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BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - February 2017

Feb 2017

May 12, 2018

Industrial Growth Falls to 5-month Low

Industrial output growth fell to a five-month low of 4.4 per cent in March due to decline in capital goods production and deceleration in mining activity and power generation.

Industrial growth measured by the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) in 2017-18 too decelerated to 4.3 per cent from 4.6 per cent in the previous fiscal.

Venkatesan Quits Infosys Board

As per reports, Infosys' independent director, Ravi Venkatesan, who was the co-chairman of the board last year when former CEO and managing director Vishal Sikka quit, has stepped down with immediate effect.

Mr. Venkatesan has been an independent director since 2011 and served briefly as co-chairman before successfully transitioning this responsibility when Nandan Nilekani became chairman in August 2017.

Dena Bank Barred from Fresh Lending

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has barred state-run lender Dena Bank from extending fresh credit in view of deteriorating financial health due to mounting non-performing assets (NPAs). In addition, the lender has also been barred from recruiting more staff.

The bank can disburse loans for the credit facilities already sanctioned.

Punjab Signs MoU with UK

The Punjab government signed a pact with the UK for setting up of bio-gas and bio-CNG plants in the state.

The MoU has been signed with Rika Biofuels Development Ltd UK by Punjab Bureau of Industrial Promotion (PBIP) and Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA).

May 11, 2018

Titan Q4 Net Jumps

Tata Group firm Titan reported a 70.86% jump in consolidated net profit for the fourth quarter. Total income stood at Rs. 4,125.69 crore as against Rs. 3,692.82 crore in the year earlier period.

Hero-Burman's Bid Wins Fortis Board's Nod

The Hero-Burman consortium has emerged winner in the race for Fortis Healthcare Ltd. after the Fortis board approved the combine's Rs. 1,800 crore binding offer.

Lowest Bidders for Solar Park

Energy firms Sprng, Ayana and SB have emerged as lowest bidders in the auction by state-run power giant NTPC for a total capacity of 750 MW at Ananthapuram Solar Park in Andhra Pradesh.
While Sprng Energy quoted a tariff of Rs. 2.72 per unit, Ayana Renewables and SB Energy quoted Rs. 2.73 per unit each in the auction.
The three companies had bid for 250 MW each.

Medical Device Maker Lepu Enters India

Chinese medical device maker Lepu Medical Technology (Beijing) Co. has entered the Indian market through a subsidiary and is keen to explore opportunities for local manufacturing as well as collaborations.
Lepucare (India) Vascular Solutions Pvt. Ltd., the subsidiary, is the fifth such set up by the firm globally, with the U.S., the Netherlands, France and Turkey home to the other units.

Telangana CM Launches Scheme 'Rythu Bandhu'

Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao launched an investment support scheme for farmers, claimed to be the first such initiative in the country.
Under the scheme 'Rythu Bandhu' (friend of farmers), Rs. 8,000 per acre per year will be given to all farmers who own land.
Rao said that a budgetary allocation of Rs 12,000 crore has been made for the scheme in 2018-19.

May 10, 2018

SFL Sets Up Foundry Unit in China

Sundram Fasteners Ltd., a TVS Group company has strengthened its presence in China by setting up a foundry unit at Zhejiang.

SFL was the first Indian engineering firm to set up a production unit in China many summers ago.

New Era in Indian Retail

As per founder and CEO of Future Group, Walmart's move to acquire a controlling stake in Flipkart will start a new era in India for both online and offline retail which will benefit the entire retail sector.

This deal means India is building an ecosystem like in China. A combination of online and offline is the new way forward.

Walmart Buys Flipkart

Walmart Inc officially announced to pay USD 16 billion for a roughly 77 per cent stake in Indian online shopping site Flipkart, making it the US retailer`s biggest foreign investment ever.

May 09, 2018

Bids for City Gas Licences Invited

The oil ministry called for bids to set up 86 CNG (compressed natural gas) and PNG (piped natural gas) networks spanning 174 districts in 22 states, making it the largest offering for city gas distribution systems so far.

The geographical areas, which have been formed by merging districts in proximity, cover 24 per cent of the country's area and 29 per cent of its population.

This is the ninth round of auction of city gas distribution licences and will entail an investment of Rs. 70,000 crore for setting up the 86 networks.

Tata Steel Europe Seeking Buyers

Tata Steel Europe is seeking buyers for its non-core business units as the company looks to strengthen its focus on strategic strip products and markets.

The company said that the sale process will cover five business units. These include Cogent (electrical steels maker), Kalzip (aluminium roofing and cladding business based primarily in Germany), Firsteel (which coats steel for kitchen bake ware based in the U.K.), Tata Steel Istanbul Metals (coil coating company) and Engineering Steels Service Centre.

Amazon Pumping Capital into Its India Operations

At a time when Walmart is reportedly set to buy a majority stake in Flipkart, the U.S. retail giant's rival Amazon is pumping capital into its India operations.

The Seattle-based company has invested Rs. 2,600 crore in Amazon Seller Services Pvt. Ltd. (Amazon.in), which runs a marketplace that assists sellers to sell their products online in India and globally.

May 08, 2018

Nestle to Sell Starbucks products

Swiss-based food giant Nestle will pay Starbucks $7.15 billion in cash for the rights to sell the US coffee chain's products around the world in a global alliance aimed at reinvigorating their coffee empires.The deal for a business with $2 billion in sales reinforces Nestle's position as the world's biggest coffee company tries to fortify its place atop a fastchanging market.

Blackrock Exits Indian Mutual Funds Market

BlackRock Inc., the world's largest asset manager, said on Monday it will sell its 40% stake in DSP BlackRock Investment Managers Pvt. Ltd to joint venture partner DSP Group, marking the exit of yet another foreign asset manager from the Indian mutual fund industry.

Carlyle to Sell 4.8% Stake in PNB Housing

Quality Investment Holdings, an arm of the global private equity giant Carlyle, is selling 80 lakh shares of PNB Housing Finance, translating into about 4.8% of its equity, for around Rs 1,040 crore ($153 million) through block deals. The stake is being sold through the accelerated book-building method, for which Morgan Stanley and Citibank are joint book runners. After the deal, Carlyle will hold about 32.5%, with public sector lender PNB which has 60.3%.

Rupee Hits 15-month Low against US Dollars

The rupee weakened past the 67-mark to hit a 15-month low against the US dollars on fears that surging oil prices may impact the country's macroeconomic fundamentals and lead to further outflows from domestic financial markets. The rupee closed at 67.14 against the dollar.

Sachin Bansal to Sell its Entire 5.5% stake to Walmart

Sachin Bansal will sell his entire 5.5% stake in the company he co-founded to Walmart, as he departs from the country's most valuable internet firm. Sachin is set to step down from the Flipkart board as Walmart prepares to invest $12-15 billion in the homegrown web retailer, valuing it at $20 billion. Binny Bansal will stay on as the group CEO and will be additionally appointed as the new executive chairman of the Bengaluru-based e-tailer.

Besides Sachin, SoftBank, which is currently the largest investor in Flipkart with a 23-24% stake, along with early backer South African media and internet giant Naspers, which holds 13%, are likely to exit the online retailer completely. Tiger Global, the New York-based investment fund, which has rallied behind Flipkart for years, as its most key shareholder, along with other early investors, are expected to liquidate 70-80% of their shares to Walmart even as plans are afoot to facilitate an IPO for the Indian e-tailer. From among 50 investors at Flipkart, only Tiger and Tencent are expected to get a board seat each.

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