This is a roundup of the day’s top stories in brief.
1. Mistry Family Says It’s ‘Time to Separate’ From Tata Group
In a brief statement by the SP Group, promoter Mistry family has said it is time to separate from Tata.
“The current situation has forced the Mistry family to sit back and reflect on the past, present and possible future for all stakeholders. The past oppressive actions, and the latest vindictive move by Tata Sons that impact the livelihoods of the wider SP Group community leads to the inexplicable conclusion that the mutual co-existence of both groups at Tata Sons would be infeasible. The SP-Tata relationship spanning over 70 years, was forged on mutual trust, good faith, and friendship. Today, it is with a heavy heart that the Mistry family believes that a separation of interests would best serve all stakeholder groups.”
The statement comes on a day the Supreme Court barred the Mistry group from pledging or selling any Tata shares until Oct. 28, when it starts hearing final arguments in the case.
Here are the other highlights from the statement.
2. Industry Seeks A New Class Of Mutual Funds
The mutual funds’ lobby has urged the market regulator to consider creating a new category of funds that would allow rebranding of existing multi-cap schemes without much upheaval, a person aware of the matter said.
The Association of Mutual Funds in India suggested creating flexi-cap funds, which would not infringe on the true-to-label policy of the regulator, the head of a domestic asset management company told BloombergQuint on the condition of anonymity.
According to Ajay Tyagi, chairman at the Securities and Exchange Board of India, AMFI has made representations to the regulator pertaining to its circular issued earlier this month on asset allocation in multi-cap equity schemes.
While refusing to divulge any details, Tyagi, at the annual general meeting of AMFI, said the matter is being discussed.
SEBI has said that it is not their intention to force mutual funds to make investments that were not in the interest of investors.
3. Nifty’s Longest Losing Streak In Two Months
India’s equities fell for a fourth straight day, with investors piling into information technology and pharmaceutical stocks that are considered relatively insulated from the country’s gloomy economic outlook.
The S&P BSE Sensex ended 0.8% lower at 37,734 while the NSE Nifty 50 index fell 0.9% to 11,153.
This is the longest losing streak for the benchmark indices in nearly two months.
A gauge of IT companies rose 0.7%, while seven out of nine sector sub-indexes compiled by National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. dropped.
Follow the day’s trading action here.
Stocks rose as dip buyers emerged after the market selloff, tempering concern over tighter coronavirus restrictions and cloudy prospects for economic stimulus.
The S&P 500 rebounded from an almost two-month low, led by retailers and real-estate companies.
Giants Amazon.com Inc. and Apple Inc. paced gains in the Nasdaq 100, while Tesla Inc. slumped after Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk cautioned that the company will unveil something at the “Battery Day” event on Tuesday that won’t be widely produced for two years.
West Texas Intermediate crude gained 0.7% to $39.59 a barrel.
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4. Ambani’s Smartphone Gamble
Reliance Industries Ltd. has asked local suppliers to ramp up production capacity in India so they can make as many as 200 million smartphones over the next two years, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg News.
India’s most valuable company is in talks with domestic assemblers to make a version of its Jio phone that would run on Google’s Android and cost about Rs 4,000, said the people, asking not to be identified since the plans are private.
The inexpensive phones will be marketed with low-cost wireless plans from Reliance Jio, the parent company’s carrier, they said.
Reliance’s target of selling 150 million to 200 million phones over two years would represent a massive boost for local factories.
5. HDFC Bank Will Restructure Your Loans...Only If You Have Rs 25,000
India’s largest private sector lender said retail borrowers seeking to restructure their loan account or convert credit card debt will need to have a minimum outstanding balance of Rs 25,000 in their bank accounts.
Retail, corporate as well as small and medium enterprises can approach it for restructuring their dues, according to the frequently asked questions released by HDFC Bank Ltd. on its website.
The lender may levy a charge for restructuring a loan, but it didn't say how much.
“The customer has to be impacted financially by the Covid-19 pandemic in the form of reduction/loss of income or cash flows,” the private bank said.
Also, they must be standard borrowers, not in default for more than 30 days as on March 1 to be eligible.
HDFC Bank will seek details and proof regarding loss or reduction of income from the borrowers. More details here.
6. Lakshmi Vilas Bank: A Stitch In Time
Everything that can possibly go wrong with a bank, has gone wrong with Lakshmi Vilas Bank, writes Amit Tandon.
Given the steady stream of bad news emanating from the financial sector, the RBI has gone out on a limb to reassure deposit holders.
Importantly, it has promised swift and proactive action to eliminate systemic shocks.
It now needs to back this with decisive action and intervene before it is engulfed in another crisis – one which can be potentially brought on by Lakshmi Vilas Bank.
Read more.
7. NSE, SGX Finally Settle Differences
Singapore Exchange Ltd. and the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. are formally ending a years-long disagreement related to derivatives trading, with the two exchanges set to launch a cross-border trading link.
Both exchanges will withdraw arbitration proceedings that began after a dispute erupted in 2018 regarding the trading of Indian stock-based derivatives in Singapore, according to a statement from the Singapore exchange.
The exchanges have received another round of regulatory approvals on implementing a connect that will allow market participants to trade NSE Nifty 50 Index futures and options contracts from India’s Gujarat International Finance Tec-City.
The related contracts are currently traded on the Singapore bourse.
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8. Jio Unleashes Postpaid Tariff War
After unleashing a price war in mobile tariffs and fibre-broadband services, billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. unveiled postpaid plans, bundling up to 500 GB of data and subscription to Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+ Hotstar.
JioPostpaid Plus for mobile customers will have monthly tariffs ranging from Rs 399 to Rs 1,499 with different benefits, the company said in a statement.
The move assumes significance as it marks a major tariff offensive by Jio in the post-paid category, where typically average revenue per user tends to be far higher than the prepaid segment.
Find out key features of Jio’s postpaid plans here.
9. Covid-19: India Reports Over 1 Lakh Recoveries For The First Time
Active cases of Covid-19 in India fell below the 10-lakh mark after more than a lakh patients recovered in a single day.
The country added a little over 75,000 new cases in a matter of 24 hours -- the lowest in three weeks -- taking the total tally above 55 lakh, according to health ministry's data.
This includes almost 45 lakh patients who have recovered and more than 88,000 deaths.
Tuesday marks the highest number of patients who have recovered from Covid-19 in a 24-hour period.
Track developments around the Covid outbreak, here.
Globally, cases crossed 3.1 crore leaving over 9.65 lakh dead.
The number of deaths linked to Covid-19 in England and Wales rose for the first time since April, the latest evidence of the pandemic’s resurgence.
Iran reported its biggest spike in daily cases since the pandemic began, and Dutch infections jumped 63% in the past week.
Imperial College London cited “promising” results from its vaccine trials.
Follow the global spread of the virus here.
10. Why No ‘Ease Of Doing Good’ In India?
Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act amendments will hurt smaller NGOs, think tanks, research organisations in social sector, writes Ingrid Srinath. The amendments provoking the greatest concerns are:
The ban on regranting FCRA funds to other FCRA registered organisations,
The 20% cap on ‘overhead’ spending,
The requirement to provide Aadhaar details of board members and senior functionaries, and
The mandate to route all FCRA funds through the State Bank of India, New Delhi.
Read more.
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