Business News at 05:30 pm on 6th December 2023

Let’s begin. Jefferies has recommended a ‘Buy’ call on Reliance Industries, with a target price set at Rs 2,990 per share. The recommendation comes in anticipation of Reliance Industries’ ambitious plans to commission Phase I of its photovoltaic module and storage capacity by mid-calendar year 2024. Jefferies acknowledges the challenges faced by the global renewable equipment sector due to Chinese overcapacity, which has impacted profitability. However, the brokerage firm remains optimistic about the outlook for Reliance Industries, citing several factors that could positively influence the company’s renewable ventures. The Indian government’s aggressive installation targets, coupled with a reduction in bidding competition, are expected to enhance the economic viability of Reliance Industries’ foray into renewables.

Speaking of Jefferies, the leading financial services firm continues to uphold a ‘buy’ rating on Ambuja Cements, maintaining a target price of Rs 540. This positive outlook is underpinned by Ambuja’s strategic move to enhance its capacity, aiming for an increase of 100–110 million tonnes per annum by the fiscal year 2026–27. In a report on Ambuja Cements, Jefferies highlighted the recent completion of the Sanghi Industries acquisition. The acquisition, valued at an enterprise value of Rs 5,185 crore, implies an estimated EV per tonne of $70–75. Post-acquisition, Ambuja Cements’ total capacity stands at an impressive 74.6 million tonnes per annum, with an additional de-bottlenecking opportunity of 1.5 million tonnes per annum.

Over to economy. As Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das-headed Monetary Policy Committee began its three-day deliberations today, economists said that the central bank will maintain the ‘withdrawal of accommodation’ stance and will keep the repo rate unchanged at 6.50 per cent. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das will disclose its decision on the morning of December 8. The RBI MPC consists of six members – both external and RBI officials. Alongside Governor Shaktikanta Das, RBI officials are Rajiv Ranjan, serving as Executive Director, and Michael Debabrata Patra, as the Deputy Governor. While Shashanka Bhide, Ashima Goyal, and Jayanth R Varma are the external members. According to economists, RBI is likely to keep repo rates unchanged.

Meanwhile, Accenture on Wednesday announced that it has joined forces with consumer goods company Unilever as part of a strategic initiative to leverage Unilever’s AI research and implementation of technologies that enhance productivity, drive efficiencies, and accelerate disruptive and AI-powered innovations at scale. A statement said, quote, “The work will kick-off from Unilever’s global AI Lab ‘Horizon3 Labs’, recently opened in Toronto—a city recognized for its concentration of AI expertise and home to one of Accenture’s six Gen AI studios in North America,” unquote. The two companies will explore new applications to scale generative AI, for example, assets from Accenture’s AI Navigator or its proprietary ‘switchboard’, which allows a user to select a combination of models to address the unique business context.

Moving on. HCLTech, a global technology company, and Swedish manufacturer Husqvarna Group have extended their strategic IT and digital transformation partnership. It said, quote, “In a major milestone for HCLTech, this is the first time a large global IT contract by an India- headquartered technology company has been Vested certified,” unquote. The Vested approach to drawing up contracts, based on the University of Tennessee’s Haslam College of Business Administration’s award-winning research, fosters an environment of innovation that improves service, reduces costs and unlocks business value for the parties involved in the contract. Vested contracts focus on creating an environment conducive for highly collaborative business relationships.

Next up, technology. Redmi 13C series has officially arrived in India today, per schedule. The lineup boots two phones, Redmi 13C 5G and Redmi 13C 4G, and as you can probably tell already, one is 5G ready right out of the gate while the other is 4G-only and so, it’s a bit more affordable, too. Otherwise, the two are quite identical. While the Redmi 13C 4G starts at Rs 8,999, the Redmi 13C 5G price in India starts at Rs 10,999. General availability is pegged for December 16 (from 12noon) across Xiaomi online, retail and Amazon India. Existing Xiaomi users will be eligible for Rs 1,000 exchange bonus on buying the Redmi 13C 5G, the company notes in a press release.

Lastly, let’s see how the share market performed today. Benchmark indices ended on a positive note on December 6 with Nifty above 20,900. Wipro, LTIMindtree, ITC, L&T and TC were among top gainers on the Nifty, while losers were Adani Enterprises, Eicher Motors, Cipla, NTPC and UltraTech Cement. Most of the sectors ended in the green with capital goods, FMCG, Information Technology, oil & gas and power up 1-2 per cent, while bank, healthcare down 0.5 per cent each and realty index down 0.3 per cent. BSE midcap and Smallcap indices ended marginally higher. Indian rupee, on the other hand, ended higher at 83.32 per dollar versus previous close of 83.38.