SEBI has decided to put off the implementation of the proposed framework for segregation and monitoring of collateral at client level from 01-Dec to 28-Feb. The framework was conceived after Karvy had misused client collateral. The idea of these measures was to protect client collateral from misuse by TMs and CMs. However, in the light of protests from the brokers and from the market infrastructure institutions, SEBI has decided to postpone the implementation by 3 months. It would also be web enabled.
Star Health, India’s largest health insurer, will open its IPO on 30-November and close on 02-December. The IPO will comprise of a fresh issue of Rs.2,000 crore and an offer for sale of 5.83 crore shares by early investors and the promoter group. Rakesh Jhunjhunwala is one of the early backers of Star Health. The offer will include a Rs.100 crore reservation of shares for employees and the anchor book will open on 29-November. Star Health will use fresh issue proceeds to augment its capital and maintain solvency ratios.
With the US committing to release 50 million barrels of oil from its strategic petroleum reserves to ease global crude prices, India has also agreed to release 5 million barrels from its SPR. The US had sought the support of major oil users like India, Japan and South Korea to participate in this exercise to bring down oil prices. This was necessitated after the OPEC refused to push up production of crude faster. For India, lower oil prices can make a big difference as India relies on imports to meet 80-85% of its crude oil needs.
One of India’s leading no-commission real estate platform, NoBroker.com, raised $210 million from a clutch of investors including General Atlantic and Tiger global. This deal values NoBroker.com at above $1 billion, making it the first PropTech unicorn in India. NoBroker.com is based out of Bengaluru and was launched in 2013. It facilitates buying, selling and leasing of property without any agency commission in between. The funds will be utilised to fuel growth by expanding operations to 50 more cities across India.
The rental arm of DLF, DLF Cyber City Developers Ltd, has raised Rs.1,000 crore through the issue of debentures to refinance its existing debt. DLF Cyber City is a JV between DLF and Temasek of Singapore. The fund raising was via private placement of listed, secured and redeemable non-convertible debentures. The NCDs will carry a coupon rate of 6.7% annually and mature in Sep-24. The refinancing is expected to result in interest savings. DLF Cyber City has a commercial portfolio of 34 million SFT across 7 Indian cities.
According to Fitch Ratings, the central government should be able to better its fiscal deficit by 30 bps to 6.6% for the fiscal year 2021-22. This reduction in fiscal deficit is expected on the back of stronger than expected revenues, even in the event of disinvestment targets not being met. It may be recollected that Fitch had held India’s sovereign rating unchanged at “BBB-“ and had also retained its Negative Outlook for India. Fitch has added that a clear plan to reduce fiscal deficit progressively could lead to better ratings.
MobiKwik, which runs a popular wallet and is a leading player in the BNPL (buy now pay later) space, has decided to delay its IPO plans for the time being. The DRHP of MobiKwik has already been approved by SEBI and this postponement is more due to the sharp correction in Paytm post listing. Paytm gave up 36% in 2 days of listing. MobiKwik is backed by Bajaj Finance. The decision is a tad surprising as the digital space continues to see robust demand with the Paytm IPO being more of a one-off case. The IPO is off for now.
Moody’s has upgraded Bharti Airtel’s outlook to positive from stable on the back of improving operating performance and much better credit metrics. Moody’s also expects the free cash flows and liquidity to improve sharply over next 12-18 months. Moody’s has even hinted at a move to investment grade going ahead if the fundamental performance was sustained. Just a day back, Bharti had raised entry-level pre-paid plan prices by 20-25%. Its first target is to push ARPUs from Rs.153 to Rs.200 and then to Rs.300.
