1. Infosys Approves Rs 13,000 Crore Share Buyback at 24.57% Premium
Infosys board has announced buyback of shares worth Rs 13,000 crore after the stock went through a sharp correction on Friday on Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Vishal Sikka’s surprise resignation.
In its board meeting on Saturday, the information technology major said that the company will buy back up to 11,30,43,478 crore shares aggregating up to 4.92 percent of the paid-up equity capital via tender route at a price of Rs 1,150 per equity share.
“The buyback offer size is 20.51 percent of the total paid-up equity capital and free reserves of the company as per the latest audited balance sheet dated 30 June 2017,” said the company in its statement to BSE.
(Source: Livemint)
2. Top Loan Defaulters Owe 27% of Total Amount to SBI Alone
Country's largest lender SBI accounts for over 27 percent of the total amount owed to public sector banks by wilful defaulters.
As many as 1,762 wilful defaulters owed Rs 25,104 crore to State Bank of India as on 31 March, putting pressure on its balance sheet.
Punjab National Bank (PNB) is next on the list with 1,120 wilful defaulters having outstanding non-performing assets (NPAs) or bad loans of Rs 12,278 crore.
Together these two banks account for Rs 37,382 crore or 40 percent of the total outstanding loans.
(Source: PTI)
3. Cost Overruns Of Rs 1.7 Lakh Crore In 322 Infrastructure Projects: Report
As many as 322 infrastructure projects worth Rs 150 crore or above each have seen a cost overrun of Rs 1.71 lakh crore due to delays and other reasons by March 2017, according to a report.
“Total original cost of implementation of the 1,231 projects was Rs 15.59 lakh crore and their anticipated completion cost is likely to be Rs 17.31 lakh crore, which reflects overall cost overruns of Rs 1.71 lakh crore (11 per cent of original cost),” a flash report by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation said.
Out of 1,231 projects, a total of 322 projects reported cost overruns, the report said.
(Source: BloombergQuint)
4. Indian Oil to Invest Rs 52,000 Crore on Paradip Refinery
State-owned Indian Oil Corp Ltd will invest about Rs 52,000 crore in expanding the Paradip refinery and setting up a petrochemical complex, after the Odisha government agreed to restore parts of tax incentives, a person aware of the development said.
The state government has agreed to give Rs 700 crore per annum of interest-free loans for 15 years, to make up for the withdrawn incentive of an 11-year deferment on payment of sales tax on Paradip refinery products sold in the state.
“IOC wanted Rs 1,000 crore per annum of interest free loan but in the end settled for Rs 700 crore loan over a longer 15-year period,” said the person who is privy to the negotiations between the company and the state government.
(Source: Livemint)
5. Government May Put Public Sector Banking Mergers on Fast Track
Keen to push consolidation in the public sector banking space, the government is looking to set up a new mechanism to speed up decisions on possible mergers among state-run lenders.
The new process will be along the lines of the alternative mechanism that’s been adopted for strategic disinvestments, which involves a small group of cabinet ministers.
“We are discussing various combinations for merger in public sector banks. The basic premise remains the same, that is to put the process on a fast track,” said a government official aware of the deliberations, adding that this option may also be explored for the IDBI bank stake sale.
(Source: Economic Times)
6. Honda Cars See Green Light For Rs 1,577 Crore Expansion Project
Honda Cars have received the environment clearance for a Rs 1,577-crore expansion project at its Tapukara plant in Rajasthan.
Honda Cars India Ltd (HCIL) wants to expand the production capacity at the Tapukara plant in Alwar district along with indigenisation of various car parts to reduce the cost of its products.
The company’s proposal was first examined by an expert panel last month and based on its recommendations, the environment ministry gave the go-ahead to the expansion project.
The environment clearance has been granted subject to the compliance of certain specific and general conditions, the ministry said in a letter issued to HCIL. PTI has reviewed a copy of the letter.
(Source: BloombergQuint)
7. Banks Stare at Union Strike on Tuesday, Services May Be Hit
Services at public sector banks may take a hit on Tuesday as all unions under the aegis of UFBU have threatened to go on strike against the government’s proposed consolidation move besides raising a host of other demands.
Most banks have already informed their customers that functioning of branches and offices will be impacted if the strike takes off. Operations at private lenders like ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank are expected to be normal except for delay in cheque clearances.
The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) is an umbrella body of nine unions, including All India Bank Officers’ Confederation (AIBOC), All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) and National Organisation of Bank Workers (NOBW).
(Source: The Indian Express)
8. Essar Oil to Announce Closure of $13 Billion Sale Deal With Rosneft on Monday
Ending months of negotiations with various stakeholders, Essar Group will be announcing the closure of its $13-billion deal to sell its flagship Essar Oil to a consortium led by Russian energy major OAO Rosneft on Monday morning.
Rosneft, along with Russian private fund United Capital Partners (UCP) and Swiss commodity trading firm Trafigura, are buying a 98 percent stake in Essar Oil that includes India's second largest refinery at Vadinar and nearly 3,000 fuel retail outlets.
The transaction, announced by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin last October during the BRICS Summit has been much delayed over haggles by Essar's creditors and India's intelligence establishment raising several red flags.
(Source: Economic Times)
9. Russia's Rosatom Eyes Inox's Wind Turbine Manufacturing Business
Russia’s Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corp is exploring an investment in Inox Group’s wind turbine manufacturing business, said two people aware of the development.
The Russian government company’s interest in India’s second largest wind-turbine maker by market share stems from its strategy to gain control over the supply chain, which in turn will help in curbing costs and offer competitive tariffs in the country’s wind power space.
“Rosatom is exploring this investment given its interest in the Indian wind energy space. It is trying to build a manufacturing presence. Through its unit JSC OTEK, it already has a partnership with the Netherlands’ wind turbine maker Lagerwey Wind BV,” said a person aware of the development, requesting anonymity.
(Source: Livemint)
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