QBiz: IDBI Sale Review; India-China Fail to Fix Trade Differences

Here are the top business stories of the day.

Image used for representational purpose. 

(Photo: Reuters)

1. After Air India Fiasco, Government Not Keen on Strategic Sale in IDBI

The government is reviewing the planned strategic sale in IDBI Bank after a similar attempt to sell its stake in Air India failed to take off. The bank may issue fresh preferential shares, allowing multiple investors to participate, rather than seek to push through strategic sale to a single entity, said officials.

“We are looking at various options as there is a concern that there may not be enough interest given the bad loans on the book of the lender,” a senior government said. Lowering government stake in the bank through issue of preferential shares is one of the options on the table. Once government stake in bank falls to below 50 percent – from 81 percent at present – it will be able to function more independently.

(Source: The Economic Times)

2. India, China Fail to Resolve Differences on Trade Tariffs

India and China failed to resolve their differences on tariff liberalization under the proposed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) free trade agreement after two days of talks in New Delhi.

Ahead of the July RCEP ministerial in Tokyo, China demanded tariff elimination in more than 90 percent of traded goods for granting non-reciprocal market access to India. India’s current offer is of tariff elimination in 73 percent of traded goods to China.

In addition, many countries negotiating the terms of the RCEP want India to open up its market for 92 percent of traded goods, while India is only ready to offer market access for up to a maximum of 85 percent items with deviations to countries like China, Australia and New Zealand with whom it does not have a free trade agreement.

(Source: Livemint)

3. Charging Stations Key To Success Of Electric Vehicle Policy, Says Tata Motors

Tata Motors Ltd, which recently signed an agreement with the Maharashtra government to accelerate adoption of electric vehicles, believes a high density of fast-charging stations is key to meet targets.

“The most important hurdle for customers in purchasing electric vehicles is range anxiety,” its Chief Executive Officer Guenter Butschek said told BloombergQuint in an interview. Putting more batteries in the vehicle would make it more expensive, and so, the right answer would be to ensure charging stations in close proximity, he said.

Tata Motors invests in electric mobility and provides vehicles to the market “as an attractive value proposition” since the cost of electric vehicles is lower than internal combustion engine, he added.

(Source: BloombergQuint)

4. Finance Ministry To Meet Power Ministry On Stricter Bad Loan Norms, Says RK Singh

The finance ministry officials will meet the power ministry in a few days to deliberate on the Reserve Bank of India’s stricter bad loan norms.

That’s after the Allahabad High Court last week directed that no action should be taken against stressed power companies on the basis RBI’s new stressed assets framework till the finance ministry hears the contention.

“We have asked the Ministry of Finance to convene a meeting and it will happen soon,” RK Singh, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Power and Renewable Energy, said at the sidelines of a press conference in New Delhi on 5 June.

(Source: BloombergQuint)

4. Patanjali Cancels Proposed Rs 6,000 Crore Mega Food Processing Park In Uttar Pradesh

Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali Ayurved Ltd said it is pulling out of its proposed Rs 6,000-crore mega food processing project along the Yamuna Expressway, citing non-cooperation from the state government.

However, the UP government said it has given one more month to Patanjali to meet the conditions required to get final approval. The Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority could not get the required clearances for transfer of land from the state government, said a top company official.

(Source: PTI)

5. Rs 8,000 Crore Package For Sugar Industry On The Anvil, Says Food Minister Paswan

The government will soon announce a bailout package of Rs 8,000 crore for the sugar industry to ensure the cash-starved mills clear cane dues of Rs 22,000 crore, Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said on Tuesday, 5 June.

A bailout package has been worked out days after the Bharatiya Janata Party lost the Lok Sabha bypoll in the Kairana constituency of Uttar Pradesh, the country’s largest sugarcane producing state.

“A proposal of Rs 8,000 crore has been sent to the Cabinet,” Paswan told reporters while highlighting his ministry's achievements in the last four years.

(Source: PTI)

6. SEBI Puts In Place Guidelines For Preferential Issue By InvITs

Market regulator SEBI on Tuesday, 5 June, put in place a detailed framework for listed infrastructure investment trusts to make preferential issue of units to institutional investors.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India said preferential issues need to be completed within 12 months from the date of passing of the resolution by an InvIT’s unit holders.

The units in a preferential issue would be offered and allotted to a minimum of two investors and a maximum of 1,000 investors in a financial year. The gap between preferential issue of units by InvITs should be six months, and allotment needs to be completed within 12 days.

“The units to be issued in preferential issue shall be of same class or kind as the units issued in the initial offer by the InvIT,” SEBI said in a circular.

(Source: PTI)

7. Sensex, Nifty Fall For Third Day Ahead Of RBI Policy Decision

Indian equity benchmarks fell for third day in a row ahead of Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy decision which is due on Wednesday, 6 June.

The S&P BSE Sensex fell 0.31 percent or 109 points to 34,903 and the NSE Nifty 50 index declined 0.33 percent or 35 points to 10,593.

The market has been falling on expectation of a 25-basis points rate hike by the Reserve Bank of India in the backdrop of rising crude to keep inflation under check, AK Prabhakar, head of research at IDBI Capital told BloombergQuint over phone.

(Source: BloombergQuint)

8. Essel Infra In Advanced Stages Of Selling Solar Business To Greenko

Essel Infraprojects, a part of Subhash Chandra-led Essel group, is in advanced stages of selling its 685-MW solar business to Greenko group, according to sources close to the development. The deal size could be to the tune of $1 billion, they added.

Global private equity fund Actis and Tata Power were also in the fray along with Greenko to buy the assets of Essel. However, their deals did not go through, the sources said.

When contacted, an Essel spokesperson told PTI, “As an infrastructure conglomerate, we keep on evaluating various opportunities. However, we would not like to comment on market speculation.”

(Source: PTI)

9. Government To Share Unclaimed IGST Between Centre And States

The government will share unclaimed and unsettled integrated Goods and Services Tax collections between the Centre and states.

The central government has been given powers to provisionally settle the IGST collected in a financial year as per recommendations of the GST Council, the government said in a notification on Tuesday, 5 June. The settlement will be adjusted in subsequent months based on returns filed by the taxpayers, the notification added.

The government has collected about Rs 1.8 lakh crore in the IGST account, as of April. Of this, about Rs 90,000 crore is in the credit ledger of taxpayers, meaning it would be utilised by them to pay Central GST or State GST liabilities in future.

(Source: BloombergQuint)