victorybull

Author: victorybull

  • Stocks to Watch: HP Adhesives, RBL Bank, Adani Trans, HUL, Lupin, CBI

    The key benchmark indices are likely to start trade on a quiet note owing to lack of any major directional cues from the overseas market. As of 08:00 AM, the SGX Nifty futures were quoted at 17040, up 14 points. Meanwhile, here the top stocks to focus in trade today.

    HP Adhesives: The stock will make its debut on the bourses today. The IPO was subscribed 20.96. The GMP (Grey Market Premium) indicates a likely listing gain of 20-25 per cent as against the issue price of Rs 274 per share.

    RBL Bank: According to CNBC TV reports, ace investors Rakesh Jhunjhunwala and D-Mart’s founder RK Damani have approached the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to buy a 10 per cent stake in RBL Bank.

    Financials: Corporate houses, which are not allowed to own a bank, can now pick up 15 per cent stake in commercial banks through their non-banking financial companies (NBFCs). This is because the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has allowed non-promoters to hold up to 15 per cent in private sector banks, following the recommendation of an internal working group (IWG) that was set up to review the existing guidelines on ownership and corporate structure for these entities.

    M&M, Tata Motors: Riding on the success of their recent model launches, homegrown auto majors Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors are looking to further strengthen their product portfolios in 2022. Both companies are also looking at ways to handle the semiconductor shortage in a better way next year so that the impact on the production is minimal.

    Lupin: Homegrown pharmaceuticals major said it has received tentative approval from the US health regulator for its generic Azilsartan Medoxomil tablets used to treat high blood pressure.

    Central Bank of India (CBI): The last remaining public sector lender under the Reserve Bank of India’s prompt corrective action (PCA) framework, may see such restrictions being lifted in 2-3 months. Central Bank of India meets all the parameters for exiting the PCA framework and the RBI will remove it from PCA as soon as the end of this fiscal year, said an official.

    Canara Bank: The state-run bank has raised Rs 2,500 crore by issuing Basel-III compliant bonds to a total of 10 allottees.

    Kabra ExtrusionTechnik: The company has approved capex plan of Rs 100 crore for its battery division.

    Orchid Pharma: The company informed BSE, that CARE had revised its ratings on long-term and short-term bank facilities from CARE BBB -; Stable CARE A3 to CARE BBB- (CWD) and CARE A3 (CWD, respectively. The ratings agency has placed it on Credit Watch with developing implications.

    Stocks in F&O ban: Escorts, Indiabulls Housing Finance and Vodafone Idea are the only stocks in the F&O ban period today.

  • Market LIVE Updates: Indices at day’s high led by IT, realty, banks; RBL Bank most active

    Active pharmaceutical ingredients manufacturer Supriya Lifescience, the 64th listing in 2021, is expected to debut with around 50 percent premium on December 28.

    Experts cited attractive valuations, strong financial track record with maximum income from exports, increasing growth potential in the pharma space and healthy return ratios for the expectations of the healthy listing.

    The initial public offering of Supriya Lifescience received a stellar response from investors, as the issue was subscribed 71.51 times during December 16-20.

    The allotted quota of non-institutional investors was subscribed 161.22 times, followed by retail investors’ 56.01 times. Qualified institutional buyers also showed strong interest in the public issue, as the portion set aside for them was subscribed 31.83 times.

  • Capital investment to pick up in old economy; decent growth expected in FY23: Jayanth R Varma

    Varma, who is also a member of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank, in an interview to PTI said that inflation is a matter of concern, but as of now it is the persistence of inflation rather than its level that is a matter of concern.

    According to Varma, the pre-pandemic level of economic activity has already been surpassed, and the rest of this financial year should also see further recovery.

    He noted that calendar year 2021 saw dozens of new economy companies receive large funding both in private and public equity markets and these companies would have positive spillover effects into the rest of the economy as well.

    “I am hopeful that in a few quarters from now, capital investment would also begin to pick up even in the old economy,” the eminent economist said.

    India is contemplating bringing a bill in Parliament to deal with the challenges posed by the unregulated cryptocurrencies. Currently, there are no particular regulations or any ban on use of cryptocurrencies in the country.

    Asked about the impact of ‘taper tantrum’ or withdrawal of monetary stimulus by the US Federal Reserve on India, he said the Indian economy is a lot more resilient on the external front than it was in 2013.

    Varma opined that in any case, using the interest rate to achieve an exchange rate objective would be inconsistent with the inflation targeting framework that is in place today.

    The taper tantrum had started in mid-2013 when the Fed hinted at reversing its easy monetary policy.

  • Asia stocks, oil struggle as Omicron worries weigh

    TOKYO (Reuters) – Asian stock markets were generally weaker  in holiday-thinned trading on Monday, as uncertainty over the economic impact of the Omicron coronavirus variant weighed on investor sentiment.

    U.S. airlines have cancelled or delayed thousands of flights over the past three days due to COVID-19-related staff shortages, while several cruise ships had to cancel stops after outbreaks on-board.

    In Asia, China reported its highest daily rise in local COVID-19 cases in 21 months over the weekend as infections more than doubled in the northwestern city of Xian, the country’s latest COVID hot spot.

    Mainland Chinese shares, though, were mixed, with Shanghai’s benchmark sliding 0.37% but an index of blue chips edged 0.05% higher.

    Australia, Hong Kong and Britain are among markets closed Monday for holidays.

    “There is concern over the widening spread of the Omicron variant, which is overall making people cautious about taking stocks higher” in Japan, said a market participant at a Japanese securities firm.

    Wall Street trading resumes later in the global day following a holiday on Friday. U.S. stocks closed at records on Thursday amid signs Omicron may cause a milder level of illness, even as the highly transmissible strain led to a surge in case numbers around the world.

    In the foreign exchange markets, the U.S. dollar continued to languish near the bottom of its range of the past month against a basket of major peers, after hitting a 16-month high in November as Federal Reserve policymakers turned more hawkish.

    Thet flat at 96.116, towards the bottom of the range from 95.544 to the 16-month peak at 96.938 reached on Nov. 24.

    In the crude market, U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures fell 59 cents to $73.20 a barrel. The contract did not trade on Friday because of the U.S. market holiday.

  • India in talks with Taiwan for domestic semiconductor-manufacturing hub; trade, investment pacts also discussed

    India is in talks with Taiwan over the possibility of setting up a domestic semiconductor manufacturing hub, a report citing sources claimed on December 16. The two sides are also reportedly discussing agreements related to free trade and investments.

    Taiwan is home to two of the world’s biggest semiconductor giants–Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC).

    New Delhi and Taipei are exploring the possibility of bringing either of the two companies to set up a manufacturing plant in India learnt from two persons familiar to the development.

    The Indian side has also proposed a number of sites where the production plant could be set up, the persons said. They, however, noted that the process is “complicated”.

    “It is a very complicated process because a company like TSMC uses components from hundreds of other firms. Setting up a hub in India means convincing those firms to also set up a facility in India to ensure the supply of components,” the newspaper quoted one of the source as saying.

    If the talks end up being successful, this will be only the second instance when a Taiwanese semiconductor maker will launch a manufacturing unit in another country. Earlier, TSMC, which has a market value above $550 billion, had unveiled a $12-billion fabrication plant in the United States.

    Investment, free-trade pacts

    According to the report, India and Taiwan had set up four groups earlier this year to discuss an investment agreement and a free-trade agreement, apart from creating a domestic semiconductor-manufacturing hub and the training required for the purpose.

    The investment and free trade pacts, which Taiwan is discussing with a number of countries, are likely to be used by it to diplomatically counter China at a time when tensions between the two neighbours are on a rise.

    One of the groups set up by India and Taiwan met virtually earlier this year to discuss the free-trade agreement, Hindustan Times learnt from the sources. However, the group that is discussing semiconductor manufacturing has met twice in the same period, the report said.

    Semiconductor manufacturing key for India

    For India, semiconductor manufacturing is of utmost importance as the country’s requirement of electronic chips–essential in the production of an array of items ranging from cars to smartphones–is expected to meteorically shoot up over the next couple of years.

  • Explained: What to look at before investing in ESG funds

    Environment, social responsibility, and corporate governance have of late emerged as key themes for investors in India. The asset size of ESG funds has ballooned nearly five times to Rs 12,300 crore over the last couple of years. Earlier this week, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) launched NSE Prime, a framework that allows companies to submit to standards of corporate governance that are higher than those required by existing regulations.

    Market experts say investors in funds and companies would do well to keep the factors of environmental sustainability, social responsibility, and corporate governance in mind for long-term sustainability of investment returns. However, some are sceptical of the possibility of “greenwashing”, and of fund managers over-weighing certain stocks once other options are deemed non-compliant with ESG investment parameters.

    The expression is used synonymously with sustainable and socially responsible investing. While selecting a stock for investment, an ESG fund shortlists companies that score high on environment, social responsibility, and corporate governance, and then looks at financial factors. With the overall increase in awareness, and with regulations moving in this direction, investors are re-evaluating traditional approaches and considering the impact of their decisions on the planet.

    As ESG funds gain momentum in India, companies will be forced to improve governance and ethical practices, and act with greater social and environmental responsibility, fund managers say. As the policy framework changes, companies that do not alter business models or become more environmentally sustainable, could have their revenue and profits impacted in the long term, they say. Globally, many pension funds and sovereign wealth funds do not invest in companies that are seen as polluting or socially not responsible.

    One of these is the possibility of “greenwashing”, understood as an act of conveying a “false impression or providing misleading information about how a company’s products are more environmentally sound”.

    In an agenda note published on December 21 on ‘How to address sustainable investment backlash and improve ESG reporting’, the World Economic Forum noted that greenwashing is a top concern among global institutional investors, “cited by six in 10 respondents as an issue when selecting sustainable investments, according to a Schroders Institutional Investor study. It’s also been known to be a problem for retail investors, who especially struggle to decipher complex ESG investments”.

    Investment experts have also pointed to the tendency of fund managers to over-weigh certain stocks and companies in a situation where most large investment-friendly companies have fallen short of the qualitative and quantitative parameters used for ESG investing.

  • Amazon sues financial crime agency in latest twist of Indian battle

    Amazon.com Inc is taking India’s financial crime fighting agency to court, seeking to quash an investigation into one of its 2019 deals, a court filing seen by Reuters shows.India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED) has for months been probing Amazon’s $200 million investment in India’s Future Group for suspected violations of foreign investment laws.

    The investment is at the centre of protracted legal battles, as Amazon has used the terms of that deal – and cited contract breaches by Future – to stall the $3.4 billion sale of the Indian company’s retail assets to a rival.

    In an 816-page filing, seen by Reuters, Amazon calls the investigation a “fishing and roving” inquiry, saying the ED had sought privileged legal advice and opinions from Amazon and other information not connected to the Future Group deal.

    Multiple Amazon executives, including its India head, had been summoned by the ED in recent weeks and the investigation had caused “unnecessary harassment,” the U.S. e-commerce giant said in its filing to the Delhi High Court on Dec. 21.

    “The directions by the ED asking for disclosure of legally privileged documents and litigation privilege information is derogatory of the principles” laid out in Indian constitution, Amazon said in the filing, which is not public.

    “The investigation is a fishing and roving exercise.”

    Amazon and the ED, which does not make details of its investigations public, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The case will likely be heard on Thursday.

    The filing is the latest twist in the long-running dispute between Amazon and Future. Though India’s antitrust body suspended their 2019 deal last week, saying Amazon had suppressed information when seeking approvals for it, the ED’s probe is independent of that.

    The dispute centres around three commercial agreements signed between Future and Amazon entities, which a Singapore arbitration panel – also hearing the dispute – has said must be read together when reviewing the transaction.

    Future contends conflating the commercial agreements would effectively mean the deal violated Indian law.

    Amazon’s court filing contained a notice from the ED dated Feb. 19 which sought details of its investment in Future, including copies of agreements, bank account details and other related internal communication.

    It also showed the ED is conducting a far wider probe, and had sought details of big vendors on Amazon’s e-commerce website in India, including sales numbers for those that account for more than 5% of total sales on Amazon.in.

    The notice came after a February Reuters investigation which found Amazon helped a small number of sellers prosper on its Indian platform, giving them discounted fees and using them to bypass foreign investment laws.

    Amazon said at the time it was confident it complied with regulations and that it “does not give preferential treatment to any seller on its marketplace.”

  • RBI rejects Religare Finvest’s proposal to rename itself

    The Reserve Bank of India rejected Religare Finvest Ltd’s proposal to rename itself Care Financial Services and declined to new management status to the existing management – a move that would derail debt restructuring of the finance company, said people aware of the matter.

    As per the RBI’s regulations, lenders cannot restructure loans of borrowers tagged as fraud, unless there is a change in management. Lenders have tagged its parent company Religare Enterprises Ltd (REL) as fraud.

    Religare Finvest itself filed a case of financial irregularities against REL and have also proposed a debt recast plan with REL as its promoter company. “There is a dichotomy here and this may be a reason for the banking regulator to reject the change in management status,” one of the persons quoted above said.

    Religare Finvest is under a corrective action plan (CAP) since January 2018, which restricts it from expanding business, including giving new loans. The existing board is seeking new management status since the old promoters, the Singh brothers, are no longer in control of the existing board. Also, a new management status would encourage its lenders to restructure its debt, the people said.

    Separately, to clean its books Religare Finvest on Wednesday declared Asset Reconstruction Company of India as the winning bidder for its ₹480-500 crore distressed loan auction. Arcil had offered ₹180-190 crore for the SME portfolio, said a third person aware of the deal.

    Religare did not respond to requests for comments.

    Meanwhile, some existing lenders are of the view that recast of the loan is possible only after the regulator removes the company from CAP, the people quoted above said.

    Last year, the insurance regulator permitted Religare Health Insurance to rename it as Care Health Insurance. However, the banking regulator was against a name change of a loss-making finance company, said the first person.

    In March 2020, Religare Finvest itself filed a case alleging financial irregularities against its former management following which a first information report against Religare Enterprises and its promoters, siblings Malvinder and Shivinder Mohan Singh, was filed.

    Subsequently, it submitted a debt recast plan with REL continuing to be its promoter company, according to the annual report of REL for FY21. “A proposed debt recast with the same management as a promoter that is tagged as fraud is not acceptable to RBI,” said one of the lenders aware of the matter.

    In March 2020, RBI rejected TCG Advisory’s proposal to acquire a stake in Religare Finvest and its housing finance subsidiary on grounds that the acquirer is not fit and proper.

    Subsequently, it submitted a debt recast plan with FEL continuing to be its promoter company, according to the annual report of REL for FY21. “A proposed debt recast with the same management as a promoter that is tagged as fraud is not acceptable to RBI,” said one of the lenders aware of the matter.

    Religare Finvest, which focuses on funding small and medium enterprises (SME), has ₹2,787 crore outstanding rated loans. State Bank of India has the highest exposure of ₹500 crore followed by Canara Bank at ₹485 crore


  • Private Advisor Group reels in new investor capital

    LPL Financial’s largest affiliated branch office, Private Advisor Group, said on Friday that Merchant Investment Management had taken a non-controlling minority stake in the firm.

    Merchant Investment Management is a private partnership that invests in growth companies and other opportunities. According to its website, Merchant Investment Management this year has focused on investing in the wealth management industry.

    It is the first outside investor for Private Advisor Group, which is based in Morristown, New Jersey, and has about 700 financial advisers with $30 billion in client assets. The firm recently has been ranked by Barron’s newspaper as a top ten RIA in the country.

    Terms of the deal were not released, but the firm’s CEO, Robert “R.J.” Moore, said in an interview Tuesday morning that Merchant was not buying existing shares from partners, but investing growth capital into the firm.

    That makes this type of investment different from private equity buyers, Moore said.

  • Turkey: Stock trading halted again due to rapid losses

    Turkish stocks extended their losses following Friday’s rout, prompting a fresh automatic trading halt after the lira slid to a record low.

    The Borsa Istanbul 100 Index tumbled 5%, after climbing as much as 3.1% earlier. Trading was set to restart at 4:23 p.m. Istanbul time, according to the bourse’s statement.

    This is the second session in a row that Turkish equities’ trading is halted due to rapid losses. The benchmark plunged as much as 9.1% on Friday, triggering automatic circuit breakers during the second-steepest selloff of the year. The slump was made worse by high levels of margin trading among local investors who have borrowed funds to join a recent rally in stocks.

    Calls on margins “led to snowballing losses” on Friday, turning a price correction into “panic selling,” said Tuna Cetinkaya, assistant general manager at the Info Yatirim brokerage.

    The lira’s 58% decline this year in the wake of 500 basis points of central bank rate cuts has sent local investors flocking to stocks to shield their savings, making Istanbul among the best-performing markets of 2021 in local currency terms, but the worst when measured in U.S. dollars.

    The lira tumbled to another record low on Monday after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pledged to continue cutting interest rates, referring to Islamic proscriptions on usury as a basis for his policy.

    Discount grocer BIM Birlesik Magazalar AS underperformed, while telecom operator Turk Telekom was among the only four stocks that gained.