Bharti Airtel promoter Bharti Telecom will buy a 3.33 per cent Airtel stake from Singtel for 2.25 billion Singapore dollars or about Rs 12,895 crore in 90 days' time, the telecom operator said on Thursday. Bharti Group chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal's family and Singtel are co-investors in Bharti Telecom (BTL). Singtel in a statement said that after the transaction, Singtel Group is expected to own an effective stake of 29.7 per cent in Bharti Airtel, which is estimated to be worth SGD 22 billion (about Rs 1.26 lakh crore).
The seasonally adjusted IHS Markit India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) was at 54.9 in February, up from 54.0 in January, signalling a stronger improvement in the sector's health. The February PMI data pointed to an improvement in overall operating conditions for the eighth straight month. In PMI parlance, a print above 50 means expansion, while a score below 50 denotes contraction.
State Bank of India (SBI) on Tuesday announced the launch of its first "state-of-the-art" dedicated branch for start-ups in the country here, to facilitate and support them. The branch launched by SBI chairman Dinesh Khara is located in Koramangala, which alongside neighbouring HSR Layout and Indiranagar are the biggest start-up hubs in the city. "...overall we are in a position to provide end-to-end services to start-ups, with that in mind this particular start-up branch is the first start-up branch we are starting, from the capital city of start-ups- Bengaluru.
India's manufacturing sector growth steadied in May, with new orders and production increasing at similar rates to those registered in the previous month, while demand showed signs of resilience and improved further in spite of another uptick in selling prices, a monthly survey said on Wednesday. The seasonally adjusted S&P Global India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) stood at 54.6 in May, little changed from 54.7 in April, pointing to a sustained recovery across the sector. The May PMI data pointed to an improvement in overall operating conditions for the eleventh straight month.
The Adani stock price saga will pass into public memory as one of those matters that simply escaped being nailed down, perhaps because too many vested interests were involved, notes Debashis Basu.
ITC has been one of the best performing large-cap stock at the bourses thus far in calendar year 2022 (CY22), rallying nearly 52 per cent during this period and outperforming the sector benchmark - the S&P BSE FMCG index - by a wide margin that moved up around 17 per cent during this period. However, the counter has lost over 5 per cent from its recent high of Rs 346.25 hit on September 23, 2022 and has underperformed the S&P BSE Sensex, which has lost nearly 2 per cent since then. So, is the rally in the stock coming to an end, and is this a good time to book profit?
Here's a recap of moments captured in India in the last week.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered the removal of reference to the Sikkimese-Nepalese as "people of foreign origin" from its January 13 verdict on tax exemption in Sikkim, following a plea by the Centre and others for modification.
SBI will auction two non-performing accounts (NPAs) next month to recover dues of over Rs 313 crore, according to a notice by the lender. The two accounts to be put up for e-auction on August 6 are Bhadreshwar Vidyut Pvt Ltd (BVPL) with a loan outstanding of Rs 262.73 crore and GOL Offshore Ltd with Rs 50.75 crore dues. "In terms of the bank's policy on sale on financial assets, in line with the regulatory guidelines, we place these accounts for sale to ARCs/banks/NBFCs/FIs, on the terms and conditions indicated there against," SBI said in the notice. The reserve price for the auction of Bhadreshwar Vidyut is set at Rs 100.12 crore and for GOL Offshore at Rs 51 crore.
'UCC should be across India and legally applicable to every Indian citizen.'
ITC Ltd on Friday reported a 23.09 per cent increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 5,070.09 crore for the third quarter ended December 2022, helped by growth momentum across its operating segments. The diversified company had posted a net profit of Rs 4,118.80 crore during the October-December quarter of the previous fiscal, ITC said in a regulatory filing. Its revenue from operations was up 3.56 per cent to Rs 19,020.65 crore during the quarter under review, as against Rs 18,365.80 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.
Days after completing a $6.5 billion acquisition of Ambuja Cements and ACC, billionaire Gautam Adani said his group has planned to double cement manufacturing capacity and become the most profitable manufacturer in the country. He saw a multifold rise in cement demand in India on the back of record-breaking economic growth and the government's infrastructure creation push, which will give significant margin expansion. In a speech made at an event to mark the completion of the acquisition on September 17, the Adani Group founder and chairman said the ports-to-energy conglomerate has in a single stroke become the second largest cement manufacturer in the country.
Bangladesh put in a disciplined performance in the field to restrict New Zealand to 145-8 in a World Twenty20 Super 10 stage match at the Eden Gardens on Saturday.
The cooking oil national industry body -- Solvent Extractors' Association (SEA) of India has suggested immediate initiation of government to government (G2G) dialogue with Indonesia on the proposed palm oil export ban from April 28 by them as it would have an adverse repercussions in India. Indonesia, which is the world's largest producer of palm oil and meets nearly 50 per cent of the total palm oil requirement in India annually, had announced to ban exports till further notice apparently to contain edible oil prices in their domestic market. "We have suggested our government initiate dialogue with Indonesian counterparts at the highest diplomatic level on the cooking oil export ban.
The country's largest lender State Bank of India on Monday said it has reduced interest rates on home loans by up to 10 basis points (bps) and is offering loans starting from 6.70 per cent rate. The new rates are based on loan amount and CIBIL score of the borrower, and are available till March 31, 2021, according to a statement. The bank said the home loan interest rates will start from 6.70 per cent for loans up to Rs 75 lakh and 6.75 per cent for loans in the range of Rs 75 lakh-Rs 5 crore.
How are you celebrating Holi? Share your pix and tell us.
Improving economic sentiment, enabling policies and growth in key emerging sectors may help attract 30 per cent more private equity funds at $6 billion in the realty sector next year compared to 2020, says a report. PE investments into the realty space is expected to dropped to $4.6 billion in 2020 due to decline in the overall economic activity hit by the pandemic-driven lockdowns, according to a report by global property consultancy Savills India. The next wave of investments will be driven by warehousing, affordable housing and data centres apart from commercial office which will continue to see steady improvement, says the report.
Even as raw material prices start cooling off from their peaks, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies' margins are expected to remain under pressure at least in the next quarter. This is because commodity prices continue to remain high year-on-year (YoY). Consumer companies will also continue to increase rates as they have been taking price hikes in a staggered manner. They have not yet passed the entire price increase of raw materials to consumers.
India's manufacturing sector activities moderated in December but output remained in the growth territory, amid slower rise in sales and new orders, even as business sentiment was dampened by concerns surrounding supply-chain disruptions, COVID-19 and inflationary pressures, a monthly survey said on Monday. The seasonally adjusted IHS Markit India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) eased to 55.5 in December, from November's ten-month high of 57.6. The December data pointed to a "substantial, albeit slower, rises in sales and output", the survey said, adding that the latest quarterly reading was at 56.3, its highest since the final quarter of fiscal year 2020/21.
From a location perspective, the last quarter saw Kolkata and Gurgaon as top regions for employment in these sectors and among roles, sales and office services stood out.
ITC's first foreign venture in the hotel space - a premium and luxury mixed-use development - has been "adversely impacted" by Sri Lanka's economic crisis, the firm said. The $300-million project under WelcomHotels Lanka (Private) Limited (WLPL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of ITC, comprises a luxury hotel and a super-premium residential apartment complex on 5.86 acres of prime sea-facing land in Colombo. In its latest annual report for financial year 2021-22 (FY22), ITC mentioned that the project's construction was running on schedule till the third quarter (Q3) of FY19, but was adversely impacted due to disruptions in the aftermath of the terror incidents in 2019 and thereafter by recurrent waves of the Covid-19 pandemic.
People in different parts of the country have already started celebrating the festival of colours.
Major edible oil companies, including Adani Wilmar and Ruchi Soya, have reduced the maximum retail price (MRP) of their products by 10-15 per cent to provide relief to consumers, industry body SEA said on Monday. The prices have been reduced by Adani Wilmar (on Fortune brands), Ruchi Soya (Mahakosh, Sunrich, Ruchi Gold and Nutrella brands), Emami (Healthy & Tasty brands), Bunge (Dalda, Gagan, Chambal brands) and Gemini (Freedom sunflower oil brands), it said. OFCO (Nutrilive brands), Frigorifico Allana (Sunny brands), Gokul Agro (Vitalife, Mahek and Zaika brands) and others have also reduced prices, it added.
He may try to keep it as natural as he can but there's no doubt that he's stolen a piece of everyone's heart, and some of these pictures are proof of that.
Food in India has fled the confines of the kitchen and become a national adventure... Food shows, now even on news channels, have transformed restaurateurs from humble khansamas to courted celebrities.
"People are being beaten up if they do not say 'Jai Shri Ram' and 'Vande Mataram.' These incidents are not going to stop. Only Muslims and Dalits are being targeted. There are organisations behind such incidents and all of them are linked to the Sangh Parivar," he said while speaking to media persons.
A revamped Air India under the Tata Group will be a real challenge while new airline Akasa Air will be a far less competitive force for the next two-three years, IndiGo CEO Ronojoy Dutta said on Wednesday. Akasa Air, which is backed by former IndiGo president Aditya Ghosh, ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala and former Jet Airways CEO Vinay Dube, got the no-objection certificate (NOC) from the Ministry of Civil Aviation on Monday.
Since, the administrative functioning majorly happens at Club House, adjacent blocks (B, C, D, K and L) would not be used for it, allowing the association to use them for conducting its activities for its administrative works.
RBI in its policy review last month kept interest rates unchanged and said it sees an upside risk to inflation.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Thursday that at least 72 people have died due to Cyclone Amphan and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit the affected districts and provide help to 'rebuild those areas from scratch'
Are you ready to play a World T20 quiz? Get started. You have six seconds to answer each question, and you can score as much runs as the time you take to answer.
As Unlock 4.0 commenced on Tuesday, most of the states further eased the coronavirus-induced restrictions on the movement of people and functioning of commercial establishments like bars and hotels with mandatory COVID-19 precautions. After remaining closed for more than five months, bars and restaurants opened in states like Goa, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The Centre had allowed reopening of bars under the Unlock 4 guidelines.
The farmers' agitation against new agri laws will lead to economic loss of over Rs 70,000 crore in the December quarter owing to supply chain disruptions, particularly in Punjab, Haryana and border areas of Delhi, the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry said on Thursday. The chamber's president Sanjay Aggarwal said "the 36 days farm agitation so far will have more than Rs 70,000 crore economic loss in the Q3 FY 2020-21 due to...disruption in supply chains and day-to-day economic activities particularly in the progressive states of Punjab and Haryana and border areas of national capital Delhi."
Diesel price on Friday was hiked by 20 paise per litre - the first increase in rates in over two months - as international oil prices neared their highest since 2018. Price of diesel was hiked to Rs 88.82 per litre in Delhi and to Rs 96.41 in Mumbai, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers. Petrol price was not changed. It costs Rs 101.19 a litre in Delhi and Rs 107.26 in Mumbai.
The country's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) will revamp its banking application (app) YONO and position it as a complete digital bank (DB) under a new rubric 'Only YONO' for enhancing customer experience and ease of use. The bank plans to bring in a consultant to help draw up the project plan, keeping in mind business goals for the next five years. With 54 million monthly active users (MAUs), SBI YONO has seen growth of over 35 per cent in MAUs in 2021.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on March 17 had announced that State Bank of India (SBI) would extend a term loan of $1 billion to Sri Lanka, fully guaranteed by the Indian government, and this was part of India's financial aid to the troubled island nation. Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi was quoted saying by news agency PTI that the loan would be used for importing food, medicines, and other essential items. "India has always stood with the people of Sri Lanka and we will continue to extend all possible support at this juncture.
India registered 2,68,833 new Covid infections in a day taking the tally to 3,68,50,962, which includes 6,041 Omicron variant cases, according to the Union health ministry data on Saturday.
The output of eight core sectors declined by 4.6 per cent in February, the steepest contraction in the last six months which experts said could drag the overall industrial production in the month into the negative territory. All the key segments, including coal, crude oil, natural gas, and refinery products, witnessed a decline in production, according to the official data released on Wednesday. The growth rate of the eight infrastructure sectors -- coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity -- stood at 6.4 per cent in February 2020. Last time in August 2020, the sectors had recorded a negative growth of 6.9 per cent.
'The roadmap ahead seems very difficult especially in the rural areas where there is very poor infrastructure, vaccine reach and hesitancy.' 'These are a deadly cocktail for the next wave.'
The active cases now comprise 2.35 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has improved to 96.36 per cent, the data updated at 8 am showed