Business highlights :

Following are the top business stories at 1824 hours:

DEL65 BIZ-LD AMAZON-BEZOS Amazon founder Jeff Bezos commits USD 1 bn investment to digitise small businesses in India New Delhi: Amazon.com Inc chief Jeff Bezos on Wednesday announced USD 1 billion (over Rs 7,000 crore) investment in India to help bring small and medium businesses online and committed to exporting USD 10 billion worth of India-made goods by 2025.

DCM25 BIZ-EDELWEISS-ED FEMA violation case: Edelweiss Group Chairman appears before ED Mumbai: Financial services company Edelwesiss Group Chairman Rashesh Shah on Wednesday appeared before Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials for questioning with regard to a case of FEMA (Foreign Exchange Management Act) violation.

 

DCM44 BIZ-GST-FAKE Over 1,200 exporters untraceable; govt saves Rs 350 cr fake IGST refund New Delhi: Revenue Department using its data analytics has discovered a fraud in GST refunds with as many as 1,200 exporters, who have have claimed Rs 350 crore refunds, are now untraceable.

DCM43 BIZ-BANK-STRIKE Employees of govt-owned banks threaten two-day strike from Jan 31 New Delhi: Bank unions have threatened to go on a two-day nationwide strike beginning January 31 to press for early wage revision.

DEL86 BIZ-LD STOCKS Market pauses after four-day winning run; banking stocks slide on NPA woes Mumbai: Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty took a pause after a four-session record run on Wednesday, as higher bank NPAs in ongoing quarterly results weighed on banking stocks coupled with a caution ahead of US-China trade deal.

DCM28 BIZ-LD BHARTI AIRTEL Airtel raises USD 3 billion dollars via QIP, FCCB offering New Delhi: Bharti Airtel has raised USD 3 billion through QIP and FCCB route, completing a massive fund raising exercise for the firm, which has to pay billions of dollars in statutory dues.

DEL85 BIZ-RUPEE-CLOSE Rupee pares losses; settles 5 paise higher at 70.82 against US dollar Mumbai: The rupee pared its early losses to settle 5 paise higher at 70.82 against the US dollar on Wednesday, ahead of the signing of phase 1 trade agreement between the US and China.

DCM39 BIZ-IMPORTS RESTRICTIONS Govt will put restrictions on imports of products under 'others' category: Goyal New Delhi: Concerned over rise in imports in the 'others' category, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday asked those importers to seek HSN or tariff code within 30 days from the foreign trade office, failing which the government would impose strong restrictions on their inbound shipments.

DCM41 BIZ-CCI-ASIAN PAINTS CCI orders probe against Asian Paints New Delhi: The Competition Commission of India has ordered a probe against Asian Paints for allegedly hindering the entry of JSW Paints by virtue of its dominance in the market for manufacture and sale of decorative paints.

DEL70 BIZ-GOLD-PRICE Gold rises Rs 256 on strong global trend New Delhi: Gold prices rallied Rs 256 to Rs 40,441 per 10 gram in the national capital on Wednesday, led by strong buying in global markets, according to HDFC Securities.