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L1 NO. 153, 24 PAGES, `12 (PATNA & RAIPUR `12, SRINAGAR `15) P U B L I S H E D F R O M : A H M E D A B A D , B E N G A L U R U , C H A N D I G A R H , C H E N N A I , H Y D E R A B A D , K O C H I , K O L K ATA , L U C K N O W, M U M B A I , N E W D E L H I , P U N E SENSEX: 80,786.54* ▼ 849.37 NIFTY: 24,712.05* ▼ 255.70 NIKKEI 225: 42,520.27 ▲ 125.87 HANG SENG: 25,201.76 ▼ 323.16 `/$: 87.68* ▼ 0.10 `/€: 102.09* ▲ 0.33 BRENT: $67.59 ▲ $0.37 GOLD: `1,00,351* ▲ `315 *Prv close IN THE NEWS States’ capex likely rose 19% in April-July CAPITAL EXPENDITURE BY states likely grew around 19% yearon-year in April-July of FY26, reflecting a moderation in July due to the monsoon, reports Prasanta Sahu. ■ PAGE 2 InvIT IPO rush: Sebi receives report on reclassification THE NUMBER OF listed infrastructure investment trusts (InvITs) may go up to 10 this year from five at present, as half-a-dozen such public issues are in the pipeline to raise `25,000 crore, reports Nesil Staney. ■ PAGE 5 India to explore critical minerals off territorial waters INDIAWILL BE signing a contract with the International Seabed Authority in September, as it scouts for critical minerals used for renewable energy in the northwestern part of the Indian Ocean, reports Sandip Das. ■ PAGE 3 Cabinet approves PM SVANidhi 2.0 for street vendors THE CABINET ON Wednesday approved the PM SVANidhi Scheme 2.0, to provide working capital loans of up to `50,000 with an outlay of `7,332 crore for the scheme until March 2030, reports fe Bureau. ■ PAGE 2 Bond issuers may take a breather as yields harden ELEVATED YIELDS IN the bond market may put a spanner on the fund-raising plans of companies and follow a wait-and-watch policy till things ease, reports Christina Titus. ■ PAGE 5 FMCG firms’ new products fizzle out after launch FMCG COMPANIES ARE increasingly finding it difficult to sustain new launches as growing competition takes the sheen off new products, a study by Numerator (formerly Kantar) showed, reports Viveat Susan Pinto. ■ PAGE 4 ATTHE END OFTHE DAY,WEWILLCOMETOGETHER,SAYS BESSENT India, US signal hope for early tariffresolution ● Communication channels open, says govt official I am talking to a very terrific man, Narendra Modi. I said, ‘What’s going on with you and Pakistan?’... I said,‘I don’t want to make a trade deal with you…we’re going to put tariffs on you that are so high, your head’s going to spin’... MUKESH JAGOTA New Delhi, August 27 JUSTAS THE additional 50% US tariff on Indian merchandise came into force on Wednesday,the chances of its early dilution, if not withdrawal, increased, with both sides indicating a rapprochement could be on the cards. “Communication channels (between the two countries) are open. We will see how it works out. There are positive signals from both sides that we need to build upon,” a government official, who did not wish to be identified, said here on Wednesday. The remarks came close on the heels of US treasury secretary Scott Bessent’s Sri Lanka,Egypt and Jordan may serve as conduits President Trump or Prime Minister Modi have very good relationships at that level. And it’s not just over the Russian oil comments earlier in the day in an interview to Fox News, suggesting a similar stance. “At the end of the day we (India and US) will come together,” Bessent said. “This is a very complicated relationship.President (Donald) Trump or Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi have very good relationships at that level.And it’s not just over the Russian oil,” he said. The Indian official quoted INDIA’STEXTILEANDgarment exportersareweighingvarious options including shifting the finalstageofmanufacturingto geographies as diverse as Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia,Egypt,Indonesia and Jordan to keep their US businessintactaftertheimposition ofadditional50%tariffseffectiveWednesday. The industry has already pushed out winter orders for theUSandisnowintheprocess »INSIDE« CUTTING A DEAL ■ Nearly a third of India’s textile and apparel exports of $37 billion go to the US ■ Following MUKESH JAGOTA New Delhi, August 27 THE IMMEDIATE IMPACT ofanextra50%UStariffon Indianexportsmayappear limited,buttheirsecondary and tertiary effects on the economy pose challenges thatmustbeaddressed,the finance ministry said in its latest monthly report. In this context, the ongoing India-US trade negotiations will be crucial,it said, reportsfeBureau. ■ PAGE 3 SCOTT BESSENT, US TREASURY SECRETARY Textile exporters maymove abroadtocatertoUSmarket ● Bangladesh, Finmin note flags tariff challenges DONALD TRUMP, US PRESIDENT US tariffs, some buyers are asking for additional discounts ranging from 5% to 20% ■ Textiles and apparel is India’s second-largest employmentgenerating sector, which employs over EDIT: LEND A HELPING HAND PAGE 6 Continued on Page 5 Russiancrude gainswipedout INDIA SAVED BILLIONS of dollars by stepping up imports of discounted Russian oil in the wake of the war in Ukraine, but punitive tariffs imposed by the United States that came into effect on Wednesday will quickly undo the gains, with no easy solutions in sight, reports Reuters. ■ PAGE 2 MostAmericans backsanctions 45 mn people ofworkingonspringordersfor which agreements with the US brands have already been signed. Following the tariffs, some of the buyers are asking for additional discounts rangingfrom5%to20%,chairman above said that there should not be any panic as the impact of the additional US tariff “is not as drastic or as exaggerated as projected.” ofCTAApparelsMukeshKansal said.Thisistheperiodwhenthe negotiations happen for next year summer orders and talks have started. Continued on Page 5 OPINION: TIDING OVER TARIFF STORM, WRITES BISWAJIT DHAR PAGE 6 AS MUCH AS 62% Americans support Trump’s strategy to sanction Russia’s trading partners as awayto put pressure on Moscow to end its war with Ukraine, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll.Trump has imposedsecondarysanctions,in theformofa25%tariff,against India for continuing to buy Russian oil. —REUTERS HALF OF INDIA’S AUTO COMPONENT EXPORTS TO FACE 50% DUTY PAGE 2 Anotherfrontopens:H-1Bvisa‘totalscam’ SHUBHAJIT ROY New Delhi, August 27 HOWARD LUTNICK, RON DESANTIS, We are going to change that (H-1B) programme because that’s terrible, right? We’re going to change green card Most of them (H-1Bs) are from one country, India, there’s a cottage industry about how all they make money off this SECRETARY OF COMMERCE, US AMID THE STRAIN in ties, the Trump administration has opened a new front, targeting skilled Indian professionals on the H-1B visa programme, a move that is expected to hit middle-classIndiansintheUS. Secretary of commerce Howard Lutnick has said the US intends to modify the current immigration system, specifically the H-1B visa programme and green cards. He said the Trump administration plans to introduce a“gold card” programme. It will allow wealthy foreigners to invest $5 million in exchange for US residency. “I am involved in changing the H-1B visa pro- GOVERNOR, FLORIDA gramme. We are going to change that programme because that’s terrible,right? We are going to change the green card,”Lutnick said during an interview with Fox News.Florida’s Governor Ron DeSantis also criticised the H-1B visa programme, calling it a “total scam”. Continued on Page 7 Tariff blow: Listing gains drop 50% from lastyear MUTED SENTIMENT KISHOR KADAM Mumbai, August 27 WITH THE STOCK market being listless in 2025, gains from initial public offerings (IPOs)havealsodippedsharply. The average listing gains stood at14.6%in2025—downover 50% from 30.25% in 2024. Duringthesameperiod,the Sensexhasgained3.39%yearto-date in 2025,while the 87memberBSEIPOindexisflatat 0.34%. In comparison, Sensex rose 8.2% and the BSE IPO index surged 31.7% in 2024. Pranav Haldea, MD, Prime Database, said that the stock market sentiment has been weaker in 2025 and with secondarymarketsunderpressure fromUStariffs,theIPOmarket is also likelyto feel the impact. However, the good news is that four out of every five IPOs (34 out of 43) listed so far in 2025 have delivered positive returns to investors, ranging between2.4%and90.5%(IPO price vs current market price). The average gain at current market prices is 22.5%. In total, the 43 IPOs raised BYAMAZON’SSTANDARDS,its foray into quick commerce (qcomm)inIndiahasbeenunusually low-key. The e-commerce major officially entered qcomminJunethisyearwiththe launch ofAmazon Nowin three Bengaluru pin codes,backed by 10-15 dark stores.The service expandedtoselectDelhineighbourhoods a month later. Amazon Now is reportedly aiming to set up 300 dark stores across Delhi-NCR, Mumbai,andBengalurubythe year-end. That’s puny, consideringthatBlinkitalreadyoperates around 1,544 dark stores, ■ Amazon Now ■ India’s q-comm market is set to triple by FY28, from around `64,000 crore in FY25 ■ Blinkit holds 46% market share, Zepto 29% and Swiggy Instamart 25% as in November last year Blinkit has around 1,544 dark stores, Instamart & Zepto have over 1,000 each and Swiggy’s Instamart and Zepto have more than 1,000 stores,leading manyexpertsto suggest that a company like Amazon, which has lost the earlymoveradvantage,should have shown more urgency. In media interviews,Amazon has said that it is eyeing leadership in q-comm and won’t hold back investments. Amazon also said that it would investover`2,000crorein2025 to expand and upgrade opera- plans to set up 300 dark stores by the year-end ■ Amazon has said it’s eyeing leadership in q-comm & will not hold back investments tions infrastructure, improve associate safety and well-being programmes,and develop new tools and technology for its fulfilment network in India. But experts say that a wellresourced competitor like Amazon could have easily caused significant shifts in consumer loyalty and market dynamics if it had not miscalculated the potential of the market, and entered the segment much sooner. Zepto was founded in July 2021, Zomato entered the market by acquiring Blinkit (formerly Grofers) inmid-2022,Swiggylaunched Swiggy Instamart in August 2020 and BigBasket launched BBnow in April 2022. Even its rival, Flipkart, launched Flipkart Minutes in August 2024. If Amazon had entered earlier, it could have easily challenged the incumbents, which now have a higher brand recall and enjoy a sig- Listing day Current price (`) price* (`) Aditya Infotech 1,084.10 1,285.70 90.5 % change# Quality Power Electrical Equipments 387.05 777.70 83. 83.0 Belrise Industries 97.37 141.10 56. 56.8 National Securities Depository 936.00 GNG Electronics 333.50 354.75 49. 49.7 Sambhv Steel Tubes 97.58 122.05 48. 48.8 Anthem Biosciences 730.35 835.20 46.5 1,2 54. 1,237.05 54.6 * as on August 26; #current price over IPO price Source: Prime Database `67,737 crore in 2025. Compared to that,in 2024,91 IPOs raised `1.6 lakh crore. Among the three large IPOs (over`4,000 crore each),NSDL emergedasthebestperformer, delivering 54.6% returns to investors after a 17% listing- day gain. Hexaware Technologies stood second with a 12.3% rise, while HDB Financial Services is trading 6.8% higherthan its issueprice after a 13.6% debut gain. Continued on Page 7 TATA SONS AND Reliance Jio emerged as the most profitable unlisted companies in FY25, according to data from Capitaline.Tata Sons reported a net profit of `27,304 crore, a 23.7% year-on-year decline, while Reliance Jio’s net profit surged 22.1% to `24,666 crore. NSE ranked third with a profit of `10,981 crore, up 67.8% year-onyear.The pecking order may change as more firms release their FY25 results. Data for firms such as Nayara Energy, which had reported profit of `12,086 crore in FY24, and Samsung India are not available yet. Top unlisted companies by profit (` cr) YoY % growth Tata Sons India-EU talks draw close to final stage FACINGADEADLINEoftheend of 2025 for concluding negotiations on theirfree trade agreement (FTA), negotiators from India and the European Union willtrytobringtheirtalkstothe final stretch in theirnext round oftalksfromSeptember8to12, reports Mukesh Jagota. In the last round of talks, both sides had exchanged offers on goods and services liberalisation.TheFTAhas23chaptersor policyareas. ■ PAGE 3 nificant market share — Blinkit 46%, Zepto 29% and Swiggy Instamart 25%, according to Motilal Oswal’s report in November last year. Experts say Amazon Now’s slow pace reflects regulatory realities. For the e-commerce major, building compliant dark stores city by city may take time, point out experts. “India’s foreign direct investment(FDI)rulespermit100% foreign investment onlyin the marketplace model, while the inventory-led model isprohibited,” Somdutta Singh, e-commerce expert and founder and CEO of Assiduus,said. Continued on Page 7 27,304 Reliance Jio 24,666 -23.7 22.1 NSE 10,981 67.8 Mahanadi Coalfield Reliance Retail 10,706 -8.8 9,963 NABARD 12.4 9,530 Northern Coalfield Compiled by Kishor Kadam Amazon Nowtries to make up forlost time SPEED & SCALE Company Tata Sons & Jio top unlisted companies by profit in FY25 Jury is out on its late entry into the crowded quick-commerce market in India S SHANTHI Bengaluru, August 27 Top IPO performers 15.3 7,628 25.0 Source: Capitaline Domesticflyersat NaviMumbaito pay5xofMumbai ● We don’t decide user development fee:AdaniAirport HEFTY PRICE SWARAJ BAGGONKAR Mumbai, August 27 IFYOU TAKE a domestic flight from the upcoming Navi Mumbai airport,you will have to fork out a userdevelopment fee of `840 — nearlyfive times more than the Mumbai airport. For international flyers, the fee will be two-and-a-half times more: `1,500 at Navi Mumbai versus an average of `655 for economy and business class flyers at Mumbai. ThesteepUDFattheAdanioperated Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) — among the highest in the country— mirrors the trend of substantial increases in the user development fee (UDF) at other airports undergoing infrastructure upgrade. “Adani Airport does not get todecidewhat(UDF)tocharge. Thereis a bigmisconceptionin the industry that Adani and GMR charge more. We have zero authority to decide what we should charge,” Arun Bansal, CEO, AAHL, said in an interaction with FE. “The UDFis independently decided by AERA based on New Delhi (in `) FY26 Domestic FY26 International 644 1,547 Kolkata Mumbai Bengaluru 175 655* 550 1,500 Ahmedabad 600 1,190 Chennai 455 690 Hyderabad 750 1,500 UDFs at various airports only embarking passengers *Average of Eco and Biz class Source: Ministry of Civil Aviation defined formulas. We only provide input.Older the asset, lower the charge and newer the asset higher the charge. Overtime the rates go down,” Bansal added. Continued on Page 7
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