Top headlines: Mutual funds become net equity sellers; govt to set up DFI

From Mutual funds becoming net sellers of Indian equities first time in 7 years to Ola Electric planning to set up Li-ion battery plant, here are the top headlines this morning

Mutual funds net sellers of Indian equities first time in 7 years

Mutual funds (MFs) are set to be net sellers of Indian equities for the first time in the past seven financial years, having sold stocks worth about Rs 1.27 trillion so far in 2020-21 (FY21), making it the highest net sales on record in a financial year. MFs had been net buyers in the previous six financial years, including purchases of over Rs 1.41 trillion in FY18, Rs 88,152 crore in FY19, and Rs 91,814 crore in FY20. Read More

DFI employees may get shield against 'ill-informed' probe, prosecution

The central government will exempt the proposed development finance institution (DFI) employees from what it called ‘ill-informed prosecution and investigation’, offering them protection from both the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate. A government source said the Bill being vetted by the law ministry will also offer upfront government support, if necessary, to the institution to hedge its foreign money-raised loans. Read More

Ola Electric plans to set up Li-ion battery plant, invest Rs 2,400 crore

Ola Electric is working on a plan to set up a cell manufacturing plant to power its lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery. Once executed , it could become one among the first few Indian manufacturers to do so since all the cells for the battery are currently imported. Ola will initially source the cells for the Li-ion battery used in its soon-to-be-launched e-scooters from South Korea. The batteries are going to be made in the upcoming integrated plant near Bengaluru where the e-scooter will also be manufactured. Read More

Cabinet clears Bill on setting up DFI with capital infusion of Rs 20,000 cr

The Cabinet has cleared a Bill to set up a government-owned development finance institution (DFI) with initial paid-up capital of Rs 20,000 crore so that it can leverage around Rs 3 trillion from the markets in a few years to provide long-term funds to infrastructure projects as well as for development needs of the country. To put it in perspective, Rs 3 trillion constitutes slightly less than 3 per cent of the Rs 111 trillion to be spent on over 7,000 projects in the National Infrastructure Pipeline from 2019-20 to 2024-25. Read More

High price of LPG cylinders forcing the poor to return to firewood

Nisha, a mother of five daughters in Bagsara village in Uttar Pradesh, is back to working in a smoky kitchen as she is once again using firewood and cowdung as her cooking fuel. She and her husband, who is a carpenter, cannot afford the domestic LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) cylinders whose prices have shot up sharply since November last year. Nisha had got an LPG connection under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) three years ago. But the steep rise in the price of cylinders has put them beyond her reach. Read More

Office space supply in the top metros likely to drag down absorption

A glut of office properties over the next few years in the top metros is expected to drag down the absorption of spaces. Supply of office spaces will be double the expected absorption in Mumbai, Delhi-National Capital Region, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, and Chennai between 2020-21 and 2022-23, revealed data by India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra). Abhishek Shukla, associate director, Ind-Ra, said, “Delays triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic notwithstanding, offices where construction had started before the contagion kicked in are seeing no let-up because of supply outstripping. Read More

High demand in luxury car market will sustain: Mercedes India CEO Schwenk

For Martin Schwenk, the head of the Indian unit of iconic German automaker Mercedes Benz, 2020 was a year of learning. While, there has been massive pressure on the automaker’s performance because of the lockdown and low consumer sentiment, Schwenk says thing have improved drastically since September and he is confident about launching 15 new models in 2021, the highest in a year for the firm. Read More

AT1 cloud likely to hit banks' capital-raising plans, say experts

Thanks to the controversy over Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (Sebi’s) circular on perpetual bonds, commercial banks, especially public sector lenders, are uncertain about their plans to raise about Rs 30,000 crore through additional tier I (AT1) bonds in the next financial year. The exercise was planned to help replace part of the existing bonds that are set to mature soon and to enhance capital profile for growth. A senior State Bank of India executive said the impact on the banking industry was very large. Read More