Bullets

After breakup with Vedanta Ltd., Taiwan-based Foxconn is planning a JV with European chipmaker STMicroelectronics. This partnership is done to establish a semiconductor plant in India producing 40-nanometer chips.

STMicro will balance out the JV with its expertise in technical fabrication, making up for what Vedanta-Foxconn JV lacked.

iPhone assembler Foxconn is also looking for other companies accomplished in chip-making technology for other functions. The government's incentive outlay of ₹76,000 crore for plant establishment in India is attracting many foreign parties.

Read here on what the government is doing to secure its citizens' data from multiple threats.

UK’s second-largest city, Birmingham, is in uproar after its city council was declared bankrupt on 5th August. An annual budgetary shortfall of millions of pounds is the reason for the bankruptcy.

A Section 114 notice was issued by Birmingham City Council, the largest local authority in Europe, stating the immediate pause of new expenditures apart from statutory services & vulnerable people’s protection.

The UK government expressed “serious concern over its governance arrangements” and assured regular engagement with the council.

Alongside, read about how the Dollar is losing its value on the global level here.

Oyo, the hospitality and travel tech startup, is facing a wave of executive departures. 

The most recent exits include India CEO Ankit Gupta and Europe head Mandar Vaidya. This adds to a growing list of high-level departures in the past year, including CTO Ankit Mathuria. 

Oyo has also undergone internal reshuffling, resulting in increased responsibilities for existing executives. 

These changes raise questions about the company's stability as it prepares for its public debut.

Read here, to know about how oyo makes money.
 

Karnataka's High Court revoked a GST council case against Gameskraft for tax evasion of ₹21,000 crore. As a blow to the gaming company, the Supreme Court has upheld HC's order and asked both parties to file their submissions within three weeks.

GST authorities claim Gameskraft's games to be close to betting style and thus allege them to evade the 28% GST between 2017 and 2022. 

As per this case outcome, recovering past GST dues might be possible for the government.

Get a clear idea of what 28% GST application means for the gaming industry by reading this article.

SEBI is making trading faster with plans to achieve one-hour settlements by March 2024. 

They're also set to launch an Application Supported by Blocked Amount (ASBA) like feature for secondary market trading in January 2024. 

This transformation in the market's settlement speed raises questions about its potential impact on the overall stock market dynamics and investor behaviour. Will this rapid change impact the stock market positively?

Meanwhile, read about the Sebi’s new regulations for the unlisted company here.
 

Lenders from ZEEL always opposed a merger with Sony Pictures Network India (now Culver Max Entertainment). IDBI Bank, one of Zee’s lenders, has challenged NCLT’s approval of the Zee-Sony merger before an appellate authority.

IDBI Bank opposes the deal, believing it to be defrauded due to a “non-compete clause” in the deal, in which Sony would pay ₹1,100 crore to Essel Group.

NCLT’s approval was the final green light the merger needed, but now IDBI Bank has created another roadblock.

What else awaits the creation of the $10 billion media firm from this merger is fascinating to watch. Till then, read here about what happened when BCCI stole from Zee Entertainment.

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd is in talks with Volkswagen to use key electric parts from Volkswagen's open electric vehicle platform, called the modular electric drive matrix (MEB). 

Mahindra plans to invest around ₹10,000 crore in its EV subsidiaries over the next 5 years. 

They signed a term sheet with Volkswagen in August, where Volkswagen will supply electric components. Mahindra's electric future is charged up and ready to roll! 🔌

Meanwhile, if you are considering investing in the real estate sector, check this article.
 

BharatPe is trying to come back in the game after the sudden exit of its Chief Business Officer (CBO), Dhruv Dhanraj Bahl. The Delhi-based fintech company is in talks with investors for a fresh equity funding round of $100 million.

This fundraising comes when BharatPe is facing the possibility of a lower valuation than previous rounds of $3 billion.

Along with the CBO, several low-level talent left the company, leaving management changes.

Whether this funding round is successfully held or not is up to investors. Until then, read here about what Instagram Subscriptions are and how they are profitable for you.

Shares of Nazara Technologies, a gaming company, surged 10% today. The company's board approved a ₹100 crore investment from Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath. 

This purchase will increase his stake from 1% to 3.5%. About 14 lakh equity shares were issued at ₹714 per share to Kamath Associates and NKSquared. 

Is this investment a game-changer for the gaming industry?🧐

Click here to read about whether the online gaming industry is on the brink of extinction. And if you are curious to know in detail about another player in this industry, check this article.

Pepper Money, the Australian non-banking finance company, is eyeing India's financial market.

They plan to apply for an NBFC licence and commit $150 million to serve consumers in small towns and cities, starting with prepaid cards in Indore and Lucknow.

Pepper Money has a global presence, including a full-service bank in South Korea and lending operations in the UK and Hong Kong.

Will Pepper disrupt India's finance scene?

By the way, did you know that Starbucks is one of the largest banks in the USA? Read about it here.

After Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal’s arrest on 1st September, the case went to the Electorate Directorate (ED). Goyal will be held in custody till 11th September for Canara bank fraud of ₹538.62 crore.

Canara Bank gave loans and credit limits worth ₹849 crore to Jet Airways, whose ₹538 crore was outstanding, which was declared fraud in July 2021.

An FIR was registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation against Naresh Goyal, his wife Anita, and the company. 

Fraud by influential people in the business world is a common occurrence. But you know one hypocrisy that is not well known? It’s LIC! Read here to know how LIC has been playing from both sides for profit.

The Competition Commission of India has approved the merger of Air India and Vistara, making Tata and Singapore Airlines partners. 

Tata will have the majority stake, and Singapore Airlines will own 25.1%. The merger comes with conditions, including maintaining current flight capacity on some routes, especially to Europe and North America. 

This alliance raises questions about the future of India's airline industry.

Check out this article to learn more about the fascinating competition between Kissan and Maggi.
 

Desperate times call for desperate measures. This seems to be the emotion behind two state-run telecom firms, BSNL and MTNL, making a pact. Both the companies have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on August 31, 2023.

To revive the public sector telecom firms, the government has approved ₹3,23,047 crore in the past four years. Additionally, ₹1.39 lakh crore BharatNet project, handled by Bharat Broadband Network Limited, is also in progress.

This synergy of operations between BSNL & MTNL hopefully boosts the public telecom sector. When discussing plans, read here how a masterful strategy helped Rasna become a market leader in India and beyond.

JSW Group, part of the O.P. Jindal Group is trying its hand again in the electric vehicle space. This time, they are in talks with Chinese carmaker Leapmotor.

They are looking for a partnership for licensing technology from Leapmotor and will be building three medium-sized sports utility vehicles using Leapmotor’s platforms.

Furthermore, JSW Group will soon acquire Ford Motor’s Chennai factory, which might be the base for its entrance into the EV sector.

Whether JSW Group enters the EV space or not is yet to be known. Until then, read here about how your favourite celebrities have something hidden besides acting.

A report on AdaniGroup’s “hidden offshore activities” by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) looks like history repeating itself. 

The report reminds people of the Hindenburg research revelation as it calls out the group’s use of offshore funds to invest in its own stocks. Between 2013 and 2018, millions were invested in Adani Group through Mauritius-based opaque funds by promoter family’s acquaintances.

It also seconds Hindenburg’s claims of stock price manipulation & dubious shareholding pattern.

The new report on the Gautam Adani-led group reveals many things. Let’s take a detour on what the Hindenburg report spoke about the company here.

The Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme 2.0 has attracted big names like Dell, Lenovo, Asus, HP, and 28 others. Approved in May, the PLI Scheme is the central government's programme to boost the "Make in India" campaign.

This scheme has an outlay of ₹17,000 crore, almost double the first one's outlay of ₹8,000 crore.

This scheme has an extended contract period of six years with a 5% incentive on net incremental sales over the base year.

Interested in schemes by the government? Then, check out the new Digital India Act brought forth by the government and know how it will protect your privacy for the best here.

Now, users can invest in stocks, mutual funds, and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) through PhonePe. Walmart-backed digital payments platform announced its entry into the stockbroking market via its app, Share.Market.

Share.Market will be available to users as both a mobile application and a web platform.

PhonePe is planning on elevating discount broking by using “WealthBaskets” as a source for market intelligence.

While you are considering trying out this new service by PhonePe, it’s important to be aware of certain factors about stock brokers. Read out this article to know it all.

Founder of unicorns, FirstCry.com, Globalbees Brands Ltd. and Xpressbees were reached by India’s tax department for alleged tax evading. CEO of FirstCry, Supam Maheshwari, received a notice from the tax department inquiring about the non-payment of more than $50 million in equity transactions.

FirstCry’s six investors, including ChrysCapital Management Co and Sunil Bharti Mittal’s family office, also received notice about the affair.

Maheshwari is in the process of handling the matter with the tax department as of now.

Authorities like the tax department and SEBI have been active lately. Read about SEBI's new plans and how they will benefit you here.

Tiger Global Management's venture capital fund, Internet Fund III Pte Ltd, has fully divested from Zomato, the food delivery platform. 

The fund sold its entire 1.44% stake, around 120 million shares, at ₹91.01 per share on BSE. 

This move follows Tiger Global's previous reduction of stake in Zomato to 2.77% last year. Despite the lower selling price, this exit marks a significant change in their investment strategy.

Click here to learn more about Paytm, another business in buzz.
 

Zomato's stock saw a morning boost of over 5% on Monday, driven by news of a block deal involving 3.2 crore shares valued at ₹288 crore. 

The deal, executed at ₹90.10 per share, comes as Japan's SoftBank is speculated to sell its 3.35% stake post the Blinkit deal. 

Zomato's 12-month lock-in period for the Blinkit transaction ended on August 25, releasing SoftBank's shares for trade. 

Speaking of Indian startups, read about the implications of Paytm's buyback decision here.