QBiz: I-T Dept’s Notice to Deepak Kochhar; Jio Payment Goes Live
Top business stories of the day.
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1. JSW Steel Buys 26% Stake in Numetal’s India Arm To Facilitate Essar Steel Bid
JSW Steel has acquired a 26 percent stake in the India arm of Numetal Mauritius to facilitate its joint bid for Essar Steel Ltd., currently undergoing insolvency resolution.
While the Mauritius-based holding company is the resolution applicant for Essar Steel, the resolution plan will be implemented through the India entity – Nu Metal & Steel Pvt Ltd, two people in the know told BloombergQuint on the condition of anonymity.
On Monday, Numetal Mauritius submitted a fresh resolution plan for Essar Steel under the rebidding process initiated by the committee of creditors.
(Source: BloombergQuint)
2. Competition in India's Telecom Sector Unlikely to Reduce Soon
Competition in the telecom industry, which has led to consolidation in the sector, is unlikely to abate in the coming quarters, as Mukesh Ambani-controlled Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd continues to focus on subscriber acquisition and retention, according to recent reports from top equity research firms.
Jio’s ambition to gain and retain subscribers was evident in its aggressive pricing at the beginning of the year and the firm’s current move to extend Jio Prime benefits for no fee, said a 2 April Morgan Stanley research report on the Indian telecom sector.
(Source: Livemint)
3. Jet Airways Finalises Deal for 75 Boeing 737 MAX Planes Worth $8.7 Bn
Jet Airways has finalised an $8.7-billion deal to acquire 75 Boeing 737 MAX planes as the airline plans to launch routes and grow its market share.
The Mumbai-headquartered airline and Boeing signed a purchase contract last week. With the latest deal, Jet Airways will have 150 737 MAX planes on order.
Jet Airways has a fleet of 120 planes, which include a mix of narrow-body Boeing 737s, turbo-prop ATRs and wide-body Airbus A330s and Boeing 777s. The airline has 83 Boeing 737s, which it uses on domestic and short-haul overseas routes.
(Source: Business Standard)
4. Videocon Loan Case: Income Tax Department Issues Notice to Deepak Kochhar
The income tax (I-T) department on Tuesday issued a notice to Deepak Kochhar’s troubled firm NuPower Renewables over alleged tax evasion in connection with the Videocon loan case.
The notice was issued under Section 131 of the Income Tax Act, which allows authorities to conduct inquiries and summon those under scrutiny.
“The department has issued a notice to NuPower Renewables, controlled by ICICI MD and CEO Chanda Kochhar’s husband,” said an official.
(Source: Business Standard)
5. Ambani's Jio Payments Bank is Now Live
India’s richest man Mukesh Ambani has forayed into the banking business with a payments bank.
Jio Payments Bank Ltd., a 70-30 joint venture between Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd. and India’s largest lender State Bank of India, commenced operations from 3 April, the Reserve Bank of India said in a statement.
Reliance had first received in-principle approval from RBI to open a payments bank in August 2015, along with ten other applicants. It received the licence to operate in March last year.
(Source: BloombergQuint)
6. CIL to Have Around 1,500 Railway Rakes in 7 Years: Piyush Goyal
The government 3 April, said state-owned Coal India (CIL) has the potential to invest around Rs 20,000 crore over the next five to seven years to own around 1,500 to 1,600 railway rakes.
"I believe that Coal India itself has taken a decision that in next five to seven years they want to be totally self-sufficient in theirs rakes and wagons... We believe that there is a potential that CIL will land up investing nearly Rs 20,000 crore and will own some 1,500 or 1,600 rakes entirely on their own so that they are independent," Coal Minister Piyush Goyal said while addressing an event.
(Source: Moneycontrol)
7. STAR India, Sony Pictures, Reliance Jio in Race for BCCI Media Rights
The fight for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) media rights for the 2018-23 period has come down to three players — STAR India, Sony Pictures Network India (SPN) and Reliance Jio. None of them managed to bid successfully on the first day, resulting in the auction being carried forward to April 4.
The bidding for the media rights to 102 matches, across 190 days, in the 2018-23 cycle started with a global consolidated bid of Rs 41.76 billion. Since the BCCI had an e-auction, the bidders’ identity will not be disclosed till the conclusion of the process. The bids went up consistently from Rs 41.76 billion to Rs 43.28 billion at the end of the day. This is a 12.4 per cent increase over the fee that STAR India was paying the BCCI for the 2012-18 cycle.
(Source: Business Standard)
8. Air India Delays Payment of March Salaries to Employees
Disinvestment-bound Air India has delayed the payment of salaries for the month of March and is yet to intimate the employees about reasons for the delay, sources said.
The debt-laden carrier has over 21,000 employees, including more than 11,000 on permanent rolls.
Generally, salaries are paid by the 30th or 31st of every month and in case of bank holidays around these dates, then payments are made in advance.
(Source: Livemint)
9. Real Estate Developers Blame Govt for High Prices and Low Demand
Suffering from lack of demand, eroding customer confidence and a gloomy future outlook, real estate players on Tuesday blamed the government for its woes and claimed that red tape was killing their business.
Developers claimed lack of implementation of a single-window clearance, delays in getting approvals required from various departments and not attaining industry status is badly affecting the sector.
(Source: Business Standard)
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