Top 10 biz headlines: DHFL downgrades, IFIN exposure, Ola plans, and more

From Bharti Airtel's stocks to new cabinet committees, Business Standard brings you top stories that made news on Wednesday

DHFL assigned default rating; MFs with high exposure see 30-50% drop in NAV

Rating agencies on Wednesday categorised the Dewan Housing Finance Corporation (DHFL) instruments as ‘default’ a day after the company delayed its repayment obligations on non-convertible debentures (NCDs), potentially burning a deep hole in the portfolios of many mutual fund (MF) schemes. More than 160 MF schemes hold the firm’s debt papers. Read more here 

SFIO probe shows IFIN's exposure to AAA borrowers dropped to zero by 2017

The Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) has found that IL&FS Financial Services (IFIN), a subsidiary of crisis-hit Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS), did not have a single AAA borrower by 2017, even as its exposure to unrated borrowers rose to 25 per cent of the asset book. Since 2017, the company has not given the details with regard to the rating of the credit portfolio, categorisation of the exposure in infrastructure, promoter funding, real estate, corporate loans and others. Read more here 
 

Tax officials may ask for 6% reduction in collection target in Budget 2019

Tax officials are likely to ask for a reduction up to 6 per cent in their collection target in the full Union Budget for 2019-20, compared to what was given in the interim Budget. That 6 per cent would translate into a reduction of Rs 1.5 trillion. Read more here 

Ola may pause international expansion for the second time in 2 years

Ola may be preparing to hit pause on its international market expansion, said two people with knowledge of the company’s operations. The two said the company is also slowing down investment in its current overseas markets of the UK and Australia. Read more here 

PM Modi to head two new Cabinet committees on economy, employment

To address the challenges of slowing economic growth and inadequate job creation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday constituted two Cabinet committees — one on investment and growth and another on employment and skill development. The PM will chair both the committees. A formal notification from the Cabinet Secretariat is expected on Thursday. Read more here 
 

Bharti Airtel stock unlikely to dial in gains despite reduction in debt

The Bharti Airtel stock has been rising over the last couple of months, gaining 15 per cent on deleveraging initiatives, a strong March quarter performance, and expectations of a pricing uptick in the next two quarters. The firm’s moves to pare debt has been a major factor. 

Market rally broad-based, riding on strength of govt mandate: Analysts

Investors have something to cheer about. The latest rally in the market has been supported by strong market breadth. This is in contrast to many occasions in the past one year when market gains have been largely restricted to select large-cap stocks. Read more here 
 

ACC, Ambuja steadily losing market share on reluctance to diversify

The once formidable Holcim group’s ACC and Ambuja Cement are now caught in a market share-losing tailspin. Having failed to keep pace with the industry growth rate, the two cement companies have also shied away from infrastructure contracts, where demand is growing. Read more here 

Premium for third-party motor insurance to be raised from June 16

The Insurance Regulatory Development Authority of India (Irdai) has finalised the new premiums for the third-party liability insurance cover for FY20, which will come into effect from June 16.  Read more here 

Bengaluru's InMobi wins over China, where Facebook, Google failed

Global technology giants Google and Facebook may not have succeeded in penetrating the China market, but InMobi, a Bengaluru-based start-up which competes with these tech giants in the data-driven mobile advertising space, is betting big on the world’s most populous country, where it has seen huge success. Read more here