1. Reliance Industries To Acquire Stake In Eros International
Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd will acquire a near 5 percent equity stake in film entertainment company Eros International Plc to jointly produce and consolidate content across the country.
As per the terms of the deal announced in a press statement, Reliance Industrial Investments and Holdings Ltd, RIL’s wholly owned subsidiary, will acquire 32.5 lakh shares, or 5 percent stake in Eros at $15 apiece, an 18 percent premium to the last traded price.
Trading in the shares of Eros International Plc was halted on the New York Stock Exchange pending announcement. The total acquisition amount would aggregate $48.75 million, said RIL. Following the deal, RIL and Eros International Media Ltd, the Indian subsidiary of Eros, will equally invest up to Rs 1,000 crore in total to produce and buy Indian films and digital content in various languages.
(Source: BloombergQuint)
2. FM Jaitley Breaks Silence on PNB Fraud: ‘What Were Auditors Doing?’
Breaking his silence over the Rs 11,384 crore fraud at India's second-biggest bank, PNB, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the State will chase down cheaters to the end even as he took the management of the lender to task for its failure to check the delinquents.
Without naming either the alleged kingpin of the fraud, billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi, or Punjab National Bank, Jaitley questioned the ethics of some businesses in the country and asked why the bank's internal and external auditors could not detect the fraud which had been going on for 7 long years.
“It is incumbent on us as a State, till the last legitimate capacity of the State, to chase these people (fraudsters) to the last possible conclusion to make sure the country is not cheated,” he said.
(Source: PTI)
3. First Big Arrest in PNB Fraud: Vipul Ambani Held by CBI
The CBI on Tuesday arrested Vipul Ambani, the president (finance) of Nirav Modi's Fire Star Diamond, in connection with Rs 11,384 crore fraud in Punjab National Bank (PNB), making it the first high profile arrest in the case, officials said.
Four other senior executives were also arrested by the agency in connection with two FIRs registered by it in the scam, they said.
Ambani was arrested along with executive assistant Kavita Mankikar and Senior Executive Arjun Patil in connection with the first FIR registered by the agency, in which 150 Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) worth Rs 6,498 crore are under probe.
(Source: PTI)
4. Banks Were Warned Thrice on Misuse of SWIFT System, Says RBI
Amidst the multi-agency probe into India's biggest banking scam, Reserve Bank of India on Tuesday 20 February said it had "confidentially" cautioned banks thrice since August 2016 on the risks arising from malicious use of SWIFT system, and has decided to set up a panel to look into the rising incidence of frauds.
The risks arising from the “potential malicious use” of the SWIFT infrastructure, the tool used for international money transfer, created by banks for their genuine business needs, has always been a component of their operational risk profile.
In the wake of SWIFT-related fraud involving a significant amount reported recently by PNB, RBI has on Tuesday reiterated its confidential instructions.
Read full story here.
5. ED Notifies All Ports to Prevent Rotomac Owner Fleeing India
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on 20 February said it had issued a Look-Out Circular (LOC) to all land, sea, and airports in the country to prevent the exit of the promoter of Rotomac pens, Vikram Kothari, and his family members from India, in connection with its money laundering probe into the alleged bank loan fraud of Rs 3,695 crore.
The agency also conducted searches at multiple locations in Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday, including in Unnao and Kanpur, to gather evidence in the case.
Read full story here.
6. Qatar Airways Plans to Start Airline in India With 100 Planes
Qatar Airways has plans to launch an airline in India with at least 100 planes, the airline's chief executive Akbar Al Baker said on Tuesday.
Addressing a press meet in Toulouse, France, Baker did not disclose what kind of aircraft would be deployed once it starts an airline in India.
It was in March 2017 that Baker first mentioned about its plans for a carrier in India.
"I will not tell you what types of aeroplanes we will deploy in India but as you may remember we said that we will launch an airline in India which will have a fleet of at least 100 aircraft," he said.
(Source: PTI)
7. Now, Private Firms Allowed to Mine Coal For Commercial Use
India will auction coal blocks to private companies, Coal Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday, a move that would end restrictions on the sale and use of the fuel after more than four decades and end Coal India’s near-monopoly status.
When asked if companies would be allowed to sell coal abroad, Goyal said it is unlikely that there would be exports, although there are no restrictions on overseas sales.
“I have no problem (with exports), but nobody is going to take our 45 percent high ash coal,” Goyal told Reuters.
Coal accounts for more than three-quarters of India’s power generation, and the country targets production of 1 billion tonnes by 2022.
(Source: Reuters)
8. Indian Software Services Sector to Grow 7-9 Percent in FY19: Lobby Group
India’s software services exports will see revenue growth of 7-9 percent in constant currency terms in the fiscal year to March 2019, a leading lobby group forecast on Tuesday, as the industry continues to recover from what has been a tough year.
The forecast, which was put out at the annual summit of the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM), is in line with the 7.8 percent revenue growth it expects in the six months to the end of March 2018.
The country’s $154-billion information technology sector has been buffeted by a broader slowdown in technology spending, while uncertainty looms over work visa rules in the United States, the biggest market for Indian software services firms.
(Source: Reuters)
9. Fortis Healthcare Promoter Holding Falls To 5.87%
Promoter and promoter group holdings in Fortis Healthcare Ltd have come down to 5.87 percent from 8.85 percent, following invocation of pledged shares, the healthcare chain said.
In a regulatory filing, Fortis Healthcare said that nearly 1.54 crore pledged shares of the company, accounting for 2.98 percent stake, have been invoked on 17 February.
Subsequently, the stake of promoter firm Fortis Healthcare Holdings along with promoters Malvinder Mohan Singh and Shivinder Mohan Singh and other family entities have come down to 5.87 percent from 8.85 percent earlier, the filing added.
Last week, the Supreme Court allowed financial institutions, with whom shares of Fortis Healthcare have been pledged, to sell such shares.
(Source: PTI)
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