TMS Ep75: Reliance, Erik Berglöf, Sebi's IPO norms, 5G spectrum

Plans were already afoot. The country got some hints about it a month ago, when reports on the proposed formation of management trust by Mukesh Ambani surfaced. Now, Asia’s richest man has finally announced a leadership transition at Reliance Industries, saying “all seniors should yield to the highly-competent and extremely committed young leadership talent”. Ambani’s three children -- twins Akash and Isha, and Anant -- are already part of the company, playing different roles. 

During his address, Ambani said that Reliance has completely re-engineered its energy business despite the pandemic. Let us see what experts think about post-pandemic economic recovery. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank recently came out with global value chain ratings across various economies. Erik Berglöf, chief economist of the bank, speaks to Business Standard’s Jyoti Mukul about the economic recovery and how sustainability is the most important step in that direction. 

This year also saw companies defying odds to rise above the rest. New-age companies, including Paytm, Zomato, and Nykaa cornered nearly 40 per cent of the funds raised during 2021 via public offers. However, corrections in their stock prices drove valuations below the levels sought during private funding rounds. What led to this divergence in private and public market reaction? And how should we interpret the changes by Sebi regarding the lock-in period for anchor investors in an IPO? 

Apart from tightening the IPO framework, the government is also busy finalizing the contours of 5G roll out in selected cities in 2022. Telecom service providers are currently testing 5G in several pockets of the country. Recently, Vodafone Idea Limited claimed to have hit a speed of 1.5 gigabits per second (GBPS) as part of its ongoing 5G trials in Pune and Gandhinagar. But the contention over the allotment of crucial millimeter-wave spectrum remains unaddressed. Let us find out what it is and more in this episode of the podcast.

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