Business News at 10:00 am on 23th January, 2024

Lets begin – Vodafone Idea and Adani Group’s, Adani Data Networks, have been sent show cause notices by the Department of Telecommunications as to why fines should not be levied on them for failing to meet minimum rollout obligations related to 5G spectrum. While Vodafone Idea may have to pay a fine of around Rs 14 crore, Adani Data Networks may be slapped with a penalty of about Rs 5-6 crore, officials said. The DoT has also sent notices to both companies asking them to furnish the reasons for the delay. More than a year later, both firms are yet to launch 5G services commercially even in a single city, in the country.

Up next – Several real-estate companies across India have paid more than Rs 1,500 crore as GST to the government in the past few months for intra-group transactions related to royalty payments for brand name usage, a government official aware of the matter told FE. “The government had sent notices to several real-estate companies…as many had not paid GST over using brand names of their parent companies,” the official said. Real estate companies typically operate on a special purpose vehicle model wherein each project is undertaken in a separate SPV. The authorities are of the view that the use of the brand by the SPVs should be subject to 18% GST as a service is seen to be rendered.

Meanwhile – The highest number of secondary deals were carried out in the fintech sector last year, continuing similar trends from 2022, according to a report by market intelligence platform Private Circle. For comparison, in 2021, the e-commerce sector dominated this category of deals. A secondary round takes place when an existing shareholder sells their shares to a third-party. “Fintech emerged as the dominant sector in 2022 and 2023 secondary deals, showing the sector’s ability to provide investor exits,” the report said. Besides fintech, agri-tech and software-as-a-service sectors also saw a high volume of secondary deals in 2023. The report analysed 117 companies valued at $500 million or above in the last three years.

In other news – The consecration of the Ram Mandir is a landmark moment in India’s cultural history and offers many opportunities to the tourism sector to flourish, according to a report by Jefferies. India’s latest religious tourist hotspot is expected to attract more than 50 million tourists a year, says the brokerage firm. A $10-billion makeover comprising a new airport, and revamped railway station, among others, will likely drive a multiplier effect, leading to new hotels and other economic activities, the report says.In addition, the report also sees the temple town as India’s answer to Mecca and the Vatican, with all three being of religious, cultural and historical significance.
Moving forward – Tech Mahindra appointed former Tata Consultancy Services veteran Rajashree R as its chief growth officer for America strategic verticals this month. “It’s so wonderful to have someone with your calibre and experience in our leadership team,” Mohit Joshi, chief executive officer of Tech Mahindra, wrote on LinkedIn on Monday congratulating Rajashree. She is the latest top-level executive to have joined Joshi’s team amid the IT firm’s restructuring. Wipro, meanwhile, also appointed Vikas Gupta as senior vice president (SVP) and head of CIS, Wipro FullStride Cloud this month. Gupta is a Tech Mahindra veteran and has worked for the fifth largest IT firm for more than 16 years.

Next up – The net interest margin of private banks has remained under pressure in the third quarter, reflecting the rise in their cost of funds. Most of the private lenders have reported year-on-year decline in their net interest margin, impacted by the hike in term deposits and tight liquidity in the banking system. “The decline in NIM reflects the lagged impact of the increase in term deposit rates over the last one year and that is reflected in the cost of deposits. Overall, the NIM was in line with our expectations,” said Sandeep Batra, executive director, ICICI Bank, in an earnings call on Saturday. “The full-year NIM is probably going to be at the same level as FY2023.”

Lastly – GIFT Nifty indicated that Indian equity indices BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50 may see a positive opening on Tuesday. GIFT Nifty traded up by 57 points or 0.26% at 21,737.50 indicating a positive opening for domestic indices NSE Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex on Tuesday. Previously, on Saturday, the NSE Nifty 50 lost 50.60 points or 0.23% to settle at 21,571.80, while the BSE Sensex declined by 259.58 points or 0.36% to 71,423.65. Cipla, Coforge, Vedanta, Mahindra Logistics, Raymond, Adani Ports, Hindustan Petroleum, State Bank of India, Gandhar Oil Refinery, Axis Bank, Pidilite Industries, REC, Havells India, JSW Energy, United Spirits, are some of the key stocks to watch in trade today.