Author: Finance Khabar
Fitch Ratings has again revised down its economic growth forecast for India to 0.8 per cent in the fiscal year ending March 2021, reflecting the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and official efforts to contain it. “This is down sharply from our forecast of 5.6 per cent prior to the outbreak. We expect growth to rebound to 6.7 per cent in FY22 but there is a risk that the crisis could amplify fiscal and financial sector strains and hurt the country’s growth prospects over the medium term,” it said. Indian authorities have extended a nationwide lockdown designed to curb the…
Manila: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Tuesday approved a 1.5 billion dollar loan to India to help fund its response to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. This includes support for immediate priorities like disease containment and prevention as well as social protection for the poor and economically vulnerable sections of the society, especially women and disadvantaged groups. “ADB is fully committed to supporting India in its response to this unprecedented challenge,” said ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa. The quick-disbursing fund is part of a larger package of support that ADB will provide in close coordination with the government and…
Mumbai: Equity benchmark indices closed over one per cent higher on Tuesday with a dramatic spurt in private banks. At the closing bell, the BSE S&P Sensex was up by 371 points or 1.17 per cent at 32,115 while the Nifty 50 edged higher by 99 points or 1.06 per cent at 9,381. Sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were mixed with Nifty private bank moving up by 3.5 per cent but pharma dipping by 2.2 per cent. Nifty financial service too moved up by 3.3 per cent. Among stocks, IndusInd Bank was the star of the day by…
Mumbai: Private sector lender Axis Bank on Tuesday reported a loss of Rs 1,388 crore for the quarter ended March (Q4 FY20) compared to a profit of Rs 1,505 crore in the corresponding period of last year (Q4 FY19). It had reported a profit of Rs 1,757 crore in the October to December quarter (Q3 FY20). The net interest income in Q4 FY20 grew by 19 per cent year-on-year to Rs 6,808 crore while operating profit was up by 17 per cent to Rs 5,851 crore. On the asset quality front, gross non-performing loans as a percentage of gross advances…
Helsinki: In a bid to strengthen its 4G network and enhance 5G capabilities in India, Bharti Airtel has inked a $1 billion (nearly Rs 7,636 crore), multi-year deal with Nokia to deploy the Finnish majors 5G-ready solutions across nine circles in the country. Nokia, which is the largest 4G vendor in Airtel network, will help lay the foundation for providing 5G connectivity in the future by deploying 300,000 radio units across several spectrum bands in those circles expected to be completed by 2022 The deal size is approximately $1 billion. “We have been working with Nokia for more than a…
New Delhi: Corporate treasury managing startup, IBSFINtech, has appointed Shailesh Haribhakti as its Chairman. The development comes as a part of fintech’s post coronavirus (COVID-19) strategy. “We welcome Haribhakti Ji with open arms and look forward to achieving greater heights under his guidance, in the After COVID-19 world, the Boards and CFOs across the world require our intelligent decision support system for more control and visibility of their entire operations,” said CM Grover, MD & CEO, IBSFINtech India Pvt Ltd. Haribhakti in his new role would be responsible for global expansion. “I am glad to have joined hands with this…
Mumbai : Tata Motors said on Tuesday it will be issuing non-convertible debentures (NCDs) worth Rs 1,000 crore to improve liquidity which has taken a hit among all automakers due to the economic slowdown and COVID-10 lockdown. The NCDs will be issued in three tranches and a special committee of the company’s board is scheduled to convene on May 5, the company said in regulatory filings at stock exchanges. On March 27, Tata Motors said its passenger vehicle business is being hived off as a separate subsidiary with differentiated focus from commercial vehicle business. It had also approved a resolution…
Dhaka: Thousands of textile workers have returned to work in factories in Bangladesh amid a nationwide coronavirus lockdown, raising fears of an increase in the spread of the contagion. Factories in the capital Dhaka and the port city of Chittagong reopened on Monday after being permitted to resume work. The country’s garment factories had closed in late March but under pressure from retailers to fulfil outstanding export orders, many resumed their operations, despite a nationwide lockdown in place until May 5, Al Jazeera reported. Earlier, it was reported that at least 1,000 factories are scheduled to reopen by Monday in…
New Delhi : Axis Bank Limited (Axis Bank) and Max Financial Services Limited (MFS) announced the signing of definitive agreements to become joint venture partners in Max Life Insurance Company Limited (Max Life). Axis Bank will hold 30 per cent stake in Max Life post transaction closure. The development will result in a mutually beneficial and enduring relationship between Axis Bank and Max Life and bring the stability of a long-term partnership to India’s fourth largest private life insurance franchise. The joint venture arrangement will significantly improve Max Life’s competitive position vis a vis its competitors, including the other large…
Mumbai: Merck Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Merck KGaA Germany announced the call for applications for ‘Stay at Home’ Media Recognition Awards for French Speaking African Countries in partnership with Denise Nyakeru Tshisekedi, the First Lady of Democratic Republic of Congo; Aissata Issoufou Mahamadou, the First Lady of Niger; Hinda Deby Itno, the First Lady of Chad; Antoinette Sassou-Nguesso, the First Lady of Congo Brazzaville and Aminata Maiga Keita, the First Lady of Mali. The theme of the awards is ‘Raising Awareness on how to Stay Safe and keep Physically and Mentally Healthy during Coronavirus Lockdown’. “The ‘Stay at Home’…
New Delhi A meeting of the Board of Directors of Reliance Industries Ltd is scheduled to be held on Thursday, April 30, 2020 to consider and approve the standalone and consolidated audited financial results of the Company for the quarter / year ended March 31, 2020. The board will recommend dividend on equity shares of the Company. The board will also consider a proposal to issue equity shares to existing shareholders on Rights basis, as may be permitted under applicable law, subject to such regulatory/statutory approvals, as may be required.
Hyderabad: Hyderabad based start-up, Soniks Consulting is all geared up to unveil “Webkonf Meetings”, India’s first Web Video Conferencing and Screen sharing platform this week, disclosed Rama Narayana Reddy Malay, Chief Executive Officer of the start-up in a press note issued in Hyderabad today. 700 out of 750 crore population in the world is confined to homes. Though physically separated, thanks to technology, they are all connected. The web video conference and screen share apps made this possible. One can seamlessly connect via video, audio conferencing, webinars, chat, office meetings and collaboration, across many devices such as mobiles, desktops, laptops…
Mumbai: HDFC Life Insurance said on Monday its individual weighted received premium (WRP) grew by 19 per cent leading to an expansion of market share by 170 basis points to 14.2 per cent in the financial year ended March 31. The company said it maintained its leadership position within the group segment, growing by 20 per cent which led to a market share of 29 per cent. At the same time, the total number of insured lives increased to 6.1 crore, growing by 19 per cent in the year-on period. As on March 31, assets under management totalled Rs 1.3…
Mumbai: Private sector lender IndusInd Bank on Monday reported 77 per cent sequential decline in its net profit at Rs 302 crore in the March quarter of FY20 against Rs 1,300 crore in the December quarter. The bank’s earnings are not comparable on a yearly basis owing to its merger with Bharat Financial in July 2019. In Q4 FY19, the profit after tax stood at Rs 360 crore. “During the quarter ended December 31, the bank recognised exposure in respect of two entities with an outstanding of Rs. 960.89 crore as fraud,” the bank said in a statement without naming…
Mumbai: Equity benchmark indices trimmed early gains in the afternoon session on Monday but closed in the green with a surge in financial stocks after the Reserve Bank of India launched a special liquidity facility worth Rs 50,000 crore for mutual funds to ease the pressure due to coronavirus pandemic. At the closing bell, the BSE S&P Sensex was up by 416 points or 1.3 per cent at 31,743 while the Nifty 50 edged higher by 128 points or 1.4 per cent at 9,282. All sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were in the green with Nifty private bank…
Bengaluru: IET India launched its ‘IET Future Tech Panel’ on 24 April 2020. Chaired by Dr Rishi Bhatnagar, President, Aeris Communications India, the panel is conceptualised and designed to provide a neutral platform for interdisciplinary thought and action in areas of future technologies. In 2015, the Indian arm of the IET launched the first of its thought leadership panels on the Internet of Things. The IET IoT Panel launched with five working groups, over the next five years engaged with key ministries of the government of India, contributed to policies and also organised four successful editions of IoT India Congress…
Mumbai: he board of directors at IRB Infrastructure Developers Ltd has approved fund raising of up to Rs 2,500 crore to meet ongoing and planned capex requirements besides cash flow mismatches as well as for general corporate purposes in wake of COVID-19 lockdown impact. “We plan to use these funds to meet payments to creditors, firm up project expenses as well as the general corporate purposes during the ongoing lockdown situation due to COVID-19,” said Chairman and Managing Director Virendra Mhaiskar. “In view of the company’s track record of more than 20 years, in-house capabilities, rich domain expertise and experience,…
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday decided to open a special liquidity facility for mutual funds of Rs 50,000 crore in a bid to arrest redemptions in the asset management industry after last week’s collapse of six debt schemes of Franklin Templeton India. Credit markets in India have been under pressure even before the coronavirus pandemic. “With a view to easing liquidity pressures on mutual funds, it has been decided to open a special liquidity facility for mutual funds of Rs 50,000 crore,” said the central bank in a statement. “Heightened volatility in capital markets in reaction…
Lisbon: Tourism in European Union requires an estimated 375 billion euros to recover from the crisis generated by COVID-19 pandemic and to restore operations according to the European Travel Commission (ETC), Xinhua news agency reported after citing local media on Sunday. “The European Union (EU) estimates are around 255 billion euros to help the Member States recover the industry, and around 120 billion euros more for extra investment to help entrepreneurs and operators to restore operations,” ETC Executive Director Eduardo Santander said in an interview with Portuguese Lusa News Agency. With European tourism stagnating, due to restrictive measures adopted by…
Tesla managers asked dozens of employees to return to work on April 29 to resume production at the company’s Fremont, California car plant, according to internal correspondence shared with media. The plant was supposed to suspend vehicle production March 19 to prevent the spread of Covid-19. But the company resisted, and kept producing cars through the end of March 23