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BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - November 2018

Nov 2018

Apr 15, 2023

Yes Bank Becomes First Indian Company with over 50 lakh Shareholders

Private sector lender Yas Bank became the first Indian company to have over 50 lakh shareholders, according to the shareholding pattern of the bank on March-end 2023.
Tata Power was a far second with 38.5 lakh shareholders, followed by Reliance Industries with 33.6 lakh shareholders, according to the December 2022 shareholding disclosures.
The bank had 50.6 lakh shareholders as of March 31, 2023, all of whom were public shareholders. This was an increase from 48.1 lakh shareholders as of December 2022, most likely owing to the end of the three-year lock-in period for shareholders that held equity shares of the bank when it underwent the reconstruction scheme in March 2020.

HDFC Bank Signs Agreement with Export-Import Bank of Korea for $300 Million

HDFC Bank signed a "Master Inter Bank Credit Agreement" with Export Import Bank of Korea for a USD 300 million line of credit.
The pact was signed by the two entities at GIFT City in Gujarat's capital Gandhinagar on Wednesday, said a release by the HDFC Bank. This agreement will help HDFC Bank raise foreign currency funds which it would extend to Korea-related businesses.
This line of credit would be utilised by HDFC Bank towards funding requirements of companies having equity participation by Korean companies as well as companies having business relationship with Korean companies.

Solar Energy Corporation of India Gets 'Miniratna Category-I' Status

State-owned Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd (SECI) got the status of Miniratna Category-I Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE). A communication to this effect was issued by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.
The SECI Incorporated in the year 2011, is the primary implementing agency for renewable energy schemes/projects of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy towards fulfilment of India's international commitments.
Till date, SECI has awarded Renewable Energy (RE) project capacities of over 56 GW. SECI is also active in setting up of projects through its own investments as well as for other public sector entities as Project Management Consultant (PMC). SECI enjoys highest credit rating of AAA by domestic rating agency ICRA.

Apr 14, 2023

RBI Okays Re-appointment of Sanjay Agarwal as MD of AU Small Finance Bank

Reserve Bank of India approved the re-appointment of Sanjay Agarwal as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of AU Small Finance Bank for a period of three years.
Besides, the regulator also cleared re-appointment of Uttam Tibrewal as the whole-time director for a period of three years.
Jaipur-based AU Small Finance Bank is an Indian Small Finance Bank founded as vehicle finance company AU Financiers in 1996 and converted to a small finance bank in April 2017. It serves low- and middle-income individuals and micro and small businesses that have limited or no access to formal banking and finance channels.

Avaada Energy Wins 560 MW Solar Project in Maharashtra

Renewable Energy firm Avaada Energy bagged a 560 MW solar project for supplying solar power to Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Co. Ltd (MSEDCL) at a tariff of Rs. 2.88 per unit.
Avaada Energy, an arm of Avaada Group – India's leading integrated energy enterprise with business interests across the energy transition value chain, won the 560 MW (DC) solar project bid in an e-reverse auction conducted by MSEDCL.
As per the bid terms, the PPA (power purchase agreement) will be signed between the two entities for 25 years, and the project will be commissioned within 18 months.
The plant is expected to generate about 951 million units annually, which will help reduce 8,85,563 tonnes of CO 2 equivalent emissions annually.

Apr 13, 2023

SEBI Unveils New Logo on 35th Foundation Day

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) unveiled a new logo on the occasion of the market regulator's 35th Foundation Day. The new logo retains the traditional blue palette but also reflects on a more modern design.
"SEBI's new logo seeks to reflect the unique combination of its rich traditions and its new data and technology-based approach in all the three areas of its mandate in the securities market--development and regulation of the securities market and investor protection," said Sebi chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch, who is also the first woman to lead the market regulator in its 35-year history.
SEBI was established on April 12, 1988 under the Ministry of Finance. However, the body was granted statutory powers in 1992. SEBI functions as a quasi-judicial body and is said to have more statutory powers than other market regulators like the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) of the United States.

Nepal and India to Sign Agreement for Cross-Border Digital Payments

Nepal and India are preparing to sign an agreement to allow cross-border digital payments through e-wallets, a move that is expected to boost trade and tourism between the two countries by eliminating currency exchange issues. The accord, expected to be signed during Nepali Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal's visit to India, will allow Indian tourists in Nepal to make digital payments through Indian e-wallets like BharatPe, PhonePe, Google Pay, and Paytm. The launch of digital payment services will eliminate the hassle of carrying large amounts of cash for Indian tourists and businessmen in Nepal and is expected to increase inter-operable real-time person-to-person (P2P) and merchant payment transactions (P2M) in Nepal.

South Korea to Conduct 1st Launch of Commercial-grade Satellite

South Korea plans to conduct its first launch of a commercial-grade satellite aboard a domestically built rocket next month as part of its space development program.
South Korea's officials said that its home-grown Nuri space launch vehicle has no military purposes. But some experts said that the development of such rockets would eventually help the country acquire technologies needed to build bigger missiles and launch reconnaissance satellites amid animosities with rival North Korea.
In June 2022, South Korea conducted its first satellite launch using the Nuri rocket. That launch involved what South Korean officials called a "performance verification" satellite mainly designed to examine the capacity of the rocket while next month's ((May 2023) event is meant to put a commercial-grade satellite into orbit for the first time.

MRF Second Strongest Tyre Brand in the World

MRF emerged as the second-strongest tyre brand in the world according to the latest report by Brand Finance on the 'Most Valuable and Strongest Tyre Brands' in the world.
MRF scored high in almost all parameters and is also featured as the second fastest-growing tyre brand in the world. It scored 83.2 out of 100 in brand strength and was awarded a AAA- brand rating.
The report, which also named MRF as the most valued Indian tyre brand, said that it scored high in the Sustainability Perception Value and is the only Indian tyre manufacturer to be featured in the top 10.
Brand Finance's annual report on the most valuable and strongest automobile, auto component, tyre and mobility 2023 analysed the value of brands in these industries.

Apr 12, 2023

Vikas Gupta New CEO of VLCC

Beauty and skincare brand VLCC, now controlled by Global investment firm Carlyle, appointed Vikas Gupta as CEO with immediate effect. The leadership change came after Carlyle, in December 2022 announced the acquisition of a majority stake in the home-grown firm.
Vikas Gupta succeeded Jayant Khosla.
Prior to this, Gupta was CEO of SuperStore, Nykaa's eB2B business. He has also worked with Walmart-owned e-commerce platform Flipkart as its Chief Customer and Marketing Officer between 2019-21.
He started his career with FMCG major HUL, where he spent 21 years in different roles.
Started in 1989 by Vandana Luthra and Mukesh Luthra as a beauty and weight management services centre, the VLCC group is among the first multi-outlet corporate operations in the Skincare, Beauty & Wellness Industry in India.

Citi, JICA Announce Co-finance Loan to IndusInd Bank for Agriculture Sector

Citi and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) announced a co-financing loan to IndusInd Bank to fund the farm sector.
This includes a $30 million loan by Citi and JPY 13 billion loan by JICA. This high-impact social finance offering that Citi arranged for IndusInd Bank is expected to improve financial access for farmers and catalyse capital investment in the agricultural sector in India.
This project will support the efforts of IndusInd Bank in strengthening its lending to the agricultural sector by leveraging its presence in rural areas. In this new collaborative agreement, Citi acted as the co-financing lender, arranger, coordinator, and facility agent.

India's First REITs & InvITs index with Six Securities

NSE Indices launched a new index that will track the overall performances of listed real estate investment trusts (REITs) and infrastructure investment trusts (InvITs).
The weights of securities in the index will be determined by their free-float market capitalisation, with the exposure to a particular REIT or InvIT being capped at 33 per cent. Also, the aggregate weight of the top-three securities is capped at 72 per cent.
At present, there are six securities in the index, with Embassy Office Parks Reit having the highest weightage at 33 per cent. Powergrid Infrastructure Investment has the second highest weight, at 20 per cent.
REITs are investment trusts (like mutual funds) that own and manage real estate properties generating regular income and capital appreciation on their investments. InvITs are similar to REITs except that they use the pooled money to own and run functional infrastructure assets like highways, roads, pipelines, warehouses and power plants.
The index, which has a base date of July 1, 2019 and a base value of 1,000, will be reviewed and rebalanced on a quarterly basis.

Apr 11, 2023

Tim Cook set to inaugurate India's first Apple store on April 18

Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple is all set to visit India for the first time in seven years to inaugurate the country's first Apple store in BKC, Mumbai on April 18 says Bloomberg. Today, the world's richest tech brand confirmed to launch two new Apple stores in India in April, located in BKC Mumbai, and Saket New Delhi on April 18 and 20, respectively.
Tim Cook visited India back in 2016 for a country tour. Since then, Apple has seen enormous growth in the country and has even made several new initiatives such as local manufacturing of iPhones and the launch of the Apple store online.

Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka among 5 states in front runner category of state energy effi...

Five states, including Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana, have featured in the front-runner category of the State Energy Efficiency Index (SEEI) report for 2021-22, according to an official release.
Rajasthan and Kerala are the other two states in the front-runner category which shows that states scored more than 60 points on various parameters under SEEI to assess state-level energy efficiency initiatives.
Assam, Haryana, Maharashtra, and Punjab are in the achiever category, scoring points between 50-60 on the index parameters.
The index developed by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) in association with Alliance for an Energy-Efficient Economy (AEEE), assesses the annual progress of states and UTs in energy efficiency implementation for FY 2020-21 and 2021-22. SEEI 2021-22 has an updated framework of 50 indicators aligned with national priorities.

In a first, ICICI Bank introduces EMI facility for UPI payments

The ICICI Bank has introduced an EMI facility for UPI payments made by scanning a QR code. The private sector lender said that customers, who are eligible for the PayLater facility, can avail of the EMI facility using the Bank's 'buy now, pay later' option.The EMI facility for UPI payments can be availed across a host of categories such as electronics, groceries, fashion apparel, travel, and hotel bookings, the private bank said.
Through this facility, ICICI Bank customers can pay transaction amounts above Rs 10,000 in easy installments in three, six, or nine months. The bank stated that the new facility will be extended shortly for online shopping as well.

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