The last year has seen public sector undertakings (PSUs) outperforming the Nifty50, albeit by a small degree. But PSU valuations are still, on average, less than half of private sector peers at price-to-equity or PE 8.7x for the Nifty PSU Index versus 20.9x for the Nifty50. There are several reasons for lower valuation.
State-owned oil firms such as ONGC and IOC will invest over Rs 1.11 lakh crore in the next fiscal year starting April as they supplement the government's massive spending programme to spur economic growth. Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), GAIL (India) Ltd, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) and Oil India Ltd (OIL) will together make a 7.4 per cent higher capital expenditure in the 2022-23 fiscal (FY23). The capex spending of Rs 1.11 lakh crore in 2022-23 compares with a revised estimate of Rs 1.04 lakh crore for the current fiscal year that ends in March, according to Union budget documents.
Former oil secretary Tarun Kapoor, present and former chairmen of ONGC and a former director of IOC, are among over a dozen people who have applied for the top job at the oil and gas regulator, PNGRB, sources said. Kapoor, who superannuated as Secretary to the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas last month, is the most prominent name in the list of 13 persons who have applied to become the chairman of Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB). Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) chairman and managing director Subhash Kumar and his predecessor Shashi Shanker are also in the race and so is G K Satish, who superannuated as Director for Planning and Business Development from Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) a couple of months back.
Corporate India continues to be generous in rewarding its shareholders with big dividend payouts. This is especially true for shareholders of companies such as Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Hindustan Zinc (HZL), and Coal India (CIL) which are seen as cash cows of large business groups and the government. Boosted by a big payout by these three companies, the combined equity dividend payout by listed companies was up 38 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to a record high of Rs 2.27 trillion in 2022-23 (FY23), compared with Rs 1.65 trillion in 2021-22 (FY22).
'When you sneak in a quick breakfast and feel mighty victorious.'
The Centre-appointed committee on Saturday launched its probe into the Gas Authority of India Limited pipeline fire tragedy in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh that has claimed 16 lives.
Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea have communicated to the telecom department that they will not pay AGR dues of Rs 88,624 crore, the deadline for which ended on Thursday, and will wait for the outcome of modification petition listed for hearing before the Supreme Court next week, according to official sources. Reliance Jio on Thursday paid Rs 195 crore to the telecom department to clear all adjusted gross revenue dues accounted till January 31, 2020, according to an official source.
Moody's Investors Service on Wednesday raised the rating outlook for 18 Indian corporates and banks, including Reliance Industries, Infosys, SBI and Axis Bank, to 'stable' from 'negative'. This follows the upgrade by the US-based rating agency in India's sovereign rating outlook to 'stable' from 'negative' on Tuesday. The agency had affirmed the sovereign rating at 'Baa3'.
State-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and a joint venture of billionaire Gautam Adani's gas arm and Total of France -- Adani Total Gas Ltd -- have bid for maximum number of licenses to retail CNG to automobiles and piped cooking gas to households in the latest city gas bidding round.
The proposed Rs 7,000-crore (Rs 70-billion) petrochemical complex of Gas Authority of India at Kochi has been shelved for the time being due to technical issues, according to Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Murli Deora.
The dreary, cold months from December to February may prove to be the undoing of many a nation as they grapple with sky-high fuel prices - a result of the Ukraine conflict and the pandemic. Many - Europe, South Korea, Japan, and China - will still pull through on the strength of their wealth or because of strong storage infrastructure. But India will have its back to the wall. Signs of liquefied natural gas (LNG) rates hitting new records this winter are already evident.
Cummins India will soon start producing fuel-agnostic engine systems at the Tata-Cummins plant in Phaltan in Satara district of Maharashtra, senior officials at Cummins India said. The firm will start limited production by the end of 2023 and mass production will likely begin by 2024, the officials said.
After a turnaround in performance by Indian equity markets since July that has seen the S&P BSE Sensex and the Nifty50 wipe out the year-to-date losses, analysts suggest investors start nibbling into stocks that are focused on the domestic economy. While they say intermittent corrections, led by policies of global central banks and other economic data, cannot be ruled out, analysts expect India's relative outperformance among global equity markets to continue as it looks better placed with a healthy economic recovery, and remains one of the fastest growing major economies. In this backdrop, Neeraj Chadawar, head of quantitative equity strategy at Axis Securities, believes that amid global slowdown, aggressive tightening by the central banks, and preference for domestic interests first (by the local government), export-oriented themes are likely to be muted or will deliver conservative returns in the near-term.
The Centre has received Rs 6,651 crore as interim dividend from 12 public sector undertakings (PSUs) on Monday, edging towards its Rs 50,028 crore dividend target for the ongoing fiscal. Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL) has transferred Rs 2,506 crore as a dividend tranche to the government, while NMDC and Nuclear Power Corporation of India transferred interim dividend of Rs 1,605 crore and Rs 972 crore, respectively. The government has received dividend tranches of Rs 913 crore from GAIL, Rs 351 crore from Hindustan Aeronautics, Rs 149 crore from Bharat Electronics, among others, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey tweeted.
ONGC was the top gainer which surged over 4% followed by Axis, SBI, CIL
Named "HomoSEP", ten units are planned to be deployed across Tamil Nadu and the researchers are in touch with sanitation workers to identify the locations, officials said.
'I would not suggest buying these stocks in the dip, as the upside in profit is dented without a safety net for a rainy day.'
Adorned with over 3,000 LED lights, Dubai's only multicoloured fountain, designed with colour and brightness controls, will be open to the public all year round.
There is money to buy the central public sector enterprises, but buyers will need a firm assurance that the disvestment programme will keep environment issues front and centre of their corporate plans.
Ajit Mishra, vice president, Research, Religare Broking, answers your queries.
Prices of natural gas, which is used to generate electricity, make fertiliser and is converted into CNG to run automobiles, is likely to rise to record levels at the rate review scheduled this week, sources said. The government-dictated price for natural gas produced in the country is to be revised on October 1. After factoring in the spike in energy prices witnessed in recent months, the rate paid for gas produced from old fields such as of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is likely to rise to $9 per million British thermal units from current $6.1.
Gas Authority of India Ltd, which signed a memorandum of understanding with the state government recently, will spend Rs 2,000 crore (Rs 20 billion) this year to lay the pipeline, a senior company official said.
The Indian cricketers are making most of a rare vacation on an overseas tour.
State-run Gas Authority of India Ltd on Monday said the government's decision to raise natural gas prices by 12 per cent would not affect its profitability.
The biggest jump in earnings and decline in P/E multiples has occurred with top companies in metals and mining, corporate banking, and the oil and gas sectors.
Draft prospectus for the upcoming mega public offers in public sector oil companies -- Gas Authority of India and Oil and Natural Gas Corp -- are expected to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Board of India
To push ahead with the divestment of Oil and Natural Gas Corp and Gas Authority of India Ltd, the government is likely to appoint as many as five advisors for the public offer of shares of the two companies.
Gas Authority of India Ltd, the country's largest gas distributor, and Turkey's Botas Petroleum Pipeline Corp, will sign a pact to jointly build cross-country pipelines and gas retailing projects, India's junior oil minister said.\n\n\n\n
American sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson, expected to be one of the biggest draws at the Tokyo Olympics, will miss the 100 metres at the Games after accepting a one-month ban for testing positive for cannabis during her US trials victory in June.
Ajit Mishra answers reader queries on the stock market.
India's crude oil import bill is set to exceed $100 billion in the current fiscal year ending March 31, almost double its spending last year, as international oil prices trade at seven-year highs. India spent $94.3 billion in the first 10 months (April-January) of the ongoing financial year that started April 1, 2021, according to data from the oil ministry's Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell (PPAC). It spent $11.6 billion in January alone when oil prices had started to surge.
The board of directors of Indian Oil Corporation on Wednesday decided to sell up to 50 per cent and 20 per cent of its take in Gas Authority of India Ltd
The plant has been shut since 2013 for want of domestic gas supplies.
Gas Authority of India on Monday said it is planning to invest up to $500 million over the next three to five years for gas exploration and liquefaction facilities in Australia.
The Centre had earlier urged the top court that up to 20 years be given to telecom companies for the payment of dues in staggered manner.
He recalled that the state was home to Vaishali, said to be the oldest republic in the world.
Ajit Mishra, vice president, Research, Religare Broking, answers your queries.
Within two days, the business school had 108 recruiters making 370 domestic and international offers, including 23 new final recruiters with an average salary of Rs 25.08 lakh.
The government on Wednesday ruled out privatisation of Indian Oil, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation and Gas Authority of India Ltd and assured all security concerns would be taken care of while divesting public sector oil
