The market regulator's decision to put resolution of disputes on the fast track is working well. In just over a year after announcing rules for consent orders, the Securities and Exchange Board of India has settled close to 83 cases.
Last week, after months of scrutiny, the Forward Markets Commission, the regulator for futures trading in commodities, approved a proposal from state-owned MMTC Ltd and finance-to-real estate group Indiabulls to set up a national multi-commodity exchange.
The Aditya Birla group is close to buying the Reddy family's 66.32 per cent stake in Apollo Sindhoori Capital Investments (ASCIL), marking a re-entry of the group into the broking business.
UTI Asset Management Company, the country's fourth-largest mutual fund, is reviewing its proposed initial public offering in view of the turbulence in the global financial markets and the meltdown in Indian equities. The management is having a rethink on the IPO because of the bearish sentiment prevailing in the markets and a lack of investor appetite, according to a source familiar with the development.
VMIL officials declined to comment on the development. According to sources close to the development, VMIL will sell stake to raise money for expanding Hungama, the content and mobile services arm. The Mumbai-based company has already held two to three rounds of meetings with these private equity investors. The company's valuation has been pegged at Rs 800 crore (Rs 8 billion). The funds raised would be used for Hungama's expansion.
Private equity major DE Shaw is investing Rs 630 crore (Rs 6.3 billion) in Noida-based International Amusement Ltd (IAL), the promoters of Appu Ghar. This is the country's first private equity (PE) deal in an amusement park.
US-based buyout fund Carlyle, Providence Equity Partners, Warburg Pincus and Blackstone are understood to be exploring a buyout of Temasek's holding in Mumbai-based pure-play business process outsourcing firm Firstsource. The news triggered the company's share price to rise 6.76 per cent on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) to close at Rs 43.45 on Tuesday. Warburg Pincus has a stake in WNS, a BPO company, while Blackstone has a majority stake in Intelenet.
When markets are topsy-turvy, everyone -- including the companies' management, merchant bankers, retail and institutional investors -- chickens out.
"We are looking into the issue because we have received many requests. We will permit NRI fund managers who have at least a year's experience in managing FII funds as long as they do not put their proprietary funds into it," confirmed a senior Sebi official.
Earlier norms on para-banking activities stated that investment by a bank in a subsidiary company, financial services company, financial institutions and stock and other exchanges could not exceed 10 per cent of its paid-up share capital and reserves. On a cumulative basis, the limit was fixed at 20 per cent of the bank's paid-up capital and reserves.
Primary markets may see banks using electronic clearance systems (ECS) to clear cheques in order to reduce the gap between the time an issue closes and its listing on the bourses.The primary market advisory committee of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) met on Friday to iron out some of the logistical difficulties involved in making the IPO process faster.
JPMorgan Chase is planning to invest $100-150 mn a year in India. This fund will be looking at a range of sectors and would not be focused on one particular sector. It can bring in sector expertise, investment banking expertise and the other broader resources of a full-service financial institution. The new fund, Private Capital Asia, will take non-controlling stakes in mid-cap companies, exclusively in Asia. JPMorgan regards India as a supportive market for private equity.
Richard Heald, Vice-Chairman and Amitabh Malhotra, Director of Rothschild spoke about the volatile market, its implications and how this is an opportunity for Rothschild in India. Heald said that rising commodity prices are worrisome. The inflationary pressures are a concern. He advised that corporates should be open to all financing options. Investors in general want to invest in cash generating assets and commodities. With no decoupling other markets will impact India too.
Mark Mobius, the 71-year old investment guru and executive chairman of Franklin Templeton Investments, has a positive view on the Indian market and feels that stock valuations have become attractive after the 27 per cent cut in benchmark equity indices since late January.Stating that it was difficult to predict the end of the current phase, Mobius said he expected the decoupling to continue in the long term.
Market analysts are divided over the current fall in stock prices. While some say it is a healthy sign of a mature bull market, others feel the Indian markets may have entered a corrective phase, which can last for one to two quarters.
Dubai-headquartered Baer Capital Partners is planning to launch 2 India-centric hedge funds this year. The two funds - Beacon India Opportunities Fund with a corpus of $400 million and the $100 million Beacon India Growth Fund - will invest in listed companies. It is also planning an exclusive $100 million FMCG fund. These funds will invest across sectors including IT, pharma, FMCG, banks and auto. It has got approval from Sebi. These funds will not involve momentum trading.
Analysts are of the opinion that FIIs who have sold post-Budget, will buy once the market stabilises.
L&T is planning a foray in PE fund in the real estate market with a Rs 4500 crore fund.
Renaissance Technologies, the world's largest hedge fund firm handling assets worth $35.4 billion (Rs 1,41,600 crore), has received approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India to operate in the Indian stock markets as a foreign institutional investor.
Rai, who is as tall as Bhave at 5 feet 11 inches, has always been under his shadow, though he has been with NSDL since its inception 11 years ago. Only time will prove if he can grow as tall as Bhave in stature.
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