Business Today 1 September 2024

Of late, there has been a lot of talk about how millions of new investors are entering India’s stock markets. As many as 122 million demat accounts have been opened since April 2020 alone, out of a total of 158 million till May 2024. On the face of it, that’s good news. However, bolstered by the rising stock indices that are regularly hitting new highs, a large number of retail investors are making a beeline for the Futures & Options (F&O) segment, a part of the market that is known for high risk and complicated products, especially index options. These retail investors are egged on by discount brokerages that offer zero brokerage fees and lending facilities. The new generation of investors has a higher appetite for risk. Besides, there’s easily…

CHASING THE RINGS AT 117 ATHLETES COMPETING ACROSS 16 DISCIPLINES, INDIA SENT ITS LARGEST-EVER CONTINGENT FOR THE PARIS OLYMPICS HELD FROM JULY 26 TO AUGUST 11. INDIA HAS WON 6 MEDALS IN THIS EDITION, COMPARED TO THE 7 IT WON AT THE TOKYO OLYMPICS ₹96.08 CRORE Funding received by athletics, followed by badminton (₹72.03 crore) and boxing (₹60.93 crore) from a total allocation of over ₹470 crore 29 INDIAN ATHLETES Have qualified for athletics, which is the highest, followed by 21 for shooting and 19 for hockey ₹3,442.3 CRORE Allocation for Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports in Budget 2024-25, a 207% increase since FY15 (allocation of ₹1,121 crore) SOURCE PIB, CMIE ECONOMIC OUTLOOK, OLYMPIC.IND.IN…

THE INDIA STACK INDIANS PREFER UPI OVER OTHER MODES OF PAYMENT, AS IT ACCOUNTED FOR 68% OF TOTAL RETAIL DIGITAL PAYMENTS IN FY24 UPI: UNIFIED PAYMENTS INTERFACE; PPI: PREPAID PAYMENT INSTRUMENT SOURCE HOW URBAN INDIA PAYS - 2024, A REPORT BY KEARNEY AND AMAZON PAY THE DASH OF CASH A SIGNIFICANT PROPORTION OF INDIANS STILL CHOOSE TO PAY WITH CASH THAN WITH UPI AND OTHER DIGITAL PAYMENT METHODS FOR SMALLER TRANSACTIONS NOTE OTHERS INCLUDE DIGITAL WALLETS, CREDIT CARDS, DEBIT CARDS, PREPAID CARDS, BNPL, AND NET BANKING SOURCE HOW URBAN INDIA PAYS - 2024, A REPORT BY KEARNEY AND AMAZON PAY PAYMENT PARITY SMALL TOWNS ARE ALSO EMERGING AS GROWTH CENTRES FOR DIGITAL PAYMENTS NOTE DATA FOR THE PAST 12 MONTHS; *INCLUDES PREPAID CARDS, BNPL AND NET BANKING SOURCE HOW URBAN…

Can you tell us about Property Share and its role in the FOP and SM REIT ecosystem? Hashim and I started Property Share in 2015 pioneering a revolutionary new concept of fractional ownership providing a technology platform with direct access to rent yielding real estate for sophisticated retail investors. In the years since, Property Share became not only the first but also the largest FOP platform in the country both in terms of properties funded and external capital raised. In June 2022, Property Share raised Rs. 347 crores in a Series B round from Westbridge Capital. In time, other FOPs mushroomed mirroring the model, process, structure and ticket size introduced by Property Share. In Mar, 2024 SEBI introduced the SM REIT regulations in order to bring the FOP business within…

IN JANUARY 2023, US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research came out with a report accusing the Adani Group of indulging in billions of dollars’ worth of undisclosed related party transactions, investment and stock manipulation. Now, the controversy has reached the doorstep of India’s capital markets regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). Hindenburg has launched a direct attack on Sebi Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and the regulatory body, alleging that Sebi has shown a lack of interest in probing the Adani Group’s alleged undisclosed network of shell entities. Sebi, Buch, and the Adani Group have all refuted the latest allegations. In its latest report, Hindenburg has connected the alleged links of the Sebi chief’s family with the Adani Group as reason for the delay in the investigation. “We suspect Sebi’s…

HINDENBURG Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch had stakes in obscure offshore funds that were allegedly used to invest in Adani Group stocks The tiny fund had close ties to Adani. The Founder and CIO of the IPE Plus Fund was Anil Ahuja, who was previously a director of Adani Enterprises and Adani Power During Buch’s tenure as a WTM, her husband Dhaval was appointed as a Senior Advisor at Blackstone despite having no prior experience in real estate or capital markets VS BUCH FAMILY The investment was made in 2015 when they were private citizens living in Singapore and two years before Madhabi joined Sebi as whole-time member Decided to invest in the fund because Ahuja is Dhaval’s childhood friend and investor. Ahuja said at no point…