1. After Cognizant, Other IT Biggies Like Wipro and Infosys Also Prepare for Layoffs
Large IT services companies are all in the process of laying off employees on a scale not seen since the 2008-10 downturn.
Those taking the hit first are mid- and senior-level professionals – those with 10-20 years of experience. But the expectation is that lower level employees, too, will be hurt later in the year as growth in the $150-billion industry slows far more than anticipated and companies move towards hiring more in the US. The situation is worsening to a point where affected employees are beginning to approach labour unions to take up their cause.
Cognizant last week announced a voluntary separation programme for directors, associate VPs and senior VPs.
(Source: The Economic Times)
2. Bharti Airtel 4Q Earnings Drag as Competition Hurts
Bharti Airtel’s fiscal fourth quarter net profit plunged 71.7% and revenue fell 8.8% on-year on underlying basis as India’s largest telecommunication services company’s aggressive tariff offers to counter relentless competition from Reliance Jio hurt earnings. The ongoing tariff war in the telecommunication sector led to a sharp fall in the money earned per customer.
In an obvious refernce to Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel’s India and South Asia MD and CEO Gopal Vittal said in statement,
The sustained predatory pricing by the new operator has led to a decline in revenue growth for the second quarter in a row. The telecom industry as a whole also witnessed a revenue decline for the first time ever on a full year basis.
(Source: Financial Express)
3. Snapdeal Sale to Flipkart: SoftBank Said to Be Closer to Bringing Nexus on Board
Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp. is believed to have moved a step closer to securing the consent of investor Nexus Venture Partners for Snapdeal sale to Flipkart, the largest e-commerce firm in India.
A meeting of representatives of SoftBank and Nexus Venture Partners was held Tuesday and the impasse over the sale could end soon, people familiar with the matter said.
SoftBank – the largest shareholder in Snapdeal (Jasper Infotech Pvt. Ltd) – has been making all efforts to get Nexus Venture Partners on board for the sale of India’s third largest online retailer, and a breakthrough could come as early as this week, said the people quoted above.
(Source: Livemint)
4. RBI Dollar Purchases In March at Six-Month High
The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) net purchase of dollars hit a six month high in March, shows data released by the central bank as part of its monthly bulletin. The RBI stepped up its intervention in the foreign exchange markets as strong inflows pushed up the currency to levels which some perceived as overvalued.
Data released on Tuesday showed that net purchases of dollars by the central bank jumped to $3.54 billion in March. This is the highest net purchase since September when net purchases stood at $4.64 billion.
A break-up of the data shows that the RBI bought over a total of $ 5 billion in foreign exchange in March, while sales added up to just under $1.5 billion. The data on the central bank’s forex operations are released with a two-month lag and is reported in Dollars.
(Source: BloombergQuint)
5. RBS to Cut Over 300 Jobs, Move Others to India
British lender Royal Bank of Scotland on Tuesday said it was planning to cut over 300 jobs and move a number of others to India as part of its efforts to become a “simpler, smaller UK-focused bank”. Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) informed staff that it would be letting go of 154 contractors by year-end, while 180 permanent roles have been put at risk – with a total of 92 staff positions set to be axed.
As RBS moves towards becoming a simpler, smaller UK-focused bank, we’re continuing to restructure our back-office support and reducing its size so it’s a better fit for our business. Unfortunately, these changes will result in the net reduction of 92 roles. We understand this will be difficult news for staff and we will be offering support to those affected, including redeploying people into other roles where we can.RBS, in a statement
The cuts are expected to affect tech staff across a number of the bank’s departments including risk solutions, digital engineering services, finance solutions, core and payments, and NatWest markets technology.
6. Round 2 Of UDAN: Government May Ease Entry Barriers to Get More Carriers On Board
The Civil Aviation Ministry plans to invite bids from airlines under phase two of the regional connectivity scheme, UDAN, during the first week of July, Aviation Secretary RN Chaubey told BloombergQuint on Thursday. Chaubey added that he expected participation from a larger basket of carriers, including market leader IndiGo.
Chaubey based his optimism on IndiGo’s announcement on Thursday that it will procure 50 ATR 72-600 turboprop aircraft, typically used for regional operations to smaller airports. The budget carrier is setting up a separate division to handle regional operations.
Among the top five airlines by market share, only SpiceJet Ltd., and national carrier Air India's subsidiary Alliance Air had participated in round one of the scheme.
(Source: BloombergQuint)
7. IndiGo to Enter Regional Aviation, Fly Smaller Planes to Hinterland
India’s largest airline IndiGo has signed a non-binding term sheet for purchase of 50 ATR-72 aircraft for a foray into regional aviation.
“We expect to have seven ATR-72s by March 2018 and induct up to 20 aircraft by December 2018,” the airline said in a statement.
Rival low-cost airline SpiceJet has a fleet of 18 Q400 Bombardier aircraft. Air India and Jet Airways also have smaller planes in their fleets.
(Source: Business Standard)
8. NPA Ordinance Credit Positive, but More Steps Needed: Moody's
The government’s ordinance on bad loans resolution is credit positive, but does not address the key structural issues plaguing the banking sector, ratings agency Moody’s said on Tuesday.
Last week, the government through an ordinance provided the Reserve Bank with greater powers to intervene in the resolution of non-performing loans (NPLs). Later, the RBI lowered the threshold for consensus required among lenders in the Joint Lenders’ Forum (JLF) to approve resolution proposals.
“These measures improve the efficacy of NPL resolution mechanisms and are credit positive. However, they do not address the lack of capital at the state-owned banks that has prevented them from writing down NPLs to realistic levels,” the global ratings agency said in a statement.
(Source: The HIndu BusinessLine)
9. Solar Tariff Dips to New Low at Solar Corporation of India's Latest Auction
Solar tariffs have fallen to a new low of Rs 2.71 per kwH at the Solar Corporation of India’s (SECI) latest auction of 250 MW at the Adani Renewable Energy Park in Bhadla, Jodhpur district, Rajasthan.
SECI had set a base price of Rs 3.01 per kwH for the auction, which began on Tuesday afternoon and is expected to end only late night. In keeping with the rules, the names of the 14 bidders are being withheld till the auction is completed. The lowest bid of Rs 2.71 per kwH was made for 50 MW.
(Source: The Economic Times)
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