Road to resolution: LIC to open to subscribing to planned IL&FS rights issue
Beleagured infra financier IL&FS biggest shareholder, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) on Friday said it is open to increasing its 25.3% stake in IL&FS by subscribing to the planned Rs 4,500-crore rights issue. LIC said the Mumbai-based firm should be able to recover Rs 60,000 crore by selling its assets. IL&FS has a consolidated debt pile of Rs 91,000 crore and total liabilities in excess of Rs 1 lakh crore. VK Sharma, chairman, LIC, told a television news channel, the insurer, which has an investment of Rs 2,000 crore in IL&FS, has not invested any money in the firm since 2013.
Aviation Ministry writes to Finmin on Air India distress call
Things aren’t getting better for debt-laden Air India as dues to vendors have hit unmanageable levels, forcing the aviation ministry to write to the finance ministry asking it to urgently decide on funding the national carrier. The letter, sent earlier this week, said that the airline is finding it difficult to conduct operations due to financial problems and rising vendor dues. Aviation secretary RN Chaubey called on the finance ministry to clear the bailout package to ensure funds could be infused quickly, said a senior aviation ministry official, who did not want to be identified.
BSE waives transaction charges for commodity derivatives, launch on Monday
The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) is launching trading in commodity derivatives on October 1 and has decided to waive transaction charges for the first year on commodities market operations, the exchange said on Friday. The National Stock Exchange (NSE), the largest exchange by volume, said it will be launching trading on October 12, that is after pitru paksha (considered inauspicious period). NSE will begin with gold, silver and will even introduce mini-gold contracts in order to attract small investors.
RBI bars Bandhan Bank from opening branches
Our Bureau The RBI on Friday pulled up Bandhan Bank for its failure to bring down the promoter holding to 40 per cent, as mandated in the licensing norms for universal banks. The promoter holding in the bank at present is 82.28 per cent. The central bank also barred the bank from opening new branches and put a freeze on the remuneration of Bandhan Bank MD and CEO Chandra Shekhar Ghosh.
Singapore, Mauritius fight for relevance after DTAA amendments in 2016
Two years after India renegotiated its double taxation avoidance agreements (DTAAs) with Singapore and Mauritius, the two face the possibility of their importance as investment channels to the country fading. Both are looking to stave off that prospect but one is likely to be more successful in that endeavour. Singapore and Mauritius, which have long been among the top destinations for routing investments into India, are struggling to stay relevant in the aftermath of the tax treaty amendments in 2016 that nullified a unique arbitrage opportunity for investors. ET spoke to fund managers, tax experts, investors and officials based in Singapore and India to determine the longterm impact of the changes.
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