Latest Weekly India Business News 24th to 28th December 2018
Latest Weekly India Business News 24th to 28th December 2018:
Corporates:
– JioCinema, Reliance Jio’s movie app, will now host content from Disney India.
– PVR is planning to raise upto Rs.750 Crores thru issue of securities.
– OYO has launched an offer to around 250 of its existing and ex-employees to liquidate their stock options.
– Sebi has refused to stop forensic audit of Inter Globe Finance, suspected to be a shell company. It had directed stock exchanges to appoint a forensic audit to verify any misrepresentation of financials and business of the firm in March.
– RPG Ventures is planning to raise around Rs.50-60 Crores for Seniority, its senior citizen-care product startup.
– The government has decided to infuse Rs.2,159 crore in Union Bank of India as part of Rs 28,615 crore capital infusion to be done in around 6-7 banks.
– Jayant Sinha has said that the government has prepared a revival plan for Air India focusing on building a competitive and profitable airline including transfer of non-core debt and assets to a SPV.
– SBQ Steels’ lenders have shown preference to take liquidation route and expressed reservations over Liberty House’s capability to take the process ahead. The total debt of SBQ Steels stands at Rs 36.40 billion.
– Cleartrip has said that after its tie-up with Digit, there’s an increase of around 7% in the customers now opting for travel insurance.
– Delhivery’s net loss during fy2018 increased to Rs.684 Crore from Rs.630 in fy 2017, although the firm posted an increased revenue of around 42% (Rs.1070 Crore).
– Hindustan Construction Company has raised Rs.497.6 crore through a rights issue.
– Hindustan Unilever is considering legal options after GST anti-profiteering authority found it guilty of not passing on rate cut benefits to consumers and asked the firm to deposit Rs.223 crores.
– Kishore Biyani’s family office has raised Rs.3000 Crores, out of which Aion Capital invested Rs.1400 Crores while Rs.980 Crore came from Generali Group.
– Some of the big Electronic retailers have decided not to sell products of BSH Hausgerate, maker of Siemens and Bosch products. The firm had alleged that some consumer electronic companies support online discounts.
– The government is to infuse Rs 830 billion into public-sector banks in the remaining months of 2018-19.
– Shemaroo Entertainment is looking to launch its new OTT streaming service, ShemarooMe, in the first quarter of 2019. To start with it will partner with key telecom companies, cable, and DTH firms to have it integrated.
– NCLT helped resolve insolvency and bankruptcy proceedings for more than Rs.80,000 Crore during 2018.
– Britannia is planning to strengthen its dairy and snacks portfolios in 2019 to reposition the brand as a foods company and also diversify into the revenue streams.
– Vedanta will set up a new steel plant in Bokaro, Jharkhand at an investment of around $3-4 billion. The plant will be part of Electrosteel Steels.
– Northern Arc Capital has raised Rs.200 crore from Dutch development bank FMO via NCDs. The firm lends to impact-focused companies and also facilitates debt financing.
– JK Cement launched QIP to raise Rs.600 Crores from institutional investors for Capex.
– Cube Highways has emerged the top bidder in NHAI TOT auction with a bid of Rs.4,612 crore. Cube is backed by global infrastructure fund I Squared Capital.
– Grofers is in talks to raise around $150 million from SoftBank.
– PVR Cinemas is planning to infuse around 2500 to 3000 fresh capital for expansion.
– The Government and Insolvency Board is planning to take action against Liberty House and other entities which backed out on their plans to take over companies through the resolution process.
– Vedanta chairman, Anil Agarwal, has indicated that his son and daughter may not head the group. He said that he wants to make it professionally managed and Vedanta is too big to have a typical family succession plan.
– GVK group is in talks with JM Financial to refinance around Rs.1,400-crore of GVK Airport Holdings.
– In a first, an interministerial committee of 3 Cabinet-ranked ministers has been formed by the government to decide if an international flying permit should be given to Vistara. Till now DGCA has been the final authority to grant a permit for international operations.
– Patanjali Group is still keen on buying Ruchi Soya even after Adani Wilmar is withdrawing its offer citing delays in resolution process closing. Patanjali was the second highest bidder after Adani.
– Marico industries is planning to enter into new categories in the health and wellness sector. The product list includes green tea, high protein cereals, protein shakes and soups.
Policies & Practices:
– The government has barred online retailers from selling products of companies in which they own stakes. It also disallowed them from entering into exclusive deals for merchandise. It had received complaints from small traders stating that deep discounts offered by e-com firms are driving them out of business, as also big sellers get preferential treatment. This move could particularly hit Amazon as it has several such JVs including Cloudtail and Appario. Cloudtail is a JV between Amazon and Catamaran Ventures of N.R. Narayana Murthy. Appario is a JV between Amazon and Patni Group.
– The government is planning to introduce a new e-comm policy within the next few weeks, which would boost the sector, promote exports and ensure fair play.
– DGCA has issued an advisory stating that airlines may consider using local language for in-flight announcements. Also, the pilots can also announce about important monuments or sites en-route the flight.
– FSSAI has revised guidelines impacting directly the online food and grocery operators. The guidelines include anytime sampling, indicative images on platforms, only fresh food to be delivered with shelf life of 45 days.
– RBI has set up an expert committee, headed by Bimal Jalan, its former governor, to suggest how to handle its reserves and if it can transfer surplus funds to the government.
– Finance minister Arun Jaitley has warned businesses that not passing on the benefits of tax cuts and rebates to consumers will result in withdrawal of tax benefits.
M&As and tie-ups:
– Lemon Tree Hotels has entered into a JV with Warburg Pincus, the global private equity firm, to jointly invest around Rs.3,000 crore in developing student housing and other co-living spaces in India.
– Delhi Metro has partnered with Uber and Ola to provide last-mile connectivity from the metro stations. Currently, Uber has set up kiosks at Dwarka Sector -21 and Sikanderpur metro stations, and Ola at M G Road and Noida Sector-18.
– Carlyle & GIC are set to buy a 10% stake in SBI Life Insurance for Rs.5200 Crores.
– Radiant has agreed to acquire 49.7% stake in Max Healthcare from Life Healthcare in an all-cash deal. Later, healthcare and investment businesses of Max India, will be demerged into two separate entities.
– Blackstone has got the approval of Golden Jubilee Hotel’s shareholders for acquiring the property. The hotel has a debt of around Rs.1000 Crore.
– Reliance Industries acquired 5.56% equity stake in Vakt Holdings Ltd, UK, a technology startup, for $5 million. VHL is a consortium of leading global energy majors, banks and commodity traders.
Must Read: GST Policy Changes: All Clarifications and
Start-up world, funds and fundings
– Bloom Hotels has raised an additional Rs.100 crore from Samena Capital, which had also invested Rs.100 crore in April 2018. Bloom Hotels currently operates 8 hotels.
– DesignCafe, an online interior design platform, has raised Rs.200 Crore led by WestBridge.
Stats
– The government has said that automobile sector is expected to attract $8-10 billion more in local and foreign investments by 2023. The sector got $16.5 billion in FDI between April 2000 and December 2016.
– As per a report by Preqin, 585 healthcare-focused deals worth $56 billion were announced between Jan to Nov 2018. 2017 recorded 619 deals worth $57 billion.
– India Inc reportedly raised Rs.6 trillion in 2018 from equity and debt markets in 2018. Out of this, Rs.5.1 lakh crore has been mopped up from the debt market and around Rs.78,500 came from the equity markets.
Updates on ongoing cases:
– ICICI Bank-Videocon loan case – The committee appointed by ICICI Bank is reaching closure in its probe. Based on the probe findings so far, it has sought replies from Chanda Kochhar, ICICI Bank, and other entities involved in the case. The report by committee is expected to be submitted by the 3rd week of January.
– PNB Fraud case – Indian Government has reportedly been infomred by the British authorities that Nirav Modi is living in the UK.
People:
– Rajesh Subramaniam has been named as President & CEO of FedEx Express. The Indian-American Subramaniam is currently executive VP, Chief marketing and communications officer of FedEx Corporation. He has been with FedEx for over 27 years.
– Unnat Varma, MD, Pizza Hut has been named as company’s Asia Pacific Head. He will oversee business in 5500 restaurants across 17 countries.
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News credit: Livemint, Economic Times, Business Standard