POLITICS | PAGE 19 Shinde clears way for BJP CM in Maharashtra COMPANIES | PAGE 4 INTERNATIONAL | PAGE 7 Honda is first Japanese auto firm to go electric in India MUMBAI, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2024 US GDP rises 2.8% in Q3, jobless claims steady FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL LXIV NO. 283, 20 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: 80,234.08 ▲ 230.02 NIFTY: 24,274.90 ▲ 80.40 NIKKEI 225: 38,134.97 ▼ 307.03 HANG SENG: 19,603.13 ▲ 443.93 `/$: 84.45 ▼ 0.12 `/€: 88.81 ▼ 0.20 BRENT: $73.08 ▲ $0.27 GOLD: `75,953 ▲ `570 IN THE NEWS Govt invites bids for 20 MSME technology centres in PPP mode THE GOVERNMENT HAS sought requests for proposal for setting up 20 MSME technology centres under the public-private partnership mode, reports Prasanta Sahu. For the first time, private players will partner with the industry to provide technological, incubation and business advisory support. ■ PAGE 2 LTIMindtree set its sights on $10-billion revenue by FY32 LTIMINDTREE HAS SET its sights on achieving $10 billion in revenue by FY32 by scaling verticals and embracing AI, reports Padmini Dhruvaraj. However, various brokerages have expressed caution over margin pressures and execution risks. ■ PAGE 4 Need stricter laws to curb vulgar content on social media ELECTRONICS AND IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday said there is a need to make existing laws more stringent to curb vulgar content on social media and OTT platforms, reports fe Bureau. He also urged the panel to take up the issue as a priority, while pressing for the need of a societal consensus on it. ■ PAGE 2 Cyber fraud: Indians lost `11,300 crore in nine months of 2024 INDIA LOST AROUND `11,333 crore to cyber fraud in the first nine months, according to government data, reports Mahender Singh Manral. Stock trading scams accounted for the largest share, with losses of `4,636 crore. ■ PAGE 20 RMZ plans major expansion across multiple sectors NO BRIBERYCHARGEAGAINSTKEYEXECS: LAWYERS 10% rise in US tariffs may lower India growth by 30 basis points Adanis punch holes in US indictment ARUNIMA BHARDWAJ New Delhi, November 27 GAUTAM ADANI, HIS nephew Sagar Adani and other key Adani executives have not been charged with bribery,which is a violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in the indictment of the US Department of Justice (DoJ) or the civil complaint »INSIDE« of the US Securities and ExcPAUSING BIZ hange CommisWON'THITRE sion (SEC),Adani TARGETS: Green Energy TOTALCEO (AGEL) said on PAGE 4 Wednesday. WHY SEC AND Following SEBI NEED TO the clarification, COLLABORATE theAdani Group PAGE 9 stocks rose on Wednesday and extended gains to 10-20%. AGEL shares closed at `989.30, up 10% from previous close. Senior lawyer and former attorneygeneralMukulRohatgi,whopreviouslyrepresentedAdani group in a few cases, told reporters that while STOCKS JUMP UP TO 20% Adani Total Gas Adani Power Adani Enterprises Adani Energy Soultions Adani Green Energy Adani Wilmar Adani Ports & SEZ Sanghi Industries Ambuja Cements ACC 19.8 19.7 11.6 10.0 10.0 8.5 6.3 4.7 4.4 4.2 MUKUL ROHATGI % change (over previous close) MAHESH JETHMALANI Given the nature of the indictment, the sketchy evidence… this seems to be a hatchet job the indictment includes multiple counts,the key charges — count one involving a conspiracy to violate the FCPA and count five pertaining to obstructionofjustice—donotname I do not find a single name or detail in the chargesheet as to who has been bribed, and in what manner Adani or the other top officials, including the company’s managing directorVneet Jaain. Continued on Page 7 Social securitycode likely to see a staggered rollout PRIYANSH VERMA New Delhi, November 27 THEGOVERNMENTMAYnotrollout the Code on Social Security (CSS) in onego,giventheindustry'sconcerns that a few provisions could result in “financial burden”, official sources said.Theseprovisionsaredesignedto help platform and gigworkers. The CSS, one of the four labour codes which the Centre is keen to implement throughout the country, was passed byParliament in 2020. Some sectors of the industry, including those heavilydependent on platform and gig workers, have urged the government to have a relook at certain provisions,which they feel are likely to significantly increase theiroperational costs and dent viability. The government is, however, unlikely to make any major changes immediately,but may consider rolling out some provisions in phases. Financial impact of the relevant CSS measures on the industry would be assessed to examine whether these would indeed need to be tweaked, saidthesources.Theindustryisespeciallyconcerned about the potential increase in financial liabilities, for sectors with a large workforce or those operating with “tight-profit margins”,saysources. Continued on Page 14 A RELOOK POSSIBLE ■ To weigh financial burden on industry from benefits for gig workers ■ Industry feels code provisions could dent viability and significantly raise operational costs ■ The govt is, however, unlikely to make any major changes REUTERS AI to fly erstwhile Vistara's A320 jets on five routes FE S P E C I A L Digi Yatra’s race to 10 million users The face-scan system to cover more airports, become multilingual ■ EFE, P9 India's tariffs on the US have increased Weighted avg tariff rate (%) 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 11.4 9.5 India tariffs on imports from the US 3 India tariffs on all imports 2022 2010 US tariffs on imports from India Weighted average tariff rate (%, 2022) 4.8 Consumer goods Raw materials 1.6 Intermediate goods 1.6 Capital goods 1.3 14.5 7.6 11.4 7.9 US tariffs on imports from India India's tariffs on imports from the US Source: Morgan Stanley Son sees India emerging as big player in chip design SOFTBANK GROUP CHAIRMAN and CEO Masayoshi Son sees India emerging as a big player in the Masayoshi Son, chip design chairman and space due to CEO, SoftBank geopolitical reasons and asked founders of his portfolio firms in the country to work on artificial intelligence with 10 years perspective, according to sources. During his two-day visit, Son met Reliance chairman Mukesh Ambani on Day 1 in Mumbai and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Day2inthenationalcapital.Healso met founders of SoftBank’s portfolio firms, including Paytm’s Vijay ShekharSharma,Oyo’sRiteshAgarwal and Ola’s Bhavish Aggarwal, among others. — PTI ● ISRAEL-HEZBOLLAH CEASEFIRE: LEBANESE CIVILIANS RETURN HOME RMZ, ONE OF the largest family-owned alternative asset managers, aims to build a diverse portfolio across hospitality, healthcare, data centres, warehousing and residential realty, while also exploring the green energy sector, reports Raghavendra Kamath. ■ PAGE 14 AIR INDIA HAS said it will deploy erstwhile Vistara's A320 planes that offer “best narrow-body cabin products" on five key metro-to-metro routes, including Delhi-Mumbai and Mumbai-Hyderabad, reports fe Bureau. The deployment will start from December 1. ■ PAGE 4 A10% HIKE in US tariffs on imports could lower India's GDP growth by about 30 basis points, Morgan Stanley estimates, reports Saikat Neogi. New Delhi will have higher vulnerability to tariff hikes in sectors like machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, textiles, food and agri inputs.The US's weighted average tariff rate for India on MFN basis is around 3%, while Indian tariffs on US goods escalated in recent years, to touch 9.5% in 2022. India, however, lifted retaliatory duties on US apples and certain other crops in September 2023. Displaced residents drive past the rubble of destroyed buildings as they return to their villages, following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that went into effect on Wednesday, in Tyre, southern Lebanon. The agreement ended the deadliest confrontation between Israel and the Iranbacked militant group in years but Israel is still fighting its other arch foe the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Cars and vans piled high with mattresses, suitcases and even furniture streamed through the heavily-bombed southern port city of Tyre, heading south ■ PAGE 7 SME listing day gains fall to 23% on more scrutiny ● Returns were at 66% till mid-Sept VIVEK KUMAR M Mumbai, November 27 LISTING DAY GAINS from share offerings of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have fallen sharply inthelastcoupleofmonthsafterthe regulator increased scrutiny. The average listing day gains on the 41 stocks on the SME platforms of NSE and BSE have been just 23% since mid-September—whentheSebihad cracked the whip on Trafiksol ITS Technologies. This is considerably lowercomparedtotheaveragegains of 66% seen since the beginning of FY25,accordingtoPRIMEDatabase. A total of 171 companies have gotten listed on SME platforms of NSE and BSE so farin FY25,mobilisingarecord`6,085crore.Whileonly 18 of these 171 companies closed below their issue price on the first day, the latest stock prices show 58 are trading below their respective issue prices.Nonetheless,the year is likely to surpass the record listings seen in FY24, when 196 SME IPOs mobilised around `6,000 crore. Not surprisingly, the BSE SME STATUS UPDATE SME IPOs listed in FY25 so far Nos Issue size Avg listing (` cr) day gain (%) Apr 23 637.58 41.2 May 21 499.13 98.1 Jun 17 532.42 78.4 Jul 25 1,118.42 84.4 Aug 25 Sep 35 1,357.41 29.5 Oct 22 1,158.65 22.3 725.67 56.1 Nov 3 55.58 15.5 Total 171 6,084.86 55.1 Source: Primedatabase.com IPO index is on its way to see the third consecutive month of decline in November. However, it has only fallen 7.4% in these three months and is still up 130% in the lastyear. Continued on Page 14 NTPC Green ends Godrej Properties with a premium launches QIPto of13% on debut raise `4,000 crore SHARES OF NTPC Green Energy,the renewableenergyarmofNTPC,ended with a premium of 13%,against the issue price of `108, on Wednesday, reports Agencies.The stock made its debutat`111.60,up3.33%overthe issuepriceontheBSE.Duringtheday, it climbed 13.65% to `122.75,and closedat`122.10. ■ PAGE 6 GODREJ PROPERTIES HAS launched a qualified institutional placement to raise about `4,000 crore , reports fe Bureau. Indicative offer price is `2,595 a share,whichwould be an 8.4% discount to the stock’s closingpriceontheNSEonWednesday,aspertermsofthedealaccessed byBloomberg. ■ PAGE 6 Toyota, Honda and Nissan losing share in SoutheastAsia at a worrying rate Chinese cars trouncing once-unbeatable Japanese rivals YASUFUMI SAITO, JIN WU & NICHOLAS TAKAHASHI November 27 TIMES ARE TOUGH for Japanese carmakers.As China’s assault on the world’s automotive industry gathers speed,Japan’s national champions are emerging as some of the biggest victims. In China itself, the world’s largest car market, Japanese automakers are fighting for survival as local competitors flood showrooms with wave after wave of electric vehicles (EVs). The same Chinese companies are pushing into SoutheastAsia,rapidly gaining ground in what has long been a stronghold for legacy brands like Toyota, Honda and Mitsubishi. Japanese automakers suffered the biggest market share losses of any carmakers between 2019 and 2024inChina,Singapore,Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, according to an exclusive Bloomberg analysis of sales and registration data. In China, all six Japanese automakers tracked by Bloomberg have ceded ground — even Toyota’s sales and output have hit a plateau. In Southeast Asia, where loyalty to Japanese marques is so strong that almost every car in Indonesia as recently as 2019 was from the nation,Chinesebrandsarechipping away. That’s especially the case in Thailand and in Singapore, where Japanese carmakers’ shares have been eroded down to 35% from more than 50% in 2019. TOKYO DRIFTING AWAY ■ Chinese companies are pushing into Southeast Asia, rapidly gaining ground ■ Region has long been a stronghold for legacy brands like Toyota, Honda and Mitsubishi ■ In China, all six Japanese automakers have ceded ground — even Toyota’s sales and output have hit a plateau ■ In Thailand and Singapore, Japanese carmakers’ shares have been eroded down to 35% from more than 50% in 2019 ■ Japanese automakers suffered biggest market share losses between 2019 and 2024 in China, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia While Toyota, the world’s no. 1 carmaker by volume, is still holding its ground in some segments like pickups,theoverallpictureisworrying for companies once considered pioneersinefficiencyandreliability. The loss of market share in Asia alsoportendsapotentialwiderslide in Europe and the US,although Chinese automakers largely don’t sell passengercarsthereduetopunitive tariffs. As a group, Japanese carmakers have been slow to shift to fully electric vehicles. That could cost them dearlyas theyfall further behind in an industry where winners are being minted based on cutting-edge battery technology and smart software. In the Southeast Asia region, busy streets and highways long dominated by Nissan and Mazda marques are beginning to see new grilles and badges. Toyota’s enduring edge in Southeast Asia comes from its production capacitywithin the region, where it makes a number of gasoline cars with bigger engines that are popularamong local customers. Thailand and Indonesia together accounted for almost 10% of the some 11 million vehicles it manufactured in 2023. Continued on Page 14