QBiz: Bitcoin Ban Grows; Govt to Form Panel to Roll Out ‘Modicare’
Here are the top business stories of the day.
1. Bitcoin Ban Expands Across Credit Cards as Big US Banks Recoil
A growing number of big US credit-card issuers are deciding they don’t want to finance a falling knife. JPMorgan Chase & Co, Bank of America Corp and Citigroup Inc said they’re halting purchases of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies on their credit cards.
JPMorgan, enacting the ban on 3 February, doesn’t want the credit risk associated with the transactions, company spokeswoman Mary Jane Rogers said.
Bank of America started declining credit card transactions with known crypto exchanges on Friday. The policy applies to all personal and business credit cards, according to a memo. It doesn’t affect debit cards, said company spokeswoman Betty Riess.
Allowing purchases of cryptocurrencies can create big headaches for lenders, which can be left on the hook if a borrower bets wrong and can’t repay. There’s also the risk that thieves will abuse cards that were purloined or based on stolen identities, turning them into crypto hoards.
(Source: Bloomberg Quint)
2. India Inc Announced M&A Deals Worth $54.7 Billion In 2017: Report
Corporate India's merger and acquisition deal value stood at $54.7 billion in 2017, and telecommunications, technology and financial service were the top three sectors in terms of deal value, says a report.
According to global deal-tracking firm Mergermarket, as many as 379 M&A deals were announced worth $54.7 billion in 2017, a slight decrease compared to the record high value registered in 2016, which saw 421 deals valued at $59.7 billion.
Sectorwise, telecommunications contributed 37.2 percent to India's total deal value in 2017.
The $12.7 billion Idea Cellular Ltd-Vodafone India deal was the largest transaction in 2017, while Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd's $3.7 billion acquisition in wireless spectrum, towers, fibre and media convergence node assets of Reliance Communication Ltd (RCom) was the second largest deal in 2017.
(Source: Bloomberg Quint)
3. After China, India Saw Most Super-Rich Citizens Leaving The Country in 2017
India witnessed the second largest outflow of millionaires globally after China with 7,000 high net worth individuals changing their domicile during 2017, 16 percent more than last year, according to a report.
According to the report by New World Wealth, 7,000 ultra-rich Indians shifted overseas in 2017. In 2016, the figure stood at 6,000, while in 2015 as many as 4,000 millionaires shifted base. As per the migration trends, Indian HNIs moved to the US, the UAE, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, while Chinese HNIs moved to the US, Canada, and Australia.
The report, however, noted that the outflows of HNIs from India and China are not "concerning" as these countries are producing far more new HNIs than they are losing.
(Source: Business Standard )
4. Government E-Marketplace Looks to Clock Deals Worth Rs 2 Lakh Crore in Next 5 Years
The Government e-marketplace (GeM), PM Modi's brainchild, which is directly monitored by the PMO office, is expected to touch Rs 50,000 crore transactions in a year and aims to reach Rs2 lakh crore in transactions in the next four to five years, says a top GeM official.
Last week, in the union budget 2018 speech, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that the Central Public Procurement Portal will provide a single point access for all information on procurement. Since April 2017 till date, it has already touched Rs 4,080 crore on GeM platform, out of which in the month of January alone the transactions crossed Rs 1,000 crore.
GeM was launched in August 2016 for online purchases of goods and services by all central government ministries and departments. Till date, 17 states have signed an MoU to be part of the GeM.
(Source: Economic Times)
5. Multiple Factors to Keep Markets on Tenterhooks After Friday's Fall
Market players are worried about the direction the stock markets will take this week, following Friday’s bloodbath in US equities and the correction in bond prices. The yield on the benchmark 10-year treasury note touched a four-year high as fears of inflation and aggressive rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve spooked investors.
Domestically, the widening of the fiscal deficit targets has raised concerns of a reversal in the policy stance by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) weighing on banking shares, which have significant weight in stock indices.
The reintroduction of the tax on long-term capital gains (LTCG) and higher taxes on mutual fund investors have dampened investor sentiment.
Investors got a rude jolt on Friday as the benchmark indices, the Sensex and Nifty, tanked 2.3 percent. Later, the Dow Jones Industrial Average posted its worst drop since June 2016, shedding more than 650 points after treasury yields neared the 3 percent mark.
(Source: Economic Times )
6. Advantage Assam Summit: Investment of Rs 1,00,000 Crore Committed
Assam's investment scouting exposition "Advantage Assam" attracted series of investment proposal. In the two day event, as many 200 MOUs were inked and investment proposal to the tune of Rs 1,00,000 crore is committed.
The event was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday. Mukesh Ambani of Reliance Group of Industries announced that his company will be investing close to Rs 2,500 crore in next three years.
Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that Rs 1,500 crore investment is coming in tourism sector. Mahindra will invest in tourism infrastructure in Assam. Dharmendra Kumar Karma, Regional Executive Director, Airport Authority of India (AAI) said that Guwahati airport will be the hub for Project Udan of North-East and ASEAN regions.
(Source: Economic Times )
7. Note Ban, Other Steps Boosted Tax Collection To Rs 90,000 Crore: Hasmukh Adhia
Finance secretary Hasmukh Adhia on 4 February said that the returns from demonetization and other “anti-evasion measures” have generated revenue to the tune of Rs 90,000 crore from direct taxes.
He attributed the crash in the Indian stocks a day after the Union budget was presented on 1 February to global factors. Talking on the topic “Post Budget Analysis and GST” at IIM-Ahmedabad, the finance secretary said that one of the reasons for widening of fiscal deficit was because it was the first year of implementation of the goods and services tax (GST) and there was a lot of uncertainty about revenue.
On the re-introduction of long-term capital gains (LTCG) tax on stocks, Adhia said that it was a logical step to bring a class of investors in the tax net who had been earning about 14-15 percent returns per annum. He said that companies and individuals have reported long-term capital gains worth Rs 3.67 trillion for the 2016-17 assessment year.
(Source: Livemint)
8. Modicare: Government to Form Council to Roll Out National Health Protection Scheme
The government is likely to form a council on the lines of the GST council and work with states to roll out the National Health Protection Scheme, announced in the Budget on 1 February. The plan also includes creation of a mission for focused implementation of the scheme.
A senior government who did not wish to be identified said that “the plan is to form a committee on the lines of the GST council to implement the Modicare scheme but a way needs to be found together to gel this scheme with states, where a similar scheme is already being offered.”
He added that the Gujarat government, for example, has a plan called Mukhyamantri Amrutum (MA) Yojana, which provides free insurance of up to Rs 2 lakh per year to the poor and needy. He also added that it remains to be seen whether the government will be in a position to implement the scheme across the country before the 2019 elections.
(Source: Economic Times )
9. A Two-Way Race For Bhushan Steel As Bidding Deadline Closes
The race for control of Bhushan Steel Ltd has narrowed, with only two potential investors submitting final bids before the cut-off date for resolution plans. Bhushan Steel is being resolved under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code and the final deadline to submit bids was 3 February.
According to three people familiar with the process, Tata Steel Ltd and a 50:50 venture between JSW Steel and a fund promoted by the Piramal Group and Bain Capital Credit submitted their bids to resolution professional, Vijaykumar V Iyer, on Saturday.
Tata Steel, JSW Steel, Piramal Enterprises and Iyer did not respond to queries mailed to them on Sunday. The bids will be opened by the resolution professional on Tuesday, following which, details will be shared with the lenders.
(Source: Bloomberg Quint)
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