General Awareness

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - September 2015

Sep 2015

Jan 05, 2021

Vietnam Buys from India for the First Time in Decades

Vietnam, the world's third biggest exporter of rice, has started buying the grain from rival India for the first time in decades after local prices jumped to their highest in nine years amid limited domestic supplies.
The purchases highlight tightening supplies in Asia, which could lift rice prices in 2021 and even force traditional buyers of rice from Thailand and Vietnam to switch to India — the world's biggest exporter of the grain.
Indian traders have been contracted to export 70,000 tonnes of 100% broken rice for January and February shipments at around $310 per tonne on a free-on-board (FOB) basis.

HCL Technologies Completes Acquisition of DWS

HCL Technologies completed acquisition of Australian IT solutions firm DWS. In September last year, HCL Technologies had announced it will acquire DWS, a move that will help the Indian company strengthen its position in the Australian and New Zealand market.
DWS has over 700 employees and offices in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, and Canberra. With FY20 revenue at 167.9 million Australian dollars, the company provides a wide range of IT services including digital transformation, application development and support, program and project management and consulting.

ADB Signs 100 Million Loan to Upgrade the Power Distribution in Bengaluru

Asian Development Bank signed an agreement of 100 million USD to modernize and upgrade the power distribution in Bengaluru city.
The 100 million USD loan is to be used to enhance the quality and reliability of electricity supply in Bengaluru city under the Bengaluru Smart Energy Efficient Power Distribution Project. Also, the loan will be used to install 2,800 km of fiber optical cables. These fiber optical cables are to be laid in parallel to the underground distribution cables. This parallel laying of the electrical and communication lines will help to reduce technical and commercial losses by 30%.
The fiber optical cables are to be used for smart metering systems and distribution automation system in the distribution grid. Also, the project will install 1,700 automated ring main units to control the distribution line switch gears.

Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, JPMorgan Chase to Disband Health Venture

Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan will disband Haven, the joint venture aimed at lowering health care costs for their US employees, just three years after launching.
The announcement means the three major American companies admitted defeat in their attempt to address one of the most vexing and long-standing problems for employers and employees alike in the world's largest economy.
Haven said that the venture would end in late February, although the companies plan to continue to collaborate informally to design programs tailored to address the specific needs of their own employee populations.

Jan 04, 2021

Metal Giants in Race for Uttam Galva

Metal billionaires Lakshmi Mittal, brothers Sajjan Jindal & Naveen Jindal, and Anil Agarwal (of Vedanta) have shown an interest in Uttam Galva Steels, which has been put on the block by lenders. Mittal has the highest exposure to Uttam Galva's liabilities of Rs. 9,742 crore, followed by other financial and operational creditors.
Phoenix Asset Reconstruction Company (ARC), owned by Kotak Mahindra, has also thrown in its hat for Uttam Galva, for which the initial bid deadline ended last month. The ARC too has an exposure to the 35-year-old, Mumbai-based company's liabilities.
Uttam Galva, founded by Rajendra Miglani, is among the largest makers of value-added steel in western India with facilities located at Khopoli, about 75 km from Mumbai. Value-added steel is used in automobiles, aerospace and consumer durable industries. The company posted a loss of Rs. 140 crore on a revenue of Rs. 277 crore in the first six months of FY20.

Exports Fall 0.8 per cent in December, Trade Deficit Widens

Contracting for the third straight month, India's exports slipped marginally by 0.8 per cent in December 2020 even as the trade deficit widened to USD 15.71 billion due to the rise in imports.
Exports in December 2020 stood at USD 26.89 billion, as compared to USD 27.11 in the same month of 2019.
The rate of contraction in the country's outbound shipments has improved against a decline of 8.74 per cent in November, mainly due to the increase in shipments of certain sectors such as gems and jewellery, engineering and chemicals.
After a gap of nine months, imports in December recorded a positive growth of 7.6 per cent at USD 42.6 billion. In February 2020, it had registered a rise of 2.48 per cent.

Chinese Firm Bags Rapid Rail Contract

The Centre's strained financial position has compelled it to award a contract to a Chinese company for a vital section of the Delhi-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS).
India has so far borrowed $1.5 billion (over Rs. 10,000 crore) from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Manila, and the New Development Bank, Shanghai, for the Delhi-Meerut RRTS, the first of its kind in the country on which sleek, aerodynamic trains will attain top speeds of 180 kmph.
Both banks make it conditional that its members must get to participate in tenders. As China is a member of both NDB and ADB, Shanghai Tunnel Engineering Company Limited was permitted to compete, and it won the tender for the construction of a 5.6-km underground stretch, from New Ashok Nagar to Sahibabad. The National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC), which awarded the tender to the lowest bid among five competitors, suggested the ADB's procurement guidelines for lending do not permit discrimination with member countries in bidding.

ADB to Provide $231 mn Loan to Enhance Power Generation Capacity in Assam

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide a USD 231-million loan to augment electricity generation capacity in Assam through construction of a 120-megawatt (MW) hydroelectric power plant.
ADB and the Government of India signed the loan agreement.
This is the third tranche loan for the ongoing Assam Power Sector Investment Program, which was approved by the ADB board in July 2014. The programme, including its two previous tranches, focuses on enhancing capacity and efficiency of the energy generation and distribution systems in Assam to improve electricity service to end users.
The proposed hydroelectric project is run-of-the-river project over Kopili river which will help increase electricity supplied from clean energy by 469 gigawatt-hour (GWh) by 2025 and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 3.6 lakh tonnes of carbon dioxide annually.

Jan 03, 2021

TCS Completes Buyout of Postbank Systems

IT major TCS completed acquisition of 100% shares of Postbank Systems AG (PBS) from Deutsche Bank AG.
PBS has been the internal IT provider for Postbank AG, a subsidiary of Deutsche Bank, catering for the German retail banking market. It has approximately 1,500 employees across nine locations in Germany.
The transaction will see the employees of PBS become a part of the Mumbai-based company.

IFSCA Becomes Member of International Organisation of Securities Commissions

International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) has become an associate member of the International Organisation of Securities Commissions.
The International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) works closely with the G20 and the Financial Stability Board in setting up the standards for strengthening the securities markets.
The IOSCO Objectives and Principles of Securities Regulation have been endorsed by Financial Stability Board as one of the key standards for sound financial systems.
The membership of IOSCO would provide IFSCA the platform to exchange information at the global level and regional level on areas of common interests.
The first International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) in the country has been set up at the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT) in Gandhinagar.

RBI launches Digital Payments Index

The Reserve Bank of India has constructed a composite Digital Payments Index (DPI) with March 2018 as the base period to capture the extent of digitization of payments across the country.
The DPI for March 2019 and March 2020 work out to 153.47 and 207.84, respectively, indicating (an) appreciable growth. Going forward, RBI-DPI will be published on the central bank's website on a semi-annual basis from March 2021 onwards with a lag of four months.

Ford and Mahindra Call Off Deal

Ford Motor Co said that it was calling off its automotive joint venture with India's Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd due to the challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The companies said in separate statements that the decision was driven by changes in the global economy over the last 15 months, causing both to reassess their capital allocation priorities.
The deadline to finalise a joint venture between the companies was Dec. 31, and both made the decision to end the agreement rather than close a deal or extend the timetable to do so.

Jan 02, 2021

Zhong Shanshan Replaces Mukesh Ambani as Asia's Richest Man

Zhong Shanshan, founder of bottled water company Nongfu Spring, has overtaken Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani as the richest person in Asia, with a net worth of USD 77.8 billion.
As per Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Zhong's net worth has surged USD 70.9 billion making him the richest man in Asia above both Mukesh Ambani and China's Jack Ma.
It has been one of the fastest growth in wealth. Two major factors behind the surge in his wealth are the mega listings of his vaccine manufacturing company Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy Enterprise Co in April followed by that of his bottled water company Nongfu on the stock markets.
Globally, he is the 11th richest individual, just a rank above Ambani, who is the 12th richest in the world now with a net worth of USD 76.9 billion. Ambani's net worth has grown by USD 18.3 billion.

Interest Rate on PPF, NSC, Other Small Savings Schemes Unchanged for Q4

The government kept the interest rates on small savings schemes, including PPF and NSC, unchanged for the January-March quarter amid moderating bank deposit rates. Public Provident Fund (PPF) and National Savings Certificate (NSC) will continue to carry an annual interest rate of 7.1 % and 6.8 %, respectively. Interest rates for small savings schemes are notified by the Finance Ministry on a quarterly basis.
"The rates of interest on various small savings schemes for the fourth quarter of 2020-21 ending on March 31 shall remain unchanged from those notified for the third quarter (October 1-December 31, 2020)", the Finance Ministry said in a notification.

IDBI Bank Sells Stake in its Life Insurance Arm to Ageas

Private lender IDBI Bank has concluded the sale of 23 per cent stake in IDBI Federal Life Insurance Company Ltd (IFLI) to Ageas Insurance International NV for a consideration of Rs. 507 crore. With this, Ageas will hold 49 per cent stake in the insurance venture, which is now being rebranded as Ageas Federal Life Insurance Company.
In August 2020, IDBI Bank had inked a pact to sell up to 27 per cent in IDBI Federal Life to venture partners Ageas and Federal Bank. Of the total shareholding to be divested, 23 per cent was to be sold to Ageas while Federal Bank would acquire up to four per cent stake.

ICICI Bank and Google Pay Collaborate to Bring Digital Registration of FASTag

ICICI Bank has announced that it is collaborating with Google to issue FASTag. It has become the first bank to join hands with Google Pay for the issuance of FASTag.
Customers will now be able to order, track and recharge ICICI Bank FASTag via the Google Pay app. Currently, Google Pay users could recharge their FASTag on the app, but purchasing one directly from the Google app was not possible.
The new partnership will now allow users to conveniently order, track, and recharge ICICI Bank FASTags from the app itself. The government has made January 1, 2021, as the new date for mandatorily adding FASTags to vehicles.

Jan 01, 2021

JMC Projects Bags Building Orders Orders Worth Rs. 698 crore

Engineering firm JMC Projects bagged orders worth Rs. 698 crore in the South India.
As per the company's CEO and Deputy Managing Director S. K. Tripathi, order inflows for the current year have crossed Rs. 6,700 crore, and the company remains confident to achieve the targeted numbers for the financial year 2020-21.
JMC Projects (India) Limited is a subsidiary of Kalpataru Power Transmission Ltd.

Agrochemicals Firm UPL Completes Pre-payment of $410 Million Senior Notes

Agrochemicals manufacturer UPL completed the pre-payment of USD 410 million of 3.25 per cent senior notes due in October 2021.
The pre-payment, which concluded on December 28, was done using the cash on its balance sheet. This pre-payment is in line with its commitment to reduce debt.
UPL, earlier known as United Phosphorus Ltd, is an Indian multinational company that manufactures and markets agrochemicals, industrial chemicals, chemical intermediates and specialty chemicals besides offering crop protection solutions.

Ahmedabad, Pune, Chennai most Affordable Housing Markets of 2020

Ahmedabad is the most affordable housing market in the country with an affordability ratio of 24 per cent followed by Pune and Chennai at 26 per cent each in 2020.
While Mumbai is the most expensive market, with affordability ratio of (61 per cent), other cities like Ahmedabad, Chennai and Pune are relatively more affordable.
The affordability ratio for Mumbai has improved from a high of 93 per cent in 2010 to 61 per cent in 2020.
According to Knight Frank's proprietary Affordability Index 2020, which tracks the EMI (Equated Monthly Installment) to income ratio for an average household, has shown improvement in affordability over the last decade.
The Knight Frank Affordability index captures movement in key constituents like property prices, home loan interest rate and household income that determine the buyer's ability to purchase a house.

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