business Archives - Page 4 of 10

Gender Parity: Where Business Meets Social

March 18, 2019 Loknath Dasbusiness, gender, meets, Parity:, Social, where

When the United States and India held the eighth annual Global Entrepreneurship Summit in late 2017 in Hyderabad, it seemed fitting that the theme they chose was ‘Women First, Prosperity for All’. A few months later in Davos, Christine Lagarde, the Managing Director & Chairwoman of the International Monetary Fund, indicated that India could add an additional $800 Billion to its GDP if the representation of women in the workforce reached the same as men. Discussions around gender parity has moved beyond being one espoused by a fringe driving a feminist…

RBI eases business guidelines for white label ATMs

March 8, 2019 Loknath DasATMs, business, Eases, for, guidelines, Label, RBI, White

MUMBAI: RBI has eased business guidelines for white label ATMs allowing companies that manage these machines to source cashdirectly from the central bank, offer non bank services like bill payments and advertise even non financial products in their premises, increasing the revenue earning scope for these companies. White label ATM Operators (WLAO), can now source cash directly from RBI offices and currency chests, and will no longer be dependent on sponsor banks for procurement of cash. The RBI has allowed the operators to source cash from any scheduled bank including rural and cooperative banks, it…

Rain industries Q4 CY18 review: Business in transition; accumulate on dips

March 1, 2019March 1, 2019 Loknath DasAccumulate, business, CY18, dips, In, industries, On, Q4, Rain, Review, Transition

Rain Industries reported a weak set of Q4 CY18 earnings. Its earnings were anticipated to be subdued due to delayed permission to import a key raw material, green petroleum coke (GPC) and a continued import ban of calcined petroleum coke CPC) used for blending key product. But what really caused the disappointment was the adverse impact of high-cost inventory. Result analysis Volume trend in product sales Key negatives High-cost inventory continues to impact profitability of most chemical products in carbon (68 percent of total sales) and advance materials (25 percent of total sales) segments.…

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia hold business conference to boost economic ties

February 18, 2019 Loknath DasArabia, boost, business, conference, economic, hold, Pakistan, Saudi, ties, to

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia on Monday held a joint business conference to strengthen bilateral economic ties, a day after they signed seven agreements worth USD 20 billion to promote trade and investment in the cash-strapped South Asian country. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, who is also Saudi Arabia’s defence minister, arrived on his maiden trip to Pakistan on Sunday. He will arrive in India on February 19 on his first official visit. Counterterrorism and energy security are expected to top the agenda for discussions during the two-day trip. Pakistan…

Why Sterling Holidays is pivoting its business

February 8, 2019 Loknath Dasbusiness, Holidays, Is, Its, pivoting, Sterling, Why

The scalability issues with timeshare vacation business have galvanised Sterling Holidays to pivot its business. Chennai-based Sterling Holiday is going whole hog into becoming a regular hotels company. Unlike in the past where it owned resorts or leased them from developers, the company is actively looking at managing properties which are owned by developers, an asset-light model which is famous with international branded hospitality chains in India. Sterling has already signed five management contracts and is hoping to sign 10 hotel properties this year under the managed model, adding 400…

Investcorp acquires IDFC’s private equity, realty investment management business

January 30, 2019 Loknath Dasacquires, business, equity, IDFC’s, Investcorp, investment, Management, Private, Realty

Mumbai: The US-based alternative investment manager InvestcorpNSE 0.00 % has acquired IDFCNSE -1.02 % Group’s private equity and real estate investment management business and plans to incrementally raise $50 million towards IDFC’s existing fourth fund. The incremental capital, along with the uninvested pool in the fourth fund, will be invested in consumption-driven companies in India, a senior company executive said. HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh has joined the global advisory board of Investcorp. “Once the acquisition is complete on January 31, we will use the greenshoe option and raise another $50 million in the fourth fund. This incremental capital,…