QBiz: Sensex Surges With Rate Cut Hopes; Reliance-Dassault & More
Read The Quint’s compilation of top business stories from dailies across the country.
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1. The Street Sees a Rate Cut Coming; Sensex Surged 1.3%
India’s benchmark equity indices climbed on Monday, buoyed by hopes of a rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India, (RBI) coupled with an easing of India-Pakistan tensions and robust auto sales; Sensex surged 1.3 percent.
RBI’s newly-appointed monetary policy committee (MPC), headed by new Governor Urjit Patel, started a two-day monetary policy review meeting on Monday. It will announce the outcome on Tuesday.
(Source: Livemint)
2. Reliance Infra Soars After Unit Forms Joint Venture With French Aircraft Maker Dassault
Reliance Aerospace, a subsidiary of Reliance Infrastructure Ltd, and France’s Dassault Aviation announced a joint venture in India aimed at developing high levels of technology transfer to benefit the entire aerospace sector.
The joint venture, named Dassault Reliance Aerospace, is part of the 50 percent offset clause in the Rs 59,000 crore Rafale fighter jet purchase agreement between France and India signed on 23 September 2016, according to Reliance Infra press release.
The 50 percent offset obligation is the largest-ever offset contract in India.
The newly-formed joint venture will look to support Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Make In India and Skill India policies.
(Source: BloombergQuint)
3. Centre Plans Major Surgery on Drug Policy
The government is planning a major overhaul of the country's drug policy that includes reducing the number of drugs under price control, doing away with the practice of periodic renewal of manufacturing licences, and making it easy to do medical and drug research in the country.
The initiative is being backed by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), which wants India to emerge as a major hub both for manufacturing pharmaceuticals as well as innovation in medical research, a senior government official told ET.
Niti Aayog Chief Executive Officer Amitabh Kant has written to the Health Ministry , asking it to examine and scrap all regulatory hurdles. Also on cards is a review of the price control regime, under which the drug pricing authority fixes prices of certain medicines.
(Source: The Economic Times)
4. Hero MotoCorp, Honda Claim Record Two-Wheeler Sales
The fight for volumes in India’s hyper-competitive two-wheeler market reached a peak in September with the top two makers laying claim to market share and volume gains.
Other manufacturers, too, saw sales advance in the high double digits as a good monsoon and a revival in rural sales combined to raise hopes of robust sales growth at dealerships.
Hero MotoCorp Ltd, the market leader, on Monday said it dispatched 6,74,961 units in September, up 11 percent over a year ago. Honda’s sales zoomed 31 percent to 5,39,662 units over a year ago.
(Source: Livemint)
5. Online Sales Extravaganza Helps Sellers Rake In Crores
Festive sale across platforms like Amazon, Flipkart and Snapdeal are helping sellers rake in big mullahs with hundreds of them clocking over Rs 1 crore a day from the sales extravaganza.
Snapdeal said 37 sellers crossed the Rs 1 crore turnover on Day 1 itself, while Amazon said nearly 100 of its sellers entered the "crorepati club" with sales from Day 1 and 2.
Amazon is holding its festive sale between 1-5 October, while Flipkart and Snapdeal are giving out offers to their customers from 2-6 October.
The companies said they continue to witness strong growth in traffic and sales on their platform across categories like fashion, electronics and household items.
(Source: BloombergQuint)
6. Amazon Drives FMCG Bargain
Amazon is offering discounts of up to 50 percent on fast-moving consumer goods such as shampoos, soaps, shower gels, detergents, diapers and instant noodles to build customer loyalty, marking the first time prices have been cut so sharply for items of daily consumption.
The move is a precursor to Amazon's entry into food e-commerce following the government's recent decision to allow 100 percent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the sector, said three people with knowledge of the matter. It's also in line with Amazon's global focus on daily consumption needs like packaged food, personal care, nutrition, home and laundry care.
This is separate from Amazon's ongoing festive season sale and it will continue to offer discounted prices across most popular brands throughout the year.
(Source: The Economic Times)
7. Coal India’s Output Drops Second Month Amid Weaker Power Demand
Coal India Ltd’s output fell year-on-year for a second consecutive month in September, signalling demand from power plants, its biggest consumers, remains weak.
Production at the world’s biggest miner of the fuel declined 5.2 percent from a year earlier to 35.24 million metric tons in September, while shipments fell 6.6 percent to 37.74 million tons, according to data from the company. Coal India fell behind the month’s targets on both parameters, the filing shows. This follows declines in production and shipments in August, when the company reported its lowest monthly production in three years.
The miner’s plans to ramp up output have been hurt by insufficient demand from power plants, creating a glut of the fuel in the country.
(Source: BloombergQuint)
8. SEBI Hikes FPI Investment Limit For Government Debt
To boost inflows of foreign funds into Indian capital markets, regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India on Monday raised the FPI investment limit in government securities to Rs 1.48 lakh crore, which will be further increased to Rs 1.52 lakh crore from next January. The existing limit for Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) is Rs 1.44 lakh crore.
It also decided to enhance limit for investment by long- term FPIs (Sovereign Wealth Funds, Insurance Funds, Pension Funds and Foreign Central Banks) in government securities in two tranches from 3 October and 2 January 2017.
(Source: BloombergQuint)
9. India Inc Expects Sales, Demand to Pick up in Second Half
With the Indian economy showing signs of a pick-up in the first six months of 2016-17, CEOs are expecting the second half to be better in terms of new orders, profitability and capital expenditure. A cut in interest rates would go a long way to revive earnings in the rest of 2016-17, they said.
The rise in sales will be led by higher government spending in highways and electricity generation and transmission, thus providing a fillip to the private sector.
(Source: Business Standard)
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