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BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - October 2018

Oct 2018

Jun 03, 2019

GSK Arm gets Nod for Merger

GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare Ltd said that its shareholders approved its proposed merger with Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL).
The company has received 99.99% votes in favour of the merger in a shareholders meeting convened by National Company Law Tribunal.
Earlier in January 2019, GSK Consumer Healthcare had informed that it has received approval from the fair trade regulator Competition Commission of India (CCI) for its merger deal with HUL.
In December 2018, Unilever had announced the acquisition of health food portfolio, including popular brands Horlicks and Boost, from GSK in India and over 20 other markets for approximately Rs. 27,750 crore.
Under the deal, Unilever's Indian arm, HUL is acquiring GSK CH India via an all-equity merger, valuing the total business of the latter at Rs. 31,700 crore.

ONGC Topples IOC

Oil and Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC), India's top oil and gas producer, toppled Indian Oil Corp. (IOC) to regain the crown of being the country's most profitable public sector company.
According to earnings statements of the listed companies, ONGC reported a 34% jump in its 2018-19 fiscal net profit to Rs. 26,716 crore.
In comparison, IOC registered a net profit of Rs. 17.274 crore for the fiscal year ended March 31.
ONGC, in the previous two financial years, had lost the most profitable PSU tag to IOC.

SpiceJet to Hire Jet staff

SpiceJet plans to hire up to 2,000 staff, including pilots and cabin crew of the defunct Jet Airways as the no-frills carrier continues to expand its operations.
The airline has taken at least 22 planes that were earlier used by Jet Airways, which temporarily shuttered its operations due to cash crunch in April 2019.

British Airways Resumes Flights to Pakistan

British Airways (BA) resumed its flights to Pakistan, more than 10 years after it halted the service to that country following a bomb blast.
Britain's flagship carrier stopped flying to Pakistan after the Marriott hotel in the capital, Islamabad, was bombed in 2008, killing more than 50 people.
But the airline is now scheduled to fly three times a week, with Boeing 787 Dreamliners, to the Pakistani capital from London Heathrow.
It is the only western airline to resume its service to Islamabad.

Jun 02, 2019

China Raises Tariffs on US Goods

China increased tariffs on billions worth of US goods as it prepares to unveil a blacklist of unreliable foreign companies that analysts say aims to punish US and foreign firms cutting off supplies to telecoms giant Huawei.
Beijing's move hit $60 billion worth of US goods with new punitive tariffs ranging from 5 to 25 per cent, and comes in retaliation for Washington raising punitive tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods to 25 per cent.
The countries have exchanged tariffs on $360 billion in two-way trade so far.

Citroen banks on Phygital Approach for India Sales

French auto major Citroen, which will make its India debut in 2020 with its C5 Aircross SUV, plans to use a 'phygital' approach while entering the highly competitive Indian market, where many foreign car makers have found the going difficult.
Citroen, which would be the second French automaker after Renault to enter the Indian market, plans to initially open stores in ten Indian cities with a focus on the digital experience within the store.

Jun 01, 2019

India to Lose Preferential Trade Terms

As per a Senior State Department official in Washington DC., India will lose access to preferential trade terms with the U.S. under the latter's Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) programme.
The official said that the restoration of benefits remained a possibility if underlying trade issues were resolved, but the withdrawal of India's GSP eligibility, was a done deal.

Defence Secretary Gets Three-month Extension

Defence Secretary Sanjay Mitra was given a three-month extension in office by the government.
He took over as Defence Secretary in May 2017 and was set to retire on May 31, 2019.
Mr. Mitra is a 1982 batch IAS officer of the West Bengal cadre.

India Liberalizes Business Visa Regime

India has liberalised the business visa regime for Chinese citizens, deputy ambassador Acquino Vimal said as bilateral trade inches towards the $100 billion mark for the first time.
Chinese businessmen can now apply for an electronic visa and stay up to 183 days in India without registering with local authorities.
This has considerably eased the travel of Chinese businessmen to India.

May 31, 2019

Amazon Expands Pantry Service

E-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc. said it has expanded its 'Pantry' service to over 110 cities in the country as it bets big on the grocery category to drive growth in business.
Amazon Pantry has been aggressively expanding its presence to smaller cities in the country.
The service was available in 40 cities in November 2018.

Goldman Sachs Invests in India

New York-based investment and financial services major Goldman Sachs has pumped in $250 million to construct one of its largest global workspaces in Bengaluru.
Goldman Sachs' more than 5,000 employees currently work out of six buildings in the city and with the new facility, the company will be able to bring all its staff to a common premises.
The firm's Bengaluru operations began as a back office, driven on cost and time zone advantage, back in 2004 with 290 people.
It has now transformed itself into a sophisticated engineering and design hub that directly touches all global businesses of the bank.

Budget for Metrolines to Link Greater Noida Approved

The Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (Yeida) approved a budget of Rs. 6,869 crore for two Metro links to the proposed greenfield airport in Jewar.
Both the Metro lines will start at Greater Noida's Knowledge Park-II and terminate at Jewar Airport.
One would be an exclusive Airport Express Line, with no stations between Knowledge Park-II and the airport, the other would go through residential, commercial and rural areas along the Yamuna Expressway.
The Uttar Pradesh government has started the process to hire a developer for the airport at Jewar in Greater Noida, which is expected to become the national Capital Region's second airport and take the load off Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport, once completed.
The airport is expected to be operational by 2022-23.
Noida International Airport Limited (NIAL) has invited global players to bid for the development of the airport project.
The NIAL has also handed over the responsibility of preparing a detailed project report for the airport with six runways to the audit and consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.
This project will branch out from the existing Knowledge Park-II station on the Aqua Line, and terminate at Jewar airport.
Earlier, this link was planned between Greater Noida's Pari Chowk and Jewar airport.
The budget for the Metro links was approved in the 65th board meeting of Yeida.

Tata Steel Takeover of Bhushan Energy

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approved the resolution plan of Tata Steel to acquire debt-ridden Bhushan Energy Ltd. for about Rs. 800 crore.
The principal bench of NCLT - Delhi also rejected objections from Bhushan Energy's former promoter Neeraj Singal opposing Tata Steels' bid.
Under the resolution plan, Tata Steel will offer an upfront payment of Rs. 730 crore. It would also pay Rs. 50 crore additionally to operational creditors of the company.

Three PSUs Ink Joint Venture Pact

Three public sector units, National Aluminium Company (NALCO), Mineral Exploration Corporation Ltd. and Hindustan Copper Ltd. are set to sign by next month, a joint venture (JV) agreement for making overseas acquisition of reserves of rare metals like lithium and cobalt.
The first acquisition is likely to be made within six months NALCO will hold 34% of the proposed Rs. 100 crore equity, with the other two companies holding 33% each. The JV will acquire assets in overseas countries.

May 30, 2019

Bandhan to Open More Branches

City-based Bandhan Bank will open 16 more branches by June following the approval received from the Reserve Bank of India in 2018-19 to open 64 new branches.
Chandra Shekhar Ghosh, managing director & chief executive officer, Bandhan Bank, said that while 48 branches were opened by March 2019, the remaining branches would be opened this quarter.

Chola Investment Gets Investment from International Finance Corp.

Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Co. Ltd. (CIFCL), a Murugappa Group company, received an investment of $222 million from a foreign investor anchored by the IFC.
This is the company's first U.S. dollar-syndicated deal since January 2019, when RBI permitted NBFCs to tap into offshore credit market. CIFCL would use the funds to help small road transport operators (SRTOs) and micro, small and medium (MSMEs) borrowers, especially in the rural and semi-urban areas.
The present round of funding was anchored by IFC, a member of the World Bank Group.

Bid for Jaypee Infra

Adani Group made an unsolicited and non-binding bid to acquire Jaypee Infratech and is ready to infuse up to Rs. 1,700 crore to expedite the construction of stuck housing projects of the debt-laden realty firm and deliver flats to home buyers.
Adani promised to infuse another Rs. 1,000 crore in two equal tranches to settle the claims of workmen as well as secured and unsecured financial creditors, besides meeting the cost of insolvency proceedings. It will also transfer 1,000 acre land to bankers.

Rajapalayam Mills to Merge A.P. Unit

As per reports, Rajapalayam Mills Ltd. (RML), a Ramco Group company, decided to merge its spinning mill in Andhra Pradesh (A.P.) with its mother plant in Rajapalayam in Tamil Nadu.
RML has a total installed capacity of about 1.38 lakh spindles and 5,480 rotors, of which 4,800 spindles and 1,800 rotors are in A.P.
As of March 31, 2019, the AP unit generated a revenue of Rs. 38.43 crore and this constituted 9% of RML's total revenue.

India Moves Up in Competitiveness

India has moved up one place to rank 43rd in competitive economy in the world on the back of its robust economic growth, a large labour force and its huge market size, while Singapore has toppled the US to grab the top position.
Singapore has moved up to the top, from the third position in 2018, while the US has slipped to the third place in the 2019 edition of the IMD World Competitiveness Rankings. Hong Kong SAR has held onto its second place.
The IMD World Competitiveness Rankings, established in 1989, incorporate 235 indicators from each of the 63 ranked economies to evaluate their ability to foster an environment where enterprises can achieve sustainable growth, generate jobs and increase welfare for its citizens.

Texmaco Infrastructure Acquires Real Estate Firm

Texmaco Infrastructure & Holdings Ltd. (TI&HL), an 80-year-old company, has acquired Valley View Landholdings Pvt Ltd., a real estate company.
TI&HL said that the acquired company is engaged in the real estate business and is planning to develop a large retail project in Goa. It has now become a wholly owned subsidiary of TI&HL.
TI&HL, founded in 1939 as Texmaco Limited, continued as a part of the K.K. Birla Group.

Maharashtra Cabinet Extends Power Duty Relief

The Maharashtra cabinet cleared a proposal to extend the exemption from electricity duty for industries in Vidarbha and Marathwada till 2024. The exemption is expected to boost industries and create employment in the regio. Ahead of the Assembly polls slated in October, this is also one of the first sops for these backward regions.
The exemption was first introduced on March 21, 2013 by the erstwhile Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) government for five years, which ended on March 20, 2019.
Currently, for industries where electricity duty is levied, industrial units pay 9.30% of the consumption charges as electricity duty. Industries including micro, small, medium in C, D and D+ category industrial areas and Maoist-affected areas will benefit from the decision. The exemption is expected to add a burden of Rs. 600 crore annually on the state government.

India Removed from Currency Monitoring List

The U.S. removed India from its currency monitoring list of major trading partners, citing steps being taken by New Delhi that addressed some of the Donald Trump administration's major concerns.
Switzerland is the other nation that was removed from the list.

RBI Forms Task Force

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) constituted a task force to suggest policy and regulatory interventions required for development of secondary market in corporate loans, including loan transaction platform for stressed assets.
The six-member body, headed by Canara Bank chairman T. N. Manoharan, has been set up to review the existing state of the market for loan sale/transfer in India as well as international experience in loan trading.

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