General Awareness

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - October 2018

Oct 2018

Feb 03, 2019

Blackstone to buy 79% stake in Aadhar Housing

Investment firm Blackstone will buy 79% stake in Aadhar Housing, the affordable housing finance business jointly owned by Wadhawan Global Capital and Dewan Housing Finance Limited (DHFL). Blackstone is said to have valued Aadhar at Rs 3,300 crore-3,500 crore.
For Blackstone, an attractive feature of Aadhar, which has 250 branches in 20 states, is its deposit-taking licence. Blackstone, which manages $472 billion in assets, has been active in India since 2006.
It will buy 70% from Wadhawan and 9% from DHFL in Aadhar, which has a loan book of Rs 8,500 crore. IFC, an arm of World Bank, will continue holding 21% in Aadhar that offers home loans to low and middle income groups.
Wadhawan and Dewan are exiting Aadhar because of a liquidity squeeze hitting the latter. The deal will help reduce Wadhawan Global's outstanding debt significantly.

UP to gain most from farmers' scheme

Uttar Pradesh may be the biggest beneficiary of the Centre's assured income support programme due to sheer number of small and marginal landholders in the state, but it is Kerala which figures at the top if one looks at the data in percentage term as over 99% of the farmers there have landholdings of less than five acres.
Under the income support programme (PM-KISAN), announced in the government's interim Budget, the Centre will annually provide Rs 6,000 each to only those over 12 crore landholders who have cultivable land of less than five acres (two hectares).
State-wise figures of such landholders show that over 50% of the total beneficiaries will be from five states with the highest of them (2.21 crore) coming from Uttar Pradesh (UP) followed by Bihar (1.59 crore), Maharashtra (1.18 crore), and Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh (over 75 lakh each).
Over 80% will come from 10 states where Kerala figures at the top in percentage terms followed by Bihar, Bengal, UP and Tamil Nadu. Except Bihar and West Bengal, all the states in the list along with Telangana have adequate digital land records.
These figures are part of the 2015-16 agriculture census, released late last year, which will be the basis of implementing the ambitious assured income support programme while arriving at corroborative land data.

Russia Trashes Arms Pact With US

Following in the footsteps of the US, Russia will abandon a centre piece nuclear arms treaty but will only deploy intermediate-range nuclear missiles if Washington does so, President Vladimir Putin.
US President Donald Trump accused Moscow of violating the 1987 Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty with "impunity" by deploying banned missiles.
Trump said in a statement that the US will "move forward" with developing its own military response options to Russia's deployment of banned cruise missiles. Moscow has denied any breaches.
China, meanwhile, has called upon both Washington and Moscow to keep the treaty alive.

Feb 02, 2019

Sri Lanka to Borrow $1 Billion from China

Sri Lanka, which last year handed over a strategic port to a Chinese firm for a 99-year lease, will soon sign a $1 billion concessional loan agreement with Beijing to fund a major highway project linking Colombo to Kandy.
The construction of the first phase of the road has been delayed for more than two years due to a lack of funding.

RCom to Opt for Insolvency

Reliance Communications will opt for insolvency proceedings as it failed to sell assets to pay for its debt.
RCom board of directors decides upon implementation of debt resolution plans through NCLT framework.

GST Collections for January

According to acting Finance Minister Piyush Goyal, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections for January have crossed the Rs. 1 lakh crore mark and is expected to be Rs. 1,03,000 crore.
The average monthly GST collection this year has been Rs 97,100 crore, as compared to Rs 89,700 crore last year.

Manufacturing PMI Rises

According to a monthly survey, the country's manufacturing sector activity edged higher in January as companies continued to scale up production and employment, driven by the fastest rise in factory orders since December 2017.
The Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) increased from 53.2 in December to 53.9 in January, indicating stronger improvement in the health of the goods producing sector.
This is the 18th consecutive month that the manufacturing PMI remained above the 50-point mark.
According to the survey, the increase in factory orders was the strongest seen in 13 months.

Feb 01, 2019

India in Talks with US

India is in talks with the United States to extend a waiver on sanctions imposed on Iran's crude oil exports.
India, Iran's second-biggest oil customer after China, has already reduced its intake of Iranian oil but has not decided whether to end purchases completely.

Indian Gas Bids for Reid & Taylor

Indian Gas Ltd. has entered the fray to acquire Reid & Taylor through the insolvency resolution process. The NCLT's Mumbai bench entertained the company's bid for the debt-ridden textile company after CFM Assets Reconstruction Pvt. Ltd. suddenly expressed its willingness to withdraw from the race.
The court has asked Indian Gas to pay a non-refundable amount of Rs. 2 crore on February 5.
The bench of judges Bhaskar Pantulu Mohan and V. Nallasenapathy also ordered the new bidder to appear before the NCLAT to explain its bonafides and interest in investing in Reid & Taylor's resolution process.

Tata is the Most Valuable Brand

The value of the brand Tata has soared 37 per cent to USD 19.5 billion in 2019, helping the conglomerate break into the top 100 in a global brands list.
The salt-to-software group has been ranked 86th in the list compiled by the London-based consultancy Brand Finance, up from 104 in 2018. It is the only domestic brand in the global top 100.

Curbs Lifted on Three PSBs

The Reserve Bank of India has decided to allow three public sector banks, Bank of India, Bank of Maharashtra and Oriental Bank of Commerce, to exit the PCA framework following capital infusion by the government and a decline in net non-performing asset ratio.
The RBI, which conducted a review following a demand made by the government to lift the restrictions in order to boost credit growth, said that it was noted that a few banks are not in breach of the PCA (Prompt Corrective Action) parameters as per their published results for the quarter ending December 2018.
The PCA framework is triggered when a bank breaches one of the three risk thresholds, and crossing 6% net NPAs is one of them.

Amazon Takes Numerous Products off its India Website

Amazon.com began removing a wide array of products from its India website to comply with the country`s new foreign investment curbs that kick in from February 1.
In December, India modified foreign direct investment (FDI) rules for its burgeoning e-commerce sector that has drawn major bets from the likes of Amazon.com Inc and Walmart Inc, which earlier in 2018 had acquired a controlling stake in homegrown e-commerce player Flipkart.
India`s new e-commerce investment rules block the companies from selling products via vendors in which they have an equity interest and also bar them from making deals with sellers to sell exclusively on their platforms.

Core Sector Growth

As per official data, eight core sectors grew at their slowest pace in 18 months at 2.6% in December 2018 due to the fall in output of crude oil, refinery products and fertilizers.
The previous lowest expansion in output of these key sectors was recorded in June 2017 at 1%.
The growth rate of the infrastructure sectors, coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilizers, steel, cement and electricity, stood at 3.8% in December 2017.
Crude oil, refinery products and fertilizer output posted negative growth of 4.3%, 4.8% and 2.4% respectively in December 2018.

Jan 31, 2019

DIPP Renamed to Include Internal Trade

The government has notified changing the name of the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) to the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, and has enhanced its role.
The notification has also included four new categories of responsibilities, the renamed body will be in charge of, including the promotion of internal trade (including retail trade), the welfare of traders and their employees, matters relating to facilitating Ease of Doing Business, and matters relating to start-ups.
These are in addition to the previous responsibilities of the erstwhile DIPP relating to general industrial policy, administration of the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951, industrial management, productivity in industry, and matters related to e-commerce.

No Extension on Anti-dumping Duty on Chinese Paracetamol

The government will not extend anti-dumping duty on imports of Chinese paracetamol, used in medicines, as the domestic industry has failed to provide evidence that the expiry of the levy would result in dumping.
After concluding its probe, the Commerce Ministry's investigation arm for dumping of goods, DGTR said that it does not recommend continuation of the anti-dumping duty on the imports of paracetamol from China.

JSW Energy Plans to Invest in EV Manufacturing

JSW Energy is planning to invest as much as Rs. 6,500 crore in manufacture of electric passenger cars. The company is already in discussion with leading global OEMs and engineering service providers on product and technology partnerships for electric vehicles.
The company reported over three-fold growth in its December quarter net profits to Rs. 146 crore.
The company's board reappointed Mr. Sajjan Jindal as the chairman of the company.

Indian Oil Q3 Profit Slides

Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) reported a net profit of Rs. 716.82 crore in the third quarter of this financial year, down 78% from the previous quarter and down 91% from the same quarter of the previous year.
As per the company, lower profits in Q3 were due in large part to inventory losses arising out of falling crude oil prices.

Iran Facing the Toughest Economic Situation

According to Iran`s President, the country was facing its toughest economic situation in 40 years, and the United States, not the government, was to blame.
US President Donald Trump last year pulled out of an international nuclear deal with Iran and re-imposed sanctions.
Today Iran's problems are primarily because of pressure from America and its followers. And the dutiful government and Islamic system should not be blamed.
Iran's rial currency has fluctuated in value in recent months, making it difficult for ordinary people to make ends meet.

India world's Second Largest Crude Steel Producer

In the World Steel Association's (worldsteel) latest report India has jumped ahead of Japan to become world's second largest crude steel producing country in the world.
As per the report, crude steel production of India in 2018 stood at 106.5 MT, an increase of 4.9 per cent from 101.5 MT in 2017. On the other hand, Japan produced 104.3 MT in 2018, down 0.3 per cent compared to 2017.
China is still on top with its crude steel production in 2018 reaching 928.3 Mt, up by 6.6 per cent.
The US was at the 4th position as it produced 86.7 MT of crude steel in 2018. The other nations in the top 10 are the US (86.7 MT, 4th) South Korea (72.5 MT, 5th place), Russia (71.7 MT, 6th), Germany (42.4 MT, 7th), Turkey (37.3 MT, 8th), Brazil (34.7 MT, 9th) and Iran (25 MT, 10th).

Qatar Fund to Invest in Airtel Africa

The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), the sovereign wealth fund of the State of Qatar, will be investing $200 million through a primary equity issuance in Airtel Africa.
The proceeds would be used to further reduce Airtel Africa's existing net debt. The transaction will not involve any sale of shares by existing shareholders.
Airtel Africa, a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel, had in September 2018 raised $1.25 billion from six global investors, including Warburg Pincus, Temasek, Singtel and SoftBank Group International.
Airtel is present in 14 countries across Africa, including, Nigeria, Chad, Congo B, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Madagascar, Niger, Kenya, Malawi, Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Rwanda.

Jan 30, 2019

Uber to Launch UberBOAT

After road, rail and air travel, Mumbaikars will now be able to book boat rides on their mobiles. Cab aggregator Uber is likely to launch UberBOAT from the Gateway of India.
UberBOAT will be speedboats with at least six seats and riders may be able to book a seat or an entire speedboat, just 15 minutes before boarding.
The first route being explored is Gateway-Mandwa Jetty and the fare could be a fixed rate initially before switching to the Uber dynamic pricing.
Many Mumbaikars take regular ferries to Mandwa from where one can go to Alibaug or Kihim beaches by road.
While the ferry journey takes one hour, UberBOAT will cover the distance in 20-22 minutes.

Investcorp Acquires IDFC's PE, Realty Investment Business

The US-based alternative investment manager Investcorp has acquired IDFC Group's private equity and real estate investment management business and plans to incrementally raise $50 million towards IDFC's existing fourth fund.
The incremental capital, along with the uninvested pool in the fourth fund, will be invested in consumption-driven companies in India.
Investcorp replaced IDFC as the general partner (GP) in 2018, to manage their private equity business in India. This acquisition gives Investcorp, which has around $22 billion of assets under management globally, a toe-hold in one of the biggest emerging markets for PE investors.
The GP is a manager of a fund, whereas limited partners or LPs are the investors in such funds.
IDFC, as part of its business restructuring after receipt of the banking licence and acquisition by Capital First, decided to hive off non-core businesses and focus only on growing its retail banking business. IDFC PE's infrastructure business was acquired by Global Investment Partners or GIP.

Multiple Charges Slapped on China's Huawei

US authorities charges Huawei with multiple crimes a sweeping set of 23 criminal charges against the Chinese telecom giant Huawei Technologies Co., escalating tensions with China.
The US accused Huawei and its CFO Meng Wanzhou, who is in the custody of Canadian authorities on an extradition request from the US, with bank fraud, violation of US sanctions on Iran, theft of trade secrets and obstruction of justice.
The charges come ahead of Top commerce negotiator Liu He's US visit for high-level talks on a broader trade dispute.

Paytm Buys NightStay

Paytm has launched hotel bookings on its platform and acquired NightStay, which offers deals on last-minute bookings at luxury hotels, as the Alibaba-backed payments and e-commerce company expands its travel business.
Paytm said it plans to invest Rs. 500 crore in scaling up its travel operations and has partnered with more than 5,000 hotels across the budget, luxury and business segments.
Its hotel partners include chains like Sarovar, Zuri, Treebo, Indian Hotels Co's Ginger, Sterling and Vresorts. The company said it aims to reach 2 million hotels and alternative accommodations globally and become Asia's top hotel-booking destination by 2020.
NightStay aggregates unsold inventory across luxury and business hotels and offers last-minute concessional rates to customers. Paytm started its travel business in 2014 and claims to sell over 60 million tickets a year across rail, bus and flight bookings. Earlier this year, Paytm Travel also started offering foreign-exchange services to international travellers.
Nightstay founder Nasr Khan will lead the hotel-booking services at Paytm.

India Improves in Corruption Index

India improved its ranking on a global corruption index for 2018, while its neighbour China lagged far behind.
The US, meanwhile, plunged in the index as a surge in support for populist leaders and the erosion of democracy hobbled efforts to tackle graft around the world, according to the anti-graft watchdog Transparency International, which released its Corruption Perceptions Index
India rose by three points to 78 in the list of 180 countries, while China ranked 87 and Pakistan 117.
The top countries on the list are Denmark and New Zealand, with scores of 88 and 87 respectively. Somalia, Syria and South Sudan are at the bottom of the list, with scores of 10, 13 and 13 respectively.
The US under President Donald Trump dropped six places to 22nd globally in the index published by the Berlin-based watchdog.

US slaps oil curbs on Venezuela state oil firm

The Trump administration imposed sanctions against Venezuela's state-owned oil company, seeking to cripple the government of embattled President Nicolas Maduro by cutting off its main source of cash.
The move marked the first punitive step by the US to force Maduro to give up power since the opposition leader, Juan Guaido, declared himself interim president.
The sanctions prohibit most American businesses from engaging in transactions with the oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela, SA, or Pdvsa.
Administration officials said the financial penalties are expected to block $7 billion in assets and result in $11 billion in export losses over the next year for Venezuela's government.

India's First Private Jets Terminal at IGIA

India's first terminal for private jets to land and take off is expected to be ready by May, will be connected by a separate road leading to the facility, and feature sculptures evocative of the Mughal era and artificial water bodies.
The terminal coming up at New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport will ensure faster turnaround of business jets and chartered planes, shielding them from the clutter of general passenger terminals, where they now have to compete for landing and take-off slots with commercial planes.
The terminal building is designed to withstand over 60 aircraft movements a day, (and) is being built with a handling capability of over 200 passengers a day.
The terminal will be able to handle Boeing 767 business jets and any Boeing 777 with a VIP configuration and a passenger capacity of 250.
According to the aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation, the number of operators with a non-scheduled operator's permit reached a peak of 147 in financial year 2012, which declined to 111 in 2018.

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