1. Arun Jaitley Criticises RBI For Indiscriminate Lending By Banks
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, on 30 October, criticised the central bank for failing to check indiscriminate lending between 2008 and 2014 that led to the present bad loan crisis in the banking sector.
“Between 2008 to 2014, after the global economic crisis, to keep the economy artificially going, banks were told open your doors and lend indiscriminately,” Jaitley said at the India Leadership Summit organised by the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum. The remarks came amid reports of mounting tension between the Finance Ministry and the Reserve Bank of India over the autonomy of monetary policy makers.
(Source: BloombergQuint)
2. Govt Looks to Raise Up To Rs 15,000 Crore Through Coal India Share Sale
The Indian government is looking to sell up to nine percent of its stake in Coal India Ltd over the next two days, as it seeks to shore up its divestment revenue.
The government will sell 18.62 crore shares, or three percent stake in the world’s largest coal producer, via an offer-for-sale, according to a stock exchange filing. If the offer gets over-subscribed, the government can exercise the greenshoe option, and sell an additional six percent equity.
(Source: BloombergQuint)
3. NBFC Crisis Tops Agenda In Meeting Between Government, Regulators
The liquidity crunch faced by non-banking lenders overshadowed other discussions at the meeting of Fiscal Development and Stability Council on Tuesday, 30 October.
Government representatives told representatives of the Reserve Bank of India that the liquidity crunch shouldn’t have a spillover effect on other sectors, a government official told reporters. The meeting was attended by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, RBI Governor Urjit Patel, among other officials.
(Source: BloombergQuint)
4. Government Weighs Outright Sale of Crisis-Hit IL&FS
India is examining options including an outright sale of Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Ltd (IL&FS), a person with knowledge of the matter said, as the government tries to stem defaults at the lender with $12.6 billion of debt.
A plan is to be presented to a bankruptcy court on Wednesday by the state-appointed board of the lender includes selling the entire stake to a financially strong investor and ensure business continuity, the person said, asking not to be identified as the matter is private.
(Source: Livemint)
5. Jet Airways Brings Goldman, BCG on Board in Revival Efforts
Cash-strapped Jet Airways (India) Ltd, which is seeking to raise fresh funds and boost operational efficiencies, has appointed Goldman Sachs Group and Boston Consulting Group (BCG) as advisers to achieve these goals, said two people familiar with the matter. The carrier controlled by Naresh Goyal needs to urgently raise cash to stay afloat, as a rally in jet fuel prices and a weak rupee have eroded its financial health. This is primarily because most of Jet Airways’ payments are dollar-denominated like those of other domestic carriers.
(Source: Livemint)
6. Mukesh Ambani Says India on Way to Becoming Third-Richest Country
Having missed the first three industrial revolutions, India was now in a position to lead the fourth on the back of its vast tech-savvy young population, and was on the way to becoming one of the three richest countries in the world, Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani said on Tuesday, 30 October.
Speaking at the 24th MobiCom conference, Ambani said India’s digital transformation was “unmatched and unprecedented” after it took leadership position from being 155th in wireless broadband technology adoption in just 24 months.
(Source: Livemint)
7. PNB Hikes MCLR by 5 bps From 1 November, Retail Loans to Be Costlier
State-owned Punjab National Bank on Tuesday, 30 October said it has hiked the benchmark lending rate by 5 basis points across tenors from 1 November that will make retail loans costlier for customers.
The marginal cost of funds based lending rate (MCLR) has been revised with effect from 1 November 2018, the bank said in a regulatory filing.
(Source: Business Standard)
8. Competition Commission of India Approves IHH Healthcare's Acquisition of Fortis
Competition Commission of India (CCI), the anti-trust regulator has given its approval to IHH Healthcare’s acquisition of controlling stake in Fortis Healthcare, the second largest hospital chain in the country, two people familiar with the development said. An announcement to this effect is expected shortly.
(Source: Business Standard)
9. Oil Falls to Two-Month Low as Global Demand Anxiety Intensifies
Oil slid to a two-month low as escalating US-China trade tensions threatened global growth at a time when American crude inventories are swelling.
Futures declined 1.3 percent in New York on Tuesday, 30 October. The US is preparing another round of tariffs on Chinese imports if talks between the presidents of the world’s two largest economies falter. Meanwhile, US crude stockpiles rose by 5.69 million barrels last week, according to the industry-funded American Petroleum Institute, yet gasoline and distillate supplies shrunk.
(Source: BloombergQuint)
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