Quick service restaurant Pizza Hut on Wednesday said it has partnered with Hindustan Unilever to add the FMCG firm's Kwality Wall's ice cream and desserts to its dine-in as well as the delivery and takeaway menu. With this partnership, Pizza Hut expects to increase its average order value by 10 per cent for orders that have Kwality Wall's ice cream and desserts, a joint statement said.
Salt-to-software conglomerate Tata group was among "multiple" entities who on Monday put in preliminary bids for buying the government's stake in loss-making carrier Air India.
Record equity divestment by the Reliance Group in its telecom and retail businesses garnering around $23 billion revved up the deal street in 2020, which otherwise would have gone down as one of the dullest on record, and dealmakers are seeing sunnier days in 2021 given the large scope for consolidation in a slew of sectors ravaged by the pandemic. With Jio Platforms alone garnering over $16 billion (Rs 1,18,318 crore) by selling 25.24 per cent stake and Reliance Retail notching up $6.4 billion (Rs 47,265 crore) by divesting around 9 per cent shareholding, the deal street signed off with $85 billion in the deal kitty across 1,270 transactions. This is higher by about 10 per cent over 2019. What is significant is that over a third of the total deal value came from Reliance transactions, say investment bankers.
The group companies now lead the market capitalisation league table in sectors such as ports, power generation, gas distribution and transmission, and power transmission and distribution, ahead of incumbents in both public and private sector. This has Gautam Adani family the second wealthiest in business in India.
E-commerce giant Amazon on Thursday announced a $250 million (about Rs 1,873 crore) fund that will focus on digitising small and medium businesses, and driving innovation in the areas of agri-tech and health-tech in India. "Small and medium sized businesses are often the engine and the lifeblood of economies and I think it's true in India as well. "And we are very passionate about trying to enable acceleration of SMBs in fuelling innovation and the economy in India," Amazon Web Services CEO Andrew Jassy said.
In continuation of the recent trend, another edtech major has issued pink slips to hundreds of employees. Bengaluru-based Byju's - valued at $22 billion - has laid off about 500 employees at its group companies -WhiteHat Jr and Toppr. It's a move to drive cost efficiency, according to the company. The number of layoffs, cutting across various department functions, may increase, sources said.
Home-grown companies, including electronics manufacturing services (EMS) firm Dixon Technologies and mobile device maker Lava International, have started exploratory talks with Chinese sub-assemblies and component players for setting up joint ventures (JVs) in the country. Sources in the industry say many domestic companies have also had preliminary discussions with original design manufacturers (ODMs) in China to look at a JV model for manufacturing smartphones. Key ODM players in mobile devices in China include Longcheer, Huaqin, and Wingtech, which has already set up a plant in Tirupati.
Brokerage Edelweiss Securities said if the NDA returns to power with a clear majority in line with exit polls, markets would rejoice the policy continuity.
Meta Platforms Inc, the parent company of WhatsApp, will partner with Reliance JioMart for a service where WhatsApp users can buy groceries on the messaging platform from the Indian retail firm. Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive officer (CEO) of Meta Platforms, said in a Facebook post, "[I am] Excited to launch our partnership with JioMart in India. "This is our first-ever end-to-end shopping experience on WhatsApp--people can now buy groceries from JioMart right in a chat." "Business messaging is an area with real momentum and chat-based experiences like this will be the go-to way people and businesses communicate in the years to come," he said in an announcement coinciding with the annual general Meeting (AGM) of Reliance Industries the parent company of JioMart.
'If they harp on it again, they will begin to lose votes.' 'They have not lost this time, but they will lose next time.' 'Your committed votes will never be enough to guarantee victory for you.'
A look at the financials of some of the key companies in the Sasikala clan's business empire.
The company is planning to invest Rs 1,100 crore in the new mobile phone manufacturing facility.
The fact that the responses from the community to Mohan Bhagwat's remarks have ranged from guarded optimism to outright disbelief tells its own story, points out Kanika Dutta.
Paytm's pre-IPO investors, which include likes of Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathway, SoftBank and Alibaba, do not seem to be in a hurry to exit India's leading digital payments brand as they continue to believe in its long-term prospect, analysts said. On Tuesday, 86 per cent of Paytm's shares became free to trade after the end of the lock-in period, allowing investors to sell shares that haven't yet been allowed onto the market. Market participants have been speculating on Paytm, post-expiry of lock-in for pre-IPO investors.
After India banned 59 Chinese apps last month, at least three more China-based video apps - Snack Video, Likee Lite, and Zili - have now made it to the list of top 10 downloaded apps in India on Google Playstore.
It was women who unambiguously bore the brunt of the lockdown joblessness, says Kanika Datta.
Fresh capital raised by companies by way of initial public offerings (IPOs) is set to hit a 14-year high, thanks mainly to Zomato's maiden offering. India Inc has raised about Rs 19,300 crore in fresh capital by maiden offerings, including the Rs 9,000 crore the food delivery company will raise this week, so far in 2021. The best year in terms of fresh fund-raise was 2007, when companies had raised Rs 32,102 crore. With Paytm planning to issue fresh shares worth Rs 12,000 crore, the domestic market looks set to surpass that tally this year.
From 5G to Tesla to Covid vaccine, 10 things will shape India's future.
The tax portal problem is a goof-up by both sides, and making Infosys the only villain in the story is quite unfair, argues Shyamal Majumdar.
Murty, daughter of Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy, held 3.89 crore shares, or 0.93 per cent, of Infosys at the end of September, according to company filings with the stock exchanges.
Sony Pictures Networks India Pvt Ltd (SPNI) and Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) on Wednesday said they have signed definitive agreements for their merger following conclusion of an exclusive negotiation period during which both parties conducted mutual due diligence. In a joint statement, the two companies said they have "signed definitive agreements to merge ZEEL with and into SPNI and combine their linear networks, digital assets, production operations and program libraries". The agreements follow the conclusion of an exclusive negotiation period during which ZEEL and SPNI conducted mutual due diligence, it added.
E-governance roll-out needs better infrastructure, privacy protection.
Flipkart Group on Monday said it has raised $3.6 billion (about Rs 26,805.6 crore) in funding led by GIC, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments), SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Walmart, valuing the e-commerce giant at $37.6 billion. The company, which competes with Amazon, Reliance Industries' JioMart and others in the burgeoning Indian e-commerce market, said it will continue to make deeper investments across people, technology, supply chain and infrastructure to address the requirements of a rapidly growing consumer base in the country. The current funding round has also seen participation from sovereign funds DisruptAD, Qatar Investment Authority, Khazanah Nasional Berhad as well as marquee investors Tencent, Willoughby Capital, Antara Capital, Franklin Templeton and Tiger Global.
'At this moment, investors should look for relative value within sectors and clear visibility (third-wave-or-not) on earnings delivery.'
The ban in India would hit Chinese internet companies that were making headway in the world's fastest-growing mobile market.
Massive restrictions on legal immigration - including restricting immigrants who contribute to medicine, science, and research in the United States, and who are working to develop treatments for coronavirus and other deadly diseases - will not only hinder efforts to save lives, but prevent job creation and hurt American economy as the country struggles to recover.
Only six sectors are likely to report good set of numbers in Q4 FY15.
'Waiting for a market correction and optimising entry time in the markets will be akin to missing the woods for the trees.'
The study claims that from its peak of 18 per cent of gross domestic product in 2008, the crony capitalists' wealth is now down to three per cent
Bullish on economic growth, majority of finance executives in India are planning to increase hiring in 2010, says a study.
Work is underway in identifying global companies in sectors ranging from electronics, auto components and medical equipment to shift part of their existing or incremental manufacturing to India.
'Unless India Inc's earnings offer promise in March 2017 quarter, sentiment may not reverse in a hurry.'
For Indian CEOs, the US, China and the UK are important markets.
The issue also underscores the growing scrutiny by investors and voting advisory firms of the performance of board members.
Experts believe there are more such decisions in the offing, which along with a recovery in economic growth and India Inc.
'Re-evaluate your career goals and be ready to embrace challenges. ' 'Work thoroughly on your resume by highlighting the key skills and major areas of work.' 'Check and apply for jobs posted by employers regularly.' 'Stay positive.'
The level of optimism about business environment among chief financial officers in the country declined in April-June.
India Inc enables the US' frostiness to India.