BACK PAGE | PAGE 22 COMPANIES | PAGE 4 Spin legendAshwin retires from international cricket INTERNATIONAL | PAGE 7 Nykaa’s Nayar only woman in Hurun top 10 entrepreneur list NEW DELHI, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2024 Troubled Honda and Nissan explore merger FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL. L NO. 249, 28 PAGES, `12 (PATNA & RAIPUR `12, SRINAGAR `15) 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: 80,182.20 ▼ 502.25 NIFTY: 24,198.85 ▼ 137.15 NIKKEI 225: 39,081.71 ▼ 282.97 HANG SENG: 19,864.55 ▲ 164.07 `/$: 84.96 ▼ 0.05 `/€: 89.16 ▼ 0.12 BRENT: $73.70 ▲ $0.51 GOLD: `76,391 ▲ `309 »EXPLAINER« WHAT EPFO DATA SAYS ABOUT FRESH HIRINGS PAGE 9 of total issue size To include 17 out of 27 material events not covered Review of Custodians: To maintain net worth of `75 crore ■ MFs to deploy NFO funds within 30 days ■ Ease of biz norms for REITs, InvITs, and Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report to the press release. Sebi has also approved setting upaperformancevalidationagency called Past Risk and Return Verification Agency (PaRRVA). Continued on Page 11 Govt to review gold import surge in Nov WITH THE GOLD imports reaching an all-time high of $14.86 billion in November,which pushed trade deficit to a record, the commerce ministryisexaminingifthereisanycalculation error, reports PTI. Media reportssaytherewasadouble-counting of shipments in warehouses following a change in methodology in July.TheDirectorateGeneralofCommercial Intelligence and Statistics hastakenupdetailedexaminationof the gold import data and reconciliation would be done with the data receivedbytheCentralBoardofIndirectTaxesandCustoms,acommerce ministryofficial said. ■ PAGE 3 Tobacco Whiskey & wines Footwear 350 48 Tunas T-Shirts 35 32 Trousers US PRESIDENT-ELECT Automobiles 150 125 Coffee, tea, cane sugar 100 Black pepper Toys 70 70 28.2 Continued on Page 11 DONALD TRUMP, INDIA If India charges us 100%, do we charge them nothing for the same? 2Wsales skid sharp 19% in Dec SWARAJ BAGGONKAR Mumbai, December 18 FIRST FALL IN TWO YEARS RETAILSALES OF two-wheelers are headedfortheirfirstDecemberdrop in twoyearswith the first half of the month registering a sharp 19% »INSIDE« year-on-year fall, IMPORTS OF according to data CHINAAUTO sourced from the PARTS FLAT government’s IN H1FY25 Vahan portal. PAGE 5 Between December 1 and 17, two-wheelersalesstoodatjustunder 733,000 units, significantly down from 899,013units ayearago. If the sales do not pick up, this Month (Dec 1 to Dec 17) 2024 20% ITEMS WITH HIGHEST IMPORTTARIFFS (%) USA Agri Non-agri 39 13.5 65 9.0 732,627 not exceed Broader UPSI scope: India Total 17 12 2023 THE RUPEE HIT another fresh low of 84.96, as there was buying demand from FPIs and importers ahead of the US Fed policy announcement, reports Anupreksha Jain. Market participants expect the rupee to hit the psychologically crucial mark of 85/$ sooner than later. ■ PAGE 6 ■ OFS must Only permitted activities under Sebi’s purview USA (in %) MFN applied duty Total Agri Non-agri Simple average 3.3 5.0 3.1 Trade weightage avg 2.2 4.0 2.1 899,013 Rupee falls to fresh lifetime low, inches closer to 85/$ THE BOARD OF Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) took asmanyas19decisions onWednesday, including tighter listing regulations for small and medium enterprises(SMEs),easiernormsfor REITs and InvITs, and a wider definition of unpublished price-sensitive information (UPSI). In a bid to curb the manipulation bysome SMEs to paint a pretty picture for investors, it has approved mandating an operating profit of `1 crore in two out of three years, and a phased release of promoter lock-in over 1-2 years. The offer for sale (OFS) should not exceed 20% of the total issue size, and amount of general corporate purpose to be capped at 15%. “Lock-in on promoters’holding held in excess of minimum promoter contribution (MPC) to be released in phased manner,that is, lock-in for 50% promoters’ holding in excess of MPC shall be released after 1 year and lock-in for remaining 50% promoters’ holding in excess of MPC shall be released after 2 years,” according ■ Issuers must have `1 crore operating profit in 2 out of 3 years Merchant bankers: US PRESIDENT-ELECT DONALD TrumphassaidthatIndiacharges“a lot” of tariffs, reiterating his intention to impose reciprocal tariffs in retaliation for what New Delhi will impose on the import of certain American products. Making these remarks on Tuesday, Trump also said that India and Brazil were among countries that impose high tariffs on certain US products. “Reciprocal.If theytax us,we tax themthesameamount.Theytaxus. We tax them. And they tax us. Almostinallcases,they’retaxingus, and we haven’t been taxing them,” Trump told reporters on Monday. Source: GTRI REDUCTION OFTAX on health and life insurance policies will be part of the GST Council’s meeting on December 21, reports Priyansh Verma. The report on rate rejig, taxability on charges by food delivery apps and sin goods may also be taken up. ■ PAGE 2 SME IPO: IMPORT DUTY COMPARISON 2022 Insurance, sin goods, validation agency food delivery on GST PaRRVAset up AKSHATA GORDE Council meet agenda Mumbai, December 18 KEY DECISIONS LALIT K JHA Washington, December 18 672,689 ● Performance THE US GOVERNMENT onTuesday announced major reforms in its popular H-1B visa programme, a move that is expected to help thousands of Indian tech professionals, reports Manu Kaushik. The new rules will make it easier for US firms to hire foreign workers with special skills. It will facilitate a smoother transition from F-1 studentvisastoH-1B,anon-immigrant visa that lets US firms hire foreign workers in various occupations requiring advanced knowledge and technicalcompetence.Thenorms,totakeeffectinmid-January2025,would alsoeasethevisaprocessingtimeand streamlinetheissuanceofthesedocuments forskilledworkers,students and entrepreneurs. ■ PAGE 22 Trump threatens to impose reciprocal tariffs on India 2021 IN THE NEWS Sebi tightens SME listing regulations H-1B overhaul a boon for Indian techies 833,777 WIDENSPRICE-SENSITIVEINFOSCOPE Source : Vahan will be the worst December for the two-wheeler segment since the same period of 2022, which saw an 11% year-on-year drop to 672,689 units. Dealersattributetheslidetoconsumers either advancing their purchase orpostponing it. Continued on Page 11 PUT YOUR FACE ON GRAB YOUR CHANCE TO WIN US$1 MILLION AND BE AMONG THE LUCKY 5,000. BUY YOUR TICKET AT DUBAIDUTYFREE.COM New Delhi