Expressing concern over high debt exposure of many companies in India, global rating agency Standard & Poor's on Tuesday warned India Inc that high oil prices can trigger inflationary pressures, trim corporate profits and slow down industrial activit
The Ficci Survey for the second quarter of 2008-09, which was carried out during November and December 2008, revealed 52 per cent of companies feel that the overall economic conditions would weaken further in the coming six months. Further nearly 90 per cent of the 412 companies surveyed in the report feel that the economic situation has deteriorated over the last six months.
Talking corporate heads are a barometer of the business community's engagement with the economy. If they have nothing to say now there should be cause for concern.
India Inc has raised a whopping Rs 237.3 billion (Rs 23,730 crore) through initial share sales in April-January, which is nearly 10 times than that mobilised during the corresponding period last fiscal.
The private security industry expects to grow manifold in the next five years, with India Inc enhancing the protective measures after the Mumbai attacks.
India Inc is staring at significantly higher compliance and governance costs, following the Securities and Exchange Board of India's (Sebi's) latest tightening of disclosure norms and regulations around the filling of key positions, the materiality of information, and third-party transfers. Recently, the securities market regulator amended the Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements (LODR) to introduce a raft of changes that will affect how listed companies go about transparency and disclosures. The new framework will further empower public shareholders and soon move towards a 'comply or be penalised regime or comply or explain' in the case of high-value debt-listed entities.
While margins contracted by 30 basis points on y-o-y basis, they fell a sharper 120 basis points on a sequential basis to 16.8 per cent. Profitability was impacted adversely due to subdued demand, tepid realisations in commodity sectors, and negative operating leverage.
Even as India Inc talks of increasing corporate governance norms after the Satyam scam, a study by global consultancy firm Ernst & Young has said that more than half of the companies surveyed do not take into account risk of frauds in their annual audit plans.
India Inc's deal making saw a sharp decline in 2009 with just $24 billion worth of mergers and acquisitions and private equity deals taking place, but 2010 is likely to be a year of "opportunity," according to a report by a consultancy firm.
A total of 635 companies have declared their third-quarter results and reported 22 per cent rise in revenue and 47.3 per cent growth in net profit on an average.
An unstable government is the worst thing that can happen to the Indian economy grappling with the global downturn, say business leaders.
Major Indian automobile companies like Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto and Mahindra & Mahindra seem to have put up a robust performance in Q3 FY 10, paying advance tax of Rs 100 crore (Rs 1 billion), Rs 320 crore (Rs 3.2 billion) and Rs 195 crore (Rs 1.95 billion), respectively.
The first such interaction would be in Mumbai on Monday.
Sonia Gandhi's publicly-aired concern over the acquisition of fertile farmland for special economic zones has evoked a prompt response from corporate India, which does not want to delay showing its farmer-friendly face.
Corporate India has raised over 8 billion dollars through syndicated loans by way of 33 deals in the first half of this year led by Reliance Industries, which alone mopped up a whopping 2.7 billion dollars.
The manufacturing sector (excluding petroleum sector) would report a 24.3 per cent PAT growth mainly on account of low raw material prices and soft interest rates, CMIE said, adding PAT of the financial and non-financial services would rise by 32.2 per cent and 20.4 per cent, respectively.
M&As are back on the radar for Indian companies, but with two vital changes. First, the average size of the deals are much smaller compared to the earlier years; and second, overseas acquisitions have taken a backseat.
One of the Rajus, chairman of non-banking finance company Nagarjuna Finance, K S Raju, was arrested for defaulting on repayments of public deposits worth around Rs 100 crore (Rs 1 billion).
Industry believes economy could grow well but worries about hampering by lack of infrastructure.
RBI has cut the rates thrice so far in 2015 by 25 bps each.
Leading political rallies or taking charge in boardrooms, the next-gen woman is taking it all in her stride.
As the world celebrated International Day of Persons with Disabilities (PwD) on December 3, corporate India has kept up with efforts to make workplaces more inclusive and accessible. Organisations across sectors are taking initiatives such as equipping offices with practical work tools like Braille-friendly and voice-enabled lifts and screen readers. While inclusion has gained pace, only 11.3 per cent (or 3.4 million out of 30 million) Indians with disabilities have jobs.
Net profit of FMCG, IT and pharma firms was up 33 per cent in the third quarter, accounting for nearly half of India Inc's profits ex-financials and oil.
Japan is expected to increase its investment target in India from the earlier 5 trillion yen ($34 billion) to almost 10 trillion yen.
The study revealed that 83 per cent of Indian business leaders believe to have fair to good understanding on the issue of climate change. However, just under half of these respondents stated they have a clear strategy in place to respond to these issues. There is a significant gap between good intentions and action as only 21 per cent have measured their current carbon footprint, which is one of the first steps in defining a strategy to deal with the issue, the study noted.
In the first half of 2008, Indian companies accounted for a total of 34 US-bound acquisitions worth over $5.1 billion, US-based Virtus Global Partners said in its latest report on US bound acquisition by Indian companies. However, the volume of deals dropped 15 per cent to 34, from 40 in the H1 of 2007. Over 70 per cent of the transactions involved acquisition of 100 per cent stock for cash consideration.
Nine of 10 bankers who attended the meeting admitted their sanctioned loan pipeline was shrinking fast due to tepid demand.
The net profit of 82 firms up 20.2%, but topline growth slows to 14.7% on muted show by manufacturing firms.
'We need to encourage the next generation of farmers to continue in farming'
A slowdown in the global economy and the rupee appreciation are expected to hit India Inc's job recruitment plans as the country's employment outlook dipped by six points to 74 points in the April-June 2008 quarter. The business outlook dropped by 9 per cent to 70 points, according to staffing agency TeamLease Services' quarterly Employment Outlook Report.
Ahead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to the US, India Inc. has revealed it has high expectations from the tour, which it also felt would firm up strategic ties between the two nations.
Finance Minister P Chidambaram announced the Union Budget 2013-14 in Parliament on Thursday.
Corporate India has put together a whopping $20 billion (Rs 90,000 crore) so far this year to fund its merger and acquisition bills abroad, surpassing all previous full year totals.
The World Economic Forum is preparing for the biggest annual event in its calendar, and Corporate India Inc plans to build on its India Everywhere campaign.
Ambani vs Ambani, Tata vs Birla, Ambani vs Mittal, the fights came in all permutations and combinations, making 2007 arguably the most happening as well as a tumultuous period for the Indian industry that stamped its authority overseas with about 250 acquisitions worth over $32 billion.
With the exception of infra, IT & ITes - the employment outlook seems flat across sectors.
India Inc will find the cost of fighting a legal battle going up if a suggestion by a Parliamentary Standing Committee to impose higher court fee for the corporate sector is accepted.
