Business Standard - October 24, 2024

In this issue

October 24, 2024

HUL profit falls 2.4% in Q2, misses estimates

Growth moderates in urban areas, rural India sees gradual pickup

3 mins

Average M&A value halves in 2024

Adani deal is 15x the average deal value for the year

2 mins

UP's GSDP to surpass ₹32 trn in FY25: CM

Adityanath says 64K hectares freed from land mafia

2 mins

Byju's back in insolvency as SC mixes NCLAT order

The Supreme Court on Wednesday set aside the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) order halting the insolvency proceedings against edtech firm Byju's on a petition filed by US-based creditor firm Glas Trust Company LLC, which represents lenders to which Byju's owes $1.2 billion.

2 mins

Coca-Cola Q3 loses fizz on monsoon

Beverage major Coca-Cola reported a 1 per cent decline in volumes in the third quarter ended September 27, owing to temporary factors, mainly heavy monsoons in several states, as the company flagged a slowdown in emerging markets globally.

1 min

NPCI nod to onboard users may help Paytm streamline UPI operations

One97 Communications (OCL), the company that operates brand Paytm, received a nod from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to onboard new Unified Payments Interface (UPI) users.

2 mins

TVS logs 45% rise in profit on record 2W, 3W sales

Sales grow 14%, registering the highest ever quarterly sales in September qtr

2 mins

Trai releases paper on authorisations of satellite gateway

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has brought out a consultation paper on network authorisations, asking the industry whether a separate authorization is needed for satellite communication services, especially for Satellite Earth Station Gateways (SESG).

1 min

HUL to scoop out ice cream business

Hindustan Unilever's (HUL's) board of directors decided in a meeting held on Wednesday to separate the ice cream business.

1 min

Deferred tax drags down Honda FY24 profit by 53%

Honda Cars India (HCIL) net profit dropped by 52.8 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to ₹661.4 crore in 2023-24 (FY24), primarily due to deferred tax of ₹359.8 crore, according to the annual results submitted to the Registrar of Companies (ROC) and reviewed by Business Standard.

1 min

Dalmia to set up cement unit in MP

Dalmia Cement will set up a new cement plant, with a capacity of 4 million tonnes, in Madhya Pradesh at a cost of ₹3,000 crore, making it the first unit in the country to run on 100 per cent renewable energy.

1 min

Vedanta Resources raises $300 mn via tap option

Vedanta Resources, the parent firm of Mumbai-based mining conglomerate Vedanta Ltd, has raised $300 million by exercising the tap option on the existing bond issue.

1 min

Jio Fin, Allianz discuss insurance JV

Jio Financial Services, controlled by Mukesh Ambani, has held talks with Allianz SE to set up an insurance partnership in India as the German firm seeks to scrap two existing joint ventures in the country, according to people familiar with the matter.

1 min

Lulu's $1.8 bn UAE IPO opens on Oct 28

MAJOR ISSUES

1 min

GMR Group secures ₹6.3K cr investment from ADIA arm

Hopes for significant reduction in pledged shares after completion of debt deal

1 min

SBI raises ₹5,000 cr via AT-1 bonds

Country's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) raised ₹5,000 crore on Wednesday through the issuance of Additional Tier-I (AT-1) bonds at a coupon rate of 7.98 per cent to bolster its capital base, marking the bank's first such issuance in the current financial year.

1 min

Tata AIG eyes 30% CAGR in retail health over 3 yrs

Tata AIG General Insurance on Wednesday said it is aiming to grow its retail health portfolio at a 30 per cent CAGR over the next three years, driven by the expansion of its distribution network and introduction of new riders.

1 min

Can't accept FDI blindly, need safeguards: FM

India will place restrictions on foreign direct investment (FDI) in the national interest to ensure safeguards because of its location in a highly sensitive neighbourhood, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said during an interactive session at the Wharton Business School in the US on Tuesday.

1 min

Growth needs to be supported by cheaper credit

Nagesh Kumar, one of the three newly appointed external members of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)'s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), said on Wednesday that interest rates should be reduced to make loans cheaper to support growth, which has been sluggish.

2 mins

Govt lifts curbs on rice exports; floor price for non-basmati scrapped

Lifting curbs on rice exports, the government on Wednesday removed the floor price for non-basmati rice shipments and exempted parboiled and husked (brown) rice from export duty.

1 min

Major port cargo rose 6% in September

Major ports, owned by the central government, registered a 6 per cent growth in cargo in September at 65 million tonnes (mt), primarily driven by crude oil cargo shipments and an increase in miscellaneous commodities.

1 min

DFS secy: MFIs must refrain from reckless lending

Microfinance institutions (MFIs) have played a crucial role in fostering financial inclusion but they should refrain from any reckless lending, Financial Services Secretary M Nagaraju said.

1 min

UP linking startups with big industries to boost economy

Move aimed at making the state a trillion-dollar economy in 4-5 years, says panel

2 mins

Bajaj Finserv Q2 profit rises 8% to ₹2,087 crore

Bajaj Finserv on Wednesday reported an 8 percent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) increase in its consolidated net profit at ₹2,087 crore for the second quarter of the financial year 2024-25 (Q2FY25). It made a net profit of ₹1,929 crore in Q2FY24.

1 min

'Employment, women safety UP's growth mantra'

The Uttar Pradesh (UP) government's mantra for growth is that every person should get employment, and every woman should have a safe work environment, said Awanish Kumar Awasthi, advisor to UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

2 mins

SC pulls up Centre over stubble burning

The Supreme Court on Wednesday pulled up the Centre for making the environment protection law \"toothless\", and said the provision under the Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) Act of 2021, which deals with penalty for stubble burning, was not being implemented.

1 min

Dialogue And Diplomacy Only Way Forward: Modi At BRICS

India believes dialogue and diplomacy are the only way forward to resolve conflicts, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at the 16th Brics Summit in Kazan on Wednesday.

1 min

Disputes shouldn't affect peace at border: PM to Xi

As part of their first bilateral meeting in nearly five years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday directed officials to take forward talks on resolving the ongoing border dispute in Ladakh.

1 min

THAW IN TIES: HOW BILATERAL TRADE FARED IN LAST DECADE

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held bilateral talks on Wednesday, the first formal meeting in half a decade. The trade and investment relation between the two countries has continued to remain robust despite the ups and downs in the bilateral ties.

1 min

Boeing losses swell to $6bn; CEO pushes for turnaround

Ortberg calls for 'fundamental culture change' as crippling strike continues

2 mins

Four killed in terror attack at Turkish defence company

Four people were killed and 14 others wounded in an attack at the Turkish Aerospace Industries' headquarters on Wednesday, the government said, and witnesses said they heard gunfire and a loud explosion at the site near Ankara.

1 min

4,300 tonnes of space junk and rising: Satellite breakup adds to woes

A large communications satellite has broken up in orbit, affecting users in Europe, Central Africa, West Asia, Asia, and Australia, and adding to the growing swarm of space junk clouding our planet's neighbourhood.

3 mins

Arm Holdings to scrap Qualcomm chip design licence

Arm Holdings Plc is cancelling a licence that allowed longtime partner Qualcomm Inc to use Arm intellectual property to design chips, escalating a legal dispute over vital smartphone technology.

1 min

McDonald's burgers linked to E coli outbreak

A severe E coli outbreak tied to McDonald's Quarter Pounders sickened dozens of people in the US, mainly in Colorado and Nebraska, and killed one, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

1 min

Apple CEO Cook vows to invest more in China

Apple Inc's Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook (pictured) promised to keep investing in China during a meeting with Beijing's top technology official, underscoring the country's vital role in the iPhone maker's global operations.

1 min

Arm Holdings to scrap Qualcomm chip design licence

Arm Holdings Plc is cancelling a licence that allowed longtime partner Qualcomm Inc to use Arm intellectual property to design chips, escalating a legal dispute over vital smartphone technology.

1 min

Blinken Urges Ceasefire In West Asia As Israel Bombs Lebanese Port City

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken pushed on Wednesday for a halt to fighting between Israel and militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah, but heavy Israeli air strikes on a large historic Lebanese port city demonstrated that there was no respite.

1 min

AI: One earth, one regulatory ecosystem

Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies, built on predictive and deterministic analysis of large data sets and patterns, transcend geographies.

3 mins

Endless possibilities

Microsoft Excel continues to add value

2 mins

When religion meets nationalism

BOOK REVIEW

4 mins

Reaffirm trade

Doubts have been expressed over the past several years about the wisdom of signing free-trade agreements (FTAs).

2 mins

Institutions for development

Growth is driven by technological dynamism even more than by security for private capital

5 mins

Hyundai Motor shares rebound over 4%

PICKING UP Hyundai Motor India Share price in ₹

1 min

Sebi plans options to future switch for single stocks

Move, akin to commodities futures, to ease risk around physical settlement

2 mins

Growth trajectory to aid higher valuations for Persistent Systems

Midcap IT major Persistent Systems (PSYS) delivered a strong Q2FY25 performance which led to an 11 per cent uptick in its stock price on Wednesday. The company reported a 17 per cent growth in H1FY25 Annual Contract Value (ACV) and a 27 per cent growth in new ACV. There was margin consistency despite wage increases.

2 mins

Goldman cuts Indian equities to neutral on slowing growth

Analysts are becoming more divided on the outlook for India's stock market after an 11-month winning streak.

1 min

Small, midcap rally may lose steam

After a strong run in the midcap and smallcap indices, which surged 46 per cent and 43 per cent, respectively, on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) during Samvat 2080, analysts suggest that the rally in these segments may pause to catch its breath in Samvat 2081.

2 mins

Decreased leverage: Debt/equity for listed SMEs at lowest in yrs

Part-II of the series examines the improving balance sheets of SME-listed companies and their relatively conservative approach to debt after Covid-19

2 mins

Sensex, Nifty end in red

Extending its losing streak to third day, benchmark Sensex declined by 138 points on Wednesday in a choppy trade as investors booked profits in auto, pharma and capital goods shares amid continued FPI outflows.

1 min

MVA allies to fight on 85 seats each

After days of stalemate, Maha Vikas Aghadi of Congress, NCP (SP), and Shiv Sena (UBT) on Wednesday announced they would contest 85 seats each in Maharashtra Assembly elections.

1 min

Priyanka declares assets worth ₹12 cr

Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi, who on Wednesday made her electoral debut by filing a nomination as a Congress candidate for Wayanad Lok Sabha bypoll, has declared assets worth over ₹12 crore.

1 min

IIFL Finance posts ₹93 crore net loss

IIFL Finance Ltd reported a consolidated net loss of 93 crore in the quarter ended September 2024 (Q2FY25) as the non-banking finance company (NBFC) made a 100-per cent provision of ₹586.5 crore for security receipts (SRS) in the quarter.

1 min

Artificial rainmaking still under research

India Meteorological Department (IMD) Director General MRUTYUNJAY MOHAPATRA said the Mission Mausam programme, approved by the Union Cabinet last month with a budget outlay of ₹2,000 crore over two years, will not just improve weather forecasting in the country but also study the potential to enhance or suppress rain. In an interview with Ramani Ranjan Mohapatra in New Delhi, the IMD chief spoke about the improved forecasting system, global warming impact, and artificial intelligence (AI) applications.

2 mins

Cyclone Dana: 1 mn people to be evacuated in Odisha

As Cyclone 'Dana' barrels toward the Odisha coast, threatening to impact nearly half the state's population, the government is racing against time to execute a massive evacuation plan aimed at relocating around 1 million people in 14 districts to safety.

1 min

Shiv Sena, NCP release first list for Maha polls

The Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Wednesday released their first list of candidates for the November 20 Maharashtra assembly polls.

1 min

SC opens tap for state regulation of industrial alcohol

In a big victory for states, the Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday, in an 8:1 majority, upheld the states' right to regulate taxes on industrial alcohol, overruling a 1990 judgment.

2 mins

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