MC Insider: Dragon’s Diwali wish list, saga of a harrowed samurai CEO, possible truce at Mint Road and more

The one and only 'Big Bull' of Indian equities who made a fortune with his initial investment in an accessory & jewellery firm, which is part of a top diversified conglomerate, has now turned extremely bullish on the entire empire. He has beefed up his exposure to key group stocks and has been lapping up shares of late -- be it metals segment, automobiles or power. A massive deleveraging exercise is underway at many of these firms and the stock prices of some of them have doubled in the last year or so. The bet seems to be on the leadership of the man at the top. Now, if only the squabble with a prominent shareholder gets sorted, shareholders could finally say 'tata' to a thorn in their flesh.

This leading conglomerate has made the most of the COVID-19 era and has grown at a blistering pace through the M&A route. At a time when many infra-focused companies have turned cautious, this group has bid aggressively for new projects and embarked on a diversification drive, emerging as a force to reckon with in many segments. After striking the largest deal in the ports sector earlier this year and bolstering its market share in the eastern coast, we hear that it is now close to sealing another acquisition in the sector. This time it is in the west to strengthen its presence, signalling further consolidation in the space.

It has been nothing short of a crash landing for the CEO of a Japanese firm in India. Eight months into the country, and the head honcho is yet to come to terms with the work culture, or rather the lack of it! Pandemic, or no pandemic, nothing seems to have changed at the firm. The employees rarely used to be punctual (a trait cherished by the Koreans and Japanese) prior to the lockdown and now we hear that the staff takes days to even reply to emails! Call it burnout due to extended WFH. The CEO feels it is the “lala” culture where the accountability is missing and professionalism is still at a nascent stage. In the past, foreign companies have struggled with cultural assimilation in India. But in this case, it looks like a case of cultural shock and the CEO is at his wit’s end!

Looks like the Chinese are joining the Diwali festivities this time like never before. Take the case of this top Chinese handset maker which has always had muted celebrations in the country. But this time, its top management has decided to participate in the Diwali Puja through a video call. The blessings of Goddess Lakshmi are badly needed if this ‘Cheeni’ ringtone has to keep buzzing. The Chinese top brass wants to have a deeper emotional connect with the Indian employees and the 'Festival of Light' seems to be the perfect occasion. There are some goodies as well for the local staff which includes gifts, surprise bonuses as well as performance incentives. Tension or no tension at the border, for now it’s Lights, China, Action!

A digital lending platform, primarily focused on students, is set for a crazy deal. Investors, including a South Korean fund and a few marquee Indian names, are set to replace the existing Chinese backers who collectively own around 35-40 percent in the startup. As Chinese investments dry up and the existing ones come under intense regulatory scrutiny, startups are scrambling to find fitting replacement. All looks fine for now, except one glitch. There are not enough options available. If raising Chinese money was a cakewalk in the pre-COVID era, it has now become a nightmare to get rid of the dragon flies. Well, 'krazy' times indeed!

One of the cardinal rules that venture capital firms, especially early stage investors have is not to make competing investments in the same sector. Yet, a top firm has done so multiple times in the last few years. Recently, it has once again made a new investment in an employee management firm, but an existing portfolio company - a fintech, has also forayed into that business. This has caused a bit of a rift between two people at the firm, both on the boards of the respective companies. “How can your company do the same thing when we are doing a new deal in the same space,” is the question being asked. This larger fintech has often shown disdain for the rules of the game and is in the middle of another controversy with competitors. Guess when there’s big money at stake, a lot of other factors take a back seat.

For long, employees at the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) have been unhappy about certain HR policies linked to wage revisions and promotions. Officers were also against the central bank’s decision to create a new unified cadre for regulation and supervision at the RBI. Ever since RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das took charge, employee union representatives have been raising these issues with him. A little birdie tells us that the governor, for the first time since he took charge, has called the union leaders for a meeting. This much awaited interaction is likely to happen after Diwali. The union leaders are happy that the governor is finally ready to listen to their longstanding problems. So, is this a change of approach by the RBI top brass or the effect of a November 26 strike call by trade unions?

As branches gets culled across insurance companies, this bank-led private life insurer has found a novel way to subtly inform branch staff to find new employment. Branch-level employees have been emailed seeking their consent to immediately transfer them to a completely different zone within two weeks at a 5 percent higher pay into sales roles. But employees in South would be shifted to North, East to West and so on. Needless to say, not a single employee accepted the offer despite the pay hike. And the insurer was saved from a retrenchment exercise since the 100-odd employees have agreed to tender their resignation in 3-5 months.