1. Nifty 50 Sets Its Sight Beyond 9,000 But The Upside May Be Limited
The benchmark Nifty 50 of the National Stock Exchange India Ltd. (NSE) looks set to cross the 9,000 mark when it resumes trade on Tuesday after an extended weekend.
The benchmark came close to breaching this level in the first week of March before cautious investors booked profits ahead of the outcome of assembly elections in five states on 11 March 2017. The Singapore-traded SGX Nifty – an early indicator of Nifty's performance in India – closed above 9,150 on Monday.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), currently in power at the Centre, is set to form a government in four of the five states that went to polls, and will now rule in 13 states in the country – the highest number in its history.
This should facilitate decision-making on significant reforms (land, labour, tax), going forward, said Motilal Oswal Securities Ltd. in a report published after the election results. It would also speed up decisions on strategic policies and allow smooth transmission of economic policies, the domestic brokerage firm added.
(Source: BloombergQuint)
2. Snapdeal Yet to Settle Rs 1.2 Crore Dues: Vendors
It’s not just falling daily volumes and online merchants abandoning their platform that online marketplace Snapdeal has to face these days. An online vendors association, which conducted a survey, has claimed that close to Rs 1.2 crore in outstanding dues have not been settled by Snapdeal to merchants.
The All India Online Vendors Association (AIOVA), which reached out to its 2,100 members through e-mail on 10 March, asked sellers to provide details on payments pending, stock pending in Snapdeal-Plus which allows sellers to stock their products at the nearest Snapdeal fulfilment centre and the ticket number for the complaint registered with Snapdeal.
As on 13 March, ET saw copies of 26 responses from various sellers who alleged that payments were held up due to multiple reasons such as fake products sold by them, penalty for returned orders which did not reach the sellers and inaccurate charges for packaging and logistics.
The due amounts ranged from Rs 2,878 to as high as Rs 56 lakh. The value of the stock pending at the Snapdeal fulfilment centres was not considered to arrive at the figure of Rs 1.21 crore.
Snapdeal, however, denied the allegation in an emailed statement in response to ET’s questions.
(Source: Economic Times)
3. Intel to Buy Mobileye for About $15 Billion in Car Tech Push
Intel Corp. will acquire Mobileye NV for about $15 billion, paying one of the highest takeover premiums this century to play catch-up in the market for technology that helps cars drive themselves.
The US chipmaker will pay $63.54 per share in cash for Jerusalem-based Mobileye, which makes chips for cameras and driver-assistance features. The offer, the largest ever for an Israeli company, is a 34 percent premium to Mobileye’s closing price on Friday. The shares surged 29 percent to $61.10 at 12:45 pm in New York. Intel stock dipped 1.8 percent to $35.28.
The deal is the third most expensive acquisition in the technology industry this century, based on transactions over $5 billion and Mobileye’s trailing 12 month earnings, before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation.
Intel is trying to accelerate a push into what many chip companies view as the next big opportunity: Self-driving cars and the data they generate. With Mobileye, Intel gains the ability to offer automakers a larger package of components they will need as vehicles become more autonomous. The Santa Clara, California-based company, estimates the market for vehicle systems, data and services will be worth as much as $70 billion by 2030.
(Source: BloombergQuint)
4. Adani Enterprises Applies to Australian Government Fund for Coal Mine Railway Financing
India's Adani Enterprises has applied for financing from an Australian infrastructure fund to build a rail line that is part of a $16 billion coal project in the state of Queensland, Australia's resources minister said on Monday.
Financing from the $5 billion Northern Australian Infrastructure Facility (NAIF) would offer a boost to Adani after some major banks said they would not participate in the controversial coal project.
Since starting work on the Carmichael development over five years ago, Adani has battled opposition from green groups who say it will contribute to global warming.
Comprising six open-cut pits, five underground collieries and the rail line, to the Queensland coast, environmentalists fear the mine will produce so much coal for export to India that it will require a mega-port expansion into the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area.
(Source: Economic Times)
5. Mphasis Gets Shareholder Nod to Buy Back 1.73 Crore Shares
IT services provider Mphasis Monday said that its shareholders have approved the proposal to buyback 1.73 crore equity shares worth about Rs 1,103 crore.
The proposal to buy back 1,73,70,078 equity shares at a price not exceeding Rs 635 per share has been approved by shareholders, the company stated in the voting results on the proposal, in a BSE filing today.
According to the statement, the special resolution to buy back 1.73 crore shares representing 8.26 percent fully paid up capital was approved by the requisite majority.
Promoters and promoter group hold 60.42 percent share in the company, while public shareholding is at 39.58 percent as on December 2016.
(Source: Economic Times)
6. Jasper Infotech Pumps in Additional Rs 30 Crore into FreeCharge
Jasper Infotech, which owns and operates digital payments platform FreeCharge, has pumped in an additional Rs 30 crore into the latter, according to documents filed with the registrar of companies.
The latest capital infusion comes a little over two months after Jasper, which also owns and operates online marketplace Snapdeal.com, put in Rs 390 crore in the Bengaluru-based mobile wallet provider, which it acquired for $400-450 million in a cash-and-stock deal in mid-2015.
According to the documents filed with the RoC, Jasper purchased the additional shares following a board resolution on 23 February. This also follows a special resolution passed in December last year where FreeCharge increased its authorised share capital to Rs 1,006 crore from Rs 6 crore, setting the stage for a significant round of funding.
(Source: Economic Times)
7. Foreign Investors Pull Out $4.8 Billion From Indian Debt
India’s debt market has been quietly facing a bloodbath this fiscal. From April 2016 till date, foreign investors have pulled out a whopping net ₹32,090 crore – or $4.8 billion – from Indian debt papers.
According to depository NSDL, the net outflows from Indian debt in FY17 is the highest-ever. At the same time, net inflows into equity by foreign investors touched ₹32,488 crore.
In an investment outlook report, portfolio management firm Sanctum Wealth said, “The infusion of fresh deposits in the banking system is likely to shore up demand for G-secs by banks, which augurs well for bond prices. However, the narrowing of the rate differential is likely to keep foreign investor on the sidelines.”
Lakshmi Iyer, Chief Investment Officer (Debt) and Head – Products, Kotak Asset Management, said while foreign investors were pulling out of the domestic market through most of last year, the sell-off aggravated in October-December after demonetisation.
The negative sentiment for foreign investors to Indian debt is expected to remain the same through the rest of 2017, if debt market watchers are to be believed.
(Source: Hindu Business Line)
8. RMZ in Talks with Bankers for $300 Million REIT Offering
Real estate developer RMZ Corp. has started the process of selecting investment banks to manage its initial public offering (IPO) for its proposed real estate investment trust (REIT) which could see the developer raise more than Rs 2,000 crore, three people aware of the development said.
REITs are entities that primarily invest in leased office and retail assets, allowing developers to raise funds by selling completed, rent-yielding buildings to investors.
The developer had invited investment banks to pitch for the mandate to manage the offering, they said, requesting anonymity.
“They (RMZ Corp.) have started the process to appoint banks for their REIT. The company met at least 8-9 investment banks last week for pitches, which included a mix of domestic and foreign banks. These were held between Monday and Wednesday last week,” one of the three people cited above said.
The proposed REIT could see RMZ raise at least $300 million, said a second person cited above. However, he added that discussions are at an early stage and the company may raise as much as $500 million (over Rs 3,000 crore).
(Source: Livemint)
9. Airtel Bank Opens Over 1 Lakh Savings Accounts in TN
Airtel Payments Bank has enabled 100 villages across Tamil Nadu to go cashless to take its banking services deep into rural/unbanked areas and contribute to financial inclusion.
These villages now have access to basic banking services and the option of making digital payments, making them less reliant on cash, says a company press release.
Till date, over one lakh savings accounts have been opened with Airtel Payments Bank across Tamil Nadu. A network of over 16,000 neighbourhood Airtel stores across the state act as banking points and offer basic banking services to customers, the release said.
Airtel Payments Bank is a fully digital and paperless bank with a network of over 2,50,000 neighbourhood Airtel retail stores that also function as banking points. This is more than the total number of ATMs in the country. The bank aims to scale its network to 6,00,000 banking points across the country.
(Source: Hindu Business Line)
(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.)