Economy News
Corporate News
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) discontinued issuance of letters of undertaking (LoUs) and letters of comfort (LoCs) for importers with immediate effect, in an attempt to prevent fraud such as the one allegedly carried out by jewellers Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi. Letters of credit (LCs) and guarantees will continue to be issued like before if they meet certain criteria. (BS)
- All the 20 public sector banks (PSBs) have obtained approval from their respective boards for the terms and conditions put forth by the Union government to receive capital infusion through bonds as part of the recapitalisation plan. (BS)
Corporate News
- Lenders are exploring the possibility of settlement of dues of Uttam Galva Steels, a move that could ease the way for ArcelorMittal’s bid for Essar Steel. ArcelorMittal was an early investor in Uttam Galva Steels. (BS)
- Thomas Cook aims to spin off its human resource firm Quess within a year to simplify business structure and secure better valuation for its core travel business.Thomas Cook acquired Ikya (now known as Quess), a staffing solutions and facilities management company in 2013 and listed it on stock exchange through an IPO in 2016. Thomas Cooks owns 49 per cent in the firm and its stake is valued at Rs 20.40 billion on close of Tuesday's stock price. (BS)
- Housing Development Finance Corp. and Standard Life will raise Rs 36 Bn by selling 12% stake in HDFC AMC through initial public offering in May, valuing the company at around Rs 300 Bn. HDFC owns 57.34% in the venture while Standard Life owns 38.24% and remaining is with others. (ET)
- Shree Renuka Sugars said its Vice Chairman and Managing Director Narendra Murkumbi has resigned. In a regulatory filing, the company said "Narendra Murkumbi has tendered his resignation from his executive position as Vice Chairman and Managing Director of the company." (ET)
- Bharti Airtel is believed to be looking to sell a higher stake in Bharti Telemedia, its DTH arm, to raise funds for building a war chest to fight Reliance Jio Infocomm, people familiar with the matter said. A precursor to such a sale was a board approval to transfer 19% additional stake in Bharti Telemedia to wholly-owned unit, Nettle Infrastructure Investments. This transfer will be in addition to a 25% block already transferred in January 2018, thus taking the block being transferred to 44%. (ET)
- Torrent Pharma Ltd is likely to raise at least Rs15 Bn by selling shares to institutional investors, as it prepares a bid for the generic drugs unit of France’s Sanofi, two people aware of the development said. Torrent Pharma is readying a €2 billion (Rs160 Bn) binding bid for Sanofi’s unit Zentiva NV, Mint reported on 7 March. It has tied up funding from several banks for the bid, the deadline for which ends on 28 March, the report added. (Mint)
