1. ICICI Bank to Probe Whistleblower’s Complaint Against CEO Chanda Kochhar
ICICI Bank on Wednesday, 30 May, said it will conduct an independent enquiry into an anonymous whistleblower’s complaint about alleged impropriety by its managing director and chief executive officer Chanda Kochhar.
The enquiry will be conducted by an “independent and credible” person appointed by the bank, the private lender said in a notification to the stock exchanges. “The scope of enquiry would be comprehensive and include all relevant matters arising out of and in the course of examination of the facts and wherever warranted, use of forensics/email reviews and recordal of statements of relevant personnel etc,” the notification read.
The bank’s board mandated its audit committee to appoint the head of enquiry and determine its terms of reference and period covered. The committee will also help the head of enquiry with the required independent legal and other professional support.
(Source: BloombergQuint)
2. UltraTech Cement Gets Lenders’ Approval To Acquire Binani Cement
Lenders of Binani Cement Ltd on Wednesday, 30 May, approved the resolution plan submitted by UltraTech Cement Ltd, as part of the insolvency resolution process.
The committee of creditors had approved the plan in a meeting on Tuesday, and issued the letter of intent on Wednesday, UltraTech said in a filing to the stock exchanges. The Kumar Mangalam Birla-backed company beat a rival consortium that included Dalmia Bharat Ltd and a Bain Capital-backed fund. The resolution plan is now subject to approval by the National Company Law Tribunal.
Financial creditors led by Edelweiss Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd voted to accept UltraTech’s Rs 7,950 crore offer as the highest bid, BloombergQuint had reported on May 28.
(Source: BloombergQuint)
3. Bank Strike: Services Hit, Impact to Continue Tomorrow
Banking operations in the country were hit on Wednesday, 30 May, as 10 lakh employees, primarily from PSU banks, went on two-day strike to protest against a “meagre” 2 percent salary hike offered by the management body Indian Banks Association.
The strike, also supported by employees of some old generation private sector banks and foreign banks, will continue on Thursday.
Operations in the new-generation private banks like ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank were however almost normal, barring few activities including cheque clearance.
(Source: BloombergQuint)
4. Wipro Infrastructure Forays Into Automation Solution Business
Wipro Infrastructure Engineering, a business division of Wipro Enterprises Ltd, the privately held business by billionaire Azim Premji, has set up a new business division called automation solutions, under which it will boost productivity of manufacturing companies in India, the Middle East and Africa by making up industrial robots in their facilities.
Wipro Infrastructure Engineering was demerged from parent Wipro Ltd, the listed information technology (IT) outsourcing arm, in 2013, and along with Wipro’s consumer care business clubbed under Wipro Enterprises.
(Source: Livemint)
5. Reliance Jio’s Next Salvo: 100 Mbps Broadband, Calls, Videos at Under Rs 1,000/Month
Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd will offer internet access, videos and voice calls for less than Rs 1,000 a month when it wired broadband services later this year, a repeat of the aggressive pricing strategy that ruffled incumbents during the launch of its wireless phone services.
Reliance Jio, which has triggered a consolidation in the telecom sector since its entry in September 2016, is testing its fibre-to-home services in some cities, including New Delhi and Mumbai.
“Reliance Jio plans to enter the wired internet segment by the end of this year...and the fibre-to-the-home (services) will also come with unlimited calling through a VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) phone as well as JioTV,” a person aware of the matter said, requesting anonymity.
(Source: Livemint)
6. Affordable Housing: 90% of Low Cost Homes Built by Informal Developers: Report
Despite a robust growth in demand for low cost homes, 90 percent of their supply in India is coming from small and informal developers. Several large and mid-size builders still remain unsuccessful in providing homes to low income customers, said a report by consulting firm FSG and National Housing Bank (NHB).
The report ‘State of Low-income Housing Finance Market’ released on Wednesday, 30 May, by industry body Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) said the loan books of affordable housing finance companies in India have grown manifold in a span of five years.
From a combined loan book of close to Rs 1,000 crore in March 2013, it has shot up to over Rs 27,000 crore at an average loan ticket size of Rs 9.3 lakh and “facilitated the ownership of more than 230,000 affordable homes,” the report said.
(Source: Livemint)
7. Air India Sale: No Bids So Far but Govt Won’t Extend Deadline That Ends Tomorrow
The government has not received any bids so far for its stake in state-run carrier Air India Ltd, the civil aviation secretary told TV channels, a day before the formal bidding process closes.
The government will not extend the deadline for submissions of interest in Air India, RN Choubey said on Wednesday, 30 May. The deadline for receiving bids has already been extended once to 31 May from 14 May.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, keen to sell the loss-making, debt-ridden airline, finalised plans in late March to divest a 76 percent stake and offload about $5.1 billion of its debt.
(Source: Livemint)
8 . IIFL Amc Eyes up to Rs 2,000 Crore for New PE Fund
IIFL Asset Management Ltd (IIFL AMC) has launched its latest fund, IIFL India Private Equity Fund, with a focus on backing professional entrepreneurs, and targets raising around Rs1,500-2,000 crore, a senior company executive said.
The fund is a close-ended Sebi-registered Category II Alternative Investment Fund (AIF). IIFL AMC’s AIF business currently manages capital commitments of Rs 20,000 crore across strategies.
“The last decade has seen many professionals successfully embark on their entrepreneurial journey. They have leveraged their past experience as professionals and accessed organized pool of capital from investors to create large enterprises. This fund has been set with a vision to back and promote such professionals,” said Amit Shah, chief executive at IIFL Asset Management Business.
(Source: Livemint)
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