'Indian equity valuations, although not very expensive, are not cheap either.'
With the fresh wave of COVID-19 plunging the hospitality sector back into uncertainty, industry body HAI on Monday said it has asked the government to consider granting infrastructure status to hotels, extend moratorium on loans and rationalise taxes. In its pre-Budget memorandum, the Hotel Association of India (HAI) said policy interventions are imperative for the sector's survival and its early and quick rebound to normalcy. "The hospitality industry was slowly getting into a recovery mode on the strength of domestic tourism - leisure and events, only to be plunged back into uncertainty on account of the Omicron threat.
India's largest IT services firm TCS on Thursday reported a 4.99 per cent increase in its September quarter net profit at Rs 11,909 crore. The Tata Group company had reported a net profit of Rs 11,342 crore in the year-ago period, while in the preceding quarter, it had a post tax net of Rs 12,040 crore, a company filing said.
In previews of Q2FY25 and beyond, industry analysts are expecting a turnaround for IT services. High teens earnings per share or EPS growth is expected for the next two-three financial years. The hopes are backed by deal wins of above $100 billion as at Q1FY25, up 16.6 per cent year-on-year ( Y-o-Y).
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will launch the Unified Lending Interface (ULI) nationwide in due course, aiming to transform India's lending sector, similar to how the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) revolutionised the payments ecosystem, Governor Shaktikanta Das said on Monday.
'China is struggling to get out of its property bubble.' 'Japan took 35 years to walk out of its equity bubble.' 'Bubbles can be difficult to forecast.'
Fundraising momentum is expected to accelerate further in the New Year, potentially surpassing 2024's record figures
Further relaxation in aircraft capacity deployment coupled with festive season air travel demand helped recovery in the domestic traffic with passenger volume seeing 22 per cent sequential growth in the previous month, ratings agency ICRA said on Wednesday. ICRA also said that the November domestic passenger traffic was close to 50 per cent of the domestic air travel demand in November 2019. The recovery in international passenger traffic, however, is likely to further get delayed in the wake of fresh travel curbs by select countries following the detection of a new virus strain in the UK, it said.
The travel and tourism sector's contribution to global gross domestic product will return to pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2024, according to a new report by the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Tuesday. This recovery is driven by a considerable increase in worldwide demand, coinciding with more available flights, better international openness, and increased interest and investment in natural and cultural attractions.
'Interim Budget has ignited the entrepreneurial spirit.'
Hospitality players want the government to accord infrastructure status to hotels to make investments on new properties more attractive rather than categorising them as luxury or even 'sin goods' in the upcoming Union Budget considering the sector's potential to play a key role in India's growth. They also want the government to consider incentives in the form of tax breaks or subsidies for adopting sustainable and eco-friendly practices, while asserting that the upcoming budget must accelerate the tourism agenda saying it is an opportunity to make Indian hospitality the emerging engine for GDP growth and employment generation.
If growth reverts to the pre-Covid level, a lot of people may have to temper their rosy optimism, points out Debashis Basu.
Electric two-wheeler (e2W) maker Ather Energy has submitted preliminary papers to the Securities and Exchange Board of India to raise funds through an initial public offering (IPO). According to the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP), the IPO will comprise a fresh issue of equity shares valued at Rs 3,100 crore, alongside an offer for sale of 22 million equity shares by its promoters and investor shareholders.
Moody's Investors Service on Thursday said India's rising vaccination rate, low interest rates and higher public spending drive the positive outlook for corporate sector.
The sector shines on strong demand growth, spurred by strong growth in investment in infrastructure, partially impacted by hike in excise duties and increase in cost of coal
'Factors such as working professionals seeking better lifestyles, traditional housing challenges, community and networking, and urban migration for jobs are driving the growth in the co-living segment.'
Siemens delivered a strong margin performance and also reported high other income to beat consensus in the January-March quarter (Q2) of FY24 (the company's year-end is September 30). In addition, it has opted to demerge the energy vertical with a 1:1 award of shares in the newly demerged entity which will be listed by the end of this year (CY25).
Passenger vehicle sales in India kicked off on a flat note in new fiscal 2024-25 with 3.38 lakh units sold in April, impacted by high base effect and muted demand due to the ongoing general elections. Dispatches of passenger vehicles from manufacturers to dealers were at 338,341 units in April 2024 as compared to 332,468 units in the same month last year, a growth of 1.77 per cent with major players Maruti Suzuki India, Hyundai and Tata Motors reporting marginal growth in their domestic wholesales.
'We are confident that over the next few years the government will strike a fine balance between populist measures and growth, and manage coalition partners well.'
As Modi's government embarks on its third term, apart from ensuring these schemes boost India's green mobility, addressing bottlenecks like battery swapping and meeting PLI deadlines are likely to be the government's major tasks.
Out of 24,230 IIT and NIT grads, about 8,000 students didn't find any takers during campus placement drives this year.
Voltas saw strong growth in both UCP (Unitary Cooling product) and EMPS (electro mechanical projects) segments.
In the first two months of the current fiscal, Indian exports of finished steel reportedly grew by almost 76 per cent on a YoY basis and China alone accounted for close to 60 per cent of the increase.
Deputy Governor Michael Patra warned about the spillover effects of food inflation.
India, the world's fifth largest economy in the world, is likely to overtake Japan to become the world's third-largest economy with a GDP of $7.3 trillion by 2030, S&P Global Market Intelligence said in its latest issue of PMI. After two years of rapid economic growth in 2021 and 2022, the Indian economy has continued to show sustained strong growth during the 2023 calendar year. India's gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to grow 6.2-6.3 per cent in the fiscal year ending in March 2024, being the fastest-growing major economy this fiscal year.
Growing at a robust rate due to economic reforms in key sectors like digitisation and infrastructure, India has emerged as a star performer and is projected to contribute more than 16 per cent of the global growth, the International Monetary Fund said on Monday. "What we have been observing for quite some time now is that India has been growing at a very robust rate. "It's one of the star performers when it comes to real growth when you look at peer countries.
Chinese alumina refining and metal smelting technologies have emerged as a match for the best anywhere in the world. In fact, Vedanta and Hindalco have bought technologies from China. Our aluminium makers will be haunted by twin fears of rising imports and low metal prices squeezing margins over a long time.
'IPOs have performed exceptionally well, with a notable increase in average ticket size from Rs 800 crore in the last financial year to around Rs 1,300 crore in this financial year.'
Shifting to a PPP model could repeat the errors of the past
Aided by robust demand, automobile retail sales in India rose by 11 per cent last year as compared to 2022, dealers' body FADA said on Monday. The overall domestic automobile retail sales stood at 2,38,67,990 units in the 2023 calendar year as compared to 2,14,92,324 units in 2022. Passenger vehicle sales stood at 38,60,268 units last year, up 11 per cent from 34,89,953 units in 2022.
'There is no immediate threat to the government, and they would prefer the growth agenda.'
The imposition of 15 per cent export duty on steel has suddenly altered the prospects of the sector to negative and led to a big sell-off in steel stocks. Iron ore and pellet exports have to face duties of 45-50 per cent, which means they become uncompetitive. The Ukraine war has led to a supply crunch in global markets and pushed up prices, with Europe, in particular, looking for replacements for Ukrainian and Russian exports.
A vast majority of the business leaders believe that the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes have been beneficial and expect an extension to other sectors in the coming years, a Deloitte Survey said on Friday. An overwhelming number of survey respondents hope the budget will fuel growth across industries by building strong domestic demand and focussing on capital expenditure and believe that it would define the 'Amrit Kaal'. "Critical to this growth will be the pace of capital expenditure, infrastructure development, and the need to boost infrastructure financing through private partnership. 60 per cent of respondents suggested raising funds through Indian Government Bonds," the survey said.
Three years after India declared its goal to become a net-zero economy by 2070, the policy design for achieving the target has begun, with the NITI Aayog forming dedicated multi-sectoral committees to prepare a transition plan. In 2021, India joined a select group of nations that set a target year for becoming net-zero carbon economy. At COP26 in Glasgow, Prime Minister Narendra Modi outlined a five-pronged 'Panchamitra' climate action target for India and committed to a net-zero target by 2070, joining nations like the US, the UK, and China.
The Adani group is in advanced talks with top sovereign funds based in West Asia to raise up to $2.6 billion for its airport expansion and green hydrogen projects. The group, which expects to close the ongoing financial year ending March with Rs 80,000 crore of Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation), has held a series of road shows in London, Dubai, and Singapore with potential investors, briefing them about their future growth plans. The group's flagship, Adani Enterprises, may dilute part of its stake in the airport-holding firm and/or the green hydrogen business to these funds, which are keen to invest in the Indian infrastructure sector, said a source close to the development.
According to the report, the demand for materials needed for infrastructure projects like metals, minerals, buildings and transport equipment is expected to increase as the country invests in building its civil infrastructure.
Steel, cement, aluminum, fertilisers, tractors, two-wheelers, beverages and carbonated drinks, tyres and FMCG could see demand back to near normal levels by the third or the fourth quarter of the financial year, or even earlier.
