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Business News/ Mint-lounge / Mint-on-sunday/  London attack, Idea-Vodafone deal and AIADMK split
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London attack, Idea-Vodafone deal and AIADMK split

London witnesses biggest terror attack since 2005; Idea, Vodafone India announce details of merger; warring AIADMK factions get symbols

Photo: AFPPremium
Photo: AFP

1. AIADMK factions allotted new symbols, names

The two warring factions of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s (AIADMK) were given new names and symbols on Thursday ahead of the bypoll to the RK Nagar assembly constituency on 12 April. The Election Commission of India has frozen the AIADMK’s name and its two leaves symbol. The faction led by former chief minister O. Panneerselvam was granted the name AIADMK Puratchi Thalavi Amma and the “electricity pole" symbol. V.K. Sasikala’s faction has gotten the name AIADMK Amma with a “hat" symbol, for the upcoming bypoll.

2. Asian businesses are optimistic

The Thomson Reuters/INSEAD Asian Business Sentiment Index representing the six-month outlook of 96 firms in Asia-Pacific, rose to 70 for January-March from 63 three months ago. A reading over 50 indicates a positive view. Financial services firms were the most optimistic with the sub-index rising to a near four-year high of 75 from 61 in the previous quarter. The rise reflected optimism regarding a normalization of monetary policy globally and a cutdown in regulations. Firms in the metals and chemicals sector were the most pessimistic, with the sub-index at 40.

3. India ranks 131 in HDI index

India ranked 131 out of 188 countries in the latest United Nations Human Development Report Index (HDI). The list was topped by Norway. India’s ranking marks an improvement from the 1990s, when its score used to put it within the ranks of countries classed as low in the index. India’s current standing puts it within the group of countries classed as “medium", on the back of improvements in life expectancy and mean years of schooling. Nonetheless, regional disparities in education, health and living standards led to a loss of 27% in its HDI score.

4. Terror attack in London

At least three people were killed and 40 injured in a terror attack in London this week when a car rammed into pedestrians at Westminster Bridge. A suspected Islamist-inspired attacker stabbed a policeman close to the UK Parliament. Police later announced that the accused was British-born Khalid Masood, and was known to the MI5. Police has also announced seven arrests in connection with the attack. Meanwhile, Islamic State has announced that the attack was carried out by its follower. This is the biggest terror attack in London since the 2005 London underground bombings.

5. Aadhaar mandatory for filing tax returns

The Lok Sabha this week passed the Finance Bill 2017, making Aadhaar mandatory while filing income-tax returns as part of its move to fight corruption. The bill has made Aadhaar mandatory for obtaining PAN cards, and also capped legal cash transactions at Rs2 lakh, down from the earlier proposed limit of Rs3 lakhs. The finance minister, Arun Jaitley, explained the rationale for the move, arguing that linking PAN to Aadhaar would remove tax evasion by striking a blow at the practice of using multiple PAN cards.

6. Idea-Vodafone deal takes off

The Idea-Vodafone deal took off this week when the two companies announced details about the merger, leading to a 14% fall in Idea’s shares. The merger agreement includes a partial exit by the Vodafone’s parent firm, Vodafone Group Plc. The company will gradually bring down its stake in the merged entity from 50% to start with, to a likely lower limit of 26%. Concerns remain over the long-drawn out merger process, which may take up to 18 months to complete, as well as the companies’ estimate that synergy benefits will come about only in the fourth year after the merger.

7. Samsung apologizes to shareholders

Samsung vice-chairman Kwon Oh-hyun apologized on behalf of his company for the scandals that the company has been implicated in. The sordid developments have led to the downfall of the South Korean president and the recall of its Note 7 smartphones. The failure of the Note 7 phones cost the company about $6 billion. Jay Y. Lee, the company’s heir apparent, was absent during the event as he is in detention facing charges of bribery and embezzlement. He has been accused of bribing a confidant of the South Korean president to secure government backing for a merger in 2015 that strengthened his rights over the company.

8. D-Mart’s exuberant listing

D-Mart share prices rose 115% on the dya the company listed, making it one of the most stellar listings in the last ten years. At Tuesday’s closing price of Rs641.60, the D-Mart stock was trading at 77 times estimated earnings for fiscal year 2016-17 and 55 times one-year forward earnings. The quality of the company and its margin profile have attracted investors. Net margin in the nine months to December was 4.4%, higher than Future Retail’s 2% margin.

9. Snapdeal exploring sale talks with Paytm, Flipkart

Snapdeal is in initial talks with its bigger rivals, Paytm E-Commerce Pvt. Ltd and Flipkart India, for a potential sale that may value the company at less than the total equity raised by the company’s parent Jasper Infotech Pvt. Ltd, as confirmed to Mint by three people aware of the deal. The talks are being led by Softbank which has invested almost half of the $2 billion raised by Snapdeal. SoftBank may provide up to $50 million as bridge money till a deal is closed.

10. Oil prices near four-month low

Oil prices came close to four-month lows over the week as markets came under pressure from rising US drilling and steady Opec supplies. In the week of 17 March, US drillers added 14 oil rigs, raising the total number of rigs to 631, which is the highest since September 2015. Data released by the US Energy Information Administration showed that crude supplies in the US rose by 5 million barrels to a record high of 533.1 million barrels. Rising US output could seriously hurt Opec’s plans to stabilize output and prices.

Graphics by Prajakta Patil/Mint.

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Published: 25 Mar 2017, 11:30 PM IST
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