Category: Business

China’s Didi Chuxing launches ride service in Mexico

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Chinese ride-hailing firm Didi Chuxing on Monday began offering its service in the Mexican city of Toluca, the company said, setting up a potentially costly battle with rival Uber Technologies Inc in a key Latin American market.

The Mexican launch marks the first time Didi has brought its own app-based ride service outside of Asia, a critical global expansion that comes as the company faces increased competition at home from internet giant Meituan-Dianping, which recently launched its own ride-hailing service.

Didi Express has launched in the capital city of the State of Mexico, an urban hub about 40 miles (60 km) west of Mexico City, adding a number of new safety features for drivers and riders.

Reuters was first to report Didi’s plans for Toluca earlier this month.

In Mexico, Didi will go up against Uber, its chief international rival, for the first time since Uber’s launch in China that ended with a merger of the two companies’ operations in 2016. Uber is the ride-hailing leader in Mexico, where it has 7 million users in more than three dozen cities.

Didi, which has an operations hub in the Juarez neighborhood in Mexico City, said it hopes to bring its ride-hailing service to other major Mexican cities later this year.

Didi said teams in Mexico, Beijing and California studied the Mexican market to adapt Didi’s algorithms and other ride-service technologies for the local market, addressing issues such as crime.

Didi is bringing to Mexico a number of new safety features, including an emergency alert button in the app that will connect drivers and passengers with police and other emergency contacts if they find themselves in danger, a safety monitoring system and a way for passengers to share their ride itinerary.

The company started recruiting drivers early this month, promising not to take any piece of their fares until June 17. After mid-June, Didi plans to take a 20 percent cut, below Uber’s 25 percent commission, Reuters previously reported.

Didi late last year bought Brazilian ride-hailing firm 99, giving the company its first toehold in Latin America.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Ad sales surge at Google parent Alphabet, but so do costs

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Strong growth in ad sales on Google search and YouTube were not enough to offset a surge in costs at parent Alphabet Inc that shrank the first-quarter operating margin, leaving shares flat after hours on Monday.

Alphabet got a boost from how it values investments in Uber Technologies Inc and other startups. That accounting change and a one-time benefit cut its effective tax rate nearly in half.

Investors are uncertain about future profit at Alphabet as the company navigates the move to a phone-based computing world and invests in small, fast-growing initiatives from self-driving cars to selling hardware and cloud computing services. The quarterly results did not clarify the outlook.

Alphabet’s operating margin of 22 percent, down from 27 percent a year ago, missed expectations because of the growth in expenses.

Alphabet is investing to keep pace with Amazon.com Inc and having to share more of its revenue with phone and browser makers, said James Cordwell, analyst at Atlantic Equities.

“The jump in profits is purely due to one-time items,” he said.

Longer-term capital expenditures nearly tripled to $7.3 billion in the first quarter from $2.5 billion a year ago.

Still, worldwide sales increased to $31.1 billion, above the average analysts’ estimate of $30.3 billion, according to Thomson Reuters.

Those ad sales showed investors that there were no immediate signs that rising global privacy concerns had affected profits, even as concerns over Facebook Inc’s use of privacy cast some suspicion on Google.

Officials across the world seek to force changes in Google’s business practices, such as giving customers more control over their data.

“The strong economy has companies spending more on advertising,” said analyst Ivan Feinseth from Tigress Financial Partners. “Google continues to dominate both mobile and desktop search” and there will be “very little effect” from Facebook privacy data fallout, he said.

Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai told analysts Monday that, “It’s important to understand that most of our ad business is search, where we rely on very limited information, essentially what is in the keywords to show a relevant ad.”

STARTUP INVESTMENTS BOOST PROFITS

Alphabet’s quarterly profit of $9.4 billion, or $13.33 per share, exceeded estimates of $6.56 billion, or $9.28 per share, according to Thomson Reuters.

About $2.4 billion in earnings were attributable to a new accounting method for unrealized gains in Alphabet’s investments in startups such as Uber and Airbnb Inc. Alphabet now records estimates of the current value of its startup investments rather than waiting to report income once it has opportunity to sell those shares.

That change and a one-time benefit drove the effective tax rate in the quarter to 11 percent from 20 percent a year earlier.

Excluding the investment-related gains and other items, adjusted earnings were $9.93 per share.

Google had several one-time costs including acquiring 2,000 employees in Taiwan for $1.1 billion from HTC Corp and moving up when it awards equity to employees.

Continuing cost increases came from acquiring streaming rights for YouTube’s new TV service and marketing new products.

Google executives say the spending to install powerful computers and internet cables is necessary to keep up with demand for YouTube, its Google Assistant virtual helper service and data analytics tools within its Google Cloud services.

Revenue from Google’s non-advertising units was $4.4 billion in the first quarter.

Alphabet is paring back on “other bets,” a set of ancillary projects in areas such as medical technology and drones. Operating loss from “other bets” fell to $571 million, from $703 million a year ago.

Investors are counting on one other bet, the Waymo self-driving vehicles effort, to generate noteworthy revenue this year as it begins offering ride-hailing services.

Google revealed smart thermostat maker Nest generated about $726 million in revenue in 2017, above some analysts’ estimates. Financial results for Nest had not been released since its acquisition in 2014.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Create niche experiences for tourists, recommends Ficci-Yes Bank report

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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There is a need to create new and unique themes to promote tourism and also provide niche experiences to international tourists, a Ficci-Yes Bank report on tourism said.

Additionally, new forms of niche tourism like medical and wellness, religious and spiritual tourism should also be encouraged, said the report on ‘India Inbound Tourism: Decoding Strategies for Next Stage of Growth’, released by Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje here on Monday after inaugurating the 10th edition of the Great Indian Travel Bazaar 2018 from April 22-24.

The report recommends emphasis on creating a comprehensive ecosystem, citing examples of Rajasthan, West Bengal, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, among others.

These states have taken initiatives like developing new forms of tourism, creating new tourism marketing campaigns, sustainable use of existing resources and much more.

The paper lists recommendations to strengthen inbound tourism in India.

Destination infrastructure, connectivity and technology are the key pillars that will drive the next stage of growth in the tourism sector, the report said.

The report said that while the figure of 10 million foreign tourist arrivals is a momentous occasion for the Indian tourism industry, it is also important to acknowledge the fact that it is just the tip of the iceberg.

While the initial growth surge has been fast, continuing this momentum will require a greater degree of policy dynamism as well as heightened synergy between multiple layers of the industry, the report added.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

ECB mulls shelving rules tackling euro zone’s bad loans pile

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The European Central Bank, after suffering a political backlash, is considering shelving planned rules that would have forced banks to set aside more money against their stock of unpaid loans.

The guidelines, which were expected by March, had been presented as a main plank of the ECB’s plan to bring down a 759 billion euro ($930 billion) pile of soured credit weighing on euro zone banks, particularly in Greece, Portugal and Italy.

The ECB was now considering whether further policies on legacy non-performing loans (NPLs) were necessary “depending on the progress made by individual banks”, an ECB spokeswoman said.

No decision had been made yet and the next steps were still being evaluated, she said.

Central Bank sources told Reuters that if the rules were scrapped, supervisors would look to continue putting pressure on problem banks using existing powers.

An alternative would be to hold off until the results of pan-European stress tests are published in November but this would be close to the end of Daniele Nouy’s mandate as the head of the ECB’s Single Supervisory Mechanism at the end of the year.

The SSM board will discuss the matter at a meeting next month, with a final decision expected in June, one source said.

A clean-up of banks’ balance sheets from toxic assets inherited from the financial crisis is a precondition for getting countries like Germany to agree on a common euro zone insurance on bank deposits.

And Andreas Dombret, the outgoing Bundesbank director in charge of banking supervision, said in an interview published on Monday that the ECB’s credibility was at stake.

“One cannot say that NPLs are one of the biggest risk for the European banking sector and a top priority and then fail to act,” he told Boersen-Zeitung.

“It’s about the credibility of the SSM,” he said, calling for a “timely proposal”.

But the ECB has received push-back on a separate set of guidelines on loans that sour in the future from several members of the European Parliament, particularly from Italy, and lobbyists.

These give banks seven years to provide for new bad loans that are backed by collateral and two for those that are not.

The ECB’s original plan envisaged applying similar guidelines to the stock of existing bad loans but this looks increasingly unlikely, the central bank sources said.

Lawmakers had objected that the ECB was encroaching on their prerogatives by passing rules that apply to all banks, rather than working on individual cases.

Eventually, these rules on the so-called “flow” of loans that sour were announced in somewhat softened form last month.

But an impact-assessment study by staff in the ECB’s monetary policy arm, which simulated the application of the “flow” rules on the full stock of unpaid loans currently sitting at euro zone banks, highlighted risks to the financial system.

The SSM, which is formally separated from the rest of the ECB, had come up with a more benign outcome by assuming banks would continue reducing their stock of bad loans, as they have done for the past two years.

This has been the result of pressure from the ECB as well as a brisk economic upswing in the euro zone, which has helped borrowers as well as luring buyers for those loans.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Jet Airways-AeroMexico to operate codeshare flights from May

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Airline major Jet Airways on Monday said that it will operate flights between India and Mexico under a ‘codeshare agreement’ with AeroMexico.

According to the company, the agreement enables codeshare sales effective from Monday “for travel commencing May 1, 2018 between Delhi and Mumbai in India and Mexico City via the Heathrow Airport in London”.

“This agreement will provide guests connectivity options and access to the networks of both airlines, thus strengthening connectivity between the carriers’ home countries of India and Mexico,” the airline said in a statement.

“The two countries have seen a 15 per cent compounded annual growth rate over the last three years and this codeshare arrangement will further help strengthen ties in the areas of trade and tourism between both regions.”

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Wells Fargo fined $1B for mortgage, auto lending abuses

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Wells Fargo will pay $1 billion to federal regulators to settle charges tied to misconduct at its mortgage and auto lending business, the latest punishment levied against the banking giant for widespread customer abuses.

In a settlement announced Friday, Wells will pay $500 million to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), its main national bank regulator, as well as a net $500 million to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The fine is the largest ever imposed by the CFPB and its first since the Trump administration took control of the bureau in late November.

Starting in September 2016, Wells has admitted to a number of abusive practices across multiple parts of its business that duped consumers out of millions of dollars. Regulators, in turn, have fined Wells several times and put unprecedented restrictions on its ability to do business, including forcing the bank to replace directors on its board. Even President Trump, whose administration has been keenly focused on paring back financial regulations, has called out Wells for its “bad acts.”

In Friday’s announcement, the CFPB and the OCC penalised Wells for improperly charging fees to borrowers who wanted to lock in an interest rate on a pending mortgage loan and for sticking auto loan customers with insurance policies they didn’t want or need. The bank admitted that tens of thousands of customers who could not afford the combined auto loan and extra insurance payment fell behind on their payments and had their cars repossessed.

These abuses are separate from Wells Fargo’s well-known sales practices scandal, where employees opened as many as 3.5 million bank and credit card accounts without getting customers’ authorisation. The account scandal torpedoed Wells Fargo’s reputation as the nation’s best-run bank.

In that case, Wells Fargo paid a combined $187 million in fines and penalties to federal regulators, including the CFPB, and the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office, and the company’s then-CEO John Stumpf stepped down after being bashed by politicians on both side of the aisle.

Even with the latest settlement, Wells Fargo isn’t in the clear. Its wealth management business is reportedly under investigation for improprieties similar to those that impacted its consumer bank. And the Department of

Justice is investigating the bank’s currency trading business.
The $500 million paid to the Comptroller of the Currency will go directly to the US Treasury, according to the order. The $500 million paid to the CFPB will go into the bureau’s civil penalties fund, which is used to help consumers who might have been harmed in other cases. Wells has previously said it began reimbursing auto loan and mortgage customers last year.

The settlement imposes further restrictions on Wells Fargo’s business, a sign that regulators have lost patience with the bank’s promises to turn itself around. Wells will need to come up with a risk management plan to be approved by bank regulators, and get approval from bank regulators before hiring senior employees. The OCC said in a statement that one reason for the size of the fine against Wells was “the bank’s failure to correct the deficiencies and violations in a timely manner.”

The $500 million fine matches the largest fine ever handed out by the Comptroller of the Currency against HSBC in 2012.

The Federal Reserve cracked down on Wells earlier this year by restricting it from growing larger than the $1.95 trillion in assets that it held at the time and requiring the bank to replace several directors on its board. The Federal Reserve cited “widespread abuses” for taking such an action.

“While we have more work to do, these orders affirm that we share the same priorities with our regulators and that we are committed to working with them as we deliver our commitments with focus, accountability, and transparency,” said Wells Fargo CEO Tim Sloan in a statement Friday.

The action by the CFPB is notable because the penalty is the first imposed by the bureau under Mick Mulvaney, appointed by President Trump to take over the consumer watchdog agency in late November. The largest fine previously handed down by the CFPB was a $100 million penalty also against Wells Fargo.

While banks have benefited from looser regulations and lower taxes under President Trump, Wells Fargo has been called out specifically by Trump as a bank that needed to be punished for its bad behaviour.

“Fines and penalties against Wells Fargo Bank for their bad acts against their customers and others will not be dropped, as has incorrectly been reported, but will be pursued and, if anything, substantially increased. I will cut Regs but make penalties severe when caught cheating!,” Trump wrote on Twitter back in December.

The White House said that, outside of his tweet, President Trump was not involved in the Wells Fargo investigation or settlement.

Consumer advocates have been critical of the Trump administration’s record since it took over the CFPB. However, advocates were pleased to see Wells Fargo held to account.

“Today’s billion dollar fine is an important development and a fitting penalty given the severity of Wells Fargo’s fraudulent and abusive practices,” said Pamela Banks, senior policy counsel for Consumers Union.

On Friday, Wells Fargo adjusted its previously reported first-quarter earnings to reflect the penalty. The nation’s third-largest bank now says it made $4.7 billion in the first 90 days of the year, down from $5.46 billion in the same period a year earlier.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Audit clears Facebook despite Cambridge Analytica leaks

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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An audit of Facebook’s privacy practices for the Federal Trade Commission found no problems even though the company knew at the time that a data-mining firm improperly obtained private data from millions of users — raising questions about the usefulness of such audits.

Facebook agreed to outside audits every two years as part of a 2011 settlement with the FTC over its privacy practices. It is not clear from the report whether the company informed PricewaterhouseCoopers, which performed the audit, of the Cambridge Analytica data grab that would put Facebook in the crosshairs of Congress.

The heavily redacted audit by PricewaterhouseCoopers is available on the FTC’s website. It covers February 12, 2015 to February 11, 2017.

PwC declined to comment, but Facebook said Friday that keeping data secure is a priority.

“We remain strongly committed to protecting people’s information, said Rob Sherman, Facebook’s deputy chief privacy officer, in a statement. “We appreciate the opportunity to answer questions the FTC may have.”

The fact that PwC found no issues raised red flags for privacy advocates.

“The FTC failed to protect the public,” said Jeffrey Chester, executive director of the nonprofit digital rights group Centre for Digital Democracy. “Instead of conducting its own review to enforce one of its most important decisions— the consent decree —it looked the other way, which allowed Facebook to engage in serious misconduct.”

Chester said the audit shows that the “FTC cannot be relied on to really protect consumers.”

The 2011 consent decree bound Facebook to a 20-year privacy commitment. Any violations of that pact could cost the company a ton of money. In his congressional testimony last week, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg appeared uninformed about key details of the agreement, saying he did not remember if it carried a financial penalty.

Any violations of the 2011 agreement could subject Facebook to fines of $41,484 per violation per user per day. To put that in context, Facebook could theoretically owe $8 billion for one single day violation affecting all of its American users, or about half of the profit that the company booked for all of last year.

The agreement requires that Facebook users give “affirmative express consent” any time that data they haven’t made public is shared with a third party. Cambridge Analytica accessed information from so many users (the firm puts the number at 30 million, although Facebook has said 87 million) because it was able to access the data of people’s friends, and not just people who explicitly permitted access when they took a personality quiz. While Facebook did have controls in place that allowed people to restrict such access, they are found buried in the site’s settings and are difficult to find.

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, a Democrat from Nevada, said during last week’s hearing that in her view, “these requirements were not met,” because user consent shouldn’t have been buried in privacy settings.

PwC disagreed.

“In our opinion, Facebook’s privacy controls were operating with sufficient effectiveness to provide reasonable assurance to protect the privacy of covered information and that the controls have so operated throughout the Reporting Period, in all material respects for the two years ended February 11, 2017,” the report states.

Facebook is also under a separate investigation by the FTC because of the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The agency is looking at whether Facebook has engaged in “unfair acts” that cause “substantial injury” to consumers.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

As doors close in the US, China’s Huawei shifts to Europe

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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As trade disputes simmer, Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei, the No. 3 smartphone brand, is shifting its growth efforts toward Europe and Asia in the face of mounting obstacles in the US market.

Shenzhen-based Huawei, the world’s largest maker of telecoms equipment, has long coveted access to the US but recently laid off key American employees at its Washington DC office.

The US has regularly stymied Huawei’s efforts to enter the America, citing national security concerns. Huawei has failed to find a U.S. carrier to partner with for its smartphones, and the Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday approved a draft order that could damage Huawei’s existing business in network gear. The order cited Huawei and its Chinese rival ZTE by name.

That came after Huawei canceled a planned January announcement that a major US carrier would sell its smartphones for the first time. The company gave no details but news reports said that partner was AT&T Inc. and scrapped the deal under government pressure.

Huawei’s struggles in the United States are in contrast to its booming business in developing countries and growing presence in Europe, where it has been working on next-generation, or “5G,” wireless standards. The company’s profits rose 28.1% in 2017, boosted by strong enterprise and consumer sales and booming business overseas.

The recent setbacks have left Huawei’s future in the US uncertain. Huawei recently let go of several American employees in their Washington DC office, including William Plummer, who spearheaded efforts to convince the US to allow Huawei in for nearly a decade. Though Huawei declined to comment on the layoffs, the news was first reported by the New York Times and independently confirmed by the Associated Press.

“There is no change to our business strategy in the US,” said Huawei spokesman Joe Kelly. “Any changes to staffing size or structure are simply a reflection of standard business optimisation.”

Kelly said fears that Huawei’s network equipment could be used to collect sensitive information reflected “baseless suspicion.” Experts say the concerns could be valid, but suspect they’re mainly a pretext for limiting competition and allowing US suppliers to charge higher prices.

“What we’ve seen so far suggests that there’s not a lot of concrete evidence that Huawei poses a national security threat,” said Josephine Wolff, Professor of Cybersecurity Policy at the Rochester Institute of Technology. “It leads a lot of people to believe that this is more about trying to protect the US tech sector.”

American companies have long chafed under Chinese regulations that require them to operate through local partners and share technology with potential competitors in exchange for market access.

Foreign companies are increasingly alarmed by initiatives such as Beijing’s long-range industry development plan, dubbed “Made in China 2025.” It calls for creating global leaders in electric cars, robots, and other fields.

“That sense that China is cultivating national champions, and cultivating companies within its own borders at the expense of other companies, has a lot of US companies concerned about how much their intellectual property rights will be safeguarded there,” Wolff said.

Huawei and ZTE’s burgeoning 5G research is seen as a particular threat, as its expanded transmitting capabilities are seen as crucial for a host of emerging technologies based on artificial intelligence – including self-driving vehicles, robots and other machines that transmit vast amounts of data in real time.

ZTE faces devastating threats to its business after the US Commerce Department blocked the company from importing American components for seven years, accusing the smartphone maker of misleading US regulators after it settled charges of violating sanctions against North Korea and Iran.

But unlike ZTE, efforts to impede Huawei in the US likely won’t stop its rapid expansion elsewhere.

Last month, Huawei’s president of consumer handsets Kevin Ho said the company is pivoting to Europe and developing Asian markets. He called them priorities “No. 1” and “No. 2.”

Huawei chose to unveil its latest flagship phone last month at the Grand Palais in Paris, while in Finland, the company employs more than 300 engineers developing cameras, audio algorithms, and 5G technology. Many used to work at Finnish rival Nokia.

Apart from expanding its clout on UN bodies that coordinate cellular technology standards, early on Huawei joined forces with European companies to develop 5G standards. In February, it completed the world’s first 5G test call in partnership with London-based Vodafone.

Still, while Chinese trade relations with Europe remain calm, Washington has been warning officials in Canada and Australia about Huawei, raising questions about the company’s long-term global prospects.

“Huawei is perceived differently in Europe but that’s definitely a risk for the company,” said Thomas Husson, principal analyst at technology research firm Forrester. “Let’s not forget Europeans can still try to push in favor of European-based solutions from Nokia or Ericsson.”

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Exclusive: Manipal-TPG holds the edge in race to buy Fortis Healthcare

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Manipal Hospitals, backed by private equity giant TPG, has the upper hand over four other bidders in the race to acquire Fortis Healthcare, as the deadline for submitting the binding offer nears, people familiar with the matter told CNBC-TV18.

The Manipal Hospital-TPG consortium retains ‘right to match’ the highest bid for Fortis Healthcare by way of their earlier agreement with the Fortis board.

Sources said that if a higher bid comes on April 24,  a day before before advisory committee meets, the ball will be in Manipal-TPG’s court to either exercise its ‘right to match’ in five days or let the Fortis board meet go ahead if they do not want to counter the bid.

Manipal-TPG and Fortis Healthcare declined comment to CNBC-TV18’s query.

As per the agreement, Manipal-TPG would get five days to match their offer in case a new binding offer comes in for Fortis by April 25 when the advisory panel will evaluate all binding bids.

Fortis Board had requested Manipal-TPG to waive of their ‘right to match’, but the group refused to do so, people said, requesting anonymity.

On Monday, Fortis Healthcare said that Hero Enterprise Investment and the Burman family have extended the validity of their improved, joint binding offer to invest Rs 1,500 crore in the company till May 4, PTI reported.

On April 18, Hero-Burman consortium improved their binding offer with a proposal to invest Rs 1,500 crore directly at a valuation of Rs 161.6 per share, from the earlier Rs 1,250 crore. They had stated that their improved offer was valid for five working days.

In the letter to the Fortis board, the two partners said that in the wake of a formation of an advisory committee to evaluate binding offers and recommend to the board for consideration by April 26, they were extending their deadline.

“…We are hereby extending the validity period till May 4, 2018 or as otherwise extended by us in writing and the term of validity period in the improved offer letter should be construed accordingly,” the letter said

Sources do not rule out a binding offer from KKR-Radiant which had entered the fray, post the Fortis board meet.

Malaysian giant IHH and Chinese company Fosun International had offered a non-binding bid but may find it hard to give a binding offer without time for due diligence, sources said.

Last week, the Fortis board had appointed an advisory committee to evaluate the offers made to buy out the company. The committee is headed by Deepak Kapoor, Former Chairman and CEO of Price Waterhouse Coopers, India.

On April 26, the board will decide the final winner for Fortis Healthcare after taking the opinion from the committee.

CNBC-TV18 was the first to highlight the severe deficiencies in the composition of the Fortis Healthcare board and argued that the board will have to appoint an independent committee to advise on the bids.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Hindustan Copper signs MoU with MOIL to create business synergy

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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State-run Hindustan Copper Ltd (HCL) on Monday said it has signed an MoU with Manganese Ore (India) Ltd (MOIL), to create long term business synergy for both the Central Public Sector Enterprises.

The agreement was inked by HCL’s Chairman and Managing Director Santosh Sharma and MOIL’s chief Mukund Chaudhary.

According to a statement, the MoU was signed on Sunday at Malanjkhand Copper Project located at Madhya Pradesh’s Balaghat district and in terms of the agreement, the MOIL will procure its entire requirement of silica sand, used for backfilling of its mines, from HCL’s unit.

High grade silica sand is an outcome of the beneficiation of copper ore tails, a waste generated during copper beneficiation process at Malanjkhand Copper Project.

“A copper ore tailing (COT) beneficiation plant is going to be commissioned at Malanjkhand by HCL which is expected to generate high grade silica sand to the tune of 5,500 tonnes per day. This sand will be suitable for road making, construction of building, etc. and is also likely to be used in glass industries after further refining,” the statement said.

This project is in sync with promoting business synergy among the Public Sector Enterprises as advised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow