1. Bharti Infratel, Indus Merger to Create Rs 965 Bn Co, 2nd Largest After ATC
Bharti Infratel and Indus Towers will merge to create the second-largest telecommunications tower company in the world, valued at Rs 965 billion. The merged entity will have a presence in all the 22 circles of the country and have 163,000 towers.
China Tower, a joint venture of three telecom operators, is the largest tower company in the world by volume of towers. It is estimated to have more than a million towers. American Tower Corporation (ATC) is possibly larger in valuation but not in terms of the number of towers it has.
The deal values Indus Towers at Rs 715 billion. Airtel and Vodafone have a 42 percent stake each in the company, Idea Cellular has 11.15 per cent and Providence has 4.85 percent.
(Source: Business Standard)
2. Wipro Q4 Profit Falls 20% to Rs 1, 803 Crore, Misses Estimates
Wipro Ltd, India’s third-biggest software services exporter by revenue, on Wednesday posted lower-than-expected fourth-quarter net profit, hurt by lower revenue from operations.
The IT firm said it expected revenue from IT services to be in a range of $2.02-$2.07 billion in the June quarter. Net profit fell 20.3 percent to Rs1,803 crore ($269.99 million) in the three months ended 31 March, Bengaluru-headquartered Wipro said on Wednesday.
Analysts on average expected a profit of Rs 2,132 crore, according to Thomson Reuters data. Revenue from operations fell 1.6 percent to Rs 13,769 crore, while revenue from its key IT services business rose 5.5 percent to $2.06 billion, in the range forecast by Wipro.
(Source: Livemint)
3. ICICI Bank-Videocon Loan Case: I-T Dept Issues Fresh Notice to Deepak Kochhar
The Income Tax Department has issued a fresh notice to Deepak Kochhar, the husband of ICICI Bank MD and CEO Chanda Kochhar, in connection with its tax evasion probe with links to the ICICI Bank-Videocon loan case, officials said.
They said the fresh notice to Deepak Kochhar had been issued in his individual capacity and it sought details of his personal finances and transactions. He has been asked to furnish the documents within 10 days, they said. The department had sought details from him in his capacity as the managing director of NuPower Renewables, the firm under the department’s scanner, twice earlier.
The tax department is specifically looking into the flow of about Rs 325 crore from two Mauritius-based firms to NuPower Renewables Private Ltd.
(Source: Livemint)
4. As US 10-Year Treasury Yield Hits 3%, Nervousness Grips Indian Markets
Nervousness in Indian markets is creeping in across all asset classes as US 10-year treasury yields touch 3 percent after four years and the dollar starts rising from its multi-year lows.
The recent rise in portfolio outflow could be an indication of future strain in the system, even as investors are well informed about the pace of normalisation of monetary policies in developed nations.
The rupee on Wednesday tumbled to a 14-month low, while bond yields hardened and equities fell on continued pull-out by foreign investors from various asset classes.
(Source: Business Standard)
5. Essar Steel Lenders Find More Reasons To Disqualify ArcelorMittal, Numetal Bids
Lenders to Essar Steel Ltd have found further issues with the bids submitted by Numetal Mauritius and ArcelorMittal India, which may lead to them to declare these bids ineligible once again.
These issues surfaced when the committee of creditors today assessed a forensic audit report prepared by corporate investigations firm Kroll, two bankers who attended the eight-hour long meeting said. Both bankers spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The issues relate to Section 29(A) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code which prohibits certain promoters from bidding for companies under the insolvency process. The bankers quoted above said they include certain regulatory orders against the two bidders and criminal cases pending against them.
(Source: BloombergQuint)
6. Renuka Ramnath Quits Fortis Advisory Panel, Move May Delay Sale Process
The decision on finalising a buyer for Fortis is going to take longer, as Renuka Ramnath, a member of the advisory committee to evaluate bids received for it, resigned on Wednesday — a day before the crucial board meeting of the company.
Ramnath opted out right before the committee was to submit its recommendation to the Fortis board. Sources close to the development said the three-member committee did not meet on Wednesday to evaluate the proposals as Ramnath had already put in her papers.
Another source said the process to select a bid for Fortis was likely to be a protracted one.
(Source: Business Standard)
7. Flipkart Wins Relief over Tax on Discounts
The income tax appellate tribunal (ITAT) on Wednesday rejected the government’s move to reclassify discounts offered by Flipkart as capital expenditure, a move that would have prevented the online retailer from claiming tax deductions.
This is a shot in the arm for e-commerce companies, which now classify discounts on products as tax-deductible advertisement and marketing expenses.
The Bengaluru bench of the tribunal rejected the Rs 110 crore additional tax sought by the tax department from Flipkart for the year ended 31 March 2016, lawyers and tax analysts said. Flipkart argued that it needs to incur such expenses every year to sell its products and retain its market share and thus the entire amount is tax-deductible.
(Source: Livemint)
8. India Shows Jobs Growth as 3.11 Million Join EPF in Six Months
India added 472,075 employees to the state-run social security fund in February, after adding 604,557 in January, new data on payrolls released on Wednesday showed, giving a guide to how many new jobs are being created in the non-farm sector.
The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) released provisional figures for six months that showed that 3.11 million workers joined the fund during the September 2017 to February 2018 period, partly due to a pick up in the economy and federal support.
“The data shows there was a good increase in jobs every month in the last six months which will now help fill the missing link for policy-making,” said Soumya Kanti Ghosh, chief economist at the country largest lender, the State Bank of India(SBI).
(Source: Livemint)
9. GST Council Meet On 4 May; Simplifying Returns On The Agenda
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley-chaired Goods and Services Tax Council will meet on 4 May to discuss a simpler return form and the amendments required in the indirect tax regime rules.
The 27th meeting of the Council, comprising state finance ministers, will meet through video conferencing and will also mull over the proposal of converting GST Network into a government company.
A decision on return simplification could be on the cards with the Sushil Modi-led Group of Ministers putting the three models of new return form for discussion before the Council, an official said.
(Source: PTI)
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