Morning Buzz: Tata group to build 40 GW gigafactory in the UK, HDFC Bank to invest in infrastructure projects, and more

(File photo) A totem displaying company logos at the entrance to Tata Motors Ltd.'s Jaguar Land Rover vehicle manufacturing plant in Solihull, UK, on Friday, January 20, 2023. Image: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Tata sets up UK gigafactory

The Tata group will build a 40 GW gigafactory in the UK to support Jaguar Land Rover’s electrification journey. The plant—to be built at a cost of $5.2 billion (Rs42,000 crore)—is one of the largest automotive investments in the UK. It is expected to commence operations in 2026. Somerset in southern England has been chosen as the site, and this comes a month after the company committed Rs13,000 crore to build a similar factory in Gujarat.
(Business Standard, Mint)

Tariff hike delays to result in muted earnings growth for telecom companies

Weak subscriber additions and a delay in tariff hikes are likely to result in a muted April-June quarter for telecom companies. In the quarter, telecom companies Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea are likely to report a 2 percent quarter on quarter growth in revenues. The increase can be attributed to the rise in base level tariffs and a hike in data consumption. Jio is likely to see the addition to 9 million subscribers, Bharti 2 million and Vodafone Idea a loss of 1.7 million users.
(Financial Express)

HDFC Bank to invest in infrastructure projects

The combined loan book of the merged Housing Development Finance Corporation and HDFC Bank will help the bank take exposure to large infrastructure projects. The combined loan book stands at Rs22,45,00,000 crore while deposits are at Rs20,63,00,000 crore. The aim of the bank is to double business every four years. Only 2 percent of HDFC Bank customers source their home loans through the bank, while 5 percent source loans from other institutions. This is a huge opportunity for the bank, said CEO Sashidhar Jagdishan in the bank’s annual report.
(Economic Times, Business Standard)

Ananya Birla buys Chaitanya Microfinance for Rs1,000 crore

Almost a year after the Reserve Bank of India rejected Sachin Bansal’s application for a banking licence, the co-founder of Flipkart has exited his microfinance company Chaitanya India Fin Credit. The buyer, Ananya Birla’s Svatantra MicroFin Pvt Ltd, bought the business for Rs1,000 crore, according to a report in BusinessLine. The deal values the company at 1.3 times book value and would make Svatantra the second-largest NBFC-MFI.
(BusinessLine)