RBI supersedes board of Reliance Capital
The RBI on Monday superseded the board of Reliance Capital Ltd (RCL), promoted by Anil Ambani's Reliance Group, in view of the defaults in meeting payment obligations.
The RBI said the board has been superseded "in view of the defaults by RCL in meeting the various payment obligations to its creditors and serious governance concerns which the Board has not been able to address effectively".
It has also appointed Nageswar Rao Y (Ex-Executive Director, Bank of Maharashtra) as the administrator of the NBFC.
Rupee plunges by 23 paise on new COVID variant worries
The rupee on Monday plunged by 23 paise to close at 75.12 (provisional) against the U.S. dollar, as investors turned cautious in view of a new variant of COVID-19.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local currency opened at 74.84 and witnessed an intra-day high of 74.82 and a low of 75.16 against the U.S. dollar in a highly volatile trading session.
Meanwhile, gold rallied by ₹242 to ₹47,242 per 10 gram.
Over 5 lakh cos went out of business in nearly 6 years
More than 5 lakh companies went out of business while over 7 lakh new companies were set up in the last nearly six years, according to official data.
The data for the period starting from April 1, 2016, till date showed that a total of 5,00,506 companies were shut down. During the same time, 7,17,049 new companies were registered under the Companies Act, 2013.
Sensex advances 153 pts amid Omicron worries
Benchmark BSE Sensex advanced by 153 points on Monday following gains in index heavyweights Reliance Industries and TCS, even as investors remained cautious over the Omicron variant of the coronavirus spreading to more countries.
In a volatile session, the 30-share Sensex closed higher by 153.43 points or 0.27% to 57,260.58. The index had tanked more than 500 points or over 1% in opening trade in line with weak global cues.
The broader NSE Nifty edged higher by 27.50 points or 0.16% to end at 17,053.95.
About ₹52,000 crore GST compensation pending to states: FinMin
Nearly ₹52,000 crore of GST compensation was due to the states as of September 2021, Parliament was informed on Monday.
Giving details of Goods and Services Tax (GST) compensation released and pending to be released as on November 24, 2021, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said in the Lok Sabha that ₹1,10,208 crore and ₹1.59 lakh crore was released to the states as back to back loan in 2020-21 and 2021-22 fiscals, respectively.
Amazon infuses ₹650 cr in Amazon Wholesale India
U.S.-based ecommerce giant Amazon has infused fresh capital to the tune of ₹650 crore into one of its India units, Amazon Wholesale (India), according to regulatory documents.
Amazon Corporate Holdings Private Limited and Amazon.com.incs Limited have made the ₹650 crore investment in the wholesale B2B arm of Amazon India, documents filed with the corporate affairs ministry and shared by market intelligence firm Tofler showed.
Ather Energy to set up manufacturing facility at Hosur, Tamil Nadu
Hero MotoCorp-backed electric two-wheeler maker Ather Energy on Monday said its plans to set up its second manufacturing facility, which once commissioned in 2022, will expand its capacity to 4-lakh vehicles per year from 1.20 lakh units at present.
The new facility will come up at Hosur, in Tamil Nadu to cater to the growing demand for its e-two-wheelers -- 450 X and 450 Plus.
HC directs Centre to inform it about introduction of bill on cryptocurrency
The Bombay High Court on Monday directed the Union government to apprise it on January 17, 2022 about the introduction of the bill on cryptocurrency and what further action has been taken on the issue.
A division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice M S Karnik said it cannot direct the parliamentary legislation to enact a law.
Asian Paints to invest ₹960 crore to expand Gujarat unit
Asian Paints Ltd on Monday said it will invest ₹960 crore to expand the manufacturing capacity of its facility situated at Ankleshwar in Gujarat.
The company has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Government of Gujarat commencing the proposed expansion of manufacturing capacity of paint from 1.3 lakh KL to 2.5 lakh KL and resins and emulsions from 32,000 MT to 85,000 MT, Asian Paints said in a regulatory filing.
LIC to up stake in Kotak to nearly 10%
Insurance behemoth LIC will raise its stake in private sector lender Kotak Mahindra Bank to nearly 10%, after receiving grant of approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
Kotak Mahindra Bank (Kotak) said it has received an intimation from LIC regarding the same.
upGrad makes first overseas deal with Australian Global Study Partners
Leading edtech player upGrad on Monday said it will acquire Global Study Partners (GSP), the largest study abroad company in Australia, for AUD 16 million, with a commitment of a further AUD 10 million in future.
upGrad, which has been growing through acquisitions and has earmarked an M&A war chest of USD 250 million, has entered into an acquisition agreement to buy 100% of GSP for AUD 16 million with a commitment of a further AUD 10 million in future.
Russia’s Gazprom reports Q3 net profit of $7.8 billion
Russian natural gas giant Gazprom’s reported a third-quarter net profit of 581.8 billion roubles ($7.8 billion) after a loss of 251 billion rouble a year earlier, reflecting higher gas prices.
The state-owned natural gas supplier said its July to September revenue surged to 2.4 trillion roubles from 1.4 trillion a year earlier.
Indian economy in better shape than a year ago: Pinaki Chakraborty
India’s current macroeconomic situation is certainly much better than what it was a year ago, Pinaki Chakraborty, Director at National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP), said.
“And hopefully if there is no third wave, we will be back on a path of economic growth which will be sustainable and increasing,” the economist added.
Japan October retail sales rise for first time in 3 months
Japan’s retail sales rose for the first time in three months in October. Retail sales in the world’s third-largest economy increased 0.9% in October from a year earlier. Compared with the previous month, retail sales grew 1.1% on a seasonally adjusted basis.
China regulator fines Tencent’s Tenpay
China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange said it fined Tenpay, Tencent’s online payment platform, 2.78 million yuan ($4,36,000) for misconduct, including conducting foreign exchange business beyond the scope of its registration.
The fine comes amid regulatory crackdown on China’s biggest firms.
Nissan to spend $17.6 billion to accelerate electrification
Nissan said it will spend 2 trillion yen ($17.59 billion) over the next five years to accelerate vehicle electrification as it bets tighter carbon emission restrictions will spur demand for electric cars and hybrids.
The Japanese car maker will introduce 23 electrified vehicles by 2030, including 15 electric vehicles, and plans to introduce all solid-state batteries by March 2029.
FinTech start-up Slice becomes India’s newest unicorn
FinTech start-up Slice became India’s newest unicorn after raising $220 million in a Series B round led by investors Tiger Global and New York-based global private equity and venture capital Insight Partners.
The company valued at over $1 billion, intends to use the funding to expand and strengthen its presence in the payments space, hire talent and expand its product offerings. Its slice super card, a prepaid visa card with a credit line allows users to enjoy credit card-like benefits.
Rupee sees high volatility
The Indian rupee opened higher against the U.S. dollar but pared gains in late morning deals amid high volatility. The domestic unit opened at 74.84, up 5 paise against the greenback and advanced to 74.82. Later, rupee was trading down by 9 paise at 74.98.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose by 0.19% to 96.27.
Paytm shares fall after Q2 results
Shares of One97 Communications Ltd, Paytm's parent company, fell as much as 4.6% after the firm’s net loss for its second quarter widened due to a rise in expenses.
In its first earnings report since going public earlier this month, the company said expenses rose 37.1% to 15.99 billion rupees and consolidated net loss surged to 4.74 billion rupees from 4.37 billion rupees a year ago.
While the stock has recovered some of the losses suffered during the debut , it still remained nearly 21% below its IPO offer price of ₹2,150.
Oil prices rebound
Oil prices rebounded today, after falling on Friday. Brent crude rose 4.3%, to $75.83 a barrel, while U.S. crude surged 5.1%, at $71.62 per barrel.
Oil prices plunged more than 10% on Friday, their biggest one-day drop since April 2020, as the new variant spooked investors across financial markets.
Indian indices drop amid weak global cues
Indian indices opened flat amid weak global cues but dropped in early trade . At 9:20 A.M., the Sensex was down 585.22 points or 1.02% to 56,521.93, while Nifty fell to 16,835.05, down 191.40 points or 1.12%.
On Friday, the 30-share index ended 1,687.94 points or 2.87% lower at 57,107.15. Similarly, the NSE Nifty plunged 509.80 points or 2.91% to 17,026.45.
Stock markets this week will be driven mostly by updates related to the new coronavirus variant that sent equities tumbling globally on Friday, according to analysts.
Asian shares fall in early trade
Major Asian stock indices opened in red and dipped in early trade as investors tried to assess the extent of damage the Omicron variant could cause to economic recoveries.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan eased 0.1%. In Japan, Nikkei fell 0.02% and Topix dropped 0.39%. South Korea’s Kospi slid 0.42%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dipped 0.92%.
In U.S., S&P 500 futures added 0.8% and Nasdaq futures 0.9%. Both indices suffered their sharpest fall in months on Friday.
---- Edited by John Xavier
(With inputs from Reuters, PTI and other news agencies.)
Published - November 29, 2021 09:01 am IST
