| SEBI meet focuses on algo trading and on corporate governance report |
- SEBI announced sharing of algo facilities among brokers and free supply of TBT price feeds by exchanges
- Most of the recommendations of the Uday Kotak Committee on Corporate Governance were accepted by SEBI
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| Bandhan Bank gets a strong listing, HAL lists at a steep discount |
- The scarcity of private banks ensured that Bandhan Bank got a 33% premium on listing during the week
- However, HAL which is India’s monopoly in manufacture of fighter aircraft, had a problem of rich valuations
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| ICICI faces nepotism charge in its Rs.3250 crore loan to Videocon Group |
- The bank has been accused of giving loan to Videocon Group against quid pro quo for the CEO’s family members
- While ICICI Bank board has denied these allegations, the inquiry is rumoured to be going on at highest levels
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| Government to sell 76% in Air India and 100% in Air Express subsidiary |
- The big question mark will be the Rs.34,000 crore debt that the acquirer of Air India will have to take on
- Some Indian airliners have expressed interest in Air India and may looking to bid as part of a global consortium
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| IDBI raises Rs.4400 crore through the sale of non-core assets |
- This includes the Rs.900 crore sale of its BKC property as well as a minority stake in SIDBI and CCIL
- IDBI Bank has Gross NPAs to the tune of 22% of the loan book and has been asked by RBI to cut its non-core assets
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| Bharatmala road project may negatively impact existing toll projects |
- A total of 25 toll roads currently in existence are likely to be impacted by the Bharat Mala (shortest route) project
- The worry for the RBI is that Indian banks have a total loan exposure of Rs.19,435 crore to these 25 projects
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| Total funds worth Rs.177,000 crore raised through equities in 2017-18 |
- A total of Rs.82,109 crore was raised through main-board IPOs, which is more than 5 time the previous year
- This all-time record fund raising was led by some aggressive disinvestment and buoyant IPO markets plus QIP appetite
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| Toyota and Suzuki agree to sell each other’s vehicles in India |
- The alliance will begin with selling the hybrid cars of one another and later will be extended to other cars
- While Toyota has the image of stability and endurance, Suzuki has an unmatched reach across India
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| RBI penalizes ICICI Bank Rs.58.9 crore for flouting securities sale norms |
- ICICI Bank was pulled up for flouting norms pertaining to the Held-to-Maturity (HTM) securities sold above limits
- This penalty comes at a time when the bank is battling image issues over its CEO’s conflict of interest with bank lending
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| For January, Jio beats other players in 4G download speed; TRAI |
- Reliance Jio’s download speed was more than twice the speed of nearest rival Bharti Airtel
- Vodafone and India had 4G download speeds that were much lower than Bharti Airtel
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| Roubini calls for structural reforms if India wants to grow GDP at 8-9% |
- Roubini has warned that rising oil prices globally could create a serious problem of inflation and trade deficit
- FY18 growth is estimated at 6.6%; nearly 50 basis points lower than the GDP growth achieved in 2016-17
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| New stressed assets framework to put further pressure on bank profits |
- The new framework will be applicable in the fourth quarter results so be prepared for more pain from banks
- Apart from higher write-offs (Rs.9.25 trillion expected), the new framework will also entail higher provisioning
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| Gold shows a positive price run for 3 quarters in succession |
- This is perhaps the best price rally for gold since the last major rally that we saw in the year 2011
- A more hawkish Fed and global uncertainty over trade wars have contributed to making gold more valuable
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| Alliance Bernstein pegs ICICI Bank price target at Rs.220 |
- Bernstein’s Chugani is the only analyst to have a negative view on ICICI Bank due to serious NPA worries
- Chugani also believes that the tail risk of the PNB fiasco will have a much larger impact on ICICI Bank and Axis Bank
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| NCLT advises out-of-court settlement for Binani Cements acquisition |
- Ultratech had made an offer of Rs.7266 crore for Binani Cements outside the purview of NCLT
- The final deal is substantially better than the last selected bid of Dalmia Cements, which was nearly Rs.900 crore lower
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| Downstream oil companies correct sharply on subsidy fears |
- With crude oil crossing $70/bbl, the markets are apprehensive that subsidy sharing may be back for downstream oil
- Oil companies are also disappointed by the debt they will have to take on due to forced cross acquisitions
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| Indian government cuts H1 borrowing program to Rs.288,000 crore |
- This is nearly 20% lower than the previous year borrowing time table of Rs.357,000 crore in the first half
- The decision led to a sharp fall in yields by 20 basis points which will be useful in the form of lower provisioning
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| Forced mergers may now show up in the Indian power sector |
- The government may ask NTPC, REC and PFC to jointly merge stressed power assets into them
- That may be a bit like throwing bad money after good money, although it will make the NPA position look better
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| Middle-East uncertainty again takes crude prices beyond $70/bbl mark |
- Saudi Arabia has accused Iran of funding Houthi rebels in Yemen to fire missiles into Saudi Arabia
- Yemen is a key gateway to the oil trading routes and any disruption could push up oil prices further
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| Indian farmers could lose nearly Rs.14,500 crore due to low prices |
- This essentially pertains to the low prices (below MSP) that farmers had to accept during the current Rabi season
- Bumper harvests had led to prices crashing in the Mandis leading to huge losses for farmers
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| Trade war threats wane during the week but refuse to die down |
- While the market concerns were not there, Chin has already promised to impose retaliatory tariffs on the US
- The world is worried that any trade war could eventually degenerate into a currency war
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