BUSINESS
Anil Agarwal’s plan to trim debt hits a roadblock in India
Centre has threatened to take legal action to stop Agarwal’s Vedanta Group from selling the unit to its subsidiary Hindustan Zinc Ltd., which is around 30 percent state-owned.
INDIA
BofA securities joins Citi in turning bullish on Indian rupee
“The recent correction in rupee valuation and near-term improvement in current-account and capital flows tilt the risk-reward in favor of rupee appreciation,” Abhay Gupta, a strategist at BofA Securities, wrote in a note. The firm has turned ‘constructive’ on the rupee.
WORLD
Chinese banks hold rates as analysts bet easing to come
The one-year loan prime rate was held at 3.65% for a sixth consecutive month, in line with the forecasts from all 13 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The five-year rate, a reference for mortgages, was also kept at 4.3%, as expected, data from the People’s Bank of China showed.
WORLD
Standard Chartered to hire up to 500 staff in Hong Kong after reopening
The lender expects “double-digit” growth in wealth management income and “single-digit” loan growth, according to a spokeswoman. The lender’s headcount in Hong Kong has ranged from 5,500 to 5,800 in recent years, she said.
BUSINESS
Bank of Baroda to weigh all loan asks, including Adani Group, on merit
“Irrespective of borrower, you have underwriting standards and you stick to them in good times as well as bad times,” Sanjiv Chadha, chief executive officer and managing director at Bank of Baroda, said in an interview in Mumbai.
BUSINESS
Adani Total Gas hit hardest in $132-billion rout, but no respite on cards
Its shares have lost more three quarters of their value since the Hindenburg report was published on January 24. It was the group’s most richly valued stock before that and also has relatively less liquidity.
ECONOMY
Economic activities in India cool off in Jan amid chilling slowdown fears
Falling exports and a slack in manufacturing and services drove the weakness in business activity, offsetting improvement in consumption drivers reflected by tax collections and job growth
BUSINESS
Adani maps comeback strategy after $132 billion Hindenburg rout
Repaying and prepaying of borrowings, both by the conglomerates’ units and Adani family, have featured in the push to convince investors that the group does not face any solvency issues despite its market value being cut in half.
BUSINESS
France extends transition for trades from Indian clearing houses
The standoff stems from changes in European Union financial regulation that require agreements between EU regulators and other countries that have their own central clearing houses for market transactions.
MARKETS
Adani shock for $3.1 trillion India stock market is ebbing fast
The Sensex, which doesn’t have any Adani stocks among its 30 constituents, is less than 4% away from a record high reached in December
BUSINESS
Govt won’t allow new sugar exports to prevent domestic shortage
The Indian government will assess domestic supply and demand again in March, when cane crushing nears its end, before taking a call on exports, the people said.
BUSINESS
With inflation here to stay, brace for more rate hikes: HSBC
A good harvest will boost farmers’ income and stoke rural demand, pressuring core inflation, HSBC economists Pranjul Bhandari and Aayushi Chaudhary wrote in a note Friday.
BUSINESS
Qatari Royals plan £5 billion opening bid for Manchester United
A consortium including Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, the country’s former prime minister and ex-head of the Qatar Investment Authority, is putting the final touches on a proposal to acquire the English Premier League club from the US Glazer family.
BUSINESS
Germany’s biggest airports hit by staff walkouts over pay
Security and other ground crew in Frankfurt and Munich staged one-day walkouts early Friday, leading to 1,300 flight cancellations for national carrier Deutsche Lufthansa AG.
BUSINESS
Most Adani dollar bonds exit distressed levels on debt promises
Among the gainers were Adani Electricity Mumbai Ltd.’s dollar 2031 notes, rose 0.7 cent to 72 cents as of 1:07 p.m. in Hong Kong, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
BUSINESS
Gail explores buying a stake in a US LNG export facility
The company released an expression of interest to acquire as much as 26% equity in an existing LNG plant or a proposed facility that will be commissioned by 2027, according to a document released on its website. US LNG project developers can submit an offer to Gail.
BUSINESS
MSCI will speed ESG ratings reviews after silence on Adani
MSCI Inc. will now review holdings in its ESG indexes on a monthly basis, more frequently than its previous quarterly schedule, the firm said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Elon Musk shuts two of three Twitter India offices, sends staff home
Twitter, which fired more than 90% of its roughly 200-plus staff in India late last year, closed its offices in the political center New Delhi and financial hub of Mumbai, people aware of the matter said.
BUSINESS
‘Broker Butcher’ set to become China’s top securities regulator
Wu, now the vice mayor of Shanghai, is poised to replace Yi Huiman as chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, a person familiar with the move said, asking not to be identified discussing private information. Yi, in charge of the CSRC since 2019, will oversee the banking and insurance sector.
BUSINESS
China poised to appoint new chiefs at banking, market regulators
Yi Huiman, the current chairman at the China Securities Regulatory Commission, is likely to be appointed to the same post at the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, putting him in the middle of a fraught balancing act to revive Asia’s largest economy while containing growing strains in the $60 trillion financial industry.
WORLD
Lufthansa cancels 1,200 flights due to airport strike action
Lufthansa will cull the flights due to a one-day walkout from the ground crew at its two biggest airports
BUSINESS
Byju’s in funding talks with TPG, sovereign funds as debt weighs
Negotiations are ongoing and it’s unclear if the prospective investors will go ahead with a deal, the people said, who asked not to be identified as the information is private.
BUSINESS
Adani Power is said to scrap $850 million coal plant purchase
The Adani Group company and DB Power Ltd. mutually agreed not to proceed with the transaction after a long-stop date expired on Wednesday, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is private. DB Power operates a 1.2 gigawatt coal power project in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh.
BUSINESS
Vodafone is exploring options for $14 billion African unit
The London-listed firm is working with advisers to study ways to extract more value from its 65 percent holding in Vodacom Group, sources told Bloomberg
