IOC has allocated Rs200,000 crore to set up green hydrogen plants at all refineries to achieve net-zero emissions by 2046. IOC is remodelling its business with enhanced focus on petchem to hedge volatility in the fuels business. In addition, petrol pumps will transform into energy outlets offering EV charging points and battery swapping options; apart from conventional fuels. IOC will expand refining capacity from 81.2 MTPA to 106.7 MTPA by 2030. IOC currently emits 21.5 MMTCO2e, growing to 40.44 MMTCO2e by 2030.
For the week ended on 24th February, 9 out of the 10 most valuable companies on the NSE by market cap faced combined erosion of Rs187,808 crore. HDFC Bank and RIL took the biggest hit. Among big losers, HDFC Bank lost Rs37,848 crore in market cap, Reliance Rs36,567 crore, TCS Rs36,444 crore and HDFC Rs20,871 crore. Other weekly losers were ICICI Bank Rs15,766 crore, Infosys Rs13,466 crore, Bharti Airtel Rs10,729 crore, SBI Rs8,880 crore and HUL Rs7,237 crore. Only ITC was in green as the Sensex fell 2.52%.
The market value of the Adani group equity holdings of LIC has now dipped into a loss. Against the cost price of Rs30,127 crore, the market value is now down to Rs26,862 crore. LIC is heavily invested in Adani Enterprises and Adani Power and both are sharply down. The value of LIC’s Adani holdings had crossed Rs56,000 crore in January 2023. In addition, LIC also has an exposure of Rs5,800 crore to the debt paper of the Adani group companies. LIC has total AUM of Rs41.66 trillion, so Adani group is less than 1% stake.
ABB India, a company focused on electrification and automation, has lined up investments worth Rs1,000 crore for organic and inorganic growth. This investment will be made in capacity expansion over the next 5 years. In India, ABB operates in electrification, process automation, motion & robotics and discrete automation. It has 25 plants across 5 manufacturing locations. It had orders worth Rs10,028 crore in 2022 and is likely to gain majorly from the government thrust on infrastructure. It will open a facility in Nashik.
In what could be a temporary relief for Zee Entertainment, the NCLT Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) stayed an order for initiating insolvency proceedings against Zee. After IndusInd had requested to refer Zee to insolvency, Punit Goenka had filed a petition with NCLAT for relief. The case is listed for final disposal on 29th March 2023. IndusInd had sought insolvency of Zee because it had guaranteed on behalf of Siti Networks to maintain one quarter interest and principal in escrow to service debt, which was not done.
In a recent consultation paper, SEBI has sought to ensure more skin in the game for the sponsors of REIT and INVIT structures. Since inception, INVITs and REITs have managed to raise Rs1.17 trillion via initial offers. Currently, sponsors are required to maintain 15% holding in the unit capital for a period of 3 years, but there are no restrictions after that. Under the proposed rules, SEBI wants to progressive reduce the holding percentage up to 20 years and maintain the sponsor holdings at 1% in perpetuity after 20 years.
Amidst the turmoil in the Adani Group, S&P Global affirmed its rating on Adani Green Energy at “BB+”. In addition, it also maintained the stable outlook on AGEL and even removed the “under-observation” tag on the rating. S&P expects the group companies to discharge all liabilities on time. In mid-December, S&P had placed Adani Green under criteria observation. Interestingly, this comes exactly a day after Fitch also affirmed the ratings and outlook of Adani Transmission. However, stock price damage continues for now.
Technology companies, digital plays and unicorns are laying off people by the hundreds. It is estimated that since the start of 2023, more than 2,700 people have lost their jobs per day on an average. Even people with jobs are either facing salary cuts or bonus freeze. Freshers are seeing offer letters withdrawn or onboarding delayed. The demand supply scenario has suddenly reversed in the tech sector, although the impact is much lesser on other sectors. However, layoffs are a global phenomenon in the IT industry.