Saaho Out Now in India in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam

The most expensive Hindi- and Telugu-language film of all time is here. Produced at a budget of Rs. 350 crores (about $51 million), Saaho movie is out now in cinemas across India in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam.

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Bill Gates Netflix Docu-Series Trailer Dives Into Microsoft Co-Founder’s Brain

Netflix has released a trailer for the three-part Bill Gates documentary series that offers a look at the Microsoft co-founder. It comes across as a part-commercial for his charity Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and a part-deep dive into the past that involved being ruthless as a Silicon Valley entrepreneur.

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Waymo Urges US to 'Promptly' Remove Barriers to Self-Driving Cars

Automakers must currently meet nearly 75 auto safety standards for self-driving cars, many of them written under the assumption that a licensed driver is in command of the vehicle using traditional controls.

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Realme X Kernel Source Released, Opening Door for Custom ROM Development

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Honor 20S Specifications, Renders Listed by Online Retailer Ahead of Launch

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Asus ROG Zephyrus G GA502 Gaming Laptop Launched in India at Rs. 99,990

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Nubia Red Magic 3S Launch Confirmed for September 5, Will Be Powered by Snapdragon 855 Plus SoC

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Moto E6 Plus Leaked Renders Tip Dual Rear Cameras, Fingerprint Sensor, Waterdrop Notch

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How Violent Video Games Can Be Good for You

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Stop Sale of 'Deadly' Stuff on Amazon, US Lawmakers to Bezos

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NRAI Says In-Principle Agreement Reached With Swiggy, Zomato on Delivery

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OnePlus 7T Specifications Tipped to Include 3,800mAh Battery, 2K Super AMOLED Display, Triple Rear Cameras

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Brain Waves Detected in Mini-Brains Grown in a Lab

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Garmin Fenix 6, Fenix 6S, Fenix 6X Smartwatches Launched With New PacePro Feature, Solar Charging Support

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Microsoft HoloLens 2 to Hit Shelves in September, Says Executive VP Harry Shum

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Apple Said to Be Poised to Start Online Sales in India After Eased Rules

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Asus ZenFone Max Pro M2, ZenFone Max M2, ZenFone Max Pro M1, Asus 6Z Get August 2019 Security Patch With Latest Update

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Redmi TV 70 With 4K HDR Screen, Quad-Core SoC Launched

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OnePlus 7, OnePlus 7 Pro May Receive Android 10 on September 3, Alongside Google Pixel Devices: Report

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Apple's Data Shows a Deepening Dependence on China as Trump's Tariffs Loom

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Ma vs Musk: Tech Tycoons Spar on Future of AI

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Lenovo Z6 Pro, K10 Note, A6 Note Launching in India on September 5: All You Need to Know

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Gmail Brings One-Swipe Gesture to Switch Accounts on Android

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Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey’s Account Hacked, Offensive and Racist Tweets Posted

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Toughest half of PKL 7 begins with rivalry week

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How the new banks will look post merger

The government’s proposal to merge six public sector banks with their peers will propel Delhi-based Punjab National Bank to become the second largest PSB in India. These mergers follow the Bank of Baorda-Dena-Vijaya amalgamation last year. After these mergers, the total number of PSBs in India will come down to 12 from 27 two years ago.70919414 70919418 70919420 70919424

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We won’t just kick and chase: Igor Stimac

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BFI allows professionals to return to amateur fold

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Novak Djokovic enters US Open last 16

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US Open: Grumpy Nick Kyrgios gets hot under the collar

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As the Formula One returns to action Vettel looks to have his first win of the season and Hamilton looks to retain his dominance

Despite much optimism, Ferrari this season have failed to produce a car capable of taking the fight to dominant rivals Mercedes.

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US Open: Rookie Taylor Townsend lures Simona Halep into her net

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Automakers bank on buyback option to tackle slowdown

Nilanjan Banerjee of New Delhi bought Mahindra’s premium luxury SUV, Alturas, this month. No big deal, except that he will keep the vehicle for three years, or 30,000 km, after which he is assured a buyback at 57% of the original value.“Initially a bit hesitant, this buyback option by Mahindra gave me the confidence to buy a Rs 35 lakh product,” said Banerjee.In Mumbai, Pranav Lalit, who typically changes his car every three years, found a buyback scheme on the Honda CR-V diesel (52% after three years) very attractive.“No hassle and no fear that the car won’t sell after three years. And there is this ease in returning the car to the manufacturer in the buyback scheme,” he said.Most good ideas are born out of desperation, say automakers, many of which have launched buyback options for certain models as they seek to overcome low consumer confidence in the Indian market. The buyback option, which is an industry standard in developed markets, is currently more popular in the luxury segment in India.With job loss concerns outweighing discounts and other rebates, such initiatives may give automakers the push they need as they battle one of the worst slowdowns, which saw passenger vehicle sales fall by 31% in July.In the luxury car industry, it is of paramount importance to be innovative, often working at a disaggregated level to create a package to enhance value for the customer through such financing, maintenance and buyback services, said Rudratej Singh, president of BMW Group India.The buyback is applicable to Alturas G4 in the passenger vehicle segment, said Veejay Nakra, chief of sales & marketing at the automotive division of Mahindra & Mahindra. It helps customers reduce the cost of ownership of premium products and enables them to experience luxury with a guaranteed resale value, Nakra said. 70918956 FOR THE CONSUMER The tenures of buyback options range from one to five years, mileage from 10,000 to 30,000 km and return value from 52 to 60%. At the end of the tenure, customers can upgrade to a new vehicle of their choice within the family, refinance the buyback amount or retain the existing vehicle. Manufacturers say these buyback options enhance value proposition, reinforce trust and provide peace of mind to customers.It also helps in customer retention as the buyer returns the vehicle to the manufacturer, with a greater chance of upgrading to another of its models.The aim is to have a customer for life, and customers are looking for a complete solution towards ownership rather than just buying a car, said Rajesh Goel, director of sales and marketing at Honda Cars India.Millennials have also been bitten by the buyback bug – they are typically averse to owning a car for longer periods and like to upgrade their vehicles at frequent intervals. The buyback will also be a big boon for the usedcar business as it benchmarks prices through a formal mechanism.NEW MODELS ON BUYBACK It’s not just the established companies that are offering this facility but also the new ones. MG Motors assures a buyback value of 60% at the end of three years for Hector, its first car in India.“We are giving one of the industry-best residual values for a new car brand as part of our long-term commitment to customers here in the Indian market,” said Rajeev Chaba, President & MD of MG Motor India. “Once buyback schemes become more popular in the market, we may also see different type of financial packages being offered for different ownership tenures.”The programme is an effort to understand customer needs while providing them with a hassle-free ownership experience, said Zac Hollis, director (sales, service and marketing), at Skoda Auto India.Mercedes-Benz has a key-to-key buyback programme for its GLE, GLS and S-Class cars, ranging from Rs 67 lakh to Rs 1.35 crore. Martin Schwenk, MD of Mercedes-Benz India, said with its scheme, customers don’t have to postpone the purchase while waiting for a new vehicle. They can buy the current model and later upgrade to the new model without paying additional EMI. It entails an assured buyback programme where the customer gets to drive two cars with one down payment and the same EMI for 4.5 years.Toyota in India offers the scheme for all its models. Christened Key4Key, this enables its customers to exchange their existing Toyota vehicles in their U-Trust facility and upgrade to the next Toyota vehicle. The resale value of a vehicle is assessed by the used-car division and a wellmaintained, five-year old Innova can fetch up to 60% of its original value, said N Raja, deputy MD of Toyota Kirloskar Motor.Experts said when a car model has poor resale value compared with the competition, companies offer the option to buy back the vehicle at a prefixed rate. Three years is the optimum time, taking into consideration depreciation, resale value and the tax component. The return on investment is best protected after a period of three years.“It takes away a pain point which may have otherwise deter red the customer from making the purchase,” said VG Ramakrishnan, managing partner at Avanteum Advisors, a consultancy firm.

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New Motera stadium is Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision, says Amit Shah

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Decoding Eric Cantona's 'confusing' speech at UEFA ceremony

Eric Cantona’s ‘confusing’ speech at the UEFA ceremony was singularly clear: loving something in this messy chaos of a world can provide comfort, joy and safety.

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Domestic media welcomes FDI cap for digital news

NEW DELHI: Domestic media entities have welcomed the decision to bring digital news media under the ambit of the FDI policy regime. The Union Cabinet had decided on Wednesday to cap the FDI limit for “uploading/streaming of news and current affairs through digital media” at 26% — the same as for print media.Indian Newspaper Society president Jayant Mammen Mathew said: “It is a right decision for the government to cap FDI in digital media at 26%, which is in line with the FDI (limit) in print. This will ensure Indian news sites have a level playing field with news aggregators and other digital news sites.”Government officials said there had been a vacuum for decades with regard to FDI policy for the sector, which had led to a deluge of news and other content from entities — including news aggregators — without any checks and balances. In this context, they said, digital applications that disseminate news include aggregators that ‘source’ or ‘link’ news articles from multiple sources into a single feed for users. This news content may be in the form of text, video, images, etc, and covers the entire spectrum of news and current affairs — including politics, national security, business and economy, and local city developments.Sensitive SectorFormer secretary in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Ramesh Abhishek said: “The government has provided much-needed clarity on FDI in digital media. This has been rightly kept on par with FDI in print media. This provision is likely to apply to all those who disseminate news through digital media in any form. The policy should cover aggregators of news as well.”Official sources said the FDI policy in the news media space has always been regulated closely, given the sensitivity of the sector. 70918735 Hence, the mushrooming of news aggregators was a source of concern, especially as China has become an aggressive investor in this space with many Chinese-owned or funded entities creating and curating content.In contrast, China bars or tightly controls media and social media entities in all respects, with Facebook and Twitter blocked in mainland China by censors.These companies include Dailyhunt, which has 207 million monthly active users in India. The company is majority-owned (75%-plus) by foreign entities, of which 17% is with Byte-Dance — the largest Chinese news company. Indian promoters hold only about 20% stake in Dailyhunt.ByteDance also owns 100% of Helo, the fastest-growing vernacular news app in India with 50 m1illion monthly active users. Helo aims to hit the 100-million-user mark by 2019-end. ByteDance also wholly owns TikTok, the fastest-growing social network in India.Hence, the largest Chinese news company wholly owns, or has large stakes in, the biggest news, vernacular language news, as well as social networks in India with no controls whatsoever until the recent FDI regulation.There are also a host of other Chinese news aggregators, including UCNews (owned by Alibaba), Opera (whose largest shareholder is Beijing Kunlun Tech Co Ltd) and NewsDog (incubated in China and funded by Tencent).Sources said these aggregators are far bigger than traditional news outlets, and owing to the large financial backing from Chinese investors, have invested aggressively in marketing and growth. A few of these have spent more than Rs 100 crore each per year just on marketing.

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Domestic media welcomes FDI cap for digital news entities

NEW DELHI: Domestic media entities have welcomed the decision to bring digital news media under the ambit of the FDI policy regime. The Union Cabinet had decided on Wednesday to cap the FDI limit for “uploading/streaming of news and current affairs through digital media” at 26% — the same as for print media.Indian Newspaper Society president Jayant Mammen Mathew said: “It is a right decision for the government to cap FDI in digital media at 26%, which is in line with the FDI (limit) in print. This will ensure Indian news sites have a level playing field with news aggregators and other digital news sites.”Government officials said there had been a vacuum for decades with regard to FDI policy for the sector, which had led to a deluge of news and other content from entities — including news aggregators — without any checks and balances. In this context, they said, digital applications that disseminate news include aggregators that ‘source’ or ‘link’ news articles from multiple sources into a single feed for users. This news content may be in the form of text, video, images, etc, and covers the entire spectrum of news and current affairs — including politics, national security, business and economy, and local city developments.Sensitive SectorFormer secretary in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Ramesh Abhishek said: “The government has provided much-needed clarity on FDI in digital media. This has been rightly kept on par with FDI in print media. This provision is likely to apply to all those who disseminate news through digital media in any form. The policy should cover aggregators of news as well.”Official sources said the FDI policy in the news media space has always been regulated closely, given the sensitivity of the sector. 70918735 Hence, the mushrooming of news aggregators was a source of concern, especially as China has become an aggressive investor in this space with many Chinese-owned or funded entities creating and curating content.In contrast, China bars or tightly controls media and social media entities in all respects, with Facebook and Twitter blocked in mainland China by censors.These companies include Dailyhunt, which has 207 million monthly active users in India. The company is majority-owned (75%-plus) by foreign entities, of which 17% is with Byte-Dance — the largest Chinese news company. Indian promoters hold only about 20% stake in Dailyhunt.ByteDance also owns 100% of Helo, the fastest-growing vernacular news app in India with 50 m1illion monthly active users. Helo aims to hit the 100-million-user mark by 2019-end. ByteDance also wholly owns TikTok, the fastest-growing social network in India.Hence, the largest Chinese news company wholly owns, or has large stakes in, the biggest news, vernacular language news, as well as social networks in India with no controls whatsoever until the recent FDI regulation.There are also a host of other Chinese news aggregators, including UCNews (owned by Alibaba), Opera (whose largest shareholder is Beijing Kunlun Tech Co Ltd) and NewsDog (incubated in China and funded by Tencent).Sources said these aggregators are far bigger than traditional news outlets, and owing to the large financial backing from Chinese investors, have invested aggressively in marketing and growth. A few of these have spent more than Rs 100 crore each per year just on marketing.

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Microsoft HoloLens 2 to Hit Shelves in September, Says Executive VP Harry Shum

Microsoft’s Executive VP of Artificial Intelligence & Research at Microsoft, Harry Shum, has revealed that HoleLens 2 will be available in September.

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iStreamItAll, Jetflicks Streaming Service Programmers Accused of Piracy

The programmers behind the services were indicted Tuesday in Alexandria, Virginia.

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The Laundromat Trailer: Meryl Streep, Gary Oldman Lead Cast of Netflix’s Panama Papers Movie

Netflix has released a trailer for The Laundromat, Ocean’s trilogy director Steven Soderbergh’s next movie which follows a widow (Meryl Streep) who investigates an insurance fraud and ends up encountering a pair Panama City law partners (Gary Oldman and Antonio Banderas).

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Joker Director Todd Phillips on Convincing Joaquin Phoenix, Warner Bros. for His Character Study of DC Comics Villain

Joker director Todd Phillips had a tough one year selling his mature take on the iconic DC Comics villain to Warner Bros. It also took him several months to convince Joaquin Phoenix to play the role.

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Tesla Heads Down New Road With Car Insurance in California

Tesla owners in California can now buy insurance from the electric car company in what may be the first step toward the unconventional automaker providing coverage for a fleet of driverless taxis.

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Revolt Motors RV400, RV300 Electric Motorcycles Launched in India: Subscription Price, Specifications Revealed

Revolt RV400, RV300 was launched in India today but they offered as a part of a subscription service that starts at Rs. 2,999.

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2nd Test: Kohli helps India into strong position

Captain Virat Kohli's fighting 76 and opener Mayank Agarwal's half century helped India reach 264 for 5 on Day 1 to take a slight edge over the West Indies in their World Test Championships second match in Kingston, Jamaica on Friday. Hanuma Vihari (42*) and Rishabh Pant (27*) were unbeaten at the crease when umpires called it a day.

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10 PSU banks merged into 4 large entities

The merged entity comprising Punjab National Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce and United Bank of India will become the second largest lender after SBI. The merger of Canara Bank and Syndicate Bank will create the fifth largest lender, with the Union Bank, Andhra Bank and Corporation Bank amalgamation at number six, based on business at the end of March 2019.

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At 5%, GDP growth hits over 6-yr low in Apr-June

The country's GDP growth slowed to an over six-year low of 5% in the April-June quarter, dragged down by manufacturing sector expansion of just 0.6%, sluggish financial services, farm and construction sectors and a slowdown in consumption. “The slowdown in growth is due to endogenous and exogenous factors,” said chief economic adviser Krishnamurthy Subramanian.

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Retail companies loosen purse strings to woo consumers

KOLKATA: India’s retail chains are set to increase their marketing and promotional expenditure for the festive season shopping starting next month in an attempt to revive footfalls and consumer spending after their just concluded end-of-season sales flopped.Apart from discounts, lifestyle and apparel retailers plan to showcase the widest range of new products on their shelves over the next four months, their busiest time in terms of revenue.The festive season starts with Onam in September and goes on through Durga Puja, Dussehra and Diwali in October before concluding around the New Year.Lifestyle, Max, Arrow, US Polo Association, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Sephora and Vijay Sales are increasing their marketing budget by at least 15-20% for the festive season. Others including Spencer’s Retail, Nature’s Basket and Puma are doubling it over last year. Film star Sonam Kapoor has been roped in to endorse the Spencer’s chain and Nature’s Basket.Negative Consumer Sentiment“There will be heightened marketing and advertising this year and the spend will be 15-20% more than what we usually do during the festive season,” said J Suresh, MD of Arvind Lifestyle Brands. “These are difficult times and consumer sentiment has been tilted towards the negative for some time now. So, we need to keep the brand afresh in the minds of consumers.” Arvind Lifestyle Brands runs over 1,300 stores, including brands Arrow, Tommy Hilfiger and Aeropostale.70902501 Lifestyle Retail has earmarked a higher marketing budget for the next four months, managing director Vasanth Kumar said.“The recently concluded end-of-season sale was flat. The next four months we have to drive consumption, which has been largely down this year,” he said.Food and grocery retailer Spencer’s Retail is investing heavily in marketing and advertising to increase visibility in a crowded market and engaging with consumers to get their attention, said managing director Devendra Chawla.“This also allows us to leverage traditional and digital mediums like Instagram to connect with consumers in an omni-present way,” said Chawla.German sports wear retailer Puma India MD Abhishek Ganguly said it is launching the highest number of products this season, about 20% more than usual, to drive footfalls.Shoppers have stayed away from purchases over three quarters due to liquidity issues, weak job market, distress among rural households, a volatile stock market and overall poor sentiment in the economy. There was a spike in sales during Independence Day due to bigger discounts, but the footfalls fell drastically thereafter.Moody’s Investors Service recently lowered India’s GDP growth forecast for the current year to 6.2% from 6.8%. However, consumer sentiment is expected to revive from September due to the festive season, lower interest rates for home loans, which should put more disposable cash in the hands of consumers, and a normal monsoon that will revive rural consumption.ITC executive director B Sumant said while consumption is still slow this quarter, it may revive as the monsoon improves and the government’s recent structural initiatives boost sentiment. Although smartphones and refrigerators have largely bucked the slowdown trend this year, electronic retailers are not taking any chances. Vijay Sales director Nilesh Gupta said the retailer will run promotional campaigns every weekend while handset and electronics companies too may increase their spending.Tata-owned Croma’s chief of marketing and insights Ritesh Ghosal said while there is a slowdown in footfalls, this festive season will see high decibel campaigns from the top brands and attractive customer offerings such as EMIs and buyback offers.

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Automakers go all out to drive sales in festive season

MUMBAI: Vehicle makers are pulling out all the stops in a bid to make the most during the festive season, amid a crippling slowdown in the local market.With buyers dithering to enter the showroom, the companies are literally landing up at their doorstep to make a sales pitch. Most of them have boosted their sales and marketing budgets and are launching special campaigns for the festive months, traditionally the busiest sales season.A leading two-wheeler maker is engaging with the youth by organising events on college campuses, while Hyundai Motor is using the portals of puja pandals as an opportunity to push sales and Maruti Suzuki is approaching prospective customer segments like defence personnel and government employees with special offers. Others are also increasingly using car and bike melas, mall and airport activities, moving billboards and showroom on wheels in search of the buyer.Innovative OffersSuch activities have been used in the past as well, but the intensity has never been so fervent. Gone are the days when you see a scramble in the showrooms, a senior industry executive said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. In these days, one has to engage with the buyers at their homes, schools, colleges, workplaces and shopping complexes, he said, adding: “In short, we have to walk to the customer, instead of them walking to us.”70902402 The automotive industry is going through its worst slowdown in about two decades. India’s car market has shrunk by a quarter and two-wheeler sales declined 14% so far this fiscal year. In a tepid economic environment with the fear of job losses also looming large in several sectors, manufacturers and dealers have been compelled to resort to innovative offers and campaigns, in addition to the discounts that are already at a record high, to bring in buyers.Hyundai Motor has named its festive campaign ‘Celebrathon’, while for Mercedes-Benz, it is a ‘Wish Box’. The local unit of Toyota Motor has launched two financing schemes for buyers in the festival season: ‘Toyota Edge’ and ‘Toyota Smart’. Through the offers, companies are promising better value to prospective buyers, seeking to convert their intent into purchase.Higher marketing spendThey are also spending more. Automakers have increased their sales and marketing budgets for the September-December period by strong double digits, said industry insiders. They estimate it to be Rs 500-700 crore, as the companies have blocked prime time television slots, newspaper space and earmarked huge amounts for below the line activity.Puneet Anand, the group head of marketing at Hyundai Motor India, said the company’s marketing spending this year would be 30-35% higher. Given the tough environment beyond new product launches, one has to look at ways of engaging with people at their doorsteps and in their language, Anand said, adding that the effort put in was much more this time.Hyundai has screened midand high-income housing societies across the country’s top 15 cities and will be doing events in more than 100 such locations.To push its premium bikes, Hero MotoCorp has organised X-Track experiential off-road bike track in major cities.Targeting focused groupsMaruti Suzuki has organised hundreds of on-ground activation events targeting focused groups to generate demand, executive director of sales and marketing Shashank Srivastava told ET. Over the last 45 days, the company has reached out to army men, doctors, government employees, tea estates, fisheries and cotton and groundnut farmers.The companies have also entered into partnerships with lenders to ensure easy availability loans at attractive rates.Maruti Suzuki has requested lenders not to paint all buyers with the same brush and provide up to 100% financing on the on-road price of vehicles if an individual has a good credit rating, Srivastava said.Hyundai has tied up with State Bank of India to give a 10% cashback on the booking amount when the payment is made through the latter’s YONO app. It has a similar tieup with ICICI Bank, too. Hero MotoCorp is offering benefits of up to Rs 8,500 via payments app Paytm on its scooters. Other offers include a low down-payment of Rs 999 and interest rate of 6.99%, when 9-10% is the norm.Attractive vehicle-exchange schemes along with assured buyback options are also being increasingly offered to entice buyers.“With discounts and incentives at an all-time high, this is the best time to buy a car,” said a leading dealer.Automakers have also lined up at least a dozen new car and two-wheeler launches close to the festive season, which starts with Ganesh Chaturthi and Onam in September and concludes with Diwali towards the end of October.

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US Open: Serena gets a look at tennis’s future

17-year-old McNally takes the first set of a second-round match against Williams, who rallies back to win

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In a spin: Who is India’s No. 1 spinner in Tests

Jadeja, Ashwin or Kuldeep ?

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Local electronic makers may get international calls

Global brands may want to consider firms like Dixon Tech, Lava & Jaina for 3rd party contracts.

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Apple has a Rs 1,000 crore retail plan in store

The company plans to set up online selling platform, and open three of its iconic stores in India in 2-3 years.

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OnePlus cautious as government tweaks FDI norms, Oppo and Vivo gung ho about growth opportunities

The government on Wednesday eased foreign direct investment (FDI) rules around Single Brand Retail Trade.

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Apple has a Rs 1,000 crore retail plan in store

NEW DELHI: Apple, the maker of iPhones, has told government officials that it plans to invest close to Rs 1,000 crore in setting up its online selling platform, and opening three of its iconic retail stores across major cities over the next two to three years.“There have been meetings with company executives. The first store is likely to come up in Mumbai followed by Delhi and a third location is yet undecided,” a senior government official familiar with the company’s plans told ET.Apple did not respond to ET’s query on its investment plans.In a statement on Thursday, the company welcomed the government’s move and said that it is working on plans to set up its first company-owned retail store, besides setting up its own online store.“…we look forward to one day welcoming customers to India’s first Apple retail store. It will take us some time to get our plans underway and we’ll have more to announce at a future date,” Apple said. “We love our customers in India and we’re eager to serve them online and in-store with the same experience and care that Apple customers around the world enjoy,” the company added. 70902253 ‘Major Branding Exercise’The government on Wednesday eased foreign direct investment (FDI) rules around Single-Brand Retail Trade (SBRT) by allowing exports and contract manufacturing to be counted in the mandatory 30% local sourcing norm over a period of five years. The government also allowed foreign single brand companies to sell directly via webstores, irrespective of a brick-and-mortar store presence.“The export focus in SBRT is a winwin for all concerned. Apple has ramped up exports within a short period of two years from India. Apple’s exports in future will not just meet but far exceed the 30% local sourcing requirements multiple times…,” said Pankaj Mohindroo, chairman of the Indian Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA) which has Apple and its contract manufacturers Wistron and Foxconn as members in India.ET reported in its August 29 edition that Apple plans to sell directly to Indian consumers first through its own online store – which is easy to execute given its existing global template – while working on opening retail stores, which will involve time and larger investments.People familiar with the matter said that the Apple stores will be a major branding exercise and the company hopes that customer experience within the store will help push sales through its retail and online partners, rather than take business away from them.“These stores are like mini-malls in themselves, where people walk and get an experience of the Apple world, typically spend about half an hour to 45 minutes, then go back to the small retailers or online channels through which they can get some discounts since Apple never really discounts products,” one person said.Vivan Sharan, technology analyst and partner at Koan Advisory, said that unlike some retailers whose investment goes into real estate, Apple does not invest in land.“So, most of its investments will go into operations, stores, logistics, architecture, back offices, call centers, web design, leading to the highest quality of job creation seen in the Indian retail sector yet,” said Sharan.Apple’s India journey though has been bumpy so far, with its market share currently hanging around 1% by volume and 3% by value, due mainly to a lack of demand for its expensive phones in a price-sensitive market flooded with affordable high-spec devices of Chinese players such as Xiaomi and OnePlus. The government has previously rejected proposals to permit reselling of refurbished phones, which would have helped Apple lower price of its devices, and also didn’t agree to sops tailored only for the Cupertino-based company. Later, the company’s application to open company-owned stores under a special category, which could bypass the mandatory local sourcing clause, kept languishing with the government for over three years.But the latest government move will help the company deepen its retail presence, which experts say could help push sales, backed up by its steadily expanding local manufacturing operations. In fact, Apple has already started exporting from India to Europe, which helps it conform to the new local sourcing rules needed to set up its flagship retail stores.“There is talk of many smartphone makers now setting up stores in India but nobody can match an Apple store’s premium,” said Navkender Singh, research director with IDC. “These stores will give Apple complete control over the experience of their customers and take ownership of a customer’s journey”.

from Economic Times https://ift.tt/346ZYwt

Around Rs 32,000 crore of loans may be transferred: DHFL lenders plan to put loans to builders in SPVs

MUMBAI: Lenders to Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Ltd (DHFL) are considering hiving off a chunk of the mortgage firm’s loans outstanding from builders and transferring that to companies created specifically to hold the debt.These special purpose vehicles (SPVs) could also work like pooled entities, such as alternative investment funds (AIFs), said multiple people aware of the discussions over a debt resolution plan for DHFL.Under such an arrangement, DHFL’s lenders will transfer as much as Rs 30,000-32,000 crore of its Rs 42,000 crore wholesale loans outstanding to the SPVs. If they go ahead with this plan, DHFL will become a predominantly retail-focussed shadow bank with a much lighter balance sheet, making it easier for its lenders to rope in a strategic partner.They are currently evaluating the ownership structure of the SPVs, which may even house a project each, and the process by which they will enforce the conditions on the loans given by DHFL, the people said.Development managers are expected to be appointed for each project to complete the work. DHFL’s lenders will get paid from the cash flows of the SPVs, after servicing fees to the development managers and servicing of any additional debt infused in the projects for their completion.The new development managers will infuse fresh funds either through equity or fresh working capital loans, kickstart the stuck real estate projects and generate cash flows through the sale of the inventory to pay back the loans, the people said.Cash Flow BeneficiariesDHFL and SBI didn’t respond to emails until press time Thursday. AIF is a trust like structure where the collection of the debt extended by DHFL to the wholesale book will happen and the lenders will be serviced out of that, the people aware of the discussions said. The SPV or the AIF is expected to be the beneficiary of all future cash flows — the repayment of loans given to the projects. They will distribute the proceeds to the unit holders or the banks. The idea is to create a legally tenable structure that gives the lenders a direct access to the underlying real estate assets and its cash flows.The lenders have been in discussions with business groups with interests in real estate, such as the Adani, Tata, Piramal groups, to come on board as the development managers of the projects and complete those in lieu of a development management fee. The Adani Group is expected to pick up several of the projects, the people said.Emails to the Adani and Tata groups did not generate a response. The Piramal Group called the news speculation, and declined to comment further.Although the lenders are pushing for one manager for each project, there could also be multiple managers roped in, each managing a cluster. According to the people ET spoke to, to facilitate the new asset managers to complete the projects and help servicing the debt obligations, the security or the collateral (land, FSI approvals, etc.) for the underlying assets against which loans are outstanding will be enforced. This will also help ringfence the development manager from any future legal challenges.This step is likely to follow an immediate intervention whereby lenders are looking to take a 51% stake in the company by converting a part of the debt into equity at par and facilitating a change of management.DHFL’s board is scheduled to meet on Friday, where it would consider a proposal for issuance of equity shares and other securities, including by way of preferential issue, against debt as part of a resolution plan.The company had borrowed from banks, mutual funds, insurers and retail depositors to bankroll realty projects which subsequently got stuck. An official said an AIFlike structure would suit the lenders and project managers. “AIF is a trustee structure. The assets move but not the liabilities. They are payable when able. In any other structure like an NBFC, the debt liabilities will also move and the new manger will have to honour these obligations,” said the official. “An AIF manager is not borrowing; he is managing as a trustee. Unit holders will economically benefit.”

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Apple has a Rs 1,000 crore retail plan in store

NEW DELHI: Apple, the maker of iPhones, has told government officials that it plans to invest close to Rs 1,000 crore in setting up its online selling platform, and opening three of its iconic retail stores across major cities over the next two to three years.“There have been meetings with company executives. The first store is likely to come up in Mumbai followed by Delhi and a third location is yet undecided,” a senior government official familiar with the company’s plans told ET.Apple did not respond to ET’s query on its investment plans.In a statement on Thursday, the company welcomed the government’s move and said that it is working on plans to set up its first company-owned retail store, besides setting up its own online store.“…we look forward to one day welcoming customers to India’s first Apple retail store. It will take us some time to get our plans underway and we’ll have more to announce at a future date,” Apple said. “We love our customers in India and we’re eager to serve them online and in-store with the same experience and care that Apple customers around the world enjoy,” the company added. 70902253 ‘Major Branding Exercise’The government on Wednesday eased foreign direct investment (FDI) rules around Single-Brand Retail Trade (SBRT) by allowing exports and contract manufacturing to be counted in the mandatory 30% local sourcing norm over a period of five years. The government also allowed foreign single brand companies to sell directly via webstores, irrespective of a brick-and-mortar store presence.“The export focus in SBRT is a winwin for all concerned. Apple has ramped up exports within a short period of two years from India. Apple’s exports in future will not just meet but far exceed the 30% local sourcing requirements multiple times…,” said Pankaj Mohindroo, chairman of the Indian Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA) which has Apple and its contract manufacturers Wistron and Foxconn as members in India.ET reported in its August 29 edition that Apple plans to sell directly to Indian consumers first through its own online store – which is easy to execute given its existing global template – while working on opening retail stores, which will involve time and larger investments.People familiar with the matter said that the Apple stores will be a major branding exercise and the company hopes that customer experience within the store will help push sales through its retail and online partners, rather than take business away from them.“These stores are like mini-malls in themselves, where people walk and get an experience of the Apple world, typically spend about half an hour to 45 minutes, then go back to the small retailers or online channels through which they can get some discounts since Apple never really discounts products,” one person said.Vivan Sharan, technology analyst and partner at Koan Advisory, said that unlike some retailers whose investment goes into real estate, Apple does not invest in land.“So, most of its investments will go into operations, stores, logistics, architecture, back offices, call centers, web design, leading to the highest quality of job creation seen in the Indian retail sector yet,” said Sharan.Apple’s India journey though has been bumpy so far, with its market share currently hanging around 1% by volume and 3% by value, due mainly to a lack of demand for its expensive phones in a price-sensitive market flooded with affordable high-spec devices of Chinese players such as Xiaomi and OnePlus. The government has previously rejected proposals to permit reselling of refurbished phones, which would have helped Apple lower price of its devices, and also didn’t agree to sops tailored only for the Cupertino-based company. Later, the company’s application to open company-owned stores under a special category, which could bypass the mandatory local sourcing clause, kept languishing with the government for over three years.But the latest government move will help the company deepen its retail presence, which experts say could help push sales, backed up by its steadily expanding local manufacturing operations. In fact, Apple has already started exporting from India to Europe, which helps it conform to the new local sourcing rules needed to set up its flagship retail stores.“There is talk of many smartphone makers now setting up stores in India but nobody can match an Apple store’s premium,” said Navkender Singh, research director with IDC. “These stores will give Apple complete control over the experience of their customers and take ownership of a customer’s journey”.

from Economic Times https://ift.tt/346ZYwt

Home-grown brands to gain under new FDI rules

NEW DELHI: Home-grown brands and private labels such as Fabindia and UrbanLadder will now be able to easily raise foreign funds for their ventures with the government allowing 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) in contract manufacturing. These companies rely on third-party outsourcing and and the move comes as a breather for them.Earlier, contract manufacturing was a debatable issue but the move to cover them under the overarching norms on manufacturing has brought them on a par with manufacturers.“While the fine print will be available in the press note when it comes out, the logical extension of the norms means that the move will benefit such private labels from being single-brand retailers to manufacturers,” said Ajay Bahl, founding partner of law firm AZB & Partners, who advises private equity investors and homegrown brands.India allows up to 100% FDI under the automatic route in singlebrand retail. About 112 brands have obtained government approval for single brand retail trade activities from 2006 till March 29, 2018. The single-brand retail sector has received total FDI equity of $1.6 billion so far.70902154 “With yesterday's (Wednesday’s) announcement, the government has scored a hat trick, which will be good for ‘Make in India’, employ in India, and invest in India,” said Willaim Bissell, vice chairman at Fabindia, adding that the move is a positive for all Indian brands.Ashish Goel, cofounder and CEO of Urban Ladder, termed it a positive move. “We do get a lot of stuff manufactured in India and this can be helpful for us. We are keen to support Indian manufacturing and plan to manufacture furniture ourselves as well,” he said.Akash Gupt, partner at PwC, said the much awaited clarity will help the growth of private labels. “Homegrown brands that rely significantly on third-party manufacturing will be treated akin to manufacturers and hence can raise more foreign capital to grow their retail footprint. Besides foreign investments, more tangible benefits to the country should come by way of increase in manufacturing activity,” he said.While the broadening of FDI norms in single-brand retail will benefit global brands, experts said contract manufacturing will help Indian labels.“This will help create scale for such brands and they would be able to raise funds,” Bahl added.Reviving manufacturing and making the sector internationally competitive have been the twin goals of Make in India, underpinned by a strategy of reducing costs of doing business.

from Economic Times https://ift.tt/2ZI6SJu

New effort to divest loss-laden carrier: Govt planning to get off Air India, bag and baggage

NEW DELHI: The government wants to exit fully from Air India as it embarks on another effort aimed at divesting the loss-laden carrier after a plan to sell a 76% stake last year failed.“I believe the government should not be in the business of running airlines… and believe the government should completely exit Air India,” aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri said. “There are many who are very interested in the airline and the one who gets the airline will be very fortunate.”Air India has debt of about Rs 31,000 crore after the government took over Rs 29,000 crore off its books, thus reducing the airline’s interest burden by Rs 2,400 crore to Rs 1,700 crore annually. However, oil marketing companies last week stopped fuel supplies to the Air India Group at six airports because of dues of about Rs 5,000 crore, mainly affecting operations of the Alliance Air unit. The issue is expected to be resolved soon with the help of equity support from the government.Puri said the so-called alternative mechanism, a panel headed by home minister Amit Shah, will meet soon to finalise the asset-sale plan. “The details are being finalised,” Puri said. “The committee headed by the cabinet secretary will look into it first and then the alternative mechanism will clear it.”Last time around, the government sought to offload a 76% stake and retain the rest to be sold at a premium later, but there were no takers.70902174 The government is more optimistic this time as the grounding of Jet Airways makes Air India a more attractive proposition for any entity seeking to take advantage of demand in the world’s second-most populous nation.‘Improved Performance’“We think it is the right time because the principal competitor of Air India – Jet Airways – has grounded operations, leaving the market mainly for Air India,” said a senior aviation ministry official.India’s biggest carrier by passengers is IndiGo but it doesn’t fly longhaul routes.Puri said there was no question of Air India’s privatisation plan not succeeding.“Once you go down a route and encounter obstacles, there are lessons to be learnt,” he said. “We will analyse (the experience of last time). This time we will succeed. There is interest among buyers. We are getting so many calls from people interested in the national carrier. It would not be right for me to name them but there is a lot of interest.”Air India chairman Ashwani Lohani said that the airline’s operational performance has improved significantly despite challenges.“AI will report a robust operating profit this fiscal,” he said. “In the first four months of this fiscal, our operating loss is down to Rs 170 crore (despite additional expenses of Rs 4 crore daily due to Pakistani airspace closure from February 27 to July 16) as opposed to an operating loss of Rs 802 crore in same period last fiscal.”Big corporate houses such as the Tata Group, which did not bid for Air India last time, are keeping their options open.“Let me put it this way. We are very happy where we are. We’ll see. We don’t want to say or commit on what’s in the future because we don’t know,” Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran told ET in a recent interview. The Tata Group, apart from having founded Air India before it was nationalised, has stakes in Vistara and AirAsia India.Qatar Airways group CEO Akbar Al Baker had said after the Air India divestment failed last year that he would be open to buying the national carrier and that the debt of the airline was not worrisome. But he would not want its units such as ground handling and engineering, which the government plans to sell separately.

from Economic Times https://ift.tt/30IFNDb

Home-grown Fabindias, Urban Ladders to gain under new FDI rules

NEW DELHI: Home-grown brands and private labels such as Fabindia and UrbanLadder will now be able to easily raise foreign funds for their ventures with the government allowing 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) in contract manufacturing. These companies rely on third-party outsourcing and and the move comes as a breather for them.Earlier, contract manufacturing was a debatable issue but the move to cover them under the overarching norms on manufacturing has brought them on a par with manufacturers.“While the fine print will be available in the press note when it comes out, the logical extension of the norms means that the move will benefit such private labels from being single-brand retailers to manufacturers,” said Ajay Bahl, founding partner of law firm AZB & Partners, who advises private equity investors and homegrown brands.India allows up to 100% FDI under the automatic route in singlebrand retail. About 112 brands have obtained government approval for single brand retail trade activities from 2006 till March 29, 2018. The single-brand retail sector has received total FDI equity of $1.6 billion so far.70902154 “With yesterday's (Wednesday’s) announcement, the government has scored a hat trick, which will be good for ‘Make in India’, employ in India, and invest in India,” said Willaim Bissell, vice chairman at Fabindia, adding that the move is a positive for all Indian brands.Ashish Goel, cofounder and CEO of Urban Ladder, termed it a positive move. “We do get a lot of stuff manufactured in India and this can be helpful for us. We are keen to support Indian manufacturing and plan to manufacture furniture ourselves as well,” he said.Akash Gupt, partner at PwC, said the much awaited clarity will help the growth of private labels. “Homegrown brands that rely significantly on third-party manufacturing will be treated akin to manufacturers and hence can raise more foreign capital to grow their retail footprint. Besides foreign investments, more tangible benefits to the country should come by way of increase in manufacturing activity,” he said.While the broadening of FDI norms in single-brand retail will benefit global brands, experts said contract manufacturing will help Indian labels.“This will help create scale for such brands and they would be able to raise funds,” Bahl added.Reviving manufacturing and making the sector internationally competitive have been the twin goals of Make in India, underpinned by a strategy of reducing costs of doing business.

from Economic Times https://ift.tt/2ZI6SJu

US Said to Have Received More Than 130 License Requests to Sell to Huawei

US Commerce Department has received more than 130 applications from companies for licenses to sell US goods to China's Huawei Technologies, three sources said.

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BSNL Prepaid Plans Worth Rs. 96, Rs. 236 With 10GB Daily 4G Data Launched: Report

BSNL has reportedly launched two new STVs – priced at Rs. 96 and Rs. 236. Both these plans offer huge data benefit of 10GB per day of 4G data.

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Joker Trailer: Joaquin Phoenix Turns Into the Famous Clown in ‘80s Gotham

The new Joker trailer is here. Warner Bros. has released an extended look at its next standalone DC Comics movie, which serves as an origin story for Batman's arch-rival, played here by Joaquin Phoenix.

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Mr. Robot Season 4 Release Date, Trailer Unveiled

We have a trailer and release date for Mr. Robot season 4: October 6. USA Network has released a one-minute look at the final season of the Rami Malek-starrer techno thriller series.

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Via La La Land to India: Lionsgate Play Adapts Hollywood’s New Playbook of Exclusivity and Originals

Before American giants Disney+, HBO Max, and NBCUniversal take on India, one Hollywood studio — Lionsgate, via Lionsgate Play — is already here with the new playbook of exclusive digital premieres and original series, albeit with a slightly altered approach.

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The Suicide Squad Casts Thor: Ragnarok Director Taika Waititi: Report

Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi is reportedly in talks to join the cast of The Suicide Squad, writer-director James Gunn’s soft reboot / sequel to the original DC Comics film.

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Netflix Gives Martin Scorsese's The Irishman Brief Theatre Run in the US, the UK

The Irishman will appear in select US theatres for 26 days before its global Netflix release on November 27, the company said.

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Christopher Nolan’s Tenet Casts Yesterday Star Himesh Patel, Ahead of Production in India: Report

Christopher Nolan’s next movie Tenet has reportedly cast Himesh Patel (Yesterday) in an undisclosed role. Patel’s casting comes just as Tenet prepares for its reported India filming schedule in September.

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Ex-Google Engineer Charged in Self-Driving Trade Secrets Case: All You Need to Know

Anthony Levandowski, who worked for Google parent company Alphabet’s Waymo unit, downloaded thousands of files from Waymo servers as he was leaving the company in 2015.

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Qualcomm Targets Wi-Fi Market in Push to Expand Beyond Phones

Qualcomm on Tuesday announced a new range of Wi-Fi chips designed to work with Wi-Fi 6, the newest version of the technology and one that Qualcomm hopes will help boost sales of its separate 5G chips.

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View: New Zealand's Amy Satterthwaite has broken a glass ceiling in women's cricket

Last week when New Zealand’s Satterthwaite became first cricketer to get paid maternity leave, world took a step towards women cricketers having ‘normal’ careers.

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Citi sees bullish break for gold

Gold has powered ahead this year, hitting a six-year high above $1,500 an ounce.

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Gold prices rise on economic, political turmoil

US gold futures were up 0.1 per cent at $1,550.50 an ounce.

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At Aircel, the last calls are hurting the most

MUMBAI: Aircel and its unit have sacked some 1,000 of its 1,229 remaining employees, unable to meet related costs as the resolution professional (RP) Deloitte strives to keep the bankrupt mobile phone company running so that its assets fetch a good price in the ongoing insolvency process."There has not been a regular source of any cash flow from operations, and the funds garnered from recoveries/litigations could only help sustain for a limited timeframe. The companies have now reached a precarious financial position and need to right size the current workforce strength in line with its current situation," the resolution professional said in a letter to all employees earlier this month. The last working day for the sacked employees was August 16. In the letter, the RP assured the exiting staff that salaries for July will be paid and that consulting firm Aon Consulting was working on the exit pay for each of them.Aircel is in the midst of an insolvency process with the RP trying to sell assets to repay banks, who are owed some Rs 20,000 crore.The RP has been running the operations of the bankrupt telco, owned by Malaysia’s Maxis, with around Rs 90 crore that some employee-run groups had helped recover, besides Rs 341.8 crore and Rs 298 crore that Aircel got from Bharti Airtel and the telecom department respectively, related to the deal to sell 4G spectrum to the Sunil Mittal-led operator.70885015 But the funds appear to be running out rapidly. Aon has chaffed the employees on whether they are required for the long term to keep company as a going concern; or if they are required for an interim period in roles like compliances, legal and tax matters, sale of assets; and finally, those whose services are not needed any more. "Aon’s report on manpower planning states that out of 1,229 employees as on 26th April 2019, 246 employees were deployed in 78 unique roles which were identified to maintain the companies as going concern,” the RP said in the letter. Aon then interviewed these employees for the identified critical roles and positions in their corresponding business segments/departments/geographies.“Aon has identified that 170 to 200 employees are required in current situation and that the rest of the employees will have to be let go immediately," said the mail. Aircel, filed for bankruptcy in March 2018, after failing to service debt of Rs 20,000 crore. Deloitte and the lenders have zeroed in on UV Asset Reconstruction Co Ltd to hand over the reins of the company. However, legal battles including a major one over ownership of spectrum with the telecom department have been severe roadblocks.On Wednesday, the RP’s legal representative argued in the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) that the telco had the ‘right of use’ over spectrum, which meant that the airwaves come under the definition of property and can be sold as part of asset monetisation. The airwaves were bought in auctions for Rs 6,249 crore and were currently valued at Rs 6,239 crore. However, a lawyer representing the telecom department said spectrum was a natural resource belonging to the government and public, and one cannot possess it or claim any rights without making necessary due payments.The tribunal will next hear the case on September 19.

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IL&FS can sell 51% in wind units to Japanese investor

MUMBAI: A bankruptcy court has approved the sale of the wind energy assets of IL&FS to Japan’s Orix Corp, one of the original investors in the cash-strapped infrastructure financier. It is the first step in a restructuring process involving sale of assets that have demand externally.On Wednesday, the Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) allowed the governmentappointed board’s plea for the sale of IL&FS’ balance 51% stake in seven wind energy units to Orix. The Japanese company already owns a 49% stake in each of those units.The NCLT division bench was presided over by judicial member VP Singh. The technical member was Rajesh Sharma. “The company should deposit the fund from the asset sale in an interest bearing account until further orders,” said the tribunal. “The amount should not be used for any other purpose.”Last month, NCLAT had approved the proposed sale of IL&FS’ wind power assets. The units are held under IL&FS Wind Energy Ltd (IWEL).Orix had decided to match the offer of the highest bidder, of approximately Rs 4,800 crore for 100% of enterprise value, meaning no haircut to the debt of the SPVs, aggregating to about Rs 3,700 crore, IL&FS said in a statement during the announcement of the sale.70885115 The assets include a controlling stake in the wind power generating plants with an aggregate capacity of 873.5 MW and those under construction with a combined capacity of 104 MW. The company also owns solar power plants, and projects under development of about 300 MW are also up for sale.The sale will lead to the resolution of the following companies of the IL&FS Group - Lalpur Wind Energy Private, Etesian Urja, Khandke Wind Energy Private, Retadi Wind Power, Wind Urja India Private, Tadas Wind Energy Private and Kaze Energy Limited.The subsidiaries are part of the resolution plans for IL&FS Group. Boutique investment banking firm Arpwood Capital and JM Financial are the financial and transaction advisors, while Alvarez & Marsal is the resolution consultant.The IL&FS group submitted a progress report to courts categorising assets into three categories; red, green and amber. IL&FS has been looking to sell stakes in subsidiaries and pare its debt. The company has debt of Rs 91,000 crore.

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Trust deficit, slowdown adding to banking woes: Jaspal Bindra

There is a need to address the increasing trust deficit between lenders and borrowers amid a significant slowdown through policy measures and transparency, said Jaspal Bindra, chairman, Centrum group. In an interview to Saikat Das, he said that while bank recapitalisation, announced last week, will provide a significant impetus to credit growth, the benchmarking of loans to the repo rate augurs well for domestic demand, especially in the housing and auto sectors. Edited excerpts:How do you see the economy today?There is a significant slowdown in the economy. This is largely because the sentiment amongst the stakeholders is weak. Additionally, there is an increasing trust deficit between the banks and borrowers. I think the combined effect of the slowdown and trust deficit is what is making the problem bigger.What should be done to address the issue of trust deficit?There are several factors that need to be taken into consideration. The first area is addressing equity markets. Sebi and the government need to take steps to bolster confidence. On the debt financing side, addressing corporate governance is a challenge. PSU (public sector unit) banks are under constant scrutiny and hence are unwilling to take exposures if there is even a minimal doubt. They find it easier not to lend rather than face repercussions later. Also, mutual funds are in a bit of a dilemma, as they too have suffered hits. Across sectors, confidence will have to be built through policy measures and transparency.How do you view the measures announced by the finance minister last week to improve the situation?Till recently, there was an impression that the government was in denial about a slowdown. The good thing is that now at least both the RBI and the government have clearly acknowledged that a problem exists.They have been meeting with industry CEOs to work out ways to improve the situation. The FM announced several measures to revive growth last Friday. Bank recapitalisation will provide a significant impetus to credit growth.Benchmarking of loans to the repo rate augurs well for domestic demand, especially in the housing and auto sectors. The removal of surcharge on FPIs should bring back the recently pulled out investments.What is your assessment of economic growth?I think there is definitely a slowdown, and there’s no denying that. You see any sector, you will find a slowdown. The more obvious ones being auto, BFSI.... Jobs are bound to be cut as demand has reduced. Companies are unable to maintain existing production capacity, let alone add capacity.In any economy, there will be a problem of readjustment, where a sector may go through a cyclical downturn. The problem now is that many sectors are going through it together.It is not just restricted to consumption. There is no additional investment, with limited available credit. So, it is a concentration effect.Do you see signs of a revival by the end of this financial year?Unfortunately, we are in a stage where the situation is bad. Fortunately, we can only go up from here. How quickly the FM’s latest measures take effect on the ground will be closely watched. We should see some traction on the ground in the next three-six months. By the end of the financial year we should be in a better place.What bold steps can the government take to improve growth?To reinvigorate the growth cycle, we have to improve credit flow in the market. The FM has addressed this point through the bank recapitalisation proposal. Second, labour law reforms have been talked about for a while and will surely help, especially in this volatile environment.Third, India has so much room to accommodate foreign capital. Incentivising foreign capital is strongly needed if the government has to maintain fiscal discipline amid limited domestic capital available for investment.What is your view on the proposed foreign bond sales by the government?Several countries have issued offshore bonds. Since the Indian rupee is not fully convertible, there are some pros and cons. Cost is definitely a pro, because you can raise cheap capital and Indian paper is scarce.The cons are of course that if ever our reserves were to be weaker than they are today, having any dollar liability on the government’s balance sheet puts pressure on the currency and currency management becomes challenging.The real estate sector is under a lot of stress. What would be a cure-all?Commercial real estate is doing better. However, the residential sector, particularly high-value projects, are struggling. The easiest cure is for sales to revive. Slow economic growth and weak sentiment are resulting in a lack of confidence amongst homebuyers.Possibly some combination of structural price correction, lower mortgage rates and better economic prospects will help. Besides, HNIs (high net worth individuals) were traditionally large investors in residential real estate, and are now no longer so. They too need an incentive to return.

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PEs exit Micromax via buyback, valuation crashes 93% in 4 years

Micromax Informatics’ valuation has crashed about 93% in roughly four years from a peak of Rs 21,000 crore in 2015 to less than Rs 1,500 crore now, with major private equity investors including TA Associates and Sandstone Investment exiting the Indian handset maker.PE players are selling 6.9% in the company for Rs 93.65 crore to the promoters, whose holding will increase to more than 85%, Micromax said in its latest regulatory filings with the Registrar of Companies (RoC).The four promoters — Vikas Jain, Rahul Sharma, Sumeet Kumar and Rajesh Agarwal — hold 19.57% each before the buyback and their holding will go up proportionately after the transaction is completed.Once the poster boy of Indian smartphone industry Micromax has now been pushed to the fringes, having failed to counter the onslaught of Chinese rivals such as Xiaomi and Vivo. Its revenue had shrunk to Rs 4,345 crore in 2017-18 from Rs 11,041 crore in 2014-15 while net profit slumped to Rs 103 crore from Rs 3,362 crore during the same period. Financials for FY19 are not yet available.“With the onslaught of Chinese companies, Micromax lost both market share and ability to make profit,” said Mohit Yadav, founder of business intelligence platform Veratech Intelligence that analysed Micromax’s RoC filings for ET. “In this situation, investor seems to think Micromax is unlikely to recover and hence are willing to take a dip in valuation and take a quick exit,” he said.Experts said the current valuation of Micromax will not be more than Rs 1,358 crore, considering the share price for the buyback will not exceed Rs 26.34 per unit.This is a fraction of the valuation in 2010 when Micromax had roped in these private equities by selling equity shares at Rs 2,390.62 per share and preference shares at Rs 2,812.5 per share, as per Veratech Intelligence.Emails sent to Micromax, Sequoia Capital, Sandstone Capital, Madison India Capital and TA Associates did not elicit any response till Wednesday press time. 70885171 The following shareholders are selling their shares in Micromax in the buyback as per RoC filings: Wagner Ltd, an affiliate of TA Associates, which once owned 14.82% but has pared stake in tranches; Madison India Capital HC, which owns 0.39%; Milestone Trusteeship Services Pvt Ltd, in its capacity as a trustee of Madison India Opportunities Trust Fund that owns 2%; Sandstone Investment Partners I fund, holding 2.65%; SCI Growth Investments II, a fund of Sequoia Capital owning 0.65%; and Sequoia Capital India Investment Holdings III that has 250 residual shares.Chinese semiconductor firm Spreadturm Hong Kong Ltd remains invested in the firm with 1.17% stake, as per the filing.Yadav of Veratech said Indian law does not permit sale of shares at a price below the fair market value. “Hence, Micromax’s valuation will be a minimum of Rs 515 crore,” he said. “In 2010, the minimum valuation was anywhere between Rs 1,250 crore to Rs 1,450 crore.”Navkendar Singh, research director at IDC India, virtually ruled out a comeback for Micromax, saying Chinese mobile phone brands are now more experienced and seasoned to work in a diverse market like India.Chinese brands today control more than 75% of the Indian smartphone market as per Counterpoint.Singh said Micromax is trying to stay relevant by partnering with other brands for marketing and distribution tieups, using their manufacturing capacities and capabilities to produce phones for some other brands or markets outside India.Micromax has also diversified into the consumer durables segment while one of its promoters is venturing into electric vehicles.

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From skydiving over the Palm Jumeirah to skiing in a desert: Fun experiences to include in your Dubai bucket list

The XLine Dubai Marina takes thrill seekers all the way from the Amwaj Towers to Dubai Marina Mall.

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For the love of food, art & more: Take a trip to the place that lets you explore your passion

A vineyard trail is the most iconic attraction of the Napa Valley.

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Ask the travel expert: How to draw an itinerary for a 5-day trip to Sikkim?

There is no such SIM card which can be used in every European country.

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Amer Heritage Trail, Spa holidays & hiking: Take a taste of a million local flavours of India

The annual festival of Saputara Monsoon Festival is currently ongoing and shall conclude on September 9, 2019.

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PEs exit Micromax via buyback, valuation crashes 93% in 4 years

PE players are selling 6.9% in the company for Rs 93.65 crore to the promoters, whose holding will increase to more than 85%, Micromax said in its latest regulatory filings.

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IndiGo promoters call it a truce but no recalling plaints

IndiGo’s feuding promoters may have decided to bury the hatchet and agree on common goals for the airline, but the complaints filed with the market regulator and the government remain and will be processed. “The law of the land does not allow the complainant to file a complaint one day and take it back on another day. Issues may have been resolved, but investigations on complaints will continue as they were of corporate governance violations during an earlier period,” said a person familiar with the developments who did not want to be identified.The battle between Rakesh Gangwal and Rahul Bhatia, promoters of India’s largest airline by market share, showed signs of a thaw after Gangwal agreed to a new policy on related party transactions. At the annual general meeting on Tuesday, Bhatia said he had always credited Gangwal for his work. “I will be the first person to say... I have always acknowledged Rakesh’s contribution to the organisation at every public forum,” Bhatia said in reply to a question.People aware of the matter said Gangwal doesn’t have any complaints about corporate governance issues now. “Gangwal’s complaints have been resolved and he is pleased with the outcome,” said a person on condition of anonymity.After the complaint, the promoters negotiated a proposal to increase the size of the board to 10 from six and frame a new policy on related-party transactions, including vetting them at various levels.Gangwal, his family and his family trust together own about 37% of the airline’s equity but they do not control in the airline. Gangwal agreed last week to support the changes and the proposal was cleared at the AGM on Tuesday.

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Testing ground for fintech a game changer or a work in progress? RBI's sandbox move divides industry

MUMBAI: High-street lenders are divided on the central bank’s regulatory sandbox programme, with backers calling the initiative a game changer even as others seek more operational clarity to ensure the experiment helps them keep pace with rapidly changing technology.Private lender Kotak Mahindra Bank said that the sandbox will create a perfect collaboration opportunity with startups to test emerging solutions such as video KYC and alternative data-based lending models. Payments major Visa believes the initiative would accelerate India’s digital economy dream.“The RBI’s Regulatory Sandbox framework is a welcome move that will help accelerate our journey toward a digital economy,” T R Ramachandran, Visa’s group country manager, told ET. “Payment innovations are destined to transform the way we interact, shop and pay and the regulatory sandbox will provide the perfect platform for such payment innovations to be tested in a controlled environment.” Others such as Bank of Baroda are in the process of analysing how the programme would add value to their already operational startup initiatives before they decide on participation.“The RBI is too late (in rolling out the guidelines),” Papia Sengupta, ED, Bank of Baroda, said jokingly, responding to ET’s query at a recent press event. “We have tied up with IIT in setting up an incubation programme where we are collaborating with young startups…We’ll discuss internally and decide whether to participate (in RBI’s sandbox) based on what benefits it’ll provide.”As per the final enabling guidelines placed in public domain on August 13, the sandbox would function in five stages over a period of six months where representatives from the regulators would scrutinise the solutions.“It takes away some amount of uncertainty between ideation and launch for start-ups, banks and regulators to understand risks associated with a new product,” said Deepak Sharma, chief digital officer, Kotak Mahindra Bank.Some players, however, believe that lack of operational clarity may deter both smaller startups and established players from participating in the programme.“One major area of concern is that there is no clarity on the next steps, growth or implementation roadmap once a company tries/ tests and exits the sandbox,” according to Sampad Swain, CEO, Instamojo. “Some of the cohorts may build an extremely successful product, but after exiting the Regulatory Sandbox, might not have the relaxation of regulations to continue the product in the larger picture.”The RBI has also made it clear that any losses incurred by the customers during the time of testing would be borne by the liable participant. These companies have also been mandated to take compulsory insurance cover to apply in the sandbox.“These additional costs would make it harder for fintech start-ups to get approvals from their boards,” said Vikas Kumar, CTO, LoanTap.

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Lenders likely to put bad loans worth Rs 8,000 crore on the block

MUMBAI: About Rs 8,000-crore worth of stressed loans, mainly from the power and manufacturing industries, are likely to be put up for sale by lenders seeking quicker recoveries — both within and outside the dedicated bankruptcy-resolution framework.Lenders including United Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Axis Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, and Karur Vysya Bank are likely to offer loans for sale to distressed funds or asset reconstruction companies (ARCs) in the next few days, three people familiar with the matter said. A large housing finance company will also put up some of its sour loans to builders for sale.United Bank of India has, perhaps, put up the largest chunk on the block. A total of 42 accounts with an outstanding of Rs 2,182.2 crore have been offered. The bank has invited bids from asset reconstruction companies, banks, and financial institutions. Other lenders may be looking at anything between Rs 500 crore and Rs 1,500 crore each.“Banks can put assets for sale but the price they want should match what is offered by funds and ARCs. Banks are looking for cash settlement, but the price they expect is still higher than what funds are offering, which means deals are few and far between,” said P Rudran, former CEO at Arcil.Other loans on sale may include those to Jindal India Thermal Power and KSK Mahanandi. Indian Overseas Bank may offer Vadraj Cement for sale, people associated with the process told ET.Axis Bank declined to comment on the matter. Other banks did not reply to ET’s mailed queries.“Lenders may have to take at least 50% haircut as investors are unlikely to settle for anything less,” said an executive involved in the processes. Tough negotiations are expected, with lenders seeking to get rid of sticky assets.United Bank of India and Bank of Baroda have either called for tenders, or will soon do so.Earlier, too, some state-owned banks, including the State Bank of India, tried to sell bad loans. The banks received very few bids, which were not remunerative.“Some private sector lenders are in one-on-talks with distressed funds as they are negotiating private deals to sell off bad loans,” said another person, adding that retail loans are not being offered.Bankruptcy cases are taking rather long to get resolved. About 34% of the 1,292 cases in the bankruptcy courts up to June 2019 are delayed beyond 270 days, up from 26% a year ago, and 31% in the quarter ended March, ET reported on August 16.

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Bigger bite: Apple to sell directly in India through online first

The US firm has also decided to set up its iconic brick-and-mortar Apple Store in Mumbai over the next 12-18 months.

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Delhi mixes a bitter cocktail, with a slice of time

NEW DELHI: The taxman is set to give city restaurateurs a hangover by setting a shelf life for the liquor they sell.The Delhi government’s Department of Excise, Entertainment & Luxury Tax has directed hotels and restaurants to destroy alcohol lying in the bar for longer than eight days, a decision that restaurateurs slammed as arbitrary. According to a notification dated August 26, the move is meant to prevent pilferage and adulteration.Restaurateurs said this move will result in at least Rs 20 lakh worth of spirits going down the drain every month.“We welcome and understand all efforts of excise aimed at preventing bootlegging and adulteration. However, the current rules suggested will make it very, very difficult for the entire industry while hurting business substantially. These need to be reworked immediately and we are very happy to sit with excise and help as best as we can to put together a plan to prevent bootlegging,” said AD Singh, MD of Olive Bar and Kitchen.70885009 “This is most arbitrary, and we have to destroy half my bar, which currently displays top shelf liquor that doesn’t sell every single day. By this logic, I’ll need to shut shop within a few months,” said a restaurateur on condition of anonymity.The department said that no restaurant can keep alcohol on its bar shelf for longer than three to eight days, depending on the type of spirit and price.Starting August 31, beer, wine, champagnes and alcopop will not be stored for longer than three days and hard liquor will not be kept for more than five to eight days, depending on its price band. Even a bottle of single malt whisky that didn’t sell entirely will need to be poured out within eight days.“After the expiry of the time limit specified, any stock that remains unexhausted shall be deemed to have been consumed and will need to be removed from the bar counter,” the order said.Complaints of Spurious Alcohol“This liquor will then be destroyed within seven days of making the inventory entry,” the order said.The shelf life starts from the time a bottle is issued by the storage unit of the restaurant or bar. Every bar or restaurant that serves liquor has a store on its premises and is required to keep track of alcohol issued to the bar in a logbook or register.The excise department, which controls and regulates the liquor trade, said it had prescribed the time limits after receiving complaints of spurious alcohol. The department said the practice of first-in, first-out and the keeping of liquor bottles at the bar counter for longer than their normal period of consumption can be misused, and bottles can be refilled or adulterated.A top city hotel that typically maintains Rs 2 crore worth of alcohol inventory may opt to reduce the number of brands it stocks to prevent throwing out unsold liquor.“It is easier for a restaurant or hotel to say they don’t stock a particular variety rather than have to waste one that needs to be drained,” said another restaurateur.One person aware of the development said the department had conducted raids across the city and had found adulteration, even in five-star hotels.“The order is both good and bad. It could have been triggered by a recent raid in the basement of a top five-star hotel in the city, which was serving unauthorised alcohol,” the person said.Calls and mails to the Delhi excise department did not elicit a response.The order comes amid a clash between restaurateurs and app aggregators including Zomato, EazyDiner, Dineout and NearBuy over discounts offered to dine-in customers. Claiming that discount-led economics was draining their already thin margins, over 2,000 restaurants logged out of the Zomato Gold programme.

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Bigger bite: Apple to sell directly in India through online first

Apple will start selling iPhones directly to Indian consumers first through its own online store as the government on Wednesday allowed foreign single brand companies to sell directly via webstores, irrespective of a brick-and-mortar store presence, two senior industry executives said. The webstore is likely to come up over the next 3-5 months as it involves duplicating its global online store template for the Indian market, said the executives who are aware of Apple’s plans.The US firm has also decided to set up its iconic brick-and-mortar Apple Store in Mumbai over the next 12-18 months, as the government has also allowed exports and contract manufacturing to be counted in the mandatory 30% local sourcing norm over a period of five years.About 35-40% of iPhone sales in the country come from ecommerce and hence the company wants to latch onto this opportunity, one of the executives said. “Online is also a big sales driver for iPad tablets and MacBook laptops, and contributes over 25% of annual sales in India,” he said.At present, Apple has online sales partnerships with Amazon, Flipkart and Paytm Mall in the country where Apple authorised third-party sales of products.An email sent to Apple India did not elicit any response as of press time.Apple will now be able to meet the local sourcing norms easily since it has started assembling of iPhones in India through contract manufacturing and has plans to expand, one of the executives said. It has also recently started export of iPhones from India, which too will be expanded into more models and markets, the person said.However, setting up the physical Apple Store involves much longer time since these stores are destination outlets that stand out for their architecture and design which even make them tourist attractions, the other executive said. Apple at present runs company-owned Apple Stores in 25 countries where it also operates its web store.Swedish retailers IKEA and H&M said Wednesday’s easing of norms for 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) in single-brand retail will drive investment in India and enhance ease of doing business for single brand retailers. “We see this supporting the ease of doing business in India and driving in larger investments from global companies,” H&M India country manager Janne Einola said. The fashion brand has been sourcing from India for its international markets since the last 30 years, and hence it will now be easier for the company to now meet the 30% local sourcing norms, he said.An IKEA spokesperson said the furniture retailer too has been sourcing from India for more than 30 years. “We are committed to increase local sourcing from India.”EY partner (retail and consumer products) Pinakiranjan Mishra said it would be easy for global brands to set up webstores, as the country has logistics and systems for online delivery in place because of ecommerce expansion. “A new brand wanting to enter India need not wait for years just to open a store,” he said. “The relaxation of sourcing norms will help the existing single brand players in meeting the norms which would have been difficult earlier.”

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Redmi Note 8, Redmi Note 8 Pro, Redmi TV, RedmiBook 14 Refresh Launch Today: How to Watch Livestream, Expected Price, Specifications

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Sacred Games Writer Varun Grover Answers Every Question You Had About Season 2

In a wide-ranging conversation, Sacred Games 2 head writer Varun Grover talked about the rumoured influence of the Rajneesh movement, Guruji cult’s nuclear weapon plot and its connections to Hindu nationalism, the many deaths including Anjali Mathur’s (Radhika Apte) in season 1, getting Anurag Kashyap to parody his own career, and not being abl...

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Best Hindi Movies on Netflix

From Dil Se.. to Andhadhun, this list includes the best Hindi-language movies to watch on Netflix in India.

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Skulls & Roses Trailer: Amazon Prime Video Teases Raghu & Rajiv’s Next Reality Series, Out Friday

Amazon Prime Video has released the trailer for Skulls & Roses, its next Indian original series created and hosted by Raghu Ram and Rajiv Lakshman. The Skulls & Roses trailer gives us a peek at the 16 contestants: eight men and women apiece.

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Dickinson Trailer: Hailee Steinfeld Is Rebellious Poet in Apple TV+ Series

Hailee Steinfeld is a rebel who “doesn’t know how to behave like a proper young lady”, as her mother (Jane Krakowksi) says, in the first teaser trailer for Dickinson, a historical coming-of-age comedy about the titular American poet, Emily Dickinson.

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A year after IL&FS collapse: Debt, destruction and dithering

Ganesh Utsav, Mumbai’s main festival and forerunner of hope for the business community, didn’t bring much cheer to top bosses at India’s biggest infrastructure financier last year. On the eve of the 10-day festival on September 12, the then VC and MD of Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS), Hari Sankaran, was busy in meetings with top investment bankers, including Credit Suisse’s India head Mickey Doshi. The meetings came two weeks after IL&FS reported its first default, and predated the sacking of the board, some members of which would later end up in jail.Unlike in the past, those meetings were not for mandating banks to raise funds, but to sell assets to IL stay afloat. Items on the block included the IL&FS headquarters, a circular building in the heart of Mumbai’s financial district housing corporations such as buyout fund Carlyle. The writing was on the wall. The house was on fire.Even as the default of an unlisted blue-chip company sent shockwaves through the financial markets and threatened to engulf the system, New Delhi sacked the board and named billionaire Uday Kotak to fix the mess. At least, the action calmed the nerves.More of the sameTwelve months later, the picture remains equally cheerless – dislocated financial markets, risk-averse mutual funds, wary investors, a fragile NBFC industry, and an economy where businesses are shuttering in the absence of credit, leading to worker layoffs. And not a penny of the Rs 1 lakh crore of dues has been repaid.“The 1992 securities scam, after two decades, is unresolved and not untangled,” says Nilesh Shah, managing director at Kotak Mutual Fund. “Our success came in Satyam where a practical solution created value for employees, shareholders, lenders and the country.”What IL&FS leaves in the wake of its destruction are weaker banks, mutual funds, pension funds, and many more institutions. It has 348 subsidiaries and associates with operations spread from Spain to China and innumerable offices dotting the globe. Businesses range from sanitation projects to multilane highways to thermal power projects, and solar parks.The sheer complexity of the operations and the lack of legal mechanism coupled with divergent interests pulling on all sides, any resolution of the IL&FS crisis could take years before the last creditor is paid off. After all, it took nearly a decade to settle claims in the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy. “In large cases like IL&FS, banks are expected to go in for faster resolution wherein the promoters have to make sacrifices and banks as well will deal with it appropriately,” RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das told ET in an interview. 70868074 A cobweb of companiesKotak, the dealmaker, started with a bang and a plan. He hired advisors Arpwood led by former DSP Merrill Lynch’s Rajeev Gupta and Nimesh Kampani’s JM Financial to sell off assets. A cash-flow solvency test was carried out to determine the ability to pay back lenders. As many as 157 out of 169 domestic IL&FS entities were categorised under three buckets - Green that could service loans, Amber reasonably sustainable with some financial engineering and Red with little hope. Under Green, the debt was worth Rs 10,472 crore, Amber Rs 16,372 crore, and Red Rs 61,375 crore.Orix of Japan, which is the second largest shareholder in IL&FS, bid to buy the renewable energy assets for a value that would cover the entire debt of Rs 3,800 crore and result in an equity valuation of Rs 500 crore.“IL&FS has certain classes of assets which it has built. One category of assets should be grouped together, and an investor should be found who is interested in aggregate assets,” says Sridhar Ramachandran, chief investment officer at IndiaNivesh Renaissance Fund that buys distressed assets. “Ultimately, the confidence will come with how quickly the group is able to monetise its assets and bring the cash-flow into the system.”While Satyam Computer Services fraud may have been resolved in a record time, the structure of IL&FS and financial dealings make it more complicated. Unlike IL&FS, Satyam did not have market borrowings and a complex corporate structure.As infrastructure threw open opportunities in a country starved of roads, clean drinking water and electricity, it brought in as much procedural complications that became a breeding ground for red tape and corruption.Capital giver and executorWhile at a parent level IL&FS was a lender, it did not stop at that. It began to be a major equity owner in roads, power companies and educational institutions. Much of its debt is equity in operating companies, which would make it difficult to recover as other assets are yet to generate cash. These businesses not only required capital at a project level but had to be ring fenced from other operations. Bureaucracy designed rules in such a way that it led to numerous legal structures for funding that ultimately became a vehicle for corruption.The Enforcement Directorate (ED), the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), the Delhi Police and tax authorities are all probing various alleged irregularities into the affairs of IL&FS. SFIO alleges the erstwhile management of IL&FS hid non-performing loans, falsified accounts and concealed material information for their benefit.The probe charged former top management, including its long-time chief executive, the reticent but powerful Ravi Parthasarathy, with forming a “coterie” with its auditors and independent directors to defraud the company while running the business as their “personal fiefdom”.In a separate probe on credit rating companies, forensic auditor Grant Thornton flagged direct and indirect bribes in the form of sponsoring a football match, property deal and contribution to a trust in lieu of better ratings. The company was triple A until it defaulted. The next day it was junk.While it piled up debt across the spectrum that led to its collapse, its quarrelling shareholders missed an opportunity to save the situation. Its IPO plan did not take off.Shareholders such as Housing Development Finance Corp, Orix of Japan, State Bank of India and Life Insurance Corp after agreeing to buy shares in a rights issue, backed out. Furthermore, an offer from billionaire Ajay Piramal to buy a stake was turned down by LIC demanding Rs 1,150 apiece against Rs 750 a share offered by Piramal.The beginning of the endThe financial services arm of the group – IL&FS Financial Services – defaulted on its commercial paper on August 28 but repaid it within two days. Soon after, on September 4, it defaulted on a Rs 1,000-crore loan to Small Industries Development Bank of India. That sent mutual fund managers into a huddle on what could be in store for the rest if a triple A-rated company such as IL&FS defaulted. 70868080 As fund managers began to inspect their own books, they realised that the NBFC party has been going on for quite a while and that the punchbowl was being taken away.The excesses of a bull market began to unravel. Many of the NBFCs have been borrowing for short term in the market, mainly in commercial papers (CPs), and lending to home builders and buyers for five to 20 years. The next big jolt came from mortgage firms when Dewan Housing Finance Corp Ltd (DHFL) began its slide.On September 21, its triple A-rated bonds traded at an yield of 11% inflicting mark-to-market losses on its mutual fund portfolio. What began as a liquidity issue was beginning to emerge as a solvency issue. DHFL has since defaulted and is likely to inflict losses on lenders with a haircut of as much as 35%.“A realisation dawned on how these guys were funding themselves,” says Romesh Sobti, managing director at IndusInd Bank. “When growth was good at 20-30%, these guys got good valuations. Suddenly everybody woke up to the ALM (asset-liability mismatch) issue which brought in risk aversion.”With mutual funds turning their backs on NBFCs, cost of funding climbed. The cost of funds for NBFCs has increased 60 basis points despite a 110-basis points reduction in repo rate by the Reserve Bank of India.The slowing of the economy reflects in the economic growth rate that fell to a five-year low. Data due this week may show that the economy grew 5.7% in the quarter ended June, below the 5.8% pace seen in the previous three months. Car sales were the worst in 19 years in July, with shipments falling 31%.Policy reactionAs the credit markets froze and shut out many lenders, the industry began to feel the pinch. With that came the chorus that a special liquidity package was needed to bail out NBFCs and prevent the crisis from snowballing into a larger solvency issue.But policy makers led by the then Governor Urjit Patel and his deputy Viral Acharya stuck to their stance that imprudent business practices were at the heart of the trouble and the market should be allowed to correct itself, failing which it would be bailing out bad behaviour.When Das succeeded Patel, there was hope. But he stuck to his predecessor’s stance on special package for the industry.“The liquidity window is a misnomer. The RBI cannot be giving clean money, unsecured money to NBFCs,” Das told ET in an interview. “We have also interacted with the banks and they are trying to find market-based solutions to the problems like bringing in additional promoter equity, initiating stake sale, securitisation of assets.”But Das was generous with nearly 110-bps reduction in interest rates and pushing liquidity to surplus.“RBI and the government have been trying to come out with policies helping NBFCs to get over the crisis to restart credit delivery,” said Umesh Revankar, MD and CEO, Shriram Transport Finance.As equity valuations fell from stratosphere, firms such as Piramal Enterprises have cut down their dependence on CPs and raised longterm funds. DHFL and Reliance Capital of Anil Ambani sold many businesses, including mutual funds.“Well, there’s an understanding that the funding model needs to change… too much dependence on short-term funds is unsustainable,” says TT Ram Mohan, professor of finance at Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. “The regulator has plans to introduce norms for improved liquidity at NBFCs. So, yes, some important lessons have been drawn.”The RBI and the government have announced several sops to restore confidence in the NBFC sector. Without announcing any bailout package or giving a liquidity window for the sector, it has relaxed securitisation norms, eased priority sector norms, provided partial credit guarantee, reduced rates, and recapitalised public sector banks to support growth. The Finance Bill 2019 has given powers to RBI to restructure NBFCs.The collapse of IL&FS not only exposed imprudent business practices at the NBFCs, but also the lack of a legal framework to handle a financial market crisis. Although the government was able to enact a bankruptcy law for businesses in general, the special reform measure for the financial sector like something on the line of the FRDI Bill has been left out.Absence of specific laws to resolve a financial services bankruptcy is also being felt. “It’s hard to see that banks or systemically important NBFCs can be resolved along the same lines as non-financial companies,” says Ram Mohan of IIM. “There are issues of systemic stability involved.”Sound policy making is not to let any crisis go waste. Will IL&FS lead to legislation to handle such crises in future?

from Economic Times https://ift.tt/2Zq1ISb