1. Finance Secy SC Garg Moved to Power, Atanu Chakraborty Gets Eco Affairs
In the first major bureaucratic reshuffle in its second term, the Narendra Modi government on Wednesday transferred Finance Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg to the power ministry while appointing Atanu Chakraborty as economic affairs secretary. He was in charge of the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (Dipam).
In other appointments, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved the name of Anil Kumar Khachi of the Himachal Pradesh cadre as Dipam secretary, according to an official notification.
The reshuffle in the finance ministry comes less than three weeks after the Union Budget was presented in the Lok Sabha and a day after it was passed by Parliament.
(Source: Business Standard)
2. Progress at IndiGo, But Still Miles to Go for Truce
Rahul Bhatia, one of the two founders of InterGlobe Aviation Ltd, will not accept a dilution of his shareholder rights unless there is a compelling offer from his estranged partner Rakesh Gangwal, a person aware of the development said.
Bhatia is, however, open to a deal with Gangwal to resolve differences over shareholders’ rights that may include acquiring a part of Gangwal’s stake in the company if he chooses to sell, the person said, requesting anonymity.
While the two founders of InterGlobe Aviation, which runs budget airline IndiGo, have settled their differences over some issues, including expanding the airline’s board and related-party transactions, the negotiations so far have not touched the elephant in the room—the lopsided shareholders’ agreement that gives Bhatia’s InterGlobe Enterprises Ltd sweeping rights although both parties have nearly equal shareholding.
(Source: LiveMint)
3. Bears Tightening Grip on Markets as Foreign Investors Rush for Exit
Indian stocks appear to be sinking gently into a bear market hug, shedding around $149 billion in investor wealth since 5 July when finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented her Union budget.
Though aggregate market value remains above $2 trillion, aggressive selling by foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have driven benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty 6-7% below their record highs touched in June on concerns over tax proposals and disappointment over the budget lacking adequate growth impetus.
The sell-off in smaller companies appears more severe. Since their record highs in late 2018, BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices are down 25.2% and 35.4%, respectively. While there is no universal definition of a bear market, the one usually deployed involves a 20% fall in stock prices, coming at a time of widespread pessimism.
(Source: LiveMint)
4. Amid Auto Slump, Components Sector Sees 8-10 Lakh Job Cuts
The decline in growth in the auto industry over the past 11 months has affected the components industry as well. It has resulted in the laying off of 8-10 lakh contract employees in recent months in the auto parts sector.
According to a senior official at the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA), the job losses are happening largely because of the slowdown in the auto industry and in the major hubs including the Gurugram-Manesar belt of Haryana, Pune, Jamshedpur (Jharkhand) and some parts of Pithampur (Madhya Pradesh).
Without giving details about the major companies that are cutting jobs, ACMA Director General Vinnie Mehta told BusinessLine: “The job cuts are happening around the hubs and by at least 10-15 per cent in each of the companies. The entire Haryana belt is suffering. There are around 50 lakh workers in the auto components industry and around 70 per cent of them are on contract.”
(Source: The Hindu Business Line)
5. Govt Panel Upholds ₹3,050 Crore Fine on Airtel, Vodafone Idea
The Digital Communications Commission (DCC) on Wednesday upheld the telecom regulator’s decision to levy a penalty of ₹3,050 crore on Bharti Airtel Ltd and Vodafone Idea Ltd for denying interconnection ports to Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd when it started operations three years ago.
DCC is a government panel comprising top officials from the telecom department, ministry of electronics and information technology, NITI Aayog and the department of economic affairs.
The decision comes as a setback to Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea, which are already buried under a pile of debt and are facing mounting losses, amid a lingering tariff war triggered by the entry of Reliance Jio in late 2016.
(Source: LiveMint)
6. Tata Power to Install 500 EV Charging Stations Across 5 Cities in Next One Year
Tata Power plans to install 500 Electric Vehicle (EV) charging outlets across five cities over the next one year as the integrated power company readies the ground for the transition to battery-powered vehicles.
Tata Power Managing Director and CEO Praveer Sinha told BusinessLine that the charging stations are being installed in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune and Hyderabad. In Hyderabad, the company is working with fleet owners.
(Source: The Hindu Business Line)
7. NSE Removes Anil Ambani Group Firms RInfra, RCap From F&O Segment
Anil Ambani group firms Reliance Infrastructure and Reliance Capital have been removed from the futures and options (F&O) segment by the National Stock Exchange (NSE). After the expiry of existing contracts in September,
no further derivative contracts will be issued for these two securities, the exchange said in a circular. Earlier this week, NSE removed nine other scrips from the F&O segment, which included Raymond, IDBI Bank, and Multi Commodity Exchange.
(Source: Business Standard)
8. IDFC First Bank Reports Rs 617 Cr Loss for June Quarter
IDFC First Bank Wednesday reported a net loss of Rs 617 crore for the April-June quarter of the current fiscal on account of higher provisioning.
The bank had reported a net profit of Rs 181 crore in the April-June period of the previous fiscal.
"Bank reported loss of Rs 617 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2019. As a prudent measure, the bank took provision coverage to 75 per cent for two identified corporate loans in the financial services sector. Bank believes the provision is adequate and does not expect to take any more provisions on these accounts in the near future," IDFC First said in a statement.
(Source: PTI)
9. Icra Cuts Rating on Yes Bank’s Bonds Worth ₹32,911.7 Crore
Credit rating agency Icra Ltd on Wednesday downgraded ratings on Yes Bank’s ₹32,911.7 crore bond programme, citing an increase in stressed assets and lack of debt resolutions. The rating on bonds aggregating ₹22,111.7 crore were downgraded by one notch, while that on ₹10,800 crore of additional tier I (AT-I) bonds were downgraded by two notches.
The outlook on the ratings remained negative as Yes Bank saw a sizeable increase in gross bad loans and BB and below rated exposures along with weakened capital cushions, Icra said.
The rating for these AT-I bonds (BBB+) is three notches lower than the rating for the Basel III compliant tier II bonds (A+) of Yes Bank as these instruments have loss-absorption features that make them riskier, said the credit rating agency. The coupon payments are non-cumulative and discretionary and the bank has full discretion at all times to the cancel the coupon payments.
(Source: LiveMint)
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