- View: A dekko at the lay of the land post-Covid that will present new threats and opportunitiesThe State not just makes policy — industrial policy, urban planning guidelines — but plans for the economy and regulates huge swathes of it. When governments set targets for net zero emissions, they embrace planning. From telecom to financial markets and potential abuse of market dominance, everything is regulated.
- Consumer spending on telecom services up 16.6% in April-June quarter Y-o-Y: Report“Despite lockdown restrictions, the demand for telecom services has gone up significantly due to remote working needs,” said a Mumbai-based analyst. “While mostly gain is because of the tariff hike taken last year, the surge in data usage is pushing up both spending and revenue for operators.”
- Telecom industry loses 82 lakh subscribers in April, pressure to continue: ReportThe decline in subscriber base during April was preceded by a loss of 28 lakh connections in March, which saw the lockdown being imposed towards the end, India Ratings and Research said in note. The biggest losers were Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea, it said, adding sector leader Reliance Jio witnessed a growth in its base.
- ET Graphics: In times of Covid-19, what India Inc needs from governmentMajor industris are facing a specific set of problems in a time where Covid-19 outbreak is prevailing.
- View: Govt should applaud the role of the beleaguered telecom sectorAs the world locks itself down and people’s movements are severely restricted, it is ‘virtual connectivity’ that is rising to the occasion. The value of telecommunication networks —both mobile and fixed — has never been more pronounced. Advances in technology are ensuring that the world can, and is, operating seamlessly through telecom platforms.
- Coronavirus impact: Tata CEOs to review 2021 business plansCovid-19 pandemic has severely impacted Tata's key overseas markets in Europe, the US, UK, China & UAE.
- Will coronavirus & tepid GDP hurt your appraisal? Here are the trends for this yearThe 24th edition of Aon's annual Salary Increase Survey in India shows that while e-commerce and professional service firms are expected to give a 10% hike this year, transport and logistics sector, at 7.6%, ranks the lowest in terms of projected salary hikes for 2020.
- Telcos provided adequate relief to low-income users despite financial stress: COAI to TraiCellular Operators' Association of India (COAI) said in case Trai and the government still feel the need for extension of benefits to all prepaid feature phone subscribers, then this should be provided in the form of a subsidy to the telecom sector like many other essential services.
- Credit Suisse estimates Jio's EV to $88.5 billion propelled by non-wireless business, ARPU & subscriber growthAccording to Monday's note, Jio's EBITDA could be significant at $1.5-2.0 billion.
- Coronavirus impact: Hotel industry cuts growth forecast as revenues dipInvestment information and credit rating agency ICRA said the domestic impact of the coronavirus can be far reaching as witnessed around the 2003 SARS period when the Indian hospitality industry also witnessed a slump.
- Companies move jobs away from India as coronavirus shakes up back officesHaving staff work from home is difficult because of rules on handling of sensitive material.
- L&T Technology Services says recovery will take time“This (slowdown) will continue in Q1 and some segments will start picking up in the second quarter while others will take longer. Telecom and healthcare will start seeing growth, while automotive will take a few more quarters. Chemicals and oil and gas could take up to 3-4 quarters to start growing,” said Keshab Panda, chief executive of L&T Technology Services.
- COVID-19: Sterlite Tech operating at 65% global production capacitySterlite has 1.4 crore route kilometer (rKm) optical fibre production in China and 3.6 crore km capacity in India.
- View: Our world after coronavirusIt is up to the nations to step up and emerge from the crisis into a better future.
- Covid-19: Telecom operators brace for a sharp drop in subscriber additionsOperators said net subscriber additions may fall by at least 2 million in March alone, and may dip further if the social isolation advisories are kept in place for a long duration. There is not vaccine yet to treat Covid-19, which has infected over 200,000 people worldwide and killed more than 8,000.
- India Lockdown: Relieve, revive, rebuild amid a pandemicThe pandemic & accompanying economic crisis need short-term measures to combine with a long-term vision.
- Sensex falls for 4th day on telecom woes, coronavirus fearsThe bears were in charge with losers outpacing gainers in the ratio of nearly 2:1 on BSE.
- Mukesh Ambani hails RIL staff as 'frontline warriors', reiterates co's role in India's war against COVID-19In a mailer to over two lakh employees of the oil-to-telecom conglomerate, the country's richest person said he was humbled to witness each one of them displaying extraordinary levels of commitment in battling most formidable adversity in modern history. In an internal note emailed on April 4, he informed of comprehensive COVID-19 tracking and treatment facility for all RIL staff.
- Coronavirus impact: Mission critical IT-BPO staff can work from officeGovernment services such as tax administration, egovernance, cloud operation, passport services; healthcare and insurance-related processing; support to utilities such as gas, electricity, mobile network, broadband, etc and ecommerce services and support to banking and payment services have been identified as “essential services”.
- Trai's new tariff order: Over 100 TV channels may shut if new order appliedThe new tariff order, notified on January 1, has been challenged by top television broadcasters, the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), and the Film & TV Producers Guild of India in the Bombay High Court.
- Airtel in pole position in race with Jio to grab struggling Vi’s customersAirtel is likely to continue gaining more mobile broadband users than Jio, especially as the low-end customer churn, which had driven Jio’s customer gains earlier, has largely stabilised, analysts said.
- View: The global spread of coronavirus holds lessons for protecting not just citizens, but also global value chainsThe global spread of coronavirus holds lesson for global value chains to rethink their future strategies.
- Coronavirus Impact: Stock market investors lose Rs 12 lakh crore in 6 trading sessionsThe benchmark BSE Sensex tumbled 2,661 points to 38,661 from 41,323 in 6 sessions.
- China's virus fight brings 5G debate to the fore in IndiaA critical piece of ammo the Chinese had was access to ultra-fast fifth generation wireless broadband networks. In fact, the hours of live video calls and video-conferencing to guide Chinese medical workers in the frontlines happened over 5G networks and the HD cameras, hospital robots and remote-controlled mobile trolleys were also powered by 5G.
- Coronavirus threatens meet and greet culture? MCW 2020 organisers push for no-handshake policyMore than 100,000 people were expected to attend this year, with about 6% from China.
- Impact likely on India Inc if coronavirus issue drags beyond April: Sanjay Dongre, UTI AMCMost of the efficient players in the cement industry tend to have low debt on their balance sheets, says Dongre, a fund manager with UTI Asset Management.
- BSNL offers free broadband for a month to support work from home"Broadband service is being offered free of charge for one month to all citizens across the country, who have BSNL landline and do not have any broadband, so that they can use this service either to work from home, educate from home or anything that can minimise the need to move outdoor," BSNL Director (CFA) Vivek Banzal said in a statement.
- Coronavirus outbreak will set back India’s growth recoveryGovernment estimates up to 50-bps hit in FY21, economists see deeper impact caused by the coronavirus outbreak.
- Coronavirus outbreak impact: Ericsson pulls out of MWC 2020, says safety of employees highest priorityThe company said that the most responsible business decision was to withdraw participation from this year's event.
- RIL Q2 results: Profit slips 15% as Covid hits salesCompany cites bounce-back from June quarter, says demand has recovered in oil, retail businesses.
- Higher dependence on digital tools amid lockdown driving demand for telecom services: ReportThe lockdown is expected to arrest 4G subscriber addition and churn while accelerating SIM-consolidation, Edelweiss said in its latest telecom sector update. Maintaining a positive stance on the sector, it however flagged specific but "distant" risks including possibility of a prolonged economic slowdown eroding consumers' ability to spend.
- Coronavirus: IT sector looks at staggered openingProdded the lockdown, India’s large IT firms have ensured as many as 85% of their employees are working from home, even while continuing to support global clients.
- Impact analysis: Which sectors to take biggest hit from virus crisis & which ones will survive with some bruisesThese businesses would have to take care of both inventory and inventory valuation issues.
- Economists revise India's growth forecast in less than a month due to uncertain impact of COVID-19"Intensifying Covid-19 pandemic and a looming global recession have cast an unprecedented cloud over the credit quality outlook of India Inc, which has already been impacted by a slowing economy. This has forced CRISIL to slash its base-case gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast for fiscal 2021 to 3.5%," Crisil said in a release on April 02.
- Tariffs continue to be unsustainably low, more needs to be done: Airtel CEOBharti Airtel had, on Monday, reported Q4 loss at Rs 5,237 crore, mainly on account of provisioning for paying statutory dues, while its full year losses ballooned to a record Rs 32,183 crore.
- How a bet on China’s consumers is backfiring for richest CzechKellner’s fortune, now at $10 billion, has dropped the most this year among the richest eastern Europeans outside of Russia, mostly because of a $1.5 billion plunge in the value of his stake in Home Credit. It’s now worth an estimated $2.8 billion, based on the performance of publicly traded peers, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
- SC says govt should cancel licenses, auction spectrum if dues are being wiped out"The government should move to cancel the license, spectrum if dues are being wiped out. If telcos are unwilling to pay, we will directly cancel spectrum allocation," remarked Justice Arun Mishra, heading the three member bench in the AGR case.
- Top billionaires recoup Covid losses; Poonawalla gains most, Ambani bounces backMukesh Ambani saw a V-shaped recovery in his wealth losing 19% of his wealth in the initial weeks and regaining 18% in dollar terms.
- Amid coronavirus outbreak, RBI loan breather for telcosExperts though have called on the government to consider a three-month moratorium on operators’ revenue-share commitments for the April-June quarter FY21, which would be more significant relief for the debt-laden telecom sector that is currently reeling under the impact of the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) payments crisis.
- Reliance, HDFC twins pull Sensex lower; Nifty below 12,100Market breadth was neutral as gainers and losers were almost equal in number on BSE.
- Despite RIL's fundraising, VC investments in India fall 21% to $28.9 bn in Jan-Sept: ReportThe lockdowns severely dented economic activity, leading to a 23.9 per cent contraction in the gross domestic product (GDP) for the April-June period and expectations of a 9.5 per cent contraction by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for 2020-21.
- View: Rupee likely to stay weak amid lockdownMany governments are writing blank cheques to tackle economic slowdown because of coronavirus.
- IT campuses will never be the same: How India’s 4 million IT workers shifted to working from home overnightIT companies had to move desktops that employees were using at their workplaces to their homes as they could not procure laptops in multiple thousands at such short notice. Alongside, there was the critical aspect of ensuring compliance and security. Despite all this, all of India's IT majors successfully executed this humongous shift.
- As coronavirus spreads, business travel takes a backseatTata Consultancy Services (TCS), Nestle, HSBC, Paytm, Franklin Templeton and others have put in place protocols to lessen the chances of employees catching the disease. In countries that have seen a high number of infections, workers have been asked to stay away from office.
- Reliance Industries initiates work-from-home for staff amid novel coronavirus outbreakChairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani will hold a meeting almost every third day to take stock of the impact of novel coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak on his employees and business, officials said. The oil-to-telecom conglomerate initiated a work from home protocol for its employees across the country and overseas in response to the evolving Covid-19 situation. This protocol will be effective until March 31.
- The workplace is going to change in many ways: Paul Abraham, IndusInd BankA lot of activities which were not seen as lending themselves to automation will now be so. That means much displacement in people and working equations. Tech will underpin many basic and complex activities. Knowing how to navigate the new world will make you indispensable and not knowing it will make you dispensable, says the COO of IndusInd Bank.
- These 7 sectors likely to remain immune to coronavirus jittersKunj Bansal, Partner & CIO, Sarthi Group, says with the results season over, the market has started focussing on the impact of coronavirus.
- View: India needs to accelerate indigenous Covid-19 diagnostics manufacturingRapid and effective epidemiological testing is key to implementing a containment plan. Two types of tests are used to evaluate the impact of any infection on human populations: a direct identification of the infectious agent (e.g., viral RNA, bacteria in body fluids etc.) and a measure of the host response (e.g., antibody tests also known technically as serology tests).
- Indian telcos' mobile growth weakens on coronavirus; remains robust: FitchFY20 (April 2019 to March 2020) fiscal EBITDA growth for the telecom industry is estimated at 25 per cent.
- Coronavirus may lead to increase in bad loans: CAREUntil the last quarter, the impression was that barring a few banks, SCBs had generally turned the corner on non-performing assets, CARE said.
- Nikkei gains as coronavirus cases slow in Japan, but US-China tensions weighThe benchmark Nikkei average gained 0.5 per cent to 20,133.73, erasing early losses.
- View: Alongside stimulus, real economy bottlenecks blocking job-creation and output must be removedWith inadequate output and jobs, periods of high money and demand growth in India have opened up the risk of inflation and strained our external balance.
- 159 listed cos' cumulative EBITDA declined Rs 22,500 cr in March qtr: ReportFor the report, leading consultancy EY India analysed March quarter results of the top 300 BSE-listed companies and 115 global firms spanning over 12 sectors to evaluate the impact of Covid-19 disruptions.
- Sensex falls 242 points on jump in coronavirus cases; financials top dragsIndia recorded 89 deaths in last 24 hours, one of the highest since the coronavirus pandemic.
- Market needs more time to correct; book profits in speciality chemical stocksThe market is likely to gather evidence from the global economy before deciding its journey.
- How will India's economic recovery shape up? Economists, business leaders weigh inSix months from the first nationwide lockdown in March, with a sharp economic contraction looming large, all eyes are on the shape of the recovery graph. Macroeconomic outlook resembles an alphabet soup.
- Only aggressive investors should bet on Voda; avoid Airtel too: Sudip BandhopadhyayUnder the circumstances, pharma companies having a significant domestic presence such as Torrent Pharma, Natco Pharma, Sun Pharma are looking good at current levels and are worth picking, says Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Director, Inditrade Capital.
- What changed for Market while you were sleepingAsian shares stepped back from three-week highs on Monday as investors weighed the near-term hit on global growth from a fast-spreading coronavirus outbreak in China.
- Sensex plunges most since Budget day on coronavirus scareMarkets will continue to remain jittery until the virus comes under complete control.
- 'Vaccine, Covid situation, geopolitical trends, Budget to be major drivers for Indian equities in 2021'Analysts are optimistic about the road ahead for the equity market but added that the quantum of rise would depend on multiple factors.
- Coronavirus has RBI worried; Das says India needs contingency planMPC in a statement said the virus may impact tourist arrivals in India and global trade.
- COVID-19 to shave USD 25 bn off from top 100 domestic brands' value: Report"As the new coronavirus pandemic wreaks havoc on the global and national economy, the country's top 100 most valuable brands could lose up to 15 per cent of brand value cumulatively, a potential drop of nearly USD 25 billion compared to the original valuation as of January 1, 2020," a report by Brand Finance said.
- Q1 earnings preview: For once, what India Inc says will matter more than actual numbersWhile the weakness will be broadbased, financials are likely to be the only bright spot, whose top line is projected to grow 13 per cent and PAT 12 per cent.
- Coronavirus crisis: It's time for India Inc to create opportunitiesWhile India may start seeing disruption in the next few weeks, the crisis could also seed opportunities.
- DBRS Morningstar assigns BBB sovereign ratings to IndiaA BBB rating denotes adequate credit quality. As per the ratings terminology, A BBB rating means that "the capacity for the payment of financial obligations is considered acceptable. May be vulnerable to future events".
- Coronavirus travel slowdown spreads from China across Asia: StudyDeaths from the virus rose to 1,350 on Thursday and airlines are bracing for lower ticket sales as worries over the virus's spread hit appetite for travel and caused conferences and events to be scrapped. Mobile World Congress, an annual telecoms industry gathering of 100,000 people, was also cancelled.
- Sensex ends 2-day winning streak on macro, coronavirus worriesAmong sectoral indices, BSE Bankex was the biggest loser as it shed 0.94 per cent.
- Small investors in India are latest to snag beaten-down stocksIndia has seen about 1.8 million new accounts opened by first-time investors since March.
- Coronavirus contamination: Indian handset companies call up govt for clarityThe association has issued a limited advisory to its members based on one from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “There is real fear among workers that the highly contagious virus might spread through machinery, components and devices imported from China,” Mohindroo said.
- One step forward, two backward: FII flow trends signal hard timesWhile the institutional investors have ploughed money into Dalal Street, overseas ETF and mutual fund investors have been busy withdrawing from India-focused funds.
- Raamdeo Agrawal says market strangely optimistic, sees deep value in these stocksThe incremental cumulative damage of Covid-19 will be much deeper, Raamdeo said.
- World economy working from home gets a glimpse of the virtual futureThe shift online has been a key safety net for a collapsing world economy and will change how we study & work.
- Companies see work-from-home as a viable long-term option if regulatory issues can be addressedAbout two-thirds of the 4.3 mn ITBPO workforce across the country have moved to a work-from-home model.
- RIL's net debt to fall despite struggling energy, retail demand and delay in asset salesWith the outbreak of coronavirus, RIL faces multiple challenges -- oil prices have declined along with a fall in global oil product demand as a result of the lockdown across India and multiple geographies, potential slowdown in fashion/electronics demand for its retail segment, slower monetisation of telecom investments, and still relatively high debt post the investment cycle.
- Hang on! Don’t panic and make wrong decisions at market bottom: KrishnakumarBetter to invest in times of panic and not cash out, says CIO, Equity, Sundaram AMC
- RIL, HDFC Bank drive Sensex 748 pts higher; investors get richer by Rs 2.08 lakh croreOil-to-telecom conglomerate RIL alone contributed 431 points to Sensex’s gains as it jumped 7.10 per cent on reported that the company was close to sealing a deal with Future Group for acquiring their retail business.
- Coronavirus: LG, ZTE withdraw from MWC, others may followWhile LG has become the first major South Korean company to give MWC 2020 a miss, others may soon follow suit, considering the threat that the virus poses, according to industry watchers. Telecom industry insiders said that the withdrawal of LG and ZTE from MWC is a significant development. However, they added that it remains to be seen if they would have a cascading effect on the show.
- SBI Card listing, Coronavirus updates among key factors that may guide Dalal Street this weekSBI Cards and Payments (SBI Card) is scheduled to debut on the bourses today.
- Big bullish bet! UBS raises Reliance target price, sees 60% upsideThe steep decline implies no value is being assigned to RIL’s energy business, says UBS.
- Sensex falls 422 points ahead of Fed policy outcome; RIL drops 4%Despite the sharp decline in frontline indices, the market breadth was neutral as gainers and losers were nearly equal in number on the BSE.
- COVID-19: SC asks Centre, J&K to reply on plea for restoration of 4G servicesThe plea filed through advocate Shadan Farasat, while seeking restoration of 4G internet services, alleged that the action of the government was violative of Articles 14 (right to equality), 19 (freedom of speech) and 21 (right to life) of the Constitution.
- Bank stocks drag Sensex 194 points lower; Nifty below 11,150A surge in IT stocks limited the losses for the flagship index. Sector leader Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) rose 2.26 per cent while peer Infosys climbed 2.75 per cent.
- Inside a $5.7 bn deal: Coronavirus couldn’t logout Facebook & Reliance from “Project Redwood”Ambani and Zuckerberg had toyed with the idea of a collaboration almost 14 months back.
- Twitter asks employees to work from home; TCS, HCL Tech instruct staff to avoid non-essential travelTwitter says it’s mandatory for employees in Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea to work from home, but that other offices will remain open for those who choose or need to come in. Twitter’s policy on working from home is a step beyond what most companies in the U.S. are doing as the virus spreads.
- Sensex snaps 5-day winning run, falls 59 points; Nifty below 11,150Analysts believe the market may correct some more but abundant liquidity is likely to ensure the uptrend resumes.
- Coronavirus updates, AGR crisis among 5 key factors that may guide D-Street this weekThreat of coronavirus will be the single most important factor dictating the market this week.
- Sensex rises 237 points on fewer new coronavirus cases; Nifty reclaims 12,100In the 30-pack Sensex, 23 stocks ended in the green with NTPC leading the gainers’ pack.
- Tariff hike to buoy wireless telcos' revenue in March quarter; full impact expected in Q1FY21"We expect revenue and Earnings before Interest, Tax Depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA) for wireless service providers to improve led by tariff hike taken in December 2019, though the full impact is expected only in Q1FY21 when most users come for recharge," it said.
- Rupee depreciation may raise cost of imported telecom gear, push up capital expenditure: ReportThe report said growth of telecom infrastructure providers will be hurt by slowdown in government spending on projects like BharatNet.
- Covid-19: Using AI and data science to combat health pandemicsTech platforms, telecom companies and governments need to come together at a time like this to work together towards addressing the balance between protecting individual privacy and data sharing that is critical to the public good.
- RIL, financial stocks give Sensex 499-point lift; Nifty tops 10,400Market breadth was positive with gainers beating losers in the ratio of 1.2:1 on the BSE.
- Sensex erases early gains, sheds 46 points, but logs best quarter in 11 yearsAmong the sectoral indices, BSE Oil & Gas index dropped the most.
- Goldman India CEO tells clients liquidity is the ‘biggest theme’The impact of the pandemic is pressuring corporates to refine their priorities.
- How insurance will change if life insurers are allowed to sell health packagesFor some strange reason companies that insured your life were not permitted to insure against illness. The regulator has taken a baby step in to permit life insurers cover your health. When it happens, without conflict of interest of dominant shareholders, it would be a new dawn.
- Rupee set to crash past record low, former Reliance FX head saysThe portfolio inflows have done little to arrest the decline in the rupee.
- Covid-19 outbreak: Nirmala Sitharaman says steps soon to ease supply woes, secretaries to meet todaySitharaman today met industry and trade associations to assess the impact of the virus on businesses. The finance minister said that a meeting of the concerned secretaries will be held tomorrow. The finance minister assured the industry that she will speak to the PMO on steps to provide any relief.
- Sensex shrugs off India-China flareup, rises 376 points on firm global cuesEven as frontline indices advanced, the market breadth titled towards the bears.
- NATO chief says on Huawei: UK review of 5G security is importantNATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said China was coming closer to the West in various ways - in the Arctic, in cyberspace and in critical infrastructure, including telecommunications.
- China's ambitious 5G push heading into slow lane due to coronavirus disruptionsChina has made 5G a national priority, aiming to have nationwide networks and services well ahead of other countries and last year it pressed telecom operators to accelerate deployment.
- RIL, financial stocks drive Sensex 290 pts higher; Nifty tops 10,100The rally was broad based, with three shares advancing for every share that declined on BSE.
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