Don’t miss the latest developments in business and finance.

Top 10 business headlines: EAC-PM jobs panel, fall in auto sales, and more

From US Fed's rate cut to fall in auto sales due to poor demand, here are the top 10 business headlines on Friday

DHFL
DHFL
BS Web Team
6 min read Last Updated : Aug 02 2019 | 8:10 AM IST
1) DSP Mutual Fund initiates legal action against DHFL to recover dues

In a move that might disrupt the resolution process being worked out for Dewan Housing Finance Corporation (DHFL), DSP Mutual Fund (DSP MF) has initiated legal action against the housing finance company for recovery of its dues. “As mutual funds are not formally bound by the inter-creditor agreement (ICA) signed by banks, they can take legal recourse to strengthen their position,” said a person in the know.

DSP MF had an exposure of about Rs 169 crore, largely as non-convertible debentures (NCDs), as of April 30, according to the data published by Value Research. Read more...


2) Private sector going through challenging times, says L&T chairman A M Naik

India’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth will be 6.5 per cent this year, and accelerated spending is unlikely to happen in the next 18 months, according to A M Naik, chairman of Larsen & Toubro (L&T), the country’s largest engineering conglomerate.

“Growth is going to be not more than 6.5 per cent this year. My feeling is that though they (government) claim it is 7 per cent plus, if we can maintain 6.5 per cent, we will be lucky,” said Naik at the company’s annual general meeting on Thursday. “I think the government knows the economy is slowing”, he added. Read more...
 
3) Auto sales in July fall for 9th consecutive month due to poor demand

Auto sales in July continued to go down as companies curtailed dispatches to dealers owing to poor demand, showed the monthly sales data released by auto companies on Thursday. Auto companies in India count dispatches to dealers as sales.
Cumulative sales of India’s top five manufacturers of passenger vehicles — including Maruti Suzuki India, Hyundai Motor India, Mahindra and Mahindra, and Toyota Kirloskar Motor — fell by 30.6 per cent to 172,992 units over the same month last year. Read more...


4) #ZomatoUninstalled, #BoycottUberEats trend after 'food is religion' tweet

A day after Zomato snubbed a customer who refused an order from a non-Hindu rider, #ZomatoUninstalled trended on Twitter on Thursday, with many accusing the online food delivery platform of bias. #BoycottUberEats also caught on after UberEats backed its rival’s “Food has no religion” comment.

Even as the incident had social media divided, the Jabalpur police in Madhya Pradesh sought an undertaking from the Zomato customer that he would not spread religious hatred. The controversy began on Tuesday when a Zomato customer tweeted: “Just cancelled an order on @ZomatoIN they allocated a non-Hindu rider for my food they said they can't change rider and can't refund on cancellation. I said you can't force me to take a delivery. I don't want don't refund just cancel.” Read more...

 
5) Complex holdings may hit fundraising plans of Coffee Day Enterprises

Investors, especially institutional, were never keen on owning Coffee Day Enterprises stock since its listing in late 2015 despite the company operating a successful coffee retail chain, which had a significant brand recall.

A complex holding structure and unrelated businesses clubbed under one roof could have been the reasons that prompted investors to shun the stock, experts say. These are likely to impact the company’s ability to raise funds, too, they add. Read more...

 
6) EAC-PM sets up task force on employment; to submit suggestions to Modi soon

The Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) has set up a task force on employment. The task force had its first meeting on Thursday and its brief will be to present to PM Narendra Modi a note or statement on what the government can do to alleviate growth slowdown, and hence, create jobs, Business Standard has learnt.

The members of the task force are EAC-PM Chairman and NITI Aayog member Bibek Debroy, EAC-PM member Rathin Roy, former EAC-PM member Surjit Bhalla, former finance secretary Ratan Watal, former chief statistician Pronab Sen, former chief economic advisor Arvind Virmani, and economist Charan Singh. Read more...

 
7) Govt likely to review differential pricing with MNC stent makers

Multinational stent makers will meet government officials later this month in a renewed push for differential pricing, two people aware of the matter said, a demand that was rejected a year and a half ago.

In September 2017, the government had slashed prices of cardiac stents by up to 80%. MNC stent makers soon pulled out their products from India, and their request to create a separate category of drug-eluting stents (DES) with superior features outside price control did not find favour with the government.
 

8) Lens on Mack Star dealings: Evergreening allegation against HDIL and Yes Bank

A foreign investor in the Indian property market has alleged in a complaint to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) that Yes Bank and realty group HDIL have moved funds to evergreen loans. 

According to the offshore investor Ocean Deity Investment Holdings — an erstwhile arm of DE Shaw and the 78% owner in an Indian joint venture (JV) where HDIL entities hold minority stake — the loans from Yes Bank to the JV were not authorised by the majority shareholder and the money was transferred to bank accounts of other HDIL group companies, almost simultaneously, to repay loans taken by them from Yes Bank, sources aware of the matter told Economic Times. 


9) Swiggy closes in on $750 mn fundraise

Online food delivery startup Swiggy is in advanced stages of closing a $700-750-million round led by existing investor Naspers, said two people familiar with the matter to Livemint, requesting anonymity.

Naspers will pump in around $350 million, while a consortium of Korean investors, including STIC Investments and Korea Omega Investment, will together chip in with $50 million, they said. The balance amount is expected to be infused by other existing investors.

10) New green energy corridors witness 50% reduction in project costs

The latest bidding for power transmission projects to connect renewable energy with the national grid saw leading private companies bring down project costs by about 40-50 per cent. Adani Transmission, Sterlite Power, L&T, and Tata Power were in the race for Rs 1,500 crore worth of projects.

 

 
 

Topics :top 10 business headlines for todayTop Business HeadlinesTop 10 biz headlines

Next Story