Month: August 2023

US Stocks: Futures fall as Apple drops production increase, falling yields limit losses

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U.S. stock index futures fell on Wednesday led by Apple after it dropped plans to boost production of its new iPhones, but a pullback in benchmark Treasury yields from multi-year highs limited the decline.

Shares of the world’s most valuable public company fell 3.7% in premarket trading after Bloomberg reported Apple had told suppliers to curtail efforts to increase assembly of its iPhone 14 product family by as many as 6 million units in the second half of this year.

The report on Apple’s production cut added fuel to investors worried about the U.S. Federal Reserve’s push to aggressively increase borrowing costs to tame stubbornly high inflation even at the risk of slowing down economic growth.

Other megacap growth names such as Amazon.com Inc, Microsoft Corp, Meta Platforms Inc and Tesla Inc also fell between 0.6% and 2.1%.

Also Read: US Stock Market: Are Fed’s projections more aggressive than what investors expected?

Chipmakers Advanced Micro Devices, Qualcomm Inc Nvidia Corp and Micron Tech were down between 1.5% and 2.8%.

Still, a bit of relief for equity markets came from a Bank of England decision to buy as many long-dated government bonds as needed between now and Oct. 14.

The yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury bill came off 12-year highs to hit the day’s low of 3.886%, while Germany’s 10-year government bond yield, the benchmark for the euro zone, fell after touching a 11-year high.

“Yields now are approaching the Fed’s desired target level of 4 and 4.5%. So once that happens, we should see yields beginning to level off and that should boost equity prices,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist, Spartan Capital Securities LLC.

“The market is very, very sold.”

At 7:30 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 85 points, or 0.29%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 18.75 points, or 0.51%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 113.75 points, or 1%.

In the previous session, Wall Street’s main indexes sank deeper into a bear market, with the S&P 500 recording its lowest close in almost two years on rate hike worries.

Bucking the overall slide, Biogen surged 45.9% after its Alzheimer’s drug, developed with Japanese partner Eisai, succeeded in slowing cognitive decline.

Shares of Eli Lilly & Co, which is also developing an Alzheimer’s drug, rose 7.7%.

Stock market holidays October 2022: BSE, NSE to remain shut on these days this month, check here

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The Indian stock market will remain closed for trading on three days in October due to festive holidays. BSE and NSE will be shut on 5 October (Wednesday), 24 October (Monday) and 26 October (Wednesday) owing to Dussehra, Diwali or Laxmi Pujan, and Diwali Balipratipada respectively. However, Muhurat trading will happen for one hour on Diwali or Laxmi Pujan, on 24 October, and its timings will be subsequently notified by the exchange. On these three holidays, trading in the Currency Derivatives Segment and Interest Rate Derivatives segment will also remain suspended.

Also read: Rupee likely to remain volatile ahead of RBI monetary policy meet outcome, USDINR may trade in this range

Also read: MCX Gold prices to consolidate next week, support seen at Rs 48,900; buy on dips as recession fears persist

The National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange Limited (NCDEX), which is the agricultural commodity exchange, will be closed for trading in both sessions on 5 and 26 October. However, it will remain in the second half on 24 October. In November, trading will be closed for just one day – 8 November (Tuesday), on account of Gurunanak Jayanti. According to the BSE holiday calendar, there are 13 declared trading holidays during the calendar year 2022.

Meanwhile, BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50 ended nearly 2 per cent higher, snapping a 7-day losing streak on Friday. Investors cheered the RBI MPC announcement of the repo rate hike. BSE Sensex ended at 57,427, up 1,017 points or 1.8 per cent. The NSE Nifty 50 ended at 17,094, up 276 points or 1.64 per cent. Technical analysts believe that Nifty can now move towards 17,500-17,700 zones with key support around 17,000 and 16850

How do new internet IPO companies fare when it comes to valuation and profitability?

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By Sandip K. Khetan and Veenit Surana

In the short run, the market can be a voting machine i.e., tallying up which firms are popular and unpopular and lured by investor sentiment. In the long run, it is a weighing machine i.e., determining the substance of a company and its potential. This is a one-off description of how the new internet IPO (e-commerce, online, platform) companies are faring in the current market.

India’s growth in terms of PE/VC investments also has been significant over the past several years. After remaining resilient for almost six months amid global headwinds of tightening liquidity and rising inflation, Indian PE/VC investment flows for the first time has shown some tepidness. PE/ VC investments in July 2022 were the lowest in over a year both in terms of value and volume. At US$3 billion, PE/VC investments in July 2022 were 69% lower than the value recorded in July 2021 (US$9.7 billion) and 40% lower than investments in June 2022 (US$4.9 billion). PE-backed IPOs, which were one of the defining features of PE/VC exits last year, continue to remain elusive in 2022. With tightening of liquidity, uncertainty caused by geo-political events, and sharp correction in some recently listed start-ups in the initial months of 2022, the sentiment for IPOs from start-ups and other companies have dampened to an extent.

Also read: What will save Indian share market from mild recession? Aditya Birla MF’s Mahesh Patil answers; check top bets

To better understand these companies and their potential to grow, the underlying business model holds the key. Some are transformative while others aim to bring simplicity and efficiency to the way things are currently performed and are incrementally innovative as well. Over the past few years, India has risen to become a competitive platform for such companies by creating employment, attracting talent, obtaining funding and placing India firmly on the global map to innovatively solve complex problems at scale.

One part of the equation is attributable to market fundamentals and investor preference, and another part to the growth potential and maturity of these companies. There is a long runway as we have 100 + Unicorns and some of them are listed. There are many companies in this pipeline which include companies in fintech, consumer internet, education, enterprise tech and media and entertainment sectors. The maturity of the start-up ecosystem has also changed since many of the start-ups which were funded by PE and other investor groups are looking for an exit and a lot of these businesses have also matured and have acquired scale as well.

Internet companies are not typical, and valuation can be a challenge. As investors competed with each other in the process valuations were driven higher and higher. Valuation methodologies have continued to evolve over time. During the dotcom era number of clicks on a website, etc. were some of the ways which led to inflated valuation wherein the view changes from just getting visitors to your website to tracking actual revenue generated. There could be other methods of valuation emerging, e.g., gross merchandise value/order value, etc. evaluating the true potential will take time to evolve, let alone the wider socially and consumer-centric positive impact of many of these companies. Themarket also weighs these companies on the potential the companies prompt in terms of their future plans wherein the objective of IPOs for most of these companies was acquisition or growth.

One driver to attract funding for internet companies compared to traditional businesses is the ability of the internet to scale up quickly. Traditional businesses would have a tangible product, may require a factory to facilitate production and perhaps be more capital intensive. On other hand, internet companies connecting buyers and sellers/service providers can scale up quickly. It can be a winner-takes-all marketplace. Once companies become dominant players they can work towards profitability.

Also read: We’ll become a 360-degree financial services provider, says Religare chief

On a broader business and investment trend, India is amongst the world’s fastest-growing start-up ecosystems. From an investment perspective, investors are adopting a cautious approach, both with private equity and large funds reducing their investment spending. In recent times it has been observed that many companies also trimming down their IPO size. There is a behavioural shift with investors potentially seeking companies that are profit-making (with good cashflows or a clear path to profitability) vs. loss-making (internet) companies.

An IPO is a transformative journey from private to public and there are a number of challenges faced by issuers, including both regulatory/external challenges as well as getting their house in order to be effective in the IPO journey and not underestimating the rigour involved. Companies with proven business models, higher standards of governance and better financial positioning are the companies that will find it easier to list.

While maintaining caution in investing and not being tempted by “this time it’s different”, appreciating a different perspective and supporting new internet companies would lay the foundation for an even more exciting and rewarding outcome.

(Sandip K. Khetan, Partner and Leader, Financial Accounting Advisory Services, EY India and Veenit Surana, Partner, Financial Accounting Advisory Services, EY India. The views expressed in the article are of the author and do not reflect the official position or policy of FinancialExpress.com.)

Ban on futures trade of agri items must go: NCDEX chief

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There are no valid grounds to continue with the suspension of futures trade in some of the agricultural commodities announced by the government last year, Arun Raste, MD & CEO, National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), said on Wednesday.

“Continuance with futures trading ban on mustard seed, soybean and chana have deprived farmers of getting reference prices for the specific commodity,” Raste told FE.

He said that global edible oil prices rose because of geopolitical situations such as a decline in the soybean crop in key producing countries such as Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil, disruption in sunflower supplies from Ukraine and Indonesia briefly imposing a ban on exports.

Also Read: Futures don’t lead to unusual fluctuations in turmeric prices: NCDEX panel

“Looking at the geopolitical situation as it was prevalent a year ago, there is a huge difference now as supplies of edible oil have smoothened,” he said. India imports about 56% of its edible oil consumption.

On the price movement of chana, which has a share of 50% in the country’s production of pulses, Raste said that since the imposition futures trade ban last year, the price movement has been constant and prices are ruling around 5% (+/-) of the minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 5,230 per quintal announced for the 2021-22 season.

“There is absolutely no mechanism where anybody manipulates prices for their own benefits, which could adversely impact consumers,” he said.

Also Read: The path to better futures

To curb inflation, on December 20, 2021, commodity exchange regulator Securities & Exchange Board of India had banned futures trade of wheat, paddy (non-basmati), chana, mustard seeds, soya bean, crude palm oil and moong for one year. Earlier, mustard seed and chana (gram) futures trade was suspended on October 8, 2021 and August 16, 2021.

Following the imposition of ban on futures trade on agricultural commodities, the daily turnover over NCDEX declined by around 70% to Rs 300-400 crore from more than Rs 2,000 crore reported earlier.

“We have come back to Rs 1,000 crore daily turnover currently, as spices and guar gum volumes have picked up,” Raste said. If the futures trade ban on mustard, chana and soybean are lifted, NCDEX’s daily turnover could be `3,000 crore.

Through futures trade, farmers have got benefits, as it provides a price discovery platform, while those opposed to futures trade do not like transparency in the process, he said.

Currently, NCDEX is providing futures trading options for around 11 commodities such as guar gum and spices such as coriander, jeera, turmeric etc. It also introduced steel futures trade in the non-agri category. Meanwhile, according to a study conducted by three researchers, including one from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Udaipur, the suspension of futures trade in several agricultural items on the commodity exchanges last year have had no impact on the retail price volatility.

ACC, Adani Power, Ambuja Cements, Tata Steel, Paytm, Tata Power, HDFC Life, Indus Towers stocks in focus

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Bulls may attempt a comeback on Dalal Street as BSE Sensex, NSE Nifty 50 are expected to open in the green, according to early trends on the SGX Nifty. Nifty futures were up 26 pts or 0.15% on the Singapore exchange hinting a positive start for broader benchmark index in India. “Markets have shown tremendous strength so far amid the global turmoil however the lingering fear of aggressive rate hikes by the US Fed has capped the upside and also trigger intermediate declines. The prevailing market structure combined with cues from the US markets is pointing towards further fall,” said Ajit Mishra, VP – Research, Religare Broking.

Stocks in focus on 19 September, Monday

Adani Power: The Adani Group company company has announced withdrawal of its delisting offer. Its shareholders had approved the delisting of company’s shares on the BSE and NSE in July 2020, and had submitted application for approval for the delisting to the exchanges in January last year. The company has not received in principle approval of the exchanges, and hence it is withdrawing offer for delisting on account of delay and commercial viability.

ACC, Ambuja Cements: The Adani Group through its SPV Endeavour Trade and Investment has completed the acquisition of Ambuja Cements and ACC. With this, it has become the second largest cement player in India. Soon after Adani’s takeover, the two cement firms announced the resignation of their board of directors, including the CEOs and CFOs. The board of Ambuja Cements approved an infusion of Rs 20,000 crore into Ambuja by way of preferential allotment of warrants. On Friday, Gautam Adani was appointed as the chairman of Ambuja Cements while his elder son Karan was named as a director of both the cement firms and as chairman of ACC.

Indus Towers: Bimal Dayal has tendered his resignation as Managing Director (MD) and CEO of the company and as a Director from the Board. Till the time the vacancy is filled, Tejinder Kalra, the Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Vikas Poddar, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) will be jointly responsible for the functioning of the company under the guidance of the board and the Chairman.

Tata Power: Resurgent Power Ventures Pte Ltd completed acquisition of South East UP Power Transmission Company (SEUPPTCL). Resurgent Power Ventures is a joint venture based out of Singapore, wherein 26% shareholding is held by Tata Power through its wholly owned Singapore based subsidiary. In another news, Tata Power Discoms announced to invest Rs 5,000 crore in Odisha to ensure reliable and quality electricity supply to industries. “We are fully committed to realise the Odisha government’s vision of Make in Odisha through reliable and quality power supply to industries. Tata Power Discoms serve 9 million customers across the state,” said Tata Power’s T&D, President, Sanjay Banga.

JSW Ports: JSW Ports, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sajjan Jindal-led JSW Infrastructure, has retired high-cost rupee debt of Rs 862 crore to a consortium of banks. “This was done largely from our internal accruals, as our ports business has been doing very well for the last two-three years, and supported by our recent bond issue. Thereby, we have reduced borrowing costs substantially,” Lalit Singhvi, chief financial officer at JSW Infrastructure said.

Paytm: Digital payments and financial services company Paytm’s total merchant base has gone up by 8 million in a span of 14 months — from 22 million in June 2021 to almost 30 million by the end of August 2022 — according to Anuj Mittal, vice president – investor relations. The government’s push for increasing adoption of digital payments has also translated into a five-fold jump in Paytm’s offline payments system, he said. The company’s subscription-based payment devices to merchants across the country have increased from 0.9 million to 4.5 million since June 2021.

Also Read: MCX crude oil September futures support at 6500; US FOMC meet to guide crude oil movement

HDFC Life: The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Friday approved the merger of Exide Life Insurance with HDFC Life Insurance, a stock exchange filing by HDFC Life said. The NCLT has sanctioned the Scheme of Amalgamation under Sections 230 to 232 of the Companies Act, 2013, it said. The merger is subject to final approval from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India. HDFC Life had last year announced 100% acquisition of Exide Life and the subsequent merger. It completed the acquisition in January through issuance of 8.70 crore shares at an issue price of Rs 685 per share and a cash payout of Rs 726 crore, aggregating to Rs 6,687 crore.

Steel stocks: Tata Steel, JSW Steel and ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel (AM/NS India) were among around 75 firms that have shown interest in the Rs 6,322 crore production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for speciality steel. “The response has been very good. Both large integrated players like Tata Steel, JSW Steel, JSPL and SAIL and a clutch of secondary players have evinced interests. The total number of applications would be around 75, reported FE citing a steel ministry source.

Garoth Madhya Pradesh Assembly Constituency Election 2023: Date of Result, Voting, Counting; Candidates

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Garoth MP Assembly Election 2023 Details: The election for Garoth Assembly Constituency in Madhya Pradesh will be held on November 17 this year. The final date of voting and result were known after the formal announcement by the Election Commission of India. Here are the important details of the Garoth Constituency Assembly Election 2023 that you should know.

Garoth Constituency Madhya Pradesh Assembly Election 2023: Voting Date

November 17 is the date of voting for the Garoth Assembly Constituency Election 2023 as announced by the Election Commission of India.

Garoth Constituency Madhya Pradesh Election 2023: Candidates List

Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP), Congress and other political parties in the state will announce their candidates for the Garoth Assembly Constituency Election 2023 after the announcement of voting dates by the Election Commission of India.

Why Garoth Constituency Assembly Election 2023 is Important

Garoth is a state Assembly/Vidhan Sabha constituency in the state of Madhya Pradesh and is part of the Garoth Lok Sabha/Parliamentary constituency. Garoth falls in the Garoth district of Madhya Pradesh and is categorised as an urban seat.

Garoth Constituency MP Election Result: What happened in 2018

Devilal Dhakad (advocate) of the Bharatiya Janata Party was the winning candidate from the Garoth constituency in the MP Assembly elections 2018, securing 75946 votes while 73838 votes were polled in favour of Subhash Kumar Sojatia of the Indian National Congress. The margin of victory was 2108 votes.

2018 Garoth Assembly Constituency Election Result

Winning Candidate NameParty NameTotal VotesDevilal Dhakad (advocate)Bharatiya Janata Party75946

Candidate List Party Name Votes Gained (Vote %) Devilal Dhakad (advocate) Bharatiya Janata Party 75946 (41.93%) Subhash Kumar Sojatia Indian National Congress 73838 (40.76%) Tufansingh Sisodiya Barkhedi Mitthu Independent 18148 (10.02%) None Of The Above None Of The Above 2474 (1.37%) Jagdish Rangotha Bahujan Samaj Party 1696 (0.94%) Ramkaran Ralotiya Bahujan Sangharshh Dal 1673 (0.92%) Saeed Ahamad Independent 1497 (0.83%) Amrlalpnnalalmina Independent 1427 (0.79%) Banshilal Gwala Independent 1330 (0.73%) Army Man Rajesh Vishwakarma Shiv Sena 1302 (0.72%) Fulchand Independent 791 (0.44%) Jagdish Independent 718 (0.4%) Ahasas Hussain Independent 307 (0.17%)

Garoth Constituency MP Election Result: What happened in 2013

Rajesh Yadav Dharmveer Singh of the Bharatiya Janata Party was the winning candidate from the Garoth constituency in the MP Assembly elections 2013, securing 88525 votes while 62770 votes were polled in favour of Subhash Kumar Sojatia of the Indian National Congress. The margin of victory was 25755 votes.

2013 Garoth Assembly Constituency Election Result

Winning Candidate NameParty NameTotal VotesRajesh Yadav Dharmveer SinghBharatiya Janata Party88525

Candidate List Party Name Votes Gained (Vote %) Rajesh Yadav Dharmveer Singh Bharatiya Janata Party 88525 (54.37%) Subhash Kumar Sojatia Indian National Congress 62770 (38.55%) None Of The Above None Of The Above 3331 (2.05%) Vijay Patidar Bahujan Samaj Party 1758 (1.08%) Indaralal Gujar Samajwadi Party 1257 (0.77%) Shambhulal Megawal S D Bahujan Sangharshh Dal 1185 (0.73%) Devilal Mangilal Independent 1100 (0.68%) Shafi Ulla Fakir Mohmmad Independent 748 (0.46%) Sandeep Rajguru Shivsena 747 (0.46%) Vidhutlata Balaram Dhanotiya Nationalist Congress Party 726 (0.45%) Foolchand Rampratap Independent 685 (0.42%)

Garoth Constituency MP Election Result: What happened in 2008

Subhash Kumar Sojatia of the INC was the winning candidate from the Garoth constituency in the MP Assembly elections 2008, securing 68396 votes while 50624 votes were polled in favour of Rajesh Yadav Dharm Veer Singh of the BJP. The margin of victory was 17772 votes.

2008 Garoth Assembly Constituency Election Result

Winning Candidate NameParty NameTotal VotesSubhash Kumar SojatiaINC68396

Candidate List Party Name Votes Gained (Vote %) Subhash Kumar Sojatia INC 68396 (52.04%) Rajesh Yadav Dharm Veer Singh BJP 50624 (38.52%) Saeed Ahamad IND 2447 (1.86%) Sardar Singh Parihar BJSH 2246 (1.71%) Narayan Singh Karan Singh Sisodia LJP 2234 (1.7%) Guddu Vijay Patidar BSP 1942 (1.48%) Narsing Rathor Banjari Kakhera SHS 1404 (1.07%) Mahesh IND 1380 (1.05%) Rajesh Bandav IND 758 (0.58%)

Milipol India: A Milestone in International Homeland Security Collaboration

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‘Milipol India’ made its debut as a new addition to the esteemed Milipol International Network, dedicated to the realm of Internal Security. The inauguration, a solemn affair, took place on a Thursday, in the presence of Sabrina AGRESTI-ROUBACHE, France’s Minister of State for Citizenship, who holds a vital role attached to the Minister of the Interior. She was accompanied by Atul Dulloo, Secretary (BM), and Chandraker Bharti, AS (CIS & PM), who were also present.

This three-day exhibition, a collaborative effort between InterAds Exhibition Pvt Ltd., India, and Comexposium, France, unfolded with strong support from the Ministry of the Interior of France, the Ministry of External Affairs, and Home Affairs in India. The participation at this event was remarkable, featuring more than 150 national and international exhibitors, alongside numerous sponsors.

She also noted the remarkable enthusiasm exhibited by the Indian business community, which represented a staggering 95% of the exhibitors at this three-day event. In her view, this demonstrated the strength and dynamism of India’s business ecosystem.Thierry Mathou, Ambassador of France to India, echoed the sentiment of Indo-French cooperation in homeland security. He acknowledged the growth of this cooperation in recent years, based on mutual trust between the two nations. This partnership, he emphasized, played a pivotal role in combating terrorism and had now extended its influence to the Indo-Pacific region. ‘Milipol India’ was designed to be a flagship event, bringing together regional and international decision-makers, companies, and experts to devise solutions for the homeland security challenges of the future. It was envisioned as a biennial event in India, a testament to the enduring commitment of France and India in addressing security concerns.‘Milipol India’ created a global stage where international sellers and buyers converged to explore the latest technologies, present emerging trends, and engage in discussions to meet the industry’s evolving needs.Participating countries such as Canada, the USA, France, the UAE, Belgium, Brazil, Vietnam, and the Czech Republic showcased their latest trends, technologies, and innovations. The concurrent three-day conference covered a wide spectrum of security topics, featuring contributions from various law enforcement agencies, research institutions, and international organizations. It promised to provide valuable insights into current security challenges and potential solutions.

India’ emerged as a significant milestone in the field of internal security, uniting nations, experts, and businesses to address the pressing security concerns of our times. It was a testament to the enduring collaboration between India and France in the realm of homeland security and represented a powerful platform for the exchange of knowledge and solutions.

Maruti Suzuki Rating: Neutral

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Targeted at mid-size SUV segment, top four variants are priced Rs 1.5mn & Rs1.9mn

Aggressively pricedThe top-end (Neodrive) petrol variant of the Hyryder is priced at par with Hyundai’s Creta top-end petrol variant. The top-end hybrid Hyryder is priced at a `100k/ `200k premium to Creta diesel/ petrol top-end variants, and compared with the Honda City Hybrid, it is priced ~`90k lower. In comparison with its principal competitor Creta, the Hyryder has more fuel-efficient Hybrid options, brake assist, 360-degree parking assist camera, Arkamys surround sound system, but misses out on features such as a Bose sound system, bigger touch screen of 10.25” (vs 9” in the Hyryder), power-adjustable driver seat, electric parking brake and options for diesel and DCT variants with a much higher power/torque. Overall, the Hyryder hybrid looks aggressively priced and should result in market share gains but at narrow margins, we think.

Our viewPricing of the Hyryder hybrid is attractive and should lead to better than expected adoption. Pricing, compared with other SUV models, is competitive and profitability will be less. As hybrids have lesser boot space compared with ICE SUVs, the hybrid models will be more suitable for long-distance usage without much luggage – e.g. intra city or low occupancy. The very aggressive pricing for Hybrids suggests that Toyota wants a high Hybrid adoption. We maintain our view that the Hyryder model has potential for high volumes (~10-15k units per month, we estimate). With such aggressive pricing, we maintain our estimate that Toyota may be able to sell upto 40% of the volumes for this model. We currently factor in ~8k units per month for MSIL’s version of this model. We expect MM’s recently unveiled XUV400 (link ) to be priced close to the hybrid variants of the Hyryder, mainly due to the tax advantage enjoyed by EVs. We believe EVs like the XUV400 will be a more preferred option for customers who have access to a charging network.

Targeted at mid-size SUV segment, top four variants are priced Rs 1.5mn & Rs 1.9mn

Toyota announced prices for the top four variants of its upcoming Urban Cruiser Hyryder recently – the strong-hybrid variants and the top-spec mild-hybrid AT variant. The top four variants are priced between `1.5mn and `1.9mn (exshowroom).The pricing announcement comes almost two months after the car was unveiled. Bookings for the model are already underway with reports suggesting bookings to be at the 60k units mark, similar to the last reported 50k unit bookings number by Maruti Suzuki (MSIL IN, Neutral) for its Grand Vitara.The Hyryder targets the mid-size SUV segment, which has models like the Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, Skoda Kushaq, XUV 700, etc. This segment sells ~39k units per month and continues to see strong preference from consumers. The SUV has been jointly developed by Toyota and Suzuki (7269 JP, Neutral), with production for the vehicle commencing in Aug-22 at Toyota’s plants.

Also read: Wall Street hits more than two-week high on energy, tech gains

Aggressively priced

The top-end (Neodrive) petrol variant of the Hyryder is priced at par with Hyundai’s Creta top-end petrol variant. The top-end hybrid Hyryder is priced at a `100k/ `200k premium to Creta diesel/ petrol top-end variants, and compared with the Honda City Hybrid, it is priced ~`90k lower. In comparison with its principal competitor Creta, the Hyryder has more fuel-efficient Hybrid options, brake assist, 360-degree parking assist camera, Arkamys surround sound system, but misses out on features such as a Bose sound system, bigger touch screen of 10.25” (vs 9” in the Hyryder), power-adjustable driver seat, electric parking brake and options for diesel and DCT variants with a much higher power/torque. Overall, the Hyryder hybrid looks aggressively priced and should result in market share gains but at narrow margins, we think.

Also read: Wall Street hits more than two-week high on energy, tech gains

Our view

Pricing of the Hyryder hybrid is attractive and should lead to better-than-expected adoption. Pricing, compared with other SUV models, is competitive and profitability will be less. As hybrids have lesser boot space compared with ICE SUVs, the hybrid models will be more suitable for long-distance usage without much luggage – e.g. intra city or low occupancy. The very aggressive pricing for Hybrids suggests that Toyota wants a high Hybrid adoption. We maintain our view that the Hyryder model has potential for high volumes (~10-15k units per month, we estimate). With such aggressive pricing, we maintain our estimate that Toyota may be able to sell upto 40% of the volumes for this model. We currently factor in ~8k units per month for MSIL’s version of this model. We expect MM’s recently unveiled XUV400 (link ) to be priced close to the hybrid variants of the Hyryder, mainly due to the tax advantage enjoyed by EVs. We believe EVs like the XUV400 will be a more preferred option for customers who have access to a charging network.

RIL-Sebi dispute: New SC bench to hear Sebi’s plea for review

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The Supreme Court on Friday said it will form a bench to hear Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (Sebi) petition, seeking review of its earlier judgment that had directed the market regulator to share certain documents with Reliance Industries.

The company claims these documents will exonerate it and its promoters from criminal prosecution initiated by the regulator in a case related to the alleged irregularities in acquisition of its own shares between 1994 and 2000.

Sebi had sought urgent listing of its review petition against the August 5 judgment. Even RIL’s contempt petition against Sebi is yet to be taken up for hearing.

Also read: Rupee likely to fall further, dollar index may rise to 114 if US Fed hikes rate by 75 bps in November

So far, Sebi has not shared the three documents — the two legal opinions by former SC judge BN Srikrishna and the former ICAI president YH Malegam’s report which examined the irregularities — that the SC had asked it to share “forthwith”, thus prompting RIL to file a contempt petition against the market watchdog and its authorised representative Vijayan A.

The Ambani firm said that Sebi had obviously “misadvised itself” in assuming that its compliance with the judgment is a matter of discretion and on which it can see advice.

While asking Sebi to furnish “forthwith” the documents to RIL, the SC had, in its August 5 judgment, said that “the duty to act fairly by Sebi, is inextricably tied with the principles of natural justice, wherein a party cannot be condemned without having been given an adequate opportunity to defend itself.”

Sebi had, in January 2019, rejected RIL’s request for the “privileged” documents on the grounds that under the Sebi (Settlement Proceedings) Regulations, the accused company had no right to seek information from it.

Chartered accountant S Gurumurthy had filed a complaint with Sebi in 2002, alleging fraud and irregularities by RIL, its associate companies and their directors/promoters, including Mukesh Ambani and his wife, Nita; Anil Ambani and his wife, Tina; and 98 others in the issue of two preferential placement of non-convertible debentures in 1994. Sebi had alleged that RIL, along with Reliance Petroleum, had “circuitously funded the acquisition of its own shares” in violation of the Sections 77 and 77A of the Companies Act, 1956 and the market regulator’s then takeover code, among various other regulations.

Also read: Nifty turns negative for 2022, Sensex falls 1.5%, Bank Nifty tumbles 3%; what is dragging markets today?

Earlier, the Bombay High Court, had on March 28, refused to grant any relief for production of material gathered by the regulator, saying it would hear Sebi’s appeal against a special court decision along with RIL’s objections to the criminal case.

Sebi had sought restoration of the case before the HC after the special court had on September 30, 2020 dismissed its July 10, 2020 complaint related to RIL transactions.

The special court had dismissed Sebi plea for being barred by limitation as there was a delay of more than 15 years.

OVL may hold Russia assets via new arm in GIFT City

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State-run ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) may incorporate a subsidiary in the GIFT International Financial Services Centre in Gujarat soon to hold its Russian oil assets.

The move follows the inability of OVL’s Singapore holding arm to receive dividends from the oil assets due to the sanctions on Russia. Including Russia, OVL owns Participating Interests in 32 oil and gas assets in 15 countries.

The outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war last year created a fresh round of headwinds for OVL, which a section of the government feels has not been able to reap the benefits of its substantial holdings in oil assets overseas.

With Russia nationalising oil output from the Sakhalin-I oil field after the Ukraine war, OVL is just a dividend-receiving shareholder compared to the earlier practice of getting a share in oil output equivalent to its shareholding (equity oil), an official said. Even then, it would receive fresh dividends only after meeting some conditions.

Around $100 million in dividends from the previous year are held up in Russia as Singapore did not permit the remittance of the money to OVL’s Singapore firm, which holds the Russian assets.

OVL set up the Singapore arm due to tax arbitrage as taxes are high in India (15-30% plus cess and surcharge depending on equity holding in overseas company). In Singapore, the tax on dividend income could be zero.

Meanwhile, Reuters reported on Thursday that ONGC hopes to recover over $500 million in dividends pending since 2014 for its stake in Venezuelan projects held through OVL as sanctions on the nation were eased. The Biden administration on Wednesday eased sanctions on Venezuela’s oil sector after the government and opposition parties reached a deal for the 2024 election, in the most extensive rollback of Trump-era restrictions on Caracas.

With GIFT IFSC, India’s answer to global financial centres such as Singapore, officials said OVL is looking at setting up a company in the IFSC to manage overseas assets, especially Russian assets. GIFT IFC, which is treated as a foreign jurisdiction for taxation purposes, offers a host of direct and indirect tax incentives to companies set up there, an official said.

Sakhalin-I, OVL acquired 20% stake in the project in July 2001. Other partners were operator Exxon Nefteggas Limited (ENL) with 30% stake, SODECO, a consortium of Japanese companies 30% and Subsidiaries of Rosneft, the Russian National Oil Company 20%. Sakhalin-1 started 2022-23 by producing about 2,10,000 BOPD in accordance with the planned production profile. However, following the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Operator ENL started significant production curtailment and declared Force Majeure on April 21, 2022. Production became close to zero in September 2022. Russia issued a Presidential Decree on October 07, 2022 transferring all rights & obligations of Sakhalin-1 Consortium to a newly formed entity; Sakhalin-1 Limited Liability Company (Sakhalin-LLC).