TCS announces Rs. 16,000 crore share buyback, India’s biggest
In a move that is bound to put pressure on its peers Infosys and Wipro, Tata Consultancy Services on Monday announced a plan to buy back up to 5.61 crore equity shares for an aggregate price not exceeding Rs. 16,000 crore. This is biggest buyback in the history of India’s capital markets, surpassing Reliance Industries’ share repurchase of Rs. 10,400 crore in 2012. “TCS’ board of directors has approved a proposal to buy back up to 5.61 crore equity shares of the company for an aggregate amount not exceeding Rs. 16,000 crore, being 2.85 per cent of the total paid-up equity share capital, at Rs. 2,850 per equity share,” TCS said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.
Source: The Hindu Business Line
ArthVeda plans to raise $1 billion for affordable housing
ArthVeda Fund Management, part of financial services conglomerate Wadhawan Global Capital, is planning to raise $1 billion to invest in affordable housing projects across the country, said a top company official. The asset management company recently received $250 million commitment from Qatar Holding, part of Qatar sovereign fund, for its affordable, low and middle income housing fund. This is the first such commitment received by an Indian fund following the Budget 2017 proposal to grant affordable housing infrastructure status. ArthVeda Fund Management, part of financial services conglomerate Wadhawan Global Capital, is planning to raise $1 billion to invest in affordable housing projects across the country, said a top company official.
SC directs Unitech to pay 14% interest to homebuyers
The Supreme Court directed real estate giant Unitech on Monday to pay interest at the rate of 14% per annum to 39 flat buyers whose money was refunded due to delay in granting possession of their homes in Vista project in Gurgaon. A bench of Justices Dipak Misra, A M Khanwilkar and M M Shantanagoudar directed the company to calculate the amount of interest from January 1, 2010 and deposit the money within eight weeks before its registry. Unitech has already deposited around Rs 17 crore of principal amount which was disbursed among the buyers.
Infosys to come under big pressure after TCS share buyback
Tata Consultancy Services announcing a buyback of up to 5.6 crore equity shares for up to Rs 16,000 crore will certainly put pressure on Infosys to also go for a buyback. Recently, there was speculation about Infosys planning a Rs 12,000 crore share buyback which the company had denied. Infosys had liquid assets, including cash and cash equivalents and investments, worth Rs 35,697 crore (about $5.25 billion) on its books at the end of December 2016.
HDFC Bank shares: Brokers may have to take Friday’strades on own book
Some brokers who were involved in buying HDFC Bank Ltd shares for foreign portfolio investor (FPI) clients on Fridaymay have to take these trades on their own books, said two people familiar with the development. Some brokers who were involved in buying HDFC Bank Ltd shares for foreign portfolio investor (FPI) clients on Friday may have to take these trades on their own books, said two people familiar with the development.
Source: Livemint
Havells puts its cash to use by buying Lloyd’s consumer biz
Acquisition of Lloyd’s consumer durable business seems a move in the right direction for Havells. This will add more products and increase the reach of Havells. The acquisition is for a price of Rs. 1,600 crore, of which Rs. 500-700 crore would be paid through debt and the balance through internal cash accruals. Havells is debt-free now. Its war chest has Rs. 1,590 crore of cash (in the nine months ending December 2016). The stock of Havells dropped 2.7 per cent on Monday fearing margin dilution post-acquisition as Lloyd’s consumer business’ margins are much lower. However, we see it bringing benefits for the company in the next one-two years.
Source: The Hindu Business Line
IDBI privatisation back on govt agenda
Strategic sale of government stake in IDBI Bank is back in consideration, likely with a different strategy to divest to under 50 per cent. “Stake sale is on the table. There are issues with banking operations and assets that need to be addressed. Though banks operations are weak, it has substantial real estate assets. We might have to rework the stake sale strategy,” a senior finance ministry official said. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had in his Budget speech for 2016-17 said, “The government is committed to reducing its stake in IDBI Bank to under 50 per cent.”
Source: Business Standard
Tata Power eyes stake sale in renewable power arm
To bring debt to a manageable level, Tata Power is looking at three options to raise funds. One option is to sell up to 30 per cent stake in its renewable power firm, after it merged its own renewable power portfolio with Welspun Renewable Energy, which it had acquired in June 2016. According to a banking source, under the second option, Tata Power is planning to raise funds by selling part of its equity in Welspun’s assets. Raising funds via a rights issue is another option.
Source: Business Standard
Canara Bank’s Rs 1,124 cr rights issue to open on March 2
State-owned Canara Bank’s Rs 1,124 crore rights issue will open on March 2 and the proceeds will be utilised to fund business growth. The bank will issue over 5,42,99,105 equity shares of face value of Rs 10 each for cash at Rs 207 per scrip (including a premium) for an aggregate amount of up to Rs 1,123.99 crore to the existing investors. The issue will open on March 2 and close on March 16, as per the offer document filed by the company with markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
Source: Money Control
Eveready plans to revamp tea business, could be spun off into a subsidiary
Battery maker Eveready Industries India Ltd on Monday said its board has approved a plan to restructure the company’s packet tea business, which could be spun off into a separate subsidiary in future. The company said in a regulatory filing that its board had authorized its managing director Amritanshu Khaitan to evaluate all possible ways of strengthening the packet tea business, which in fiscal 2016 clocked Rs 72 crore in revenue. “While the packet tea business will continue to leverage (Eveready’s) widespread distribution network, we shall examine all other options (such as) induction of a strategic partner,” Khaitan said in a statement.
Lender serves bankruptcy notice to Ruchi Soya
Ruchi Soya Industries Ltd, an edible oil maker, was served an insolvency and bankruptcy notice, the company told stock exchanges on Monday. The petition, asking for repayment of Rs9.63 crore, was filed by an unsecured lender to the company at the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and Ruchi Soya has disputed it. “The company is taking appropriate legal recourse in the matter,” it said in a statement to the stock exchanges. Ruchi Soya has been looking to pare its debt, which stood at Rs4,513.79 crore at the end of fiscal 2016. At that time, Ruchi Soya’s debt-to-equity ratio stood at 10.19. The firm has also been unable to generate cash from operations to repay this debt. In the three months ended December, it posted a loss of Rs216.83 crore on quarterly revenues of Rs5,031.98 crore.
India and Rwanda sign MoUs in innovation, aviation, visa requirements
India and Rwanda today signed three MoUs in innovation, aviation sectors and visa requirements here during Vice President Hamid Ansari’s visit to the East African country. In innovation, the two countries will set up an entrepreneurship development centre in Kigali while in aviation, Rwanda Air will start services to India in coming months and both countries will mutually exempt visa requirements.
I-T dept to launch 2nd phase of bank a/cs scrutiny next month
The I-T department is likely to launch the second phase of ‘Operation Clean Money’ next month to close in on unaccounted money making its way into banks but may ignore standalone deposits below Rs 5 lakh for now. The Income Tax department will appoint two data analytics firms in next 10 days to analyse the deposits in bank accounts before and after November 8 last year — the day the government decided to junk 86 percent of the currency in circulation.
Best time for home loans as rates at 6-yr low
If you are planning to avail of a home loan, it is the best time now to go for it as lending rates for housing loans are at their lowest in six years. With the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) signalling the end of the monetary easing cycle, the scope for further fall in interest rates is unlikely. Top bankers have already ruled out the scope for further cut in lending rates. Another good news for borrowers is that competition is intense in the home loan segment, as corporate credit growth remains muted. Borrowers can get the best deal if they shop around and are able to negotiate well with banks. For those whose home loans are stuck at old base rate, there are many lenders ready to poach you by offering attractive ‘balance transfer schemes’ which would reduce your interest outgo substantially.
Source: My Digital Financial Chronicle
FDI in print media, state-run banks may be hiked to 49%
Preparations are in full swing for rolling out a host of economic measures, including further easing of rules on foreign investment in newspapers and news channels, multi-brand and single brand retail and public sector banks, among other sectors. A formal announcement in this regard is likely soon after the results of elections in five states are out onMarch 11. In November 2015, the Centre had announced FDI-related reforms and liberalisation in 15 major sectors, including defence, broadcasting, civil aviation, banking and retail. Incidentally, the announcement was made two days after the Bihar assembly election results were declared. The NDA had lost the polls to the JD(U)-RJD-Congress alliance.
Source: My Digital Financial Chronicle
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