One or 100 matches, it is an honour to lead: Rohit Sharma

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Rafael Nadal beats Stan Wawrinka to reach Paris Masters quarters

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Voda Idea, Airtel need no relief: Jio to RS Prasad

KOLKATA: Reliance Jio Infocomm has asked telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad to reject demands to grant relief to Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea on payment of statutory fees based on adjusted gross revenue (AGR), saying its two rivals have the capacity to meet their financial obligations.However, the Mukesh Ambani-led telco urged the government to consider “other industry issues of prospective rationalisation of levies and taxes and GST credit separately.”Jio said in a letter dated October 31 that Prasad should not permit the Cellular Operators Association of India to mix the investment-infusing financial package for the telecom industry with the legitimate licence fee and spectrum usage charge obligations arising out of the past conduct of Airtel and Vodafone Idea.In its second letter in as many days on the topic, Jio said the tone of a COAI letter to Prasad dated October 29 was “threatening and blackmailing” and “borders on contempt of the recent apex court AGR judgement” directing operators to clear their dues in three months.“We request the government to reject COAI’s demand for financial relief… all operators should be mandated to deposit the applicable amounts within three months,” Jio said.It said Airtel and Vodafone Idea have “sufficient financial capacity and enough monetisation possibilities to comfortably pay the government dues”.Granting any such relief package, which prima facie appears to mitigate perceived financial strains, is likely to raise similar demands from other sectors such as aviation, Jio said.“There is no constraint of making funds available to pay off their legal obligations,” Jio wrote.It said both its competitors have stakes in profitable ventures in the country and abroad and have divested assets in profitable tower ventures such as Indus Towers and Bharti Infratel. The operators also have principals with sound financial positions.The Supreme Court last week upheld the government’s definition of AGR to include revenue from the non-core activities of telcos. Consequently, Vodafone Idea and Airtel may need to cough up over Rs 80,000 crore in licence fees and SUC, with penalties and interest.COAI has said without relief such as a waiver on payment of penalties and interest, the two telcos could face an unprecedented crisis that could result in a monopoly in the sector already saddled with debt of over Rs 7 lakh crore.A panel of ministry secretaries has been asked to suggest measures to grant relief to the sector.

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Sanlam in talks with Piramal to buy 8% more in Shriram Cap

Mumbai: South Africa’s Sanlam Group is in talks with Ajay Piramal to acquire an additional 8 per cent in Shriram Capital, the principal holding company of the Shriram Group’s financial services businesses at a valuation of Rs 17,000-18,000 crore.Three people aware of the discussions said the talks are ongoing even as the Chennai-based financial services firm plans to merge two of its publicly traded entities Shriram Transport Finance Co and Shriram City Union Finance with the unlisted parent Shriram Capital. This is being done to simplify the corporate structure and facilitate exit for existing investors such as TPG Capital and Piramal Enterprises.At Rs 17,000 crore, Piramal’s 8 per cent stake in Shriram Capital is being valued at Rs 1,360 crore, while its 10 per cent in listed Shriram City Union is valued at Rs 873.16 crore.In comparison, the total market value of Shriram Capital in the listed companies Shriram City Union Finance and Shriram Transport Finance is Rs 9,602 crore.Kotak Mahindra Capital has been appointed by Shriram to compute the merger ratios. The merger, if and when it happens, will also require the approval of a majority of minority shareholders of each of the entities. Some of the minority shareholding will get diluted in the combined structure.71846076 The proposed three-way merger will result in the automatic listing of Shriram Capital, as Shriram City Union and Shriram Transport are both listed. Sanlam is already an existing investor in Shriram Capital with a 26 per cent stake along with Shriram Ownership Trust (30.7 per cent), Shriwell Trust (13.4 per cent), Piramal Group (20 per cent) and TPG Capital group (9.4 per cent). Individuals own 0.5 per cent in the holding company.Headroom to Buy 7-8 per cent in Holding CoSanlam is also a joint venture partner in the two life and general insurance subsidiaries, with 23 per cent and 22.96 per cent stake, respectively.Sources said because of its direct and indirect holding in the insurance ventures, Sanlam has a headroom to buy only 7-8 per cent in the holding company. Local rules bar foreign insurers from owning more than 49 per cent in Indian insurance firms.A Piramal spokesperson declined comment on market speculation while R Thyagarajan, founder of Shriram Group, denied Sanlam’s plans of a stake hike. “I confirm there is no offer from Sanlam to take any stake in Shriram Capital. Rumours float around. Discussions on merger have been taking place within the companies for months now and a plan may emerge in due course. As and when and if it happens, the media will be kept informed,” Thyagarajan told ET.“Sanlam has been aware that both the Piramal Group as well as TPG are evaluating the feasibility of selling their respective shareholding in Shriram Capital Limited (SCL) and do not have anything to add to what was already said by the respective entities,” a Sanlam spokesperson told ET.In his recent interaction on October 25 following the CDPQ announcement, Ajay Piramal, chairman, Piramal Enterprises, had told ET he was on track to raise Rs 8,000-10,000 crore in the financial services business this financial year. “We have raised Rs 2,400 crore from Shriram Transport stake sale in June and will raise Rs 5,400 crore from CDPQ and existing investors. We will raise funds further through Shriram Capital. We will more than deliver on our commitment.”Between fiscal 2013 and fiscal 2017, Shriram Capital (along with subsidiaries and associates), has raised equity capital of over Rs 5,300 crore from the Piramal group and the Sanlam group.Shriram Capital’s businesses include commercial vehicle finance, and consumer and enterprise finance through the listed Shriram Transport Finance and Shriram City Union Finance, retail stock broking (Shriram Insight Share Brokers Ltd), life insurance (Shriram Life), general insurance (Shriram General Insurance), financial product distribution (Shriram Fortune Solutions) and wealth advisory (Shriram Wealth Advisors).EXIT ROUTEPiramal bought 20 per cent in Shriram Capital for Rs 2,014 crore in 2014 and holds 10 per cent in Shriram City Union. It wanted to merge Shriram Capital with Piramal Enterprises, the group flagship, but efforts failed due to the sheer difference in size.Piramal has been scouting for a buyer for the Shriram stakes to raise badly-needed cash for financial services businesses which has been hit by concerns of exposure to weakened corporate lenders and real estate developers.Piramal Enterprises sold 10 per cent in Shriram Transport Finance for Rs 2,300 crore some months back. But plans to exit Shriram Capital have not yet borne fruit even though it ran a formal process along with TPG through JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley in recent months to find buyers for their combined 30 per cent stake.

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Gold set for second weekly rise on trade deal uncertainties

Spot gold is set to rise 0.5 per cent this week after a 1 per cent gain the previous week.

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Over next 3 yrs, earnings may grow 15-20%: Manish Gunwani

Economic recovery, consolidation making the big bigger and manufacturing moving from China to India are three themes that we are betting on, says Manish Gunwani, chief investment officer (equity), Nippon India Mutual Fund, in an interview to ET.The S&P BSE Sensex hit an all-time high today. Is this rally sustainable and how are we in terms of valuations? On a valuation basis, we are trading at 17-18x one year forward price to earnings (PE) ratio. Looking at this from a historical perspective, it is slightly higher in terms of long-term averages. However, one must keep two things in mind. One, the earnings cycle for the past 7-8 years has been weak and many industry segments, especially in the case of corporate banks, earnings are fine. Over the next couple of years, even if earnings recovery is not strong, you can get decent earnings cycle because it will be reversion to mean for a lot of industries. The second thing happening globally is that S&P is at an all-time high, though globally economy has been weak. Central banks have been aggressive in keeping interest rates low. Cost of equity is lower and it looks like that high valuations are sustaining across the globe.What kind of earnings growth should one expect in the next two-three years? What returns could investors expect on their equity investments?In a 3-year block between FY19 and Fy 22-end, we believe earnings could grow between 15-20% CAGR. Given that the PE multiples are slightly high now, investors should expect returns to be less than earnings growth.What sectors or themes are you betting on in the coming years?There are three themes we are betting on. First, there is an economic recovery theme which we expect should benefit corporate banks, industrials and cement. The second theme is consolidation, where we believe the bigger players will get bigger because of the shift from unorganised segment to organised and due to weaker players getting out. Sectors like real estate, hospitals and hotels will benefit from this. The third theme is moving of manufacturing from China to India. High labour cost in China, environment compliance and trade wars with the US could lead to manufacturing coming to India. This will benefit industries like chemicals, pharma, contract research and manufacturing and electronic manufacturing.The government move on selling strategic stakes in PSUs has attracted investors to this set of beaten-down stocks. Your views?We like large PSU banks and also have decent positions in PSU stocks in some of our schemes. Investors are yet to make money in mid- and small-cap stocks over the past 18-20 months. The S&P BSE 150 Midcap index is down about 25% since January 2018 while the S&P BSE 250 Smallcap Index lost more than 50% in the same period. Should investors add money here? Definitely. We think that over a medium-to-long-term perspective at today’s starting point, mid- and small-cap indices will outperform large- cap indices. We are recommending multicap funds and midcap funds. Having said that, valuation distress is not as stark as 2009 or 2013. While we prefer midcaps over large-caps, the margin of safety which was there as in 2009 or 2013 where investors made super strong returns is not there yet.After the IL&FS crisis broke out, several companies in the NBFC space have been badly hit. Are we out of the woods there?The happenings in the NBFC space have had a big role to play in the slowdown. As a percentage of the banking system, they were about 25-30% but as a percentage of incremental credit they had reached a higher number. When a brake came on their disbursement, it played a significant role in the slowdown. The good part is more or less, we have crossed the bottom.

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Furore erupts over WhatsApp spying exposé

The confirmation by WhatsApp that the mobile phones of several Indian rights activists and journalists had been hacked into has sparked a furore with privacy activists asking the government to clarify. The spyware — Pegasus — sold by Israel’s NSO Group was used to tap into 1,400 WhatsApp accounts globally.Responding to queries from ET, the NSO Group disputed the allegations. “The sole purpose of NSO is to provide technology to licensed government intelligence and law enforcement agencies to help them fight terrorism and serious crime. Our technology is not designed or licensed for use against human rights activists and journalists. It has helped to save thousands of lives over recent years,” the company said in a statement.On Thursday, IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad took to Twitter to reiterate the Centre’s concern at the breach of privacy of Indians, and said his ministry had sought an explanation from the app. WhatsApp has to reply by November 4. Home ministry officials said ‘attempts to malign the government’ for the reported breach were misleading.Privacy Experts Voice Concern“The government operates strictly as per provisions of law and there were adequate provisions to ensure that no innocent citizen was harassed or his privacy breached,” said one of the home ministry officials. They added that the government was committed to protect the fundamental rights of citizens, including the right to privacy, and would take strict action against any intermediary responsible for any breach. A WhatsApp spokesperson confirmed to ET that Indian users were among those contacted this week. Facebook and WhatsApp had filed a lawsuit against the Israeli company in a California court on October 29.Some of the affected Indian activists include lawyer Nihal Singh Rathod, activists Bela Bhatia and Degree Prasad Chauhan, academician Anand Teltumbde and former BBC journalist Shubhranshu Choudhary. They were alerted by WhatsApp earlier this month that their phones had been under surveillance for a two-week period in May 2019. The Indian Express reported the development on Thursday.Rathod, Bhatia, Chauhan and Teltumbde are connected with the Bhima Koregaon case, in which 10 human rights activists were arrested last year on charges of links with a banned Maoist outfit. They claimed they were first contacted by Canadian security research unit The Citizen Lab — which has volunteered to help WhatsApp in the investigations — and later by the messaging app. They were advised to change their phones as well as passwords.Teltumbde said that according to The Citizen Lab, his phone was hacked sometime in March-May. “Pegasus is a sinister software and I noticed my phone was misbehaving. There is rampant spyware hacking in this country. What to do? I don’t know how to live in this country,” he said.SEEKING TIGHTER LAWSTerming the developments as “unprecedented”, privacy experts demanded tighter laws on such surveillance in the country. “It (the government) needs to answer, whether it procured such spyware and why, since under the Telegraph Act or the IT Act there are no powers to install spyware or malware on smartphones,” Apar Gupta, executive director of the Internet Freedom Foundationtold ET.In a post on October 29, The Citizen Lab — housed in the University of Toronto — said NSO Group’s spyware was being sold to government clients without appropriate controls over how it is used by the clients. “They are, in turn, using NSO’s technology to hack into the devices of members of civil society, including journalists, lawyers, political opposition, and human rights defenders — with potential lethal consequences,” it said.Rathod, who represents several of the accused in the Bhima Koregaon case, including Dalit lawyer Surendra Gadling, told ET that he had suspected his phone was being spied on in 2018 and raised a complaint with WhatsApp in March 2019. Experts contend that surveillance powers in India are not being reconciled with the reality of the Supreme Court’s privacy judgment delivered by a ninejudge bench, and that there is no movement for surveillance reforms either through judicial oversight or parliamentary reporting.‘EXPANSION IN SURVEILLANCE POWER’“There is a tremendous expansion of the existing surveillance power of the government,” said Gupta of IFF, which has challenged in the Supreme Court the December 2018 notification of the home ministry authorising 10 central agencies to intercept, monitor and decrypt any computer information.Raman Jit Singh Chima, Asia policy director and senior international counsel at Access Now, said hacking is a criminal offence under the IT Act. “Last week, the Bombay High Court passed a judgment against the CBI in a corruption case over illegally intercepted conversations and said it is against the Supreme Court order on privacy. The HC said this can be allowed only in the case of public emergency or in the interest of public safety,” he said.Access Now is an international non-profit, human rights, public policy and advocacy group that works towards an open and free internet. It has worked with The Citizen Lab in discovering how activists have been targeted, and tried to direct attention on the human rights concerns around how surveillance tech firms such as NSO Group operate.Trying to put fears at rest, IT minister Prasad said, “Government agencies have a well-established protocol for interception, which includes sanction and supervision from highly ranked officials in central and state governments, for clear stated reasons in national interest.”71845641

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US Congman praises Modi for 'bold' steps in J&K

"The steps that Prime Minister Modi and the Parliament have taken are needed, they're good for the long-term stability of the region, and they should be applauded,” Congressman George Holding said on the House floor on Thursday.

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Live Blog: New Zealand vs England, 1st T20I

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Furore erupts over WhatsApp spying exposé

On Thursday, IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad took to Twitter to reiterate the Centre’s concern at the breach of privacy of Indians, and said his ministry had sought an explanation from the app. WhatsApp has to reply by November 4. Home ministry officials aid attempts to 'malign the govt' for reported breach were misleading.

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With no liquidity, liquor sales on the rocks

You know the glass is half-empty when a major company selling liquid stimulants holds back on pushing sales because the trade is hit by a liquidity shortage.United Spirits Limited, India’s biggest liquor firm which sells brands including Johnnie Walker and McDowell’s, told investors during an earnings call last week that in order to “minimise credit risk” in a liquor trade facing a “big time liquidity crunch”, it’s no longer doing aggressive sales.Basically, the liquor company fears traders will stock the products but won’t be able to pay, adding to its bad debts. “This time the reality is, there are real liquidity issues in the marketplace with the trading community. So, if you supply, they will take the stock, but it’s at your peril,” Anand Kripalu, managing director at USL, told investors.“It is not as if we are not supplying at all. We are just being cautious about the last push,” Kripalu said. “Some of the competitors in the marketplace decided to increase credit in high-risk market. We decided we won’t do that.”Poor Growth“This remains part of our philosophy to not keep having provisions of bad debt, because you sell and then you just find it hard to collect,” he said.Liquor trade’s hangover from the economic slowdown is similar to FMCG failing to take a bigger bite out of consumer spend, again thanks to liquidity issues. Hindustan Unilever, the country’s largest packaged consumer goods firm, had last month said trade was facing an acute liquidity crunch.Diageo-controlled USL reported volume growth of just 1% year on year in the quarter ended September, mainly because of a slowdown in consumer demand along with liquidity challenges. The company had posted 10.3% volume growth a year ago.Similar to FMCG, the overall liquor market in the country recorded 2-3% growth in the nine months to September, which companies attribute to floods in some states and an increase in taxes, on top of a broad economic slump that has taken a toll on consumption. Adding to the impact on numbers is the high base of 2018, when the market grew 10% to a six-year high.Sales volume of locally made foreign liquor increased 1.4% year on year in the September quarter. Whiskey and brandy showed poor growth, vodka and gin segments declined, industry executives said, citing excise department data. A year ago, the market had grown 12.9% in the same quarter.Diageo's biggest rival, Pernod Ricard, too, saw its Indian business growth slowing to 3% in the September quarter from 34% in the year-earlier period.Analysts expect liquor sales to remain subdued for the rest of the fiscal. “We expect demand to remain subdued Q2FY20 onwards,” said Abneesh Roy, executive vice president of institutional equities at Edelweiss Research. “Spirits, being more discretionary in nature, are expected to face volume deceleration in ensuing quarters. While the volume decline may not be as severe as in the four-wheeler and two-wheeler segments, we nevertheless expect softness in demand for the liquor sector,” he said.

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Lupin looks to sell Japanese arm Kyowa for $600 million

MUMBAI: India’s Lupin Ltd is in advanced talks to sell its Japanese generics subsidiary Kyowa Pharmaceuticals for an enterprise value of $600 million to a local player as it steps up efforts to significantly cut operations in the world’s third largest pharma market. The name of the buyer could not be independently verified. People close to the discussions said that an announcement is expected in November.In August, Lupin sold its injectables business to neo ALA Co, a wholly owned subsidiary of Abu Dhabi based Neopharma group, for an undisclosed sum to help streamline Japanese operations and increase focus on branded generics.Lupin did not respond to emails till press time on Thursday.Lupin acquired Kyowa in 2007 from the Sugiura family, two years after entering a strategic alliance to market finished formulations in Japan. In 2018-19, Kyowa earned revenue of Rs 1,784 crore, contributing 11% to Lupin’s consolidated revenues. It grew a modest 5% over the year-ago level. Its net profit halved to Rs 68.6 crore – constituting 11.3% of Lupin’s consolidated profit while Ebitda margins also dropped sharply from 20% to 11%.71845532 Lupin is among the few Indian players that managed to crack the highly-regulated, brand-conscious $100-billion East Asian market.It has been reviewing its global footprint and the decision to scale down Japan is part of that exercise, officials aware of the development said. “The Japanese subsidiary grew at an impressive 14%+ CAGR in the last 11 years (since acquisition) in yen terms,” said an official familiar with the ongoing developments on condition of anonymity as talks are in private domain. “However, the recent decline in growth and impending further decline have led to re-evaluate the market and investment. Pricing pressure in Japan has hit the company very hard, especially last year. Since then, gross margins have dropped from 55% in FY18 to 31% in FY19.” At a recent analysts call, Lupin managing director Nilesh Gupta said, “Volume growth will happen, but value growth will be muted as far as Japan is concerned. We need to bring cost efficiencies and operational excellence into the structure.”Lupin has already moved a lion’s share of its drugs for Japan to its Goa manufacturing plant and wants to vertically integrate it. Its latest annual report says that the Japanese generics market is increasingly converging towards a substitution-oriented model and it needs to develop products at the right cost, gain substantial market share and simultaneously build the specialty portfolio.Surajit Pal, senior analyst at Prabhudas Lilladher, said such a move would be good for Lupin and its investors. Despite its growth potential, the slow-growing Japanese business has been a drag on profitability, he added.

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Nokia Hires 350 Workers to Speed Up 5G Development

Nokia has hired hundreds of engineers in Finland this year to speed up its 5G development, the company said on Wednesday.

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Huawei Sees 480 Million Households Worldwide With 5G Access by 2025

Huawei Technologies expects around 480 million households worldwide will have access to fifth-generation (5G) broadband service by 2025, the chief executive of its Brazilian telecoms operations said on Tuesday.

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Government Said to Form Panel to Address Telecom Woes

India has formed a panel of bureaucrats to suggest ways to alleviate financial pressures on the telecoms sector, a ministry source said on Tuesday.

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Boeing 737 Max Hearing: CEO Accused of Telling 'Half-Truths'

Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg faced intense grilling by US lawmakers at a hearing on Tuesday over what the company knew about its MCAS stall-prevention system linked to two deadly crashes.

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Apple Music Student Plan to Bundle Apple TV+ Subscription for Free

Apple will be offering Apple TV+ for free to the subscribers of Apple Music Student plan, Hailee Steinfeld, the star of Dickinson, revealed earlier today on Instagram.

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Sony Logs Record Q2 Profit on Robust Sales of Image Sensors for Smartphones

Sony on Wednesday said quarterly operating profit jumped 16 percent on robust image sensor sales, its strongest-ever result for the second quarter, and it raised its full-year earnings outlook.

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Netflix India Announces YouTube Sketch Comedy Talk Show, The Brand New Show

Netflix has announced a new YouTube-only talk show called “The Brand New Show”, which will also include elements of sketch comedy. It premieres October 31 with fortnightly episodes.

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Sony PlayStation Vue Streaming Service to Shut Down in January, Company Cites Competition

Sony said on Tuesday it would shut down its cloud-based TV service PlayStation Vue in January, citing competition.

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House of the Dragon: Game of Thrones Prequel Announced With Straight-to-Series Order

HBO has announced a new Game of Thrones prequel called House of the Dragon, based on George R.R. Martin's 2018 book Fire & Blood, which is set 300 years prior to the events of the show and tells the history of House Targaryen.

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HBO Max Streaming Service to Launch in May 2020 at $14.99 per Month, AT&T Says

Some existing subscribers to HBO's cable channel or HBO Now will get free access to HBO Max, AT&T said.

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Game of Thrones Prequel Series, With Naomi Watts, Is Dead at HBO: Reports

The first Game of Thrones prequel is reportedly dead. Created by Jane Goldman and George R.R. Martin, and starring Naomi Watts in the lead, it had wrapped up filming on the pilot earlier this year, but HBO has decided to not move forward with it.

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India vs Bangladesh, Day-Night Test: Can the pink ball mimic red?

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Oman, Scotland grab last two places at T20 World Cup

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Cognizant to cut 7000 mid-senior level jobs, exit content moderation

Cognizant is also exiting its content moderation business for clients such as social media giant Facebook. The Co will remove 10,000-12,000 mid-to-senior employees from their current roles, and resell and redeploy about 5000 of those impacted.

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Gold inches up on Fed rate cut cheer, sombre dollar

US gold futures inched 0.3 per cent higher to $1,501.40 per ounce.

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Cognizant to cut 7000 mid-senior level jobs

BENGALURU: Cognizant will cut as many as 7000 jobs in the next few quarters and exit its content moderation business, impacting another 6000 employees, as it begins a strategic restructuring to cut jobs.In a post-earnings conference call with analysts, the Teaneck, New Jersey-headquartered company said it would remove 10,000-12,000 mid-to-senior employees from their current roles, and resell and redeploy about 5000 of those impacted. “The gross reduction is expected to lead to a net reduction of approximately 5,000 to 7,000 roles (about 2% of the company’s total population),” company executives said.Cognizant is also exiting its content moderation business for clients such as social media giant Facebook. The company has come in a significant scrutiny for the working environment of the moderators and the impact of the work on their mental health.“Exiting this area will impact an additional approximately 6,000 roles worldwide, though the company intends to work with its partners to explore ways to transition the roles to alternative vendors, thereby reducing the impact to associates,” company executives said.The exit will also impact revenue in the company’s Communications, Media and Technology segment, with the ramp-down in work expected to be over the next one to two years.

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Cognizant to cut 7000 mid-senior level jobs, exit content moderation

BENGALURU: Cognizant will cut as many as 7000 jobs in the next few quarters and exit its content moderation business, impacting another 6000 employees, as it begins a strategic restructuring to cut jobs.In a post-earnings conference call with analysts, the Teaneck, New Jersey-headquartered company said it would remove 10,000-12,000 mid-to-senior employees from their current roles, and resell and redeploy about 5000 of those impacted. “The gross reduction is expected to lead to a net reduction of approximately 5,000 to 7,000 roles (about 2% of the company’s total population),” company executives said.Cognizant is also exiting its content moderation business for clients such as social media giant Facebook. The company has come in a significant scrutiny for the working environment of the moderators and the impact of the work on their mental health.“Exiting this area will impact an additional approximately 6,000 roles worldwide, though the company intends to work with its partners to explore ways to transition the roles to alternative vendors, thereby reducing the impact to associates,” company executives said.The exit will also impact revenue in the company’s Communications, Media and Technology segment, with the ramp-down in work expected to be over the next one to two years.

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Low valuations, possible stake sales make PSU funds attractive

Investors could add PSU funds as a tactical play to their equity mutual fund portfolios, say fund managers. They believe low valuations, coupled with chances of a strategic sale or disinvestment in public sector units, could trigger a rerating for the sector.“Valuations are cheap, most companies have good corporate governance, and possible disinvestment or strategic sale leaves room for value unlocking,” said Taher Badshah, chief investment officer, Invesco Mutual Fund. The government is in a strong position and there is better political will for disinvestment at this point of time, he said.The S&P BSE PSU Index is trading at a price-earnings multiple of 10.11, an almost 20 per cent discount to its own 10-year average of 12.01, Badshah said. On price-to-book, it is trading at 0.81, compared with the 10-year average of 1.61.In comparison, the broader S&P BSE Sensex index is trading at 22.68. The PSU index is trading at a 55 per cent discount to the latest Sensex level and a 38 per cent discount to the benchmark’s 10-year average.On price-to-book, the Sensex is trading at 2.88. This translates into a 72 per cent discount for the PSU index at the current level and 45 per cent discount based on the 10-year average.Many PSUs have been restructured in the last one decade. Some of these, such as IRCTC, Midhani, MSTC and RVNL, are unique businesses with a virtual monopoly, say analysts.71829338 The balance sheets of state-run oil marketing companies have improved post deregulation in the sector. Also, PSUs, more recently, have begun to allocate capital more efficiently through buy-backs and dividend pay outs. Operating in cyclical sectors, PSUs have the potential to outperform in an economic recovery.The government plans to sell its stake in Bharat Petroleum to a strategic buyer. It has initiated a bidding process to find out an asset valuer to estimate the fair value of the company. Also, media reports point to global and domestic logistic players showing interest in Container Corporation.Fund managers point out that disinvestment or stake sale of PSUs was an event closely tracked by the market. “If the government demonstrates its capability in doing one or two such sales, the entire PSU pack could be rerated,” said Vinay Sharma of Nippon India Mutual Fund.Financial planners said investors would be better off taking exposure in open-ended active PSU funds as compared to passive exchange-traded funds.“Fund manager discretion can play a role in generating alpha here and hence better to go with an active fund,” said Rupesh Bhansali, the head of distribution at GEPL Capital. He recommended Invesco India PSU Equity Fund and SBI PSU Fund. Over the past one year, Invesco India PSU Equity Fund has given a return of 20.29 per cent, while SBI PSU Fund has returned 12.3 per cent. Bharat 22 ETF has returned 3.71 per cent, while CPSE ETF has lost 2.08 per cent.

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DDT, LTCG, STT cuts have to wait on revenue concerns

New Delhi:Abolishing dividend distribution tax, securities transaction tax and long-term capital gains tax on shares could burn a Rs 80,000 crore hole in tax revenue, making it difficult for the government to offer any immediate concessions.The government has already slashed corporate tax rates, foregoing Rs 1.45 lakh crore, and more tax concessions will have to be made up for by increasing income tax on the super-rich or cutting welfare spending, both of which are not feasible, a government official aware of the matter told ET.The benchmark BSE Sensex crossed the 40,000 mark on Wednesday, building on the big gains of Tuesday after reports that the government may abolish the three equity transaction-related taxes.There are limited options to absorb the revenue loss if these taxes are abolished, said the official, adding that welfare expenditure for schemes such as Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) and MGNREGS cannot be cut, given weak demand and rural stress.The Reserve Bank of India said the country’s GDP growth will slow to 6.1% this year from 6.8% last year.Raising taxes on the super-rich to make up for the loss is also not feasible because their tax liabilities were increased in the budget this year. The effective tax rate on those earning over Rs 2 crore is 39% and on those earning over Rs 5 crore is 42.7%.A task force set up by the government to review direct taxes suggested in its report that dividend should be taxed in the hands of recipients, while leaving rates for long-term and short-term capital gains unchanged. 71829092 REVENUE CONCERNSDividend distribution tax, levied at 15% on gross dividend declared by a company, contributes about Rs 55,000 crore to the total tax kitty.The effective incidence is over 20%, after including cess and surcharge.The securities transaction tax nets Rs 12,000 crore, while a similar amount is estimated from long-term capital gains tax, taking the total to about Rs 80,000 crore.Revenue concerns have grown, with goods and services tax collections remaining subdued in the wake of the slowdown. Even direct tax collections have remained lacklustre and are unlikely to perk up given the slower economic growth and reduction in corporate tax rates.If the government does not cut welfare spending or increase taxes, it would need to increase borrowing, which, at the current juncture, would suck out liquidity from the market, the official said, adding that this would further hurt industry.Market participants and the industry have made a strong pitch for the removal of dividend distribution tax and securities transaction tax, as also long-term capital gains tax, to perk up the overall sentiment.The government will have to increase capital gains tax if it considers removal of the securities transaction tax, the official said, adding that capital gains are taxed at a higher rate the world over and STT only makes up for a lower tax levied in India.The government introduced 10% longterm capital gains tax in the Finance Bill of 2018. The tax is applicable on annual gains exceeding Rs 1 lakh.Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman had on September 20 slashed corporate tax rates to 22% from 30% for domestic companies without exemptions and proposed a competitive 15% rate for new investment in manufacturing.

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PMC Bank: RBI moves to sell attached assets

MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank of India-appointed administrator has asked the Economic Offences Wing of the Mumbai Police to release properties attached in the Punjab & Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank case so that they can be auctioned, a move that could provide relief to aggrieved account holders.The city police will soon seek court approval to hand over the assets to the RBI administrator, two people with knowledge of the matter told ET.“We have received a communique from the RBI asking us to de-attach the properties in the PMC case. We have given them an in-principle no-objection certificate,” EOW chief Rajvardhan Sinha told ET, confirming the developments.Another official said the police will approach the competent court by the end of this week to release all provisionally attached movable and immovable property, estimated to be worth over Rs 3,500 crore. Wadhawans have Given Consent to Auction“If auctioned, the proceeds of the sale could be infused in the bank and distributed among the depositors on a pro rata basis,” said another senior official with knowledge of the matter.JB Bhoria, the RBI-appointed administrator, declined to comment. The RBI said it had no comment.“The administrator would have taken a decision as he would have deemed fit. As such it’s an internal matter of the bank,” said an official.The planned auction will be carried out under provisions of the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Securities Interest (Sarfaesi) Act, 2002, which allows banks and financial institutions to sell properties of defaulters to recover loans, the two people said.“A sizeable chunk of the depositors are from the lower income group and an early auction will ease their financial load,” one person said.The RBI placed PMC Bank under restrictions after a Rs 4,355-crore scam surfaced and capped withdrawals by account holders. Authorities are probing the alleged criminal conspiracy between some officials of PMC Bank and Housing Development Infrastructure Ltd promoters Rakesh and Sarang Wadhawan.The Wadhawans have already given their consent to selling the 18 attached assets, including two private jets, a speed boat and a fleet of high-end cars. In a letter dated October 16 to the finance ministry, the RBI and probe agencies including EOW and the Enforcement Directorate, they sought monetisation of the attached assets at “fair market value”.“We further give our unconditional consent for the appropriation of the money received from the sale of these assets to be adjusted and appropriated towards the principal loan amount procured by us and the respective companies,” they said in the letter, which ET has reviewed.71829246 “Since the accused have already given their consent, the auction won’t face a court battle as seen in cases pertaining to Vijay Mallya or Nirav Modi,” one official said.DIRECTORS’ ROLE UNDER SCANNERThe city police found that while most directors were aware of the loans extended to HDIL, they refused to raise red flags. The EOW recently arrested a former director, SS Arora, and has summoned the entire suspended board of directors in the case.“A few of them have written to us claiming innocence and in some cases have also moved court seeking anticipatory bail. However, they need to explain why 70% of the depositors’ money was given to only one borrower — HDIL — and why they never scrutinised the loan accounts,” the official said.The former directors need to be questioned to ascertain if they were aware of all the facts, including the alleged tampering with the bank’s core banking solution to operate 44 accounts that were password protected, said the official. These “ghost accounts” were linked to the HDIL group and the loans sanctioned to these accounts eventually made it to HDIL or the personal accounts of the two promoters.“We want to probe if there was a deliberate act of omission. Also, if there were instances of quid pro quo,” the official added.Those summoned in the case include BJP leader Tara Singh’s son, Ranjeet Singh. The directors had earlier denied any knowledge of the alleged irregularities.THE CASEThe fraud at PMC Bank came to light after the RBI discovered that the lender had allegedly created over 21,000 fictitious accounts to hide over Rs 4,300 crore of loans extended to almost-bankrupt HDIL.A manager of the bank, on behalf of the RBI-appointed administrator, then filed a case with the EOW. The HDIL promoters, suspended PMC Bank managing director Joy Thomas, its former chairman Waryam Singh and director Arora have been arrested by the EOW.

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RIL’s fibre asset monetisation plan hits a roadblock

NEW DELHI | MUMBAI: Discussions between Reliance Industries (RIL) and a group of marque financial investors and sovereign wealth funds for a controlling stake of its pan India fibre InVIT — Jio Digital Fibre — appear to have stalled. Negotiations with the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA)-led group that also included I Squared Capital, an infrastructure focussed fund, and GIC of Singapore have hit hurdles over differences in commercial and operating terms, said multiple people in the know. The three were acting together as a loose alliance. In parallel, GIC has also been evaluating joining Brookfield as a co-investor in Jio’s towers.Along with the prospective investors, Mukesh Ambani’s family office was supposed to coinvest to reaffirm his commitment to the business.The search is on to find alternative partners or tweak the terms. No term sheet has been signed between both sides, added the officials in the know. Talks can, however, resume if the two sides bridge their differences, said officials.After divesting its towers, Reliance’s efforts to unlock value in the fibre company were part of a series of time bound asset monetisation initiatives. These are critical for the group to become net-debt free over the next 18 months.Last Friday, Reliance agreed to transfer $15 billion (Rs 1.08 lakh crore) of its $23 billion (Rs 1.61 lakh crore) telecom liabilities into a standalone entity and bring Jio’s core telecom asset and various organic and inorganic digital investments under a 100% owned Jio Platforms (JPL), a precursor to onboard a strategic investor in that platform as well.“All develeraging plans of the tower, fibre assets and oil and chemicals business sale would help reduce debt to near zero,” say Mayank Maheshwari and Parag Gupta, analysts with Morgan Stanley.THE DEAL DYNAMICSThe broad structure of the prospective fibre trade mirrored that of the recently announced $3.7 billion (about Rs 26,274 crore) tower transaction — a 20-year sale and buy back with an assured return to the investors, said the officials mentioned above. This means that Jio sells the network to the investors and buys it back after 20 years. The equity value of the 700,000 km fibre backbone was pegged at around $8 billion, excluding the liabilities. Reliance is believed to have offered a 9.5% assured return to the potential investors on their equity contribution plus sharing of the revenue upside. The equity return commitment is on account of the fact that Jio would be a major user of the network, while revenue upside refers to sales generated by third parties using the network.But these have now turned out to be the bone of contention.“There has never been such a large fibre network built in the country, neither has it ever been monetised. There is still no visibility of how the business and its cash flows will pan out and to what extent Jio will enjoy pricing powers. In such a backdrop, the risk reward ratio offered was not stacking up for the investors,” said an official. Under such circumstances, the prospective investors also wanted to have more operating freedom on governance and pricing flexibility.Half of the fibre capacity, as per the terms offered by RIL, was to be used by Jio for its own users while the rest was meant for third party users. The investors, sources said, however wanted a greater commitment from Jio in terms of usage.Following the latest earnings call in October, RIL’s management said they are still looking for investors for the Fiber InvIT and discussions with potential investors for subscription of units of the Fibre InvIT “are in progress.”When contacted with specific queries around the negotiations, an ADIA spokesperson declined to comment. Mails sent to RIL, I Squared Capital and GIC did not generate a response till press time on Wednesday.71829172 CONNECTING BHARATReliance has been targeting 20 million households and 15 million enterprises in the next 12-18 months and is in the process of commercialising its fibre to the home (FTTH) service, after trials encompassing 0.5 million homes. As per Credit Suisse estimates the ramp up is expected to be around ~3 million plus homes by FY22, contributing nearly $200 million (Rs 1,420 crore) EBITDA.“We expect a similar contribution from enterprises segment by FY22. Together, we expect broadband division to contribute to $400-500 million (Rs 2,841-3,551 crore ) to Jio’s EBITDA in FY22,” said Anubhav Aggarwal and Sayantan Maji, analysts with the brokerage.In the fourth quarter of the financial year ended March 2019, Reliance Jio transferred its tower and fibre assets to two special purpose vehicles (SPVs) owned by the two Sebi-registered InvITs. In April, RIL said the two trusts have acquired 51% stakes each in Jio’s fibre and tower units — Jio Digital Fibre Pvt Ltd (JDFPL) and Reliance Jio Infratel Pvt Ltd (RJIPL). The trusts are sponsored by RIL’s 100% subsidiary, Reliance Industrial Investments and Holdings Ltd (RIIHL).The demerger helped Jio cut liabilities, which amount to Rs 1.07 lakh crore. In July, a consortium led by Brookfield Asset Management agreed to acquire Reliance Jio lnfratel unit in a multi-stage deal. To begin with, Brookfield were to invest Rs 25,215 crore in an infrastructure trust that owns 51% of the telecom tower company. Following the consummation of the transaction, Brookfield and its coinvestment partners were to own 100% of India’s largest telecom tower company with 170,000 towers through the Tower Infrastructure Trust. The proceeds will allow Mukesh Ambani-controlled RIL reduce debt at its telecom unit, Reliance Jio Infocomm, and free up cash to take on rivals. That deal is nearing completion, as per the management.The latest quarterly numbers show, despite rupee depreciation, the consolidated capitalisation of Reliance Jio fell 51%YoY/ to Rs 19,100 crore, an eight-quarter low. This in turn allowed a $500 million fall in reported net debt, the first QoQ fall in 14 quarters other than 4QFY19 due to demerger of tower and fibre.

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Live: Amit Shah flags off 'Run for Unity' in Delhi

'Run for Unity' is a marathon that will mark the 144th birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel this year. The Central government has planned a series of events to mark the first birth anniversary of Sardar Patel, the 'Iron Man' of India, after the abrogation of Article 370.

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Revenue concerns make immediate tax cuts tough

New Delhi:Abolishing dividend distribution tax, securities transaction tax and long-term capital gains tax on shares could burn a Rs 80,000 crore hole in tax revenue, making it difficult for the government to offer any immediate concessions.The government has already slashed corporate tax rates, foregoing Rs 1.45 lakh crore, and more tax concessions will have to be made up for by increasing income tax on the super-rich or cutting welfare spending, both of which are not feasible, a government official aware of the matter told ET.The benchmark BSE Sensex crossed the 40,000 mark on Wednesday, building on the big gains of Tuesday after reports that the government may abolish the three equity transaction-related taxes.There are limited options to absorb the revenue loss if these taxes are abolished, said the official, adding that welfare expenditure for schemes such as Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) and MGNREGS cannot be cut, given weak demand and rural stress.The Reserve Bank of India said the country’s GDP growth will slow to 6.1% this year from 6.8% last year.Raising taxes on the super-rich to make up for the loss is also not feasible because their tax liabilities were increased in the budget this year. The effective tax rate on those earning over Rs 2 crore is 39% and on those earning over Rs 5 crore is 42.7%.A task force set up by the government to review direct taxes suggested in its report that dividend should be taxed in the hands of recipients, while leaving rates for long-term and short-term capital gains unchanged.71829092 REVENUE CONCERNSDividend distribution tax, levied at 15% on gross dividend declared by a company, contributes about Rs 55,000 crore to the total tax kitty.The effective incidence is over 20%, after including cess and surcharge.The securities transaction tax nets Rs 12,000 crore, while a similar amount is estimated from long-term capital gains tax, taking the total to about Rs 80,000 crore.Revenue concerns have grown, with goods and services tax collections remaining subdued in the wake of the slowdown. Even direct tax collections have remained lacklustre and are unlikely to perk up given the slower economic growth and reduction in corporate tax rates.If the government does not cut welfare spending or increase taxes, it would need to increase borrowing, which, at the current juncture, would suck out liquidity from the market, the official said, adding that this would further hurt industry.Market participants and the industry have made a strong pitch for the removal of dividend distribution tax and securities transaction tax, as also long-term capital gains tax, to perk up the overall sentiment.The government will have to increase capital gains tax if it considers removal of the securities transaction tax, the official said, adding that capital gains are taxed at a higher rate the world over and STT only makes up for a lower tax levied in India.The government introduced 10% longterm capital gains tax in the Finance Bill of 2018. The tax is applicable on annual gains exceeding Rs 1 lakh.Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman had on September 20 slashed corporate tax rates to 22% from 30% for domestic companies without exemptions and proposed a competitive 15% rate for new investment in manufacturing.

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Tesla, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk Headed to Trial Over 'Pedo Guy' Tweet

SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musks request to dismiss a defamation lawsuit filed by British caver Vernon Unsworth over a "pedo guy" tweet, was denied by a Los Angeles judge.

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YouTube Music for Android Gets Dedicated Widget, iOS Update Brings Siri Support, PWA for Desktops Debuts Too

YouTube Music for Android has been updated with a dedicated 4x1 widget. Its iOS counterpart, on the other hand, has received Siri support.

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US Kids' Appetite for Online Video Doubled in 4 Years: Survey

The number of young Americans watching online videos every day has more than doubled, according to survey findings released Tuesday.

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Superman and Lois Arrowverse Series in the Works With Tyler Hoechlin, Bitsie Tulloch: Reports

Superman may not temporarily have a future on the big screen, but the DC Comics character — along with wife Lois Lane — might get its own series as part of the long-running Arrowverse called ‘Superman and Lois’.

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Spotify Says It Grew Rapidly in India in Q3, Reaches 248 Million Monthly Active Users Globally

Spotify's premium subscribers globally grew 31 percent in the third quarter of this year to 113 million.

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Game of Thrones Creators Quit Star Wars for Netflix Deal

Game of Thrones creators and showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have chosen to quit the Star Wars universe to dedicate themselves to their Netflix deal.

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China Slams US for 'Economic Bullying' of Huawei, ZTE

China on Tuesday blasted as "economic bullying" a US proposal to block telecom carriers buying from Chinese tech companies Huawei and ZTE.

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Airtel Postpones Second-Quarter Results as Sector Stares at Massive Payouts

Airtel said on Tuesday it would need more time to release its September-quarter earnings report, as the Indian company weighs the impact of a recent court ruling asking telecom firms to pay $13 billion in dues to the government.

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US Regulator to Bar China's Huawei and ZTE From Government Subsidy Program

The US FCC plans to vote in November to designate China's Huawei and ZTE as national security risks, barring their US rural carrier customers from tapping an $8.5 billion government fund to purchase equipment or services.

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Airtel, Vodafone, Idea Made No Provisions for AGR Disputed Amount

A study of the balance sheets of private telecom operators, namely Airtel, Vodafone, and Idea, show that they did not declare the disputed amounts under the levy of annual gross revenues (AGR) as ‘provisions in their books.

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Jio Fiber Effect: MTNL 1Gbps Broadband Plans Launched Starting From Rs. 2,990

These new MTNL 1Gbps broadband plan also offers free unlimited voice calling to any network in India, and the after FUP speeds limit is reduced to 5Mbps.

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Bhuvneshwar Kumar's injury puts NCA under scanner, yet again

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Target price upside for these stocks puts them in play

One of the biggest challenges for investors in equity markets currently is where to invest as most of the stocks are either trading at 2-3 years lows or at all-time highs. Stocks such as Coromandel International, Motilal Oswal Financial, IFB Industries, Navneet Education, INOX Leisure, Bayer CropScience and Quess Corp, among others, have seen a sharp increase in their target price in the last 30 days owing to corporate tax rate cuts and earnings growth. 71813002

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J&K: More foreign groups may follow, hints govt

As the group of 23 members of European parliament travelled to Kashmir on Tuesday, sources indicated this was not a one-off thing and that more official representatives from foreign nations will be progressively facilitated to visit Kashmir. The current visit so far has entailed high level briefings by the NSA, the PM, the EAM, the Army and J&K administration.

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Gold steady on potential trade delay; focus on Fed rate decision

US gold futures were unchanged at $1,490.40 per ounce.

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Lionel Messi fit and firing in Barcelona demolition of Valladolid

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Daniil Medvedev stunned by Jeremy Chardy at Paris Masters

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Indian IT disrupts itself to get back on the growth trajectory

Massive investments in reskilling staff as well as local hiring help IT ride out the digital disruption. Nearly a third of India’s IT revenue comes from digital, a segment that is growing over double digits for these firms.

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Madi Sharma sent the invites. Who is she?

The EU delegation’s Kashmir visit has put the focus on Madi Sharma, the woman and her NGO, Women’s Eco-Nomic and Social Think-Tank (WESTT), who were instrumental in facilitating the trip. Sharma’s official bio on her Twitter handle describes her as ‘Social Capitalist: International Business Broker, Educational Entrepreneur and Speaker’.

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India to play first day-night Test with B'desh

The iconic Eden Gardens is now set to become India's first venue to host a day-night Test match. The second Test of Bangladesh’s upcoming tour — comprising three T20 Internationals and two Test matches — will be played under lights at Eden from Nov 22 to 26. Sourav Ganguly, prez BCCI, has been quite vocal on the need to stage D/N Tests to rekindle spectator interest.

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India to play first day-night Test with Bangladesh at Eden Gardens

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Namibia, Netherlands secure T20 World Cup spots

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Baby steps before leap: Global banks, now sense a new vista — regional trade

At Citibank’s offices in Chennai and Delhi, two Japanese nationals are performing a very special role the 200-year- old financial giant has never tried before. These executives have been specially relocated from Tokyo to liaise with corporate giants such as Hitachi, Honda, Panasonic and conglomerates like Mitsubishi that sell power turbines to auto components in India.Citi, which claims nearly a third of the market share in the multinational business, has also similar desks to service South Korea’s chaebols like Samsung and Hyundai, which dominate the domestic electronics and automobile markets but keen to retain their global trading volume amid disruptions in global supply chain due to the US-China trade war.It isn’t just that. There is also a special China-Taiwan desk the bank started earlier this year in Mumbai as it bets on the potential for India’s trade to expand within Asia and also an opportunity to get a pie of global manufacturing.With the simmering dispute between the US and China redefining global trade, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Act East’ policy paves the way for banks and financial institutions to find new means to engage with countries in the East, which though have strong trade partnerships with India, are not as big as traditional partners like the US, China and the UAE. This could open new avenues for business from foreign currency financing, banking accounts, capital remittances and cross sell and trade flows.“We clearly saw that Asia to Asia (trade) is going to be a much big emerging trend in the country about 24 months ago,” says K Balasubramanian, head, corporate banking, South Asia for Citibank, who has been driving this initiative. “This corridor is growing at 51% in terms of revenues for us. It’s all driven by the government agenda, which said ‘Act East’ from ‘Look East’. We have invested in terms of headcount and road shows in these places. Earlier, the focus was on the US and Europe. Now, we have made it a point that every quarter someone from India has to be there in each of these markets.”THE FTA BOOSTJapan and South Korea are among the largest of the nine countries that India has a free trade agreement (FTA) with. India also has a FTA with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), namely Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Brunei, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.Trade data show that the signing of an FTA has given a fillip to trade between India and these countries. For example, bilateral trade between India and Japan increased 72% to $17.7 billion in 2018-19 from $10.3 billion in 2009-10. The two countries signed the FTA in February 2011.Similarly, trade between India and South Korea increased 79% to $21.5 billion in 2018-19 from $12 billion in 2009-10. The FTA between the two countries was signed in August 2009. Trade between India and Asean has seen a sharper growth in the period, more than doubling to $96.8 billion in 2018-19 from $43.9 billion in 2009-10 at the time of signing the FTA.To be sure, despite the rise in trade after FTAs were signed, numbers are still lower in comparison with the US and China — India’s top two trading partners. Trade between India and the US increased two-anda-half times to $87.9 billion in 2018-19 from $36.5 billion in 2009-10. Trade with China is also almost identical at $87.1 billion in 2018-19 from $42.4 billion in 2009-10.However, India is looking to reduce its dependence on traditionally strong trading partners to diversify its markets even as countries like the US relook at their relationships with countries includingIndia and China with which it runs a trade deficit.US-CHINA STANDOFFThe spectacular US-China trade standoff threatens to alter the relationship between two of the world’s largest economies, redraw trading boundaries and open global trade to new opportunities. Bankers say that these changes could provide opportunities for countries like India, which are large and growing.“Some Japanese companies are looking at India as an alternative to China in light of the US-China tussle. It all depends on how this tussle pans out. But meanwhile, we are already seeing some Japanese companies, which use China as a manufacturing base, shift out of that country, mainly due to increasing labour and raw material costs. This trend has been visible for some time now, but has been beneficial for other countries like Vietnam,” said Junsuke Koike, regional executive (India and Sri Lanka), MUFG Bank.Indeed initial signs are that countries like Vietnam, Bangladesh, Mexico and Brazil have made the most of the US-China standoff. In August, for example, news reports said US tech giants Google and Apple were considering moving their smartphone and speaker production out of China to Vietnam.US farm exports to China are also being eyed by South American countries like Brazil and Argentina. China is already considering allowing more soy meal imports from Brazil and Argentina as it seeks to diversify its imports from the US.Economists say how countries like Brazil have moved to corner trade from China in light of this trade war tells us a lot about what is wrong with India’s competitiveness. “Logically speaking, India should be a natural substitute for the US in the Chinese scheme of things, but countries as far off as Brazil have come in and made the most of it. We have seen a similar story pan out in other areas like textiles, for example, which was considered a strong point for the country but now has been replaced by Vietnam and Bangladesh,” said Udit Kumar, senior economist at Aditya Birla Group.India’s exports, including merchandise and services, increased to more than $500 billion, but is well short of the government’s stated target of $900 billion for the five-year period, which started in 2015. 71812853 Economists and bankers say that the US-China trade war is a good opportunity for India to boost its exports as these two countries and their trading partners will look to diversify their sources of business. However, they are not so confident on whether India has the wherewithal to take advantage of this opportunity.“India does not have the skill and capabilities to leverage this trade war. Countries like Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand and even some African countries have already got a head start. The structural issues discourage exporters wanting to expand business with restrictive labour laws. Then, there are longstanding issues with regard to infrastructure, logistics and transport,” said Kavita Chacko, senior economist at Care Ratings.CHALLENGING TIMESBesides global competition, India will also have to deal with the a slowing domestic and world economy, uncertainty with respect to currencies and heightened geopolitical concerns which will bloat its import bills due to higher oil prices.“Overall global trade continues to be weak,” said Suresh Khatanhar, executive director at IDBI Bank. “Even sectors like gems and jewellery, which are a small but lucrative portion of India’s trade, are showing signs of weakness. Though Asia will become the hub of global trade in the foreseeable future because of its better resource mobilisation, demographic and technological advantages, we need to wait and watch to see how long these challenging times last.”Citibank’s Balasubramanian expects India’s trade to expand to other corridors in Asia, away from western countries like the US and UK.“Traditionally, Japan was active and second was Korea,” says Balasubramanian. “In the last five years, China and Taiwan have been becoming very big in India. In the last five years, FDI from China was at $22 billion. India is also a mitigation strategy for them in terms of accessing the US market. They believe what India is today is what China was 20 years back. The consumption story is just picking up and disposable incomes are rising. In mobile phones, for example, they control 35% of market share and 75% of the bottom-end of the sector.”Citibank hopes that the new China-Taiwan desk that the bank has started in Mumbai will help the bank cater to this growing market. However, to take advantage of this corridor, India will have to find new avenues to reduce its trade deficit, which at $53 billion, is the highest in fiscal 2019.To add heft to the shifting trade routes is the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, or RCEP, a grouping of 16 economies with a FTA that has total trade value of $2.8 trillion.“India is on the table as are other countries as people look to move their supply lines,” says Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JPMorgan Chase. “If I were India, I would look at it the other way around and think about how I could attract some of the companies that are moving out from China.”Geopolitical tensions, new groupings of trading partners and best taxation structures have all probably aligned to provide a platform for smart banks to grab their share.

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Coca-Cola set to sell some bottling units to partners

NEW DELHI: American beverages major Coca-Cola is close to finalising deals to sell part of its bottling operations in India to three franchise bottling partners, three officials directly aware of the developments said.The combined value of the deals in the first phase of the selloff is estimated at Rs 1,500-2,000 crore, one of the officials said.“The company-owned Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages (HCCB) is in final stages of negotiations to divest its plants to Moon Beverages, Ladhani Group and the Kandhari Group,” another official said. “All three have been longstanding franchise bottlers of Coca-Cola India, and the size of the deals vary depending on the plant capacity and infrastructure.”The deals are expected to be closed next month.A Coca-Cola India spokesperson in an email revert said: “This news is speculative and as a matter of policy we do not comment on speculation.”71812768 Officials at the independent franchise bottlers with whom Coca-Cola is in talks with could not be reached for comment.HCCB has 18 plants and accounts for two-thirds of Coca-Cola India’s volumes. The maker of Coke and Thums Up colas alsohas 13 independent franchise bottlers. For 2018-19, HCCB saw 373% year-onyear increase in net profit at ?322 crore, according to data from business research platform Tofler. Revenues for the year had increased 4% at ?9,455 crore.The move to refranchise bottling operations is in line with Coca-Cola’s global strategy to divest asset-heavy operations.“Refranchising brings down fixed costs significantly since it reduces employee headcount and reduces built-in costs of distribution, leading to higher profitability,” one of the officials cited earlier said.“Operating costs of global companies are significantly higher and selling concentrate and other brand-building functions are more profitable.”In June this year, Coca-Cola had named a new head for M&A and new ventures—the first such vertical in India to focus on acquisitions and divestments. The maker of Sprite soft drink and Minute Maid juice said in a post earnings call last fortnight that better growth in India and China had helped it post 4% volume growth in the Asia Pacific region.Announcing earnings for the July-September 2019 quarter, the company’s Atlanta headquarters said better growth in its packaged water business in India contributed to global business. It also said expansion of its premium water business in India under the Smartwater franchise had grown ‘successfully’ and become the second-largest premium water brand in the market. It added India is now the fourth-largest market globally for Smartwater.Recent launches included new variants of Minute Maid juices, Georgia hot and cold tea and coffee, Aquarius water and Aquarius Glucocharge and Smartwater, as aerated drinks sales remain soft on health concerns by consumers.

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Wedding gold purchase in Diwali causes discrepancy

Spot gold on MCX has risen by almost 22 per cent year-on-year to Rs 38,630 (ex-GST) this Dhanteras-Diwali.

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Tata Group restructures GMR deal to meet regulatory norms

NEW DELHI: The Tata Group has agreed to reduce the stake it had proposed to acquire in GMR Airports (GAL) to about 15% from the previously announced 20%, which will likely allow the GMR Group-Tata deal to sail through, people with knowledge of the plan said.The move is to comply with a rule that bars groups that own airlines to also hold more than 10% in an airport operator. A 15% holding for the Tata Group would keep its effective stake in Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), the GAL unit that runs the airport in the national capital, below 10%.The Tata Group, which holds a 51% stake in two airlines — AirAsia India and Vistara — is part of a consortium comprising also an affiliate of Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC and Hong Kong-based SSG Capital Management that had agreed to invest Rs 8,500 crore in GAL.Under the new formula, GIC will acquire an additional 5% stake in GMR Airports to the previously planned 15%, while SSG will hold about 10%, the people said. GMR Infrastructure’s stake in GAL, which also operates the Hyderabad airport, will come down to about 54% from almost 100%, while an employee welfare trust will hold about 2%.The deal values GMR Airports at Rs 18,000 crore, almost double of the Rs 9,605 crore value for GVK Airports based on investments made by a clutch of investors. GVK Airports operates the Mumbai airport and is also the developer for the proposed Navi Mumbai airport.The new proposal has been submitted to the Airports Authority of India, which had opposed the deal citing the rule that barred companies with airline holdings, the people said.“The new holding structure has been finalised within the investors and been sent to AAI for approval, which has to give its goahead for the deal,” said one of them.“We decline to comment,” the Tata Group said in an emailed response to ET’s questions. The GMR Group did not respond till press time Tuesday to an email seeking comment.The AAI had opposed the deal, saying that it would provide a “backdoor entry” for companies into the sector with airline ownership.“During the award, this (cap on stake) was one of the conditions and companies with crossholding in airlines could not bid for the airport projects. If it is allowed now, it would set a bad precedent for cash-rich groups with airline ownership to enter the airport sector,” said a senior AAI official, who did not want to be named.For the GMR Group, clearance of this deal would provide funds to reduce debt. GMR had said it would use a large part of the proposed proceeds to bring down its debt to Rs 13,000 crore from over Rs 19,000 crore.c

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Boeing Design, Lion Air Flight Crew Blamed for 737 Max Crash in Indonesia Investigation

Boeing, acting without adequate oversight from US regulators, failed to grasp risks in the design of cockpit software on its 737 Max airliner, sowing the seeds for a Lion Air crash that also involved errors by airline workers and crew, Indonesian investigators found.

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See Review: Is Apple TV+’s Game of Thrones Wannabe Worth Watching?

In our review of See Apple TV+ series — which stars Jason Momoa in the lead — we look at how terrible, surface writing leads to lacklustre plot, underdeveloped characters, and a show that has nothing to say. See TV series release date is November 1 on Apple TV+.

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Joker Is the Biggest DC Movie of All Time in India, R-Rated Film Worldwide

Joker has become the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time with $849 million at the worldwide box office. Additionally, Joker is now also the highest-grossing film based on a DC Comics property in India.

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Sony PlayStation Vue TV Streaming Service Being Considered for Sale: Report

Sony is reportedly looking at selling its live TV streaming service PlayStation Vue as it struggles to turn a profit.

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No Time to Die: Next James Bond Movie Wraps Filming With New On-Set Photo

Filming has been completed on No Time to Die, the next James Bond movie — the twenty-fifth overall — that will also serve as the fifth and final entry for Daniel Craig.

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Streaming TV War Kicks Into Gear With Apple, Disney Launches

The streaming television war is set to enter a new phase as titans Apple and Disney take direct aim at market leader Netflix, vying for consumers abandoning their cable TV bundles for on-demand services.

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ARM Will Continue to License Chip Architecture to Huawei: Report

ARM Holding has said it will be able to continue licensing its processor blueprints to Huawei, the media has reported.

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BSNL Rs. 698 Prepaid Plan Launched, Offers 200GB Data for 180 Days

This new BSNL Rs. 698 prepaid plan is live on the website, and it offers 200GB of data for a validity of 180 days.

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Sourav Ganguly hopeful that Bangladesh will agree to play day-night test at Eden

Bangladesh Cricket Board's Head of cricket operations and former skipper Akram Khan acknowledged that there are practical issues like lack of preparation as far as playing with the pink ball under lights is concerned.

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Live: 'India, S Arabia share security concerns'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a two-day visit to Saudi Arabia. India and Saudi Arabia are likely to sign agreements in key areas like civil aviation, defence procurement, security cooperation, non-renewable energy sector during the PM's visit. Stay with the TOI for all live updates:

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WADA likely to rule on Russia case by end of November

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AC Milan post record loss of 145.9 million euros

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Ribery banned for 3 matches for pushing referee

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ISL: High drama as Goa, BFC share spoils

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Indian brain smaller than Western, Chinese counterparts: Study

International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad (IIIT-H) have created the first-ever Indian Brain Atlas. While there are templates for Caucasian, Chinese, Korean brains, there was no such atlas for Indian brain which is comparatively smaller in height, width and volume. A custom brain atlas will help in early diagnosis of neurological ailments.

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Quality, supply of pink balls a concern for BCCI

If India hosts Bangladesh for their first day-night Test at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on November 22, the biggest concern for BCCI will be to arrange quality pink balls that will work in Indian conditions. The board is unsure about the quality of SG balls. In this scenario, importing pink balls - Dukes or Kookaburra - is an option. It will need a decent 'library' of balls.

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Roger Federer withdraws from Paris Masters

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Gold steady as trade talks progress, markets await Fed's rate decision

US gold futures fell 0.1 per cent to $1,494.20 per ounce.

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D/N Test: Quality, supply of pink balls a big concern for BCCI

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Corp tax cut can’t revive near-term consumer sentiment: Mookim

The market seems to be expecting a tax cut that will stimulate near-term demand but there is little room for the government to do so in the current financial year, said Sanjay Mookim, India equity strategist, Bank of America Merrill Lynch. In an interview with Sanam Mirchandani, Mookim said he is positive on financials, industrials and cement companies among sectors. Excerpts:The impact of the corporate tax rate cut was initially thought to be extensive. Do you see a major impact?That answer depends on the timeframe that you are looking at and the context of the impact you are talking about. A corporate tax cut leaves more cash flow with companies. In theory, companies can potentially invest that money, or give dividends to shareholders, or cut margins.In an emerging economy like India, such a measure is designed essentially to be an investment stimulus. By definition, this will take time to show up in the economy. Companies need to consider the demand environment and competition before deciding on new capex. We see three broad reinforcing effects of corporate tax cuts. First, these increase the IRR (internal rate of return) of new projects. Second, the ability of a business to undertake that project goes up as it has more cash. Third, banks are more willing to finance a corporate that has higher internal cash generation. In that respect, a corporate tax cut can be extremely effective. The medium-term trajectory of private sector capex will be higher than before the measure was announced.I think the disconnect you point to is that the market was hoping for a measure that supports near-term consumption. Demand trends seem to be weakening in some parts of the economy. The hope among investors was for a tax cut that reverses these, but a corporate tax cut does not do that. That is where the sense of disappointment or scepticism comes in.The festival season is on. Do you see a pickup in consumption demand?Our channel checks so far suggest demand trends in the festive season are mixed at best. Consumption seems flat to down on a yearon-year basis. Sequentially, the festive season is lifting demand seasonally as expected. Sales on online channels are doing extremely well, we understand. Most of this seems to be coming from tier 2 and tier 3 India, rather than from urban India.There is a concern the government has little room to announce more reforms without disturbing its financials.Even before the corporate tax cut, there were concerns over the fiscal deficit. Revenue collections are well below projections. The government is managing by cutting expenditure. This is something they will have to continue through the rest of the year. Logically, there is no room for further tax cuts unless the government decides to increase the deficit. The market, however, seems to be keenly expecting a tax cut that stimulates near-term demand. This could be a reduction in personal income taxes or a cut in GST (goods and services tax) for some categories. Such a step seems like a very low probability to me for two reasons. First, there is little room in the FY20 budget for fresh tax cuts and second, peak seasonal sales are largely over. Consumption tax cuts would have been more effective ahead of the festive season.You had said in a recent interview that the last time there was an EPS upgrade in a year was in 2009. What is your expectation this year?The earnings trajectory for the market remains relatively poor. If you take the Nifty for example, our estimate for Nifty EPS for December 2020 was Rs 690 in 2018. Even after we build in the benefit of the tax cuts, that would now be Rs 640. The tax cuts have not been enough to maintain market EPS forecasts or lead to upgrades. In many cases, the problem does not lie with the companies’ ability to deliver. It is that market and analyst expectations and forecasts are just too high. We will continue to see very sharp downgrades across many companies.The ruling party’s performance in state elections is being described as a blip by some. Do you see any impact on policy?My belief is state election results are not going to affect equity prices in any meaningful way. The market is unlikely to extrapolate whatever has happened in state polls, whether positive or negative to central government policy action. The government seems secure until 2024. It has enough control in both houses of parliament to execute a wide range of reforms. I don’t think equity markets are going to spend too much time thinking about state elections now.It’s been a year since the Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) crisis came to light. How much progress has the financial space made in terms of recognition of issues?In some ways, progress has been made in the NBFC (nonbanking financial companies) space. We now know a lot more about the quality of these balance sheets than we did one year ago. Progress has been made in the case of PMC (Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative) Bank, for example. Now we know of the problem. Acknowledgement is the first step to resolution.There are two broad fixes to a distressed asset on a lender’s balance sheet. Either the asset itself is revived and is able to discharge its liabilities, or the lender is able to find sufficient equity to replace the value lost in the asset’s distress.Over the next few months, troubled financial institutions will have to work along these two paths. A lot needs to be done before these companies can return to a steady state.The market seems fearful of a credit event, in case any of these companies is unable to resolve its balance sheet issues.What are your sector preferences?I am not entirely convinced that there is a broad-based consumer slowdown. If you look at data outside of the autos, there is no negative volume growth number yet. Consumption in every category is still growing year on year. If you look at the run rates of volume growth at a broad range of consumer companies, they are today at their long-term averages. Sales growth seems slower particularly because last year was very strong. GST was implemented in 2017, which led to destocking across supply chains. Many businesses had come to a virtual halt. The recovery from GST meant sales numbers in 2018 were very strong. It is in the context of 2018 that the current growth numbers appear to be a deceleration. A second issue is that topline growth looks weaker as there is little inflation. Most companies are stuck with single-digit topline growth which is not something they and investors are used to.The deceleration in sales growth seems to have created a specific, short-term problem. Our channel checks suggest inventories across many distribution chains are well above average. Companies seem to have extrapolated strength from 2018 but are now faced with more average run rates. This has driven inventory accumulation. There are only two ways this can be resolved. Either demand comes back if, say, Diwali is strong enough to clear inventory across consumer channels, or you get a period of upstream production shutdowns.

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IT looks to up interactive share in revenue mix

BENGALURU: Technology services companies such as Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Cognizant and Wipro are taking different paths to succeed in the interactive business focused on advertising and marketing, an area in which they have had little previous experience.The interactive business requires more design as well as user interaction and experience building to hook end customers to a digital product or make a digital experience more enjoyable. In the absence of such skills in-house, IT companies have made a slew of acquisitions.Wipro acquired Designit in 2015 to start its design and user experience business, and then bought Cooper in 2017.Wipro said the share of overall digital business including interactive to its revenue was nearly 40% and doing well. The company has now started concentrating on design thinking and user experience-led service offerings for both existing and new customers.Wipro sells design and experience-led digital services to existing customers and is also acquiring a lot of new customers, CEO Abidali Neemuchwala told ET.71799096 Even TCS, known for being cautious with acquisitions, bought London-based W12 Studios last November to expand its services in the area.TCS is looking at winning awards, such as Cannes, to help it make a mark in the interactive space. “We are growing in interactive. If you see we are getting nominated in Cannes, the goal is to bring the Lion home.” CEO Rajesh Gopinathan told ET.Last year, Infosys bought digital marketing agency WongDoody, its first acquisition after Salil Parekh took over as the CEO.Competition is tough. In the interactive space, these IT firms compete not just with each other, but with advertising agencies that have built their interactive arms, and Accenture, which has a lead among technology firms in this area. In September, Accenture said revenue from its interactive business had crossed $10 billion a year.Meanwhile, IT companies are also beginning to determine whether interactive is an area in which they could truly win. “We have identified four digital battlegrounds in which we have to win — cloud, digital engineering, data and IoT — and I truly believe IoT will be unlocked by the power of 5G,” said Brian Humphries, CEO at Cognizant. “I am not saying that we will not invest in interactive. We have a team there and we are investing,” he added.Greyhound Research CEO Sanchit Vir Gogia said IT services companies were broadly focusing on building technology capabilities, role-based capability through acquisitions and vertical-based capabilities. For example, he said, Accenture bought an advertising firm and that would help the company speak to the chief marketing officer of any organisation in a more effective way.

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How 'stolen underpants' helped identify Baghdadi

"Our own source, who had been able to reach al-Baghdadi, brought al-Baghdadi's underwear to conduct a DNA test and make sure (100%) that the person in question was al-Baghdadi himself," Polat Can, a senior advisor to the Kurdish-led SDF, said.

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IT looks to up interactive share in revenue mix

The interactive business requires more design as well as user interaction and experience building to hook end customers to a digital product or make a digital experience more enjoyable.

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100-kg gold, 600-kg silver sold at IBJA’s muhurat trading

During the trading, gold was less in demand, while silver shone among the buyers.

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Singh brothers trade barbs at NCLT

NEW DELHI: Shivinder Singh likened his brother Malvinder to the “mythological Bhasmasur” and said he possibly suffered from a personality disorder while calling for a forensic audit of RHC Holding. Older brother Malvinder said he reserved the right to sue his sibling for making “scurrilous insinuations” and that Shivinder was trying to ingratiate himself with Radha Soami Satsang Beas, which owed RHC money.Shivinder made the accusations in a NCLT filing in July. Malvinder’s response came in August. ET has seen both documents, which haven’t been made public before. Hearings in the case are set to resume in the NCLT in December.The erstwhile promoters of Religare Enterprises (REL) and Fortis Healthcare (FHL) are currently in jail on charges of fund misappropriation. The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Delhi Police arrested the brothers and their associates earlier this month.Seeking the removal of Malvinder as director of RHC, the group holding company, Shivinder urged the NCLT to supersede the board and reconstitute it with persons appointed by the tribunal. Alleging that Malvinder had been “oppressive” in running RHC, Shivinder sought an injunction restraining his brother and any of his authorised representatives from interacting with RHC employees. He also demanded that Malvinder be prevented from entering RHC’s offices.Malvinder alleged that Shivinder filed the suit only to stop RHC from demanding its money back from Gurinder Singh Dhillon, chief of the Radha Soami Satsang Beas (RSSB). Malvinder has alleged that Shivinder is appeasing Dhillon so that he can become the next RSSB head.Shivinder had raised “frivolous and irrelevant issues with an attempt to prevaricate the issues”, Malvinder said. He accused Shivinder of “large scale diversion of funds from FHL, RHC, REL etc to Dhillon (chief of RSSB) and the entities under his (Dhillon) control”. He alleged that an unsecured advance of Rs 600 crore was given to Lowe (an entity under the control of Dhillon) by FHL. The amount was used by Dhillon to acquire 20 acres in Gurgaon. This is said to be disputed land and the deal is being probed by the CBI.‘BID TO SHIELD DHILLON’Malvinder alleged in his response that Shivinder wanted to “shield Dhillon from debts and possible investigations and liability towards Daiichi (Sankyo)”.The younger brother alleged that Malvinder had made an “audacious and extravagant demand” of Rs 1,000 crore in order to cede control of RHC.71798841 Shivinder has demanded status quo be maintained on the assets and shareholdings of RHC. He has also sought the appointment of two independent directors and an administrator to look after day-today affairs at RHC. He further demanded that RHC bank account signatories be changed to include persons appointed by the tribunal and that it summon all statutory records for safekeeping at its registry. Shivinder has also sought complete access to secretarial records, books of accounts and other information regarding RHC.In his petition, Shivinder said Malvinder was like Bhasmasur, referring to a demon with the power to render anyone to ash.“Wherever he (Malvinder) became head of business — Ranbaxy, Fortis, Religare, SRL Labs Ltd — he decimated the value to zero for the RHC Group,” Shivinder said in his NCLT petition. “The continuous destruction of RHC’s asset base can be arrested provided the ‘Bhasmasur’ is dislodged from the helm of affairs of RHC.”‘PSYCHIATRIC ISSUES’Shivinder also alleged that his brother may have psychiatric issues.“Malvinder’s behaviour appears indicative of him suffering from either or both of certain specific personality disorders, namely antisocial personality disorder and narcissistic personality disorder,” Shivinder said. If “Malvinder was to be professionally assessed and diagnosed by an unbiased and independent clinical professional, he may be found to suffering from one or both or other personality disorder, and that appropriate care and help may be sought for him to address and manage the same.”Shivinder also cited the “American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders” to buttress his claim.In his response, Malvinder told the NCLT that he reserved the right to sue Shivinder and demanded that the accusations be “expunged/deleted”.Malvinder used RHC as his “personal fiefdom” and his actions in relation to the affairs of RHC were “harsh, burdensome, oppressive, prejudicial and gravely harmful”, Shivinder alleged. Malvinder had wrongfully transferred 3 million shares of Ranbaxy Laboratories held by RHC to Malav Holdings, he said. Malvinder denied this.Shivinder said he’s been denied his “rightful voice” and was forced to approach the NCLT to avoid the “otherwise inevitable insolvency of RHC and further prejudicing the interests of RHC and all its stakeholders”. He alleged that Malvinder had stopped board meetings from being held for over nine months, attaching emails sent by him to his brother to back up the claim.RANBAXY SALEThe brothers sold Ranbaxy Laboratories to Daiichi Sankyo for Rs 10,000 crore in 2008, an acquisition that turned sour. The Japanese drug maker had to pay $500 million in 2013 to settle a case in the US against Ranbaxy over felony charges that included making and distributing adulterated medicines. Daiichi Sankyo won an arbitration suit against the Singh brothers over allegations of fraud related to the deal. They owe the Japanese company $500 million on account of this. Sun Pharmaceuticals acquired Ranbaxy in 2016.Malvinder also alleged that Shivinder didn’t disassociate himself from the business in 2016 and 2017, when he was supposed to have increased his engagement with the Radha Soami Satsang Beas.

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Diwali sales give retailers relief, finally

KOLKATA | MUMBAI: Sales of apparel, smartphones, electronics and consumer products grew about 7-9% during Diwali thanks to last minute shopping, giving brick and mortar retailers a strong finish to their make-or-break festive season.Most consumer goods makers and offline retailers had been cautious about business during this year’s festive season due to a slowing economy and poor consumer sentiment in both urban and rural India over the past three quarters.While purchase of entry-level products expanded at a slower pace, most retailers reported higher demand for mid-to-premium products, indicating lower-income buyers may have either postponed shopping or shifted to discount-led online portals. Also, wide availability and penetration of consumer finance boosted average transaction size.Consumption patterns have shifted, said Kishore Biyani, founder of Future Group, which runs chains such as Big Bazaar, Central and Brand Factory. Average Billing upFrequent shoppers were outnumbered by those seen as more conservative and typically don’t splurge as much.“Fashion did really well with Central exceeding our expectations,” he said. “Having a loyal customer base, which was supported by Future Pay and cashbacks was a huge advantage to us which helped us immensely this time. Even within packaged consumer goods, gifting segment did brisk business especially at smaller stores such as Easy Day.”Retailers and companies had reported better demand even during the Navratri-Durga Puja-Dussehra period with sales growing 7-8% over last year while Onam sales had reported 3-4% growth on a lower base due to floods in Kerala last year. As a result, overall festive sales grew 5-7% this year.71798714 Diwali and overall festive season sales were much better than initially anticipated, said Brian Bade, CEO of Reliance Digital, India’s largest smartphone and consumer electronics retailer.“There was some pessimism, but at the end we are very happy,” he said. “Performance was much better than last year — same-store sales went up in double digits, average billing went up with brisk demand across categories.”Puma India managing director Abhishek Ganguly said Diwali pointed to possible recovery in retail considering traffic in malls was better than in August and early September despite record sales by ecommerce marketplaces.While footfalls were similar to those last year, sales rose as the average shopping basket was bigger, some retailers said.“There was a high single-digit growth on a like-to-like basis compared to last year Diwali period. We have not seen slowdown in apparel sales yet. Also, the growth was largely driven by an increase in average billing size while the walk-ins were similar to last year,” said Vasanth Kumar, managing director at Lifestyle International, the country's biggest department store chain. “Post Diwali, there is a seasonal change and stores will (get) winter stock, which allows us to liquidate autumn collection at discounted prices.”While OnePlus clocked Rs 1,500 crore in sales from Navratri to Dhanteras, Xiaomi had said it sold more than 500,000 smart televisions in the same period apart from a record number of smartphones. Realme said it sold over two million smartphones.Diwali was a crucial period since sales of most categories had been flat or had declined this year due to poor consumer sentiment. A fortnight ago, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) slashed its economic growth forecast for India to 6.1% for the current fiscal from its July projection of 7%, citing weaker-than-expected outlook for domestic demand.Arvind Fashions managing director J Suresh said Diwali sales grew more than 9% while the overall festive season growth stood at 5-6%. Arvind Fashions sells brands such as Gap, Arrow, Tommy Hilfiger and US Polo Assn.In smartphones and electronics, retailers and brands said sales have grown 6-8% from last year. The relatively lower pricing of Apple’s new iPhone 11 and up to 30% price cuts in televisions boosted demand, with consumer finance schemes adding to the buoyancy. The latter’s contribution to overall sales went up to 75% compared with the usual 55-60%.“There was no doubt some impact of negative sentiments since the number of shoppers who bought this year was lower than last year. However, those who purchased did of a higher value, boosting overall sales,” said Vijay Sales director Nilesh Gupta, adding that sales grew 8%.Overall appliance sales went up by 6-7% with a clear shift toward premium products with little traction for entry-level products, said Vishal Mewani, director of Mumbai’s leading chain Kohinoor Electronics. The festive season — from Onam in Kerala to Navratri-Durga Puja-Dussehra, Karva Chauth, Dhanteras and Diwali — is the biggest shopping period in the country accounting for almost 35-40% of annual sales of most consumer facing companies.

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