MUMBAI | 7 MARCH 2020 COMPANIES 3 . < Promoters of HDFC Bank in talks Voda Idea puts AGR dues at IndusInd Bank ~21K cr as Read calls on FM to hike stake with Goldman Sachs’ ABHIJIT LELE Talwar for CEO role Telco, seeking to make a new start, was advised to pay principal amount soon Mumbai, 6 March BLOOMBERG MEGHA MANCHANDA IndusInd Bank's promoters will hike their New York/Mumbai, 6 March New Delhi, 6 March stake in the private sector lender by buy- ing extra shares from the market. Harit Talwar, the head of Goldman ust a few hours before The promoters of the bank — Sachs Group’s consumer-banking Vodafone Group CEO Nick IndusInd International Holdings (IIHL) business, is in the running for one of JRead’s meeting with and IndusInd — plan to acquire addi- India’s top banking jobs. Union Finance Minister tional shares from HDFC Bank, India’s largest Nirmala Sitharaman and then open market in private-sector lender, has held talks Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar India. This will be with Talwar for the top role, according to Prasad on Friday, the company within the overall people with knowledge of the matter. announced that it had com- regulatory cap pre- The bank has been looking for a new pleted assessing its dues linked scribed for promot- leader to replace Aditya Puri, one of the to adjusted gross revenue (AGR). er holding in pri- longest-serving banking chiefs in India, At ~21,533 crore, Vodafone Idea’s vate banks, the whose term ends in October. calculation of the AGR liability bank informed the The Mumbai-based lender has a turned out to be less than half of BSE on Friday. The stake hike market capitalisation of about $86 Harit Talwar is now the head of Goldman the government estimate. Promoters held will be within billion, giving it a bigger standing than Sachs Group’s consumer-banking While Read offered “no- 14.38 per cent stake the overall major US banks like Goldman and business comments” after his meetings in the bank at the regulatory Morgan Stanley. A spokesman for HDFC with the ministers, sources in end of December cap prescribed Bank declined to comment and replacement should be better than him the Department of Telecom- 2019. IIHL had for promoter Goldman representatives didn’t and shouldn’t require 18 months munications (DoT) indicated 10.59 per cent stake holding in immediately respond to an emailed of handholding for the job. The bank has that the company was “positive” while IndusInd private banks request for comment. largely skirted the crisis in India’s shadow about India and that it wanted FM Nirmala Sitharaman and Vodafone CEO Nick Read (centre) during a meeting in New Delhi on held 3.79 per cent. Talwar joined Goldman in 2015 and lending sector that fueled bad loans and to make a ‘’new and good begin- Friday. Read is visiting India at a time when the telecom industry is facing a crisis PHOTO: PTI On Friday, was the face of its push into consumer weighed on the fortunes of some of its ning’’ in the country. IndusInd stock closed 5.62 per cent low- banking. The Wall Street giant had peers. However, it’s vulnerable to Read, who’s maintained that will at least have to pay the this, the company has paid Last month, the apex court er at ~1,014.3 per share on the BSE. eschewed business with Main Street for weakening consumer demand as the it would be tough to continue principal amount to avoid ~3,500 crore. rejected a plea by companies The bank will see a leadership change most of its more than 150 years in nation’s economic growth slows. as a going concern without relief contempt from the apex court,” A few days ago, Vodafone such as Bharti Airtel and with Sumant Kathpalia taking charge as existence. That has changed as it seeks Puri, 69, has led HDFC Bank since from the government, was the official added. had made a strong plea for Vodafone Idea for extension in managing director (MD) and chief exec- new business lines to help boost growth. 1994 when it was incorporated in advised to pay up at least the Earlier in the day, Vodafone setting off ~8,000 crore of GST the payment schedule and utive officer (CEO) from March 24, for a Before joining Goldman, Talwar led Mumbai. It is India's largest private- principal amount of the AGR Idea, the UK telco’s joint ven- (goods and services tax) credits, asked them to deposit the full three-year term. the US cards division for Discover sector bank both by assets and market dues before March 17, the next ture with Kumar Mangalam a three-year moratorium along AGR dues, estimated at ~1.47 tril- Kathpalia will succeed current MD & Financial Services. He also spent 15 years value, and has more than 5,000 branches date of the Supreme Court hear- Birla-led Idea, in a statement to with 15-year staggered payment lion for the industry. It threat- CEO Romesh Sobti, who has been at the at Citigroup, with roles tied to cards, across almost 2,800 cities. The lender’s ing. “We want Vodafone Idea the stock exchanges said, "The of AGR dues at a simple interest ened to start contempt proceed- helm of affairs for over a decade now. loans, and retail banking. profit rose 33 per cent to ~7420 crore to stay invested in India…. With company has today filed its self- rate of 6 per cent, drastic cut in ings against top executives of Sobti’s term as MD & CEO will end on HDFC Bank has had a panel in place to ($1 billion) in the three months ended the digital push by the govern- assessment of the AGR liabili- licence fee and fixing of a floor these firms for non-payment. March 23. find a successor to Puri, who has said his December 31. ment of the day, there’s enor- ties with the DoT. The self- price for calls and data. Last October, the Supreme mous business opportunity in assessment discloses the In December, Birla had said Court had upheld the govern- India. But there was need for company’s AGR liabilities to Vodafone Idea may have to shut ment’s definition of AGR, by the company to upgrade its aggregate ~21,533 crore, includ- if there was no relief on the which it calculates levies on technology,” a top official said. ing a principal amount of ~6,854 statutory dues. “If we are not telecom operators. The order Future Group probing financial abilities rumours It is learnt that the Vodafone crore for the period from FY getting anything, then I think it dealt a blow to the telecom brass “acknowledged” not mak- 2006-07 to FY 2018-19 and inter- is the end of the story for industry, which had for years PRESS TRUST OF INDIA company stocks in the last few specifically, one WhatsApp this and if required shall also be ing provision for AGR dues in est up to February 2020.” Vodafone Idea,” Birla had said. argued that AGR should only New Delhi, 6 March days” and it may approach the message portraying names of approaching the regulatory the books of accounts earlier. However, according to offi- “It does not make sense to put include revenue from core “regulatory authorities for suit- lenders and debt numbers for authorities for suitable action “The company was in con- cial calculations by the DoT, good money after bad... We will telecom operations. Telecom Kishore Biyani-led Future able action thereof”, according Future Group, Biyani said it is thereof,” Biyani said. tempt of the Supreme Court, as Vodafone Idea owes the gov- shut shop." Read in a post-earn- operators now have to pay dues Group on Friday said it is inves- to a regulatory filing by the impacting its listed entities. Future Group has presence it has not paid the entire ernment more than ~53,000 ings call a few months ago had of the past 14 years along tigating the “rumours” regard- group firm Future Retail. “Apart from the weak market in the Indian retail and fashion amount assessed by the DoT. It crore as part of the AGR dues. Of made a similar point. with interest and fines. ing its financial abilities, a list “Any such rumours, mes- conditions emanating from the sectors, with popular super- of lenders and debt numbers sages on the fundamentals or coronavirus fear, these baseless market chains like Big Bazaar circulating on social media that our operational and financial rumours or messages have and Food Bazaar, and lifestyle have led to hammering of stock abilities as a Group are totally apparently impacted some of stores such as Brand Factory BSNL loss widens over prices of its listed entities. baseless and false,” said Future our listed company stocks in the and Central. FinMin to Infosys: Make Such “baseless rumours or Group founder Kishore Biyani. past few days,” he said in a mes- Shares of Future Retail on messages” have apparently Referring to rumours that sage to its stakeholders. Friday fell by 1.66 per cent to 2.5 times to ~39K cr “impacted some of our listed have been doing rounds and, “We are investigating into ~290 apiece.

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA GSTN portal efficient New Delhi, 6 March DILASHA SETH & DEBASIS MOHAPATRA State-owned BSNL’s loss swelled by over 2.5 times New Delhi/Bengaluru, 6 March Lincoln Pharma all to ~39,089 crore during the April-December 2019 period, Minister of State for Telecommunications The finance ministry has asked Infosys Sanjay Dhotre has told the Rajya Sabha. to deliver on making the goods and The public sector telecom firm had recorded services tax network (GSTN) portal effi- set to foray into a loss of ~14,904 crore in the previous financial cient for tax payers, sources said. year 2018-19. “BSNL has informed that its total The ministry told Infosys it was the accumulated loss during the current financial company’s responsibility to deliver regulated markets year i.e. 2019-20 (upto December 31, 2019) is satisfactory performance of the por- ~39,089 crore,” Dhotre said in a written reply to a tal and it should meet expectations of VINAY UMARJI query in the Rajya Sabha. the tax payers, the sources said. Ahmedabad, 6 March The government on October 23 last year The grievances of taxpayers are approved a ~68,751-crore revival package for utmost priority and onus of its resolving Ahmedabad-based drugmaker loss-making BSNL and MTNL, including 4G lies on the Infosys, the IT major was Lincoln Pharmaceuticals plans spectrum allocation and voluntary retirement told at a meeting on Friday, they said. to foray into regulated markets scheme (VRS). Finance Minister Nirmala such as Europe, Australia, and The Union Cabinet also approved merger of Sitharaman deliberated on the status of Brazil, in line with its plan to the state-owned telecom firms and till the com- the portal to address grievances. Sitharaman said Infosys could grow overseas footprint. pletion of the process, MTNL will operate as a She also spoke to an Infosys repre- directly approach her if it was The company has upgraded subsidiary of BSNL, Telecom Minister Ravi sentative for a short period. She told facing any problem its manufacturing facility at Shankar Prasad said here while sharing details of the representative that “Infosys has Khatraj near Ahmedabad with the revival package. done so much for the country and we and streamline the portal. ~30-crore investment to meet go up further post Lincoln The package includes raising of ~15,000 crore expect it to do much more for the GSTN recently launched a new toll- regulatory standards of these Pharma's foray into regulated sovereign bonds to meet the immediate capital smooth operations of GSTN”. free number for help desk, which will be countries. It is also planning a markets. requirement of both the companies, 4G spec- According to sources, she also said operational 365 days for answering green field facility, which would With presence in more than trum allocation worth ~20,140 crore; Rs 29,937 the company could directly approach queries related to indirect tax. be built as per regulated market 60 countries, the company has crore for VRS covering 50 per cent of their her if it was facing any problem. The meeting discussed various standards to cater exclusively reported export sales of ~174.7 employees; and ~3,674 crore for goods and serv- Text messages sent to Revenue measures for streamlining the GST to these regions. crore for the nine months end- ices tax that will be levied on allocation of Secretary A B Pandey and GSTN Chief return filing process, enhancing rev- “Documents and dossiers ed December 2019 and expect radiowaves. Over 78,300 BSNL employees and Executive Officer Prakash Kumar enue and compliance management are ready for products meant the same to cross ~225 crore in 14,378 at MTNL have opted for VRS which is remained unanswered. with a purpose to create synergy for regulated markets. FY20. However, with the com- expected to significantly reduce financial bur- Kumar made a presentation on ini- among central and state tax adminis- Inspection by regulatory pany expanding portfolio in den from both the companies. tiatives taken by GSTN to strengthen trations. authorities from these markets lifestyle and chronic, it is tar- is also in the process. We should geting sales of ~500 crore in the be able to enter the countries next 2-3 years, said Patel. with 5-6 products in the next “Going forward, we are six months,” said Mahendra building a strong portfolio in Burmans of Dabur hold 9.26% in Eveready Patel, managing director, lifestyle and chronic segment, Lincoln Pharmaceuticals. especially in women health AVISHEK RAKSHIT & ISHITA AYAN DUTT The company has devel- care and dermatology, to com- Kolkata, 6 March oped 300-plus formulations in plement our strong presence in 15 therapeutic areas, with prod- acute segment,” said Patel, The Burmans of Dabur have increased their uct/brand portfolio in anti- adding that the company was holding by another 3.34 per cent in infective, respiratory system, also planning to apply for a Eveready Industries in the past two days. gynaecology, cardio & CNS, global patent for this novel After the transaction, the Burman family’s anti-bacterial, anti-diabetic, solution. holding in India’s largest battery maker anti-malaria among others. Of Meanwhile, the company stands at 9.26 per cent. the 20 patent applications it has recently approved amalgama- The investment in Eveready has been filed, the company has been tion of Lincoln Parenteral (sub- furthered via Guardian Advisors. This port- awarded five patents. sidiary) with Lincoln Pharma- folio management firm, owned by Arjun More than 65 per cent of the ceuticals. The restructuring Lamba and others, manages investment company’s revenues comes aims to bring synergies for both for the Burmans and other families. Sources from exports, a share that could companies. said this investment in Eveready was on behalf of the Burman family. In a regulatory filing with the BSE, Guardian Advisors, while disclosing the NCLT asked to decide on Lakshmi deal, said the acquisition of the stake was via The Burmans may consider further investments into Eveready depending on how the open market and 2,429,068 shares account- company performs, sources said ing for 3.34 per cent of the total were Cotsyn liquidation within 10 days acquired. Earlier, asked about the Burman Bharat Engineering, and others. market share in the battery market in India, PRESS TRUST OF INDIA observed that plea for family’s interest in Eveready, Mohit Sources said the Burmans might con- has been focusing on its core business, New Delhi, 6 March liquidation of Lakshmi Cotsyn Burman, vice-chairman at Dabur India, had sider further investments into Eveready besides focus on other verticals like flash- is pending before the stated the family believes Eveready is a depending on how the company performs. lights, luminaries, and appliances. The National Company Law National Company Law strong brand and a market leader in its The source pointed out that the Burmans During the third quarter of the current Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has Tribunal (NCLT) on the pretext domain which is the primary factor behind are yet to decide if the investment would financial year, Eveready registered a 16 per asked the Allahabad bench of one or the other increasing its stake. be strategic in nature or will be long-term cent decline in its operating revenue at ~317 of the NCLT to decide within miscellaneous application “The group (Williamson Magor) is going investment. The stock saw erosion from crore, and its Ebitda margin for the core 10 days on the liquidation being filed in the matter. through a tough time and this has even around ~405 apiece during March 2018 to battery business stood at 23 per cent. The of Kanpur-based textile “Such conduct on the part reflected on its stock price. But the compa- the current level of ~61, mainly because Ebitda margin for flashlights also stood at 14 manufacturer Lakshmi of different characters cannot ny, brand and its core business remain of inter-corporate deposits to group com- per cent. Cotsyn. be permitted to thwart the intact,” Burman had stated earlier. panies and the uncertainty of repayments. The company also sold land in Chennai A two-member bench course of insolvency Eveready is part of the Williamson After the sale of its loss-making tea busi- and Hyderabad to raise money worth ~200 comprising Justice Bansi Lal resolution proceedings Magor Group (WMG), which also owns ness to Madhu Jayanti International last crore primarily to pay off debts of around Bhat and Shreesha Merla under I&B Code," it said. firms such as McLeod Russel, McNally year, Eveready, which has over 50 per cent ~400 crore.