QBiz: Yes Bank Shares Surge; Top 3 IT Firms Lose $31 Bn in 2 Weeks
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1. Yes Bank Shares Surge, Lender Says It's Ready for Business
Yes Bank Ltd’s chief executive officer-designate Prashant Kumar said that there is enough liquidity to meet any requirement when the bank resumes normal operations at 6 pm on Wednesday, 18 March.
Addressing reporters a day before the lifting of a moratorium by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Kumar also said that he is confident that Yes Bank customers will not rush to withdraw or shift their funds to other banks.
“We have done extensive analytics about customer behaviour. We have seen that only one-third of customers have withdrawn Rs 50,000 during the moratorium period. That is a huge comfort. They don’t have any apprehension or feel the need to withdraw or shift money more than is required in the normal course of business. Last four days, we have seen higher inflows than outflows," he said.
(Source: Livemint)
2. Market Crash: Top 3 IT Firms Lose USD 31 Bn in a Fortnight Amid Virus Scare
Top three IT services firms of the country lost a combined market capitalisation (m-cap) of around USD 31 billion in the past fortnight as coronavirus continued to roil the stock market.
From 2 March until Tuesday (17 March), m-cap of India’s largest IT services player Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) dropped by Rs 1.45 trillion (around USD 21 billion) as investors sold their positions in anticipation of demand slowdown.
Similarly, country’s second-largest IT firm Infosys saw its m-cap drop by around Rs 70,000 crore (around USD 7 billion) in the past fortnight to touch Rs 2.36 trillion. In case of Wipro, m-cap fell by around Rs 26,000 crore (around USD 3.7 billion) to touch Rs 98,902 crore on Tuesday.
(Source: Business Standard)
3. Centre Set to Overhaul Audit Regime to Check Lapses in Governance
The ministry of corporate affairs is set to make major changes to the framework of statutory audits to ensure that managements cannot arm-twist or tempt auditors into overlooking governance lapses.
The proposed changes will mostly be through rules under the Companies Act as well as through changes to auditing standards so that no major change in the law is required, said two people familiar with the discussions in the government.
The ministry last month sought public comments on the broad issues around auditors’ independence till 15 March. The new regulatory framework will draw from these suggestions, said one of the two people.
(Source: Livemint)
4. Sensex Tumbles More than 800 Points to Three-Year Low; ICICI Slips 9%
Benchmark equity index Sensex erased the day’s gains and tumbled more than 800 points on Tuesday, 17 March, to three-year closing lows, joining the selloff in world equities as the investors fretted over damage to the global economy from fast-spreading coronavirus pandemic.
Unabated selling by foreign institutional investors (FIIs) has also weighed heavily on the Indian stock market. Since 24 February, FIIs have been net sellers in all sessions and have dumped a net of USD 4.7 billion of Indian shares in the period.
The 30-share Sensex closed 2.58 per cent or 810.98 points at 30,579.09, the lowest close since 10 March 2017. The 50-share Nifty dropped 2.51 percent or 229.10 points to close at 8,968.30, the lowest close since 24 May 2017.
(Source: The Economic Times)
5. Govt Needs Rs 3.06 Trillion in 20 Days to Meet Direct Tax Target
The Centre needs to collect Rs 3.06 trillion from direct taxes in 20 days, and Rs 1.11 trillion from indirect taxes in a month to meet the Revised Estimates (RE) for 2019-20, minister of state for finance Anurag Singh Thakur said in the Rajya Sabha in a written reply.
The data showed that the government has collected 73.8 percent of direct tax target as given in RE by 10 March and 88.71 percent of indirect tax mop-up projection by 29 February.
Thakur said as far as direct tax was concerned, the final instalment of advance tax was due in March. "It is premature to comment on tax collection growth," he said.
(Source: Business Standard)
6. Supreme Court to Hear AGR Case, Government Plea on AGR Relief on 18 March
The Supreme Court is set to hear the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) case on Wednesday, and the government’s application that telcos be allowed to spread the payment of their dues over 20 years or less.
A three-judge bench led by Justice Arun Mishra, and comprising Justices S Abdul Nazeer and MR Shah will hear the matter, according to the Supreme Court cause list. The same bench had backed the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) while ruling on 24 October that AGR should include non-core items, leaving the industry in turmoil.
The wider definition of AGR left 15 telcos, including many that are now defunct, facing over Rs 1.43 lakh crore in license fees, spectrum usage charge, interest and penalties. Vodafone Idea Bharti Airtel and Tata Teleservices were the worst affected with combined dues of Rs 1.19 lakh crore.
(Source: The Economic Times)
7. GoAir Suspends International Operations, Sends Staff on Leave Without Pay
Facing low travel demand due to travel restrictions as a result of outspread of Covid-19, Wadia Group-controlled no-frill carrier GoAir Ltd. has asked a section of its employees to go on short-term leave without pay, a spokesperson of the airline said on Tuesday, 17 March.
"GoAir has also initiated a short-term and temporary rotational leave without pay program that will not only help the company counter the short-term reduction in capacity, but will also ensure that a cross section of our employees stay away from the workplace to ensure business continuity," the spokesperson said in a statement.
The Mumbai-headquartered airline has temporarily suspended its international operations till 15 April, as a result of travel restrictions due to the outspread of Covid-19 pandemic.
(Source: Livemint)
8. Coronavirus Outbreak: Consumer Durable Firms Stare at Uncertain Future
If 2019 had been the year of hope for makers of consumer electronics and appliances in the country, the current year has so far turned the tide. From rising taxation to disruption in supply and demand, several factors have affected their fortunes.
With the coronavirus pandemic now spreading its tentacles across the country, manufacturers are now staring at an uncertain future.
As people stay away from public places, demand for large appliances like air conditioners (ACs) and refrigerators are set to take a hit in the next few weeks. Traditionally, sale of ACs and refrigerators begin by February, with the onset of summer in Kerala, followed by Tamil Nadu. But a lockdown in the badly-hit southern state has severely impacted sales this year.
(Source: Business Standard)
9. RBL Bank Loses 3% of Its Deposits in the Wake of Yes Bank Collapse
RBL Bank on Tuesday, 17 March, said it has seen withdrawals worth about 3% of its deposit base over the last one week by institutions and various state governments. It is engaging with these depositors to regain their business.
In a statement aimed at countering rumours about its health, RBL Bank said: “While there has been no material impact on our retail deposits, there have been some withdrawals from institutional depositors and a couple of state government organizations, constituting about 3 percent of our total deposits in the last one week.
However, this issue is being addressed by us on a one-on-one basis with the state governments and also at the industry levels by RBI (Reserve Bank of India). In spite of this, we remain highly liquid with significant retail deposits, institutional lines, refinance, and surplus liquid assets.”
(Source: Financial Express)
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