Maruti Suzuki’s new chief feels affordable EV not possible by 2025

Top of the Morning

In this episode, find out about Mahindra Holidays & Resorts’ plans to increase stake in Rocksport Pvt Ltd, also find out Ultra Tech’s plans to invest in UAE based RAK Cement

Business Term of the Day: Restricted Stock Units

HDFC Bank: The country’s largest private sector lender HDFC Bank on Saturday reported a 23 per cent jump in standalone net profit to ₹10,055.20 crore for the March quarter, led by growth in loan demand across categories and lower provisioning as bad loans were trimmed.

 ICICI Pru Life: ICICI Prudential Life Insurance on Saturday posted over two-fold jump in its net profit to ₹185 crore for the January-March quarter on account of robust growth in new business. The company had posted a profit after tax of ₹64 crore for January-March FY2021, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance said in a regulatory filing.

 Mahindra Holidays & Resorts: Mahindra Holidays & Resorts India Ltd on Saturday said it will increase its holding in Rocksport Pvt Ltd, a firm engaged in soft adventure activities and learning programmes, to 23.42 per cent with the acquisition of a tad over 4.88 lakh equity shares for ₹12 crore. The company has agreed to subscribe to an additional 4,88,321 equity shares of Rocksport in three installments for a total cash consideration of ₹12 crore, Mahindra Holidays & Resorts India Ltd (MHRIL) said in a regulatory filing.

 Tata Power: Tata Power on Thursday said a consortium led by US-based BlackRock Real Assets will invest ₹4,000 crore in its subsidiary, Tata Power Renewable Energy Ltd, for over 10 per cent equity stake. Abu-Dhabi-based investment company Mubadala Investment Company (Mubadala) is also part of consortium GreenForest, Tata Power Company said in a statement.

 UltraTech Cement: The country’s leading cement maker UltraTech Cement on Friday announced investing USD 101.10 million (around ₹839.52 crore) for a 29.39 per cent equity stake in the UAE-based RAK Cement Co for White Cement and Construction Materials PSC (RAKWCT). This is a “strategic investment” for the company, Aditya Birla Group firm said in a regulatory update.

 Maruti Suzuki India Ltd is committed to introducing its first locally made electric vehicle in the country by 2025, but it won’t be an affordable electric small car. Hisashi Takeuchi, the new chief executive and managing director of India’s top carmaker, said a truly affordable small electric car is a distant prospect for the company, one that will extend beyond 2025, due to issues such as battery costs and charging infrastructure.

Moving on to markets

 The benchmark indices are likely to start Monday’s session in the negative territory amid weak global cues due to the on-going geo-political situation and rising inflation.

At 7:15 am, the SGX Nifty Futures were quoting around 17,290 levels, hinting at a likely gap-down start of 200 points on the Nifty50.

Global cues remain weak amid the continued war in Ukraine and no hopes of resolution on the horizon as talks between Russia and Ukraine fail to make progress.

Back home today, investors will monitor the wholesale-price index (WPI) reading for March that will be announced today. The retail inflation for the month had hit a 17-month high of 6.95 per cent from a year ago.

 

Business Term of the day

 Restricted stock units are a way an employer can grant company shares to employees. The grant is “restricted” because it is subject to a vesting schedule, which can be based on length of employment or on performance goals, and because it is governed by other limits on transfers or sales that your company can impose.