India Inc on Friday said it is looking forward to a repo rate cut in future as cost of funds has to come down in coming times, and expects continuation of accommodative policy stance by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The RBI decided to leave the benchmark interest rate unchanged at 4 per cent but maintained an accommodative stance, as the economy faces the brunt of the second COVID-19 wave. Sanjay Aggarwal, president of PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the RBI has maintained an accommodative stance as long as necessary to revive and sustain growth on a durable basis and to mitigate impact of COVID-19, apart from an aim to keep inflation within the target.
Future Capital Holding disclosed its plans to enter asset management and retail broking. A credit card tie up with ICICI bank is also in the pipeline.
With a view to become a leading office products provider, Pantaloon Retail India has entered into a joint venture with US-based Staples Inc and its new business unit, Future Office.
Currently, the retail inflation is well below the RBI's comfort level. The government has asked the central bank to keep inflation in the range of 4 per cent.
Retailers are all set to cash in on R-Day's festive feel with attractive offers and discounts.
When the 60,000 sq ft Brand Factory mart in Bangalore, the Future Group's factory-surplus format which stocks 145 brands across lifestyle categories, notched up its millionth customer in less-than-a-year, the company knew it was on to a good thing.
Thanks to a booming market, India now has more than 300 family offices, up from 45 in 2018, according to a PwC report. The number is expected to grow rapidly, with promoters establishing more businesses in Tier-II and Tier-III cities. Family businesses play a crucial role in India's booming economy, spanning manufacturing, retail, real estate, healthcare, and finance.
The diversified steel-to-telecom Essar Group, with revenues of $ 15 billion, is readying to consolidate its retail initiatives under one roof to maximise synergies and explore new avenues of growth. To shape its plans, Essar is forming a centralised retail think-tank at a group level to strategise the conglomerate's future course of action.
Legal experts explain the implications of the latest twist in the Amazon-Reliance battle for billion-plus consumers' purse.
According to the agreement, Pantaloon Retail India, along with its wholly owned subsidiary Future Value Retail, would sell its stake in FCH.
'Somebody was using somebody to make statements that will stir the stock market and lead to a surge.' 'A sudden surge and a sudden crash is always an ideal situation for people to make illicit gains and then siphoning off the money.'
Kishore Biyani met Jeff Bezos, the founder and CEO of Amazon, in Delhi last week and "discussed many things like the macro environment and the prime minister"
On the heels of Reliance Industries foraying into the lucrative retail business, Birla Group too contemplates rolling out its organised retail initiative.
Due to default in payment, the securities of FICL and NDIL will be valued at zero basis AMFI standard hair cut matrix, and interest accrued and due will be fully provided.
As and when the sector opens up to FDI, the world's second-largest retailer will automatically get equity in Pantaloon Retail or will enjoy right of first refusal, said the sources.
Kotak Mahindra Bank on Saturday reported a 25 per cent growth in its March quarter net profit at Rs 5,302 crore, limited by a drop in the core income due to narrow interest margins. On a standalone basis, the city-headquartered lender's Q4 net profit grew 18 per cent to Rs 4,133 crore. The FY24 consolidated net profit grew 22 per cent to Rs 18,213 crore.
Firms have to adhere to strict compliance requirements mandated by global parents
Sky-high rentals are forcing retailers to explore new ways to stay afloat. Many have done the obvious thing by shifting to cheaper locations or simply downing their shutters. But others are renegotiating deals with developers to ensure business sustainability. New deals like longer "rent-free" periods, no "lock-in" clauses in agreements and revenue-sharing deals with developers are becoming common.
Indian retailers put cash & carry on backburner
Reliance Industries Ltd will acquire German firm Metro AG's wholesale operations in India for Rs 2,850 crore as the conglomerate run by billionaire Mukesh Ambani seeks to strengthen its dominant position in India's mammoth retail sector. "Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (RRVL), a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd, signed definitive agreements to acquire a 100 per cent equity stake in Metro Cash & Carry India for a total cash consideration of Rs 2,850 crore, subject to closing adjustments," said a joint statement. Through this acquisition, Reliance Retail will get access to a network of Metro India stores located in prime locations across key cities, along with a large base of registered kiranas and other institutional customers, and a strong supplier network.
With a loan book of $268 billion, India's retail banking is now ahead of Russia, Malaysia and Mexico but behind China, Brazil and Thailand
While the talks are still at a preliminary stage, sources said major retail players had held discussions with Amazon
Executives in the segment say some top European, Japanese and Korean retailers are seriously interested.
Telecoms investor Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd and retailer Future Group were among the first big names to apply for licenses to run so-called payments banks
'For all of us at Amazon, it is 'Bharat first'.' 'We are keeping the Indian customer at the centre of what we are doing.'
The retail king is back to what he does best: Expand. Future Group chairman Kishore Biyani is planning to add two Big Bazaar stores every month and open 15 hypermarkets over the next six months.
Bajaj Auto was the top laggard in the Sensex pack, tumbling around 6 per cent, followed by M&M, Reliance Industries (RIL), Tata Steel, Tech Mahindra, SBI, Axis Bank and ICICI Bank. NSE Nifty tumbled 162.60 points or 1.36 per cent to 11,767.75.
Raghu Pillai, former director and CEO (operations, strategy and business development) of Reliance Retail, today took over as the chief executive of Kishore Biyani's Future Value Retail. An industry veteran, Pillai talks about his new role with Business Standard.
Future Media, the media company of Kishore Biyani's Future group, announced the acquisition of on-screen media rights of all Inox Leisure multiplexes in the country for the next two and half years.
As part of an overall strategy of improving food management to reduce inflationary pressure, the food ministry has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to incentivise organised retail trade in the farm sector.
Sales grew only 5-10% last year on weak consumer sentiments
FSN E-Commerce Ventures (Nykaa) hosted its annual investor day recently. The responses were positive from analysts. Although some analysts pared FY25 and FY26 estimates, the bulk continued to issue 'buy' calls after the stock rose 2.5 per cent. The management expects the Beauty & Personal Care (BPC) business to grow at a 25 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) during FY24-28.
'Understand how wedding expenses fit into your overall financial situation.' 'Evaluate how different levels of spending will impact other goals like retirement, travel, or housing.'
'India has the largest slate of local original content outside the US.'
Private equity (PE) investments in India have fallen to a 6-year low at $24.2 billion in the financial year ending March 2024. Investments via PE deals are down 47 per cent compared to FY23, when private equity deals worth $45.8 billion were signed. According to data sourced from Bloomberg, PE firms had signed record deals worth $80 billion in the financial year ending March 2022.
Re-rating of Axis Bank's stock may continue in the near-future, believe analysts, as the risk-reward on the stock remains favourable amid healthy financials. The bullish stance comes after the Mumbai-based lender delivered a strong outperformance in the March quarter of fiscal year 2023-24 (Q4FY24) on core pre-provision profit and net profit, with improving asset quality. Axis Bank's net interest margin (NIM) expanded, against expectations, even in a tough market.
India 's threat to impose a blanket ban on agricultural commodities futures trading would not ease food prices, analysts, traders and food executives warned, describing the measure as political posturing.
The threat may be a decade away, but it has brick-and-mortar sellers rethinking their strategies and banking on the govt to regulate online companies.
Like everything else, the structure of banks may change, and banks may depend more on digital technologies and artificial intelligence for dealing with both their customers and employees.
