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☆ India launches electronics repair pilot project to lure manufacturers
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BENGALURU, May 31 (Reuters) - India has launched a pilot project to establish itself as an electronics repair hub with certain favourable policy changes, which has already attracted companies like Lenovo and Flex, the country's IT ministry said on Wednesday. The three-month-long Electronics Repair Services Outsourcing (ERSO) program is India's first formal attempt to capitalise on a $100 billion global industry and follows a push by MAIT, an industry group for IT and electronics manufacturers. Besides, China's Lenovo (0092.HK) and Singapore-based Flex (FLEX.O), electronic manufacturers like CTDI, R-Logic, and Aforeserve have volunteered for the program, the ministry said in a statement. While India is seeing increased interest in electronics manufacturing, with companies such as Apple (AAPL.O) pivoting from production in China, its repair outsourcing industry has been beleaguered by certain import-export rules. In the pilot phase India will also permit re-export of the imported electronics goods to countries different from the original one - currently it is banned under foreign trade rules.

Persons: Aforeserve, Varun Vyas, Savio D'Souza Organizations: Lenovo, Flex, Reuters, Services, IT, HK, Apple, Thomson Locations: BENGALURU, India, Singapore, China, Bengaluru, Munsif, New Delhi

☆ Xiaomi partners with Dixon Technologies to make mobile phones in India
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, May 31 (Reuters) - Contract manufacturer Dixon Technologies (India) Ltd (DIXO.NS) on Wednesday said it is partnering with Xiaomi Corp's (1810.HK) Indian arm to make and export phones for the Chinese firm. The news, which boosted Dixon's shares by 4%, comes after Xiaomi India revealed plans to start making wireless audio products in the country by partnering with electronics manufacturer Optiemus. India has been encouraging global companies to invest more in local manufacturing as a part of its efforts to become a powerhouse in the global electronics supply chain. Earlier in March, Xiaomi India President Muralikrishnan B. told Reuters that the company will open more stores beyond its current network of 20,000 retail partners and boost local procurement of mobile phone parts, in an effort to reduce costs. Reporting by Navamya Ganesh Acharya in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza and Sonia CheemaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Xiaomi Corp's, Muralikrishnan, Navamya Ganesh, Savio D'Souza, Sonia Cheema Organizations: Dixon Technologies, Optiemus, Reuters, Thomson Locations: BENGALURU, India, HK, Bengaluru

☆ Binance names Teng as head of regional markets outside US
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 29 (Reuters) - Binance has appointed Richard Teng to head its regional markets outside the United States, at a time when the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange has been facing scrutiny from U.S. regulators over compliance issues. Teng, who revealed his promotion on his LinkedIn profile, is already heading regions like Asia, Europe and the Middle East. He joined Binance as CEO of Singapore in August 2021. Before joining Binance, Teng held positions in various financial institutions such as Singapore Exchange Ltd, Monetary Authority of Singapore and Abu Dhabi Global Market. Reporting by Priyamvada C in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'SouzaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Singapore Airlines, Garuda Indonesia plan JV to boost passenger capacity
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 29 (Reuters) - Singapore Airlines Ltd (SIAL.SI) and Garuda Indonesia (GIAA.JK) plan to enter into a joint venture (JV) to increase passenger capacity between the two countries, the flag carriers said on Monday, as post-COVID tourism in Southeast Asia ramps up. The proposed JV would allow the carriers to potentially synchronise schedules, improving passengers' connectivity and convenience, and explore new initiatives, including joint fare products and an alignment of corporate programmes, they said. The plan will cover routes between Singapore and Denpasar, Jakarta, and Surabaya, and deepen the existing cooperation between the two carriers. "This joint venture ... reflects our firm commitment to grow the aviation markets in Indonesia and Singapore, facilitating a greater level of business and people connections and promoting both countries as regional tourism destinations," said Goh Choon Phong, chief executive officer of Singapore Airlines. Reporting by Upasana Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee and Savio D'SouzaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Reliance's JioCinema signs content streaming deal with NBC Universal
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, May 29 (Reuters) - JioCinema, the streaming platform run by India's Reliance Industries Ltd (RELI.NS), has signed a partnership with NBC Universal Media in a push to increase Hollywood content on the platform for Indian viewers, the companies said on Monday. The multi-year deal will give JioCinema's premium subscribers access to popular shows such as "Downton Abbey", "Suits" and "The Office," the companies said in a joint statement. This comes after JioCinema signed a content streaming deal with Warner Bros Discovery Inc (WBD.O) in April for shows such as "Succession" and "Game of Thrones". JioCinema announced its premium pricing earlier this month, moving away from free content model to fight rivals like Netflix (NFLX.O) and Disney (DIS.N) in the content streaming space. Reporting by Shilpa Jamkhandikar and Hritam Mukherjee; Editing by Savio D'SouzaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Shares of companies of the coal-to-airports conglomerate, controlled by billionaire Gautam Adani, were up between 1.2% to 7% in late trade on Friday in a largely flat wider market. The group's listed companies lost more than $100 billion in market value earlier this year after U.S.-based Hindenburg Research raised several governance concerns. The court on Wednesday granted SEBI additional time until Aug. 14 to complete its investigation into possible violation of securities law and regulatory disclosures by the Adani group. Beside flagship Adani Enterprises (ADEL.NS), other group companies include edible oils business Adani Wilmar (ADAW.NS), Adani Ports (APSE.NS), Adani Green Energy (ADNA.NS), Adani Transmission (ADAI.NS), Adani Total Gas (ADAG.NS), Adani Power (ADAN.NS), broadcaster NDTV (NDTV.NS) and cement units ACC Ltd (ACC.NS) and Ambuja Cements (ABUJ.NS). The panel said, citing SEBI, there was evidence of a build-up in short positions on Adani group stocks ahead of the Hindenburg report.

☆ Russian billionaires bid for stake in Yandex's local assets -Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 19 (Reuters) - Technology company Yandex (YNDX.O) has received bids from Russian billionaires for a stake of about half of the company's local business, valuing it at over $7 billion, Bloomberg News reported on Friday. Billionaires Vladimir Potanin and Vagit Alekperov bid for at least a 51% controlling stake in Yandex's Russian business, which they value at about 560 billion roubles ($7.21 billion) to 600 billion roubles, the report said citing people familiar with the matter. The board of Yandex might discuss the bids next week when it meets in Dubai, the report added. Yandex's primary advertising competitor, Alphabet Inc's Google (GOOGL.O), stopped selling online advertising in Russia last year. The company also sold its news aggregator platform Yandex News and content recommendation service Yandex Zen to its Russian rival VK (VKCOq.L) in 2022.

☆ India market regulator probe into Adani violations drew a blank - panel report
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MUMBAI, May 19 (Reuters) - An committee constituted by India's Supreme Court to oversee investigations into the Adani group said India's markets regulator had “drawn a blank” on alleged violations by the group’s overseas entities, according to a report seen by Reuters on Friday. But the expert committee said that there was evidence of a build-up in short positions on Adani group stocks ahead of a report by the U.S based short seller Hindenburg Group, according to the report, which has not been made public. It was not possible to conclude whether there has been regulatory failure regarding price manipulations, the committee said in the report. The court formed the panel to examine the regulatory framework and allegations levelled against billionaire Gautam Adani's conglomerate. In January, U.S.-based short-seller Hindenburg Research raised several governance concerns around the Adani group, alleging improper use of tax havens and stock manipulation by the ports-to-energy conglomerate.

☆ TuSimple to restructure US business, lay off 30% staff
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 18 (Reuters) - TuSimple Holdings Inc (TSP.O) said on Thursday it will cut 30% of its workforce in the United States under a restructuring as the autonomous driving technology company looks to preserve its balance sheet amid a funding crunch in the sector. The move comes days after the firm received a delisting notice from Nasdaq for not filing its quarterly report on time. TuSimple said following restructuring it would continue to retain its level 4 technology development capabilities and focus on autonomous freight transportation technology. It follows a restructuring the company announced in December and cut about 350 jobs. Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'SouzaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ NYSE to bust erroneous CDW Corp trades as shares briefly dive 96%
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Medha Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

May 18 (Reuters) - NYSE Arca Equities is looking into likely erroneous trades in the shares of IT solutions provider CDW Corp (CDW.O) after they briefly plunged as much as 96% to $7 in premarket trading on Thursday. The exchange operator, owned by Intercontinental Exchange (ICE.N), said it would bust all trades in the stock between 04:00 a.m. CDW Corp shares quickly recouped most of their losses and were last down 0.7% at $172.09 before the bell. ET, closed at $173.25 with a market value of $23.35 billion on Wednesday. CDW Corp and CaliberCos did not immediately respond to a Reuters requests for a comment.

☆ Charles Schwab to raise $2.5 bln through debt offering
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 18 (Reuters) - Brokerage firm Charles Schwab Corp (SCHW.N) said on Thursday it was looking to raise up to $2.5 billion through a debt offering. The company will raise the debt in two parts via notes due in 2029 and 2034. The disclosure comes a day after another filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in which the brokerage firm said it would use the proceeds for "general corporate purposes." Last month, Schwab reported first-quarter profit ahead of analysts' expectations, boosted by growth in interest income. BofA Securities, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs & Co LLC, J.P. Morgan and Wells Fargo Securities are the joint book-running managers for the offering.

☆ Brokerage Charles Schwab joins corporate debt rush with $2.5 billion offering
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 18 (Reuters) - Charles Schwab Corp (SCHW.N) is looking to raise up to $2.5 billion through a debt offering, the brokerage said on Thursday as more companies aim to benefit from investors trying to capitalize on a spike in yields. The Texas-based company will raise the debt in two parts, via notes due in 2029 and 2034 and will use it for its corporate needs. If held to maturity, the 2029 notes would yield 205 basis points more than the benchmark, risk-free U.S. 5-year Treasury , while the yield on 2034 notes would be 227 bps above the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield. On Wednesday, Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) announced its largest debt offering of $31 billion to fund its proposed acquisition of Seagen Inc (SGEN.O). BofA Securities, Citigroup, Credit Suisse Securities, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan Securities and Wells Fargo Securities are the joint book-running managers for the offering.

☆ US exchanges to bust erroneous CDW Corp trades after shares briefly dive 96%
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Medha Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

They would bust all trades in the stock between 04:00 a.m. CDW Corp shares quickly recouped most of their losses and were last up 0.2% at $173.50. ET, closed at $173.25 with a market value of $23.35 billion on Wednesday. Scottsdale, Arizona-based CaliberCos jumped 44.8% to $8.65, a day after it jumped in its Nasdaq debut to notch a market value of $123.7 million. CDW Corp and CaliberCos did not immediately respond to a Reuters requests for a comment.

☆ Aston Martin stock soars after $295 million Geely investment
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

May 18 (Reuters) - Aston Martin's (AML.L) stock popped nearly 22% on Thursday, after the luxury carmaker announced a 234 million pound investment by China's Geely (0715.HK), that will see the automotive firm become its third-largest shareholder. Geely will acquire about 42 million ordinary shares from Chairman Lawrence Stroll's Yew Tree, which is currently the Aston Martin's largest stakeholder, at 335 pence apiece and subscribe for another 28 million shares at the same price. Aston Martin shares, which closed at 231.2 pence on Wednesday, were trading up to 279.4 pence at 0727 GMT. "Our decision to increase our shareholding in Aston Martin reflects our confidence in the company's growth prospects, its technologies and its management team," said Geely Chairman Eric Li. The investment gives Geely a 17% stake in the company and entitles it to one board seat, behind number two shareholder Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF).

☆ Indian rupee hits six-week low as weaker yuan dents Asian currencies
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Sethuraman N R | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MUMBAI, May 17 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee hit a more-than-six-week low against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday, in line with the decline in other Asian currencies that tracked the fall in the Chinese yuan after weak economic data. The rupee hit 82.4425 against the U.S. dollar, its lowest since April 3, during the session, before recovering to close up 0.21% at 82.38. The weak economic print from China has weighed on Asian currencies, said Dilip Parmar, research analyst at HDFC Securities. Parmar doesn't expect the Reserve Bank of India to intervene at the current levels as other Asian currencies have started depreciating and the dollar index is strengthening. Domestic economic data points like easing inflation and improved external currencies have mostly come in support of the local currency.

The RBI's repo rate is at 6.50%. Banks met officials from the Fixed Income Money Market and Derivatives Association of India (FIMMDA) last week to raise the issue of persistently high overnight rates. FIMMDA and RBI officials did not respond to Reuters' emails seeking comment. Even as overnight rates stay elevated, treasury officials are not anticipating any infusion from the RBI as they expect liquidity conditions to improve in due course. That dividend transfer, according to traders, could top 1 trillion rupees ($12.23 billion), sharply above the budgeted 480 billion rupees.

☆ BAT names finance director Marroco as CEO as Bowles bows out
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 15 (Reuters) - British American Tobacco (BATS.L) appointed finance director Tadeu Marroco as CEO on Monday, succeeding Jack Bowles who is stepping down after about four years. Marroco has been with the tobacco firm since 1992 and was appointed to the board in 2019. "Having been at the centre of the formulation of this strategy, I am convinced that this is the right strategic path for BAT," Marroco said in a statement. Director Javed Iqbal will be interim finance director while the group looks for a permanent replacement for Marroco, the company said. Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'SouzaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ British chemicals producer Venator files for U.S. Chapter 11 protection
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

May 14 (Reuters) - British chemicals producer Venator Materials Plc (VNTR.N) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States, the company said in a court filing late on Sunday. Venator has estimated both assets and liabilities in the range of $1 billion to $10 billion, according to a filing in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. Venator undertook a strategic review of its business earlier this year in an attempt to strengthen its liquidity after one of its top investors, J&T MS 1 SICAV, criticised the British company's poor financial performance. Reporting by Nilutpal Timsina in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'SouzaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Wood Group shares sink after Apollo abandons 1.7 bln pound bid
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The shares initially fell by as much as 40% after private equity firm Apollo said it would not go ahead with an offer following an exploratory bid last month. Representatives for Wood and Apollo declined to comment further. Under UK takeover rules, Apollo cannot launch a takeover offer for Wood for the next six months, except with the company's agreement or in the event that a rival bidder swoops in. The news comes just days after British consumer group The Hut Group (THG) (THG.L) ended takeover discussions with Apollo after concluding that a preliminary bid by the fund was based on "inadequate valuations". Last week, Wood released its first-quarter earnings, which saw the group reiterate its 2023 outlook with performance expected to be weighted to the second half of the year.

☆ Apple supplier Foxconn to invest $500 mln in India's Telangana state
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File PhotoBENGALURU, May 15 (Reuters) - Apple Inc (AAPL.O) supplier Foxconn (2317.TW) will invest $500 million to set up manufacturing plants in the southern Indian state of Telangana, the state's IT minister said on Monday. loadingReuters in March reported that Foxconn had won an order to make AirPods for Apple and planned to build a factory in India to manufacture the products. Apple has been shifting production away from China, where prior COVID restrictions disrupted the manufacturing of new iPhones and other devices. Foxconn in late March received approval from the Karnataka government for a $968 million investment in the state. Reporting by Chris Thomas in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'SouzaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), in a filing, said it has approached 11 overseas regulators for information relating to whether the Adani group has violated any norms regarding its publicly available shares. India's Supreme Court is hearing an appeal from SEBI to give it an additional six months to complete its probe into the Adani group. However, the Supreme Court, in oral arguments, said that it was inclined to give a three-month extension. Oral arguments do not necessarily match the final court order, which will likely be given on Monday. Ahead of that order, SEBI, in its filing, reiterated that the Adani group's transactions highlighted by Hindenburg for violating Indian laws are highly complex and included many sub-transactions across numerous jurisdictions.

☆ UK's Melrose Industries to focus on aerospace after automotive spin-off
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The company also said it expects annual revenue between 3.35 billion pounds ($4.23 billion) and 3.45 billion pounds, while analysts are expecting a revenue of 3.4 billion pounds, according to company-compiled estimates. Melrose also said it will not seek acquisitions of "an unrelated industrial business or, in the near term, a material aerospace business," as it shifts its strategy to focus on aerospace. In April, Melrose listed shares in the former automotive division of British engineer GKN on the London Stock Exchange. Newly created Dowlais (DWL.L), which encompasses GKN's Automotive, Powder Metallurgy and Hydrogen businesses, was spun off to existing Melrose shareholders. It is still holding on to GKN's Aerospace division, which manufactures airframe and engine structures and interconnection systems for the aerospace industry.

☆ Valero Energy CEO Joseph Gorder to step down, insider Riggs to succeed
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Companies Valero Energy Corp FollowMay 9 (Reuters) - U.S. refiner Valero Energy Corp (VLO.N) said on Tuesday CEO Joseph Gorder would step down from the role on June 30 and named Chief Operating Officer Lane Riggs as his successor. Gorder has led Valero as CEO since May 1, 2014 and served as chairman of the board since Dec. 31, 2014. Gorder will remain as executive chairman, the company said. Riggs has been with Valero since 1989 and held several leadership positions in the company including overseeing refining operations, crude and feedstock supply, and planning and economics. He also served on the board of Valero Energy Partners GP LLC from 2014 to 2019.

☆ India's forex reserves at comfortable level due to RBI, dollar - economists
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Nimesh Vora | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MUMBAI, May 9 (Reuters) - India's foreign exchange reserves are at a comfortable level currently, benefiting from the Reserve Bank of India's persistent intervention and the likelihood of less volatile revaluation changes, economists said. Reuters GraphicsSince October 2022, the RBI has been rebuilding the reserves, taking advantage of the rupee's recovery. Reuters GraphicsSince October, "comfort on the level of reserves has improved significantly," said Gaura Sen Gupta, economist at IDFC First Bank. "Reserves (both spot and forwards) are now equivalent to 10.4 months of import cover, compared with about 8.9% in Oct 2022." And provides an added layer of comfort as far as the adequacy of forex reserves is concerned.

☆ Purplebricks says unlikely to generate cash in FY24, sale process ongoing
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 9 (Reuters) - Purplebricks Group (PURP.L) on Tuesday said its previous expectation of returning to cash generation in early financial year 2024 was unlikely, as Britain's biggest online-only estate agency explores a sale to turn its fortunes around. Purplebricks had a turbulent 2022 as it struggled with implementing a new operating model, saw at least three major management reshuffles and one of its top-10 shareholders - Lecram Holdings - called for the removal of Paul Pindar as chairman. In February, the firm said its board had recognised that the potential of the group may be better realised under an "alternative ownership structure" and had decided to conduct a strategic review. That review would include a formal sale process, the company said in March. Reporting by Radhika Anilkumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'SouzaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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