1. Petrol, Diesel Prices on Hold in the Interest of Consumers
Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) Ltd has kept prices of petrol and diesel unchanged as it expects the recent surge in crude prices to be a temporary phenomenon.
IOC and other state-owned oil companies are holding back on price hikes in the interest of customers, Chairman and Managing Director Sanjiv Singh said on the sidelines of an event in New Delhi on Tuesday, 8 May. “Global prices are not supported by fundamentals. Some geopolitical issues are flaring up the prices and they will not last permanently.”
IOC, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd have not revised petrol and diesel prices since 24 April, according to information on their websites. During this time, Brent crude prices have risen 2.3 percent while WTI crude climbed to $70 per barrel as US President Donald Trump considers pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal.
(Source: BloombergQuint)
2. Airtel to Roll Out 8,000 New Mobile Sites in Maha, Goa
Bharti Airtel will roll out 8,000 new tower sites and 4,200 kms of optic fibre in FY 18-19 in Maharashtra and Goa, in a bid to strengthen their 4G network capacity and keep pace with competitors – Reliance Jio Infocomm (Jio), Idea CellularNSE and Vodafone India.
Post this infrastructure expansion, the number of Airtel’s mobile sites in Maharashtra and Goa will increase by 25 percent to 38,000. Compared to the expansion plans for the current financial year, last year, the telco had deployed more than 7,000 new sites and 2,600 kms plus optic fibre.
“We are committed to offer our customers in Maharashtra and Goa a seamless experience on the best smartphone network. We will continue to invest aggressively in the region and expand our network capabilities with over 38,000 sites by the end of this financial year,” said Rohit Marwha, chief executive officer – Maharashtra and Goa, Bharti Airtel.
(Source: The Economic Times)
3. Flipkart May Be Liable for 20% Capital Gains Tax After Walmart Deal
Flipkart founders Sachin and Binny Bansal may have to pay 20 percent capital gains tax if they sell their shares in the company as part of the proposed deal with US retail giant Walmart, say tax experts.
The Indian e-commerce major is in discussions to sell majority holding to Walmart and an announcement to this effect is likely to be made soon, sources close to the development said. Walmart is likely to buy stakes of multiple Flipkart investors, including that of Tiger Global and Japanese conglomerate Softbank, to end up with 60-80 percent holding for roughly $12 billion.
According to experts, there would be two taxation angles to the deal once it goes through. The first will be taxation of capital gains earned by the sellers (Flipkart investors). Secondly, whether Flipkart India is allowed to carry forward the losses for the adjustment against income tax payable by the company.
(Source: Financial Express)
4. ICICI Bank Shares Surge over 8%
Shares of ICICI Bank Ltd jumped more than 8 percent on Tuesday, 8 May even as it reported in-line but a 50 percent drop in its fourth quarter profit as it set aside cash to cover a surge in bad loans, which was a fallout of the central bank’s revised scheme on resolution of stressed assets.
Investors took solace in the fact that the management gave clear guidance for the next two years on various parameters. By March 2020, the bank wants to achieve a 60 percent share of retail loans in its overall book, and a net bad loan ratio of 1.5 percent.
The bank would also focus towards a 25 percent growth in loans to small businesses.
(Source: Livemint)
5. Nestle Asked to Deposit GST Rate Cut Gains
Nestle India Ltd on Tuesday, 8 May, said it has been asked by the National Anti-Profiteering Authority to provisionally deposit the sum computed by the company gained from the reduction in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) rate in the Consumers Welfare Fund.
While it did not disclose the amount set aside, the company said in a regulatory filing that it has taken appropriate measures to pass on commensurate benefits of GST to consumers and will continue to do so.
Nestle India said it had a discussion with the authority even as it was in the process of taking the next step to pass on the benefits to consumers.
“At the company’s request, the authority through its communication has advised us to provisionally deposit the amount computed by us, suo moto, in the Consumer Welfare Fund to be constituted under Central GST and furnish the necessary documents”, the company added.
(Source: BloombergQuint)
6. Maruti to Inspect 52,686 Swift & Baleno Cars
Maruti Suzuki on Tuesday, 8 May, announced a service campaign to inspect 52,686 units of the new Swift and Baleno for a possible fault in the brake vacuum hose.
The campaign will affect Swift and Baleno manufactured between 1 December 2017 and 16 March 2018.
Owners of the affected vehicles will be contacted by dealers for inspection and replacement of the faulty part, starting 14 May 2018. “Service campaigns are undertaken globally by automobile companies to rectify faults that may potentially cause inconvenience to customers”, the company said in a statement.
The inspection and replacement of the faulty part will be done free of cost for the customer. Customers of the new Swift and Baleno can also check if their vehicle is affected by putting in their chassis number on the company website.
(Source: The Economic Times)
7. PNB Housing Finance Plunges Over 7%
Shares of New Delhi-headquartered Punjab National Bank (PNB) Housing Finance Ltd plunged more than 7 percent in the late morning deals on Tuesday, 8 May, after the PE firm Carlyle sold about 8 million equity shares nearly at a discount of 7 percent.
According to a Reuters report, the Washington DC-based Carlyle Group LP’s unit sold 8 million equity shares of PNB Housing Finance at a floor price of Rs 1,280 per equity share. The private equity firm Carlyle Group LP’s unit sold 8 million equity shares at a discount of 6.9 percent to the Monday’s closing price of Rs 1,374.3 on NSE, Reuters reported. Before the share sale, Carlyle owned about 37.16 percent stake in PNB Housing Finance.
Following the deal, shares of PNB Housing Finance Ltd faced a heavy jolt in the morning counters. Shares of PNB Housing Finance Ltd were the second-biggest losers among the ‘A’ group shares on BSE after PC Jeweller on Tuesday.
(Source: The Financial Express)
8. Telecom Dept to Examine Proposal for Sale of Tata Teleservices’ Enterprise Biz
Tata Communications Ltd plans to acquire the enterprise business of Tata Teleservices Ltd and has sought the approval of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) for the transaction, a person aware of the development said.
“They have sought approval. The government is evaluating the proposal currently. May be we will be able to take a call (for the acquisition) in 10-15 days”, the person cited above said, requesting anonymity. The government owns a 26.12 percent stake in Tata Communications, earlier known as Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd (VSNL).
Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran on Tuesday met telecom secretary Aruna Sundararajan to discuss the closure of Tata Teleservices’ consumer mobile business by sale to Bharti Airtel, as well as Tata Communications’ plan to acquire the enterprise business of Tata Teleservices, said the person cited above.
(Source: Livemint)
9. RBI Not in Favour of Forbearance for Stressed Power Assets
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is not in favour of giving any special forbearance for stressed power projects, Power Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla said. The regulator rarely makes allowances for specific sectors and that priniciple will extend to the power sector as well, Bhalla told BloombergQuint in an interview.
“We have said that the sectoral issues may be seen differently on which RBI, as a bank regulator, said it doesn’t look at sectoral issues. It is for the Ministry of Power to look at those issues”, said Bhalla.
India's power sector is one of the largest contributors of stressed assets plaguing the financial system. Stressed power projects hold nearly Rs 1.8 lakh crore in loans, which are yet to be classified as bad loans. Bankers fear that unless some collective resolution plan is worked out, loans will turn bad and the recovery on these loans would be low.
(Source: BloombergQuint)
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