businessfortnight

Mumbai: The rupee on Monday strengthened marginally against the US dollar, tracking gains in the Asian currencies market. The home currency opened at 64.07 a dollar. At 9.15am, the rupee was trading at 64.04 a dollar, up 0.06% from its Friday’s close of 64.08. On Friday, the Reserve Bank of India reported current account deficit (CAD) data that soared to a four-year high of $14.3 billion, or 2.4% of the gross domestic product (GDP), in the June quarter as gold imports picked up ahead of the implementation of the goods and services tax (GST). In the March quarter of 2016-17, CAD was 0.6% of the GDP at $3.4 billion. Bond yields hit a fresh 15-week high. The 10-year bond yield was at 6.607% compared to its previous close of 6.597%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions. The benchmark Sensex index rose 0.30% or 95.83 points to 32,368.44. So far this year, it has risen over 21.09%. So far this year, the rupee has gained 6%, while foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have bou

Kuala Lumpur/ Singapore/ Mumbai:  Asia’s highest-yielding bonds are holding on to their fans, with top investors saying they’ll keep buying Indian and Indonesian debt—even if policy makers don’t keep easing. Rupee- and rupiah-denominated bonds lured a record $29 billion of inflows this year, with central banks in India and Indonesia reducing key interest rates amid lacklustre inflation and subdued growth. While swaps traders don’t see India cutting again this year and economists are mixed on the rate outlook for both countries, firms like Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. and Schroder Investment Management Ltd remain bullish on debt that offers the highest yields in Asia. “In a stable global environment with the world’s four major central banks very cautiously removing post-crisis unorthodox monetary policies thanks to low inflation, investors will continue to look for yield,” said Rajeev De Mello, head of Asian fixed income at Schroder, which oversees $543 billion globally. Yields t

Mortgage lender HDFC will raise Rs 2,000 crore by issuing bonds on private placement basis to augment its long-term capital. “The object of the issue is to augment the long-term resources of the Corporation. The proceeds of the present issue would be utilised for financing/refinancing the housing finance business requirements of the Corporation,” HDFC said in a filing. The issue to raise Rs 2,000 crore will open tomorrow and closes the same day. HDFC said the company will specifically address the persons who are eligible for the debenture issue and no other person can apply for it. Stock of HDFC traded 0.24 per cent up at Rs 1,759.75 on BSE.

New Delhi:  The government is considering a plan to regulate the import, manufacture and sale of ultrasound machines to stem the drastic decline in India’s sex ratio. The Drug Technical Advisory Board, the government’s chief advisory body on drugs, will take up the proposal to regulate ultrasound equipment under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 at their forthcoming meeting in September. If regulated, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO), the national regulatory body for Indian pharmaceuticals and medical devices, will become the approving authority for import, manufacture and sale of ultrasound machines. The companies will also have to apply for permission from the Drug Controller General of India, who is responsible for approval of licences, before the scanners are sold in India. The health ministry is of the view that the move is crucial to save the girl child. “We have taken up the issue with the Drug Controller General of India. This will help in prevention of

Mumbai:  Two days after asking stock exchanges to act against 331 listed entities suspected to be shell companies, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) seemingly softened its stance on Wednesday, giving the firms an opportunity to be heard. The markets regulator issued a second communique to the exchanges, asking them to look at the tax returns and financials of the companies for the past three years, two persons with direct knowledge of the matter said on condition of anonymity. Exchanges were directed to seek documents from the companies and hear them out, said the first person. “If the verification does not throw up red flags, exchanges will report the same to Sebi. If the financials throw up concerns, then the companies will undergo an audit and other steps mentioned in 7 August circular,” said the second person. “This is more on the lines of Sebi giving exchanges steps that need to be followed,” this person added. A statement from NSE said only 48 of the 331 firms fl

The case against emerging markets (EM) is gaining steam in one corner of the bond world. Investors yanked out $680 million from the iShares JPMorgan USD Emerging Markets Bond exchange-traded fund last month, the biggest-ever flows reversal. Traders are concerned that after an 18-month rally, rising yields in developed markets from the US to Germany could wreak havoc across emerging markets similar to the taper tantrum of 2013, when developing-nation currencies depreciated by about 14 percent and local bonds lost an average of 7.3%, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. “To own EM, you have to believe that the dollar has peaked, and that as developed-market central banks in Europe and the US drain liquidity, emerging markets can outperform— that’s laughable,” said Julian Brigden, a hedge-fund consultant at Macro Intelligence 2 Partners, who made a prescient bet against developing-nation stocks within 2 days of their 2015 high. That’s in contrast to optimism from the likes of Ashmore

Bengaluru:  Aviva, Britain’s biggest life insurer, said it would sell Friends Provident International (FPIL), which provides life assurance and investment products in Asia and the Middle East, to a unit of International Financial Group for £340 million ($443 million). The sale, which follows a strategic review, will allow Aviva to further reallocate capital to businesses that can bring higher returns and grow its business across Asia, the insurer said. “Aviva has concluded that the business is not central to the group’s strategy to focus on a small number of markets where it has scale and profitability or a distinct competitive advantage,” it said in a statement on Wednesday.