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☆ 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

In the fiscal year 2022 through 2023, HDFC raised 784.15 billion from the debt market, higher than the 500 billion rupees a year before. It has raised 460.62 billion rupees since April this year. Mutual funds hold around 270 billion rupees of HDFC's bonds as of May 31, data from information service provider Prime Database showed. Rival LIC Housing Finance may be the biggest beneficiary of HDFC exiting the market, fund managers said. Other competitors such as ICICI Home Finance, Bajaj Housing Finance, Tata Capital Housing Finance and Shriram Housing Finance could also see an increase in demand for their debt issuances, they said.

Persons: HDFC, Raju Sharma, HFCs, Ajay Manglunia, Laukik Bagwe, Bagwe, IDBI Mutual Fund's Sharma, Dharamraj Dhutia, Dhanya Ann Thoppil Organizations: Housing Development Finance Corp, HDFC Bank, Reuters, IDBI Mutual Fund, Securities and Exchange Board of India, JM Financial, AAA, Mutual, LIC, Finance, ICICI Home Finance, Bajaj Housing Finance, Tata Capital Housing Finance, Shriram Housing Finance, Mutual Fund, IDBI Mutual, Thomson Locations: MUMBAI, India, HDFC

☆ India’s $1 bln education buyout is a studied bet
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MUMBAI, June 21 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The biggest merger in Indian corporate history has opened the door for private equity giant EQT (EQTAB.ST) to enter the country’s education finance market. The deal is touted as the largest ever PE buyout in the country’s financial sector and values Credila at roughly 101 billion rupees ($1.2 billion), or roughly 37 times earnings in the last financial year. The target specalises in education financing for those looking to universities in the United States, the UK and Canada for higher education. The buyers will also inject 20 billion rupees into Credila, which should help give the company, already a market major, an edge over rivals including state-controlled banks and the Warburg Pincus-backed Avanse Financial Services. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: HDFC, Credila, BPEA EQT, Warburg Pincus, Shritama Bose, Robyn Mak, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, Chrys Capital, Bajaj Finance, Financial, Twitter, Virgin, Thomson Locations: MUMBAI, Swedish, United States, Canada, India, Credila, Cava

☆ Mega-merger gives Indian lender new lease on life
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Shritama Bose | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

HDFC Bank (HDBK.NS), the country’s largest private lender, is set in July to complete its merger with its parent, partner and 26% shareholder Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) (HDFC.NS). That’s a great opportunity for the larger, streamlined HDFC Bank – until now it sold most home loans it originated to its parent. However, the share of mortgages in HDFC Bank’s portfolio will rise close to 30%, compared to SBI’s 20%. HDFC Bank remains a fixer-upper in a couple of important respects, though. Housing Development Finance Corporation created HDFC Bank in 1994 and remains a 26% shareholder.

Persons: Sashidhar Jagdishan, That’s, HDFC, Jagdishan, Breakingviews, Srinivasan Vaidyanathan, Antony Currie, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, HDFC Bank, Housing Development Finance Corporation, –, Bank of India, Mahindra Bank, Reserve Bank of India, Thomson Locations: MUMBAI, Asia, China, United States, watchdogs, Credila

☆ Exclusive: Mutual funds may not get holdings waiver post HDFC Bank - HDFC merger - sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Jayshree P Upadhyay | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

HDFC Bank and HDFC - both heavily owned by mutual funds - are set to conclude a merger in the next few weeks to create India's second-largest financial institution by assets after the State Bank of India. At least 60 equity mutual fund schemes will see their combined exposure to HDFC Bank and HDFC overshoot the 10% cap as of Wednesday. The matter has been referred to the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI), according to two mutual fund executives. "HDFC Bank and HDFC are fairly liquid stocks and have a lot of demand. Shares of HDFC Bank have risen 6.5% since April 1, 2022, but have still underperormed the broader BSE Bankex, which is up 17%.

Persons: SEBI, Deven Choksey, Jayshree, Varun, Dhanya Ann Thoppil Organizations: HDFC Bank, Reuters, HDFC, State Bank of India, Securities and Exchange Board of India, Association of Mutual Funds, KRChoksey Holdings, Thomson Locations: MUMBAI, India

[1/2] Uday Kotak, Managing Director of Kotak Mahindra Bank poses for a picture at the company's corporate office in Mumbai January 15, 2015. Kotak General Insurance, which is fully-owned by Indian banking giant Kotak Mahindra Bank (KTKM.NS), did not respond to Reuters queries. While the Kotak insurance unit's interest in selling a stake has been reported earlier, its talks with Zurich, the potential deal size and valuation are being reported for the first time. More than 30 companies operate in India's general insurance market, where annual premium collections grew 11% to reach $26.7 billion in 2021-22, helped by rising financial literacy and income levels, CareEdge Ratings said in a report. Already, foreign companies such as Germany's Allianz and South Africa's Lombard have general insurance partnerships with Indian banking or financial groups.

Persons: Uday Kotak, Kotak, South Africa's Lombard, Ergo, Sriram, Tom Sims, Victoria Farr, Aditya Kalra, Jacqueline Wong Organizations: Mahindra Bank, REUTERS, Danish, Zurich Insurance, Kotak, Zurich eyeing, Insurance, Asia's, Germany's Allianz, South, Thomson Locations: Mumbai, India, Zurich, MUMBAI, South Africa's, Europe, China, Frankfurt

☆ India's outsourcing giants cut hiring; disheartening for economy, students
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Navamya Ganesh Acharya | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

There are pockets of optimism elsewhere in the services sector - especially in accounting, where there is a surge in hiring. NLB sees a 20-25% drop in IT employee additions in the first half of the current financial year, while TeamLease Digital expects a 40% decrease for the entire year. Nasscom declined comment on the hiring slowdown. That has "surely left applicants concerned about future prospects", said staffing firm Xpheno's co-founder Kamal Karanth, who highlighted how current hiring activity was "under a third of what was recorded in the buoyant peak". Pai highlighted sectors such as financial services, consumer goods, specialised manufacturing, medicine, law, chartered accounting and other services as more viable options.

Persons: Rohit Azad, Azad, Rishad Premji, Sakshi Gupta, Sachin Alug, NLB, Nilanjan Roy, Nasscom, Gautam, Xpheno's, Kamal Karanth, LTIMindtree, Karanth, Siana, Siddharth Pai, Pai, Dhanya Skariachan, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: New, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Wipro, HDFC, Apple, Citigroup, American Express, Europe's Credit Suisse, UBS, NLB Services, TeamLease, IT, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Reuters Graphics, Sethuraman, Thomson Locations: BENGALURU, India, Punjab

☆ Indian rupee posts biggest single-day gain in two months on strong growth data
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Sethuraman N R | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MUMBAI, June 1 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee saw its best single-day gain in two months on Thursday, and also rose to a two-week high during the session, following strong domestic growth data, which prompted traders to square off long dollar positions. On Thursday, the rupee rose 0.38%, to mark its best day since April 5. Consistent flows into equities coupled with strong economic data is supporting the rupee, said Dilip Parmar, a research analyst at HDFC Securities. Adding to strong growth numbers, India's factory output expanded at the quickest pace since October 2020 in May, thanks to strong demand and output, a private survey showed. The string of positives for the rupee has prompted USD/INR long positions to lose patience, a sales person at a private bank said.

Persons: Dilip Parmar, Parmar, Sonia Cheema Organizations: U.S ., HDFC Securities, . Federal Reserve, Fed, Sethuraman NR, Thomson Locations: MUMBAI, Mumbai

The government expects growth could remain around 6.5% in the current fiscal year, despite risks emerging from a global slowdown. Asia's third-largest economy expanded faster than the forecast of 5.0% by economists in a Reuters poll in the last quarter of the 2022/23 fiscal year through March, up from a revised 4.5% in the previous quarter. She added growth numbers, however, reflected optimism for the Indian economy despite global headwinds. Reuters GraphicsFederal government spending, constituting about 10% of GDP, rose 2.3% year-on-year in the latest quarter, compared with a revised 0.6% contraction in the previous quarter. Currently, 45% of India's workforce is employed in the farm sector, which contributes just 15% to the economy.

Persons: Anantha Nageswaran, Sakshi Gupta, Narendra Modi, Economists, Sarita Chaganti Singh, Shivangi Acharya, Nishit Navin, Emelia Sithole, David Holmes Organizations: Reserve Bank of India, Reuters, Reuters Graphics Federal, Monitoring, Thomson Locations: DELHI, India, HDFC, Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru

☆ Bullish view on Indian rupee thwarted by wall of cenbank intervention
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Nimesh Vora | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MUMBAI, May 15 (Reuters) - The bullish outlook on the Indian rupee that several foreign banks have is facing a tough test from the Reserve Bank of India's persistent intervention to shore up reserves. Barclays projected the rupee to hit 80 per dollar by next March, while BofA Securities expected a move to 79.5 by then. The rupee currently is down slightly from its March 31 level, at 82.34 to the dollar. There is little doubt that the RBI will persist with its two-way intervention strategy to keep a check on the rupee volatility, chief dealer at another public sector bank said. "Broadly, I agree with what the public sector banks are saying, that RBI reckons the need to continue intervention and build reserves," said Abheek Barua, chief economist at HDFC Bank.

☆ 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.

☆ Ambani’s finance listing will measure disruption
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Shritama Bose | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Back in 2019 the boss of $200 billion Reliance Industries (RELI.NS) had pledged to spin out its giant retail and digital units. He has since lured big strategic and financial investors including Meta (META.O), Alphabet’s (GOOGL.O) Google and KKR (KKR.N)into those businesses. Jio Financial could be listed as soon as September. The entity will be renamed Jio Financial Services. Jio Financial will list as soon as September, a person familiar with the situation told Breakingviews.

☆ 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.

☆ Financials bounce back from Friday's slide to lift Indian shares
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Bharath Rajeswaran | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Nifty 50 (.NSEI) was up 0.81% at 18,215.75 as of 10:04 a.m. IST, while the S&P BSE Sensex (.BSESN) rose 0.87%. Nifty Bank (.NSEBANK) and Nifty Private Bank (.NIFPVTBANK) also gained over 1%. On Monday, IndusInd Bank Ltd (INBK.NS) rose nearly 5% and was the top Nifty 50 gainer. Analysts expect the Nifty 50 to witness consolidation in the near-term with resistance seen near 18,200 levels. read more($1 = 81.7330 Indian rupees)Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia CheemaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ India's HDFC beats Q4 profit estimates on home loan demand
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HDFC said profit after tax rose to 44.26 billion rupees ($541.09 million) for the three months ended March 31, from 37 billion rupees a year earlier. Analysts, on average, had expected profit after tax of 38.86 billion rupees, according to Refinitiv IBES data. The lender said it provided individual loans worth 93.40 billion rupees during the quarter, compared with 83.67 billion rupees a year earlier. HDFC is on track to merge with India's largest private lender HDFC Bank Ltd (HDBK.NS). The RBI in April allowed HDFC and HDFC Bank selective regulatory relief in order to smooth out the merger between the two entities.

☆ HDFC Bank to open more than 675 branches in semi-urban, rural areas in fiscal year 2024, bank official says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Siddhi Nayak | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MUMBAI, May 4 (Reuters) - HDFC Bank (HDBK.NS), India's largest private lender, is planning to open more than 675 branches in the semi-urban and rural geographies across the country in 2023-24, a senior bank official said on Thursday. The move is part of the lender's new programme targeting customers in semi-urban and rural areas, helping the bank meet some of its Priority Sector Lending (PSL) targets. PSL requirements, which include lending to weaker segments of the economy, are linked to an organisation's loan book. Of this, around 52% of the bank's branches are in the semi-urban and rural areas. Going forward, HDFC Bank aims to double business in semi-urban and rural areas - both by assets and liabilities - in the next two-to-three years, Vohra said.

☆ 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.

☆ 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.

☆ Breakingviews: Fox is not out of the woods yet
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NEW YORK, April 18 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Rupert Murdoch’s Fox will find that a damaged beast attracts more foes. The media company which operates cable network Fox News settled a defamation lawsuit on Tuesday for approximately half of the $1.6 billion sought in damages by the plaintiff, Dominion Voting Systems. In a statement, Fox acknowledged the court’s ruling “finding certain claims about Dominion to be false.”Fox has some $4 billion in cash, so it can easily scratch a check for the $788 million penalty. And while Fox is flush now, Chief Executive Lachlan Murdoch has noted the company needs more scale, given it’s vulnerable to cord cutters and a tepid advertising environment. The $17 billion Fox has survived this round, yet the hunt is still on.

☆ Fox is not out of the woods yet
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

☆ Wise’s tougher times raise risk of mission drift
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

He now has 6.1 million customers, results released on Tuesday showed, up 33% from a year ago. Wise’s volumes per retail customer dipped 7% year-on-year during the three months ending on March 31. Raising prices and tacking on other revenue-generating services could help to offset the hit to Wise’s top line. But pulling harder on those levers would arguably undermine one of the appeals of Wise’s business model for investors and customers: simplicity and ever-lower prices. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ David’s needs bachelorettes, not just brides
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, April 18 (Reuters Breakingviews) - With marriage rates on the decline, David’s Bridal has once again tied itself in a knot. Last time this happened in 2018, David’s courted a group of lenders led by Oaktree to save it. loadingFunding for nuptial-related companies has been on the decline since, as has business at David’s. Modern brides are opting for cheaper casual and secondhand dresses over fancy getups, but they appear more reticent to compromise on pre-wedding soirees. It suggests perhaps that David's fresh start should embrace an old saying, with a twist: always the bachelorette, never the bride.

☆ Chegg pitches itself as an AI middleman
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, April 17 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Educational software company Chegg (CHGG.N) is trying to stay one step ahead of artificial intelligence. With its stock down 40% since ChatGPT’s November release, Chegg has a new plan to act as an intermediary between students and AI. To that end, Chegg on Monday announced a partnership with ChatGPT developer OpenAI to build a virtual tutor, CheggMate. With awareness of AI proliferating, schools will face pressure to adapt; Chegg could fashion itself as a safer way to do so. Other companies with domain-specific databases may follow suit, rebranding themselves as middlemen to avoid being made obsolete by AI.

☆ “Angry Birds” may finally have found right nest
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, April 17 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The winning trick of “Angry Birds” is to fire your slingshot at just the right angle to knock out the squadrons of enemy green pigs attempting to steal the birds’ eggs. Japanese gaming company Sega Sammy (6460.T) may have found that position. On Monday, Sega agreed to pay about 700 million euros in cash for Rovio Entertainment (ROVIO.HE), the maker of the “Angry Birds” franchise. The 9.25 offer price is a 63% premium to the closing price of Jan. 19, when rival suitor Playtika (8II.F)made a previous approach. Half the investors have preliminarily accepted the deal, and Rovio shares are near the offer price.

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