Top headlines: India-Australia trade pact, SVB collapse, and more

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India, Australia eye early conclusion on comprehensive trade pact

After implementing the interim trade deal—Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA)—in December, India and Australia now aim to conclude negotiations for a comprehensive trade pact by the end of this year.

Both countries are also looking at achieving $100 billion in bilateral trade.

“ECTA was the first stage of our economic engagement. We are now entering into phase two of our discussions where we are looking at a much wider ambit of subjects and taking this into a CECA,” commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said while addressing the media on 18th joint ministerial commission with his Australian counterpart Don Farrell. Read more

FDIC, US Fed discuss fund to backstop deposits if more banks fail

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Federal Reserve are weighing creating a fund that would allow regulators to backstop more deposits at banks that run into trouble following Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse.

Regulators discussed the new special vehicle in conversations with banking executives, according to people familiar with the matter. The hope is that setting up such a vehicle would reassure depositors and help contain any panic, said the people. They asked not to be identified because the talks weren’t public. Read more

Silicon Valley Bank jitters likely to be felt among Indian start-ups

The crisis at Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), which is in talks on sale after efforts to raise capital failed, may have consequences for the Indian start-up world.

According to the Tracxn data, SVB has invested in close to 21 start-ups in the country. But the amount of investment could not be ascertained.

One of its significant investments is in SaaS-unicorn Icertis. The company had secured $150 million in funding, consisting of a revolving credit facility and convertible financing from SVB. Read more

PhonePe reaches $1 trn annualised payment value run rate, gets licence

Digital payments platform PhonePe has achieved an annualised total payment value run rate of USD 1 trillion, or Rs 84 lakh crore, mainly on account of its lead in UPI transactions, the company said on Saturday.

The company claims to have digitised over 35 million offline merchants spread across tier 2, 3, 4 cities and beyond, covering 99 per cent pin codes in the country.

"We are delighted to reach the USD 1-trillion annualised TPV run rate. We look forward to turbo-charging the next wave of growth for UPI payments in India with offerings like 'UPI lite', 'UPI international' and 'credit on UPI' to enable greater financial inclusion for Indians," PhonePe head of consumer business Sonika Chandra said in a statement. Read more

MSCI ESG Research flags governance risks at Adani Group, changes assessment

MSCI ESG Research said on Friday it recently changed some of its environmental, social and governance assessments of Adani Group entities, after the Indian conglomerate was caught up in a short-selling storm in recent weeks.

Seven listed Adani Group companies lost over $100 billion in market value combined after a Jan. 24 report by Hindenburg Research alleged stock manipulation and improper use of tax havens, and flagged concerns over debt levels. Adani has rejected the concerns and denied any wrongdoing.  Read more