Top headlines: Indian SPACs to raise $1 bn, SII to double vax production

Business Standard brings you the top headlines on Monday

Indian SPACs to raise nearly $1 billion through IPOs in US stock market

At least four SPACs set up by Indian sponsors and their global partners are raising close to $1 billion through IPOs in the US stock market in the next few months. And they are focusing on domestic companies in areas such as media and entertainment, technology (tech), and consumer goods, apart from other markets in Asia. Read more

Serum Institute may double production of AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine in 2022

Serum Institute of India (SII) is likely to double the production of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine from 100 million per month now to 200 million per month next year, said people in the know. Pune-based SII, the world’s largest vaccine maker, now has the capacity to make about 3 billion vaccine doses, Covid and non-Covid, a year. By the end of 2022, this could be scaled up to over 4 billion annual doses. Read more

Textile trading comes to a standstill in Surat amid second Covid-19 wave

Since he lives locally, Harish Patel is one of the luckier migrant workers in Surat — in that his employer was able to squeeze in a single shift for him at the weaving unit in Kamrej in Gujarat — unlike others who went home for Holi and other festivals just as the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic was waxing and ended up stranded in local lockdowns. Patel’s employer, Suresh Shekalia of Sandeep Textiles, did not have enough work to justify more shifts, but at least with one shift, Patel, 28, could earn something. Read more

India's OECD tax deal may have revenue implications, say experts
India conceding ground to bring only top 100 digital companies like Google, Facebook, and Netflix into the global taxation pact may have revenue implications. This will mean that New Delhi will have to withdraw the contentious 2 per cent equalisation levy on e-commerce operators by 2023. Read more

Amazon starts IP accelerator to help Indian businesses protect their brands

E-commerce giant Amazon has launched the intellectual property (IP) accelerator programme in India. It is offering sellers — who are also brand owners (including small and medium-sized sellers) — easy access to services from trusted IP experts and law firms. Businesses may choose to engage with these IP law firms to help secure trademarks, protect their brands, and tackle infringement, on Amazon India and Amazon websites globally. Read more