Month: February 2022

Adani Wilmar IPO subscribed over 17 times on final day

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

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Adani Wilmar’s initial public offering (IPO) worth up to Rs 3,600 crore was subscribed more than 17 times the shares on offer on Monday, the final day of the bidding process. The IPO of edible oil major Adani Wilmar – a 50:50 joint venture between the Adani Group and Singapore’s Wilmar Group – had opened for subscription on January 27.

At the end of the day, the Adani Wilmar IPO received bids for 212.9 crore shares as against the 12.3 crore shares on offer, exchange data showed. That meant an overall subscription of 17.4 times.

The portions reserved for qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) and non-institutional investors (NIIs) saw bookings of 5.7 times and 56 times respectively. The quota meant for retail investors was subscribed 3.9 times.

Out of the total IPO, 50 percent of the shares were reserved for QIBs, 15 percent for NIIs and the remaining 35 percent for retail investors.

Adani Wilmar shares are likely to be listed on stock exchanges BSE and NSE next week.

Adani Wilmar shares were available for bidding in a price range of Rs 218–230 in multiples of 65 under the IPO. The company’s employees got a discount of Rs 21.

The company aims to use the proceeds from the share sale to fund capex, prepayment/repayment of borrowings, strategic acquisitions and investments, and for general corporate purposes, according to its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP).

Ahead of the IPO, Adani Wilmar said it had raised Rs 940 crore from anchor investors by allocating shares at Rs 230 apiece.

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

London Eye: Cornered Boris Johnson fights on

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

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LONDON: Prime Minister Boris Johnson is continuing to fight on — bravely as some see it, brazenly as the opposition does — after a damning report into “gatherings” at 10 Downing SAtreet through the lockdown.

The report by civil servant Sue Gray found “failure of leadership and judgment” in holding these gatherings at Downing Street when the rules for the rest of the country, announced from Downing Street, did not allow such gatherings for the rest. “There was too little thought given to what was happening across the country in considering the appropriateness of some of these gatherings,” Gray’s report says. In this Gray found “a serious failure to observe…high standards.”

The report presented is only a summary of the findings, given the restrictions imposed by the police on what she could say on matters they are investigating. But her conclusions are stark.

Against the backdrop of the pandemic, “when the Government was asking citizens to accept far-reaching restrictions on their lives, some of the behaviour surrounding these gatherings is difficult to justify,” she says. “At least some of the gatherings in question represent a serious failure to observe not just the high standards expected of those working at the heart of Government but also of the standards expected of the entire British population at the time.”

Gray notes: “There were failures of leadership and judgment by different parts of No 10 and the Cabinet Office at different times. Some of the events should not have been allowed to take place. Other events should not have been allowed to develop as they did.”

Gray clearly found evidence of a lot of drinking taking place at these gatherings at 10 Downing Street. “The excessive consumption of alcohol is not appropriate in a professional workplace at any time. Steps must be taken to ensure that every Government Department has a clear and robust policy in place covering the consumption of alcohol in the workplace.”

That does raise the question how a “gathering” where a lot of alcohol is being consumed differs from a party.

Staff who wanted to complain about all this were gagged, she finds. “Some staff wanted to raise concerns about behaviours they witnessed at work but at times felt unable to do so. No member of staff should feel unable to report or challenge poor conduct where they witness it. There should be easier ways for staff to raise such concerns informally, outside of the line management chain.”

Not in the report

The details of events are not included in the report because Gray says she does not wish to prejudice the police investigation under way. “Unfortunately, this necessarily means that I am extremely limited in what I can say about those events and it is not possible at present to provide a meaningful report setting out and analysing the extensive factual information I have been able to gather.”

But the brief five-page report does include a reminder that she has all the information anyone could need about these gatherings.

“Extensive substantive factual information is now available and has been compiled by me and my team to fulfil my obligation to establish the facts,” she says in her report. “The investigative work is now essentially complete.”

Gray says she has shared all this information with the police. “I have also been asked to retain all the other information collected in the course of this work, which I have confirmed that I will do. I will therefore ensure the secure storage and safekeeping of all the information gathered until such time as it may be required further.”

Boris Johnson

Facing an opposition onslaught in Parliament, Boris Johnson said he accepts the findings of the report and that he will carry out changes in No: 10 accordingly. He has declared meanwhile that he is getting on with the larger task of running the country and pushing its interests abroad, beginning with a visit to Ukraine.

But his own attendance at a gathering in his garden, at which guests were asked to bring their own booze, is under police investigation now. As are two other parties held at a flat in Downing Street.

Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer said the Prime Minister is now the subject of a criminal investigation and demanded he resign. “He’s finally fallen back on his usual excuse,” he said in Parliament. “It’s everyone’s fault but his.”

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

Budget 2022: A clarion call to make India the highest growing economy

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

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CY’21 has been challenging yet remarkable in many ways. The pandemic strongly underscored the need for equanimous and robust digital interventions, in an era where developing countries could soundly pip developed countries based on their agility, flexibility, resilience, hunger to innovate and their focus on equality (digital, social, economic and others).

As digital technologies took the centre stage, India’s journey to become the digital talent hub began. We have been witnessing recovery and revival as a developing economy, which is further estimated to grow at 9.2 percent this fiscal after contracting 7.3 percent during FY2021. While micro, small, and medium enterprises were battered by COVID-19, large corporations fared better as they managed to cut costs, reduce debt, and earned higher profits. The next fiscal should see increased investment by big businesses.

Now, in order to sustain these signs of recovery, the need of the hour is a well-designed, pragmatic budget. The budget should help draw the path for India to become a $5 trillion economy and a $1 trillion digital economy. Currently, the Indian economy is pegged at $3.1 trillion, being the sixth-largest economy after the US, China, Japan, Germany, and the United Kingdom. What helped growth, were the supply-side measures taken by the government. The economic stimulus package of the government aimed at productivity-led growth with loans and advances to vulnerable businesses for working capital, interest subvention, and fund of funds for SMEs ensured that the nation’s balance sheet was not impacted.

All said, we are on the right track and need focused investments and reforms through schemes and spending to bolster digital and physical infrastructure, address health sector concerns, enrich education, and boost the start-up ecosystem. Some of the growth needed for hitting the $5 trillion target is expected to be driven by the Make in India and Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes of the government.

The government’s focus on ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ by promoting ‘Make in India’ has helped India maintain its growth momentum. The focus on domestic manufacturing using the Production-linked Incentive (PLI) scheme has also worked. Already, some of the biggest names in the world across industries have drawn up plans to invest in 13 sectors that the government has announced for such investments.

So, what are the specific expectations of the industry from the Union Budget?

We look forward to seeing focused initiatives to boost consumer sentiment, accelerate infrastructure development including smart grids and smart cities, and increased investments in key areas such as healthcare, network modernisation, financial inclusion, and skilling. We think that developing manufacturing, infrastructure, and e-commerce sectors, which are large employment generators having a trickle-down effect on many industries including SME and MSME, should remain a priority. Reforms supporting exports, technology adoption, and putting India on Net-Zero path are on the wish list as well.

Further, we expect the government to double its initiatives that propel technology adoption, R&D, and innovation. Some of these are in the works in the form of the Data Protection Bill and the Science Technology and Innovation Policy.

The promotion of R&D will be a critical facet of our growth, and the time has come to take big and bold decisions which can unlock the latent talent in our country. For example, the introduction of a matching grant scheme for consortiums intending to undertake joint R&D projects in certain emerging areas will help in promoting R&D in India. Under this scheme, the government can look at providing grants equal to the R&D expenses that the consortium agrees to spend. The scheme could be funded through the National Research Foundation, which was established pursuant to recommendations of the Draft National Education Policy 2019.

This would not only have a multiplier effect on job creation but also enrich the innovation landscape vastly. We think the budget should be the clarion call to make India the fastest growing economy in 2022. It should aid India to unleash its potential to the fullest in the years to come and address the challenges faced by businesses, thereby propelling India’s ambition to become an ‘Atmanirbhar’ $5-trillion economy by 2025.

Drive the golden age of start-up

The government is expected to focus more on start-ups and unicorns in the coming budget. That’s because last year alone 43 start-ups became unicorns (valued at $1 billion or more) and there is hope that this year should see at least 50 start-ups joining the Indian unicorn league. Moreover, in the past couple of years, start-ups have emerged as big employers.

However, for consistent growth, there is a need to create a special clause, in existing start-up funds like Fund-of-Funds of SIDBI, to reserve funds for start-ups that are innovating for India-specific problems in areas like Agri-tech and rural development.

According to NASSCOM, the start-up ecosystem is expected to add an additional 250 scale-ups by 2025 in Edtech, Logistics, Automotive, Fintech and Healthtech. It is time the government began assisting start-ups through policies and support mechanisms focused on providing a favourable investment climate, especially in smaller towns to help create more jobs there. It should also work towards creating incentives to set up start-up incubators in every state.

It would be relevant for the government to consider the taxation of ESOPs. Employee stock option plans (ESOPs) can play a vital role in the compensation strategy of employees of start-ups. Currently, less than 1 percent of DPIIT recognized start-ups are eligible to defer tax liability on ESOPs. In order to ensure that more start-ups benefit from this, it will be important to allow tax deferment benefit on ESOPs issued by all DPIIT recognized start-ups (instead of Inter-Ministerial Board-certified startups). Further, ESOPs should be taxed only at the time of sale of shares in order to avoid liquidity issues for employees.

Already many start-ups that were unicorns have become decacorns–valuation greater than or equal to $10 billion. It is incumbent upon us as an industry, and as a country to ensure that we build systems that can leverage the talent and aspiration of our youth. Therefore, beneficial policies pertaining to startups, can help unlock a $5 trillion potential.

Helping MSMEs become the growth engine of the Indian Economy

One of the sectors that has been massively impacted by the pandemic is the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). What provided succour to MSMEs has been the Rs 4.5 lakh crore Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS). Already banks are seeking an extension of the ECLGS by at least one more year to continue providing relief to MSMEs. It remains to be seen if the finance minister accedes to the suggestion.

The spread of start-ups and improved status of MSMEs will help India rise to be one of the technology engines of the world. That’s critical because according to a NASSCOM report, data and artificial intelligence (AI) could add $400-500 billion to India’s GDP by 2025. However, the problem is that only 2.5 percent of engineers in India possess technical skill in AI according to a survey by Aspiring Minds, a job skills firm. The World Economic Forum estimates that AI is expected to create 133 million fresh jobs by 2022. That can happen only if the government introduces reforms focussed on e-learning, skills, and employment. That will in turn encourage universities to integrate new-age skills in their curriculum.

These efforts should help India emerge as the fastest growing economy. The time is ripe for India to move to a faster trajectory of growth – the time is NOW to leverage each opportunity that comes our way. And all of this could be driven by the Budget of ‘hope’ 2022.

—The author, Jagdish Mitra, is Chief Strategy Officer & Head of Growth, Tech Mahindra. Views expressed are personal

Read more from CNBC-TV18’s budget coverage

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

US stock markets closing: How S&P 500, Dow Jones, Nasdaq, Russell 2000 fared on Monday

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

The US stock markets closed higher on Monday amid Russia-Ukraine tension and worries over imminent interest-rate hikes.

The S&P 500 is down 5.9 percent since setting a record exactly four weeks ago. It lost 5.3 percent this month, the worst since falling 12.5 percent in March 2020, when it hit bottom after the pandemic shut down the global economy.

US stock markets closing on Monday:

The S&P 500 rose 83.70 points, or 1.9%, to 4,515.55.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 406.39 points, or 1.2%, to 35,131.86.

The Nasdaq rose 469.31 points, or 3.4%, to 14,239.88.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 59.94 points, or 3%, to 2,028.45

US stock markets for the year:

The S&P 500 is down 250.63 points, or 5.3%.

The Dow is down 1,206.44 points, or 3.3%.

The Nasdaq is down 1,405.09 points, or 9%.

The Russell 2000 is down 216.86 points, or 9.7%.

–With agency inputs

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

Stock Market Highlights: Sensex ends 848 pts higher, Nifty reclaims 17,550 as market cheers FM Sitharaman’s Budget

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

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Stock Market Highlights: Indian equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty50 ended sharply higher on February 1 after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Union Budget for FY23 was widely perceived to be growth-oriented with focus on infrastructure. Gains across most sectors pushed the headline indices higher, with finanial, IT, consumer and metal shares being the top boosts. Losses in auto and energy shares played spoilsport. The Nifty Midcap 100 rose 1.1 percent and and the Nifty Smallcap 100 0.6 percent.

Catch highlights of the Budget day session on Dalal Street, and more, here:

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

Budget 2022 Highlights: FM Sitharaman defends no change in income tax slabs; P Chidambaram calls speech most capitalist ever

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Budget 2022 Highlights: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented her fourth Union Budget and the Narendra Modi government’s 10th budget on Monday.  The FM unveiled a bigger Rs 39.45 lakh crore Budget in Parliament on Tuesday, with higher spending in areas like highways and affordable housing with a view to fire up the key engines of the economy to sustain a world-beating recovery from the pandemic. However, no relief to the salaried class has been given in relation to income tax slabs and other forms of rebates. India Inc has however termed FM Sitharaman’s second pandemic Budget as growth-oriented and said it exudes a fine balancing act with an increase in capital expenditure while maintaining fiscal discipline. The budget comes amid the ongoing state assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur as well as omicron-led third wave in the country.

Follow live updates on Budget 2022 here

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