QBiz: RBI’s Acharya Hints at Rate Hike; US Stocks Hit
Read our daily curation of the top business stories of the day.
1. MPC Minutes: Split Set To Deepen As Viral Acharya Leans Towards Rate Hike
India’s monetary policy committee, so far tilted in favour of a ‘wait and watch’ view on interest rates, may see two of six members vote for a rate hike when its next meeting rolls around.
Minutes of the MPC meeting, released today, show that Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor Viral Acharya will likely vote for ‘withdrawal of accommodation’ when the committee meets in June. Acharya will join RBI Executive Director Michael Patra in seeking tighter monetary policy in an attempt to bring inflation down the mid-point of the MPC’s flexible inflation target of 4 (+/- 2) percent. Patra voted for a 25 basis point hike in the repo rate at the February and April meetings.
The MPC kept interest rates unchanged at 6 percent in April, with a vote of 5-1.
(Source: BloombergQuint)
2. ArcelorMittal, Numetal Back in the Race for Essar Steel
The fight for control of bankrupt Essar Steel Ltd took an unexpected turn with the Ahmedabad bench of the insolvency court setting aside the resolution professional’s decision to disqualify Numetal Mauritius and ArcelorMittal from the first round of bidding.
A two-judge bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in Ahmedabad on Thursday directed resolution professional (RP) Satish Kumar Gupta and the committee of creditors (CoC) to reconsider the bids of Numetal and ArcelorMittal for the distressed steelmaker, one of the 12 accounts shortlisted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for immediate bankruptcy resolution in June last year.
(Source: Livemint)
3. As Part of $4.2-Bn Global Deal, P&G to Acquire Merck India for Rs 12.9 Bn
Procter & Gamble, the world’s largest consumer goods company, is taking over Merck Ltd, the listed Indian arm of the German drug maker, as part of its $4.2 billion global acquisition of Merck’s consumer health business.
According to the transaction announced on Thursday, P&G will acquire 51.8 percent in Merck Ltd for about Rs 12.9 billion, triggering an open offer for an additional 26 percent stake. The open offer will be executed at Rs 1,500.36 per share, aggregating Rs 6.47 billion, P&G and Merck said. The deal is expected to enhance P&G’s consumer health play in the domestic market, with the company gaining access to vitamin brands such as Seven Seas and Neurobion from Merck’s portfolio apart from nasal decongestant Nasivion.
(Source: Business Standard)
4. After 12 Quarters, TCS Sees Double-Digit Growth in Dollar Revenue in Q4
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the country’s largest information technology (IT) services provider, on Thursday announced a strong set of numbers in the March quarter (Q4) as well as for 2017-18, backed by all-round growth in key verticals and geographies, and digital services and solutions.
The Mumbai-headquartered company posted double-digit revenue growth in dollar terms in Q4 for the first time in the last 12 quarters. The management was confident of sustaining this growth rate in the coming quarters.
(Source: Business Standard)
5. Cash Withdrawal Still High Across the Country, More ATMs Functioning
Cash withdrawal continued to remain higher than usual in the past three days across the country even as more automated teller machines (ATMs) started dispensing cash.
On Wednesday, citizens withdrew Rs 98.1 billion from all the ATMs in the country — a 16 percent jump from the Rs 84.7 billion withdrawn on Tuesday — a day when the Union government and the RBI said the cash crunch situation would be eased by printing more notes. Cash withdrawal from ATMs stood at Rs 66.6 billion on 16 April, according to data reviewed by Business Standard.
Officials said Rs 65-70 billion was the average cash withdrawn from ATMs per day.
(Source: Business Standard)
6. US Stocks Decline on Tech Woes, Treasuries Slide
US stocks fell for the first time in four days as technology shares came under pressure from trade and earnings concerns. Treasuries hit the lowest since February amid a wave of selling across European sovereign debt and inflation.
The S&P 500 Index dropped the most in nearly two weeks as tech shares slumped after Taiwan Semiconductor’s disappointing forecast roiled chipmaker stocks. China’s request for concessions from Qualcomm Inc to acquire NXP Semiconductors NV ratcheted up tensions over trade. Earnings misses from Procter & Gamble Co and Philip Morris International Inc weighed on consumer staples.
(Source: BloombergQuint)
7. Supreme Court Allows Sahara To Sell Part Of Aamby Valley Property
The Supreme Court today allowed the Sahara Group to sell part of its Aamby Valley property to raise money in order to refund investors.
The official liquidator of the Bombay High Court, appointed to conduct the auction of the property, today informed the top court that the 7,000 acre property has been divided into five parcels. The apex court allowed the Subrata Roy-led group to sell any one parcel of this land by 15 May.
If the group fails to conduct the sale before that date, the property will be auctioned as per the schedule drawn by the official liquidator, the bench of Chief Justice of India Justice Dipak Misra, Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice AK Sikri said.
(Source: BloombergQuint)
8. CCI Slaps Rs 215 Cr Fine on Eveready, Indo National
Fair trade regulator the Competition Commission of India (CCI) today imposed a total fine of Rs 215 crore on Eveready, Indo National, industry grouping AIDCM and their officials for cartelisation in pricing of zinc-carbon dry cell batteries.
Invoking leniency provisions, the CCI reduced the quantum of penalties on Eveready, Indo National as well as their officials. The fine has been completely waived off in the case of Panasonic Energy India, which was also involved in anti-competitive practices.
(Source: PTI)
9. Fortis Board to Form Committee to Evaluate Bids
The Fortis board today decided to form a committee of experts for evaluation of bids for the beleaguered hospital chain under investigation for financial irregularities.
The committee will go through the binding offers received for Fortis Healthcare. The board will also seek shareholders' approval to name more directors to the board of Fortis.
The committee, which will be chaired by PricewaterhouseCoopers India's former chairman and CEO Deepak Kapoor, will oversee the evaluation process and give its recommendation to the board in a meeting on 26 April, Fortis said in a statement.
(Source: Economic Times)
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