1. Festive Sale: Amazon.in Sells Rs 750 cr Worth Smartphones; Flipkart sees 2X Growth on Day 1
Amazon.in, which started its festive sale on Saturday, said it has seen its "biggest over opening" and claimed it has sold premium smartphones worth Rs 750 crore within 36 hours on its platform. Arch-rival Flipkart - which is backed by American retailer Walmart - also expressed exuberance saying it had seen 2-fold sales growth on the first day of its 'Big Billion Days (BBD)' sale compared to the opening day of the last year's festive sale.
Both companies, however, remained mum on the total business generated on the first day of the sale. The ongoing sale is to close on 4 October.
While there have been concerns around a slowdown in demand in some quarters, both Amazon.in and Flipkart have been upbeat about clocking strong growth in the festive sales.
(Source: The Economic Times )
2. Saudi Arabia Bets Big on India, Ready to Invest $100 Billion
Despite reeling under the impact of worst ever attacks on its oil installations, Saudi Arabia has said that it is looking at investing USD 100 billion in India in areas of petrochemicals, infrastructure and mining among others, considering the country’s growth potential.
Saudi Ambassador Dr Saud bin Mohammed Al Sati has said India is an attractive investment destination for his country, the world’s biggest oil exporter, and it is eyeing long-term partnerships with New Delhi in key sectors like oil, gas and mining.
“Saudi Arabia is looking at making investments in India potentially worth USD 100 billion in the areas of energy, refining, petrochemicals, infrastructure, agriculture, minerals and mining,” Al Sati told PTI in an interview.
(Source: Financial Express)
3. RBI May Cut Policy Rates by 25 Bps
After cutting the policy repo rate by an 'unconventional' 35 basis points in the August bi-monthly monetary policy review, the Reserve Bank of India is expected to cut it further by up to 25 basis points in the upcoming October 4 review to complement the recent corporate tax cuts announced by the government to reverse the slowdown in growth.
Financial market experts say the magnitude of the repo rate cut could be lower this time as the RBI has cumulatively slashed it by 110 basis points in the calendar year so far.
(Source: The Hindu BusinessLine)
4. India Set to Lose Major WTO Dispute to the US
India is set to lose a major trade dispute with the US at the World Trade Organization (WTO).
A WTO dispute settlement panel has upheld a US complaint that export subsidy programmes provided by the Indian government violated provisions of the trade body’s subsidies and countervailing measures (SCM) pact, several people familiar with the final ruling said on condition of anonymity.
The ruling, which has been shared with the two parties in the dispute, will be released to all the WTO members around 10 October.
(Source: Livemint)
5. Bills for Pills: Antibiotics Could be Govt's Next Segment for Price Cap
The government may consider rationalising trade margins of antibiotics after having done so for cancer drugs. The expert committee set up to look at prices of drugs and advise the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) could examine this section. Many antibiotics are already under a price cap.
However, this committee could examine the segment as a whole and take a holistic view on price caps in this segment.
A senior government official looking into this matter said: “More than any segment of drugs, it would be beneficial to look at antibiotics.
(Source: Business Standard)
6. MAT Treatment Splits India Inc After Tax Cuts
About a week after North Block announced India’s biggest corporate tax cuts, different interpretations are emerging on the treatment of Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) – and credits running into thousands of crores of rupees. Some want to claim the credits even while switching to a lower tax bracket: Others want a longer period for writing them off to prevent a one-time setback to profits.
Interpretations differ from one sector to another – IT and infrastructure, for instance, have very different views. Some of the companies say that if there is no clarification by December this year, the deadline for filing income tax returns for corporations, they will go ahead and claim the MAT credits even while opting for lower and new tax rates.
(Source: The Economic Times)
7. Trade War: China to Send its Top Trade Negotiator to US
The escalating dispute between the world's two largest economies has depressed stock prices and poses a threat to the global economy. Both sides have made conciliatory gestures ahead of the next round of talks, but a deal remains elusive.
China’s top trade negotiator will lead an upcoming 13th round of talks aimed at resolving a trade war with the United States, a senior Chinese official said Sunday. Vice Premier Liu He will travel to Washington for the negotiations, Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen said. He didn’t specify exact dates, but said the talks would be after China’s National Day holiday, which runs through October 7.
“The two sides should find a solution through equal dialogue in accordance with the principle of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit,” Wang said at a news conference with other officials, including Commerce Minister Zhong Shan.
(Source: Financial Express)
8. Govt Plans to Update National Water Policy: Jal Shakti Minister
The Centre plans to come out with an updated version of the National Water Policy with key changes in water governance structure and regulatory framework, besides setting up a National Bureau of Water Use Efficiency, said Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Minister for Jal Shakti.
Hydrological boundaries, rather than administrative or political boundaries, should be part of the water governance structure in the country, and the Centre is currently talking to the States to build a consensus, said Shekhawat at the valedictory function of the sixth India Water Week 2019 (IWW-2019).
(Source: The Hindu BusinessLine)
9. Crisis-hit PMC Bank Used Dummy Accounts to Escape RBI's Attention
Relations between Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative Bank (PMC Bank) and Housing Development & Infrastructure (HDIL), which is facing bankruptcy proceedings, were highly symbiotic.
The bank’s sacked managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) Joy Thomas wrote a five-page confession letter to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 21 September, reviewed by Business Standard, where he described the relation of the HDIL’s promoter family Wadhawan with PMC Bank in detail, and how both sides helped each other out.
(Source: Business Standard)