Top headlines: EPFO at 8.5% for private sector; steel capacity set to fall

From subscribers likely to get 8.5% EPF savings interest at one go on 'market boost' to Serum in talks to finalise Covid-19 vaccine price, here at top headlines this morning

Subscribers to get 8.5% EPF savings interest at one go on 'market boost'

Private sector employees will soon get the declared interest rate of 8.5 per cent on their Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) savings for the financial year 2019-20 at one go. The current bull market prompted the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) to offload its equity investments and gain higher-than-expected returns in December – leaving it with double the surplus projected three months back, a senior EPFO official said, requesting anonymity. Read More

Expert panel set to review Pfizer-BioNTech, SII vaccine applications today

Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech International (BBIL) had changed the dosage from 3 micrograms of antigen to 6 micrograms during its Covid-19 vaccine trial, a point that the subject expert committee (SEC) would closely examine when it meets on Wednesday to review its application for an emergency use authorisation (EUA) for Covaxin. Read More

Mistry stake valued at Rs 80,000 crore at most, says Tata group in SC

About three months after the Shapoorji Pallonji (SP) Group had offered to sell its 18.37 per cent stake back to Tata Sons at a valuation of Rs 1.75 trillion, the salt-to-software conglomerate has marked it down by more than half. Tata Sons counsel Harish Salve, during a Supreme Court hearing on Tuesday, put the value of the Cyrus Mistry family shares at Rs 70,000-80,000 crore — a difference of Rs 1 trillion with the figure projected by the SP Group. The case will come up for hearing again on Wednesday. Read More

Commodity rally to create new winners and losers in coming quarters

The recent surge in metals and energy prices is expected to lead to record profits for metal, mining, and oil & gas companies in the coming quarters but could hurt the margins and profitability of the rest of India Inc. The biggest hit will be felt by companies in sectors such as automobile, auto ancillary, consumer durables and non-durables, capital goods, and engineering. Read More

Reliance now a key player in realty space with Rs 40,000-cr assets

With an asset and project value of over Rs 40,000 crore under its belt (according to estimates), Reliance Industries has quietly become a key real estate player with the potential to monetise this portfolio. According to research by J P Morgan analysts, a stake sale of Reliance’s real estate portfolio would help it raise anything between $1-5 billion and could be one of the triggers for the company’s shares to break out. Read More

DHFL resolution: Kapil Wadhawan writes to SEBI, RBI against 63 Moons

Jailed erstwhile promoter of crisis-hit DHFL Kapil Wadhawan has written to the Reserve Bank and Sebi alleging that 63 Moons Technologies is hampering the company's insolvency resolution process. While lenders are looking to auction DHFL assets to recover Rs 83,000 crore of unpaid loans, Jignesh Shah-founded 63 Moons Technologies has filed a writ petition in the Madras High Court seeking attachment of DHFL assets to recover its dues of Rs 200 crore. Read More

Steel capacity utilisation levels set to drop further to 74-75% in FY21

Increase in the number of secondary steel units, despite production of the alloy remaining stagnant, is leading to lower capacity utilisation in the domestic steel industry. This is despite the long-term steel demand scenario remaining positive. Capacity utilisation in the domestic steel industry has declined to 77 per cent in FY20 from 88 per cent in FY11. Read More