ICRA Downgrades Two Edelweiss Group Firms Citing Increased Stress
Rating agency ICRA Ltd has downgraded the credit rating of Edelweiss Finance & Investments Ltd and Edelweiss Housing Finance Ltd on account of increased stress within the group.
On May 5, 2020 ICRA Ratings downgraded the credit rating on EFIL's bank lines, debentures and subordinated debt, amounting to Rs 2,735 crore by one notch. The rating agency also downgraded the credit ratings on EHFL's borrowin.
ICRA downgraded EFILs' long-term debt to A+ from AA-. EHFL's long term debt rating has also been down to A+ from AA-.
GSK Pte, Horlicks to Sell 5.7% in HUL for $3.3 Bn
GlaxoSmithKline Pte and Horlicks will sell 5.69% stake in Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) in a deal valued at Rs. 24,750 crore or nearly $3.3 billion.
A total of 13.4 crore equity shares would be sold in bulk deals in a price band of Rs. 1,850 to Rs. 1,950.
Shares of HUL, which is the country's largest pure play fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) company, fell 1.57%.
May 06, 2020
Kalpataru Completes Sale of 100 pc Stake in Kalpataru Satpura Transco to CLP India
Kalpataru Power Transmission Limited (KPTL) has successfully completed sale of its entire stake in Kalpataru Satpura Transco Private Limited (KSTPL) to CLP India Private Limited.
CLP India is owned by CLP Group, one of the largest investor-owned power businesses in Asia, and Caisse de dpt et placement du Qubec (CDPQ), one of Canada's leading institutional fund managers.
The company, however, did not disclose the financial details of the transaction.
May 05, 2020
RBI Cancels Licence of Mumbai-based CKP Co-operative Bank
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has cancelled the licence of Mumbai-based CKP Co-operative Bank Ltd as its financial position is unsustainable and also not in a position to pay its depositors.
The bank is not satisfying the stipulated minimum regulatory capital requirement of 9 percent, the RBI said while cancelling the licence from the close of business on 30 April, 2020.
SIDBI to Launch Digital Platform for SMEs
Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) will launch a digital platform that will educate stakeholders in the small and medium enterprises (SME) ecosystem and have information on coronavirus-related initiatives for the sector.
The platform, 'India SME Services Platform', designed by SIDBI, will give micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) information about starting operations, getting finance or credit enhancement and other support services.
The government can also monitor actions on policies, schemes and programmes for the sector.
Polycab India buys 50% stake in Ryker from Trafigura
Polycab India (PIL) on 2 May 2020 has signed an agreement with Trafigura, Singapore, to acquire 50% stake in Ryker Base thereby terminating the existing joint venture.
The company had entered into a 50:50 JV with Trafigura in 2016 to incorporate Ryker with an aim to strengthen backward integration of its operations and improve quality of its key input i.e., copper.
Post Trafigura's global strategic decision to exit from value-add manufacturing businesses in India where it is a JV partner, PIL decided to acquire balance 50% stake in Ryker from Trafigura making Ryker a wholly owned subsidiary of PIL. The purchase consideration is likely to be around $4 Million (Rs 300 million).
Silver Lake Checks into Jio Platforms, Snaps Up 1.15% for Over Rs 5,600 cr
Reliance Jio Platforms (Jio Platforms), a subsidiary of Reliance Industries (RIL), is selling 1.15 per cent stake to private equity (PE) firm Silver Lake for Rs 5,655.75 crore.
The investment — the second in a fortnight - highlights its focus on new commerce business and will help it pare debt.
While the deal is smaller than the one with Facebook for 9.99 per cent stake, it comes at a 12.5 per cent premium.
BharatPe Launches Two Apps to Limit the Need to Touch Handsets for Checking Transactions
On 4th May 2020, the BharatPe, a Merchant payment and a leading network provider launched two voice-based applications Paisa Bolega and BharatPe Balance for the account holders to access transactions and balance using without touching the phones in the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Paisa Bolega is a button introduced in the BharatPe which converts the smartphone into a speaker with this voice alerts of transactions by providing loud instant confirmations for all the received payments through their BharatPe quick response (QR).
BharatPe Balance will provide the information about total available balance across the deposits, loan and daily collections through the QR. This will provide a snapshot of the shopkeepers daily QR collections, balance in 12% interest a/c and the loan limit.
May 02, 2020
GI Tag to Manipur Black Rice, Gorakhpur Terracotta
Chak-Hao, the black rice of Manipur and the Gorakhpur terracotta have bagged the Geogrphical Indication (GI) tag.
Chak-Hao has also been used by traditional medical practitioners as part of traditional medicine. According to the GI application filed, this rice takes the longest cooking time of 40-45 minutes due to the presence of a fibrous bran layer and higher crude fibre content.
Kashmir Saffron Gets GI Tag
Kashmir saffron, which is cultivated and harvested in the Karewa (highlands) of Jammu and Kashmir, has been given the Geographical Indication (GI) tag by the Geographical Indications Registry. The spice is grown in some regions of Kashmir, including Pulwama, Budgam, Kishtwar and Srinagar.
The application was filed by the Directorate of Agriculture, Government of Jammu and Kashmir, and facilitated by the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agriculture Sciences and Technology, Kashmir, and Saffron Research Station, Dussu (Pampore).
May 01, 2020
RBI Extends Regulatory Benefits Under SLF-MF Scheme to all Banks
The Reserve Bank of India extended regulatory benefits to all banks including those deploying their own resources to extend liquidity support to the mutual funds under the Special Liquidity Facility for Mutual Funds (SLF-MF) scheme.
The Reserve Bank had announced Rs. 50,000-crore SLF-MF scheme to bailout the mutual funds facing redemption pressure. The scheme was announced in the backdrop of Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund deciding to shut several schemes.
Reliance Industries Announces Largest Rights Offer of Rs 53,125 crore
The Reliance Industries Limited has approved raising of over Rs 53,000 crore from its shareholders through rights issue, its first such issue in almost three decades and the biggest-ever by an Indian company. This was decided during the board meeting of the Reliance Industries on April 30, 2020.
The Reliance board has approved the issuance of equity shares worth Rs 10 each of the company on rights basis to eligible equity shareholders as on the record date of an issue size of Rs 53,125 crore. The information was shared by Reliance Industries in a notification.