POLITICS, P7 COMPANIES, P4 INTERNATIONAL, P3 Jaishankar set to visit Pakistan for SCO meet Temasek eyes $1-bn stake in Haldiram's EU to impose up to 45% tariffs on Chinese EVs CHENNAI/KOCHI, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2024 FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL NO. XLV 130, 16 PAGES, `12.00 P U B L I S H E D F R O M : A H M E D A B A D , B E N G A L U R U , C H A N D I G A R H , C H E N N A I , H Y D E R A B A D , K O C H I , K O L K ATA , L U C K N O W, M U M B A I , N E W D E L H I , P U N E SENSEX: 81,688.45 ▼ 808.65 NIFTY: 25,014.60 ▼ 235.50 NIKKEI 225: 38,635.62 ▲ 83.56 HANG SENG: 22,736.87 ▲ 623.36 `/$: 83.98 ▼ 0.01 `/€: 92.58 ▲ 0.11 BRENT: $78.16 ▲ $0.54 GOLD: `75,694 ▲ `374 SERVICES PMI FALLS TO 10-MONTH LOW IN SEPTEMBER INDIA'S SERVICES SECTOR activity fell to a 10-month low in September while still being in the expansion zone, the seasonally adjusted HSBC India Services Business Activity Index showed on Friday. The slowdown was triggered by a moderation in new businesses, international sales and output growth. ■ PAGE 2 TITAN SEES 25% Y-O-Y GROWTH IN SEPT QUARTER TITAN ON FRIDAY said it had registered a growth of about 25% year-on-year in the September quarter. The Bengaluru-headquartered company said a net 75 stores were added during the quarter, taking Titan's combined retail network presence to 3,171 stores. ■ PAGE 4 SEBI NOD TO JIO FIN, BLACKROCK TO SET UP MF BIZ THE SECURITIES AND Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has granted in-principle approval to Jio Financial Services and BlackRock to set up a mutual fund business as cosponsors. Jio Financial Services and BlackRock had formed a joint venture ‘Jio BlackRock’ in July 2023 to enter the asset management space in India. ■ PAGE 6 FE S P E C I A L S The Speed T4 bike review: The Triumph of Bajaj Most features of Triumph motorcycles now available at a Bajaj price point. ■ MOTOBAHN, P9 Wars offer a window of opportunity Lower valuations for quality stocks create a good entry point ■ PERSONAL FINANCE, P11 INAMOVEthatwillhelpthecountryaddressconcernsaboutpotential uncertainties over the availabilityofvitalinputsforitssunrise manufacturingindustriessuchas semiconductors, electric vehicles andsolarmodules,IndiaonFriday signed a deal with the US to “expandanddiversifycriticalminerals supplychains”. The memorandum of understanding(MoU),signedduringthe sixth ministerial meeting of the US-IndiaCommercialDialoguein Washington in the presence of commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal and US secretary of commerce Gina Raimondo, aims to dovetail the two countries’ complementarystrengthsincriticalmineralsandthetechnologies surrounding their extraction and processing. “The MoU centres around resilient semiconductor supplychains.Italsoveersaround sustainability and clean energy,” Goyal said. The MoU follows redoubled efforts by India to extract various critical miner- 1.50 1.22 1.71 1.99 2.10 2.03 - weekly (% loss*) 77.62 Close: Oct 3, 2024 -4.45 -4.54 Top sectoral losers ($ per barrel) 77.98 *between Sep 27 & Oct 4 (At 6:30 pm IST) Oct 4, 2024 ■ FULL REPORT ON PAGE 6 Will hit Israel energy, gas sites if attacked: Iran IRAN WILL TARGET Israeli energy and gas installations if Israel attacks it, the semi-official Iranian news agency SNN quoted Revolutionary Guards deputycommanderAli Fadavi as saying on Friday, reports Reuters. “If the occupiers make such a mistake, we will target all their energy sources, installations and all refineries to provide the status of the loan facility it has provided MTNLin light of media reports that the government will pay MTNL’s dues and the department of telecommunications’ (DoT) claims that there will be no default in this matter. SBI also sought clarification on the land monetisation plan, which was earlier provided to it with granular details, along with year-wise cash flows. Continued on Page 7 India, US sign deal on critical minerals MUKESH JAGOTA New Delhi, October 4 Oct 4 Consumer discretionary MTNL’s total debt as on March 30, 2024 Brent crude prices Sep 27 -4.68 `30,141 cr ■ Union Bank ofIndia, Bank ofIndia had earlier classified MTNL’s debt as NPA Sep 20 2024 Energy of the `325.53-crore amount overdue as on Sept 30 Sep 13 -4.79 `281.62 cr National Bank downgraded MTNL's loan accounts to NPA on Sept 9 Sep 6 Telecom Total outstanding in SBI’s account as at Sept quarter end June 17, 2022 -5.0 ■ Punjab Auto `325.53 cr Nifty -5.94 MAHANAGAR TELEPHONE NIGAM (MTNL), a Navratna company, has been declared a non-performing asset (NPA) by State Bank of India (SBI), the state-run telco informed the exchanges on Friday.This comes a month afterPunjabNationalBank(PNB)downgraded the loan accounts of the company, which provides services in Delhi and Mumbai,to the NPAstatusonSeptember9.Afewotherpublic sectorbankshad earlierdowngradedthefirm. The total outstanding in SBI’s account is `325.53 crore as at the end of the September quarter of the current fiscal, of which the amount overdue as on September 30 is `281.62 crore. “In order to regularise the account, this amount is due with immediate effect and to be paid immediately…Your attention is also drawn to the term that in case the overdue(s) are not so liquidated,a penal rate of interest is chargeable on such outstanding,” SBI wrote to MTNL. MTNL’s total debt as on March 30, 2024, stoodat`30,141crore,ofwhichPSBs,including SBI, Bank of India, PNB, Indian Overseas Bank, Union Bank of India, Punjab & Sind Bank, and UCO Bank have a total exposure of nearly `8,000 crore.The telco has defaulted on `519 crore in repayments to several lenders between June andAugust 2024. UnionBankofIndiaandBankofIndiahave alreadyclassified the debt owned byMTNLas anNPA.AfterSBI’smove,otherlenderssuchas Punjab & Sind Bank and UCO Bank are also likelyto classify MTNL's debt as NPA. Additionally, the bank asked the telco Sensex Realty IN DIRE STRAITS Weekly drop the worst since June 2022 Weekly return (%) -7.92 URVI MALVANIA & SACHIN KUMAR Mumbai, October 4 MARKETS FAILED TO hold on to a relief rally on Friday as the benchmark indices fell sharply off the day’s highs and closed with a decline of around 1%, registering their fifth consecutive session of losses, reports Vivek Kumar M. The rise in crude oil prices due to the escalating geopolitical risks and concerns over foreign funds preferring China over India continued to weigh on the investor sentiment. The Nifty and Sensex plunged nearly 5% each for the week, marking their worst week since June 2022. The volatile session on Friday saw the Sensex gyrate between 1,800 points and the Nifty slip below 25,000 points in intra-day trading. This wiped out investor wealth worth over `17 lakh crore on the BSE. -1.52 THE RUPEE STAYED below the $84 mark on Friday as the RBI stepped up intervention in the foreign exchange market to stem its slide. The rupee closed almost flat at 83.9688 on Thursday. However, market participants fear that the escalation in the Iran-Israel tensions leading to a surge in crude oil prices could further pressure the rupee. The RBI intervention comes at a time when the country’s foreign exchange reserves crossed $700 billion for the first time on record, after climbing for seven straight weeks, on valuation gains and the central bank's dollar purchases. ■ PAGE 6 ‘Navratna’ MTNL is now an NPA in SBI’s books -1.43 RBI KEEPS ` BELOW 84/$; FX RESERVES CROSS $700 BN Worst weekly market fall in 2 yrs -5.61 NEWS MOVE FOLLOWS PNB ACTION -5.42 IN THE alsfromitsterritory,thecountry’saspirationto become a global leader in semiconductor production,and the fast-rising share of renewable energyin its energymix. ThecementingofIndiaPIYUSH GOYAL, COMMERCE UStiesintheareaalsocomes & INDUSTRY MINISTER against the backdrop of the perception that China aims THE MoU CENTRES to dominate global supply AROUND RESILIENT chains of critical minerals. The curbs imposed by BeiSEMICONDUCTOR jing recently on exports of elements like gallium and SUPPLY CHAINS germanium, major inputs for semiconductor producWE ARE ALSO tion, have buttressed this TALKING WITH THE perception. China also US TO WORK WITH apparentlyseekstopreserve THIRD COUNTRIES proprietary rights in the technologyformanufacture ofrareearthmagnets. Priority areas of focus oftheIndia-USagreement include identifying equipment, services, policies, andbestpracticestofacilitate the mutually beneficial commercial developmentofcriticalmineralsin both countries. Continued on Page 7 Global investors discussing the ‘Indian era’: PM PRIME MINISTER Narendra Modi on Friday said that India clearly is in a “sweet spot” today, giving ample and unique opportunities forthe global investors. Speaking at the Kautilya Economic Conclave, Modi said: “Amid global uncertainties, we’re discussing ‘the Indian era’.This shows the confidence theworld has on India today is different.” ■ PAGE 2 Per capita income will rise by $2,000 in 5 years, says FM INDIA’S PER CAPITA income will risebyanother$2,000inthenextfiveyears, from $2,730 at present, as the upcoming decade will see “the steepest rise” in the living standards for the common people, Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Friday. ■ PAGE 2 and gas fields,” Fadavi said. Meanwhile, Israel said it had targeted the intelligence headquarters of Hezbollah in Lebanon overnight and was assessing the damage on Friday after a series of strikes on senior figures in the group that Iran’s supreme leader dismissed as counterproductive. The air attack on Beirut, part of a wide assault that has driven more than 1.2 million Lebanese from their homes, was reported to have targeted the potential successor to the leader of Hezbollah assassinated byIsrael a week ago. Hashem Safieddine’s fate was unclear and neither Israel nor Hezbollah have offered any comment. ■ Related report on Page 3 IPO path clear as NSE settles case with Sebi AKSHATA GORDE Mumbai, October 4 CASE FILES IN A DEVELOPMENT that is likely to pave thewayforthe National Stock Exchange’s (NSE) long-awaited initial public offering (IPO),the exchange has settled a matterof alleged misuse of its trading access point (TAP) system bypaying the markets regulator `643 crore. This comes close on the heels of the Securities and Exchange Board of India's (Sebi) decision to withdraw the charges against the NSE and its seven former employees,including Chitra Ramkrishna and Ravi Narain, in the decade-old colocationfacilitycase,citingabsenceofevidence to support the allegations. In February2023,the markets regulator had issued a show-cause notice to the exchange in the TAP matter,alleging that the stock exchange did not take active measures to prevent certain brokers from bypassing the access point system,which was used bybrokers to maintain communications with the NSE’s trading system. Theregulatoralsoallegedadelayinthe appointment of a chief information officer by the NSE and non-compliance with cybersecurityregulationsonfailuretodisclosesoftwaredeficienciestoitsowntechnology panel. Apart from the NSE,those who settled the case are Vikram Limaye, Umesh Jain, GM Shenoy, Narayan Neelakantan, VR Narasimhan,Kamala K,NileshTinaikar,R Nandakumar,and Mayur Sindhwad. TheNSEpaidthecombinedsettlement settled the case by paying Sebi ■ The NSE `643 cr ■ Case pertained to alleged misuse of trading access point (TAP) system ■ Sebi had earlier withdrawn charges against NSE, its 7 former employees, including Chitra Ramkrishna and Ravi Narain, in co-location case ■ Others who settled include ex-MD & CEO Vikram Limaye, Umesh Jain, GM Shenoy & others amount on September 25 “without admitting ordenying the findings of facts and conclusions of law, through a settlement order”. The settlement amount was determined by a high-powered advisory committee and later approved by a panel of whole-time members,the order said. Along with the settlement amount, eight of the applicants had undertaken pro bono community service of 14 days during the year. Continued on P age 7 PLANS TO OPEN 4 MORE RETAIL STORES Apple widens India basket, to make all iPhone models here FE BUREAU New Delhi, October 4 APPLE ON FRIDAYannounced that it has started manufacturing the entire iPhone 16 line-up,including iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max, in India. The made-in-India iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max will soon also be exported to select countries across the world. This comes close after the launch of iPhone 16 on September 16. The company is also planning to expand its retail presence in the country with more flagship retail stores in Bengaluru, Pune, DelhiNCR, and Mumbai. Last year, it opened two flagship retail stores in thecountry—inMumbaiandDelhi. The latest decisions come amid growing interest of Indian con- BIGGER BITE ■ Apple has now started manufacturing the entire iPhone 16 lineup in India ■ Locally- made iPhone 16 Pro & Pro Max to soon be available here and for export to select countries sumers foriPhones and otherApple products on the back of easyfinance scheme options. “Ourstores are incredible places to experience the magic of Apple, and it’s been wonderful to deepen ourconnectionwith ourcustomers in India,” said Deirdre O’Brien, Apple’s senior vice-president of retail.“We are thrilled to build our ■The US firm began making iPhones in India in 2017 ■Its contract manufacturers in India include Foxconn, Pegatron & Tata Electronics ■ Apple's retail store expansion will help increase its market share, say analysts teams as we plan to open more stores in India, because we’re inspired by the creativity and passion of our customers across this country,”she added. Apple, which has over 3,000 employees in India, began manufacturing iPhones in the country in 2017. The phones are manufactured here through its contract manufacturers Foxconn, Pegatron and Tata Electronics. Through its contract manufacturing partners, Apple is the biggest beneficiary of the country’s production-linked incentive scheme forsmartphones. According to analysts, Apple's retail store expansion will help increase its market share,especially in the premium segment in the country. Besides, users will get to experience and see Apple products before making a purchase. Based on the premiumisation trend and the company’s increasing presence in tier 2 and 3 cities,Counterpoint expects Apple’s revenue to increase20%to$9.5billionin2024, largely led by iPhones.The research firm expects the company’s nonsmartphone revenue to grow 14% year-on-yearto $1.3 billion in 2024. In 2023,iPhone shipments to retail outletsorcarriersinIndiacrossed10 millionunits.Aboostinsaleswasalso aided bythe opening of two flagship storesinDelhiandMumbailastyear. According to IDC, Apple is expected to ship 12-12.5 million iPhones in India in 2024, a y-o-y growth of around 25% growth.For iPhones,the best-performing model in the April-June quarter were the iPhone 15 serieswith a 58% market share, iPhone 14 series with a 36% shareandiPhone13serieswitha6% market share,according to CMR. Continued on P age 7 CHENNAI/KOCHI