Business News at 09:30 am on 14th December 2023

Let’s begin…Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages (HCCB) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Government of Gujarat to establish a state-of-the-art facility for Juice and Aerated Beverages in Rajkot. The facility is projected to commence in 2026. Under this MoU, the Government of Gujarat has assured comprehensive support to facilitate HCCB to acquire all necessary permissions, registrations, approvals, and clearances, in a time-bound manner, as per the state’s policies and regulations. The investment is expected to create a considerable industrial footprint, fostering substantial economic and social growth in the region, stated an official communique. HCCB already has two facilities in the state – one in Goblej in the Kheda district and another in Sanand in the Ahmedabad district.

Next up…The Centre’s dividend receipts from the Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) have crossed Rs 39,000 crore so far, which is over 90% of the target for the current financial year, boosting its non-tax receipts. The dividend receipts of Rs 39,086 crore so far in FY24 were over 11% higher than the corresponding period in the previous fiscal. Given that the OMCs’ profitability has improved substantially due softening of global crude prices, the CPSE dividend receipts will likely exceed Rs 60,000 crore in FY24 as against the budget target of Rs 43,000 crore. Earlier this week, the government received about Rs 5,933 crore and Rs 4,260 crore from Coal India Ltd and ONGC, respectively as dividend tranches.

Now let’s take a look at aviation news, In response to challenges posed by the fog season, Delhi airport operator DIAL announced that it has implemented various measures to enhance passenger experience. These include expanding seating capacity at terminals and establishing temporary help desks. The Delhi International Airport Ltd, (DIAL) will collaborate with CISF to facilitate the smooth exit of passengers from the terminal building in the event of flight cancellations, minimising inconvenience. Provisions have been made to add 740 chairs for passengers as needed during foggy conditions. At present, Terminal 1 (T1) has a seating capacity of 2,852 people, Terminal 2 (T2) accommodates 2,236, and Terminal 3 (T3) provides seating for 13,600 individuals.

Moving on…Representatives from nearly 200 countries at COP28 meeting in Dubai struck a new climate deal on Wednesday that, for the first time, called upon them to transition away from fossil fuels and operationalised a loss-and-damage fund to help developing nations recover from climate disasters. The countries agreed to contribute towards tripling global renewable energy capacity and doubling the current annual rate of energy efficiency improvements by 2030. They also agreed to accelerate the deployment of “zero- and low-emission technologies” like renewables, nuclear, and carbon capture and storage. An earlier provision that asked countries not to allow the launch of new coal-fired power plants without carbon capture and storage technology was dropped from the final agreement.

In other news, Mahindra & Mahindra and other investors will invest Rs 875 crore in Classic Legends over the next two-three years. This is the single-largest investment earmarked for the bikemaker, which is among the focus units for M&M, as efforts are on to turn around the two-wheeler business and make it profitable. While M&M will invest Rs 525 crore, external and existing investors of Classic Legends will pump in Rs 350 crore. The company did not name the new investors. A securities subscription agreement and another amended and restated shareholders’ agreement between M&M, the existing shareholders, and the new investors of Classic Legends was executed on Wednesday. M&M will continue to hold 60% of the paid-up capital of Classic Legends.

Additionally, With the government allocating additional volume of wheat for the open market sale scheme (OMSS) from the Food Corporation of India (FCI) stock, the selling prices of grain declined by 5% to Rs 2172/quintal on Wednesday from the previous week. The corporation also sold 0.34 million tonne (MT) of wheat to bulk buyers through weekly e-auction, the highest sales since OMSS was launched in June to improve domestic supplies of the grain. The latest sale price is against a reserve price set of Rs 2,128/quintal and compared with a high of Rs 2,310 realised for the week ended October 26.

Lastly, news from stock market…GIFT Nifty traded up 235 points or 1.12% at 21,260, indicating a positive opening for domestic indices NSE Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex on Thursday. Previously, on Wednesday, the NSE Nifty 50 jumped 19.95 points or 0.10% to settle at 20,926.35, while the BSE Sensex gained 33.57 points or 0.05% to 69,584.60. Some of the stocks to watch out for today include State Bank of India, National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC), InterGlobe Aviation, Reliance ,Vedanta, IRCTC and HDFC Bank. India’s largest airline, IndiGo, has soared past United Airlines to become the world’s sixth-largest airline by market capitalization. As of today, the market capitalization of IndiGo stands at $13.8 billion.