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Business Economy India News

‘Need For Personal Mobility Pushing Two Wheeler Demand’

Yadvinder Singh Guleria, Director, Sales and Marketing, HMSI

Having achieved year-on-year sales growth during the Navratri period, two-wheeler major Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) now expects stable demand to last beyond the festive season.

He also consider the rising demand for personal mode of transport as a driving force behind the present hike in sales.

Notably, the two-wheeler major has recorded a YoY sales growth in the nine-day period, which marks the arrival of the festival season in India.

This period is known for higher sales which are supported by new models and discounts.

In an interaction with IANS, Yadvinder Singh Guleria, Director, Sales and Marketing, HMSI, pointed out that sales growth during the start of the festive season has come on the back of many factors.

“There are a number of reasons behind this lower digit sales growth, especially the full unlock process that has taken place in the urban areas. Then, there is the pent up demand, introduction of new models, propensity of more customers to move from the public transport infrastructure to personal mode of mobility,” he said.

“There is now an increasing need of mobility in urban India as offices open up and more and more people venture out,” he added.

According to Guleria, retail finance availability at a lower rate of interest from the bankers has aided in accelerating the sales momentum.

Honda’s newly launched H’ness CB350

“The end of moratorium period from August onwards and the continued low repo rate which has been extended by the RBI to the banks basically to fuel the lending in the market has now started giving results. In September, we have seen a jump of almost 4 per cent in retail finance,” he cited.

Besides, Guleria expects the company to post positive retail sales growth during the festive season. However, the prediction comes with a caveat mandating stable or receding trend of COVID-19 infections.

“There are factors which are not in our control and no one can predict them. If everything continues in the same manner, single digit positive growth can be seen. Diwali is on November 14 and November 12 is Dhanteras, we are still over two weeks away from that. So, what happens in these two weeks simply cannot be predicted.”

Furthermore, Guleria believes the demand momentum will last beyond the festive season but at a slower pace.

“The government’s intention is very clear that economic activity must go on and there are also indications that colleges and schools are also going to open. We have missed the demand for two wheelers from students and the faculty of colleges and universities,” he said.

Traditionally, the two-wheeler industry sees a spike in average demand during July-August every year, as the new academic session begins.

“Additionally, many other industries are slowly limping back. Over a period of time, people employed with these industries will also get back their buying power. So, these factors will surely add some additional demand to the market.

Also Read: India Set To Be A Top Investment Choice: Survey

“There could be some level up going forward. It will not be like the festive season demand spike, but we expect the positivity to continue,” Guleria said.

In September, HMSI reported positive sales growth for the second consecutive month in FY21.

The company’s YoY domestic sales zoomed by double digit to 10 per cent growth to close at 500,887 units compared to 455,896 units sold in September 2019.

It exported 25,978 units and clocked a total sales of 526,865 units in September 2020 compared to 485,663 units sales in September 2019.

Also Read: ‘Indian Economy Clearly On Recovery Path’

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Business Economy

US investors urge SEBI to Effect IPO Reforms

SEBI.

Investors and other market stakeholders from US have asked India’s capital market regulator SEBI to bring in reforms in the regulations for initial public offering (IPO), a statement said on Wednesday.

SEBI Chairman Ajay Tyagi, along with other SEBI officials, had an e-interaction on Tuesday with various stakeholders including industry and investor associations from the US. The interaction was organised by US India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF).

In the statement, the SEBI said that the participants also emphasised the need for early finalisation of direct listing proposal, development of the corporate bond market, digitisation of processes, and showed interest in participating in innovative ideas under SEBI’s regulatory sandbox framework.

Various queries raised during the meetings on multiple issues were clarified by the SEBI team, it said.

Tyagi said: “We interacted with various stakeholders including the investors in the Indian capital markets from the US. We briefed them about the key developments of the Indian economy as well as the recent trends in the securities market, especially in this Covid era. The achievements of Indian primary markets, secondary markets and specific products such REITs and InvITs were brought out in the interactions.”

The attractiveness of the Indian markets despite the Covid impact and the recent surge in foreign investment into India through the Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI) route was also emphasised, he said.

Tyagi was of the view that the increasing number of registrations of FPIs every year and increasing inflows of FPI investment in the Indian equity market signify the sustained interest of the foreign investors in the Indian capital markets.

“Considering that the largest number of FPIs and about one third of the total assets under custody of FPIs are from USA, the importance of US investments into India was emphasized especially taking into account the growing partnership between the two countries,” the SEBI Chairman said.

Also Read: India Set To Be A Top Investment Choice: Survey

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Business India News

NTPC to cut pollution with 50 billion yen JBIC loan

NTPC Ltd.

In the first funding for NTPC Ltd under Japan Bank for International Co-operation (JBIC)’s GREEN or Global Action for Reconciling Economic growth and Environment preservation initiative, India’s largest power producer on Wednesday entered into foreign currency loan agreement with Japanese financial institution for JPY 50 billion (approx $ 482 million/Rs 3,582 crore).

JBIC will provide 60 per cent of the facility amount and the balance will be given by commercial banks (viz., Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, the Bank of Yokohama Ltd, the San-In Godo Bank Ltd, the Joyo Bank Ltd, and The Nanto Bank Ltd), under the JBIC’s guarantee.

The facility is extended under JBIC’s outreach for projects, which ensure conservation of global environment.

The loan proceeds will be utilized by NTPC for funding its capex for Flue Gas Desulphurisation (FGD) & renewable rnergy projects. FGD substantially reduces the SOx emission in the flue gases of thermal power plants and is a critical step towards environmental sustainability.

The loan agreement was signed by Anil Kumar Gautam, Director (Finance), NTPC and Tanimoto Masayuki, Managing Executive Officer, Global Head of Infrastructure & Environment Finance Group, JBIC through video conferencing.

Also Read: India – US Bhai Bhai

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Business

Sony witnesses huge growth in PlayStation business

Sony. (Photo: Twitter/@Sony)

Riding on the stupendous PS4 sale, Sony’s PlayStation-related revenue reached 507 billion yen ($4.9 billion) along with an operating profit of $1 billion for its July-September quarter.

The PlayStation Plus subscriber reached 45.9 million (as of September 30) while PlayStation Network had 107 million monthly active users.

Sony’s big PS4 release for the quarter was the open-world samurai adventure Ghost of Tsushima, which came out in July and sold 2.4 million copies in its first three days.

Nearly 1.5 million PS4 units were purchased by retailers worldwide.

Sony has now revised its full-year gaming forecast, expecting to make 2.6 trillion yen in revenue and 300 billion yen in profit by the end of March 31 – a 26 per cent increase in both revenue and profit.

Sony PlatStation5 is set to arrive next month globally.

The company said that while the gamers in India are excited to get their hands on PS5, availability is subject to local import regulations.

“Our local teams are working through the logistics. We will share an update on the launch date for India as more information becomes available,” the company said in a statement earlier this month.

The PlayStation 5 is set to hit the shelves on November 12 in the US and the rest of the world on November 19.

Sony last month apologised for PS5 pre-orders being a bit of a mess which caused many gamers to miss out on securing a console.

“However, necessary measures are being taken and preparations are underway with the aim of ensuring that many strong titles can be released from Sony’s first-party studios and its partners’ studios in connection with the launch of PlayStation 5,” it said.

Also Read: Cloud business powers Microsoft to a 12% growth

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Cricket Sport

Bumrah, Yadav shines as Mumbai grabs 5 wicket win over RCB

Mumbai Indians (MI) on Wednesday took a two-point lead at the top of the Indian Premier League (IPL) table with a five-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).

Jasprit Bumrah’s heroics with the ball restricted RCB to 164/6 wickets after which Suryakumar Yadav led his team to victory with an unbeaten 79 off 43 balls at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium.

Suryakumar hit the winning runs with a four and took MI to victory with five balls to spare. He hit 10 fours and three sixes in his innings. He anchored the innings after walking into the middle in the sixth over, notably putting up a 51-run stand with Hardik Pandya for the fifth wicket that all but sealed the win for MI.

Kieron Pollard faced just one ball after Pandya’s dismissal, which he dispatched for four and thus left his team needing just three to win off the last over.

Earlier, RCB were off to a strong start with openers Devdutt Padikkal and Josh Philippe putting up a partnership of 71 runs in 47 balls. Padikkal then struck up useful partnerships with RCB captain Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers but the team went into a tailspin after the latter’s dismissal.

de Villiers looked like he was on his way to a big score before MI’s stand-in captain Kieron Pollard dismissed him in the 16th over. Bumrah was then brought back for the 17th and the over ended up being a double-wicket maiden as he got Shivam Dube and the big wicket of Padikkal in the over.

Boult then dismissed Chris Morris in the 18th over after which Gurkeerat Mann Singh and Washington Sundar took RCB beyond the 160-run mark.

Brief scores: RCB: 164/6 wkts in 20 overs (Devdutt Padikkal 74, Josh Philippe 33; Jasprit Bumrah 3/14) lost to MI 166/6 wkts in 19.1 overs (Suryakumar Yadav 79 not out, Ishan Kishan 25; Mohammed Siraj 2/28) by 5 wkts

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Business

Samsung recaptures India’s smartphone crown after two years

Samsung.(File Photo: IANS)

It took Samsung two years to end Xiaomi’s winning streak in the India smartphone market, as the South Korean major recaptured the top slot in the third quarter (July-September period) with 24 per cent share, as the Chinese major logged 23 per cent market share, a Counterpoint Research report said on Wednesday.

Riding on multiple strategies — including effective supply chain and touching various price points through new launches — Samsung became the leading brand in the India smartphone market with 32 per cent (year-on-year) growth.

Samsung was also the fastest to recover, surpassing the pre-COVID levels in Q3 2020, according to the latest research from Counterpoint’s Market Monitor service.

Samsung’s aggressive push in online channels, with highest-ever online contribution within its portfolio, also helped it regain its number one spot, the report noted.

Xiaomi slipped to number two position for the first time since Q3 2018 with 4 per cent YoY decline.

“Manufacturing constraints due to the Covid-19 situation affected its supply chain, leading to a supply-demand gap,” the report noted.

Vivo with 16 per cent market share and Realme with 14 per cent share were third and fourth, respectively.

Overall, India’s smartphone shipments grew 9 per cent (YoY) to reach over 53 million units in Q3 2020 e the highest-ever shipment in a quarter.

“In terms of price bands, the mid-tier (Rs 10,000-Rs 20,000) segment registered the highest growth and reached its highest ever share in a quarter,” said senior research analyst Prachir Singh.

In the overall handset market, Samsung was once again the leader with 22 per cent market share, followed by Xiaomi at 14 per cent share.

The report said that with ramped-up manufacturing, strong demand for the Redmi 9 and Note 9 series, aggressive product strategy and growing offline presence, “we believe Xiaomi will come back strongly in the coming quarter”.

Vivo grew 4 per cent (YoY) and retained its third position in Q3, driven by strong demand for its Y-series models in offline channels.

Also Read: Xiaomi leads as India’s smartphone shipments hit record high

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Business India News

TATA to set up Rs 5K crore worth factory in Tamil Nadu

The Tata Group has decided to set up an electronics component manufacturing unit in Tamil Nadu, at an outlay of about Rs 5,000 cr, a state government official said.

The official, who did not want to be identified, told IANS that the proposed unit will be making electronics components for consumer durables.

The unit will be set up in Krishnagiri district near Hosur and the ‘bhoomi puja’ was done on Tuesday.

The unit will be located on about 500 acres.

According to the official, the Tatas plant will be set up in GMR Krishnagiri SIR (Special Investment Region), a joint venture between with Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO) and the GMR Group.

According to the Coimbatore-based GKD Institute for Technological Resources (GKDITR), the Tata Group is coming up with a brand new manufacturing company in Hosur and wants to make it a 90 per cent all women’s company.

The Tata group company will start making precision mechanical parts for the electronics industry and plans to recruit 18,000 associates by 2021, GKDITR has said on its website.

Also Read: Tata Motors touches 4 million units milestone

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Cricket Sport

WACA disappointed with exclusion from Int’l season

The Western Australia Cricket Association (WACA) has stated that it has been an “extremely disappointing result” as they have been snubbed from the international cricket season.

On Wednesday, Cricket Australia confirmed the dates for the upcoming Indian tour, which will comprise three ODIs, three T20Is and four Test matches.

The tour will commence with the three ODIs at the Sydney Cricket Ground (November 27, 29) and Manuka Oval, Canberra (December 2). That will be followed by the three-match T20I series at Manuka Oval, Canberra (December 4) and the SCG (December 6, 8). The four-Test Border Gavaskar series will begin with the pink-ball game at the Adelaide Oval from December 17, followed by Tests at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (December 26), the Sydney Cricket Ground (January 7) and the Gabba (January 15).

Perth, on the other hand, will host none of the matches.

“It is an extremely disappointing result for our members, fans and our cricket community that WA will miss out on hosting international cricket fixtures this summer,” WACA CEO Christina Matthews said in a statement.

She said WACA worked tirelessly with Cricket Australia and the Western Australia government to find a way to bring international cricket to Perth.

“Limitations with border restrictions, and complexities around scheduling as a result of COVID-19, led to the decision to play the three-match ODI series at the Sydney Cricket Ground (November 27 and 29) and Canberra’s Manuka Oval (December 2),” Matthews said.

“We are dealing with circumstances and obstacles beyond our control. We respect and understand that difficult decisions need to be made to ensure our country can secure as much international cricket as possible this summer,” she added.

The WACA maintains that it is fit to host BBL matches this summer but negotiations are ongoing, the WACA CEO said further.

Also Read: Boxing day test at MCG set to have crowd

Categories
Business USA

Cloud business powers Microsoft to a 12% growth

Microsoft. (File Photo: IANS)

Riding once again on its growing Cloud business in the pandemic times, Microsoft reported its fiscal Q1 results, generating $37.2 billion in revenue (up 12 per cent as compared to same period last year) and $13.9 billion in net income (that increased 30 per cent).

Stocks went up on Tuesday as the revenue in Intelligent Cloud reached $13 billion and increased 20 per cent. Azure Cloud business was up 48 per cent.

The revenue in Productivity and Business Processes was $12.3 billion and increased 11 per cent, Microsoft said in a statement.

“The next decade of economic performance for every business will be defined by the speed of their digital transformation,” said CEO Satya Nadella.

“We are innovating across our full modern tech stack to help our customers in every industry improve time to value, increase agility, and reduce costs,” he added.

The Microsoft Office Commercial products and cloud services revenue increased 9 per cent, driven by Office 365 Commercial revenue growth of 21 per cent.

The Office Consumer products and cloud services revenue increased 13 per cent and Microsoft 365 Consumer subscribers increased to 45.3 million.

“Demand for our cloud offerings drove a strong start to the fiscal year with our commercial cloud revenue generating $15.2 billion, up 31 per cent year over year,” said CFO Amy Hood.

“We continue to invest against the significant opportunity ahead of us to drive long-term growth.”

While LinkedIn revenue increased 16 per cent, Microsoft Dynamics products and cloud services revenue increased 19 per cent.

The revenue in the ‘More Personal Computing’ segment was $11.8 billion and increased 6 per cent.

“Xbox content and services revenue increased 30 per cent while Surface laptop revenue increased 37 per cent,” Microsoft said.

Search advertising revenue excluding traffic acquisition costs decreased 10 per cent.

Microsoft returned $9.5 billion to shareholders in the form of share repurchases and dividends in the first quarter of fiscal year 2021, an increase of 21 per cent compared to the first quarter of fiscal year 2020.

Also Read: Microsoft and Telstra partner to harness next-gen Cloud, IoT

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Business Motoring

Harley Davidson, Hero Motorcorp join hands in India

Harley-Davidson Inc and Hero MotoCorp, the world’s largest maker of motorcycles and scooters in terms of unit volumes, on Tuesday announced that the two will ride together in India.

As per a distribution agreement, Hero MotoCorp will sell and service Harley-Davidson motorcycles, and sell parts and accessories and general merchandise riding gear and apparel through a network of brand-exclusive Harley-Davidson dealers and Hero’s existing dealership networks in India.

As part of a licencing agreement, Hero MotoCorp will develop and sell a range of premium motorcycles under the Harley-Davidson brand name.

These actions are aligned with Harley-Davidson’s business overhaul, The Rewire, and the company’s announcement in September to change its business model in India.

This arrangement is mutually beneficial for both companies and riders in India, as it brings together the iconic Harley-Davidson brand with the strong distribution network and customer service of Hero MotoCorp, a statement said.

Also Read: Harley Davidson launches first ever electric bicycle