BT Podcast: Reliance Jio to buy RCom assets, e-commerce industry to grow

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Reliance Jio to buy RCom's wireless assets
Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio Infocomm is ready to bail out younger brother Anil Ambani's debt-ridden telecom business by buying the wireless assets of Reliance Communications, having signed an accord that was announced on Dhirubhai Ambani's 85th birth anniversary. Jio signed a definitive agreement to acquire specified assets of RCom and its affiliates in an all-cash deal . The deal is being pegged at about Rs 24,000 crore.

E-commerce industry to grow at 60% in 2018
India's online shopping industry is estimated to grow at 60 per cent to about $28.5 billion in terms of gross merchandise value (GMV) in 2018, according to a report. The e-commerce industry is expected to return to high growth next year as large players such as Amazon, Flipkart and Paytm Mall begin to look beyond the 20 million customers who shop online on a monthly basis. Industry analyst RedSeer Consulting pegs the online shopping industry's growth at 23 per cent to $17.8 billion in 2017.

Gems & jewellery exports up 50%
In a sharp turnaround in global consumer sentiment, gems and jewellery exports from India jumped 56 per cent in November after a sustained decline over the previous months. Gems and jewellery exports from India are down by over 13 per cent, year on year, between April and October 2017. Data compiled by the Gems and Jewellery Exports Promotion Council (GJEPC), show net exports of gems and jewellery shot up to $2.78 billion (Rs  18,002 crore) in November 2017 from $1.77 billion (Rs 12,001 crore) during the same month last year. The sudden spurt in jewellery demand, especially from the US, has brought cheer to Indian exporters.  

SEBI relaxes entry norms for foreign portfolio investors
Securities and Exchange Board of India has decided to relax the entry norms for foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) willing to invest in the Indian markets. The SEBI board has decided to ease some rules, including expanding the eligible jurisdictions for registration by including countries with diplomatic tie-ups with India. Besides, the regulator may rationalise "fit and proper" criteria for FPIs as well as simplify the broad-based requirements for such investors. The moves are aimed at easing direct registration for FPIs and avoiding participatory notes
 
Insolvency Bill in Lok Sabha: Defaulters get a month to clear dues
Defaulting promoters who had already submitted resolution plans for insolvent companies before an ordinance in November made them ineligible to do so without clearing dues first will get up to a month to come clean to be eligible to bid for the stressed firms. A Bill introduced in the Lok Sabha on Thursday to replace the ordinance on the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), 2016, however, suggests this relaxation will be applicable only to defaulters in those cases where the resolution period has not exceeded the stipulated time frame

India ranked fifth among nations with most NPAs
At 9.9 percent ratio, India has been ranked fifth on the list of countries with highest Non-Performing Assets (NPAs), and is on top spot among the BRICS nations, a recent report by CARE Ratings revealed. The country is reeling under a huge NPA burden of over Rs 7.33 lakh crore as of June 2017. To address the crisis, the government has announced the recapitalisation of these public sector banks by infusing around Rs 2.11 lakh crore, besides pumping in Rs 1.35 lakh crore through recapitalisation bonds.

Whatsapp gets legal notice for middle finger emoji
An emoji has got the mobile messaging app Whatsapp into trouble with the law.Whatsapp received a legal notice from a Delhi-based advocate. The app has been asked to remove the said emoji in less than 15 days or he would file civil or criminal cases against the company if it is not removed. He said the middle finger emoji on WhatsApp is an obscene and lewd gesture, an offence in India. "By offering to use middle finger emoji in your app, you (WhatsApp) are directly abetting the use of offensive, lewd, obscene gesture," the notice said.

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