QBiz: Walmart-Flipkart Deal in Final Lap; GST Returns Simplified
A quick round-up of top business stories on QBiz.
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1. Walmart’s Acquisition of Flipkart in Final Stages
US retail giant Walmart’s USD 12 billion acquisition of India’s biggest e-commerce firm Flipkart is in the final stages and a deal is likely to be announced in the next few days, according to sources.
The contours of the deal, which is expected to see Walmart taking nearly 72-73 percent stake, are being finalised following which approval from the both the boards will be taken, sources privy to the development said.
They declined to be identified as the matters are still under discussion and are confidential. Separately, Bloomberg reported that board of Flipkart Online Services has approved an agreement to sell about 75 percent of the company to a Walmart-led group for about $15 billion.
Walmart is likely to buy stakes of multiple Flipkart investors, including that of Tiger Global Management and Softbank to end up with a significant majority holding, sources said.
(Source: Financial Express)
2. GST Return Filing Process to Become Simpler
The Goods and Services Tax Council (GST Council) on Friday, 4 May approved a simpler tax return filing system under the new indirect tax regime and also approved the conversion of the GST Network into a government holding, finance minister Arun Jaitley said after the council met through a video conference.
The new return filing form will reduce the compliance burden for taxpayers as they would have to file only one monthly return and invoices have to be uploaded only by sellers. It will be put in place within six months and the transition will be done in a phased manner.
As per the transition plan decided by the Council, the existing GSTR 1 and GSTR 3B forms will continue for the next six months. After this period, all taxpayers will need to file one monthly return with composition dealers, while dealers filing no tax returns will need to file only quarterly returns.
(Source: Livemint)
3. RBI To Ease Liquidity Through Purchase Of Government Bonds
The Reserve Bank of India has decided to infuse more liquidity into the system against the backdrop of persistently high bond yields.
The central bank will purchase government bonds worth Rs 10,000 crore via open market operations, it said in a press release on Friday, 4 May. The decision is “based on an assessment of prevailing liquidity conditions and also of the durable liquidity needs going forward,” the RBI said.
The RBI’s decision comes at a time when liquidity is close to neutral and overnight money market rates have remained range bound. Bond yields, however, have remained elevated despite various measures taken by the government and the central bank to bring down rates.
To add to that, the pace at which currency in circulation is rising has picked up and foreigners have turned sellers in the Indian market.
(Source: BloombergQuint)
4. Crude Nears $70 With Traders on Edge Ahead of Iran Deal Decision
Oil futures in New York zeroed in on $70 a barrel as traders brace for a re-imposition of US sanctions on Iran.
Prices jumped 1.9 percent on Friday, 4 May to close at the highest level since November 2014. Even though US President Donald Trump has yet to announce whether he’ll pull out of the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal as a 12 May deadline nears, American officials already are positioning for post-accord negotiations.
New sanctions could disrupt crude exports from OPEC’s third-largest producer. A rally in equities also pulled oil higher.
“It’s a psychological level,” said Michael Wittner, the head of commodities research at Societe Generale SA in New York. “Geopolitics has been a very key driver in the market and it’s continuing.”
(Source: BloombergQuint)
5. Apple Shares Hit Record High After Warren Buffett Increases Investment
Apple Inc shares hit a record after Warren Buffett told CNBC he bought an additional 75 million shares of the iPhone maker in the first quarter.
The Apple purchase, costing between $11 billion and $14 billion, adds to the almost 170 million shares that Buffett-run Berkshire Hathaway Inc owned at the end of 2017, when it was already his biggest shareholding.
Just days before Buffett disclosed the larger stake, Apple reported quarterly results that topped analysts’ estimates on surging services revenue and stable iPhone performance. The numbers helped end a recent swoon in Apple stock on concern its flagship iPhone X model wasn’t selling as well as Wall Street originally hoped.
“It is an unbelievable company,” Buffett said in the CNBC interview. Berkshire Hathaway is holding its annual meeting this weekend in Omaha, Nebraska. Buffett said the company’s exact holdings will be disclosed in a quarterly regulatory filing Saturday.
(Source: Livemint)
6. As Indian Executives Exit Indigo, Expats Take up Top Posts
The resignations by Indians at key management positions in IndiGo continue with the head of pilot training being the latest one to have quit the low-cost airline, which is brining aboard expats to run the company as it prepares itself for international expansion.
“Captain Sanjiv Bhalla, chief pilot training, standards and quality assurance has also resigned from IndiGo,” said a source, who did not want to be identified.
Sources in the know also added that the airline may see a few more resignations from Indian executives over the next couple of months.
IndiGo did not respond to a query sent by ET till the time of going to press. This resignation has come close on the heels of IndiGo president Aditya Ghosh resigning from the airline last week to start a new business venture.
(Source: The Economic Times)
7. Infosys CEO to Receive Annual Performance-Linked Equity Grant Worth Rs 13 Cr
India's second largest software services company Infosys on Friday, 4 May said its CEO Salil Parekh will receive an annual performance equity grant worth Rs 13 crore.
Parekh had joined the Bengaluru-based company in January this year after a protracted stand-off ensued between Infosys founders led by NR Narayana Murthy and the previous management over issues of corporate governance and compensation to former executives.
The tussle had led to the sudden resignation of the sudden resignation of the then CEO Vishal Sikka last year.
"Pursuant to the approval of shareholders and as per the terms of the employment agreement with Salil Parekh, CEO and Managing Director, the Nomination and Remuneration Committee and the Board has approved the Annual Performance Equity Grant of RSUs (Restricted Stock Units) with a value of Rs 13,00,00,000 (Rs 13 crore)," Infosys said in a regulatory filing.
(Source: The Economic Times)
8. Digital Advertising Market to Touch Rs 12,046 Cr by December
The digital advertising spends in the country is estimated to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 30 percent to reach Rs 12,046 crore by end of this calendar year, says an Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and Kantar IMRB report.
The digital advertising spend which was estimated to be around Rs 9,266 crore at the end of 2017, would be about 16 percent of the total ad-spends in the country that is pegged at Rs 59,000 crore.
In terms of total spend, banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) led the digital ad-spend in 2017 at around Rs 2,022 crore, followed by e-commerce, according to the report Digital Advertising in India 2017.
(Source: Financial Express)
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