MARKETS, P6 COMPANIES, P4 INTERNATIONAL, P7 130% JUMP IN JUST 10 MONTHS HUGE VOLUME OPPORTUNITY ALASKA AIRLINES MIDAIR BLOWOUT GQG’s initial bets in Adani Group soar to $4.3 billion in value Untapped potential driving two-wheeler firms to used market 737 mishap: Boeing CEO fights back tears, admits ‘mistake’ CHENNAI/KOCHI, THURSDAY, JANUARY 11, 2024 FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL NO. XLIV 210, 14 PAGES, `12.00 P U B L I S H E D F R O M : A H M E D A B A D , B E N G A L U R U , C H A N D I G A R H , C H E N N A I , H Y D E R A B A D , K O C H I , K O L K ATA , L U C K N O W, M U M B A I , N E W D E L H I , P U N E SENSEX: 71,657.69 ▲ 271.48 NIFTY: 21,618.70 ▲ 73.85 NIKKEI 225: 34,441.72 ▲ 678.54 HANG SENG: 16,097.28 ▼ 92.74 `/$: 83.04 ▲ 0.08 `/€: 90.90 ▲ 0.07 BRENT: $78.42 ▲ $0.83 GOLD: `62,129 ▼ `92 IN THE NEWS LOW BASE MAY PUSH CPI INFLATION TO A 4-MONTH HIGH RETAIL INFLATION BASED on CPI likely rose to a four-month high of 5.9% in December, reports Priyansh Verma. This is believed to be due to the statistical effect of a low base, as sequentially price pressures have eased, according to an FE poll of 20 economists. ■ PAGE 3 INDIA-US TRADE FORUM: PHARMA AUDITTOPS AGENDA TRADE MINISTERS OF India and the US will meet on Friday to discuss pending issues like fast-tracking of the process of inspection and audit of Indian pharma companies by USFDA, export controls on high-tech products, among others, reports Mukesh Jagota. ■ PAGE 3 EXPORTERS FEAR BIZ LOSS ON EXTENDED CRISIS IN RED SEA INDIAN EXPORTERS ARE yet to see any large-scale rejection of export consignments or demand to renegotiate contracts due to the Red Sea crisis, but are worried that any delay in the resolution might seriously jeopardise their business, reports Mukesh Jagota. ■ PAGE 2 SEBI PLANS LIMIT ON REITs, INVITs ISSUING SUBORDINATE UNITS MARKETS REGULATOR SEBI on Wednesday proposed limiting the number of subordinate units that can be issued by REITs and InvITs as well as ensuring uniformity in the granted rights of such units, reports PTI. FE S P E C I A L More global brands Vibrant Gujarat: India Inc to make India entry ADANIS TO INVEST `2 TRN, MARUTI TO PUT IN `38,000 CR loosens the purse strings came from Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani who pledged a staggeringinvestmentof`2trillionover the next five years,largely in setting up the world's largest clean energy projectwhich,hesaid,“willbevisible evenfromspace”.ThegroupisbuildingthreegigafactoriesformanufacABHINAY KUMAR & turing solar modules,wind turbines RAJESH KURUP Gandhinagar/Mumbai, January 10 and hydrogen electrolysers. In Gujarat’s Rann of Kutch desert, it is THE 10TH VIBRANT Gujarat Sum- building the world’s largest green mit got off to a rousing start at the energypark,covering725sqkmand colourfully decorated Mahatma will produce 30 gigawatt of electricMandir here on Wednesday,with a ityfromsolarenergyaswellassetup flurry of multi-billion investment an integrated renewable energy pledges and other annmanufacturingecosysINSIDE ouncements by the top tem for solar and wind. guns of India Inc. The India to be third Adani said the group bullish tone at the has already invested largest economy three-daysummit,atteover `50,000 crore out nded by several Heads by FY28: FM of the `55,000-crore of State, was set by Need dispute-free investmentcommitted Prime Minister Naren- land for new by2025attheprevious draModiwhosaidIndia summit. plant: Bhargava has emerged as a new The second biggest ray of hope amid many announcement came ■ PAGE 2 uncertainties being from Maruti Suzuki, faced globally. whichunveiledplansto India’scorporatecaptainsagreed invest `38,000 crore to build a secto that in unison and let theirpurses ond car plant and adding a new prodo the talking. The biggest duction line at an existing facility, announcement on the opening day increasingannualproductioncapacityto 2 millionvehicles. Addressingtheinauguralsession, Toshihiro Suzuki, president, Suzuki Motor Corporation, said that in the last 10 years, Suzuki’s production capacity saw a 1.7x growth while exports went up 2.6x.“We are planningtorolloutSuzukiMotorJawaby the end of 2024. Tatas, Reliance, ArcelorMittal join investment queue Tight liquidity, high credit demand & competition from small banks have led to hikes by mid-size and large banks ■ EXPLAINER, P9 AS A FIRST STEP, RELIANCE IS SETTING UP INDIA'S FIRST AND WORLD-CLASS CARBON FIBRE FACILITY AT HAZIRA GAUTAM ADANI, CHAIRMAN, ADANI GROUP THE GROUP IS BUILLDING THE WORLD'S LARGEST GREEN ENERGY PARK IN KUTCH, GENERATING 30 GW OF ENERGY OVER 725 SQ KM N CHANDRASEKARAN, CHAIRMAN, TATA GROUP THE GROUP IS ON THE VERGE OF ANNOUNCING A HUGE SEMICONDUCTOR FAB IN DHOLERA. WE ARE ABOUT TO CONCLUDE NEGOTIATIONS LAKSHMI MITTAL, EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN, ARCELORMITTAL WE ARE BUILDING THE WORLD'S LARGEST SINGLE LOCATION INTEGRATED STEEL PLANT AT HAZIRA WITH A CAPACITY OF 24 MT OF CRUDE STEEL Continued on Page 12 NARENDRA MODI, PRIME MINISTER INDIA IS AN ENGINE OF GROWTH, ATECH HUB FOR FINDING SOLUTIONS AND A DEMOCRACYTHAT DELIVERS. group VIVEAT SUSAN PINTO Mumbai, January 10 AFTER A STRING of international brand launches last year,calendar year 2024 will be no different with a flurry of big retail names making India theirhome. Conversations with multiple retail consultants and experts reveal that global apparel brands such as Pull & Bear and Bershka from Spain’s Inditex group, best known to Indians for its Zara chain of clothing stores; fashion brands Sandro and Maje from France's luxury group SMCP,American footwear retailer Foot Locker,food & beverage chains such as Jamba fromtheUSandFrance'sGaleriesLafayettewill launch theirstores in the countrythisyear. Abooming retail market apart from growing affluence and consumer tastes are among the key reasons for the interest shown by foreign brands in India, analysts said.Also, large groups such as Reliance and Aditya Birla are opentopartnershipswithforeignbrands,with RelianceBrands,partofRelianceRetail,inparticular,being the mostaggressive of the lot. While Sandro and Maje have tie-ups with RelianceBrands,GaleriesLafayettehasastrategic partnership with Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail and Foot Lockerhas a tie-upwith Metro Brands.SandroandMaje,sayretailexperts,will launchattheJioWorldPlazainBKC,Pull&Bear isexpectedtoopenitsdoorsatthePheonixPalladium in Lower Parel and Galaries Lafayette has taken up space at Fort in Mumbai for its proposed launch in India thisyear. ■ Sandro and Maje from France's luxury group SMCP ■ American footwear retailer Foot Locker ■ France's Galeries Lafayette 3.44 mn sq ft space became operational in top 8 cities in 2022 ■ F&B chains like Jamba from the US 5 mn sq ft new space became operational in top 8 cities in 2019 6 mn sq ft New supply ofretail space in 2023 in top 8 cities, over 72% growthvs 2022 “The robust retail growth that India is seeing,especiallyatthepremiumandluxuryends, coupled with a younger demographic,aspirationallifestylesareallcontributingtothissurge in foreign brands wanting to set up base in India,” Susil Dungarwal, retail and shopping mallspecialist,whorunsaMumbai-basedfirm Beyond Squarefeet,said. Continued on Page 12 JSW Group gets moving on mega `6,000-cr IPO for its cement unit SAJJAN JINDAL-LED JSW Group has initiated the process for an initial public offering(IPO)ofJSWCement,withplanstoraise up to `6,000 crore, which would be the largestinthesector,reportsRajeshKurup. The company has roped in an array of bankers, including Goldman Sachs, DAM Capital, Jefferies, Citi, JM Financial, Kotak Mahindra Capital and SBI Capital. According to the contours of the initial stake sale, which are being finalised, it would include an offer for sale by two private equity investors, sources close to the development told FE. ■ Page 4 Nasdaq holds overseas listing talks DHWANI PANDYA Gandhinagar, January 10 Why banks are raising short-term fixed deposit rates MUKESH AMBANI, CHAIRMAN, RELIANCE WHAT’S IN STORE Large groups such as Reliance and Aditya Birla ■ Pull & Bear and Bershka from Spain's Inditex open to partnerships US STOCK EXCHANGE Nasdaq has held talks with Indian authorities on potentiallyallowing local Indian companies to list directly on foreign stock exchanges, a senior Nasdaq executive said. Domestic companies are currently not permitted to list theirshares directly onoverseasmarkets,butglobalinvestors and top startups in the country have been calling for this to change. Allowing domestic companies to list abroad on exchanges like Nasdaq will give them wider access to capital, Nasdaq’s executive vice chairman Edward Knight said in an interview. He Knight was speaking on the sidelines of a conference near GIFT City.“We are hopeful EDWARD KNIGHT, EXECUTIVE VICE CHAIRMAN, NASDAQ COMPANIES THAT HAVE INTEREST IN REACHING OUT TO GLOBAL INVESTORS, PARTICULARLYTHOSE IN TECH AREA, SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO DO SO thatwhen they(rules) are finally promulgated it will facilitate listing of companies not only here in GIFTcitybut also other jurisdictions,”he said. HesaidNasdaqheld talksinOctoberwithfinanceministerNirmala Sitharaman and Sebi chairperson MadhabiPuriBuch,andaskedthemifforeign listings could be allowed beyond GIFT,andthatforeignboursesshouldnot be excluded from the policymaking. “Those companies that have interest in reaching out to global investors, particularly those in technology area, should be allowed to do so,”he said. Knight said India has attracted a largeamountofforeigndirectinvestment in the past.“Question is, will that continue and one way to facilitate that is to make it easier for Indian companies to initially list outside India.” — REUTERS PM TO INAUGURATE INDIA’S LONGEST SEA BRIDGE Mumbai to bridge the gulf tomorrow RAGHAVENDRA KAMATH & RAJESH KURUP Mumbai, January 10 SANJAY DUTT, MANAGING director of Tata Realty & Infrastructure,is looking forward to Friday (tomorrow) when Prime MinisterNarendraModi inaugurates the 21.8-km Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL), which will connect Sewri in South Mumbai to Chirle near Navi Mumbai. “I am reallylooking forward to drive on it in a pollution-free environment when I travel to other side of the city,” Dutt says about the project thatwill see Mumbai taking another giant step towards better road connectivity. Besides lane driving and wider roads, absence of traffic jams should be the icing on the cake,Dutt adds. He is among thousands of Mumbaikars who are waiting eagerly for the D-day to arrive.“It is a proud moment foreach and everyMumbaikarwhowill save hours of commute while driving THE BIGGER THE BETTER Length: 21.8 km 16.5 km on sea and 5.5 km on land Cost: `17,843 cr Name: Atal Bihari Vajpayee Sewri-Nhava Sheva Atal Setu on the nation’s longest sea bridge,”says Gautam Hari Singhania,chairman and managing director of Raymond. Officially called the “Atal Bihari Vajpayee Sewri-Nhava Sheva Atal Setu”, it will cut travel time between the two nodesfromtwo-and-a-halfhourstojust ■ Claim to fame: Will cut travel time by two-and-ahalf hours to 20 minutes ■ Vehicles expected per day: 70,000 ■ Developers: L&T-IHI consortium, Daewoo-Tata JV and L&T 20 minutes.It is estimated that 10 million litres of fuel will be saved annually. The engineering marvel costing `17,843 crore has many unique features — about16.5 km of the stretch is on sea and 5.5 km on land. The speed limit will be 100 km per hour (a dream for most Mumbaikars),cameras every 330 metres, noise barriers in the first 4 km, and view barriers for added security, commuters have a lot to watch out for, too. Continued on Page 12 CHENNAI/KOCHI