QBiz: Bankruptcy Bill Gets President’s Nod; MEP Imposed on Onion
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1. President Clears Stricter Version of Bankruptcy Bill
The ordinance to amend the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code that will bar defaulters from bidding for stressed assets, has been given the President's nod.
President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday, 22 November, signed the ordinance that was sent to him by the Union Cabinet the previous day.
“The ordinance targets big defaulters and makes it difficult for them to bid for distressed assets which were of their own making,” said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. He said the ordinance does not ban them from bidding for stressed assets, but would make it difficult for them, and disentitles them from doing it.
“The amendments’ aim to keep out such persons who have wilfully defaulted, are associated with non-performing assets (NPAs), or are habitually non-compliant, and, therefore, likely to be a risk to successful resolution of insolvency of a company," a press release from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs said.
Read full story here.
2. Government Pares Back Planned Funding For Crucial Public Health Scheme
India has approved a three-year budget for its flagship public health programme almost 20 percent lower than what the health ministry said was needed, according to sources and previously unreported government documents reviewed by Reuters.
The finance ministry in August renewed the National Health Mission with $20 billion of funding between 2017-20, against the health ministry’s estimated requirement of $25 billion, the documents showed.
Officials familiar with the plan said the finance ministry reduced planned funding because of other spending priorities and because of state governments’ poor track record of spending the health budgets they’ve been allotted in the past.
The finance and health ministries did not respond to several requests for comment.
(Source: Reuters)
3. Govt Imposes $850/Tonne Minimum Export Price on Onion
The government on 23 November, Thursday, imposed a minimum export price (MEP) of USD 850 per tonne on onion to increase domestic supplies and check rising prices. Onion MEP was scrapped in December 2015.
Concerned over the rise in onion prices, Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan in August had sought that MEP be imposed on its exports by the commerce ministry. He also sought the removal of sops on export of the kitchen staple.
Retail onion prices, which have shot up to Rs 50-65 per kg in most cities, have come under pressure due to tight domestic supplies.
The government has asked state-run MMTC to import 2,000 tonnes of onion, while other agencies Nafed and SFAC to buy onions locally and supply in consuming areas.
(Source: PTI)
4. Stickers on Existing Stock Must Show GST Cut: Govt to FMCGs
The government has told consumer goods firms and industry stakeholders that new price tags on existing stocks in the trade pipeline should clearly show the difference that the recent cut in GST has made. The metrology division under the department of consumer affairs, which oversees matters related to measurement and labelling, has instructed the companies to this effect.
"Permission is granted under the legal metrology rules to affix an additional sticker or stamping for declaration of reduced MRPs (maximum retail prices). Earlier labelling of MRP will continue to be visible," it said in a 16 November letter that ET has seen.
Soon after the GST cut on 178 products last week, consumer affairs minister Ram Vilas Paswan said firms had been allowed to "affix an additional sticker or stamping or online printing for declaring the reduced MRP on the prepackaged commodity".
(Source: Economic Times)
5. Uber Looks to Step up India Investments
Global cab-hailing giant Uber Technologies Inc. is looking to step up investments in India, build out more India-specific and global innovations through its presence in the country, and rapidly scale up growth and its engineering team in the country, even as it looks to move on from recent controversies and scandals.
In an interview, Daniel Graf, Uber’s global head of product, indicated that India was among the company’s most significant markets globally and that it would do whatever it takes to succeed in the rapidly growing internet economy. For US-based Uber, India became the most important international market after it sold its China business to local rival Didi Chuxing last August.
“What’s key for us is that we have a long-term sustainable business here. In many of our markets, we are actually profitable and we know that the fundamentals of our business are very healthy. In some of our markets where we are still in hyper-growth mode, we put in extra investments to get to a place where we’re in a sustainable phase. In India, we are investing. We are investing with technology, with promotions, etc.,” said Graf, a former top executive at Google who joined Uber in 2015.
(Source: Livemint)
6. Havmor To Sell Ice Cream Business To Lotte For Rs 1,020 Crore
Lotte has decided to acquire 100 percent shares of Havmor ice cream, the company said in a statement. Post acquisition, Lotte will start its ice cream business in the Indian market.
“It’s a brand that we have nurtured with our team for over 73 years. But we believe that Lotte Confectionery is the right brand to take the company to the next level,” Havmor Chairman Pradeep Chona said.
Ahmedabad-based Havmor has a significant parlour network across 14 states in India. It makes 150 kinds of products from two plants and sells via 30,000 dealers.
The $80 billion Lotte Confectionery entered India in 2004 and has established choco-pie factories in Chennai and Delhi. Last year, its market share reached 90 percent in the Indian choco-pie market.
(Source: BloombergQuint)
7. Fiat Chrysler to Recall 1,200 SUVs in India for Airbag Replacement
Italian-American carmaker Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV will recall 1,200 Jeep Compass sports utility vehicles (SUVs) sold in India, for “replacement of the front passenger air bag,” FCA India said in a statement on Thursday.
The recalls are part of a bigger recall by the company. The carmaker on Wednesday recalled 7,000 US-market SUVs and 1,000 vehicles sold in Canada and Mexico for the same reason.
During the airbag module assembly process, “loose fasteners may have inadvertently found their way undetected into a small number of modules,” Fiat said in an emailed statement.
(Source: Reuters)
8. Bharti Family Pledges Rs 7,000 Crore to Philanthropy
Billionaire Sunil Bharti Mittal has pledged 10 percent of his family’s wealth, amounting to Rs 7,000 crore, to the Bharti Foundation, a large part of which will be used to set up the Satya Bharti University, which seeks to offer free science and technology education to the poor.
“We aim to focus on education in our philanthropic ventures, though from time to time we may look at other initiatives like Nyaya Bharti (aid for undertrials) and Satya Bharti Abhiyan (sanitation drive) but on a smaller scale,” Mittal said in an interview on Thursday.
Mittal, 60, is the latest among India’s top billionaires to dedicate a substantial part of his wealth to philanthropic causes. On 19 November, Infosys Ltd chairman Nandan Nilekani and wife Rohini pledged at least half their wealth to charity, the fourth among Indians to sign up for the Giving Pledge initiative of Microsoft Corp founder Bill Gates and Berkshire Hathaway Inc chairman Warren Buffett.
(Source: Livemint)
9. Reliance Jio Gains Ground at Bharti Airtel's Expense
Bharti Airtel Ltd’s revenue share in India’s telecom market fell the most in the three months ended September. And Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd gained at the expense of India’s biggest telecom operator.
Reliance Jio’s share stood at nearly 14 percent in the second quarter of the financial year 2017-18. In comparison, Bharti Airtel Ltd.’s revenue share declined 475 basis points to below 30 percent for the first time in at least 15 quarters. Vodafone India Ltd. and Idea Cellular Ltd. also saw a sharp sequential fall in their gross revenue after adjusting for interconnect usage charges and other deductions.
Among the smaller players, Aircel’s revenue market share fell the most followed by Tata Teleservices Ltd Anil Ambani-led Reliance Communications Ltd., which recently defaulted on its dollar debt, managed to increase its share by 16 basis points.
(Source: BloombergQuint)
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