Top headlines: Sebi panel to study IPO books, Byju's sets US targets

Business Standard brings you the top headlines on Wednesday

An expert group set up by India's market regulator will look at initial public offering pricing process and suggest changes. Online tutor Byju's, which recently acquired three new firms, aims to generate 25% of its revenues from the US.

More on these stories in our top headlines this morning.

Sebi sets up an expert group to examine IPO book-building process

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has set up an expert group to suggest tweaks to the initial public offering (IPO) pricing process after the market regulator observed several shortcomings in the existing procedure, two regulatory sources privy to the development said.

The panel will examine the demerits of the current book-building process, the sway institutional investors hold in determining the final pricing, and whether companies should be mandated to have a wider price band, the sources said. The regulator feels that the process is only in theory and the actual pricing is being arrived at much before the IPO. Read more

Ed-tech giant Byju's eyes $1 billion revenue in US in three years

Ed-tech giant Byju’s is aiming to become one of the largest players in the space in the US, with a target to hit revenues of $1 billion in the next three years. The company wants to replicate the success of its India model and generate 25 per cent of its overall revenues from the US in three to four years. Read more

Poor asset valuation, economic climate, NCLT delays see IBC losing favour

Poor asset valuation and economic climate, along with suspension of insolvency initiation against Covid-related default, are some of the reasons why lenders are not opting for resolution under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), observed industry experts.

Less than 200 cases have been admitted to the National Company Law Tribunal till June after the suspension was lifted on March 24, revealed the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI). Read more
 

Tesla's duty cut demand reopens debate between domestic and foreign players

Elon Musk rarely stays out of controversy in whatever market he operates. But the latest one, a request for a duty cut on Tesla’s iconic electric vehicle (EV), has revealed an old fissure between automakers in India, with home-grown manufacturers on one side and global manufacturers on the other. The two have been split on the matter for several years. The only thing that has changed is the context. Triggered by Tesla lobbying with the Indian government for an import duty cut, the debate now centres on EVs. Earlier, the arguments were over a duty cut on internal combustion engine or ICE-powered cars. Read more

Bankers to discuss impact as Birla offers to give up stake in Voda Idea

A day after news broke that K M Birla had written a letter expressing the Aditya Birla Group’s willingness to hand over its 27 per cent stake in Vodafone Idea (Vi) to the government or a domestic entity, lenders to the firm said they would discuss the implications of the letter and try to find a common solution. Read more