1. Facebook Shares Rise Sharply as Zuckerberg Deters Regulation Talk
Facebook Inc shares posted their biggest daily gain in nearly two years on Tuesday as Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg fended off questions from US senators on how the world's largest social network might be regulated more closely.
Zuckerberg repeated apologies made on Monday for a range of problems that have beset Facebook, from data privacy to foreign attempts to influence US elections, but the 33-year-old internet mogul managed to deter any specific talk about new laws and made no new promises.
(Source: Reuters)
2. Manipal-TPG Group Revises Offer in Favour of Fortis Healthcare
Manipal Heath Enterprises Private Ltd. has revised its offer to buy Fortis Healthcare Ltd.’s hospital business after consulting with shareholders who expressed dissatisfaction with the earlier offer.
Fortis received a binding offer from Manipal Health to revise the terms of the transaction, it said in a stock exchange filing. The new offer will be valid for seven days, it added.
What’s Changed?
- “More favourable” swap ratio - Manipal Health revises Fortis Healthcare's hospital business valuation by 21 percent, from Rs 96.5 per share to Rs 116.90 per share
- Manipal Health and TPG will not invest an additional Rs 3,900 crore in the merged entity Manipal Hospitals. Instead the merged company will do a rights issue of up to Rs 4,000 crore in which all shareholders can participate
- SRL Diagnostics to remain a subsidiary of Fortis and may be merged into it on a later date thereby listing the diagnostics business separately
(Source: BloombergQuint)
3. RBI Plans to Collect Information on Loan to Videocon From ICICI Bank
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is planning to seek details from ICICI Bank on its Rs 32-billion loan exposure to the Videocon group.
“The RBI will first ascertain the facts. We can expect some action after that,” said a source close to the development. The finance ministry had said on Monday that it was up to the RBI to take action in the ICICI Bank case. The RBI has a lot of information on Videocon Industries, which it had recommended sending to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in December last year, said a source.
(Source: Business Standard)
4. No Inherent Bias in 15th Finance Commission's Terms of Reference, Says Jaitley
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, on 10 April, said there is no inherent bias or mandate in the Terms of Reference of the 15th Finance Commission that could be construed as discriminatory against the states which have made good progress in population control.
He was responding to concerns expressed by Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh as well as the Congress-ruled union territory of Puducherry over the ToR of the Commission.
(Source: BloombergQuint)
5. RBI's New Debt Resolution Framework Too Stringent, Bankers Tell Parliamentary Panel
Bankers told a parliamentary panel that the central bank’s 12 February circular revising the debt restructuring framework is too stringent as it triggers a resolution plan within a day of default, a person present at the meeting told BloombergQuint.
The Standing Committee on Subordinate Legislation headed by T Subbarami Reddy met officials from the Reserve Bank of India, the finance ministry and Indian Banks’ Association to discuss mounting bad loans.
(Source: BloombergQuint)
6. WhatsApp May Be Sharing Your Payments Data With Facebook
WhatsApp, the newest entrant in India’s payments market, has said it may share customers’ payments data with its parent Facebook, at a time when Facebook is dealing with questions about how it uses customer data.
Based on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) platform, WhatsApp launched payments on trial for some of its users in February. It is expected to introduce the service to all its users soon.
(Source: Livemint)
7. IPL Ad Revenue May Top Rs 2,000 Crore This Year: Star India CEO
Uday Shankar, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Star India Pvt. Ltd and the president of Twenty-First Century Fox, Asia, may be a self-confessed cricket fan, but his massive investment in two big cricket properties – media rights for the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) – have been well-thought out business decisions.
(Source: Livemint)
8. Acquisition Buzz Lifts Axis Bank After Shikha Sharma Shock
Shares of Axis Bank Ltd on Tuesday gained 5.4%, the most in more than five months, on speculation that India’s third largest private lender could be a potential acquisition target after its board accepted managing director Shikha Sharma’s plea to cut her fourth three-year term to seven months.
Sharma, who joined Axis Bank in 2009, will now step down on 31 December. Her fourth term as managing director and chief executive was originally set to end in June 2021.
(Source: Livemint)
9. Cross-Border Boost for Make in India: Amazon Could Soon Bring India, Pakistan Closer
Indian merchants registered as sellers on Seattle-based online retail giant Amazon could soon find more buyers in Pakistan, if the company’s bid to increase its holding in a Pakistan-based fashion portal Clicky.pk proves successful, according to four people aware of the ongoing negotiations between Amazon and Clicky.pk.
(Source: The Economic Times)
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