Tag: Business

Tencent revenue stalls in first quarter over freeze on new game licences

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

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Chinese gaming and social media giant Tencent Holdings reported virtually no growth in first-quarterly revenue, its worst-ever such performance, and also missed market estimates as China’s economic slowdown and a freeze on new game licences weighed on its business.

Revenue totalled 135.5 billion yuan ($20.08 billion) in the quarter ended March, versus 135.3 billion yuan in the same quarter last year, and below an average estimate of 141 billion yuan from 16 analysts, according to Refinitiv.

Tencent, which makes much of its money by developing games such as ‘Honour of Kings’ and ‘Call of Duty Mobile’, said profit attributable to equity holders of the company for the quarter also fell 51%. It marks the biggest profit decline since the company went public in 2004, according to Refinitiv data.

The slowing pace of growth tracks two previous quarters of softening sales. Tencent — China’s most valuable company — has seen expansion opportunities clipped by a regulatory crackdown by Beijing to rein in the influence of large internet firms.

The Shenzhen-based tech giant has been impacted by user spending on games normalising after a surge over the past two years. Meanwhile, a COVID-19 resurgence in China has also dampened payment activities.

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

Storyboard18 x Just Sports | How TCS approaches sports sponsorships and marketing?

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

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Over the past two years, lockdowns and restrictions continued to disrupt our lives. But tough times couldn’t deter us from exercise and sports. More than ever, we found time for activities like yoga and weight training at home and as soon as the world unlocked, running, cycling, walking and other fitness activities became a routine and much needed break from virtual meets.

After two years, many sporting events have returned with spectators and participative events flagging off as per schedule with participants returning with revenge. For runners particularly, the highlight of the year is the return of major running events. One such event was the TCS World 10K that took place recently.

The event saw close to 20,000 runners take to the streets of Bengaluru with participation from across the country and some international runners as well. Many came to catch up with their running buddies after a gap of two years, while many others came with determination to race and compete, achieve their personal running goals that had been postponed. The excitement was palpable at the start line, during the race and post the event. A part of all this action were many brands who were present on ground.

Being the title sponsor of this event which is also one of the biggest 10 K events in the world, TCS’s logo was splashed across the city of Bengaluru. Ahead of the event, Storyboard18 caught up with Rajashree R, chief marketing officer of TCS, to gauge the excitement around the event. She spoke about how when it comes to running, there is no other brand that has dominated a sport like TCS.

In the year 2021 itself, the brand added the TCS London Marathon and the Waterfront Marathon to its roster of 11 running sponsorships including the highly popular TCS New York City Marathon. In the year gone by, the IT major also announced a partnership for the Jaguar TCS racing team and Formula-E motorsports and also made its way into the field of golf by partnering with the Dutch Open.

In an exclusive conversation as part of Storyboard18’s month in focus- Just Sports, Rajashree R shares the brand’s approach when it comes to sponsorships.

Edited excerpts.

You have title sponsored events across different markets now. New York and London, which are World Marathon Majors. Then Amsterdam, Toronto and Bengaluru and many events that you associate with as a technology partner. How exactly do you choose these events? What is the deciding factor?

If you look at the recent past, you would have hardly seen a brand dominate a sport as we do with marathons. Brands sponsor an off football game or an odd tennis event. But we are today a primary source behind marathons.

We are sponsoring around 14 marathons across the world. Right from Canberra to Amsterdam to London. As a runner you would know, New York and London are the top billing marathons in the world. It is a reflection of that and of course this is where our customers are, our own employees are. It is a no brainer, if you ask me.

Some of these sponsorships and partnerships are up for renewal after a few years. What keeps you interested?

It is a long term commitment for us. The good thing about a marathon is that it is a very inclusive sport. You look at some of the other sports, they are not as inclusive as a marathon is. You see millions of runners wearing a TCS badge and running on the Brooklyn bridge, it gives you goosebumps! Not just as a ‘TCSer’ but also as an Indian.

The fact that it brings a city together, it brings common man together I think is very exciting for us as a brand. I am waiting to see the London Marathon because this is the first time we would have the title sponsorship. So, these are goosebumps moments for all of us and we are deeply committed to the cause.

As you mentioned TCS’ new role is that of the title partner for the upcoming London Marathon. What are the big plans there?

For me, if you say New York, London and Mumbai, I think you have covered the world. Very excited about the London opportunity. It is a gorgeous marathon. It goes through the parks of London. It is a historic marathon as well, one of the oldest marathons out there.

The UK is a very important market for us. It is a market where we are the No.1 technology service provider, so bringing our customers, our employees and the larger ecosystem to this platform is very exciting and to us, it is not just about customers but our own employees as well. Because every year through these sponsorships more than 6000 employees also run. We sponsor 6000 employees to participate in these marathons.

Earlier you mentioned how you have dominated this sport of marathons. But now you are also getting into other sports such as Formula E team or the Dutch Open for Golf. What is the strategy and approach there?

For us, sport in general is a great association for the brand. Because when you are a sports person that’s when you push yourself as a human to its maximum. And any place where technology is helping humans to do better is the intersection that we love. So whether it is running or the use of technology or the use of the app, giving runners the guidance to do the training, helping them do better is an exciting area.

Motorsport was interesting to us especially. The EV opportunity again is an area where we believe our future lies. We all know our future lies with EV. We want to be a part of that journey. And Formula E is at the pinnacle of it because the kind of research that happens on the sidelines of Formula E really drives the road map for electric vehicles in the future.

Jaguar being a fantastic brand for us to be associated with. We are not just a sponsor, we are a partner to Jaguar. We have a large relationship with Jaguar as well. So we are working very closely with them on the vehicle, helping the drivers with technology and so on. The reason we got on to it was that it allowed us to use our technology strength for drivers to do better and also the greater cause of EV as our future. So that intersection was very exciting for us and that is why we got on board.

Earlier this year, TCS was declared the second most valuable information technology company globally by a Brand Finance report. What has been the contribution of sports sponsorships to help achieve this global brand positioning?

It has been pivotal. I think we are probably one of the first brands to have the global platform as far as sponsorships is concerned. We can now see other Indian brands joining the bandwagon, which is good. It has definitely helped us to take the brand forward. Having that kind of strong presence in some of the marquee markets where we operate has been really very pivotal in gaining brand value. In fact, if you look at the narration of the brand value when we got the report, they actually rated the sports sponsorships as a key driver to achieve this brand value.

And very importantly, it is not just about that day, we do a lot of things around the sponsorships. For example, in New York, we do something called team TCS for teachers, so we got a cohort of teachers who we are sponsoring to run the New York Marathon. As we know during the pandemic the teaching community was affected. So we are supporting a lot of initiatives around the sidelines of the marathon.

With the Council of responsible sport you have recently launched an app called ‘Rescore’ that will help organizers for a more sustainable organization of their events. Can you share a bit more about it and how will it work?

I am very proud of it. When running events happen there is a lot of waste that gets generated. Today we know that people want things that are more sustainable. Lot of these runners want to lead a sustainable life and not contribute to any waste. This app that we have done with the Council of Responsible Sport is a full dashboard which is used by the event organizers to measure various factors which contribute to the lack of sustainably, like lot of wastage, use of power, use of fuel.

A lot of factors which they can themselves measure on how green and sustainable this event is and the app is completely free. It is really beautiful because when you run a marathon, you will be happy to know that you are running a sustainable marathon.

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

Canara Bank eyes 8-10% loan growth; rise in corporate credit in FY23

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

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State-owned Canara Bank is expecting an 8-10 percent growth in advances as well as a healthy double-digit rise in the corporate loan portfolio in the current financial year, its Managing Director and CEO L V Prabhakar said on Monday.

In the fiscal ended on March 31, 2022, the lender’s gross advances grew by 9.77 percent.

“Last year (FY22), we had targeted a loan growth of 7.5 percent and closed the year at 9.77 percent. For FY23, we have given guidance of a minimum growth of 8 percent. However, going with the present trend, we expect that we will grow at 10 percent,” Prabhakar told PTI in an interaction.

“Overall we are targeting that by March 2023 our balance sheet size will be more than Rs 20 lakh crore as compared to Rs 18.27 lakh crore today,” he said.

Also Read | Government to soon approve recast of Banks Board Bureau: Sources

The bank’s Retail, Agriculture and MSME (RAM) segment, which constitutes 57 percent of its total loan book, rose by 10.94 percent in the previous fiscal. Within, retail grew by 9.51 percent, agriculture by 12.75 percent and MSME by 9.87 percent.

The corporate loan book, which witnessed a growth of 8.27 percent in FY22, is expected to grow at 10 percent. The bank is seeing good traction in its corporate loan portfolio and has a pipeline of Rs 65,000-70,000 crore.

“We are getting a lot of inquiries as far as infrastructure, renewable energy and manufacturing sectors are concerned. At least we are having about Rs 65,000-70,000 crore of corporate loan proposals with us for appraisal.

“Already, we have underwritten Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM) projects worth Rs 35,000 crore, which will be disbursed in the current year,” he said.

Also Read | Bandhan Bank sees multi-fold jump in net profit backed by robust operating performance, lower credit costs

On the capital raising plan, Prabhakar said with a reduction in risk-weighted assets to 72 percent from 78 percent earlier and higher Capital to Risk-weighted Assets Ratio (CRAR) at 14.90 percent, the requirement for capital has also reduced.

“As of now, we don’t require any capital but to be future-ready, we will be raising at an appropriate time taking into consideration the yields,” he said, adding that the bank will look to raise Rs 9,000 crore through issuance of additional tier-I and tier-II bonds in the latter part of the fiscal.

In the quarter ended March 31, 2022, the bank’s Profit After Tax (PAT) jumped by 64.9 percent to Rs 1,666 crore from Rs 1,010 crore in the year-ago period. Net Interest Income (NII) grew by 24.84 percent to Rs 7,005 crore. NIM improved to 2.82 percent from 2.76 percent.

The bank saw its asset quality improving with Gross Non-Performing Assets (GNPAs) ratio declining to 7.51 percent from 8.93 percent. The net NPA ratio stood at 2.65 percent compared to 3.82 percent.

“In FY23, our net NPAs will be less than 2 percent and gross NPAs at 6 percent,” Prabhakar said.

Also Read | Bank of Baroda back in black, logs Rs 1,778.8 crore profit in Q4

The slippage ratio will be below 1.75 percent in FY23 and the bank is expecting recoveries of more than Rs 15,000 crore this fiscal.

The lender’s exposure to Future Retail is Rs 1,400 crore and it has already recovered Rs 227 crore from the loan account, Prabhakar said. The bank has already made a provision of 60 percent for the account.

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

Two-wheeler industry likely to see double-digit growth in FY23 as economic activity picks up: Hero MotoCorp

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

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The country’s largest two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp expects the two-wheeler industry to bounce back in the current fiscal with economic activity picking up and high grain prices augmenting rural incomes. With macroeconomic indicators looking positive, the company expects the industry to grow in double digits in the current financial year.

“The macro indicators are really looking good, the GST collection we have all seen is an all-time high in April, the e-way bills have picked up, I would say all sectors of the economy have opened up,” Hero MotoCorp CFO Niranjan Gupta said in an analyst call.

Also Read | Bharat Forge says its EV components and electronics revenue will be as big as its existing segments

Grain prices are high, they are augmenting rural income, the monsoon forecast is decent, and so on and so forth, and it is clearly evident also that while COVID may not have gone away, everyone has learned now to get on with their livelihoods and hence the consumer confidence and spending are bouncing back easily and actually solidly, he noted.

“Already, we are seeing signs in April and we have no reason to believe why the two-wheeler industry cannot grow double-digit in FY2023,” Gupta stated. Commenting specifically on the growth prospects of the company, he noted, “We will have multiple products and variant launches in the fiscal and added with all the actions already taken, we are confident of gaining market share and hence growing ahead of the industry.”

For the 2021-22 fiscal, Hero MotoCorp reported a consolidated profit of Rs 2,329 crore, down 21 percent from Rs 2,936 crore in 2020-21. Revenue from operations dropped to Rs 29,551 crore from Rs 30,959 crore in FY21.

Gupta said that the entire two-wheeler industry would like to go back to the FY2019 peak as soon as possible. “We got to look at fundamental underlying factors which play to the long-term growth of two-wheeler industry, all those factors are intact and I will repeat those, whether it is under penetration, the need for mobility, whether it is a pent up that has happened in the last 3-4 years, the big pool that is developing, which should actually now propel the replacement demands to be much bigger,” he stated.

Also Read | Maruti Suzuki lines up Rs 5,000 cr capex for current fiscal

Besides, better finance options could also aid in the sales growth going ahead, he added. “So I think the fundamental growth levers remain intact. How fast it happens, we will have to see,” Gupta said.

Listing out challenges, he noted, “One of the things that is an area of concern for industries across the board is the cost inflation, which is triggered now by the geopolitical situation as we all know. Of course, this will be a watch out, but we are no stranger to commodity inflation, we have been seeing cycles in the past as well as recently.”

The company will continue to navigate this space through a combination of judicious price increases, cost savings and of course broad-based portfolio growth, including premiumisation of certain models, he added. On the company’s electric product rollout, Gupta said the two-wheeler major will be unveiling its first model on July 1, 2022.

“We want to ensure that through rigorous testing the product we put in the market is of the right quality and safety parameters as we have always done earlier. For us, the customer comes first and business will follow,” he 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

Bharat Forge says its EV components and electronics revenue will be as big as its existing segments

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

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Auto components major Bharat Forge Ltd on Monday reported a 27.5 percent increase in its net profit at Rs 261.9 crore in the fourth quarter ended March 2022. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 206.3 crore in the same period of the preceding fiscal, Bharat Forge said in a regulatory filing.

Revenue during the quarter under review stood at Rs 1,674 crore as against Rs 1,307 crore in the year-ago period, it added.

CNBC-TV18 Polls had predicted a profit of Rs 247 crore and revenue of 1,579 for the quarter under review.

In the entire fiscal year ended on March 31, 2022, the company’s consolidated net profit was at Rs 1,077.06 crore. It had posted a consolidated net loss of Rs 126.97 crore in FY21. For FY22, revenue from operations was at Rs 10,461.08 crore as compared to Rs 6,336.26 crore, it added.

Bharat Forge said its board of directors, at a meeting held on Monday, has recommended a final dividend of Rs 5.50 per equity share of Rs 2 each at 275 percent for the financial year ended March 31, 2022.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Bharat Forge chairman and managing director Baba Kalyani said that he expects the electric vehicle business to grow exponentially in the coming years. “It all depends on how fast the EV transition takes place, but by 2025 our EV component business and electronics business will be almost as big as our existing business,” he said.

Kalyani also said the company does not see raw material prices as a problem. “In our system, raw material prices are a full pass-through to our customers. So that is not an issue. I think we are beginning to see, some levelling up of raw material prices. So we don’t see that as a problem,” he said.

In an investor presentation, Kalyani said, “In FY22, the Indian operations have secured new orders worth around Rs 1,000 crore across automotive and industrial applications. This includes a healthy mix of existing and new customers across traditional and new products.”

In the international operations, he said, new orders worth USD 150 million have been secured across steel and aluminium forging operations in North America. “These order wins from marquee OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) provides a lot of growth visibility in the medium to long term. The EV (Electric Vehicle) vertical has secured orders from a global EV OEM for supply of aluminum castings and its maiden order from an Indian OEM for supply of DC-DC converters,” Kalyani said.

On the outlook, he said, “At a consolidated level, we expect FY23 to be a strong year characterised by top-line growth coupled with strong cash flows, ramp-up of the US aluminium operations, revenue contribution from the newer verticals and a further diversified revenue mix.”

For the standalone business, the company expects continued growth in the key markets across all sectors. The easing of cost pressures and supply chain tightness will provide a fillip to the end demand across geographies.

With inputs from PTI

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

Startup Digest: Zilingo debtholders recall loan, Delhivery IPO subscription at 1.6x, Twitter saga continues

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

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Singapore’s Zilingo debtholders recall loan, company appoints financial adviser

Fashion technology startup Zilingo’s debtholders have decided to recall their entire loan, leading the Singapore-based company to appoint a financial adviser to assess options, its board said on Friday.

“Due to Zilingo’s failure to fulfill prior obligations under the loan agreement, the company’s lenders have made the decision to accelerate the repayment of the entire loan,” Zilingo’s board said in a statement to Reuters.

The board suspended its CEO and co-founder Ankiti Bose in March with the backing of major investors, pending a probe by an independent firm they hired.

BharatPe appoints law firm to take back Ashneer Grover’s shares in the company

Without naming Ashneer Grover, BharatPe, in a statement said the company had initiated action to claw back a former founder’s restricted shares following a governance review.

The firm added it would take all steps to enforce its right under the law. The changes for a more robust governance framework, as per the statement, were being undertaken due to the planned initial public offering.

These include a new code of conduct for senior management and employees, a new and comprehensive Vendor Procurement Policy, blocking of vendors involved in malpractices, and regular internal audits.

Delhivery IPO total subscription at 1.63 times

The initial public offering of logistics services provider Delhivery was subscribed 1.63 times on the final day of the bidding against IPO size of 6.25 crore shares.

Delhivery is planning to mobilise Rs 5,235 crore through its public issue that comprises a fresh issue of Rs 4,000 crore and an offer for sale of Rs 1,235 crore by shareholders.

The offer size was reduced to 6.25 crore from 10.75 crore shares as the company raised Rs 2,346.7 crore from 64 anchor investors, including Baillie Gifford Pacific Fund, Schorder International, AIA Singapore, Amansa Holdings, Aberdeen, Goldman Sachs, and Singapore.

Non-institutional investors bid for 30 percent shares of the allotted quota, while qualified institutional buyers have subscribed 2.66 times. Retail investors bid for 57 percent of the shares reserved for them, while employees booked 27 percent of their portion.

Mass resignations at White Hat Jr after employees protest ‘Back To Office’ Drive

More than 800 full-time employees of WhiteHat Jr, a platform to learn coding, have resigned in the last two months after being asked to return to office, this as per multiple reports. Meanwhile sources told CNBC-TV18 that the number is between 200-250 resignations.

These employees resigned voluntarily as they did not want to return to office, an Inc 42 report said.

WhiteHat Jr. spokesperson told CNBC-TV18, “As part of our back-to-work drive, most of our Sales and Support employees have been asked to report to Gurgaon and Mumbai offices from April 18. We have made exceptions for medical and personal exigencies and have offered relocation assistance as required. Our teachers will continue to work from home”.

This is not the first instance as recently Unacademy let go of over 600 employees. Earlier this year Lido Learning shut shop leaving employees and parents in a lurch.

Cryptocurrencies may soon attract 28% GST like betting and casinos in India

Goods and Service Tax (GST) Council is likely to consider levying 28 percent GST on cryptocurrencies. The government’s view is to bring cryptocurrencies at par with lottery, casinos, race course and betting, sources told CNBC-TV18.

The GST Council has nominated a law committee to take up the proposal to levy 28 percent GST on services and all activities related to cryptocurrencies soon. The law committee’s view will be tabled before the GST Council for a formal nod.

The proposal is likely to be tabled in the next GST Council meeting, but no decision has been taken on the date yet.

Centre warns Ola, Uber: Solve customers’ complaints or face penal action

Cab aggregators Ola, Uber, Jugnoo and Meru attended a meeting called by the consumer affairs ministry to explain details on operations, fare pricing algorithm and drivers’ payment structure, sources told CNBC-TV18.

After the discussions, inputs will be incorporated to formulate guidelines for online cab aggregators to protect consumers.

The guidelines will be in addition to the already existing protocols issued by central and state transport departments. The consumer affairs ministry is likely to lay down standard operating procedures (SOPs) on addressing consumer grievances with set timelines, the sources said.

Swiggy shuts down Supr Daily, Genie operations in five cities citing losses

Food and grocery delivery platform Swiggy said it will suspend operations of its subscription-based delivery service, Supr Daily, in five cities, as it is yet to demonstrate profitability, as consumer internet companies focus on cutting spends in an increasingly challenging environment.

The announcement came on a day when Swiggy also halted its pick-and-drop service Genie in multiple cities. To be sure, unlike Supr Daily, which is being scaled down for business reasons, the company said Genie will not be temporarily available in a few cities due to a surge in demand, resulting in a shortage of delivery partners.

Swiggy buys Times Internet’s restaurant tech platform Dineout

Food aggregator and delivery platform Swiggy on May 13 said that it has signed a definitive agreement with Times Internet to acquire Dineout, a restaurant tech platform.

Swiggy did not disclose the size of the deal and said that Dineout will continue to operate as an independent app post the acquisition.

The acquisition will help Swiggy to expand its offerings to dining out table reservations and events, Swiggy said. Swiggy also said that the acquisition will allow its restaurant partners to reach more customers. Dineout has a network of over 50,000 restaurants, which Swiggy would leverage.

Byju’s said to be in talks with lenders for $1 billion funding: Report

Edtech giant Byju’s is in talks with lenders to raise more than $1 billion in acquisition financing as the online education provider looks to expand its business rapidly, Bloomberg News reported citing sources.

The startup is in talks with banks, including Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase & Co, for the funding to acquire another edtech company, the report added.

The news comes after Byju’s-owned upskilling platform Great Learning acquired Singapore-based Northwest Executive Education for a $100 million cash and stock deal.

Byju’s-owned Great Learning buys Northwest Executive Education to strengthen higher education vertical

Byju’s-owned Great Learning has acquired Singapore-based Northwest Executive Education in a cash and stock deal as it looks to strengthen its higher education vertical.

Byju’s bought the Singapore-based company through its wholly owned upskilling platform Great Learning, valuing Northwest Executive Education at a little less than $100 million, sources told Moneycontrol.

Byju’s is aggressively focusing on the higher education segment and Northwest Executive’s acquisition is expected to aid the strategy.

Gross irregularities, fraudulent dealings & massive Losses: FHRAI urges SEBI to axe Oyo IPO

The Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) has once again strongly urged the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to call off Oyo’s initial public offering (IPO) citing the massive losses suffered by the hotel rooms aggregator in recent years.

As per reports, Oyo incurred losses of Rs 3,943.84 crore in FY20-21 translating to a loss of over Rs 76,077/- every minute. Since its inception in 2013, Oyo has been running in losses and its total turnover fell a drastic 69 percent from Rs.13,413 crore in 2020 to Rs.4,157 crore in 2021.

FHRAI has cautioned that Oyo’s IPO will only wipe out public wealth while enriching its founders and key management. FHRAI had previously objected to gross misstatements and inadequate disclosures contained in the Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) filed by Oyo.

Razorpay offers $75M ESOP buyback bonanza for 650 employees

Fintech unicorn Razorpay has announced its fourth and largest employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) sale for its 650 existing and former employees as part of a $75 million transaction.

The purchase will be led by Lightspeed Venture Partners along with participation from Moore Strategic Ventures who will subsequently join the company’s cap table.

Razorpay has facilitated the ESOP sale consecutively for the last three years. Last year, the sale was worth $10 million. To date, the company has awarded ESOPs to 1,940 existing and former employees across levels.

Zerodha founder warns that ESOPs of many firms issued in the last three years will be out of money

Zerodha founder Nithin Kamath has warned that employee stock ownership plans (ESOP) issued by many companies and startups over the last three years would be out of money.

Essentially, the value of the shares with the employees will be worth much less than the price at which they were vested. The value of the shares have been eroded by the recent market sell-off, particularly in tech stocks, which reminds Kamath of the dot com boom in the 1990s.

“This could affect the morale of many, which will make it even harder for those running the business,” Kamath tweeted as part of a seven-tweet thread.

CoinDCX launches CoinDCX Ventures, Rs 100 Cr earmarked to nurture Web3 ecosystem

Crypto exchange CoinDCX has announced the launch of its investment arm — CoinDCX Ventures, which will invest in early-stage crypto and blockchain startups globally.

The exchange has earmarked Rs 100 crore for CoinDCX Venture to fund such early-stage startups and nurture the Web3 ecosystem (blockchain-based internet technology).

CoinDCX Ventures has already made several investments in the space, which included a wallet solution, cross-chain bridge protocol, Web3 notification protocol, Web3 social engine as well as distributed storage and computing protocol, to name a few.

IPO-bound Navi appoints Meesho founder as independent director

Sachin Bansal-led Navi Technologies has appointed Vidit Aatrey, the founder of social commerce platform Meesho, as an independent director on its board.

With this appointment, the number of independent directors on its board reached four. Overall, Navi’s board now comprises seven members, according to the company statement.

The appointment of Aatrey, effective from April 9, is subject to completion of formalities, it added.

Global Tech & Startup News

Twitter legal team tells Elon Musk he violated a non-disclosure agreement

Elon Musk on Saturday tweeted that Twitter’s legal team accused him of violating a nondisclosure agreement by revealing that the sample size for the social media platform’s checks on automated users was 100.

“Twitter legal just called to complain that I violated their NDA by revealing the bot check sample size is 100!,” tweeted Musk, CEO of electric car maker Tesla Inc.

Musk on Friday said that his $44-billion cash deal for Twitter Inc was “temporarily on hold” while he waits for the social media company to provide data on the proportion of its fake accounts. He added later that he remained committed to the deal.

Uber to cut costs, slow down hiring: CEO Dara Khosrowshahi tells staff

Uber Technologies will scale back hiring and reduce expenditure on its marketing and incentive activities, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi told employees in a letter.

To address the shift in economic sentiment, Uber will slash spending on marketing and incentives and treat hiring as a “privilege,” Khosrowshahi said. “We have to make sure our unit economics work before we go big,” he added.

The company will now focus on achieving profitability on a free cash flow basis. The Uber CEO’s letter comes shortly after the ride-hailing giant announced its Q1, 2022 results. It signals a recovery from the pandemic with revenue growing 136% to $6.9 billion (YoY). But, suffered a net loss of $5.9 billion due to equity investments in Grab, Aurora and Didi.

Tiger Global hit by $17Bn in losses in tech rout: Report

New York-based Tiger Global has been hit by losses of around $17 billion during this year’s technology stock selloff, marking one of the biggest dollar declines for a hedge fund in history, the Financial times reported.

The firm, one of the world’s biggest hedge funds, has erased around two-thirds of its gains in four months, the newspaper said, citing calculations by LCH Investments.

Market-leading technology and growth stocks have suffered this year as investors worry that rising interest rates will dent their future earnings.

SoftBank Vision Fund posts $26 billion loss

Japan’s SoftBank Group has reported a record $26.2 billion loss at its Vision Fund investment arm, as rising interest rates and political instability whiplashed high-growth tech stocks.

The loss was in stark contrast to a year earlier when SoftBank delivered a record annual profit, putting founder and CEO Masayoshi Son’s strategy of concentrating heavily on riskier, high-growth stocks under more scrutiny, Reuters reported.

The group’s annual net loss was 1.7 trillion yen ($13.15 billion). The Vision Fund unit’s assets, including the Latin American funds, were worth $175.6 billion at March-end. That compared to an acquisition cost of $141.6 billion.

Bitcoin slides 50% from its all-time high

Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market cap, once touted as a hedge against inflation and dubbed as digital gold, plunged to $25,000 briefly on Thursday. It has witnessed a drastic fall from its all-time high (ATH) of $68,000 in November 2021 and altcoins are following in its wake.

This is because digital currencies—that were supposed to buck broader economic trends—have been hit by twin forces this week. One, the Federal Reserve’s hawkish stance on inflation and interest rates. Two, an unexpected crack in stablecoins that supposedly hold the market together.

Digital assets are moving in tandem with traditional assets these days. The phenomena began after hedge funds and wealth management firms forayed into the space. This, combined with the central bank’s aggressive monetary policy, weighs on stocks and cryptos alike.

Global crypto regulation body likely in next year, top official says

Global market regulators are likely to launch a joint body within the next year to better coordinate cryptocurrency rules, a senior watchdog official said.

Ashley Alder, the chair of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) said the boom in digital currencies such as bitcoin was one of the three main areas authorities were now focused on, alongside COVID and climate change.

“If you look at the risks we need to address, they are multiple and there is a wall of worry about this (crypto) in the conversations at an institutional level,” Alder said during an online conference organised by the OMFIF thinktank.

Apple retires the revolutionary portable music player iPod Touch

Apple on Wednesday announced that it is retiring the iPod Touch, marking the end of the iPod product line more than two decades after the pocket-sized portable music player made its debut. The primary reason behind the decision is the product losing its relevance in the age of modern devices.

Today, a user can stream Apple Music on iPad, iPhone, HomePod mini, MacBook, and even through AirPods paired with an Apple Watch. The arrival of these products have cannibalised the sales of iPods.

According to a company statement, customers can still purchase the iPod (for Rs 19,600) till the existing inventory is exhausted. It added that the legacy of iPods will be carried forward through its other products.

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

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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

Eicher Motors profit up 16% despite dip in sales of Royal Enfield bikes

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

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Eicher Motors on Friday said its consolidated net profit after tax increased by 16 percent to Rs 610 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2022. The company had reported a net profit after tax of Rs 526 crore in the January-March quarter of the 2020-21 fiscal.

CNBC-TV18 Polls had predicted a profit of Rs 592 crore for the quarter under review.

Total revenue from operations rose to Rs 3,193 crore in the fourth quarter as compared to Rs 2,940 crore in the same period of FY21, Eicher Motors said in a regulatory filing. For the year ended March 31, 2022, the company posted a consolidated net profit after tax of Rs 1,677 crore as against Rs 1,347 crore in 2020-21 fiscal.

Total revenue from operations rose to Rs 10,298 crore during the last fiscal as compared with Rs 8,720 crore in FY21. This was the company’s highest-ever revenue in the fourth quarter as well as the full fiscal, it added. The company said its board approved a dividend of Rs 21 per share of face value of Re 1 each for 2021-22.

Royal Enfield, the company’s two-wheeler arm, sold 1,82,125 motorcycles in the fourth quarter, a dip of 10 percent from 2,03,343 units sold in the year-ago period. During 2021-22, Royal Enfield registered motorcycle sales of 5,95,474, down 2 percent from 6,09,403 units in 2020-21.

VECV, the company’s JV with Volvo Group, reported revenue from operations at Rs 12,724 crore for the last fiscal, as against Rs 8,676 crore in FY21. Profit after tax stood at Rs 111 crore compared to Rs 57 crore last year. VECV recorded sales of 57,077 vehicles for 2021-22, marking a growth of 38 percent over 41,268 units in 2020-21.

“The year gone by was very significant for Eicher Motors, as we registered considerable progress towards our long term strategic business vision,” Eicher Motors Managing Director Siddhartha Lal noted. Over the last eight years, the company has made concerted efforts in becoming a premium, global player, concentrating on some of the toughest motorcycle markets in the world, with an ambition to sustainably grow overseas presence and business, he added.

“During this year, our international markets growth story showed stellar performance with more than 100 percent growth YoY as we continued to deliver sustained results in the domestic market,” Lal said. At VECV, the company’s performance was extremely encouraging, he added.

Royal Enfield CEO, B Govindarajan noted that despite persistent challenges on the supply front and COVID-induced disruptions last year, the two-wheeler maker has made remarkable progress regarding strategic long-term vision. “As we move forward, we remain focused on creating products and offering experiences that stay true to our philosophy of pure motorcycling. As the supply chain settles and the market starts getting buoyant, we are ready to ramp up and grow Royal Enfield to new heights,” he added.

With inputs from PTI

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

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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

Maruti Suzuki to invest Rs 11,000 cr in first phase of new manufacturing facility in Haryana

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

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The country’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) on Friday said it will invest Rs 11,000 crore in the first phase of its new manufacturing facility in Haryana. The company on Friday completed the process of allotment of an 800-acre site at IMT Kharkhoda in Sonipat district with HSIIDC (Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited), the auto major said in a regulatory filing.

The new plant’s first phase with a manufacturing capacity of 2.5 lakh units per annum is expected to be commissioned by 2025, subject to administrative approvals. In the first phase, the investment would be over Rs 11,000 crore, MSI said.

Also Read | Toyota to manufacture EV parts in India for domestic, export markets

“The site will have space for capacity expansion to include more manufacturing plants in the future,” MSI noted.

At present, MSI has a cumulative production capacity of around 5.5 lakh units per quarter or about 22 lakh units per annum across its manufacturing plants in Haryana and Gujarat.

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

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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

Bandhan Bank sees multi-fold jump in net profit backed by robust operating performance, lower credit costs

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

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Private sector Bandhan Bank on Friday reported a multi-fold jump in its net profit at Rs 1,902.30 crore in the quarter ended March 2022. The bank had posted a net profit of Rs 103 crore in the year-ago quarter.

CNBC-TV18 Polls had predicted a profit of Rs 1,012.8 crore for the quarter under review.

Total income of the bank in Q4FY22 rose by 43 percent to Rs 3,504.2 crore, as against Rs 2,457.4 crore in the same period of FY21, Bandhan Bank said in a regulatory filing. Net interest income during the quarter rose by 45 percent to Rs 2,539.8 crore, while non-interest income grew by 38 percent to Rs 964.4 crore, the bank said.

On asset quality, there was a slight improvement with the gross non-performing assets (NPAs) falling to 6.46 percent of the gross advances as of March 31, 2022, from 6.81 percent by March 2021. Net NPAs or bad loans reduced significantly to 1.66 percent, from 3.51 percent.

Provisions (other than tax) for the quarter were trimmed massively to Rs 4.7 crore, as against Rs 1,507.70 crore in March 2021 quarter, the bank said.

“Bank has seen best ever quarterly performance during the quarter backed by robust all-round operating performance and lower credit costs. Given the strong recovery and stable operating environment we are confident of further improving our performances during next fiscal as well,” Chandra Shekhar Ghosh, Managing Director and CEO of Bandhan Bank said.

Banking outlets as on March 31, 2022, stood at 5,639. The total number of ATMs stood at 471 as on March 31, 2022 against 487 as on March 31, 2021. During the quarter, the number of employees of the bank increased from 55,341 to 60,211, said the lender.

The stock of Bandhan Bank traded at Rs 322.50 apiece on BSE, up by 6.02 percent from previous close.

With inputs from PTI

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