Top headlines: RBI's Shaktikanta Das on bank capital, ITC m-cap and more

RBI Governor on economic uncertainties to Sri Lanka privatising its national airline, here are the top headlines

Banks must raise more capital amid global uncertainties: RBI's Das

Given the uncertainties surrounding the global financial environment, domestic banks should raise more capital in order to be prepared for worst-case scenarios, Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das said on Friday.

Das also underscored the need for banks to raise more capital in order to fund the demand for loans, which is growing at a healthy clip. Read more here

ITC regains Rs 4-trillion m-cap after 5 years; stock surges 50% in 6 months

ITC, the biggest cigarette maker, and the second largest fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) company in India, regained the market capitalisation (market cap) of Rs 4 trillion on Friday as a rally in the stock continued on the bourses.

Shares of ITC hit an over five-year high of Rs 323.40 as they gained 2 per cent on BSE in the intra-day trade today, amid expectation of strong earnings growth. In the past six months, the stock has zoomed 50 per cent, as compared to 6 per cent rise in the S&P BSE Sensex. Thus far in the calendar year 2022, ITC has rallied 47 per cent, as against 0.54 per cent decline in the benchmark index. Read more here

Adani utility firm eclipses India giants in value with a rise of 125%

Adani Transmission Ltd. has blown past entrenched corporate giants to become India’s 10th-largest listed firm by market value as part of a broader runaway rally in Adani Group stocks.

Shares of the New Delhi-based power utility have climbed almost 125% this year, boosting its market capitalization to 4.4 trillion rupees ($55.2 billion) in Mumbai on Friday. Its valuation surpassed Life Insurance Corp. of India -- the country’s largest insurer -- and cigarettes-to-cookies maker ITC Ltd. Read more here

Apple, Samsung may benefit as India aims to speed product safety approvals

India will try out a strategy of parallel testing to speed up safety approvals for new electronic devices, an industry group told Reuters on Friday, a move that could boost device launch plans by the likes of Samsung and Apple.

The move comes as India scrambles to remove bottlenecks faced by businesses, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi bullish on an electronics hardware manufacturing industry his government targets to be worth $300 billion by 2026. Read more here

Could an Indian airline be in the race for SriLankan Airlines stake buy?

As Sri Lanka battles the worst economic crisis in its history, the government has announced that it will privatise the national carrier SriLankan Airlines. The country’s civil aviation minister Nirmal Siripala de Silva finally announced on August 30 that the process will kick off with a 49 per cent stake sale in the airline’s catering and ground handling business.

While the country has a negligible domestic aviation market due to its small geography, SriLankan Airlines is a strategic asset in feeding the country’s international tourism. The tourism industry is one of the biggest contributors to the country’s GDP, contributing as much as 12 per cent every year to it. Read more here