QBiz: IndiGo Feud Escalates; India-China Bilateral Trade Declines
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1. Rakesh Gangwal Writes to Sebi, Escalating IndiGo Feud
The simmering feud between the two founders of InterGlobe Aviation Ltd, which runs India’s largest airline, took an ugly turn, with Rakesh Gangwal seeking the regulator’s intervention to curb alleged governance violations by co-founder Rahul Bhatia.
The charges were denied by Bhatia, who accused Gangwal of trying to dilute the controlling rights of his holding company InterGlobe Enterprises Pvt Ltd (IGE) in the low-fare carrier, IndiGo.
(Source: Livemint)
2. India, China Bilateral Trade Declines by 3.59 Percent This Year
The bilateral trade between India and China has declined by 3.59 percent year on year, totalling USD 36.87 billion in the first five months of this year, denting optimism that the total trade volume may cross USD 100 billion mark in 2019. The India-China bilateral trade last year touched a historic high of USD 95.54 billion, raising hopes that the trade this year could cross the historic USD 100 billion mark.
The trade deficit in 2018, according to Chinese official data, climbed to USD 57.86 billion from USD 51.72 billion in 2017. As per the latest data released by Chinese customs, the bilateral trade in the first five months of 2019 has declined by 3.59 percent year on year amounting to USD 36.87 billion.
(Source: PTI)
3. TCS Surprises With Slower Growth and Softer Margins in Q1
Tata Consultancy Services Ltd reported revenue for the June quarter that was materially below the Street’s estimates. Revenue stood at $5.49 billion, an increase of merely 1.6 percent over the seasonally weaker March quarter.
Analysts at Jefferies India Pvt. Ltd and Kotak Institutional Equities had estimated revenue growth of 2.6-2.7 percent in dollar terms. A miss of about one percentage point sequentially is considered huge by the Street, and has historically resulted in sharp declines in valuations.
(Source: Livemint)
4. Govt Likely to Give up Direct Controlling Stakes in ONGC, IOC, NTPC, GAIL
India will likely give up direct control of its most-profitable state-run behemoths as Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks to keep the budget deficit in check, while reviving investments to spur economic growth.
The government has identified the biggest energy companies such as Oil & Natural Gas Corp, Indian Oil Corp, NTPC Ltd and GAIL India Ltd as probable candidates for cutting its direct holding to below 51 percent, Atanu Chakraborty, who steers Modi’s asset sale department, said in an interview Monday in New Delhi.
(Source: Business Standard)
5. Trump Issues a Fresh Tariffs Threat to India Before Trade Talks This Week
Ahead of official-level trade talks between India and the US this week in New Delhi, President Donald Trump has again warned India that its high tariff regime is not acceptable to the US.
“India has long had a field day putting Tariffs on American products. No longer acceptable!" Trump tweeted on Tuesday.
(Source: Livemint)
6. IL&FS Impact: Govt Considers Rating Reforms to Separate Review, Approval
With the role of rating agencies in the Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) scam under the scanner, the government is considering a slew of reforms to separate their review and rating approval functions to ensure there is no conflict of interest.
A senior government official told Business Standard, “IL&FS is perhaps the turning point. There will be a lot of regulatory changes by the learnings of this case.” Rating agencies that had rated the debt instruments of IL&FS, which went bust, are facing government heat.
(Source: Business Standard)
7. I-T Lens on Facebook and Google for Under-reporting Revenue in India
The income-tax (I-T) department has decided to scrutinise tech giants such as Google and Facebook to check under-reporting of their revenues in India, which are not commensurate with the scale of their advertising business in the country, Business Standard has learnt.
Taxmen have come across instances where global firms – charged a withholding tax of 6 percent (known as equalisation levy) – are under-reporting the exact income they earned from an Indian user.
(Source: Business Standard)
8. Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal Barred from Selling Amway, Other Direct Sellers’ Goods
India’s leading e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal have once again been caught in the regulatory quagmire as the Delhi High Court has restrained them from enabling the sale of products of direct selling companies – Oriflame, Amway, and Modicare on their platform, as per a PTI report.
The order came after the three companies had filed pleas alleging their products being sold at cheaper rates on the e-commerce platforms leading to financial losses.
(Source: Financial Express)
9. SBI Found Flouting Rules, Says Finally-Released RBI Report
The country's largest bank, the State Bank of IndiaNSE 0.94 percent, has been found flouting several rules in its attempt to cover up non-performing assets (NPAs), according to the RBI's annual inspection report.
The Reserve Bank of India's report said that the SBI, among several banks from 2012 to 2015, was found to be flouting anti-money laundering rules, engaging in 'evergreening' of loans, suppression of data and sidestepping know your customer (KYC) norms, as reported by Moneylife.
(Source: IANS)
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