Business News at 09:30 am on 13th December 2023

Let’s begin…Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone on Tuesday received board approval to raise up to Rs 5,250 crore through issuance of bonds and preference shares. The Adani Group company would issue non-convertible debentures of up to Rs 5,000 crore in one or more tranches on a private placement basis. The company intends to use the funds for capex, refinancing of its existing debt and general corporate purposes, APSEZ said in a stock exchange update. The debentures would be listed on the BSE or the NSE, while the tenure, date of allotment and maturity would be determined at the time of issuance. Further, APSEZ also received board approvals to issue non-cumulative redeemable preference shares of up to Rs 250.2 crore.

Next up…Annual food inflation in retail markets rose to 8.7% in November from 6.61% in October on year, as prices of vegetables, cereals, pulses and spices firmed up. The relevant consumer food price index last month recorded a sequential rise of 1.05% while food inflation in November, 2022 was 4.67% on year. Deflation in edible oils became sharper in November compared to the previous month. In July, 2023, the consumer food price index rose 11.5% on year because of higher tomato and cereals prices, but it had declined in August and September to 9.94% and 6.62% respectively with the softening of tomato prices. Retail onion inflation rose by a steep 86.46% in November.

Now let’s talk infrastructure…National Highways Authority of India has signed an agreement with a private company to develop a Rs 673 crore Multi-Modal Logistics Park in Nagpur spread over an area of 150 acres. The park, to be developed in a public private partnership mode, has DC Multi Modal Park as the partner. The project is poised to be the first MMLP in Maharashtra under the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan. Under the Bharatmala Project NHAIs subsidiary National Highways Logistics Management has been mandated to develop 35 multimodal logistics parks around the country, wherever possible with public-private partnership.

Additionally…Adani Group’s portfolio companies will invest $100 billion over 10 years to achieve its energy transition goals, including sourcing of renewables and development of hydrogen fuel cell electric truck among others. The group has set a target to become net zero by 2050, or earlier, for five of its portfolio companies — Adani Green Energy, Adani Energy Solutions, Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone, ACC and Ambuja Cements. Its portfolio businesses are sourcing renewables, electrifying operations, adopting biofuels and deploying waste heat recovery and energy storage technologies. The roadmap to the net zero transition would require last-mile green hydrogen solutions, the group said, while releasing its half-yearly ESG compendium. The group has pledged to plant 100 million trees by 2030.

In other news…KKR-owned Pepper Advantage is ramping up operations in India, with public sector banks increasingly outsourcing debt services. Mukund Kulkarni, CEO of Pepper Advantage India, said banks are shifting to a more centralised technology-driven model. Pepper is also working with fintech companies that have the digital infrastructure but lack the physical infrastructure to improve debt servicing capabilities. Fraser Gemmell, CEO of Pepper Advantage, said fintechs tend to invest in the front-end and user experience, but capital does not flow into the back-end. This has led to a technology deficit, compelling them to look for cost-effective options, Gemmell said.

Moreover…In what could be one of the most expensive residential purchases by an Indian, Serum Institute of India chief executive officer Adar Poonawalla has reportedly reached a deal to buy a 25,000-square-foot mansion in London’s Mayfair for ₹1446 crore. The deal is also being billed as the most expensive home sale in London this year. Aberconway House, located near London’s famous Hyde Park, is a vast 1920s home and will be reportedly sold for at least Rs 1446 crore, The Financial Times reported. Dominika Kulczyk, the daughter of the late Polish businessman Jan Kulczyk, will sell the property to Poonawalla. In 2021, Poonawalla had reportedly rented the 25,000 sqft property in Mayfair for about $62,825 a week from Dominika Kulczyk.

Lastly…Let’s talk about market…GIFT Nifty traded up 54.5 points or 0.26% at 21,079.5, indicating a positive opening for domestic indices NSE Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex on Wednesday. Previously, on Monday, the NSE Nifty 50 dipped 90.70 points or 0.43% to settle at 20,906.40, while the BSE Sensex dropped 377.50 points or 0.54% to 69,551.03. Rupak De, Senior Technical analyst at LKP Securities said, quote “The Nifty has formed a bearish engulfing pattern on the daily chart, suggesting a possibility of a bearish reversal. On the higher end call writers have built a heavy position at 21000. On the lower end, put writers are heavily present at 20,800 and 20,900. Therefore, the Nifty is likely to remain mostly sideways to negative as long as it remains below 21000,” unquote.