Sachin P Mampatta &Amp; Samie Modak

Stories by Sachin P Mampatta &Amp; Samie Modak

Stricter disclosure regime: FPIs to get breather for passive breaches

Stricter disclosure regime: FPIs to get breather for passive breaches

Rediff.com   19 Jul 2023

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) are likely to get a reprieve from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) in case of a passive or unintended breach of the thresholds that trigger additional disclosure norms. According to sources, FPIs whose single group exposure exceeds 50 per cent of their corpus will get 10 trading days to bring down their exposure below the prescribed level, without triggering the stricter disclosure norms. If total equity exposure of an overseas fund exceeds Rs 25,000 crore and it doesn't wish to provide additional disclosures, it will have three months to pare its exposure.

Jolt for IPOs of some small finance banks

Jolt for IPOs of some small finance banks

Rediff.com   17 Jul 2023

Investor confidence in unlisted shares was shaken after recent developments that saw online drugstore PharmEasy issuing new shares in a rights issue at a 90 per cent discount to its previous valuations and Reliance Retail's move to buy back and cancel shares held by public investors. Both stocks were, at one time, very popular in the unlisted market, with canny investors cornering them with the objective of benefiting from their listing. "Since investors have suffered losses on both counts, they will be careful when it comes to dealing in shares of unlisted companies," observes a broker dealing in unlisted shares, adding that there will be some rationality to the pricing.

Why Government Jobs Are In Short Supply

Why Government Jobs Are In Short Supply

Rediff.com   13 Jul 2023

Almost 25 per cent central government posts were vacant as of March 2022, compared to 9.4 per cent in March 2002.

Merged HDFC Bank set to push Reliance off its perch as top weight

Merged HDFC Bank set to push Reliance off its perch as top weight

Rediff.com   10 Jul 2023

With Housing Development Finance Corporation's (HDFC's) merger with HDFC Bank becoming effective on July 1, the merged entity is set to become the top weight in the benchmarks S&P BSE Sensex and the National Stock Exchange Nifty indices, dislodging the country's most valuable company, Reliance Industries (RIL), from its perch. HDFC will stop trading after July 13. At present, RIL has a weighting of close to 12 per cent in the Sensex and 10.3 per cent in the broad-based Nifty. Meanwhile, HDFC Bank and HDFC have weights of 9.9 per cent and 6.8 per cent in the Sensex and 8.8 per cent and 6 per cent in the Nifty, respectively.

Nifty 500 vs S&P 500: India catches its breadth, even as US outruns it

Nifty 500 vs S&P 500: India catches its breadth, even as US outruns it

Rediff.com   10 Jul 2023

The US market has been a standout performer this year, with the benchmark Standard and Poor's 500 (or simply the S&P 500) gaining over 16 per cent during the first half of calendar year 2023 (CY23) in what was its best first-half show since 2019. By comparison, India's National Stock Exchange Nifty 500 has gained 6.4 per cent. On the surface, it appears that the US markets have done exceedingly well. However, a deeper analysis reveals the gains in the domestic market to be more well-spread.

New manufacturing projects decline in June 2023, shows CMIE data

New manufacturing projects decline in June 2023, shows CMIE data

Rediff.com   4 Jul 2023

New investment projects announced in the manufacturing sector declined in the three months ended June 2023. The value of new projects was lower than in the March quarter, as well as the year-ago period, shows data from project tracker the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE). The new project announcements worth around Rs 85,000 crore in the manufacturing segment in June were a 48 per cent decline from the Rs 1.6 trillion in March and a 66 per cent decline from the Rs 2.5 trillion seen in June 2022.

FPI flows this year ride the coat-tails of ETFs, block deals

FPI flows this year ride the coat-tails of ETFs, block deals

Rediff.com   3 Jul 2023

After pulling out $17 billion in calendar year 2022, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have pumped $7.3 billion back into equity markets so far this year. The turnaround in foreign flows has helped domestic markets exceed the all-time highs chalked up in December 2022 and bounced back more than 10 per cent from this year's lows. However, a big nugget of FPI inflows seen this year could be off the back of two factors: exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and block deals.

All You Wanted to Know About Gift Nifty Index

All You Wanted to Know About Gift Nifty Index

Rediff.com   30 Jun 2023

Gift Nifty will provide Indian investors cues on how domestic markets could react to global events.

'Next 10-20 years are going to be India's golden years'

'Next 10-20 years are going to be India's golden years'

Rediff.com   19 Jun 2023

'Even where we are now today, the growth rates are very good, but we need to get to 8-9 per cent growth in the years to come.'

Uttar Pradesh adds 126,000 new investors in April; Maharashtra loses pull

Uttar Pradesh adds 126,000 new investors in April; Maharashtra loses pull

Rediff.com   15 Jun 2023

The state with the most people has displaced the state with the largest economy in terms of investor additions. Uttar Pradesh (UP) added 126,000 new investors in April, reveals National Stock Exchange (NSE) disclosures. This is higher than Maharashtra's 118,000. Maharashtra, which is home to India's financial capital of Mumbai, has traditionally been the biggest source of investors.

In debate over NPS and EPFO returns, one retirement fund edges ahead

In debate over NPS and EPFO returns, one retirement fund edges ahead

Rediff.com   12 Jun 2023

If you work for 30 years, a two per cent difference in pension returns can reduce your final retirement nest egg by 40 per cent. The Rs 9-trillion National Pension System (NPS) seems to be delivering incrementally higher returns than the twice-as-large Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), shows a Business Standard analysis of data over the last seven years for the two retirement fund bodies. An investor who put in Rs 100 in retirement savings seven years ago would have seen her NPS nest egg grow to Rs 182 by 2023, according to the analysis based on the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority's recently released Handbook of National Pension System Statistics 2023.

More than skin-deep: Nifty Next 50 complexion to get a shade of difference

More than skin-deep: Nifty Next 50 complexion to get a shade of difference

Rediff.com   12 Jun 2023

The National Stock Exchange (NSE) Nifty Next 50 Index could undergo large-scale changes if the proposed tweaks to its computation methodology get implemented. In a discussion paper floated recently, NSE Indices, which owns and manages a portfolio of over 350 indices under the Nifty brand, proposed that only stocks that are traded in the futures and options (F&O) segment can be part of the index. Currently, as many as 11 non-F&O stocks are part of the Nifty Next 50 Index, which, as the name suggests, represents the next rung of large and liquid securities after the Nifty50.

Bourses push Sebi to allow longer F&O hours amid Gift Nifty launch

Bourses push Sebi to allow longer F&O hours amid Gift Nifty launch

Rediff.com   1 Jun 2023

Close on heels of the launch of Gift Nifty (earlier SGX Nifty), domestic exchanges are pushing for extension of trading hours for the onshore derivatives market, said sources. Bourses are waiting for a final approval from market regulator Sebi on the proposal to keep the derivatives market open for longer hours, they said. The move is aimed at attracting more trading members for onshore futures and options (F&O) contracts amid risk that global investors could prefer trading at Gift City given the tax benefits.

LIC's Total Wealth Erosion: Over Rs 2 Trillion

LIC's Total Wealth Erosion: Over Rs 2 Trillion

Rediff.com   29 May 2023

The decline in LIC's share price makes it the biggest wealth destroyer among IPOs which hit the market after COVID-19 took hold globally in 2020.

US recession 'imminent', time to book profits, says BofA Securities

US recession 'imminent', time to book profits, says BofA Securities

Rediff.com   29 May 2023

Boom, bust or a bit of both: as the jury bides time before ruling on the US 'recession', the economy's vital signs at a perplexing time of high-interest rates, still-punishing inflation, and surprisingly strong economic gains are a study of a growing debate over whether the world's largest economy is barrelling into a new downturn. With the US Federal Reserve's (Fed's) inflation fighters attempting the risky pursuit of 'pillow-soft landings' and its economy sending out mixed signals, if there is indeed a recession, it could spell trouble for domestic equities and corporate earnings growth.

Colocation case: NSE receives Rs 300 crore from Sebi

Colocation case: NSE receives Rs 300 crore from Sebi

Rediff.com   24 May 2023

The National Stock Exchange (NSE) has received Rs 300 crore from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) following relief from the Supreme Court (SC), which is hearing an appeal by the market regulator in the colocation case. The court on March 20 asked Sebi to return Rs 300 crore to the NSE from the Rs 1,107 crore the exchange had deposited as part of the disgorgement in the case. The NSE had given an undertaking that it will return the entire amount to Sebi if the latter wins its appeal before the SC.

A year after listing, LIC scorecard lacks lustre

A year after listing, LIC scorecard lacks lustre

Rediff.com   24 May 2023

State-owned Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), which completes one year of its listing on Tuesday, presents a sorry scorecard as far as its stock market performance goes. Shares of the insurance behemoth are down 40 per cent over their issue price of Rs 949 to Rs 567 apiece. The Sensex, on the other hand, has risen 14 per cent in the past one year.

Warring sibling promoters put Hikal's future at stake, says InGovern

Warring sibling promoters put Hikal's future at stake, says InGovern

Rediff.com   15 May 2023

The infighting between the two promoters of Hikal-Baba Kalyani and sister Sugandha Hiremath-has put the company's growth at stake, InGovern has said in a note. The corporate governance firm has called for a change in the management and an overhaul of its board to protect the interest of minority shareholders, who own almost a third of the specialty chemicals company. The Kalyani and Hiremath families are mired in a legal dispute, with the latter seeking transfer of ownership of shares held by the Kalyani group, citing nearly three-decade old family arrangement.

GST and states, a reality check of how indirect tax system is working

GST and states, a reality check of how indirect tax system is working

Rediff.com   15 May 2023

Taiwan in 1951 came up with an ingenious plan to improve tax compliance: citizens taking receipts for purchases could use them as lottery tickets. Customers were incentivized, and businesses found it hard to evade taxes. The plan's success prompted other countries, Slovakia and Greece among them, to launch similar initiatives. India doesn't seem to find the need yet for such schemes amid surging goods and services tax (GST) collections.

Small- and mid-cap shares raced ahead of large caps in April

Small- and mid-cap shares raced ahead of large caps in April

Rediff.com   8 May 2023

With markets getting back their mojo after four months, small- and mid-cap shares raced ahead of large caps in April. The Nifty Smallcap 100 index surged 7.5 per cent - its biggest monthly advance in 10 months - and outperformed the benchmark Nifty 50 index by 350 basis points. The Nifty Midcap 100 index soared 5.9 per cent, most since August.