Citibank on Wednesday joined the list of foreign banks that have exited retail banking business in India. Mumbai-based Axis Bank completed acquisition of Citigroup's consumer business for Rs 11,603 crore. Under the deal, Axis acquired consumer banking businesses of Citibank India, which includes credit cards, retail banking, wealth management and consumer loans.
These include Goldman Sachs, HSBC, UBS, Deutsche Bank, Barclays, RBS, Citigroup and JP Morgan and they have said in their respective regulatory filings that they are cooperating with the relevant authorities in the investigations.
So which sectors are likely to do well in 2022? Should you focus on domestic economy-related sectors or export-oriented ones?
Bharti may look at gaining market share pre-merger and benefit from a lower capex intensity
India is likely to see over 100 mature, large-scale profitable or on the path to profitability startups in the next five years, of which 80 have the potential to go for public listing, market research and consultancy firm Redseer said on Tuesday. Redseer Strategy Consultants, in a report on IPOs, said 20 of the mature startups have gone public so far. "India may see over 100 matured, large-scale profitable/path-to-profitability start-ups in the next five years.
It, however, remains to be seen how much money Softbank actually puts in, what the implied equity valuation is and if the e-commerce venture is included in the Jio entity.
HDFC Bank Q4 review: HDFC Bank's January-March quarter (Q4) results, for financial year 2022-23 (FY23), brought no cheer to investors as elevated costs, and merger-related uncertainties continue to dent the sentiment. Moreover, analysts fear that merger-related costs may put pressure on margins and cost to income ratio in the near-term, while the return on equity could moderate owing to low leverage of the parent. Analysts, therefore, opine that the stock's re-rating may be some time away. "While the risk of a de-rating on a standalone basis appears to be quite low given that the business performance is holding up well, we believe a re-rating in the stock would happen as and when more clarity emerges on the smooth transition (merger)," said a report by Sharekhan.
Contract does not provide for retrospective penalty for 'such' acts
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One of the reasons is the increasing number of upgrades in analysts' recommendations.
Citi Bank on Wednesday joined the list of foreign banks that have exited the retail banking business in India as the US-based banking giant announced selling its consumer banking portfolio to Axis Bank for an estimated Rs 12,325 crore. Global banking majors such as ANZ Grindlays, RBS, Commonwealth Bank of Australia have scaled down their operations in India. In a mega-deal announcement on Wednesday, Axis Bank and Citibank said their boards have approved acquisition of Citibank's consumer businesses in India by Axis Bank.
'Experts are not ruling out further pain as global factors cannot insulate India from the aftermath.'
Indian frontline benchmarks - the S&P BSE Sensex and the Nifty50 - have rallied around 12 per cent each since June-end and outperformed their global peers by a wide margin. On Thursday, the US Fed hiked interest rates by another 75 basis points (bps) - the third such hike this year - and surprised the markets by projecting further sizable hikes in the coming months. With the latest hike, the Fed fund rate (FFR) now stands in the range of 3 - 3.25 per cent and is highest since January 2008.
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Bank has cited trend of global easing and weak growth
New series points to a sharp recovery since FY14.
Signs of a strong pickup in hiring by companies are adding to the rosier outlook for Indian households.
Indian start-ups breathed a sigh of relief after the UK government facilitated the acquisition of the now-defunct Silicon Valley Bank's (SVB's) British arm by HSBC. In a bid to allay fears, the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FIDC) announced recently that it had transferred all deposits of start-up-focused SVB to a newly created bridge bank and all depositors would have access to their money. President Joe Biden also sought to reassure jittery depositors that they can have confidence that the US banking system is "safe".
Notwithstanding expectations of a pick-up in construction activity during a seasonally strong January-March quarter (fourth quarter) of 2022-23 (FY23), analysts are cautiously optimistic about the building material sector - encompassing paints, pipes, wood panels, tiles, metals, and cement - as volatile input costs, coupled with fears of a global slowdown, are making demand projections uncertain. Against this backdrop, analysts suggest investors stay selective and pick stocks of companies with stronger brand recall, expanding distribution network, diversified product profile, healthier balance sheet, and sustainable cash flow. "The government's various proposals under Budget 2023-24 (FY24) may lead to the building material segment growing between 8 per cent and 12 per cent for the next five years.
The muted CPI inflation print at 5% earlier this week, followed by a similar WPI number released Wednesday, seems to have spurred India's central bank into action, is how the economists are reading into Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan's 25 basis point cut in repo rate.
Good performances by most information technology (IT) companies in the September quarter and improved forecasts notwithstanding, with the exception of Infosys, stocks of IT biggies such as TCS, Wipro and HCL Technologies have fallen three to nine per cent since Infosys announced its earnings on October 11.
Foreign banks set the template in consumer banking in its infancy, but have almost vacated this booming space.
India's manufacturing expanded at a faster pace than China
People are interested in the strength of India's economy, the country's stability, and the opportunities, says Stuart Tait, regional head of commercial banking, Asia-Pacific at HSBC.
Indian parents are willing to make tremendous sacrifices when it comes to educating their children.
Analystsare showing optimism in Sensex EPS growth after double digit growth in the second quarter of current year.
The HSBC global research team has compared average annual fees and annual cost of living in 13 major study abroad destinations.
Exports of high-tech products will grow more quickly than exports of other goods over the next 15 years as emerging Asia moves away from being a low-cost production hub for foreign brands and toward developing value-added local products, according to research from HSBC.
Sixteen merchant banks are in the fray to act as book running lead managers (BRLM) for the initial public offering of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC). These merchant banks will have to make a presentation before the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) on August 24-25. The shortlisted banks are BNP Paribas, Citigroup Global Markets India, BofA Securities, Goldman Sachs (India) Securities, HSBC Securities and Capital Markets(India), J.P. Morgan India, Nomura Financial Advisory and Securities (India), Axis Capital, DAM Capital Advisors, HDFC Bank, ICICI Securities, IIFL Securities, JM Financial, Kotak Mahindra Capital, SBI Capital Market, and Yes Securities India.
The pace of economic growth in emerging markets continued to revive from the stagnation seen earlier in the year.
History would indicate that a recession is not that far off.
Reliance Industries Ltd, the nation's most valuable company, on Thursday said it has raised $4 billion (around Rs 30,000 crore) in debt through the largest ever foreign currency bond issuance by an Indian entity. The oil-to-telecom conglomerate plans to use the proceeds of the three tranche issues to retire existing borrowings. The issue was "nearly 3 times oversubscribed with a peak order book aggregating around $11.5 billion," the company said in a statement. This is the largest ever foreign currency bond transaction in India, eclipsing ONGC Videsh Ltd's $2.2 billion US dollar bonds issue of 2014.
Will 2022 be a year of contrasting narratives -- one filled with caution and the other with continued optimism?
The MF Industry had a cash-rich 2014 as it crossed the Rs 3 trillion mark.
The Budget loosened the reins on public spending to drive growth.
'With technology advancing rapidly, the need for branches is declining.'
Although growth picked up slightly across the world's main emerging markets on an average, rates of expansion remain subdued
Competitive price will face stiff challenge from incumbents such as DD Free Dish
Experts say foreign investor sentiment was bolstered by the US Federal Reserve's decision to go slow with interest rate hikes and hopes of political stability.
India's manufacturing sector witnessed a slowdown in July - the weakest growth rate since November - because of moderation in domestic and export orders amid sagging global economy, an HSBC survey said.
The value of the index, adjusted from its all-time high for the relative loss in the rupee's value, is close to sub-10,000 levels.
