SBI, HDFC Bank, 7 others identified for participation in digital rupee’s wholesale pilot: RBI - Moneycontrol

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on October 31 identified nine banks to participate in commencing the first pilot of digital rupee in the wholesale segment.

The nine banks are State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Yes Bank, IDFC First Bank and HSBC, the RBI said in a release. The pilot will commence on November 1.

According to the release issued on October 31, the use case for the wholesale pilot is settlement of secondary market transactions in government securities. Use of e₹-W, or wholesale, is expected to make the inter-bank market more efficient, the RBI said.

Also read: Explained: What is Digital Rupee, when will it come and how’s it different from private cryptocurrencies? 10 critical questions answered

Settlement in central bank money would reduce transaction costs by pre-empting the need for settlement guarantee infrastructure or for collateral to mitigate settlement risk, the central bank said. Going forward, other wholesale transactions, and cross-border payments will be the focus of future pilots, based on the learnings from this pilot, it added.

The first pilot in Digital Rupee - Retail segment (e₹-R) is planned for launch within a month in select locations in closed user groups comprising customers and merchants, the RBI said, adding that the details regarding operationalisation of such a pilot shall be communicated in due course.

Central bank digital currency, or CBDC, is a currency that is backed by the regulator and stored in a digital format. It can be converted into paper currency and will reflect on the RBI’s balance sheet, thereby granting it legal tender status. India's CBDC will be called 'e₹'.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1 said the RBI will launch a CBDC in 2022-23, marking the first official statement from the Union government on the launch of the much-awaited digital currency. The FM had said introduction of CBDC will boost the digital economy and it will be based on the blockchain technology.

A CBDC is not a crypto currency. It is the digital form of legal tender and private virtual currencies are entirely different. Private virtual currencies are at substantial odds with the historical concept of money.

A CBDC is the digital form of fiat currency and will ease transactions. An RBI report had earlier described CBDC as something that will provide a safe, robust, and convenient alternative to physical cash. Depending on various design choices, it can also assume the complex form of a financial instrument, the RBI report said.

The RBI, in a concept note dated October 7, said it will soon start pilot launches of digital rupee for specific use cases. The concept note was released with an aim to provide a high-level view of motivations for the introduction of CBDC in India.

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Bharti Airtel Q2 Preview | Strong profit growth likely but ARPU may stay flat - Moneycontrol

India’s second largest telecom company Bharti Airtel is likely to report strong earnings for the September quarter later today.

The company will likely report a 75 to 110 percent year-on-year (YoY) growth in net profit for the quarter, while its revenue growth is expected around 20 percent. The company's operating profit margin is likely to expand over the last year but contract sequentially.

“Indian wireless revenues are expected to see 2.5 percent quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) growth at Rs 18,621 crore. India non-wireless revenues traction are expected to remain robust, especially broadband and enterprise,” ICICIdirect said. “We expect India EBITDA margins at 51.9 percent, up 80 bps QoQ, aided by partial benefit of lower spectrum usage charge.”

The brokerage house expects a reported average revenue per user (ARPU), an important metric to gauge efficiency of telecom business, to rise 2 percent on-quarter at Rs 187 with benefits of subscriber mix and higher number of days during the quarter.

Last week, Airtel Africa reported a 17.2 percent decline in net profit to $133 million in the quarter ended September 2022 on an annual basis. The latest hit was due to higher foreign exchange rates and derivative losses, the company said.

Emkay Global expects Airtel’s APRU to grow 1 percent on-quarter, which is similar to what Reliance Jio reported earlier in the month. Jio reported an ARPU of Rs 177.2, growing 0.8 percent sequentially.

ARPU growth for telecom companies have slowed down as all impact of tariff hike taken in the previous year has been reflected in the numbers. Analysts and market participants are waiting for the next round of tariff hikes now.

Reliance Jio Q2 Result | Net profit rises 28% YoY, ARPU grows 23.5% to Rs 177.2

The India mobility segment for Airtel is likely to grow at 1 percent QoQ, Emkay said, adding that on the non-mobility front, the homes and enterprise segments are likely to report a steady growth of 5 percent and 3 percent, respectively, while DTH would decline by another 0.4 percent QoQ.

Analysts across the spectrum expect a modest addition of 2 million subscribers during the quarter. In comparison, Reliance Jio has been adding subscribers at a relatively faster rate. In Q2, for the connectivity business, the net subscriber addition was at 7.7 million for Jiio. Gross additions were at 32.7 million.

Yes Securities also said that Airtel’s earnings are likely to stand higher YoY and QoQ primarily on improvement in ARPU and due to continued addition in the 4G subscriber base.

Analysts said management commentary on the ARPU trajectory and non-wireless business will be key things to watch out for.

Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts on Moneycontrol.com are their own and not those of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.

Disclosure: Moneycontrol is a part of the Network18 group. Network18 is controlled by Independent Media Trust, of which Reliance Industries is the sole beneficiary.

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Video Shows Workers Escaping Lockdown At China's Largest iPhone Factory - NDTV

Photographs and videos circulating on Chinese social media show workers trekking to go home.

Beijing:

Droves of migrant workers are fleeing Covid-hit Zhengzhou amidst a lockdown triggered by an outbreak in China's largest iPhone factory.

"Workers have broken out of #Apple's largest assembly site, escaping the Zero #Covid lockdown at Foxconn in #Zhengzhou. After sneaking out, they're walking to hometowns more than 100 kilometers away to beat the Covid app measures designed to control people and stop this. #China," tweeted Stephen McDonell, BBC's correspondent in China.

Workers have broken out of #Apple's largest assembly site, escaping the Zero #Covid lockdown at Foxconn in #Zhengzhou. After sneaking out, they're walking to home towns more than 100 kilometres away to beat the Covid app measures designed to control people and stop this. #Chinapic.twitter.com/NHjOjclAyU

— Stephen McDonell (@StephenMcDonell) October 30, 2022

Videos shared on Chinese social media showed people jumping a fence outside the plant, owned by manufacturer Foxconn, in the central city of Zhengzhou.

It was previously reported that a number of workers had been placed under quarantine because of an outbreak of the disease.

According to McDonell, Zhengzhou Foxconn hires approximately around 300,000 workers and makes half of the world's iPhones. Amidst Covid lockdown chaos and food shortages, videos on Douyin, a Chinese video hosting service shows many migrant workers from within Henan province returning home on foot... as no public transport is available due to the lockdown.

Since Saturday, photographs and videos circulating on Chinese social media appeared to show Foxconn workers returning home, trekking across fields during the day and along roads at night.

Pictures also show local residents near the highway set up free supply stations to help Foxconn workers. Without help from the government or Foxconn, all they can rely on is the kindness of strangers.

Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan province, reported 167 locally transmitted Covid cases in the seven days to 29 October, up from 97 infections in the previous seven-day period.

The city of about 10 million people was partially locked down as a result, as China continues to use strict lockdown measures to deal with Covid - the zero-Covid policy.

Foxconn, which acts as a supplier to US-based Apple, has hundreds of thousands of workers at its Zhengzhou complex and has not provided an official count of how many are infected.

Under China's strict zero-Covid policy, cities are given powers to act swiftly to quell any outbreaks of the virus. This includes anything from full-scale lockdowns to regular testing and travel restrictions.

Many had hoped President Xi would drop the legislation before the end of the year but at the recent 20th Communist Party congress, he made clear this was unlikely to happen anytime soon.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Maruti Suzuki recalls more than 9,000 units of Wagon R, Celerio, Ignis | Mint - Mint

India's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki on Saturday announced that it has recalled 9,925 units of Wagon R, Celerio and Ignis that have been manufactured between August 3 and 1 September, 2022.

The company said that the defect has been detected in rear brake assembly pin. Maruti Suzuki said that considering the safety of customers, it has decided to recall the vehicle for inspection and the faulty part will be replaced free of cost.

"It is suspected that there is a possible defect in rear brake assembly pin (‘Part’), which in a certain case, may break and cause a peculiar noise. There may be a possibility of impact on brake performance in the long run. Considering the safety of customers and out of abundant precaution, Company has decided to recall the suspected vehicles for inspection and replacement of the faulty Part, free of cost," Maruti Suzuki said in its BSE filing.

The company said that replacement are being arranged and Maruti Suzuki authorized workshops shall be contacting the customers for attending their vehicles.

Maruti Suzuki on Friday standalone net profit for the quarter ended September 2022 surged more than four-fold year-on-year (YoY) to ₹2,062 crore.

The company's revenue for the quarter increased by nearly 46 per cent YoY to ₹29,931 crore while the total sales volume for the quarter was 36 per cent higher than the previous year at 517,395 units.

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Apple rolls ahead in India on new growth drivers | Mint - Mint

Apple Inc. reported record India revenue in the September quarter on higher sales of smartphones, personal computers and iPads.

Analysts said Apple is increasingly cornering a higher market share in the laptop category, particularly in the enterprise segment. The good news for Apple is that growth in India was driven by iPads, MacBooks and services, signalling that the company is increasing its reach in India.

While Apple started the year with its highest-ever installed user base in the country, thanks to the rise of iPhone users last year, it has now managed to expand the market for its other devices, said Tarun Pathak, research director at Counterpoint India. “Given that the iPhone is the typical entry point for Apple’s users in India, this has started trickling down to other categories for the company as well—such as Macs, iPads and services," Pathak said.

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Bigger bite

Overall, the world’s most valuable company beat analysts’ quarterly sales and profit estimates, even as its tech rivals, Meta, Alphabet and Microsoft, disappointed investors.

On Thursday, Apple reported record revenue of $90.1 billion for the September quarter. During a call with analysts and investors, chief executive Tim Cook said India has seen “very strong double-digit growth", while Luca Maestri, chief financial officer, said India set “a new all-time revenue record" for the company.

To be sure, Apple has consistently reported strong performance in India over the past two years, with Cook stating that its India unit had reported record quarterly revenue in the June quarter as well. The company has the largest market share in the premium smartphone category in India. According to researcher Counterpoint, Apple held 44% market share for premium smartphones (priced above ₹30,000) in India, which fell to 37% in the first half of the year amid weakening consumer demand.

Apple India Pvt. Ltd’s operating revenue rose 46% to ₹33,312.9 crore in the year ended 31 March. However, net profit rose 3% to ₹1,263 crore.

Navkendar Singh, associate vice-president for client devices at market researcher International Data Corp. (IDC) India, said Apple would continue to report high double-digit revenue growth as sales of devices other than the iPhone grow. “Apple’s overall volume and market base in India continues to remain fairly limited, and the iPhone is unlikely to grow sharply. But, other segments will continue to consolidate its overall performance in the country," he added.

Analysts said that despite Apple’s growth, its overall market share in India is expected to remain in the 5% range for both PCs and smartphones. “Apple’s iPhone shipment in India reached around 4.8 million units in CY21, which was a rise of nearly 75% from CY20. Even as the company continues to register record revenues, it is important to note that the same comes off the back of a low volume base. But the company may not see a similar rise in India this year," Singh said.

He said Apple is likely to see a rise of 20% in iPhone sales volume in India for CY22, with its iPhone shipment volume estimated to reach 6 million devices at most.

Pathak of Counterpoint India said the availability of affordable iPhones ranging from 2019’s iPhone 11, coupled with heavy discounts on 2021’s iPhone 13 in the recent festive season sales, will see Apple’s market share in the premium segment aggregate to around 50% for CY22.

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India's forex reserves fall by $3.85 billion, lowest since July 2020 | Mint - Mint

Amid the depreciation of the rupee and efforts by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to control it, the foreign exchange reserves of India have dropped to their lowest level since July 2020. RBI's weekly statistical supplement showed on Friday that the forex reserves of India fell by $3.85 billion to $524.52 billion in the week ending on 21 October.

During the week, the rupee hit a record low of 83.29 against the dollar with the central bank forced to intervene in spot and forward markets to contain the downfall. The reserves rose marginally during the week ended 7 October but had been falling consistently for the previous eight straight weeks.

For the week that ended on 14 October, the number of foreign exchange reserves was $528.37 billion. The amount has sharply declined from the record $624.4 billion last year.

As the world is reeling from the economic crisis with almost every central bank raising interest rates to curb soaring inflation, foreign exchange reserves are falling globally. China has seen the highest decline in foreign currency as it lost $159 billion in its reserves between 1 April and 30 September. Second comes India with almost $85 billion and Russia, whose war on Ukraine is one of the triggering points of this global economic crisis, has also lost $64 billion of forex reserves.

The International Monetary Fund said global reserves have fallen by around $884 billion during the first half of 2022. The total foreign reserves of emerging markets and developing economies dropped by more than 6% in the first seven months of this year.

“Some emerging Asia central banks, mainly in India and China, scaled up the degree of exchange rate inflexibility in response to the US Federal Reserve’s tightening and a stronger dollar, which also led to EM currencies outperforming the more flexible advanced economies’ currencies. This has been afforded by a significant rundown in forex reserves," a Systematix Institutional Equities report in September said.

 

 

 

 

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Maruti Suzuki Q2 net rises four-fold as supply worries ease, stock upbeat - Moneycontrol

The country's largest car maker Maruti Suzuki India on October 28 reported a massive 334 percent year-on-year (YoY) growth in its standalone net profit for the quarter ended September FY23 (Q2FY23) on a low base.

Higher commodity prices and chip shortage concerns had impacted earnings in the year-ago period. With the easing of both concerns, healthy operating performance, sales volumes, and top-line along with higher other income supported the bottom line.

The standalone profit increased to Rs 2,061.5 crore for the quarter, up from Rs 475.3 crore logged in the same period last year.

Standalone revenue from operations surged 46 percent YoY to Rs 29,931 crore.

Reacting to the earnings, shares of the company rallied around 4 percent. At 2:48 pm, the stock was trading 3.64 percent higher at Rs 9,375 on the BSE.

Maruti Suzuki sold a total of 5.17 lakh vehicles during the quarter ended September FY23, the highest ever in any quarter, increasing 36 percent YoY, which comprises domestic sales of 4.54 lakh units and exports at 63,195 units.

Shortage of electronic components impacted production by about 35,000 vehicles during the quarter, the company said.

The company further said pending customer orders stood at about 4.12 lakh vehicles at the end of the September FY23 quarter, out of which about 1.3 lakh vehicle pre-bookings were for recently launched models.

Click Here To Read All Earnings Related News

The operating profit for Q2FY23 at Rs 2,046.3 crore increased nearly 21-fold compared to the same period last year, largely on a low base.

The operating profit in the year-ago period had dipped sharply owing to steep commodity price increases and electronic component supply constraints and hence YoY results are not strictly comparable, Maruti said.

The operating profit margin expanded sharply by 670 bps year-on-year to 7.2 percent during the quarter.

"Relatively better sales volume leading to improved capacity utilisation, favourable foreign exchange variation, cost reduction efforts, and improved realisation boosted margin performance, though impacted by higher advertisement cost, and higher power & fuel expenses," the company said.

For the half year ended September FY23, Maruti reported a 236 percent YoY growth in standalone profit at Rs 3,074.3 crore and revenue from operations increased by 47 percent to Rs 56,430.6 crore compared to the corresponding quarter last fiscal.

The stock rallied 3 percent to Rs 9,305 on the NSE, with volumes of 10.46 lakh shares at the time of writing this article.

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RBI schedules additional MPC meeting on 3 Nov | Mint - Mint

An additional meeting of the Reserve Bank of India's Monetary Policy Committee has been scheduled for 3 November. The meeting with its rate-setting panel could be held to discuss RBI's reply to the government, explaining the reasons of its failure to contain inflation up to 6%.

"Under the provisions of Section 45ZN of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Act 1934, read along with the Gazette notifications S.O.2215(E) dated June 27, 2016 and S.O.1422(E) dated March 31, 2021 and the Regulation 7 of the RBI Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) and Monetary Policy Process Regulation, 2016, an additional meeting of the MPC is being scheduled on November 3, 2022," the RBI said.

The RB's rate-setting panel last met on 28 - 30 September, 2022 and was slated to meet for the last time this calendar year on 5 - 7 December.

The MPC had on 30 September, 2022, increased the policy repo rate by 50 basis points (bps) to 5.9% making loans expensive.

The central bank governor while explaining the rationale behind the rate hike said the MPC was of the view that persistence of high inflation necessitates further calibrated withdrawal of monetary accommodation to restrain broadening of price pressures, anchor inflation expectations and contain the second-round effects.

RBI must focus on softening core inflation

Shashanka Bhide, an external member of the Reserve Bank of India’s monetary policy committee, earlier said that the RBI must stay focused on moderating components of inflation that are not directly influenced by food or fuel, and work on dampening overall price expectations.

"As far as monetary policy is concerned, moderation in the core inflation should be the priority," Bhide said. “It is important that the inflation expectations are anchored closer to the policy target."

“The food and fuel inflation are driven by the supply conditions and inelastic demand," Bhide said. “They may be more responsive to other policy measures. But it is also necessary to weaken their impact on the price conditions in the other sectors."

He said the September headline inflation print of 7.4%, a five-month high, wasn’t “entirely a surprise," adding that price gains should slow to less than 6% by end of March.

The six-member MPC “should be looking at positive real rates over the medium term" but policymakers also “need to be cognizant of the growth trends," said Bhide. Unlike his colleague in the panel Jayanth Rama Varma, who favored the peak interest rate to be around 6%, Bhide didn’t want to be specific about his terminal rate expectation.

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Buzzing Stocks | Chennai Petroleum, PFC, CSB Bank, Indus Towers, and others in news today - Moneycontrol

Stocks to Watch: Check out the companies making headlines before the opening bell.

Results on October 27: Indus Towers, Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC, SBI Cards and Payment Services, PNB Housing Finance, REC, Tata Chemicals, Anupam Rasayan India, Balaji Amines, Latent View Analytics, Lloyds Steels Industries, CE Info Systems, PC Jeweller, Supreme Petrochem, Tamilnad Mercantile Bank, Vaibhav Global, and V-Guard Industries will be in focus ahead of quarterly earnings on October 27.

Chennai Petroleum Corporation: The company has recorded a 99% sequential decline in standalone profit at Rs 27.88 crore for the quarter ended September FY23, impacted by windfall tax on exports. Revenue declined nearly 17% QoQ to Rs 22,894 crore for the quarter. The Government of India on July 1 levied duties on export of petroleum products at the rates notified on fortnightly basis, which have been reduced in the refinery transfer pricing. This has resulted in lower revenue and profitability for the quarter, the company said in a BSE filing.

Power Finance Corporation: HDFC Mutual Fund through its several schemes sold 2.07% stake in the company via open market transactions on October 21. With this, its shareholding in PFC reduced to 6.94%, down from 9.01% earlier.

Route Mobile: The company said its board has approved to provide the corporate guarantee in favour of Standard Chartered Bank for term loan facility proposed to be taken by subsidiary Route Mobile (UK) up to $15 million. The corporate guarantee will be treated as a contingent liability for the company.

Trident: The company said it has completed new solar power project of 8.87 MWp at Budhni in Madhya Pradesh. With this, it has commissioned both the phases comprising of Phase-I of 5.48 MWp and Phase II of 3.39 MWp solar power plants, for captive use. The company is moving towards a greener planet as the Group aims to use renewable and clean energy for reducing carbon emission.

CSB Bank: Maybank Securities Pte Ltd acquired 26,39,673 equity shares (or 1.5% stake) in the private sector lender via open market transactions at an average price of Rs 232.3 per share. However, Nomura Singapore which held 1.84% shareholding in the bank as of September 2022 was the seller for shares in a transaction on October 25. Apart from this bulk deal, SBI Mutual Fund on October 21 had acquired additional 1.78% shareholding in the bank, raising total stake to 7.21% from 5.42% earlier.

Punjab Alkalies & Chemicals: Quant Mutual Fund bought 45,56,962 equity shares or 1.88% stake in the company through open market transactions at an average price of Rs 79 per share. However, investor Paramone Concepts has offloaded 21 lakh shares in the company at an average price of Rs 79.18 per share.

IIFL Finance: The company reported a 36 percent year-on-year growth in consolidated profit at Rs 397 crore for the quarter ended September FY23, driven by topline as well as operating performance. Revenue from operations grew by 21% to Rs 2,023 crore compared to year-ago period.

Hero MotoCorp: The world's largest two-wheeler maker is set to commence its operations in the Philippines. Terrafirma Motors Corporation (TMC), a part of the Columbian Group of Companies, announced partnering with Hero. Terrafirma will be the exclusive assembler and distributor of Hero MotoCorp motorcycles in Philippines.

Gland Pharma: The pharmaceutical company has reported a 20% year-on-year decline in profit at Rs 241.2 crore for quarter ended September FY23, dented by weak topline as well as operating performance. Revenue for the quarter fell 3% to Rs 1,044.4 crore compared to year-ago period, impacted by lower business from India and Rest of World, while core markets (US, Europe, Canada and Australia) recorded 3% YoY growth.

Dabur India: The company has announced acquisition of 51% stake in Badshah Masala for Rs 587 crore and the balance 49% stake will be acquired after five years. Badshah Masala is engaged in the business of manufacturing, marketing and export of ground spices, blended spices and seasonings. Dabur ended the second quarter of FY23 with consolidated profit of Rs 490.1 crore, down 3% compared to year-ago period. Despite the strong headwinds, consolidated revenue at Rs 2,986.5 crore increased 6% YoY for the quarter ended September FY23.

Ahluwalia Contracts (India): The company has secured orders for construction work of Amity Campus Hyderabad (Telangana) from Ritnand Balved Education Foundations worth of Rs 60 crore and construction of civil, structural and external development work of Muthoot Hospital from Muthoot Hospital worth of Rs 43 crore. The order inflow during the FY23 stood at Rs 3,114.72 crore, till date.

Zydus Lifesciences: The company has received approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) to market Micafungin for injection in the US. Micafungin is indicated to treat variety of fungal infections. It is also used to prevent fungal infections in patients who are having a stem cell transplant. The drug will be manufactured at the group’s injectable manufacturing facility at Jarod in Gujarat.

Century Textiles and Industries: The company recorded consolidated profit at Rs 70 crore for the quarter ended September FY23, up 118% over profit of Rs 32 crore reported in year-ago period despite higher power & fuel cost, driven by strong operating performance. Revenue during the quarter grew by 20% YoY to Rs 1,242 crore aided by pulp and paper business.

PCBL: PCBL has reported a 4.6% year-on-year decline in consolidated profit at Rs 116.5 crore for the quarter ended September FY23, dented by higher input cost. Revenue for the quarter at Rs 1,628 crore increased by 52.5% compared to year-ago period.

Rakesh Patil

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Stock Market Today: All You Need To Know Going Into Trade On Oct. 27 - BQ Prime

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HDFC Bank hikes fixed deposit (FD) interest rates, second time this month | Mint - Mint

HDFC Bank has hiked interest rates on fixed deposits (FDs) effective today, 26 October 2022. This is the second hike on term deposits by the lender this month. These rates are applicable for deposit amounts less than ₹2 crore. HDFC Bank has hiked FD interest rates by up to 50 basis points (bps). After today's hike, HDFC Bank is offering an interest rate ranging from 3% to 6.25% on deposits maturing in 7 days to 10 years to general customers.

Senior citizens will receive an additional interest rate of 50 bps over and above those offered to general customers. After today's hike, senior citizens will get an interest rate ranging from 3.5% to 6.95%*on FDs with tenure 7 days to 10 years.

HDFC Bank hikes FD rates effective 26 October

7 - 14 days 3.00%

15 - 29 days 3.00%

30 - 45 days 3.50%

46 - 60 days 4.00%

61 - 89 days 4.50%

90 days < = 6 months 4.50%

6 months 1 days <= 9 months 5.25%

9 months 1 day to < 1 Year 5.50%

1 Year to 15 months 6.10%

15 months to < 18 months 6.15%

18months to < 21months 6.15%

21 months to 2 years 6.15%

2 years 1 day - 3 years 6.25%

3 Year 1day to 5 years 6.25%

5 Year 1 day to 10 years 6.20%

HDFC Bank revises RD interest rates

HDFC Bank has also revised interest rates on recurring deposits starting today (26 October). The bank will now offer 4.50 percent to 6.25 percent interest rates on RDs with tenures ranging from 6 months to 120 months for the general public.

The State Bank of India (SBI) hiked fixed deposit interest rates for below ₹2 crore with effect from October 22.

 

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Elon Musk may close Twitter deal by Friday: report - The Economic Times

Elon Musk has pledged to close his $44 billion Twitter acquisition by Friday in a video conference call with bankers who are helping fund the deal, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday.

The banks have finished putting together the final credit agreement and are in the process of signing the documentation, according to the report, in one of the last steps in moving funds to Musk.

Meanwhile, South Korea's Mirae Asset Financial Group is planning to commit about 300 billion Korean won ($208 million) to help finance Elon Musk's $44 billion buyout of Twitter Inc, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday.

Read | Elon Musk is definitely buying Twitter this time. Maybe

The deal with Mirae is expected to be finalized in the coming days before the deadline for the closing of the Twitter deal on Oct. 28, the source told the agency.

Musk has pledged to provide $46.5 billion in equity and debt financing for the acquisition, which covers the $44 billion price tag and closing costs. Banks, including Morgan Stanley and Bank of America Corp, have committed to provide $13 billion of debt financing to support the deal.

Discover the stories of your interest

Equity investors, including Oracle Corp co-founder Larry Ellison and Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, will pitch in with $7.1 billion.

Earlier this month, a Delaware judge gave Musk until Oct. 28 to close his takeover of the social media platform. Tesla investors have feared the billionaire might sell more Tesla stock to finance the deal, weighing on its shares.

Twitter share rose 2.7% to $52.9, closer to Musk's offer price of $54.20.

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IBM says moonlighting is conflict of interest | Mint - Mint

IBM informs its employees that it can not engage in a second job or gig in any capacity as it is against the company contract.

“A second job could be full time part time or contractual in nature but at its core is a failure to comply with employment obligations and a potential conflict or interest with IBM’s interest," said a note from Sandip Patel, India and South Asia head of IBM to employees.

IBM’s message to its workforce comes on the back of IT sector coming up with ways to check whether their manpower are working on the sly.

So far , Infosys is the first among its peers to acknowledge the gig workforce and is ready to let them work for external jobs and projects. The company is setting up a human resources team, comprising delivery and legal experts who will chalk out policies to this new initiative a success. However, the company said it won’t accept moonlighting.

Recently, Wipro’s executive chairman, Rishad Premji, labelled the moonlighting trend as “cheating", sparking a debate and bringing the long-festering issue into the limelight. The company has fired 300 employees who were caught moonlighting for rivals.

The tech firm’s views on moonlighting mirror that of TCS which called out the “ethical issue" of the practice.

HCL echoed its rivals. “Dual Employment while working for HCLTech we don’t approve of that. Everybody who is signing up to work for HCLTech is signing up a contract which requires exclusivity, has requirements around confidentiality and non solicitation, non compete, those provisions which are there," said Ramachandran Sundararajan, Chief People Officer of HCL Tech in the firm’s quarterly results.

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WhatsApp Outage: WhatsApp down for thousands of users - The Indian Express

WhatsApp, the popular instant communication app owned by Meta that is used by many for quick texting is reportedly facing an issue. Millions of WhatsApp users across the globe are currently unable to send or receive messages.

Indianexpress.com can confirm that the outage is affecting both personal chats as well as group chats. Outage detection website DownDetector confirms that WhatsApp is not working for many users across multiple regions.

WhatsApp is down for thousands, with over 20,000 crash reports suggesting a major outage. (Image Source: DownDetector)

WhatsApp Web also appears to be affected by the outage, and we can confirm that app’s web client is also unable to connect to the WhatsApp servers, suggesting a server-level outage, and not one that only affects the Android and iOS apps. Anyone trying to use WhatsApp Web will be greeted to an error message like the one seen below.

WhatsApp Web is also not working, as people continue to wait for a fix for the outage. (Image Source: WhatsApp Web)

This is WhatsApp’s first major outage since the larger Meta outage on October 5, that took down WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook together, affecting millions of users over several hours before the services were back online.

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Update: Meta is working on a fix

WhatsApp’s parent company Meta has acknowledged the outage and is currently working on a fix. “We’re aware that some people are currently having trouble sending messages and we’re working to restore WhatsApp for everyone as quickly as possible,” a Meta spokesperson told indianexpress.com.

We are yet to hear more details from Meta on what caused the outage.

Developing…

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Nykaa falls below issue price as end of lock-in looms - Moneycontrol

IPO anchor investors lock-in expires on November 10

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Share price of FSN E-Commerce Ventures, the parent of Nykaa, fell as much 2 per cent on Tuesday to drop below its initial public offering price of Rs 1,125 as the end of IPO anchor lock-in looms.

At 1 pm, the stock was quoting at Rs 1,12o on the National Stock Exchange, down 2.03 percent. In the last five trading sessions, the stock has shed 2 percent. In the last one month, it is down 11 percent.

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IPO anchor investors’ lock-in expires on November 10. JM Financial is of the view that around 67 percent or 31.9 crore shares are likely to open for trade on the expiry day. Steadview Capital Mauritius Ltd, TPG Growth IV SF Pte. Ltd, Lighthouse India Fund III, along with HNIs like Harindarpal Singh Banga, Narotam Sekhsaria and Sunil Kant Munjal will be eligible to sell their holdings.

If Nykaa follow's Zomato's script, then the shares might drop further. Shares of food delivery platform Zomato on July 25 tanked over 13 percent to record lows after 78 percent of its shares came out of the mandatory one-year lock-in after IPO.

On 10 November 2021, Nykaa had made a bumper debut on the bourses with a massive 79 percent premium.

Meanwhile, JM Financial remains bullish on the company. "The current market price of Nykaa still implies strong valuations compared to most traditional companies but that does not factor in the growth seeds that the firm is planting by investing in fashion and e-B2B segments," the brokerage said.

It has a buy rating on the stock with a target price of Rs 1,780.

ICICI Securities has a hold rating with a target price of Rs 1,250. "Investments in the differentiated value proposition of content, curation, and convenience are yielding results. We model revenue and core profit CAGRs (compound annual growth rates) of 42 percent and 90 percent respectively over FY22-FY24," it said.

Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts on Moneycontrol.com are their own and not those of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.

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Don't see recession in India; RBI, govt doing a good job despite challenges: Sanjiv Mehta, HUL MD - Economic Times

Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) managing director Sanjiv Mehta said India is unlikely to face a recession and the country remains a bright spot, sounding a note of cheer amid a mostly grim global economic commentary.

"I don't see a recession in India. At this stage, I am optimistic that our economy could grow in the region of 6-7%, which under the circumstances would be a great achievement. The Reserve Bank and the government have been doing a good job despite the challenging context," Mehta told ET in an interview.

"There are two imperatives for the government-one is to tame inflation and the second is to keep the economy growing. Halfway through the year, few large economies can say with a reasonable degree of confidence that they could deliver growth in the vicinity of 7%," he said.

About 66% of CEOs in India anticipate a recession in the next 12 months, compared with 86% CEOs globally, according to a KPMG 2022 India CEO Outlook survey released last week.

Citing data from market research firm Nielsen, HUL said the FMCG market expanded 7% in value and fell 6% in volumes in the September quarter.

HUL, the maker of Rin detergent and Dove soap, posted 16% growth in sales, fuelled by price increases and not demand as volumes-or the products consumers actually buy-expanded 4%.

The country's largest consumer goods company-its presence in a range of daily consumption items such as soaps, shampoos and food makes it a proxy for consumer sentiment--said the FMCG industry, by its very nature, is recession-resistant but never recession-proof.

The company said its net material inflation was 22% and it's difficult to predict where this will go in the next few quarters, even as there has been some moderation in palm oil prices.

"Most commodities remain at an elevated level. We must also understand that the rupee depreciation is causing an increase in cost. Oil prices have been oscillating but if there is an end to the geopolitical tensions then they could start cooling off, which, in turn, could start the process of tapering of other commodity prices," said Mehta. "The government has done a good job of manoeuvring to ensure that some of our oil imports come at lower prices."

Consumer inflation hit an all-time high in April in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine war as companies increased product prices by 15-20% or cut down pack sizes over the past year. In September, it spiked more than expected to a five-month high. The decline in the consumer goods segment is more pronounced in rural areas, where volumes fell 9%. However, demand could recover in the second half of the financial year due to moderation in inflationary pressures and normal monsoon although it will depend on the kharif output.

"Despite the challenging context, the headline growth is holding on, and it has also increased a bit, so these are green shoots," said Mehta. "This is where our optimism comes in, but there are several variables at play which could turn into headwinds, and this is where caution comes in."

Innovation Advantage
Over the past few years, HUL has innovated across value chains to enable greater agility, flexibility and efficiency. For instance, it has set up three nano factories that allow production in batches of kilograms rather than tonnes and help in faster product rollouts. This is being introduced in other Unilever markets to bring innovation lead times and cost down.

"We are certainly the thought leader when it comes to the whole digitisation of the value chain," said Mehta. "Many of our models like Livewire and Jarvis, which use our own algorithms to optimise various FMCG variables, have now been adopted by other Unilever markets. Shikhar too is now being adopted by several developing countries."

HUL's digitised sales across platforms, including ecommerce channels and the internal ordering app Shikhar, are more than 20% of its overall sales. Over a million kirana stores use the Shikhar app to order now, up from about 300,000 outlets two years ago.

"We remain positive on HUL's ability to outgrow the market, as well as its pricing power underpinned by distribution expansion, deepening direct reach and product innovation initiatives," said Abneesh Roy, executive director at Nuvama Institutional Equities.

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Indraprastha Gas records 95% jump in Q2 revenue to ₹3,922 cr, PAT up 4% | Mint - Mint

Noida-based natural gas distributor, Indraprastha Gas garnered a standalone net profit of ₹416.15 crore for the quarter ending September 30, 2022 (Q2FY23) rising by 3.9% from ₹400.54 crore in the same period a year ago. Q2 PAT, however, dipped by 1.11% from ₹420.86 crore in the preceding quarter.

The top-line front was strong during the quarter under review. In Q2FY23, the company's revenue from operations stood at ₹3,922.02 crore increasing by a whopping 94.55% as against ₹2,015.99 crore in Q2 of FY22. During Q1FY23, the company registered a revenue of RS 3,530.34 crore.

Indraprastha Gas posted a total volume of 744.17 million scm in Q2FY23 against 665.69 million scm in the same quarter last year -- registering a growth of 12%.

On segment-wise performance, CNG sales volume climbed to 560.25 million scm in Q2FY23 against 487.59 million scm in Q2FY22. Total PNG sales volumes surged to 183.92 million scm in Q2FY23 versus 178.10 million scm in Q2 of the previous fiscal.

Under PNG, sales volume soared to 46.19 million scm domestically, while in terms of industrial commercial, the volumes picked up 45.97 million scm in Q2FY23. Natural gas volumes inched higher to 45.97 million scm in the quarter.

In value terms, CNG sales climbed by a whopping 103% yoy to ₹2,597.87 crore, while PNG sales stood at ₹942.60 crore up by 74% yoy.

On a consolidated basis, the company posted a net profit of ₹426.84 crore in Q2FY23 versus ₹418.63 crore in Q2FY22.

On Friday, the company's shares closed at ₹381.30 apiece up by 0.57% on BSE. The company's market cap is around ₹26,691.03 crore.

For the fiscal year FY22, IGL paid a total dividend of 275% aggregating to ₹5.5 per equity share to its shareholders. The company has a strong track record of paying dividends to its investors.

At the current market price, IGL's dividend yield is around 1.4%.

Earlier this month, IGL increased the price of compressed natural gas (CNG) by ₹3 per kg across Delhi-NCR to ₹78.61 per kg. While the price of domestic piped natural gas (PNG) was hiked in Delhi to ₹53.59 per SCM. The new rates will be applicable from 8 October 2022.

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