Business Today 1-Dec-19

Just as Business Today has assiduously chronicled the rise and fall of India Inc year after year, this edition of BT 500 in your hands has a legacy that dates back 27 years. Such a long horizon not only tests robustness of businesses and longevity of firms, but also narrates fascinating tales. For instance, just the 10-year trend of BT 500 reveals that six of the Top 10 firms have managed to retain their position among India’s 10 most valuable companies. Even though their ranks have swung wildly, No.1 Reliance Industries stayed at the top. If HDFC and HDFC Bank have consolidated from ranks 8 and 10 to 5 and 3 today, ITC has stayed at No.6, TCS has climbed from No.4 to 2, Kotak Mahindra Bank has risen from…

STAY CONNECTED WITH US ON www.facebook.com/BusinessToday@BT_India PERSPECTIVES What If Reliance Jio’s Wish to See Vodafone-Idea, Airtel Fall Comes True? Can the government afford to pull incumbents out of their mess? Bailing out private telcos, experts believe, could set a wrong precedent, as more clarion calls may come from other distressed sectors businesstoday.in/jio-telcomess Investors’ Help May Not Be Enough to Revive Yes Bank’s Shrinking Balance Sheet Yes Bank, with balance sheet size of ₹3.46 lakh crore, is in danger of losing its fourth rank to Kotak Mahindra Bank or IndusInd Bank in the near future businesstoday.in/yesbank-balancesheet The Cyrus Mistry Factor in Tata Trusts’ Income Tax Trouble The trusts are governed under the Maharashtra Public Trust Act and the I-T Act. They are allowed to hold shares in a commercial entity despite…

THE NATIONAL HIGHWAYS Authority of India (NHAI) has drawn up an ambitious and aggressive plan to raise over ₹85,000 crore by fiscal 2025 by monetising assets under toll operate transfer and infrastructure investment trusts (InvITs). However, after tasting initial success in the first round, where it raised ₹9,681 crore against a target of ₹6,258 crore for 680 km of highways, it has found the going tough. The banking system is reluctant to lend and with the economic slowdown, investor appetite for such long gestation projects is low. The NHAI’s second round of auctions in February had to be cancelled due to tepid response from developers. At the same time, pressure continues on the NHAI to raise its own funds. Even as the third round for 566 km is yet to close…

THE UNION CABINET has approved the establishment of a distress fund to help developers complete unfinished residential real estate projects. The ‘Special Window’ fund will provide priority debt financing, particularly for stalled affordable and middle-income housing. The government would act as the sponsor and the total commitment to be infused would be up to ₹10,000 crore. The fund would also bag investments from institutions such as LIC and SBI, which would expand the corpus to ₹25,000 crore. The approval brings cheer to homebuyers, many of whom have experienced years of delay in the delivery of apartments. According to Anarock, a real estate consultancy, about 5.76 lakh units, launched in 2013 or before, across budget segments, are stuck in various stages of non-completion in the top seven Indian cities. Meanwhile, as…

FINALLY, INDIA has decided not to be part of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement. All other 15 countries that were negotiating this mega trade deal for about seven years will formally seal the deal early next year. The sighs of relief from across sections of domestic industry prove two things. One, the government did the right thing. Two, Indian industry in general is not competitive enough to face the on-slaught of duty-free imports from countries like China, Australia and New Zealand (India has existing trade agreements with others). While the government’s decision needs to be applauded, serious introspection is needed to understand and overcome Indian industry’s handicaps. Free trade agreements or not, Indian manufacturers need to become globally competitive in terms of quality and prices. The government may…

THE GST collection of ₹95,450 crore in September has dashed all hopes of the government getting anywhere near its tax collection targets for the current year. While there have been talks of the government falling short of tax revenue in the current financial year by ₹2 lakh crore, the September GST collections reiterate this. The September collection this year was lower than a year ago by 5.3 per cent. This is the second month in a row when collections were lower than last year. Now, with the collections way off the target of over ₹1.20 lakh crore every month, the required rate for the rest of the year is as high as ₹1.34 lakh crore a month. At the current rate of ₹98,000 crore average monthly collection, the central government…