The week saw a mix of regulatory actions, major acquisitions, market volatility, and growing concerns over a global healthcare crisis, amid speculation on when the world's largest economy will initiate interest rate cuts.
India's market regulator barred industrialist Anil Ambani and 24 other entities for five years for diversion of funds. The Mpox virus hit Asia as Thailand became the first to detect the new mutated strain of the virus.
Global markets were on high alert and traded with caution as the US Federal Reserve Chair geared up for his keynote at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium.
Zomato Ltd. will acquire the entertainment, sports, and events ticketing business from Paytm operator One97 Communications Ltd. for Rs 2,048 crore.
NDTV Profit, in its weekly news wrap every Friday, brings you the mega events across businesses, industries and countries that have impacted investors' wealth.
SEBI Confirms Ban On Anil Ambani
The Securities and Exchange Board of India has barred industrialist Anil Ambani and 24 other entities for five years for syphoning funds from Reliance Home Finance Ltd.
The market regulator imposed a penalty of Rs 25 crore on Ambani and restrained him from being associated with the securities market, including as a director or key managerial personnel in any listed company, for a period of five years.
SEBI found that Ambani, with the help of Reliance Home Finance's key managerial personnel, orchestrated a fraudulent scheme to syphon funds from the company by disguising them as loans to entities linked to him.
It noted that the promoter and management of the company approved loans worth hundreds of crores to closely linked companies with little to no assets, cash flow, net worth, or revenue. Most of these borrowers failed to repay their loans, causing RHFL to default on its own debt obligations, resulting in a voluntary exit from the home finance business.
The investigation uncovered that many loan applications were processed and approved on the same day, with several deviations from standard approval procedures.
Why Anil Ambani Has Been Banned From Markets — NDTV Profit Explains
Mpox Scare
Thailand became the first Asian country in Asia to detect the new mutated strain of the mpox virus after the World Health Organisation declared the outbreak in Africa a new global health emergency.
The Southeast Asian country's authorities have identified 43 close contacts of the 66-year-old patient who tested positive and put them under surveillance.
The newer strain—with a fatality rate of 3%—has been spreading across several African countries like Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda and is reported to have killed more than 500 people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Asian countries, from China to India and Pakistan, have increased their surveillance after the virus was detected on the continent. India's Mumbai civic body has reserved a 14-bed ward in Seven Hills Hospital in Andheri’s Marol area for MPox patients as a precautionary measure, PTI reported.
The Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry has instructed all states to take precautionary measures in connection with MPox.
NDTV Profit reported earlier that the Serum Institute of India is developing a vaccine amid concerns of a spike in cases. “Hopefully, with the ongoing progress, we will have more updates and positive news to share within a year’s time,” Chief Executive Officer Adar Poonawalla said.
What Is Mpox, Declared An Emergency By WHO? Know Causes, Symptoms, Treatment
The Zomato-Paytm Deal
Zomato will acquire the entertainment, sports, and events ticketing business from Paytm operator One 97 Communications Ltd. for Rs 2,048 crore, a deal considered to be overvalued.
The acquisition of Paytm's subsidiaries by the delivery platform has a deal valuation of roughly seven times the revenue and over 70 times its adjusted Ebitda.
According to Paytm, the deal works towards Paytm’s focus on core payments and financial services distribution. "The transaction generates significant profits for Paytm and further strengthens its balance sheet," it said. Paytm's Insider, which includes movies and events business, lags far behind market leader BookMyShow in the movie ticketing segment.
For Zomato, the deal means pulling out roughly Rs 2,050 crore from its cash balance of roughly Rs 12,000 crore. Zomato's acquisition of Insider also bolsters its going-out business, which it recently housed under a separate app called District.
Zomato’s acquisition of Paytm’s entertainment ticketing businesses is a calculated gamble that could significantly broaden its market presence.
Zomato-Paytm Deal: A Look At Key Factors That Could Impact Business
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US Fed Chair's Key Note At Jackson Hole | In Focus
Stocks from Asia and Europe to Wall Street fluctuated throughout the week as traders weighed on the possibility of an aggressive rate cut confirmed by Jerome Powell in the Jackson Hole Symposium.
Powell's Jackson Hole meeting began on Thursday, and September rate cuts on his speech are expected on Friday. His comments regarding timing, magnitude and his views on current economic growth and inflation will be closely watched.
Investors are pricing in a quarter-point rate cut at the Fed’s Sept. 17–18 gathering but see almost a full percentage point of reductions by year-end, Bloomberg reported.
After a negative start to the session a day before the key note address, Asian stocks were higher in trade through mid-day, with Chinese shares leading the gain.
Stocks in Wall Street lost steam near record highs on Thursday amid fear that the Fed Chair might reverse the expected aggressive rate-cut stance. Bonds in the US rose ahead of the country's new home sales data and Powell’s speech. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite plunged 0.89% and 1.67%, respectively. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.43%.
Fed’s Jackson Hole Conference Is Underway: Here’s What to Expect
AMFI Chief Refuses Net SIP Details
India's mutual fund body continued to defend not releasing the net inflows into the systematic investment plan, saying it distorts the bigger picture.
Gross inflows are more important as they measure the investments continuously coming into the scheme, the Association of Mutual Funds in India's Venkat Chalasani told NDTV Profit in an interview.
It's not going to be an 'apple-to-apple comparison' as the instalment that is being withdrawn is the amount that was being invested over some time, the chief executive officer said.
The outflows include various categories, such as redemption on achieving the goal, redeeming the portion and investing into another scheme, redeeming to invest the entire bulk into another scheme and cancellation, he said. "We are not in a position to break it up and come to the correct conclusion. And I don't want to give data that is not right."
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