Business Roundup #Week 15

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Barclays In Key Accord With Raheja

The Indian arm of UK-based Barclays has signed a deal to pick up nearly 1.1million sq ft office space in K Raheja Corp’s Pune project on lease, says a report.

Through this transaction, the multinational investment bank and financial services company is setting up its single biggest office outside of the UK in India. The built-to-suit campus in K Raheja Corp’s IT park Commerzone Kharadi in Pune will be developed over the next two years and will accommodate around 9,000 employees who would cater to the British investment bank’s operations across 40 countries.

Non-Cash Mobile Payments Rise

Non-cash mode of payment for mobile phones has surged to around 70 per cent of overall sales compared with 20-30% two years ago, reveals a report.

This has insulated handset sales from the cash crunch that’s affected several states, as opposed to the drastic impact during demonetisation. Retailers and industry executives said purchases through credit card, debit card, e-wallets that offer cash backs and zero cost equal monthly instalments given by finance companies, have risen dramatically.

Parag To Buy Danone’s Unit

Parag Milk Foods is planning to buy French food giant Danone’s Indian manufacturing facility for 30 crore rupees, according to a report.

The facility at Rai in Haryana’s Sonepat area produces curd, yogurt and other dairy products and the acquisition is aimed at expanding Parag’s presence in the northern part of the country. Parag Milk has a major facility in Pune for over a decade from where it has created brands such as Go Cheese and Gowardhan.

IPL Viewership Down In First Week

Viewership of the 11th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) on the Star Sports network has seen a decline in the first week, compared with the previous year, says a report.

The tournament was earlier aired on the Sony Pictures Network India channels. This is the first time that IPL is being aired on Star India channels after the broadcaster won the global media rights of the league. As per viewership data sourced from subscribers of BARC India, in the All India market (urban plus rural) for the audience of over two years, the total reach of the first eight matches of IPL (live telecast) this year has been at 245.71 million. It was 254.79 million matches the previous year.

Domestic Airlines Post 28% Growth

Domestic airlines posted a 28% growth in passengers flown during March from a year-ago period, data released by the aviation regulator showed, according to a report.

Indian carriers carried 11.6 million passengers during the month, up from 9 million in March last year, according to the data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. All the main scheduled carriers flew with over 80% of their seats full. SpiceJet maintained its lead position, followed by IndiGo.

Blackstone Likely To Acquire KOEL

Blackstone has emerged the front runner to buy Kirloskar Oil Engines Ltd (KOEL), according to a report.

KOEL is the listed flagship company of the $3.5-billion Kirloskar Group. One of the proposals being suggested is splitting the company by demerging its oil engines business into a new entity, sources said. Blackstone, the world’s biggest private equity fund, will step in then to buy controlling stake for around $400 million, and follow it up with an open offer for an additional 26% stake, sources said.

TRAI To Provide Mobile Tariffs

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has launched the beta version of a website that will provide information on mobile tariffs of all operators for all service areas on one platform, reveals a report.

The TRAI move will enhance transparency and allow users to compare plans. In the first stage, the TRAI has made the tariff data available for the Delhi circle, and sought feedback from users about the new site.

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Babu Kalyanpur
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