Author: Finance Khabar

New Delhi: The government has introduced stricter measures to curb opportunistic takeover of Indian companies due to the current COVID-19 pandemic by firms in neighbouring countries. Earlier this week, several west European countries including Germany, Italy and Spain tightened their foreign direct investment (FDI) rules to prevent Chinese firms from taking over their companies which are facing slumping sales due to coronavirus pandemic. According to a statement issued by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), the government said that an entity of a country which shares a land border with India can invest only after receiving…

New Delhi: Government-owned GAIL India Ltd said on Saturday it has chalked out catch-up plans for various locations and work fronts to ensure timely completion and avoid any slippages. “GAIL is in readiness to resume construction of various hydrocarbon infrastructure projects of national importance, post lifting of the COVID-19 led lockdown,” it said in a statement. This is in view to kick start the crucial infrastructure projects to enable expansion of the gas-based economy. Graded measures in the short to medium term will be rolled out starting from April 20 with the support of local administrative authorities across the states,…

New Delhi: Airbus — one of the largest commercial aircraft manufacturing companies in the world — has reduced its aircraft production rates by roughly one-third due to COVID-19 pandemic. When asked how COVID-19 has impacted its business, Airbus told ANI: “This is by far the most serious crisis our industry has ever been in. Airbus maintains a strong focus on backlog management, supporting customers and securing business continuity.” “Airbus has reduced its pre-coronavirus commercial aircraft production rates by roughly one-third. With the new rates, we preserve our ability to meet customer demand while protecting our ability to further adapt as…

Ahmedabad: Elecon Group CMD, Prayasvin B Patel has donated Rs 11 lakh to the CM Fund to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, relief and rehabilitation work. Also, Elecon Group has partnered with the District Collector’s Office to distribute food and grocery kits among the vulnerable people.Over 1,000 grocery kits have been distributed under the able guidance of Prayasvin B Patel and Mrs. Taruna P Patel. The grocery bag includes 10kg wheat flour floor, 5kg rice, 1 kg, dal, 1 kg sugar and 1 kg salt. Lunch and Dinner were also provided to the needy people at Vasad, Chikhodra and Bevda Villages.…

Mumbai: Private sector lender HDFC Bank on Saturday reported a 17.7 per cent year-on-year rise in net profit at Rs 6,928 crore during the January to March quarter. However, provisions and contingencies nearly doubled to Rs 3,785 crore as compared to Rs 1,899 crore in the same quarter last year.But significantly, net interest income for the quarter climbed to Rs 15,204 crore from Rs 13,089 crore, driven by 21.3 per cent growth in advances and a 24.3 per cent growth in deposits. The net interest margin was 4.3 per cent. Gross non-performing assets for Q4 eased to 1.26 per cent…

Whitley: Jaguar Land Rover said on Saturday its retail sales in fiscal 2019-20 totalled 5.08 lakh vehicles, down 12.1 per cent year-on-year primarily as a result of the coronavirus pandemic significantly impacting sales in the fourth quarter. The company’s total retail sales for the quarter ending March 31 were 1.09 lakh vehicles, down 30.9 per cent compared to the same period last year. Fiscal 2019-20 sales were impacted across all regions with lower sales in North America (7.5 per cent down on record prior year), China (8.9 per cent), UK (9.6 per cent), Europe (16.1 per cent) and overseas (20.3…

Singapore: S&P has affirmed its stable rating on HDFC Bank to reflect the lender’s strong business franchise besides its better funding and liquidity profile than industry peers. “The bank’s capitalisation is comfortable in our view, supported by strong earnings and regular capital raising to fund above-average growth. The bank’s asset quality remains among the best in Indian banking industry due to its better risk management and portfolio diversity,” said S&P. Overall, it said, HDFC Bank’s individual creditworthiness is significantly stronger than the average of Indian banking sector, reflected in its SACP of bbb-plus. The stable outlook on HDFC Bank reflects…

New Delhi: As air services remain suspended due to COVID-19 lockdown, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has called for waiver of all interests, penalties, delayed charges and accruals to airport operators which could be adequately supported by the government to make up for the gap. Loans, loan guarantees and support for corporate bond market by the government or the central bank either directly to the airline or to commercial banks are required. FICCI said it is likely that banks may be reluctant to extend credit to airlines in the present situation due to absence of…

Hosur: TVS Motor Company, a reputed manufacturer of two-wheelers and three-wheelers in the world, today announced the successful acquisition of Britain’s most iconic sporting motorcycle, “Norton”, in an all-cash deal for a consideration of GBP 16 million by acquiring certain assets of Norton Motorcycles (UK) Limited (in administration) through one of TVS Motor’s overseas subsidiaries. This will be one of the most interesting acquisitions of a storied motorcycle maker in recent times and will reflect TVS Motor Company’s and India’s rapidly rising prominence in the international two-wheeler market. Founded by James Lansdowne Norton, in Birmingham, in 1898, Norton Motorcycles is…

Mumbai: Entertainment major Eros International Plc on Saturday entered into a definitive stock-for-stock merger agreement to take over leading independent Hollywood studio STX Entertainment. “The transaction will create the first publicly traded, independent content and distribution company with global reach and unique positions in the United States, India and China,” said Eros in regulatory filings at stock exchanges. “The combined company, to be called Eros STX Global Corporation, will have a robust pipeline of feature-length films and episodic content with powerful and well-established positions in the world’s fastest-growth global markets,” it said. Founded in 2014, STX Entertainment is a leading…

New Delhi: State-owned Coal India has distributed 1.2 lakh cooked food packets as well as more than 50,000 packets of ration to the needy, besides donating funds to run a community kitchen amid the coronavirus lockdown. “Coal India (CIL) and its subsidiaries are working full throttle to combat the effects of Covid-19,” an official said. The PSU has distributed 1.2 lakh cooked food packets to the needy. “More than 50,000 packets of ration have been distributed to the underprivileged by the Maharatna firm,” the official added. CIL arm Bharat Coking Coal Ltd has donated Rs 2.88 crore to the Dhanbad…

New Delhi: The Covid-19 pandemic will lead to a deterioration in asset quality for Indian lenders, global ratings agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) said on Friday, cutting its outlook on private sector lenders Axis Bank and ICICI Bank to “negative”. The agency said the economic recovery will be U-shaped, the risks for the banking sector remain on the downside and also warned of some rating downgrades because of the pandemic. It can be noted that since late 2014, with the asset quality review, the going has been difficult for the Indian banks which are now saddled with toxic debt of…

Saudi Arabian oil exports to the U.S. more than doubled from February to March as oil prices crashed and American shale producers reeled over demand destruction from the coronavirus pandemic, data from analytics firm TankerTrackers.com shows. Saudi crude shipments to American ports went from an average of 366,000 barrels per day (bpd) in February to 829,540 bpd in March a multiple of 2.27. For the last month, that means Saudi Arabia shipped around 25 million barrels of crude to the U.S., a level not seen since December 2018. And data from TankerTrackers.com shows that figure is on track to be…

Meerut: In an endeavour to ensure that low income, prepaid customers using feature phones remain connected amidst these troubled times, Vodafone Idea Limited (VIL), has announced the extension of incoming services for these users till 3rd May 2020. This free of cost extension of incoming service validity will enable millions of feature phone users of both Vodafone and Idea to continue to receive incoming calls, even if the validity of their plan expires earlier. This incoming validity extension is being credited in the accounts of all eligible customers, as fast as possible, over the coming days. With this special…

Mumbai: Infrastructure major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) said on Friday said its buildings and factories business has bagged significant orders worth up to Rs 2,500 crore from domestic clients. It has secured an order from a leading cement maker to execute and commission a plant with a production capacity of 9,500 tonnes per day at Ametha in Katni, Madhya Pradesh. Another order has been secured from a Bengaluru-based developer for constructing a residential complex with a total built-up area of 5 million square feet. The scope of work includes design and construction of the entire civil structure, water-proofing, masonry and…

Mumba: Equity benchmark indices jumped over 3 per cent on Friday as the Reserve Bank of India unveiled measures to ease liquidity and bank credit as part of economic relief to offset the fallout of coronavirus lockdown. The BSE S&P Sensex closed 986 points or 3.22 per cent higher at 31,589 while the Nifty 50 moved up by 274 points or 3.05 per cent at 9,267. Except for Nifty FMCG and pharma, all sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were in the green Nifty private bank up 7.7 per cent, financial service by 5.7 per cent each, auto by…

Gurugram: BMW Group India delivered 2,482 units of BMW and MINI cars in the first quarter of calendar year 2020, i.e January to March. BMW India registered sales of 2,365 units and MINI India of 117 units. BMW Motorrad has continued its unabated growth in the premium motorcycle segment with 1,024 motorcycles delivered to customers. “The coronavirus pandemic presents a mammoth challenge to public health, industry, economy and our business. With the strength of its admired brands and superior products, BMW Group India will remain resilient and responsive in every way. The current situation has brought many operational difficulties and…

Mumbai: Industry experts said on Friday that further revision in reverse repo rate by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) should add to spurring liquidity in the system and is a positive measure. “Additionally, the move to allow extension of NBFC loans to delayed commercial real estate projects by a year without restructuring brings about some much-needed relief for the developers,” said Ram Raheja, Director at S Raheja Realty. “COVID-proofing the economy is the need of the hour. We further hope to see some stimulus package from the government as well to help relieve the stress in the residential real…

China reported Friday that its first quarter GDP contracted by 6.8% in 2020 from a year ago as the world’s second largest economy took a huge hit from the coronavirus outbreak, data from the National Bureau of Statistics of China showed. The contraction in the first quarter is the first decline since at least 1992, when official quarterly GDP records started, according to Reuters. China’s government figures are frequently doubted by analysts. Analysts polled by Reuters had predicted China’s GDP would shrink by 6.5% in the January to March quarter, compared to a year ago. The forecasts from 57 analysts…

Mumbai: : The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today reduced the reverse repo rate by 25 basis points from four per cent to 3.75 per cent in a bid to inject liquidity in financial markets. However, the repo rate remains unchanged. This comes amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent countrywide lockdown. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said the liquidity injection has been 3.2 per cent of GDP since February 6 to March 27. “The RBI has been taking pro-active measures and monitoring the situation closely. The contraction in exports at 34.6 per cent has been much worse than 2008-09 global…