Telecom operator Bharti Airtel on Friday said it has signed an agreement to buy Vodafone's 4.7 per cent stake in Indus Towers on the condition that the proceeds will be used for investment in Vodafone Idea and clearing its dues towards the mobile tower company. Debt-ridden Vodafone Idea (VIL) has been unable to pay dues to Indus Towers and both VIL and promoter Vodafone have proposed a payment plan to clear the outstanding amount by July 15. In the meantime, VIL has committed to pay certain minimum amount each month to Indus Towers.
Benchmark BSE Sensex and Nifty closed lower by nearly 1 per cent on Tuesday amid fresh foreign fund outflows and mixed global trends. The 30-share BSE benchmark fell by 497.73 points or 0.89 per cent to settle at 55,268.49, extending its losses for second straight day. During the day, it tanked 562.79 points or 1 per cent to 55,203.43. The broader NSE Nifty declined by 147.15 points or 0.88 per cent to 16,483.85.
Cash-strapped telco Vodafone Idea's proposal for investment of up to Rs 15,000 crore through foreign direct investment (FDI) has been approved by the Union government, according to officials. A top-level group, comprising representatives from the ministries of home affairs, external affairs, finance and commerce and industry, took the decision. The nod, which is an enabling provision, would help the financially-stressed company raise funds to pay up some of its dues linked to adjusted gross revenue (AGR), reduce debts and use the money for operational expenses.
Reliance Industries was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising over 1 per cent, followed by M&M, HCL Tech, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and HUL. On the other hand, Bharti Airtel, Maruti, SBI, PowerGrid, NTPC and Tata Steel were among the laggards.
Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty gave up early gains to close in negative territory on Thursday dragged down by IT and pharma stocks which fell amid fears of recession in the global economy. The 30-share Sensex opened higher and rose further to touch a day's high of 60,676.12 on gains in auto and capital goods shares. However, it gave up all early gains and later closed 412.96 points or 0.68 per cent lower at 59,934.01.
Benchmark Sensex rallied 455 points and Nifty rose more than 133 points to close above the key 18,000-mark for the first time since April on Tuesday as foreign institutional investors continued to be bullish on the domestic market. Continuing its rally for the fourth straight session, the 30-share Sensex rose 455.95 points or 0.76 per cent to close at 60,571.08 points. The broader Nifty climbed 133.70 points or 0.75 per cent to settle at 18,070.05 points. Previously, the Nifty had closed above the 18,000-mark on April 4 this year.
The statement came a day after Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea Ltd announced a hike in call and data charges from next month.
Reliance Industries, the Tata group, Bharti Airtel and Aditya Birla are among Indian conglomerates that have hedged their revenue and costs linked to the US dollar, giving them financial cover as the rupee fell past 80 against the greenback on Tuesday.
Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had told Parliament in November that Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and other telecom companies owe the government as much as Rs 1.47 lakh crore in past statutory dues.
ITC was the biggest gainer in the Sensex pack, rising nearly 3 per cent, followed by Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank, Maruti, Bharti Airtel, State Bank of India, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Axis Bank, Reliance Industries, Hindustan Unilever and JSW Steel. On the other hand, Infosys, UltraTech Cement, HCL Technologies, Bajaj Finserv, Larsen & Toubro, Titan, Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro were the laggards.
Benchmark indices fell for the third straight day on Tuesday, with the Sensex falling over 153 points amid largely weak global markets as investors remained cautious ahead of the crucial Federal Reserve meeting outcome. Unabated foreign fund outflows also continued to weigh on the domestic equity markets. The 30-share BSE benchmark dropped 153.13 points or 0.29 per cent to settle at 52,693.57.
Among the Sensex firms, HCL Technologies fell the most by 2.4 per cent. IndusInd Bank (2.35 per cent), Infosys (2.28 per cent), Wipro (1.8 per cent), NTPC (1.71 per cent), Asian Paints (1.7 per cent), Tata Consultancy Services (1.36 per cent),Tech Mahindra (1.03 per cent) and SBI (1 per cent) were among the major laggards.
SBI was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding over 1 per cent, followed by Reliance Industries, Tech Mahindra, M&M, L&T, Bharti Airtel, IndusInd Bank and HDFC. NSE Nifty slipped 31.60 points to 15,824.45.
Equity benchmark indices continued to gain for the third day running on Monday, with the BSE Sensex climbing 781 points in early trade, amid firm global market trends. The 30-share BSE Sensex was trading with a jump of 781.52 points to 53,509.50. The NSE Nifty also gained 228.2 points to 15,927.45.
Bajaj Finserv was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rallying over 9 per cent, followed by Titan, Bajaj Finance, Kotak Bank, Bharti Airtel, Nestle India and NTPC. On the other hand, Reliance Industries, IndusInd Bank, Sun Pharma, Axis Bank, ONGC and HUL were among the laggards.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B ministry) may launch its review of the government's plan to potentially reserve the crucial C-band of radio frequencies for 5G and 6G telecommunication (telecom) use, said officials. While the incumbent broadcasting operators have warned that the plan will leave "precious little spectrum" for broadcasting services, telecom service providers (TSPs) have pressed hard for getting access to the C-band. In multiple letters to the I&B ministry over the past month, the News Broadcasters & Digital Association (NBDA) has said the industry would be left with precious little spectrum for broadcasting services if the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) further allocates the scant C-band for 5G.
Telecom service providers (TSPs) have begun to monitor and prevent spam calls since May 1, with the help of an artificial intelligence and machine language-based system acting on the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's (Trai) latest directive on the matter, its officials told Business Standard. Touted as the first big technological measure against the growing menace of unsolicited commercial communications, all TSPs have confirmed to Trai that they have rolled out the AI/ML tool. The filter system works on the distributed ledger technology (DLT) platform used by TSPs, and is set to go for incremental updates, rules for which will soon be released, they added.
RIL became the first Indian company to hit the Rs 9.5 lakh-crore market capitalisation level. Shares of Bharti Airtel soared 7.36 per cent and Vodafone Idea rallied 34.68 per cent after both the companies announced a hike in mobile phone call and data charges from December.
Top companies have grabbed a bigger pie of their sectors in the pandemic period, leading to a further rise in market concentration in many industries as measured by the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI). The HHI score, which indicates competitive intensity in an industry (or a lack of it), reached a new high in FY21 as bigger firms raised their revenue market shares either organically or through mergers and acquisitions. A higher HHI score indicates a rise in market concentration in favour of a few firms while a lower score means that the industry's revenue is more evenly divided among many companies
The merits and demerits of the telcos' 5G strategy however is clearly dependent on the financial muscle of players, reports Surajeet Das Gupta.
Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty rose by nearly 1 per cent on Friday, extending gains for a second day on the back of buying in banking, financials and energy stocks in line with firm global trends. The 30-share BSE Sensex advanced further by 462.26 points or 0.88 per cent to settle at 52,727.98. During the day, it rallied 644.15 points or 1.23 per cent to 52,909.87. The Nifty gained 142.60 points or 0.92 per cent to settle at 15,699.25.
Assume Voot, JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar are merged into one entertainment app, and you have a streaming service with more than 233 million unique visitors. That is a reach just under half of India's largest streaming app: YouTube. 'This level of consolidation does not exist even in the US.'
IndusInd Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rallying over 4 per cent, followed by Bharti Airtel, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finance, Sun Pharma, HDFC and Kotak Bank. On the other hand, Titan, Maruti, ITC, Asian Paints, HCL Tech and Bajaj Auto were among the laggards.
HUL was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, spurting around 3 per cent, followed by Infosys, M&M, ITC, SBI, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finance, Asian Paints, TCS and Bharti Airtel. On the other hand, Titan, PowerGrid and NTPC were among the laggards.
The company has made payment in compliance with Telecom Department's instructions for self assessment, Mittal said, adding that the Supreme Court had not mentioned specific amounts.
M&M was the biggest loser in the Sensex pack, declining nearly 3 per cent, followed by TCS, Bajaj Finance, Wipro, Kotak Bank, Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech and Tata Motors. In contrast, Titan, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank and L&T were among the gainers, rising up to 0.93 per cent.
Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty closed higher on Friday after two days of fall, helped by buying in metal, telecom and auto stocks amid a firm trend in global markets. Automakers led by Maruti Suzuki India, Hyundai, Mahindra & Mahindra reporting robust wholesales of passenger vehicles and GST collections crossing Rs 1.50 lakh crore for the third straight month in May also added to the optimism. The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 118.57 points or 0.19 per cent to settle at 62,547.11.
Benchmark BSE Sensex rebounded by 344 points while Nifty closed above the 16,000 level in choppy trade on Friday, snapping the four-day falling streak on renewed buying interest from foreign funds and firm global trends. The 30-share BSE barometer climbed 344.63 points or 0.65 per cent to settle at 53,760.78. During the day, it jumped 395.22 points or 0.73 per cent to 53,811.37.
Benchmark indices bounced back on Wednesday after falling for five straight sessions, with investors snapping up the recently-mauled IT, finance and consumption stocks amid a supportive trend overseas. A rebounding rupee further bolstered sentiment, traders said. Halting its five-session slide, the BSE Sensex jumped 574.35 points or 1.02 per cent to finish at 57,037.50. Similarly, the NSE Nifty surged 177.90 points or 1.05 per cent to 17,136.55.
Telecom operator Bharti Airtel on Friday said it has paid Rs 15,519 crore to the government towards prepayment of its entire deferred liability pertaining to spectrum acquired in the 2014 auction. The company had acquired 128.4 MHz spectrum (including Telenor spectrum) for a consideration of Rs 19,051 crore in the 2014 auction, Airtel said in a statement. The company estimates that the prepayment to Department of Telecom (DoT) will likely result in interest cost savings of at least Rs 3,400 crore over the residual life for fully substituted capital.
M&M was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rallying over 5 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finance, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel and Hero MotoCorp. NSE Nifty rose 65.30 points, or 0.71 per cent, to finish at 9,270.90.
HCL was followed by Tech Mahindra, Asian Paints, Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank, L&T, TCS, M&M, Nestle India and Infosys. NSE Nifty rose 23.75 points or 0.20 per cent to 11,896.80.
Equity benchmarks ended modestly higher on Friday after the Reserve Bank raised the key interest rate in an effort to cool stubbornly high inflation and defend the rupee. Continuous foreign fund inflows into the capital markets and softening crude oil prices also helped the bourses regain momentum, traders said. The 30-share BSE Sensex ended 89.13 points or 0.15 per cent higher at 58,387.93 after facing volatility during the fag-end of trade. During the day, it climbed 350.39 points or 0.60 per cent to 58,649.19. The broader NSE Nifty went up by 15.50 points or 0.09 per cent to finish at 17,397.50.
Reliance Jio Infocomm (RJIL) has written to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) stating that a recent complaint against it by Bharti Airtel is a deliberate, malicious attempt at defaming RJIL's consumer-friendly tariff. RJIL has also asked the regulator to warn Airtel against 'making such frivolous complaints in the future'. The move is in response to Airtel recently requesting Trai to bring content aired through broadband under the regulatory fold and keep a check against discriminatory bundling tactics.
Axis Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, surging around 4 per cent, followed by M&M, HDFC Bank, ITC, SBI, ICICI Bank, Maruti, Kotak Bank and Sun Pharma. On the other hand, HDFC, Titan, Nestle India, Bharti Airtel, ONGC and Infosys were among the laggards.
Benchmark indices rallied on Thursday with the Sensex and Nifty climbing nearly 2 per cent, helped by heavy buying in Bajaj Finance shares amid a mixed trend in the global equity markets. The 30-share BSE benchmark jumped 1,041.47 points or 1.87 per cent to settle at 56,857.79. During the day, it rallied 1,097.9 points or 1.96 per cent to 56,914.22. The broader NSE Nifty advanced 287.80 points or 1.73 per cent to 16,929.60.
Infosys was the top loser in the Sensex pack, dropping 2.89 per cent, followed by TCS, Asian Paints, Bharti Airtel and HCL Tech.
ITC was the top laggard in the Sensex pack, shedding around 3 per cent, followed by Reliance Industries, Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank, HUL and HCL Tech. On the other hand, PowerGrid, Bharti Airtel, ONGC and UltraTech Cement were among the gainers. NSE Nifty fell 53.25 points to 14,146.25.
Equity benchmarks extended their decline for the fourth straight session on Wednesday, with the Sensex falling 214.85 points after the Reserve Bank raised the key interest rate by 50 basis points. Continuous foreign fund outflows and surging crude oil prices also weighed on markets. The 30-share BSE benchmark dropped 214.85 points or 0.39 per cent to settle at 54,892.49.
Telcos Reliance Jio and Bharti may post a 5-7 per cent sequential rise in revenue with a steady margin for the second quarter of FY22, according to Jefferies. Bharti's growth will be led by segmented tariff hikes taken in the second quarter ended September, while Jio's growth will be driven by continued subscriber growth, it further said. Jefferies expects the outlook on tariff hikes for Bharti, further details on JioPhone Next for Jio, and tenancy outlook for Indus Towers to be the key things to watch for in the September quarter.
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