Larsen & Toubro Ltd (L&T) is deepening its push into data centres and defence manufacturing while keeping an eye on emerging opportunities in nuclear and thermal power, chairman and managing director SN Subrahmanyan said. The engineering and construction conglomerate has invested around Rs 2,200 crore in data centres, with 32 megawatts (Mw) already operational.
The National Stock Exchange (NSE), which is once again in the eye of a storm due to the co-location scandal, has said it has taken several transformational steps in the past few years on the regulatory, technological, and surveillance fronts to help improve stakeholder experience and to protect investors. Senior officials of the exchange briefed the media over the steps the exchange has taken on various fronts following changes at the helm with former managing director and chief executive officer Chitra Ramkrishna's ouster in December 2016. "Over the last few years, we have been looking to modernise and transform the entire value chain of technology.
Larsen & Toubro (L&T), India's largest construction and engineering player, has lost as many as 14 large orders in the country because companies that don't possess adequate technical expertise and experience, of late, have won the projects by bidding lower, claimed A M Naik, non-executive chairman of L&T. But the company has made up for the losses by winning projects overseas, where it has acquired a sizeable market share amid tough competition from large global players, he said.
'But we are much better than what we all had expected and planned, and what all the prophets of doom had predicted.'
'We are very watchful about inflation and growth. But the main challenge is economic revival and growth.'
'A strong foreign exchange reserve is the best safety net against global spillovers.'
The infra-major going belly up cracked open some major flaws in the system - the most evident being weak corporate governance and how layers of corporate structures could be formed adding to the opaqueness of the group.
Despite a shaky Q3, conviction over the stock remained high, with 65 per cent of the analysts polled on Bloomberg retaining their 'buy' recommendation.
This is a key reason for the finance ministry's objection to fixing the tenure at 100 years, as it is pushing PSBs to be self-dependent and raise funds from the market, reports Hamsini Karthik.
It is nearly after 13 years that a foreign brokerage has resumed holistic coverage on stocks of public sector banks (PSBs). To that extent, Morgan Stanley's report dated March 3, where the analysts have listed their order of preference for PSB stocks, is an indication that the state-owned banks may once again be attracting some interest, thanks to three back-to-back quarters of good results in FY21 so far. "State-owned banks' balance sheets have improved, and bad loans formation should moderate going forward," the analysts note and this is the key reason for them to relook at their stance on PSBs. While State Bank of India (SBI) remains their preferred pick, stocks of Bank of Baroda (BOB) and Punjab National Bank (PNB) have been upgraded from 'underweight' to 'equal-weight'. The brokerage maintains its underweight recommendation on Bank of India and Canara Bank.
For non-banks, the IL&FS crisis was nothing short of India's Lehman moment, which has for a foreseeable future reset the sector on multiple grounds.
Check out some of the stocks that will react on the basis of their numbers in the near term.
'The concern that the bad bank may create a moral hazard for the system is extremely valid.'
Banks such as IndusInd Bank, Federal Bank, DCB Bank and Axis Bank which have renewed their focus on secured loans may be, hence, walking on a tightrope.
Investment in market leaders with a safety-first approach could yield reasonable returns across sectors.
While the lender has Rs 17,000 crore of retail assets and land parcels in Juhu, Borivali, Worli, and Chembur in Mumbai, there may be a disconnect between the quality of DHFL's books and the value bidders ascribe to it.
For any airline to be eligible for restructuring, the current ratio has to be equal to or higher than 0.4, while 'debt to Ebitda' has to be equal to or less than 5.5.
The life insurer tinkered with its business strategy - raised the share of protection plans and reduced dependency on ULIPs in the past four years.
'Valuations were depressed at 8,000 (Nifty 50 index) levels. It was a free ride to 12,000 levels.' 'What went down had to come up. Now fundamentals have to support further gains.'
Reports suggest state-owned banks have lapped up Rs 40,000 crore, so far, using both bonds and equity instruments. The question, though, is whether there will be a perceptional change for PSB stocks.