TRAI dismisses telecom panel’s claims on tariffs and deteriorating health of the sector
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has dismissed the Telecom Commission’s claims that the sector’s health is deteriorating and contested its authority to comment on promotional tariff plans. A senior Trai official, who did not want to be named, told ET that the sectoral watchdog will shortly write to the Telecom Commission (TC), the highest decision making body in the telecom department (DoT), saying its view linking the health of the sector to the revenue accruing to the government was faulty, and matters around tariffs, including promotional offers, fall within the domain of the regulator.
Avail PMGKY or face action: I-T warns defaulters
With the black money window of PMGKY set to close soon, the I-T department today warned the stash holders to avail the scheme or face stringent action under Benami laws, adding that the defaulters’ names will also be shared with the central probe agencies. “The Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojna (PMGKY) is the last available opportunity to come clean and avoid harsh steps (from the Income Tax department). After the scheme closes, stringent action will be taken against persons who have deposited unaccounted cash but failed to disclose it before the law,” a senior I-T officer said.
DLF completes restructuring of JVs with Blackstone-led Ridgewood Holdings
Realty major DLF on Wednesday said it has completed the restructuring of its joint ventures with global investment firm Blackstone-managed Ridgewood Holdings, which had invested Rs 1,481 crore in seven housing projects in 2007. DLF’s subsidiary DLF Home Developers (DHDL) had diluted 49 per cent stake in these seven residential projects located in Chennai, Bengaluru, Kochi and Indore to a Merrill Lynch & Co entity Ridgewood Holdings, now managed by Blackstone.
Hindustan Zinc announces special dividend of Rs 13,985 crore
Hindustan Zinc on Wednesday announced a special dividend of Rs 13,985 crore. The record date for the special interim dividend is March 30. At a meeting on Wednesday, the board approved a special interim dividend of Rs 27.50 per share at a face value of Rs 2 per share. The company said its total payout for the current financial year now stands at Rs 27,157 crore, of which the government will get Rs 11,259 crore. Coupled with earlier payouts, it is the largest-ever dividend outflow by any Indian company in a financial year. The government has a 29.5 percent residual stake in the company, of which Vedanta has majority control, and experts see the announcement of dividend as setting the stage for selling this stake.
Source: Money Control
World Bank, IMF to assess Sebi’s regulatory framework
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) will go through a third-party assessment of its regulatory framework by the World Bank and the IMF this year, an exercise which will help the former align itself closer to global regulatory standards and get feedback on its current functioning. The assessment will be conducted as part of the Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP), a joint programme of the IMF and World Bank established in 1999. The programme analyses the resilience of a country’s financial sector.
Axis Bank to raise Rs 106 cr via bonds
Private sector Axis Bank will raise $16.2 million (Rs 106 crore) by floating bonds through its Dubai financial centre branch. The board of directors has passed resolution approving allotment of 1 year senior fixed rate notes of $ 16,200,000, Axis Bank said in a regulatory filing. The bonds are to be floated under its medium term note (MTN) programme through its Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) branch. Earlier in February, the bank had said it planned to raise $ 10 million through the MTN programme from DIFC.
Source: The Hindu Business Line
NTPC pays Rs 2,152-cr interim dividend for FY’17
State-run power giant NTPC today said it has paid an interim dividend of Rs 2,152.07 crore to its shareholders for the current fiscal. “NTPC Ltd has paid an interim dividend of Rs 2,152.07 crore, being 26.10 percent of the paid-up equity share capital of the company for Financial Year 2016-17,” NTPC said in statement. According to the statement, the RTGS advice for the transfer of Rs 1,500.95 crore to Government of India, was presented by NTPC CMD Gurdeep Singh to Power Minister Piyush Goyal in the presence of Power Secretary Pradeep Kumar Pujari and other senior officials.
GDP growth may slowdown to 6.7% in Jan-March quarter: Nomura
India’s GDP growth is expected to slowdown to 6.7 per cent in the January-March quarter of this fiscal year as overall activity is yet to bounce back to the levels seen prior to demonetisation, says a Nomura report. Though the adverse growth effects of demonetisation are waning, the pace of improvement is gradual and not yet broad-based, the Japanese financial services major said. “We expect GDP growth to slow from 7 per cent in October-December 2016 to 6.7 per cent in January-March 2017 as activity is yet to recover to levels seen prior to demonetisation,” Nomura said in a research note.
Source: The Hindu Business Line
Muthoot, Ujjivan, Equitas, Suzlon to enter F&O segment
The NSE is introducing shares of 15 companies, mainly from the banking and finance space, for trading in the futures & options segment from March 31. The shares are Reliance Defence and Engineering, InterGlobe Aviation, PVR, Capital First, Muthoot Finance, Dalmia Bharat, Equitas Holdings, Infibeam Incorporation, Ujjivan Financial Services, Suzlon Energy, Piramal Enterprises, Escorts, Shree Cement, Max Financial Services and Indian Bank.
Source: The Hindu Business Line
MSME classification may soon be based on employment, turnover
The government is looking beyond the criterion of capital employed to better define MSME sector for growth, according to KK Jalan, MSME Secretary, Government of India. The conventional definition of micro, small and medium enterprises is based on different slabs of investments ranging from Rs. 10 lakh to over Rs. 5 crore. However, with MSMEs constituting the backbone of employment generation, the government plans to include parameters such as employment generation and turnover in defining the sector.
HDFC to raise Rs1,498 crore to shore up long term capital
Mortgage lender HDFC Ltd on Wednesday said it will raise Rs1,498 crore by issuing debentures on Friday with a view to augment its long term capital. The bonds, in nature of secured redeemable non-convertible debentures, will bear coupon rate of 7.78% per annum. “The object of the issue is to augment the long-term resources of the Corporation. The proceeds of the present issue would be utilised for financing/refinancing the housing finance business requirements of the Corporation,” it said in a regulatory filing.
Hudco gets Sebi approval to float IPO; govt to divest 10% stake
State-run Housing and Urban Development Corporation (Hudco) has received the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (Sebi’s) approval to raise funds through an initial share sale as part of the government’s disinvestment drive. Hudco had filed draft papers with Sebi in January and got the markets watchdog’s “observation” on March 10, which is necessary for any company to launch a public offer. The initial public offer (IPO) will comprise sale of 200,190,000 equity shares — amounting to a 10 per cent stake — by the central government through an offer for sale route, as per the Draft Red Herring Prospectus.
Snapdeal in talks with rivals Flipkart, Paytm for potential sale: Report
Online marketplace Snapdeal is in talks with domestic rivals Paytm E-Commerce Pvt Ltd and Flipkart for a potential sale, Indian daily business newspaper Mint reported on Wednesday, citing sources. However, a Snapdeal spokesperson denied the report of sale talks with Paytm and Flipkart, according to the newspaper. “Your information is incorrect and without basis. We are making decisive progress in our journey towards profitability and all our efforts are aligned in this direction”, the spokesperson said in an email to Mint.
Govt likely to sell Axis Bank, ITC, L&T shares in ETF
India’s government is likely to sell part of the stakes it holds in Axis Bank Ltd., ITC Ltd. and Larsen & Toubro Ltd. through an exchange-traded fund (ETF) this year, people familiar with the matter said. Shares of the three companies fell. The new ETF would be larger than the Central Public Sector Enterprises ETF, a fund unveiled in 2014 that’s made up of the government’s shares in state-owned companies, the people said, asking not to be identified as a final decision regarding size and timing of the latest sales hasn’t been made yet.
Shankara Building IPO subscribed 51 pc on Day 1
The initial public offer of Shankara Building Products was subscribed 51 per cent on the first day of the issue today. The IPO received bids for 27,00,704 shares against the total issue size of 52,94,467 shares, data available with the NSE till 1830 hours showed. Non Institutional Investors category was subscribed 10 per cent, while retail investors portion 98 per cent. Bengaluru-based retailer Shankara Building Products yesterday mopped up Rs 103.5 crore from anchor investors.
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