QBiz: Govt to Check IndiGo Shareholder Pact for Violation & More
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1. IndiGo Shareholder Pact to Be Checked by Govt for Violations
The government will scrutinise a disputed shareholder pact between Rakesh Gangwal and Rahul Bhatia, the founders of InterGlobe Aviation Ltd that runs India’s largest airline IndiGo, even as it will let the markets regulator look into Gangwal’s allegations of governance failure in the company.
If the government’s scrutiny leads to the conclusion that the shareholder agreement was in violation of the Companies Act, the agreement which gives certain special rights to a company controlled by Bhatia could get annulled, a person privy to discussions in the government said on condition of anonymity. Gangwal had in the recent past met senior officials in the government.
(Source: Livemint)
2. Govt Task Force to Draw up USD 110-Bn Mobile Export Business Blueprint
To figure out how to create a USD 110-billion mobile phone export business from India, the government has decided to set up a secretary-level task force at the Centre to be steered by NITI Aayog Chief Executive Officer Amitabh Kant. The push to set up the task force has come from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
Principal Secretary in the PMO, Nripendra Misra, has written to Kant to include the finance, commerce and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology secretaries in a team to form a policy that could overcome India’s disability vis-a-vis other Asian countries as a mobile manufacturing hub.
(Source: Business Standard)
3. 1,701 NBFC Licences Cancelled in FY19 as RBI Cracks the Whip
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cancelled licences of 1,701 non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) in the year ended 31 March for failing to meet minimum capital requirements, according to data compiled by Mint.
As many as 779 licences were cancelled in October and November, just after the crisis in the shadow banking sector unfolded with Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Ltd (IL&FS) defaulting on debt repayments. The defaults led to drying up of liquidity for other non-banks, triggering a crisis in the sector. In comparison, RBI had cancelled the licences of 26 NBFCs in FY18.
(Source: Livemint)
4. Crisis-Hit DHFL Headed for More Trouble, Auditors May Decide to Resign
With hours to go for the board of directors to ratify Dewan Housing Finance Corporation’s (DHFL’s) fourth quarter numbers and 2018-19 financial account, the crisis-hit firm could be heading towards more trouble.
The meeting of board of directors is scheduled for 13 July. However, sources said the two statutory auditors – Deloitte Haskins & Sells, and Chaturvedi & Shah – are yet to complete the process of auditing the company’s FY19 financial accounts. In June, DHFL got the market regulator’s nod to postpone announcing its financial results by two weeks.
Sources say the auditors may decide to resign ahead of the board meeting. This follows unsatisfactory response to auditors’ queries related to fund deployment by DHFL.
(Source: Business Standard)
5. June Quarter Auto Sales the Worst in Almost Two Decades
India’s automobile industry continued to languish, with passenger vehicle (PV) sales falling the most in nearly two decades in the June quarter, underscoring subdued consumer sentiment, a slowdown in economic activity, farm distress and a liquidity squeeze.
All the automakers, including market leader Maruti Suzuki India Ltd and second-ranked Hyundai Motor India Ltd, posted lower sales during the period, showed data issued by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam).
(Source: Livemint)
6. Jio Retains Lead Over Airtel, Vodafone Idea in AGR for March Quarter: TRAI
Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio maintained its lead over other telecom service providers in adjusted gross revenue (AGR) for the March 2019 quarter at about Rs 9,839 crore, according to data from Trai.
Vodafone Idea, the country’s largest telecom operator by subscriber base, recorded AGR of Rs 7,133.4 crore (1.25 percent dip over December quarter), and Bharti Airtel Rs 5,920.2 crore (over eight percent fall on a sequential basis) during the March quarter.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (Trai) latest data showed that Jio’s adjusted gross revenue (AGR), or earnings from mobile phone services, rose 3.76 percent sequentially to Rs 9,838.9 crore at the end of March 2019, as the company continued its comfortable lead over the two rivals.
(Source: PTI)
7. India Inc's FDI Down Over Two Times to USD 820 Million in June
India Inc's foreign direct investment in June fell by over two times from a year ago to USD 820.36 million, data from the Reserve Bank of India showed Wednesday, 10 July.
The outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) by the Indian firms stood at USD 2.29 billion in the year-ago same month, according to the RBI data on OFDI.
In May, the Indian firms had invested over USD 1.56 billion in their overseas ventures.
Of the total overseas direct investment during June, USD 340.28 million was in the form of equity infusion, USD 222.06 million was through loan and USD 258.02 million came in through issuance of guarantee.
(Source: PTI)
8. Samsung Plans 100 Investments in Indian Start-Ups in Next Five Years
Samsung, the world’s biggest producer of smartphone screens, semiconductors, and mobile phones, is planning to make 100 investments in Indian start-ups over the next three to five years, through its venture capital (VC) arm.
It is scouting in ‘deep technology’ areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), natural language processing, the Internet of Things (IoT), blockchain, augmented reality and virtual reality, and data security. And, services technologies, in areas such as health care, insurance, vernacular content, and mobility solutions.
(Source: Business Standard)
9. NCLAT Rejects HDFC Plea for Insolvency Proceedings Against RHC Holding
Mortgage lender HDFC’s plea to initiate corporate insolvency resolution proceedings (CIRP) against RHC Holding, a non-banking financial services provider promoted by billionaire brothers Malvinder and Shivinder Singh, has been rejected by the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Wednesday, 10 July.
The firm being a financial service provider doesn’t come under the ambit of “corporate person”, against whom CIRP could be commenced under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), the NCLAT said, upholding an earlier ruling by NCLT.
RHC Holding had taken a Rs 200-crore loan from HDFC in April 2016. While the firm serviced the interest part on time for the first quarter, it started defaulting on repayment thereafter. Even after adjusting the proceeds from the sale of pledged shares, an amount of Rs 41.09 crore remained due.
(Source: Financial Express)
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