Tuesday, 7th July ’20
Good Morning. Welcome to another wonderful day. After a long Monday, time to take a breather. Have the rains started pouring out on your terrace yet? Or are we still waiting for the monsoons in your state? Either way, The Morning Tea stays committed to its goal of keeping you informed and entertained at the beginning of your day.
Today, we explore how Reliance has set a new benchmark in market cap. Vocal for local takes a domestic turn in Haryana and Paytm takes on new challenges. We really care about your time and if there is any suggestion about any section, please mail us at team@productround.com.
MARKETS
- RIL stocks rally 3%; market cap crosses Rs. 12 trillion-mark. Reliance Industries stock hit a fresh high of Rs. 1847, after it’s foreign investment spree – 12th in a span of few months – saw Intel Capital invest Rs. 1859 crores in Jio. Jio has raised Rs 1.17 trillion through stake sales to ramp up its digital services business and expedite its debt reduction goals.
- Crisil says the Indian IT sector could face Rs. 1200 crores impact due to H-1B visa ban. IT Sector’s profitability could be impacted by an additional 0.25 – 0.3% over and above the expected 2.50% hit due to Covid-19. To recall, last month Donald Trump administration had suspended the visas used by Indian tech professionals to work out of the US as it looked to arrest the rising unemployment.
- India Ratings estimates Corporate Stress to rise to 18.21% in the next two years as compared to 11.57% currently. It is estimated that over and above the current Rs. 2.54 lakh crore of bad loans, an additional Rs. 1.67 lakh crore of delinquent debt may get added by FY22. In such a scenario, the credit cost for cos. may increase substantially hampering loan disbursal.
TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION
- Nalanda Capital, one of the India-focussed funds is raising an additional $800 million. It has already used $728 million according to its filing with US SEC. Started by Warburg Pincus head, Pulak Prasad, he is known for his bet on Bharti Airtel in 1999. Nalanda focusses on Private Investment in Public Companies(PIPE) route to invest in small and mid-cap companies.
- The Private Equity Investments in India have dropped 40% in the first half of 2020 to $13 billion(excluding $15.5 billion raised by Jio apps) from $45 billion last year. The total number of exits also fell 45% to $3billion. Saas, EdTech, and healthcare are expected to drive recovery in the second half of 2020.
- Facebook is testing its 15-second video app Reel with a limited set of users to capitalize on the market vacuum created by the TikTok ban in India. This comes shortly after Facebook shut down its stand-alone Tik Tok style app Lasso.
PRODUCTS & STARTUPS
- Uber announced that it has acquired Postmates in a $2.65 billion, all-stock deal. It plans to run the business alongside its own food delivery business, Uber Eats. They will have a wider user base now considering differing geographic focuses and target demographics as well as postmates’ strong relationships with small- and medium-sized restaurants.
- Paytm will acquire the 51% stake currently owned by Prism Johnson and the 49% held by QBE Australia in Raheja QBE General Insurance to enter the general insurance business inorganically. Paytm now has a digital wallet, a digital gold product, a payments bank, an investment advisory arm (Paytm Money) and now this.
- TPG’s Rise Fund has invested in Frontier Markets Consulting, a startup that focuses on last-mile distribution in rural areas and has raised $2.25 million in series A. The company uses a network of women entrepreneurs to market, sell and service solar products across rural parts of the country. They will use the money to introduce a b2c platform for digital services.
WHAT ELSE IS COOKING
- COVID generic drug Remdesivir all ready for this July launch: Drug-maker Mylan has secured approval to make Remdesivir drug available for the treatment of COVID-19 patients in India, this July. It shall be launched under the brand-name Desrem, at a price of Rs. 4800 per 100mg vial. This comes parallel to Cipla’s Cipremi (less than Rs. 5000) and Hetero’s Covifor (Rs.5400). Remdesivir is only for restricted emergency use on patients with moderate disease (those on oxygen support).
- India’s latest e-commerce policy promises to curb “digitally induced biases”: Under the new e-commerce policy, the government can ask E-commerce companies to submit data regarding national security, taxation, etc. within 72 hours. Steps are laid to curb the dominance of Amazon, Google, and Facebook and help local start-ups grow. The rules mandate the government to access online companies’ source codes and algorithms. The policy also intensifies regulation on live-streaming services provided by foreign e-commerce companies.
- Haryana cabinet approves draft reserving 75% state domicile in private-sector jobs: The cabinet has cleared a draft ordinance on 6th July, to reserve 75% jobs in Haryana industries or domiciles of the state. The ordinance is yet to get its final approval by the cabinet in its next meeting. It will be applicable only to new openings, where the employee salary is less than Rs. 50,000 per month. The new law would be called “Haryana State Employment to Local Candidates Act-2020”.
MORNING TEA BREAK
Book of the week – The Ride of a Lifetime by Bob Iger. Bob Iger, erstwhile CEO and now Executive Chairman of Disney, shares his ideas around leadership and how he built Disney into the largest and one of the most successful media companies in the world. PS – One of the recommended books from Bill Gates’ amazing book catalog.
Watch of the week – Wall Street (1987): On the Wall Street of the 1980s, the story revolves around a stockbroker full of ambition, doing whatever he can to make his way to the top. Why should you watch it? The movie looks behind the scenes of the secrets and shenanigans of business. It shows how mottos like “Money is everything” and “Greed is good” can lead people to their ruin.
MORNING TEA CHALLENGES
Today’s challenge idea would not be a challenge per se, rather a long pending call from our heart. The lockdown has shown how responsibility-sharing models are growing up in our family systems. But amidst that are we really taking care of the “care-givers” of this world? Yes, we mean the women in our families. So, let us start with simple things like serving her a glass of milk or any food rich in zinc, Vitamins C&D. Whether she be a “Work from home” employee or a front line aid worker, let’s be her all-time pillar!!
Written by Kumar Sourav Mohanty, Akansh Bhatt, Piyush Vijayan and Shashank Dobhal.