Nifty, Sensex pare initial gains
The Indian benchmark stock indices, which traded in the green through the day, were up as much as 1% during their intra-day high.
By the close of trading, however, the Nifty and the Sensex gave back most of their gains to end the day up less than 0.1%
HSBC files winding up plea against IL&FS firm in Singapore court
Global banking giant HSBC has filed a winding up petition in a Singapore court against an overseas subsidiary of IL&FS Transport Services Ltd (ITNL) for recovery of dues totalling more than Rs 1,000 crore.
In the first such case against a group entity of crisis-hit Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Ltd (IL&FS) Group, the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) is seeking to recover its funds parked in bonds worth RMB 1,000 million (over Rs 1,050 crore) maturing in 2021, which were issued by ITNL Offshore Pte Ltd.
As per a notice published in Singapore’s government gazette on March 3, HSBC filed its application for winding up of ITNL Offshore Pte Ltd in Singapore High Court on February 27.
The application has been listed for hearing on March 20 and “any creditor or contributory of the company desiring to support or oppose the making of an order on the winding up application may appear at the time of hearing by himself or his counsel for that purpose”, the notice said. PTI
Google wins $179m against ex engineer who stole trade secrets
Google has won $179 million in a case against Anthony Levandowski, former star engineer who is charged with stealing Google’s self-driving car secrets and moving on to join Uber Technologies.
After the judge ordered Levandowski to pay $179 million to Google, the founder of autonomous vehicle startup Otto which Uber acquired later, filed for bankruptcy protection on Wednesday, reports TechCrunch .
“Levandowski personally filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, stating that the presumptive $179 million debt quite exceeds his assets, which he estimates at somewhere between $50 million and $100 million,” the report said.
Zoho Corp announces ‘work from home’ to all employees
In the wake of coronavirus outbreak, cloud services firm Zoho Corp has asked its employees to work from home as a matter of precaution, a top official has said.
“We have adopted work from home as the default for all our offices worldwide as a matter of precaution, though we have not had any cases,” company Founder-CEO Sridhar Vembu said.
He said the employees were asked to come to their respective office only if it was “essential“.
“Our employees are encouraged to come to the office only when absolutely essential. We will continue this policy until the virus threat passes,” he said in a tweet. PTI
COVID-19 | Trade impact for India estimated at $348 million: UN report
The trade impact of the coronavirus epidemic for India is estimated to be about 348 million dollars and the country figures among the top 15 economies most affected as slowdown of manufacturing in China disrupts world trade, according to a UN report.
Estimates published by United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Wednesday said that the slowdown of manufacturing in China due to the COVID-19 outbreak is disrupting world trade and could result in a $50 billion decrease in exports across global value chains.
Oil prices climb ahead of OPEC meeting to discuss supply cuts
Oil prices climbed higher on Thursday ahead of an OPEC meeting in which Saudi Arabia is expected to push the group and its allies including Russia to agree to further output cuts to support the market.
Prices were also supported by a lower-than-expected rise in crude oil inventories in the United States, alleviating some concerns of oversupply in the world's biggest oil consumer.
Brent crude rose by 46 cents, or 0.9%, to $51.58 per barrel by 0734 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was up by 37 cents, or 0.8%, at $47.15 per barrel.
“Crude oil prices were boosted by a broad positive sentiment overnight, and a much lower-than-expected ... crude oil inventory data,” said Margaret Yang, a market analyst at CMC Markets.
“(The) market is also anticipating a decent output cut to be carried out by OPEC+, as Covid-19 has brought a significant impact to world's energy demand. More production curb is needed to shore up crude prices.” Reuters
JLR joins hands with Tata Power for electric vehicle charging solutions
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) India on Thursday said it has entered into a partnership with Tata Power for end-to-end electric vehicle (EV) charging solutions.
As part of the association, Tata Power will provide charging solutions for JLR in India across its retail network of 27 outlets in 24 cities and at customers’ residence and/or office.
Tata Power will be responsible for providing a range of AC and DC chargers, starting from 7 kW to 50 kW capacity, JLR India said in a statement.
“The partnership with Tata Power will be a tremendous value addition for JLR customers as it provides a one-stop solution to their charging needs and also provides easy accessibility to the wide network of public charging infrastructure being set up by Tata Power across India,” JLR India President and Managing Director Rohit Suri said.
EPFO cuts interest rate on deposits to 7-year low of 8.5% for 2019-20
Retirement fund body Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) on Thursday lowered interest rate on provident fund deposits to a seven-year low of 8.5% for the current financial year.
The EPFO had provided 8.65% rate of interest on EPF for 2018-19 to its around six crore subscribers. The decision was taken at a meeting of the the EPFO’s apex decision making body -- the Central Board of Trustee (CBT).
“The EPFO has decided to provide 8.5% interest rate on EPF deposits for 2019-20 in the CBT meeting today,” Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar said here after the meeting.
The minister also said that the EPFO will have a surplus of over ₹700 crore on providing 8.5% rate of interest on EPF for this fiscal.
Bombay HC dismisses Chanda Kochhar’s plea against termination of employment by ICICI bank
The Bombay High Court on Thursday dismissed a petition filed by Chanda Kochhar against her termination as the managing director and chief executive officer of the ICICI Bank.
A Division Bench of Justices N.M. Jamdar and M.S. Karnik accepted the bank’s contention that Ms. Kochhar’s petition was not maintainable as the dispute was contractual and concerns a private body.
The bank’s counsel Darius Khambata had earlier argued that a judicial review cannot be incurred under Article 226 of the Constitution, which empowers high courts to issue directions, orders or writs in such a matter.
Yes Bank shares zoom over 29% amid SBI stake purchase buzz
Shares of Yes Bank on Thursday zoomed over 29 per cent in afternoon trade amid reports that the government has asked State Bank of India (SBI) to lead a consortium that will buy stake in the company.
The scrip witnessed a sharp rise in afternoon trade, spiking 29.35 per cent to Rs 37.90 on the BSE. Earlier in the day, it had hit a 52-week low of Rs 28.05.
On the NSE, it jumped 29.18 per cent to Rs 37.85 erasing early losses.
The BSE has sought clarification from Yes Bank on Thursday with reference to news that government is said to have approved SBI’s plan to buy stake in the company.
SBI shares recovered from early losses and were trading over 3 per cent higher. PTI
Google to open its 2nd India Cloud region in 2021
Google on Thursday announced plans to open its second Cloud region in India --in Delhi next year -- and help regulated industries such as healthcare and financial services, as well as public sector organisations across the country achieve their cloud goal.
Google launched the Mumbai region in 2017. The new cloud region will expand Google’s existing network, which stands at eight regions in the Asia Pacific and 22 regions globally.
“At Google Cloud, our mission is to accelerate every organisation’s ability to transform through data-powered innovation with leading infrastructure, platform, industry solutions and expertise designed to meet our customers where they are on their journey to the cloud,” said Rick Harshman, Managing Director, Google Cloud Asia Pacific.
IMF chief says coronavirus erases hopes for stronger growth in 2020
The global spread of the novel coronavirus has crushed hopes for stronger growth this year and will hold 2020 global output gains to their slowest pace since the 2008-2009 financial crisis, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Wednesday.
The IMF now expects 2020 world growth to be below the 2.9% rate for 2019, and revised forecasts will be issued in the coming weeks, Georgieva told a news briefing. Trade wars pushed global growth last year to the lowest rate since a 0.7% contraction in 2009.
The changed forecast would represent a more than 0.4-percentage-point drop from the 3.3% growth the IMF had estimated for 2020 in January as U.S.-China trade tensions eased.
“Global growth in 2020 will dip below last year's levels, but how far it will fall and how long the impact will be is still difficult to predict,” Georgieva said.
She declined to say whether the escalating health crisis could push the world into a recession. Reuters
All you need to know about BS-VI fuel
Studies show that vehicles are a major source of pollutants that cause climate change. Cutting down on vehicular emission will also result in better air quality in cities. In a bid to bring down pollution levels, the Central government has announced that from April 1, 2020, all vehicles sold in India should comply with Bharat Stage-VI, or BS-VI emission standards. The Bharat Stage emission standards are the legal limits on the amount of air pollutants like carbon monoxide and particulate matter that a vehicle in India can emit. These standards are targeted at making improvements in three areas -- emission control, fuel efficiency and engine design.
Reliance Retail acquires Shri Kannan Departmental Store
Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (RRVL), a subsidiary of Reliance Industries (RIL), has acquired 100 per cent stake in Tamil Nadu—based Shri Kannan Departmental Store Private Limited for Rs 152.5 crore.
RIL in a regulatory filing said that the investment will further strengthen the group’s retail operations and its presence in the state of Tamil Nadu and will further enable its retail and new commerce initiatives.
“Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (RRVL), a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited, has acquired 7,86,191 equity shares representing 100 per cent of the equity share capital of Shri Kannan Departmental Store Private Limited (SKDS) for a consideration of Rs 152.5 crore,” the company said in a filing late on Wednesday evening.
Incorporated on September 15, 1999, Shri Kannan Departmental Store is engaged in the business of retailing fruits and vegetables, dairy, staples, home and personal care and general merchandise to consumers. It currently operates 29 stores across Coimbatore and nearby areas with a retail area of over 6 lakh square feet. IANS
COVID-19 | SEBI says gauging virus impact
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is assessing the possible impact of COVID-19 on the markets and taking steps to tackle the same, said S. K. Mohanty, whole-time member, SEBI.
“SEBI is aware of the coronavirus and the possible impact that it can have on the market. We are taking necessary steps,” he said. on the sidelines of a capital market summit organised by industry body Assocham.
“We’ve seen the RBI statement. Whatever has to be done, has to be done. We are internally assessing the situation,” he added.
2 bank unions announce strike on March 27 opposing mergers
Two major unions in the banking sector — All India Bank Employees’ Association (AIBEA) and All India Bank Officers Association (AIBOA) will go on strike on March 27 opposing the mega bank mergers approved by the Union Cabinet on Wednesday, said a top leader of AIBEA.
“Banks themselves face problems due to huge pile of bad loans. While the public sector banks made a total gross profit of Rs 150,000 crore for the year ended March 31, 2019, because of total provisions towards bad loans, etc. amounting to Rs 216,000 crore, the banks ended in a net loss of Rs 66,000 crore,” C.H. Venkatachalam, General Secretary, AIBEA, said.
“Can anyone believe that merger of banks will result in recovery of the huge corporate bad loans? Rather, as we have observed after merger in State Bank of India (SBI), bad loans in SBI has gone up. Same risk is facing these banks now,” he said.
According to Venkatachalam, the unions have planned series of protests this month peaking with the strike on March 27. IANS
SC order on cryptocurrency will offer only temporary relief
Even as virtual currency investors and businesses welcomed the Supreme Court’s order on cryptocurrency, the relief for such players may be only temporary given that the Centre, in a draft law, has proposed to ban all private cryptocurrencies.
“... Our main objective is to create a dialogue with policymakers and develop a comprehensive framework for crypto assets in India paving the way for innovation,” said, Sohail Merchant, CEO, Pocketbits.in, and member of IAMAI’s Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Committee. “As an industry body, we look forward to a more open dialogue with the government.” IAMAI was among entities that had approached the Supreme Court in 2018 over the RBI circular prohibiting regulated entities from “providing any service in relation to virtual currencies, including those of transfer or receipt of money in accounts relating to the purchase or sale of virtual currencies.”
Yes Bank shares up 15% after reports of SBI picking up stake
Manojit Saha reports:
Stocks of Yes Bank went up over 15% after unconfirmed media reports that the government has approved a plan for State Bank of India to buy stake in the private sector lender.
SBI shares, however, tanked 5% after the news came in.
Yes Bank has been trying to raise capital and in talks with investors for sometime now, but nothing has been finalized.
Reports suggest the investors that had shown interest in Yes Bank does not inspire confidence that it will get regulatory approval.
Rupee freefall continues, down 5 paise in early trade against U.S. dollar
The Indian rupee continued its downward journey on Thursday, sliding another 5 paise to trade at 73.44 against the U.S. dollar amid mounting fears of a coronavirus-led economic slowdown.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the local unit started the session on positive note but soon nervousness surrounding coronavirus gripped the forex market sentiment, pulling the rupee down to 73.44 against the previous day’s close of 73.39 a dollar.
Further weakening sentiment, foreign investors offloaded securities worth ₹878.38 crore on Wednesday.
RBI deputy governor seeks early retirement
Manojit Saha reports:
N.S. Vishwanathan, one of the deputy governors of Reserve Bank of India, has sought early retirement due to health related issues, sources said.
Mr Vishwanathan, a career central banker, was due for retirement on July 3. He was appointed as RBI deputy governor in 2016 and last year the government had reappointed him for another year.
Mr Vishwanathan was in charge of the supervision department, among others.
Equitas bank gears up to go public
Having received the nod from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for its initial public offering (IPO), Equitas Small Finance Bank is gearing up to go public as soon as possible, said a top executive. “As of now, we don’t have any deadline for the IPO. We are working on going public as quickly as possible,” said P.N. Vasudevan, MD and CEO of the bank. The IPO comprises fresh issue of ₹550 crore and an offer-for-sale of eight crore equity shares.
The offer price and date will be decided by ESFBL and promoters selling the shares in consultation with book running lead managers in accordance with the book building process and red herring prospectus. JM Financial, Edelweiss Financial Services and IIFL Securities are the book running lead managers to the issue.
Tax officials threaten to cut workload in protest over working conditions
Indian tax officials on Wednesday threatened to cut their workloads in protest over working conditions, a move that could dent New Delhi's tax collection just as the government scrambles to fill coffers before the fiscal year ends on March 31.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government is pushing to shore up revenue as India's once-booming economy grows at roughly 11-year lows.
Corporate and income tax collection for the current year is likely to fall for the first time in at least two decades, several senior tax officials have told Reuters.
In a statement on Wednesday, two unions representing some 97% of tax officials said they were beginning action for improved working conditions, including the resolution of “pay anomalies” and set contracts for casual workers.
If demands are not met, the unions are planning to stop submitting certain reports and halt search and seizure operations on March 12, before putting an end to overtime work on March 15. Reuters
SBI Cards IPO subscribed 15.49 times
The initial public offer of SBI Cards and Payment Services, which closed for bidding for institutional investors on Wednesday, was subscribed 15.49 times, with bids received for nearly 155.4 crore equity shares as against 10.03 crore shares on offer in the price band of ₹750 to ₹755.
The segment reserved for institutional investors was subscribed nearly 57 times, with bids received for nearly 139 crore equity shares.
Sensex jumps nearly 200 points; Nifty above 11,300
Ashish Rukhaiyar reports:
Amidst an overall strong global trend, the Indian equity indices opened Thursday on a strong note, gaining over 0.50% during the first hour of the trading session.
At 9:20 am, the 30-share Sensex was trading at 38,596.12, up 186.64 points or 0.49%. The broader Nifty was at 11,315, up 64.20 points or 0.57%. The overall market breadth was also strong with more than 700 stocks gaining ground, as against less than 300 declines.
Elsewhere in Asia, the benchmarks in Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan and China all were trading higher on Thursday.
Telcos still owe Centre ₹1.30 lakh crore in AGR dues
The Centre on Wednesday said it had till now received only ₹15,896.51 crore from telecom firms as payment towards their adjusted gross revenue-related dues .
This is about 11% of the total estimated dues of ₹1,46,336.98 crore, leaving ₹1,30,440.47 crore still to be paid ahead of the next Supreme Court hearing on the issue on March 17.
Replying to a query on whether the government proposed to take any action over non-compliance of order on payment of dues, Minister of State for Communications Sanjay Dhotre said the government had directed the licensees to make the payments in accordance with the October 24, 2019, Supreme Court order.
Govt to take action for non-payment of AGR dues
The government has directed the telecom service providers (TSPs) to make payments as per the Supreme Court judgment on AGR and in case of non-payment action will be taken as per licence agreements.
This was stated in reply to a question in Lok Sabha on Wednesday by Minister of State for Communications Sanjay Dhotre.
Dhotre said that the government has directed the TSPs to make payments as per the Supreme Court judgement of October 24, 2019.
In case of non—payment of dues to Department of Telecommunications, the government will take action as per the licence conditions of the TSPs.
In a reply to a related question, Dhotre said the Supreme Court had detached the public sector undertakings (PSUs) from the AGR judgement and directed them to seek relief from the appropriate forum. IANS
