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☆ Indian edtech startup Unacademy to lay off 12% of staff - document
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, March 30 (Reuters) - Indian edtech startup Unacademy is laying off 12% of its workforce, citing a funding winter and pressure to turn profitable, according to an internal mail from the company's chief executive seen by Reuters on Wednesday. "Today... funding is scarce and running a profitable business is key," CEO and co-founder Gaurav Munjal said in an email sent to all staff. A spokesperson for Unacademy declined to comment on the layoffs and did not disclose the number of job cuts or the current headcount. Indian business news publication Moneycontrol reported earlier in the day that the SoftBank-backed startup laid off about 380 employees, reducing its total employee count to under 3,000. Companies that have cut staff include Tiger Global-backed Vedantu and Byju's - India's biggest startup valued at $22 billion.

☆ India's Adani Group pre-pays over $900 mln worth share-backed financing
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The billionaire Gautam Adani-led Adani Group has been looking to ease concerns about its credit profile after a U.S.-based short seller noted high debt and alleged improper use of offshore tax havens and stock manipulation, which Adani denied. Promoters of the group's flagship firm, Adani Enterprises (ADEL.NS) will release 31 million shares, or a 4% stake, while Adani Ports' (APSE.NS) promoters will release 155 million shares, or an 11.8% stake, the group said in a statement. Promoters of Adani Green Energy (ADNA.NS) and Adani Transmission (ADAI.NS) will release 1.2% and 4.5% stakes in the respective companies. In a similar move, the group in February pre-paid $1.11 billion. With Tuesday's repayment, the group has so far repaid around $2.02 billion of share-backed financing, it said.

☆ India's Adani Group pre-pays over $900 million worth share-backed financing
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BENGALURU, March 7 (Reuters) - Embattled Indian conglomerate Adani Group said it prepaid share-backed financing of 73.74 billion rupees ($901.16 million), as it looks to allay fears over leverage and debt since a U.S. short seller's critical report sparked a stock rout. Promoters of the group's flagship firm, Adani Enterprises (ADEL.NS), will release 31 million shares, or a 4% stake, while Adani Ports' (APSE.NS) promoters will release 155 million shares, or an 11.8% stake, the group said in a statement on Tuesday. Promoters of Adani Green Energy (ADNA.NS) and Adani Transmission (ADAI.NS) will release 1.2% and 4.5% stakes in the respective companies. With Tuesday's repayment, the group has so far repaid around $2.02 billion of share-backed financing, it said. GQG's founder Rajiv Jain will meet clients and investors in Australia this week to explain its investment in the Adani group, the company said in a separate statement on Tuesday.

SYDNEY/BENGALURU, March 3 (Reuters) - Adani shares surged on Friday after a $1.87 billion investment in the group by GQG Partners Inc eased concerns about the group's ability to attract funding, while the conglomerate lined up more road shows to shore up investor confidence. Adani Group will hold road shows this month in London, Dubai and several cities in the United States, according to a document seen by Reuters. Overall, Adani group firms' net debt totalled $24.1 billion as of September 2022. Adani Green Energy and Adani Transmission jumped 5% each. Dollar bonds issued by Adani entities also rallied, with Adani Green Energy's 2024 bond adding 2.3 cents on the dollar to trade at 85.5 cents, while most bonds issued by Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone, Adani Transmission and Adani Electricity Mumbai rose by more than 1 cent.

☆ India's Supreme Court sets up panel to investigate Adani allegations
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Sumathi Bala | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesIndia's supreme court has set up an independent panel to investigate if there were regulatory failures related to allegations against the Adani Group , after a bombshell report from a U.S. short seller. The country's highest court directed a six member panel to probe "regulatory failure in dealing with the alleged contravention of laws pertaining to the securities market in relation to the Adani Group," a Thursday court order said. India's Supreme Court action comes slightly over a month after Hindenburg Research released a lengthy report on Jan. 24, accusing Adani Group of stock manipulation and fraud. The panel will be headed by Justice Sapre, a retired judge of the Supreme Court. Both institutions told CNBC recently that their exposure to the Adani Group was manageable.

☆ Indian agency attaches Joyalukkas chairman's assets worth $37 mln
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, Feb 24 (Reuters) - India's financial crime agency said on Friday it conducted searches and attached assets worth 3.06 billion rupees ($36.98 million) belonging to the chairman of jeweller Joyalukkas in a case related to alleged violation of foreign exchange laws. The Enforcement Directorate alleged a huge amount of cash was transferred to Dubai from India through so-called 'hawala' channels and then invested in Joy Alukkas Jewellery LLC, Dubai, which is fully owned by Alukkas Varghese Joy. The chairman could not be reached, while Joyalukkas did not immediately respond to a Reuters' request for comment. The agency said in a statement that it searched five premises of the jewellery group on Feb. 22, during which it found evidence of "active involvement" of Varghese Joy in those transactions. ($1 = 82.7500 Indian rupees)Reporting by Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-PhillipsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Air India has options to buy 370 more jets after mammoth order
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Air India has options and purchase rights to buy 370 more aircraft from Airbus and Boeing over the next decade, an company executive said in a recent LinkedIn post, days after the carrier unveiled a record order for 470 jets. "The order comprises of 470 firm aircraft, 370 options and purchase rights to be procured from Airbus and Boeing over the next decade," said Nipun Aggarwal, chief commercial and transformation officer at Air India, wrote in a post late Wednesday. The firm order comprises 220 Boeing (BA.N) planes and 250 Airbus (AIR.PA) aircraft, while the options can be converted to firm orders at a later date. Aggarwal also said Air India had signed long-term engine maintenance contracts with CFM International (CFM), Rolls-Royce (RR.L) and GE Aerospace (GE.N). Aggarwal said the aspiration with this order is to connect India "non-stop" to every major city in the world and shows the "tremendous economic potential" unleashed by the privatisation of Air India.

☆ Adani looks to repay $500 mln bridge loan taken for cement deals-ET
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, Feb 15 (Reuters) - India's embattled Adani Group is in talks with lenders to repay a $500 million bridge loan facility it had taken to buy controlling stakes in cement companies ACC Ltd (ACC.NS) and Ambuja Cements Ltd (ABUJ.NS) last year, the Economic Times daily reported on Wednesday. The group is looking to repay the bridge loan with cash this month, the report said, citing people aware of the matter, adding that the loan had a tenor of six months and was part of a larger $5.25 billion financing package. The loan was underwritten by Barclays (BARC.L), Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) and Standard Chartered (STAN.L), ET reported. The financial consortium lending to Adani also includes DBS, MUFG, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp, First Abu Dhabi Bank, Intesa and Mizuho, the report said. Adani and the lenders did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

☆ Indian digital payments firm PhonePe raises $100 mln at $12 bln valuation
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Indian digital payments firm (WMT.N) PhonePe said on Tuesday it has raised $100 million from Ribbit Capital, Tiger Global and TVS Capital Funds in a funding round that valued the Walmart Inc-backed company at $12 billion. The latest round is part of PhonePe's primary fundraise that took place last month through which the company raised $350 million from General Atlantic. Having raised $450 million in six weeks, PhonePe said it expects to raise the rest from global and Indian investors in due course. Despite a funding winter, the Indian digital payments space has been a bright spot due to the popularity of online payments and startups' ambitions to branch into the lucrative financial services space. PhonePe, in which U.S. retail giant Walmart has had a majority stake since 2018, completed its separation from Indian e-commerce major Flipkart last year.

☆ India Budget 2023: Here's what the experts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +13 min

"This budget, therefore, has rewritten the rules for financilisation of savings in India, which will induce expenditures rather incentivise savings. LAKSHMI IYER, CEO-INVESTMENT ADVISORY, KOTAK INVESTMENT ADVISORS LTD"India budget 2023 has offered a multi-dimensional view. The 3 Cs which stand out are - Capex increase - consumption boost - capital gains tax status quo. Additionally, the budget has provided significant direct tax benefits to individuals which will help increase disposable income and support spending. The budget keeps in mind the needs of future India while focusing on Artificial Intelligence and machine learning.

☆ India's Tata Motors surges 8% on first quarterly profit in 2 years
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BENGALURU, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Shares of Tata Motors Ltd (TAMO.NS), India's No.3 carmaker by volume, rose as much as 8.2% to a more-than-four-month high on Friday after the company reported its first quarterly profit in two years. Tata Motors swung to a surprise profit of 29.58 billion rupees in the October-December quarter, from a loss of 15.16 billion rupees a year before. Improving semiconductor supplies and rising demand helped Tata Motors' luxury car unit, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), turn profitable. Goldman rates Tata Motors' stock "neutral", while Nomura rates it "buy", which is also the average rating of the 30 analyst covering the stock, according to Refinitiv data. Bajaj Auto Ltd (BAJA.NS), among India's top motorcycles and three-wheelers maker, also reported a bigger-than-expected quarterly profit due to strong domestic demand and higher prices.

☆ India's Tata Motors jumps 6% on first quarterly profit in 2 years
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BENGALURU, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Shares of Indian Tata Motors Ltd (TAMO.NS) rose as much as 6% on Monday after the carmaker reported its first quarterly profit in two years on the back of strong demand and as its luxury car unit, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), turned profitable. Reporting by Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'SouzaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Gulf investors bid for India's Adani Enterprises' $2.5 bln FPO - Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Mubadala Investment Co PJSC and BNP Paribas SA (BNPP.PA) have also bid for shares, the report said, adding that the anchor book was oversubscribed about two times. Adani Enterprises last week set the floor price for India's largest FPO at 3,112 rupees per share with a price cap of 3,276 rupees apiece. While bidding for anchor investors began on Wednesday, bidding for retail investors will commence from Friday, with the offer closing for both sets of investors on Jan. 31. Spokespersons for Adani Enterprises, LIC and SBI Life did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Adani has said it will use 108.69 billion rupees from the FPO to fund green hydrogen projects, airports facilities and greenfield expressways.

NEW DELHI/BENGALURU, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) on Monday launched a dedicated air cargo service in India, Amazon Air, as it looks to expand and speed-up deliveries across one of its key markets amid fast-growing e-commerce sales, an executive said on Monday. The move to use a dedicated cargo service will give Amazon tighter control over costs and flight schedules while reducing delivery times across a wider range of products, said Rhoads. "We want to deliver the majority of shipments in two days or less and Amazon Air enables that." India is the third market, after the United States and Europe, where the company has launched Amazon Air. Amazon, which uses its own ground delivery services for shipping, also partners with Deutsche Post DHL Group (DPWGn.DE) controlled Blue Dart Express Ltd (BLDT.NS), one of India's biggest air cargo carriers.

☆ Amazon launches air freight service in India
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) on Monday launched its own air cargo fleet in India, Amazon Air, as it seeks to expand and speed-up deliveries across one of its key markets. India is the third market, after the United States and Europe, where the company has launched Amazon Air. Quikjet will transport Amazon customer shipments to Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Delhi, and Mumbai, Amazon said in a press release. The books-to-boots online retailer, which competes with Walmart Inc (WMT.N)-owned Flipkart in India, said the launch of Amazon Air would support over 1.1 million sellers in the country. Amazon, which uses its own ground delivery services for shipping, also partners with Deutsche Post DHL Group (DPWGn.DE) controlled Blue Dart Express Ltd (BLDT.NS), one of India's biggest air cargo carriers.

☆ India's PhonePe raises $350 million at $12 bln valuation
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BENGALURU, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Walmart-backed Indian digital payments app PhonePe has raised $350 million in a funding round led by private equity firm General Atlantic that valued the company at $12 billion. Reporting by Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru; Editing by Dhanya Ann ThoppilOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ India's HCLTech falls after lowering full-year revenue view
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BENGALURU, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Shares of Indian IT major HCLTech (HCLT.NS) fell as much as 2.6% on Friday after lowering its revenue growth outlook for this fiscal year and flagging delays in decision making by its European clients. The Noida-based company on Thursday lowered its revenue growth projection for the fiscal year ending March 31 to 13.5-14% from 13.5% to 14.5% previously. Reporting by Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru; Editing by Dhanya Ann ThoppilOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Walmart paid most of $1 bln tax for PhonePe shifting base to India - source
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Nandan Mandayam | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, Jan 4 (Reuters) - Walmart Inc (WMT.N) has already paid the Indian government most of the nearly $1 billion in tax after digital payments company PhonePe shifted its headquarters from Singapore to India, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. Bloomberg News previously reported that Walmart and other PhonePe investors would have to pay nearly $1 billion after its domicile change. Tiger Global, an existing PhonePe investor, was not required to pay the tax, according to the source. While PhonePe declined to comment, Walmart did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Moneycontrol reported last year PhonePe was raising funds at a $12 billion valuation in a round led by General Atlantic.

☆ Walmart gets $1 bln tax bill for shifting PhonePe headquarters to India - report
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, Jan 4 (Reuters) - Walmart Inc (WMT.N) and other PhonePe shareholders will have to pay nearly $1 billion in tax after the digital payments company shifted its headquarters to India, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. PhonePe is raising funds at a $12 billion pre-money valuation from General Atlantic, Qatar Investment Authority and others, triggering the hefty charge, according to the report. Investors including Tiger Global Management have now purchased shares of PhonePe in India at the new price, leading to tax implications of roughly 80 billion Indian rupees ($966.13 million) for existing shareholders, Bloomberg News reported. PhonePe, Walmart and Tiger Global did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. Walmart said last month it had completed the separation of PhonePe from Indian ecommerce giant Flipkart, adding that it would remain a majority stakeholder in both the companies.

☆ India's utility vehicles sales rise in Dec, demand for entry-level cars muted
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( Nandan Mandayam | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BENGALURU, Jan 2 (Reuters) - India's top automakers in December reported a double-digit rise in the sale of the more expensive utility vehicles, while entry-level cars saw muted demand despite discounts. Auto sales numbers are keenly watched as they are among the key indicators for assessing private consumption, which has more than 50% weightage in calculating the country's economic growth. Utility vehicles (UV), among the fastest-growing segments, saw a 22.3% rise in sales at Maruti Suzuki India (MRTI.NS) and 62.2% at Mahindra and Mahindra (MAHM.NS). Hero MotoCorp (HROM.NS), the world's largest bikemaker, reported a marginal fall in sales, while Bajaj Auto's (BAJA.NS) two-wheeler sales dropped 22%. The commercial vehicles (CV) segment reported a double-digit growth for December, with sales at industry leaders Eicher Motors (EICH.NS) and Ashok Leyland (ASOK.NS) rising 17.3% and 44.9%, respectively.

☆ India's Mamaearth parent files for IPO - draft prospectus
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Indian skincare startup Mamaearth's products are on display for sale at a wholesale shop in Ahmedabad, India, June 22, 2022. REUTERS/Amit DaveBENGALURU, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Parent of Indian personal care products startup Mamaearth, Honasa Consumer Ltd, on Thursday filed for an initial public offering (IPO), according to draft papers submitted to the market regulator. The Sequoia- and Sofina-backed company's IPO will comprise of a fresh issue of shares worth 4 billion rupees ($48.30 million) and an offer for sale of 46.8 million shares. Reuters had reported in June that Mamaearth was in talks to raise at least $300 million for the IPO scheduled for 2023. Honasa said it would use about 1.86 billion rupees from the IPO for advertising expenses.

☆ India's NDTV shares rise as founders plan to sell stake to Adani
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

After the deal, the Indian conglomerate, led by billionaire Gautam Adani, will control 64.71% of NDTV, while the founders will retain a combined 5%. Over the last four quarters, the broadcaster raked in revenues in the range of 900 million rupees ($10.88 million) to 1.20 billion rupees. In comparison, rival TV18 Broadcast Ltd (TVEB.NS) has amassed revenues in the range of 12.7 billion rupees to 15.7 billion rupees. Both NDTV and TV18 had flagged reducing ad revenues in the September quarter. Shares of NDTV were last up 2.4% at 348.70 rupees, which was at a discount to the 368.43 rupees per share at which the Roys sold their stake.

☆ India's largest winemaker Sula Vineyards drops 5% in market debut
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Nandan Mandayam | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

It was last trading down 4.2% at 341.8 rupees in a broader market (.NSEI) that was down 0.58%. "We like Sula, given (its) market leadership in India’s grape wine industry, especially in premium brands," said Motilal Oswal equity strategist Hemang Jani. It raised a total of 9.6 billion rupees in the IPO, including 2.88 billion rupees from anchor investors like Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Goldman Sachs. Sula, India's largest winemaker, has a portfolio of 56 labels from 13 of its own brands and 20 international ones. Its net revenue rose 8% year-over-year to 4.57 billion rupees in fiscal year 2022.

☆ India imposes anti-dumping duty on stainless steel tube imports from China
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BENGALURU, Dec 21 (Reuters) - India has imposed an anti-dumping duty on stainless steel seamless tubes and pipe imports from China for five years to remove "injury" to the domestic industry, according to a government notification. Reporting by Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi AichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Factbox: Air India's fleet versus major Indian and international carriers
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 14 (Reuters) - India, the world's fastest growing aviation market, has seen increased competition with a number of domestic and international carriers adding flights and destinations across the country. Air India on Tuesday placed landmark orders for 470 jetliners from Airbus (AIR.PA) and Boeing (BA.N) as it carves out an ambitious renaissance under the Tata Group. The fleet expansion plans come after Tata Group in November announced a merger of all its airlines, including full service carriers Air India and Vistara and budget airlines Air India Express and AirAsia India. The new planes are expected to help Air India take on IndiGo and win back international traffic from airlines like Emirates. Here are the fleet sizes of the major Indian airlines and foreign carriers versus Air India's.

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