General Awareness

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - June 2020

Jun 2020

Nov 28, 2020

Dubai Gets Arab Gulf's First, and Perhaps Last, Coal Power Plant

The United Arab Emirates is set to become the first Arab Gulf country to generate electricity from coal. As governments increasingly turn to cleaner fuels and the price of renewable energy falls, it may also be the last.
Dubai is starting up the $3.4 billion Hassyan coal plant, with capacity being increased from an initial 600 megawatts to 2,400 by 2023. Japan's Jera Co. will supply coal under a long-term agreement with Acwa Power of Saudi Arabia, which is developing the plant.
Other countries in the region have abandoned plans for coal power. Oman launched a tender for a coal project at Duqm in 2018, but it was later shelved.

Dyson to Spend $3.67bn on New Technologies

Dyson says it will invest an additional $3.67bn (£2.75bn) into new technologies and products over the next five years.
The investment will allow the company to double the number of products it sells, and expand into new areas.
The investments will be focused in Singapore, the UK, and the Philippines, and will focus on emerging technologies.
The company announced it would set up its headquarters in Singapore in 2019.
Dyson is best known for vacuum cleaners, air purifiers and hair dryers.
But the new investment will pay for more engineers and scientists in fields such as software, machine learning and robotics.

Japan's Export Credit Agency to Lend $2 Billion to Nissan

Japan's state-owned export credit agency has agreed to give Nissan Motor Co up to $2 billion as part of a credit agreement to help it finance car sales in the United States.
The money is part of a $4.1 billion credit agreement for Nissan Motor Acceptance Corporation, a unit of Nissan North America.
The money should help the Japanese company sell cars in the world's second-biggest auto market after China by allowing it to provide customers with loans that they can repay in monthly installments.
According to JBIC, the United States is an important market for Japanese automobile manufacturers. Sales finance has become an important tool in business strategy.

MG Motor Partners with Tata Power to Launch First Fast Charging Station in Agra

MG Motor India has partnered with Tata Power to set up the first electric vehicle charging station in Agra, Uttar Pradesh. The EV charging station was inaugurated at MG Motor's Agra Showroom as part of the recent NH for EV2020 trial run of battery-powered vehicles from Delhi's India Gate to Agra.
After inaugurating the EV charging station, MG Motor said that it will be open for customers all through the day, seven days a week.
The charging station set up by MG Motor in Agra is a 60 kW superfast EV charging station.
MG ZS EV, MG Motor's first and only EV offering in India so far, can be replenished by up to 80 per cent within 50 minutes with the help of the DC Fast Chargers, like the one installed in Agra.
The launch of the EV trial run from Delhi to Agra by the Government of India is a strong step towards adoption of EVs in our country.

India Has the Highest Bribery Rate in Asia

According to a survey released by global civil society Transparency International, India has the highest bribery rate and use of personal links to access public services such as healthcare and education in Asia.
India has the highest overall bribery rate (39%) and the highest rate of citizens using personal connections (46%).
The report is based upon the survey which was conducted between 17 June and 17 July this year in India with a sample size of 2,000.

Nov 27, 2020

M&M Announce Share Swap Deal to Merge Mahindra First Choice with TVS Automobile

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd (M&M) announced a share swap deal with TVS Automobile Solutions Pvt Ltd to merge its multi-brand car and two-wheeler service venture -- Mahindra First Choice Services Ltd -- with TASL.
Under the transaction, M&M will acquire 2.76 per cent stake in the TVS Group firm TASL, which is into multi-brand automotive aftermarket and related services, for about Rs. 35 crore.
On the other hand, TASL will acquire the entire stake of Mahindra Holdings Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of M&M, in Mahindra First Choice Services Ltd (MFCS) and its subsidiary Auto Digitech Pvt Ltd (ADPL).
As a part of the transaction, the company will secure a minority stake in TASL and in turn, MFCS and ADPL will become subsidiaries of TAS.
TASL is primarily engaged in the business of distribution of automobile spare parts, and multi-brand vehicle service. TASL is active in Europe, the US, South Africa, China and Turkey through its subsidiaries.

Adani Gas to Change Name to Adani Total Gas

Adani Gas Ltd, the city gas distribution firm of billionaire Gautam Adani's group, will change its name to Adani Total Gas to reflect French energy giant Total's stake in the firm.
After the French giant buying stake, Adani Gas is now "a joint venture company of Adani Group and Total Group, France with 37.40 per cent stake by each promoter and remaining 25.20 per cent with public shareholders.
The company board is headed by Adani and has two nominees of Total - its India head Alexis Thelemaque and Jose-Ignacio Sanz Saiz.

PM Modi Inaugurates RE-Invest 2020

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 3rd Global Renewable Energy Investment called the RE-Invest. The 3rd Global RE-Invest Renewable Energy Investors Meet & Expo was organised by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Government of India. It is to be held from 26 – 28 November 2020 on a Virtual Platform. The theme of RE-Invest, 2020 is
Innovations for Sustainable Energy Transition.
COVID-19 has caused significant disruption and reduced the speed of development of renewable energy projects as compared to 2019. In spite of the crisis, the installed renewable capacity of India has increased by two and a half times in the last six years according to PM Modi.
RE-Invest will help the investors to get knowledge about the renewable growth. The partner countries of Re-INVEST are Australia, France, Denmark, Germany, UK, Maldives, European Union and US. The partner states are Gujarat, MP, HP, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.

Tube Investments to Allot Shares to Premji Trust and SBI MF

Murugappa Group's Tube Investments will allot shares to Azim Premji Trust, SBI Mutual Fund, subject to shareholder approval. The company has approved the issue of equity shares worth Rs. 350 crore.
The shares will be allotted on a preferential/private placement basis to non-promoter entities.
Azim Premji Trust will be alloted 2,733,360 equity shares, each, fully paid at Rs. 731.70 and inclusive of a premium of Rs. 730.70 per equity share. The total investment would be around Rs. 200 crore.
The SBI-focused equity fund will be allotted 1,503,348 equity shares, each fully paid at Rs. 731.70 and inclusive of a premium of Rs. 730.70 per equity share, aggregating to Rs. 109.99 crore and for SBI Magnum mid-cap fund, 546,672 equity shares, each fully paid at Rs. 731.70 and inclusive of a premium of Rs. 730.70 per equity share, aggregating to Rs. 39.99 crore.

Brazil Emerging as Attractive Destination for Indian Investors

Brazil is emerging as an attractive destination for Indian investors and presents huge potential for South Asia's biggest country. South America's largest economy has a stock of over $ 6 billion of Indian investment. Infrastructure stands out as a key area for profitable investments. Over 50 companies and investors took part at the online event "InfraInvest India-Brazil: Building Bridges, ConnecUng Partners", organised by the India- Brazil Chamber of Commerce, Rio de Janeiro, with the support of the Embassy of Brazil in India, among others. The event takes forward the commitment of both governments to bolster trade and investment announced during the summit between President Jair Bolsonaro and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in January 2020. Bolsonaro was the Chief Guest at India's Republic Day Parade on 26 January 2020 and was accompanied by a high-level delegation which included eight Ministers, four Members of Parliament, senior officials of the Brazilian Government and members of business community. During the visit, an action plan to strengthen the strategic partnership between India and Brazil was adopted which provides a roadmap aimed at revitalising ongoing engagements in a focused manner. Fifteen MOUs/ Agreements in diverse sectors that include Investment, Assistance in Criminal Matters, Cyber Security, Oil & Gas, Bio-energy, S&T, Culture, Animal Husbandry, Health and Traditional Medicines were signed.

Swedish Furniture Giant IKEA to Begin Work on Biggest Outlet in Noida

Swedish flat-pack furniture giant IKEA will soon begin work at its Noida outlet, touted to be its biggest store in India.
The company had signed an MoU with the Uttar Pradesh government in December 2018 for Rs. 5,000 crore investment in Noida and other cities in the state. It has committed to completing the project by 2025.
IKEA, which opened its first outlet in India in Hyderabad in 2018, has proposed to set up an integrated commercial project in Noida giving direct employment to 1,000 and indirect jobs to another 1,000.
The company intends to expand to 40 cities by 2030.

Nov 26, 2020

Kerala and West Bengal Accept Centre's Borrowing Option to Meet GST Shortfall

Kerala and West Bengal have accepted the Centre's borrowing proposal and will get Rs. 10,197 crore through the special window to meet GST revenue shortfall.
These are among the states that had opposed the borrowing plan. Governments of Kerala and West Bengal have communicated their acceptance of Option-1 to meet the revenue shortfall arising out of GST implementation. The number of states who have chosen this option has gone up to 25.
All the three Union Territories with Legislative Assembly—Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir and Puducherry—have also decided in favour of Option 1.
Under the terms of Option 1, besides getting the facility of a special window for borrowings to meet the shortfall arising out of GST implementation, states are also entitled to get unconditional permission to borrow the final instalment of 0.50 per cent of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) out of the 2 per cent additional borrowings permitted by the Centre under Aatmanirbhar Abhiyaan. This is over and above the special window of Rs 1.1 lakh crore.

Cabinet Approves Merger of Lakshmi Vilas Bank with DBS India

The government approved merger of crisis-ridden Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB) with DBS Bank India Ltd (DBIL) and removed restrictions on withdrawal of deposits by depositors.
As per Prakash Javadekar, the decision will provide comfort to 20 lakh depositors and protect the services of 4,000 employees.
LVB has 563 branches, 974 ATMs, 20 lakh depositors and 320,000 borrowers.
DBS India, the local subsidiary of Singapore's DBS Group Holdings, will invest Rs 2,500 crore while the equity, reserves and surplus of the 94-year-old LVB will be extinguished.

L&T Bags Order to Build India's Longest River Bridge

Larsen & Toubro's construction arm has secured a large contract to construct India's longest road bridge across Brahmaputra River connecting Dhubri in Assam to Phulbari in Meghalaya.
As per L&T's classification, the valuation of the said contract lies between Rs. 2,500 to 5,000 crore.
The 19 km long bridge will be built along National Highway 127-B and will feature a Navigation Bridge of 12.625 km, approach via ducts of 3.5 km on the Dhubri side and 2.2 km on the Phulbari side, connected with approach roads and interchanges on both sides.
L&T is an Indian technology, engineering, construction, manufacturing and financial services conglomerate, with global operations.

BSNL Selects Route Mobile for SMS Firewall to Monetise international Traffic

Homegrown cloud services provider Route Mobile has been selected by state-run telco Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) to deploy its SMS Firewall Platform across Southern and Western Zones in India.
Route Mobile will provide enhanced control and security over BSNL user's SMS traffic, subscriber protection, and the monetisation of international SMS traffic terminating over their network.
Under the contract, Route Mobile will deploy its Firewall Platform in BSNL's SMS network at the zonal level on a revenue-sharing basis, and will integrate with the STTP for both submissions of SMS and recon of delivered SMS, ICB (Interconnect Billing) Solution/Reconciliation, and DLT Platforms, along with other relevant network elements such as Testing, Commissioning, and Support.

IPPB Joins Hands with PNB MetLife India Insurance Company Limited

India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) has joined hands with PNB MetLife India Insurance Company Limited to launch Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana. The unique scheme offers life cover on death of the insured member due to any reason.
Products like PMJJBY help to inculcate a culture of buying affordable insurance amongst this segment of population. PMJJBY takes forward the Government's mission of creating a universal social security net for needy and disadvantaged sections.
The scheme will be optional for all the savings account holders with India Post Payments Bank. To open an account under Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana, Aadhaar card will be the primary Know Your Customer (KYC) document.
Customer should be at least 18 years old to enroll for the scheme. The maximum age limit will be 50 years for Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana.

Union Cabinet Approves Rs. 2,481 crore worth FDI into ATC Telecom Infra

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved foreign direct investment (FDI) worth Rs. 2,480.92 crore in ATC Telecom Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd. by ATC Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd.
Prakash Javadekar said that it shows the growing confidence in India's infrastructure sector and the international community's faith in India's growth, the minister said. The deal is for acquiring 12% stake in ATC Telecom Infrastructure for Rs. 216 a share.
India currently allows FDI up to 100% in telecom services sector wherein 49% is permitted under automatic route and anything beyond 49% must seek government approval.
ATC Telecom Infrastructure was set up in March 2004 as Tata Tele Info Limited, a Tata group firm.

Nov 25, 2020

Elon Musk Pips Bill Gates to Become World's Second Richest Person

As per a Bloomberg report, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has overtaken Bill Gates to become the world's second richest person.
Musk's net worth soared $7.2 billion to $127.9 billion, led by a surge in Tesla's share price. The 49-year-old billionaire has added $100.3 billion to his net worth this year, the most of anyone on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a daily ranking of the world's wealthiest 500 individuals.

Google Acquires 7.73% Stake in Jio

Alphabet Inc's Google has paid Rs. 33,737 crore for a 7.73 per cent stake in Reliance Industries Ltd's (RIL) digital subsidiary, Jio Platforms Ltd, joining the list of global investors such as Facebook.
The transaction also marks the US technology giant's biggest-ever investment in an Indian company. With this, Jio Platforms has raised a total of Rs. 1.52 lakh crore by selling nearly 33 per cent stake to 13 financial and strategic investors in just 11 weeks.

UAE Allows 100% Foreign Ownership of Companies

Foreigners opening a company in the United Arab Emirates no longer need an Emirati shareholder or agent under changes to UAE company law.
Until now companies in the UAE had needed a certain shareholding to be held by Emirati nationals, or an Emirati agent, depending on what type of company it was.
The amendments allow foreign entrepreneurs and investors to fully establish and own companies without any nationality requirements.
As an oil and gas producer, the UAE economy has been hit by the coronavirus pandemic and low oil prices, prompting the International Monetary Fund to forecast in October that the Gulf's second largest economy could shrink by 6.6 per cent this year.

Ahmed Patel MP from Gujarat Passes Away

Senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP from Gujarat Ahmed Patel passed away at the age of 71.
Ahmed Patel, who was popularly known as 'Ahmed Bhai' in political circle, was an eight-time parliamentarian. He served three terms in the Lok Sabha and five terms in the Rajya Sabha. Patel was appointed as the Treasurer of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) in August 2018.
Patel was a staunch loyalist of Nehru-Gandhi family.
Patel was widely regarded by many as one of the most powerful leaders in the Congress but he never joined the government. Patel always preferred to maintain a low profile and never showed interest in becoming a part of the government.

RBI Rejects Muthoot Finance's Plan to Buy IDBI AMC

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has rejected Kerala-based Muthoot Finance's proposal to acquire IDBI Asset Management Company (AMC).
Muthoot Finance said that its request for a no-objection certificate was not acceded to by the RBI on the ground that, "the activity of sponsoring a mutual fund (MF) or owning an AMC was not in consonance with the activity of operating a non-banking financial company (NBFC).
The Kerala-based gold loan NBFC, in November 2019, had signed a share purchase agreement to acquire IDBI Asset Management and IDBI MF Trustee Company for a consideration of around Rs. 215 crore. Through this acquisition Muthoot was planning to enter the MF asset management space.

Nov 24, 2020

Singapore and Saudi Companies Push Indian Solar Tariffs to Record Low

The Indian units of Singapore-based Sembcorp Industries Ltd and Saudi Arabia-based Aljomaih Holding Co won government auctions to sell solar power for a record low of 2 rupees ($0.0270) per kilowatt hour (kWh).
The tariff represented a discount of nearly a sixth from the lowest bid for solar power of 2.36 rupees in the auctions conducted by Solar Energy Corp of India Ltd (SECI) in June.
India, the world's third-biggest greenhouse gas emitter, has set a target of raising its renewable energy to 175 gigawatts (GW) by 2022 from about 90 GW now.
Sembcorp's Indian unit Green Infra Wind Energy Ltd will operate a solar plant with a capacity of 400 megawatts (MW), while Aljomaih Energy and Water Co will construct a 200 MW plant, a screen grab of the results of the auctions conducted by state-run Solar Energy Corp of India Ltd (SECI) showed.

Alpha Bank Picks Davidson Kempner as Preferred Bidder for $12 Billion Bad Loans

Greek lender Alpha Bank has selected U.S. investment fund Davidson Kempner as its preferred bidder to buy a $12 billion portfolio of non-performing loans in what will be Greece's largest-ever sale of bad debt.
The portfolio, known as Galaxy Project and worth 10.8 billion euros ($12.81 billion), also includes the disposal of Alpha's bad loan servicing unit, Cepal.
Davidson Kempner has valued the assets at about 290 million euros, trumping a rival offer by U.S. investment giant Pacific Investment Management Company (PIMCO).
The sale, which is expected to be finalised by the end of 2020, is the most significant attempt by a Greek bank to clean up its balance sheet amid fears that the proportion of soured loans to businesses and individuals will surge as a consequence of the COVID-19 crisis.

EbixCash Acquires AssureEdge Global

Cross-border remittance and financial services player EbixCash has acquired 70% stake in AssureEdge Global Services, a Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) firm — eyeing sales synergies amid growing demand for insurance in India.
The company said that AssureEdge CEO and founder Bhupesh Tambe will continue to lead the firm with a 30% stake.
The BPO, which currently has 1,800 employees, will be rebranded as EbixCash Global BPO Services.
AssureEdge can serve to handle fulfillment, collections and last-mile delivery for EbixCash, as we converge it with our EbixCash financial and insurance technology platforms.

Twenty-two Billion Barrels of Crude Oil Discovered in Abu Dhabi

An estimated 22 billion barrels of non-conventional and recoverable crude oil has been discovered in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
In the announcement, Abu Dhabi's Supreme Petroleum Council (SPC) said that the latest major onshore discovery could increase the country's conventional oil reserves by 2 billion barrels.
The SPC also approved on the same day to increase the capital investment in Abu Dhabi National Oil Company to 448 billion dirhams ($122 billion) from 2021 to 2025.

India Subjecting FDI Proposals from Hong Kong

As per reports, India is subjecting foreign investment proposals from Hong Kong at par with China as part of a new policy that makes approval mandatory for plans from countries that share a land border.
Nearly 140 investment proposals valued at over $1.75 billion, mostly from China and Hong Kong have been put on hold pending scrutiny.
Amid a border standoff with China, the Indian government tightened rules for foreign direct investment from all nations sharing a land border, making scrutiny mandatory for such investments, a restriction that was earlier applicable only to Pakistan and Bangladesh.
The delays may complicate deal-making and impact the flow of capital from private equity firms and hedge funds, which often include investors domiciled in China or Hong Kong. This may starve Indian companies of investment in the midst of the pandemic-induced economic contraction.

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