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The US generic market is a deflationary market and it de-grows every year, says Meeta Shetty, assistant fund manager.I want to talk to you first about this entire Atmanirbhar move that we have been seeing. API and the raw material for pharmaceuticals is largely bought from China. China is one of the biggest suppliers of API to India. Do you think our own Indian companies have the capacity and capability to be able to cater to the entire Indian API demand and replace imports completely?Yes, the API import is around $3.5 billion on a yearly basis and about 70% of that is coming from China alone. So yes, we have a lot of dependency on exports as far as our requirement is concerned. But if you look at the recent initiatives taken by the government, a lot of incentives are being provided. The government has in fact also shortlisted about 53 APIs specifically to encourage manufacturing and incentives are between 5% and 20% of revenue. That is what is likely to be provided. I think all these ...

NEW DELHI: India banned 59 apps originating from China, including Helo, TikTok, WeChat and Sweet Selfie. Many of these popular apps continue to be used by those who have downloaded and are available for fresh downloads as well — barring a few including TikTok which has `voluntarily’ taken action to block its app from being available in India across both Android & iOS platforms.An `exhaustive recommendation for blocking malicious apps’, from the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre, part of the Ministry of Home Affairs resulted in the ban. It acted on the statement from the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) which said it had received complaints from various quarters, including several reports about the misuse of some mobile apps for stealing and surreptitiously transmitting users’ data in an unauthorised manner to servers outside India. A ban order which is easy to shoot out on e-mails and paper, needs various stakeholders to be aligned to enforce the ban. That includes app s...

NEW DELHI: Jet fuel or ATF price on Wednesday was hiked by 7.5 per cent, the third increase in a month, while petrol and diesel rates were unchanged for the second day in a row. Aviation turbine fuel (ATF) price was hiked by Rs 2,922.94 per kilolitre (kl), or 7.48 per cent, to Rs 41,992.81 per kl in the national capital, according to a price notification by state-owned oil marketing companies. This is the third straight increase in ATF prices in a month. Rates were hiked by a record 56.6 per cent (Rs 12,126.75 per kl) on June 1, followed by Rs 5,494.5 per kl (16.3 per cent) increase on June 16. Simultaneously, non-subsidised cooking gas LPG rates were increased by Re 1 to Rs 594 per 14.2-kg cylinder in the national capital. Prices were up by Rs 4 in other metros mostly because of different local sales tax or VAT rate. On the other hand, petrol and diesel prices were unchanged for the second day in a row. This, after diesel rates scaled a new high after prices were hiked 22 times in jus...

Mumbai: Three-year bonds sold by Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu on Tuesday yielded by up to 18 basis points lower than similar-maturity central government securities. Investors are now rushing to buy state bonds, helping lower borrowing costs for states.“Investors are now rushing for safety, preferring state bonds to corporate bonds,” said Ritesh Bhusari, deputy general manager — treasury at South Indian Bank. “Higher demand for state government papers drove yields down, matching similar-maturity central government bonds. This would lower states’ borrowing costs.”The Reserve Bank of India conducted a state bond auction Tuesday for 12,000 crore including seven states. Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu raised Rs 2,000 crore and Rs 1,000, respectively, crore at 4.63 per cent.A central government bond series carrying 8.83 per cent coupon yielded 4.81 per cent in the secondary market Tuesday, show data from the Clearing Corporation of India. Those papers will mature in November 2023. Similarly, anothe...

Mumbai: The big dividend rush by MNCs is on. Taking advantage of the absence of dividend distribution tax (DDT), many multinational companies have been doling out large dividends over the past two months. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her budget for 20/21 removed the dividend distribution tax on corporates and transferred it to investors from April 1. The trend of large dividend payouts is expected to continue, say experts.Pharma major Pfizer paid a special dividend of Rs 320 per share, or 3,200 per cent, last month compared to Rs 22.50 last year. Sanofi India paid Rs 106 per share dividend and a one-time special dividend of Rs 243 per share recently. Sanofi’s payout last year was 66 per share compared to this year’s total dividend of Rs 349 per share.“The abolition of DDT augurs well for MNCs as the foreign parent entity can claim credit for the corporate taxes paid in India on dividends in their home jurisdictions,” said Amit Tandon, MD of proxy advisory firm Institutional I...

By Avinash MohananeyAs Sino-Indian relations nosedive and head for a possible confrontation, Pakistan is deriving vicarious pleasure at the way China has applied a chokehold in Ladakh by occupying the Galwan Valley.Pakistan is part of the bigger strategic move that China is making to subdue India, settle the border dispute to its advantage, push India to accept its hegemony in the region and stay away from a possible US-led anti-China alliance.How will Pakistan help China in stepping up military pressure on India without getting directly involved? Is it not an opportune moment for Pakistan to avenge its dismemberment in 1971? The answers are simple.Pakistan will synchronise its actions with that of China, on the border and within Jammu and Kashmir, to engage as many Indian troops as possible.Pakistan will keep the Line of Control (LoC) alive by continued shelling and by stepping up infiltration. This will leave little scope for any possibility of thinning of troops from the border and ...

NEW DELHI|BENGALURU: Homegrown entrepreneurs and venture capitalists have given a thumbs-up to the government's decision to ban 59 Chinese apps, saying it presents a significant opportunity for local companies, particularly those operating in the e-commerce, social media and gaming sectors."The belief that the global apps would be used by Indian users has, in the past, dried up resources for building these products locally... This ban gives a unique opportunity to Indian technology entrepreneurs to build and own some of the most highly used internet products," said Aprameya Radhakrishna, CEO of Vokal, a peer-to-peer knowledge-sharing platform.Vokal recently launched Koo, a microblogging platform in Indian languages that allows users to express themselves on the internet.Over the last two years, Chinese companies such as social media app TikTok, short video platform Likee, and fashion and apparel-focused e-commerce companies, like Club Factory and SheIn, had made deep inro...

Unlock 2.0 kicks in today but states such as Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu have extended their lockdowns while others like Karnataka and West Bengal have tightened restrictions. This comes as India has been adding nearly 20,000 Covid-19 cases a day. Yet, extensive lockdowns — even state-wide ones — may not be the best strategy. Here’s why.76721469

MUMBAI: Cough, cold or fever are no longer the only warning signs of Covid. Severe backache, abdominal pain, rashes or aching calves could also be the calling card of the virus.Doctors treating Covid cases in the city say diarrhoea may be more common than previously thought. Patients with no history of diabetes brought to hospital with sugar levels of 400-plus dl/gm is also a red flag. "Doctors are seeing patients with uncommon symptoms such as bodyache; some have no complaint apart from pain round the knees and below," said Dr Shashank Joshi, a member of the state government task force on Covid-19.Senior doctor Jalil Parkar who treated over 200 Covid patients before testing positive for the virus, said backache was the first symptom he had experienced.On Monday, the American Centers for Disease Control (CDC) added three new symptoms to its list of nine Covid warning signs: congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, and diarrhoea.The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICM...

MUMBAI: As the once burgeoning live events industry has come down to a shuddering halt due to Covid-19 outbreak, BookMyShow (BMS), India’s leading out-of-home entertainment and ticketing company, has developed its own video streaming platform exclusively for live events.Named BookMyShow Online, the platform will offer paid and free performances across music, comedy, and other performing arts to its users not just in India, but also across USA, North America, UK, Germany, UAE, South East Asia, and West Indies.“We were agile enough to change tack by introducing virtual in-home entertainment offerings in India and other global markets,” said Parikshit Dar, co-founder & director, BookMyShow.The platform was born out of the need to make virtual live entertainment, a friction-less and hassle-free viewing experience, he added. “Our entire business was sort of revolving around movies and events. Covid-19 gave us an opportunity to relook at our business from the point of view of not just th...

Mumbai: India's top two carmakers, Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Motor, are working on a plan to take their output this year to 70% of that in 2019, after the April-June quarter being almost a washout.Maruti Suzuki hopes to sell 1 million units in 2020 and is even hoping to take output to as much as 90% for the financial year ending March 2021, as pent-up demand continues to drive bookings after easing of lockdown restrictions, people in the know said.Thanks to sustained exports commitment and demand for new models like the Creta and Verna, Hyundai Motor is eyeing an output of 450,000-500,000 units for 2020, which is almost 70% of its last year's output.Maruti Suzuki has informed vendors to plan for 1.25-1.3 million units for the current financial year — that would be just a 16% decline from FY20. A strong recovery in rural and semi-urban areas has encouraged Maruti to share its outlook with vendors, which it did not do after the March quarter due to uncertainties from the Covid-19...

Indian banks set aside Rs 13,653.2 crore for provisions towards moratorium and deferments related to Covid-19 in the March 20 quarter, ETIG analysis shows. This amount was over and above the loan loss provision of Rs 60,058.8 crore made for the quarter raising the total loss provisions by 22.7% to Rs 73,712 crore. This was 15.8% lower than the previous year. COVID provisioning was 18.5% of the total loan loss provisioning in the March 2020 quarter.In April, the Reserve Bank of India stipulated banks to make 10% additional provisioning over a span of two quarters (5% each in the March and the June 2020 quarters) on loan accounts where the facility of 90-day moratorium was given. According to the estimates by SBI Research, 35-40% of the loan portfolio of banks on average is under moratorium. Majority of the banks in the ETIG sample of 31 undertook the entire COVID provisioning in the March quarter and some of them provided beyond the RBI’s mandatory rate. 76721154The top five banks based...

Mumbai: Brokerages have a mixed view on Glenmark Pharma after its fourth quarter results. While the majority of the brokerages have maintained their ratings and increased price targets significantly, some like CLSA, JP Morgan, ICICI Securities and HSBC have downgraded their ratings on the stock.BofA Securities increased target price to Rs 535 and said debt reduction, divestment of non-core assets, control in expenses, capex and lower R&D expenses will drive further re-rating of the stock currently trading at bottom valuations.However, global brokerage CLSA cut its FY22 EPS estimate by 4 per cent and target price to Rs 420 from Rs 440 per share after March-quarter earnings citing flat earnings outlook for FY21 and limited scope for debt reduction.Shares of Glenmark declined 3.7 per cent to close at Rs 450 on Tuesday.76721291Glenmark’s March-quarter performance was above estimates with higher domestic sales and visible efforts towards cost control. The company’s revenues grew by 8 pe...

CHENNAI: Sify Technologies on Tuesday announced their partnership with Talview, an AI enabled Talent Assessment technology provider, to integrate Remote Proctoring Solutions with its iTest platform. This integration with Talview’s proctoring solution, Proview, will ensure authentic invigilation of online assessments held remotely.Sify’s iTest is a platform providing end-to-end admission, recruitment and assessment engine. iTest has hosted approximately 4 million assessments online in the last year. “Outbreak of COVID-19 has given a definitive surge to the online examination software market and has increased the need for advanced proctoring solutions. Remote proctoring offers a series of advantages over traditional online examination method. Our iTest platform will come equipped with this AI based proctoring solution to ensure the quality and integrity of exams and candidates during remote examination,” said Kamal Nath, Chief Executive Officer, Sify Technologies Limited.Talview’s Procto...

New Delhi: France has become the first country to offer India the support of its armed forces amid growing tensions on the China border and has proposed a visit by its defence minister to New Delhi at the earliest. In a letter to defence minister Rajnath Singh, his counterpart Florence Parly has said that India is France’s strategic partner in the region and has conveyed condolences for the loss of soldiers during the Galwan Valley skirmish on June 15.“This was a hard blow against the soldiers, their families and the nation. In these difficult circumstances, I wish to express my steadfast and friendly support, along with that of the French armed forces. I request you to kindly convey my heartfelt condolences to the entire Indian armed forces as well as to the grieving families,” the minister, who earlier had a phone conversation with Singh, has written.France, a key partner as well as weapons supplier to India with cutting-edge platforms ranging from Rafale fighter jets to Scorpene sub...

New Delhi: Pakistan has moved two divisions of troops along the LoC in occupied Gilgit-Baltistan and Chinese officials are holding talks with cadres of terrorist outfit Al Badr to incite violence in J&K, as per intelligence inputs, indicating clearer signs of a China-Pak collaboration on the border.Pakistan has moved almost 20,000 additional soldiers to LoC in northern Ladakh to match Chinese deployments on the LAC in the east. The level of troops Pakistan has deployed is more than what it did after the Balakot air strikes. Pakistani radars are believed to be fully activated all along the region too.The simultaneous build up on the Pakistan and China borders and efforts to incite terrorism in Kashmir has brought the possibility of a two-front war and fighting terrorists in Kashmir, the worst case scenario strategic experts fear, closer to reality. Sources said there have been a series of meetings between Chinese and Pakistani officials in recent weeks, followed by amassing of troop...

MUMBAI: Softbank backed green energy company SB Cleantech has approached Brookfield for a $500-600 million funding infusion to complete their ongoing and pipeline projects in India and US, said people aware of the development. Both sides are in negotiations to finalise the exact structure and quantum which is expected to be a combination of a convertible instrument like mezzanine debt and equity, they added.SB Energy, the renewable energy arm of SoftBank, initiated a formal fund raising exercise by mandating Barclays and Bank of America Merrill Lynch to help raise $500-$750 million from potential new co-investors in SBG Cleantech, it's 80:20 joint venture with Bharti, ET had reported in its May 29th edition.“The need for funds is immediate and so they are open to various structures. They even unsuccessfully attempted to raise a bond. They have approached several with an offer to dilute around 30% of SB Energy’s stake in the joint venture,” said a global clean tech investor privy to...

MUMBAI: Softbank backed green energy company SB Cleantech has approached Brookfield for a $500-600 million funding infusion to complete their ongoing and pipeline projects in India and US, said people aware of the development. Both sides are in negotiations to finalise the exact structure and quantum which is expected to be a combination of a convertible instrument like mezzanine debt and equity, they added.SB Energy, the renewable energy arm of SoftBank, initiated a formal fund raising exercise by mandating Barclays and Bank of America Merrill Lynch to help raise $500-$750 million from potential new co-investors in SBG Cleantech, it's 80:20 joint venture with Bharti, ET had reported in its May 29th edition.“The need for funds is immediate and so they are open to various structures. They even unsuccessfully attempted to raise a bond. They have approached several with an offer to dilute around 30% of SB Energy’s stake in the joint venture,” said a global clean tech investor privy to...

NEW DELHI | BENGALURU: Representatives from the 59 Chinese apps banned by India on Monday can appear before a government-constituted committee within 48 hours of the announcement to prove that the data of Indian users is not being sent to servers in China, top officials told ET.The committee, which is likely to meet on Wednesday, will conduct a detailed inquiry into the data-sharing practices of these apps, including top social media platforms TikTok, Helo and WeChat.Executives from apps such as TikTok, Bigo Live and Likee said they will cooperate with the government in the investigations and that they had begun the process.Officials from the ministry of home affairs, ministry of electronics & IT, ministry of information & broadcasting, and law & justice will be part of the panel, along with Sanjay Bahl, director general of CERT-In — India’s nodal agency for internet security.76721129“Given the threat to national security and public order, the ban was necessary at a time of...

NEW YORK: The S&P 500 rallied on Tuesday to finish higher and secure its biggest quarterly percentage gain in more than two decades as improving economic data bolstered investor beliefs that a stimulus-backed rebound for the U.S. economy was on the horizon. Coming off a drop of 20% in the first quarter, the biggest quarterly decline since the financial crisis in the fourth quarter of 2008, the S&P rallied more than 19.95% to notch its biggest quarterly gain since 1998, at the height of the tech boom. The gains have been fueled by unprecedented levels of fiscal and monetary stimulus and the easing of restrictions. But the S&P 500 is still down about 4% on the year, and gains in June stood at just 2% due to the flare-up in virus cases that has threatened to delay reopenings and derail a tentative economic recovery. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell reiterated in comments on Tuesday that the path of the economy is "highly uncertain." "What everybody sees is...

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended the free ration scheme for 800 million people until the end of November and warned against negligence in following distancing and other norms, asking authorities to strictly implement fines as the country enters Unlock 2.0 from Wednesday. The timely imposition of a lockdown on March 25 had saved lives but disregard for protocols such as wearing masks and “do gaz doori” when Unlock 1.0 began June 1 had been a cause for worry, he said in a 16-minute address to the nation on Tuesday.The PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana will be extended for another five months to benefit the poor. The scheme was to run for three months when it was started in April. The extension will cost ?90,000 crore, adding up to a total cost of ?1.5 lakh crore, the PM said. “It has been decided to extend the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana up to Diwali and Chhath Puja, till November-end,” he said.PM Holds Meeting on VaccineModi said the world was surprised that 800 mi...

ET Intelligence Group: The average Indian saver is no longer a stranger to D-Street. Why so? Well, for a start, the role of intermediaries in channelling household savings to the financial markets through mutual funds appears to be less dominant than it earlier was.The share of national and regional distributors as a distribution channel to open mutual fund investment accounts has more than halved to 17 per cent in FY20, from 38 per cent in FY13. In the same period, the share of mutual fund investments through the direct-scheme mode has nearly doubled to 45 per cent in FY20 from 23 per cent, showed the data from the Association of Mutual Funds of India, collated by Reliance Securities research.The reasons aren’t hard to find. For starters, it is not just about the awareness of mutual funds as an investment product that has increased its attractiveness among investors. Savers, especially those in tier-II and tier-III cities, have realised that direct schemes fetch higher returns than re...

Hong Kong: China passed a sweeping national security law for Hong Kong on Tuesday, multiple local media outlets in the city reported Tuesday, in what critics fear will herald a wave of mainland style political repression. The National Standing Committee, China's top lawmaking body, unanimously approved the legislation on Tuesday morning, Now TV, RTHK and the South China Morning Post reported. Beijing says the law banning subversion, secession, terrorism and colluding with foreign forces is needed to return stability to Hong Kong after a year of angry pro-democracy protests. Opponents fear it will demolish the business hub's cherished political freedoms and hollow out its autonomy given similar laws are used to crush dissent on the authoritarian mainland. In an unprecedented move, Beijing bypassed Hong Kong's legislature to pass the law, which was signed off just six weeks after it was first announced. Hong Kong's 7.5 million residents have yet to see the contents of the...

“I picked the evening lounge room as my office,” says Kapil Pathare, director, VIP Clothing Ltd. “I never really get to spend as much time here usually, but with working from home, I enjoy a pretty skyline of the Yeoor Hills in Thane and a 10-minute sunset view every evening. The vibrancy of the room helps me think creatively.”For Pathare, the biggest benefit of the lockdown has been the time he saves in travelling. “I start my day at 7 am with some yoga and meditation. This is followed by a cup of tea and breakfast. I plan my day and help set up the day for my daughter too. Then I jump on to office work, video calls and more by 10 am until 6 pm,” he says.Pathare tries to end his day by 7 pm to ensure that he has enough time to exercise. “By late evening, we’ve all gathered for some retro Bollywood music evenings with dinner,” he says.Balancing actBut like many of us, the lines can get a little blurred when trying to balance your professional commitments with personal ones. “It gets di...

Top officials in the White House were aware in early 2019 of classified intelligence indicating Russia was secretly offering bounties to the Taliban for the deaths of Americans, a full year earlier than has been previously reported, according to U.S. officials with direct knowledge of the intelligence. The assessment was included in at least one of President Donald Trump's written daily intelligence briefings at the time, according to the officials. Then-national security adviser John Bolton also told colleagues he briefed Trump on the intelligence assessment in March 2019. The White House did not respond to questions about Trump or other officials' awareness of Russia's provocations in 2019. The White House has said Trump was not - and still has not been - briefed on the intelligence assessments because they have not been fully verified. However, it is rare for intelligence to be confirmed without a shadow of a doubt before it is presented to top officials. Bolton declined...

By Thomas Seal, Aaron Kirchfeld and Anto AntonyIndian telecommunications tycoon Sunil Mittal has submitted a bid for OneWeb, the bankrupt satellite firm whose investors include SoftBank Group Corp., people with knowledge of the matter said.An arm of Mittal’s Bharti Enterprises Ltd. conglomerate made an offer for London-based OneWeb with backing from the U.K. government, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private.The U.K. government plans to commit around $500 million to OneWeb alongside other investors as part of the company’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, a person with knowledge of the matter said last week. OneWeb has said that bids were due Friday.Part of the U.K.’s interest in supporting OneWeb is to form the basis for a new national navigation system, after the European Union froze Britain out of the most secure elements of the bloc’s project, called Galileo. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is trying to attract fresh foreign invest...

MUMBAI: By end of Tuesday, hundreds of wealthy Indians and NRIs will have to regularise their outfits, subsidiaries, and paper companies that were set up in Dubai to escape tax and park undisclosed fund moved from Switzerland.Under the United Arab Emirates (UAE) regulations, companies will have to justify their presence there — with evidence of employees and assets to demonstrate that there is genuine economic activity — and explain that profits booked are indeed generated from activities undertaken in the region.The deadline to submit all documents for the ‘significant purpose test’ is June 30, 2020 – which many companies, either due to challenges posed by Covid-19 or their inability to produce adequate proof, will miss. Some have asked UAE authorities for more time.Many businesses, which hire warehouses in Dubai, a trading hub, show profits generated in other jurisdictions in UAE to avoid income tax. Several use post office companies and their bank accounts (thanks to little exchange...

Mumbai: Is there a strengthening co-relation between companies’ investor meets and the performance of their share prices? It may be a soft indicator for now but a study of the performance of shares around the time the company discloses its scheduled meetings with investors shows prices do move up in the period. Companies are required to disclose meetings with investors to stock exchanges. Out of the 15 mid-cap companies that have seen the highest number of investor meetings in June, shares of 13 have risen between 2 per cent and 28 per cent in the period.There are a few explanations here. It is possible that some of the institutional investors who met the companies would have gone ahead and invested after the meetings.A meeting, however, need not translate into an investment. Another possibility is that traders have mopped up shares to make a quick buck in anticipation of investments by influential names that could prop up prices. 76701495For instance, 79 fund managers and analysts fro...

ET Intelligence Group: The average Indian saver is no longer a stranger to D-Street. Why so? Well, for a start, the role of intermediaries in channelling household savings to the financial markets through mutual funds appears to be less dominant than it earlier was.The share of national and regional distributors as a distribution channel to open mutual fund investment accounts has more than halved to 17 per cent in FY20, from 38 per cent in FY13. In the same period, the share of mutual fund investments through the direct-scheme mode has nearly doubled to 45 per cent in FY20 from 23 per cent, showed the data from the Association of Mutual Funds of India, collated by Reliance Securities research.The reasons aren’t hard to find. For starters, it is not just about the awareness of mutual funds as an investment product that has increased its attractiveness among investors. Savers, especially those in tier-II and tier-III cities, have realised that direct schemes fetch higher returns than re...

NEW DELHI|BENGALURU: Singapore's Temasek is in discussions with Zomato to pump in as much as $100 million into the online food delivery major, according to people aware of the developments, at a time when a previously announced investment by Ant Financial has been delayed due to the current anti-China sentiment and new foreign direct investment (FDI) rules.An existing Zomato backer, Temasek's potential funding is part of a larger investment round that the Gurgaon-based company has been negotiating since the end of last year.The discussions between the parties are still ongoing, according to two sources aware of the developments."The round was almost finalised, but the terms of the deal are being renegotiated given the impact of Covid-19 on business operations, India's investment policies and competitive landscape with Amazon's launch (of its food delivery business)," said one of the persons cited above. "Covid-19 has hurt both the profitable listing and d...

BENGALURU: India’s aviation regulator has approved the agriculture ministry’s request to operate drones at night and use engine-powered drones instead of battery-operated ones, to combat the spread of desert locusts in the western and central states.ET reported on Monday that the agriculture ministry had sought approvals for night-time operation of drones as locusts were most inactive after sunset, and for using fuel-powered drones because they could remain airborne for longer and also carry heavier payloads than battery-operated models.India is the first country in the world to utilise drones in anti-locust operations and the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has lauded the agriculture department’s work in fighting locusts using the latest technology. “Congratulations to the agriculture ministry for receiving the approvals for night operation of drones and use of engine-powered drones with all-up weight up to 50 kg for anti-locust ops. This is the first such inst...

Mumbai: The semi-annual review of the components of the Nifty by exchanges could lead to inclusion of more financials, say analysts. Edelweiss said two of the country’s largest life insurance firms, HDFC Life Insurance and SBI Life Insurance, could make their way into the main index in the upcoming reshuffle. Divi’s Laboratories and consumer major Dabur India are the others that stand a good chance of making it into the Nifty, the brokerage said. Vedanta, Zee Entertainment, Bharti Infratel and GAIL are likely to be excluded, the brokerage said.Exchanges could announce the index rebalancing in the last week of August and the changes would be effective later in September. If included, HDFC Life Insurance could attract flows of around Rs 750 crore ($100 million) while SBI Life and Divi’s could get about Rs 550 crore each.While shares of HDFC Life have gained over 15 per cent in the last one year, SBI Life and Divi’s have rallied 8 per cent and 45 per cent, respectively, during this period...

Mumbai: Is there a strengthening co-relation between companies’ investor meets and the performance of their share prices? It may be a soft indicator for now but a study of the performance of shares around the time the company discloses its scheduled meetings with investors shows prices do move up in the period. Companies are required to disclose meetings with investors to stock exchanges. Out of the 15 mid-cap companies that have seen the highest number of investor meetings in June, shares of 13 have risen between 2 per cent and 28 per cent in the period.There are a few explanations here. It is possible that some of the institutional investors who met the companies would have gone ahead and invested after the meetings.A meeting, however, need not translate into an investment. Another possibility is that traders have mopped up shares to make a quick buck in anticipation of investments by influential names that could prop up prices. 76701495For instance, 79 fund managers and analysts fro...

ET Intelligence Group: The average Indian saver is no longer a stranger to D-Street. Why so? Well, for a start, the role of intermediaries in channelling household savings to the financial markets through mutual funds appears to be less dominant than it earlier was.The share of national and regional distributors as a distribution channel to open mutual fund investment accounts has more than halved to 17 per cent in FY20, from 38 per cent in FY13. In the same period, the share of mutual fund investments through the direct-scheme mode has nearly doubled to 45 per cent in FY20 from 23 per cent, showed the data from the Association of Mutual Funds of India, collated by Reliance Securities research.The reasons aren’t hard to find. For starters, it is not just about the awareness of mutual funds as an investment product that has increased its attractiveness among investors. Savers, especially those in tier-II and tier-III cities, have realised that direct schemes fetch higher returns than re...