Business News

Mumbai: ICICI Bank on Tuesday became the sixth Indian company to achieve a market capitalisation of $100 billion after the stock rose by 2.48% to close at a record high of ₹1,199.05. The private lender is the second-largest bank in India by market capitalisation, after HDFC Bank. It is also the fifth-largest entity by market value.In December 2020, ICICI Bank's market capitalisation crossed $50 billion, and within 10 months, it exceeded $75 billion in October 2021.Shares of ICICI Bank have rallied 20% so far this year compared to a 9% gain each in the Nifty and Bank Nifty during this period. The other five companies that have reached the $100 billion market capitalisation milestone are Reliance Industries, Tata Consultancy Services, HDFC Bank, Bharti Airtel, and Infosys. Notably, Infosys reached this milestone in January 2022 but could not maintain that level for long.Currently, Reliance Industries is leading the list with a market capitalisation of $236 billion, followed by TCS with a market value of $166 billion.

NEW DELHI: A sluggish monsoon leading to subpar kharif sowing could queer the pitch further for food inflation, which already remains elevated, according to economists, even as some of them said they were hopeful of an improvement in rainfall as the season progresses."We have already seen a surge in some of the vegetable prices and will have to weigh the upside risks to food inflation in due course," said Upasna Bhardwaj, chief economist, Kotak Mahindra Bank.Retail inflation hit a 12-month low of 4.75% in May but food inflation stayed almost unchanged at elevated level of 8.69%.June rainfall has been below normal, as per the India Meteorological Department. "At the moment, the monsoon may be patchy and delayed but expectations are that towards the end of June and early July, we should see a fairly big comeback of the rains. We thus have to wait and watch. Having said that, of course, too much delay will have adverse effects on food inflation," said Bhardwaj.A note from Madhavi Arora, lead economist at Emkay Global Financial Services Ltd, said cumulative rainfall till June 21 was 17% below the long-term average (LTA), while the weekly rainfall (till June 19) was 33% below the LTA. Overall, basin-wise reservoir levels were in deficit and below last year's level as well. On June 20, the overall level was about 9% below the LTA and 19% below last year's level."Stalled rainfall across majority of the country has led to a delay in kharif sowing. A significant delay in kharif sowing will impact food output and the rabi sowing season, as farmers will have less time to prepare their fields after the kharif harvest," Arora said, adding that retail food prices had increased due to persistent heatwave conditions.However, she said, vegetable prices may decline from August if the monsoon picks up, even as prices of milk and pulses stay high due to tight supplies.Other economists are banking on monsoon picking up the pace in the coming weeks."Even though it is too early to make predictions about monsoon impact, if monsoon advancement improves in the coming weeks we could see food inflation moderate, "said Rajani Sinha, chief economist at CareEdge Group.Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at Bank of Baroda, said, "As of today, even if there is a delayed monsoon, we do not know what the delay in terms of sowing has been and how much can be recouped later on as we are just two weeks into the monsoon."Food inflation, he said, was already showing an upward trend owing to vegetable prices going up due to reduced supply.DK Pant, chief economist at India Ratings, said farmers adopt short duration crops that can be harvested within eight to 10 months, instead of those that take longer to mature, to reduce losses caused by inadequate rainfall in June.

London: One of India's leading manufacturing multinationals, Bharat Forge, on Tuesday called for a more innovative approach to electric vehicles (EVs) in the country's climate action agenda which is not based on copying China's battery-based model. Addressing India Global Forum's Climate and Business (ClimB) session in London, company vice-chair and joint managing director Amit Kalyani pointed to great potential to incorporate inductive electric charging as the highway infrastructure takes shape around the country. He highlighted that the higher price tag of EVs is largely down to the cost of the batteries and having an alternative model will have a significant impact on sales of the more environmentally-friendly mode of transport. "I believe that we are all following the wrong model because everybody is copying what China did and is using the Chinese template for electric vehicles, which is a battery-based electric model," said Kalyani. "Most countries like India, where we are building infrastructure from scratch, not just EV infrastructure but highways... we can incorporate inductive electric charging in those and dramatically reduce the amount of battery we use to one-tenth or one-fifth of what you would otherwise need and only use it when the EV is off the main highways. This will dramatically reduce the need for the harmful chemicals and the mining of those chemicals, which is largely in Africa, and all controlled by Chinese companies," he said. EVs were among several topics in the spotlight for ClimB, an annual platform for advancing climate solutions and sustainability initiatives around clean energy, finance, green infrastructure, mobility and technology to accelerate global efforts towards achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. "India has significant financing needs. Just 2.5 per cent of GDP in green financing until 2030, and then it moves into trillions for the energy transition as we get towards the target of net zero," noted Julia Hoggett, CEO of the London Stock Exchange (LSE), who called for greater focus on creating mechanisms by which companies in the Global South can invest in such projects. "We need a global financial architecture... There's a lot to be done in terms of making our financial system work for the energy transition in places where affordability is a real issue," said Kate Hampton, CEO of Children's Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF). The debate also revolved around the role that green hydrogen would play on the course of energy transition away from fossil fuels. "Everything we can electrify, we should electrify because we found a way to decarbonise the grid already through renewables. While hydrogen is important, electrifying what we can is the most important thing and everything that we have electrified moving to renewables is equally important," said Rahul Munjal, Chairman and Managing Director, Hero Future Energies. "Is green hydrogen the silver bullet that we have all been looking for and does it have the promise that it's all hyped up to be? At least in smaller projects it's here and now, large scale not yet," he added. The session was followed by IGF London's first Global Investors Forum, celebrated with a market close ceremony at the London Stock Exchange - celebrating its role in facilitating capital flows into the world's fastest-growing major economy. Darko Hajdukovic, Head of New and Private Markets and Deputy Head of Digital and Securities Markets at LSE plc, noted: "Over the past 30 years, approximately 100 Indian companies and funds have financed their ambitious plans through our markets, and we look forward to continuing to support India in its growth." "London's unparalleled financial expertise and robust capital markets can significantly contribute to India's ambitious growth trajectory, creating pathways for substantial investments in infrastructure, innovation, and sustainable development," added IGF Founder Manoj Ladwa.

WASHINGTON: U.S. consumer confidence eased slightly in June amid worries about the economic outlook, but households were upbeat about the labor market and their inflation expectations over the next year improved a bit, a survey showed on Tuesday. The Conference Board said that its consumer confidence index eased to 100.4 this month from a downwardly revised 101.3 in May. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the index slipping to 100.0 from the previously reported 102.0. "Confidence pulled back in June but remained within the same narrow range that's held throughout the past two years, as strength in current labor market views continued to outweigh concerns about the future," said Dana Peterson, chief economist at the Conference Board. "However, if material weaknesses in the labor market appear, confidence could weaken as the year progresses." Consumers' 12-month inflation expectations fell to 5.3% from 5.4% in May.

Global development institution International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, has invested over Rs 650 crore in K Raheja Corp-backed Mindspace Business Parks REIT through an issue of sustainability-linked bonds.This is a maiden sustainability-linked fundraising by any listed Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) in India. This follows the REIT’s issuance of Green-bonds last year.Green bond loans are funds raised to finance construction of environment-friendly properties, while sustainability bonds are linked to achievement of sustainability targets.“IFC's investment will help Mindspace enhance the sustainability of its portfolio of business parks and reduce greenhouse gas emissions year-on-year. This partnership aligns with India's net-zero ambitions and demonstrates the viability of climate finance in the real estate sector. Our support aims to attract more diverse and long-term funding at a time when private capital is critical to build a greener, more resilient future,” said Wendy Werner, IFC Country Head for India.The coupon of this sustainability-linked bond is connected to Mindspace Business Park REIT’s commitment to achieve certain ESG targets towards building a greener eco-system. The proceeds of this fund raising are proposed to be utilised for refinancing amongst other uses.“This follows our maiden green bond issue in March 2023. Post this issuance our cumulative green/sustainability linked financing now stands at Rs 1,860 crore, strengthening our commitment to responsible growth. Our purpose to 'build sustainable ecosystems' helps us create long-term value for stakeholders, blending financial success with the environmental and social benefits,” said Ramesh Nair, CEO, Mindspace Business Parks REIT.Mindspace REIT has undertaken certain ESG targets critical to its operations. These include reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, increasing the share of green certified area for existing buildings under operations and maintenance, and reduction in energy intensity. The coupon of these bonds is fixed in nature, and will be stepped down, in a staggered manner, basis achievement of the set targets.The tenure of these bonds is seven years with final redemption date of June 24, 2031, at a coupon of 7.94% per annum, payable quarterly. IFC has subscribed to 65,000 listed, rated, secured, redeemable, transferable, taxable, non-cumulative non-convertible debentures of Rs 1 lakh each aggregating to Rs 650 crore on a private placement basis. These bonds are proposed to be listed on the Wholesale Debt Market (WDM) segment of the Bombay Stock Exchange.Mindspace REIT has put into place its maiden sustainability-linked financing framework under which Mindspace REIT and/or its SPVs can undertake issuances of sustainability linked instruments. The framework is based on five key components including selection of key performance indicators, calibration of sustainability performance targets, sustainability-linked instrument characteristics, reporting, and verification.