This blog will keep track of key global and local developments impacting business and markets through the day. Important local and global political developments will also find resonance here.
08:30 ICICI Sec reduces IPO size, raises Rs 3,500cr
ICICI Securities reduced the size of its initial public offer to little over Rs 3,500 crore after the sale elicited a sluggish response, especially from high networth individuals. The share sale of the leading brokerage firm - which was to raise up to Rs 4,016 crore - received around 88% subscription, including the anchor portion, on the last day on Monday. In a statement, I-Sec said it has ‘successfully closed its proposed Offer for Sale (OFS) and raised around Rs 3,500 crore’. This indicates that the size of the initial public offer - the fourth one from the ICICI Group - has been reduced in the wake of sluggish response.
08:26 Govt to borrow Rs 2.88L cr in Apr-Sept, issue inflation indexed bondsThe government will borrow Rs 2.88 lakh crore in the April-September period of 2018-19, lower than Rs 3.72 lakh crore it had borrowed in the first half of the current fiscal, and introduce bonds linked to CPI or retail inflation.
08:17 PFC to raise up to Rs 57,000cr via debtState-owned Power Finance Corporation (PFC) said it will raise Rs 57,000 crore through various long-term and short-term debt instruments during FY19. It said Rs 20,750 crore will be raised through long-term borrowing and proposes to raise Rs 20,000 crore through short-term borrowing instruments.
Engineering and construction firm Punj Lloyd has won a Rs 505.22 crore highway contract in Odisha from NHAI. "The company has been awarded a contract for six/four Laning of NH 5 from Puintola to Tangi in Odisha," it said in a BSE filing.
08:10 Election Commission of India (EC) is expected to announce schedule for the Karnataka Assembly elections today at 11 am. The Model Code of Conduct will be imposed immediately after the dates are announced.
08:08 India ranks 67th in fixed line, 109th in mobile broadband speed: OoklaIndia is ranked 67th for fixed broadband and 109th for mobile internet speeds in February, according to internet speed testing analysis firm Ookla. The firm, which owns Speedtest app, said in a report that India's performance in fixed broadband download speeds has gone up from average speeds of 18.82 megabit per second (mbps) in November 2017 to 20.72 mbps in February 2018. However, it remains below the global average download speed of 42.71 mbps, as per Ookla's Speedtest Global Index.
08:01 China's Jan-Feb industrial profits rise 16.1% YoYProfits earned by China’s industrial companies rose 16.1% YoY to 968.9 billion yuan in the first two months of the year, slowing from the same period in 2017, the statistics bureau said. Industrial profits increased 21% YoY in 2017. (Reuters)
07:25 Kim Jong Un is making a surprise China visit, says reportKim Jong Un made a surprise visit to Beijing on his first known trip outside North Korea since taking power in 2011, sources told Bloomberg. Further details of his trip, including how long Kim would stay and who he would meet, were not immediately available.