Business News at 05:30 pm on 12th March, 2024

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“You are listening to the Expresso Business Update. Here is the latest news from the world of Indian and International business brought to you by The Indian Express and The Financial Express.
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Let’s begin. Popular Vehicles & Services IPO opened for subscription on Tuesday. The IPO window will remain open for investors until Thursday, March 14. The price band for the public offering is between Rs 280 on the lower side and Rs 295 per share on the higher side. Notably, the shares were at one point trading at a premium of Rs 27 in the grey market today, reflecting strong early interest from potential investors. The IPO comprises a mix of fresh shares and an Offer for Sale, with a targeted fundraise of Rs 601.55 crore. Within this, Rs 250 crore is allocated to the issuance of fresh shares, while the remaining Rs 351.55 crore is designated for the OFS.
In some more market news, Shares of SpiceJet fell to an intraday low of 10% to Rs 54.60 from its previous close of Rs 60.58 on the media reports that the company’s two senior executives resigned. As per a Mint report, the company’s two senior executives resigned after an airline with the name of their spouses got highlighted in the news. Sirius India Airlines was a buzzword in the news in October 2023, which was operated by SpiceJet’s chief operating officer Arun Kashyap’s and chief commercial officer Shilpa Bhatia’s spouses. The top executives of an airline were foraying into the same segment was unacceptable and were made to resign, said a source.
Meanwhile, ITC shares faced another setback on Tuesday, extending losses for the second consecutive day with a decline of 2.5% trading at day lows of Rs 399.35 . Today’s drop further compounds the situation, as the stock at one point receded by 20% from its peak of Rs 499.7, reached on July 24 last year. Media reports suggest that British American Tobacco, ITC’s largest shareholder holding a 29% stake as of the December quarter, is gearing up to initiate its share sale, potentially as early as this week. BAT’s move to monetize a portion of its stake follows a strategic consideration to release and reallocate capital. In an official release, BAT acknowledged their significant shareholding in ITC and highlighted the opportunity presented by the share sale.
Moving on. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of several railway projects from Ahmedabad and Gujarat. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat, CM Bhupendra Patel and state BJP chief CR Paatil were also seen in attendance. These projects amount to over Rs 85,000 crore. The projects include the new Phaltan-Baramati line, railway workshops, loco sheds, Electric Traction System upgradation work, and pit lines/coaching depots. The Prime Minister also flagged off ten new Vande Bharat trains, along with the extension of four existing routes. These trains are going to connect key cities such as Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Secunderabad, Visakhapatnam, Mysuru, Chennai, Patna, Lucknow, New Jalpaiguri, Puri, Dehradun, Bengaluru, Ranchi, Varanasi, Khajuraho, and Delhi.
On to industry. DreamFolks on Tuesday announced that it has entered into a strategic partnership with Healthians to enhance access to premium healthcare services for customers across India. “With this strategic collaboration, DreamFolks aims to transcend traditional boundaries by offering customers access to comprehensive annual health check-ups seamlessly integrated into the value proposition of client cards/ DreamFolks membership cards,” the company sai in a regulatory filing. The annual health check-up package includes 64 parameters such as HbA1C, thyroid profile, vitamin/protein profile, iron studies, and more, facilitated through Healthians’ network of diagnostic lab partners. Customers can benefit from the convenience of free sample pickups directly from their doorstep, by raising a request through DreamFolks’ provided channels, eliminating any unnecessary inconvenience.
Now to the automobile sector. Honda has recalled the new Transalp adventure motorcycle. The Honda Transalp was launched recently, after making its debut at EICMA in 2022. Coming back to the recall, Honda says that the main spring that holds the center stand could fail, in either the raised or lowered position. If it fails in the raised position, it could drag on the road, making it dangerous, while if it fails in the lowered position, the motorcycle could fall. Honda says that the recall is for motorcycles sold in Germany only and is made between 24 January 2023 and 1 December 2023, without revealing how many motorcycles are affected.
Lastly, let’s see how the share market performed today. Indian equity indices ended mixed in the volatile session on March 12. Top gainers on the Nifty included HDFC Bank, TCS, LTIMindtree, Maruti Suzuki and Eicher Motors, while losers were Adani Enterprises, Cipla, Grasim Industries, Adani Ports and SBI. On the sectoral front, except IT all other indices ended in the red with realty index down nearly 3.3 percent, PSU Bank and Media indices down 2 percent each, while capital goods, FMCG, healthcare, metal and power indices fell 1 percent each. BSE Midcap index down 1.3 percent and Smallcap index shed 2 percent.