Taking India to the skies, IPO fever, Avatar strikes back and other news
Business news and insights in under 5 minutes
“If you’re serious about changing your life, you’ll find a way. If you’re not, you’ll find an excuse.”
- Jen Sincero
Rise and shine! 😀
It’s a new week! We’re starting the day with:
Centre looks to take more Indians to the skies
Five IPOs this week to mop up Rs 3,764 crore
The Amazon of South Korea makes stunning debut on Wall Street
📈 How did the markets fare
BSE Sensex - 50,792.08 | -0.95% ⬇
NSE Nifty - 15,030.95 | -0.95% ⬇
10-Yr Bond Yield - 6.232% | -0.015 ⬇
S&P 500 - 3,943.34 | +0.10% ⬆
USD/INR - ₹ 72.78 | -017% ⬇
Shares of IDBI Bank surged as much as 17% on Friday after RBI lifted the restrictions placed on the bank as its finances and credit profile improved. Now the government will be able to kickstart preparations for divesting its 45.48% stake in the bank.
📰 What's happening around us
Aviation
The UDAN scheme was launched by the government four years ago with the aim of linking smaller towns and cities to the wider air travel network by improving regional airport infrastructure and air connectivity. Now the Centre is looking to take more Indians to the skies, inviting bids for over 392 routes under the UDAN 4.1 bidding process.
The government-owned Airports Authority of India (AAI), has so far held four rounds of bidding under the scheme and awarded as many as 766 routes. Airlines compete to win subsidies for operating flights linking smaller airports with bigger ones.
While some routes have flourished, UDAN faces challenges with the profitability for airlines on many other routes still questionable despite the subsidy. Low demand for certain routes remains a key issue and Covid certainly hasn’t helped. So far around 325 routes and 56 airports have been operationalised.
By 2024, AAI is planning to develop at least 100 airports, waterdromes and heliports across the country and will be looking to raise funds for the scheme by selling its stake in 17 airports. Affordable air travel for more Indians, can’t argue with that.
Markets
It’s going to be a busy week with as many as five companies set to go public this week, looking to raise Rs 3,764 crore. The companies hoping to benefit from the influx of massive liquidity and a huge number of retail investors into the equity market are:
Craftsman Automation
Coimbatore-based engineering firm catering to the automotive segment. The company counts major automakers like Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland, M&M, Royal Enfield as its key clients.
Issue open/close - March 15/17
Issue size - Rs 824 crore
Laxmi Organic Industries
The manufacturer of industrial chemicals currently has approximately 30% market share of the Indian ethyl acetate market. The company’s products find application in industries such as pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, dyes, inks, coatings, paints, printing, packaging, flavours, fragrances and adhesives.
Issue open/close - March 15/17
Issue size - Rs 600 crore
Kalyan Jewellers
The IPO of Kerala-based Kalyan Jewellers comes as gold consumption is expected to rebound this year in India after plunging to the lowest in more than 20 years in 2020. The company is backed by leading global private equity firm Warburg Pincus.
Issue open/close - March 16/18
Issue size - Rs 1,175 crore
Suryoday Small Finance Bank
A Mumbai-based bank that was established in 2008, caters to consumers who are unbanked or underbanked across 10 states in India.
Issue open/close - March 17/19
Issue size - Rs 582 crore
Nazara Technologies
A gaming and sports media platform backed by ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, is popularly known for its games on World Cricket Championship, “Chhota Bheem” and “Motu Patlu” series.
Issue open/close - March 17/19
Issue size - Rs 582.91 crore
International
Sticking with the IPO fever, Coupang – the Amazon of South Korea – became the largest foreign IPO on Wall Street since Alibaba. Shares of the e-commerce giant surged 41% over the IPO price on its market debut last week. The company was last valued in the private market at $9 billion in a 2018 funding round but is now valued at a staggering $83 billion!
Founded in 2010, Coupang gained massive popularity in South Korea thanks to its “Rocket Delivery” service that ships packages to customers within a day or even hours. In 2020, the company nearly doubled its revenue to $12 billion boosted by the pandemic. Like most major new-age tech companies these days, it’s yet to break-even, although losses narrowed to $475 million last year.
It’s another ‘golden egg’ for SoftBank which owns over 35% of Coupang. The Japanese investment giant invested over $3 billion in the company since 2015, which is now worth close to $30 billion!
🎯 News Bites
The positive sentiments surrounding the economic recovery were dampened a bit on Friday with the release of the latest economic data. Retail inflation, measured by the consumer price index, jumped to 5.03% in February, a three-month high. Meanwhile, industrial activity slipped into negative territory in January with the index of industrial production contracting 1.6%.
India has surpassed Russia to become the world’s fourth-largest holder of foreign exchange reserves with $580.3 billion. Currently, China has the largest reserves, followed by Japan and Switzerland.
Following in the footsteps of Haryana, Jharkhand is expected to announce its job reservation policy which aims to ensure 75% of jobs in the private sector (up to a salary of Rs 30,000) for locals.
Who has added the most wealth this year? It isn't Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos, but our very own Gautam Adani. The Indian tycoon has added $16.2 billion to his net worth in 2021, making him this year's biggest wealth gainer according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Shares of all Adani group companies, except one, have surged at least 50% this year.
Nirmala Sitharaman commented that India will not completely “shut off” cryptocurrencies as she wants the country to “experiment” on the technology part of it. Meanwhile, the price of Bitcoin surged to a new record, smashing past $61,000.
2009 film Avatar has reclaimed the crown for the highest-grossing movie ever thanks to its re-release in China. The James Cameroon movie grossed $2.798 billion to overtake Avengers: Endgame.
That's all for today. Have a great day and a productive week ahead!