Below is a shortlist of all the important articles from newspapers.
Indian SPACs to raise nearly $ 1 billion in the US
At least four special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) set up by Indian sponsors and their global partners are raising close to $1 billion through IPOs in the US stock market in the next few months, reports Business Standard.
Why it’s important: They are focusing on domestic companies in areas such as media and entertainment, technology, and consumer goods, apart from other markets in Asia.
Rather than go for a traditional IPO, many Indian tech and new-age start-ups that are yet to see profits have been looking at this route to get an easier and quicker listing.
The SPAC is mostly targeting Indian companies with an enterprise value of $ 150-500 million and has identified four key areas — television and digital content, gaming, exhibition business, and OTT distribution.
What is SPAC? A SPAC is a company with no commercial operation and is formed only to raise capital through an IPO for the purpose of acquiring a target company.
‘Valuation of SBI, subsidiaries can be better’
Within three weeks of starting Covid-19 personal loans, State Bank of India (SBI), the country’s largest lender, has disbursed about ₹400 crore, says its Chairman Dinesh Kumar Khara in an interview with Business Standard.
What he says: While the June quarter was weak, Khara is betting on retail loan growth on the back of the improving economy.
However, there is very little traction in corporate loans.
He also believes the aberration in inflation will go as supply chains normalise.
There was some difficulty in the collection because the cash flow was disrupted, especially for SMEs in May and June.
It is quite encouraging to see the response we have got from the market.
Despite that, the valuations of subsidiaries can be better.
The target price that some of the brokerages is encouraging.
As a position to create value we will earn the confidence of investors.
Amazon offers IP protection for local businesses
Ecommerce giant Amazon has launched the intellectual property (IP) accelerator programme in India, reports Business Standard.
Why it’s important: It is offering sellers, who are also brand owners including small and medium-sized sellers, easy access to services from trusted IP experts and law firms.
Businesses may choose to engage with these IP law firms to help secure trademarks, protect their brands, and tackle infringement, on Amazon India and Amazon websites globally.
Establishing IP rights is essential for businesses of all sizes to differentiate their products, earn customer trust, and grow their business.
Change policies to promote industry and manufacturing, says Kerala’s new FM
In an interview with Business Standard, Kerala Finance Minister K N Balagopal debunks the notion that the State has labour problems, stresses why welfare measures are important, and reiterates the “harm” goods and services tax has caused to the States.
What the new FM says:
The services sector plays a key role in the state´s economy.
Kerala has quality labour and we insist that the labour laws of the country are respected and minimum wages stipulated by law are given to workers.
This in no way amounts to being anti-industry.
There are many companies in Kerala in various sectors, including IT, that are making good profits.
We need to promote indigenous industry and indigenous knowledge and translate them into industrial production.
Running welfare schemes is important for the government. We have a universal and free system of distributing food grains and groceries to all people.
‘Indian stock valuations are somewhat less attractive’
With the first half of CY21 drawing to a close last week, New York-based David Jones, senior investment strategist, BofA Global Research, tells Business Standard in an interview that equities will generate lower returns in the second half. He expects those returns to be more volatile.
What he says:
The Fed will not press ahead with a tighter financial policy if doing so constitutes a serious financial stability risk to the US.
Europe offers a number of attributes that are attractive to investors.
We do not think global equities, including India’s are in a bubble yet.
Global equities look modestly expensive.
Equities will generate a lower return in the second half of this year than in the first half; expect those returns also to be more volatile.
We prefer Europe and some EMs over the US at this point, though Indian stock valuations are somewhat less attractive.
‘We do have banking ambitions’
The Incred Group has been in the headlines for its merger with KKR India Financial Services, and it has also been on an acquisition spree. Bhupinder Singh, the shadow banking entity´s founder and CEO, tells Business Standard that while there is no specific focus given to inorganic growth, we are always open to looking at opportunities.
What he says:
The pandemic time has also been a period that has thrown up some very interesting investment opportunities which can be particularly attractive from a long-term value standpoint.
The vast majority of the growth across our business lines has happened organically.
I would anticipate that the business will have reached a scale where it becomes appropriate to list it on the bourses in the next two to three years.
Our focus in this business will continue to be in retail and small business lending.
More broadly, for an Integrated Financial Institution like ours, a mainstream banking licence would be the most natural way to fully participate in the upside growth potential of a country as big as ours.
Cash-strapped Vi looks to monetise assets to raise $1bn
Vodafone Idea (Vi) is hoping to raise up to $1 billion (around ₹7,400 crore) from the sale of its fixed-line broadband subsidiary, optic fibre unit and data centres business, The Economic Times reports.
Why it’s important: It seeks to ease its cash crunch and generate funds to meet upcoming liabilities.
The telco needs to pay ₹22,500 crore between December 2021 and April 2022 toward a mix of regular debt, adjusted gross revenue and spectrum dues.
Its cash balance stood at ₹350 crore on March 31 and loss was ₹6,985.1 crore for the March quarter.
Vodafone Idea seeks dilution of collateral
Vodafone Idea Ltd has asked its lenders to give up their first charge on the collateral so that the cash-strapped telco can raise fresh funds from investors, Mint report said.
Why it’s important: The company, saddled with liabilities of ₹1.8 trillion, is looking to raise nearly ₹25,000 crore from international investors using the securities placed as collateral with banks.
It has borrowed close to ₹23,080 crore from banks and financial institutions.
Lenders have, instead, asked the promoters of the company to bring in additional equity capital.
India to strive for a higher share of MNC digital tax
India will work with like-minded countries to ensure developing countries like itself get a fair share in the proposed tax on multinational digital companies under a global deal being worked out, The Economic Times reports.
Why it’s important: India joined130 countries in the G20-OECD inclusive framework to reform international tax rules to create a new global tax regime on which there is a broad agreement, but details are yet to be worked out.
India will have to withdraw the equalisation levy, or the so-called Google Tax, introduced in 2016, when the global tax deal is implemented.
New Delhi wants to ensure that its tax earnings from the new regime are more than what it gets from the equalisation levy.
‘Drinking water availability can result in a 2-3% jump in GDP’
Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has been entrusted with providing tap water connections to all rural households under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) by 2024, drawing comparisons with the Ujjwala Yojana that helped the BJP win in 2019. In an interview with Mint, he spoke about the top performers.
What the Minister says:
The big work is happening in the field of clean drinking water.
Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) is aimed at providing a solution to problems, and then there are huge indirect benefits, be it in terms of health and sanitation.
There are around 50,000 habitations in the country where drinking water is laced with arsenic and fluoride.
But where there is bacterial contamination in places such as ponds, that number is multiple times than this.
If we solve this issue, it is going to give a big boost to the health indicators and, naturally, the economy.
Drinking water availability can result in a 2-3% jump in the GDP.
Goa, Telangana, Andaman Nicobar and Puducherry have declared achieving 100% target before the deadline.
E-tailers red-flag clauses on the related party, private labels
The country’s largest e-commerce companies including Flipkart, Amazon India and Tata Group have told the government that they are concerned about the “related-party clause” in the draft regulations for the industry, says The Economic Times.
Why it’s important: That can prevent them from selling on their online platforms.
Top executives and industry groupings also flagged their disquiet over the proposal to not allow an e-commerce platform from using its name in its private brand.
There was a broad consensus that the data-related proposals should be included only in the upcoming Personal Data Protection (PDP) Bill and not be made part of the proposed e-commerce regulations.
Terming the “related-party clause” as a significant hurdle, e-tailers pointed out that it could lead to situations where “a last-mile delivery partner of an e-commerce firm is treated like a related party, complicating the regulations further, even though it might have been unintentional”.
Monsoon forecast way off, IMD defends model
Having said the monsoon could hit Delhi as early as June 15, IMD has seen its forecast go spectacularly wrong, with rains still eluding the city and the northern and many other parts of India, says The Times of India.
IMD on Defence: Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, director general of meteorology at IMD, however, said no forecasting model in the world has 100% accuracy even with the best of technology available.
He argued that the “unpredictable” nature of the monsoon can only provide a long-term accuracy of 55-60% even with the best of technology and forecasting models in place.
Why it’s difficult:
The forecast accuracy is over 80% in a 24-hour period and more than 60% over a five-day period.
IMD relies on human intervention to assess models since dependence on technology alone can leave data open to interpretation in some cases.
The weather is particularly volatile during the monsoon and late summer.
There is the high moisture content in the air as the monsoon gets closer and a cyclonic circulation can lead to cloud formation and rain within hours. This is not always easy to forecast.
While one can rely on satellite imagery and radar technology for a short-term forecast of 3-4 hours, the same may not hold true for 24 hours.
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
Find the best of Al News in one place, specially curated for you every weekend.
Stay on top of the latest tech trends and biggest startup news.
