Business Today 01 January 2017

The past few years have not been easy for corporate chieftains in India. There have been many global pain points and uncertainties, and even within the country, most CEOs have had to deal with enormous flux and a rapidly changing environment because of a host of factors. For some sectors, especially those dependent on commodities, the subdued prices of the past couple of years brought both good news as well as bad. Input prices came down but growth was also affected. The slowdown in China caused an enormous ripple effect in a host of industries, especially the metals sector. Cheap Chinese imports have caused deep impact on the profit margins and general economics of a number of sectors. The Chinese slowdown also had a profound effect on companies that have…

An Audacious Move This refers to your cover story on demonetisation (Turbulence, December 18). It is the best thing that has happened to India, post Independence. This announcement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 8 gave little time to the black marketers and must have given them a rude shock. Perhaps, this is the most effective way of curbing the instances of black money in circulation and terror funding that have over the period assumed dangerous proportions. There is no denying the fact that corruption is rampant, and for many vested interests it has literally become a way of life to make quick bucks through illegal means. There is a near parallel economy of black money running, which is retarding the growth process. No doubt, the common people may…

50 million subscribers in just 83 days for Reliance Jio, or 1,000 customers per minute, or 600,000 subscribers per day, since its commercial launch on September 5 4 lakh crore of debt for 85 Indian companies, says a report by ratings agency Fitch, adding that the companies’ ability to service their debt is limited, and a significant proportion of their assets are also non-productive QUOTE “A smartwatch has no soul” – Jean-Claude Monachon, Vice-President, Product and Customer Service, Omega, on why the company’s mechanical pie pan dial will never get old because of its emotional connect, and why smartwatches are not a threat to the watchmaker “Paytm means Pay to Modi” – Rahul Gandhi, Vice-President, Indian National Congress, on the government’s demonetisation move and the subsequent growth in business for…

19 -20 INFRA GREEN FUND WHAT: Financing Quality and Green Infrastructure in Asia WHEN: December 19-20, Hanoi WHAT TO LOOK FOR: Asian Development Bank is organising the event to analyse quality and climate change in infrastructure, and identify specific new sources of infrastructure finance, its pros and cons, the impediments and challenges of tapping into these new sources 19- 20 SMART ART WHAT: Smart Cities, Art Cities WHEN: December 19-20, New Delhi WHAT TO LOOK FOR: FICCI is organising the first annual conference to make the creative industry an integral part of smart cities and contribute to their local economies by bringing organisations and individuals to find sustainable solutions and policy changes for art and culture with the help of corporates, civil society groups, government, financial institutions, media and experts…

“THE UNORGANISED PLAYERS WILL BE IMPACTED AS THEY DO NOT HAVE ONLINE FACILITIES. WE HAVE SEEN A DECREASE OF 40% IN LOAN DISBURSEMENTS AND 50% IN LOAN REPAYMENTS,,GEORGE ALEXANDER MUTHOOT, MD, Muthoot Finance “CUSTOMERS IN RURAL INDIA REPAY LOANS MOSTLY IN CASH. THE LOAN REQUIREMENT HAS FALLEN AFTER DEMONETISATION. IT MAY TAKE SOME TIME FOR THE ECONOMY TO RECOVER,,RAMESH IYER, Vice Chairman and MD, Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services In the first four days of the demonetisation announcement, the 31 District Central Cooperative (DCC) banks in Maharashtra collected `4,000 crore as deposits in banned currencies through their 3,800 branches, mostly in rural villages. Their customers were largely farmers and daily wage earners. Usually, DCC banks park the deposits received with state co-operative banks. But when the Reserve Bank of…

THE RESERVE BANK OF INDIA'S DECISION TO LOWER GDP GROWTH ESTIMATES IS A CLEAR INDICATION OF SHORT-TERM PAIN, WARN SOME ANALYSTS Ramesh Sobti, Managing Director & CEO of IndusInd Bank, has been beefing up his sales force in the two-wheeler vehicle loan segment since the demonetisation drive by the government. “This is the best thing which has happened to India, merging the informal with the formal economy,” says Sobti. Only 20 per cent of the total two-wheeler sales happen through financing but all this could change with the impact of demonetisation, believes Sobti. “This would change. It can be easily 40-60 per cent or even 100 per cent going ahead,” he says. While most of India Inc. agree that demonetisation will be good for India in the long run, no…