Month: September 2021

Stocks of Hyderabad-based firms post listing gains, ride on buoyant market

Banking & Finance

[ad_1]

Read More/Less


Riding on a buoyant stock market, shares of several Hyderabad-based companies that made their debut in the market over the past few months through initial public offerings (IPOs) have displayed stellar performance by rewarding investors.

Since October 2020, several companies from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana hit the markets through IPOs and all of them have had strong listings.

Riding the bull market

The ₹6,480-crore IPO of Gland Pharma was one of the largest pharma sector IPOs in recent times. The stock has been in the limelight since its listing on the back of strong financial performance and demand spike in the healthcare sector.

Shares of Gland Pharma rose 128 per cent since its listing in November last year while Likhitha Infra scrip, which got listed in October 2020, has almost doubled since its debut in the market.

Most pharma stocks have seen strong upside since the Covid pandemic broke out last year. The BSE healthcare index has been ruling at a high. Recent healthcare listings of KIMS Hospitals, which raised ₹2,144-crore through its IPO, has gained since its listing in June this year.

On the back of the bullishness in the healthcare sector, several companies have lined-up their public offering. The Hyderabad-based diagnostic chain operator Vijaya Diagnostic Centre is the latest one to hit the market with its ₹1,895 crore IPO.

Two other companies from the region that got listed have also been doing reasonably well on the bourses post listing. MTAR Technologies and Dodla Diary have gained post their respective listings. MTAR’s IPO, a precision engineering solutions company with presence in the nuclear, defence and space and clean energy sectors, was subscribed over 200 times. Dodla Dairy, with presence across five States including Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, gained 5 per cent since its listing.

Upcoming IPOs

Several other companies are in the process of securing approvals. While Gemini Edibles & Fats India (GEFIL), which promotes ‘Freedom’ brand of edible oil, has filed a DRHP for its ₹2,500 crore IPO, MedPlus Health Services recently filed preliminary papers with capital markets regulator SEBI to raise ₹1,639 crore through an IPO.

[ad_2]

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

Leave a comment , , , ,

New umbrella entities explained: Why India has delayed their retail payment systems

Personal Finance

[ad_1]

Read More/Less


The NUE license shall be granted by RBI according to the power of authorization of payment operations conferred under Section 4 of the Payment & Settlement Systems Act (‘PSSA’), 2007.

By Trisha Shreyashi

In a bid to boost the Retail Payment System (‘RPS’), Reserve Bank of India (‘RBI’) had come up with the proposal of “New Umbrella Entities” (‘NUE’), similar to Unified Payments Interface (UPI). While NUEs promote private participation, it became pertinent to ensure that consumer data is secured. Further, it is essential that sustainable financial principles are followed so that the motto of de-risking payments ecosystem is achieved in essence. NUE is seen as an alternative mechanism to India’s flagship processor, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).

The NUE license shall be granted by RBI according to the power of authorization of payment operations conferred under Section 4 of the Payment & Settlement Systems Act (‘PSSA’), 2007. In consonance, RBI announced a draft framework to authorise pan-India NUE for RPSs. It mandates a minimum of INR 300Cr. be maintained as reserves at all times. These NUEs shall be duly registered under the Companies Act, 2013. Further, only entities owned and controlled by Indian residents staying in India in preceding financial year for more than 182 days, shall be eligible to apply as promoter/promoter group. This indicates the intention to limit the role of foreign entities, while allowing foreign investment under diktat. It is also subject to corporate governance norms and RBI retains the right to approve/appoint Directors to the Board.

These NUEs would be primarily responsible in developing new payment systems, standards and technologies, clearing and settlement mechanisms, while monitoring, addressing and preventing relevant risks and frauds. It would diversify easy payment options beside boosting transaction volumes with tremendous expansion of e-commerce. Thus, NUE could also become instrumental in furthering financial inclusion and promotion of fintech.

However, the NUE authorization has been shelved citing data storage and localization issues despite being proposed with a view to minimize concentration risks in RPS. A five member committee under the chairmanship of P. Vasudevan, Chief General Manager, RBI has been directed to review license applications, analyse macroeconomic impact and security risks in light of the proposed framework. Announced about a week ago, it shall also put forth recommendations to address the concerns thus arising.

Other impediments must also be considered to evaluate the adverse impact, if any, on the banking ecosystem. For instance: Capital, infrastructural costs, technology requirements in deploying products, settlement management & operations, rise in risks due to reconciliation & security issues, liquidity costs to support free flow of funds by customers etc. It also seems prudent to examine the impact on smaller banks. Forced to deploy additional payment instruments modeled on zero pricing strategy, they’d end up bleeding more.

Commercial banks had vehemently opposed the NUE proposal. They had urged rather to strengthen the domestic NPCI. While the idea of NUE is to expand the competitive landscape of RPS, the issue of data transfer and security involving foreign entities is indeed a bonafide objection. Moreover, the array of events that unfolded in the recent past make it prudent to notice that the concerns are not unfounded. For instance:- Failure by Mastercard, Amex & Diners Club in furnishing audit reports certifying compliance with Indian norms in regard to data storage rules.

To address the concerns, RBI announced extensive guidelines that are mandatory for all entities involved in payments & settlements to follow, to protect and prevent breach or misuse of the customer details in their database. The Personal Data Protection (PDP) Bill, under review before the Joint Parliamentary Committee, might prove to be a game changer in building a robust data storage & processing system. For the time being, India could subscribe to Global Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to strike a balance between consumer woes and commercial interests, until a germane data protection framework for fintech is enacted.

Disclaimer: The author is a legal professional. Views expressed are personal and not necessarily that of Financial Express Online

Get live Stock Prices from BSE, NSE, US Market and latest NAV, portfolio of Mutual Funds, Check out latest IPO News, Best Performing IPOs, calculate your tax by Income Tax Calculator, know market’s Top Gainers, Top Losers & Best Equity Funds. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

Financial Express is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel and stay updated with the latest Biz news and updates.



[ad_2]

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

Leave a comment ,

RBI announces opening of third cohort under Regulatory Sandbox

Banking & Finance

[ad_1]

Read More/Less


The Reserve Bank of India on Monday announced the opening of the third cohort under the Regulatory Sandbox.

The application for the third cohort may be submitted from October 1 to November 14, 2021, it said. The theme for the third cohort is MSME lending.

8 entities selected

In separate statements, the RBI also announced that eight entities have been selected for the ‘test phase’ of the second cohort on cross border payments. Six entities have completed the ‘test phase’ of the first cohort on retail payments.

The six entities that have completed the test phase include Nucleus Software Exports (PaySe), Tap Smart Data Information Services (Citycash), Natural Support Consultancy Services (IND-e-Cash), Naffa Innovations (ToneTag), Ubona Technologies (BHIM Voice) and Eroute Technologies.

“The products were evaluated based on mutually agreed test scenarios and expected outcomes. All the products have been found viable within the boundary conditions defined during testing under Regulatory Sandbox,” the RBI said.

The products found acceptable under this cohort may be considered for adoption by regulated entities subject to compliance with applicable regulatory requirements, it further said.

The eight entities that have been selected for the ‘Test Phase’ under the second cohort include Book My Forex, Cashfree Payments, Fairex Solutions, Flyremit, Nearby Technologies, Open Financial Technologies, SoCash India and Wall Street Finance.

“The entities… shall commence testing of their products from the third week of September 2021,” the RBI said.

In all, the RBI had received 27 applications from 26 entities under the second cohort, which was open from December 21, 2020 to February 15, 2021.

[ad_2]

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

Leave a comment , , , ,

Small merchants now more open to cashless payment methods, reveals Amex India survey

Banking & Finance

[ad_1]

Read More/Less


Indian customers have started thinking about the community at large and are willing to shop from small merchants so as to support revival of small businesses in these pandemic times, a top Amex India official said on Monday.

This has come out in the recent survey commissioned by American Express to examine the impact of the pandemic on the country’s small businesses, and their plans for business continuity for adopting new approaches aligned with changing consumer preferences.

This survey was done soon after Amex rolled out its second edition of the “Shop Small” campaign in the Indian market to incentivise consumer spending at small businesses and help small businesses recover from the impact of pandemic. The campaign was launched on August 3 and will end on October 31.

“Nine out of ten customers surveyed told us they want to do something for small businesses in a scenario where they have seen the pain of second Covid wave and they don’t want any more of that hurt to happen,” Manoj Adlakha, CEO and SVP, American Express Banking Corp India, told BusinessLine.

Notably, 95 per cent customers recognise the impact of the pandemic on local shops and small businesses, which is perhaps why they see themselves prioritising shopping from them, he added.

Sharing the details of the latest edition of “Shop Small” campaign, Adlakha said that this campaign allows Amex Card members to earn ₹500 cashback every time they spend ₹1,000, limited to five transactions while shopping in stores (2020 Shop Small campaign — Card members got ₹300 cashback on spending ₹1,500 or more in one transaction in-person only, upto five times during the campaign period across participating stores).

Improved coverage

Adlakha said that Amex has, in this year’s campaign in India, improved the coverage to 80,000 small and medium-sized merchants (vis-a-vis 40,000 from 2020), spread across six cities (vis-a-vis three cities in 2020) — Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Pune and Hyderabad. Also, this year, the category of merchants have been expanded to include supermarkets, retail shops, healthcare services, bakeries, beauty salons, travel and utilities, electronics, restaurants and hotels.

Adlakha said that merchants are open to new ways of payment acceptance. “This is a new tipping moment where merchants are now saying we are ready to accept non-cash. Earlier, they would go with cash. Now, they are veering towards non-cash,” he added.

The survey was conducted amongst a national sample of over 2,000 consumers and 500 small business decision-makers across top ten cities in Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Chennai, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad and Pune. This survey was conducted by YouGov between August 16-20 on behalf of American Express India.

It showed that nearly half of the small business-owners surveyed stated they have increased the level of communication to engage with their customers and about a third identify increasing the digital presence of their business as the key for survival. The survey also outlined that 63 per cent of merchants focused on maintaining hygiene and safety for staff and customers and 46 per cent encouraged customers to use non-cash payment transactions.

[ad_2]

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

Leave a comment , , ,

Kesoram board approves rights issue terms

Banking & Finance

[ad_1]

Read More/Less


The board of directors of Kesoram Industries, on Monday, approved the terms of the issue of shares by way of a rights issue for an amount aggregating to ₹400 crore.

The company has approved the issuance of up to 8 crore (7,99,99,665) rights equity shares, for an amount aggregating up to ₹400 crore (₹3,99,99,83,250) (assuming full subscription and payment of call monies), it said in a notification to stock exchanges.

Issue details

The shareholders would be entitled to 133 equity shares for every 274 equity shares held. The record date for the same has been fixed for Friday, September 17. The issue will open on September 27 and close on October 11, it said.

The company’s board had, in August this year, approved the offer and issue of partly paid-up equity shares by way of rights issue for an amount aggregating up to ₹400 crore.

Shares of the firm closed at ₹86.20, up 3.30 per cent on the BSE on Monday.

[ad_2]

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

Leave a comment , , ,

Reserve Bank of India – Notifications

Notifications

[ad_1]

Read More/Less




April 14, 2015




Dear All




Welcome to the refurbished site of the Reserve Bank of India.





The two most important features of the site are: One, in addition to the default site, the refurbished site also has all the information bifurcated functionwise; two, a much improved search – well, at least we think so but you be the judge.




With this makeover, we also take a small step into social media. We will now use Twitter (albeit one way) to send out alerts on the announcements we make and YouTube to place in public domain our press conferences, interviews of our top management, events, such as, town halls and of course, some films aimed at consumer literacy.




The site can be accessed through most browsers and devices; it also meets accessibility standards.



Please save the url of the refurbished site in your favourites as we will give up the existing site shortly and register or re-register yourselves for receiving RSS feeds for uninterrupted alerts from the Reserve Bank.



Do feel free to give us your feedback by clicking on the feedback button on the right hand corner of the refurbished site.



Thank you for your continued support.




Department of Communication

Reserve Bank of India


Next

[ad_2]

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

Leave a comment

SBI Platinum Deposits Vs HDFC Green Deposits: Interest Rates & Benefits Compared

Personal Finance

[ad_1]

Read More/Less


SBI Platinum Deposits

SBI Platinum Deposits was introduced last month to celebrate the 75th anniversary of India’s independence, and the term of this unique plan is capped between 15.08.2021 and 14.09.2021, which means the deal will expire tomorrow. Domestic Retail Term Deposits including NRE and NRO Term Deposits of less than Rs 2 crore, New and Renewal Deposits, Term Deposit and Special Term Deposit products, NRE Deposits for a period of 525 Days and 2250 Days only are the eligible deposits under the scheme according to SBI.

Products such as Recurring Deposits, Tax Savings Deposits, Annuity Deposits, MACAD Deposits, Multi Option Deposits (MODs), Capital Gains Scheme, NRE, and NRO Deposits of Staff and Senior Citizens are not eligible under SBI Platinum Deposits. SBI Platinum Deposits can be made for a period of Platinum 75 Days, Platinum 525 Days or Platinum 2250 Days where the payment of interest will be made at monthly/ quarterly under term deposits and on maturity under Special Term Deposits of SBI.

As applicable for Term / Special Term Deposits of SBI, premature withdrawals are also allowed under SBI Platinum Deposits. The scheme is available across all the channels of SBI such as bank branch, Internet Banking and YONO.

SBI Platinum Deposit Interest Rates

SBI Platinum Deposit Interest Rates

Senior Citizens and SBI Pensioners will continue to receive the same benefits of the SBI WECARE Scheme under the SBI Platinum Deposits for a period of 5 years and above, with no extra benefit under the Platinum Deposits. Interest rates of SBI Platinum Deposits for both regular and senior citizens are as follows.

Tenor ROI For Public ROI for Senior Citizens
Existing Proposed Existing Proposed
Platinum 75 days 3.90% 3.95% 4.40% 4.45%
Platinum 525 days 5.00% 5.10% 5.50% 5.60%
Platinum 2250 days 5.40% 5.55% ROI applicable under SBI WECARE Scheme (6.20%)
Source: SBI

HDFC Green & Sustainable Deposits

HDFC Green & Sustainable Deposits

HDFC Ltd. launched Green & Sustainable Deposits last month, a scheme that promotes the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). “Green and Sustainable Deposits will help enhance HDFC’s participation in projects directly supporting United Nations’ SDGs and empower our depositors to opt for financial products that have a positive impact on the environment, and the society at large,” HDFC Ltd. has mentioned on its website. Any resident or non-resident Indian citizen can make deposits for a period of 36 to 120 months under this special scheme.

Regular customers would receive a 6.55 percent annual interest rate on deposits of less than Rs 2 crore, whereas elderly people over 60 years will receive an additional 0.25 percent annual interest rate on their deposits. Interest is compounded yearly under the scheme for the cumulative option.

Individual deposits up to Rs 50 lakh per calendar month made or renewed by a customer using the online platform of the company, as well as auto-renewed deposits, will fetch you an additional interest rate of 0.10 percent p.a.

As a matter of concern let me remind you that HDFC Ltd. has received AAA ratings from both CRISIL and ICRA for 27 consecutive years which simply indicates the security of your deposits apart from attractive interest rates.

HDFC Green Deposits Interest Rates

HDFC Green Deposits Interest Rates

With effect from 17th August 2021, interest rates on Green Deposits of HDFC Ltd. are in force which is as follows.

Period of Deposit Monthly Quarterly Half-yearly Annual Cumulative Interest Rate
33 Months 5.90% 5.95% 6.00% 6.10% 6.10%
66 Months 6.30% 6.35% 6.40% 6.50% 6.50%
99 Months 6.35% 6.40% 6.45% 6.55% 6.55%
Source: HDFC LTD.



[ad_2]

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

Leave a comment

Reserve Bank of India – Press Releases

Press Releases

[ad_1]

Read More/Less


The Reserve Bank has been receiving complaints/reports about customers falling prey to frauds being perpetrated in the name of KYC updation. The usual modus operandi in such cases include receipt of unsolicited communication, such as, calls, SMSs, emails, etc., by customer urging him/her to share certain personal details, account / login details/ card information, PIN, OTP, etc. or install some unauthorised/ unverified application for KYC updation using a link provided in the communication. Such communications are also reported to carry threats of account freeze/ block/closure. Once customer shares information over call/message/unauthorised application, fraudsters get access to customer’s account and defraud him/her.

Members of public are hereby cautioned not to share account login details, personal information, copies of KYC documents, card information, PIN, password, OTP, etc. with unidentified persons or agencies. Further, such details should not be shared through unverified/unauthorised websites or applications. In case they receive any such requests, customers are requested to get in touch with their bank/branch.

It is also clarified that while the Regulated Entities (REs) are required to undertake periodic updation of KYC, the process of periodic updation of KYC has been simplified to a large extent vide circular dated May 10, 2021. Further, vide circular dated May 5, 2021, REs have been advised that in respect of customer accounts where periodic updation of KYC is due and pending as on date, no restrictions on operations of such account shall be imposed till December 31, 2021, for this reason alone, unless warranted under instructions of any regulator/ enforcement agency/court of law, etc.

(Yogesh Dayal)     
Chief General Manager

Press Release: 2021-2022/851

[ad_2]

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

Leave a comment

Reserve Bank of India – Speeches

Speeches

[ad_1]

Read More/Less




April 14, 2015




Dear All




Welcome to the refurbished site of the Reserve Bank of India.





The two most important features of the site are: One, in addition to the default site, the refurbished site also has all the information bifurcated functionwise; two, a much improved search – well, at least we think so but you be the judge.




With this makeover, we also take a small step into social media. We will now use Twitter (albeit one way) to send out alerts on the announcements we make and YouTube to place in public domain our press conferences, interviews of our top management, events, such as, town halls and of course, some films aimed at consumer literacy.




The site can be accessed through most browsers and devices; it also meets accessibility standards.



Please save the url of the refurbished site in your favourites as we will give up the existing site shortly and register or re-register yourselves for receiving RSS feeds for uninterrupted alerts from the Reserve Bank.



Do feel free to give us your feedback by clicking on the feedback button on the right hand corner of the refurbished site.



Thank you for your continued support.




Department of Communication

Reserve Bank of India


Next

[ad_2]

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

Leave a comment
1 … 81 82 83 84 85 … 133