After studying law I vectored towards journalism by accident and it's the only job I've done since. It's a job that has taken me on a private jet to Jaisalmer - where I wrote India's first feature on fractional ownership of business jets - to the badlands of west UP where India's sugar economy is inextricably now tied to politics. I'm a big fan of new business models and crafty entrepreneurs. Fortunately for me, there are plenty of those in Asia at the moment.
(File photo) A container of chyawanprash and a carton of apple juice sit on a counter at a Patanjali Ayurved Ltd. store in New Delhi, India on Saturday, November 19, 2016. Image: Udit Kulshrestha/Bloomberg
Promoters use the market rally to exit their holdings
Promoters are using the market rally to cash in on their holdings. According to data from Capitaline, 182 companies out of 1,182 surveyed saw promoters reduce their holdings during the April-June quarter. Out of the 27 companies where promoters have reduced their holdings only two saw a price decline. Some notable companies where promoters exited are CreditAccess Grameen (stake down 6.9 percent), CMS Infosystems (stake down 13.76 percent) and Easytrip Planners (stake down 3.6 percent). (Financial Express)
GQG purchases 5.96 percent in Patanjali Foods
GQG Partners Llc, which recently bought stakes in three Adani companies and Max Healthcare, has picked up a 5.96 percent stake in Patanjali Foods. The stake was bought in its offer for sale and at a premium to the floor price that had been set. GQG purchased the stake at Rs 1,223 per share for a total of Rs 2,639 crore. The company had set a floor price of Rs 1,000 per share. GQG is now the largest shareholder of Patanjali Foods. (Mint, Economic Times, Financial Express) Â
Milk data used to provide dairy farmers loansÂ
Farmers usually find it hard to access bank loans in the absence of a credit history. Now, a new initiative by the Reserve Bank of India is allowing lenders to assess their credit history by allowing them to tap into data on the milk supplied daily to Amul. Loans are sanctioned within 10 minutes and the Reserve Bank of India has dubbed this the ONDC of lending as multiple lenders will be able to tap into the data and make a decision. The entire process will be app based. (The Times of India)Â Â Â
Fintech startups enter the credit lane with NBFC licences
Fintech startups OneCard and WintWealth have applied for NBFC licences. This comes after companies like Cred, Groww and Jupiter have recently received lending licences. Broker Upstox is also contemplating applying for a licence. This comes after the Reserve Bank of India came up with digital lending guidelines, which meant that fintechs have to increase their stake while lending and also deal with more regulation. Simply tying up with a bank is not enough now as under the new rules they would be responsible only for customer acquisition. (Economic Times)