries reeling under the impact of the coronavirus. “Given this time period, RBI will ensure that the benefit of the rate cut is directly passed on to actual consumers, which could eventually translate into more home loan takers,” he said. The moratorium of three months of EMIs on all outstanding loans will be a major relief to all concerned stakeholders.
“All in all, this big-bang announcement by the RBI will benefit all industries, and is undoubtedly the most convincing intervention yet to tame a major economic crisis in the country,” Puri said. Anshuman Magazine, Chairman & CEO – India, South East Asia, Middle East & Africa said, “RBI is in a mission mode to nurture the market, preserve financial stability and the timing here is crucial.”
The decision to defer installments of all term loans by three months will provide the necessary support to homebuyers as well, he added. JLL India CEO and Country Head Ramesh Nair said the reduction in key interest rates will encourage banks to resort to enhanced lending to productive sectors of the economy at a time when growth of credit is slowing down. “It is important for immediate transmission of these rate cuts to the home buyer which will boost consumer sentiment,” he added.
The injected liquidity of Rs 3.74 lakh crore along with the three-month moratorium on all term loans by financial institutions will alleviate short-term liquidity concerns and help developers as well as home buyers survive in these uncertain times, Nair said. He said that total outstanding loans of real estate developers from commercial banks, NBFCs and HFCs is estimated to be around Rs 4.5 lakh crore as of March 2020.
The moratorium will definitely benefit homebuyers as these financial institutions have lent an estimated Rs 20 lakh core as of March 2020, he added. Knight Frank India CMD Shishir Baijal said the apex bank has checked all the required boxes of rate cut, liquidity infusion and moratorium. “These steps will help the economy to stay stable despite the lockdown and economic disruption,” he said.
Dhruv Agarwala, the CEO of PropTiger and Housing.com, said, “This will go a long way in reducing the massive pain being felt in all parts of the economy and especially in the rate sensitive real estate sector. The RBI has shown its decisive intent to mitigate what could have been a severe economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.” Gaurs Group MD Manoj Gaur said the home loan rates should fall by 90-110 basis point. “For the sake of Indian economy, RBI must ensure proper transmission.”
Supertech Chairman R K Arora said the move would provide momentum to the property market and boost the economy. Nayan Raheja, Executive Director, Raheja Developers said the interest on home loans may fall down to around 7 per cent, which augurs well for the real estate sector.
Rohit Gera, MD, Gera Developments, said, “The reduction in interest rates will ease the burden on individuals and businesses as would the moratorium.” Avneesh Sood, Director Eros Group, hoped that the banks would pass on the benefit, lowering the interest cost of both developers and home buyers.
Mumbai-based Ekta World Chairman Ashok Mohanani said, “Today’s announcement infused some assurance in the mind of the panicked citizens that the economy will revive back in the short run.” Bhutani Infra CEO Ashish Bhutani said: “From reduction of rates to infusion of liquidity to moratorium on loan repayment, the measures will help both individuals & organizations to cope up with the current situation.”
Kaushal Agarwal, Chairman, The Guardians Real Estate Advisory said, “We believe that the banks will finally be passing the benefits of the current & previous rate cuts to the customers. This will reduce the borrowing cost for the home-seeker significantly and have a positive impact on real estate.”
The moratorium on EMIs will help in managing through the current crisis, said Ankush Kaul, President (Sales & Marketing), Ambience group. Poddar Housing MD Rohit Poddar said, “We welcome these measures as without them the economy will go into deflation.” Sushma Group ED Prateek Mittal said the home loan rates will fall sharply, which will boost housing demand when situation normalises.
This is a major step to improve liquidity conditions, cheer growth and safeguard financial stability, said Ashish Sarin, CEO, AlphaCorp. Honeyy Katiyal, founder, Investors Clinic, termed these steps as “the need of the hour” to boost the realty sector and overall economy. | RBI cut repo rate to 4.4% and cut cash reserve ratio by 100 basis points. reverse repo rate was cut by 90 bps to 4.4%. move will boost liquidity and ease debt pressure, according to developers. move will push credit flow into all industries reeling under impact of coronavirus. decision to defer installments of all term loans by three months will provide necessary support to homebuyers as well. | Positive |
https://www.businesstoday.in/current/corporate/us-proposes-india-hindalco-owned-novelis-to-divest-stake-in-aleris/story/403654.html | The US Department of Justice is proposing a federal court to order Hindalco-owned American company Novelis to divest Aleris Corporation's entire aluminum automotive body sheet operations in North America to satisfy the Department's competitive concerns with Novelis's acquisition of Aleris.
Novelis is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hindalco Industries Limited, an Indian company headquartered in Mumbai.
Prior to its acquisition by Novelis, Aleris was a Delaware corporation headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. Aleris offers flat-rolled aluminum products to the automotive, aerospace, building and construction industries among others.
"Today's proposed divestiture preserves competition in the market for aluminum automotive body sheet and protects automakers and American consumers by requiring the full divestiture of Aleris' North American aluminum automotive body sheet operations," Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Justice Department's Antitrust Division said on Tuesday.
In 2018, Aleris' revenues were approximately USD 3.4 billion.
The proposed final judgment follows the US' March 9 arbitration win.
Prior to filing its civil antitrust lawsuit to block the merger, the Department's Antitrust Division reached an agreement with Novelis and Aleris to refer the matter to binding arbitration if Novelis and Aleris were unable to resolve the United States' competitive concerns with the transaction.
Under the arbitration terms, Novelis agreed to divest Aleris's aluminum automotive body sheet operations in North America if the United States prevailed in arbitration.
The arbitrator ruled for the United States, holding that aluminum automotive body sheet constitutes a relevant antitrust product market. Today, the Department filed a proposed final judgment that, if approved by the court, would fully resolve the competitive harm alleged in the lawsuit.
The Aditya Birla Group flagship Hindalco cemented its position as the world's largest producer of value-added aluminium products with the completion of the USD 2.8 billion acquisition of Aleris by its wholly-owned US subsidiary Novelis Inc last month.
Also read: Deciphering economic stimulus: What will revive economy, what won't!
Also read: Making sense of Rs 20 lakh crore stimulus package | the proposed final judgment would resolve the competitive harm alleged in the lawsuit. Novelis is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hindalco Industries Limited. the department filed a proposed final judgment today. the proposed final judgment follows the US' march 9 arbitration win. if approved, the final judgment would fully resolve the competitive harm alleged in the lawsuit. | Positive |
https://www.financialexpress.com/money/rate-cut-will-ease-liquidity-uplift-the-sentiment-of-home-buyers-say-developers/1967489/ | In a bid to ease liquidity for developers and induce buyers to buy homes in times of Covid-19 and lockdown, the Reserve Bank of India today slashed the repo rate by 40 bps — from 4.40 per cent to 4 per cent now — which was widely hailed by all the stakeholders, including real estate experts and developers.
Industry experts said this is another big step which will ease liquidity for developers as the rate cut will not only send out positive signals, but will also enable banks to lend even more. Thus, the rate cuts combined with the further extension of loan moratoriums by 3 months up to August 31, 2020 augurs well for the real estate sector in the times to come.
“This move is a major booster shot aiming to cushion the impact of COVID-19 on the Indian economy. Beyond doubt, repo rate cuts do uplift the sentiments of home buyers even further. Home loan interest rates have already gone down substantially over the last year, and are presently at an all-time low averaging between 7.15% and 7.8%,” said Anuj Puri, Chairman, ANAROCK Property Consultants.
Interestingly, ANAROCK’s recent survey conducted during the lockdown also highlighted that of the respondents who were previously in no mood to purchase properties and have now become buyers in the lockdown period, a massive 92% cited lower home loan interest rates and a sense of security that physical assets provide during such exigencies.
“The repo rate cut will further help banks to lower home loan interest rates, which may get several more fence-sitters onto the market. Moreover, the repo rate cut may compel banks to reduce the interest rates for FDs even further – this could result in even more people leaning towards housing as a better investment option,” added Puri.
Commenting on the rate cut, Dhruv Agarwala, Group CEO, Housing.com, Makaan.com and Proptiger.com, said, “With a view to support the economy in general and real estate in particular in the wake of Covid-19, the government has in the recent past made a series of announcements. The RBI decision to further reduce the repo rate to 4% is a major step in that direction. The move will not only help developers but also homebuyers who have been under extreme pressure due to the prolonged lockdown which has impacted their income. This along with the move of extending loan moratorium for another three months will be extremely helpful in lowering the burden for those who are paying EMIs or using credit cards. What needs to be seen is how quickly the banks reflect this change in their respective rates.”
Amit Modi, President-Elect CREDAI Western UP and Director ABA Corp, said, “We wholeheartedly welcome the extension of 3-month moratorium on EMIs till 31 August and this should be applicable right away to bring relief to millions of homebuyers across the nation. We feel that the RBI and the government should proactively make sure that these benefits reach the end consumer, especially now that there is a 40 basis point cut in both in the repo rate and in the cash reserve ratio to ensure sufficient liquidity in the system.”
Developers believe that now the situation for homebuyers might improve as home loan interest rates are expected to come down further. “People who have decided to buy a home during the lockdown period will take a quick decision if banks pass on the benefit. Steps by the RBI are aimed at easing the economy. Affordable housing will benefit the most as the buyers of this segment are very particular about the EMIs. With historically-low EMIs, people will go out to buy and thus increase the demand. Now government has to come out with steps to help the developers working in this segment so that projects can be completed without any hindrance,” said Pradeep Aggarwal, Founder & Chairman, Signature Global, and Chairman, ASSOCHAM – National Council on Real Estate, Housing & Urban Development.
Some developers, however, feel that till the time the RBI makes it mandatory for banks to reduce their lending rates at the same time, these reductions will have negligible impact on the real estate market which is reeling under the COVID-19 crisis.
Manoj Gaur, MD, Gaurs Group and Chairman, Affordable Housing Committee, CREDAI (National), said, “The latest 40 basis point reduction in the repo rate and the earlier rate revisions by the RBI are a welcome move for sure, which should help the real estate sector borrower in the long run if passed on and implemented by all banks and financial institutions. But, we are seeing that the benefit is not being passed on and the effect on actual lending rate is little or almost negligible.” | RBI slashed repo rate by 40 bps from 4.40 per cent to 4 per cent. industry experts said this is another big step which will ease liquidity for developers. the move will not only send out positive signals, but will also enable banks to lend even more. the move is a major booster shot aiming to cushion the impact of COVID-19 on the Indian economy. | Positive |
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/technology/5g-smartphones-in-india-qualcomm-snapdragon-690-5g-processor-launch-could-pave-the-way-5416281.html | 5G-enabled budget smartphones could soon launch in India and other markets, courtesy of Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 6-series 5G processor. Qualcomm, earlier today, unveiled the Snapdragon 690 that comes with support for the next-generation networking standard.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 690 is the first 6-series processor to get support for sub-6GHz 5G. This was made possible by the inclusion of the X51 5G modem. It also has a 20 percent improved CPU and 60 percent faster GPU compared to the Snapdragon 675 processor.
The mid-range processor features support for capturing images at up to 192MP, a 120Hz high refresh rate display, and recording 4K HDR video content. It is built on an 8nm fabrication process and has eight Kryo 560 CPU cores, two of which are Cortex A77 performance cores clocking at 2GHz, whereas the other six Cortex-A55 cores clock at 1.7GHz.
“With over 375 5G designs launched or in development to date using Qualcomm Technologies’ 5G solutions, we are driving the proliferation of 5G across multiple tiers to make the next generation of camera, artificial intelligence, and gaming experiences more broadly available. Driving the expansion of 5G into the Snapdragon 6-series has the potential to make 5G accessible to more than 2 billion smartphone users around the world, Cristiano Amon, President, Qualcomm Incorporated said in a statement shared with Moneycontrol.
Several OEMs have already come on-board and confirmed to launch smartphones with the Snapdragon 690 processor. Some of these include Nokia, Motorola, LG Electronics, etc.
It won’t be a surprise to see the likes of Xiaomi and Realme confirm affordable 5G smartphones running on the Snapdragon 690 chip. | Snapdragon 690 is the first 6-series processor to get support for sub-6GHz 5G. it also has a 20 percent improved CPU and 60 percent faster GPU. it features support for capturing images at up to 192MP, a 120Hz high refresh rate display, and recording 4K HDR video content. a number of OEMs have already come on board and confirmed to launch smartphones with the Snapdragon 690. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/software/jfrog-unveils-new-software-distribution-capabilities-to-handle-rising-volume-and-frequency-of-edge-updates/articleshow/76730481.cms | Samvat 2080 Opens on a Positive Note Samvat 2080 started on a steady note for investors with India’s stock benchmarks gaining over half a per cent in the special 60-minute Muhurat trading session on Sunday evening to mark the start of the traditional Hindu new year.
Insolvency Gets All Personal Now in Boost for Recoveries Supreme Court (SC) order allowing bankruptcy proceedings against personal guarantors of loans to defaulter companies will open up a new window of recovery, potentially multiplying banks’ realizations. | india's stock benchmarks gained over half a per cent in the special 60-minute Muhurat trading session on Sunday evening. the move marks the start of the traditional Hindu new year. bankruptcy proceedings against personal guarantors of loans to defaulter companies will open up a new window of recovery. a new ruling by the supreme court will open up a new window of recovery. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/forex/rupee-settles-57-paise-higher-at-75-09-against-us-dollar/articleshow/75468952.cms | Mumbai: The Indian rupee surged 57 paise to close at 75.09 against the US dollar on Thursday, amid higher domestic equity markets and a weak American currency in the overseas market. Forex traders said a positive start of domestic stocks supported the local unit. Moreover, investor risk appetite is improving as India could relax restrictions in many areas from May 4.This is the fourth consecutive day of gain for the rupee, during which it has appreciated by 137 paise.At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 75.17. During the session it touched an intra-day high of 74.94 and a low of 75.20.The domestic unit finally settled at 75.09, registering a rise of 57 paise over its previous close.On Wednesday, the local unit had settled at 75.66 against the US dollar.Traders said fears surrounding COVID-19 faded to some extent after an antiviral drug showed promise in treating coronavirus patients."Also, several countries are easing lockdown restrictions which means the economies will start to get back on track," said Rahul Gupta, Head of Research- Currency, Emkay Global Financial Services.Gupta further said, "there is still risk of a second wave of infection and India's macros are not attractive enough to bring in heavy dollar inflows. Thus, going ahead USD/INR spot may trade above the support of 74.50 towards 75.50/76.00".Meanwhile, domestic stock exchanges were trading on a positive note with benchmark Sensex trading 830.25 points higher at 33,550.41, and the Nifty up by 248.80 points at 9,802.15.The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.06 per cent down at 99.50.Brent crude futures rose 7.59 per cent to USD 24.25 per barrel. | rupee closes at 75.09 against the US dollar. it is the fourth consecutive day of gain for the rupee. the rupee has appreciated by 137 paise. a weak american currency in the overseas market also helped the rupee. a dollar index was trading 0.06 per cent down at 99.50. a u.s. dollar index was trading 0.06 per cent down at 99.50. | Positive |
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/technology/iphone-se-2020-outshines-all-android-phones-with-apples-superior-a13-chip-5192131.html | The new iPhone SE comes with the same powerful A13 chip that powers the most top-end version of the Apple iPhone series – iPhone 11 Pro Max.
While most phones are struggling with the price point in the current coronavirus situation, Apple released the budget iPhone SE with an underwhelming price of $400.
This price with the A13 performance chip found in the $1,450 top-end flagship phones by Apple marks a big move to acquire a huge market of buyers who prefer the old iPhone sizes found in iPhone 8 models but with the most powerful performance.
The A13 Bionic chip is the product of a gargantuan engineering effort. It is packed with 8.5 billion transistors, the tiny on-off switches that do everything from simple math to processing voice commands with artificial intelligence algorithms.
When tested with the popular Geekbench speed test, the iPhone SE scores 1,328 in single-task performance, matching the iPhone 11 and even surpassing the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra, which has a score of 835, the strongest competitor of iPhone.
This means that this newest iPhone still gets new capabilities that require the A13 chip, though lacking some previous iPhone flagship features like Face ID and the triple rear camera setup.
This aside, with the A13 chip, the new iPhone SE camera includes the latest portrait mode effects for blurring backgrounds behind photo subjects, the six studio lighting effects and HDR technology to handle scenes with uneven bright and dark elements and 4K video at 60 frames per second.
The iPhone has a separate market of buyers who still prefer to buy a phone with bezels and the so-called outdated fingerprint scanner in the Apple iPhone ecosystem ever since the trillion-dollar company removed bezels and solely started depending on the Face Unlock feature.
The balance of price and performance is good news for buyers worried about COVID-19, the coronavirus-caused disease that has killed tens of thousands of people and disrupted business across the entire world.
Since the entire world economy is facing a downfall, the buyers would preferably cut down on expenses that are not essential completely.
On the contrary, as essential as it is to own an iPhone for some people, especially getting their hands on the latest models, this could be a money move for the trillion-dollar giant.
We may even see a surge of the iPhone SE buyers in India where the Apple market is huge despite the income disparities. Now with the $400 price, more people would welcome the latest 2020 iPhone in their fists that acts as a status symbol too.
On a broader level, we may see Apple resorting to selling phones in 2020 on one-third the price but to see it from the company’s perspective, less price could also gush with demand. The more units are sold, the more people are exposed to the Apple ecosystem.
This leads us to Apple’s most popular upselling agenda i.e., services like Apple TV Plus, Apple Music, Apple Arcade iCloud data sync and backup and the 30 percent that the company charges developers that sell apps through its App Store. | the new iPhone SE comes with the same powerful A13 chip that powers the most top-end version of the Apple iPhone series – iPhone 11 Pro Max. this price with the A13 performance chip marks a big move to acquire a huge market of buyers who prefer the old iPhone sizes found in iPhone 8 models. the balance of price and performance is good news for buyers worried about COVID-19, the coronavirus-caused disease that has killed tens of thousands of people. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/services/property-/-cstruction/most-investors-upbeat-about-investing-in-the-commercial-real-estate-market-says-report/articleshow/79442753.cms | NEW DELHI: Commercial real estate market has started picking up momentum in Q2 2020, according to a report by property consultant 360 realtors.The report said that there has been a significant rise in the queries and interest level and this momentum has witnessed a spiking increase in Q3’2020.The report points out that some parallel negotiations of large deals from the Pre-COVID times were revisited and closed in Q3’2020.“Commercial realty market is witnessing an upward trend and more and more buyers and investors are showing their interest in it because commercial asset class has performed much better than the residential sector over the last few years. Demand was largely driven by BFSI, FMCG, wellness & healthcare, consulting, head-offices of big corporates/MNCs,” said, Ajay Rakheja National Head , 360 Realtors-Commercial.The brokerage firm said that COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown impacted the entire Q2'2020 for the commercial realty leasing, the tenant-landlord discussions centred on business continuity planning and cost optimization measures.Vacancy rates in CBDs have reached 10% in Q2’2020 and by Q3’2020 vacancy rate has increased to 15 %. The significant shift has been witnessed from CBDs to SBDs and other emerging growth corridors.The retail sector suffered the most during Q2'2020, the malls across the nations were shut down in this period and subsequently when they re-opened during the Unlock period, the mall developers and tenants got into the discussions regarding Revenue Sharing/Renegotiations of rental and discount on CAM charges.The warehousing sector in the country has witnessed unprecedented growth in 2020, concurrent with a huge demand by corporate, e-commerce companies and retail for quality space that is replete with state-of-the-art modern technologies. Large and modern warehousing facilities are being in demand in the urban areas of India.According to the polls done by 360 Realtors-Commercial, 74% of the respondents were upbeat about investing in the commercial realty sector-specially in ready-to-move and pre-lease properties.Till Q1’2020, the commercial realty space was on a growth trajectory but in Q2’2020 owing to the COVID-19 crisis the sentiment remained muted but the market will again witness an uptick in the sentiments by Q4’ 2020.Several areas of Gurugram and Noida, have turned into business hotspots. Gurugram has been a premium location for commercial office spaces in NCR for almost a decade now owing to its proximity to the national capital, apart from innumerable industries and business houses already located in the vicinity.Demand for office spaces in Noida has also been on a high growth trajectory after commercial space saturated in Delhi and availability dwindled in the national capital.As per 360 Realtors-Commercial research, NCR was the runner-up for the leasing activity in India. Micro-markets like NH-8, Golf Course Road, SPR in Gurugram have turned out to be the most lucrative options for leasing activities.The lower rent, new supply and infrastructure development have boosted the demand in NOIDA key sectors such as Sec-16, Sec-62 and Noida Expressway.“Investors and buyers need to be cautious right now and should focus on some key parameters, which is very critical and should also look at the demand-supply trend of last two quarters in that location. Office spaces in the CBD are always going to remain in demand but in the wake of the pandemic, when many corporates are revisiting their real estate costing, few of the companies have shifted their workplace to suburban locations, as long as they are well-connected and public transport is present,” said Rakheja. | commercial realty market is witnessing an upward trend, says report. demand was largely driven by BFSI, FMCG, wellness & healthcare, consulting, head-offices of big corporates/MNCs. vacancy rates in CBDs have reached 10% in Q2’2020 and by Q3’2020 vacancy rate has increased to 15 %. | Positive |
http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/personal-finance/stock-and-bond-markets-what-they-indicate-about-each-other-2491001.html | Joydeep Sen
In this article published earlier, we discussed that both the markets, equity and debt, look stretched on valuations. At that point of time, the yield on the 10-year government security was approx 6.5% and the overnight interest rate, represented by the RBI repo rate, was 6.25%. The spread was only 25 basis points between overnight and 10-years. This was an anomaly as per the theory of time value of money because the compensation was only 25 basis points for sparing money for 10 years.
Since then, the RBI has cut policy rate in August ’17, thereby bringing the overnight rate to 6%. The bond market has corrected and the 10-year G-Sec yield currently is at around 7.35%, taking the average of the existing benchmark 6.79% GoI 2027 and the new benchmark 7.17% GoI 2028. The 10-year to overnight spread at approx 1.35% is attractive.
The equity market has run up further since July '17. The PE Ratio in July ’17 was approx 25 on trailing EPS basis. Currently, it is approx 27.5 on trailing EPS basis. As per the thumb rule to figure out the relative attractiveness between the two markets i.e. equity and debt, the inverse of the 10-year bond yield is compared with the equity PE. Inverse of 7.35% is 13.6, which denotes that if the equity PE is at or less than 13.6, equity is very attractive. Now that equity PE is at approx 27.5, it is not cheap. However, the equity market may witness a PE rerating driven by better earnings growth. Since there is a discounting of future growth in equities, which is not the case with bonds, some premium is justified.
Let us now look at what history tells us by taking a cue from movement in one market and impact on the other.
Source: IDFC Mutual Fund Report dated Jan '18
The chart above shows the 10-year Government Security yield (line, marked to right hand side) and returns from Nifty over next one year (bars, marked to left hand side). It presents a long history, from CY98 to CY17. It is not a perfect correlation, because markets are influenced by a multitude of dynamic factors. Broadly, when bond yield is moving up, returns from Nifty have been moving up and vice versa.
This is because yield moves up when the economy is looking up and demand for money is higher. When growth in the economy is picking up, inflation also picks up. Consequently, earnings growth of corporates, which is measured in nominal terms (i.e. not adjusted for inflation) is that much higher. On the reverse side, when the economy is slowing down, demand for money is lower as fresh capacities are not created, leading to lower interest rates. With slowing economy and easing inflation, corporate earnings growth is soft. Hence, earnings from equity is muted.
From CY03 to CY07, we see bond yield moving up and equity returns buoyant. In CY08, both move southwards. From CY09 to CY14, both move in similar fashion, apart from one exception in CY11. At the current juncture, corporate earnings growth is expected to gather pace. Given that bond yields have moved up over the last 7 months or so, GDP growth is projected to pick up and inflation is projected to be little higher than RBI’s central target of 4%, all this are positive indicators for equities. The only cause for concern in equity is the stretched valuations.
Having said that, calling the market is anybody’s guess. As investors, we should be guided by prudent allocation between the two asset classes. Allocation should be guided by the parameters of risk-return profile and horizon. In case the equity valuation looks stretched, invest with a long horizon. In the fixed income segment, things are expected to be stable in the foreseeable future as the RBI is not going to hike rates in a hurry.
Another perspective, for deployment of incremental flows of investors in view of uncertainty in equity market on stretched valuations, could be alternate avenues like structured products (market linked debentures), where the downside in case equity markets don’t give returns is protected but the market linked coupon provides the equity upside. This is suitable for investors who want to participate in the equity market upside but are wary of the downside. However, there is a minimum ticket size required for structured debentures and is available to HNIs, not retail investors. In the mutual fund space, there are certain funds that do the asset allocation between equity and debt as per valuation levels in the market and restructure the portfolio at periodic intervals, as per the fund manager’s views on market movements. Retail investors, as well as HNIs, can take the benefit of the fund managers’ allocation in these dynamic asset allocation funds.
(The writer is founder of wiseinvestor.in) | the 10-year government security yield was approx 6.5% and the overnight interest rate, represented by the RBI repo rate, was 6.25%. the spread was only 25 basis points between overnight and 10-years. since then, the RBI has cut policy rate in august ’17, bringing the overnight rate to 6%. the 10-year to overnight spread at approx 1.35% is attractive. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/cons-products/garments-/-textiles/japans-clothing-brand-uniqlo-to-enter-india-next-year/articleshow/64092981.cms | New Delhi: Japanese apparel retailer UNIQLO will foray in India next year with the first store in the national capital, a company statement said today.This will also mark the brand's entry in the South Asia region.After the launch in Delhi, UNIQLO plans to expand in the national capital region ( NCR ) before considering other areas."India will become the latest in a string of new markets for UNIQLO worldwide, following earlier announcements to launch in Sweden and the Netherlands in 2018," it said.Following the establishment of a wholly-owned subsidiary in India this month, UNIQLO said it will begin recruiting local talent as it prepares to open its first store in the country.UNIQLO has around 2,000 stores in 19 markets worldwide including Japan, Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, the UK, US, among others.The company reported global sales of approximately 1.8619 trillion yen (USD 16.87 billion) for 2017 financial year ended August 31, 2017. | the brand will open its first store in the national capital. it will also mark the brand's entry in the southasia region. the company reported global sales of approximately 1.8619 trillion yen (USD 16.87 billion) for 2017 financial year ended august 31, 2017. the company has around 2,000 stores in 19 markets worldwide. the company reported global sales of approximately 1.8619 trillion yen (USD 16.87 billion) for 2017 financial year ended august 31, 2017. | Positive |
https://www.financialexpress.com/market/rupee-slips-11-paise-to-70-60-vs-us-dollar-in-opening-trade/1506544/ | The rupee depreciated 11 paise to 70.60 against the US dollar in opening trade Wednesday on increased demand for the greenback from importers and banks.
Forex dealers said, strengthening of the American currency in the overseas market weighed on the domestic currency.
However, fresh foreign fund inflows, easing crude prices and positive opening in domestic equities supported the rupee and restricted the fall.
The rupee opened weak at 70.60 at the interbank forex market down 11 paise over its last close. The local currency however pared the initial loss and was trading ar 70.55.
The rupee Tuesday had strengthened by 43 paise to close at 70.49 against the US dollar.
Foreign investors put in Rs 751.92 crore on a net basis in capital markets Tuesday, provisional exchange data showed.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, eased 0.76 per cent to USD 65.36 per barrel.
Indian bourses furthered gains in early trade Wednesday, with benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty adding 157 points and 53 points, respectively, on sustained buying mainly in stocks of finance, metal and capital goods sectors. | rupee depreciates 11 paise to 70.60 against the US dollar in opening trade. the rupee opened weak at 70.60 at the interbank forex market down 11 paise. fresh foreign fund inflows, easing crude prices and positive opening in domestic equities support rupee. foreign investors put in Rs 751.92 crore on net basis in capital markets. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/iwai-launches-outreach-programme-in-up-to-promote-ganga-waterway/articleshow/65059079.cms | Saab Bags India’s First 100% FDI in Defence Project India has cleared the first 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) in the defence sector, with permissions granted to Sweden’s Saab to set up a new facility that will manufacture rockets.
Steady Loan Demand, Fall in Provisions Lift SBI Profit 8% State Bank of India (SBI), the country’s largest lender by loans outstanding, met D-Street expectations to report an 8% increase in the second-quarter net profit on steady credit demand and lower provisions as the nation’s most-valued government entity wrote back some accounts where recovery was delayed. The lender expects robust loan growth, underpinned by broad-based economic expansion. | first 100% foreign direct investment in defence sector cleared. permission granted to Sweden's Saab to set up rocket manufacturing facility. 8% increase in second-quarter net profit on steady credit demand. lender expects robust loan growth, underpinned by broad-based economic expansion. sBI expects robust loan growth, underpinned by broad-based economic expansion. | Positive |
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/real-estate/worlds-wealthiest-prefer-investing-in-homes-in-hong-kong-over-new-york-and-london-3273041.html | No. 2 | Singapore | Visa-free or visa on arrival destinations: 190 (Image: Reuters)
While the world's super rich love to invest in Hong Kong, New York and London, where is it that India's wealthiest prefer to put their money in second homes? The obvious choices are United Kingdom, USA, UAE, Singapore and Canada.
The latest survey by global real estate consultancy Knight Frank LLP, says that Hong Kong tops the ranking for the greatest number of sales in the ultra-prime residential market worldwide, with the highest number of transactions worth $2.5 billion achieved in the last 12-month period ending August 2018. It was also the most expensive ultra-prime market, with an average price of $52.8 million paid. New York and London took the second and third place, respectively.
In its first-ever assessment of the global ultra-prime residential market, Knight Frank has analysed sales over $25 million around the world. According to the research, the top six ultra-prime city markets of Hong Kong, New York, London, Singapore, Los Angeles and Sydney reported 153 transactions above $25 million in the 12 months to the end of August 2018 with a combined value of $6.6 billion. The combined transaction levels in these cities grew by 12 percent in the two years since 2016 with growth set to continue.
"The propensity of global business destinations also being the ultra-prime home locations can be attributed to the continuous wealth creation in these cities. These are also global headquarters of multinational corporations, home to the Ultra HNIs and global citizens of varied vocations," said Shishir Baijal, Chairman and Managing Director, Knight Frank India.
In India, an analysis of the trends in the last three years indicate that the UK, USA, UAE, Singapore and Hong Kong were the most preferred markets by the Indian wealthy. The recent studies highlight that the number of demi-billionaires, those with $500 million or more in net assets, will rise by a staggering 70 percent from 200 in 2017 to 340 in 2022.
Subsequently, the rise in the number of Indian demi-billionaires will propel outbound investments in key residential destinations of global significance. In 2018, the top preferred markets are UK, USA, UAE, Singapore and Canada. The inherent reasons for these markets could range from being a top global city to a second home destination or a ski resort destination.
Knight Frank's Wealth Report 2018 highlights that the global ultra-wealthy population ($50 million+ in net assets) grew by 18 percent in the five years up to 2017 and is forecast to increase a further 40 percent over the next five. This growth is likely to mean transactions at the ultra-prime end of the market will continue to increase and spread to more locations. Other cities such as San Francisco, Chicago, Dallas, Beijing and Shanghai may soon rise in the rankings and second home markets such as Sardinia, Portofino and the French Alps are also likely to see more activity at this level.
"The rise of the Indian Ultra wealthy population and their inclination for owning ultra-prime property globally resonates well with the strong trend of increasing outbound investment from India. While this investment is finding way into key residential destinations globally, it also presents a unique opportunity for top Indian markets like Mumbai and Delhi that are bound to benefit if they create a comparable product for such demand," said Baijal.
The research stated that second home markets such as Malibu, Palm Beach, Cote d'Azur, Monaco, the Caribbean and ski destinations such as the Alps and Aspen are among the top 17 locations for ultra-prime sales with the majority witnessing an uptick in sales volumes over the past three years. Paris and Miami complete the line-up of city markets.
Globally, the analysis found that the ultra-prime market in New York grew by 50 percent between 2015 and 2017. It sits in second place in terms of number of transactions achieved in the past 12-months (worth $1.5 billion). On the other hand, London topped the rankings in 2015 with the highest number of transactions (worth $ 2.9 billion) but slipped to third place in the most recent 12-month period. Higher stamp duty charges and concerns over Brexit have led to a decline in the number of ultra-prime sales. However, the city remains one of the top three ultra-prime markets.
Further, Singapore saw the number of ultra-prime sales drop to two in 2016. However, this bounced back to 12 in the most recent 12-month period, demonstrating the underlying health of the market, while LA has seen significant growth in this market with the number of transactions growing by 260 percent between 2015 and 2017, albeit from a low base. | the world's super rich love to invest in Hong Kong, new york and London. the top six ultra-prime city markets reported 153 transactions above $25 million. the number of demi-billionaires will rise by a staggering 70 percent in the next three years. the top preferred markets are UK, USA, UAE, Singapore and canada. a new study shows that the number of demi-billionaires will rise by 70 percent. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/startups/newsbuzz/us-financial-body-gives-15-mn-loan-to-indian-startup-to-expand-access-to-quality-education/articleshow/75550337.cms | WASHINGTON: An American financial organisation has agreed to sanction $15 million loan to an Indian education startup to expand the access to quality education by providing critical financing to schools that serve low-income students in India.The financing will help Bengaluru-based Varthana to reach more schools by meeting its need for long-term capital that is unavailable in the Indian market, US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) said in a statement.The DFC, America's Development Bank, said that the financing will be especially critical as schools work to adapt to and recover from disruptions caused by the Coronavirus pandemic.In addition to providing timely loans, Varthana has been helping schools implement digital learning tools and teaching methods so that students can continue their education remotely through the pandemic, it said.Set up by Brajesh Mishra and Steve Hardgrave in 2013, Varthana supports more than 3,500 schools with 84,000 teachers and 2.5 million students, in particularly among low-income populations across the country.The company utilises a unique cash-flow underwriting model that enables it to flexibly and sustainably provide loans to low-fee schools. The typical Varthana borrower operates a school that charges $5 to $25 per month in fees.India's economy has grown rapidly over the last several decades, but more investment in education will be required to keep pace with this growth and extend its benefits across a broader segment of the Indian society, the DFC said.Low-fee private schools have stepped in to provide low- and middle-income families access to quality, affordable education. However, these schools need better access to financing in order to grow and improve, it said.DFC CEO Adam Boehler said this will help low-income students in India access quality education so they can learn, thrive and give back to their communities.Varthana is a testament to the impact that early-stage ventures can deliver when given the opportunity to scale their innovative approaches, he said."As a specialised lender to affordable private schools, Varthana is well positioned to provide both capital and remote education solutions to help schools navigate the current challenges."DFC's willingness to provide funding in the midst of this crisis truly demonstrates their commitment to support the education sector when it needs the most, and for that we are very grateful," said Varthana CEO Hardgrave. | the $15 million loan will help Bengaluru-based Varthana reach more schools. the company supports more than 3,500 schools with 84,000 teachers and 2.5 million students. the company utilises a unique cash-flow underwriting model that enables it to flexibly and sustainably provide loans to low-fee schools. the typical borrower operates a school that charges $5 to $25 per month in fees. | Positive |
http://www.financialexpress.com/market/stocks-of-pnb-jet-airways-allahabad-bank-sun-pharma-nestle-punj-lloyd-yes-bank-gitanjali-gems-tata-power-religare-enterprises-in-focus-today-nse-bse-15-february-2018/1066771/ | Indian stock markets are likely to open higher on Thursday following the upsurge on Wall Street as the key equity index Dow Industrials inched up 1% yesterday. The early indicator of NSE Nifty, SGX Nifty Futures was trading 0.72% higher at 10,538 on Singapore Exchange. Shares of Punjab National Bank will be in a close watch on Thursday after the state-run lender detected a fraud worth Rs 11,400 crore in a Mumbai branch. Domestic markets are likely to be steered by the WPI data due later today.
These shares will be in focus today
Tata Power: The board of Tata Power gave its nod to raise funds up to Rs 3,500 crore through non-convertible debentures (NCDs).
Religare Enterprises: Religare Enterprises said Malvinder Mohan Singh and Shivinder Mohan Singh have resigned from the company’s board with effect from yesterday.
Grasim Industries: Aditya Birla Group firm Grasim Industries has received board approval for a Rs 3,523-crore viscose staple fibre (VSF) brownfield expansion plan to meet the growing demand.
Jet Airways: Jet Airways Group said that its net profit declined by 37 per cent to Rs 186 crore year-on-year for the three months through December.
Punjab National Bank: State-owned Punjab National Bank detected a $1.77 billion (about Rs 11,400 crore) scam where billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi allegedly acquired fraudulent letters of undertaking from a branch in Mumbai to secure overseas credit from other Indian lenders. PNB has suspended 10 officers and referred the matter to CBI for investigation. According to a PTI report, Financial Services Secretary Rajiv Kumar said the finance ministry has taken proactive steps by asking the lender to report the matter to CBI and Enforcement Directorate (ED) so that action can be taken quickly.
Indiabulls Real Estate: Indiabulls Real Estate plans to sell its housing and commercial assets in Chennai as part of strategy to exit the non-core market and restructure its business.
Allahabad Bank: State-owned Allahabad Bank reported a net loss of Rs 1,263.79 crore in the third quarter ended December on rising bad loans.
Yes Bank: Yes Bank today said it has listed USD 600 million bond issued under its maiden USD 1 billion MTN programme, on Global Securities Market (GSM) of India INX.
Nestle India: FMCG major Nestle India reported an increase of 59.57 per cent in its net profit to Rs 311.83 crore for the fourth quarter ended December 2017, led by volume growth.
DLF: Realty major DLF will sell completed rental assets and commercial land parcels worth about Rs 9,300 crore to its joint venture with Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC.
Punj Lloyd: Infrastructure player Punj Lloyd reported narrowing of net loss to Rs 183.95 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2017.
Sun Pharmaceutical: Sun Pharmaceutical Industries reported a 75.17 per cent decline in its consolidated net profit at Rs 365.39 crore for the quarter ended 31 December 2017.
Dena Bank: State-run Dena Bank reported a loss of Rs 380.07 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, due to surge in bad loans and provisioning.
Bhushan Steel: Bhushan Steel reported a net loss of Rs 1,607 crore for the quarter ended December 2017.
Gitanjali Gems: Major jewellers Gitanjali, Ginni and Nakshatra have also come under the scanner of various investigating agencies following PNB’s declaration of Rs 11,400 crore fraud, committed allegedly by Nirav Modi, PTI reported.
The Indian rupee on Wednesday: The rupee extended its gains rising by 23 paise to close at 64.09 a dollar.
Indian stock markets on Wednesday
Indian stock markets closed lower on Wednesday with Sensex losing as much as 144 points and Nifty managing to finish at 10,500. Up until 2:40 pm on Wednesday, the headline indices traded around the previous closing but in the last one-hour session, a vertical decline was observed in Sensex, following which the index shed about 271.79 points to a day’s low of 34,028.68. Shares of Coal India, RIL, Wipro, Bharti Airtel, Adani Ports and Tata Motors emerged as the only notable gainers among the Sensex components. The S&P BSE Sensex ended 144.52 points or 0.42% lower at 34,155.95 and NSE Nifty lost 38.85 points or 0.37% to conclude at 10,500.9 on Wednesday. Among the sectors, PSU banks shares were the worst hit in Wednesday’s trade with Nifty PSU Bank plunging as much as 4.78% to close at 3,307.05. The stock of Punjab National Bank was the worst hit among the PSU banks on the news of fraud transactions found in Mumbai branch. Shares of PNB lost 10.4% to end at Rs 144.85 while State Bank of India plummeted as much as 4.59% to Rs 275.5.
US stock markets on Wednesday
Wall Street surged on Wednesday as investors shrugged off stronger-than-expected inflation data and snapped up shares of Facebook, Amazon.com and Apple, Reuters said in a report. The fourth straight day of gains in the S&P 500 saw a return to the “fear of missing out” mentality that accompanied Wall Street’s rally in recent months ahead of a slump last week into correction territory, Reuters added. Facebook jumped 3.7 percent while Amazon.com and Apple both rose more than 1.8 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1.03 percent to end at 24,893.49 while the S&P 500 rose 1.34 percent to finish at 2,698.63. The Nasdaq Composite surged 1.86 percent to 7,143.62. | the early indicator of NSE Nifty, SGX Nifty Futures was trading 0.72% higher at 10,538 on Singapore Exchange. domestic markets are likely to be steered by the WPI data due later today. Tata Power: the board of the company gave its nod to raise funds up to Rs 3,500 crore through non-convertible debentures (NCDs) | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/banking/finance/banking/view-why-india-needs-a-new-bad-bank/articleshow/76342951.cms | Samvat 2080 Opens on a Positive Note Samvat 2080 started on a steady note for investors with India’s stock benchmarks gaining over half a per cent in the special 60-minute Muhurat trading session on Sunday evening to mark the start of the traditional Hindu new year.
Insolvency Gets All Personal Now in Boost for Recoveries Supreme Court (SC) order allowing bankruptcy proceedings against personal guarantors of loans to defaulter companies will open up a new window of recovery, potentially multiplying banks’ realizations. | india's stock benchmarks gained over half a per cent in the special 60-minute Muhurat trading session on Sunday evening. the move marks the start of the traditional Hindu new year. bankruptcy proceedings against personal guarantors of loans to defaulter companies will open up a new window of recovery. a new ruling by the supreme court will open up a new window of recovery. | Positive |
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/companies/lic-beats-private-sector-in-new-premium-collection-for-april-july-registers-52-growth-4332691.html | live bse live
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Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has posted a higher-than-industry growth of 51.86 percent year-on-year (YoY) in new business collection for the April to July 2019 period. LIC collected new premiums of Rs 60,106.66 crore for the period compared to Rs 22,039.81 crore collected by the private companies.
The life insurance industry collected Rs 82,146.47 crore in the April-July 2019 period, showing a 44.25 percent YoY growth. Among private sector players, Tata AIA Life had the highest growth rate at 91.79 percent YoY growth to collect new premiums of Rs 818.76 crore.
LIC's market share stood at 73.17 percent in terms of premium collection. The life insurer saw a premium growth across its business segments including individual and group business.
All the listed life insurance companies posted a double-digit growth in new premiums. HDFC Life Insurance collected first year premium of Rs 5,384.79 crore in the four-month period, showing a YoY growth of 41.98 percent.
ICICI Prudential Life Insurance collected Rs 3,170.10 crore of new premiums, showing a 25.46 percent YoY growth in the April to July period. SBI Life Insurance collected new premiums of Rs 4,496.36 crore, a YoY growth of 35.45 percent.
This is a positive development considering that the first half of the financial year is usually a slow period of premium growth for the life insurance companies.
However, the number of new policies still remained flat showing a growth of 0.96 percent YoY growth to 70,00,277 policies in April-July 2019 period. This meant that while the number of new policies sold are not high, the ticket-sizes of the insurance products are going up. | life insurance corporation of india (LIC) has posted a higher-than-industry growth of 51.86 percent year-on-year (YoY) in new business collection for the April to July 2019 period. Among private sector players, Tata AIA Life had the highest growth rate at 91.79 percent YoY growth to collect new premiums of Rs 818.76 crore. | Positive |
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/economy/coronavirus-crisis-fm-nirmala-sitharaman-may-soon-announce-massive-rs-3-lakh-crore-stimulus-package-5253721.html | Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman may announce a massive economic stimulus package worth Rs 3 lakh crore later this week, according to a report in the Business Standard.
Other ministries are also expected to offer revival packages for their respective sectors.
The spending on all the initiatives put together is expected to rival that offered by G-20 nations in terms of percentage of GDP.
Moneycontrol could not independently verify the report.
The government was earlier considering a measured approach to deal with the situation despite mounting pressure from industries.
COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions View more How does a vaccine work? A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine. How many types of vaccines are there? There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine. What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind? Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time. View more Show
Government officials pointed out that one of the reasons for the change in stance could be the wiggle room provided by the increase in proposed borrowing for FY21 to Rs 12 lakh crore from Rs 7.8 lakh crore.
Another reason might be the increasing uncertainty on how “deep the economic slump is and could be”. The government may also want to support small businesses as the economy gradually opens up.
The official added that the “next set of announcements” would be massive compared to the previous Rs 1.7 lakh crore package announced by the Finance Minister.
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What is expected?
> Credit guarantee scheme for working capital loans of micro, small and medium enterprises
> Incentives for companies and businesses to maintain a stable workforce, especially as the migrant workers' crisis deepens
> Expansion of direct benefit transfer (DBT) schemes
> Possible hike in MNREGA payments
> Accelerated disbursals under PM-KISAN Scheme
> Expanded economic activity in Green and Orange Zones, and further gradual easing of lockdown
> Details on the resumption of train services, possible resumption of flight services
> Boost for sectors worst hit by the pandemic such as hospitality, tourism, travel, aviation, and auto among others
> Separate announcements by various ministries for their particular sector (s) – such as non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) and mutual funds (MFs).
Industries bodies have been continually asking the government for financial support. On May 11, FICCI President Sangita Reddy in a letter to the Finance Minister said: “quick release” of Rs 2.5 lakh crore is essential for the Indian economy.
The industry body had suggested a Rs 4.5 lakh crore support package on the whole.
Reddy also made a case for the need to create a self-sufficiency fund for innovation, construction and manufacturing clusters to make use of the emerging opportunities in the wake of disruption in the global supply chain.
Follow our full COVID-19 coverage here | finance minister may announce massive economic stimulus package worth Rs 3 lakh crore. spending on all the initiatives put together is expected to rival that offered by G-20 nations. a vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. a vaccine helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. a vaccine is based on the whole virus, but it is not a weakened virus. | Positive |
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/moneycontrol-research/icici-securities-strong-beneficiary-of-financial-savings-trend-but-available-at-a-premium-2534011.html | Anubhav SahuMoneycontrol Research
The initial public offering of ICICI Securities is part of ICICI Bank’s plan to unlock shareholder value by listing its various subsidiaries (ICICI Prudential, ICICI Lombard). The primary market offering of the broker comes at a time when the base of retail investors has increased considerably in the last few years. And yet, an underpenetrated market, growing awareness about the need for financial planning, better digital infrastructure as well poor returns from physical assets, all point to a bullish future for financial market intermediaries.
Company briefing
ICICI Securities Limited (incorporated in 1995), better identified with its electronic brokerage platform – “ICICI Direct”, is a leading brokerage house in India (5.6% market share) that offers financial Services like broking (63% of FY17 revenue), financial product distribution (25%) and investment banking and others (13%).
OFS: 4,017 crore
IPO size is Rs 4,017 crore offer for sale from ICICI Bank, at a price band of Rs 519-520, constituting ~24% of the post offer paid up capital. It puts the implied valuation at Rs 16,750 crore.
Strong macro drivers and enabling infra support higher share of financial savings
The trend towards increasing share of financial savings (41% of household savings) has been helpful for both brokerage and financial products distribution businesses. In recent times, this has been supported by demonetization, improved financial markets awareness, financial inclusion and ramp up in digital infrastructure. This is evident by sharp increase in demat accounts (30% CAGR FY13- H1FY18) and rise in retail participation (43.8%) in the equity market trading.
Source: ICICI Securities roadshow presentation
Pan-India presence
ICICI Securities have a well-entrenched distribution network (200+ branches in 75 cities), which along with 4,600 sub-brokers/IFAs help it reaching tier-2,3 cities. This along with the allied financial service offerings help ICICI Securities to meet the competition, particularly from the discount brokers. It’s noteworthy that ICICI Securities remains a market leader in terms of both brokerage revenue (14.8% CAGR FY13-17) and trading volumes, even though brokerage revenue share has trimmed over the years.
Diversified business model
Company’s business model is increasingly diversified towards non-brokerage/financial products distribution business (36.4% in 9MFY18 vs. 29.7% in FY13). AUM distributed has grown by 36.6% CAGR (FY13-9MFY18).
While this business has a regulatory risk of capping trailing fees for distribution and the increasing direct reach, compared to brokerage business income flow here is steadier and hence commands higher valuation. In other words, distribution business provides cushion against volatility in the brokerage revenue.
Elevated multiples vs peer group
While there are many listed financial investment firms, segment exposures are not akin to ICICI Securities, in most cases. Both JM Financials and Edelweiss have a major business exposure to fund based activities (+70 percent). While Motilal Oswal and IIFL Holdings have a more balanced exposure with about 50-60% business exposure to wealth management and broking. Geojit Financial Services is the closest peer with about 68 percent of the revenue exposure from the broking business.
*Based on Upper price band in the IPO
While implied multiples are certainly towards the higher end prevailing among the peer group, SOTP valuation also reflects that part of the near term growth is priced in the offer.
Table : SOTP valuation
SOTP valuation suggest premium valuation in the offer price and therefore signify that there is a limited scope for listing gains
However, one should also note that there is an upside risk to estimation particularly to the distribution revenue/segment which can command higher valuation due to improved macroeconomic drivers and higher retail participation in the equity market.
Overall, due to underlying long term drivers and valuations, we recommend subscribing to IPO only for a long term investment horizon.
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For more research articles, visit our Moneycontrol Research Page. | ICICI Securities is a leading brokerage house in india (5.6% market share) offering financial services like broking (63% of FY17 revenue), financial product distribution (25%) and investment banking. a primary market offering of the broker comes at a time when the base of retail investors has increased considerably in the last few years. ICICI Securities remains a market leader in terms of both brokerage revenue (14.8% CAGR FY13-17) and trading volumes. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/bharat-electronics-and-tech-mahindra-collaborate-to-build-digital-aerospace-defence-products/articleshow/74012974.cms | MUMBAI: State-owned Bharat Electronics Limited BEL ) and software provider, Tech Mahindra announced a partnership on Friday to design and build digital solutions for aerospace and defense applications. The companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at DefExpo India 2020, Lucknow , to jointly develop solutions in the field of defence products and systems for the armed forces with the use of latest technologies in Aerospace and Defence (A&D) Engineering Services, 5G and cyber security.Anandi Ramalingam, Director Marketing, Bharat Electronics, said, “The MoU will enable BEL and Tech Mahindra to make joint efforts to seize the opportunities available in the domestic markets on back of the policy initiatives of the Indian Government such as Make-in-India. It will further support in tapping into global markets for export of defence products produced by the individual companies or jointly developed and produced by the two companies, leveraging on the Export Promotion Policy of the Ministry of Defence , Government of India.”Sujit Baksi, Head APAC Business and President Corporate Affairs , Tech Mahindra, said the collaboration would allow the companies to tap export opportunities.“Tech Mahindra’s collaboration with Bharat Electronics extends our vision of supporting government’s ‘make in India’ initiative to enhance our indigenous capabilities and build a robust 5 Trillion Dollar Indian economy. It is also in line with our TechMNxt charter that focuses on leveraging new generation technologies to deliver an enhanced experience to our customers,” she said. | Bharat Electronics and tech Mahindra signed a Memorandum of Understanding. the companies will jointly develop solutions in the field of defence products and systems for the armed forces. the collaboration will allow the companies to tap export opportunities. the companies will also use latest technologies in 5G and cyber security. the companies will also be able to tap into global markets for export of defence products produced by the individual companies or jointly developed and produced by the two companies. | Positive |
https://www.financialexpress.com/auto/commercial-vehicles/tata-ultra-t-7-truck-unveiled-engine-specs-features-payload-capacity-details-fleet-finance/2157487/ | The new range comes with a warranty of 3 years / 3 lakh kilometres and also offers Sampoorna Seva 2.0 and Tata Samarth – the company’s commitment to commercial vehicle driver welfare, uptime guarantee, on-site service and customised annual maintenance and fleet management solutions.
Tata Motors has unveiled its new Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) namely Ultra T.7. The new Tata Ultra T.7 range comes with a modular platform with variants of various deck lengths and in 4-tyre and 6-tyre combinations. The Tata Ultra T.7 is powered by the 4SPCR engine that offers 100hp of power along with 300Nm of torque from 1,200 to 2,200rpm. The truck has underpinnings of a strong modular chassis design for better durability and radial tubeless tyres, all thanks to which the company is claiming an increased fuel economy. The new Tata Ultra T.7 has been designed keeping in mind Tata Motors’ ‘Power of 6’ philosophy that promises superior fleet profitability, vehicle performance, driving comfort, convenience and connectivity, along with safety – all with a lower total cost of operations (TCO). Tata Motors says that it is the only Indian commercial vehicle manufacturer offering the power of choice of three unique and distinct cabin options to its I&LCV customers – Ultra, SFC and LPT range of trucks.
The truck is equipped with a crash-tested cabin and powerful air-brakes for better safety, adjustable seating positions, tilt-and-telescopic power steering and a dash-mounted gear shifter for comfort. Furthermore, the truck comes with standard fitment of a music system, USB fast charging port, ample storage space and also, Tata Motors’ next-gen connected vehicle solution that enables fleet management, the Fleet Edge. The truck also features clear-lens headlamps along with LED tail-lamps.
The new Tata Ultra T.7 also comes with a comprehensive set of fully-built solutions, offering customers a one-stop solution with multiple benefits like better financing terms, nationwide service support and higher resale value, thus making a much better value proposition for customers. The new range comes with a warranty of 3 years / 3 lakh kilometres and also offers Sampoorna Seva 2.0 and Tata Samarth – the company’s commitment to commercial vehicle driver welfare, uptime guarantee, on-site service and customised annual maintenance and fleet management solutions.
Commenting on the occasion, Mr. V Seethapathi, Vice President, ILCV Product Line, Tata Motors said, “With the introduction of the latest Ultra T.7, Tata Motors furthers its commitment to scale new heights of innovative automotive manufacturing to provide a variety of products for diverse applications at minimum operation costs. The Ultra T.7, with its pioneering and award winning design, possesses the ability to bring the best of both worlds – comfort and agility – while aiming to offer the highest profitability for its owners. With the industry best operating economics, superior fuel efficiency and power, longer tyre life, it makes the best product in the category.” | the new range comes with a warranty of 3 years / 3 lakh kilometres. it also offers Sampoorna Seva 2.0 and Tata Samarth. the new truck is powered by the 4SPCR engine that offers 100hp of power along with 300Nm of torque from 1,200 to 2,200rpm. the truck is equipped with a crash-tested cabin and powerful air-brakes for better safety. | Positive |
https://www.livemint.com/market/stock-market-news/fpis-invest-rs-54-980-crore-in-indian-equities-in-december-so-far-11608449738223.html | New Delhi: Foreign portfolio investors (FPI) pumped in ₹54,980 crore in Indian markets in December so far amidst availability of excess liquidity in global markets and expectation of fresh stimulus package by various central banks, among others.
As per the depositories’ data, FPIs invested a net ₹48,858 crore into equities and ₹6,122 crore into debt segment between December 1 and 18.
This took the total net investment to ₹54,980 crore during the period under review.
In November, the total net investment of FPIs stood at ₹62,951 crore.
Himanshu Srivastava, associate director - manager research, Morningstar India said, "availability of excess liquidity in global markets and low interest rates diverted foreign flows into emerging markets like India."
Moreover, expectation of fresh stimulus package by various central banks globally to revive economic growth lifted risk appetite among investors and weakened dollar further which typically augurs well for emerging markets.
Also, there is expectation that a COVID-19 vaccine will potentially drive further growth in emerging markets like India, he added.
"After months of buying a few select stocks, FPIs are beginning to broaden their horizon as buying in small and mid cap space has increased," Harsh Jain, co-founder and COO at Groww noted.
He added that there is an impression that printing of money in the US might continue and hence, there will be even more money in the quarters to come.
"Which is why many FPIs are aggressively purchasing in India fearing that the valuations will go even higher from here," Jain said.
Going forward, on the domestic front, the focus of FPIs would continue to be on the active COVID-19 case count coming further down and the economic getting back on growth trajectory, Srivastava said.
There has been improvement in the macro-economic environment which has so far ensured that FPI flows remain intact.
Besides, continuation of accommodative stance by global central banks may ensure flow of foreign investments into emerging markets, including India, he added.
Milestone Alert!Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world 🌏 Click here to know more. | foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) pumped in 54,980 crore in india in December. this is amidst availability of excess liquidity in global markets and low interest rates. expectation of fresh stimulus package by central banks lifted risk appetite among investors. there is expectation that a COVID-19 vaccine will potentially drive further growth in emerging markets. meanwhile, the focus of FPIs would continue to be on active COVID-19 case count coming further down. | Positive |
https://www.financialexpress.com/auto/car-news/over-100-mercedes-benz-cars-booked-online-across-india-in-last-one-month-amid-covid-19-lockdown-e-class-s-class-digital-sales-how-to-book/1973319/ | Mercedes-Benz India initiated online sales on its e-commerce platform on April 27, all thanks to which customers can book Mercedes vehicles sitting at home. The hundred-plus bookings came in the last one month when all the dealerships were shut due to the Covid-19 lockdown imposed across India.
Mercedes-Benz India on Wednesday said that it would not change its business plans for the year despite all the challenges in the market. Mercedes-Benz India MD & CEO Martin Schwenk said their plans of launching 10 products in India in 2020 remained on track and they would proceed as planned. There will be some delays but the company was working to minimise the impact, he said. Schwenk said the company had received 100 online bookings for its new and used cars. The company had launched sales on its e-commerce platform on April 27 that enabled customers to order their Mercedes vehicles from home.
The hundred-plus bookings came in the last one month when all the dealerships were shut. The company launched two new performance cars, the AMG C 63 Coupe for `1.33 crore and AMG GT R Coupe for `2.48 crore in the Indian market on Thursday. The other new Mercedes launches expected during the year include the electric EQC, A-Class limousine and GLA. Mercedes’s product offensive for the Indian market will continue, Schwenk said.The company restarted operations on May 6 at its Chakan facility and has since then also opened up 70% of dealerships, Schwenk said. Despite a difficult 2019 Mercedes saw a 54% sales growth the AMG range of cars. AMG sales are in the three digit numbers and the company said it had a 50% share in this segment. Delhi and Mumbai were the two top markets for AMG sales, but Bengaluru has pushed ahead of Mumbai and is now the second largest market for these performance cars for Mercedes in India. Delhi remains the number one market for these cars.
The company has set up a live consultation studio at its Pune facility to engage with its customers and then complete the sale at the dealerships. Mercedes will combine online and off-line strategy in the Indian market | the company launched online sales on its e-commerce platform on April 27. the hundred-plus bookings came in the last one month when all the dealerships were shut due to the lockdown imposed across India. the company launched two new performance cars, the AMG C 63 Coupe for 1.33 crore and AMG GT R Coupe for 2.48 crore in the Indian market on Thursday. | Positive |
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/personal-finance/budget-2020-for-taxpayers-is-the-glass-half-full-or-half-empty-4897791.html | Raj Khosla
While the rejig of tax slabs is a welcome move, we must also look at the fine print of the measure. The Budget has introduced three more tax slabs, which could put more money in the hands of taxpayers. Instead of being taxed at 20 per cent, income between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 7.5 lakh will be taxed at 10 per cent. Similarly, income between Rs 7 lakh and Rs 10 lakh will be taxed at 15 per cent instead of 20 per cent. Significant savings in tax will accrue for those earning up to Rs 15 lakh. Instead of 30 per cent, they will pay only 20 per cent on income between Rs 10 lakh and Rs 12.5 lakh. That straightaway translates to a tax saving of Rs 25,000. Another Rs 12,500 will be saved as income between Rs 12.5 lakh and Rs 15 lakh will be taxed at 25 per cent.
No exemptions
This is not as simple as it appears. Taxpayers will have to forgo all exemptions if they want their income to be taxed under the new slab structure. They won’t get any deduction for Section 80C investments, including the contribution to the PF and PPF, the SIPs in ELSS funds and even the life insurance premiums paid. Home loan interest and house rent allowance will also not be eligible for exemption.
The good news is that the government has given taxpayers the option to stay with the existing tax regime or switch to the new one. A taxpayer will have to weigh his options to analyse the actual benefit before opting for the structure where his tax is lower.
For investors, the big announcement is the removal of the dividend distribution tax (DDT). Till now, dividends were tax-free for investors but there was 15 per cent DDT to be paid by a company when it declared dividends. Also, dividends above Rs 10 lakh in a year were taxed at 10 per cent. While the DDT has been removed, dividends will now be taxed at the marginal rate applicable to the taxpayer.
One key measure is the hike in deposit insurance from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh. This will ensure that even if a bank fails, depositors’ money would be safe. The limit of Rs 5 lakh is quite liberal and should cover almost 80 per cent of the depositors. The issue of deposit safety came into the limelight after the PMC Bank crisis in September 2019.
Disinvestment in the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) will be a momentous event for the capital market. LIC is a money-spinner and its IPO will surely get lapped up by the markets. It will also help bridge the gap in the government’s disinvestment target. The company manages assets of close to Rs 30 lakh crore and has almost a 70 per cent market share in the life insurance space.
There is good news for home loan takers though. The Budget has retained the additional deduction of up to Rs 1.5 lakh on the interest paid on loans for affordable housings valued up to Rs 45 lakh. However, it would have been better if this deduction was not restricted to affordable housing but extended to all taxpayers.
(The writer is Founder and MD, MyMoneyMantra.com) | tax slabs for income between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 7.5 lakh will be taxed at 10%. income between Rs 7 lakh and Rs 10 lakh will be taxed at 15% instead of 20%. tax saving of Rs 25,000 for those earning up to Rs 15 lakh. a further Rs 12,500 will be saved as income between Rs 12.5 lakh and Rs 15 lakh will be taxed at 25%. | Positive |
https://www.businesstoday.in/current/economy-politics/rbi-to-conduct-fourth-tranche-of-rs-25000-crore-tltro-april-17/story/401100.html | As part of liquidity infusion measures to mitigate coronavirus lockdown impact, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday said it will conducted the fourth tranche of Rs 25,000 crore targeted long term repo operations (TLTROs) for a 3-year tenor on April 17. The central bank announced the TLTRO on March 27 and has pumped in liquidity worth Rs 75,000 crore in three tranches since then.
The first three tranches were conducted for Rs 25,000 crore each on March 27, April 3 and April 7, respectively.
"The Reserve Bank will conduct TLTROs of up to three-year tenor of appropriate sizes for a total amount of up to Rs 1,00,000 crore. So far, Rs 75,000 crore have been conducted in three tranches and it has now been decided to conduct another TLTRO operation for Rs 25,000 crore on April 17," the RBI said in a statement.
The funds availed under this tranche of TLTRO would have to be deployed within 30 working days from the date of the operation, the RBI said in a press release.
In a bid to counter coronavirus related liquidity constraints, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on March 27 introduced the targeted long term repo operations (TLTROs) to enhance liquidity in the system, especially the corporate bond market. The central bank plans to lend as much as Rs 1 lakh crore under TLTRO, at a floating rate linked to the policy repo rate, to averse the large sell-offs in the domestic equity, bond and forex markets caused by the coronavirus crisis.
While announcing the TLTRO, the monetary authority had said banks would have to deploy at least 50 per cent of the proceeds in corporate bonds, commercial papers and debentures, so that the secondary market for debt remains fully liquid. The remaining fifty per cent could be deployed in the secondary market, including from mutual funds (MFs) and NBFCs.
As per the operational guidelines issued by the RBI, the maximum amount that a bank can invest in the securities issued by a particular entity or group of entities out of the allotment received by it under the TLTRO has been capped at 10 per cent.
Investments made by banks under this facility will be classified as held to maturity even in excess of 25 per cent of total investment permitted to be included in the held-to-maturity (HTM) portfolio.
Exposures under this facility will also not be reckoned under the large exposure framework, the RBI said.
By Chitranjan Kumar
Also Read: Reliance Industries plans to raise up to Rs 10,000 crore via bonds
Also Read: Coronavirus contingency: Tata Steel to raise up to Rs 7,000 crore via NCDs | RBI to conduct fourth tranche of Rs 25,000 crore targeted long term repo operations. the central bank announced the TLTRO on march 27. the first three tranches were conducted for Rs 25,000 crore each on March 27. the funds availed under this tranche would have to be deployed within 30 working days. a total of Rs 1,00,000 crore has been pumped in by the central bank since then. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/saudi-provides-free-pandemic-treatment-for-expatriates/articleshow/75368055.cms | India is an important asset to the international and regional integrated efforts to deal with coronavirus and minimize its impact on the health of global community and Saudi Arabia is working closely with the Indian government in this regard and extending healthcare to its large expatriate community, which includes around 3 million Indians, Saudi Ambassador to Indiatold ET’sThe Covid-19 pandemic necessitates an international and coordinated response. The Kingdom is working with international organizations and members of G20 to control and reduce the spread of the virus, protect people, mitigate its effects on the economy, and take the necessary measures to maintain the stability of the world economy.The G-20 group under the Presidency of Saudi Arabia is taking extraordinary measures to combat this global pandemic. The first Extraordinary G20 Leaders’ Summit, was held virtually last month. At the conference, leaders from these countries agreed to take all necessary measures to contain the pandemic and protect people. They also supported strengthening of the WHO's mandate in the fight against pandemics, including delivery of medical supplies, diagnostic tools, treatments, medicines and vaccines.In response to the commitment made during the Extraordinary G20 Leaders’ Virtual Summit, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as the holder of the G20 Presidency, has pledged US$500 million to relevant international organizations to support global efforts in combatting the COVID-19 pandemic. This pledge will support emergency and preparedness response, developing and deploying new diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines, unmet needs for international surveillance and coordination, and ensuring sufficient supplies of protective equipment for professionals. Saudi Arabia will also allocate US$150 million to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness and Innovation (CEPI), US$150 million to The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations (GAVI), and US$200 million to other international and regional health organizations and programs.Since then, virtual conferences of G-20 officials have been held at regular intervals. The first leaders meeting was immediately followed by virtual meetings of G20 finance and energy ministers. On all such occasions, India has worked closely with Saudi Arabia in its efforts to coordinate a global response to the pandemic.In the 2nd virtual meeting of G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors under Saudi presidency, India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman shared the policy measures undertaken by the Indian Government and Reserve Bank of India. A landmark outcome of the meeting was G20 countries agreeing to suspend debt service payments for the world's poorest countries through the end of the year. According to the Finance Minister of Saudi Arabia, this will free up more than $20 billion for the countries to spend on improving their health systems and fighting the coronavirus pandemic. Mutual learnings will be paramount to help the world overcome the pandemic and Saudi Arabia will continue its efforts to garner more coordinated responses from the world.Recently, Health Ministers of all G20 countries held a virtual meeting to coordinate efforts for combating COVID-19. They emphasized that the people’s health and well-being remain their topmost priority and it is essential to counter to socio-economic impact that COVID-19 might have. Similarly, a meeting was also held between G20 Employment Ministers to address the impact on Labor markets.Needless to say, India is an important asset to the international and regional integrated efforts to deal with coronavirus and minimize its impact on the health of global community. We are working closely with the Indian government in this regard.At home, Saudi Arabia is extending healthcare to its large expatriate community in the Kingdom, which includes around 3 million Indians. The Ministry of Health has issued an awareness guide in several languages, including Arabic, Hindi, Urdu and English among other languages, to raise awareness about the spread of Covid-19. The mass-testing teams consists not only of health practitioners but also translators and the communication with expatriates has been effective. The Kingdom is also providing Coronavirus related medical care free of charge to all residents and expatriates in the country.I would also like to say that Saudi Arabia’s General Directorate of Passports has decided to extend the validity of exit and return visas that expire between February 25 and May 24, 2020, at no charge. The extension will continue for an additional three months for expats. These are some of the measures that we are employing to ensure the health and safety of all.The decision by the Indian government to lift restrictions on some exports of key drugs highlights strong Saudi-India health cooperation. Our cooperation in the health sector is one such example of the strong multi-faceted ties that the two countries share.The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as a major producer of oil is ceaselessly working on stabilizing the global energy markets and the global economy. At OPEC, the Declaration of Cooperation, has been instituted by OPEC and non - OPEC member countries. This aims to achieve and sustain a stable oil market, protect the mutual interest of producing nations, and secure supply to consumers.Oil supply is also a concern for the G20 countries and has been a topic of discussion there as well. The Extraordinary G20 Energy Ministers’ virtual meeting was convened on April 10, 2020 and focused on providing measures to rebalance global oil markets hit by the COVID pandemic. The meeting, chaired by Saudi Arabia, resulted in commitments made by the group to take all the necessary measures to ensure the balance of interests between producers and consumers, the security of energy systems and the uninterrupted flow of energy.A short-term Focus Group, with the task of monitoring the response measures has also been established. The Focus Group is open for all G20 members, on voluntary basis, and will regularly report its assessment during the Saudi G20 Presidency, in collaboration with relevant international organizations, to G20 Energy Ministers.The ceasefire in Yemen is very important for the fight against coronavirus. We welcome the call of the United Nations Secretary General and have been working towards combating the disease in the country. In order to do so, the Kingdom has decided to contribute US $500 million to the United Nations humanitarian response plan for Yemen in 2020. Additionally, another US $25 million will be given to the organization for combating this disease.Saudi Arabia has also pledged its support to WHO. We aredonating US$ 10 million to combat COVID-19 in the Eastern Mediterranean Region and beyond. An additional US$ 10 million is in the process of being donated to provide WHO Yemen with essential equipment and supplies as part of Yemen’s national readiness and response plan.Apart from the above, the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) has deployed various resources to Yemen for preventing the disease. An adhoc committee has been set up to combat COVID 19 in affected countries, the committee meets regularly to discuss how best to extend its support to these countries. At one such virtual meeting, six contracts with private companies to provide medical supplies in Yemen and Palestinewere signed. The KSrelief special committee is currently exploring additional ways to help address the needs required by global health care systems urgently.Additionally, for medical supplies, last month Saudi Arabia helped airlift WHO medical equipment and supplies from WHO’s logistics hub in Dubai to Aden, Yemen. The shipment, which included personal protective items for health workers, laboratory screening tests, trauma medication and other medical supplies, will be distributed to Sana’a and Aden to support readiness for COVID-19To help alleviate hunger during these times, in cooperation with the Charity Coalition for Humanitarian Relief, Saudi Arabia has recently distributed 1200 food baskets weighing about 88 tons in the areas adjacent to Saada governorate of Yemen, benefiting 6,000 people. In addition to the above, teams from KSrelief have been going door to door in several governates in Yemen to build awareness. Apart from COVID-19 efforts, The Kingdom has also embarked on an urgent flood relief campaign in Marib, Yemen as a part of which they distributed 1000 food packets, 2100 blankets, 700 mats, 350 shelter kits and clothing and set up 350 tents. This reached to 2100 beneficiaries. | the kingdom is working with international organizations and members of the G20 to control and reduce the spread of the virus. the first Extraordinary G20 Leaders’ Summit, was held virtually last month. the pledge will support emergency and preparedness response, developing and deploying new diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines. the kingdom is also extending healthcare to its large expatriate community, which includes around 3 million Indians. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/chinas-us-imports-tariff-cuts-propel-japan-shares-to-best-day-in-13-months/articleshow/73980246.cms | Japanese shares posted their biggest one-day gain in more than a year on Thursday as investor sentiment was buoyed after China cut tariffs on some imported goods from the United States, lifting some of the gloom from a fast-spreading virus outbreak.The benchmark Nikkei average jumped 2.4 per cent, its most since late December 2018, to a two-week closing high of 23,873.59.The broader Topix advanced 2.1 per cent to 1,736.98, also marking its best day in 13 months. Turnover on the main board hit 3.05 trillion yen ($27.7 billion), the highest since Dec. 13."Although buying in index futures was the main driver of today's market, more than 3 trillion yen worth of turnover (in cash equities) implies some real buying was also happening," said Takeo Kamai, head of executions services at CLSA in Tokyo."The key here is whether we can clear the iron ceilings -- 24,000 in the Nikkei and 110 yen in the dollar/yen. If we break above those levels, we are likely to see more full-fledged buying from investors."All of the 33 sector subindexes on the Tokyo Stock Exchange were in positive territory, led by cyclical sectors. Insurance , oil and coal products and precision machinery were the top three performing subindexes.Stocks extended earlier gains after China said it will halve tariffs on some US goods from Feb. 14, corresponding with US pledges to cut levies on some Chinese goods after the two sides reached a partial trade deal early last month.The announcement was seen by analysts as a move by Beijing to boost confidence amid the coronavirus outbreak that has disrupted much of its economy and is increasingly rippling through global supply chains."Under the phase 1 deal, China has to meet a tough target to increase US imports by $100 billion this year, so a measure like this was necessary and expected," said Tomo-o Kinoshita, global market strategist at Invesco Asset Management."But at the same time, that they did this now points to their desire to support Chinese companies as the coronavirus epidemic will obviously deal a huge blow to China's growth."China said it hopes to work with the United States to eliminate all tariff increases in future.Overnight, the S&P 500 climbed 1.1 per cent to a record close and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.4 per cent to an all-time peak, while the Dow advanced 1.7 per cent, following an upbeat ADP private sector jobs report and ISM's non-manufacturing index.The greenback hit a two-week high of 109.985 yen, providing a tailwind for Japanese exporters, as a weaker local currency boosts corporate profits when they are repatriated.With the earnings season in full swing in Japan, Toyota Motor Corp rose 2.6 per cent after the country's biggest automaker raised its forecast for annual operating profit by 4.2 per cent, citing favourable currency rates and better-than-expected vehicle sales. Pan Pacific International Holdings Corp soared 17.7 per cent after the discounter Don Quijote's parent raised its operating profit forecast for the year ending June.Z Holdings Corp surged 6.0 per cent after the internet services firm reported a net profit of 75.1 billion yen for the April-December period, up 7 per cent from a year earlier, due to its consolidated subsidiary of ZoZo.Bucking the overall firmness, DeNA Co Ltd dived 9.7 per cent after the mobile partner of Nintendo booked a 49.4 billion yen writedown as its gaming business falters in Japan's saturated mobile market.Although the financial markets found some comfort, traders admitted concerns about the coronavirus outbreak and its broader impact on individual companies and the economy.The death toll in mainland China jumped by 73 to 563 as experts intensified efforts to find a vaccine for the disease that has shut down Chinese cities and forced thousands more into quarantine around the world.Drugmakers and the World Health Organization played down reports about progress towards finding treatments, which had boosted traders' confidence. | the benchmark Nikkei average jumped 2.4 per cent to a two-week closing high of 23,873.59. the broader topix advanced 2.1 per cent to 1,736.98, also marking its best day in 13 months. all of the 33 sector subindexes on the Tokyo Stock Exchange were in positive territory. china said it will halve tariffs on some imported goods from the united states from Feb. 14. | Positive |
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/markets/market-live-sensex-off-opening-lows-midcap-in-green-mm-power-grid-cil-up-2-2578491.html | May 30, 2018 / 03:40 PM IST
:Shares of RPP Infra Projects rose nearly 4 percent as company bagged order from Kerala Infrastructure and Technology.
The company has bagged an order for education infrastructure division (government of Kerala undertaking) worth of Rs 318 million and Central Public Works
Department, Trichy, Tamilnadu worth of Rs 67.9 crore.
The orders include, modernization of schools as centers of excellence and metterment of infrastructure facilities in other schools (Thrissur District) for worth of
Rs 31.8 crore. The said work to be completed within 9 months. | shares of RPP Infra Projects rise nearly 4 percent. company has bagged an order for education infrastructure division worth of Rs 318 million. the said work to be completed within 9 months.. the orders include, modernization of schools as centers of excellence and metterment of infrastructure facilities in other schools. for worth of Rs 31.8 crore. | Positive |
https://www.businesstoday.in/sectors/jobs/tcs-hires-over-20000-employees-in-us-in-last-5-years/story/404822.html | India's largest software services firm Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has hired over 20,000 employees in the US over the last five years, which has reduced its work visa dependency and de-risked business significantly. The Mumbai-based company, in its 2019-20 annual report, said it has accelerated its localisation programmes.
"Our delivery model has evolved over the last few years. Our Location Independent Agile promotes systematic collaboration across distributed teams and reduces the need for co-location.
"This, coupled with greater use of managed services contracting models have given us more flexibility around where our teams are based," TCS Executive Vice President and Global Head - Human Resources Milind Lakkad said.
He said TCS has hired over 20,000 employees in the last five years in the US, making it one of the top job creators in IT services and consulting.
"Every year, we hire hundreds of fresh engineering graduates and train them on new technologies. In FY2020, we hired over 2.5 times our usual fresher intake, and also made the training more account contextual, accelerating their ability to play productive, client-facing roles. For very short-term assignments, we use sub-contractors," he explained.
Lakkad said all these steps have brought down TCS' use of work visas to "a small fraction of what it used to be five years ago, de-risking our business significantly."
Over the past few years, Indian IT firms have significantly increased hiring in the US and other international markets as these countries have taken steps to tighten their work visa regimes.
America accounted for 52.2 per cent of TCS' Rs 1,56,949 crore revenue in 2019-20, while 30.6 per cent revenue came from Europe. India and 'others' geographies contributed 5.7 per cent and 11.5 per cent to the fiscal's revenue, respectively.
Lakkad said virtualisation of many activities with SBWS (Secure Borderless Workspaces) will reduce the need for travel and co-location of employees even further.
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, TCS pivoted to a new operating model called SBWS, using which it has been able to continue supporting customers in their mission critical operations as well as transformational projects.
The company, which employs over 4.48 lakh staff, said SBWS will continue to be an integral part of its new operating model and represents the future of work.
TCS CEO and Managing Director Rajesh Gopinathan, in his message in the annual report, said SBWS helps TCSers enjoy a better quality of life, while making service delivery more resilient as the fully distributed model is better suited for business continuity.
He added that customers are comfortable with this model and want the company to take more work that others are not able to handle.
"This has given us the confidence to come out with a bold new Vision 25x25. We believe that by 2025, only 25 per cent of our associates will need to work out of our facilities at any point of time; and every associate will be able to realize their potential without spending more than 25 per cent of their time in a TCS office," he noted.
It is not just TCS employees who are logging into work digitally now. In view of the COVID-19 pandemic, TCS will hold its annual general meeting (AGM) virtually this year on June 11.
TCS AGMs are held in Mumbai -- which is among the worst coronavirus-affected cities in the country. The annual event sees significant attendance from shareholders to hear management views on business decisions and get insights into the future course for the company.
Also Read: Coronavirus effect: Job searches for remote work jump 377% during February-May
Also Read: Troubled hospitality sector seeks MSME tag for more firms, loan recast to tide over COVID-19 crisis
Also Read: Reliance launches JioMart services in over 200 cities; to take on Amazon, Flipkart | india's largest software services firm has hired over 20,000 employees in the us. this has reduced its work visa dependency and de-risked business significantly. the company employs over 4.48 lakh staff and is one of the top job creators. the company has also accelerated its localisation programmes. the company has also been able to continue supporting customers. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/banking/finance/banking/kotak-mahindra-denies-takeover-talks-with-indusind-but-says-its-open-for-ma-opportunities/articleshow/78874099.cms | Mumbai: Kotak Mahindra Bank on Monday denied takeover talks with IndusInd Bank but said they were open to M&A opportunities. News agency Bloomberg had reported that Kotak Mahindra Bank is exploring a takeover of smaller rival IndusInd Bank to create the nation’s eighth-largest financial firm by assets.“Not saying no to any of those growth avenues but certainly not on this one,” said Jaimin Bhatt, group CFO , Kotak Mahindra Bank. “When we raised capital in the first quarter of this year, we did talk about the fact that we will look at acquisitions , whether it is companies or assets.”The bank which raised more than Rs 7500 crore through a QIP route in May this year said it has enough capital cushion to explore inorganic opportunities.“Right now, that is cushion of capital. We will have to get into, whether it is right opportunities, whether it is growing on the organic track,” Bhatt added. “As we see green-shoots coming in, we will be open to growing advances book also. We have all the building blocks ready to be growing. Having capital is cushion but we will use it judiciously.”Bloomberg had reported that Uday Kotak is exploring an all-stock acquisition and has held initial talks over the proposal in which the founders of IndusInd Bank could retain a stake in the lender after a deal.Private lender IndusInd Bank had denied having any exploratory take-over talks with peer Kotak and said it has unstinted support from its promoters, the Hinduja family.“IndusInd Bank categorically denies any such developments, its malicious and incorrect,” the bank had said in an email response. “The Promoter of IndusInd Bank, IndusInd International Holdings Limited (IIHL), reiterate their full support to the IndusInd Bank , now and always.”Kotak Mahindra Bank on reported a 27% rise in profits to Rs 2184 crore at the end of the September quarter on the back of high returns from its investment book. The bank had reported a profit of Rs 1724 crore same period a year ago.Net Interest Income (NII) - the difference between interest earned and expended grew 17% to Rs 3913 crore versus Rs 3350 crore a year earlier. Net interest margin (NIM) was at a healthy 4.52%.The lender continued with its conservative stance on expanding the book and saw its advances degrow by 4% to Rs 2.04 lakh crore at the end of September as against Rs 2.13 lakh crore last year.“We have chosen market linked growth at this point in time cause earnings growth is important to us, as and when the credit side recovers we will grow in that segment as well,” said Dipak Gupta, joint MD, Kotak Mahindra Bank. “We are seeing a K-shaped recovery while some segments like home loans and agriculture have improved there is still some time for the broader economy to pick up pace.”On the asset quality front the gross non-performing asset ratio was at 2.55% against 2.32% a year ago while the net NPA was at 0.64% versus 0.85%. The lender did not identify any NPAs since August 31, 2020, in line with the interim order of the Supreme Court.Though the bank released proforma NPAs and said that if the order was not implemented the gross NPA would have been 2.70% and NNPA 0.74%. The bank, however, made provision for such advances.“I don’t say it’s hunky dory and things are back to normal, but it’s improving,” Gupta said. “The proforma NPAs give a reasonable picture of the asset quality situation. Still early days for restructuring to pan out, we are seeing some flow on the retail and MSME side but not much from the corporates.”The bank set aside Rs 368 crore for provisions and contingencies in the September quarter, compared to Rs 962 crore in June quarter and Rs 408 crore in the same period last year.COVID related provisions as on September stood at Rs.1,279 crore which was 0.62% of net advances. The lender set aside just Rs 13 crore in the reporting quarter, compared to Rs 616 crore in the previous quarter. | news agency had reported that Kotak is exploring a takeover of smaller rival IndusInd Bank. bank said it has enough capital cushion to explore inorganic opportunities. bank reported a 27% rise in profits to Rs 2184 crore at the end of the September quarter on the back of high returns from its investment book. bank has unstinted support from its promoters, the Hinduja family. | Positive |
https://www.financialexpress.com/money/covid-19-crisis-can-indian-insurers-rise-to-the-occasion/1942983/ | Even as India along with other countries in the world struggle to come out of the Covid-19 pandemic and its aftermath. Non-life insurance companies have an option to turn this crisis into an opportunity and expand their wings across the country. Even now a large Indian population in India does not have any health insurance and this is the right time for the Indian insurers to hit the ground running.
Currently, it is estimated that around 30-35 per cent of the population of India is covered under any health insurance and insurers should aspire to take it up to 50 per cent in this year itself because there is a lot of demand for health insurance from the policyholders. Additionally, things might get difficult once the lock-down 2.0 is lifted, but non-life insurance companies should aim to turn this crisis into an opportunity. In the past few weeks, there has been a surge in demand for health insurance after the breakout of the Novel Coronavirus.
Even the government and regulators have said that companies should provide mandatory medical insurance coverage to workers as part of the National Directives of Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), GOI. Recently Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) said that all industrial and commercial establishments, workplaces, offices, etc. should put in place arrangements for the implementation of Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) before starting their functioning and as per clause no. 5 of Annexure-II of the said SOP for social distancing for offices, workplaces, factories and establishments, medical insurance for the workers to be made mandatory.
“In light of the above, all General and Health Insurance companies may offer comprehensive health insurance policies either to individuals or groups in order to enable the listed organizations to comply with the above-referred directions,” said IRDAI.
The insurers are also advised to devise comprehensive Health insurance products with simple wordings, conditions, and at an affordable cost to be offered to the stated organizations. Organizations should be able to continue the Medical Insurance Policy offered by insurers not only for the present situation but for all time.
In the recent past, we have seen insurers launching a standard health insurance policy called Arogya Sanjeevni with a minimum sum insured of Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh. This move will help to create more awareness about health insurance. Irdai had also asked insurers to launch this policy in order to simplify the wordings of general clauses in the policy contracts and ensure uniformity and greater transparency. This product will encourage people to buy health insurance as this policy is simple to understand.
Many of the insurance companies have been facing severe underwriting losses in the health segment and there are chances there would be some price correction especially in the group health insurance. With over 70 per cent ‘out-of-pocket’ expense burden on the consumers, the market is ripe for health insurance entities including global players to open their shops in India. However, insurers must focus on cost, access, and quality to get successful in this market as there are several challenges in Indian markets.
by, Rakesh Goyal, Director at Probus Insurance | india has a large population of people without health insurance. non-life insurance companies can turn this crisis into an opportunity. there is a surge in demand for health insurance after the breakout of the novel Coronavirus. insurers should aim to take it up to 50 per cent in this year itself. a spokesman for the government says it is not a matter of time before the crisis is over. | Positive |
https://www.businesstoday.in/current/corporate/samsung-profits-rise-23-in-q2-as-work-from-home-takes-centre-stage/story/409132.html | Samsung Electronics Co Ltd said on Tuesday second-quarter operating profit likely rose 23%, beating analysts' estimates on solid chip sales to data centres catering for a work-from-home economy during the coronavirus pandemic. The sales offset weak demand for smartphones and TVs, while one-off gains from its display business, which counts Apple Inc. as a customer, also boosted profits, the company said. It gave no further details.
The world's top memory chip and smartphone maker said operating profit was likely 8.1 trillion won (5.44 billion pounds) in the quarter ended June, far above the 6.4 trillion won analyst forecast by Refinitiv SmartEstimate. It would be the highest quarterly profit since the fourth quarter of 2018.
Revenue likely fell 7% to 52 trillion won from a year earlier, Samsung said. Work-from-home orders and growth in online learning is underpinning chip demand amid the COVID-19 pandemic and pushing up DRAM memory chip prices. U.S. DRAM supplier Micron Technology Inc forecast strong quarterly revenue last month.
"Chip demand was stronger than expected due to the COVID-19," said Park Sung-soon, an analyst at Cape Investment & Securities. Analysts also said the handset and TV business may have fared better than expected due to lower marketing costs and as stores resumed operations worldwide as countries lifted lockdowns.
"The damage from the pandemic was less severe than the market had expected," said CW Chung, Nomura head of research in Korea. Analysts, however, warned that increases in memory chip prices may not continue in the second half of the year as data centre customers are likely to be conservative in stockpiling chips given the resurgence of COVID-19 cases in the United States and other countries
While prices jumped 14% on average in the quarter, they were flat in June versus May, data from DRAMeXchange showed. Shares of Samsung Electronics fell 0.9%, against a 0.4% rise in the wider market. Samsung released only limited data in Tuesday's regulatory filing ahead of the release of its detailed earnings figures later this month.
Also read: How Infosys delinked business growth from resource consumption | second-quarter operating profit likely rose 23%, according to the company. chip sales offset weak demand for smartphones and TVs. one-off gains from its display business, which counts apple as a customer, also boosted profits. work-from-home orders and growth in online learning underpin chip demand. the company's share price fell 0.9%, against a 0.4% rise in the wider market. | Positive |
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/podcast/budget-2020-podcast-lic-disinvestment-a-surprise-move-corporate-india-cheers-for-ddt-scrapping-4887561.html | In this special podcast on Budget 2020, host Shraddha Sharma is in conversation with Moneycontrol's Corporate Bureau Chief Prince Thomas to find out the top announcements for the corporate sector and how it would boost the economy.
Thomas first talks about a surprise move of the partial disinvestment of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) and how it will boost markets.
Next, he discusses how the abolishment of the the dividend distribution tax (DDT) means for India Inc. Speaking about MSMEs and start-ups, he says the Budget announcements will help them raise their turnover threshold over the audit of businesses up to Rs 5 crore.
Tune in to this special Budget 2020 podcast for more. | the corporate sector is set to see a boost in the budget. the partial disinvestment of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) is a surprise move. the dividend distribution tax (dDT) will be abolished. the podcast is a special episode of the moneycontrol podcast. cnn's shraddha Sharma is in conversation with the corporate bureau chief. | Positive |
https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/cement-makers-profitability-may-remain-healthy-next-fiscal-at-20/1888107/ | Cement companies are set to report healthy operating profitability of 20% next fiscal (FY21) on an expected recovery in demand, driven by the infrastructure and affordable housing sectors, stable realisations and benign input prices.
This fiscal, operating profitability is expected to touch a seven-year high of 21%, which translates to a 350-400 basis points on-year surge, said a Crisil note on Tuesday.
Cement prices are expected to remain stable in FY21 after the high volatility seen during this fiscal.
The expected recovery in demand and high utilisation of clinker capacities at 78% — because new capacity additions are skewed towards split grinding units — would restrict any steep decline in cement realisations.
“We foresee input prices also remaining range-bound over the medium term, amid stable coal prices and downward pressure on crude oil and petcoke prices, though there could be short-term volatility,” the note said.
The high profitability this fiscal has been driven by an estimated 5% growth in cement prices and softer input prices. Lower petcoke and coal prices resulted in a 6-7% decline in power and fuel costs. This had largely offset adverse movements in prices of other inputs. This was despite slower demand growth during the fiscal, owing to lower spending by government departments and overall economic slowdown.
“Our analysis of 19 listed cement makers with revenue of over Rs 500 crore (comprising 70% of industry capacity) shows large players are more resilient to demand slowdown as their volume growth is estimated at 2% this fiscal, or higher than the industry average.”
Consequently, credit profiles of large cement makers have witnessed an improvement this fiscal after exhibiting resilience over the past few years despite cost pressures, supply-side challenges and heightened M&A activities due to ample liquidity and sound balance sheets.
Hetal Gandhi, director, Crisil Research, said: “Next fiscal, we anticipate volume growth recovering to 5-6% from 0.5-1% estimated for this fiscal. Demand growth in the infrastructure and affordable housing sectors on a lower base should support volume growth. These two sectors together contribute almost 35-40% of cement demand in India.”
According to Nitesh Jain, director, Crisil Ratings, the credit profiles of cement makers next fiscal should continue to mend. Net debt/Ebitda was set to improve to 1.7 times this fiscal from 2 times in fiscal 2019, and further to 1.6 times next fiscal driven by healthy operating profitability, moderate capex and strengthening balance sheets, said Jain.
The industry’s annual capex is seen at Rs 9,000-11,000 crore in fiscals 2020-2021, in line with the past trend. Release of funds for key infrastructure projects and transmission of interest rate cuts were important to demand recovery and pricing sustenance, the note further said.
According to an analysis of HDFC Securities, north/central/Gujarat markets (NCG) outpaced south/east/Maharashtra (SEM) markets in 2019. As the industry continues to benefit from both higher realisations and operation expenditure moderation, industry’s operation margin has firmed up to its decade high (trailing 12 months basis) of Rs 1,000/MT.
In 2019, NCG exposed companies’ average operation margin surged ahead of SEM companies’ margin by Rs 200/MT as compared to historical declining trend. | this fiscal, operating profitability is expected to touch a seven-year high of 21%. this is a 350-400 basis points on-year surge, according to a Crisil note. 5% growth in cement prices and softer input prices. lower petcoke and coal prices resulted in a 6-7% decline in power and fuel costs. | Positive |
https://www.businesstoday.in/markets/market-perspective/sensex-ends-177-points-higher-nifty-above-10600-sun-pharma-cipla-top-gainers/story/408833.html | Sensex and Nifty extended gains for the third straight session and closed higher on Friday, backed by positive global equities amid healthy macroeconomic data flow and hopes of a COVID-19 vaccine. Tracking gains in index-heavyweights Reliance Industries, HUL and Kotak Bank, Sensex closed 177 points higher at 36,021 and Nifty ended 55 points higher at 10,607.
Yesterday, Sensex gained 429 points to 35,843 and Nifty rose 121 points to 10,551, led by gains in financials and auto stocks. On a weekly basis, both benchmarks gained 2.4% each. Sensex has gained 1,104 points in the last 3 sessions, while Nifty has climbed 305 points.
Bajaj Auto, followed by Asian Paints, Bharti Airtel, HUL, Reliance Industries, HUL and Kotak Bank were among the top gainers in the Sensex pack. On the contrary, Tata Steel, HDFC, M&M and Bajaj Finance were among the laggards. Sectorally, gains in realty, auto, FMCG, IT and pharma were capped by losses in banking, PSU Bank, metal and financials.
Positive news around the development of a potential coronavirus vaccine and not so weak key economic data from US and China also kept momentum positive in equity markets worldwide. However, gains were capped amid rising coronavirus cases across the world that weighed on market sentiments.
Wall Street ended higher yesterday following positive jobs data in the US, registering a record increase in payrolls and a decline in unemployment.
Meanwhile, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Singapore and Seoul were trading with gains. China's June Caixin/IHS Markit services PMI came in at 58.4 Vs 55 (MoM) and new business for China services firms expanded at the fastest pace in 10 years even as employment fell for the 5th straight month.
Over the market's movement, Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services said, "Globally, US monthly employment report and domestically the PMI survey, seemed to indicate that the worst of the lockdown is over. However, any extension or resetting of lockdown measures, due to increasing infections, could negate the gains. Progress of a vaccine trial also added to the optimism. In spite of improving economic data, markets are still largely moving on hope rather than on any real change in the ground realities."
Commenting on Nifty's technical indicators, Rohit Singre, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities said," Index has good resistance near 10700-10800 zone and one can use mentioned levels to book profit on every rise, good support is shifted at 10500-10400 zone so until holding above said levels we may see strength to be there".
On the currency front, Rupee, the local currency opened at a 3-month high of 74.60 per dollar and later closed at 74.64 per dollar as against the earlier closing price of 75.01 per dollar today.
Commenting on rupee's outlook today, Jateen Trivedi, Senior Research Analyst (Commodity & Currency) at LKP Securities said," Rupee ended at over three month high as risk appetite boosted following an upbeat US employment data, while likely overseas inflows into local stocks weigh down spot pair. Rupee has now taken support at 75.50 broadly after yesterday's broad based selling. on upside rupee can test levels of 74.40-74.20".
On rupee's jump to 3- month high at the opening bell, Sugandha Sachdeva VP-Metals, Energy & Currency Research, Religare Broking said,"The bias for the rupee has shifted towards appreciation, given the risk-on environment and significant flows in the market, and as strong data sets from the U.S. have weighed on the dollar. That should lead to the rupee testing levels of 74.30 and 74 eventually, having said that, we believe the RBI will step in at regular intervals, and will not be comfortable to see the rupee appreciate beyond the 73.90 to 74.00 band."
In India, the number of infections inked to Covid-19 disease spiked to 6.25 lakh, while the death toll rose to 18,213. Worldwide registered cases has crossed 1.08 crore figure and the death toll has topped 5.20 lakh.
Stocks in news: Cadila, RIL, Muthoot Finance, Axis Bank, Affle India, HDFC Life
Share Market LIVE: Sensex rises over 200 points, Nifty at 10,625; Sun Pharma, Axis Bank, Cipla top gainers | Sensex and Nifty extend gains for the third straight session. backed by positive macroeconomic data and hopes of a coronavirus vaccine. Sensex gained 429 points to 35,843 and Nifty rose 121 points to 10,551. capped by losses in banking, PSU Bank, metal and financials. bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Singapore and Seoul are trading with gains. | Positive |
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/markets/oil-prices-extend-gains-on-expected-opec-led-production-cuts-3248361.html | Oil prices rose on Tuesday, extending strong gains from the previous day amid expected OPEC-led supply cuts and a mandated reduction in Canadian output.
The 90-day truce in the trade dispute between the United States and China was also still supporting markets, traders said.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $53.20 per barrel at 0006 GMT, up 25 cents, or 0.5 percent, from their last close.
International Brent crude oil futures had yet to trade.
Both crude benchmarks climbed by around 4 percent the previous session after Washington and Beijing agreed a truce in their trade disputes and said they would negotiate for 90 days before taking any further action.
The Middle East dominated Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will on Dec. 6 meet at its headquarters in Vienna, Austria, to agree a joint output policy.
It will also discuss policy with non-OPEC production giant Russia.
"We expect OPEC to follow suit and agree to a production cut in Vienna this coming Thursday," U.S. bank Goldman Sachs said in a note to clients.
"A cut in OPEC and Russia production of 1.3 million barrels per day (bpd) will be required to reverse the ongoing counter-seasonally large increase in inventories," the bank said.
It added that it expected a joint effort by OPEC and Russia to withhold supply to push Brent oil prices "above the mid-$60 per barrel level".
Helping OPEC in its efforts to rein in emerging oversupply was an order on Sunday by the Canadian province of Alberta for producers to scale back output by 325,000 bpd until excess crude in storage is reduced.
OPEC's biggest problem is surging production in the United States, where output has grown by around 2 million bpd in a year to more than 11.5 million bpd .
Britain's Barclays bank pointed out that production in the state of Texas alone "reached 4.69 million bpd in September, compared with Iraqi output of 4.66 million by our estimates".
Iraq is OPEC's second-biggest oil producer, behind only Saudi Arabia. | oil prices rise on a day of expected OPEC-led supply cuts and a mandated reduction in Canadian output. the 90-day truce in the trade dispute between the united states and china is also still supporting markets. both crude benchmarks climbed by around 4 percent the previous session. OPEC will meet in Vienna on dec. 6 to agree a joint output policy. | Positive |
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/trend-continues-mastertrust-launches-zero-commission-platform-to-invest-in-global-stocks-5727421.html | Mastertrust, the diversified financial services conglomerate, on August 19 announced the launch of a platform to enable Indian traders to invest in international stocks. Earlier this week, ICICI Securities and Axis Securities had also announced these offerings for their clients.
The brokerage will offer clients services such as fractional investing wherein one can by less than one share of a global stock.
"The clients are offered fractional investing facility to buy less than one share, enabling the customers to invest as low as $1 for high priced shares such as Amazon, Google, or Berkshire Hathaway," said the company in its statement.
The company offers a simplified remittance process for investors and with no restriction to maintain minimum account balance. Therefore, investors have the leverage to buy and sell at any time, it said.
Mastertrust has partnered with Vested Finance, a California-headquartered US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) registered investment advisor.
"The platform not only offers international exposure to its clients with an opportunity to invest in world's biggest stock market but also enables them to invest in US stocks and ETFs conveniently from India at zero commission," said Mastertrust.
The investors get easy access to diverse asset classes like global stocks, global bonds, REITs, treasury bonds, it added.
"Many Indian investors have a keen interest in international exposure for several benefits. The investment culture needs to be nurtured and developed by offering and helping investors with excellent opportunities and experience. I believe the investment climate in the country will considerably progress with global experience," Puneet Singhania, Director at Master Capital Services said.
On August 18, Axis Securities announced the launch of Global Investing, a smart solution platform for Indian retail investors to help them invest in the US stock market. A day earlier, ICICI Securities joined forces with Interactive Brokers LLC, a US-based online brokerage firm with multi-asset and multi-geography trading capabilities, to offer its customers the ability to invest in the US markets through a complete digital experience from onboarding to trading.
During the lockdown period, there has been a significant increase in demat accounts. Limited to their homes, many people started investing in stock markets to which was trading at multi-year lows in the fall out to COVID-19. It was one of supporting factor for the market rally. | mastertrust launches platform to enable Indian traders to invest in international stocks. the company has partnered with Vested Finance, a US-based investment advisor. ICICI Securities and Axis Securities also announced these offerings for their clients. a day earlier, ICICI Securities joined forces with Interactive Brokers LLC. a day earlier, ICICI Securities joined forces with Interactive Brokers LLC. | Positive |
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/amazon-invests-another-rs-2700-crore-in-indian-marketplace-business-2841001.html | Rank 3 | Amazon | E-commerce company (Image: Amazon)
Global online retailer Amazon invested an additional Rs 2,700 crore in its Indian marketplace business earlier this month, and also invested around Rs 100 crore in its food retail business, according to a report by Mint.
The marketplace arm of Amazon India -- Amazon Seller Services -- received the funds earlier this month, according to regulatory documents filed with the Registrar of Companies sourced by Paper.vc.
The latest capital infusion brings Amazon's total investment in India to roughly $4 billion in the five years.
The retailer had earlier committed to invest at least $5 billion in India, and separately allocated an additional $500 million to build its food retail business in the country.
Also read | Walmart’s acquisition of Flipkart to get government $2 billion: Report
After having achieved its previous target of investing around $2 billion in India, Amazon Inc Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos had said in June 2016 that the company would invest an additional $3 billion in the country.
Amazon has used the previous investments to build massive warehouses, a large logistics unit, and for marketing, offering discounts and increasing product assortment, all aimed at stepping up its battle against Flipkart.
Analysts believe that Amazon and Flipkart are expected to spend hundreds of millions of dollars towards expansion over the next few years, as both companies give more priority to sales growth than cutting losses.
Flipkart is likely to spend as much as $2 billion in cash over the next one and a half years to push its sales growth, following its acquisition by global retail giant Walmart.
Also read | Walmart Flipkart tie-up: Industry consolidation amid a strong growth landscape
According to the report, Amazon India chief Amit Agarwal has repeatedly indicated that the online retailer will invest as much as necessary to conquer the domestic market.
India is one of the most important international markets for Amazon Inc and winning the market share battle here is its topmost priority, especially after it lost out to Alibaba in China.
Amazon, however, may have to keep up its aggressive pace of investments in India in the near term, given that it is up against Flipkart, which is now backed by an equally deep-pocketed Walmart.
In May, Walmart bought 77 percent stake in the Bengaluru-based company for $16 billion. | global online retailer amazon invested an additional Rs 2,700 crore in its Indian marketplace business. the retailer also invested around Rs 100 crore in its food retail business. the latest capital infusion brings Amazon's total investment in india to roughly $4 billion. analysts believe that Amazon and Flipkart are expected to spend hundreds of millions of dollars towards expansion. in may, Walmart bought 77 percent stake in the Bengaluru-based company for $16 billion. | Positive |
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/world/repair-and-prepare-eu-unveils-750-billion-euro-plan-for-coronavirus-recovery-5322921.html | The European Commission unveiled on Wednesday a plan to borrow on the market and then disburse to EU countries 750 billion euros in grants and loans to help them recover from their coronavirus slump, giving an immediate boost to the euro.
Much of the money is to go to Italy and Spain, the worst affected by the pandemic, which together would receive 313 billion euros in grants and loans.
The aim is also to protect the European Union's single market of 450 million people from being splintered by divergent economic growth and wealth levels as the 27-nation bloc emerges from its deepest-ever recession, which is expected this year.
Of the 750 billion euros, two-thirds would be in grants financed by joint borrowing and one-third in loans.
The grants, although controversial, are needed because Italy, Spain, Greece, France and Portugal already have high debt and are heavily reliant on tourism that was brought to a halt the pandemic. They will find it more difficult than more frugal northern nations to restart their economies through borrowing.
COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions View more How does a vaccine work? A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine. How many types of vaccines are there? There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine. What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind? Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time. View more Show
The euro rose on the news to trade at 1.1022 against the dollar, up from 1.0932.
The recovery fund package is in addition to the EU's long-term budget for 2021-27, which the Commission will propose being set at 1.100 trillion euros, is virtually the same as the proposal discussed by leaders in February of 1.095 trillion.
"In total, this European Recovery Plan will put 1.85 trillion euros to help kick-start our economy and ensure Europe bounces forward," the EU executive said in a document titled "Europe's moment: Repair and Prepare for the Next Generation".
CONCERN
The 500 billion euros in grants is in line with the wishes of the EU's two biggest economies - France and Germany - though some nations would rather see the recovery package comprise only loans.
The borrowing will have to be repaid, meaning higher national contributions to the EU budget in the future or new taxes assigned to the EU.
The Commission proposed new revenues in the form of a tax on plastics, some money from the CO2 emissions trading scheme, a digital services tax, a part of national corporate taxes and an import levy on goods produced in countries with lower CO2 emissions standards than the EU.
It also proposed the EU budget should get a bigger share of the Value Added Tax paid by governments to the EU.
Follow our full coverage of the coronavirus pandemic here. | 750 billion euros to be disbursed to countries affected by coronavirus. money will be used to help them recover from their slump in coronavirus. much of the money is to go to Italy and Spain, the worst affected by the pandemic. the 27-nation bloc is expected to emerge from its deepest-ever recession this year. | Positive |
https://www.financialexpress.com/money/sovereign-gold-bond-hurry-up-as-option-to-invest-in-gold-at-a-cheaper-price-ends-today/1989589/ | Even as gold prices are hovering over Rs 48,500 per 10 gram in bullion markets currently, you have a chance to invest in the yellow metal at a cheaper rate of Rs 46,770 per 10 gram (Rs 4,677 per gram) in a secured way through the Sovereign Gold Bond (SGB), the ongoing Series III issue of which is slated to close today (June 12, 2020).
If you invest online in SGB, you will get 10 gram for Rs 46,270 (Rs 4,627 per gram) with no worry of protecting the precious metal. Not only its cheaper, but investing online is much easier than through physical application mode, provided you have a demat account.
While you need to pay for locker and/or take insurance to protect physical gold, your investment through SGB will not only save you the expenses, but also earn you an interest of 2.5 per cent per annum payable half yearly.
Moreover, along with saving on GST and making charges by investing in SGB instead of buying gold jewellery, you won’t have to pay even Capital Gain Tax on maturity.
Unlike chances of impurity in physical gold, SGB provides you investment in per gram gold with 999 purity.
Issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on behalf of the Government of India, SGBs are Government Securities denominated in gram of gold and issued for a maturity period of 8 years. But the Bonds may be redeemed on fifth year onward and may also be used as collateral for loans.
The minimum limit of investment in SGB is equivalent to 1 gram of gold and for individuals, the maximum investment limit is equivalent to 4 kg of gold taking together investments in all the tranches of SGB in a financial year.
While SGB is a very secure way of investment, there may be a risk of capital loss if the price of gold declines at the time of redemption or maturity.
So, if you want to invest in gold at a cheaper rate than the market price and that too in a secured way, you have to do it quickly before the issue closes today. | gold prices hovering over Rs 48,500 per 10 gram in bullion markets. but you can invest in gold at a cheaper rate of Rs 46,770 per 10 gram. investing online is much easier than through physical application mode. you will earn interest of 2.5 per cent per annum payable half yearly. the minimum limit of investment in SGB is equivalent to 1 gram of gold. | Positive |
https://www.livemint.com/market/commodities/how-investors-are-gobbling-up-booming-bitcoin-11606981745210.html | LONDON/HONG KONG : Bitcoin has grabbed headlines this week with its dizzying ascent to an all-time high. Yet, under the radar, a trend has been playing out that could change the face of the cryptocurrency market : a massive flow of coin to North America from East Asia.
Bitcoin, the biggest and original cryptocurrency, soared to a record $19,918 on Tuesday, buoyed by demand from investors who variously view the virtual currency as a "risk-on" asset, a hedge against inflation and a payment method gaining mainstream acceptance.
Also read: Inside India’s Quest to Fix Its Payments Puzzle
But the boom represents a shift in the market, which has typically been dominated by investors in East Asian nations like China, Japan and South Korea since the digital currency was invented by the mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto over a decade ago.
It is North American investors who have been the bigger winners in the 165% rally this year.
Weekly net inflows of bitcoin - a proxy for new buyers - to platforms serving mostly North American users have jumped over 7,000 times this year to over 216,000 bitcoin worth $3.4 billion in mid-November, data compiled for Reuters shows.
East Asian exchanges have lost out.
Those serving investors in the region bled 240,000 bitcoin worth $3.8 billion last month, versus an inflow of 1,460 in January, according to the data from U.S. blockchain researcher Chainalysis.
The change is being driven by an increasing appetite for bitcoin among bigger U.S. investors, according to Reuters interviews with cryptocurrency platforms and investors from the United States and Europe to South Korea, Hong Kong and Japan.
"The sudden influx of institutional interest from the North American region is driving a shift in bitcoin trading, which is rebalancing asset allocations across different exchanges and platforms," said Ciara Sun of Seychelles-based Huobi Global Markets, whose parent company has roots in China and operates in several Asian markets.
'CENTRE OF GRAVITY'
East Asia, North America and Western Europe are the biggest bitcoin hubs, with the first two alone accounting for about half of all transfers, according to Chainalysis, which gathers data by region with tools such as tagging cryptocurrency wallets.
Industry experts caution it is too early to call a fundamental shift in the market, particularly in an unprecedented year of pandemic-induced financial turmoil.
Growing flows to North America this year are not necessarily "an indication that the centre of gravity is tilting towards the U.S.," said James Quinn of Q9 Capital, a Hong Kong cryptocurrency private wealth manager.
Others also point out that cryptocurrency trading is highly opaque compared to traditional assets and patchily regulated, making comprehensive data on the emerging sector rare.
Nonetheless, Chainalysis found North American trading volumes at major exchanges - those with the most blockchain activity - had eclipsed East Asia's this year. This is not unheard of, with North America having moved ahead on occasions in the past, but never by such a large margin.
Volumes at four major North American platforms have doubled this year to reach 1.6 million bitcoin per week at the end of November, while trading at 14 major East Asian exchanges have risen 16% to 1.4 million, according to the data.
By comparison, a year before, East Asia led the way with 1.3 million a week versus North America's 766,000.
U.S. INVESTORS DIVE IN
Those interviewed by Reuters said compliance-wary U.S. investors, many of whom had been deterred by the opaque nature of the market in the past, are being attracted by the tightening oversight of the American crypto industry.
U.S. exchanges are in general more tightly regulated than many of those in East Asia, and there have been several moves by American regulators and law-enforcement agencies this year to clarify how bitcoin is overseen.
A leading banking regulator said in July, for instance, that national banks could provide custody services for cryptocurrencies. The justice department also outlined an enforcement framework for digital coins in October.
"You're increasingly starting to see distinctions in the market between those that have no regulatory or little regulatory clarity, versus those that do," said Curtis Ting of major U.S. exchange Kraken.
"Larger institutions seek the predictability that a regulated venue offers."
Assets under management at New York-based Grayscale, the world's largest digital currency manager, have soared to a record $10.4 billion, up more than 75% from September. Its bitcoin fund is up 85%.
"A lot of U.S. funds are trading with large U.S. counterparties," said Christopher Matta of 3iQ, a Canadian digital asset manager with clients in the United States, citing exchanges such as California's Coinbase that are overseen by New York financial regulators.
"It tells you right there how important the regulatory nature of the space is, and having venues to trade on that are regulated - it's definitely something that institutional investors are thinking about."
RETAIL ARMY STEPS BACK
Another factor behind the 2020 trend, crypto experts said, is a decline of the armies of retail investors in Asia who drove bitcoin's 2017 boom, which pushed it to its previous peak.
In South Korea, strict regulations have been discouraging such investors, according to In Hoh of Korea University's Blockchain Research Institute.
Concerns that major retail exchanges linked to China but headquartered elsewhere could be caught up in a crackdown by Beijing may have pushed down demand, said Leo Weese, co-founder of the Hong Kong Bitcoin Association.
In October, for instance, Malta-headquartered OKEx, which was founded in China, suspended crypto withdrawals for nearly six weeks because an executive was cooperating with an investigation by Chinese law enforcement.
OKEx resumed withdrawals on Nov. 26, and its reserves fully covered deposits so users could withdraw funds with no restrictions, said Lennix Lai, director of financial markets.
While Asia remains a major centre for crypto trading, some exchanges see a more profound shift happening.
"Nowadays, I think the influence is coming from North America," said Yuzo Kano, co-founder of bitFlyer in Tokyo, which runs exchanges in Japan, Europe and the United States.
"There are a lot of funds buying there."
Milestone Alert!Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world 🌏 Click here to know more. | bitcoin soared to a record $19,918 on Tuesday. it is the biggest and original cryptocurrency. the boom represents a shift in the market. east Asian investors have been the biggest winners in the 165% rally. east Asian exchanges have lost out. the change is being driven by an increasing appetite for bitcoin among bigger u.s. investors. | Positive |
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/markets/bjps-return-in-2019-would-set-india-on-a-high-growth-path-for-the-next-decade-2908251.html | Sandip Sabharwal
It is unfortunate but true that the only reasoning that many give for being negative on India is rising crude oil prices. While it is of concern as it impacts both our current account deficit (CAD) as well as inflation trajectory, there are many things working in India’s favour, which cannot be ignored.
Most who are just crude-focussed are missing the big part of the rally. The oil price rally was more drastic during the boom years of 2003-2007. And back then, there was not much of focus on renewables or electric vehicles, which is a reality today.
The price of crude price may rise but its longer-term outlook becomes increasingly negative as it is held up unnaturally. Nevertheless, that is not the India story.
The India story has several other things working for us. It is reflected in the GDP print that was reported on August 31, which came at 8.2 percent, the highest in several years.
While many are still skeptical about the GDP data but we will continue to see an improvement in this over the next several quarters. The economy is like a huge spherical rock, which is difficult to move, but when it catches momentum, it moves very fast and it takes time to slow down. So the economy as large as ours tends to be either in a virtuous cycle or a vicious cycle.
As I write today, it is very clear that the economic juggernaut has turned around and started to accelerate. Low inflation of the last few years combined with improving income to expenditure ratios have led to a revival in consumer demand both at the urban and rural levels.
A good monsoon this year should further add to this.
The impact of Pay Commission hikes is also better seen now. This is reflected not only in the consumption of non-durables but also in higher value durables like cars, bikes, TVs etc.
The increasing occupancy of hotels during the holiday seasons and packed holiday destinations is another factor verifying this sentiment. This should continue going forward.
The government, when it took over, worked on a lot of aspects to improve transparency and this has speeded up project awards in the infrastructure sector.
A huge number of road, railways and urban infrastructure projects have been launched whose implementation has picked up pace now. Infrastructure investments generate a lot of employment and demand for products as well. That is being seen today.
The implementation of many projects will be rapid over the next two years. It is reflected in the guidance of many companies of this segment which are looking to grow 20-40 percent.
Corporate investment demand has still been slack as there was enough spare capacity created in the last boom which is now getting filled. Many capital-good companies are now showing an improved an order book and visibility of growth.
This combined with the turnaround in many commodity industries will be overall positive for corporate sector investment demand. The ability of banks to fund new growth projects was also significantly hampered due to the state of their balance sheets.
Thankfully, now the write-offs have been made to a great extent. In the next 8-10 years, we should see a strong balance sheet from financials as the fear of the past will be over. Hopefully, we will see a permanent change in the way many banks operate.
Despite high inflation, which may cause an uptick in interest rates, the ability of these banks to deliver credit will be stronger.
A clean auction and project award processes combined with the implementation of GST will improve the productivity of the overall economy.
We have already seen efficiency gains play out in the numbers of many consumer companies. As the systems stabilize, we will see these gains flow into the entire economy. These efficiency gains at a time of an improving economy will add to the profitability of companies.
Many other aspects related to financial inclusion, low-cost housing schemes, LPG for all, electricity for all, a low-cost digital economy etc. will also have a positive impact on improving the efficiency of the overall economy.
In this context, when we evaluate the economy beyond 2019, the way we need to look at it is that the good work done cannot be undone very fast.
Undoing the bad of the past has taken 3-4 years and the economy has started improving now. Some reforms are structural in nature: GST, auctions, project award transparency etc.
There will be others which are not structural but will still require 3-4 years to undo. As such, if the same government comes back, we will see continuity and possibly a high growth economy for the next decade or so.
Even if there is a change, economic growth will continue to be strong and corporate sector profitability revival will continue for at least 3-4 years.
Subsequently, depending on the kind of dispensation at the Centre, we could see an end to the cyclical revival.
In conclusion, I believe that we have now entered a high growth phase of the economy, which will continue for a few years. Whether we will have 10-15 years of a high growth economy finally depends on how the political landscape is after the next elections.
Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment expert on moneycontrol.com are his own and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions. | the oil price rally was more drastic during the boom years of 2003-2007. but the india story has several other things working for us. low inflation of the last few years combined with improving income to expenditure ratios have led to a revival in consumer demand. the government has worked on a lot of aspects to improve transparency. the implementation of the idf is also improving. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/ites/tcs-hits-100-billion-market-cap-does-this-mark-a-new-phase-of-growth-for-india-inc/articleshow/63954619.cms | Elevate Your Tech Prowess with High-Value Skill Courses Offering College Course Website MIT MIT Technology Leadership and Innovation Visit Northwestern University Kellogg Post Graduate Certificate in Product Management Visit Indian School of Business ISB Digital Transformation Visit
A record created at the beginning of last week might set the stage for a phase of new growth highs for India Inc.On April 23, the market capitalisation of Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) crossed the $100 billion milestone. It hit a high of $103 billion (Rs 6.8 lakh crore). The shares hit a high of Rs 3,557.00 on the BSE. Though the market capitalisation (m-cap) has slid from the day’s high, it has hovered around that level this week. TCS ’ shares ended at Rs 3,454.80 on April 27, giving it a market capitalisation of $99.27 bn (Rs 6.61 lakh crore, at an exchange rate of Rs 66.62 to a dollar), according to the BSE.This feat has thrown up the question, who is next? The spotlight is on Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank. Reliance Industries had hit a record high on April 27, registering a market cap at Rs 6.3 lakh crore. Next in line are ITC , Maruti Suzuki India and Hindustan Unilever. These companies make up the pack of possible $100 billion entities in India in a few years. TCS is now ranked 104 and Reliance 119 on the global list of companies by market capitalisation. HUL and Maruti are much lower in that order but the companies have been able to grow their market capitalisation at a faster clip over the past few years.Market watchers are now asking if this is the beginning of a new phase of growth for Indian companies, where a bunch of them find mention in the global top 100 companies by m-cap.But experts say crystal-gazing is pointless. The goalposts shift constantly in this game. After all, Reliance did break into the $100 billion club once, on October 18, 2007. That afternoon, 10.57 lakh shares of the company were traded, pushing the stock up by more than Rs 114, to its lifetime high of Rs 2,805. The m-cap hit Rs 4.07 lakh crore. The rupee was at Rs 39.9 to a dollar. It is Rs 66-67 to a dollar today. The timing is right for Reliance to go for a second attempt.Given that a weaker rupee augurs well for TCS, which earns most of its Rs 1,23,100 crore annual revenue through exports, it is likely that the flagship of the Tata group is here to stay in the $100 billion club, or at least in the vicinity of the mark.S Ramadorai, former managing director and vice-chairman of TCS, says any of the top 10 Indian companies by market capitalisation that has an export-oriented business can break into the $100 billion club, provided the rupee depreciates further. Ramadorai, who led TCS between 1996 and 2009 as MD, tells ET Magazine that the key to TCS’ success is the constant focus on technology, people and customer orientation.Ajay Piramal, chairman of Piramal Enterprises and a director of Tata group parent Tata Sons, says: “We applaud TCS on this achievement, which marks a significant milestone for India Inc. Such accomplishments serve to create a ripple effect by infusing a fresh wave of optimism and aspiration among Indian corporates.”MD and CEO of Kotak Mutual Fund Nilesh Shah points out that TCS achieved this growth without raising money from the market after its initial public offering. He identifies rapid growth, consistent and adaptable management and consistent profitability as the three key attributes that can make a company great. “TCS has all three,” he adds.Soon, there will be at least three or four Indian companies in the $100 billion bracket, says Raamdeo Agrawal, joint managing director of Motilal Oswal Financial Services. This achievement has shown the robustness of Indian businesses, he adds.Fund manager Kenneth Andrade also says this is inevitable, if India grows from a $2.2 trillion economy to a $6-7 trillion economy in the next decade. The Indian market has been kept afloat by capital flows for six-seven years. However, it is now entering a phase where corporate profitability will become the main driver. He sees the profitability of the Indian corporate sector doubling in four years. “It cannot happen without a bunch of Indian companies in the top bracket.”Shah of Kotak, however, disagrees with this theory and says only HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries seem poised to enter the $100 billion club anytime soon. First, there is the issue of the moving goalpost, due to the rupee-dollar rate fluctuations. This keeps the $100 billion mark in rupee terms constantly on the move. Second, Shah says, the Indian economy at $2.2 trillion is still small and Indian companies will need to wait for the economy to grow.Keeping the rupee factor aside, there will have to be a constant focus on profitability, along with turnover, to drive the market capitalisation of Indian companies towards $100 billion. Market capitalisation can be a tricky game and is never a flat race, say experts.Take, for instance, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the biggest Indian company by turnover. It often makes the global 500 list of companies by gross sales. Last year, IOC came in at 161. But it is way behind on market cap, with its profit margins being an abysmally low 5%.But public sector undertakings (PSUs) can play the m-cap game too. The year 2011 saw PSUs like Coal India and ONGC topping the Indian market cap league table for brief periods. HDFC Bank, currently at third position with an m-cap of Rs 4.98 lakh crore, had also raced ahead of Reliance for some time in early 2017.Then there is the question of sustainability on companies that show fast growth in m-cap. Hindustan Unilever recorded a 59.9% growth in m-cap in a year to Rs 3.19 lakh crore, and the scrip is currently trading at a price-earnings multiple of 63. Maruti Suzuki, with Rs 3.3 lakh crore in m-cap, has seen its m-cap grow at a staggering 33% compound annual growth rate for three years. But ITC, which is ahead of both these companies at Rs 3.4 lakh crore, has actually seen no growth in m-cap in the past one year. It has registered a CAGR of 6% over the past three years.The banking sector could throw up the next $100 billion company, especially as talks of a merger are abound in the market. Would a merger of HDFC Bank with HDFC or, say, ICICI Bank; or a merger of Kotak Mahindra Bank and Axis Bank fuel a spurt in market capitalisation in the sector? Kotak’s Shah says such mergers are not necessarily m-cap accretive and can reduce valuations too.To enter this higher echelon of the corporate world, says Shankar Sharma, the cofounder and chief strategist at First Global, Indian companies need to become global in their footprint. “Most large Indian companies do not operate in pure-tech space. This is one reason why we don’t have companies with $100 billion m-cap. Old-economy companies have clients across the world but cannot scale up like a tech company.” TCS entering the $100 billion club, says Sharma, is like a batsman hitting a triple century and should be celebrated.Former Tata Sons director R Gopalakrishnan, who was also part of HUL’s top management before moving to the Tata group, says it makes him emotional to see two companies he has been associated with doing well. Taking the cricket analogy further, he adds: “TCS achieving $100 billion is undoubtedly fantastic, but it is like the crowning glory of one innings. Many more innings loom — to be played and to be won in the years ahead by the same batsman. But to use this triple century in one innings to predict more triple centuries by other batsmen is hope and ambition, rather than a likely outcome.”Piramal says TCS has clearly marked out a pathway for others. “This is a brilliant example of how Indian players can create a global impact by leveraging a values-driven culture, robust corporate governance and a strong entrepreneurial spirit to ensure a constant state of transformative growth,” Piramal adds.The biggest of Indian companies will seek their global place when seeking to grow inorganically, says Ramadorai. “I am sure they will rightfully aim for a position on the global scene. Acquisitions are an ongoing process globally, based on merits and synergies, and I am confident that Indian multinational companies will continue to play an active role.”Shah of Kotak Mutual Fund says TCS’s success will surely rub off on brand India. “When a company reaches the $100 billion mark, it starts to create a brand name for itself. The brand value thus created rubs off on the country from which it originates. Brand India stands to gain significantly from TCS’ achievement. Beyond that, employee morale goes up, client opening become easy, growth becomes easier and as a company, you don’t ha ve to hard sell yourself to get clients once you reach that mark. You just have to keep up the quality of your delivery.” | the market capitalisation of Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) crossed the $100 billion milestone. it hit a high of $103 billion (Rs 6.8 lakh crore) the shares hit a high of Rs 3,557.00 on the BSE. the spotlight is on Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank. next in line are ITC, Maruti Suzuki India and Hindustan Unilever. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/blogs/ResponsibleFuture/can-lng-play-a-role-in-indias-path-to-clean-energy/ | Namrata Rana and Utkarsh Majmudar are authors of BALANCE – Responsible business for the digital age. Namrata is Director Strategy and Brand at Futurescape. (@namratarana on Twitter) Utkarsh is a keen observer and chronicler of companies’ business responsibility. He brings together academic rigour and strategic insights for a better world tomorrow. (@utkarshm on Twitter) LESS ... MORE
The link between rising prosperity and increasing climate change is a real one. This is because increasing living standards for expanding populations worldwide means dependence on reliable modern energy for lighting homes, making new things, e-commerce and more, which in turn leads to carbon emissions. By 2040, global GDP will likely double, and world population is expected to reach 9.2 billion people, up from 7.4 billion today. Asia will add the most people with a significant number moving out of poverty and therefore adding to additional energy demand.
India’s growth and energy story is also likely to follow a similar path. The big question is, “How can India grow and at the same time protect the environment?” says Bill Davis CEO South Asia of ExxonMobil. As per ExxonMobil’s own Energy Outlook India’s current energy mix is approximately 46% coal, 23% oil, 1% nuclear energy, 1% wind and solar, 23% other renewables (including traditional bio-mass) and 6% natural gas. India is expected to follow the worldwide trend of increasing energy efficiency and a move towards renewables to help manage emissions. As electricity use rises, the types of fuels used to generate electricity will include growing contributions from wind, solar, and natural gas.”
ExxonMobil forecasts global energy-related CO2 emissions are likely to peak by 2040 at about 10 percent above 2016 levels. Among the most rapidly expanding energy supplies will be electricity from solar and wind together growing about 400 per cent. The combined share of solar and wind to global electricity supplies is likely to triple by 2040, helping the CO2 intensity of delivered electricity to fall more than 30 per cent. What’s worth noting is that the shift in sources of energy is expected to be aided not just by renewables, but also by natural gas. Globally natural gas, which is cleaner than coal or oil, is expected to be used increasingly more than any other energy source, with about half its growth for electricity generation. Natural gas, when it’s cooled to -260°F, condenses and is referred to as liquefied natural gas, or LNG. In the form of LNG, natural gas can be efficiently transported over great distances to places like India, where a significant part of the gas consumption is expected to be imported to supplement limited local production.
Bill believes that to combat climate change, India needs a balanced blend of growth with low emissions. He says, “We look at India and its goal to double GDP and also to drive manufacturing through its “Make in India” program as an opportunity to drive growth through clean energy. We believe that natural gas can be an important part of driving this ambition. Clean energy is the need of the hour for the industry, for transportation for the residential sector and most importantly for the power sector for three main reasons. Firstly, natural gas resources are geographically and geologically diverse, abundant, reliable and versatile in use (power generation; residential, commercial, industrial heating and cooking; and even transportation). That makes natural gas both reliable and scalable. Scalability is key in India — a nation with rapidly rising energy demand. Secondly, as renewable power continues to grow as a source of electricity, natural gas-fired power generation stands out as a strong complement to renewables to ensure a reliable and resilient power grid. This efficient, flexible power source is ready to supplement dips in renewable energy at night and on cloudy and windless days. Thirdly, and most importantly, natural gas emits significantly fewer pollutants than coal power generation, including NOx, SOx, particulates, mercury, and up to 60 percent fewer GHGs.”
Bill says that decision making around energy needs to factor in long term gains which can only be achieved by doing the “hard math”. That means sitting down and counting all things that happen when you choose a particular energy source. It’s not just the cost per unit of energy – it’s about the value created in terms of a cleaner environment, more reliable power, and a strengthened economy. “Because at the end of the day what really matters is how this improves the lives of Indians,” he added. He further adds, “For this to work, it’s going to take a long-term view, investment in infrastructure, regulatory stability and sound policies to get gas to consumers in a cost-effective and timely way. Now is the time for India to shape its own energy and what’s clear is that natural gas can be part of the solution.”
(Based on a conversation with Bill Davis, Chief Executive Officer and Lead Country Manager, South Asia for ExxonMobil Gas India Pvt. Ltd.)
Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Disclaimer Views expressed above are the author's own.
END OF ARTICLE | by 2040, global GDP will likely double, and world population is expected to reach 9.2 billion people, up from 7.4 billion today. Asia will add the most people with a significant number moving out of poverty and adding to additional energy demand. Among the most rapidly expanding energy supplies will be electricity from solar and wind together growing about 400 per cent. globally natural gas, which is cleaner than coal or oil, is expected to be used increasingly more than coal. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/startups/newsbuzz/covid-19-impact-neobanks-like-jupiter-razorpayx-niyo-open-rework-plans/articleshow/76635747.cms | New Delhi | Mumbai: India’s burgeoning neobank sector, an investor favourite, will continue facing challenges in credit business, amid stress in the lending sector as they expect consolidation in the sector, said top industry executives.Neobanks like Jupiter Open are some of the prominent entities among scores of such startups that proliferated over the last two years by forming partnerships with licensed lenders. These players extend an array of digital-only services to consumers and small businesses, in return of commissions.It is to be noted that neobanks are still loosely defined in India, and the scope of regulations governing them is largely a factor of the nature of partnerships they form with the regulated lenders.For example – a neobank partnering with a non-banking finance company (NBFC) to extend loans to borrowers would be guided by the Reserve Bank of India’s norms around lending. Similarly, those providing a wider set of solutions, such as account opening and merchant management, will need further approvals to be an eligible third-party service provider.A digital bank opening accounts on behalf of their partner bank needs the license of an institutional ‘banking correspondent’. Similarly, those managing nodal settlement accounts of merchants must acquire a payment aggregator license.Despite complicated, and somewhat provisional compliance and regulatory rules that govern these entities, they have, over the last two years, been an investor-favourite in India having attracted between $200-$250 million in funding since 2018, according to data gathered from industry sources and business intelligence platform Tracxn, compiled by ET showed.However, the Covid-19 pandemic induced liquidity tightness in India’s non-bank lenders and sluggish economic parameters especially for small businesses, have forced some of these startups to postpone the launch of their credit products.Lending, which is a critical component in their business model – both in terms of operations and revenue – is under stress due to compounding liquidity problems in India’s non-bank sector worsened by the ongoing crisis.“We have gone into a wait-and-watch mode. The initial plan was to launch credit from day one, but now we expect to introduce our credit offerings after another 2-3 months or likely towards the end of second quarter,” Jitendra Gupta, chief executive of Jupiter, told ET.He said they want to analyse more consumer data, particularly on defaults, moratorium, and basis a consumer’s profile before lending. Jupiter counts Sequoia Capital , 3one4 Capital, Matrix Partners , along with a number of high-profile angel investors, among its list of backers, and is among the most well-funded startups in the segment.Just like Jupiter, the likes of Open, have partnered with NBFCs to facilitate their credit programmes. These lenders were already reeling under immense troubles due to defaults by big players like Il&FS and DHFL since late last year.The trend follows that of neobanks facing stress internationally. UK digital bank Revolut, one of the most richly-valued neobanks globally was reported to have laid off staff last month.“We expect at least three to six months for normalcy to return simply because collections are low. Clarity on moratorium is also needed to ascertain. Pause during lockdown was because NBFCs wanted to be sure businesses wouldn’t shut down,” Harshil Mathur, CEO of Bengaluru-based Razorpay, told ET.Razorpay owns and operates RazorpayX, its neobanking unit, which was launched In November 2018, and offers services such as cash flow management, transactions and flexible payouts 24x7 to 7 lakh businesses currently on the platform.In November last year, RazorpayX introduced facilities like current accounts, corporate credit cards for businesses in the capacity.“New disbursements have completely come to a standstill. It is not even 10% of pre-Covid-19 levels. That is a big problem and a large portion of the demand for credit, is coming from consumers, who have lost jobs or have undertaken salary cuts. It’s been a double whammy,” Jupiter’s Gupta said.While the first two months - April and May - of the first quarter of fiscal 2021 are being seen as a complete washout, there are certain green shoots that have emerged over the course of June, even as Asia’s third-largest economy begins opening up gradually and under tight restrictions.“From a business growth perspective, it was pretty low compared to pre-Covid-19 months. Only June, have we seen a recovery, which is almost equivalent to February… In the next ten months we’ll see recovery on the same lines,” Mathur said.Traditional banks, according to the founders, have begun increasingly looking to partner with neobanks, as they look to onboard new customers given social distancing norms are in place making consumers cut down visits to physical branches and ATMs.“We’ve also been parenting with banks, selling our enterprise solution to them, and which has really picked up. The banks have started investing in improving their infrastructures, so that once the market gets back, they can compete with the fin-techs,” Anish Achutan, CEO of Open, said.“In this environment I expect some smaller neo-banks who are perhaps seed funded or have products in the ropes, to be most severely impacted….There could be consolidations among smaller players, and we could see some bigger players who are well-funded or raised capital before the lockdown sensing opportunities for acquisitions in the market,” Navin Surya, chairman, Fintech Convergence Council , said. | Jupiter Open is one of scores of startups that proliferated over last two years. they extend digital-only services to consumers and small businesses. neobanks are still loosely defined in india and scope of regulations governing them is largely a factor of the nature of partnerships they form with the regulated lenders. despite complicated, and provisional compliance and regulatory rules that govern these entities, they have attracted between $200-$250 million in funding since 2018. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/pune-based-value-investor-phalke-says-focus-on-basics-can-make-you-millions/articleshow/65288502.cms |
Pune-based value investor Chetan Phalke seeks to draw a simile between investing and sport, in that one can get better at either only with time.And, he firmly believes that there is no better place than equities to exploit the India growth story.A full-time equity investor, Phalke has a knack for spotting out-of-favour sectors as well as companies that can grow significantly over time. He spotted basmati rice-exporting firm KRBL it had a market capitalisation (m-cap) of just Rs 600-700 crore in 2011-12. By the time he exited the stock in April-May 2018, the m-cap had topped Rs 10,000 crore.Some other big stories that he spotted early over the past few years include Take Solutions, La Opala, Mirza International, Wim Plast, IFB Industries, Cera Sanitaryware and Siyaram Silk Mills.Phalke has a three-point check list for stock picking: the business has to have a substantial revenue base, it must be in a leadership position in its segment and there should be a large undervaluation.“It makes better sense to buy such companies when they are facing temporary problems and are available cheap. These companies can improve profitability by correcting their cost structures and leveraging existing capabilities,” says he.He also keeps hunting companies with suppressed historical return on equity (ROE) and the ones which are in businesses with strong entry barriers.Phalke says investors often tend to overlook these pockets due to unattractive historical ratios, especially return on capital employed (ROCE) or ROE, or capital misallocation mistakes the management would have made in the past,.Return on equity or ROE is a measure of profitability that calculates the profit that a company generates on each rupee of shareholders equity, while RoCE measures a company's profitability on the capital employed or efficiency with which it uses the capital available to it.“We don’t mind compromising on quality, as long as it is built into the price. We like situations where there is uncertainty, but very low risk. Most of the times, we buy out-of-favour companies. We go for a balance sheet that can survive even if things go bad,” Phalke told ETMarkets.com.Phalke says as long as a business is gaining market share, it pays to hold on to the stock.The critical factor here is when to sell. “It is a subjective decision and parameters change with every company,” he says, adding that selling is often also a function of other opportunities available.Sell good to buy better.If you have found something better than what you already hold, it makes sense to switch, says the Pune-based investor.He insists that there is no formula to determine the right price to buy a stock. “In non-linear businesses, you can afford to pay top dollar for a great business franchise, because exponential growth will cover for it. However, it is very important to be price-conscious, and buy stocks at their historical low multiples if you are buying a linear business,” he says.Phalke is the founder and research head of a boutique investment advisory firm Alpha Invesco Research which started in 2009. Alpha Invesco bought only five new stocks over the last three years.His portfolio has generated over 24 per cent return CAGR over last three years and at 35 per cent annualised return since 2009-10.He says he was not comfortable with the valuations in midcaps, a space most investors scour for above-average gains. “We never saw this kind of valuation multiples in smallcap and midcap companies. Hence, we preferred to stay away,” he said.Over the past few months, Phalke has started adding shares of Raymond and Steel Authority of India (SAIL).He says Raymond has a very sticky cash flow coming from its branded textile business and it is building a solid branded retail franchise by using this cash. It is also expanding product portfolio across aspirational categories and is aggressively working on improving distribution platforms.“As our per capita incomes cross $2,000, the consumption theme will play out in a big way over the next few years. And Raymond should be a beneficiary of that. The management has left legacy issues behind and is doing the right things,” he added.Phalke says SAIL is offering comfortable entry valuations and a solid outlook. “The company has just completed its modernisation and expansion programme, where it expanded capacity from 14 MT to 21 MT. Its cost of production is moving down, as the company has invested heavily in upgradation of old facilities. Blended realisations, too, are expected to move up, as incremental production from new blast furnaces is of a much higher quality. The overall product mix is changing in favour of long products, which augur well for SAIL. The workforce has shrunken from 1.3 lakh employees to 76,000 in last decade and will shrink further towards 60,000 in three years. Things are looking up as of now,” he said.Unit-level economics, cash flow generation capability and entry barriers are some of the factors one should look at while zeroing in on a company, says the value investor.While Dalal Street is obsessed with headline numbers, it really gives an edge if there is a clear understanding of unit-level economics, he said.For example, if it’s a tyre company, then an investor should look at costs per tyre and absolute Ebidta per tyre. If it’s a cement company, then look at cost, realisations, and profit per bag, and so on.The ability of a business to generate cash flow is critical, Phalke says. He prefers to stay away from sectors where capacity can be built quickly.“Most of the money is made when there is a combination of earnings growth plus re-rating. It is difficult to have a sustainable re-rating in stocks where there are no entry barriers,” Phalke said.He also screens companies on the basis of other parameters such as sales-to-market-cap and total assets-to-market cap ratios, as he believes they are good indicators to identify pockets of over-optimism and pessimism.During his investing journey, Phalke made many mistakes, such as ignoring business risks, betting on risky balance sheets, ignoring the quality of growth and the common folly of selling early.Without naming the stocks, Phalke said he has invested in a B2B stock in 2011, in which more than 50-60 per cent of the revenue was coming from a single customer. Eventually, the customer walked away over some disputes and the company suffered massive losses. The stock fell more than 70 per cent from his initial purchase price. The damage was controlled due to low allocation.“It shakes you up from within when your stock falls 70-80 per cent. Customer concentration risk was right there in front of my eyes, but I simply failed to recognise it,” Phalke recalls.In 2015, he bought into a diversified engineering company. The revenue was growing, valuations were cheap, the balance sheet was fairly okay and the promoter had a track record of scaling up businesses.However, the cash flows never improved and the working capital cycle kept on expanding. “This experience taught us to pay attention to the quality of growth and quality of the business. These are bigger drivers than cheapness of a stock. After holding it for almost three years, the stock has gone nowhere, and we are trimming down our positions. There was no capital loss, but a huge opportunity cost,” said Phalke.Selling out early has cost him many times. In 2016, he sold off three stocks after staying put for many years, only to see two of them surge over 500 per cent. The third stock fetched over 1,000 per cent in next 24 months.“These were high potential businesses with very high intrinsic values. But these numbers were just not coming and the stock price was going nowhere. When you get too early into a theme, you may get tired and sell out of frustration. After a point, you start tracking quarterly numbers very actively and lose perspective on the big picture. This episode has taught us a very important lesson. Discovery of a high potential stock idea is not everything. One must spend time with the idea, and learn to scale up positions as the business starts performing,” he said.In his early days in market, Phalke was deeply influenced by Peter Lynch’s buy-what-you-see approach. However, that has changed with time. Lynch is one of the most successful and well-known investors globally.“Earlier I used to start with profit & loss account, then move on to the balance-sheet and then cash flow. Now, it is exactly the reverse. I try and link business economics with balance sheet first, and then start looking at the P&L side. The approach has evolved from only quantitative to more qualitative over the years,” said Phalke.Making money in the markets is not easy. Your hypothesis may be right, but timing can go wrong. You may identify the right sector but get into a wrong stock. One must be very conservative and leave some room for error while buying stocks. It is very important to protect capital even if the original investment rationale goes wrong. Survival is the key to success in equity markets. You make money in spurts, so it is very critical to stay in the game.“I would advise investors to avoid group thinking. One must ignore experts who make generalised statements. Recently, we heard of things like RERA will kill 90 per cent of builders, GST will kill unorganised players, oil will go to zero and what not! Don’t believe in everything you read. Do your own work if you want to make big money. Avoid sell side reports if you can. Because everybody has the same data and the Information edge is gone,” said Phalke.As Howard Marks says, “And, who doesn’t know that?” How you evaluate a business is very important than anything else.“We see a lot of chatter around winning stocks and sectors. But portfolio allocation is one of the least discussed topics within the investor community. There is no point if we don’t bet big when the odds are in favour. One must back up the truck and give meaningful allocation to high conviction ideas. A portfolio is not going anywhere when 2 per cent allocation becomes a 10-bagger. In our entire investment career, all we need is 5-7 big movers with sizeable allocations. That’s how networth moves into a different orbit,” said Phalke.Phalke said top 20 per cent of India’s population has 76 per cent of the surplus. The middle 40 per cent has the remaining 24 per cent, while the bottom quartile, which is almost 40 per cent of the population, has 0 surplus.These people were never in the consumption pool. The numbers are not going to change overnight. It will be a slow but directional change. In India, changes tend to be incremental, and not transformational. As investors, there are multiple ways to play this change, Phalke says.Phalke says themes related to food processing and non-PCA PSU banks are looking interesting at the moment. “Farm productivity is going up on the back of mechanisation, usage of better fertilisers and irrigation techniques. Supply of food articles should keep on increasing, which will control food inflation. However, more and more food needs to get processed over a period of time to increase rural incomes. India is not even processing 2 per cent of its farm output. Plays around food processing and related value chain can really grow significantly,” he said.On non-PCA PSU banks, he says they have huge customer bases and presence across India that can be leveraged if they start cross-selling various financial products.“SBI has 27 crore debit cards, Bank Of Baroda has more than 5 crore debit cards! Pre-provisioning operating profits are stable or improving in some cases. Most of the banks have provided adequately over the last three years. Once provisioning peaks out, profit after tax numbers for many of these banks are going to look very different,” he said.Phalke also likes steel sector. Everything is falling in place for steel companies. Demand is going up, supply is tight, and the government is in protection mode. A 90MT market cannot become a 200 MT market by allowing imports in a big way.“Our GDP multiplier for steel has bounced back above 1 for the very first time since 2013 and growth is back to 8-9 per cent. Almost all integrated steel companies have stretched balance sheets. Their priority will be to finish ongoing capex and ramp up their existing unutilised capacities. New capex is unlikely to be announced till FY 20-21. We are looking at a very tight supply side situation for the next 4-5 years. Almost all steel players are going to have brimming capacity utilisations and perhaps a profitable time where they will be able to deleverage and prepare for the next capex cycle,” he added. | he spotted basmati rice-exporting firm KRBL it had a market capitalisation of just Rs 600-700 crore in 2011-12. by the time he exited the stock in April-May 2018, the m-cap had topped Rs 10,000 crore. he also keeps hunting companies with suppressed historical return on equity (ROE) and the ones which are in businesses with strong entry barriers. | Positive |
https://www.financialexpress.com/market/commodities/oil-prices-rise-adding-to-biggest-quarterly-gain-in-10-years/1533895/ | Oil prices rose on Monday, adding to gains in the first quarter when the major benchmarks posted their biggest increases in nearly a decade, as concerns about supplies outweigh fears of a slowing global economy.
Brent crude for June delivery was up by 34 cents, or 0.5 percent, at $67.92 a barrel by 0055 GMT, having risen 27 percent in the first quarter.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures rose 30 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $60.44 barrel, after posting a rise of 32 percent in the January-March period.
U.S. sanctions on Iran and Venezuela along with supply cuts by members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other major producers have helped support prices this year, overshadowing concerns about global growth and the U.S.-China trade war.
Sigal Mandelker, U.S. under-secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, told reporters in Singapore on Friday that the United States had placed further “intense pressure” on Iran.
U.S. officials are keen to ensure see that Malaysia, Singapore and others are fully aware of illicit Iranian oil shipments and the tactics Iran uses to evade sanctions, Mandelker said.
The U.S. has also instructed oil trading houses and refiners to further cut dealings with Venezuela or face sanctions themselves, even if the trades are not prohibited by published U.S. sanctions, three sources familiar with the matter said.
A deal between OPEC and allies such as Russia to cut output by around 1.2 million barrels per day, which officially started in January, has also supported prices.
U.S. production has also steadied since mid-February. The U.S. government reported on Friday that domestic output in the world’s top crude producer edged lower in January to 11.9 million bpd.
U.S. energy firms last week reduced the number of oil rigs operating to the lowest level in nearly a year, cutting the most rigs in a quarter in three years, Baker Hughes energy services firm said.
Hedge funds and other money managers raised their net long U.S. crude futures and options positions to 243,209 in the week to March 26, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said. | crude for June delivery was up by 34 cents, or 0.5 percent, at $67.92 a barrel by 0055 GMT. west Texas Intermediate (wti) futures rose 30 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $60.44 barrel. sanctions on Iran and Venezuela along with supply cuts by members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other major producers have helped support prices this year. | Positive |
http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/6GCtS08jsR3AsTevu2FU2J/Chinas-great-leap-forward-in-science-and-engineering.html | Sixty years ago, Chairman Mao Zedong of China launched his great leap forward, a plan for social and economic transformation that is widely believed to have resulted in the great Chinese famine of the 1950s. Luckily for China, in the intervening years since then, systematic development programmes and diligent execution begun by Deng Xiaoping and continued by subsequent governments have lifted 700 million people out of poverty, brought prosperity to millions of households and put China on an undeniable path to super-power status.
China has now turned its attention to science, engineering (S&E) and innovation in a wide variety of fields like telecommunications, biotechnology, space, quantum computing, artificial intelligence and nano-technology.
In January this year, the National Science Foundation (NSF) in the United States reported that for the first time the number of scientific publications from China in 2016 outnumbered those from the US, 426,000 to 409,000. China’s science establishment is pursuing scientific dominance with steely resolve backed by an impressive war-chest. Annual expenditure on research and development (R&D) in China has risen to $279 billion, second only to the US. It is expected to cross the US in a few years.
Chinese R&D spending today accounts for nearly 21% of the world’s total spending of $2 trillion. This spending grew at a rate of 18% a year between 2010 and 2015, four times faster than the US. The number of Chinese graduates in S&E is now approaching about 400,000 a year, double that of the US.
Starting about 10 years ago, Chinese Universities awarded more PhDs in S&E than the US. Even in the US, nearly 1/3rd of PhDs are awarded to students who have earned their baccalaureate degrees from foreign institutions, particularly from China. A concerted effort through the Thousand Talents plan has lured back hundreds of Chinese scholars from the West with the promise of modern laboratories and the freedom to pursue scientific research.
That explosion in S&E education is translating into demonstrable projects in the applied sciences. The world’s largest genetics research centre is now a Chinese company called BGI in Shenzhen. BGI is the largest customer of Illumina, the incumbent leader in genetic sequencing machines. BGI has set its sights on making the fastest next-generation sequencer in the world in order to meet the Chinese target of sequencing millions of it citizens by 2030. At the other end of the spectrum, the Chinese have launched a mission to the far side of the moon, a feat not achieved by the US or Russia. The two-part Chang’e 4 mission, named after the Chinese moon goddess, will first establish a communication link between earth and the lunar far side and then launch a rover. The scientific pay-off is significant. Stray radio signals from earth are blocked on the far-side allowing a fully shielded view of the radio universe.
The message for India is clear. We must begin a systematic multi-decadal focus on R&D.
First, the facts. According to the National Science Foundation’s report, India spends a meagre $36 billion on R&D. The Indian Economic Survey for 2017-18 concludes that adjusted for its stage of development, India underspends on R&D. Money is, of course, only one part of the equation. The other is the ecosystem and environment that makes for scholarship in basic sciences and the translation of that into the applied sciences. The governmental system for that is fractured by the divide between Universities and Soviet-style science laboratories. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) oversees 38 laboratories in a variety of fields from genomics to leather technology. In addition, a few world-class institutes do exist such as the Tata Institute for Fundamental Research (TIFR), the Indian Institute of Science (IISc.) and the National Center for Biological Sciences (NCBS). In terms of citations, Panjab University, the IITs, TIFR and the CSIR labs lead the pack. In the field of applied science, the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) takes the prize for punching well above its weight. Private sector R&D is focused narrowly in the pharmaceutical, IT and automotive industries. Basic science R&D is not often supported by the private sector.
Starved of funding and an integrated infrastructure for research, India’s universities have become mere degree granting institutions. Hemmed in by bureaucratic pay-scales and career paths, India’s research institutions have transformed scholars into clerks. Despite these constraints, the few institutes that combine education, research facilities, global access and funding like TIFR, IISc, NCBS and the IITs (pay-scales remain a challenge) have managed to produce some world-class scholarship. India’s path forward must anchor itself on these models, attract Indian diaspora PhDs and seek a widened footprint from private sector R&D. As India proceeds towards becoming a middle-income economy it will have little choice but to focus on its own great leap forward in science and engineering.
P.S: “We need a spirit of victory, a spirit that will carry us to our rightful place under the sun, a spirit which can recognize that we, as inheritors of a proud civilization, are entitled to our rightful place on this planet. If that indomitable spirit were to arise, nothing can hold us from achieving our rightful destiny", said C.V. Raman, India’s first Nobel Prize winning scientist.
Narayan Ramachandran is chairman, InKlude Labs. Read his earlier columns at www.livemint.com/avisiblehand
Comments are welcome at [email protected]
Milestone Alert!Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world 🌏 Click here to know more. | china has turned its attention to science, engineering (S&E) and innovation. annual expenditure on research and development (R&D) in china has risen to $279 billion. this spending grew at a rate of 18% a year between 2010 and 2015. the number of Chinese graduates in S&E is now approaching about 400,000 a year, double that of the us. | Positive |
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/saudi-arabia-to-invest-100-billion-in-india-4486531.html | Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, is looking at investing $100 billion in India in areas of petrochemicals, infrastructure and mining among others, considering the country's growth potential.
Saudi Ambassador Dr Saud bin Mohammed Al Sati has said India is an an attractive investment destination for Saudi Arabia and it is eyeing long-term partnerships with New Delhi in key sectors such as oil, gas and mining.
"Saudi Arabia is looking at making investments in India potentially worth $100 billion in the areas of energy, refining, petrochemicals, infrastructure, agriculture, minerals and mining," Al Sati told PTI in an interview.
He said Saudi Arabia's biggest oil giant Aramco's proposed partnership with Reliance Industries Ltd reflected the strategic nature of the growing energy ties between the two countries.
The envoy said investing in India's value chain from oil supply, marketing, refining to petrochemicals and lubricants is a key part of Aramco's global downstream strategy.
"In this backdrop, Saudi Aramco's proposed investments in India's energy sector such as the $44 billion West Coast refinery and petrochemical project in Maharashtra and long term partnership with Reliance represent strategic milestones in our bilateral relationship," he said.
The envoy said the vision 2030 of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will also result in significant expansion of trade and business between India and Saudi Arabia in diverse sectors.
Under vision 2030, Saudi Arabia plans to diversify the Saudi economy while reducing its economic dependence on petroleum products.
Saudi Arabia is a key pillar of India's energy security, being a source of 17 percent or more of crude oil and 32 percent of LPG requirements of India.
The envoy said more than 40 opportunities for joint collaboration and investments across various sectors have been identified between India and Saudi Arabia in 2019, adding the current bilateral trade of $34 billion will undoubtedly continue to increase.
"There is huge untapped potential available in merchandise trade, particularly in non-oil trade and we are enhancing cooperation in economic, commercial, investment, cultural and technological fields," the envoy said.
Asked about Saudi Arabia's plan to issue initial public offering of Aramco's stock, being seen as world's largest IPO, he said it will open up the company to the wider world.
"Consistent with the vision 2030 goals, Saudi Aramco is pursuing new opportunities toward creating a world leading downstream sector in Saudi Arabia," he said.
On future energy ties with India, he said the bilateral energy ties have grown beyond the supply of crude oil, refined products and LPG to a more comprehensive partnership that focuses on investments and joint ventures in petrochemical complexes and cooperation in exploration.
"India's invitation to Saudi Arabia to invest in its strategic petroleum reserve reflects the trust and goodwill the two countries share," he said.
Talking about 'Vision 2030', Al Sati said Saudi Arabia is working towards transforming its economy and looking at a post-oil age of world-class technological research, start-up and entrepreneurial vigour.
"The entire development strategy of the kingdom rests on three pillars - to build a vibrant society, a thriving economy and an ambitious nation," he said.
"The World Bank too has ranked the kingdom as the fourth largest reformer within G20. The number of foreign investment licenses granted in Saudi Arabia in the first quarter of 2018 increased by 130 percent," he said.
The envoy also talked about Saudi Arabia's new residency permit scheme for qualified international expatriates.
"This move is expected to attract leading global innovators and investors to live and work in Saudi Arabia, and help drive the private sector growth needed to realise the goals set out in Saudi Vision 2030," he said.
Asked whether Saudi Arabia will increase oil supply to India to address the shortfall due to curb on import of oil from Iran, the envoy said his country is committed to India's energy security and will meet any shortfall that may arise due to disruptions from other sources.
"As one of the world's leading energy producers, the kingdom will continue working constructively with other producers within and outside OPEC to maintain market stability, thus protecting all the interests of producers and consumers alike," he said.
OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) is a 14-nation powerful bloc of oil producing countries.
Disclaimer: “Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd.” | Saudi ambassador says india is an attractive investment destination for the kingdom. envoy says investment in India is worth $100 billion in areas of energy, refining, petrochemicals, infrastructure. envoy says vision 2030 will result in significant expansion of trade and business between the two countries. he says current bilateral trade of $34 billion will continue to increase. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/wall-street-week-ahead-investors-look-beyond-drug-makers-as-hunt-for-covid-19-treatment-heats-up/articleshow/75913019.cms |
NEW YORK: Investors are diversifying bets in the healthcare sector , as the rush to develop treatments for Covid-19 has driven up prices for some pharmaceutical stocks.A record 48 per cent of fund managers are overweight healthcare stocks, a BofA survey showed, and the S&P 500 healthcare sector is up nearly 34 per cent since its March low. Hopes for a treatment have also sparked outsize rallies in the shares of companies such as Moderna and Inovio Pharmaceutcials, up 253 per cent and 327 per cent since the start of the year, respectively, as of Friday’s close.In recent weeks, news of potential treatments or vaccines to fight the pandemic have occasionally fueled swings in broader markets.Yet some fund managers believe lasting profits may be elusive for vaccine-makers, leading them to seek corners of the healthcare sector that could see longer-term benefits from the fight against coronavirus Large pharmaceutical companies such as Johnson & Johnson and GlaxoSmithKline Plc have said they plan to make any successful vaccine available at cost, though they could reap profits later if a seasonal shot is needed. Multiple treatments could also divide the market between many players, investors said.“There’s the question of ‘Does anyone really make a lot of money on this?,” said Larry Cordisco, co-portfolio manager of the Osterweis Fund.Signs of progress on potential treatments could bolster the case for a quicker economic recovery and further fuel the rally that has boosted the S&P 500 around 30 per cent from its late March lows. In the next two weeks, Gilead Sciences is expected to announce results of clinical studies of its potential coronavirus treatment remdesivir for patients with moderate symptoms of Covid-19. Pfizer has said it expects to release safety data for initial human testing of experimental vaccine by the end of May.Cordisco is looking further afield. One of the companies he owns is medical device maker Danaher Corp, which manufactures a rapid Covid-19 test the FDA approved in March. Its shares are up 3.1 per cent since the start of the year.“If you’re looking for where the profits might be in the chain, it’s somebody like that who is going to benefit. They can cash in the whole way,” Cordisco said.Alessandro Valentini, portfolio manager at Causeway Capital Management, said his firm is looking for value opportunities as the healthcare sector becomes more expensive, trading now at 22.9 times trailing earnings, slightly more than the 21.9 multiple of the S&P 500 index as a whole.He is staying away from potential vaccine producers in favor of companies such as Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd. Japan’s largest pharmaceutical company said this month it could start clinical trials as early as July for a COVID-19 treatment based on antibodies from blood of recovered patients.“This is a company that will be part of the solution and can buy a world class business for a significant discount to what we think the fair value is,” Valentini said. Its shares are down nearly 6.5 per cent for the year to date.Mike Caldwell, a portfolio manager of the Driehaus Event Driven Fund, said his fund is focusing on supply chains of vaccine production rather than the drug companies themselves.He is betting on companies such as Roche Holding and Abbott Laboratories, which have large diagnostics businesses that will likely be a part of any future COVID-19 treatment.He is also bullish on smaller companies such as Luminex Corp, which received an FDA emergency use authorization for its COVID-19 diagnostic test. Shares are up 36 per cent year to date.“With so many players who have meaningful resources, it’s hard to predict what the ultimate market share of any one approach will be,” he said. | record 48% of fund managers are overweight healthcare stocks. stocks such as moderna and inovio Pharmaceutcials are up 32%. investors are seeking corners of the healthcare sector that could see long-term benefits from the fight against coronavirus. a recent survey found that a record 48% of fund managers are overweight healthcare stocks. a record 48% of fund managers are overweight healthcare stocks. | Positive |
https://www.businesstoday.in/impact-feature/corporate/in-the-vanguard-of-a-digital-revolution/story/397123.html | India is at the cusp of becoming one of the leading global economies in the world. The $5 trillion target set by the government for the Indian economy in the medium term is a vision of massive transformation which entails structural changes across the board. This is well reflected in a host of initiatives undertaken in the recent past, which are meant to trigger a paradigm shift in the delivery models of services to citizens and creating an inclusive growth environment. Digitisation, as manifested by flagship programmes like 'Digital India', 'Make in India' and 'Skill India', is the cornerstone of this massive social sector revamp drive.
These initiatives embody the spirit of the new age India, which is keen to embrace technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Data Analytics, Robotics, etc. to give a cutting edge to its social delivery system. In terms of economic benefits, they are meant to pave the way for a leapfrog trajectory for segments like manufacturing where Industry 4.0 regime no longer seems to be a distant reality. The grand vision of Digital India, pursued through multiple yet converging technological programmes, has become an encompassing imperative for all major players resulting in robust public-private partnerships.
With over eight decades of solid foundation in India, Hitachi India is gearing up to seize the burgeoning opportunities of a services-driven, fast-digitalising Indian economy. With experience and expertise of nearly 100 years in Operational Technology (OT) and of around 50 years in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), Hitachi has been partnering India's digital transformation together with multiple stakeholders offering advanced state-of-the-art technological solutions, aiming to achieve last mile delivery of products and services.
"India has been growing at a brisk pace and today it presents an opportunity like never before. Hitachi has been aligning itself with the growth drivers and synergising its solutions with the Government of India to support both physical and digital transformation of the country."
Mr. Bharat Kaushal, Managing Director, Hitachi India
Through Social Innovation Business, Hitachi's connected customer life cycle solutions ensure greater social, environmental and economic sustainability in diverse business domains like mobility, IT, social infrastructure, payment and smart life. These solutions harness Hitachi's core platform technologies including OT (Operational Technology) x IT, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Big Data Analytics. Social Innovation co-creates value through collaboration with stakeholders.
In strategic terms, Hitachi's offerings are targeted to make a holistic difference through its Social, Environmental and Economic values.
Partnering in vital e-Governance schemes
Besides physical infrastructure, the government's vision also entails building a more inclusive society with better governance, schools, banking and insurance facilities. In India, the first wave of technological changes vis-a-vis digitisation has begun showing results in terms of emergence of efficient delivery model of social welfare schemes. Citizens today not only have access to all necessary information through digital means but also readily available platforms to reach out to authorities, interact meaningfully and take an issue to its logical end expeditiously. This has significantly changed various aspects of public life and governance which includes conducting elections and census, computerisation of government offices and activities, digital lockers, e-Education, e-health, e-transportation, tax payments, etc.
Hitachi, through its Social Innovation Business Solution, has actively and intensely been engaged in several areas of e-Governance in India. It is actively partnering in reformative schemes such as 'Make in India' and 'Digital India,' providing technological expertise in areas such as electrification, agriculture, healthcare, etc. Empowered by Hitachi's solutions, government agencies involved in dissemination of the services to the people have successfully modified some of the complex processes like large-scale digitisation of public records for easy access.
Industry 4.0 Drive
Considering the current growth impetus which India is pursuing, there are a host of transformative initiatives which are slated to make India a leading digital economy globally in the not-so-distant future. According to the global think-tank McKinsey, the digital economy will contribute $355-435 billion to the Indian GDP by 2025, from $200 billion or 8% of the GDP in 2017-18. The benefits of digitisation are slated to change the operational regime for most of the vibrant sectors of Indian economy like agriculture, healthcare, logistics, energy, education and financial services.
In a more macro sense, the digitisation drive is also meant to pave the way for Industry 4.0 regime in the country. India is committed to contributing its manufacturing share to the GDP from below 20 percent to around 25 percent in the medium run and that makes the convergence of digitisation and upgradation of industrial processes inevitable. The massive exercise practically means rewriting the rules and changing the functional models forever by harnessing new age technological marvels like Information Technology and Operations Technology, IoT and Big Data analytics. With its vast experience, Hitachi is perfectly placed to become a leading partner in India's Industry 4.0 revolution with its superior offerings aligned with the IoT (Internet of Things) era. In fact, aided by the company's innovative and globally recognised OT (Operational Technology) x IT solutions and data analytics, customers have transited from IoT enabled interactive devices to AI enabled ones. Such a paradigm shift touches lives and equips devices and operations with cognitive functions that are similar to human beings.
Mobility Makeover
Going by an estimate, according to UNFPA, 50 percent of India is expected to reside in urban centers by 2030 and this entails major change in mobility and urban transportation. With these affordable solutions, movement of people between cities and within cities is imperative. The government's vision includes bullet trains, dedicated freight corridors (DFC), high speed train corridors in the Golden Quadrilateral linking Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai, and metro networks within cities with metrolite options for smaller cities.
Hitachi Rail Systems Business Division is fully aligned with the government's vision for India's railways: the world's third largest network. Hitachi's seamless cross-platform solution capabilities are supporting the government in its quest for turning the country's existing urban areas across India into Smart Cities. Hitachi's rail expertise encompasses rolling stock systems to state-of-the-art signaling systems and has developed future-ready railway solutions in multiple countries across the continent. Through its connected customer solutions Hitachi can contribute in enabling seamless integration of high-speed corridors with multi-modal transportation systems in the rapidly growing cities with last mile and first mile connectivity. Creating new benchmarks for India's urban transportation system through Social Innovation Business Solution, Hitachi aspires to Power Good and build a sustainable society.
Revolutionising Digital Transaction
The Indian banking sector has evolved from physical banking to digital anchors in the past two decades. Several factors aided this sea-change improved penetration of ATMs and banking correspondents, rapid digitisation backed by cheap mobile data, growth of payment ecosystem, and government measures such as Aadhaar, Jan Dhan, and DBT. But there is a crucial need to accelerate this story. The next frontier for the digital banking drive entails making the national financial regime inclusive for the next half a billion people. Needless to say, this would be a monumental opportunity for the stakeholders in the fray.
According to a NITI Aayog study (as per PIB, Government of India), the booming digital payment industry is expected to reach $1 trillion by 2023. This is no less than a revolution and Hitachi Payment Services is an intrinsic part of this gigantic churning. Hitachi Payment Services and State Bank of India (SBI) have entered into a joint venture for the establishment of a state-of-the-art digital payment platform for India. The JV will facilitate expansion of the digital payments landscape in India.
Hitachi will continue to invest in developing its capabilities and introducing quintessential technologies, playing a crucial role in India's march towards digital transformation.
Learn More About Hitachi Social Innovation
Know More About Our Solutions in India | india is on track to become one of the leading global economies in the world. the $5 trillion target set by the government for the Indian economy in the medium term is a vision of massive transformation. digital initiatives are the cornerstone of this massive social sector revamp drive. hitachi is gearing up to seize the burgeoning opportunities of a services-driven, fast-digitalising Indian economy. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/sme-sector/omidyar-network-india-announces-rapid-response-funding-for-covid-19/articleshow/74789991.cms | Rs. 7.5 crores ($1million) in aggregate under this initiative
Proposals in the range of Rs.5 lakh to Rs. 2 crore
Data, apps and other technological solutions (for example, real-time information apps, 'symptom checkers', vernacular 'helpline' chat bots, contact tracing applications, case reporting systems, etc.)
Community outreach and mobilisation campaigns that may be particularly relevant to the current situation (for example, innovative approaches to mass messaging and feedback loops)
Proposals that seek to improve economic resilience of NHB workers and small businesseswhose livelihoods are impacted due to Covid-19
Actionable research that enhances the ability of the government and public in dealing with the crisis (for example, enabling 'social distancing' in the Indian context).
Collaborative efforts by foundations, philanthropies, impact investing and venture capital firms in the above areas
Priority will be given to the following types of proposals:
Scalable solutions that leverage technology
Time-bound interventions that can be implemented quickly and benefit a large number of Indians, especially the lower 60% of India's income distribution
Solutions that have initial traction (this could be evidenced through, for example, government/community commitment to adopt the solution, completed pilots, available co-funding, etc.)
NGOs, research organisations, social entrepreneurs, and for-profit businesses seeking to do this on a no-profit basis.
The existing partner organisations are encouraged to apply
MUMBAI: Omidyar Network India has announced a call for proposals for rapid response funding to tackle the challenges posed by the Covid-19 situation and the consequent socio-economic impact. They have committed Rs. 7.5 crore ($1 million) to this initiative.In a statement the company said, "We recognise that the slowdown will most impact the vulnerable sections of our population and small businesses . Vendors, daily wage earners, the gig-economy workers will also feel the economic pressure. We are therefore announcing a rapid response window to fund proposals that support the lower 60% of India's income distribution in managing and mitigating the challenges that come with Covid-19."They are inviting proposals that strengthen containment, detection and treatment, support crisis management capabilities, and enhance resilience and recovery in the wake of Covid-19.An indicative list of the types of initiatives that will be considered: | MUMBAI: Omidyar Network India has announced a call for proposals for rapid response funding to tackle the challenges posed by the Covid-19 situation. they are inviting proposals that strengthen containment, detection and treatment, support crisis management capabilities, and enhance resilience and recovery. the company has committed Rs. 7.5 crore ($1 million) to this initiative. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/expert-view/gdp-growth-rate-to-decide-if-we-get-50-60-return-or-80-90-in-next-5-years-sunil-singhania/articleshow/69785697.cms | Unlock Leadership Excellence with a Range of CXO Courses Offering College Course Website IIM Lucknow IIML Chief Operations Officer Programme Visit IIM Lucknow IIML Chief Executive Officer Programme Visit IIM Lucknow IIML Chief Marketing Officer Programme Visit
If you go back to three blocks of five years each over the last 15 years, Indian markets have more or less given around 50% to 60% absolute over each five-year block and that is predominantly mimicking the GDP growth in rupee terms, says, Founder,, in an interview with ETNOW. Look for good quality consumer stocks in small and midcaps, says Singhania.Edited excerpts:Over the last 18 months, markets have found new reasons to get nervous. The general election was a big event and the mandate has been much better than what the market expected. Global investors are looking at India as one of the very few economies to have political as well as economic stability over the next five years. That is what the elections have done to the markets. There are newer challenges which we will discuss whenever we want to, but the big event is behind us now. ET Now : What you are saying is that the world is uncertain. There is a global macro risk and a political risk. But in India, the macros are stable and the political environment is stable. If you are a rating agency, would you say India is AAA and the world is BBB?Sunil Singhania: The Europe region, particularly because of Brexit related likely changes in the UK leadership, is uncertain. US goes into election in 2020 and political parties and politicians globally obviously are the same. The first priority for any politician is to win the elections and I am very sure that for Trump also, it would not be any different and there will be a war of rhetorics over the next one year - be it trade war or some announcements about China, India, Mexico and so on.China continues to be a black box. India stands out as one block where for five years we have a mandate and in terms of economic policies, we can only improve from here. That really stands out. I do not know whether it will be AAA versus BBB, but at least on the policy and the political fronts, this kind of stability attracts foreign investors. It is also reflected in some of the other macro indicators. For example, the currency which had touched 74 is back to below 70. G-Sec yields which in the very recent past hit a high of 8.25%, came down to below 7%.We have already had three rate cuts and maybe a few more would ensure liquidity is coming back on the broader level. There is a crisis of confidence largely because of some groups and some NBFCs facing issues but generally, liquidity is coming back. On top level macros, India clearly stands out and that is a big positive from a global investor’s perspective.The good thing about this time is that post elections we have not had 20% circuit up and 30% rise in the market over a one-month period. We have been doing well but one -year returns for Indian markets have been 5-6%. I would say the markets have not taken the mandate in a euphoric manner. You talked about the last five years. If you go back to three blocks of five years each over the last 15 years, Indian markets have more or less given around 50% to 60% absolute over each five-year block and that is predominantly mimicking the GDP growth in rupee terms.On a broader basis, it is a very fair estimate for any investor to work with that if the GDP grows 60% in rupee terms between 2019 to 2024 , then the markets should logically give that kind of returns in largecaps. Obviously, there will be some alpha to be made.In terms of the last five years also, the first two-three years of the government was a very difficult period because our fiscal deficit was very high. We were coming out of the shock of oil having hit over $100 and that burden had to be borne. There were two path-breaking reforms. We will not go into whether they were positive or not, but demonetisation and GDP which caused disruption between 12 and 18 months also had impact. It is only in the last one year that a lot of spending on infrastructure has started and hopefully in the next five years, the government would complete the unfinished agenda.For the next five years at least, I am an optimist. It is going to be much more transformative in terms of focus on growth than the first five years.That is what investors should be looking at. If the GDP is going to go from $2.5 trillion to $6-7 trillion, that wealth will be created over the next 10 years. That is the advice we always give to the investors, particularly the retail investors who get a little bit nervous with all what is happening. However, whether this GDP is 7% or 8%, is going to determine whether you end up making 50-60% return in the five-year blocks or 80-90%.Yes and to be fair, over the last two-three years, we had a slowdown on the industrial side. It was consumption which kept the economy going. Obviously over the last two-three months, the slowdown in particular is a cause of worry and it has to be tracked.Car sales is one indicator but the Maruti chairman had come and said that this is a phenomena which is always there during election time. So let us see how June sales pan out. There was a slowdown in terms of other consumption items as well. However, I was speaking to a couple of companies last week towards the late week and the indication which we were getting is that March and April were really challenging.In May, there has been some revival and the first ten days of June have again seen some revival. I would say that we should not take this slowdown as a trend. We are a growing and young economy. 65% of our population is below 35 years of age. The standard of living is improving. This segment is definitely going to grow and that is going to kick the economy alive. There was also a little bit of slowdown, particularly in the vehicle sales -- be it commercial or passenger -- because of some issues with NBFCs. Hopefully that will get resolved. We are quite optimistic that in the runup to the festive season and hopefully with normal monsoon, this would be a near-term speed breaker rather than a trend.I believe that a lot of consumption stocks are still trading at a significant premium to their fair value, particularly on the staple side. Consumer staples, where the volume growth is not going to be more than 4-5%, at least I am not in the camp which will give 60-70 PE multiples. However, on the other hand, there are consumption stocks which are on the discretionary side and where once the economy starts to grow at a rapid pace, the growth rates can be significant.There is value and stocks with Rs 5,000, 7,000 and 3,000 crore market caps, which people are ignoring. are some consumption names. These are decent companies where there can be value. I would say that even within consumption basket, focus is on consumer discretionary.The consumer staples are still expensive and even within the consumer discretionaries, if you can find good brands in small or the midcap category, which right now are being ignored, but where a lot of money is going to be made because if Starbucks can have 10,000 outlets and McDonald’s can have thousands of outlets in the US, a lot of businesses in India can also have multiple opportunities to grow. | India is one of the few economies to have political as well as economic stability over the next five years. global investors are looking at india as one of the very few economies to have political as well as economic stability over the next five years. the currency which had touched 74 is back to below 70. 'the market has found new reasons to get nervous. the general election was a big event and the mandate has been much better than what the market expected' | Positive |
https://www.financialexpress.com/economy/services-pmi-returns-to-growth-in-june-records-sharpest-expansion-in-a-year/1230765/ | Following a marginal contraction in May, the services sector returned to growth during June and registered the fastest rate of expansion in a year, supported by robust increase in new business orders, said a monthly survey. The seasonally adjusted Nikkei India Services Business Activity Index rose from 49.6 in May to 52.6, registering the fastest growth since June 2017. In PMI parlance, a print above 50 means expansion, while a score below that denotes contraction.
“The service economy returned to expansion territory in June. Encouragingly, the latest performance was the strongest seen in a year, against a backdrop of improving demand conditions,” said Aashna Dodhia, Economist at IHS Markit, and author of the report. Reflecting improved demand conditions, jobs growth picked up from May’s five-month low.
“In response to an improvement in demand conditions, service providers raised their staffing levels at a faster pace than in the previous survey period,” Dodhia said. On the price front, input cost inflation remained solid overall, however, services providers were unable to fully pass on higher input costs to price-sensitive consumers. “Overall input costs rose at the strongest rate since July 2014, and amid a weak rupee and higher oil prices, inflation may remain elevated,” Dodhia said, adding that given these circumstances, the chances of further monetary policy tightening have heightened.
In June, the Reserve Bank of India had upped its retail inflation projection by 0.30 per cent and kept the policy stance in the neutral zone, even as it hiked the key rate by 0.25 per cent to 6.25 per cent. Meanwhile, the seasonally adjusted Nikkei India Composite PMI Output Index, that maps both the manufacturing and the services industry, rose from 50.4 in May to 53.3 in June. The latest reading is the strongest since October 2016, indicative of a solid rate of expansion.
“The PMI data signalled the best improvement in the overall health of the economy since October 2016, propelled by solid growth in both the manufacturing and service economies,” Dodhia said. | the seasonally adjusted Nikkei India Services Business Activity Index rose from 49.6 in may to 52.6, registering the fastest growth since June 2017. a print above 50 means expansion, while a score below that denotes contraction. the latest performance was the strongest seen in a year, against a backdrop of improving demand conditions. input cost inflation remained solid overall, however, services providers were unable to fully pass on higher input costs to price-sensitive consumers. | Positive |
https://www.financialexpress.com/economy/50-days-of-modi-2-0-govt-presents-report-card-says-walking-the-talk-on-promises/1652056/ | Presenting a report card after completing 50 days in office, the Modi government on Monday said it is already “walking the talk” on the promise of rapid development and the pace of reform in its second term has increased as compared with the previous tenure. Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar presented the the report card and achievements of the government, asserting that “speed, skill and scale” have been manifested in the first 50 days of its second term.
He said that the government has hit the ground running for the welfare of all sections of the society, including farmers, traders, small businesses, unemployed youth and middle class.
Javadekar said the country has felt assured that the pace of reforms, welfare and justice to all has increased as compared to the first term.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was sworn-in on May 30 after the BJP won 303 seats — the first time since 1971 that an incumbent government returned to power with such a thumping mandate.
The target of USD 5 trillion economy is not just a dream but a roadmap has been given for it, Javadekar told reporters.
He asserted that the first 50 days have shown that Modi government’s second term will be more effective and will build on the success of its previous tenure.
The government has taken historic decisions which shows a clear roadmap of faster development in infrastructure, social justice and education, he said.
Javadekar expressed confidence over the successful launch of Chandrayaan-2 and added that India’s manned mission to space, Gaganyaan, will be launched in 2022.
The prime minister’s presence on world forum has made a difference to India’s influence over world politics, the minister said.
“With Rs 100 lakh crore of investment to be made in roads, railways, ports, airports and other infrastructure, the formation of Jal Shakti ministry, the mission to reach out to every house by 2024 with assured water supply, we are walking the talk with speed and many historical decisions,” he said.
Citing the setting up of a national research foundation, giving labour, particularly unorganised labour, and small and medium-sized enterprises required help for flourishing, he said these efforts will not only increase the employment opportunities, but also ensure justice and welfare for all sections of the society.
He also expressed confidence that the government will achieve its dream of becoming a USD 5 trillion economy in the period in which it has decided to achieve the target.
In the coming five years, new investment opportunities will be provided, Javadekar said.
“Investment will come from across globe. In 50 days so much has been done for all sections of the society that people are assured of what Modi had said after assuming power that ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas, aur sabka vishvas’ (with all, development for all, with everyone’s trust) and fast-paced development,” he said.
“People have seen action on this vision. Speed, skill and scale have been manifested in the 50 days. Farmers, soldiers, youth, labourers, middle class, traders, taking India forward, taking India’s relations with neighbours forward, investment, development of resources, fight against corruption and social justice, have been the highlights of 50 days,” he said.
Listing the achievements of the government in the first 50 days in office, Javadekar said important developments were Rs 6,000 assistance to all farmers, increase in Minimum Support Price of several crops by two-three times, and 10,000 farmers organizations being formed.
He said changes in labour code will benefit 40 crore informal sector workers through wage and labour security.
The minister also highlighted steps taken to boost investment in the country such as Rs 70,000 crore provided for Public Sector Banks (PSB) recapitalisation and a separate TV channel for start-ups to be launched.
He also underlined the success of steps taken by the government in reducing the impact of separatists in Jammu & Kashmir.
The prime minister’s first decision after assuming office for the second term was for children of slain military and police personnel, giving scholarship to them.
Among other achievements of the government, he cited pension for traders, tax benefit for the middle class, and benefits of home loans interest and the GST.
The minister said there is a massive push in the direction of making India a 5 trillion economy, with several measures announced in the budget from assistance to banks to corporate tax benefits.
Javadekar also highlighted government’s crackdown on economic offenders and efforts to bring back those who are wanted, but have fled the country. He also talked about the government bringing a bill to crackdown on ponzi schemes.
The resolve of reform, welfare and justice for all has been the driving force for the government, he said. Javadekar also talked about the decisiveness of government in safeguarding children against sexual crimes through amendments to POCSO Act. He hailed the steps taken to reform medical education in the country. | the government has hit the ground running for the welfare of all sections of the society. the government has taken historic decisions which shows a roadmap of faster development. the government has also set up a national research foundation. a manned mission to space, gaganyaan, will be launched in 2022. the prime minister was sworn-in on may 30 after the BJP won 303 seats. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/ites/tcs-hits-100-billion-market-cap-does-this-mark-a-new-phase-of-growth-for-india-inc/articleshow/63954619.cms | Elevate Your Tech Prowess with High-Value Skill Courses Offering College Course Website MIT MIT Technology Leadership and Innovation Visit Northwestern University Kellogg Post Graduate Certificate in Product Management Visit Indian School of Business ISB Digital Transformation Visit
A record created at the beginning of last week might set the stage for a phase of new growth highs for India Inc.On April 23, the market capitalisation of Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) crossed the $100 billion milestone. It hit a high of $103 billion (Rs 6.8 lakh crore). The shares hit a high of Rs 3,557.00 on the BSE. Though the market capitalisation (m-cap) has slid from the day’s high, it has hovered around that level this week. TCS ’ shares ended at Rs 3,454.80 on April 27, giving it a market capitalisation of $99.27 bn (Rs 6.61 lakh crore, at an exchange rate of Rs 66.62 to a dollar), according to the BSE.This feat has thrown up the question, who is next? The spotlight is on Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank. Reliance Industries had hit a record high on April 27, registering a market cap at Rs 6.3 lakh crore. Next in line are ITC , Maruti Suzuki India and Hindustan Unilever. These companies make up the pack of possible $100 billion entities in India in a few years. TCS is now ranked 104 and Reliance 119 on the global list of companies by market capitalisation. HUL and Maruti are much lower in that order but the companies have been able to grow their market capitalisation at a faster clip over the past few years.Market watchers are now asking if this is the beginning of a new phase of growth for Indian companies, where a bunch of them find mention in the global top 100 companies by m-cap.But experts say crystal-gazing is pointless. The goalposts shift constantly in this game. After all, Reliance did break into the $100 billion club once, on October 18, 2007. That afternoon, 10.57 lakh shares of the company were traded, pushing the stock up by more than Rs 114, to its lifetime high of Rs 2,805. The m-cap hit Rs 4.07 lakh crore. The rupee was at Rs 39.9 to a dollar. It is Rs 66-67 to a dollar today. The timing is right for Reliance to go for a second attempt.Given that a weaker rupee augurs well for TCS, which earns most of its Rs 1,23,100 crore annual revenue through exports, it is likely that the flagship of the Tata group is here to stay in the $100 billion club, or at least in the vicinity of the mark.S Ramadorai, former managing director and vice-chairman of TCS, says any of the top 10 Indian companies by market capitalisation that has an export-oriented business can break into the $100 billion club, provided the rupee depreciates further. Ramadorai, who led TCS between 1996 and 2009 as MD, tells ET Magazine that the key to TCS’ success is the constant focus on technology, people and customer orientation.Ajay Piramal, chairman of Piramal Enterprises and a director of Tata group parent Tata Sons, says: “We applaud TCS on this achievement, which marks a significant milestone for India Inc. Such accomplishments serve to create a ripple effect by infusing a fresh wave of optimism and aspiration among Indian corporates.”MD and CEO of Kotak Mutual Fund Nilesh Shah points out that TCS achieved this growth without raising money from the market after its initial public offering. He identifies rapid growth, consistent and adaptable management and consistent profitability as the three key attributes that can make a company great. “TCS has all three,” he adds.Soon, there will be at least three or four Indian companies in the $100 billion bracket, says Raamdeo Agrawal, joint managing director of Motilal Oswal Financial Services. This achievement has shown the robustness of Indian businesses, he adds.Fund manager Kenneth Andrade also says this is inevitable, if India grows from a $2.2 trillion economy to a $6-7 trillion economy in the next decade. The Indian market has been kept afloat by capital flows for six-seven years. However, it is now entering a phase where corporate profitability will become the main driver. He sees the profitability of the Indian corporate sector doubling in four years. “It cannot happen without a bunch of Indian companies in the top bracket.”Shah of Kotak, however, disagrees with this theory and says only HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries seem poised to enter the $100 billion club anytime soon. First, there is the issue of the moving goalpost, due to the rupee-dollar rate fluctuations. This keeps the $100 billion mark in rupee terms constantly on the move. Second, Shah says, the Indian economy at $2.2 trillion is still small and Indian companies will need to wait for the economy to grow.Keeping the rupee factor aside, there will have to be a constant focus on profitability, along with turnover, to drive the market capitalisation of Indian companies towards $100 billion. Market capitalisation can be a tricky game and is never a flat race, say experts.Take, for instance, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the biggest Indian company by turnover. It often makes the global 500 list of companies by gross sales. Last year, IOC came in at 161. But it is way behind on market cap, with its profit margins being an abysmally low 5%.But public sector undertakings (PSUs) can play the m-cap game too. The year 2011 saw PSUs like Coal India and ONGC topping the Indian market cap league table for brief periods. HDFC Bank, currently at third position with an m-cap of Rs 4.98 lakh crore, had also raced ahead of Reliance for some time in early 2017.Then there is the question of sustainability on companies that show fast growth in m-cap. Hindustan Unilever recorded a 59.9% growth in m-cap in a year to Rs 3.19 lakh crore, and the scrip is currently trading at a price-earnings multiple of 63. Maruti Suzuki, with Rs 3.3 lakh crore in m-cap, has seen its m-cap grow at a staggering 33% compound annual growth rate for three years. But ITC, which is ahead of both these companies at Rs 3.4 lakh crore, has actually seen no growth in m-cap in the past one year. It has registered a CAGR of 6% over the past three years.The banking sector could throw up the next $100 billion company, especially as talks of a merger are abound in the market. Would a merger of HDFC Bank with HDFC or, say, ICICI Bank; or a merger of Kotak Mahindra Bank and Axis Bank fuel a spurt in market capitalisation in the sector? Kotak’s Shah says such mergers are not necessarily m-cap accretive and can reduce valuations too.To enter this higher echelon of the corporate world, says Shankar Sharma, the cofounder and chief strategist at First Global, Indian companies need to become global in their footprint. “Most large Indian companies do not operate in pure-tech space. This is one reason why we don’t have companies with $100 billion m-cap. Old-economy companies have clients across the world but cannot scale up like a tech company.” TCS entering the $100 billion club, says Sharma, is like a batsman hitting a triple century and should be celebrated.Former Tata Sons director R Gopalakrishnan, who was also part of HUL’s top management before moving to the Tata group, says it makes him emotional to see two companies he has been associated with doing well. Taking the cricket analogy further, he adds: “TCS achieving $100 billion is undoubtedly fantastic, but it is like the crowning glory of one innings. Many more innings loom — to be played and to be won in the years ahead by the same batsman. But to use this triple century in one innings to predict more triple centuries by other batsmen is hope and ambition, rather than a likely outcome.”Piramal says TCS has clearly marked out a pathway for others. “This is a brilliant example of how Indian players can create a global impact by leveraging a values-driven culture, robust corporate governance and a strong entrepreneurial spirit to ensure a constant state of transformative growth,” Piramal adds.The biggest of Indian companies will seek their global place when seeking to grow inorganically, says Ramadorai. “I am sure they will rightfully aim for a position on the global scene. Acquisitions are an ongoing process globally, based on merits and synergies, and I am confident that Indian multinational companies will continue to play an active role.”Shah of Kotak Mutual Fund says TCS’s success will surely rub off on brand India. “When a company reaches the $100 billion mark, it starts to create a brand name for itself. The brand value thus created rubs off on the country from which it originates. Brand India stands to gain significantly from TCS’ achievement. Beyond that, employee morale goes up, client opening become easy, growth becomes easier and as a company, you don’t ha ve to hard sell yourself to get clients once you reach that mark. You just have to keep up the quality of your delivery.” | the market capitalisation of Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) crossed the $100 billion milestone. it hit a high of $103 billion (Rs 6.8 lakh crore) the shares hit a high of Rs 3,557.00 on the BSE. the spotlight is on Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank. next in line are ITC, Maruti Suzuki India and Hindustan Unilever. | Positive |
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/msme-day-2020-a-look-at-government-initiatives-to-spur-the-sectors-growth-5451111.html | Representative image
The importance of MSMEs in India's economy is immense and the sector is one of the biggest job creators in the country.
There are 68 lakh registered MSMEs, as per numbers available on the Make in India website. Of these, there are 6,032,100 micro units, 28,611 medium units and 728,516 small units.
Also Read: MSME Day | With right policies, 2021 can see an MSME boom in India
Among states, Maharashtra has the highest number of registered MSMEs with 1,104,189 units, followed by Bihar (829,694), Tamil Nadu (791,288), Uttar Pradesh (706,342) and Madhya Pradesh (645,077).
Driving its Make in India goal, the Centre has announced measures to attract more FDI in the space. The government has also announced various schemes to support the sector, as the country now battles the coronavirus pandemic, as part of the stimulus package announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in May 2020, besides a host of measures .
Here's a look at initiatives taken by the government to boost the MSME sector:
> Definition of MSMEs: The Centre has expanded the definition of who qualifies as an MSME. This will benefit both the manufacturing and service sides. Now enterprises with investment up to Rs 1 crore and turnover of up to Rs 5 crore are defined as micro units; while those with investment of up to Rs 10 crore and turnover of up to Rs 50 crore will be small units; and enterprises with investment up to Rs 20 crore and turnover of Rs 100 crore will be defined as medium units.
> Collateral-free loans: Collateral free bank loans worth Rs 3 lakh crore have been announced for MSMEs with turnover of Rs 100 crore. The scheme is available till October 31, 2020 and will benefit up to 4.5 million units.
> Subordinate debt provision: A provision of Rs 2,000 crore subordinate debt has been arranged for stressed MSMEs: Will benefit close to 200,000 eligible units
> Equity infusion: Equity infusion of Rs 5,000 crore through a special fund has been made for MSMEs with viable operations but needing support due to the coronavirus pandemic.
> Fund of funds: Corpus of Rs 1,000 crore has been set aside in a fund of funds to assist capacity expansion of MSME units wanting to be listed on the exchanges.
> Global tenders blocked: Global tenders for projects worth up to Rs 20 crore have been disallowed. This will give smaller, local players the opportunity to bid for government projects.
> Online support: The government has also assured that in lieu of cancelled trade fairs, the Centre will set up online market linkages to facilitate exchange between MSMEs and potential opportunities.
> Subsidies: 50 percent subsidy on patent registration to encourage innovation and research and development among MSMEs; concessions on power utility bills, industrial promotion subsidy availability, protection against delayed payments, exemption of 1 percent on interest rate on overdrafts and reimbursement of ISO certification charges.
Sectors likely to see increased MSME participation:
> Telecommunications: Incentivised domestic manufacturing of low-cost mobile phones, telecom equipment, and value added services will likely push MSME participation in the sector. Given the current border tensions with China and the government looking to curb dependence on Chinese companies, products and imports the sector may receive increased boost.
> Healthcare: India has quickly enhanced its capacities for manufacturing of personal protective equipment (PPEs), face masks and testing kits as COVID-19 battered global supply chains and health necessities created demand for healthcare solutions.
Manufacturing of low cost medical devices such as ventilators and low cost healthcare in general is set to boost MSME participation in the sector. In the post COVID-19 world, telemedicine, mobile diagnostics labs would also create avenues.
> Electronics: The Centre is keen on encouraging low cost and locally manufactured consumer electronics and consumer durables, especially for ‘strategic’ requirements for security forces.
> Information technology, pharmaceuticals, gems and jewellery, renewables, automobiles, textile, and food and agricultural sectors will also provide good opportunity.
Click here for our complete coverage of MSME day | there are 68 lakh registered MSMEs in india, according to make in india. of these, there are 6,032,100 micro units, 28,611 medium units and 728,516 small units. the government has also announced various schemes to support the sector. the government is also launching a'make in india' campaign to attract more FDI. | Positive |
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/sbi-to-link-home-loans-to-repo-rate-from-july-4075191.html | live bse live
nse live Volume Todays L/H More ×
After linking its short-term loans and large savings deposits rates to the repo rate, the largest lender State Bank on Friday said it will introduce repo-linked home loans from July.
The lender has also reduced interest rate on cash credit account (CC) and overdraft (OD) customers with limits above Rs 1 lakh, after the RBI reduced the repo rate by 25 basis points on Thursday.
"We will introduce repo-linked home loans from July 1," SBI said in a late evening statement.
The monetary policy committee had unanimously decided to reduced repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.75 percent in the second bi-monthly policy Thursday, taking it down to a nine- year low, citing sagging growth and to cushion the rising headwinds to the economy.
It was the third consecutive repo rate cut by RBI, with cumulative reduction of 75 basis points in 2019, so far.
"The benefit of reduction in the repo rate by 25 bps has been passed in its entirety to our CC/OD customers (limits above Rs 1 lakh), with effect from July 1," SBI said.
The effective repo-linked lending rate (RLLR) for CC/ OD customers is 8 percent now, it said, while for savings deposits above Rs 1 lakh the new rate would be 3 percent.
In March, the bank had linked all CC accounts and ODs with limits above Rs 1 lakh to the repo rate plus a spread of 2.25 percent. For above Rs 1 lakh, it had set its savings deposit rates to 2.75 percent below the repo rate. | the lender has also reduced interest rate on cash credit account (CC) and overdraft (OD) customers. RBI had reduced the repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.75 percent. it was the third consecutive repo rate cut by RBI. the effective repo-linked lending rate for CC/ OD customers is 8 percent now. a monetary policy committee had unanimously decided to reduce the repo rate. | Positive |
https://www.businesstoday.in/markets/stocks/sensex-nifty-rally-mid-cap-stocks-small-cap-stocks-reliance-industries-hdfc-hdfc-bank/story/391209.html | The current market rally has left market watchers and economists astounded. While the economy is on a downslide, Sensex and Nifty have been hitting all-time highs almost on a daily basis since mid-September. Sensex hit a fresh all-time high of 41,163 today rising 143 points compared to the previous close of 41,020. Nifty too clocked a record high of 12,157, gaining 57 points against the previous close of 12,100. The market rally started after FM Nirmala Sitharaman announced reduction in corporate tax rate to 22% per cent from 30% on September 20 this year.
With the announcement bringing tax relief for India Inc, Sensex closed 1,921 points or 5.32% higher at 38,014 and Nifty ended 5.32% or 569 points higher at 11,274 that day. Intra-day, Sensex surged 2,285 points to 38,378 against previous close of 36,093 points. Nifty too zoomed 677 points to 11,381 against previous close of 10,704. Since then, the benchmark indices have been testing fresh highs. While Sensex has gained 5,037 points, Nifty has added 1,447 points taking into account today's close.
Of 30 Sensex components, 12 stocks alone have contributed to over 88% of the gains during the period. Shares of HDFC, HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries, Kotak Mahindra Bank, IndusInd bank, ICICI Bank, Maruti Suzuki, SBI, Bharti Airtel , HUL, Bajaj Finance and Bajaj Auto have fuelled the rally in benchmark indices. Of 5,037 points gain on Sensex since September 20, these 12 stocks have added 4,437 points, translating into 88.10% contribution to the mega market rally on the key index.
Infographic: Don't let Sensex fool you
So what explains such huge rally in Sensex?
With the economy reeling under a slowdown in last one year, investors have been looking to park their money in safe havens. Sensex and Nifty stocks which represent companies with healthy balance sheets and strong business models have become ideal destinations for their funds.
Another factor for the shining performance of a majority of large-caps stocks can be understood from the reduction in the number of players in sectors such as aviation, media, non-banking finance and telecom. As a result, the surviving players have received huge rewards from the market for their robust business models and steady growth rates.
Amid the ongoing NBFC crisis, Bajaj Finance has appeared unscathed. The leading NBFC firm logged a 63.11 per cent year-on-year (YoY) rise in net profit at Rs 1,506.29 crore for the quarter ended September 2019 compared to net profit of Rs 923.47 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. Total revenue from operations rose 47.95 per cent YoY to Rs 6,322.55 crore during the quarter under review. Subsequently, its stock has risen 70.13% during the last one year.
Also read: RIL becomes first Indian firm to hit Rs 10 lakh cr market cap, share price hits all-time high
Similarly, with other players facing tough time in the telecom sector, Bharti Airtel stock has gained 51.26% during the last one year. Its one-year gain surpasses 49.83% rise seen by the stock in last three years.
However, when we dig deeper, we find that the rally is not broad-based.
Mid cap and small cap indices are yet to join the party. From 12,703 on September 20, the BSE small cap index has gained 794 points to 13,497. In comparison, Sensex has risen over 5,000 points indicating huge investor interest in large cap stocks. The gains in the BSE mid cap index are also small when compared with rally in Sensex. The index managed to rise 1,775 points to 15,060 from the September 20 level of 13,285.
Midcap and small cap stocks have been reeling under big losses during last two years. In fact, BSE Midcap index has lost 12.40% during the period. The small cap index is down 26% in last two years.
Of late, mid cap and small cap stocks have seen a mild recovery from their two-year losses. While BSE small cap index has gained 6.70% in last three months, BSE mid cap index has risen 10.60% during the period.
With Union Budget 2020 just two months away, the market might eye fresh highs from the current levels. The true growth potential of the stock market can be realised only when mid caps and small caps complete their recovery cycle and contribute to the rally in the broader market.
By Aseem Thapliyal | Sensex and Nifty have been hitting all-time highs almost daily since mid-September. rally started after government announced tax cut on corporates. 12 stocks alone have contributed to over 88% of the gains. Sensex and Nifty are both gaining ground in the market. a majority of investors are looking to invest in safe havens. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/startups/newsbuzz/house-panel-for-abolition-of-ltcg-tax-on-investments-in-startups/articleshow/78127758.cms | A Parliamentary panel has batted for the abolition of long-term capital gains (LTCG) tax for all investments in startups which are made through collective investment vehicles such as angel funds, alternate investment funds and investment Limited Liability Partnerships.The former minister of state for finance Jayant Sinha headed Standing Committee on Finance in its report tabled on Tuesday said the tax should be removed at least for the next two years to encourage investments amid the pandemic.It also recommended that the exemption for income on investments made before March 31, 2024, subject to the investment being held for a period of at least 36 months as incentivised in the Finance Act, 2020, should be provided to long-term and patient capital invested across all sectors.Noting that businesses are stressed for liquidity and valuations of businesses have softened due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it also said the pricing guidelines prescribed under the various laws and regulations by SEBI , Income Tax Act, Companies Act, FEMA should be made more consistent to provide a certain, coherent and simple framework for facilitating large-scale investments in India."The Committee would like to strongly recommend that tax on Long Term Capital Gains be abolished for all investments in startup companies (as designated by DPIIT) which are made through collective investment vehicles (CIVs) such as angel funds, AIFs, and investment LLPs," the committee said in its report "Financing The Startup Ecosystem".India's startup sector welcome the recommendation of abolishing long term capital gains (LTCG) in startup investments. Industry leaders said that the move would open the floodgates for Rupee (domestic) capital to flow into the sector, which has been sorely lacking."These reforms would open the floodgates of domestic capital going into start-ups like never before, as long as the eligibility criteria of the tax benefits is not too narrow, enabling the widest set of startup investors and companies to benefit for a long enough period of time," said Kunal Bhal, cofounder and CEO at Snapdeal.Others pointed out that removing LTCG or bringing it at par with taxation of gains made through listed securities on the secondary market, has been one of the most long standing asks of the industry."The Parliamentary Panel has given voice to a longstanding ask of the Indian startup ecosystem. Investments into startups are in the form of primary investments into the company, which in turn generates new assets, economic growth and jobs. These measures, if adopted, will help accelerate the Indian startup ecosystem and allow them to meet the PM's goal of startups contributing 20% of India $5 trillion GDP by 2025," said Siddarth Pai, founding partner at 3one4 Capital & co-chair Regulatory Affairs Committee at IVCA.The panel recommended that after this two year period, the Securities Transaction Tax (STT) may be applied to CIVs so that revenue neutrality is maintained.Investments by CIVs are transparently done and have to be done at fair market value, the Standing Committee said, adding that it is easy to calculate the STT associated with these investments."This can be done in lieu of imposing LTCG on these CIVs and to make the taxation system fairer, less cumbersome, and transparent. This will also ensure that investments in unlisted securities are on par with investments in listed securities," it said.At present, LTCG earned by foreign investors in private companies attracts taxation at concessional rate of 10%, in comparison to the domestic VC/PE investments being taxed at 20% (for LTCG) with an enhanced surcharge of 37%. The panel also proposed that the sectors in which Foreign Venture Capital Investor (FVCIs) are allowed to invest should be expanded to include all sectors where Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is permitted, as this route provides a flexible investment framework and hence will be able to attract significant capital in the economy."There is now a need to allow issuance of hybrid securities, which bear characteristics of both debt and equity under the FDI route, at least for a limited period to enhance the fund-raising capabilities of the companies to raise capital at commercially suitable terms in this difficult time," it said.The committee also recommended that the exemption for income on investments made before March 31, 2024, subject to the investment being held for a period of at least 36 months as incentivised in the Finance Act, 2020, should be provided to long-term and patient capital invested across all sectors.It also said that there is a need for AIFs to be allowed to be listed on capital markets, thereby creating permanent source of capital for the startup ecosystem besides creating more domestic Development Financial Institutions (DFIs) on the lines of International Finance Corporation (IFC) and The German Investment and Development Company (DEG).The committee said that India needs to reduce the startups' dependence on foreign funds as capital going into India's unicorns comes mainly from foreign sources such as the US and China. Currently more than 80% of capital going into India's unicorns comes from foreign sources. China has investment of over Rs 30,000 crore in India's growth companies and currently invested in 18 of 30 unicorns.It said India needs to become self-reliant by having several large domestic growth funds powered by domestic capital to support India's unicorns and suggested that Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) Fund-of-Funds vehicle should be expanded and fully operationalised/utilised to play an anchor investment role.The panel said domestic risk capital should not be punished at any level while observing that the current tax disparity was proving advantageous to foreign capital through low tax jurisdictions and low taxes for fund management services.As per the panel, such a move will establish a level playing field for domestic investments in comparison to foreign investments and domestic listed in comparison to unlisted securities.The committee recommended that CIV capital gains should always be taxed at the same rate as listed securities to encourage domestic investments in unlisted debt and equity securities.As per the report, large financial institutions in India should be encouraged to channelise a proportion of their investible surplus into domestic to bring in "much-needed" additional domestic capital for startup investments.The panel suggested that Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority and National Pension Scheme be encouraged to invite bids from professional fund managers for running a fund-of-funds programme on which SIDBI would be eligible to participate while major banks should join hands to float a fund-of-funds.For insurance companies (both life and non-life), it said, they must be given latitude to invest in fund-of-funds by IRDAI as well as directly in VC/PE funds along with a higher exposure cap and that investments by insurance companies in AIFs must be carved out under a separate category while calculating the applicable exposure limits and not clubbed with other investments under 'unapproved investments'.Foreign Development Finance Institutions may also be encouraged to participate with local asset management companies to set up fund-of-funds structure or direct VC/PE funds, particularly in social impact, healthcare and venture/startup sectors. | a panel has batted for the abolition of long-term capital gains (LTCG) tax. the tax should be removed at least for the next two years. industry leaders say the move would open the floodgates of domestic capital. the panel's report is a long standing ask of the Indian startup ecosystem. a spokesman for the panel says the panel is "deeply concerned" | Positive |
https://www.financialexpress.com/economy/economic-boom-in-india-coming-soon-massive-number-of-consumers-eligible-for-credit-heres-what-it-means/1175548/ | Signalling that a major economic boom in India may be in the offing, a latest study estimates that nearly 150 million consumers who are currently not ‘credit active’ are potentially eligible to become retail credit borrowers. Tapping into this untapped huge potential borrower market could provide significant growth opportunities for retail lenders and provide a major boost to the Indian economy, a TransUnion CIBIL study said.
According to the report, the total population of credit-eligible consumers in India is roughly 220 million, out of which only about one-third—72 million—are currently ‘credit-active’, or have a live account with a bank or lending institution. The remaining population, a whopping 150 million are not currently credit active, but would meet the age and income requirements that would make them potentially attractive to lenders, said the report. Notably, this group includes two set of consumers, the first, who were previously credit active but are currently dormant, and second, those who have never availed a retail loan or credit card.
Watch video: An economic boom just around the corner? What credit data shows
The retail lending market could see a major boom with the addition of these incremental growth opportunities for credit products such as credit cards, personal loans and consumer durable loans, the report noted.
“After significant growth in retail lending over the past decade, many lenders and industry observers have asked whether the retail credit market is nearing the saturation point and could soon face a slowdown. Our study paints a much brighter picture for the industry,” Yogendra Singh, Vice President of Research and Consulting for TransUnion CIBIL said. According to the expert, this untapped market presents an opportunity for sustained, prudent growth for lenders over the next five years and beyond. “Lenders need to find ways to reach this untapped market, which likely has credit needs that are not being met currently,” he observed.
The TransUnion CIBIL study calculated that approximately 220 million consumers meet the target age range—from 20 to 69—and minimum income level, which is assumed as at least Rs 250,000 per year, to be attractive to lenders for retail credit products. “This addressable market size is forecast to continue to grow at a rapid pace, as more consumers enter the target age range and economic growth raises income levels.
The study forecasts that the addressable market will increase by 14-16 million consumers per year, reaching an estimated 295 million by the end of 2022,” the report said. According to Singh, as more consumers reach adult age and have disposable income, they will increasingly seek credit to help finance purchases of housing, vehicles, and household goods. “As well, in an increasingly digital marketplace, they will want credit cards to help facilitate online transactions. These developments bode well for continued robust growth in the retail lending market,” continued Singh.
Apart from a robust economic boom due to potential eligible borrowers, the study finds that household debt levels in India as a percentage of national income are modest in comparison to other emerging countries such as China, Brazil and South Africa. If India follows the growth trajectories of other countries, total household debt could increase from Rs 37 trillion at the end of 2017 to between Rs 78 – 94 trillion by the end of 2022, noted the report. This supports the conclusion that Indian households will have additional borrowing capacity and could continue to finance growing consumption levels. | 150 million consumers who are not currently credit active are potentially eligible to become retail credit borrowers. the remaining population, a whopping 150 million are not currently credit active, but would meet age and income requirements. the retail lending market could see a major boom with the addition of these incremental growth opportunities for credit products. approximately 220 million consumers meet the target age range—from 20 to 69—and minimum income level, which is assumed as at least Rs 250,000 per year. | Positive |
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/cryptocurrency/bitcoin-jumps-to-record-28600-as-2020-rally-reaches-new-heights-6286841.html | Bitcoin on Wednesday jumped to a record $28,599.99, after the digital currency almost quadrupled in value this year amid heightened interest from bigger investors.
The world's most popular cryptocurrency was last up 2.3 percent at $28,012.
It has surged by nearly half since breaking $20,000 for the first time on December 16.
Bitcoin has increasingly seen demand from larger US investors in particular, attracted by its perceived inflation-hedging qualities and potential for quick gains, as well as expectations it would become a mainstream payments method.
Investors said limited supply of bitcoin - produced by so-called "mining" computers that validate blocks of transactions by competing to solve mathematical puzzles - has helped power upward moves over recent days.
Many recent entrants to the market are holding onto positions, they said.
"The supply side to the bitcoin market will remain tight," said Jacob Skaaning of crypto hedge fund ARK36.
The latest gains took bitcoin's market capitalisation past $518 billion, according to industry website CoinMarketCap.
Other major cryptocurrencies, which tend to move in tandem with bitcoin, were flat. Ethereum, the second biggest, was down 0.4 percent, on track for a 2020 gain of around 465 percent. | the world's most popular cryptocurrency was last up 2.3 percent at $28,012. it has surged by nearly half since breaking $20,000 for the first time on dec 16. bitcoin has increasingly seen demand from larger US investors in particular. investors said limited supply of bitcoin has helped power upward moves. bitcoin's market capitalisation has passed $518 billion, according to industry website. | Positive |
https://www.businesstoday.in/technology/disney+-india-launch-date-is-march-29-hotstar-to-be-rebranded-as-disney+-hotstar/story/395502.html | Disney+, the high-stakes streaming service from Disney, is set to arrive in India ahead of the IPL 2020 season. The company has announced it will add the Disney+ content to Hotstar, which is one of India's most popular streaming services, also owned by Disney. Hotstar will bring the entire catalogue of Disney+ to India on March 29, including the content from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Disney, Pixar, National Geographic, and the hit franchise Star Wars. The upcoming series from the Marvel Studios - The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, WandaVision, and Loki, scheduled to be released later this year on Disney+, will also be available on Hotstar in India.
Bob Iger, chief executive of Disney, said the Disney+ will launch in India on the day the IPL tournament starts this year, which is March 29. He termed India as one of the "most populous countries and fastest-growing economies in the world" in his announcement delivered at the company's earnings call on Tuesday. He also revealed that Disney+ now has 28.6 million subscribers, a milestone achievement for the company within three months. Disney+ takes on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV+ in global markets as media consumption via online streaming surges.
The Disney+ catalogue will be provided via the premium tier subscription, which will be rebranded from the current naming of 'Hotstar Premium' to 'Disney+ Hotstar'. The other premium subscription, called the 'Hotstar VIP' will also be rebranded.
As of now, the pricing of the subscriptions for Disney+ on Hotstar has not been announced. Since Disney Plus Hotstar will be the one to feature the Disney+ content and Hotstar Original programming, we can expect a revision to the tune of Rs 999 per year, which is the current annual charge for the subscription. Hotstar VIP, on the other hand, costs Rs 365 yearly. The Hotstar app is also likely to undergo changes to make it similar to the global Disney+ app.
Hotstar's surge as a streaming service
Hotstar, owned by Star India (a Walt Disney subsidiary) and developer by Novi Digital Entertainment, was launched in India in 2014. Within a couple of months, Hotstar peaked the streaming statistics in the world, thanks to concurrent streams for cricket live matches in India. In 2019, the streaming platform had over 100 million daily active users, in addition to 300 million monthly active users. It is also the country's biggest streaming platform for most cricket formats.
Apart from the sports content, the app has a wide catalogue of daily shows from the channels owned by Star India, such as Star Plus, Star Jalsha, Star Vijay, National Geographic, and more. It also features channels from partners. | Disney+ will launch in india on the day of the IPL 2020 season. the streaming service is owned by star india and is one of india's most popular. the company has announced it will add the Disney+ content to hotstar. the streaming service is expected to be rebranded to make it more similar to the global service. the company has 28.6 million subscribers, a milestone achievement for the company. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/expert-view/rural-india-will-revive-a-bit-better-than-urban-markets-nestle-cmd/articleshow/76091159.cms | Unlock Leadership Excellence with a Range of CXO Courses Offering College Course Website Indian School of Business ISB Chief Digital Officer Visit IIM Kozhikode IIMK Chief Product Officer Programme Visit Indian School of Business ISB Chief Technology Officer Visit
I believe in front foot batting. I do not believe in getting on the back foot at the time of the crisis, says Suresh Narayanan , Chairman & MD, Nestle India I always believe that the blessings of our consumers, the hard work of our employees, our partners and stakeholders is keeping us going and keeping us inspired. In these times of difficulty, we continue to be inspired by the people around us. The last time I spoke to ET Now was just after the lockdown, the situation was a lot more chaotic in some sense. We are now in much calmer waters. I am happy to inform you that all our eight factories, more than 70-75 per cent of the capacities, are operational.Many of our suppliers are MSMEs and I had hoped that we would be able to keep them all afloat. I am happy to inform you that all our suppliers by and large have started up. We have helped them to start up as well in terms of permissions, training on sanitation, on safety, on social distancing. We play a role not just as a large company but in a sense we are like a banyan tree and we need to ensure that everyone who is working with us is also suitably empowered and suitably trained for this situationSo the supply lines are far improved, almost 90% to 95% our distributors are back to work. Almost 85% to 90% of our frontline sales force which is our distributor sales people, loaders, merchandisers, etc, are also back to work, albeit in a restricted format in some of the places but they are back to work.All our distribution centres are also operational and we have almost 1500 to 2000 people each day who come into these distribution centres nationally and they are carrying on the task of feeding our distributors and also receiving the stocks from our factories.It has been a long tough arduous road. We want to thank all the authorities at the state level for being understanding, for being receptive. The credibility and trustworthiness is important in any context and in a crisis, it is even more important. I am blessed to be leading the Nestle team and the Nestle family and as I keep telling my colleagues, in a crisis you do not run a company, you serve a family and this is really what we have been trying to do.If I look at it in very broad terms, these are not definitive trends. Rather these are early trends and I hope that we continue to see more as the Covid pans out. Trend number one very clearly is very obvious one, that there is a greater engagement for brands in home consumption. If you look at the balance between “out of home” versus “in home,” clearly brands that have a relevance for in-home consumption, have played up much stronger during the pandemic.In the last couple of quarters, we have seen very subdued growth in consumer goods both in rural and urban India. It is important to note that in the last three or four quarters, the rural growth was much stronger than urban growth . So, rural consumption continues to be strong. It was unfortunately going southwards but still was a stronger trend as compared to the urban trend.In the current context, with a good monsoon being predicted along with a very good harvest of the primary staple crops in the country and also with some of the opportunities that the government has recently announced in terms of going beyond APMC for farmers for selling their produce to the highest bidders, I do hope that will shore up rural incomes. If it does so, in some sense, also the unfortunate but real migration of workforce from urban to rural markets might actually kickstart a small bump up as far as rural consumptions are concerned.Even as a company, all the town classes from metros to town class one, two, three, four, we have seen continuously fairly strong growth in tier II, tier III and tier IV towns and semi-urban areas. This has been a secular trend now for some time now and I would say even in the current context, the smaller towns are tending to hold up because the degree of restrictions that they have been facing has been lower as compared to large metros like Delhi or Mumbai or some of the affected cities like Indore and others.I would say the rural markets would probably revive better. Agricultural growth has been predicted at about 3% which also augurs well as far as the economy is concerned with MGNREGA and with opening up of more rural jobs. Some of this money will hopefully come into consumption and I believe rural India will probably revive a bit better than what the big boys, the urban markets would be doing. But it is important to realise that urban markets are still a significant mainstay of consumption. I do not think any large corporate in the FMCG sector can survive without having reasonably strong urban growth but yes rural will revive.We have got a fairly strong portfolio even though we are seen as a strong urban company. About a fourth of our sales are still coming out of rural markets where we have been strengthening every single quarter. So we will have the benefit of some of the initiatives that we are taking around the clusters to identify those geographies where we are seeing the early green shoots of an uptick in consumption and working on that towards the rest of this year to pick up and to mop up whatever growth opportunities we get.One of the things that I am very proud of and that Nestle has stood for is that for the last 10 quarters without fail, including the first quarter of this year, the company has recorded double digit value growth and has also recorded almost 8% to 10% volume growth.It has been on the strength of volume growth that even in the last quarter, we recorded a sales growth of 10.8%, possibly one of the few companies to record a double digit growth in these times. 8.5% of that came out of volume and mix. So, for us, volume growth is still important. As we now go into the future, possibly the volume growth may not be as strong. It will all depend on how the base levels of demand revives. I would still expect them to reasonably bounce back into good stead.Since I have been part of many crises, I have always believed that a crisis gives us a great opportunity to recalibrate the portfolio and one of the exercises that we are doing as a company is to recalibrate our portfolios.Our entire innovation funnel is undergoing a change. Every business is recalibrating in the context of newly relevant consumer behaviours that are coming in. What innovations we should go with, what innovation should be left out, I am a great believer that in a crisis, one should engage, not disengage. If you disengage then the consumer has got other choices. they are not going to be waiting at the door saying when will X, Y, Z companies start to engage with me? I believe in engagement, I believe in front foot batting. I do not believe in getting on the back foot at the time of the crisis.We need to manage some aspects of the crisis with a back foot but some aspects in consumer facing needs to be front foot and for that I think we are also recalibrating our innovation funnels across the portfolio of the company. We will continue to be an innovative company. I think one of our credos in the last couple of years has been that we have launched almost 50 to 60 new products and we will continue the pace of innovations albeit we will calibrate them depending on as and when the markets open and as and when we are able to reach the targeted outlets that we want to.No, I would say it is a long awaited and salutary step by the government. The freeing up of farmers to allow them to access the prices at which they can sell their products is essential in a market economy and this would really help. Of course, there has to be more enabling features now as to where they will go, what kind of enablement would be there for private sector operators to access the farmers in terms of taking some of their produce at fair prices etc. Those modules would still need to be worked through in greater detail but it is a very welcome step.Just as the stock market operates on a demand and supply basis, it should be a similar pattern as far as the farm produce is concerned. At this time, there is a responsibility. Also, large corporates have to protect the supply chain. We have done our own small bit. We work with the 100,000 farmers in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. They have been with us for the last 60 years. The trustworthiness of a relationship is sticking through thick and thin.One of the decisions that we took during this pandemic was that every single day, every single drop of milk that will be given by the 100,000 farmers will be accepted and will be processed by the company and they will be paid promptly on time. Leaving farmers in distress in times of pandemics and crisis is really a call of the conscience and it is important that companies step up to the plate to make that happen. I am very happy that we have been able to support every single farmer, we have got about 3,500 coffee farmers. We support them. We have got about 2,500 spice whom we support. We are in the top five procurers of wheat flour in this country. | a range of CXO courses are available at the Indian School of Business. Suresh Narayanan, chairman & MD, says the company is "like a banyan tree" he says the company is blessed to have eight factories operating. a visit to the iimk chief product officer programme is also available. a visit to the iimk chief product officer programme is also available. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/wealth/invest/mf-portfolio-doctor-why-singhvi-should-avoid-investing-in-fixed-deposits/articleshow/69700160.cms | Invests in a mix of equity funds and fixed income options.
Early start and regular investing has helped amass a large corpus already.
Invested a large amount in FMP and fixed deposits after plans to buy house got junked.
Small 5% annual hike in equity fund SIPs will help reach goals comfortably.
Has opted for dividend plan in some funds. Need to shift to growth option for long-term growth.
Fixed deposits not taxefficient. Use liquid funds to avoid high tax.
Instead of investing in PPF and FDs, hike contribution to the Provident Fund.
Review investments and rebalance at least once a year.
Reduce risk when goal is near so that you don’t miss the target.
Holds a good mix of large-cap and multicap funds.
Goal is ambitious and monthly SIPs will have to be increased by Rs 40,000 to reach it.
If goal is deferred by three years, a small 10% annual hike in SIPs will help reach it.
Review mutual fund portfolio at least once a year. Change if any fund’s performance slips.
Reduce risk when goal is near so that you don’t miss the target.
Education expenses: 10%
For all other goals: 7%
Equity funds: 12%
Debt options: 8%
Names of the funds you hold.
Current value of the investment.
If you have SIPs running in any of them.
The financial goals for which you invested.
How much you need for each financial goal.
How far away is each goal
Not many investors know whether they have invested in the right funds and if their fund portfolio is on track.The Portfolio Doctor assesses the health of the fund portfolio, examines the schemes and their suitability with regard to the goals and, if required, recommends corrective measures.The advice given is based on the performance of the funds, the risk profile of the investor as well as his financial goals.If you want your portfolio examined, write to [email protected] with “Portfolio Doctor” as the subject. Mention the following information: | small 5% annual hike in equity fund SIPs will help reach goals comfortably. instead of investing in PPF and FDs, hike contribution to the Provident Fund. if goal is deferred by three years, a small 10% annual hike in SIPs will help reach it. if goal is deferred by three years, a small 10% annual hike in SIPs will help reach it. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/rbi-moves-to-boost-digital-transactions-protect-users/articleshow/66963364.cms | MUMBAI: With digital transactions gaining currency, the Reserve Bank of India RBI ) has announced customer-protection measures to promote and improve confidence in the channel that would help New Delhi achieve its objective of nudging the country to a ‘less-cash’ economy In two separate programmes, the RBI announced reduced consumer liability in case of reported fraudulent digital transactions , and a grievance redressal mechanism for such modes of payment. “The RBI’s endeavour to facilitate a less-cash society has facilitated a significant rise in the volumes, value and channel for conducting digital transactions,” central bank deputy governor M K Jain said Wednesday.“For promoting trust and confidence in this powerful channel, a dedicated and powerful grievance redressal mechanism is a pre-requisite.” The central bank said customers reporting unauthorised electronic transactions early can’t be made liable, irrespective of the instrument used. This is an extension of its previous direction where the RBI sought to protect customers for frauds in online and credit-card transactions.The ambit of customer protection against frauds has now been extended, with the benefit of limiting customer liability now applying to unauthorised electronic transactions involving prepaid payment instruments. The central bank will issue the relevant guidelines by the end of December.Earlier, RBI said customers can’t be made liable at all if they notify the bank within three working days of the fraud. RBI had capped the customer liability at Rs 25,000 if they reported unauthorised transactions within seven working days. The central bank has also unveiled an ombudsman scheme for digital transactions as a customer-protection initiative.“An ombudsman scheme… is being formulated by RBI to provide a cost-free and expeditious avenue to tackle the rising number and complexity of complaints from this channel,” Jain said.This September, 181 million NEFT transactions worth about Rs 18 lakh crore and 486.5 million mobile banking transactions worth about Rs 21.3 lakh crore took place in the banking system, according to the latest RBI data. | RBI has announced customer-protection measures to promote confidence in the channel. customers reporting unauthorised electronic transactions early can't be made liable. the ambit of customer protection against frauds has now been extended. customers can't be made liable at all if they notify the bank within three working days of the fraud. the central bank has also unveiled an ombudsman scheme for digital transactions as a customer-protection initiative. | Positive |
https://www.financialexpress.com/economy/increase-in-jobs-soaring-stock-market-shows-transition-of-greatness-for-us-has-begun-white-house/1985702/ | The soaring stock market and addition of 2.5 million jobs last month are the evidence that the transition of greatness for the US has officially begun due to its strong policies despite the coronavirus pandemic, a senior US official has said. “The transition to greatness has officially begun. Friday’s jobs report was encouraging to say the absolute least,” Kayleigh McEnany, the White House Press Secretary, told reporters at a news conference here as she exuded confidence about the revival of the American economy in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic.
The US is among the worst affected nations by the deadly coronavirus and till now has reported the deaths of more than 112,000 people and 1,960,642 confirmed cases, according to Johns Hopkins University. The White House statement came as US unemployment rate fell to 13.3 per cent on Friday, registering an increase of 2.5 million jobs, leading President Donald Trump to describe the numbers as an affirmation of the good work his adminstration is doing.
The unemployment rate for April was 14.7 per cent, which was the highest since 1948. With the addition of 2.5 million jobs, the monthly rate dropped to 13.3 per cent for May. “This was a 10 million swing toward the positive side and, in fact, the greatest number of jobs created in a single month on record. That is extraordinary, 225,000 manufacturing jobs, 464,000 thousand construction jobs, and 1.2 million leisure and hospitality jobs were all added in May, she said.
McEnany said that the stock market is absolutely soaring. “We saw with the S&P that it had its greatest 50-day rally in history. The Dow, likewise, is also booming. The markets clearly have confidence in President Trump — the jobs President who created the hottest economy in modern history once and will do it again, she asserted.
Why is this happening? Well, it’s happening because America has taken note of the fact that we have a President who ushered in the hottest economy in modern history, McEnany added. Responding to a question, McEnany said that Trump sees the job report as a great stride toward what he ultimately wants, which is this rearing economy that the US had, where paychecks were growing and at the fastest for low-income workers. | the soaring stock market and the addition of 2.5 million jobs are the evidence that the transition to greatness has officially begun. the white house press secretary said that the stock market is absolutely soaring. the unemployment rate for April was 14.7 per cent, which was the highest since 1948. the u.s. is among the worst affected nations by the deadly coronavirus. | Positive |
https://www.financialexpress.com/market/new-high-bond-issues-in-2019-nudge-21-billion/1773968/ | Contracting spreads and confidence in India have driven up foreign currency bond issuances by local borrowers to nearly $21 billion in 2019 so far, a record high. The last time borrowings were as high was in 2014 when they were about $18 billion.
Foreign investors are buying more Indian paper this year partly because supply last year was limited, creating pent-up demand. Among other factors for the warm reception that Indian credit has received in 2019, Jujhar Singh, global head – high yield & head – financial markets, India, at Standard Chartered, lists a conducive offshore market, strong investor confidence and benign global rates environment. “We did see investors’ willingness to buy across structures, sector and credit across tenors. This further demonstrates India becoming an increasingly important investment destination for global fixed income investors,” he said.
Back home, contracting spreads and easier ECB rules are prompting Indian borrowers to tap the overseas markets. “We have seen credit spreads for high grade Indian instruments tighten approximately 40 bps since January 2019. If one considers the impact of both benchmark and credit spread compression we have seen overall yield tighten in excess of 1% during the year,” Singh said.
Chiranjeev Kumar, director – loans and bonds at Citi India – points out, borrowing costs for Indian dollar bond issuers have come down. “RBI has reduced the minimum tenor to three years, lowered hedging requirements, allowed borrowings to refinance rupee debt, among others. Global rates have also come down significantly, reducing borrowing costs for issuers,” Kumar said.
Bloomberg data show banks are the major issuers of FCY bonds this year having cumulatively raised more than $3.5 billion so far. Issuers include Exim Bank of India, SBI, Bank of Baroda, IndusInd Bank and Canara Bank. Other borrowers include the Adani Group and PFC that have each raised over $1.7 billion. Shriram Transport, Muthoot Finance and IndusInd Bank made their debut on the dollar bond market.
PFC’s 10-year bond was priced at a spread of 240 bps over the treasury yield in 2019 while a similar tenor bond was priced at 310 bps over the treasury in 2018.
“SBI issued five-year bonds in January this year at spread of 185 bps and these bonds are now trading at a spread of 140 bps. Meanwhile, Asia ITraxx Index for bonds’ credit spreads has tightened by 36 bps this year,” Shashank Joshi, MD & head – global corporate banking, India at MUFG Bank, pointed out. He added that apart from other factors, demand for India credit has also been helped by investors wanting to diversify away from China.
Indian Railway Finance Corporation, say market watchers, could well pick up a billion dollars, as it is reportedly planning to do. The yield on a bond is the sum of the benchmark yield and the credit spread on that paper. All other things remaining stable, a fall in the US treasury yield brings down the cost of borrowing funds in the dollar bond market. In 2019, the 10-year US treasury yield dropped almost 100 basis points from 2.78% in January to 1.81% by November. | foreign investors are buying more Indian paper this year partly because supply last year was limited, creating pent-up demand. contracting spreads and confidence in India have driven up foreign currency bond issuances by local borrowers to nearly $21 billion in 2019. banks are the major issuers of FCY bonds this year having cumulatively raised more than $3.5 billion so far. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/its-humanity-against-the-virus-british-pm-tells-covid-19-global-summit/articleshow/75533840.cms | LONDON: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson opened a virtual global conference on COVID-19 on Monday by calling on all countries to step up their efforts and work together on fighting the coronavirus pandemic , the “most urgent shared endeavour of our lifetimes”.The Coronavirus Global Response International Pledging Conference was co-hosted by the UK and eight other countries and organisations including Canada, France, Germany , Italy, Japan, Norway , Saudi Arabia, and the European Commission.At the conference, Johnson confirmed the UK's pledge of 388 million pounds aid funding for research into vaccines, tests and treatments – part of a larger 744 million pounds existing UK aid commitment to help end the pandemic and support the global economy. This includes 250 million pounds for the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations to develop vaccines against coronavirus – the biggest such donation to the fund by any country."To win this battle, we must work together to build an impregnable shield around all our people, and that can only be achieved by developing and mass producing a vaccine,” said Johnson.“The more we pull together and share our expertise, the faster our scientists will succeed. The race to discover the vaccine to defeat this virus is not a competition between countries, but the most urgent shared endeavour of our lifetimes. It's humanity against the virus – we are in this together, and together we will prevail,” he said.The conference was updated on the progress at pace on vaccine development, with the University of Oxford and pharmaceutical major AstraZeneca announcing a partnership to support large-scale manufacture and potential distribution of a vaccine currently being trialled by the university | the coronavirus global response international pledging conference was co-hosted by the UK and eight other countries and organisations. the conference was updated on progress at pace on vaccine development, with the university of Oxford and pharmaceutical major AstraZeneca announcing a partnership. the conference was updated on the progress at pace on vaccine development, with the university of oxford and pharmaceutical major announcing a partnership. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/sensex-climbs-over-100-pts-nifty-above-10500-obc-plunges-8-dr-reddys-3/articleshow/63075190.cms | Domestic stock benchmark indices climbed in the opening session on Monday, comforted by receding worries over US rate hikes.Global markets offered firm cues.The upmove was steered by private banks and select heavyweights such as Reliance Industries, Larsen & Toubro and Tata Steel At 9.20 am, the BSE Sensex was trading higher by 134.09 points, or 0.35 per cent, at 34,263.22. The Nifty50 advanced 44.45 points, or 0.42 per cent, to 10,535.50.Fear gauge, India VIX eased 1.46 per cent to 13.99.Brokerage Nomura India noted that the consolidated FY18 consensus earnings estimates for Nifty stocks fell by 1.6 per cent over the past month, combined with a 4.6 per cent decline in the index to 10,397 on February 21, from 10,895 on January 19."The market earnings multiple has decreased to 16.9 times against 17.9 times a month ago. The market is now trading at a 0.73 per cent premium over its five-year average," the brokerage said in a note.Tata Motors rose 1.68 per cent to Rs 366.50. Tata Steel, Adani Ports and Maruti Suzuki advanced 1.65 per cent, 1.61 per cent and 1.32 per cent, respectively.ICICI Bank, Bajaj Auto and IndusInd bank all jumped up to 1 per cent. And so did Larsen & Toubro, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Axis Bank.Dr Reddy's Labs fell 2.01 per cent following the news that the pharma major has received the establishment inspection report (EIR) from the USFDA for its Srikakulam plant. The stock was down nearly 4 per cent in morning trade.Meanwhile, Aster DM Healthcare will make its market debut today. The IPO, which ran from February 12 to February 15, received bids for 4,88,17,782 shares (1.31 times) as against 3,73,70,415 shares offered by the company. Its qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) quota was subscribed 2.10 times, non-institutional investors 0.55 times and retail 1.19 times. | domestic stock benchmark indices climbed in the opening session on Monday. private banks and select heavyweights such as Tata Steel and ICICI Bank jumped up. the nifty50 advanced 44.45 points, or 0.42 per cent, to 10,535.50. aster DM Healthcare will make its market debut today. a pharma giant has received the establishment inspection report from the usfda. | Positive |
https://www.financialexpress.com/economy/taming-poverty-in-post-covid-19-scenario/1948632/ | By Rahul Chhabra
Coronavirus has weakened India’s fight against poverty considerably as the pandemic has sent all socio-economic growth projections for a toss at a time when the country is expected to face the brunt of fast sinking global economy, say experts. Dr Ashok Kumar Jain, principal consultant, NITI Aayog, and his associate, Dr Rajan Kotru, lead strategist, Redefined Sustainable Thinking, Palampur (HP), have cautioned that India will need to recalibrate its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially poverty eradication, deadlines and targets.
Talking to Financial Express, Jain and Kotru said that a major break in industrial, tourism and transport sectors outputs, return of low income daily wagers to their homes with re-employment in near future questionable, skyrocketing healthcare costs, grounding of stock markets, and uncertainty of optimal farm outputs, etc. makes it unlikely that India will be on course to decimate poverty.
India, Jain and Kotru point out, is committed to the SDGs as per the United Nations 2015 agenda – ‘Transforming Our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’. “But the resolve to ‘Leave no one behind’ in the economic growth journey is now going to be hard to implement.”
“India is committed to achieve the 17 SDGs and the 169 associated targets, which comprehensively cover social, economic and environmental dimensions of development,” Kotru said, adding that “there is a clear focus on ending poverty in all its forms and dimensions as it is the first SDG (SDG 1) among all.”
The NITI Aayog’s SDG India Index 2019 indicate the country’s lower performance on SDG 1 (No Poverty), 2 (Zero Hunger) and 5 (Gender equality) vis-a-vis other SDGs.
“As small and medium enterprises are closed, and even Rabi season’s optimum production is threatened, achieving SDGs will test our economy and resilience to the hilt. The UN will have to revisit the targets under each SDG keeping in mind the Covid crisis,” Jain and Kotru wrote.
According to Jain and Kotru, the number of people living in extreme poverty globally declined from 36% in 1990 to 8.6% in 2018, but the pace of poverty reduction was decelerating as the world struggled to respond to entrenched deprivation, violent conflicts and vulnerabilities to natural disasters.
“Poverty incidence in India declined from 45.3% to 21.9% between 1993 and 2011,” wrote Jain and Kotru. “With Covid-19 onslaught, the government has shown tremendous resolve to counter the fallout through socio-economic packages ranging from direct cash transfer to poor and farmers to free food to the needy.”
The fight against poverty, the experts fear, is going to get tougher as the developed world is less likely to fulfil its committed funding and other obligations to developing and least developed nations for reaching SDGs and “this will surely impact India too”. | experts warn that the country will need to recalibrate its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). the number of people living in extreme poverty globally declined from 36% in 1990 to 8.6% in 2018. the number of people living in extreme poverty globally declined from 36% in 1990 to 8.6% in 2018. the number of people living in extreme poverty globally declined from 36% in 1990 to 8.6% in 2018. | Positive |
https://www.businesstoday.in/markets/market-perspective/share-market-live-sensex-nifty-dalal-street-stock-outlook-bse-nse-news-april-17/story/401247.html | Sensex, Nifty Updates: Market indices Sensex and Nifty closed at day's high on Friday tracking gains in global key indices. Indices erased gains earlier after the announcement of measures by RBI's cheif Shaktikanta Das, although closed 3.2% higher by the afternoon session. BSE Sensex ended 986 points higher at 31,588, NSE Nifty traded 298 points higher at 9,291. All the sectors barring pharma and FMCG closed in green territory, with private banking and auto ebnding 7% and 5% higher respectively.
Further SGX Nifty in Singapore Exchange also traded 3% higher by the afternoon session. Meanwhile European markets opened 3% higher, backing the global bullish trend. Asian indices climbed higher on Friday, tracking cues from US indices as prospect of the countries getting back to work and encouraging news on potential coronavirus treatments kept investors bouyed.
Here's a look at the updates of the market action on BSE and NSE today:
3.40 PM : Closing bell
Market indices Sensex and Nifty closed at day's high on Friday tracking gains in global key indices. Indices erased gains earlier after the announcement of measures by RBI's cheif Shaktikanta Das, although closed 3.2% higher by the afternoon session. BSE Sensex ended 986 points higher at 31,588, NSE Nifty traded 298 points higher at 9,291. All the sectors barring pharma and FMCG closed in green territory, with private banking and auto ebnding 7% and 5% higher respectively.
3.20 PM: IndusInd Bank rises over 7%
IndusInd Bank shares opened with a gain of 7.22% today and later touched an intraday high of Rs 472, rising 8.51% on BSE. The stock price tardes higher than 5 and 20 day moving averages but lower than 50, 100 and 200 day moving averages.
3.00 PM: Nifty outlook by Angel Broking
Nifty's technical term outlook - The index consolidated in a range in yesterday's session post some recovery from the support of 8800. The overall market breadth was in favor of advances as except IT, stocks from most of other sectors witnessed some positive momentum
Market Outlook - It would be crucial to see how the banking index reacts in the near term as it could lead the overall market momentum. In the near term 8800 is the immediate support for the Nifty.
2.50 PM: Expert opinion on RBI announcements
Gurpreet Sidana, Chief Operating Officer, Religare Broking said," The RBI announced a host of additional fiscal and regulatory measures to help the financial system and facilitate liquidity as well as credit flows. We feel recalibration of NPA norms, liquidity measures for NBFCs and special refinancing facility to institutions like NABARD, SIDBI and NHB would play a crucial role in handling the credit flow issues to agri., rural, small industries, HFCs and MFIs. Besides, further reduction in the reverse repo and cut in liquidity coverage ratio(LCR) will incentivise banks to lend more.
We believe these measures are positive for financial institutions and also for the borrowers amid this COVID 19 crisis as it not only addresses liquidity needs but also ensures their financial stability. Amid all positivity, the requirement of additional provisioning by the banks for the standard accounts that availing a moratorium between 1 March and 31 May have caught the banks off-guard as some banks on account of a short time have offered loan moratorium to all clients who could have otherwise paid EMIs easily.
Notwithstanding the growth slowing sharply in 2020, the governor signaling at inflation trajectory falling and possible additional measures from RBI would certainly help the economy to sail through tough times.
2:40 PM : Rupee settles at 76.39 per dollar
Rupee closed 48 paise higher at at 76.39 against the US dollar today
2.30 PM: Most sectors in green
All the sectors barring pharma and FMCG were trading in green territory, with realty secor gaining 4% higher, followed by 3% rise in banking and financial stocks.
2: 20 PM Currency market outlook
Rupee outlook by Jateen Trivedi, Senior Research Analyst (Commodity & Currency) at LKP Securities:
"Rupee traded stronger today on back of Reserve bank of India announcing liquidity measures to boost growth amid the slowdown due to Covid-19 lockdown. RBI mainly focused about the liquidity management, trying to maintain enough liquidity in the market, in this economic crisis time. So, it will help boost economic growth. Globally demand for dollar is there. Till there is any medicine or the crisis cools down, there will be demand for dollar. This is a small profit booking reaction as of now in the USDINR, as we saw selling pressure from 76.75 to 76.40 today in the USDINR pair".
2.15 PM: Angel Broking: stock picks for the day
Buy - Hawkins Cooker, Bata India, Nestle India, Hindustan Unilever, Colgate Palmolive, Avenue Supermart, Ipca Lab, Bharti Airtel, Infosys, L&T Infotech, Britannia Industries
Accumulate - Asian Paints, P&G Hygiene, Dabur India
2.05 PM: Bajaj Auto rises over 3.5%
Bajaj Auto shares climbed 3.65% to the intraday high of Rs 2,424 on BSE today. Bajaj Auto shares trade higher than 5 and 20 day moving averages but lower than 50, 100 and 200 day moving averages.
1.55 PM: Expert views on RBi's announcement
Jaikishan Parmar, Sr. Equity Research Analyst, Angel Broking said:
- RBI has taken care of systems liquidity and support to the corporate by providing some relief in NPA.All accounts for which banks and FI grant moratorium, the 90 day norms will exclude moratorium period. This action would to some extent release pressure on the capital.Key concerns post lockdown was liquidity support to NBFC. However, today the RBI announced various measures to improve the health of NBFC. Money given to NABARD,SIDBI & NHB will ensure funding to NBFC /HFC.
- LTRO 2 will ensure that smaller NBFC also get sufficient liquidity.RBI has also made sure that the banks will remain liquid, by asking banks not to pay dividend from FY20 profits until further notice. LCR reduced from 100% to 80% with immediate effects.
- Date of commencement of the realty project can be extended for 1 years. So overall RBI has taken care of NBFC concern and smaller players also get liquidity.
1.50 PM: Maruti among top Nifty gainers
Maruti shares was among the top gainers on Nifty today. The stock price of Maruti Suzuki opened with a gain of 3.32% today and later touched an intraday high of Rs 5374.1, rising 4.76% on BSE. Maruti shares traded higher than 5 and 20 day moving averages but lower than 50, 100 and 200 day moving averages
1.30 PM: Larsen and Toubro rises 3% on securing order
Larsen and Toubro shares touched an intraday high of Rs 940, rising 3.07% on BSE after the 'buildings & factories business' of 'L&T Construction' arm of the firm secured orders in the range of Rs 1,000-2,500 crore from clients in India.
1.20 PM: European indices open 3% higher
European indices rose sharply in opening trade of Friday, with Frankfurt's DAX and CAC 40 in Paris rising 3.3%, and London's FTSE gaining 2.7% higher.
Meanwhile, in Asian indices, SGX Nifty earsed earlier gains and traded 1.94% higher. Nikkei and Kospi gained over 3% each, followed by 2.15% rise in Taiwan index. Strait Times and Shanghai index were trading marginnaly higher.
1. 15 PM: Nifty 's outlook
Expressing technical trend views on Nifty's outlook, Sameet Chavan (Chief Analyst-Technical and Derivatives, Angel Broking) said, 'The index now seem to be undergoing a consolidation phase amidst a stock specific action in the broader market. For the near term, 8800 is the crucial support to watch whereas 9260-9320 is the immediate resistance zone. A move beyond the above mentioned range of 8800 - 9320 could then lead to some directional move.'
1.10 PM: Market experts' view on RBI's liquidity measures
Jimeet Modi, Founder & CEO, SAMCO Securities & StockNote said,"RBI's big bang stimulus was not a bazooka afterall, given the expectations, rather it was a conservative approach and indicated a piecemeal manner of infusing liquidity. The measures though significant were not substantial enough as a mere Rs. 50,000 Crs in the form of TLTRO is rather conservative. However, for the moment major concerns have been addressed as real estate and NBFC sectors have received massive relief, NBFCs (small and large) have liquidity coming in from TLTRO 2.0, financial institutions like SIDBI, NABARD and NHB have received liquidity directly from the RBI and there is relief on the NPA recognition and stressed asset reclassification for Banks. To add to it, a 25bps reduction in the fixed reverse repo rate will enable banks to lend further and improve liquidity in the system. This has definitely boosted investor confidence as the quarterly numbers to be published by corporates will no longer be a horror story. Additionally, RBI's openness of providing further relief if the situation worsens further is a big relief in these distressed times. "
1.05 PM: Emami shares climb over 3% on hand sanitizer launch
Emami shares opened with a gain of 2.63% and later touched an intraday high of Rs 231.2, rising 3.17% on BSE.
The company has launched BoroPlus Advanced Anti-Germ Hand Sanitizer to cater the increased consumer demands during the Covid 19 outbreak.
12.55 PM: Cadila Healthcare falls over 3% after 2% stake sale in subsidiary
Cadila Healthcare shares fell 3% to an intraday low of Rs 333.25 after the pharma major announced sale of 2% stakeholding in its subsidiary, Windlas Healthcare Private Limited.
The filing said the company board has approved and signed the Definitive Agreement for sale of 9,44,233 equity shares of Rs. 10each fully paid-up, representing 2% of the total paid-up share capital of Windlas Healthcare.
12.40 PM: Oberoi Realty soars 20% on early payment of NCDs
Oberoi Realty shares opened with a gain of 4.66% and later touched an intraday high of Rs 410.45, rising 20% on BSE today. The company has announced early payment of NCDs.
The company through its wholly owned subsidiary, Incline Realty has prepaid 125 listed non-convertible debentures (NCDs) of Rs 1 cr each, aggregating to Rs 125 cr (Rupees One Hundred and Twenty-Five Crore only), and its interest payment. The scheduled date of repayment was 23rd April 2020, as per the filing.
12. 30 PM: RIL shares climb over 2%
The share of Reliance Industries, India's largest retailer and telecom provider, opened with a gain of 4.39% today to touched an intraday high of Rs 1220 on BSE. Reliance Industries trades higher than 5 day and 20 day moving averages but lower than 50 day, 100 day and 200 day moving averages
12.20 PM: S&P cuts India's GDP to 1.8%
S&P Ratings has revised India FY21 GDP growth forecast to 1.8% from 3.5%. The rating agncy said that India slowdown is cyclical, while its structural growth is still intact.
India's growth should return to 7% levels in the medium-term, the arating agency said, adding that it sees India FY22 GDP growth at 7.5%.
12.10 PM: Reactions from experts on RBI's announcements
- Jaspal Bindra - Executive Chairman, Centrum Group said,"The RBI has shown pragmatism while announcing the second round of measures, aimed at maintaining liquidity and incentivizing credit flows. Banks are required to invest a significant portion of the TLTRO with NBFCs & MFIs, is positive as they have been hit significantly. Relief packages of Rs 50,000 crs allotted to NABARD, SIDBI and NHB combined with the reduction in reverse REPO rate will incentivize banks and NBFCs to step up their lending activities. Additionally, the 90 day NPA norm won't be applicable to loans where the moratorium is granted. This along with 1 year extension on loans given to the real estate sector will help preserve asset quality."
- Deepthi Mary Mathews, Economist at Geojit Financial Services said,"In a span of 20 days, RBI announced the second round of liquidity boosting measures to address the economic crisis due to COVID-19, with special focus on NBFCs and MFIs. TLTRO and reduction of reverse repo rate to 3.75 percent is expected to improve liquidity in the NBFC sector. Similarly, the loans given by the NBFCs to real estate to get similar benefits as given by commercial banks is a support to both the NBFC and real estate sector."
12.00 PM: SBI Cards share price off highs
Share price of SBI Cards rose 2.79% higher to Rs 548 on BSE. Although the shares fell from day's high and traded 0.60% lowerm at Rs 527. SBI Cards is trading lower than 5, 20, 50, 100 and 200 day moving averages
11.45AM: Ambalal Sarabhai Enterprises climbs 5%
Ambalal Sarabhai Enterprises shares locked at % upper circuit after the company said that the Joint Venture of its subsidiary CoSara Diagnostics has started the import and marketing of Test kits of COVID-19 in India based upon license granted by CDSCO.
11.35 AM: JM Financial Institutional Securities on Tata Consultancy Services
-In contrast to the cautious commentary from Wipro (HOLD), TCS outlined a more balanced business outlook with hopes for a demand recovery by 3QFY21.
-TCS admitted to a potential QoQ decline in 1QFY21 similar to post the 2008 Global Financial Crisis.
-Working capital management and cash conversion were steady in 4QFY20, order booking (USD 8.9bn; highest in the last 8 quarters) in 4QFY20 was strong and the company hopes to exit FY21 with similar margins as 4QFY20 (25.1%, EBIT), JM Financial added further in its report.
-We have lowered our FY21/FY22 EPS estimates by c.5%/3% to factor a tougher near-term outlook vs. our earlier expectations leading to a revised Rs 1,820 price target from Rs 1,860 earlier.
11.20 AM: MCX gold drops by Rs 1,095 today
Gold prices in domestic as well as international commodtiy markets saw some profit booking as many countries across the globe started plans to ease restrictions on business activity.
Glod May futures traded 1,095 points or 2.32% lower today at 46108, after making a low of 46,022 per 10 gm mark. Gold May futures on MCX opened at 47,005 against the last closing value of 47,203.
11.10 AM: YES Bank share off highs
Yes bank shares climbes 3.6% to the intraday high of Rs 25.45 today, athough gave up early gains to trade flat wtith positive bais later.
YES Bank stock currently trades higher than 5 day moving averages but lower than 20, 50, 100 and 200-day moving averages
11.00 AM: Rupee rise to 76.56 per dollar
Ruppe the currency benchamrk opened at 76.56, rising 30 paise higher against the last closing value of Rs 76.86 per US dollar.
Rupee vs Dollar: Rupee rises 29 paise to 76.58 per dollar on RBI's announcements
10. 55 AM: Market off from day's high
Market indices Sensex and Nifty erased ealy gains as investors anticipated more financial aid from the RBI's press conference today. Indices traded lower from day's high after the announcement of measures by RBI's cheif Shaktikanta Das, although traded 1.65% higher. BSE Sensex rose 515 points higher at 31,119, NSE Nifty traded 148 points higher at 9,141.
Traders said markets will continue taking cues from the worldwide trend. Asian indices climbed higher on Friday, tacking cues from European and US indices that closed higher yesterday.
Investors worldwide were optimistic over slowing of new virus cases, with death toll in countries considered corona hotspots also signalling signs of slowing down. Globally, there 21.82 lakh confirmed cases worldwide and almost 1.45 lakh deaths from the coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak. India has recorded a total of 13,430 cases, 448 deaths and 1,706 recoveries.
10.45 AM: Updates on announcements by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das
- Inflation could reced further
- Repo rate remains unchanged
- Banks not to make any further dividend payout in view of financial difficulties arising from Covid-19
- The 90-day NPA norm not to apply on moratorium granted on existing loans by banks
- LCR requirement of banks brought down to 80% from 100%; to be restored in phases by April next year
10.40 AM: Coronavirus toll
According to experts, prevailing uncertain market conditions amid the rising cases of the virus and extension of the lockdown period have caused volatility and led to the downfall of broader markets on a global scale. There 21.82 lakh confirmed cases worldwide and almost 1.45 lakh deaths from the coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak. India has recorded a total of 13,430 cases, 448 deaths and 1,706 recoveries.
10.35AM : Market rises on anticipation of cues from RBI
Sensex rallied on hopes RBI would announce another round of stimulus package to minimise the effect of the coronavirus pandemic on the economy. A rally in Asian and US markets also pushed the Indian benchmark indices higher.
Market capitalisation on BSE rose to Rs 124.04 lakh crore in early trade compared to the previous session's market cap of Rs 120.67 lakh crore
Covid-19 crisis: Investors gain Rs 3 lakh crore on hopes of stimulus package from RBI
10.30 AM: RBI Governor Updates:
-TLTRO 2.0: Rs 50,000 cr to begin with tranches Small n mid sized MFI NBFC
-WMA limit increased by 60% till Sept 30
-Refinancing facility for NABARD, SIDBI, NHB
-Special Refinancing facility of Rs 50000 cr
Nabard-Rs 25,000 cr
SIDBI-15,000 cr
NHB-Rs10,000 cr for housing finance
- Reverse repo rate cut by 25 basis points to 3.75% from 4%
RBI cuts reverse repo rate by 25 bps to 3.75%, maintain status quo on repo rate
10: 20 AM: RBI Chief press conference highlights
- RBI to announce new measures to maintain adequate liquidity in system, facilitate bank credit flow, ease financial stress
-Surplus liquidity in banking system has increased substantially as result of central bank actions
-Contraction in exports in March at 34.6% much more severe than global financial crisis of 2008-09
-No downtime of internet or mobile banking during lockdown; banking operations normal
-Surplus liquidity in banking system has increased substantially as result of central bank actions
RBI Governor Live Updates: Reverse repo rate cut to 3.75% from 4%, says Shaktikanta Das
10.05 AM: Tata Consultancy Services' shares climbs 7% post Q4 earnings
TCS, the IT major was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising up to 7% after the company reported a 2.8% YOY rise in its net profit at Rs 32,340 crore for the financial year ended March 31, 2020. The company posted 7.1% growth in revenue at Rs 1.57 lakh crore in FY20 as compared to Rs 1.46 lakh crore in FY19.
9.55AM: All eyes on aids by Central Bank
Amidst the steep fall in the rupee to record lows and the sharp rise in volatility of the financial markets, investor sentiment are buoyed in anticipation of more financial measures from the Reserve Bank of India. As per experts, domestic market investors are hoping of more measures by the central bank chief to revive the Indian economy from the virus induced lockdown.
9. 50 AM: Market rises further
Benchmarks Sensex and Nifty rose sharply on Friday early trade, backed by strong global cues, awaiting financial cues from RBI Governor's Press conference today. BSE Sensex traded 1,000 points higher at 31,580, NSE Nifty traded 280 points higher at 9,275.
While Sensex has made a high of 31,711.70, Nifty has climbed to 9,324 in early Friday's trade.
9.40 AM NBFCs and banking stocks rise sharply
NBFCs and banking stocks were rising sharply as the market was awaiting outcome of financial stimulus from the RBI's media address, scheduled at 10 am today.
Top gainers on NSE Nifty and on BSE Sensex, included Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, HDFC, IndusInd Bank and Bajaj Finance each rising over 5%.
9.20 AM: Opening bell
Benchmarks Sensex and Nifty have opened majorly bullish on Friday, backed by strong global cues. BSE Sensex traded 950 points higher at 31,555, NSE Nifty traded 314 points higher at 9,305.
9.15 AM: RBI Governor press conference today
Traders said domestic investors are awaiting cues from RBI Governor's Press conference today at 10 am. As per news reports, the Indian Government is reportedly working on next set of relief measures.
9.05 AM: Pre-open session
Benchmarks Sensex and Nifty have pre-opened majorly bullish on Friday, backed by strong global cues. BSE Sensex traded 950 points higher at 31,555, NSE Nifty traded 314 points higher at 9,305. SGX Nifty traded 300 points higher at 9,290 level, indicating a positive start in domestic grounds today
9.00 AM: Positive global cues
Tracking gains in Amazon.com Inc and Netflix Inc stocks on first-quarter earnings, Wall Street headed for record high in yesyerday's trade. Although investors remained cautious over the virus outbreak, with shutdown in New York extended until May 15.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.14%, the S&P 500 gained 0.58% and the Nasdaq Composite added 1.66%.
Asian indices were poised to track overseas rally, with Nikkie, Hang Seng, Taiwan rising over 2% and SGX Nifty and Kospi rising the most at 3%.
Coronavirus effect: US stocks rise as Amazon, Netflix see record surge
8. 55 AM: Gold's outlook
Yesterday, Gold price in domestic commodity markets rose to historical highs after breaching Rs 47K mark per 10 gram. The price of yellow metal on MCX has been surging to record highs since Monday amid coronavirus related economic worries worldwide. Angel broking said MCX gold prices are expected to trade upwards today. It later added," Rising worries of a possible recession might support the bullion metal prices. However, appreciation in the US dollar on safe-haven demand might limit the gains for gold."
On gold's near term outlook, Anuj Gupta-DVP-Commodities & Currencies Research, Angel Broking said, "We are expecting this rally may continue and gold may test Rs 49,000 to Rs 50,000 on MCX and in international market, it may test $1780 to $1800 soon."
Gold price today: Yellow metal breaches Rs 47,000, hits record highs
8.50 AM: TCS Q4 results
The IT major reported a 2.8%YOY rise in its net profit at Rs 32,340 crore for the financial year ended March 31, 2020. The company posted 7.1% growth in revenue at Rs 1.57 lakh crore in FY20 as compared to Rs 1.46 lakh crore in FY19.
TCS FY20 profit rises 3% to Rs 32,340 crore; revenue up 7%
8.45 AM: Stocks to watch today on April 18
TCS, Emami, United Spirits, Cadila Healthcare and more among others are the top stocks to watch out for in Friday's trading session
Stocks in news: TCS, Emami, United Spirits, Cadila Healthcare and more
8.40 AM: Rupee closing
Rupee slipped further to end at a record low of 76.86 against the dollar.
8.30 AM: FII/ DII action on Thursday
On a net basis, FIIs sold Rs 2,920.36 cr while DIIs bought Rs 1,321.44 cr worth of equities on Wednesday
8.20 AM: Market expectations
Benchmarks Sensex and Nifty are likely to open on a positive note on Tuesday, backed by strong global cues. SGX Nifty traded 300 points higher at 9,290 level, indicating a positive start in domestic grounds today. European and US indices closed higher yesterday as investors worldwide were optimistic over slowing of new virus cases, with death toll in countries considered corona hotspots also signalling signs of slowing down.
8.10 AM: Coronavirus toll
According to experts, prevailing uncertain market conditions amid the rising cases of the virus and extension of the lockdown period have caused volatility and led to the downfall of broader markets on a global scale. There 21.82 lakh confirmed cases worldwide and almost 1.45 lakh deaths from the coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak. India has recorded a total of 13,430 cases, 448 deaths and 1,706 recoveries.
8.00 AM: Last close
Equity indices Sensex and Nifty closed on a bullish note on Thursday, tracking gains in European and Asian counterparts. BSE Sensex closed 222 points higher to 30,602 and NSE Nifty rose 67 points to 8,992.
Sensex snaps two-day losing streak, Nifty ends shy of 9K; IT stocks under pressure | Sensex and Nifty closed at day's high on friday tracking gains in global key indices. all sectors barring pharma and FMCG closed in green territory. private banking and auto ebnding 7% and 5% higher respectively. SGX Nifty in Singapore Exchange also traded 3% higher by the afternoon session. European markets opened 3% higher, backing the global bullish trend. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/healthcare/biotech/pharmaceuticals/cipla-inks-licensing-deal-with-belgiums-multig-for-distribution-of-covid-19-antibody-test-kit/articleshow/79276202.cms | New Delhi: Drug major Cipla on Wednesday said it signed a licensing agreement with a Belgium-based MultiG for the distribution of their COVID-19 rapid antibody test kit , across most emerging markets and Europe. This licensing agreement is part of Cipla's efforts to enhance global access to life-saving treatments and diagnostic infrastructure for patients in need, the company said in a regulatory filing."As part of this agreement, Cipla will be responsible for distribution of the COVID-19 rapid antibody kit that will be manufactured by MultiG" the company added.MultiG's rapid antibody kit is marketed under the brand name ' Covi-G '.Cipla said MultiG rapid antibody kit has been commercialised in over 20 countries already, with sensitivity and specificity exceeding 92 per cent.Cipla said its expansive reach, network and partnerships with public health authorities as well as private institutions will help in ensuring the seamless access of these kits across over 25 markets in Asia, Middle-East and North Africa, Latin America, EU and Australia.Shares of Cipla were trading 0.20 per cent lower at Rs 741 apiece on BSE. | drug giant signs licensing agreement with belgian-based multig. multig rapid antibody kit is marketed under the brand name 'covi-G' shares of Cipla were trading 0.20 per cent lower at Rs 741 apiece on BSE. sensitivity and specificity of kit exceeds 92 per cent. 'covi-g' kit has been commercialised in over 20 countries already. | Positive |
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/markets/strides-shasun-stock-gains-2-on-usfda-approval-for-painkiller-drug-2662931.html | live bse live
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Strides Shasun share price gained as much as 2.2 percent in morning on Tuesday after its subsidiary received approval from the US health regulator for the painkiller drug.
"The wholly owned subsidiary Strides Pharma Global Pte Ltd has received final approval for Ibuprofen tablets USP, 200 mg (OTC) from the United States Food & Drug Administration (USFDA)," the company said in its filing.
Ibuprofen is a generic version of Motrin IB tablets, 200 mg, of Johnson & Johnson Consumer, Inc.
"The approval further strengthens Strides Ibuprofen franchise for the US markets that now comprises of 7 approved products addressing a combined Rx and OTC opportunity of $900 million as per IMS and IRi data," the company said.
Ibuprofen is used to relieve pain from various conditions such as headache, dental pain, muscle aches, or arthritis. It is also used to reduce fever and to relieve minor aches and pain due to the common cold or flu. Ibuprofen is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID).
The product will be manufactured at the company's Oral dosage facility at Puducherry and will be marketed by Strides Pharma Inc in the US market, it added.
The company has 75 cumulative ANDA filings with US FDA of which 51 ANDAs have been approved as of date and 24 are pending approval.
At 09:40 hours IST, the stock price was quoting at Rs 392.00, up Rs 3.70, or 0.95 percent on the BSE. | the company says it has received approval for Ibuprofen tablets USP, 200 mg. the painkiller drug is a generic version of motrin Ib tablets, 200 mg. it is used to relieve pain from various conditions such as headache, dental pain, muscle aches. the company has 75 cumulative ANDA filings with US FDA of which 51 have been approved. | Positive |
https://www.businesstoday.in/current/economy-politics/pm-modi-asks-people-to-buy-local-products-this-festive-season-promote-local-for-diwali/story/421488.html | Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday made a fervent appeal to people that along with 'vocal for local', they should promote 'local for Diwali' big time and buy local products this festival season. Celebrating Diwali with local will give a new boost to the economy, he said.
While extending festival greetings to people, Modi said, "You are seeing today that along with vocal for local, the mantra of local for Diwali is resonating everywhere." "I would like to say to the people of Varanasi and all countrymen that promote 'local for Diwali' big time," he said while inaugurating projects for Varanasi via video conferencing.
When every person will buy local products with pride, will talk about local products, hail them and will take the message to others that our local products are so good, this message will go far, Modi said. "Not only local identity will be strengthened, the people who make these local products, their Diwali will also brighten up more," he said.
"Going for local doesn't mean only purchasing 'diya' but everything you use in Diwali. It will encourage those making them," the PM added.
Also read: Agri reforms to connect farmers directly to market: PM Modi | prime minister Narendra Modi says people should promote 'local for Diwali' big time. he says people should buy local products with pride and talk about local products. he inaugurates projects for Varanasi via video conferencing. he says the message will go far when people will buy local products with pride. he says the festival season will boost the economy. | Positive |
https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/hired-over-7000-employees-in-uk-in-last-five-years-tcs/2145140/ | India’s largest software services firm Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) on Monday said it has hired over 7,000 employees in the UK over the last five years, making it among the top recruiters of IT services talent in that country.
The Mumbai-based company currently employs over 18,000 people in 30 locations around the UK.
TCS’ customer-centricity and differentiated offerings have powered strong revenue growth and market share gains in recent years, making it the second largest provider of IT services by revenue in the UK this year, TCS said in a regulatory filing.
“To support this growth, it has added more than 7,000 employees, including 1,800 trainees, over the last five years, making it among the top UK recruiters of IT services talent. TCS currently employs over 18,000 people in 30 locations around the country,” it said.
TCS noted that its workforce is young and diverse, with 54 nationalities represented. Women make up 28 per cent of employees, much higher than the 17 per cent average in the UK IT sector.
“TCS has upskilled more than 90 per cent of its UK staff in the last two years, reflecting its commitment to nurturing local IT talent…TCS is also investing in the tech professionals of the future, equipping young people with the skills and passion to pursue STEM subjects and careers in the industry,” the filing said.
The company and its employees work closely with charities and social enterprises to drive outreach and bridge the knowledge gap. Since its launch in 2013, TCS’ IT Futures programme has reached over 3,00,000 UK students.
It works with over 200 companies in the UK, such as Legal and General, Halfords, M&S, Seadrill, and Forth Ports helping them leverage digital technologies to launch innovative new products, services and customer experiences towards their growth and transformation objectives, the filing said.
TCS has been selected as a Superbrand in the UK, for the sixth consecutive year and continues to maintain its position among the top three brands in IT services worldwide and grow as an influential brand in the UK digital economy, the filing said.
The annual survey recognised TCS as one of the strongest brands, based on its excellent brand reputation, notable business performance, industry-leading staff development and job creation, and commitment to corporate social responsibility initiatives, it added.
This year, over 3,200 brands were evaluated based on a combination of a jury of senior UK industry experts and a nationwide survey of business professionals.
“TCS’ Superbrand status is a recognition of our purpose-driven world view, which entails empowering all our stakeholders and helping them realise their potential. Our sustained investments in research and development and in continually upskilling our people, have made us the preferred growth and transformation partner of our customers in the UK,” TCS Country Head (UK and Ireland) Amit Kapur said.
He added that the company’s STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) skill education programmes enable it to reach and inspire young talent in local communities and make a positive contribution to the UK’s digital future. | the company currently employs over 18,000 people in 30 locations around the country. it is the second largest provider of IT services by revenue in the uk this year. its workforce is young and diverse, with 54 nationalities represented. women make up 28 per cent of employees, much higher than the average in the uk IT sector. since its launch in 2013, TCS’ IT Futures programme has reached over 3,00,000 students. | Positive |
https://www.financialexpress.com/lifestyle/travel-tourism/indo-thai-bhai-bhai-indians-now-visiting-thailand-chinese-tourists-shun-land-smiles/1636338/ | Thailand’s struggling tourism industry is finding support with visitors from the population colossus to its west, just as the years of bumper arrivals from the giant to its north are beginning to wane. At a beachfront hotel on the tropical island of Phuket, the occupancy rate from Chinese clientele has stalled, while bookings from India have begun to rise. The Vijitt Resort is one of many in Thailand that has more cause for optimism.
“We’re starting to see new growth,” said Kongsak Khoopongsakorn, Vijitt’s general manager and vice president of the Thai Hotels Association. “Indians are now driving industry growth like the Chinese had previously done.”
What’s happening to Thai tourism could prove a canary in the coal mine for the leisure sector in other Asian economies as China matures and a new India emerges. The Thai industry had been expanding at about 10% a year on escalating inbound Chinese arrivals, but a 2018 boat accident in Phuket that killed dozens of mainlanders and a slowing economy at home have triggered a drop in numbers.
In contrast, Indian arrivals accelerated in recent months due to more direct flights, a visa waiver and, most importantly, increasing wealth.
The rapid expansion of the middle class among India’s 1.3 billion people has prompted Thai authorities to upgrade their estimates of Indian visitors. At least 10 million are now expected to arrive in 2028, a more than five-fold increase on 2018 visits. That sort of growth trajectory would mimic the rise of Chinese tourists, who jumped from 800,000 in 2008 to more than 10 million last year.
Although China will remain an important market, it is likely to offer less growth potential in the years ahead. India, meanwhile, is set to become the new expansion story in Thai tourism, an industry that accounts for about 20% of gross domestic product.
Chinese visitors currently make up 28% of total foreign arrivals, well ahead of Indians at 4%. But within a decade, Indian arrivals are forecast to surge to about 15% of the total, while Chinese are predicted to edge up to about 30%.
“The Indian inbound market could potentially rival that of China,” said Pisit Puapan, executive director of the Finance Ministry’s Macroeconomic Policy Bureau. Pisit said high growth from India has also helped offset a decline from markets like Europe.
Thailand received about 180,000 Indian tourists in June, a record, the Tourism Ministry reported last week. It also said Indians spend 11% more per trip than average foreign visitors.
Chinese arrivals could actually fall this year from 2018 as the yuan has weakened against the baht, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. That might deter more cost-conscious Chinese tourists, or see them spend less if they do make the trip.
A cooling tourism market and dividend repatriation combined to help produce Thailand’s first current account deficit since 2014. The country’s forecast economic growth has already been revised down to the lowest level in four years as exports also fizzled.
Frequent Flyer
There are more direct flights between Indian and Thai cities, one reason for the jump in visitors to Bangkok, Phuket and surrounding areas. They are drawn by Thailand’s food and shopping, and its beaches are emerging as significant attractions.
India’s fifth-largest airline GoAirlines India Pvt currently connects three Indian cities to Phuket, and plans to add seven more. InterGlobe Aviation Ltd’s IndiGo launched services to the tropical island late last year.
Thai AirAsia Co Ltd, the kingdom’s largest low-cost carrier, recorded 20% growth in passengers traveling between India and Thailand in the first quarter of 2019 from a year earlier. It now operates 47 flights a week from Bangkok to nine Indian cities, and said it plans to add an additional destination.
With India projected to overtake China as the world’s most populous nation in eight years, and its middle class forecast to keep expanding, Thai Hotels Association’s Kongsak is cautious but hopeful about the future.
“We expect the industry will continue to grow,” he said. “But it’s important to spread the risk and have a good nationality mix in the market. We can’t rely on any single market.” | at least 10 million are now expected to arrive in 2028, a more than five-fold increase on 2018 visits. india is set to become the new expansion story in Thai tourism, an industry that accounts for about 20% of gross domestic product. the rapid expansion of the middle class among india's 1.3 billion people has prompted Thai authorities to upgrade their estimates of Indian visitors. | Positive |
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/may-series-these-top-10-buys-can-offer-up-to-14-return-2559843.html | live bse live
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The Nifty ended April 27 expiry week closer to 10,700 levels, up 1.2 percent week-on-week. Given the current momentum on D-Street, the index is on track to hit 10,800-10,900 levels, experts said. “There was lot ambiguity among market participants after approaching the Nifty approached its strong resistance zone of 10,600-10,640. But, it managed to breakout post the April expiry.
Sameet Chavan, Chief Analyst - Technicals and Derivatives at Angel Broking, sees the Nifty heading towards 10,750-10,800 levels in the short-term. “Despite some terrible days in the global market, our benchmarks managed to shrug off all these developments and displayed their independence. The recent hurdle placed around 10,640 has been crossed on a closing basis and thus we may see an extension of this move towards 10,750-10,800 in days ahead. On the lower side, the immediate base seems to have shifted higher towards 10,640-10,600 (earlier hurdle becomes support) from 10,495 levels.”
Chavan advises traders to trade with a stock specific positive bias and look to lighten positions around 10,750- 10,800 levels. “One needs to keep booking timely profits and should rather shift stop losses higher at 10,640-10,600 levels.”
We have collated a list of top 10 stocks which could give up to 14% return:
Analyst: Sameet Chavan- Chief Analyst, Technicals and Derivatives at Angel Broking
Wockhardt: BUY | Target: Rs 863 | Stop loss: Rs 793 | Return: 8.8%
We remain upbeat on this stock with a near-term view. Post the January month correction, this stock slipped into a consolidation mode. Now, after three months, the stock prices burst through this congestion zone and thereby confirms a neckline breakout from the ‘Inverse Head and shoulder’ pattern.
The volumes during this price action were almost thrice of its average daily volumes, indicating strong buying interest after the base building process.
Thus, we expect the stock to extend this rally and eventually climb towards our near-term target of Rs 863. Traders can shift their stop losses to Rs 793.
Bata India: BUY | Target: Rs 857 | Stop loss: Rs 763 | Return 8%
Since the last couple of weeks, this stock has been consolidating in a small range. Last Friday, we witnessed a complete gush in the last couple of hours of the trade. The stock prices surged quite abruptly to confirm a breakout from the near term hurdle of Rs 791 on a closing basis.
This was accompanied by humongous volumes, providing credence to this move. However, due to lack of follow up buying, the stock once again slipped into a consolidation mode.
But, the overall structure still remains bullish. Hence, one can look to go long for a target of Rs 857 by following a strict stop loss below Rs 763.
MCX India: BUY | Target: Rs 857 | Stop loss: Rs 763 | Return 8%
Recently, this stock managed to give spectacular recovery after forming a strong base around the Rs 700 mark. If we combine, daily and weekly time frame charts, the stock seems to be on the verge of a breakout.
The volume activity during Friday’s surge picked up substantially, indicating some sort of buying interest around its recent hurdle. Hence, with anticipation, one can look to go long for a target of Rs 857 by following a strict stop loss below Rs 763.
Analyst: Dinesh Rohira, Founder & CEO, 5nance.com
Gravita India: BUY | Target: Rs 220 | Stop loss: Rs 187 | Return 10%
Gravita India witnessed a strong rebound in the last month after consolidating from earlier peak to take a crucial support at Rs 146 levels. Thereafter, it maintained to trade on uptrend trajectory.
Last week it made a fresh peak on its daily price chart although it couldn’t to hold the level but signaled a positive breakout from its upper band. The scrip made a 12 percent gain on a weekly basis.
The scrip formed a strong bullish candlestick pattern on its weekly price chart after forming a reversal pattern in past session.
Further, a secondary momentum indicator witnessed a revival with weekly RSI level shifting upward at 68 coupled with positive cue intact on MACD.
The support level for scrip is currently placed at Rs 177 and resistance level from the upper band at Rs 134. We have a buy recommendation for Gravita India which is currently trading at Rs 199.75
Prakash Industries: BUY | Target: Rs 237 | Stop loss: Rs 205 | Return 8%
The scrip witnessed a health consolidation from Rs 256 levels towards Rs 168 levels on its daily price chart during past session before creating a reversal trend.
The scrip took a strong support at lower band and continued to rebound on uptrend trajectory coupled with strong volume support. Further, it managed to break out from its crucial short-term EMA levels in the last session indicating a positive trend.
On the daily price chart, after closing with about 4 percent intraday gain the scrip made a decent bullish candlestick pattern. The weekly RSI level at 62 coupled with positive divergence on MACD indicates a momentum for the scrip in coming session.
The scrip has a support at 186 levels and resistance level at Rs 262. We have a buy recommendation for Prakash Industries which is currently trading at Rs 218.85.
Rallis India: SELL | Target: Rs 206 | Stop loss: Rs 228 | Return 6%
Rallis India continued to consolidate on its daily price chart despite making a decent attempt to recoup the loss but the selling pressure at higher level aided the price to breach below its crucial level placed at Rs 238. Further, during a closing session, the price got below its 20 and 50-days EMA levels indicating a negative signal.
The scrip formed a solid bearish candlestick pattern on its weekly price chart after breaching below 20-days EMA level indicating a sustained pressure.
Further, the secondary momentum indicator continued to indicate negative signal with RSI at 38 levels coupled with bearish crossover just happening on MACD line.
The scrip is facing a resistance at Rs 235 levels and support at Rs 198 levels. We have a sell recommendation for Rallis India which is currently trading at Rs 219
Analyst: Rohit Srivastava, fund manager – PMS Sharekhan by BNP Paribas
PTC India: BUY | CMP: Rs 89.70 | Stop loss: Rs 86.70 | Target: Rs 102 | Return: 14%
The daily chart of PTC India shows a ‘Three Wave’ correction after a Five Wave rise. The correction retraced nearly 78.6 percent of the rise, which proved to be a crucial support. The daily lower Bollinger Band also offered support.
As per Elliott Wave Theory, PTC India is expected to form another set of a Five Wave rise from the current level. There is a high probability that the stocks will head higher from current levels and investors can initiate fresh positions on the long side.
Piramal Enterprises: BUY | CMP: Rs 2635.80| Stop loss: Rs 2550 | Target Rs 2900 | Return: 10%
Piramal Enterprise witnessed a multi-month correction from the highs of Rs 3070 registered in June last year. The correction looks over in the last month at the low of Rs 2275. Thereon the stock seems to have embarked on a fresh rally, which can last for several months.
Thus the stock looks positive from short-term as well as medium-term perspective. It is moving up along with a rising trendline which is a positive sign for the bulls.
The recent structure shows that the stock has consolidated above the trendline and has also broken out from the narrow range in which it was consolidating on the upside.
Ceat: BUY | CMP: Rs 1559.85 | Stop loss: Rs 1508 | Target: Rs 1787
In terms of price patterns, Ceat is forming an ‘Inverted Head & Shoulders’ pattern, which is a bullish pattern. The pattern is spanning over several weeks so the implication of the pattern breakout is likely to be significant.
Currently, the stock is forming right shoulder of the pattern. Hereon, it is expected to head towards the neckline and can eventually breakout on the upside. The risk-reward ratio at this level is very attractive to take a fresh long position.
Analyst: Mazhar Mohammad, Chief Strategist – Technical Research & Trading Advisory, Chartviewindia.in
ICICI Bank: BUY | Target: Rs 315| Stop loss: Rs 271 | Return 9.3%
This counter appears to have resumed its up move after posting a short-term bottom at recent lows of Rs 275 levels. As momentum in broader markets is picking up with Bank Nifty also on the verge of a fresh breakout, this counter shall able to clear its immediate hurdle of Rs 295 with ease.
Once that happens it can head towards its initial targets of Rs 315. In anticipation of such a breakout positional traders are advised to buy into this counter for a target of Rs 315 with a stop of Rs 271.
Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment expert on moneycontrol.com are their own and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions. | the Nifty ended April 27 expiry week closer to 10,700 levels, up 1.2 percent week-on-week. given the current momentum on D-Street, the index is on track to hit 10,800-10,900 levels. analysts say the stock is on track to climb towards our near-term target of Rs 863. a total of 69 stocks are trading at a price of Rs 850. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/resurgent-nifty-set-to-shed-its-underperformer-tag/articleshow/68915121.cms |
Indian markets are fast closing the performance gap with other global markets, thanks to the pre-election rally and strong flows from off-shore funds. Until mid-February, the benchmark Nifty index was among the biggest underperformers globally. But after February 19, when the current leg of the rally in the Indian equities started, the Nifty soared 11.3 per cent in dollar terms, making it the best performing major global market index only after China. The top 20 global indices rose an average of 5 per cent during the period, data compiled from Bloomberg showed.Since February, while Indian markets gained momentum, other developed and emerging markets (EM) remained muted. For instance, South Korea’s benchmark Kospi was up over 9 per cent till mid-February, but the index managed to grow only less than 2 per cent since then. Similarly, the US benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 11 per cent till mid-February after which it added just 1.9 per cent. Nifty’s underperformance with Kospi was 12 per cent till February, but now the gap is only 1.5 per cent; while with Dow Jones, Nifty’s underperformance was 14 per cent till February, but now the gap is down to 4.5 per cent.“EMs started witnessing FII inflows right from January 2019 as US bond yields started coming off. This led to flow of money away from the US to EMs,” said Siddharth Khemka, head retail research at Motilal Oswal. “However, the flows weren’t coming to India on account of several uncertainties including the geo-political tensions with Pakistan. From late-February there was a sudden rush among FIIs for Indian stocks since the tensions subsided and the macro-environment started looking better.”Concerns over liquidity in debt markets along with political uncertainty and expensive valuations led the Nifty to correct 12 per cent between September and October 2018. From there, markets remained largely choppy until mid-February amid strong sell-off by foreign funds. Between September 2018 and January 2019, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) pulled out Rs 35,000 crore from the Indian equities.However, things started turning in February 2019, post the Union Budget. The general elections was the biggest headwind market was facing during the time. Post February, markets started a preelection rally with opinion polls suggesting a comeback for the current National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government giving the Street hope of policy continuity. Since then FIIs started buying Indian shares aggressively. Stock exchange data show that FIIs have net purchased shares worth Rs 65,115 crore since February.“The market sentiment was boosted by expectations that the incumbent government will come back to power ensuring policy continuity,” said Gaurav Dua, head of research, Sharekhan.This rally was also supported by the buoyancy in some of the index heavyweights of the Nifty. For instance, shares of Reliance Industries have gained close to 20 per cent in 2019. | Until mid-February, the benchmark Nifty index was among the biggest underperformers globally. but after February 19, the Nifty soared 11.3 per cent in dollar terms, making it the best performing major global market index only after China. the top 20 global indices rose an average of 5 per cent during the period. but other developed and emerging markets (EM) remained muted. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/how-to-use-a-sluggish-market-to-build-your-equity-portfolio/articleshow/72035450.cms |
India is undergoing a big transformation, which in the interim has impacted business momentum and demand in the economy. Businesses that are being unable to adapt to new changes – GST, higher competition, technology etc., are facing survival threat, while others are facing a cyclical downturn. Investments and exports have been sliding for some time now, but it is the steep consumption slowdown, which has emerged as the new pain area.Amidst this gloom, the silver lining is that many SMEs in the manufacturing sector has received orders from global companies due to shifting of orders out of China.The domestic equity market have begun to stabilise since early October, 2019. Though participation is skewed and limited, the market breadth has been improving, which suggests the worst could be over for the market. Although there is still skepticism about the recovery, given the global and local headwinds, we would like to stick our neck out and say that this may be a good time to accumulate quality stocks The government is acknowledging and acting in limited ways that they can to reverse the slowdown. Most negatives of the July budget have been reversed and there has been a big bang corporate tax cut – a relief to many companies both listed/unlisted in the near term and a structural reform that would benefit all companies in the long term.The decision to forego revenue of Rs 1.45 lakh crore through tax cuts will have a positive impact on the country’s investment climate. India is an emerging superpower with a dynamic economic climate.This corporate tax cut will also help companies to use the monies saved to invest in capex or return the monies to investors or consumers by way of dividends or price cuts. This could create a virtuous cycle of spending resulting in the economy revving up. EPS estimates for FY20 and FY21 may be upped and the elusive corporate earnings recovery that was missing so far could at last be witnessed (although aided by Govt largesse for now).RBI has been doing its bit by easing monetary policy and cutting repo rates by 135 bps since February. These measures would most likely improve fundamentals of companies – which could improve flows and hence sentiments.Valuations have become attractive especially in the mid and small cap space, though select largecaps still continue to quote at high valuations. Perhaps this reflects their relative invincibility in the disruptive times we are undergoing at present.Investor sentiments have been low, there is widespread Trust Deficit; a lot of wealth has been eroded in the broader markets over the past two years. However, once the momentum picks up, investors will take their lessons and come back having seen similar recoveries from lows many times in the past.Given the fact that fixed income alternatives are no longer lucrative (and carry their own set of risks), investors have little option but to keep allocating a sizeable portion of their financial assets into equities to earn above-normal returns. Recovery in sentiments could also be swift.Investors having burnt their fingers in the past in small and midcaps may now concentrate and invest a large portion of their financial assets into quality stocks even if they seem expensive.They also need to bring down the expectations of returns from such stocks to more reasonable levels. This coffee-can investing could result in low risk medium returns for the investors in an era when businesses are being disrupted and governance questions keep cropping up.In times as current, investors can focus on creating a portfolio of quality stocks from different industries that can provide moderate return with low overall risk on a combined basis. They can focus on companies that are less likely to be impacted by disruption or lending distress and focus on companies that could benefit out of higher fiscal spend that is expected in FY20. This would include among others, well-run consumer and financial stocks.In times like today, some investors make the mistake of stopping SIPs as their current value of the SIPs invested do not seem to reflect appreciation even after a couple of years. This attitude is counter- productive.Although a review of the specific schemes is desirable, stopping SIPs will not allow Rupee cost averaging for investors and they will lose out this benefit when the markets turn up. In fact at such times they should be thinking of upping their SIP amounts.The Indian economy is transitioning from a phase of structural reforms such as a cleaner financial sector, goods and services tax and real estate regulation and development. The economy’s core fundamentals are strong and India is on track to become a $5 trillion economy by 2025. We expect growth to tick up in the second half of 2019-20, courtesy the easy money policy of the Reserve Bank of India and the massive tax reliefs to corporates.The second half of this financial year is expected to be better than the first half as the economy recovers from a slowdown caused by reasons including impact of structural reforms undertaken by the Modi government and the crisis gripping the global economy. The government had taken several measures including cleaning up of bank balance sheets and merger of state-owned enterprises that were long pending and these steps would help.The key areas of concern include the stretched fiscal situation when you include state deficits and off-balance sheet items. Deposit growth, household savings, reserve money creation and money multiplier are all well below ideal levels to effect a quick turnaround in the economy, but as household debt levels moderate due to lower consumer loan growth, these should start improving. Trust deficit should reverse and bold quick policy decisions and faster delivery of justice will play a key role in achieving this. | domestic equity market have begun to stabilise since early October, 2019. domestic equity market have begun to stabilise since early October. government acknowledging and acting in limited ways to reverse slowdown. EPS estimates for FY20 and FY21 may be upped. a big bang corporate tax cut will have a positive impact on the country’s investment climate. | Positive |
http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/stocks/crude-oil-prices-to-trade-higher-angel-commodities-10-2475151.html | Angel Commodities' report on Crude Oil
WTI oil prices rose 2.1 percent on Wednesday to close at D61.6 per barrel with buying spurred by a sixth day of unrest in OPEC member Iran and strong economic data from the United States and Germany. Germany's unemployment rate hit a record low in December, underpinning a broad - based economic upswing. U.S. factory activity increased more than expected in December, a further sign of strong economic momentum. Manufacturing and construction reports also fuelled expectations for a robust U.S. economy in 2018.
Outlook
We expect oil prices to trade higher today as unrest in Iran, consecutive inventory withdrawals in the US and good economic data sets from the US and Germany are factors supportive for oil.
For all commodities report, click here
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Read More | oil prices rose 2.1 percent on tuesday to close at D61.6 per barrel. buying spurred by unrest in OPEC member Iran and strong economic data. unrest in iran, inventory withdrawals in the us and good economic data from the us and germany are factors supportive for oil. moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions. | Positive |
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Market benchmarks Sensex and Nifty posted their biggest single-day gains in 10 years on September 20 after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a cut in corporate tax rates.
After starting the session on a flat note, Sensex surged 2,285 points while Nifty soared 677 points. Nifty Bank jumped over 2,661 points intraday as market experts and brokerages hailed the government's move.
The sharp rally in equities made investors richer by Rs 6.83 lakh crore in a single day as the cumulative market capitalisation of BSE listed firms jumped to Rs 1,45,37,378.01 crore from Rs 1,38,54,439.41 crore on the previous session.
The government's move of slashing corporate tax rate will have a chain effect and bodes well for the market in the long term, Rajat Rajgarhia, Managing Director & CEO of Motilal Oswal Financial Services, told CNBC-TV18.
"This is huge for the market. There were few announcements that were keeping sentiments in check as FM was trying to boost market sentiments and improve the state of the economy by boosting exports, banks consolidation, recapitalization and so on but reducing the corporate tax rate to 22 percent or domestic players and 15 percent for new entrants setting up
manufacturing units is a big boost," said Mustafa Nadeem, CEO, Epic Research.
Sensex closed with a massive gain of 1,921 points, or 5.32 percent, at 38,014.62, with 25 stocks ending in green and 5 in the red.
Hero MotoCorp, Maruti Suzuki, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finance and State Bank of India emerged as the top gainers in the Sensex index.
On the other hand, Power Grid, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, NTPC and Tech Mahindra closed in the red in the Sensex index.
Nifty closed at 11,274.20, up 569 points or 5.32 percent. Among the 50 stocks in the index, 44 logged gains and only six closed with losses.
BSE Midcap index outperformed Sensex, ending with a gain of 6.28 percent. However, the Smallcap index underperformed the benchmark as the index closed 3.94 percent up.
Barring BSE IT and Teck, all sectoral indices closed with gains. BSE Auto jumped 9.85 percent, ending the day as the top gainer among sectoral indices, followed by BSE Bankex (up 8.21 percent) and Capital Goods (up 7.93 percent).
IT stocks came under pressure after rupee grew stronger against the US dollar. The Indian currency settled 38 paise higher at 70.94 per dollar.
For the week, Sensex climbed 1.68 percent while Nifty advanced 1.80 percent.
Top news of the day:
In order to promote growth and investment, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on September 20 slashed the effective corporate tax from 30 percent to 25.17 percent, inclusive of all cess and surcharges for domestic companies.
The meeting of the Northern Zonal Council chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah began on September 20 morning. The grouping comprises Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and the National Capital Territory of Delhi.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar made it clear that his party will contest the 2020 state assembly polls together with the BJP as an ally of the NDA, reported IANS.
Senior BJP leader Chinmayanand was arrested by the Special Investigating team (SIT) probing the rape charges against him.
Stocks in news:
Shares of HDFC Bank surged 9.06 percent to Rs 1,200.10 on BSE on September 20 after the government announced corporate tax rate cut. Rajat Rajgarhia, Managing Director & CEO at Motilal Oswal Financial Services told CNBC-TV18 that most private banks would be immediate beneficiaries of the tax cuts announced today.
Shares of HDFC climbed 3.92 percent to Rs 2,052.10 after it said it will raise up to Rs 3,000 crore by issuing bonds to augment its long-term resources.
Shares of Yes Bank rose 2.40 percent to Rs 55.45, a day after Morgan Credits (MCPL), part of the promoter group of the company, sold 2.3 percent shareholding in the bank.
Extending their losing spree into the fifth consecutive session, shares of Zee Entertainment Enterprises closed 2.49 percent lower at Rs 301.10, following reports that the promoter has been restricted from selling stake in the media company.
Shares of Dewan Housing Finance Corporation (DHFL) remained on the downward trajectory for the fourth consecutive day. The stock closed 8.63 percent down at Rs 43.40 even as it received proposals to act as development managers in certain large projects.
Global Updates:
World shares rose on Friday as stimulus measures by major central banks eased worries about growth, especially in Asian markets, while oil headed for its best week since January, reported Reuters.
Asian market ended slightly higher. Shanghai Composite Index closed 0.24 percent up at 3,006.45, while Kospi closed at 2,091.52, up 0.54 percent. Nikkei settled 0.16 percent higher at 22,079.09.
Technical view on the market:
Nifty formed a long bull candle today, that has engulfed up the range of the last 4 weeks in a single day. The key overhead resistance of 11,150-180 has been broken on the upside and the Nifty closed above it.
"We observe an upside breakout as per weekly timeframe chart, after the consolidation movement of the last one month. The near term trend of the Nifty seems to have reversed up sharply and more upside could be in store in the coming weeks. Having reached the swing high of 11,381 in today's session, one may expect next upside targets of 11,600 for the next 1-2 weeks," said Nagaraj Shetti – Technical & Derivative Analyst, HDFC securities. | Sensex and Nifty post biggest single-day gains in 10 years. Sensex surges 2,285 points while Nifty soares 677 points. Sensex closed with massive gain of 1,921 points, or 5.32 percent, at 38,014.62. Sensex closed with massive gain of 1,921 points, or 5.32 percent. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/company/corporate-trends/fifth-global-business-summit-to-analyse-where-we-are-headed/articleshow/67746089.cms | Empower Your Corporate Journey with Strategic Skill Courses Offering College Course Website Indian School of Business ISB Leadership in AI Visit Northwestern University Kellogg Marketing Leadership Development Program Visit IIM Lucknow IIML Chief Marketing Officer Programme Visit
MUMBAI: At a time when the World Bank has issued a dire warning of ‘darkening skies’ for the world economy, the fifth edition of Global Business Summit (GBS) presented by Yes Bank and The Economic Times is scheduled to take place in New Delhi on February 22-23. “In the fifth edition of GBS, it’s our endeavour to place the spotlight on the political and economic issues looming heavily over the Indian and global economy.At a time when we are witnessing increasing geopolitical risk, protectionism and regionalism, there’s a need to take a step back and evaluate where we are headed,” said Vineet Jain, managing director, Times Group.In a short span of five years, GBS has become the platform of choice for major stakeholders of the economy — the political elite, top government officials, global CEOs and top Indian business leaders, who are joined by visionaries and business leaders from across the world.“Over the past 4+ years, India has made giant strides in not only building a sustainable and scalable economy, but also spearheaded a global dialogue and established the narrative for other nations to emulate. Be it across clean energy, ease of doing business, alleviating poverty practically addressing all sustainable development goals. In this context, the 2019 edition of Yes Bank-Economic Times Global Business Summit, provides a great platform for global and Indian policy makers, business and opinion leaders, to deliberate on solving the most pressing global social-economic challenges in a time bound manner.” said Rana Kapoor, MD and CEO, Yes Bank, who is also chairman, YES Global Institute.At GBS’ first edition, in January 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asked Indian business to dream big so that India could become ‘a $20-trillion economy’. And the very next year, Modi stated in his keynote address that his government’s ambition was to reboot India.A highlight will be a series of specially curated sessions on February 23, GBx, in which renowned global disrupters will share their mantras on how to win by changing the rules of the game.Presented by Yes Bank and The Economic Times, and powered by Facebook, Global Business Summit 2019 (GBS) is expected to be attended by over 2,000 delegates from across the world.At last year’s summit, global leaders like Netflix’s Reed Hastings, Uber’s Dara Khosrowshahi, Apple’s Steve Wozniak, McKinsey’s Dominic Barton, ArcelorMittal’s Lakshmi Mittal, Nasper’s Bob Van Dyk and Donald Trump Jr debated at length the significance of New Economy and its impact on economic development. Watch this space for this year’s even bigger, star-studded line-up. | the fifth edition of the global business summit (GBS) is scheduled to take place in new Delhi on February 22-23. the event is presented by Yes Bank and The Economic Times. the highlight will be a series of specially curated sessions on February 23, GBx. renowned global disrupters will share their mantras on how to win by changing the rules of the game. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/indl-goods/svs/chem-/-fertilisers/deepak-fertilizers-ties-up-with-samunnati-to-offer-agri-services-to-fpos-in-5-states/articleshow/77909382.cms | New Delhi: Deepak Fertilizers and Petrochemicals on Thursday said it has tied up with agri value chain enabler Samunnati to offer crop advisory , agri-inputs as well as customised finance options to Farmer Producer Organisations in five states. The partnership is expected to empower over 70,000 farmers through 150 FPOs across five states -- Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana -- in the next three years, the company said in a statement.As per the memorandum of understanding (MoU), the FPOs will be able to access crop-based advisory and agri-inputs through Deepak Fertilizers and Petrochemicals Corporation Ltd (DFPCL) along with the customised finance options through Samunnati, it added.Commenting on the development, DFPCL Crop Nutrition Business President Mahesh Girdhar said the company through its 100 per cent owned subsidiary Smartchem Technologies Limited (STL), is already working with Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) associated with Samunnati and has appointed some of them as dealers.Armed with the required information and scientific knowledge of crop nutrition, DFPCL will guide the FPOs and associated farmers under the Samunnati umbrella for a better yield and with a mission to transform their lives for the better, he added."We have been working with 500 FPOs across 19 states in India with a mission to make markets work for smallholder farmers. We believe, this partnership will enable FPOs and their farmer members have access to timely inputs and capacity building/advisory services; ultimately creating better incomes and livelihood," Samunnati Founder and CEO Anil Kumar SG said.FPOs are fast emerging as a solution to many problems faced by individual farmers.The FPOs give an aggregated strength to the group of farmers (each FPO has member farmers in the range of 250-1,000) to undertake cluster-based crop planning approach to credit, have access to right priced quality inputs, professional farm advisory services and access to right markets for getting the right price for their produce. | deepak fertilizers and Petrochemicals has tied up with agri value chain enabler Samunnati. the partnership is expected to empower over 70,000 farmers in five states. the company is already working with 500 FPOs across 19 states in india. the partnership is expected to be completed in the next three years. agro value chain enabler Samunnati is a leading provider of crop advisory services. | Positive |
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/moneycontrol-research/venkys-q1-review-let-it-marinate-in-your-portfolio-2988621.html | Picture Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons
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Sachin PalMoneycontrol Research
Poultry producer Venky's posted a stable Q1FY19 with double-digit growth in the topline and operating profits. A significant reduction in interest expenses also bumped up the bottomline. Venky's, which has been in the poultry business for over four decades, looks set to ride on the consumption wave and achieve a topline of Rs 3,000 crore during this fiscal year.
Quarterly result snapshot
Revenues for the quarter increased 14 percent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 756 crore. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew 10 percent YoY to Rs 119 crores in Q1FY19 from Rs 109 crore a year ago. Profit after tax (PAT) was 37 percent higher YoY at Rs 71 crores.
FY18 turned out to be a phenomenal year for Venky's in terms of financial performance as the company reported a 40 percent jump in operating profits. This was driven by better realisations for poultry and poultry products, richer product mix and higher capacity utilisation.
The cash flow from operations (CFO) has improved significantly over FY17 and FY18. The inflow was utilised to bring down the debt levels to Rs 350 crores at the end of March 2018 from ~Rs 762 crores at the end of March 2015.
Strong presence across the northern and central region
Venky's operates across three segments. 'Poultry and Poultry Products' segment produces and sells chicks, grownup commercial broiler (chicken raised for meat production) and layer, processed chicken, specific pathogen-free eggs, poultry feed and other miscellaneous poultry products. The 'Animal Health Products' segment produces and sells medicines and other health products for birds. The 'Oilseed' segment produces and sells edible refined soya oil and soya de-oiled cake.
The company operates multiple commercial farms, breeder farms & hatchery, poultry feed and specific pathogen free (SPF) eggs plant across the central and northern region. Besides, the company also operates a quick service restaurant under the name 'Venky’s XPRS'.
As a part of its expansion strategy, the company is setting up a new solvent extraction plant, vegetable oil refinery and SPF eggs plant in Maharashtra. The expansion entails a capital expenditure of around Rs 110 crores, which will be funded through a combination of long-term loans and internal accruals. These plants are expected to start commercial production over the next 3-6 months.
Broiler prices witnessing a seasonal downtick
Soybean meal is the most important protein source used to feed farm animals. Soybean prices peaked in FY17 and softened over the course of FY18 resulting in a positive impact on the profitability of poultry producers. The current soybean prices are moderately higher than last year and will have a marginal impact on the profits of poultry producer Venky's.
Broiler prices generally peak around April to June as the demand weakens during the summer season. Broiler prices, which were hovering around Rs 80-85 in April & May, have witnessed a seasonal correction of around 30 percent and are currently priced around Rs 60-62 per kg in September. Despite the recent correction, the prices remain comparable (2-5 percent change) on a yearly basis and are expected to firm up with the onset of the festive season.
Indian poultry market is growing at a healthy pace
The domestic poultry industry mainly consists of broiler meat and table egg. The industry has grown at a rapid pace over the last decade and the Indian market is now the fourth largest in terms of volume. Despite the large size, per capita consumption of poultry meat in India is one of the lowest in the world and has immense potential to grow due to changing consumer preferences.
Influenced by religion and other factors, India has largely been dominated by vegetarians. However, this scenario is fast changing, with the young Indian population abandoning vegetarian diet due to changing lifestyle.
ICRA’s report on the domestic poultry market indicates India is a predominantly live bird market. Indian consumers have a strong preference for fresh broilers and therefore, around 90 percent of broiler sales happen at traditional retail outlets. In contrast, Chinese and South East Asian consumers prefer processed chicken. Backed by favourable socio-economic factors, the domestic poultry industry is expected to grow at a steady pace over medium to long-term.
Business risks to monitor
Given the commoditised nature of Venky's business, the realizations are guided by demand-supply dynamics of the poultry market. Any poultry-related disease outbreak (bird flu etc.) could have a significant on the volumes as well as prices. Besides, the margins also are dependent on the key input costs - Soyabeen and Maize. The prices of these commodities are dependent on agricultural and climatic conditions as well as international market.
The Food safety and standards authority of India has launched a hygienic and cleanliness drive to improve the health and safe measures of the meat processing units. Also, there is an increased focus on using medically important antibiotics (for farm and meat animals) as the distributors as well as consumers are laying emphasis on health and hygiene. The company needs to remain compliant with the changing industry requirements and environmental norms to ensure the smooth running of the business.
Consumption story available at reasonable valuations
Venky's is an excellent play on India’s demographic & consumption growth story. The company enjoys a market leadership position in the sector and controls a majority of the supply in its key operating markets. The increasing popularity of Quick Service Restaurants - McDonald's, Pizza Hut and KFC will further propel the volumes growth of Venky's product offerings.
The management expects volume growth of 10-12 percent in the current fiscal with higher profitability as an increase in key input prices will be offset through improvement in capacity utilisation and reduction in debt.
The stock price has been volatile in recent months and corrected over 40 percent from the 52-week highs. At the current market price, it trades at a reasonable valuation of 14 times FY19 earnings. Long-term investors interested in steady earnings growth (20 percent +) can look to accumulate this stock on dips as there exists a significant scope for multiple re-rating in the future. | a significant reduction in interest expenses bumped up the bottomline. revenue for the quarter increased 14 percent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 756 crore. profit after tax (PAT) was 37 percent higher YoY at Rs 71 crores. 'poultry and poultry products' segment produces and sells chicks, grown up commercial broiler (chicken raised for meat production) and layer, processed chicken, specific pathogen-free eggs, poultry feed and other miscel | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/cons-products/garments-/-textiles/puma-india-notes-premiumisation-as-a-counter-intuitive-trend-as-consumers-divert-funds-this-festive-quarter/articleshow/79171646.cms | As German sportswear brand Puma’s global sales and profitability rebounded in the third quarter ended September,, managing director of Puma India and South-East Asia, spoke toon India business amid the pandemic, decline in sales of sports-related goods due to Covid-19 restrictions , and surprising new consumer insights over the last three months. Excerpts:It would be difficult to give a pecking order. This is not a pandemic comment but the company’s business focus is not reducing on India. Despite Covid-19 outbreak in South America, India, South-East Asia and United States, the brand grew by about 13% in the third quarter globally. The key driver for growth in India noted over the last three months is growing interest in fitness. Gyms are still not functioning fully and mass participation sports such as marathons have been called off. But an increased number of consumers are finding ways around their housing societies to stay fit. Data from Google shows that search for running gear grew 25% in June and 52% in September over corresponding months in 2019. Our kids business reached a high double-digit in the third quarter.As Work-From-Home remains critical, consumers are inadvertently getting used to athlesiure wear such as track pants, T-shirts, sneakers, shorts and flip flops over formals. Our recovery has thus been much faster and noted the same across markets.Our performance in October-November period has been encouraging so far with focus on reaching out to customers digitally and being visible on ecommerce. We expect the same trend in Q4.About 30% of our business comes from ecommerce and we are ramping up our flagship site now. About 5-10% of our offline retail sales came from customer outreach programs such as pop-up stores in residential societies. Pop-up stores will be an ongoing exercise as it is helping us build relationships with customers even after the pop-up leaves the society. In the next 45 days, we are opening about 10 offline stores. Several shop-in-shops with regional retail partners in Tier 2 and 3 cities are planned as well.The trend is counterintuitive. With restrictions due to Covid-19, people are not going on vacations, visiting home towns or dining out as much during this festive season. Thus the share of spend on clothing and footwear has suddenly grown. Over the last three months, we have been witnessing the phenomenon of consumers investing in self as they are unable to invest in experiences. Consumers are upgrading and shopping for more products in single billing now. Overall, our average transaction value grew by 27% and basket size by 22% from 2019.Also, the browsing time at our physical stores has crashed to one-third now. Impulse purchase over attractive price deals at malls and high-street stores has been replaced by shopping for specific product type requirement which has resulted in premiumisation. Impulse shopping, however, continues to be popular on ecommerce platforms.We will be officially launching and scaling up inner wear for men in India soon. Inner wear has emerged as an essential during this time. Our online partners want us to accelerate it because they are clocking positive traction on this category.We are also enhancing our women’s portfolio by adding more jog pants, bra tops and jackets as we see the fitness trend growing strongly among women amid the pandemic.Live spectator-based sports such as football and badminton are not taking place due to Covid-19 restrictions. It does have an impact on certain product categories such as team jerseys. The sales of our cricket, football and indoor sport categories has declined 40% from the same period last year.Sporting events had risen to popularity in the last 2-3 years. The number of people playing badminton has, however, reduced from pre-Covid days. Amateurs playing football in neighborhood pitches have come down considerably. While IPL cricket matches helped restart the action around sporting activities but I cannot attribute sales of any of our products to the event. While the decline in sales of sports-related goods was compensated by growing sales of fitness and other categories, as a brand we can only wait for things to return to normal to overcome this challenge. | german sportswear brand grew by about 13% in the third quarter globally. growth in india noted over the last three months is growing interest in fitness. gyms are still not functioning fully and mass participation sports such as marathons have been called off. but an increased number of consumers are finding ways around their housing societies to stay fit. despite the pandemic, the brand grew by about 13% in the third quarter globally. | Positive |
https://www.businesstoday.in/current/corporate/french-energy-firm-acquires-50-stake-in-adani-solar-business-for-rs-3707-crore/story/400390.html | Billionaire Gautam Adani-led Adani Green Energy (AGEL) on Tuesday announced that French oil major Total SA has invested Rs 3,707 crore to acquire a 50 per cent stake in Adani's solar business. Total SA will own half of a joint venture (JV) company that operates solar projects owned by AGEL.
TOTAL SA, through its step-down subsidiary, has today invested approximately Rs 3,707 crore for 50 per cent partnership with AGEL in a Joint Venture," Adani Green Energy said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.
In February this year, Total SA had announced it would invest $510 million to acquire a 50 per cent stake in Adani's solar assets.
The JV houses 2,148 GW solar projects operating across 11 states in India. The portfolio includes the restricted group 1 & 2 projects, which had recently raised $862.5 million from the international bond market. Restricted Group 2 was the first investment grade rated issuance (rated BBB-/Baa3/BBB-) by a renewable business in India and was widely recognised by global capital markets and international publications, it said.
"The transaction underlines the partners' commitment to contribute to addressing India's sustainable development goals," the Adani group company said.
Through the JV, both companies aim to adhere to highest standards of governance and strengthen the foundation of the partnership between the two groups, it said.
Also Read: French energy major Total SA to buy 50% stake in Adani's solar business for $510 million
"The closing of the transaction in the current environment reinforces the strength of the relationship between AGEL and TOTAL and underscores the robust joint climate commitment of both partners," it added.
This is the Adani's second partnership with Total SA. The French energy giant had bought a 37.4 per cent stake in Adani Gas for around Rs 5,700 crore in October last year.
AGEL said it aims to achieve 25 GW of clean energy by 2025 to become the largest solar player in the world and the largest renewable player in the world by 2030. "To support this vision, the Adani group has committed to invest over 70 per cent of its budgeted capex into clean energy and energy-efficient systems," it added.
AGEL has a total renewable portfolio of 5,290 MW, out of which 2,320 MW is operational and rest 2,970 MW is under construction in the first of FY20.
Also Read: Ex-Fortis promoter Shivinder Singh seeks bail on coronavirus ground; HC rejects plea | total SA to own half of a joint venture (JV) company that operates solar projects. this is the Adani's second partnership with total. AGEL aims to achieve 25 GW of clean energy by 2025. AGEL has a total renewable portfolio of 5,290 MW. a total of 2,320 MW is operational and rest is rest. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/investor-wealth-soars-by-rs-5-30-lakh-crore-in-three-days/articleshow/66249628.cms | New Delhi: As the equity market continued its winning run for the third straight session Tuesday, investor wealth soared Rs 5.30 lakh crore in the rally since Friday.In the three trading sessions, the BSE benchmark Sensex has gained 428.9 points.The 30-share Sensex stayed in the positive zone during the Tuesday session and settled 297.38 points higher at 35,162.48.Led by the positive broader market trend, the market capitalisation of the BSE-listed companies soared Rs 5,30,936.25 crore to Rs 1,41,01,338.84 crore."After opening the week on a positive note, stock markets in India continued to trade today on a firm clip. Buying at lower levels and some relief at the macro data level encouraged traders to take long positions in the market," said Abhijeet Dey, Senior Fund Manager-Equities, BNP Paribas Mutual Fund.Meanwhile, the rupee strengthened by 35 paise to 73.48 against the US dollar in the forex market."Positive Asian markets cues, half a per cent fall in crude and appreciating rupee helped Indian markets continue its ascent for the third day on the trot," said VK Sharma, Head PCG & Capital Markets Strategy, HDFC Securities.From the 30-share pack, 22 stocks ended with gains led by Mahindra & Mahindra, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone and ONGC.In the broader market, the small-cap index rose by 1.68 per cent and mid-cap index by 1.14 per cent.On the BSE, 1,795 stocks advanced, while 853 declined and 156 remained unchanged. | the 30-share Sensex stayed in the positive zone during the Tuesday session. the market capitalisation of the BSE-listed companies soared Rs 5,30,936.25 crore. rupee strengthened by 35 paise to 73.48 against the US dollar in the forex market. on the BSE, 1,795 stocks advanced, while 853 declined and 156 remained unchanged. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/ites/nasscom-seeks-incentives-for-investment-in-rd-talent-development/articleshow/69791270.cms | Elevate Your Tech Prowess with High-Value Skill Courses Offering College Course Website IIM Lucknow IIML Executive Programme in FinTech, Banking & Applied Risk Management Visit IIT Delhi IITD Certificate Programme in Data Science & Machine Learning Visit Northwestern University Kellogg Post Graduate Certificate in Product Management Visit
The National Association of Software and Services Companies ( Nasscom ) has recommended the Union government to offer incentives for investment in research and talent development.Nasscom, the industry body for $177 billion IT-BPM sector, said it has submitted an “extensive” recommendations document with the government ahead of the Union Budget next month.Nasscom said it has explored the demand and perspective of various stakeholders of the IT services industry, which accounts for more than 6.6% of the nation’s GDP and employs more than 4.1 million people.It has drawn the government’s attention as to ensure there are no roadblocks for the industry’s growth, which has a multiplier effect on India’s economy and crucial to achieve the $5 trillion GDP milestone by 2024, said the industry body in a press release.The key recommendations include a) a tax friendly Special Economic Zone policy for the next 20 years; b) incentives for R&D investments in technology, talent development and reskilling; c) growing India as a technology start-up hub through encouraging funding; d) easing taxation regime for the digital economy and promoting ease of doing business.Nasscom has suggested the government to set a budget of Rs. 500 crore for the financial year for co-funding talent development and re-skilling in IT services, thereby creating future ready talent. It has also talked about promoting creation of intellectual property (IP) in engineering and research & development (ER&D) through incentivising investments in centres of global MNCs in India and nurturing 1000 technology spin-offs from the ER&D centres. | industry body for $177 billion IT-BPM sector has submitted an 'extensive' recommendations document with the government. key recommendations include a tax friendly special economic zone policy for the next 20 years. it also suggests a budget of Rs. 500 crore for the financial year for co-funding talent development and re-skilling in IT services. | Positive |
https://www.businesstoday.in/current/corporate/mukesh-ambani-reliance-retail-sells-1-28-stake-to-kkr/story/416777.html | Reliance Industries Ltd announced today that global investment firm KKR will invest Rs 5,550 crore in its subsidiary Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd (RRVL). This investment values Reliance Retail at a pre-money equity value of Rs 4.21 lakh crore. KKR's investment will translate into a 1.28 per cent equity stake in RRVL on a fully diluted basis. The investment firm plans to make investment from its Asia private equity funds, an RIL statement said.
Notably, the KKR investment comes days after tech investor Silver Lake announced an investment of Rs 7,500 crore in Reliance Retail for a 1.75 per cent equity stake on a fully diluted basis on September 9. This also marks second investment by KKR in an RIL subsidiary in 2020 -- KKR pumped in Rs 11,367 crore in RIL subsidiary Jio Platforms Ltd earlier this year.
Also read: Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Retail may go the JPL way; to raise Rs 63,000 cr from existing investors
Reliance Retail, a subsidiary of RRVL, operates over 12,000 stores and aims to galvanise India's retail sector by roping in global strategic investors to expand its footprints further across the country. RRVL targets to offload 15-20 per cent stake to private equity players and strategic investors to raise up to Rs 80,000 crore, according to the people aware of the investment talks. The company plans to do it by making deals with around 10 foreign funds for investment at Rs 4.2-lakh crore valuation.
The company, in a statement today, said through its 'New Commerce' strategy, it has also started a "transformational digitalisation" of small and "unorganised merchants" and will expand the network to over 20 million such merchants in India. "This will enable the merchants to use technology tools and an efficient supply chain infrastructure to deliver a superior value proposition to their own customers," the company said.
Also read: How big is Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Retail
"KKR has a proven track record of being a valuable partner to industry-leading franchises and has been committed to India for many years. We look forward to working with KKR's global platform, industry knowledge and operational expertise across our digital services and retail businesses," said Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director, Reliance Industries.
Henry Kravis, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of KKR, said Reliance Retail's new commerce platform is filling an important need for both consumers and small businesses. "We are thrilled to support Reliance Retail in its mission to become India's leading omnichannel retailer and ultimately to build a more inclusive Indian retail economy," he added.
Also read: Mukesh Ambani on shopping binge; Reliance buys into 23 firms in 3 years
The global investment firm KKR has over $222 billion in assets under management, as of June 30. It has many invested in leading global companies in consumer retail and e-commerce space, including Epic Games, OutSystems, Internet Brands, Go-jek and Voyager Innovations. The company also has $5.1 billion in private equity investments in over 15 Indian companies, including Jio Platforms, JB Chemicals, Max Healthcare, Eurokids International and Ramky Enviro Engineers.
Also Read: Reliance Retail buys Future Group's retail business for Rs 24,713 crore | KKR will invest Rs 5,550 crore in its subsidiary RRVL. this investment values the company at a pre-money equity value of Rs 4.21 lakh crore. KKR will invest a 1.28 per cent equity stake in RRVL on a fully diluted basis. RRVL operates over 12,000 stores and aims to galvanise India's retail sector. | Positive |
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/india/covid-19-fight-indias-response-has-been-exemplary-says-health-minister-harsh-vardhan-5218921.html | File image
The coronavirus outbreak is undoubtedly the biggest challenge faced by Health Minister Harsh Vardhan. At the forefront of India's battle against the deadly COVID-19, he faces an arduous task of ensuring that India's health infrastructure holds up against the pandemic.
In an interview with CNN-News18, he outlines the steps taken by the government to combat the spread of the virus and the impact of lockdown.
Edited excerpts:
Q. As lockdown 3.0 begins, how would you describe India's fight against COVID-19?
A. India's fight against COVID-19 has been exemplary and it has been acknowledged across the globe. Indians have shown determination and discipline.
COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions View more How does a vaccine work? A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine. How many types of vaccines are there? There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine. What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind? Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time. View more Show
Q. How are you planning to bring down the rate of daily infection?
A. COVID-19 spreads fast but we should not have unwanted mortalities. Our data shows that 10,000 patients have recovered and majority are recovering as well.
Q. On March 20, India tested close to 14,514 citizens…percentage positive was 0.43 percent…After testing nearly 10 lakh citizens, the percentage of people testing positive has gone up to over 3 percent. How do you read this graph?
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A. Our graph has been steady. We have tested over million people and only 3 percent have tested positive. Our guidelines say that we have to test all symptomatic patients. I am content with the data.
Q. Why has the number of deaths in the past one week gone up? Is it because of the stigma that is associated with the disease?
A. It has nothing to do with stigma. Anybody who falls sick because of the disease is reporting to the health system with symptoms because of mass awareness. As far as deaths are concerned, most deaths are amongst co-morbid condition patients. Our endevaour has been early diagnosis and early transfer to hospitals. I want to ensure that no one dies because they couldn't avail facilities.
Q. Though we are ramping up our testing capacity, many argue that it is much less compared to other countries. What is your view on this?
A. Our testing strategy is devised by ICMR. We have kept on revising and modifying strategy as per the need of the hour. From one lab in the country, we now have 420 labs. We are testing 75,000 people and we have done a million tests till now. We are testing in a judicious manner. Results speak for themselves and this is a well- crafted strategy.
Q. Given the size of our country, is the government looking at community-based random testing?
A. We are doing it regularly across districts. Some states like Karnataka and Odisha are doing it more aggressively. The National Centre for Disease Control is monitoring these tests.
Q. What is the thinking behind classifications into various zones?
A. To fight a disease, you need to have a well-defined strategy. With two stages of lockdown gone, people have made huge sacrifices. In India, 319 districts are unaffected while 130 are hotspots. Well-defined containment strategies must be there for areas with high infected numbers. We need to have house-to-house survey. Affected houses must be sealed with relaxations. We must take care of the disease in a scientific manner and open economy is a graded manner.
Q. The Health Ministry has said that that case doubling rate for many states like Karnataka, Assam, Telangana, Haryana and UP are much higher than the national average of 12 days doubling rate. But the fact is that we have states like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh where it is below the national average. Is it a cause of concern and what is your ministry doing at this front? Also, are some states under reporting?
A. The situation is a cause of concern for us and we are monitoring them at all levels. I have been personally talking to their health ministers. We had central teams for all these states. We feel they also have to start performing well.. We expect that everyone will report every case or mortality in their state.
Q. Which stage of the infection India is currently passing through? How confident are you of India avoiding Stage-3 infection?
A. I have said this repeatedly and WHO has also endorsed what I have said. In India, we have checked at number of places at number of occasions, done random samplings and we did not find significant number of people who got the disease whose contact tracing we couldn't do successfully. I am again reiterating, we have saved the country from going into stage 3 of transmission.
Q. Another area of concern is our urban centres like Mumbai, Delhi and Indore. These places have dense population and are centres of country's economic activities. What according to you went wrong in these cities? Also, what's the assessment of rural India now that migrants are returning home too?
A. It is very difficult to pin-pointedly establish the cause of these cities not performing well even at this stage. But some of these bore the maximum brunt of the international travellers. They have huge slums where it is not practically possible to implement the guidelines of social distancing and lockdown principles in a perfect manner. I also have feeling that people in these cities have not followed lockdown principles quite adequately and that is the reason that these cities are not performing well compared to the rest of the cities in the country. The good thing for India is that rural India behaved much more responsibly that urban India. We saw some of the best examples from panchayats and village heads training and motivating people. I have a feeling these migrant labourers are not so much as a cause of concern because they probably never got in contact with those who got the disease from foreign countries.
Q. There has been a lot of misinformation and confusion around rapid testing kits. What exactly is the government planning to do? And, do you have the sufficient quantity of these kits?
A. RTPCR test is confirmation for the diagnosis of COVID-19. These tests are used for surveillance purposes, epidemological studies and research purposes. To asses the extent of infection in the community, we had plans to use them in our hotspot areas. We procured kits for the whole country and distributed to the states. But when we got reports from the states that their efficacy was under doubt, we withdrew them after testing them in our own labs. As soon as we get good quality kits, we can think about restarting these antibody tests.
Q. Who is responsible for this entire fiasco around testing kits?
A. I think ICMR or the empowered committee have adopted the exact procedure for procurement of the kits and they had given the contract to the lowest bidder. Unfortunately, kits by china were ineffective and as soon as we came to know about it, we ensured that we are no longer using them. Also, we have not paid anything to china for these kits.
Q. In US, FDA has allowed use of Gilead's Remdesivir for emergency cases. Many are calling it biggest hope for treatment. Now, the debate is how to bring it to India. Gilead has today said that it is open to partnering with an Indian company. How soon can we expect that to happen and is your ministry involved in the process?
A. It is being discussed at highest level at government also. Scientists at ICMR and CSIR are also deliberating upon this issue. Right now, we are in the position to participate in the WHO solidarity trial also. We have got some 1,000-odd doses given by WHO. We will be able to use them in clinical trials in some patients in some states in India.
Q. India's supply of HCQs to the world when it needed them the most stood out. Some foreign policy observers called it 'HCQ diplomacy'. What are we doing to ensure mass manufacturing?
A. We have always been very large-hearted. There is strong push from the government to support the industry. We have been supplying HCQ to 97 countries of the world and now saving some for us. We are also supplying paracetamol to 103 countries. The government in its exit plan for the lockdown is supporting the industry to improve its production of various drugs because large number of drugs are exported to some of the less developed countries by India.
Q. Even though India is among the leaders in manufacturing of generic drugs, we are heavily dependent on China for import of APIs. What can be done to become self-reliant vis-a-vis APIs and how are we planning to do that?
A. India has done well in the pharma sector. We have been exporting drugs to some developed countries also. Are only drawback had been that we have been importing these APIs from countries like China. But now endeavour is to attain self sufficiency in APIs also and is is a significant reform that is taking place in this industry at this moment.
Q. Many economists are making the argument that since our mortality rate is so low, probably we should open up the economy in one go and treat people as much as cases come. The view is quite contrary to most of public health experts' advice to flatten the curve like South Korea, etc. What is the way forward for India?
A. Our government's thinking is very clear and has been elaborated by PM himself when he said that 'jaan' is also important and 'jaahan' is also important. For me as Health Minister, my foremost duty is to save every life from succumbing to COVID-19. We are into a dynamic strategy to mitigate covid but you have seen yourself we are now opening up lockdown also. and thats been done by the Home ministry is to make sure that we are able to take care of the economy also and we are able to help people who have suffered because of the economic slowdown post-lockdown.
Follow our full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak here | health minister says india's fight against deadly COVID-19 has been exemplary. a vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. a vaccine helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. a vaccine is a vaccine that is given to healthy people and vulnerable sections. a vaccine is a vaccine that is given to people who are at risk of developing a disease. | Positive |
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/personal-finance/i-have-no-retirement-savings-how-should-i-start-now-3260551.html | Moneycontrol Contributor
Dev Ashish
“I have no retirement savings. But now I think I should do something before its too late. But how and where exactly do I begin?”
I am sure many of you would relate to this situation.
Those of you in your 20s might feel its too early while those in 40s might feel it’s already late. But to be honest, both aren’t quite right. I will talk about this a little later in this article.
But if you don’t have any retirement savings and wish to begin now, then what exactly should you do?
The very first thing to consider as part of your retirement savings is the EPF (Employee’s Provident Fund).
This is the mandatory savings that (thankfully) happens even before you get your salary. And that is exactly why it works so well - money is deducted automatically even before it reaches you, thereby eliminating the need to take savings decisions every month. And the best part is that the employer also matches your contributions. So for example - if your monthly EPF contribution is Rs 5000, then most probably the employer will also contribute an additional Rs 5000. This doubling up of EPF contributions help bulk up the saving.
Fix this thought in your mind that EPF is only there for your retirement and nothing else. Make sure you don’t touch it even when you have the option of using it when switching jobs.
EPF can be the core of your retirement savings for time being. But what after the mandatory EPF contributions?
If you are a conservative investor, then consider making extra contributions via VPF to your existing PF corpus. And if your employer doesn’t offer EPF or if you are self-employed, then PPF can be the first thing that you should start with.
Both EPF (+VPF) and PPF are a good starting point and take care of retirement savings to some extent. But the returns generated aren’t enough to beat inflation.
So what else can be considered?
Equity is known to deliver inflation-beating returns in the long run. So apart from your PF savings, start investing in equity mutual funds to further bulk up your retirement savings.
A combination of EPF (PPF) + SIP in Equity funds should do the trick if you are beginning to save for your retirement.
How much in debt and how much in equity is a question of asset allocation. A good investment advisor can help you take that call wisely. But if you are on your own, then keep it simple:
> Conservative - More in EPF (+VPF and PPF) and less in Equity Funds
> Balanced - Equally in EPF (+VPF and PPF) and Equity Funds> Aggressive - More in Equity Funds and the minimum mandatory amounts in EPF.
Note: Some pointers on how to go about picking your mutual funds can be found here and here.
Also, ensure that you increase the investment amount every year in line with salary hikes. This is as simple as it gets.
Now allow me to come back to the point I made earlier. People in 20s might feel its too early while those in 40s might feel it’s already late. As I said, both aren’t quite right.
Those advocates of early saving (me included) will tell you that if you start early, the power of compounding works in your favor and helps reach a big corpus by saving small amounts. And rightly so.
This realization in itself results in many people having this guilt of not starting early enough.
But let me tell you something - it’s not too late to start even if you aren’t very early. How? Read on.
Suppose you wish to create a retirement corpus of Rs 6 crore by the age of 60. If you begin now aged 30, then you need about Rs 18-20,000 per month for the next 30 years. But if you wait 10 years and begin at age 40, then you need to save Rs 62-65,000 per month for the next 20 years.
It is easy to see that you need to save less if you start early.
Unfortunately, most people realize this late in life.
But fortunately, their income too would have increased by then. So their ability to invest higher amounts later on in life also increases.
So what is lost by not starting early, can to some extent be made up by investing more later.
This isn’t exactly advisable but it isn’t that bad if you still haven’t started.
But you shouldn’t delay it any longer!
Starting early works very well as you have more time to build the corpus, that too with small savings. So your future ability to save more later, shouldn’t be the excuse of not starting early if you can. | if you don't have any retirement savings, then what exactly should you do? the very first thing to consider as part of your retirement savings is the EPF (Employee’s Provident Fund) this is the mandatory savings that happens even before you get your salary. if your monthly EPF contribution is Rs 5000, then most likely the employer will also contribute an additional Rs 5000. | Positive |
https://www.financialexpress.com/economy/green-shoots-in-the-economy-are-visible-pm-modi/1993732/ | Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday asserted that ‘green shoots’ had started to emerge in the economy and called for the need to focus on both lives and livelihood while ensuring that economic activity gathered pace, with the lifting of various lockdown-related curbs over the past two weeks.
Taking stock of the situation with chief ministers of various states via video-conference following the Unlock 1.0, the Prime Minister said: “Green shoots have begun to emerge in the economy, power consumption has begun to go up, fertiliser sale in May has been double that of May last year; kharif crop, two-wheeler production, digital payments too showing positive signs.”
Modi met chief ministers and lieutenant governors of 21 states and Union territories, including Punjab, Kerala, Uttarakhand and northestern states on Tuesday. On Wednesday, the Prime Minister is scheduled to meet chief ministers of another 15 states (relatively large ones), including Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Gujarat.
He also exhorted the states to work together on strengthening value chains to revive trade and industry. “The more we are able to contain the spread of Covid-19, the more we will be able to open up our economy, markets, offices, transport modes and the more new job opportunities will emerge,” he said.
At the same time, Modi also highlighted the need to to follow all precautions such as wearing masks, maintaining physical distance and cautioned against any laxity.
Stressing that the country’s recovery rate has exceeded 50%, the Prime Minister said India is now among those countries where the number of death is among the least, even though the government considers every death as unfortunate and sad. Timely decisions have helped the country contain the fury of the pandemic, he added.
“Thousands of Indians have returned home from abroad, lakhs of migrant workers have reached their villages; rail, road, air and sea routes have been opened, even then, despite having such a big population, Covid-19 has not spread as much as in some countries,” Modi said. “When India’s fight is examined in future, how we fought this together, providing a fine example of cooperative federalism, will be noted,” he said.
According to the health ministry data, India has 1,53,178 active Covid cases, while 1,80,012 people have been cured and 9,900 people have died of the pandemic.
“Two weeks of the Unlock 1.0 has shown that if we follow rules and guidelines, there will be minimal harm due to Covid-19,” he added. “If we ensure through bankers’ committees that enterprises get prompt credit, it will help them resume operations and provide employment to people,” the Prime Minister said.
The Prime Minister also shed light on various relief measures for critical sectors of the economy under the recently-announced Rs 21 lakh crore package, including for MSMEs, agriculture, horticulture and fisheries. The package includes collateral-free, extra working capital loans for MSMEs (up to 20%) with official guarantee, which is expected to benefit 45 lakh MSME units. | prime minister says 'green shoots' have begun to emerge in economy. he met chief ministers of 21 states and utmost territories. he is scheduled to meet chief ministers of 15 other states on tuesday. he stressed that the country's recovery rate has exceeded 50%. he said the country is now among those countries where the number of death is among the least. | Positive |
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/markets/trade-setup-for-friday-top-15-things-to-know-before-opening-bell-68-4781081.html | Bulls gained control of Dalal Street on January 2 as strong global and local cues pushed Nifty within striking distance of fresh record highs and led to over 300-point rally in the BSE Sensex.
The S&P BSE Sensex rose 321 points to 41,627 while the Nifty 50 ended at fresh record closing high of 12,282 with gains of nearly 100 points.
According to Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, government’s plan of more than doubling CAPEX over the next 5 years, and the firming up of steel prices after the US and China announced a date to sign the trade deal, pushed the market higher. He believes expectations from the Union Budget, and positive data like GST revenue and 7-month high on India factory production led to the broad-based rally.
“The hike in steel prices undertaken by steelmakers boosted the market sentiment heavily. The move indirectly suggests a recovery in the core economy-related sectors like infra, capital goods, cement, commodities and transport going ahead. Technically, Nifty is heading towards 12,350 level, while on the lower side, 12,250-12,240 would act as major supports for the market,” said Shrikant Chouhan, Senior Vice-President - Equity Technical Research at Kotak Securities.
We have collated 15 data points to help you spot profitable trades:
Key support and resistance level for Nifty
According to the pivot charts, the key support level for Nifty is placed at 12,221.63, followed by 12,161.07. If the index continues moving up, key resistance levels to watch out for are 12,316.33 and 12,350.47.
Nifty Bank
Nifty Bank closed 1.04 percent up at 32,443.85. The important pivot level, which will act as crucial support for the index, is placed at 32,221.67, followed by 31,999.53. On the upside, key resistance levels are placed at 32,565.67 and 32,687.53.
Call options data
Maximum call open interest (OI) of 22.63 lakh contracts was seen at the 12,500 strike price. It will act as a crucial resistance level in the January series.
This is followed by 12,700 strike price, which holds 16.47 lakh contracts in open interest, and 12,200, which has accumulated 14.8 lakh contracts in open interest.
Significant call writing was seen at the 12,700 strike price, which added 1.49 lakh contracts, followed by 12,600 strike price that added 1.42 lakh contracts.
Call unwinding was witnessed at 12,300 strike price, which shed 2.2 lakh contracts, followed by 12,200 which shed 1.6 lakh contracts.
Put options data
Maximum put open interest of 38.7 lakh contracts was seen at 12,000 strike price, which will act as crucial support in the January series.
This is followed by 12,200 strike price, which holds 19.32 lakh contracts in open interest, and 11,800 strike price, which has accumulated 14.75 lakh contracts in open interest.
Put writing was seen at the 12,300 strike price, which added nearly 4.36 lakh contracts, followed by 12,000 strike, which added 3.26 lakh contracts.
A minor put unwinding was seen at 12,500 strike price, which shed 8,025 contracts.
Stocks with a high delivery percentage
A high delivery percentage suggests that investors are showing interest in these stocks.
74 stocks saw long buildup
Based on open interest (OI) future percentage, here are the top 10 stocks in which long buildup was seen.
5 stocks saw long unwinding
26 stocks saw short build-up
An increase in open interest, along with a decrease in price, mostly indicates a build-up of short positions. Based on open interest (OI) future percentage, here are the top 10 stocks in which short build-up was seen.
40 stocks witnessed short-covering
A decrease in open interest, along with an increase in price, mostly indicates a short covering. Based on open interest (OI) future percentage, here are the top 10 stocks in which short-covering was seen.
Bulk deals
(For more bulk deals, click here)
Upcoming analyst or board meetings/briefings
Authum Investment & Infrastructure: The board will meet on January 3 for a general-purpose.
Octaware Technologies: The board will meet on January 3 for a general-purpose.
Deccan Bearings: The board will meet on January 3 to consider and approve their quarterly results.
Mitshi India: The board will meet on January 4 to consider and approve preferential issuance of shares.
Unitech: The board will meet on January 4 to consider and approve their quarterly results.
Stocks in the news
SBI, Union Bank: The State Bank of India (SBI) and Union Bank of India are looking to sell their non-performing loans totalling Rs 2,836 crore to banks, asset reconstruction companies and other financial institutions.
ONGC: The company on January 2 walked away with all the seven oil and gas blocks on offer in the latest bid round that saw just eight bids coming in.
Hero MotoCorp: The country's largest two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp on January 2 reported a 6.41 percent decline in total sales at 4,24,845 units in December 2019.
MTNL: MTNL has started the process to monetise assets worth Rs 23,000 crore as it aims to turn profitable in the next fiscal year, PTI reported.
TVS Motor Company: The company reported a 14.67 percent decline in total sales to 2,31,571 units in December 2019.
IIFL Securities: Billionaire investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala's RARE Enterprises bought 27,84,879 shares of the company in a bulk deal on BSE.
FII and DII data
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth Rs 688.76 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), too, bought shares of worth Rs 63.95 crore in the Indian equity market on January 2, provisional data available on the NSE showed.
Fund flow
Stock under F&O ban on NSE
Yes Bank is under the F&O ban for January 3. Securities in the ban period under the F&O segment include companies in which the security has crossed 95 percent of the market-wide position limit. | bulls gained control of Dalal Street on January 2 as strong global and local cues pushed Nifty within striking distance of fresh record highs. the S&P BSE Sensex rose 321 points to 41,627 while the Nifty 50 ended at fresh record closing high of 12,282 with gains of nearly 100 points. government’s plan of more than doubling CAPEX over the next 5 years, and the firming up of steel prices after the US and China announced a date to sign the trade | Positive |
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/personal-finance/we-expect-increased-defaults-on-home-loan-emis-sovan-mandal-of-imgc-5619691.html | With many people’s finances still in doldrums, banks are wary of giving fresh loans. In such a scenario, mortgage guarantee backed home loans help as borrowers can get loans for higher tenure beyond the retirement age. India Mortgage Guarantee Corporation (IMGC) is India’s only such mortgage guarantee firm, having tied up with atleast 15 lenders, and covers loans of around Rs 9,000 crore across more than 50,000 customers. Sovan Mandal, Chief Business Officer, India Mortgage Guarantee Corporation (IMGC), speaks to Hiral Thanawala of Moneycontrol in this interview. Excerpts:
What percentage of your customers has opted for loan moratorium?
When the moratorium scheme was first announced, more than 40 per cent of our borrowers (those who took loans from our bank partners) had opted for the moratorium. There were mainly two reasons: they either faced a cash crunch or they did not understand moratorium properly. Over the past few months, people have got back to normalcy and have started paying their EMIs. As per the latest data available, 26 per cent of our customers are in the moratorium phase.
Most of the lenders are expecting borrowers who opted for home loan moratoriums to become delinquent once the moratorium ends. How would your role kick in if EMI defaults happen?
Guarantee programs such as ours will support the financial eco-system by protecting lenders against credit losses which could spike significantly during such downturns.
We have done our analysis. We expect defaults on repayments to go up under these stressed situations. But we are in a position to support with cash flows to the lenders.
It also gives us an opportunity to establish the value of a guarantee product, as the usual perception has been that default is usually insignificant in home loans. Most of the lenders have not really understood the long cycle risk of the home loan business and how guarantee products protect them against such risk. The pandemic has changed this perception.
Why is mortgage guarantee needed in these pandemic times while applying for a home loan? Will having a ‘mortgage guarantee’ revive home loans demand after COVID-19 ends?
Most of the lenders are wary of lending in the current economic uncertainty. Some of the lenders are tightening their policy norms.
We are working with our lender partners to mitigate the risk with mortgage guarantee, so most are now looking at leveraging the mortgage guarantee instead of tightening their lending policies.
If the government or the regulator allows certain benefits to accrue to lenders on account of mortgage guarantee, such as lower provisioning, and capital requirement, or allows higher loan-to-value (LTV) lending – up to 90 per cent with mortgage guarantee, similar to other developed markets – it would help to revive the demand for home loans.
What portion of a typical housing loan does IMGC guarantee? Do you assess borrowers before agreeing to guarantee their loans?
Regulations allow us to guarantee up to 100 per cent of the loan amount. But, higher the coverage, the greater is the capital requirement for us and thus the cost also goes up. So, most lenders agree to get a guarantee of 20 per cent cover. This is adequate to cover losses. Borrowers are willing to pay the fees for mortgage guarantee.
No additional parameters are assessed other than those required to judge the eligibility for home loans. But the cost of guarantee is added to the EMI that the borrower pays.
When can a bank invoke a mortgage guarantee?
Generally, a mortgage guarantee gets invoked when the borrower turns into a non-performing assets (NPA) as per the RBI regulations. A home loan is defined as an NPA when the account is 90 days past due. The reasons could be the demise of the borrower, job loss, medical emergency in the family, willful default, and so on. That is when our cover kicks in and we pay the guarantee amount to the lender.
What is the cost added to the EMI after opting for a mortgage guarantee scheme?
The one-time fee varies from 1 per cent to 1.8 per cent (of the entire home loan amount) depending on various parameters – credit profile of the borrower, loan-to-value ratio, etc. On an average, the EMI, for a customer, goes up by Rs 15 for every Rs 1 lakh home loan, on account of mortgage guarantee fee. So, for a Rs 20 lakh home loan, the mortgage guarantee fee will be Rs 300 every month.
Not many borrowers are aware of mortgage guarantee schemes and their benefits. How you are planning to educate them?
Unfortunately, we do not have any competition and we are the only organisation working on creating the whole segment. As more and more lenders integrate mortgage guarantee in their offering, the market will slowly adopt it as a new standard and more borrowers will be aware. Also, any regulatory changes will support in increasing the awareness amongst borrowers. | india mortgage guarantee corporation (IMGC) has tied up with 15 lenders. it covers loans of around Rs 9,000 crore across more than 50,000 customers. if a'moratorium' is implemented, it will help to protect lenders.'mortgage guarantee' will help to mitigate the risk of default.'mortgage guarantee' will help to protect against credit losses. | Positive |
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/companies/reliance-jio-silver-lake-deal-key-highlights-5217511.html | American private equity giant Silver Lake Partners has bought 1 percent of Jio Platforms for $750 million in a deal that values the digital unit of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) at $65 billion.
Commenting on the transaction with Silver Lake, Mr. Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director - Reliance Industries Ltd, said, “I am delighted to welcome Silver Lake as a valued partner in continuing to grow and transform the Indian digital ecosystem for the benefit of all Indians. Silver Lake has an outstanding record of being a valuable partner for leading technology companies globally. Silver Lake is one of the most respected voices in technology and finance. We are excited to leverage insights from their global technology relationships for the Indian Digital Society’s transformation.”
Also Read: Silver Lake | Here are key things you need to know about the PE fund
Here are the key highlights of the deal:
> The investment is Rs. 5,656 crore in rupee terms for a 1.15 percent stake
> At this equity value, this is 52 percent of the total market cap. of Reliance
> This reaffirms that Jio continues to grab significant global attention for its deep understanding of the Indian markets, the rapid digitisation opportunity post-covid and our capabilities to bring cutting-edge technologies and tools such as AI, Blockchain, AR/VR, Big data into play for all Indians.
> The world’s largest tech investor is investing in Jio. SLP has a terrific track record of investing in some of the largest and successful tech companies globally such as Twitter, Airbnb, Alibaba, Dell Technologies, ANT Financials, Twitter, Alphabet’s Waymo and Verily amongst others.
> This is the first sizable investment by SLP in India.
> This reaffirms Jio’s tech. capabilities and the potential of the business model even in this COVID-19 world and beyond.
> This is at a 12.5 percent premium over the FB deal announced on April 22, 2020.
Follow our complete coverage of the Jio Silver Lake coverage here.
Disclaimer: Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd. | silver lake partners has bought 1 percent of Jio Platforms for $750 million. deal values digital unit of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) at $65 billion. reaffirms Jio's tech capabilities and potential even in COVID-19 world. at 12.5 percent premium over the FB deal announced on April 22, 2020. 'this is the first sizable investment by SLP in india,' says chairman and Managing Director. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/sensex-climbs-over-100-pts-nifty-above-10500-obc-plunges-8-dr-reddys-3/articleshow/63075190.cms | Domestic stock benchmark indices climbed in the opening session on Monday, comforted by receding worries over US rate hikes.Global markets offered firm cues.The upmove was steered by private banks and select heavyweights such as Reliance Industries, Larsen & Toubro and Tata Steel At 9.20 am, the BSE Sensex was trading higher by 134.09 points, or 0.35 per cent, at 34,263.22. The Nifty50 advanced 44.45 points, or 0.42 per cent, to 10,535.50.Fear gauge, India VIX eased 1.46 per cent to 13.99.Brokerage Nomura India noted that the consolidated FY18 consensus earnings estimates for Nifty stocks fell by 1.6 per cent over the past month, combined with a 4.6 per cent decline in the index to 10,397 on February 21, from 10,895 on January 19."The market earnings multiple has decreased to 16.9 times against 17.9 times a month ago. The market is now trading at a 0.73 per cent premium over its five-year average," the brokerage said in a note.Tata Motors rose 1.68 per cent to Rs 366.50. Tata Steel, Adani Ports and Maruti Suzuki advanced 1.65 per cent, 1.61 per cent and 1.32 per cent, respectively.ICICI Bank, Bajaj Auto and IndusInd bank all jumped up to 1 per cent. And so did Larsen & Toubro, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Axis Bank.Dr Reddy's Labs fell 2.01 per cent following the news that the pharma major has received the establishment inspection report (EIR) from the USFDA for its Srikakulam plant. The stock was down nearly 4 per cent in morning trade.Meanwhile, Aster DM Healthcare will make its market debut today. The IPO, which ran from February 12 to February 15, received bids for 4,88,17,782 shares (1.31 times) as against 3,73,70,415 shares offered by the company. Its qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) quota was subscribed 2.10 times, non-institutional investors 0.55 times and retail 1.19 times. | domestic stock benchmark indices climbed in the opening session on Monday. private banks and select heavyweights such as Tata Steel and ICICI Bank jumped up. the nifty50 advanced 44.45 points, or 0.42 per cent, to 10,535.50. aster DM Healthcare will make its market debut today. a pharma giant has received the establishment inspection report from the usfda. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/services/hotels-/-restaurants/mcdonalds-india-subsidiary-posts-net-profit-finally/articleshow/67250494.cms | Mumbai | New Delhi: After entering India more than two decades ago, burger and fries chain McDonald’s posted its first profit during year-to-March 2018 amid a long-drawn legal dispute with one of its key licensee partners.The local unit of Chicago-headquartered fast food giant posted a net profit of Rs 65.2 lakh during FY17-18, compared with a net loss of Rs 305 crore a year ago, according to its latest filings with the Registrar of Companies.The company has two partners in the country — North & East Business is operated by Connaught Plaza Restaurants (CPRL) while Westlife Development is the master franchisee in the western and southern markets. It entered India in 1996, and over the years, accumulated net loss of Rs 421 crore.“The company has not only been able to stem any further erosion of its net worth, but has also been able to successfully reverse the trend of erosion through the infusion of fresh capital,” McDonald’s India said in its latest regulatory filing. Total income which it earned mostly through royalty, grew 8% to Rs 119.6 crore.There was a strong revival last fiscal when most quick-service restaurants posted high samestore sales growth, helped by a surge in discount-driven footfalls at malls and greater presence in new markets.During the year, the company allotted shares worth Rs 71 crore to the parent company and also increased authorised capital by Rs 50 crore to Rs 458 crore.Last August, the company terminated all its franchise arrangements in favour of CPRL. McDonald’s had terminated its joint venture, directing CPRL to stop using its brand system, trademark, designs and associated intellectual property. The latest filings said its investments in the licensee partner were impaired and accordingly a provision of Rs 198.2 crore has been considered in the financial statements for diminution in value of investments in CPRL.The Bakshi versus McDonald’s legal battle dates back to August 2013 when the latter was fired as the managing director of the joint venture. Trouble between Bakshi-led CPRL and the 50:50 JV between him and McDonald’s India escalated when Bakshi challenged his removal at the Company Law Board (now National Company Law Tribunal or NCLT), accusing McDonald’s India of mismanagement and oppression.NCLT had reinstated Bakshi as managing director in July 2017. Bakshi’s allegation was that the termination of the JV by McDonald’s violated an earlier NCLT order which asked McDonald’s Corp to refrain from interfering in the smooth functioning of CPRL. This resulted in NCLT issuing a show cause notice to McDonald’s Corp, which the US chain challenged in the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT).The eating-out market in India, which is dominated by unorganised players, is expected to reach $131 billion by 2022. The total sales of quick-service restaurants are estimated to grow by 9.2% to reach $21.6 billion by then, according to Euromonitor data.Further, the western fast food market that is just 1.3% of the overall eating-out market, is expected to grow the fastest by 13.4% to reach $1.8 billion in 2022. | the local unit of fast food giant posted a net profit of Rs 65.2 lakh during FY17-18. it compared with a net loss of Rs 305 crore a year ago. the company entered india in 1996, and accumulated net loss of Rs 421 crore. it has two partners in the country — north & east business is operated by CPRL. | Positive |
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/sme-sector/nbfcs-offering-consumer-sme-gold-loans-manage-to-beat-sector-blues-with-strong-numbers/articleshow/70598760.cms |
Non-banking finance companies such as Bajaj Finance, Sundaram Finance and Manappuram Finance posted strong growth in the past quarter, even as the sector was still negotiating its worst crisis in a decade and some like Reliance Capital and Dewan Housing missed payment commitments.Sound management practices and absence of financial engineering helped these outperformers navigate the crisis and grow bigger, said industry trackers. While the cost of funds increased for most NBFCs with banks becoming cautious about lending to the sector, these companies saw financing costs ease even.NBFCs in the consumer, SME, gold loan, commercial vehicle finance and microfinance segments have been relatively less affected by the liquidity crisis in the sector. For the companies that give loans against gold, the assetliability maturity levels are positive. They also have low leverage, pricing power and a highly liquid collateral, which would ensure easy access to bond markets as well as bank funding.“Growth and asset quality are expected to be different across asset classes,” said Crisil in a report.“The unsecured loans and gold loans businesses are unlikely to witness any material impact.”Growth in the NBFC sector halved in October-March FY19, and still remains impacted as access to funding has become challenging and they are caught up in managing liquidity. At the same time, unsecured loans including personal loans, consumer durable loans and business loans, as well as two-wheeler finance grew 30 per cent, and vehicle finance business expanded 18 per cent.Meanwhile, in the first quarter this fiscal year, Bajaj Finance reported a profit growth of 23 per cent, Sundaram Finance posted a 12 per cent increase and Cholamandalam Investment, 10 per cent. Mahindra Finance reported a 66 per cent fall in profit and Indiabulls a 24 per cent decline.While some of the NBFCs had less trouble raising funds, others had to look beyond the traditional routes of mutual funds and banks for funds in the past nine months.They are working at tapping foreign money and some are even trying to tap wealthy individuals.They have also reduced dependence on short-term funding like commercial papers, as investors sought large discounts. To improve liquidity, many of them have sold down loans. In fiscal 2019, such sell-downs by NBFCs doubled to about ?1 lakh crore. Banks have bought much of these loans sold by NBFCs.NBFCs are working towards deleveraging, with JM Financial, Edelweiss, IIFL, DHFL, Piramal and Indiabulls Housing raising fresh equity and selling down non-core portfolios, as they sought to improve their asset-liability ratios.“Retail-NBFC asset-liability maturities are generally characterised by positive cumulative mismatches in the near-term bucket of less than one year,” said AM Karthik, the sector head of financial sector ratings at Icra. | non-banking finance companies such as Bajaj Finance, Sundaram Finance and Manappuram Finance posted strong growth in the past quarter. despite the crisis, many NBFCs have been relatively less affected by the liquidity crisis. unsecured loans and gold loans businesses are unlikely to witness any material impact. a report by the nbc says the sector is still negotiating its worst crisis in a decade. | Positive |
https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/enterprise-security-moving-towards-a-stronger-security-infrastructure/1993646/ | By Riya Sethi
The increasing number of cyber attacks in recent months has made us apprehensive of the fact that when it comes to cybersecurity, most of the modern-day enterprises are unaware of how to approach security in this untrusted and diverse IT landscape. To add to this, the Covid-19 pandemic has further exposed the vulnerabilities of our remote infrastructure, making businesses highly prone to cyber crimes. In a situation like this it becomes imperative for companies to deploy strategies to safeguard themselves from such attacks. InstaSafe Technologies is doing exactly just that by assisting enterprises to help solve the problems of data security and breaches.
“Digital business transformation requires that systems, services, APIs, data and processes are accessible through multiple ecosystems, anytime, anywhere, leading to the expansion of the surface area for attackers. This contingency has been further accentuated by the outbreak wherein the companies are now forced to rethink their remote access strategies and along with it, audit their security infrastructure,” says Sandip Kumar Panda, founder and CEO, InstaSafe Technologies.
Due to the lockdown, many organisations, especially MSMEs, were found to be woefully inadequate in terms of securing their endpoints and extending remote access to their workforce. “With InstaSafe Emergency Access, we are providing free installation and support charges for 60 days to these organisations, and have also rolled out special plans to support them thereafter,” he explains. It has enabled all its endpoints with the InstaSafe ZTAA Solution which is more secure and hassle-free than the traditional methods since it is cloud-delivered and does not require any new hardware setup.
“The Covid-19 is hitting hard on the world economy and it is anticipated that a large portion of the workforce will be laid off. And this layoff will inevitably lead to disgruntled former employees trying to siphon off sensitive data, necessitating the need for additional layers of security. Owing to this, more and more companies are moving towards a zero trust architecture, by which they do not trust any user, action, or network from the onset, but instead rely on a combination of multi-factor authentication, continuous monitoring, and granular access control to build a robust security setup,” informs Panda.
Another product from InstaSafe is ‘Safehats’; this platform offers innovative offensive cybersecurity coordination technology backed by crowd sourced vulnerability discovery to protect companies. It has also created a Covid-19 precautions document to make people aware about the associated security risks. InstaSafe is incubated by Microsoft Ventures and Citrix Accelerators, and funded by IAN, CAN & ABM Knowledgeware. | instaSafe technologies is helping enterprises to help solve the problems of data security and breaches. many organisations, especially MSMEs, were found to be woefully inadequate in terms of securing their endpoints and extending remote access to their workforce. the company has enabled all its endpoints with the InstaSafe ZTAA Solution which is more secure and hassle-free than the traditional methods. | Positive |