The government of India made some headway in its latest attempt to divest in helicopter PSU Pawan Hans, while the RailTel IPO was subscribed over 42 times. “Multiple expressions of interest have been received for privatisation of Pawan Hans. The transaction will now move to the second stage,” department of investment and public asset management (Dipam) secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey tweeted. The government had last December re-initiated the process to divest Pawan Hans after several unsuccessful attempts. The government and ONGC, which have 51% and 49% stakes in Pawan Hans, respectively, have offered to sell their entire stake. There was more to cheer for the disinvestment process as the offering for RailTel, one of the largest neutral telecom infrastructure providers in the country, was subscribed over 42 times with 17x subscription in the retail segment. The government aims to mobilise about £82 million by divesting part of its stake in RailTel.
EIL-OIL combine eye refinery stake
State-run engineering consultancy company Engineers India (EIL) and northeast explorer Oil India (OIL) will jointly bid to buy Bharat Petroleum’s 61.6% stake in Numaligarh Refinery (NRL). EIL’s move is part of a plan to expand its business beyond consultancy to oil and gas operations. The company said it would be a minority partner in the consortium with OIL. The acquisition of BPCL’s stake in Numaligarh Refinery by the EIL-OIL combine will maintain NRL’s status as a public sector undertaking and exclude it from the former’s disinvestment, one of the conditions set for selling BPCL. The government had decided to exclude NRL’s refinery in Assam, the only one in the northeast, from BPCL’s sale as it was built under an accord between the Centre and the state. OIL already holds 26% in NRL, while the Assam government holds a little over 12%. The consortium expects to complete the acquisition next month. After the acquisition, Numaligarh Refinery will become a subsidiary of OIL.
Charges aimed at discrediting us: Amazon
Amazon India head Amit Agarwal has reacting to the recent report alleging Amazon dodged Indian regulators, circumventing local laws on FDI in e-commerce. In a letter to the India team, among other things, he said “details are likely supplied with malicious intent to create sensation and discredit us”. Agarwal did not mention who he thinks had “supplied” the information. Agarwal reiterated that the US e-commerce major remains committed to the Indian market and remains compliant with all local laws. Offline traders, who have typically been critical of e-commerce platforms in the country like Amazon and Flipkart, have again reached out to the government, citing the alleged policy violations by Amazon.
FMCG grows 7.3% in Q3 on festive, rural demand
Marking a gradual return to normalcy, India’s fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry bounced back with a growth of 7.3% in the October-December quarter on the back of festive buying, strong rural demand and a recovery in economic activity, showed a latest study. This is the highest volume and value growth witnessed by the industry in 2020, during which businesses across India bore the brunt of Covid-related lockdowns. “With the Covid fears receding and mobility improving, we reported a stellar performance during the third quarter of 2020-21 (October-December) with strong revenue and profit growth,” said Mohit Malhotra, CEO at Dabur India. Swiss food giant Nestle, too, reported a 10% increase in domestic sales during the period.
