Industry leaders on Thursday mourned the death of Ratan Tata saying with his demise India has lost a visionary who shaped its industrial and philanthropic landscape. Tata was a truly remarkable business leader who placed the country before business interests, and whose vision was truly transformational for a country and its people, TVS Motor Co Chairman Emeritus Venu Srinivasan said in a statement. "Mr Tata was a truly remarkable business leader, the likes of whom nations get only once in a century," he added.
The merged entity would be known as 'Vodafone Idea Ltd'.
Reserve Bank of India on Thursday said 15 large NBFCs, including LIC Housing Finance, Bajaj Finance, Shriram Finance and Tata Sons, will be subject to enhanced regulatory requirements. The central bank has categorised NBFCs into Base Layer (NBFC-BL), Middle Layer (NBFC-ML), Upper Layer (NBFC-UL) and Top Layer (NBFC-TL). A list of 15 large Non Banking Finance Companies (NBFCs) falling in the Upper Layer category has been released.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday launched the ambitious 'Make in India' campaign to make India a global manufacturing hub, create jobs and boost economic growth.
Conversion of debt of the stressed telecom player Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL) into equity could be an option to emerge out of the crisis, lenders led by State Bank of India (SBI) have suggested to Department of Telecommunications (DoT). DoT had called senior bank officials on Friday to discuss the stress in the telecom sector arising out of the Supreme Court order last month on the adjusted gross revenue (AGR)-related dues payable by telecom majors, including Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel, sources said. The top court has given a time period of 10 years to telecom service providers struggling to pay Rs 93,520 crore of AGR-related dues to clear their outstanding amount to the government.
Debt-ridden telecom operator Vodafone Idea on Thursday said its board has approved raising of up to Rs 14,500 crore, including Rs 4,500 crore from promoter entities. An amount of Rs 10,000 crore would be raised by way of sale of equity or through debt instruments such as ADR, GDR and FCCBs. In a regulatory filing, the company said the board has cleared issuance of up to 338.3 crore equity shares of face value of Rs 10 each at an issue price of Rs 13.30 per equity share for an aggregate consideration of up to Rs 4,500 crore.
Like other food and grocery chains, Birla Retail is aggressively pushing its private labels and large packs to woo customers. Besides offering value, private labels push retailers' margins.
'There's significant interest from both existing and new sponsors who recognise the value of associating with Olympic athletes.'
Aditya Birla group's Idea Cellular has signed a deal to acquire 40.8 per cent stake in Spice Communications for Rs 2,716 crore (Rs 27.16 billion).
In the wake of the tussle between the Birlas and Rajendra S Lodha over the will of Late Priyamvada Birla, chartered accountants firm Lodha & Company said it was not seeking re-appointment as auditors of Indo Gulf Fertilisers Ltd.
The recommendation, if implemented, could severely dent coal miners' bottom line.
Reliance, Birla Group, Airtel eye small finance banks.
Chartered accountancy firm Lodha & Co has resigned as statutory auditor for Grasim Industries Ltd, a Aditya Birla group company, and city-based G P Kapadia & Co has been appointed as sole statutory auditors for the firm.
Vodafone plc has made it clear that it will not make any fresh equity infusion in its Indian telecom business--Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL). Responding to a query, a spokesperson at the UK-headquartered telco said: "Just to confirm our position, there will be no new equity infusion from Vodafone Group." This is the first time that Vodafone has spoken about its stand after the government announced a telecom package.
NRI business tycoon Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta Resources will pay $1.37 billion (about Rs 5,700 crore) for acquiring 71 per cent stake in India's biggest iron ore exporter Sesa Goa.
Grasim Industries Ltd, whose attempt to acquire larger conglomerate Larsen & Toubro Ltd has been delayed by regulators, has challenged L&T's plans to hive off its cement division, a spokeswoman said.
Aditya Birla Telecom Ltd (ABTL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Idea Cellular, will offload 20 per cent to Providence Equity Partners, a US buyout firm, for Rs 2,560 crore. This takes Providence's total investment in Idea Cellular to $1.04 billion, which is the largest private equity investment in an Indian telecom service provider. The deal values ABTL at Rs 12,800 crore.
Aditya Birla flagship Hindalco Industries on Monday said it has entered into a joint venture with Mahanadi Coal Ltd (MCL) and Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC) for carrying out mining activities.
Global aluminium giant Alcan Inc on Friday announced its plan to sell its 45 per cent stake in India's Utkal Alumina International Ltd, its joint venture with Aditya Birla group flagship Hindalco Industries.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has initiated discussions with banks to address financial stress in the telecom sector, particularly Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL) that urgently requires fund infusion to stay afloat. There was a meeting of DOT officials and senior bankers on Friday on the issue of Vodafone, sources said, adding that banks have been asked to look for a solution within the prudential guidelines. According to sources, senior officials from the country's biggest lenders State Bank of India and Bank of Baroda were also present among others in the meeting. More such meetings are expected to take place in the coming days, they said.
A total of 41 companies had applied for the permit
As many as 58 companies raised money from automatic route and 8 firms raised via approval route.
Grasim Industries Ltd has submitted an alternate proposal to Larsen & Toubro before the engineering major decides to demerge its cement business at its board meeting
The big boys of India's traditional retail have finally come together to fight the onslaught of their online counterparts.
Decks have been cleared for Oil and Natural Gas Corporation to take over the Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemical Ltd with Public Investment Board on Wednesday giving consent to the Rs 659.4 crore (Rs 6.59 billion) proposal.
Grasim Industries Ltd, an Aditya Birla group flagship company, has posted a 68 per cent rise in its net profit at Rs 219.2 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, 2004 as against Rs 130.5 crore in the corresponding quarter last fiscal.
India Inc raised $2.78 billion from overseas markets in October this year, up 44 per cent from a year ago, according to the Reserve Bank data released on Friday.
Licence winners are expected to be announced by the first quarter of 2014.
Vodafone Idea's cash flow analysis indicates that its situation may remain challenging even after any relief measures, and the telco needs "meaningful capital infusion" with a long gestation period to become competitive, a report by Credit Suisse said on Wednesday. The report expects Airtel to be "well placed" in either of the scenarios, of two-private-operator sector, or three private operators post an industry repair. The note by Credit Suisse on the Indian telecom sector said there has been increasing interest among investors to evaluate valuations of Bharti Airtel and Indus Towers under two situations, in the wake of recent developments.
Out of the 192 mining leases of iron and manganese ores in Odisha, 94 do not have environment clearance.
Customised tailoring: How Raymond, Aditya Birla Group are luring customers with bespoke services to fit the bill.
Bharti Airtel CEO Gopal Vittal on Wednesday asserted that a large nation like India needs three private players in the telecom sector, and hoped the government would take measures to offer relief to the industry that is facing "serious financial stress". The comments assume significance in the backdrop of Vodafone Idea's desperate struggle to stay afloat. Aditya Birla Group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla had in June this year offered to hand over the group's stake in debt-laden Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL) to the government or any other entity to ensure that the company remains a going concern.
A day after Vodafone Idea Ltd opted to convert interest on dues to government equity, its CEO on Wednesday said the government had made its position amply clear that it does not want to run the telco, and added that existing promoters are fully committed to managing and running the company's operations. Vodafone Idea (VIL) on Tuesday announced its decision to opt for converting about Rs 16,000 crore interest dues liability payable to the government into equity, which will amount to around 35.8 per cent stake in the company. If the plan goes through, the government will become the biggest shareholder in the company which is reeling under a debt burden of about Rs 1.95 lakh crore.
With the new entity coming in force, Bharti Airtel will lose the tag of India's biggest telecom service provider to the new entity.