BPCL will invest Rs.100,000 crore over the next 5 years to make the business future ready. This is likely to make the company a lot more attractive from a privatization perspective. These investments include investments in petchem capacity, clean fuels, gas mix and in marketing infrastructure. This will also position them for the EV shift and its impact on fuel demand. BPCL will also create a 1000 MW portfolio of renewable energy. Half the outlay will be towards refining efficiencies as well as for gas proliferation.
Paradeep Phosphates got SEBI approval for its proposed IPO. The Rs.1,255 crore OFS will entail the issue of 1200.36 lakh shares by the promoters. Zuari will offer 75.47 lakh shares in the OFS and government of India will offer 1,125.89 lakh shares. Currently, Zuari Maroc holds 80.45% stake in Paradeep Phosphates while the GOI holds the balance 19.55%. Paradeep Phosphates is into the manufacture of complex fertilizers such as DAP and NPK fertilizers and marketed under the “Jai Kisaan” and “Navratna” brands.
In the wake of a spate of broker defaults in the last couple of years, including some high profile names, SEBI proposes to substantially increase the net worth requirement for stock brokers. Currently, PCMs and TCMs are required to have a net worth of Rs.3 crore for cash segment and another Rs.3 crore for F&O segment. Now, SEBI wants to enhance the base net worth requirement to Rs.25 crore by Oct-22 and further to Rs.50 crore by Oct-23. While large brokers will not be impact, this could hit smaller brokers.
In the midst of the IPO boom, CMR Green Technologies has filed DRHP with SEBI for its proposed IPO. The IPO will comprise fresh issue of Rs.300 crore and an offer for sale of 334.14 equity shares by existing promoters and early investors. CMR Green is a leading metal recycler in domestic aluminium recycling. CMR may also consider a pre-IPO placement of up to Rs.60 crore to gauge market sentiments. It will use the proceeds of the fresh issue for debt repayment. CMR currently has 12 manufacturing facilities in India.
There appears to be no let-up in the crude rally as crude spiked above Rs.5,535 per barrel in the Indian MCX crude futures market. This is in tandem with the global Brent Crude prices crossing $78/bbl. Oil prices have been rising on increasing demand, falling US stockpiles even as OPEC struggles to meet its production quota. The US output has also been disrupted by the hurricane. The lower supply from the Gulf of Mexico has resulted in larger inventory drawdowns in the US leading to a sharp spike in crude prices globally.
Reliance Industries is in parleys to buy a stake in Glance InMobi, an Indian mobile content provider. RIL plans to invest close to $300 million in the venture, which is already backed by Alphabet (the holding company of Google). Glance InMobi pushes curated news and entertainment content to phone lock screens. This would give Reliance access to the lock-screen property in its proposed JioNext smart phone to be launched in Diwali. The launch of the smart phone had been delayed due to the chip shortage.
B2B platform for manufacturers, Bijnis, raised $30 million in Series-B funding from Westbridge Capital. Other existing investors like InfoEdge, Matrix Partners and Sequoia also participated. Bijnis plans to use these funds to grow customers and also enhance its toolkit offerings for manufacturers to manage their supply chains more efficiently. Bijnis offers a platform to connect factories and manufacturers in an agnostic model to help them procure raw materials directly and manage logistics as well as payments.
The flagship of the Singhania group, Raymond Ltd, approved a massive group consolidation exercise. The tools and auto components businesses will be combined with its engineering business for better synergies as well as monetisation options. It will also consolidate its B2C ventures by transferring apparels into Raymond Ltd. The realty business will be hived off into a separate subsidiary. The group will also use the monetization proceeds to deleverage. Realty business will deliver 3 million SFT of residential projects.