Vodafone Idea plummets 15% after Birla steps down as chairman
Shares of Vodafone tanked 15% after Kumar Mangalam Birla stepped down as non-executive director and non-executive chairman of the board. Himanshu Kapania will take over as the non-executive chairman.
The shares of the company have fallen 27% in two session since Birla offered to give away his stake in the company to the government or any other entity to keep Vodafone Idea running.
Sensex, Nifty open higher
The Indian benchmark equity indices opened higher on Thursday. The BSE Sensex opened 0.38% higher while Nifty was up 0.19%. Sensex opened at 54,576.64 points and Nifty at 16,288.95 points, continuing their gains after opening at record high levels the previous day. The gains were led by pharma and IT stocks.
ED warns Flipakart, founders with $1.35 billion fine
The Enforcement Directorate has sent a show-cause notice to Flipkart and its founders for allegedly violating foreign investment laws, Reuters reported.
The financial-crime agency official told Reuters the case concerned an investigation into allegations that Flipkart attracted foreign investment and a related party, WS Retail, then sold goods to consumers on its shopping website, which was prohibited under law.
The notice was issued in early July to Flipkart's founders Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal and current investor Tiger Global, asking them to explain why they should not face a fine of 100 billion rupees ($1.35 billion) for the lapses.
A Flipkart spokesperson said the company is "in compliance with Indian laws and regulations". "We will cooperate with the authorities as they look at this issue pertaining to the period 2009-2015 as per their notice," the spokesperson added.
Asian stocks hold gains despite hawkish remarks from fed official
Asian shares retained recent gains on Thursday despite hawkish comments from senior official at the US federal reserve, Reuters reported. The remarks strengthened dollar as it weighed on risk appetite and uncertainty about Chinese policy.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-pacific shares outside Japan surged 0.22% while Japan's Nikkei rose 0.32%. Australia soared 0.18% and Hong Kong gained 0.45% while Chinese blue chips plunged 0.28%.
Kumar Mangalam Birla steps down as Vodafone Idea chairman
Telecom Major Vodafone Idea said on Wednesday that Kumar Mangalam Birla will step down as the chairman of Vodafone Idea Ltd, PTI reported. Birla had offered to hand over his stake to the government to keep the firm afloat.
In a filing to the stock exchanges, VIL noted that Birla will cease to be a director and non-executive chairman of the company at the end of business hours on Wednesday and will be replaced by Himanshu Kapania as the new chairman. However, the company did not give any reason for his exit.
"The Board of Directors of Vodafone Idea, at its meeting held today, have accepted the request of Kumar Mangalam Birla to step down as Non-Executive Director and Non Executive Chairman of the Board with effect from close of business hours on 4 August, 2021," VIL said in a BSE filing on Wednesday.
"Consequently, the board has "unanimously elected" Himanshu Kapania, currently a non-executive director and a nominee of the Aditya Birla Group, as the non-executive chairman."
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Oil prices rise on tensions in the Middle East
Oil prices rose on Thursday due to tensions in the Middle East coupled with build in crude stockpiles in world's top oil consumer, the United States, Reuters reported.
Brent crude oil future increased 0.2% to $70.52 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose 0.3% to $68.33 a barrel. The Commonwealth Bank of Australia said in a note it expects the Brent oil prices to rise to $85 a barrel by the fourth quarter as oil demand outpaces supply growth.