Short Stories: Your Monthly Business Wrap for October

Trio Win Economics Nobel

This year’s Nobel Prize for Economics was awarded to Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James A Robinson for their research into the relationship between political systems and economic growth. The academics’ work demonstrates that democracies with poor governance and weak institutions fail to generate growth while those with inclusive governments have spurred greater economic activity in the past 500 years. The Nobel citation states that the economists’ work has “helped us understand differences in prosperity between nations”. Acemoglu and Johnson are economists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Robinson is at the University of Chicago.

QIBs Shore Up Hyundai IPO

Hyundai Motor India’s initial public offering (IPO) was fully subscribed on the final day of bidding, bolstered by participation of qualified institutional buyers (QIBs). Retail interest, however, was low. By the end of the third day, the issue was oversubscribed by 2.37 times, with QIBs leading the subscription at 6.97 times.

Ambuja to Acquire Orient Cement

Adani group’s Ambuja Cement will acquire 46.8% of Orient Cement for an equity value of Rs 8,100 crore. The deal will push the group’s cement capacity to 97.4mn tonnes per annum.

Workers Call Off Month-Long Protest

Samsung India workers at the Sriperumbudur plant in Kancheepuram ended their five-week-long strike after the management said it would engage with workers on key demands. The strike was one of the largest that Samsung has seen in recent years. The workers on strike had been demanding higher wages and union recognition.

Sebi Rules for Traders

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has introduced measures in futures and options (F&O) trading to curb risks faced by retail traders. The measures include raising margin requirements and mandating the upfront collection of option premiums from buyers. The rules will be rolled out in phases, with three of the changes set to take effect from November 20 and the rest in 2025. Sebi had previously indicated that the measures are intended to be short term.

ECB Lowers Rates

The European Central Bank (ECB) has cut interest rates for the third time this year, following reduced inflation risks and signs of weakness in the bloc’s economy. The deposit rate was cut 25 basis points to 3.25% as forecast in a Reuters poll of economists. The ECB, in a statement, said the disinflationary process is “well on track” but has given no indication about its next move.

Musk Unveils Tesla Cybercab

Tesla chief executive Elon Musk unveiled a prototype of Cybercab, an autonomous taxi, at the company’s annual ‘We, Robot’ event in Los Angeles. The self-driving vehicle will not have pedals, a steering wheel or require manual intervention. The reveal attracted attention and raised questions about the future of autonomous transport. It, however, failed to enthuse investors, with Tesla’s share price declining following the event.

Adar Poonawalla Invests in Dharma Productions

Adar Poonawalla, chief executive of Serum Institute of India, acquired 50% stake worth Rs 1,000 crore in Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions and Dharmatic Entertainment, producer of Hindi blockbusters such as Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Kal Ho Na Ho and Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani. The acquisition was executed through Poonawalla-led Serene Productions. Johar’s concerns about exorbitant star fees and rising entourage costs are expected to be alleviated after Poonawalla’s investment.

Q2 Earnings Season

Infosys reported a 5% increase in consolidated net profit for the second quarter of 2024-25, reaching Rs 6,506 crore against Rs 6,212 crore in the same period last year. Reliance Industries saw modest growth during the quarter, primarily due to challenges in its oil-to-chemicals business. The conglomerate posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 16,563 crore, down from Rs 17,394 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. The share price of HDFC Bank gained 3.17% after the private lender reported a standalone net profit of Rs 16,821 crore. Hindustan Unilever reported a 4% drop in standalone net profit to Rs 2,612 crore due to slowdown in urban markets.

Paytm Gets NPCI Nod for New Users

Digital payments application Paytm has received clearance from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to restart onboarding of new customers for its unified payments interface (UPI) service. The NPCI said Paytm must abide by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) regulations on digital payments. The decision comes after Paytm addressed regulatory concerns raised by the RBI earlier this year, which led to the suspension of new registrations.