QBiz: Delhi Most Investor-Friendly Hub; Jet Denies Stress Reports
Here are the top headlines from the world of business.
1. Delhi is Now Most Investor Friendly: NCAER Survey
Delhi moved one spot up to replace Gujarat as the most investor-friendly state in the latest National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) State Investment Potential Index (N-SIPI).
N-SIPI 2018, which was released by the Delhi-based think tank NCAER on Friday, 3 August, has been constructed on the basis of six pillars that are classified under the following four broad categories; factor-driven (land and labour), efficiency-driven (infrastructure), growth-driven (economic climate, and political stability and governance), and perceptions driven (responses to the surveys).
The findings of the survey show that Gujarat has retained the top spot with Haryana and West Bengal occupying the second and third places, respectively. West Bengal particularly has shown tremendous improvement by moving up 18 places from the 21st to the third spot.
(Source: Livemint)
2. Jet Denies Reports on its Financial Stress
Naresh Goyal-led Jet Airways is not in talks with any party for a potential stake sale, the airline’s chief executive Vinay Dube said on Friday, 3 August.
“Jet Airways (India) Ltd would like to clarify that recent media reports about the sustainability of the airline are not only factually incorrect, but also malicious,” said Dube. The airline would also like to deny any conjecture of a stake sale, he added.
The aviation industry is currently passing through a tough phase, given a depreciating rupee and the mismatch between high fuel prices and low fares, which has impacted the airline, said Dube.
The Jet Airways management had earlier this week asked a section of its employees to take up to 25 percent cut in their salaries as cost of operations for the airlines has been increasing on the back of rising crude and a falling rupee.
(Source: Livemint)
3. WS Retail Stops Selling on Flipkart’s Platform
WS Retail, Flipkart’s former in-house vendor and one of the largest sellers in the Indian e-commerce space, has stopped selling on the Bengaluru-headquartered e-tailer’s platform.
WS Retail’s revenues declined 67 percent from Rs 13,900 crore in FY16 to Rs 4,600 crore in FY17. The company reported a net loss of Rs 24 crore for FY17 against a profit of around Rs 5 crore in the previous year.
“As Flipkart reduced its dependency on WS Retail and shifted a large chunk of its sales to other vendors, the company may have found it difficult to sustain operations,” said a source.
WS Retail used to generate a bulk of the e-tailer’s revenue before Flipkart turned into a marketplace. While it could not be ascertained why it stopped conducting business on Flipkart abruptly, sources said, the government’s directive that mandated e-commerce companies to not source more than 25 percent of goods from a single seller may have had an adverse impact on the company.
(Source: The Times of India)
4. SC Allows RCom to Sell Assets to Reliance Jio
The Supreme Court has permitted Reliance Communications (RCom) to go through with the sale of its assets to Reliance Jio Infocomm (Jio) unhindered and allowed the Anil Ambani-owned company’s management to give an undertaking that it will pay Rs 550 crore to Ericsson by 30 September.
The apex court, in its order on Friday, 3 August, said the timeline of 30 September shall be “strictly adhered to and payment of Rs 550 crore be made on or before 30 September, 2018”. It then added that,” the sale of the assets concerned will go through as has been stated in the orders of Tribunal and the Appellate Tribunal”.
Friday’s ruling removes any doubts on the progress of RCom’s wireless asset sale to Jio and real estate sale to Canada’s Brookfield sale for over Rs 18,000 crore, which is to be used to repay the telco’s 39 lenders. RCom is trying to pare the Rs 46,000 crore on its books.
(Source: The Economic Times)
5. Tata Group, Dabur, Cadila Among Bidders for Kraft Heinz's Complan Brand
Kraft Heinz Co has narrowed the list of bidders for a portfolio of Indian businesses it’s selling that includes the children’s milk drink Complan, people with knowledge of the matter said.
The Tata group, the country’s biggest conglomerate, and Dabur India, the $11.3-billion consumer goods company, are among suitors selected for the second round of bidding, according to the people. The sale has also drawn an interest from an arm of Cadila Healthcare and other potential buyers, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private.
Kraft Heinz has been seeking about $1 billion for the assets, the people said. In addition to the Complan product, the Indian businesses being sold include the Glucon D instant energy drink, Nycil talcum powder and Sampriti clarified butter, the people said.
(Source: Business Standard)
6. Radio Mirchi Q1 Profit After Tax Up 107%
Entertainment Network (India), the operator of India’s No 1 FM radio channel Radio Mirchi, on Friday, 3 August, announced its results for the quarter ended 30 June 2018.
The company posted a strong set of numbers with revenues growing 16.4 percent to Rs 121.6 crore. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation grew 65 percent to Rs 28.4 crore, and profit after tax (PAT) grew 107.3 percent to Rs 9.2 crore in Q1FY19.
Commenting on the results, Entertainment Network India Limited (ENIL) MD & CEO Prashant Panday said, “Our numbers show that we have fully bounced back from the demonetisation and GST-induced lows of last year. All our products have done well. Our core radio revenues have grown by 22 percent.”
(Source: The Times of India)
7. Designer Rathore, Italian Label Zegna and Reliance Strike a Partnership
Jodhpur-based designer Raghavendra Rathore received a joint investment by Italian menswear label Ermenegildo Zegna and Reliance Brands Ltd (RBL).
This is the first-of-its-kind venture for a luxury label in the country, promising new avenues for Rathore. “With this new opportunity, we are recalibrating and optimizing the business plan,” the designer says over email. “The unique access to a vertical like Zegna and infrastructure support from RBL can bring many opportunities that never existed.”
Zegna and RBL’s role in the partnership is strategic, with Rathore and his team primarily in charge. “I can envision us helping deliberate strategic issues such as scale, timing and investments. Should Rathore seek inputs in other areas of the business, our support would be immediately forthcoming,” said Gildo Zegna, CEO of Ermenegildo Zegna.
However, Zegna emphasizes that all operational and management decisions will be undertaken by Rathore himself.
(Source: Livemint)
8. Tata Moves SC over BPSL Bids
Tata Steel on Friday, 3 August, knocked the doors of the Supreme Court seeking a stay on the August 1 order of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) that allowed the three bidders; Tata Steel, JSW Steel and Liberty House to submit revised bids in the fray for bankrupt Bhushan Power and Steel (BPSL).
Though the SC declined an urgent hearing on the matter as sought by the company since the deadline for submitting revised bid is 6 August, it agreed to hear the matter on 10 August. Meanwhile, Tata Steel also moved the NCLAT to seek extension of time for submitting the revised bids, which will come up for hearing on 6 August itself.
Seeking to restrain the resolution professional and the committee of creditors from considering any fresh revised bids, Tata Steel said in its petition that its “compliant resolution plan” had received the highest score by the CoC at its meeting on 11 June and that was prior to the appellate tribunal’s 20 July order that directed the NCLT to consider top two viable bids.
(Source: Financial Express)
9. SAIL Q1 Net Profit at Rs 540 Crore
The country’s largest steel maker SAIL on Friday, 3 August, reported Rs 540.43 crore standalone net profit for the first quarter ended 30 June. The company had posted a standalone net loss of Rs 801.38 crore in the corresponding quarter of the preceding fiscal, Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) said in a regulatory filing.
In April-June 2018, its total income increased to Rs 16,004.95 crore from Rs 13,072.77 crore in the year-ago period. The company’s expenses during the quarter under review were at Rs 14,899.74 crore as against Rs 14,349.89 crore.
During the June quarter, its saleable steel production was at 3.61 million tonnes (MT), up 13 percent over the same period a year ago, SAIL said. “The company’s sales volume at 3.271 MT was also 8 percent higher over corresponding period last year (CPLY),” it said. Shares of the company ended 1.13 percent down at Rs 79.05 apiece on BSE.
(Source: PTI)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)