Business News at 10:00 am on 4th March, 2024

Let’s begin – India Inc is all set to refresh its boards with 900 NSE-listed companies looking to recruit nearly 2,000 independent directors this year. As many as 23 Nifty50 companies will need to recruit 47 independent directors between them. They include Hindustan Unilever, ITC, UltraTech Cement, L&T and Tata Consultancy Services. This high turnover is a fallout of the regulatory guidelines imposed in 2013 after the Satyam Computers scam. All independent directors appointed prior to 2014 were reappointed in 2014 as per the new Act. The new Companies Act mandates that independent directors can hold up to two consecutive five-year terms – a maximum of 10 years – in a firm.

In another development – Apple’s production of iPhones in India crossed the $10-billion mark during the 10-month period of April-January of the current fiscal. This is nearly 30% higher than the $7-billion production by the tech giant in FY23. According to sources, over 70% of the total production has been exported across countries in Europe, the US and Asia. The current fiscal is also the first year where Apple is averaging over $1 billion of production each month, compared to $620 million per month in FY23.This production has been achieved by Apple’s three vendors – Foxconn Hon Hai, Pegatron, both in Tamil Nadu, and Wistron, now owned by the Tata Group, located in Karnataka. According to industry data and information filed by the vendors, a lion’s share – over 70% – of the total production has been contributed by Foxconn Hon Hai.

Now news related to investors – While the larger funding environment still remains gloomy, funding by angel investors seems to be picking up. The January-February period has seen 62 angel rounds investing about $30 million, data from Private Circle showed. For comparison, November and December had recorded only 23 rounds of angel investments with a total of $7.2 million. The data includes funding rounds in which the participation by angel investors is exclusive and excludes fresh or follow-on rounds that had mixed participation from angels, venture capitalists or corporate venture funds. Although 2023 had gotten off to a good start with January-February seeing about 130 angel rounds, interest tapered off through the year, as the funding winter set it. The dip in angel investments was in line with the decline in the larger funding environment. The number of private equity and venture capital deals fell by 33% in 2023, primarily driven by a substantial decline of 42% in the startups segment, an analysis by EY found.

In another development – The government may approve the much-awaited five-day working week for banks before the the model code of conduct (MCC) kicks in later this month for the general elections, bringing in cheers to over 1.5 million bank employees, an official source said. Public-sector banks’ employees are set to get a 17% rise in salaries after the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) and bank unions signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the 12th bipartite settlement in early December. However, the unions had urged implementation of a five-day work week within 180 days, as they signed the final bipartite agreement. The government is supportive of the proposal and industry bodies have also come on board on the issue, an official said.

Now news related to RBI – The Reserve Bank of India’s nudge to micro-finance lenders that they should pass on the benefits of higher margins to borrowers is beginning to bear fruit, as a number of players have already cut rates and many are planning to follow suit. Industry sources say that close to 20 NBFC-MFI players, including Belstar Microfinance, Svatantra Microfin, and Annapurna Finance have already slashed interest rates in the December quarter. Midland Microfin and ASA International India Microfinance have reduced the interest rate on their loans by up to 125 basis points.

In another development – To receive interest-free capital expenditure loans from the Centre under the “untied” category, states will have to comply with the branding norms for centrally sponsored schemes and deposit interest accrued on the unutilised central-schemes funds lying with the state-level single nodal agencies by March 31. The scheme for providing financial assistance to the states for capital expenditure, introduced in FY21, was extended to FY25 in the interm Budget with an outlay of Rs 1.3 trillion as against the revised estimate of Rs 1.05 trillion for FY24.

Last but not the least – GIFT Nifty traded up by 60.50 points or 0.27% at 22,511 indicating a positive opening for domestic indices NSE Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex on Monday. Shares in the Asia-Pacific region are trading in positive territory on Monday morning. The Asia Dow is trading up by 1.10%, where as the Japan’s Nikkei 225 is trading in green, up by 0.75%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index is ended higher by 0.47% and the benchmark Chinese index Shanghai Composite is ended up by 0.39%.