Sectors which recorded negative growth include petroleum, marine products and leather goods.

NEW DELHI: Showing signs of improvement, the country’s exports grew 22.47 per cent year-on-year to USD 6.75 billion in the first week of November, mainly driven by healthy growth in pharmaceuticals, gems and jewellery and engineering sectors, an official said on Tuesday.

The exports during the first week of November last year was USD 5.51 billion.

Imports in November (1st – 7th) this year too increased by 13.64 per cent year-on-year to USD 9.30 billion as against USD 8.19 billion, the official said.

Imports, excluding petroleum, jumped 23.37 per cent during the week, the official added.

Trade deficit during the week stood at USD 2.55 billion.

Exports of pharmaceuticals, and gems and jewellery grew 32 per cent to USD 139.12 million and 88.8 per cent to USD 3,360.71 million, respectively.

Similarly, the outbound shipments of engineering goods increased by 16.7 per cent to USD 215.13 million during the week.

Sectors which recorded negative growth include petroleum, marine products and leather goods.

During the period, exports to the US, Hong Kong and Singapore rose by 53.91 per cent, 176.2 per cent and 90.76 per cent, respectively.

The country’s export had also recorded positive growth in September but declined 5.4 per cent to USD 24.82 billion in October.

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd on Friday reported a 15 percent drop in second-quarter net profit after a slump in core oil and chemicals business dragged down continued good showing in consumer-facing verticals such as telecom.

Net profit attributable to owners at Rs 9,567 crore in July-September compared with Rs 11,262 crore a year back, Reliance said in a stock exchange filing.

The oil-to-telecom-to-retail conglomerate saw consumer-facing units doing well amid the lockdown easing but the core business continued to face pressure.

The firm’s net addition of 7.3 million subscribers and per-user revenue rising to Rs 145 helped the telecom business soar.

Digital services, which include the telecom arm Jio, saw pre-tax profit surge 53 percent to Rs 8,345 crore as revenues soared by more than one-third.

With markets gradually opening up in the second quarter after a strict lockdown, revenue from the retail business was almost flat at Rs 39,199 crore and EBITDA was 14 percent lower at Rs 2,009 crore.

Petrochemicals revenue fell 23 percent to Rs 29,665 crore and pre-tax profit dropped 33 percent at Rs 5,964 crore.

Refining EBITA almost halved to Rs 3,002 crore as revenue slumped 36 percent.

The firm’s twin refineries earned USD 5.7 per barrel on turning every barrel of crude oil into fuel.

The profit in Q2 was lower sequentially as well as the April-June earning of Rs 13,248 crore included a one-time gain of Rs 7,629 crore from sale of 49 percent stake in petro retailing business to BP.

The company has sold a minority stake in the retail and telecom businesses to investors such as Silver Lake and KKR. It raised Rs 1.52 lakh crore from the sale of stake in Jio Platforms and another Rs 37,710 crore from the sale of an 8.48 percent stake in its retail unit.

The firm had a gross debt of Rs 279,251 crore as of September 30, down from Rs 336,294 crore in the previous quarter. After considering Rs 185,711 crore of cash and Rs 30,210 crore received from stake sale deals that have closed and another Rs 73,586 crore pending from the strategic investors, the firm had a surplus of Rs 10,250 crore.

Commenting on the results, Reliance Industries Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani said, “We delivered strong overall operational and financial performance compared to the previous quarter with recovery in petrochemicals and retail segment and sustain growth in the digital services business.”

“Domestic demand has sharply recovered across our oil-to-chemical (O2C) business and is now near the pre-Covid level for most products. Retail business activity has normalized with strong growth in key consumption baskets as lockdown ease across the country,” he added.

With large capital raise in the last six months across Jio and retail business, several strategic and financial investors have joined the Reliance family, he said.

“We continue to pursue growth initiatives in each of our businesses with a focus on the India opportunity,” he further said.

The local unit opened at 73.77 at the interbank forex market, down 16 paise over its last close. On Friday, the rupee had settled at 73.61 against the greenback.

The rupee depreciated 16 paise to 73.77 against the US dollar in opening trade on Monday as muted domestic equities and strong American currency weighed on investor sentiments

The local unit opened at 73.77 at the interbank forex market, down 16 paise over its last close. On Friday, the rupee had settled at 73.61 against the greenback.

“Governments across Europe have imposed stricter measures to contain the virus as cases have surged to record highs on account of the second wave. We could see the risk sentiment sour on account of this development,” said Abhishek Goenka, Founder and CEO, IFA Global.

Goenka further added that market participants would look to adjust their positioning across asset classes ahead of the US elections next week.

“We could see some risk on bets being rolled back. The overall mood is likely to be that of caution. Markets would also become less hopeful of a pre-election agreement on fiscal stimulus between the Democrats and the White House,” he said.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.16 per cent to 92.91. On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex was trading 80.91 points lower at 40,604.59 and the broader NSE Nifty fell 27.65 points to 11,902.70.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 906.93 crore on a net basis on Friday, according to provisional exchange data. Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 1.72 per cent to USD 41.05 per barrel.

With the gradual re-opening of the economy, the number of air passengers has witnessed continuous growth.

NEW DELHI:  With the gradual re-opening of the economy, the number of air passengers has witnessed continuous growth. The number grew by nearly 43 per cent between June and August, while aircraft movement has recorded a growth of nearly 28 per cent. 

However, there was still an average gap of nearly 76% in the movement of passengers and 64% gap in aircraft movements in August this year compared to the same month last year, domestic air traffic data from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and Airport Authority of India revealed.

Smaller cities like Patna, Lucknow, Kozhikode, Jaipur, Coimbatore etc. have seen larger growth in aircraft movements in last three months —from 1,148 to 1,676 in Patna, 111 to 202 in Kozhikode and from 860 to 1,288 in Lucknow between June and August.

While the government believes that domestic traffic is likely to reach pre-COVID level by the year-end, industry analysts say the recovery is only marginal.

Harsh Vardhan, aviation expert and former CEO of Vayudoot, said while the recovery is a good sign, it may take till end of 2022 for the aviation sector to return to last year’s levels. “Almost 60-70% fleet is still on the ground. I don’t see anything before 24 months when reasonable operations are stablised…There are restrictions. There is very limited international operation,” he said.

“You have to also realise that what you have lost in last 10 months has created a big hole… the problem of the airline industry is how to get over these crises.” 

Kinjal Shah, Vice President, ICRA, informed that the average number of passengers per flight in September this year was 98 against an average of 133 in September 2019.

“It is expected that the domestic aviation industry operated at a passenger load factor of about 63% in the month as against 85.5% last year,” he said.

Earlier this week, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Puri said he expected the number of daily air passengers to rise to 2,00,000 by October-end, while pre-COVID figures of 3,00,000 passengers per day could be reached between Diwali and New Year.

Aviation secretary Pradeep Singh Kharola said, “We are now gearing up to face the challenge of welcoming more people in the airports.”

The slow recovery in air travel will see the airline industry continuing to burn through cash at an average rate of $5 to $6 billion per month in 2021, IATA said. 

NEW DELHI:  The International Air Transport Association (IATA) in a fresh report has estimated that the airline industry will burn through $77 billion in cash during the second half of 2020 (almost $13 billion/month or $300,000 per minute), despite the restart of operations. 

The slow recovery in air travel will see the airline industry continuing to burn through cash at an average rate of $5 to $6 billion per month in 2021, IATA said. IATA called on governments to support the industry during the coming winter season with additional relief measures, including financial aid that does not add more debt to the industry’s already-highly-indebted balance sheet. To date, governments around the world have provided $160 billion in support.

“If these support programs are not replaced or extended, the consequences for an already hobbled industry will be dire,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s Director General and CEO. IATA estimates that despite cutting costs just over 50 per cent during the second quarter, the industry went through $51 billion in cash as revenues fell almost 80 per cent.

The industry is not expected to turn cash positive until 2022. As for India’s aviation industry, the situation is no better. Except two airlines, all other payers continue to struggle hard to remain operational and have their net worth in negative territory. 

Speculation has been rampant that the legacy brand was looking for a local partner to remain present in the world’s largest two-wheeler market.

NEW DELHI: A day after it announced shutting down its India plants, American bikemaker Harley-Davidson is said to be in advanced talks with India’s largest two-wheeler company Hero MotoCorp for a strategic alliance in the market.

According to a Reuters report citing sources, Harley is in talks with Hero to enter into a distribution arrangement that will allow the Indian company to import and sell Harley bikes as its sole distributor. 
Queries sent to Hero MotorCorp regarding the tie-up remained unanswered.

Speculation has been rampant that the legacy brand was looking for a local partner to remain present in the world’s largest two-wheeler market. Harley’s main competetor, UK’s Triumph Motorcycles, has already formed a non-equity long term partnership with Bajaj Auto to introduce mid-size motorcycles for India and the global markets.

TVS Motor too has a partnership with Germany’s BMW to develop mid-engine size motorcycles. But, Harley had on Thursday, said it is closing its manufacturing facility in Bawal (Haryana) as it looks to shift its focus back to more profitable motorcycles and core markets. Experts feel a tie-up can turn into a win-win situation for Harley and Hero.

“Demand for 350-700 cc bikes remains strong in India. Harley is a very strong and aspirational brand while Hero is massive in size and reach. If they are able to bring fresh and price competitive products, it will have huge potential to succeed,” said a senior auto analyst.

PMC bank and RBI are continuing to engage with the stakeholders to explore the possibility of finding a viable and workable solution for the resolution of the bank,” it said.

NEW DELHI: The Reserve Bank of India on Tuesday appointed former Union Bank of India executive A K Dixit as the new administrator of PMC Bank, replacing J.B. Bhoria, who stepped down on September 22 due to health reasons.

A year after the RBI superseded the board of crisis-hit Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative (PMC) Bank, the RBI-appointed administrator is yet to succeed in finding a resolution plan for the bank. Citing reasons behind sluggish turnaround, the regulator said massive losses and steep erosion in deposits pose challenges to revival.

“While the administrator of PMC bank and the RBI have been exploring various options for resolution of the bank, several factors such as huge losses incurred by the bank resulting in its entire net worth getting wiped out, steep erosion in deposits, etc. continue to pose serious challenges in finding a workable plan for revival of the bank,” the RBI said.

The cooperative bank has also been making efforts for recovery of bad loans but has been constrained by the Covid-19 pandemic and legal complexities, RBI said. “Nevertheless, in the interest of the depositors, PMC bank and RBI are continuing to engage with the stakeholders to explore the possibility of finding a viable and workable solution for the resolution of the bank,” it said.

On 24 September last year, RBI put severe curbs on PMC Bank, including on cash withdrawals, amid a probe into accounting lapses.The directive is valid till December 22 this year as of now.  Of its total loan book of Rs 8,383 crore as on March 31, 2019, about 70 per cent had been taken by real estate firm HDIL. While the efforts to recover money from HDIL are still halfway, the administrator has approached major banks with a merger request.

Rescue operation
While enhancing the withdrawal limit to Rs 1 lakh in June, the RBI had said “more than 84 per cent of the depositors of PMC will be able to withdraw their entire balance”.

KKR will invest Rs 5,550 crore in the Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Retail Ventures

Global investment firm KKR is set to buy a 1.28 per cent equity stake in Reliance Industries Ltd.’s retail business, according to a company statement. 

“This investment values Reliance Retail at a pre-money equity value of Rs 4.21 lakh crore. This marks the second investment by KKR in a subsidiary of Reliance Industries, following a Rs 11,367 crore investment in Jio Platforms announced earlier this year,” Reliance Industries said in a statement

KKR will invest Rs 5,550 crore in the Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Retail Ventures.

Operating India’s largest, fastest-growing, and most profitable retail business, Reliance Retail, a subsidiary of RRVL, has up to 12,000 stores nationwide.

Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries, said: “KKR has a proven track record of being a valuable partner to industry-leading franchises and has been committed to India for many years.

We look forward to working with KKR’s global platform, industry knowledge, and operational expertise across our digital services and retail businesses.”

This marks KKR’s second investment in Reliance after it pumped in Rs 11,367 crore in Mukesh Ambani’s Jio platform for a 2.3 per cent stake earlier this year. 

Henry Kravis, co-founder, and co-CEO said “Reliance Retail’s new commerce platform is filling an important need for both consumers and small businesses as more Indian consumers move to shopping online and the company offers tools for Kiranas to be a critical part of the value chain.”

Meanwhile, on September 9, RIL had announced the divestment of 1.75 per cent stake in the retail arm to private equity firm Silver Lake Partners for Rs 7,500 crore.

Analysts had earlier predicted that Reliance Industries’ stake sale in its retail arm will enable the company to pursue other growth initiatives while maintaining zero net debt status and also help solidify its position in the market.

The government also said that state-owned BSNL and MTNL have not planned introducing 5G services yet on their networks.

NEW DELHI: The government on Wednesday informed Parliament that introduction of 5G services in the country will depend on equipment, device ecosystem and economic considerations by telecom operators.

The government also said that state-owned BSNL and MTNL have not planned introducing 5G services yet on their networks.

Minister of State for Telecommunications Sanjay Dhotre, in a written reply to a question on the 5G rollout, said, “5G services depends on 5G equipment and device ecosystem, and economic considerations by the telecom service providers.

” In response to a question on the warning over data theft and national security, Dhotre said the US has intimated about the use of 5G clean path to protect the data and networks of US diplomatic facilities.

The 5G clean path is an end-to-end communication path that does not use any equipment from untrusted vendors.

“To address security concerns of telecom network, security conditions are incorporated in the licence conditions of telecom service providers.

The National Centre for Communication Security (NCCS), Bengaluru has also been established and has been entrusted with the task of preparation of Indian telecom security assurance requirements,” Dhotre said.

Responding to a separate query with regard to 5G rollout, the minister said that 5G services have not been rolled out in the country as yet and the state-run telecom firms BSNL and MTNL have informed the government that they have not yet planned introduction of 5G services on their networks.

Globally, over 100 telecom networks have adopted 5G technology.

In India, telecom operators applied for spectrum to start 5G trials in August 2019 but the Department of Telecom (DoT) is yet to allocate radiowaves.

Dhotre said that the DoT had in March 2018 approved a multi-institute collaborative project to set up indigenous 5G test bed at a total cost of Rs 224 crore.

The collaborating institutes include IIT Madras, IIT Delhi, IIT Hyderabad, IIT Bombay, IIT Kanpur, IISc Bangalore, Society for Applied Microwave Electronics Engineering & Research (SAMEER) and Centre of Excellence in Wireless Technology (CEWiT).

The project envisages setting up of an end to-end open 5G test bed in a distributed architecture model, and it will enable Indian academia and industry to validate their products, prototypes and algorithms, Dhotre said.

It will also provide facilities for experimenting and demonstrating 5G applications, he said.

Recently, Reliance Jio also announced development of indigenous 5G technology products, Dhotre said.

Reliance Jio Infocomm and Bharti Airtel submitted fresh applications for field trials in July but they are yet to get the spectrum.

Denying reports of non-expansion in the country due to higher taxes, the company said it plans to invest Rs 2,000 crore in developing vehicle technology and electric components.

NEW DELHI:  Japanese carmaker Toyota Kirloskar on Tuesday said that they continue to remain committed to the Indian market and their operations in the country is an integral part of their global strategy. Denying reports of non-expansion in the country due to higher taxes, the company said it plans to invest Rs 2,000 crore in developing vehicle technology and electric components.

“The news that Toyota Company will stop investing in India is incorrect. vikram kirloskar has clarified that Toyota will invest more than Rs 2,000 crore in next 12 months,” Union minister Prakash Javadekar tweeted. Responding to the tweet, Vikram Kirloskar, vice-chairman of Toyota Kirloskar Motor( TKM) said, “Absolutely! We are investing Rs 2,000+ cr in electric components and technology for the domestic customer and export.

We are committed to the future of India and will continue to put all effort in society, environment, skilling and technology.” The report was not taken lightly by the Indian government as it undermines its  effort to attract investment in the country, especially from manufacturers who are looking to exit China. The Centre is planning to shell out incentives worth  $23 billion to attract manufacturers to set-up plans in India.

For the Covid-hit auto sector, the government has already promised looking at high GST rates and rolling out incentive-based scrappage policy by September end. Earlier in the day, TKM in a statement said that its first step is to ensure full  capacity utilization of what it has created and this will take time.

It added that in wake of the slowdown, further exaggerated by the Covid-19 impact, the automobile industry has requested the government for support through a viable tax structure.  TOM’s market share in the last one year has fallen from five per cent to below five per cent share in the  domestic passenger vehicle market.  The sector is dominated largely by Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Motors.