Brokerages urge Sebi to modify plan to extend derivatives trading hours
Brokerages are urging India’s market regulator to modify a plan to extend equity derivatives trading hours due to concerns over their readiness and the costs of implementing the proposal, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Local and foreign brokers have asked the Securities & Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to postpone until January its plan to introduce longer trading hours, citing the need for more testing, the people said. They also discussed extending the trading time till 5 p.m., a shorter day than the 11:55 p.m. close that Sebi had said it would allow, the people said, asking not to be identified because the discussions are private.
Modi govt announces five-point plan to control current account deficit
A high-level meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday decided to curb non-essential imports and increase exports, besides announcing five-pronged measures to increase dollar inflows into the country to fund and reduce the current account deficit (CAD). The CAD rose to 2.4 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) in the first quarter of 2018-19 from 1.9 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2017-18. These measures will increase dollar inflows by up to $10 billion in the country. The government decided to cut non-essential imports and increase exports, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told reporters after the meeting, adding the measures would be announced in the next few days after consultations with the ministries concerned.
RBI opts out of panel on stressed power assets
The Reserve Bank of India has refused to be part of the cabinet secretary-led panel set up by the PMO in July to resolve issues of the stressed thermal power sector. Officials said the RBI has formally communicated to the government that the matter is sub judice and that its well-known views on handling loan defaults have already been articulated on many forums in the past. RBI kept away even as lenders and private companies expect the banking regulator to clarify on treatment of stressed assets till the next date of hearing on November 14 in Supreme Court, which has ordered a status quo until then.
High-level panel discusses ‘quick solutions’ for power sector NPAs
Cabinet Secretary, PK Sinha, chaired the second meeting of the High-Level Empowered Committee to address the issues of stressed thermal power plants on Friday. However, RBI officials were yet again not present at the meeting. An official statement said, “Senior officials from various Ministries and major lenders (Banks and Financial Institutions) attended the meeting and deliberated upon the issues related to the resolution of the stressed thermal power projects. The deliberations will continue further.” Officials present at the meeting said that representatives from the Reserve Bank of India were not a part of today’s meeting.
Shriram Transport rules out exposure to NCLT-headed SVL
Shares of Shriram Transport Finance tanked nearly 4 per cent on Friday before recovering after a top executive clarified that the company will not be affected by group firm Shriram Ventures (SVL) being referred for insolvency proceedings. Shriram Transport Finance has no lending exposure to SVL, the holding company for the group’s non-finance business, but has supported SVL’s Rs 870-crore worth of NCDs with corporate guarantees. Earlier in the day, global brokerage house Credit Suisse had said in a report that with the SVL case being filed in the National Company Law Tribunal, its board would lose control over the assets and operations to the interim resolution professional.
J&J hip implant patients to meet in Delhi, demand accountability
People facing an ordeal because of ‘faulty’ hip implants will gather in Delhi on 15 September to demand accountability and transparent mechanisms in order to ensure the safety of patients. These patients have expressed dissatisfaction with the actions taken by the government against pharma giant Johnson and Johnson (J&J) saying there was no transparency. They have also highlighted J&J’s lack of openness about the allegedly faulty design of the implant. The metal-on-metal, articular surface replacement (ASR) device known as the DePuy ASR, was sold in India by DePuy International, a subsidiary of J&J.
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