Reliance Top-ranked Indian Firm on Forbes Global 2000 List
Forbes Global 2000 ranks the largest companies in the world using four metrics: sales, profits, assets and market value. Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries Ltd climbed two spots to No. 53 on Forbes' Global 2000 list of public companies worldwide 2022. Reliance is the top-ranked Indian firm on the list, followed by State Bank of India at No. 105, HDFC Bank at No. 153 and ICICI Bank at No. 204.
Globally, Berkshire Hathaway took the No. 1 spot for the first time since Forbes started publishing the Global 2000 in 2003, dethroning the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, which dropped to No. 2 after nine consecutive years at the top of the list. Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco) took the 3 Spot.
Other top 10 Indian firms on the list include state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) at 228 ranks, Housing Development Finance Corporation Ltd (HDFC) at No. 268, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) at No. 357, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) at No. 384, Tata Steel at No. 407 and Axis Bank at No. 431.
Adani Become India's Second-biggest Cement Maker Company
The Adani Group officially acquired a controlling stake in Holcim AG's cement businesses in India in a deal worth $10.5 billion and became the second-biggest cement producer in the country. The richest person in Asia, Gautam Adani's conglomerate, obtained 63.19 per cent of Ambuja Cements Ltd and its subsidiary ACC in an assertive bidding war with other local companies.
Ambuja Cement has a total of 14 cement plants that employ approximately 4,700 people. Meanwhile, ACC has 17 cement plants, 78 ready mix concrete factories and nearly 6,000 employees.
B. Govindarajan Appointed as CEO of Royal Enfield
Eicher Motors Limited (EML), the parent company of Royal Enfield, announced the appointment of B. Govindarajan as the motorcycle brand's Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Previously, Govindarajan was serving as the Executive Director of Royal Enfield since August 2021, and prior to that, he was the Chief Operating Officer (COO) at the company since 2013.
In addition, Govindarajan will also serve as a Wholetime Director on the Board of EML. He has spent over 23 years working across Royal Enfield and Eicher Motors, and over the years, has led several key developments including the likes of Himalayan, Continental GT 650 and Interceptor INT 650 as well as the more recent J-platform based Meteor and Classic 350 models.
Eicher Motors posted a 16% increase in its consolidated net profit after tax at INR 610 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 2022, on the back of steady growth across business verticals. The company had reported INR 526 crore during the January-March period of 2021-2022 fiscal.
May 17, 2022
Dineout, a Restaurant Reservation Platform, Bought by Swiggy
Food-delivery app available online Swiggy bought restaurant technology and dining out platform Dineout from Times Internet in a formal deal. Dineout will continue to operate as an independent app following the acquisition.
The acquisition would allow Swiggy to investigate synergies and create new experiences in a high-use area, according to Sriharsha Majety, Swiggy's cofounder and CEO.
Swiggy is expected to expand Dineout's products, such as table bookings and events, while Dineout's restaurant partners will have access to Swiggy's enormous consumer base, expanding their reach.
SpiceJet, Axis Bank Launch Co-branded Credit Card
SpiceJet and Axis Bank partnered to launch the most rewarding co-branded credit card, powered by Visa that will offer a host of privileges and benefits to customers. The card comes in two variants – SpiceJet Axis Bank Voyage and Voyage Black, and is aimed at facilitating a superlative travel experience for flyers through SpiceClub, the first frequent flyer program by a low cost carrier in India.
Through this collaboration, the two brands hope to capitalize on the resurgent demand for travel following two years of stagnation caused by the pandemic. Further, with the shared goal of expanding their reach to Tier 2 & 3 cities and other synergies, the brands are committed to serving a much larger populace.
May 16, 2022
UAE Telecoms Group e& Buys 9.8% Stake in Vodafone For $4.4 Billion
Emirates Telecommunications Group Company PJSC, now known as e&, acquired a 9.8% stake in Vodafone for $4.4 billion. The move comes days after e& said it was looking to expand into new markets in Africa, Europe and Asia and in areas outside telecoms such as financial technology as its seeks to drive growth. Vodafone, like all mobile operators, was struggling in its more mature markets, where competition and regulation have pushed prices lower.
E& said it had made the investment to gain "significant exposure to a world leader in connectivity and digital services". It added it had no intention of making an offer to buy Vodafone, saying it is fully supportive of the company's current business strategy and its board and existing management team.
RBI Appoints Sitikantha Pattanaik, Rajiv Ranjan as Executive Directors
The Reserve Bank appointed Sitikantha Pattanaik and Rajiv Ranjan as executive directors. Ranjan will also serve as an ex-officio member of the rate-setting panel Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). Prior to being promoted as ED, Pattanaik was an Adviser in the Department of Economic and Policy Research (DEPR), while Ranjan was serving as Adviser-in-Charge of Monetary Policy Department and Secretary to the MPC.
As Executive Director (ED), Pattanaik will look after the Department of Economic and Policy Research, while Ranjan will take care of the Monetary Policy Department.
Banks Can Continue Providing Credit To NBFCs For On-Lending To Priority Sectors: RBI
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) permitted banks, including small finance banks, to continue providing credit facility to NBFCs for the purpose of on-lending to certain priority sectors. The facility of lending by commercial banks to NBFCs and lending by Small Finance Banks (SFBs) to NBFC-MFIs, for the purpose of on-lending to certain priority sectors, was available till March 31, 2022.
Bank credit to NBFCs, including HFCs, for on-lending will be allowed up to an overall limit of 5 per cent of an individual bank's total priority sector lending in the case of commercial banks.
In the case of SFBs, credit to NBFC-MFIs (Non-Banking Financial Company - Micro Finance Institutions) and other MFIs (Societies, Trusts, etc) which are members of RBI recognised 'Self-Regulatory Organisation' of the sector, will be allowed up to an overall limit of 10 per cent of an individual bank's total priority sector lending.
Union Bank Launches Trade-Nxt Platform for Cross Border Trade Transaction
The Union Bank of India (UBI) launched an online platform, 'Trade nxt', which enables corporate, and MSMEs (Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises) to transact all cross-border export-import transactions from the comfort of their place, i.e. eliminates the need for companies to visit a bank branch for the same. It offers seamless entry and processing of letters of credit (LC), bank guarantees, export/import bills, disbursement of export credit, outward & inward remittances, dealer financing etc.
'Trade nxt' platform will also enable the regulatory online auto reporting through Import Data Processing & Monitoring System (IDPMS), Export Data processing & Monitoring System (EDPMS) and other statutory reporting to Overseas Direct Investment (ODI)/ Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)/ Liberalised Remittance Scheme LRS) which will make the process much more convenient.
RBI Restricts Withdrawals from Shankarrao Pujari Nutan Nagari Sahakari Bank
The RBI imposed several restrictions on Shankarrao Pujari Nutan Nagari Sahakari Bank Limited, Ichalkaranji, Kolhapur, including on withdrawals, in view of the lender's worsening financial position. However, 99.84 per cent of the depositors are fully covered by the DICGC insurance scheme. Under the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC) insurance scheme, deposits of up to Rs 5 lakh are insured.
The restrictions will remain in force for a period of six months and are subject to review. The bank cannot, without prior approval of RBI, grant or renew any loans and advances, make any investment, incur any liability, and dispose of any of its properties or assets, among other restrictions.
The bank will continue to undertake banking business with restrictions as stated in the Directions till its financial position improves.
May 15, 2022
Tata Sons appoints Campbell Wilson as CEO and MD of Air India
The Tata Group appointed Campbell Wilson, the CEO of Singapore Airlines' wholly-owned low-cost subsidiary Scoot, as Air India's new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director (MD). The Mumbai-based conglomerate completed its acquisition of the state-owned national carrier in January, and has been searching for a person to lead the airline's turnaround plan.
Wilson will join Air India's board of directors, currently comprising Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran, alongside Hindustan Unilever CEO & MD Sanjiv Mehta and former General Insurance Corporation chairperson Alice Vaidyan, who are both independent directors.
Christchurch-born Wilson is a career executive with the Singapore Airlines group, where he started working as a management trainee in New Zealand in 1996. He then worked for SIA in Canada, Hong Kong and Japan before returning to Singapore in 2011 as the founding CEO of Scoot, which he led until 2016.
Sanjiv Bajaj Assumes Charge as CII President
Sanjiv Bajaj, chairman and managing director of Bajaj Finserv Limited, assumed office as the president of CII for 2022-23. He takes over from T. V. Narendran, CEO and managing director of Tata Steel Limited. Sanjiv has been engaged with CII for many years at the State, Regional and National level. He was the President-Designate for 2021-22 and the Chairman of the Western Region during 2019-20. Bajaj is an alumnus of the Harvard Business School, US.
He is a member of the board of Indian School of Business (ISB); Member of the International Advisory Board, Allianz SE and the International Technology Advisory Panel of Monetary Authority of Singapore and Regional Stewardship Board for India and South Asia 2019-2020 of the World Economic Forum.
American Express Appoints Manoj Adlakha as SVP and International Head, Customer Marketing and San...
American Express announced the appointment of Manoj Adlakha as Senior Vice-President and International Head of Customer Marketing, as well as stated that Sanjay Khanna, who is currently the Chief Operating Officer, will take over as the interim CEO of India. Adlakha will be responsible for advancing the customer engagement strategy and contributing to the revenue growth by driving customer's share of wallet across its key international markets. He will continue to work from India.
During his three-decade career over two stints at American Express, Adlakha has held strategic positions across Risk Operations, Strategic Planning, Finance, Commercial and Consumer Cards in the company.
May 14, 2022
Food, Oil Prices Push Inflation to 8-year High
Fuelled by high food and oil prices, retail inflation soared to an eight-year high of 7.79 per cent in April from 6.95 per cent in March, in what has been the fastest expansion since September 2014. The fresh figures also meant that consumer price-based inflation (CPI) was above the Reserve Bank of India's upper tolerance limit of 4 to 6 per cent for the fourth consecutive month. It was 4.23 per cent in April 2021. In fact, retail inflation has remained above 6 per cent since January 2022.
Food inflation, which accounts for nearly half the consumer price index (CPI) basket, reached a high in April and is poised to remain elevated due to higher vegetable and cooking oil prices as well as the higher freight costs due to high rate of diesel at the pump.
Apple Discontinues iPod after a more than Two Decade Run
Apple announced that it would discontinue the iPod Touch, the last remnant of a product line that first went on sale in October 2001. The touch-screen model, which launched in 2007, will remain on sale until supplies run out. Apple released dozens of versions of the iPod over the years, but the product was gradually eclipsed by its other devices, especially the iPhone. That led the company to begin phasing out models in 2014. At the time, the company stopped making the iPod classic, a version with a click wheel and small screen that was most similar to the original version. In 2017, Apple stopped making its smallest music players, the iPod Nano and iPod Shuffle.
With so many other ways to get music, Apple no longer sees the product as necessary.
Saudi Aramco Overtakes Apple Inc. as the World's most Valuable Company
Oil giant Saudi Aramco dethroned Apple Inc. to become the world's most valuable company, underscoring the recent surge in oil prices that have boosted the energy giant. Aramco traded near its highest level on record, with a market capitalization of about $2.43 trillion, surpassing that of Apple for the first time since 2020. The iPhone maker fell 5.2% to close at $146.50 per share, giving it a valuation of $2.37 trillion.
Even if the move proves short-lived and Apple retakes the top spot again, the role reversal underscores the power of major forces coursing through the global economy. Soaring oil prices, while great for profits at Aramco, are exacerbating rising inflation that is forcing the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates at the fastest pace in decades.
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