The Centre has set a steep divestment target of Rs 80,000 crore for 2018-19. In the first six months, it has managed to mop up less than Rs 10,000 crore.
After the hit of the pandemic, India Inc is now worried about the adverse impact of inflation and higher commodity prices on their revenues and margins. The inflation scare is the strongest among manufacturers of consumer goods such as automobiles, consumer durables, and fast-moving capital goods (FMCG). Companies across sectors fear they will not be able to pass on the hike in input costs to their consumers due to weak demand, which, in turn, would lead to a hit on margins and profitability in the forthcoming quarters.
A strong start-up ecosystem can propel investment, jobs, and demand creation, and for that, substantial growth capital is required.
Experts say a combination of improving asset quality and NBFCs' weak balance-sheets bodes well for both corporate and retail banks.
Retail sales of passenger vehicles - the largest component of the pie - jumped 11 per cent year-on-year in October to 248,036 units, largely because of discounts offered during Navratri and Diwali.
Jhunjhunwala increases stake in DHFL, luggage maker VIP Industries and pharma major Lupin but is cautious on auto holding. At the end of the March quarter, Jhunjhunwala held positions in 29 firms.
The Reserve Bank of India's latest order prohibiting Bajaj Finance from sanctioning and disbursing loans under its 'eCOM' and 'Insta EMI Card' products may not have serious implications on the non-banking finance company's profitability, provided the ban is lifted within six to eight weeks, analysts said. "In a surprise move, the RBI has asked Bajaj Finance to stop sanction and disbursal under two of its digital lending products. "While the move is negative, the speed of correction will be key to reinstate products," global brokerage Jefferies said in a report.
The mutual fund (MF) industry has seen a fair number of new entrants in the last 10 years but none of them have proved to be much of a challenge for the larger players. The list of top 20 fund houses, which manage over 90 per cent of the industry's total assets, continues to be dominated by players who have been in the business for more than a decade. Bajaj Finserv MF may change that, say experts.
It may be a 'no-go' for banking licences to large industrial houses.
'The focus needs to shift towards the ability to collect payments, particularly in tier-3 to tier-4 areas where acceptance is still lacking.'
Varsham carries the stamp of Ranjith Sankar which is enhanced by Mammootty's presence.
His portfolio was worth Rs 12,333 crore at the end of June 2018. It was worth Rs 10,633 crore at the end of the September quarter. Smallcaps account for the largest number of his stock-picks. Such a fall has now happened for the third quarter in a row.
Tamal Bandyopadhyay, columnist and author of several books like From Lehman to Demonetisation: A Decade of Disruptions and Sahara: The Untold Story, tells Rediff.com why Yes Bank depositors should not panic and the current crisis at India's fifth largest private lender does not pose any systemic risk.
The prime minister's sop is expected to give a massive boost to priority-sector housing loans, thereby pulling the entire housing loan portfolio of banks.
'I suggest a cut in the GST rates and an infusion of Rs 1.2 trillion into the economy in six months.'
India's top listed companies reported their best-ever quarterly net profit of Rs 2.39 trillion in the September quarter of FY22, up 46.4 per cent year-on-year. The earnings were driven by a big surge in the profitability of banks, non-banking financial companies & insurance (BFSI), oil & gas, and metal & mining firms. The combined net profit of these three cyclical sectors were up 87 per cent YoY to a record high of Rs 1.53 trillion, up from Rs 82,000 crore a year ago and Rs 1.08 trillion in Q1FY22.
Banks will also consider requests from MSMEs for restructuring their stressed standard assets. So far, only 25 per cent of the around 1 million eligible MSMEs have taken benefit of the RBI's special dispensation.
The disruptions caused by COVID-19 have more severely impacted small and mid-sized corporates, including NBFCs and MFIs, in terms of access to liquidity.
Former RBI governors Urjit Patel and Raghuram Rajan have also expressed worry about the Mudra scheme, particularly government's target-setting practice and the rising bad loans.
Between March 2022 and September 2023, HDFC Bank added 56,310 employees.
Why can't we have a sunset clause for the ARCs, which is a global norm? questions Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
The MSME sector, which is employment-intensive, accounts for 45 per cent of the country's manufacturing, 40 per cent of exports and nearly 8 per cent of gross domestic product.
This is a good opportunity for long-term investors to pick quality small and midcap stocks at reasonable valuations.
Which is the best home loan? Advice from financial guru Harsh Roongta.
Auto-debit payment bounces have gone up for the second consecutive month in May, emphasising the stress building up due to a halt in economic activities as authorities lock down various parts of the country to stop the spread of the virus in the second wave. According to the National Automated Clearing House (NACH) data, in May, of the 85.7 million transactions initiated, 35.91 per cent, or 30.8 million transactions, failed.
This comes at a time when competition has increased significantly.
The RBI governor's assurance should give investors enough confidence to start believing in the NBFC sector again, say bankers.
RBI's licensing norms require a bank to bring down promoter holding to 40 % within 3 years of operation - which, for Bandhan Bank, will be by Aug 23
Discussion paper fixes Rs 1,000 cr as minimum capital for these specialised banks
From FY18, Ind-AS will be mandatory for all listed entities, barring those listed on the SME platform.
'We expect the bull-market phase to still persist, but now led by large-caps which offer better valuation and benefit from FII inflows.'
'We expect continued pressure on midcaps, but any sharp correction looks unlikely from here on.'
Further stimulus measures are expected in the upcoming Budget where the focus is likely to be on reforms, including some structural measures such as reducing red tape and boosting foreign direct investment. The meeting with industrialists is in the series of discussions that Modi has had during the last couple of weeks to seek suggestions to revive growth.
Gadkari said, infrastructure sector including highways, airports, inland waterways, railways, logistic parks, broad gauge and metro, apart from MSMEs can attract large scale foreign investment.
New norms are in place to strengthen regulations for this set of lenders which has been playing a critical role in Asia's third largest economy, notes Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh on Monday said harmonisation of rules between banks and non-banks which reduces the regulatory arbitrage was one of the key factors which influenced the decision for merger between the largest home financier and HDFC Bank. Parekh, who said the merger discussions have happened over the last three weeks, noted that requirements like non performing asset recognition being at par and size-based regulations for non-bank finance companies are among the changes in landscape. Addressing a press conference after the surprise announcement earlier in the day, Parekh said the last three years have seen harmonisation in the regulations which reduce the "regulatory arbitrage" of running a separate home finance company.
'If businesses are focused on de-leveraging, they can hardly be investing. This is the price extracted by investment mistakes during UPA rule, and should have been foreseen. 'But Modi-I must share the blame, for muted reform of the financial sector, partisan policy in telecom, the harm done to exports by an over-priced rupee, and so on,' says T N Ninan.
If you are running a sweetmeat shop, will you manage a dairy for milk supply or buy milk from the market? Banks are running a dairy (which has its cost for processing milk), while NBFCs are buying milk from the market, observes Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
'One of the ways to do that is to ensure that NBFCs have got liquidity.' 'If we don't do that, this mood of gloom will continue.' NBFCs need to be provided with liquidity if they have to start lending.
In one of these clips or voice notes, he is heard stating that his company could not come out of the financial crisis it was facing because of the procedure adopted by the financial services firm.
