Bullets

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.

After placing a ban on rice export, the Indian government brought additional stipulations to further control the domestic price. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry set basmati rice’s minimum export price at $1,200 per tonne. 

Last week, 20% of export duty was imposed on parboiled rice after banning the export of non-basmati rice.

This move was taken to curb the wrongful categorisation & export of non-basmati rice as aromatic basmati variety.

Also, read how and why the Indian government placed an export ban on rice and the consequences here.

Indian startup is amid a challenging funding environment and then we have Zepto, co-founded by Stanford dropouts at age 20, who secured $200 million at a $1.4 billion valuation.

Participating investors included StepStone and Goodwater. Zepto plans to go public in two to three years and targets profitability in 15 months with assistance from Y Combinator.

Its rise in the grocery delivery world is impressive, leaving us to wonder: will it disrupt or be disrupted?

Are you guys aware that you can invest in unlisted companies? Check this article for further details.

Following the disclosure that Vijay Shekhar Sharma had purchased a 10.3% share from Antfin, discussions are now underway regarding Antfin's intention to sell a further 3.6% holding in a block deal.

The sale's floor price is set at ₹880 per share, 2.7% less from Paytm's most recent closing price of ₹904.45.

To find out what is going on with Paytm, go here.
Also, if you want a deeper dive into the topic, make sure to read this article.
 

American multinational fast food franchise Subway has agreed to sell to Roark Capital, Dunkin’ owner. Valued at $9.55 billion (around ₹789.59 crores), Subway has been looking for a buyer via an auction since February.

Roark formed an earn-out agreement, a contractual provision where the owner selling would receive compensation for specific goals. Without the earn-out, the deal’s value gets reduced to $8.95 billion.

With this deal, Roark Capital will become one of the world’s largest restaurant operators.

While we watch the Subway-Roark deal for you, check out what’s happening with another giant in the food chain industry here.

India's agricultural sector faces mounting difficulties as essential commodities experience problems. Following restrictions on onion and rice exports, sugar is now added to the list due to a predicted 3.3% drop in production in the upcoming season. 

Inadequate rainfall has led to decreased cane yields, prompting India to consider a ban on sugar exports from October. 

For an in-depth analysis of the concerns surrounding India's Agriculture sector, read more here.
 

A minority stake of 0.99% is likely to be acquired by the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) in Reliance Retail. An investment of ₹8,278 crore would take place for the stakes on a fully diluted basis.

Additionally, Reliance Retail plans to raise a fund of ₹3,048 crore through an Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT).

By the way, Chandrayaan 3 crossed boundaries by landing on the moon's South Pole. But did you know there is one big foreign brand that is unable to cross India's coast? Check out who it is and why here. ⬅️

Cryptocurrency exchange CoinDCX is set to let go of around 70 employees, which makes up about 12% of their total team.

This move aims to guide the company towards making a profit, as stated by the founders, Sumit Gupta and Neeraj Khandelwal, on Tuesday.

Gupta and Khandelwal pointed fingers at bigger economic circumstances, an extended period of downward trends in the cryptocurrency market, and taxes on local exchanges for affecting their business's performance in terms of trade and earnings.

Remember, startups have their dirty secrets too! Curious? Discover some by clicking here.
 

Jio Financial Services Ltd (JIOFIN, the third largest NBFC in India by market cap hit the lower circuit hattrick today at a price of ₹227.25 and ₹224.65 on BSE and NSE. All hope is not lost for the NBFC newcomer, though. LIC has come in and acquired a 6.66% stake in JIOFIN on Tuesday.

To read about LIC's Investments: A Fatal Hypocrisy, check this. 

Always the saviour of troubled or slow businesses, LIC could change its tagline to "Bure market ke saath bhi, bure market ke baad bhi!"
 

Titan Jewellery’s subsidiary Caratlane Trading Pvt. Ltd., received a FEMA violation notice from the Enforcement Directorate in March 2022. The violation allegedly occurred between 2011 and 2014, as per ED.

Caratlane approached a former Chief Justice of India who backed their claim of no violation. They then challenged the show-cause notice alleging it broke FDI rules relating to Tiger Global’s investment between 2011-2014.

The case comes under the adjudicating authority and is still pending.

Caratlane, being a private company, might be complicating matters for authorities. Learn about how more disclosure of information from private companies will help authorities and you here.

Investment group Prosus, known for backing Indian startups like Byju's and Swiggy, is making changes. 

They're separating their EdTech and food delivery businesses. Gautam Thakar, ex-CEO of OLX Autos, will lead EdTech, and Roger Rabalais, currently CFO and COO, will head the food delivery part.

Last month, Prosus made headlines due to its disagreements with Byju's. 

Prosus is the largest institutional investor in the EdTech company. If you're interested, you can read more about what's happening with Byju's.
 

Jio Financial Services Limited, Reliance Group's demerged financial arm, cannot catch a break. Since its listing on August 21, 2023, the shares of the financial entity hit 5% lower circuit on its first day on the bourses. The closing prices on NSE and BSE for 21st August were ₹248.90 and ₹251.75, respectively.

Since then, the prices have fallen another 5% today due to block deals by institutional investors selling JFSL as it does not constitute their Index Funds.

Read about more of the Ambani Family's woes here.

In a transaction worth ₹435 crore, Japanese investment firm SoftBank has decided to dilute around 2% of its stake in the kids and baby accessory company, FirstCry. Ranjan Pai's MEMG Family Office, Harsh Mariwala'a Sharrp Ventures, and Hemendra Kothari's DSP Family Office will take over the sold stake.

The stake sale is presented as less of an attempt by SoftBank to exit FirstCry, and more of the company gaining experienced fund houses joining its fold.

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

X, formerly Twitter, has been the talk of the town ever since Elon Musk acquired it. Now, users have reported a major glitch, which is deleting the posts and pictures before 2014.

Several popular tweets before December 2014 have been affected due to this mysterious glitch, as per the technology news website “The Verge”.

Users believe this glitch to be part of the company’s cost-cutting measures. Musk & CEO Linda Yaccarino have not responded on the matter.

Well, this news surely doesn’t come as a surprise; after all, Twitter is suffering from “Elon Musk” side effect. Read here to get the complete story.