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[1/5] Customers stand next to a counter at a Starbucks' outlet at a market in New Delhi, India, May 30, 2023. Starbucks plans to open more stores in smaller towns, said an industry source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Soon after Starbucks' May launch of $3.33 milkshakes, designed to attract children, Third Wave launched its own range, a fifth cheaper at $2.71. He saw Starbucks' cheaper, small-sized drinks as a response to competition in "an incredibly price-sensitive market". "Going deeper into smaller cities, beyond the metros, is the only way to grow," said Ankur Bisen, head of retail at India's Technopak Advisors.

Persons: Sushant Dash, Tim Hortons, Devangshu Dutta, We've, chai, Chas Hermann, Sushant Goel, Matt Chitharanjan, Dash, Ankur Bisen, Sriram, Aditya Kalra, Anushree Fadnavis, Varun Vyas, Euan Rocha, Miyoung Kim, Sophie Yu, Hilary Russ, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: REUTERS, MUMBAI, Blue, Starbucks, Tata Group, BET, CHAI, Wave, Third, Reuters, Blue Tokai, India's Technopak, Thomson Locations: New Delhi, India, American, DELHI, U.S, Blue Tokai, China, Singapore, United States, Bengaluru, Delhi, Aurangabad, Beijing, New York

NEW DELHI/BENGALURU, June 2 (Reuters) - The India and South Asia head of Amazon.com Inc's (AMZN.O) cloud division, Puneet Chandok, has resigned with effect from August 31, the company said on Friday. Chandok had taken the helm of Amazon Web Services in June 2019. Vaishali Kasture, currently head of enterprise for mid-market and global businesses at AWS India and South Asia, would take on the role of interim leader of commercial business for the unit, Amazon India said. The news came over two weeks after Amazon's cloud computing unit revealed plans to invest 1.06 trillion rupees ($12.87 billion) in India by 2030, doubling down on its past investments to cater to the growing demand for such services in Asia's No. The interim provides an opportunity for other cloud companies such as Azure and Google Cloud Platform, along with homegrown players, to make aggressive bids for accounts, said Akshara Bassi, an analyst at Counterpoint Research.

Persons: Inc's, Puneet Chandok, Chandok, Vaishali Kasture, Akshara Bassi, Munsif Vengattil, Aditya Kalra, Varun, Savio D'Souza, Dhanya Ann Thoppil, Sohini Organizations: NEW, Amazon Web Services, India, Amazon, Counterpoint Research, Varun Vyas, Thomson Locations: NEW DELHI, BENGALURU, India, South Asia, Amazon India, Asia's, New Delhi, Bengaluru

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

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

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

☆ Indian rupee poised to weaken after central bank pulls 2,000-rupee notes
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Nimesh Vora | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MUMBAI, May 22 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee is expected to open weaker against the U.S. dollar after the central bank said it will withdraw the highest value currency note from circulation. Non-deliverable forwards indicate rupee will open at around 82.80-82.84 to the dollar, compared to 82.66 in the previous session. On Friday, the Reserve Bank of India said it will withdraw its highest denomination 2,000-rupee note from circulation. "Rupee would come under pressure" alongside the fall in the cost of carry (the forward premiums), Goenka said. "Conducting sell/buy swaps (on USD/INR) would address cash dollar shortage and suck out rupee liquidity and could offer respite."

☆ India appeals tribunal upholds Go First bankruptcy in setback for lessors
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NEW DELHI, May 22 (Reuters) - An Indian appeals tribunal on Monday upheld insolvency proceedings against cash-strapped airline Go First, making it tougher for its lessors to repossess their aircraft. At least three leasing companies, including GY Aviation Lease and SMBC Aviation Capital, had challenged a tribunal ruling granting Go Airlines (India), widely known as Go First, bankruptcy protection earlier this month. The appeals tribunal said on Monday the National Company Law Tribunal will decide whether lessors who terminated their leases before the bankruptcy proceedings began can repossess their aircraft. Go First Chairman Varun Berry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Reporting by Arpan Chaturvedi and Tanvi Mehta Editing by David GoodmanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Credit Suisse staff prepare to sue Swiss regulator over lost AT1 bonuses-FT
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 22 (Reuters) - Credit Suisse AG (CSGN.S) staff are preparing to sue the Swiss financial regulator over $400 million of bonuses that were canceled after the troubled lender's rescue by UBS Group AG (UBSG.S), the Financial Times reported on Monday. Quinn Emanuel and Pallas, law firms which are already suing Swiss regulator Finma on behalf of investors who owned AT1 bonds, have received multiple requests from senior managers at Credit Suisse to take legal action on their behalf, the report said. Credit Suisse declined to comment, while Law firms Quinn Emanuel, Pallas and Finma did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment. Following this, Switzerland's Federal Council instructed Credit Suisse to cancel or reduce all outstanding bonus payments for the top three levels of management and examine whether those already paid can be recovered. read moreUnder Swiss banking law, the Federal Council can impose bonus-related measures on a systemically important bank if it received state aid from federal funds.

☆ India exempts overseas card spends up to 700,000 rupees from 20% tax
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

NEW DELHI, May 19 (Reuters) - India will not impose a 20% tax on spending of up to 700,000 rupees ($8,559.55) through international debit and credit cards in a financial year, it said in a statement on Friday, partly reversing the rules within days after a public backlash. The finance ministry earlier this week had announced a tax of 20% on the spending for overseas travel and purchases using international debit and credit cards from July 1. A tax collected at source could be claimed by the payee at the time of filing of tax returns. ($1 = 81.7800 Indian rupees)Reporting by Nikunj Ohri and Nidhi Verma; Editing by Varun H KOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

May 18 (Reuters) - Equity markets in North Asia will outperform the broader region this year, buoyed by China's reopening and a post-pandemic recovery-led earnings rebound, investors and strategists said. Liquidity from easing monetary and fiscal policy, along with Asian central banks' early victory on inflation, is expected to defend against an incoming downtrend, keeping North Asian equities resilient. Grace Tam, chief investment officer-Asia at BNP Paribas Wealth Management, expects North Asia to outperform this year following a strong 2022 from South Asian equities. Goldman Sachs sees the north versus south disparity in Asia as a top investment theme in 2023. "China's growth recovery and North Asia's earnings rebound in 2024 remain our key investment themes and overweight areas," it said in its second-quarter outlook.

The proposal comes after India refused to agree to Tesla's request last year to lower the import tax on cars, which can reach as much as 100%. India wanted the carmaker to build vehicles locally but Tesla wanted to test the market first with imports and the talks ended in deadlock. While Tesla did not discuss lower import taxes with Indian officials, it proposed setting up a new factory, albeit without specifying a location or investment, said the source, who declined to be named as the talks were private. Senior Tesla executives are in India this week to meet the government to discuss local sourcing of parts and other issues, Reuters reported on Tuesday. Tesla met officials from Modi's office and other ministries on Wednesday, said the person and another source familiar with the matter.

MUMBAI, May 17 (Reuters) - India's Supreme Court on Wednesday granted the country's market regulator additional time till August 14 to complete its investigation into possible violation of securities law and regulatory disclosures by the Adani group. Hindenburg Research had raised several governance concerns around the Adani group, leading to a loss of more than $100 billion in the market capitalisation of companies in the group founded by billionaire Gautam Adani. Following this, the Supreme Court had asked SEBI to probe some of the allegations made and submit a report to a court-appointed panel. Adani group companies are being probed for violation of this law. The Supreme Court directed the market regulator to place on record its findings so far relating to the investigation on violation of public float by the Adani group.

☆ India's Sterlite Tech swings to profit in Q4 on optical networking boost
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BENGALURU, May 17 (Reuters) - Indian networking solutions provider Sterlite Technologies Ltd (STTE.NS) swung to a fourth-quarter profit on Wednesday, aided by strong growth in its mainstay optical networking business. The company's consolidated net profit stood at 650 million rupees ($8 million) for the quarter ended March 2023, compared to a net loss of 220 million rupees a year ago, it said in an exchange filing. Consolidated revenue from operations jumped 25% to 18.72 billion rupees, the company said. Optical networking business, which contributed a hefty 80% of the company's topline, grew 40% to 15.05 billion rupees. Additionally, the company declared a final dividend of 1 rupee per share and approved fundraise of up to 10 billion rupees.

The proposal comes after India refused to agree to Tesla's request last year to lower the import tax on cars, which can reach as much as 100%. India wanted the carmaker to build vehicles locally but Tesla wanted to test the market first with imports and the talks ended in deadlock. Senior Tesla executives are in India this week to meet the government to discuss local sourcing of parts and other issues, Reuters reported on Tuesday. Tesla met officials from Modi's office and other ministries on Wednesday, said the person and another source familiar with the matter. Tesla had hired a local team and began a search for showroom space, but that was also abandoned last year.

☆ US DOJ to crackdown on crypto exchanges, NCET director says - FT
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

May 15 (Reuters) - The U.S. cryptocurrency enforcement tsar has said that the country was stepping up scrutiny of crypto exchanges to target illicit behavior on the platforms, the Financial Times reported on Monday. "And so we hope that by focusing on those types of platforms, we’re going to have a multiplier effect." The DOJ in March charged Vietnamese national Minh Quoc Nguyen with money laundering and identity theft in connection with crypto platform ChipMixer's operations, claiming that Nguyen openly flouted financial regulations. The NCET director, without naming any specific entity, said that a company's size "is not something that the department will countenance" while weighing potential charges. Reporting by Rahat Sandhu in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H KOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The cash-strapped airline wants the tribunal to accept its plea and is seeking an interim moratorium to save its assets, a move the lessors oppose. Go First did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lessors' bid to deregister the planes. Engine failures have cost the airline 108 billion rupees ($1.3 billion) in lost revenue and expenses, it said. Amid the dispute between the lessors and the troubled airline, banks with exposure to it are awaiting the tribunal's decision to decide their next course of action, two people involved in the talks told Reuters. The company owes financial creditors 65.21 billion rupees ($798 million), its bankruptcy filing showed, and had not defaulted on any of those dues by the end of April.

☆ Indian rupee headed higher on weak dollar, fall in US yields; Fed awaited
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Nimesh Vora | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MUMBAI, May 3 (Reuters) - Indian rupee is expected to open higher on Wednesday, boosted by a broad decline on the U.S. dollar and plunge in yields amid worries over the U.S. banking sector. Non-deliverable forwards indicate the rupee will open at around 81.76-81.80 to the dollar compared to 81.88 in the previous session. The rupee reached 81.7225 on Tuesday, before dollar bids by public sector banks, probably for the Reserve Bank of India, prompted it to reverse course. The U.S. Federal Reserve will most likely raise rates by 25 basis points later in the day, interest rate futures indicate. Investors will be eyeing the U.S. central bank's forward guidance to assess the path ahead for interest rates.

☆ Pepsi bottler Varun Beverages posts Q1 profit jump; announces stock split
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BENGALURU/CHENNAI, May 2 (Reuters) - India-based Pepsi bottler Varun Beverages (VARB.NS) on Tuesday reported an about 69% jump in quarterly profit on price increases and steady demand, and said it would split each of its existing shares into two. The company reported a consolidated net profit of 4.29 billion rupees ($52.46 million) for the first quarter ended March 31, compared to 2.54 billion rupees a year earlier. Gurugram-based Varun Beverages, which is PepsiCo's No.2 franchisee outside the United States, packages and distributes beverages under the Pepsi, Mirinda and Tropicana labels. Varun Beverages approved a share split of its existing shares in a ratio of 1:2 to boost its liquidity and make its stock "more attractive" to small investors. The stock was last up marginally at 1,450 rupees and up about 10% so far this year.

☆ India's Go First Airways files for insolvency proceedings, suspends flights - report
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, May 2 (Reuters) - Cash-strapped Indian airline Go First Airways has suspended its flights for May 3 and 4, and filed for insolvency resolution proceedings in the National Company Law Tribunal, local media reported on Tuesday. Go First is suspending flights due to a severe funding crunch, PTI said in a report carried by ET Now, citing the airline's Chief Executive Kaushik Khona. The grounded flights have led to Go First's market share falling to 6.9% in March from 8.4% in January, latest data from the Indian aviation regulator showed. Go First has also sued Pratt & Whitney in a U.S. federal court, seeking to enforce an arbitral award that asks the engine maker to supply the airline, the ET report said. Reporting by Varun Vyas in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'SouzaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Major Gulf markets mixed in early trade
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 26 (Reuters) - Major stock markets in the Gulf were mixed in early trade on Wednesday amid rising recession fears in the United States, with the Saudi index on course to end five-day winning streak. U.S. Consumer confidence fell to a nine-month low in April, a survey showed, intensifying concerns of a potential recession. Saudi Arabia's benchmark index (.TASI) dropped 0.3%, on course snap a five-session gains, hit by a 1.1% drop in oil giant Saudi Aramco (2222.SE). Dubai's main share index (.DFMGI) retreated 0.6%, weighed down by a 3.2% slide in Emaar Properties PJSC (EMAR.DU). U.S. crude oil stocks fell by about 6.1 million barrels in the week ended April 21, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute (API) figures on Tuesday.

☆ INDIA RUPEE Rupee to weigh robust US activity data, support at 82.25/USD
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Nimesh Vora | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MUMBAI, April 24 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee is likely to open little changed to the U.S. currency on Monday, amid upbeat U.S. data and expectations that the local currency will manage to hold a near-term support level. Non-deliverable forwards indicate the rupee will open nearly unchanged to the previous session's level of 82.09. The local currency declined last week, halting a four week winning streak and was in a 81.88 to 82.25 range. "The U.S data may have dampened thoughts about Fed rate cuts later this year," ING Bank said in a note. There is a slew of data this week to help investors assess the likely direction for U.S. rates.

☆ TSMC seeks up to $15 bln from US but objects to certain conditions- WSJ
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

April 19 (Reuters) - Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (2330.TW) is pushing back on some of the conditions the United States has attached to chip-factory subsidies as it seeks up to $15 billion from the U.S. government, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. TSMC, which in December more than tripled its planned investment at its new Arizona plant to $40 billion, is concerned about rules that could require it to share profits from the factories and provide detailed information about operations, WSJ reported, citing people familiar with the matter. TSMC declined to comment when contacted by Reuters. Reporting by Jose Joseph in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K and Dhanya Ann ThoppilOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Britain's De La Rue warns on profit as demand for cash tumbles
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 12 (Reuters) - Struggling British banknote printer De La Rue Plc (DLAR.L) warned its fiscal 2023 profit was set to miss market expectations and next year's outlook was uncertain, as demand for cash hit its lowest in over two decades, sending shares to a record low. De La Rue shares, which have lost more than half of their value so far this year, fell more than 30% to 33 pence on Wednesday to a record low. The company said it expected adjusted operating profit for the year ended on March 25 to undershoot market expectations by a mid-single digit percentage. It expected adjusted operating profit to be in the low 20 million pound ($24.84 million) range for its fiscal 2024. The banknote printer said the downturn in demand for currency was also causing significant uncertainty in its outlook for 2024.

☆ Shares of China's SenseTime jump after it unveils new AI products
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] The logo of SenseTime is seen at SenseTime office, in Shanghai, China December 13, 2021. REUTERS/Aly Song/File PhotoHONG KONG, April 11 (Reuters) - Shares of Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company SenseTime (0020.HK) surged as much as 11% on Tuesday, a day after it unveiled a series of new AI-powered products as it joins a global race to dominate the sector. China's Alibaba Group Holdings (9988.HK) and Japan's Softbank Group Corp (9984.T) are both invested in the Chinese AI company. SenseTime's shares rose to as high HK$3.70, up 11.1% from its previous close but below its initial public offering price of HK$3.85 in December 2021. Alibaba's shares rose as much as 3.8%, while Softbank climbed 0.5%.

☆ Global PC shipments slide in first quarter, Apple takes biggest hit, IDC says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

In separate reports published on Monday, market research firms IDC and Canalys blamed weak demand, excess inventory and a bleak economic outlook for the shipment declines of 29% and 33%, respectively. Of the top five PC makers analysed in the reports, Apple saw the largest drop with a fall of more than 40%. Both the research firms also predicted the market could start to recover later this year and gather momentum in 2024 if the economic outlook improves. "We expect significant market upside as consumers look to refresh, schools seek to replace worn-down Chromebooks, and businesses move to Windows 11," IDC said. Reporting by Bharat Govind Gautam and Tiyashi Datta in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H KOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

"One has to step back and look at a bigger picture than just these week-to-week market battles over data. ET, Dow e-minis were down 122 points, or 0.36%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 21.5 points, or 0.52%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 107.75 points, or 0.82%. Shares of regional banks slipped after Fed data on Friday showed overall credit from U.S. banks declined by a record of more than $120 billion in the latest week, on a nonseasonally adjusted basis. Semiconductor stocks such as Micron Technology Inc (MU.O) and Western Digital Corp (WDC.O) gained 5.5% and 4.7%, respectively, following Samsung Electronics Co Ltd's (005930.KS) plans to cut chip production. Reporting by Sruthi Shankar and Ankika Biswas in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Medha Singh; Editing by Varun H K and Shounak DasguptaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Futures muted after jobs data raises odds of more rate hikes
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

U.S. employers maintained a strong pace of hiring in March, data released on Friday showed, pushing the unemployment rate down to 3.5% and raising odds of the Fed hiking rates one more time next month. While nonfarm payrolls increased by 236,000 jobs last month, slightly weaker than economists' expectations, investors focused on the overall data which signaled labor market resilience. "We see a disconnect between markets presuming much easier Fed policy on "softer" data and how the Fed will actually see the data," Citi economists said in a note. Citi expects three 25 basis point rate hikes at the coming Fed meetings with a policy rate reaching 5.50-5.75%. ET, Dow e-minis were up 12 points, or 0.04%, S&P 500 e-minis remained unchanged, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 31.75 points, or 0.24%.

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