Celebrities endorsing crypto in ads need to do due diligence: Ad council chief
Celebrities beware! Those celebs endorsing cryptocurrencies need to do their due diligence before making claims, The Economic Times reported.
Why it’s important: They could be held accountable for any lapse when backing a claim over the new financial asset in ads.
The move comes amid the ad blitz by CoinSwitch Kuber, CoinDCX and others during the ongoing T20 World Cup.
The question arises whether these ads came with adequate risk disclaimers with some like BitBns equating it to fixed deposit returns.
Subhash Kamath, chairman of the Advertising Council of India told ET that “Celebrities command a huge amount of faith and trust from their followers and fans. when it comes to something like financial instruments and investment, it is something celebrities should be careful about.”
Govt targets to privatise 13 airports by March
The government is mulling to finish the privatisation process for 13 airports run by the state-owned AAI by March, The Economic Times reported.
Why it’s important: The move is part of the government’s National Monetisation Plan.
The government plans to award 25 airports in the next four years, including these 13.
The model to be followed for bidding would be the per-passenger revenue model.
The airports are on offer for 50 years.
AAI Chairman Sanjeev Kumar said: “We have sent a list of 13 airports to the aviation ministry that is to be bid out on PPP.”
NSE in talks with Singapore Exchange on revenue share
National Stock Exchange is in advanced talks with Singapore Exchange for a revenue-sharing deal on trades in Nifty derivatives contracts, The Economic Times reported.
Why it’s important: After the deal, NSE will get a part of the fees charged by SGX for such transactions.
Nifty contracts on SGX are popular among foreign investors.
Trading in Nifty contributed as much as 10 percent to the Singapore bourse’s revenue at its peak.
NSE used to get a nominal licensing fee annually from SGX for Nifty trades.
There are plans to offer more Indian products to SGX clients.
Sell-off in rising penny stocks hit new investors
The intense sell-off in several small-cap and penny stocks in the recent past has led to volumes drying up, The Economic Times reported.
Why it’s important: This is resulting in investors facing the risk of holding the duds at higher levels.
A study by ET of 360 micro-cap stocks showed that some have gained between 150 percent and 8,625 percent in the past six months.
Out of these stocks, 160 of them have declined between 25 percent and 60 percent after hitting highs during October.
And 121 stocks have declined between 10 percent and 25 percent.
New investors who took up trading in recent months have been trapped in the sell-off.
Govt has no plans to infuse capital into state-run banks next fiscal
The government is unlikely to infuse funds towards bank capitalisation in the FY23 budget, The Economic Times reported.
Why it’s important: This could be the first instance in a decade.
This is because all state-run banks have turned profitable.
Also, the new bad bank is expected to help free up capital for lenders.
In the FY22 budget, the government infused Rs 20,000 crore for bank capitalisation.
Byju’s plans to raise $500 million debt
Byju’s is planning to raise at least $500 million through Term Loan B borrowings in the US, Mint reported.
Why it’s important: It has already hired investment banks such as JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley for the purpose.
This is to refill its war chest with some debt after spending billions of dollars on acquisitions this year.
The funds will be used mostly for acquisitions.
A part of the fund will also be used for working capital.
Zee Entertainment, Sony set to complete due diligence ahead of time
Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd and Sony Pictures Networks India are racing ahead to finish the due diligence process for the proposed merger by the end of November, Mint reported.
Why it’s important: They plan to complete the process three weeks ahead of the 90-day deadline set by the two broadcasters.
Early completion of due diligence is crucial because Zee can then convene a special shareholder meeting to vote on the deal.
Managing Director Punit Goenka’s place at Zee is tied to the Zee-Sony deal getting approved.
Sony is retaining Goenka as managing director for five years after completing the merger as Invesco is against it.
Brokerages become cautious over India valuations
Foreign brokerages are becoming cautious on India, Business Standard reported.
Why it’s important: They are more concerned about the pricey valuations and earnings delivery.
The change in stance has coincided with the latest round of correction in the domestic market.
Several brokerages have recommended their clients to consider a higher exposure to other markets such as China and Indonesia.
Japanese firm Nomura has downgraded Indian equities from ‘overweight’ to ‘neutral’, citing unfavourable risk reward.
UBS said that India had turned “unattractive” due to “extremely expensive” valuations relative to the Asean countries.
Global head of equity strategy at Jefferies said its overweight position on India had come under a threat.
Govt to engage Canadian company to help in PSU land SPV
The government is considering engaging Canada Lands Company to assist it in setting up land monetisation SPV, Business Standard reported.
Why it’s important: The SPV would draw a strategy to monetise idle land assets of PSUs and government departments.
Canada Lands Company specialises in real estate and managing tourist destinations.The government has a Canadian model for its land SPV, National Land Monetisation Corporation.
