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☆ India's 1-yr, 10-yr yield curve briefly inverts for first time in nearly eight years
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Dharamraj Dhutia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The 1-year bond yield, that trades close to the 364-day treasury bill yield, briefly rose to 7.4750% earlier in the day, while the 10-year benchmark 7.26% 2032 bond yield was at 7.4728%. The 1-year note last traded above the 10-year bond in May 2015, according to Refinitiv data. The 1-year yield eased to 7.43%, while the 10-year benchmark was at 7.46% as of 4:20 p.m. IST. On Feb. 28, Reuters reported that India's bond yield curve is likely to invert on the back of worsening liquidity deficit in India's banking system and bets of continued rate hikes. Reuters GraphicsThe benchmark 2032 bond yield has risen only 12 bps during the same period, leading to spread compression and ultimately inversion.

☆ 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”.

BENGALURU, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Indian shares reversed earlier gains to close lower on Wednesday, led by a fall in insurance companies after the country's Union budget proposed to limit tax exemptions for insurance proceeds, while Adani Group shares tumbled. This was the worst budget day performance by Nifty 50 (.NSEI) in three years, since the 2.51% fall in 2020. Reuters Graphics Reuters GraphicsMeanwhile, Indian bond yields dropped after the government announced gross borrowing at 15.43 trillion rupees ($188.75 billion) for the next financial year. A Reuters poll had pegged gross borrowing at 16 trillion rupees. Indian insurance companies were top losers post budget, with HDFC Life (HDFL.NS), SBI Life Insurance (SBIL.NS), ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co (ICIR.NS), Life Insurance of India (LIFI.NS), General Insurance Corp (GENA.NS) and Max Financial (MAXI.NS) tumbling between 8.5% to 12.5%.

☆ Indian shares fall as insurance companies drag; Adani Group stocks tumble
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Indian shares reversed earlier gains to trade lower on Wednesday, led by a fall in insurance companies after the country's Union budget proposed to limit tax exemptions for insurance proceeds, while Adani Group shares tumbled. The indexes rose as much as 2% after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman raised the rebate limit for personal income tax to 700,000 rupees from 500,000 rupees. Indian insurance companies were top losers post budget, with HDFC Life (HDFL.NS), SBI Life Insurance (SBIL.NS), ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co (ICIR.NS), Life Insurance of India (LIFI.NS), General Insurance Corp (GENA.NS) and Max Financial (MAXI.NS) tumbling between 4.5% to 11%. Shares of Nifty 50-listed Adani Enterprises (ADEL.NS) plunged 15% while Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSE.NS) tumbled 10% on a broader selloff in Adani Group firms, which has now swelled to $82 billion since the Hindenburg report. Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran and Nallur Sethuraman in Bengaluru; editing by Eileen Soreng, Savio D'Souza and Janane VenkatramanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

BENGALURU, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Indian shares reversed earlier gains to close lower on Wednesday, led by a fall in insurance companies after the country's Union budget proposed to limit tax exemptions for insurance proceeds, while Adani Group shares tumbled. The bluechip Nifty 50 index (.NSEI) closed down 0.26% at 17,616.30, its biggest slide on budget day since a 2.51% fall in 2020. HDFC Life (HDFL.NS), SBI Life Insurance (SBIL.NS), ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co (ICIR.NS), Life Insurance of India (LIFI.NS), General Insurance Corp (GENA.NS) and Max Financial (MAXI.NS) tumbled between 8.5% to 12.5%. Metal stocks (.NIFTYMET) closed down 4.5%, mostly dragged by the slump in Adani Enterprises. ($1 = 81.8680 Indian rupees)Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran and Nallur Sethuraman in BengaluruOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Adani’s battle with Hindenburg leaves investors sizing up exposure to the global banking sector
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Seema Mody | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Indeed, Indian banks make up 0.6% of the group's sector loans, according to JPMorgan. This may seem low but the total exposure to the Adani Group is still around $9 billion, wrote Saurabh Kumar, an analyst at JPMorgan. Gautam Adani, chairman of Adani Group. Jefferies analyst Prakhar Sharma writes that, for now, the risk to Indian banks is low, saying, "we don't see material risk to the Indian banking sector." Of the seven companies operated by the Adani Group: Adani Green Energy, Adani Power and Adani Ports are sitting on the most net debt, according to analysts.

[1/2] The logo of the Adani Group is seen on the facade of its Corporate House on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, India, January 27, 2023. Adani Group in a statement said: "There is no change in either the schedule or the issue price." The Adani Group has called the report baseless and said it was considering taking action against Hindenburg. Friday's 20% fall in shares of group flagship Adani Enterprises dragged it 11% below the minimum offer price of the secondary sale. The Hindenburg report questioned how the Adani Group used entities in offshore tax havens such as Mauritius and the Caribbean islands.

Asked for comment, an Adani Group spokesperson said in an email that the share sale was going "as per schedule", without elaborating. The Adani Group has called the report baseless and said it was considering taking action against Hindenburg. Friday's 20% fall in shares of group flagship Adani Enterprises dragged it 11% below the minimum offer price of the secondary sale. Adani had set a floor price of 3,112 rupees ($38.22) a share and a cap of 3,276 rupees, but Adani Enterprises closed on Friday 2,761.45 rupees. A fourth source said Adani management is also discussing the share sale internally to decide on next steps.

The stunning market selloff has cast a shadow over Adani Enterprises' secondary share sale that started on Friday. The share sale is being managed by Jefferies, India's SBI Capital Markets, Axis Capital, and ICICI Securities among others. Shares of other listed Adani firms also plummeted, with Adani Transmission Ltd (ADAI.NS), Adani Total Gas (ADAG.NS), Adani Green Energy (ADNA.NS) and Adani Ports (APSE.NS) sinking 20% each. Adani Ports, Adani Green Energy and Adani Transmission marked their worst intraday drop ever, with heavy volumes. Billionaire U.S. investor Bill Ackman said on Thursday that he found the Hindenburg report "highly credible and extremely well researched."

☆ India's FY24 gross borrowing could be less than expected -economists
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Reuters Staff | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MUMBAI (Reuters) - India’s central government’s gross market borrowings for 2023/24 could come in below market expectations as a pool of securities raised to compensate states for a shortfall in goods and services tax may not be rolled over, a few economists said. The government’s gross borrowing is expected to be a record 16 trillion rupees (about $196 billion) for the fiscal year through March 2024, according to a Reuters poll of economists. Once we knock these off, the ‘true’ gross borrowing comes to 15.8 trillion rupees,” the economists estimated. India borrowed 1.1 trillion rupees and 1.59 trillion rupees in 2020-21 and 2021-22, respectively, to lend to states and compensate for a revenue shortfall from tax collections. After adjusting for the redemption of such bonds in 2022-23, IDFC First Bank expects gross borrowing of 15.50 trillion rupees.

☆ 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.

BENGALURU, Jan 6 (Reuters) - A budget that accelerates fiscal consolidation would give more support to the Indian rupee in the near term, according to a Reuters poll of FX analysts who forecast the currency would erase a fifth of last year's losses over the next 12 months. A majority of FX analysts, 11 of 17, said a Feb. 1 budget that focuses on fiscal consolidation would help the Indian rupee the most in the near term. None of the respondents expected the rupee to be stronger than 75 per dollar, where it started 2022, at any point this year. Abhishek Upadhyay, senior economist at ICICI Securities Primary Dealership, said the "fiscal deficit is still too high and needs to be reduced" for the rupee to find some support. "High fiscal deficit will hurt the savings-investment balance, curb improvement in current account deficit, and complicate the RBI's efforts to temper inflation pressures."

☆ Indian rupee ends 2022 as worst-performing Asian currency
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Anushka Trivedi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MUMBAI, Dec 30 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee ended 2022 as the worst-performing Asian currency with a fall of 11.3%, its biggest annual decline since 2013, as the dollar rocketed on the U.S. Federal Reserve's aggressive monetary policy stance to tame inflation. Most traders and analysts expect the currency to move between a tight 81.50-83.50 range in the first quarter. Equity inflows would be a key metric to watch for the rupee for foreign investors as well, analysts said. But considering several uncertainties heading into 2023, such as tight monetary policy conditions, likely recession in some economies and an ongoing geopolitical conflict, gauging the direction of share markets had become tough, they added. If we get a selloff in Indian shares, I'll be less optimistic on the rupee," said Christopher Wong, FX strategist at OCBC Bank.

☆ 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.

The rupee finished last week 1.2% lower at 82.27 per dollar, tumbling swiftly from trading in the 81-handle initially. Considering that, the rupee is still expected to be "stuck" in a range, they added. Meanwhile, India's benchmark government bond yield ended last week at 7.2982%, with the 8 bps gain its biggest weekly rise since late-September. Yields are expected to move in a narrow range of 7.26%-7.36%, with high chances of the upper end being tested, said a fixed income trader. After the Fed meeting, traders will also watch out for the central bank's dot plot to see where terminal rates could go.

☆ 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.

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