MARKETS, P10 INTERNATIONAL, P3 INTERNATIONAL, P3 CALLS IT ‘NATIONAL ASSET’ RATE CUT WAIT CONTINUES $39-BILLION OFFER We will stage a smart comeback, FPO marks Vi 2.0: Birla US GDP growth slows more than expected in Q1; Dow falls 1.7% BHP places bid for Anglo American to create mining giant BENGALURU, FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2024 FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL NO. XXXVI 320, 22 PAGES, `12.00 P U B L I S H E D F R O M : A H M E D A B A D , B E N G A L U R U , C H A N D I G A R H , C H E N N A I , H Y D E R A B A D , K O C H I , K O L K ATA , L U C K N O W, M U M B A I , N E W D E L H I , P U N E SENSEX: 73,852.94 ▲ 114.49 NIFTY: 22,402.40 ▲ 34.40 NIKKEI 225: 38,460.08 ▲ 907.92 HANG SENG: 17,201.27 ▲ 372.34 `/$: 83.32 ▲ 0.02 `/€: 89.03 ▼ 0.20 BRENT: $88.00 ▼ $0.42 GOLD: `71,700 ▲ `385 IN THE NEWS SHAREHOLDERS’ NOD FOR $1.2-BN SWIGGY IPO SWIGGY SAID ON Thursday it has received approval from its shareholders for an initial public offering of $1.2 billion, according to its RoC filings sourced through TheKredible. ■ PAGE 4 GOVT SEEKS TO PUSH EXPORT INFRASTRUCTURE THE COMMERCE MINISTRY has embarked on an exercise to identify and estimate the investments required for the country's export infrastructure, after having set a target of $1 trillion merchandise export target by 2030, a senior official said Thursday, reports Mukesh Jagota. ■ PAGE 2 AXIS TOPS KOTAK FOR 4TH LARGEST BANKING STOCK KOTAK MAHINDRA BANK’S shares plunged by up to 13% on Thursday, wiping out nearly `40,000 crore in market value and paving the way for its rival Axis Bank to become the fourth-largest lender in terms of market capitalisation, reports Sachin Kumar. ■ PAGE 10 KOO'S FINANCIAL WOES FORCE SALARY FREEZE MICROBLOGGING PLATFORM KOO has ceased paying salaries to its entire workforce from April 2024 onwards, citing financial constraints, reports Anees Hussain. ■ PAGE 4 FE S P E C I A L TO CAPITALISE ON TAX INCENTIVE State-run energy firms line up IPOs of green ventures Nearly a dozen to follow GREEN ENERGY PUSH ■ The combined NTPC Green Energy’s ■ Potential IPO candidates include value of these proposed `10,000-cr offer IPOs could easily PRASANTA SAHU New Delhi, April 25 AFTER NTPC GREEN'S `10,000 crore initial publicoffer(IPO)expectedaroundNovember, nearly a dozen similar offerings are likely to hit the market in the ensuing months, with state-run energy companies seeking to bolster the capital bases of their newly incorporated green subsidiaries. These IPOs are part of a larger strategy by companies like Coal India, ONGC, SJVN, NHPC, Indian Oil and NLC India to build robust,climate-friendlyassets and capitalise on tax incentives for greenfield ventures (see chart). While a clearer picture will emerge later,official sourcesand market experts estimate that the combined value of these IPOs could easily reach thousands of crores. AstheIPOsrollout,thegovernment,particularlythe Department of Investment and Public Asset Management,has been supportive of energysectorCPSEstoestablishsubsidiariesand jointventurestotakeadvantageofthelowercorporatetaxregimeof15%fornewmanufacturing firms,sources said.These firms have set up newwholly-ownedgreensubsidiariesbeforethe March 31,2024 deadline for being eligible for theconcessionalcorporatetax. Besides taking advantage of low tax, another incentive to set up green JVs is that it'seasiertofindequitypartnersforsuchbusinesses, than for the parent companies. The companies are channelling their retained earnings to fund their green forays, also because these debt-free assets are easierto be securitised and monetised,if needed. India scrapped inheritance tax in 1985. At present, a 10% surcharge is levied on personal income over `50 lakh ■ EXPLAINER, P9 reach thousands of crores ■ Govt’s target is for an installed renewable capacity of 500 GW by 2030 ■ Besides taking advantage of low tax, it's also easier to find equity partners for such for such businesses INDIAN RETAILER FIRSTCRY is set to withdraw its papers for an up to $500 million IPO as early as next week, after the markets regulator raised questions over key metrics it disclosed to investors, said three sourceswith direct knowledge of the issue. FirstCry,backed bySoftBank,TPG and India's Mahindra and Mahindra sells baby products, including clothes, diapers and toys, seeking to tap the market for new parents in the world's most populous country. FirstCry parent BrainBees filed papers with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) last In linewiththe government's ambitiousRE capacityadditiontargetandthegoalofnetzero emissions by 2070, energy sector CPSEs are undertakingrenewableprojectsorpoolingtheir existing renewable assets into their new subsidiaries,analysts said.NTPC is on the path of building up RE capacityof 60 GWby2032 and NTPC Green Energy is its flag bearer in renewable energyjourneywith an operational capacity of over 3.4 GW and 26 GW in the pipeline including7GWunderimplementation. “IPO is one of the good ways of monetisation. NTPC Green Energy's model could be emulated by the likes of NHPC, SJVN and NLC,”a senior official said. BUMPY RIDE TO D-STREET ■ FirstCry was to raise about $215 million via fresh shares ■ It is backed by SoftBank, TPG and India's M&M December for an IPO that would have been one of the country's biggest this year. While it filed to raise about $215 million via fresh shares,it plans to raise $300 million more via sale of existing shares, the sources said. Continued on Page 16 Facing OTT heat,DTH players seek pricing freedom from Trai LEVEL-PLAYING FIELD FACING COMPETITION FROM over-the-top channels, direct-tohome (DTH) operators like Bharti Airtel, Tata Play, Dish TV and others are seeking a telecom sector-like tariff forbearance to price their offerings. Tariff forbearance is generally provided byregulatorswhen it is felt that competition is high and the industry has matured in terms of pricing its offerings. Operators are free in such cases to set tariffs without any prior approval from the regulator,which in this case is the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai).However,operatorsneedtofile their tariffs within a week after implementation and if the regulator feels that changes need to be made, directions are issued. DTH operators feel that the forbearance as broadcasting sector has become highly competitive and also matured ■ DTH operators seek ■ DTH industry is currently subject to excess regulations broadcasting sector has become highlycompetitiveandalsomatured with thecomingof OTTs,hencetight price regulation is not required any more. In fact, forbearance will give them the required flexibilityto compete with OTTs. TheDTHindustryiscurrentlysubjecttoexcessregulations,asapartfrom paying an 8% revenue share licence HIGH SIX THE COUNTRY'S LARGEST consumer goods company, Hindustan Unilever (HUL), has identified six key areas to invest in as it premiumizes the beauty portfolio, CEO & MD Rohit Jawa said during the analysts call post Q4 results. The six areas include face cleansing, sun care,light moisture,serums,weatherproof body care and masstige skincare, covering brands such as Ponds, Lakme, Dove & Vaseline and newer products such as Love Beauty and Planet, and Simple. At the same time, the company will also use more digital channels, media and influencer marketing to reach out to beauty consumers, especially the younger ones. crore in size; is 54-55% of beauty and personal business Continued on Page 16 ■ The six areas ROHIT JAWA, MD & CEO WE HAVE ALREADY A `2,000-CRORE PORTFOLIO ACROSS THESE SIX BETS Seats: States/UTs: RAJEEV CHANDRASEKHAR Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala 1,202 Indian beauty market,which is $19 billion in terms ofsize,will touch $30 billion by 2027 FMCG MAJOR Nestle India on Thursday beat estimates by reporting a 27% yearon-year increase in its net profit to `934 crore during the January-March quarter on the back of strong growth momentum across its product portfolio, reports Voters: 88 13 ■ A2023 report noted that the Nestle tops estimate, Q4 profit up 27% LOK SABHA ELECTIONS: PHASE 2 cover brands like Ponds, Lakme, Dove &Vaseline, Love Beauty and Planet, and Simple ■ Beauty business is `12,000 First-time voters 160 mn 3.48 mn Akanksha Nagar.Bloomberg consensus estimate had pegged the profit at `838 crore. Revenue from operations was also above estimates at `5,267 crore, up 9% y-o-y. ■ Page 4 Youngvoters (20-29 years): 32.8 mn Polling stations: 167,000 RAHUL GANDHI Wayanad, Kerala OTHERS SHASHI THAROOR Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala OM BIRLA Kota, Rajasthan POLL CALL BHUPESH BAGHEL Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh RESULTS CORNER TechM misses estimates in Q4 TECH MAHINDRA ON Thursday reported a sequential decline in its revenue in Q4 missing Street expectations, reports Padmini Dhruvaraj. ■ PAGE 5 Bajaj Finance Q4 PAT up 21% BAJAJ FINANCE POSTED a 21% y-o-y rise in its consolidated net profit to `3,825 crore in the January-March quarter, aided by a growth in AUM. ■ PAGE 10 IndusInd Bank Q4 PAT up 15% INDUSIND BANK ON Thursday reported a 15% y-o-y rise in its consolidated net profit for the quarter ended March 2024 at `2,349 crore, reports Piyush Shukla. ■ PAGE 10 TEJASVI SURYA Bangalore South SURESH GOPI Thrissur ARUN GOVIL Meerut HEMA MALINI Mathura, UP All 20 seats of Kerala will go to polls besides 14 of the 28 seats in Karnataka in the second phase of Lok Sabha polls on Friday. Continued on Page 16 TELECOM SECTOR-LIKE FORBEARANCE SOUGHT JATIN GROVER New Delhi, April 25 VIVEAT SUSAN PINTO Mumbai, April 25 Candidates: FirstCry withdraws $500-mn listing plan M SRIRAM Mumbai, April 25 Do we need to bring back inheritance tax? SJVN Green Energy, NHPC Renewable Energy, NLC India Green Energy, CIL Navikarniya Urja, ONGC Green HUL turns focus to six key categories to spur growth Monsoon to cool inflation, growth resilient: Finmin FE BUREAU New Delhi, April 25 ON A STRONG FOOTING THE FORECAST OF above-normal monsoon in 2024 bodes well for a good harvest, easing inflation concerns,the finance ministrysaid in a report on Thursday, a day after a Reserve Bank of India bulletin said, “extreme weather events may pose arisktoIndia’sinflationinthenearterm.” According to the ministry, resilient growth, robust economic activity indicators, price stability and steady external sector performance continue to support India’s “promising economic performance,” amidst uncertain global conditions. In its monthly economic report forMarch,theministryfurthersaid: “Further easing of food prices is on the anvil as the (weather department) has predicted above-normal rainfall during the monsoon season,which is likely to lead to higher production, assuming good spatial and temporal distribution of the rainfall.” India’s food inflation declined predicted 'above normal' monsoon rainfall at 106% ofbenchmark ■ The IMD in its first forecast has ■ The RBI has projected CPI inflation for 2024-25 at ■ India’s food inflation declined from 8.7% in February to 4.5% 8.5% comparedwith 5.4% in 2023-24 in March ■ India continues to be the fastest- growing major economywith positive assessments ofthe growth outlook for the current financial year from 8.7% in February to 8.5% in March. Food prices have, however, been a key challenge for the government, which has taken several actions to this end, including strengthening buffers of key food items, making periodic open market releases of key grains, easing imports of essential food items through trade policy measures, preventing hoarding through imposition/revision of stock limits, channelling supplies through designated retail outlets,etc. The RBI bulletin on Wednes- day had noted even as retail inflation in March eased to 4.85%, after averaging 5.1% in JanuaryMarch, food inflation, despite some signs of moderation, remained elevated, and added that this is potential source of risk to the disinflation trajectory. It, however, said that with 4% inflation finally being sighted, there is greater confidence now that the descent of inflation to the target is imminent. Continued on Page 16 ■ DTH operators say OTTs, DD Free Dish not regulated and eating into revenues ■ Currently tariffs are governed by the New Tariff Order (NTO) 3.0 Stakeholders seek light-touch regulation and level-playing field ■ fee to the government, operators are also subjectto price capsbyTrai. Trai is currently examining the submissions made by the operators and is likely to recommend changes in the regulations if there's wider unanimity amongst the various stakeholders,officials said. Continued on Page 16 BENGALURU