Mortgage lender HDFC said it acquired 6.43 per cent stake in debt-trapped Reliance Capital by invoking pledged shares. These shares were acquired under invocation of a pledge by security trustee on behalf of the corporation, which was pledged against a loan given by the lender in its normal course of business, HDFC Ltd said in a regulatory filing. Following this, the company acquired 2.527 billion shares of Rs 10 each, it said, adding that the total value of these shares are £ 25.2 million. It further said the requisite disclosure had already been made on March 27. And, since the shares have now been credited to the account of the Corporation, the disclosure was being made once again.
Revolving fund for MSME
The Indian government is working on a £10 billion package to ensure timely refunds of dues to small businesses hit by the Vovid-19-led lockdown, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) minister Nitin Gadkari said. The minister also said that the government is likely to change the definition of MSME, a proposal that is awaiting approval from the Prime Minister. "We have decided to set up a (revolving) fund of £10 billion and we will ensure it and the government will pay its insurance. We will fix a formula among (the stakeholders) and provide minimum £10 billion and the interest on the same," Gadkari said in a video conference hosted by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham). "We are in the process of finalizing the scheme and will soon send it to the finance ministry for approval. This will be one of the ways to increase liquidity," the minister said. Gadkari said he has also requested finance minister Nirmala Sitharamana to fast-track the process of tax refunds and pay them within eight days of filing returns.
The government is also set to redefine MSMEs based on their annual revenue, replacing the definition that relied on self-declared investment on plant and machinery. This is aimed at aligning them better with the GST regime and encouraging ease of doing business.
Abu Dhabi royal invests £760 mn in retailer LuLu
An Abu Dhabi investment firm, led by Sheikh Tahnoon Bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the ruling family, invested nearly $1 billion (£760 mn) in LuLu Group International, the holding company of LuLu hypermarkets, according to a source with knowledge of the matter. Sheikh Al Nahyan is the son of the UAE founder Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and currently serves as the country’s national security adviser. “This is the first time somebody is investing in LuLu Group and they are picking roughly 20% shares in the company,” the source said. The group operates 188 hypermarkets and supermarkets across the Middle East, India and Far East. Considered to be the single largest employer of Indians outside India, the retailer has more than 30,000 Indians on its pay rolls.
Remittances to India projected to plunge
Remittances are projected to fall by about 23% in 2020 to $64 billion In India - a striking contrast with growth of 5.5% and receipts of $83 billion seen in 2019, as the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak and travel restrictions make a huge dent on flows, a World Bank report has estimated. The Covid-19-related global slowdown and travel restrictions will also affect migratory movements, and this is likely to keep remittances subdued even in 2021. The projected remittance growth of 5.8% in 2021 will keep total regional flows at about $115 billion, the report said. The crisis has created a chaotic and painful process of mass return for internal migrants in India and many countries in Latin America. As a result, the Covid-19 containment measures might even have contributed to spreading the epidemic. The loss of jobs and livelihood has also ruptured an important lifeline to rural households in many countries, the report said.