Tata Power's Q2FY25 reported results were above consensus despite challenges like low plant availability at Mundra and Odisha discom operations affected by rain. A positive development for the power major included module manufacturing hitting nearly 100 per cent capacity utilisation. The Board has approved an investment proposal for a 1GW pumped storage project (PSP).
The Indian office real estate market, which had recovered significantly in early 2022, began to slow down in the latter half due to macroeconomic problems in the developed world. Rental yields are likely to be stable at best in FY24.
Adani Ports, NTPC, Infosys, Hindustan Unilever, HCL Technologies and Sun Pharma were among the other big gainers. However, Larsen & Toubro, Bajaj Finance, State Bank of India, Axis Bank and HDFC Bank were amonh the major laggards.
The best solution would be the one followed in 2018 -- allow cost indexation until March 31, 2024 -- but exit at any time. The second-best alternative would be to allow time until March 31, 2025 for investors to exit their investments under the old indexation regime, points out Harsh Roongta.
'I am optimistic about the Budget because of the fiscal discipline the government has committed to.'
The proposed reorganisation plan by Reliance Industries Ltd to transfer its refining, marketing and petrochemical (oil-to-chemicals) businesses to a wholly-owned subsidiary is a step towards facilitating participation by strategic investors in the unit, Fitch Ratings said on Tuesday. The reorganisation of the business in Reliance O2C Limited (O2C) "will have a neutral impact on RIL's credit metrics and rating," it said in a statement. The transfer will be on a "slump sale basis", subject to attaining the requisite approvals.
While the minimum holding period for LTCG taxation has now been lowered, the tax outgo could be a bit higher under the new structure.
The Uttar Pradesh government is ramping up the inventory of an industrial land bank of an estimated 1,500 acres in the state ahead of the global investors' summit early next year. The state aims to garner private investments of Rs 10 trillion at the January 2023 event. The state government will showcase a proverbial 'ready to allot' menu of industrial land to woo domestic and global corporations.
A December 28 board meeting of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) may tighten norms for initial public offerings (IPOs). The board may look to prescribe a minimum 5 per cent gap in IPO price bands, extend the lock-in period for anchor investors to 90 days and cap the amount a majority investor can sell through offer for sale. The regulator is looking at whether there can be a preferred allocation for anchor investors who opt for a longer lock-in period, said a person familiar with the matter.
The opposition on Sunday asked the Centre to allow discussions in the Parliament on the United States prosecutors' bribery charges against the Adani Group even as Union minister Kiren Rijiju made it clear that the matters to be taken up in the two Houses will be decided by their authorised committees with the consent of the respective Chair.
How does the Union Budget 2024-25 impact taxpayers, investors and traders?
State Bank of India (SBI) on Saturday reported an almost flat standalone net profit at Rs 17,035 crore for the first quarter of the current financial year. The country's biggest lender had posted a net profit of Rs 16,884 crore in the April-June quarter of 2023-24. The bank's total income increased to Rs 122,688 crore in the first quarter against Rs 108,039 crore a year ago, SBI said in a regulatory filing.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has proposed stricter eligibility criteria for adding and retaining stocks in the futures and options (F&O) segment, which accounts for the bulk of the trading volumes. The proposal-which comes six years after the securities regulator last revised the stock selection framework---is much awaited by the market players as the derivatives stock list has largely remained stagnant for the last two years.
Investors should view the increase in the LTCG tax rate in conjunction with the increase in capital gains exemption from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.25 lakh, which will provide some relief.
A sharp rise can be attributed to the significant changes in India's share buyback tax regime, which will come into effect from October 1, 2024.
In the case of double-income couples, not more than 40 per cent of the net income of one partner should be the EMI for the property.
India's economy is likely to grow by 6.5 per cent in the current and the next financial year, an EY report said, attributing lower than anticipated expansion in the September quarter to fall in private consumption expenditure and gross fixed capital formation. Real GDP growth eased to a seven-quarter low of 5.4 per cent in July-September -- the second quarter of the current 2024-25 fiscal year.
'We are confident that over the next few years the government will strike a fine balance between populist measures and growth, and manage coalition partners well.'
Three leading domestic voting advisory firms are not on the same page over the proposed demerger and separate listing of ITC's hotel business, ITC Hotels. Institutional Investor Advisory Services (IiAS) has recommended a vote "against" the resolution, while InGovern and Stakeholders Empowerment Services (SES) have advised their clients to vote in favour. Voting on the resolution is currently underway.
The National Stock Exchange (NSE) of India is going to indefinitely defer the internal deadline set for extending trading hours, according to sources in the know. The exchange aimed to introduce a three-hour evening session exclusively for index derivatives by March 2024, contingent upon regulatory clearance from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). Sources indicate that the market regulator has not provided a favourable indication, dimming optimism surrounding the proposal.
'Policy-sensitive sectors will wait and watch, but policy-agnostic areas will continue based on normal consumption demand.'
'The adjustments (of tax slabs and standard deduction) will reduce the tax burden for salaried individuals with an income of around Rs 20 lakh by approximately Rs 18,000.' 'For non-salaried individuals with the same income level, the savings will be around Rs 10,000.'
Ask rediffGURU and tax expert Mihir Tanna your income tax-related questions.
The deal with Nokia will be signed in San Francisco on Friday morning in the presence of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, who is on a 17-day trip to the US to attract fresh investments.
Expressing commitment to augment the country's infrastructure, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday proposed to significantly enhance capital expenditure to Rs 5.54 lakh crore in the next fiscal, besides creating institutional structures and giving a big thrust to monetizing assets to achieve the goals of the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP). Sitharaman said NIP, that was launched in December 2019 with 6,835 projects, has now been expanded to 7,400 projects and around 217 projects worth Rs 1.10 lakh crore under some key infrastructure ministries have been completed. "For 2021-22, I propose a sharp increase in capital expenditure and thus have provided Rs 5.54 lakh crores which is 34.5% more than the BE of 2020-21," the finance minister said.
Billionaire banker Uday Kotak founded bank as well as brokerage created and oversaw an offshore fund used by an unnamed investor to profit from a plunge in Adani shares that followed a damning Hindenburg report, the US short seller said on Tuesday. Hindenburg Research, which had in a January 2023 report alleged stock market manipulations and accounting fraud at the Adani group, said it has received a show cause notice from the Indian markets regulator Sebi over gains made from betting on the conglomerate's shares.
Edtech major Think and Learn, which operates under Byju's brand name, is learnt to have received a commitment of $300 million from investors for its ongoing rights issue which will close by the end of February, sources aware of the development said. Byju's floated a rights issue in January to raise $200 million at an enterprise valuation in the range of $220-250 million which is a 99 per cent reduction in its peak valuation of $22 billion. Sources also shared that Byju's has offered miffed investors to appoint two independent directors to enhance transparency but only after the rights issue and declaring its financial results for the 2023 fiscal.
The Opposition had promised to scrap the Dharavi redevelopment project if it came to power. With the Mahayuti's massive mandate in the Maharashtra assembly election, that prospect has been laid to rest.
Electric two-wheeler company Ola Electric Mobility will float its initial public offering (IPO) on August 2, and a significant part of the proceeds will be used for capacity expansion of its cell manufacturing plant and revving up R&D. The initial share sale will conclude on August 6, and the bidding for anchor investors will open for a day on August 1, according to the red herring prospectus (RHP).
Regulator Sebi on Friday approved a slew of measures to further improve the ease of doing business for market participants, including providing relaxations to Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) and entities looking to raise funds through initial share sale. The proposals were cleared by the Sebi board during its meeting on Friday.
Investors' wealth has jumped Rs 9,57,201.52 crore in the last three days of rally in equity market as stocks continued to march higher amid the Budget-led euphoria. The 30-share BSE benchmark on Wednesday zoomed 695.76 points or 1.18 per cent to settle at 59,558.33 as the post-Budget rally continued. This is the third day of rally in equities and helped by the optimism, the market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies jumped Rs 9,57,201.52 crore to Rs 2,70,64,905.75 crore in three days.
Hospitality firm OYO is looking to raise $600 million (over Rs 4,380 crore) in debt from the US institutional investors to service its existing loans, sources in know of the matter said on Thursday. The company is raising $600 million in a term loan B (TLB) structure, the sources said. The company is taking the TLB to service its existing loans which are on higher interest rates, they added.
Adani Green Energy Ltd, the renewable energy arm of billionaire Gautam Adani's conglomerate, plans to raise $409 million through US dollar-denominated bonds to repay a debt obligation falling this year. In a regulatory filing, the company said the bond will have a door-to-door tenor of 18 years. The proceeds will be used to redeem the $500 million 6.25 per cent senior secured notes due 2024, it said adding these notes were issued on June 10, 2019.
First things first: For those wondering if they need to reapply, the answer is no.
Sebi's suggestions are good but investors should not become overconfident.
In the Union Budget for Financial Year 2023-24 (FY24), Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had held forth on the need for better governance and investor protection in the banking sector. She had proposed certain amendments to the Reserve Bank of India Act (RBI Act), 1934; the Banking Regulation Act (BR Act), 1949; and the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970.
Fraud-hit Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank on Tuesday invited expression of interest (EoI) from potential investors for investment or equity participation in the bank for its reconstruction. Subsequent to commencement of the normal day-to-day operations, it will be open for the investors to convert the bank into a small finance bank by making an application to the RBI, the lender said.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPI) have pulled out $3.5 billion from India's equity markets so far this month. The selling comes on the back of election-induced volatility and the rotation of flows from India to China, where stocks are available at half the valuations. If the selling pressure remains at the current level, this will be the highest FPI pullout since January 2023.
US auto major Ford Motor Co on Friday said it and India's Mahindra & Mahindra have decided to scrap their previously announced automotive joint venture and it will continue its independent operations in India as it is. The two companies determined that they will not complete a previously announced automotive joint venture between their respective companies. The decision follows the passing of the December 31, 2020 'longstop' or expiration date of a definitive agreement the organisations entered into in October 2019, Ford Motor Company said in a statement.
The government has reached out to investors to apprise them about Life Insurance Corporation of India's (LIC's) growth and prospects as it prepares for the country's largest initial public offering (IPO). Preliminary presentations have been made to inform investors on how the organisation is being restructured ahead of the IPO, along with its financials, so that the IPO process can be hastened once its embedded value is derived. "A detailed presentation has been made to investors, giving them details on how LIC is positioned beyond what is known. "This includes how LIC is being restructured ahead of the IPO, and investors are keen to know that," said an official. In the Finance Bill, 2021, the government had proposed a slew of changes to the LIC Act, 1956.
