1. BSE to 'Compulsorily' Delist 200 Firms, Bar Promoters
Leading stock exchange BSE will ‘compulsorily’ delist 200 firms this week and bar their promoters from the markets for 10 years as trading in these shares have remained suspended for over a decade.
All these companies will be delisted from 23 August.
The move also comes at a time when authorities are clamping down on shell companies – listed as well as unlisted – for allegedly being used as conduits for illicit fund flows.
In early August, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) directed exchanges to act against 331 suspected shell companies, while the government has already deregistered more than 1.75 lakh firms that have not been carrying out business activities for long.
(Source: Livemint)
2. Uber in Pact With Axis, HDFC Bank for UPI-Based Payments
The worldwide cab-hailing firm Uber has tied up with Axis Bank and HDFC Bank for UPI (Unified Payments Interface)-based payments. The announcement is expected in a couple of days.
Apart from payments via credit/debit cards, cash and Paytm, this will be yet another payment option available to customers.
Uber’s chief competitor in the Indian industry, Ola had incorporated UPI this year in April.
According to rough estimates, more than half of Uber cab drivers still get paid by users in cash. Industry estimates suggest that while Uber has 2.4 lakh drivers registered with them, Ola has an estimated 6.5 lakh drivers working for it.
(Source: Economic Times)
3. Essar Oil Sale Will Reduce Essar Group’s Debt By Rs 70,000 Crore
Russia's Rosneft PJSC-led consortium on Monday completed its $12.9-billion (around Rs 82,697 crore) acquisition of Essar Oil Ltd – a transaction that the Ruia family termed as the biggest deleveraging deal to be closed in the country.
The buyers and the seller announced the completion of the deal in two separate announcements.
As part of the deal, Rosneft and a consortium of commodities trader Trafigura and private investment group United Capital Partners acquired 49.13 percent stake each in Essar Oil, Essar Group said in a statement. The Ruia family, which originally owned Essar Oil, would hold about 2 percent stake in the Trafigura-UCP consortium, effectively giving the Ruias an economic interest of around 1 percent.
(Source: BloombergQuint)
4. Bank Unions on All-India Strike Today Against Consolidation Plans
Services at public sector banks are expected to be hit on Tuesday with employee unions going on a nationwide strike.
The employees are protesting against the proposed consolidation of public sector banks, inadequate capital support for banks and loan defaults by large borrowers. The strike has been called by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), an umbrella body of nine unions including the All Indian Bank Officers Confederation and All India Bank Employees’ Association (AIBEA).
C.H. Venkatachalam, general secretary of AIBEA, said in a statement on Monday that nearly 1 million bank employees across all 21 public sector banks will go on strike.
The strike is likely to impact State Bank of India as two of its unions have decided to participate, the bank has informed exchanges on Saturday.
(Source: Livemint)
5. Government Gets Rs 42,000 Crore Tax So Far In First Filing Under GST
As much as Rs 42,000 crore has already come in as taxes so far in the first monthly filing under the new Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime and the revenues are expected to swell further as the filing cycle closes later this week.
A senior official said that about Rs 15,000 crore has come in as Integrated GST, which is levied on inter-state movement of goods, and another Rs 5,000 crore by way of cess on demerit goods like cars and tobacco. The remaining Rs 22,000 crore has come in as Central GST and State GST, which would be split equally between the Union and State governments.
So far, 10 lakh tax payers have filed returns and another 20 lakh have logged in and saved return forms.
The government estimates that 90-95 percent of the assesses will file returns and pay taxes, the official quoted above said.
(Source: BloombergQuint)
6. ONGC Board Approves HPCL Takeover
The board of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) on Monday gave 'in-principle' approval to acquire the government's 51.11 per cent stake in Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd, the company said in a regulatory filing.
The board at its meeting constituted a committee of directors to “examine various aspects” of the acquisition and “to provide its recommendations to the board of directors,” it said.
The government last month had approved the sale of its 51.11 per cent stake in oil refiner HPCL to India's largest oil producer ONGC.
(Source: Economic Times)
7. Around 100 Brokers Under Lens for Helping Shell Companies
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) and the income-tax department are investigating the role of about 100 brokerages which they believe may have helped shell companies launder as much as Rs16,000 crore by compromising so-called know-your-customer (KYC) norms, said two people with direct knowledge of the matter.
This is part of an ongoing probe into shell companies by the ministry of corporate affairs, which has identified some 16,000 potentially bogus firms after drawing inputs from the Serious Fraud Investigation Office, Central Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement Directorate, these people said. The 331 firms that Sebi branded as suspected shell companies on 8 August were part of this list. Out of the 16,000 firms, some 10,000 were flagged by the income-tax department.
(Source: Livemint)
8. McDonald's Snaps Agreement With India Franchisee After Feud
McDonald’s Corp’s battle with one of its two India franchisees escalated after the fast food giant moved to terminate an agreement involving more than a third of its restaurants there.
The Indian unit of McDonald’s said on Monday it ended a pact with Connaught Plaza Restaurants Pvt, a joint venture that operates 169 outlets in the northern and eastern regions of the world’s second-most populous nation. McDonald’s said its partner violated “certain essential obligations” of the agreement, including the payment of royalties.
The local partner “has failed to remedy the breaches, despite being provided with an opportunity to do so in accordance with the agreements,” McDonald’s said. “We understand that this action brings uncertainty for many.”
(Source: BloombergQuint)
9. Flipkart to Let Sellers Sell Products Globally Through EBay
Flipkart, India’s largest e-commerce firm, will now sell products to customers in over 190 countries through a new programme that is launching through its eBay India subsidiary.
The new programme, called Flipkart Global, will allow the over 100,000 sellers on Flipkart’s platform to sell their products online in over 190 countries. The initiative will leverage the export capabilities of eBay India, which was bought over by Flipkart as part of a $1.4 billion funding round in April.
“This programme will enable sellers to export their products globally and this would mean access to sellers in pretty much all the countries in the world. This will not just allow Indian customers in other parts of the world to access these products, but will also target a lot of global customers,” Anil Goteti, head of the eBay India business at Flipkart, said in an interview.
(Source: Livemint)
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