Top 10 biz headlines: IT cos contracts' rebid, RIL counters govt, and more

From mall developers to Tata 'legacy hotspots', here are the top business headlines

$80-bn IT sector contracts up for rebid in 2020; TCS, HCL may clinch deals

Indian information technology (IT) companies are likely to have an edge over their global counterparts when some of the biggest outsourcing contracts come up for renewal in 2020. This, experts said, is because of the pricing power that Indian IT companies have. Read more.

Mall developers, investors look to double retail spaces in next two years

Mall developers are adding properties in a big way despite lower discretionary income in the hands of consumers and competition from e-commerce firms. Almost all the big mall developers/investors — such as Raheja-owned Inorbit Malls, Xander-APG joint venture Virtuous Retail South Asia (VRSA), property developer Prestige Estates Projects, and Blackstone-owned Nexus Malls — are looking to double their space in a year or two. Read more.

Registering a company? Starting a business gets just a little bit easier

Registering a company? Soon there will be one fewer thing to worry about, with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) planning to give a bank account number to each company as soon as it is incorporated. The move is part of the government’s push to better India’s ranking on the World Bank’s ease of doing business index, especially on the criterion of starting a business, a senior government official told Business Standard. Read more

RIL mounts counter to govt petition seeking to block its $15 bn Aramco deal

Reliance Industries (RIL) has mounted a strong counter to the government petition in the Delhi High Court (HC) seeking to block its $15-billion deal with Saudi Aramco, saying the petition is an abuse of process as no arbitration award has fixed any final liability of dues on the company. Read more

Consumer durables report steady growth in 2019; slowdown a threat in 2020

The consumer durables industry returned to a steady growth path in 2019 after almost two flat years but might not be able to repeat the feat in the coming year as broader market indicates economic slowdown. Read more.

Tata 'legacy hotspots' continue to pull down group's financial performance

There has been a marginal improvement in the financial performance of the “legacy hotspots”, the companies that Cyrus Mistry had mentioned after he was sacked as chairman of Tata Sons in October 2016. Read more

MNCs like Stryker, Medtronics eye growing robotic surgery space in India

As robotic surgeries pick up pace in the country, major multinational players are planning to bring their new technologies here. Analytics Insights says this market was worth $129.9 million in 2016 and will be $372.5 mn (Rs 2,600 crore) in 2025, a compounded annual growth rate of 19.2 per cent. Read more

Uber developing India as main engineering hub, to increase tech staff

Uber is prepping India as its main engineering hub outside its San Francisco headquarters, a move that may attract more investment in the country.Several core technology functions, such as maps intelligence and algorithms to match riders and drivers — used at scale across the globe — are being developed at locations in Bengaluru and Hyderabad. Read more

Air India sale: Roadshows abroad get tepid response

According to three top government officials aware of the development, there was a lukewarm response from potential bidders at roadshows in Singapore and London, held to ascertain investor interest for the debt-laden national carrier Air India. However, that’s not likely to disrupt the government’s privatisation plan schedule, reports The Economic Times.

UltraTech leads the race to buy Emami Group’s cement business

UltraTech Cement Ltd, India’s largest producer of the building material, has emerged as the front-runner to buy the cement business of Emami Group in an all-cash deal worth Rs 6,500-7,000 crore, according to sources quoted in a report by Livemint.