BENGALURU, FRIDAY, JANUARY 14, 2022 FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM VOL XXXIV NO. 226, 12 PAGES, `6.00 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 READ TO LEAD SENSEX: 61,235.30 ▲ 85.26 NIFTY: 18,257.80 ▲ 45.45 NIKKEI 225: 28,489.13 ▼ 276.53 HANG SENG: 24,429.77 ▲ 27.60 `/$: 73.89 ▲ 0.03 `/€: 84.76 ▼ 0.74 BRENT: $84.44 ▼ $0.23 GOLD: `47,851 ▲ `98 IN THE NEWS Active Covid cases highest in 216 days INDIA LOGGED 2,47,417 new coronavirus infections, the highest in 216 days, taking the total tally of Covid cases to 3,63,17,927 which includes 5,488 cases of the Omicron variant, according to the health ministry data updated on Thursday, reports PTI. NCLAT notices to CCI and Future on Amazon plea THE NCLAT ON Thursday refused to grant interim relief to Amazon by way of staying the December 17 CCI order, which suspended the regulatory approval for the ecommerce firm's 2019 deal with Future Group, reports fe Bureau in New Delhi. Vedanta puts $12-billion price tag on BPCL VEDANTA IS WILLING to spend $12 billion to buy BPCL, an asset sale that’s among the biggest, reports Bloomberg. “We’re not going to bid aggressively, but we will put the right price,” chairman Anil Agarwal said. GREEN VENTURE Adani plans steel foray with $5-bn Posco pact Investment plan by the two includes integrated steel unit at Mundra SOUTH KOREAN STEELmajor Posco and India’s Adani Group signedanagreementonThursday to jointly explore business opportunities in a clutch of areas, including steel, renewable energy, hydrogen and logistics, with an investment outlayof$5billion.Thetwowill set up an integrated,‘environment-friendly’ steel mill at Gujarat’s port town Mundra as partoftheplan,whichwillmark the entry of Gautam Adani’s already diversified infrastructure group into steel-making. The partnership will also give the South Korean steelmaker a new opportunity to carryoutitslong-thwartedplan tocreateasizeableprimarysteel manufacturing base in India. The two sides haven’t disclosed further details of the venture, 19.6 JSPL (India) 9.6 ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India 8.6 RINL 7.3 ~150 o Total (including others) Source: ICRA Projections (MT) Capacity 300 172.6 2024-25 2030-31 Production 250 Domestic demand for finished steel 140 2024-25 2030-31 104.3 2021 ~111.4 (E) 2022 At CAGR of 6.8%, India's steel demand growth is seen to be the highest among top five consuming nations in 2022 Source: Steel ministry; World Steel Association norhave theyrevealedwhowill invest howmuch and bywhen. India is projected to be one of the fastest-growing steel markets in the world for many yearstocomewithitspercapita steel consumption being just a third of the world average; the countryisalsoprojectedtodouble its crude steel capacity in less than a decade to 300 million tonne perannum (mtpa). Continued on Page 2 withthestategovernmentduringtheVibrant Gujarat Summit 2022,the company has also proposedtoinvest`60,000croreinsettingup green energy manufacturing capacities and setting up an eco system for small and medium enterprises. The proposed investments are expected to generate over 10 lakh direct and indirect job opportunities in the state,RILsaid in a statement. ■ Page 4 ● ARBITRATION CASE Lead School joins the unicorn club Start-up has tied upwith 5,000 schools across 500 towns and cities ■ Expects annual revenue run-rate of $80 m, serving close to 2 m students ■ Eyes an annual revenue run-rate of $1 billion by 2026 ■ Aims quality affordable education for 25 m students Valuation has doubled in the last nine month Edtech unicorns, including Byju’s,UnacademyandupGrad, focus on test-prep forK-12 and higher education, and executive-level courses, Lead School focuses on offering tools and software forcore schooling. Continued on Page 2 WayCool Foods raises $117 m in funding CHENNAI-BASED AGRICOMMERCE START-UP WayCool Foods has raised $117 million in a Series D round of funding from new and existing investors, reportsfeBureauinChennai. 21.4 SAIL Tata Steel (India) (Including BSL & Usha Martin) RELIANCE INDUSTRIES (RIL) on Thursday commited to invest `5.95 lakh crore in Gujarattowardsdevelopmentofgreenenergy infrastructure and other sectors such as telecomandretail,reportsfeBureauinMumbai. Theinvestment,whichisproposedover10-15 years, will help in setting up of 100 GW of renewable energy power plants and green hydrogenecosystem.AspartofanMoUsigned EDTECH BOOM EDTECH START-UP LEAD School,which offers integrated software for schools,has raised $100millioninfreshfundingat avaluationof$1.1billion,makingitthethirdunicornin2022. Lead School’s Series E funding round was led by WestBridge Capital and GSV Ventures. To date,it has raised close to $166 million in funding, including the current roundwith itsvaluation doubling in the last nine months on the back of strong growth in its operating and financial metrics.The current round is its fifth round of institutionalfunding since 2017. While most of the large 26.5 RIL intensifies green push with `5.95L-cr investment in Gujarat TESLA IS "STILL working through a lot of challenges with the government" for entry into India, its CEO Elon Musk tweeted on Thursday, reports Reuters. FE BUREAU Bengaluru, January 13 JSW Steel (Including Monnet & BPSL) SURYA SARATHI RAY New Delhi, January 13 Working through challenges: Musk on Tesla entry Raises $100 million from WestBridge and GSV Ventures India's current crude steel capacity (MT) As part of the Series D funding round, the agri-commerce start-up raised $95 million as equity and $22 million as debt. It had raised $46 million so far in the last three rounds. ■ Page 4 French court orders freezing of Indian property on Devas' plea PRESS TRUST OF INDIA New Delhi, January 13 AFRENCHCOURThasordered freezing of an Indian governmentpropertyinParisonaplea by Devas shareholders who are seekingtoenforcea$1.3-billion arbitration award over a cancelledsatellitecontract,according to the court ordercopy. The court allowed Devas shareholders to register a “Hypotheque Judiciaire” or a judicial mortgage on a Paris apartment in the posh 16th arrondissement. The building previously served as the residence of the Indian Deputy Chief of Mission and is valued at 3.8 million euros. JayNewman,senioradviser ■ Devas seeks to enforce a $1.3-bn arbitration award ■ Court allows Devas to seize a Paris apartment valued at 3.8 m euros Property is the same one that Cairn froze in July 2021 to get India to pay $1.2 billion to Devas shareholders, said, “India has assets like this all over the world. This is just the beginning. We’re planning many more seizures.” Continued on Page 2 Stay relaxed and tension free Diversifying your investments across asset classes helps to mitigate the impact of market fluctuations. In a world of uncertainties, asset allocation is critical. Thankfully, various categories of hybrid schemes - investing in a combination of asset classes, provide a convenient route to asset allocation and keep your tension away! Choose from asset allocation solutions and start your SIP today! ● TRADE TALK India-UK FTA may cover 90% of goods FE BUREAU New Delhi, January 13 INDIA AND THE UK launched formal negotiations on Thursdayfora“fairandbalanced”free trade agreement (FTA), which could cover more than 90% of tarifflines,andaimedtodouble bilateraltradeofbothgoodsand servicestoabout$100billionby 2030. Both the sides could opt for an interim pact first,which wouldbefollowedupwithabroaderFTA,commerceandindus- • Conservative Hybrid Fund • Equity Savings Fund Union minister Piyush Goyal (left) with UK trade minister Anne-MarieTrevelyan (right) • Multi Asset Allocation Fund try minister Piyush Goyal indicated at a joint press briefing he held along with UK trade secretaryAnne-MarieTrevelyan. ■ Detailed report on Page 2 • Balanced Advantage Fund • Aggressive Hybrid Fund Contact your MFD/RIA. SIP - Systematic Investment Plan An Investor Education Initiative by HDFC Mutual Fund For KYC, change of address, investor complaints redressal, etc. visit, https://www.hdfcfund.com/information/key-know-how. Mutual Fund investments are subject to market risks, read all scheme related documents carefully. BENGALURU