Business News at 10:00 am on 14th March, 2024

Let’s begin – It’s not only big tech firms like Google, Meta, Amazon, which are opposed to the proposed ex-ante digital competition law. Domestic platforms having leadership positions in segments they operate in are also opposed to any such legislation. Interestingly, in the case of big domestic platforms, their local rivals which are opposed to their practises, have fully supported the ex-ante provisions, the draft of which was released by the ministry of corporate affairs on Tuesday. So, food aggregator platforms like Zomato, and Swiggy, and travel-tech platform Oyo have voiced their reservations against having any ex-ante provisions. Surprisingly, the Internet and Mobile Association of India, which has members from domestic and global players are also against any such regulation.

Up next – The mid and small-cap indices took a significant knock on Wednesday, as regulatory concerns around their valuations gained ground amid investors. In addition, there are talks that some fund houses could be pruning their holdings because they need to have enough cash in their hands to meet any redemption pressure. The S&P mid-cap index fell 4.20% while the S&P small-cap index fell 5.11%. Since the regulatory noise about the ‘froth’ in these segments started gathering steam in the last week of February (27), with the Association of mutual funds in India writing a letter to fund houses to have a policy that would take proactive measures not just limited to moderating inflows and portfolio rebalancing.
In other news – With Byju’s mired in financial and legal troubles, its primary subsidiary, Aakash Educational Services, is trying to distance itself from its parent in its brand promotion and sales pitch. Employees of Aakash are being asked to highlight its distinct brand identity. The company, in some recent social media posts, has also subtly reduced the emphasis on the ‘Aakash+ Byju’s’ brand. A section of Aakash’s sales employees told FE that over the past couple of months, they have been asked by senior managers to distance themselves from the ‘Aakash+Byju’s’ brand identity and instead focus on the 30-year legacy of the test preparation institute.

Moving on – Zepto has become the first quick-commerce company to introduce a platform fee of Rs 2 per order which applies to a select set of users. So far, platform fees have been more common in categories like e-commerce and food delivery. For instance, Zomato-owned Blinkit and Swiggy Instamart, which directly compete with Zepto, don’t levy such a fee currently on grocery orders. The two companies, however, levy a platform fee from customers who place food delivery orders. A platform fee isn’t the only additional charge Zepto is levying on customers. It is also collecting late night handling fee of Rs 15 on orders that are placed after 11 pm in certain cases.

Meanwhile – Tata Group and CG Power will create employment for over 72,000 people over the years with their upcoming semiconductor facilities in the country, according to the plan shared by both the companies on Wednesday. Tata Group, which is coming up with its fabrication unit in Dholera, Gujarat, and assembly, testing, marking, and packaging unit in Morigaon, Assam. “This is only the start. There will be expansion. We are looking at 50,000 jobs here and at least 20,000- 22,000 jobs in Assam. But, it will take time. We will further expand as we cross early milestones,” N Chandrasekaran, chairman of Tata Sons, said at the ground breaking ceremony of the three semiconductor projects.

Moving ahead – iPhone exports from the country in terms of value are expected to nearly double to Rs 80,000 crore in current financial year ending March from Rs 40,000 crore in the last financial year, according to industry estimates. On the other hand, Samsung exports in terms of value are seen flat at around Rs 32,000-35,000 crore, analysts and market tracker said. Overall, smartphone exports from the country is expected to grow 33% YoY to Rs 1.2 trillion in FY24, as also estimated by India Cellular and Electronics Association. Reasons for Apple’s significant growth in value of exports can be attributed to the premiumisation trend globally, and also higher average selling price of iPhones which is around $1,000.

Lastly – GIFT Nifty indicated that Indian equity indices BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50 may see a negative opening. GIFT Nifty traded lower as the index was down 63.50 points or 0.29% at 22,032.00 indicating a negative start for domestic indices NSE Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex on Thursday. Previously, on Wednesday, the NSE Nifty 50 lost 338 points or 1.51% to settle at 21,997.70, while the BSE Sensex closed 906.07 points or 1.23% lower at 72,761.89. The key stocks to watch in trade are IIFL Finance, Tata Motors, Federal Bank, South Indian Bank, Bank of India, Bandhan Bank, Hinduja Group, Patanjali Foods, Vedanta, L&T Finance Holdings and Shriram Properties among others.