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Reliance Capital has sold its stake in Paytm’s parent One97 Communications to China’s Alibaba in a deal estimated at . `275 crore, reports Payal Ganguly. The deal signifies an over-27-fold return on investment for Reliance Cap.PAGE 6 Fat Profit: Rel Cap Exits One97 T HE E CON MIC T IMES INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY BRANDS: CREATING DESIRE 5 SPORTS: THE GREAT GAMES 20 AROUND THE WORLD17 Parle Adds Fizz to Frooti, Signs Up Alia Bhatt Republicans Unveil Plan to Repeal, Replace Obamacare Ashwin’s Super 6 Helps India Level Test Series Last Phase of Uttar Pradesh Polls Covering 40 Seats Today The last phase of Uttar Pradesh assembly polls covering 40 seats will be held on Wednesday. Three Naxal-affected districts, along with the five assembly segments under Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency, will be in prime focus. Pure Politics 2 llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll ‘Metro Man’ Sreedharan Seeks Nod for Aarey Metro Carshed ‘Metro Man’ E Sreedharan has written to Maha- rashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis seeking final clearance for Aarey metro carshed, saying it “is not going to be a threat either to the government or to the eco system.” Pure Politics3 llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll Lack of Reforms, Not Offers, Weakening Telecom Ind: Trai Telecom regular Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has cited lack of reforms for weakening of the industry, and not promotional offers as suggested by Department of Tele- communications, triggering a blame game between the two. Companies: Pursuit of Profit 12 llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll Tata Motors Takes Technology Leap, Unveils Sports Coupe TaMo RaceMo Nearly two decades after its first car Indica, Tata Motors took a leap of faith and technology, unveiling a two-seater sports coupe TaMo RaceMo at Geneva Motor Show. Tata Sons inte- rim chairman Ratan Tata and chairman-designa- te Natarajan Chandrasekaran were at the event. Companies: Pursuit of Profit 12 llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll Finance Minister-led Committee to Decide on Labour Codes Today Finance minister Arun Jaitley-led inter-mini- sterial committee on labour is set to consider on Wednesday two labour codes on wages and industrial relations, a move aimed at improving the ease of doing business in the country. Economy: Macro, Micro & More 15 llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll Energy Sector Reforms may Include Subsidy Cuts and Price Controls The government will soon outline comprehensi- ve energy sector reforms that could free up sectors such as coal, electricity and fertilisers of subsidies and price controls, helping produce more power and make generation projects commercially viable for private companies. Economy: Macro, Micro & More15 Inside story Should banks be allowed to charge cash transactions in the name of digital push? www.economictimes.com Are mid-level employees resistant to change? TODAY’S QUESTION 24% YES 75% NO 1% CAN’T SAY -0.18 -0.17 0.14 0.03 0.06 0 0 0.40 % CHANGE Re/US $ Gold Std* Silver (`/kg) Brent ($) *(`/10gm) Compiled by ETIG Database Nifty Sensex BSE Midcap BSE Smallcap LAST 8,946.90 28,999.56 13,503.84 13,675.18 66.67 29,550.00 42,800.00 55.36 Market Tracker Ratna.Bhushan@timesgroup.com New Delhi: Upstart Indian brands beating MNC marquee brands is not new. But this one takes the cake – or the candy. Pulse, a raw mango-flavoured tangy candy, was launched by DS Group, the makers of Rajanigandha pan masala and Catch bottled water, in mid-2015. Last month, the one- rupee candy clocked . `300 crore in sales, beating such MNC blue chip munchie brands as Oreo (. `283 crore in sales, launched in 2011) and Mars bars (. `270 crore in sales, launched in 2011). Pulse looks like a sweet success compared to the other MNC brands as well. Coca-Cola’s much advertised Coke Zero, launched in late 2014, has a sales figure of . ` 120 crore. Pulse’s brisk sales growth is more impressive considering the stiff com- petition in India. The sweet candy category is estimated at . `6,600 crore (hard boiled candies, mints and jellies), and is growing at 12-14% year-on-year. Existing hard boiled candy brands that Pulse competes with include Parle’s Mango Bite and Italian maker Perfetti Van Melle’s Alpenliebe, besides a slew of local brands. Parle and Al- penliebe have been established players for more than a decade. Pulse raced to the third spot in just over two years in a market where price competition is fierce and brand loyalties are fickle. DS Group senior VP (new product development) Shashank Surana said: “Pulse is a highly scaleable brand and it has resonated exceptionally well with consumers. The brand has huge potential.” Market Disruption Riding on Taste19 Tangy Desi Candy Tastes Sweet Success In just two years, raw mango-flavoured . ` 1 Pulse clocks sales of . `300 cr, beats MNC brands like Oreo & Mars bars Gaurav.Laghate@timesgroup.com Mumbai: Oppo’s . `1,079-crore bet on the Indian cricket team must have looked a little iffy when the eleven collapsed to 274 all out against Aus- tralia on Tuesday. But that faith got vindicated after Australia were skit- tled out for a paltry 112, handing In- dia a 75-run victory. Winning the right to emblazon the Oppo Mobiles logo on the jerseys of India’s players for five years start- ing April involved a pitched battle against another mobile handset maker from China, not a nation known for its interest in cricket. In the event, Vivo’s bid of . `768 crore fell short. It should be noted, though, that both companies belong to Chi- na’s BBK Electronics Corp. Oppo will pay . `4.17 crore per bilat- eral match and . `1.51 crore for Inter- national Cricket Council (ICC) matches that India is involved in, sharply up from the base price of . `2.2 crore and . `70 lakh, respectively. Of the nine companies that picked up the tender document for the spon- sorship rights, only Oppo and Vivo actually submitted bids. “Despite being from the same par- ent company, both have completely separate teams and they compete like crazy,” said a top broadcasting industry marketing executive. Oppo Has Witnessed Rapid Growth4 On a Victorious Day for Team India, BCCI Grabs . ` 1,079-cr ‘Oppo’rtunity Chinese mobile handset co Oppo beats rival Vivo to win cricket team’s sponsorship rights Rights for April 1, 2017 – March 31, 2022 Oppo’ s bid: `1,079 cr Vivo’ s bid: `768 cr Oppo will pay `4.17 cr* TENDER BUYERS Star India Paytm Oppo Vivo Hero Group DBS Bank DNA GroupM Encompass *per bilateral match, `1.51 cr per ICC match Game On! SAHARA INDIA STAR INDIA 2009 - Jul ’12 Jan 1, ’14 - Mar 31, ’17 `1.91 cr (Test match) `2.09 cr (ODI) `1.92 cr (per bilateral match), `61 lakh (ICC matches) `3.34 cr per match (base price `2.5 cr) Jul 1, ’12 - Dec 31, ’13 If the glucose biscuit you dunk in tea shrinks or the packet gets lighter from July, you can blame it on the upcoming goods and services tax (GST) regime, reports Deepshikha Sikarwar from New Delhi. Biscuit manufacturers fear the low-end glucose biscuit could be taxed along with high-end cream or oat biscuits, forcing them to cut cor- ners to maintain packet prices. 15 GST may Make Glucose Biscuit Packs Lighter Logistics company Rivigo Services has raised debt financing of . ` 100 cr from leading pri- vate sector banks to expand its fleet of trucks, reports Biswarup Gooptu from New Delhi. 6 Logistics Company Rivigo Raises . ` 100 cr to Expand Fleet Homegrown smartphone maker Smartron has secured undisclosed financing from the GlobalFoundries CEO Sanjay Jha, who joins former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar as an investor. 6 GlobalFoundries CEO Invests in Sachin-backed Smartron Sovereign wealth funds (SWFs), considered one of the stickiest foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), are reducing bets on Indian equities. The share of SWFs in the total FPI holding in India shrank to 6% in January compared with 10.4% in July 2016, shows data from NSDL, report Ashutosh R Shyam & Ramanatha Pai K. The assets of SWFs shrank mainly due to withdrawal. FULL REPORT PAGE 7 Sovereign Wealth Funds Trim India Bets SH AR E I N FP I A SSE T S SH RI NKS T O 6% RI GHTS FOR 5 YEARS FROM APRI L Pulse raced to the third spot in a market where price competition is fierce and brand loyalties are fickle ANIRBAN MUMBAI | 22 + 4 PAGES EACH OF BRAND EQUITY AND ET PANACHE | *. `4.00 OR . `7.00 ALONG WITH THE TIMES OF INDIA Market not Tied to Poll Fate: Mobius Indulal PM & Baiju Kalesh Mumbai: Brookfield Asset Ma- nagement, the world’s second- biggest alternative assets mana- ger, is in talks with lenders of debt-laden Jaiprakash Power Ventures to acquire the firm’s three power plants, two people with direct knowledge of the de- velopment said. The discussions are in initial stages and there is no certainty that a transaction will take place. A deal, if it happens, could close at an equity value of . `4,500-5,000 crore, one of the two people said. The transaction will mark Bro- okfield’s first investment in Indi- a’s power sector. The asset mana- ger has already committed about $4.6 billion in the country in toll roads and telecom towers. Jaiprakash Power Ventures’ major lenders such as ICICI Bank, IDBI Bank and Punjab Na- tional Bank took control after the firm failed to repay loans on time. Brookfield did not comment on the talks and Jaiprakash Associ- ates did not respond to an emai- led questionnaire. Last month, Jaiprakash Power Ventures allotted 305.8 crore sha- res to its 23 lenders as part of a debt restructuring scheme. The allotment brought down Jaipra- kash Associates’ holding in the company to 29.74%. The group has been trying to sell assets, including core ones, in the past two years after intense pres- sure from lenders. In July last ye- ar, the group sold its cement busi- ness to Aditya Birla Group firm UltraTech for . `19,500 crore. JP’s power portfolio of 4,000 mw includes one hydro power plant and two thermal units. Betting Big on Indian Infra4 Brookfield in Talks to Buy JP’s Power Assets Lenders looking to sell off three operational units in a deal likely to be valued at around . `5,000 cr Not a Snap Deal: Lifeline May Cut Valuation by Half SoftBank in talks to invest up to $300 m in Jasper at valuation of less than $3 billion mains an arduous task. Cab-hai- ling company Ola is raising ca- pital from SoftBank at a 40% drop in valuation, ET reported in November, citing people awa- re of that transaction. Gurgaon-based Jasper was last valued at $6.5 billion when it raised $200 million in funding led by Canada’s Ontario Tea- chers’ Pension Plan in Februa- ry 2016. It was valued below $3 billion in late 2014 to early 2015 during stake sales by sharehol- ders to other investors. ‘Sign of Bullishness’4 Biswarup.Gooptu @timesgroup.com New Delhi: Snapdeal owner Ja- sper Infotech is inching closer to securing a lifeline from Ja- pan’s SoftBank Corp, its largest shareholder, but the transac- tion could drag its valuation to under $3 billion. SoftBank is negotiating to in- vest $100-150 million in Jasper in tranches, according to three pe- ople familiar with develop- ments. A fourth person said ove- rall investment could be as high as $300 million in Jasper, which is grappling with slowing sales and has been forced to cut jobs. Jasper and SoftBank have been going back and forth the last two months on crucial terms of the deal, including on the invest- ment size and the valuation, the- se people said, declining to be identified. Jasper’s board has held talks with SoftBank for rai- sing funds at a valuation of $1.5- 2.5 billion, they said. If the transaction goes thro- ugh, it would be the latest in- stance of a top-tier Indian Inter- net company’s valuation taking a hit, as raising fresh capital re- JAPANESE CO MAY RAI SE STAKE TO ABOUT 40% Some Relief The money is expected to come in tranches, with the first expected to be remitted in the first few months of the upcoming fiscal If successful, SoftBank to exercise greater control over Jasper’s finances going forward Snapdeal valuation is likely to be 3-4 times its gross merchandise sales, and is not necessarily a bad outcome for the co Fund-raising for, or a potential sale of, FreeCharge continues to be in limbo Sale Season 4000 MW: Jaiprakash Power’s portfolio `12,000 CRORE Net debt (`67,500 cr: JP Asso- ciates’ total debt) Who Owns What in JP Power 51%: Consortium of lenders including ICICI Bank, IDBI Bank and PNB 29.74%: JP Group’s stake 19.26%: Public shareholders and institutions Lenders looking to sell power assets Leap Green Energy, a company promoted by India’s first Formula One driver Narain Karthikeyan, has bought all windfarms owned by Inox Renewables for an undisclosed amount, report Mohit Bhalla.11 Karthikeyan Co Buys Inox’s Windfarms Says scrapping banking transaction charges subsidises the wealthy Saloni Shukla & MC Govardhana Rangan Mumbai: Banks are not Shylocks bent on sucking out money from customers, but those seeking hig- her levels of service must be open to paying for the convenience, said Aditya Puri, MD of HDFC Bank. India’s longest serving bank chief also said strong third-quarter GDP growth has proved demonising of demonetisation was wrong. Scrapping all banking charges ends up subsidising the wealthy carrying out high-end transactions and reduces banks’ ability to offer services to the poor, Puri said. “You don’t go to Oberoi Hotel and ask for Mahesh Lunch Home ra- tes,” Aditya Puri told ET in an in- terview. “We are not here to charge usury costs, let us be very clear. As you go higher up on the type of pro- duct, it is perfectly reasonable to charge. There is a segment of the population which should not be Customers Need to Pay for Better Service: Puri Unless BJP suffers a significant upset in the ongoing state elec- tions, any adverse outcome will not lead to any big fall in the market, said Mark Mobius, executive chairman of Templeton Emerging Markets Group. In an interview with Sanam Mirchan- dani, Mobius said India is his most preferred emerging market after China.PAGE 8 Admit that the impact (of demonetisation) has not been drastic. To start say- ing impact on parts of the informal economy was not reflected… we are talking about this for 20 years ADITYA PURI MD, HDFC Bank FULL INTERVIEW18 charged, which we agree with.” Recent charges levied by banks for ATM transactions and cash de- posits beyond a limit have drawn criticism, especially in case of SBI, which restored the minimum ba- lance amount after scrapping it in 2012. Opposition to charges on use of debit and credit cards at mer- chants is also strong, especially af- ter demonetisation, which has led to a surge in digital payments. ‘Impact of DeMo not Drastic’19 ARINDAM WEDNESDAY, 8 MARCH 2017 BENNETT, COLEMAN & CO. LTD. WWW.ECONOMICTIMES.COM
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