Key Corporate and Industry News

Key corporate news

• UltraTech Cement will buy Jaiprakash Associates Ltd's 21.2 mtpa cement plants for RS15900 ($2.4 billion) including debt, the companies said in a revised deal unveiled on Thursday. ICICI Bank said in a separate statement it was working with the company to further reduce its debt burden. (Reuters)
• HCL Tech to buy Geometric in a share swap deal valued at $150-200mn (BS)
• HDFC Bank to raise up to Rs 5000 cr via infra bonds (BS)
• Dr Reddy’s has announced that it has acquired development and commercialisation rights to an anticancer compound coded E7777 from Japan's Eisai for markets, including the US, Europe and certain emerging markets, excluding those in Asia. (ET)
• M&M buys 35% stake in Finnish harvester company for ₹135 cr (BL)
• SBI and BoB have taken the lead in setting lower lending rates based on the Marginal Cost Lending Rate system (ET)
• Reliance Power on Thursday said the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity has upheld its plea on Sasan ultra mega power project, paving the way for the company to receive Rs.1,050 crore from the buyers of its electricity. (IANS)
• IndiGo Increases Charges on Ticket Cancellations to Rs 2,250 (BS)
• UK PM said there was no guarantee a buyer could be found for Britain's biggest steel producer after Tata Steel announced it was pulling out, and a state takeover was not the answer. (Reuters)
• GlaxoSmithKline is to adopt a graduated approach to patenting its medicines, depending on the wealth of different countries, in order to make drugs more affordable in the developing world. (Reuters)
• Vodafone is in initial talks with the Piramal Group and HDFC Bank to sell as much as 49% stake in its payments bank arm (ET)

Key Industry news

• Fiscal deficit was 5.73 trillion rupees ($86.49 billion) during April-February, or 107.1% of the full-year target  lower than 117.5% a year ago period (Reuters)
• Asian factory data for March barring Japan have trended up. Japan March Mfg PMI down at 49.1 (50.1 Feb), Caixin China General March Mfg PMI up at 49.7 (48 in Feb), S Korea March Mfg PMI up at 49.5 (48.7 Feb),Taiwan March Mfg PMI up at 51.1 (49.4 in Feb) 
• Rupee hits 3-months high of 66.26 (+11paise)
• India's infrastructure output grew an annual 5.7% in February, its fastest pace in at least 13 months, mainly driven by a surge in production of cement (+13.5%), Electricity (+9.2%), Refinery Products (+8.1%)  and fertilizers (+16.3%). Steel slumped (-0.5%) (PIB)
• RBI notifies 49% FDI under automatic route in insurance (BS)
• Outstanding bank credit to industries grew 5.4% in Feb to RS27.5 trillion (FE)
• The Supreme Court on Thursday extended a ban on the sale of large diesel cars in New Delhi until the next hearing of the case. (Reuters)
• The Maharashtra government has increased the ready reckoner rates for Mumbai and the rest of Maharashtra by an average 7-8%. (ET)
• Japan Intl. Cooperation Agency extends RS14251cr loan assistance for key infra projects (BS)
• IRFC placed 30-yr bonds worth Rs5000cr with LIC @8.02% coupon rate (FE)
• Idea Cellular's chief has said that India is moving to an era of spectrum oversupply, contrasting the telecom industry's long-standing stance on the issue. (ET)
• State Bank of Patiala, in a recent letter to the bank lobby IBA, has pointed out the risks that banks as promoters (till new investors step in) could be exposed to once SDR is invoked to takeover a company. (ET)
• New rules may well leave health supplements ailing. The industry's fear is that a notification could effectively mean a ban on all nutraceutical products launched after 2011. (ET)
• India's gold demand in the March quarter is set to drop by about two-thirds from a year ago to its lowest in seven years, as higher prices and a strike by jewellers curbed sales (Reuters)
• Govt has set the ceiling price for gas to be produced from difficult fields at $6.61 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) for the April-September period (Reuters)
• 60 Lakh Soil Samples Tested During 2015-16. 360 Additional Soil Test Labs to be set up during 2016-17 (PIB)
• Highest ever production of Urea of 245 lakh MT in 2015-16 (PIB)
• In the new set of ITR forms launched on Thursday, the CBDT has added a new schedule. Under this, individuals will have to declare all their assets and liabilities, as on end of FY 2015-16. The section applies to all individuals and HUFs earning more than Rs50 lakh a year. (ET)
• The Country experienced significantly above normal temperatures during the last two months of Jan and Feb, 2016, with monthly anomalies of 1.53 degree Centigrade (dc) & 20dc respectively from 1961-90 normal. During the Hot Weather Season of 2016 i.e. April to June warmer than normal temperatures are expected in all meteorological sub-divisions of the country. The strong El Nino conditions over the Pacific Ocean that started in 2015 are still continuing. However, the latest forecasts indicate that El Nino conditions are likely to weaken further (PIB)
• Natural rubber rebounds 26% after touching 9-year low (ET)
• Bihar Excise and Prohibition Minister said the manufacture and sale of countrymade and spiced liquor would be banned in the first phase, followed by Indian-made foreign liquor later this year. (IANS)
• S&P cuts China outlook to Negative from Stable (Reuters)
• OECD lowers global GDP growth by 30bps to 3% for 2016 (AP)