India becomes associate member of International Energy Agency
India has joined the International Energy Agency as an associate member, a development that the IEA said makes the prestigious Paris-based body more relevant and reflects the country’s move to the centre stage of the global energy dialogue. Power, coal, renewable energy and mines minister Piyush Goyal, oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan and IEA executive director Fatih Birol announced India’s entry into the elite group which the developed countries had set up in in 1974 after the OPEC cartel shocked the world with a steep increase in oil prices.
Lenders get no takers for Vijay Mallya’s properties again
Lenders to Vijay Mallya’s Kingfisher Airlines Ltd. are stuck with his properties that they-’ve attached with potential buyers not bidding for them fearing further litigation by the fugitive former liquor baron and between banks claiming the assets, two people with knowledge of the matter said. ““This is a high-profile case where multiple parties are staking claim to the same asset and if the matter enters litigation, then it’s possible it will be a prolonged battle, hence potential buyers are shying away,” an official from a public-sector bank said. “Despite clear property titles, buyers don’t want future litigation.”
India is running out of time on NPAs: K V Kamath
Ahead of the New Development Bank’s annual meeting here, the multilateral institute’s president, K V Kamath, says it plans to issue $300-500 million worth of ‘masala bonds’ by August. A talk with Arup Roychoudhury on its priorities for the year ahead and some policy issues. Edited excerpts: What is the New Development Bank’s plan for the year and which sectors in India will it focus on? Last year, we did $1.5 billion of lending. This year, we plan to lend $2.5-$3 bn. We raised money last year through renminbi bonds worth roughly $450 million.
Vinod Rai says govt may merge two large banks
Banks Board Bureau chairman Vinod Rai said that the government is keen on bank consolidation, but not before building strong balance sheet by addressing the bad debt problem, and in that case merger may happen first between two large banks. Vinod Rai was speaking at the Credit Suisse annual investors conference, of which the foreign brokerage made a note to clients. Business Standard has a copy of the report. “The government is waiting for the resolution of the NPL (non-performing loans) issue and wants improvement in balance sheet strength.
Kotak Mahindra Bank plans to raise Rs 5,400 crore equity capital; might pursue consolidation
The board of directors at Mumbai-headquartered Kotak Mahindra Bank has approved the sale of 6.2 crore equity shares to raise equity capital worth Rs 5,369 crore at current prices. In a notice to the stock exchanges, the bank said that the board approval is subject to approvals from shareholders and other regulations. This fresh capital will be used to pursue acquisition opportunities in Indian banking and finance and buying stressed loans from other banks, while also helping fuel lending and digital opportunities. The money would also help raise funds for bank’s subsidiaries.
NSE IPO: Algo issue resolution and defreezing of funds needed, say experts
Defreezing of revenue and closure of the long-pending algorithmic trading case are key for the success of the proposed Initial Public Offer (IPO) of equity by the National Stock Exchange (NSE), say experts. Although the mega offer by the country’s largest stock exchange is keenly awaited, lack of closure to the algo controversy could weigh on sentiment, say investment bankers handling the issue. “NSE is the next big story the Street is waiting for. However, the algo issue continues to be an overhang, suggests our preliminary talks with potential investors,” said a banker on the IPO, requesting not to be named.
Vedanta announces Rs6,580 crore dividend payout
Metals and mining major Vedanta Ltd on Thursday announced second interim dividend amounting to Rs6,580 crore for shareholders including those of Cairn India. Both the companies had announced this week that they have received all regulatory approvals for their merger, except the Reserve Bank of India’s nod for issue of redeemable preference shares to nonresident shareholders of Cairn. “The total amount of dividend payout including that to Cairn shareholders is Rs6,580 crore,” Vedanta Ltd said.
Bank staff plan campaign against wilful defaulters from April 20
The All India Bank Employees’ Association (AIBEA) plans to unleash a national campaign to demand recovery of bad loans and action against wilful defaulters. The campaign will begin from April 20 and culminate in a massive morcha before Parliament by 50,000 bank employees in mid-September, CH Venkatachalam, General Secretary, AIBEA, said at a press conference in Mumbai on Thursday. Venkatachalam urged the RBI to allow banks to publish the list of loan defaulters and argued that laws pertaining to secrecy should not be used to shield wilful defaulters.
Source: The Hindu Business Line
Auto companies offer discounts up to Rs. 12,500 on BS-III models
Two and three wheeler major TVS Motor has joined other manufacturers in offering discounts on BS III models to liquidate stocks, following a apex court order banning sale and registration of such vehicles from April one. The company has announced discounts “upto Rs 20,150” across its models in BS III variants which is valid for one day (March 31,2017), company sources said. Hero MotoCorp and Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India had earlier announced discounts of upto Rs 12,500 on BS III models following the Supreme Court order.
Yes Bank share offering succeeds, second time around
Yes Bank Ltd has succeeded on its second attempt to raise capital, as friendlier conditions in financial markets allowed the Indian lender to put last year’s failed share offering behind it.The Mumbai-based bank, led by billionaire chief executive officer Rana Kapoor, raised about $750 million through the sale of new shares at Rs1,500 each, an exchange filing lateWednesday showed. The decision to reduce the size of the sale helped smooth the deal, six months after Kapoor blamed a misunderstanding by his bankers for the failure of a $1 billion offering.
Home loan interest rates too high for Indian buyers: Survey
High interest rates on home loans and reluctance to borrow are dissuading Indian buyers who have to dig into savings to buy a house, a study has revealed. The study conducted by India Mortgage Guarantee Corp. and Kantar IMRB indicated that about 38% respondents saw home loan interest rates as too high while equal number of respondents cited lack of savings and unwillingness to borrow as constraints to own a house. Higher property rates (32%) and insufficient loan availability (32%) were cited as the other factors deterring home buying plans.
India, South Korea to cooperate on startups, tech transfer
India and South Korea today agreed to deepen cooperation among their small and medium enterprises through technology transfer, joint ventures, business alliances and facilitation of mutual market access. Both countries also emphasised on providing support to each other’s startups in accordance with their schemes and programmes. The Korean side proposed to initiate cooperation for startup companies in India and the Republic of Korea. It proposed to hold a contest to identify startups would be interested to establish themselves in each other’s country.
Telecom Min rules out special treatment to Voda-Idea merger
Vodafone and Idea Cellular will not get any special treatment post-merger and the combined entity will have to comply with existing rules on revenue, subscriber and spectrum caps, government said today. Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha asserted that the ministry will work with sectoral regulator TRAI to ensure policies are in place that balance consumer interest with the financial health of the sector. On Vodafone and Idea Cellular merger — which is set to create Indias largest telecom operator displacing Bharti Airtel from its current pole position — the Minister said if the merging entities do not adhere to the rules, they would not be allowed to proceed.
Insurance coverage of TB negligible in India
Although India carries a huge burden of tuberculosis (TB), only a miniscule number of patients are covered by insurance as health insurers have not yet penetrated to the economic classes, which register a higher incidence of the disease. As per World Health Organisation data, India has the highest incidence if TB with 2.2 million out of the global 9.6 million cases in 2011. This number was revised to 2.8 million in 2015. It, however, claims TB account for less than five per cent among most of the health insurers. In case of Star Health and Allied Insurance, it is just about five per cent. TB makes for one per cent of the total health-related claims of Bajaj Allianz General Insurance and in case of United India Insurance too it is very small percentage of the total health claims.
Source: My Digital Financial Chronicle
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