Business News at 05:30 pm on 6th August, 2024

Let’s begin… The ₹6,145-crore public issue of Ola Electric was fully subscribed on the second day of the offer, with strong participation from retail and employee categories. According to BSE data, the initial share sale of Bhavish Aggarwal-led Ola Electric received bids for about 494 million shares against 465 million shares on offer. The portion reserved for employees saw the highest subscription rate, at nine times the offer. Employees bid for 7.6 million shares against the 0.84 million shares on offer. The retail portion of the offer was subscribed three times, with bids for 244 million shares compared to the 85 million shares available. The non-institutional investors’ portion also saw robust bidding, being fully subscribed on the second day with 1.11 times the total bids.

Up next, The Competition Commission of India is planning to expand the scope of investigation against Amazon and Flipkart in connection with their alleged contravention of the anti-trust regulations, said an official familiar with the development. “A report was submitted by the investigation arm over six months ago. However, since then, the CCI has asked for more information from the investigation arm. Once the scope of the probe is finalised, the report will be shared with Amazon and Flipkart for their replies,” said the official. The probe against Amazon and Flipkart goes back to 2021 when the CCI started an investigation based on the allegations made against the e-commerce majors that they are promoting their own brands and preferred sellers, and giving steep discounts, undermining other sellers on their platforms.

In other news, Citing sufficient supplies of sugar for domestic consumption and ethanol production, Indian Sugar Mills and Bio-Energy Manufacturers Association (ISMA) has urged the government to lift the restrictions on exports of the sweetener. ISMA had projected a marginal 2% drop in sugar production in the next 2024-25 season (October-September) at 33.11 million tonne (MT) compared to current year. While estimating an opening stock of 9.05 MT on October 1, 2024, the industry body has projected net sugar availability of 42.35 MT in 2024-25 sugar season. ISMA has projected domestic consumption of sweetener at 29 MT in the next marketing year, which would lead to a closing stock of 13.35 MT on September 30, 2025.

Moving on, Public-sector lender State Bank of India (SBI) has increased its share of savings deposits by 4% over the past 10 years. SBI’s share in deposits has risen from 22% in 2014 to 26% as of June this year. With this increase in savings accounts, the bank has widened its lead over competitors. Public-sector lender State Bank of India (SBI) has increased its share of savings deposits by 4% over the past 10 years. SBI’s share in deposits has risen from 22% in 2014 to 26% as of June this year. With this increase in savings accounts, the bank has widened its lead over competitors. Deposits are growing slower than credit, posing a challenge for banks to mobilise low-cost deposits.

In another development, The country is aiming to increase domestic palm oil production from the current level of 0.4 million tonne (MT) to 2.5 MT by 2032 under the national oil palm mission through adding at least 0.1 million hectare (MH) of new plantation annually in the five to six years, according to leading industry officials. Sougata Niyogi, head, Godrej Agrovet, palm oil division, which owns a third of total palm plantation in the country, told that domestic production of palm oil is likely to meet around 25% of the current annual imports of palm oil estimated at around 9.6 MT by 2032. Industry has projected the plantation to increase to 1 MH by 2029 from the current level of 0. 5 MH.

Furthermore, Flipkart Minutes, the quick commerce arm of the Walmart-owned e-commerce major, has gone live in HSR, Bellandur and a few other areas of Bengaluru. The launch comes at a time when quick commerce has become an integral part of all e-commerce firms. Zomato-owned Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, Zepto and others are in race to acquire dominant share in this fast-growing space. Flipkart began firming up plans since March when it likely saw new entrants succeed in quick commerce. Given its e-commerce prowess, it was a natural choice for the company to toy with the idea of rapid delivery. Flipkart is currently offering free deliveries for all orders above Rs 99 and is collecting Rs 5 as platform fee, a revenue stream that companies are tapping into for additional income

Lastly, Stocks to watch include Bharti Airtel, ONGC, BEML, Adani Energy Solutions, Bharti Hexacom, Lupin and Shree Cement. Furthermore, Bharti Airtel reported a significant increase in its profit for the first quarter ending June 30, 2024, with earnings surging more than 2.5 times to Rs 4,160 crore, compared to Rs 1,612.5 crore in the same period last year. Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) reported a standalone profit decline of 9.4% for the first quarter, dropping to Rs 8,938.1 crore from Rs 9,869.4 crore in the previous quarter. Defence PSU BEML reported a reduced consolidated net loss of Rs 70.47 crore for the quarter ending June 30, 2024, compared to a net loss of Rs 75.01 crore in the same period last year.