1. Bank of India Back in Black in Quarter 1
Bank of India said it swung to a profit in the June quarter from a loss in the year-ago period as it set aside less money to cover bad loans and other income jumped.
Net profit for the quarter stood at Rs 87.71 crore from a loss of Rs 741 crore a year ago. Ten analysts polled by Bloomberg had forecast a loss of Rs 83.90 crore. Provisions and contingencies declined 19 percent to Rs 2,245.28 crore from Rs 2,770.19 crore in the same quarter last year. It fell 53 percent from Rs 4,736.21 crore in the preceding March quarter. Other income surged 30 percent from a year ago to Rs 1,610.96 crore.
Source: Livemint
2. Sahara Moves Supreme Court to Put Aamby Valley Auction On Hold
Subrata Roy moved the Supreme Court seeking to put a hold on the auction of Aamby Valley. A bench considered the fresh interim plea for an urgent hearing.
The official liquidator of the Bombay High Court was slated to publish the sale notice of Aamby Valley on 14 August.
Sahara chief Subrata Roy on Wednesday moved the Supreme Court seeking to put a hold on the auction process to sell the group’s Rs 34,000-crore worth Aamby Valley property by the official liquidator of the Bombay High Court.
A bench, headed by Justice Dipak Misra, considered the fresh interim plea, mentioned by senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Mukul Rohatgi for an urgent hearing, and said that he would consult justices Ranjan Gogoi and AK Sikri and then fix a hearing date. The special bench which has been dealing with the matter relating to the SEBI-Sahara payment dispute, comprises justices Misra, Gogoi and Sikri.
Senior Counsel Kapil Sibal, representing the Sahara Group, said the auctioning process for the Aamby Valley property in Pune district of Maharashtra be put on hold as the group has a payment plan to offer.
Source: PTI
3. India’s Largest General Insurer Files For IPO, May Raise up to Rs 10,000 Crore
New India Assurance Company Ltd has filed its draft red herring prospectus with the market regulator for an initial public offering as the government looks to sell stakes in state-run general insurers.
India’s largest general insurer is seeking a valuation of around Rs 70,000 crore and will raise up to Rs 10,000 crore by selling 15 percent stake, two bankers in the know of details told BloombergQuint requesting anonymity.
Incorporated in 1919, New India is the second public sector insurer after General Insurance Corporation to file for an IPO. The Narendra Modi administration had in February unveiled a plan to offload stakes in five public sector insurers.
The government hopes to raise Rs 11,000 crore from the share sales as part of its effort to raise Rs 72,500 crore from divestment in the year ending March 2018.
Source: Bloombergquint
4. A Dozen of 162 ‘Shell’ Firms Facing Curbs May Resume Trading In A Week
A dozen of the 162 suspected shell companies may resume trading in a week’s time, a senior government official told BloombergQuint, days after the Securities and Exchange Board of India restricted them to once-a-month trade.
SEBI may soon issue a notification to give the identified shell companies time to explain their position and submit documents to prove their stand.
Action against some of these companies was taken due to the spike in trade found during demonetisation, the government official said. Some of these companies identified by ministry of corporate affairs were found to be violating income tax rules, the official added.
Source: BloombergQuint
5. Inter-Ministerial Group Set to Finalise Telecom Sector Report Soon
The inter-ministerial group set up to look into the financial stress in the telecom sector will meet from 11 August to discuss and finalise its report, a senior government official told BloombergQuint. Once the IMG finalises its recommendations, they will be forwarded to the Cabinet for final approval.
Among the major demands made by some of the telecom players, the issue of floor pricing is not likely to see any recommendations from the IMG, the official quoted above said requesting anonymity.
The IMG does acknowledge that there is a stress in the sector and is likely to come up with some relief measures for the companies. It is likely to consider and come up with recommendations in areas of licence fees, change in schedule for spectrum payment, the Universal Service Obligation Fund and spectrum usage charges, said the official.
Source: BloombergQuint
6. Direct Tax Revenue Grows 19% In April-July
Direct tax collection registered a steady growth of 19.1 percent in the first four months of the current fiscal to Rs 1.90 lakh crore.
The collection for the April-July period is 19.5 percent of the Rs 9.80 lakh crore target from this segment for the entire 2017-18. It added:
Direct tax collection during the said period, net of refunds, stands at Rs 1.90 lakh crore which is 19.1 percent higher than the net collections for the corresponding period of last year,” a finance ministry statement said. The collection of direct tax, which consist of personal income tax and corporate tax, continue to register “steady growth.
In April-July of last fiscal, 2016-17, the direct tax collection had grown 24.01 percent to Rs 1.59 lakh crore.
Source: Bloombergquint
7. Govt Tweaks HPCL's Terms of Sale to ONGC to Avoid 'Open Offer'
The government has tweaked the terms of sale of its 51.11 per cent stake in Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) to Oil and the Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) by including phrases that will help avoid triggering an open offer, an official said.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) had on 19 July granted “in-principle” approval for strategic sale of the government’s stake in HPCL to ONGC “along with the transfer of management control, which will result in HPCL becoming a subsidiary company of ONGC”.
Source: PTI
8. Gold Imports More Than Doubled in July
Gold imports have more than doubled in July, due to the arrival of delayed shipments booked ahead of the implementation of goods and services tax on the first of July, said a Bloomberg report. Inbound purchases totaled 53.4 metric tons last month, up from 22 tons a year earlier, said the report citing unidentified sources.
According to World Gold Council, traders and dealers stocked up on gold inventories ahead of the levy of the national goods and services tax on fears of a higher duty. The Council expects the demand to slow down in the second half of 2017 as buyers take time to transition to the new regime. According to WGC estimates, consumption is estimated to be in the range of 650 tons to 750 tons this year.
Source: Financial Express
9. Tata Motors Q1 Profit Jumps 41% to Due to One-Time Gain
Tata Motors Ltd reported a 41 percent increase in Q1 profit because of a one-time gain from changes made to a pension plan at its UK unit Jaguar-Land Rover (JLR). The company would have swung to a loss of Rs 409 crore if not for the one-time gain.
Net profit rose to Rs 3,200 crore in the three months to June from Rs 2,260 crore a year ago. Net sales dropped 10 percent to Rs 58,651 crore from Rs 65,115 crore on muted sales at its Jaguar-Land Rover unit, a drop in sales of heavy trucks in India and adverse foreign exchange movements.
A Bloomberg analyst poll had estimated June quarter profit of Rs 1,479.60 crore on sales of Rs 59,788.60 crore.
Source: Livemint
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