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☆ Goldman strategist says one country offers the 'most fertile ground for picking stocks' and shares his favorites
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( Weizhen Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

That's despite Indian stocks already soaring, with the country's benchmark indexes BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 soaring to new record highs on Friday, according to Refinitiv data. He said that Indian stocks have a 16% compound annual return over the last 20 years in local currency terms, and 13% in dollar terms. It also has a high proportion of what Goldman analysts dub "multibagger" stocks, according to Koul. Goldman Sach screened 25 large-cap Indian stocks for those with an attractive growth and valuation profile. Four banks meet its criteria: HDFC Bank , ICICI Bank , State Bank of India and Kotak Mahindra Bank.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Sunil Koul, CNBC's, Koul, That's, Goldman, Banks, Goldman Sach, Larsen, Toubro, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Asia Pacific, CNBC, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India, Kotak Mahindra Bank, U.S . Global, SBI, UltraTech, Growers Locations: India, U.S

☆ Yacht maker’s westward detour comes at a price
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, June 27 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Hong Kong-listed Ferretti went the extra mile to ensure its shares could finally trade in Europe. At 13 times its expected 2023 net profit , Ferretti traded at a discount to rival Sanlorenzo’s (SNL.MI) 15 times multiple. That’s a modest outcome for a company that has laboured since 2019 to try and list in its Italian home base. That compares to the 2.5% fee Italian gambling company Lottomatica (LTMC.MI) paid for its Milan market debut in May. Weichai will still hold on to nearly a third of Ferretti’s shares after its Milan listing.

Persons: Ferretti, pricey Riva speedboats, Sanlorenzo’s, Weichai, Goldman Sachs, Danilo Iervolino, Karel Komárek, Alberto Galassi, Yawen Chen, Aston Martin, Lisa Jucca, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, JPMorgan, Milan, Twitter, ICICI Bank, Siemens, Thomson Locations: Hong Kong, Europe, Milan, Abu Dhabi, China, Canada

☆ ICICI Bank is dealmaking from a place of strength
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The $80 billion ICICI Bank (ICBK.NS) is weighing up a delisting of its broking firm ICICI Securities (ICCI.NS), the news prompted a 10% rally in the shares of the $2.4 billion unit. This time the country’s second largest private sector lender is dealmaking from a position of strength. It was one among a flurry of subsidiary IPOs that battered lenders including State Bank of India (SBI.NS) undertook to generate cash. ICICI Bank was particularly vulnerable, with then CEO Chanda Kochhar battling allegations of dodgy lending to the Videocon group. ICICI Securities trades at roughly 18 times trailing earnings but went public at more than twice that valuation, Centrum Broking calculated at the time.

Persons: Chanda Kochhar, Sandeep Bakhshi, Shritama Bose, Blackstone, Aston Martin, Una Galani, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, ICICI Bank, ICICI Securities, State Bank of India, Twitter, Siemens, Telecom Italia, Vivendi, Thomson Locations: MUMBAI, Canada

☆ Indian shares set for muted start to week after Russia turmoil
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BENGALURU, June 26 (Reuters) - Indian shares were set for a muted open on Monday, on the heels of their first weekly loss in over a month, as crude prices rose on supply concerns after a short-lived mutiny by mercenaries in Russia. Foreign institutional investors sold a net 3.45 billion rupees ($42.1 million) worth of Indian equities on Friday, while domestic investors sold 6.84 billion rupees of shares, as per provisional NSE data. STOCKS TO WATCH:** ICICI Bank (ICBK.NS), ICICI Securities (ICCI.NS): Boards of the companies to consider delisting of ICICI Securities shares on June 29. ** HDFC Life Insurance Company: India's insurance regulator granted approval for transfer of its shares from HDFC Ltd (HDFC.NS) to HDFC Bank (HDBK.NS). ** Shree Cement (SHCM.NS): NDTV reported that tax evasion to the tune of 230 billion rupees ($2.80 billion) has been found in tax searches at multiple locations of Shree Cement in Rajasthan.

Persons: Wagner, Brent, Chris Thomas, Biplob Kumar Das, Eileen Soreng Organizations: Singapore Exchange, BSE, ICICI Bank, ICICI Securities, Life Insurance, HDFC Ltd, HDFC Bank, Ipca, U.S, FDA, of Maharashtra, Axis Bank, Kashmir Bank, NDTV, Shree, Thomson Locations: BENGALURU, Russia, Russian, Moscow, Asia, India, Pithampur, Jammu, Kashmir, Shree Cement, Rajasthan, Bengaluru

Climate change drove heat in the city to a record-breaking 48C (118F) in 2016. While traditional insurance can take months to pay, with so-called "parametric" insurance there is no need to prove losses. At annual climate talks in Egypt last year, nonprofits urged richer nations to help finance parametric insurance as a way of compensating victims of worsening weather extremes. At the moment, insurance schemes in the developing world are largely subsidized by nonprofit groups, national governments, or wealthy countries. Insurance payouts allow them to buy things like gloves to protect their hands from scorching hot metal tools, or fans to stay cool and avoid heat exhaustion.

☆ India's Kotak Mahindra Bank beats expectations with 26% net profit rise in Jan-March
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MUMBAI, April 29(Reuters) - India's Kotak Mahindra Bank (KTKM.NS) on Saturday reported a better-than-expected 26% increase in net profit for the January-March quarter, helped by higher net interest income and strong loan growth. The private lender's standalone net profit, excluding subsidiaries, rose to 34.96 billion rupees ($427.8 million) in the fourth quarter of the fiscal year from 27.67 billion rupees in the same period last year. The result beat analysts' forecast of 29.13 billion rupees, according to Refinitiv data. Net interest income - the difference between interest earned and interest expended - increased 35% to 61.03 billion rupees from 45.21 billion rupees a year ago. Thanks to strong credit growth, large private banks such as HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank reported a double-digit profit growth for the Jan-March quarter.

☆ India's Axis Bank reports wider-than-expected Q4 loss on Citi deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Axis reported a loss of 57.28 billion rupees ($700.1 million) for the three months ended March 31, compared to a profit of 41.18 billion rupees a year earlier. Analysts had forecast the bank to report a loss of 8.06 billion rupees, according to Refinitiv IBES data. It reported a standalone operating profit, which excludes provisions and contingencies, of 91.68 billion rupees, compared to 64.66 billion rupees a year earlier. The bank's net interest income, the difference between interest earned and expended, grew 33% to 117.42 billion rupees. Provision and contingencies for the quarter stood at 3.06 billion rupees, down from 9.87 billion rupees a year ago.

☆ Asia's richest banker will loom over his successor
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Shritama Bose | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

It will also be messy and is at odds with the regulator’s own aim to improve governance across the industry. Bosses of the country’s private-sector banks are allowed to stay in their jobs for up to 15 years. It is little surprise that more than 99% of investors voted for him to stay, per exchange filings published last week. If Kotak sits on the board, his successor - expected to be an insider – will effectively continue to work with his or her long-time boss. If things go wrong at Kotak, regulators may end up wondering who to blame.

☆ Indian shares set to open higher as strong earnings lift mood
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BENGALURU, April 24 (Reuters) - Indian shares were set to open higher on Monday as improved quarterly results from heavyweights Reliance Industries Ltd (RELI.NS) and ICICI Bank Ltd(ICBK.NS) eased some concerns over a lacklustre start to the earnings season. India's most valuable company, Reliance Industries reported 19% growth in fourth-quarter profit, aided by the strong performance in oil-to-chemicals (O2C) segment, post market hours on Friday. Private lender ICICI Bank posted a 30% jump in net profit in the March quarter, helped by improved net interest income and loan growth. The strong earnings of the two companies, which account for nearly 20% of the total weightage in Nifty 50, could improve the sentiment soured by the weak earnings and outlook of top information technology companies, analysts added. Stocks to Watch:** Yes Bank Ltd (YESB.NS): Lender's net profit slumps 45% in the March quarter on higher provisions.

☆ India's ICICI Bank posts 30% jump in Q4 net profit
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MUMBAI, April 22 (Reuters) - India's ICICI Bank (ICBK.NS) on Saturday reported a 30% increase in fourth-quarter net profit helped by improved net interest income and growth in loans. Standalone net profit rose to a record 91.22 billion Indian rupees ($1.11 billion) from 70.19 billion a year earlier. Net interest income, the difference between interest earned and paid, rose 40.2% to 176.67 billion rupees while the private lender's net interest margin widened to 4.90% from 4%. "At this point in time, we are very comfortable with our deposit growth," Executive Director Sandeep Batra told reporters on a conference call. "I do not think deposit growth will be a constraint to our ability to grow our assets in a risk-calibrated manner."

☆ India ICICI Bank’s net profit jumps 30% in January-March
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

MUMBAI, April 22 (Reuters) - Indian private lender ICICI Bank (ICBK.NS) on Saturday reported a near 30% increase in net profit for the fiscal fourth quarter ending in March, on the back of improved net interest income and healthy loan growth. Standalone net profit for the quarter was 91.22 billion Indian rupees ($1.11 billion), up from 70.19 billion rupees in the same quarter a year earlier. Analysts had forecast the bank to report a net profit of 90.41 billion rupees, according to Refinitiv data. ($1 = 82.0300 Indian rupees)Reporting by Siddhi Nayak; editing by Mark HeinrichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ India, Singapore launch real-time link for cross-border payments
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Siddhi Nayak | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MUMBAI, Feb 21 (Reuters) - India and Singapore launched on Tuesday a real-time link to facilitate easier cross border money transfers between one of the world's biggest recipients of remittances and an Asian financial powerhouse. Transfers of funds will now be possible using just mobile phones due to the tie-up between India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and Singapore's PayNow facility. UPI is an instant real-time payments system, allowing users to transfer money across multiple banks without disclosing bank account details. To begin with, State Bank of India (SBI.NS), Indian Overseas Bank (IOBK.NS), Indian Bank (INBA.NS) and ICICI Bank (ICBK.NS) will facilitate both inward and outward remittances while Axis Bank (AXBK.NS) and DBS India will facilitate inward remittances, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in a statement. At the launch event, Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that cross-border retail payments and remittances between India and Singapore currently amount to over $1 billion annually.

☆ India's HDFC raises $3 bln in largest-ever local bond issue-bankers
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Dharamraj Lalit Dhutia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MUMBAI, Feb 16 (Reuters) - India's Housing Development Finance Corp (HDFC.NS) raised its target of 250 billion rupees ($3.03 billion) in the country's largest privately placed corporate bond issue on Thursday, merchant bankers said. The country's largest housing financier, soon to be merged with private lender HDFC Bank, sold 10-year bonds at a coupon of 7.97% coupon. The issue received 92 bids worth 278.63 billion rupees, of which the company retained 55 bids worth 250 billion rupees, HDFC said in an exchange notice. The NBFC has now raised an aggregate of 784.14 billion rupees through bond issuance in this financial year, the highest by any company. Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and ICICI Securities Primary Dealership are the arrangers.

☆ Indian lender HDFC's biggest-ever bond issue to see strong demand - bankers
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Dharamraj Lalit Dhutia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HDFC aims to raise at least 50 billion rupees ($603.4 million) through the sale of 10-year bonds on Thursday, with an option to retain an additional 200 billion rupees. If the company garners full the quantum, this would also be the biggest-ever privately placed debt issue by an Indian company. Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and ICICI Securities Primary Dealership are the arrangers for the bond issue. The company's fundraising via private placement stood below 250 billion rupees in 2013-14. HDFC is raising funds as it would help them meet capital requirements after the upcoming merger with HDFC Bank, bankers said.

☆ Gautam Adani’s woes were in banks' plain sight
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Una Galani | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

MUMBAI, Feb 8 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Gautam Adani’s recent woes have vindicated persistent doubts in India about the tycoon’s rise. The Indian group dismisses those claims as a “malicious combination of selective misinformation and stale, baseless and discredited allegations”. By contrast, other big Indian groups like Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries (DBKGn.DE) and those carrying the Tata name are more popular with institutional investors. Fee-hungry international banks were much less picky. Deutsche, Barclays and StanChart pocketed $57 million of the $260 million of investment banking revenue generated by the Adani group since Dealogic records began.

☆ Breakingviews: Adani’s share sale U-turn spares only some blushes
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Una Galani | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

HONG KONG, Feb 2 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Markets have given Gautam Adani a big bloody nose, and his backers a partial reprieve. The tycoon’s decision on Wednesday to pull the $2.4 billion share sale at his flagship Adani Enterprises (ADEL.NS) was all but forced after a 28% plunge in the company’s share price the day after it closed the books. That danger was magnified on Wednesday with India’s regulator looking into possible irregularities around the share sale, Reuters reported exclusively citing a source with direct knowledge of the matter. Less than one quarter was due to pay down borrowings at the issuer and its unlisted subsidiaries, including Adani Airport and Adani Road. loadingCONTEXT NEWSAdani Enterprises on Feb. 1 said it is withdrawing its $2.4 billion share sale due to the “unprecedented situation and the current market volatility”.

☆ Indian shares set to open higher; key earnings to provide direction
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BENGALURU, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Indian stocks were poised to open higher on Monday, tracking a Wall Street rally in the previous session, with shares also taking cues from the earnings of heavyweights such as Reliance. Financial stocks (.NIFTYFIN) could gain after robust quarterly earnings results from top banks over the weekend. Wall Street equities rallied to close higher on Friday, as upbeat quarterly earnings helped lift Netflix, while Google parent Alphabet climbed after announcing job cuts. ** India's top cement maker, UltraTech Cement (ULTC.NS), reported a 38% decrease in quarterly profit on Saturday, dented by a surge in expenses. ** Yes Bank (YESB.NS) reported a surprise 80% plunge in quarterly profit on Saturday as provisions for bad loans increased.

☆ India ICICI Bank’s profit jumps 34% in October-December
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MUMBAI, Jan 21(Reuters) - India's ICICI Bank (ICBK.NS) on Saturday reported a 34.2% increase in net profit for the October-December quarter, on the back of improved revenues and healthy loan growth. Net profit for the quarter was 83.12 billion Indian rupees ($1.03 billion) up from 61.94 billion rupees in the same quarter a year earlier. That was in line with analysts' forecast of 81.25 billion rupees, according to Refinitiv IBES data. Net interest income, the difference between interest earned and paid, rose 34.6% to 164.65 billion rupees from 122.36 billion rupees last year. However, provisions and contingencies increased to 22.57 billion rupees from 16.44 billion rupees in the September quarter.

☆ India cenbank's new proposal on loan loss provisions to raise bank capital needs - analysts
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MUMBAI, Jan 17 (Reuters) - The Indian central bank's discussion paper suggesting banks make provisions on bad loans using an expected credit loss (ECL) method could raise capital requirements for lenders, analysts said. The potential impact of a shift to the ECL mechanism on bank capital could be significant, said the RBI, which is yet to give a timeline for implementing the new rules. The new mechanism will recognise problems ahead of time and make the banking system more resilient in the long run but could raise capital requirements significantly particularly for government owned banks, analysts at Macquarie Research said. "The problem here is that over the last 5-10 years, the probability of default would have been very high for the banking sector and that's why eventual ECL provisions could be higher,” Macquarie said. While the impact on individual banks is difficult to assess at this stage, it could be felt in 2025/26 and banks would have to start preparing in 2024/25 to raise capital, the research house added.

☆ India federal police arrests Videocon chairman Dhoot in loan fraud case
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MUMBAI, Dec 26 (Reuters) - India's federal investigating agency has arrested Videocon Group (VEDI.NS) chairman Venugopal Dhoot in connection with a loan fraud case involving ICICI Bank (ICBK.NS), a source from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) told Reuters on Monday. In early 2019, the CBI filed a case of criminal conspiracy and fraud against Dhoot, former ICICI Bank Chief Executive Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak Kochhar. The agency alleged that ICICI Bank, under Chanda Kochhar, sanctioned 'high value' loans to Videocon, violating the bank's lending policies, in exchange for an investment by the consumer electronics company's owner in a business headed by Kochhar's husband. The CBI arrested Chanda and Deepak Kochhar on Friday. Reporting by Arpan Chaturvedi; writing by Sudipto Ganguly; Editing by Savio D'SouzaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Former ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar arrested in loan fraud case -source
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 23 (Reuters) - India's federal investigating agency has arrested former ICICI Bank Ltd (ICBK.NS) Chief Executive Officer Chanda Kochhar in connection with a loan fraud case involving the bank and Videocon Group, a source from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) told Reuters on Friday. Kochhar's husband, Deepak Kochhar, was also arrested as part of the case, according to the source. Kochhar was ousted as ICICI bank's CEO in 2019 following allegations of corruption. Indian enforcement authorities previously alleged that ICICI Bank, under Kochhar, sanctioned "high value" loans to Videocon Industries, violating the bank's lending policies. In exchange, Videocon's owner invested in NuPower Renewables, a company founded by Deepak Kochhar, the authorities have alleged.

☆ India bank sale sharpens valuation rivalry
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Shritama Bose | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial (8316.T), Carlyle (CG.O) and Fairfax Financial (FFH.TO) may each be eyeing some of the 61% stake on offer in $7 billion IDBI Bank (IDBI.NS), per reports by The Economic Times and Mint. These latecomers’ share of outstanding loans fell to 55% in March 2022 from 70% in 2016, per Reserve Bank of India data. CONTEXT NEWSIndia on Dec. 14 extended the deadline to submit preliminary bids for the sale of a controlling stake in IDBI Bank to Jan. 7 from Dec. 16. New Delhi intends to sell 30.48%; Life Insurance Corporation of India, which is almost entirely government-owned, will sell a 30.24% stake. Carlyle, Fairfax Financial and DBS Bank are considering bidding for at least 10% each in IDBI Bank, Mint reported on Nov. 7, citing unnamed sources.

☆ Foreign equity funds pile into Indian financials as credit cycle picks up
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Anushka Trivedi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

MUMBAI, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Foreign investors are buying into Indian financial firms, lured by the prospects of a fresh credit cycle that may boost the stocks of the country's largest lenders. The optimism is reflected in inflows, with foreign investors buying a net of $1.74 billion worth of Indian financial stocks in November, data released by the National Securities Depository Ltd this week showed. Reuters Graphics"PALATABLE" VALUATIONIndian financial stocks are trading at a premium to their historical average, but that is not necessarily the comparison investors are looking at. This has prompted local and foreign investors to pour money into the domestic equity markets, which hit all-time highs last week. The optimism comes despite financial stocks trading at a premium to their two-year historical average on a price-to-book valuation basis.

☆ Mukesh Ambani will take credit where it’s due
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Shritama Bose | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Boss Mukesh Ambani might do precisely that to fund a push by his $220 billion Reliance Industries (RELI.NS) conglomerate into consumer lending. The company is spinning off and listing its little-noticed non-bank financial company. More than rivals, Ambani is sitting on a treasure trove of data to assess the credit worthiness of borrowers. As a home-grown tycoon, Ambani has a better chance of success than other late entrants to financial services. On Oct. 21, Reliance revealed plans to spin off Reliance Strategic and rename it Jio Financial Services.

☆ Indian bank stocks' record rally to continue as balance sheets strengthen
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Nupur Anand | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] A man checks his mobile phones in front of State Bank of India (SBI) branch in Kolkata, India, February 9, 2018. This comes at a time when credit growth is at a multi-year high and bad loans across lenders have reduced significantly. The brokerage said private and state-owned lenders that remained better placed to grow include ICICI Bank Ltd (ICBK.NS), HDFC Bank Ltd (HDBK.NS), Axis Bank Ltd (AXBK.NS), IndusInd Bank Ltd (INBK.NS), Bank of Baroda Ltd (BOB.NS) and State Bank of India (SBI) (SBI.NS). Credit growth is at a multi-year high, with an uptick both in retail and corporate loans. "One key concern going ahead remains how the rising interest rate scenario will impact credit growth."

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