1. After 12 Years, Indra Nooyi Steps Down as PepsiCo CEO
PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi announced her resignation on Monday, 6 August. She will be succeeded by company president Ramon Laguarta, effective from 3 October.
Nooyi, 64, has been with PepsiCo for 24 years and has held the top job for 12 years now – an exceedingly rare feat for a woman helming a company as big as PepsiCo.
She will remain its chairman until early 2019, reported CNBC.
54-year-old Ramon Laguarta has held various positions in his 22 years at PepsiCo, which is based in Purchase, New York. He currently serves as president, overseeing global operations, corporate strategy, public policy and government affairs. He previously served as CEO of the Europe Sub-Saharan Africa region.
CNBC reported that the company’s premarket stock price slightly dipped after the announcement.
Read the full story here.
2. Air India Again Delays Salaries; Employees yet to Get Pay for July
Debt-laden Air India has not paid salaries to its employees for the month of July and is yet to communicate the possible date of payments, sources said.
This is at least the fourth time this year that salaries have been delayed. There were delay in payments in March, April, May and June. The national carrier, which is facing acute financial crunch, is yet to sent out any specific communication on when the payments are likely to made, sources said.
Air India has more than 11,000 permanent staff. Sources at Air India told PTI that last month’s salaries are yet to be deposited in the bank accounts of employees.
An airline spokesperson said salaries for the month of July are likely to be disbursed in a couple of days. Generally, the airline disburses salaries by 30th or 31st of every month.
The delay in salary payments also comes against the backdrop of the government seeking Parliament’s nod for Rs 980 crore as supplementary grants for equity infusion into the airline.
(Source: Financial Express)
3. RCom Announces Exchange Offer for $300 Million Bond Holders
Debt-ridden Reliance Communications, on 6 August, announced a 'tender and exchange' offer to all holders of its outstanding USD 300 million bonds due 2020, proposing to buy the notes at a discount in cash.
According to a regulatory filing, the company has offered to all holders of the outstanding USD 300 million senior secured 6.5 percent notes due 2020 to buy any or all existing notes at a discount in cash.
It has also offered an option to exchange any or all existing notes due 2020 at a discount for USD 45 million zero coupon notes due 2023.
The new notes would be issued by a "wholly-owned subsidiary of RCOM, Global Cloud Xchange Limited", according to the regulatory filing.
(Source: PTI)
4. India to Try Bringing Back Mehul Choksi From Antigua Under Commonwealth Countries Law
India is eyeing to bring back bank fraud accused Mehul Choksi from Antigua under the provision of a law of the island nation which provides for extradition of a fugitive to a designated Commonwealth country, official sources said.
The MEA issued a gazette notification on 3 August to make the Antiguan law enforceable and bring back Choksi. India and Antigua do not have a bilateral extradition pact.
“As per the provisions of the Extradition Act, 1993 of Antigua and Barbuda, a fugitive may be extradited to a designated Commonwealth Country or a State with which there are general or special arrangement or a bilateral treaty,” said a source.
India has handed over a request to Antigua for extradition of Mehul Choksi who is charged in connection with India’s biggest banking fraud and is now living in the Caribbean nation after taking its citizenship.
(Source: Financial Express)
5. Syndicate Bank Quarter 1 Net Loss Widens to Rs 1,282 Crore on Bad Loans
State-owned Syndicate Bank said on Monday, 6 August, that its net losses have widened to Rs 1,281.77 crore during the first quarter ended June of the current fiscal as bad loans rose.
Its loss in the corresponding April-June period of 2017-18 was at Rs 263.19 crore.
Its income also fell to Rs 5,637.51 crore during the June quarter of 2018-19, as against Rs 6,171.49 crore a year ago.
The bank said in a regulatory filing that its interest income fell to Rs 5,257.19 crore, from Rs 5,484.13 crore.
Besides, there was significant fall in interest earned on balances with RBI and other inter bank funds.
The asset quality was dented further to 12.59 percent of the gross non-performing assets (NPAs) or bad loans as on June 30, 2018 from 9.96 percent a year ago. It was 11.53 percent in the preceding quarter ended March.
(Source: PTI)
6. Representations Against Flipkart-Walmart Deal Sent to Concerned Dept: Govt
The government, on 6 August, said it has received representations from trade bodies alleging irregularities in various aspects of the proposed acquisition of Flipkart by Walmart and that have been sent to concerned agencies for necessary action.
"The representations received have alleged irregularities in various aspects of the proposed acquisition of shares of Flipkart by Walmart. These representations have been sent to the concerned bodies of the government for necessary action," Minister of State for Commerce and Industry CR Chaudhary said.
In May, the US-based retailer Walmart Inc announced acquisition of 77 percent stake in Flipkart in its biggest takeover till date. The deal values the 11-year old Indian e-commerce firm at USD 20.8 billion.
Replying to a separate question, the minister said during the last three years (from July 2015 onwards), in matters relating to five cases, certain irregularities have come to notice due to which the State Trading Corporation had suffered financial losses.
(Source: PTI)
7. Honda India Two-Wheeler Business Crosses Five Lakh Mark in Sales
Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India Pvt Ltd has become the first two-wheeler brand to cross the five lakh mark in sales in the South, between April and June 2018, the company said on 6 August.
With this, the company has strengthened its leadership position as the number one two-wheeler brand in the South covering Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, a press statement said.
The statement quoted senior vice-president - sales and marketing, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India Yadvinder Singh Guleria as saying that the southern States were also driving the demand in the two-wheeler industry across the country.
Honda expanded production capacity in Narsapura plant in Karnataka, making the unit the largest two-wheeler plant in the world, he said. The company has more than one-crore customers in the South riding on the back of an overall double-digit growth with more than 17.6 lakh two-wheelers sold in FY 2017-18, the statement said.
(Source: MoneyControl)
8. IKEA’s First Indian Outlet to Launch in Hyderabad on 9 August
Promising to provide about 7,500 home furnishing products at attractive prices, Swedish furniture maker IKEA has announced that its first Indian outlet will be launched in Hyderabad on 9 August. The launch was earlier planned for 19 July but got delayed.
“Our main priority is to create an inspiring and safe experience for both customers and coworkers. Opening the first Indian IKEA store in Hyderabad means a lot to IKEA and we want to offer the best possible meeting with IKEA for the many Indian customers,” IKEA Retail India’s CEO Peter Betzel said in a statement.
IKEA Group CEO Jesper Brodin would be present on the launch of the company’s first store in India. The company, which already has 403 stores in 49 countries, has been sourcing its products from India for the last 30 years for its global stores before it got permission for single brand retail FDI.
(Source: Livemint)
9. Orient Cement to Expand Production Capacity
Orient Cement of the CK Birla Group signed a pact with the Telangana government on Monday, 6 August, for expanding the existing capacity of its plant at an investment of Rs 2,000 crore, said State Minister of IT and Industries KT Ramarao.
"I am delighted that Orient Cement is almost doubling their capacity. Cement plant expansion will create another few thousands of jobs," the Minister told reporters here.
A senior government official said the existing capacity of the cement plant in Devpur was five million tonnes and it would go upto eight million tonnes after the expansion programme.
Orient Cement has got the first stage clearance from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change for the expansion and final clearance was awaited, an official press release said.
The plant was likely to provide direct employment to 4,000 people, apart from generating indirect employment, the release further said.
(Source: PTI)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)