BackNews in Numbers | Indian banking has NPAs worth Rs6.97 trillion
In other news, Apple's shares lost 1.9% on Wednesday while its net income (profit) in the second quarter rose 4.9% to $11.03 billion
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Rs670 crore
What is it? The amount Indian cab-hailing app Ola raised in its latest round of funding from Ratan Tata’s RNT Capital Advisors and Falcon Edge Capital, in a November funding round. SoftBank Group Corp. invested Rs1,675 crore in the company in the same month.
Why is it important? The company is locked in fierce competition with US-based Uber Technologies for dominance of the Indian market, and the latest investment will give it more firepower. In 2015-16, Ola posted a net loss of Rs2,313 crore, which was thrice the loss it posted in 2014-15.
Tell me more: Ola issued shares to both Falcon Edge and RNT Capital at Rs13,511 apiece, more than the Rs12,895 at which it issued shares to SoftBank, implying that its valuation had risen by about 4.8%. For the SoftBank round in November, the valuation of Ola dropped to about $3 billion, on a pre-money basis, from $4.8 billion in August 2015. Pre-money refers to the valuation excluding the current round’s cash infusion.
Rs6.97 trillion
What is it? The value of non-performing assets (NPAs) in the Indian banking system, which an ordinance forwarded Wednesday by the Union cabinet to the President is looking to address.
Why is it important? The ordinance, awaiting the President’s approval, aims to give the central bank more teeth. It can, for example, give specific directions to banks regarding NPAs. Till December 2016, bad loans amounted to over Rs6.97 trillion, according to an estimate, with state-owned banks accounting for 88% of this.
Tell me more: The ordinance, amending the Banking Regulation Act, will let the RBI also set up committees to oversee cases of bankers being investigated for restructured loans.
308,000
What is it? The number of new digital news subscriptions added by The New York Times in the first quarter of 2017.
Why is it important? Like several print publications in the US, NYT too has been pushing its digital subscriptions to stay relevant and drive up sales among an audience increasingly getting news from electronic means. The latest subscriber additions enabled a 5% year-on-year growth in revenues to $398.8 million, which was higher than analyst expectations.
Tell me more: NYT’s digital-only subscriptions to its news and crossword products brought in $75.82 million of revenues in the quarter, a year-on-year growth of about 40%.
50.76 million
What is it? The number of iPhones sold by Apple in the second quarter (ended 1 April 2017) of FY17.
Why is it important? Despite the launch of a signature red iPhone 7 to sustain buyer interest, Apple’s star product saw an unexpected dip in sales by volume: down 0.8% from the 51.2 million units sold in Q2 of FY16 and 35% over the preceding festive quarter.
Tell me more: Apple’s shares lost 1.9% on Wednesday. Its net income (profit) in the quarter rose 4.9% to $11.03 billion.
5
What is it? The number of appearances made by Italian side Juventus in the finals of the UEFA Champions League, Europe’s premier club competition in football since 1992-93.
Why is it important? Juventus is looking good for a sixth appearance after turning in a clinical performance to beat French side Monaco 2-0, that too away, on Wednesday night.
Tell me more: With 5 final appearances, Juventus is joint second with Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Real Madrid. But it has also lost more finals than any other club—four in all—and will be looking to break a hoodoo this year.
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