Business News at 09:30 am on 5th December 2023

Let’s begin…The government has firmed up a plan to remove the bar on personal guarantors to transfer or dispose of their assets under the insolvency resolution process, according to an official source. This is despite the Supreme Court upholding the constitutionality of the moratorium. The move by the ministry of corporate affairs (MCA) is aimed at ensuring the proceeds of such asset sales can be used to facilitate repayment of the loans. Currently, when a plan under the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) is admitted in a tribunal, the assets of debtors and personal guarantors are placed under moratorium as per Section 96 of the Insolvency Bankruptcy Code (IBC). Next up…While global co-working company WeWork filed for bankruptcy three weeks ago in the US, it’s Indian arm and peers are thriving amidst the hybrid work models and flexible space strategy adopted by corporates and startups since the pandemic. Take WeWork India, for instance. The Indian arm of WeWork reported a revenue of Rs 831 crore for April-September 2023, up 40% from a year ago, while Ebitda for the period was up 90% at Rs 532 crore. In Q2FY24, it posted a total revenue of Rs 426.1 crore, the highest revenue per quarter achieved for the firm. For FY24, it is targeting an estimated revenue of Rs 1,800 crore, according to chief executive Karan Virwani. Additionally…Bridge packs of Rs 7 and Rs 15 per unit, which helped fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies tackle inflationary pressures a year ago, are slowly leaving store shelves. This comes as the focus shifts to the Rs 10 price point, where the grammage offered is more, in view of moderating commodity inflation, top executives at FMCG companies said. Parle Products offers most of its biscuit brands at the Rs10 price point, weighing 75-80 gm in terms of pack size. Shah says Rs15 packs, which the company had launched earlier and weigh 110 gm have become unviable because consumers are unwilling to shell out an extra Rs 5 coin for a little more in terms of grammage. The company does not have a Rs7 price point, though it does have Rs 5 packs weighing about 40 gm per unit. In other news…India’s overall unemployment rate in November fell to 9.16% from a 29-month high of 10.05% in October, on account of a decline in unemployment in rural areas amidst the rabi-sowing season, according to data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE). The rural unemployment rate eased to 9.05% in November from 10.82% the previous month, while the urban unemployment rate rose to 9.39% from 8.44%. November is usually the month when harvesting of the kharif paddy crop begins, and sowing of rabi-crops picks up. Typically, the unemployment rate falls in November from October. Since 2019, the country’s overall unemployment rate has fallen sequentially every year in November, barring 2022, as per CMIE data. On to some exciting news….JSW Infrastructure, the ports business of Sajjan Jindal-led JSW Group, has entered into an agreement to acquire a majority stake held by Shapoorji Pallonji Group (SP Group) in PNP Maritime Services (PNP Port) for an enterprise value of Rs 700 crore. According to the share purchase agreement, the company will acquire a 50% stake and an additional one share from SP Group firm SP Port Maintenance. The deal is being executed through JSW Infrastructure’s wholly-owned subsidiary JSW Dharamtar Port, the company said in a regulatory update. On completion of the deal, PNP Port will become a step-down subsidiary of the company, it said, adding that the deal was expected to be completed in 15 days. Meanwhile….State-owned BSNL is looking to deploy at least 4% of its total staff strength of around 54,000 on enhancing enterprise services, company sources said. Currently only 1.8% of the staff are deployed for the purpose. This is because BSNL has seen a fall in revenue from the enterprise business in the last two quarters. The company’s revenue from the enterprise business fell 50% to Rs 952 crore in the July-September quarter, from Rs 1,906 crore in the January-March quarter of FY23, according to its financial statements. In the six months ended September, BSNL’s enterprise business revenue fell nearly 10% year-on-year to Rs 2,007 crore. The circle heads have been asked to take necessary steps in terms of increasing the staff for enterprise business, by the end of this month. Lastly….Let’s take a look at the key stocks to watch in trade today – RVNL, HCL Tech, JSW Infrastructure, TVS Holdings. GIFT Nifty traded up 468 points or 2.30% at 20,821, indicating a positive opening for domestic indices NSE Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex on Tuesday. Previously, on Monday, the NSE Nifty 50 soared 418.90 points or 2.07% to settle at a record high of 20,686.80, while the BSE Sensex jumped 1383.93 points or 2.05% to 68,863.93.