In today’s weekend wrap, we talk about AIFs being slammed for circumvention of regulations, retailers eyeing 10-12% growth in sales, and Govt tightening PLI rules for white goods among other news.
Weekly Business Roundup at 10:00 am on 15th October 2023.
[Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated]
===
Let’s begin. Jalan Kalrock Consortium announced that it has infused Rs 100 crore in Jet Airways as per the court-approved resolution plan, saying it reaffirms its commitment to revive the grounded carrier. With the investment, the consortium said it has “fulfilled” its total financial commitment of Rs 350 crore for the resurgence of Jet Airways. The consortium’s strategy to revive the airline remains unaltered, the press release said. The release added that all the commitments by JKC now are completed to take control of the airline. Further announcements regarding the launch date of Jet Airways will be made in the coming weeks. The grounded airline is being revived under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code as per the NCLT-approved resolution plan of Jalan Kalrock Consortium.
On to industry. DroneAcharya Aerial Innovations Limited announced that it has been awarded a $1.26 million contract to provide comprehensive drone sales, service, and software development solutions to Qatar’s Oil and Gas sector. The order has been placed by Triconix Industrial Solutions QFZ LLC, a certified Integrated Management System company, based in Qatar, for an end user in the Oil and Gas sector. the company in a statement said, quote, “With this strategic collaboration, DroneAcharya is set to revolutionize how the Oil and Gas industry operates in the region by harnessing the power of cutting-edge drone technology,” unquote. Drone Entry is designed with the end user in mind.
In some more industry news, Malabar Gold & Diamonds said that it will invest Rs 1000 crore and generate 4000 jobs in Maharashtra by FY25. The announcement came during the launch of Malabar National Hub, its centralised base of India operations, at Andheri East in Mumbai. Spread over 50,000 sqft, M-NH brings under one roof Malabar Gold & Diamonds’ multiple operations such as retail, procurement and supply chain, e-commerce, digital gold, digital marketing, CRM, omnichannel operations, merchandising and bullion, corporate gifting and B2B divisions, human resources and legal, the company said. The company has deployed more than 450 employees to run the operations at M-NH. Malabar Gold & Diamonds, with an annual turnover of $5.2 billion, has a retail network of over 330 outlets.
Meanwhile, Cash-strapped Pakistan is seeking around USD 11 billion from China and Saudi Arabia as part of efforts to fill external and domestic resource gaps so that the IMF bailout programme remains on track to ensure economic stability until an elected government is formed in the country, according to a media report quoted by PTI. It comes amid the caretaker government’s push for expanding the tax net effectively to retail, agricultural and real estate sectors while continuing a crackdown on illegal currency movements. The Dawn newspaper reported that this information was part of a detailed policy statement issued by caretaker Finance Minister Shamshad Akhtar before the Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue, presided over by Senator Saleem Mandviwalla in Islamabad on Thursday.
In the IPO segment, Plaza Wires IPO opened for public subscription on Friday, and will close on Thursday, October 5, 2023. The bidding for anchor investors concluded on Wednesday, wherein the company collected Rs 20 crore. The price band for its public issue at Rs 51-54 per equity share of face value Rs 10 each. Ahead of the public issue, Plaza Wires shares’ grey market premium rose 28%. The IPO consists of the fresh issue of 13,200,158 shares aggregating up to Rs 71.28 crore. For potential investors, the bidding starts at a minimum of 277 equity shares, with subsequent bids in multiples of 277 equity shares. The shares are likely to get credited on October 12 and listed on stock exchanges on October 13, according to reports.
Next up, aviation. Air India achieved a significant milestone on Friday by finalizing the acquisition of its inaugural A350-900 aircraft. This remarkable feat was accomplished through a finance lease transaction with HSBC, orchestrated within the premises of GIFT City. This transaction marks not only the induction of Air India’s maiden wide-body aircraft through GIFT City but also sets the stage for the country’s inaugural International Financial Services Centre. The pivotal transaction was executed with the assistance of Air India’s wholly-owned subsidiary, AI Fleet Services Ltd. It holds a distinction as the maiden financing transaction within the ambit of the orders for 470 aircraft placed earlier this year.
Lastly, let’s see how the share market performed today. enchmark indices ended higher on September 29 with Nifty above 19,600. Major gainers on the Nifty included Hindalco Industries, NTPC, Hero MotoCorp, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories and Tata Motors, while losers were Adani Enterprises, LTIMindtree, HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra and Infosys. Except Information Technology, all other sectoral indices ended in the green with metal, power, oil & gas, PSU Bank and healthcare indices up 1-3 percent each. BSE Midcap index rose 1.3 percent and BSE Smallcap index up 0.6 percent.
