COMPANIES, P5 ECONOMY, P2 INTERNATIONAL, P8 COVID CURE VALUATION RELOOK POWERING UP WEALTH WIPEOUT Bharat Biotech gets DCGI nod for phase 3 trials of nasal vaccine Piramal Group plans to move Supreme Court challenging NCLAT order on DHFL Finance ministry allows two states to borrow additional `7,309 cr Warren Buffett overtakes Mark Zuckerberg as tech fortunes slide PUNE, SATURDAY, JANUARY 29, 2022 FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL. NO XII 306, 28 PAGES, `10.00 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 SENSEX: 57,200.23 ▼ 76.71 NIFTY: 17,101.95 ▼ 8.20 NIKKEI 225: 26,717.34 ▲ 547.04 HANG SENG: 23,550.08 ▼ 256.92 `/$: 75.04 ▲ 0.03 `/€: 83.54 ▲ 0.51 BRENT: $91.25 ▲ $1.91 GOLD: `47,875 ▼ `557 NEW FUNDING INDIA GOT ITS first export order for BrahMos missiles on Friday when the Philippines' defence ministry signed a $374-million contract with BrahMos Aerospace to supply an undisclosed number of missiles, military officials said, reports PTI. TECH SYNERGY Moglix valuation doubles to $2.6 bn IN THE NEWS India gets first export order for BrahMos missiles In digital push, Google Nageswaran takes to invest $1 bn in Bharti over as new CEA Raises $250 million in round led by Tiger Global & Alpha Wave SALMAN SH Bengaluru, January 28 Adani Total Gas wins 14 city gas licences, IOC 8 MOGLIX, WHICH RUNS an online marketplace for industrial goods, on Friday raised $250million inits latest Series Ffunding round,at avaluation of$2.6billion.Thisinvestment was led by Tiger Global and Alpha Wave Global with Hong Kong-based Ward Ferry coming on board as a new investor. The new funding round comes just nine months after it earlier raised $120 million in funding at a $1-billion valuation back in May 2021. The Noida and Singapore-based firm has to date raised around $470millioninfunding,includingthecurrentround.Thecompanysaid in a statement on Friday that its early investors,who had put in money in during the seed stage have seen an 80X return on their investment in the current round. AJV OF Adani's gas arm and Total of France on Friday won the most licenses at 14 to retail CNG to automobiles and piped cooking gas to households in the latest city gas bidding round, reports PTI. PNB looking to further dilute its stake in UTI MF PNB ON FRIDAY said it is looking to further monetise its stake in UTI Mutual Fund as part of its non-core asset sale plan to shore up capital, reports PTI. It has categorised non-core into two heads -real estate and investment. The new funding comes 9 months after it raised $120 million at a $1-billion valuation in May 2021 The firm till date has raised around $470 million in funding Moglix recently crossed $100 million disbursal rate on its supply chain financing platform Credlix Moglixwasfoundedin2015 by IIT Kanpur alumnus and ISB graduate Rahul Garg.The platformfacilitatesprocurementof industrialgoodsequipmentand MRO (maintenance,repair and operations) supplies by companies aswell as suppliers. Continued on Page 2 To pick up 1.28% stake in telco for $700 million, invest $300 million for digital offerings IN A POSITIVE trend, which brings greater synergies between overthe top players (OTT) and access service providers, Google on Friday said it will invest$1billioninBhartiAirtel. Of this, the US giant will invest $700million(`734pershare)to pickupa1.28%stakeinthecountry’s second-largest telecom serviceprovider.Therestwillbe for multi-year plans related to devices and other programmes around digitalinclusion. ThiswillbeGoogle’ssecond strategic investment in a telecom access firm. In July 2020, it had picked up a 7.73% stake inJioPlatformsfor$4.5billion. While Jio was valued at `4.36 lakh crore, the $700-million Special Features Prev close: 707.2 718 740 715.9 720 Bharti Airtel 700 Intra-day, Jan 28 (BSE) Open Close Partnership will benefit Bharti in building digital offerings Sunil Bharti Mittal, Bharti Enterprises chairman This is Google's second investment in a telco In July 2020, it had acquired 7.73% stake in Jio for $4.5 billion Google will benefit by getting ready access to more than 700 million users of Bharti & Jio No exclusivity in deal with Bharti and earlier with Jio investment values Bharti Airtel at `4.1 lakh crore. The deal with Bharti and earlier with Jio is part of Google’s India Digitisation Fund through which it has committed to invest $10 billion over 5 to 7 years. Sundar Pichai, Google CEO The current deal with Bharti and the previous one with Jio does not have any exclusivity,meaning Google is free to forge similar partnerships with other players also. Continued on Page 2 THE GOVERNMENTONFriday appointed V Anantha Nageswaran, dean of ChennaibasedIFMRGraduateSchoolof Business and a visiting distinguishedprofessorofeconomics at Krea University, as the next chief economic advisor in the finance ministry. The announcement comes just days before the presentation of the economic survey for FY22 and the Budget for FY23 early next week. He joined on Friday and succeeded Krishnamurthy V Subramanian, who returned to academiaonDecember17at the end of his threeyear term at the North Block.Nageswaran,who served as a part-time member of the PrimeMinister’s EconomicAdvisoryCouncil between VAnantha Nageswaran CANDID COMMENT Toyota widens lead over VW as top-selling automaker FE BUREAU New Delhi, January 28 760 680 FE BUREAU New Delhi, January 28 ON BOARD Unit economics will have to matter: Birla Toyota group sales, which include those of Daihatsu and Hino, were 10.5 million units for 2021. That compares to Volkswagen group deliveries of 8.88 million vehicles. ■ Motobahn, P7 Core businesses aided RIL’s growth in the third quarter While firm is moving in the right direction, meaningful pick-up in retail/digital and new energy initiatives is needed; FY23-24 estimates up 2%; TP raised to `2,510 on rollover; ‘Hold’ retained ■ Investor, P7 QuickPicks Textiles PLI: Deadline for applications till Feb 14 now THE GOVERNMENT has extended the deadline till February 14 for submitting applications for the `10,683-crore production-linked incentive scheme for textiles, reports PTI. "Earlier, the date of submission of online application under the PLI Scheme for textiles was up to January 31, 2022," the textiles ministry said in a statement on Friday. As per the prescribed norms, the scheme will be in operation from September 24, 2021, to March 31, 2030, and the incentive under the scheme will be payable for five years. Under the scheme, FY2024-25 will be considered as the first performance year. L&T misses estimate; net profit down 17% at `2,055 crore LARSEN AND Toubro (L&T) on Friday reported a weak set of numbers missing estimates on all the fronts, reports fe Bureau in Mumbai. The net profit fell a sharp 17% year-on-year to `2,055 crore, missing the Bloomberg estimate of `2,392 crore. The muted performance was on account of higher raw material and fuel prices which impacted margins. During the period, other income earned through treasury operations was lower in the current year, both due to lower volumes of investment, as well as lower yield available in the money market. Consequently, the operating profit at `2,100 crore came in lower by 9% y-o-y. L&T reported other income of `571.39 crore, nearly half of last year’s third quarter. PAGE 6 FE BUREAU New Delhi, January 28 WHILE AN ABUNDANCE of capitalandthecompetitionfor investmentopportunitiesmay have driven up valuations of many fledgling companies to stratospheric levels, Kumar Mangalam Birla believes that at some stage unit economics will have to matter and that trusty old concepts like cash flows and gross margins will guide behaviour and actions. “The only sustainable moat is the one based on intellect. Large waves of cheap capital will eventually erode all other entry barriers,”Birla says. In an article, “My reflections’, the Aditya Birla Group chairman forsees an upsurge in capital expenditure across THE TWO ARMS of India’s bad bank — National Asset Reconstruction Company (NARCL)andIndiaDebtResolution Company (IDRCL) — have received all requisite approvals, including from At over $91, oil hits fresh 7-year high ROWENA EDWARDS London, January 28 ment's resolve to complete the country'slargest IPOin March. The government could mop up around `1lakhcrore if it dilutes 10% stake in the public sector insurer, but the size of the issue isyet not clear, as market sentiments could decide it.The government has collected `27,330 crore or 16% of the FY22 target of `1.75 lakh crore from disinvestment so far in the year. OIL PRICES REACHED sevenyearhighsonFridayasgeopolitical tensions continue to raise supply concerns. Brent crude futureswereup$1.91,or2.1%, at$91.25abarrelby1436GMT, having hit $91.41 on Friday, highest since October2014. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose $1.83, or 2.11%, to $88.44 a barrel.WTIalsoreachedafresh seven-yearhigh of $88.76 earlier in Friday’s session. Both Brent and WTI are on track for their six-weekly gain in what would be the longest run of weekly gains since October. Supply scarcity has pushed thesix-monthmarketstructure forBrentintosteepbackwardationof$6.62abarrel,thewidest since2013.Thismeansthatcurrentlevelsarehigherthanthose in later months,which usually encouragestraderstoreleaseoil from storage to sell it promptly. Oil prices continue to receive support from concerns that the Ukraine crisis could disrupt energymarkets. Continued on Page 2 Continued on Page 2 —KM BIRLA, ADITYA BIRLA GROUP CHAIRMAN BOND DEBUT SBI chairman Dinesh Kumar Khara (left) with India INX chairman Ashishkumar Chauhan at the listing ceremony of the state-run bank’s $300-million Formosa Bonds, in Mumbai on Friday ● MARCH IPO sectors in the coming decade in what he calls a Capex Mahotsav. LIC listing being fast-tracked: Pandey Continued on Page 2 PRASANTA SAHU New Delhi, January 28 the RBI, SBI chairman Dinesh Khara said on Friday, reports fe Bureau in Mumbai. The banking sector will transfer 15 assets worth `50,000 crore to NARCL in FY22,he added. ■ Page 6 Continued on Page 2 ● SUPPLY CONCERNS The only sustainable moat is the one based on intellect. Large waves of cheap capital will eventually erode all other entry barriers. Banks to transfer 15 bad assets worth `50,000 crore to NARCL this fiscal 2019and2021,holds adoctorate degree in finance from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst for his work on the empirical behaviour of exchange rates. ThenewCEAcomesatatime when the Covid-ravaged economyisrecoveringfromitsworst contraction in recorded history inFY21andisestimatedtogrow 9.2%thisfiscal,albeitdrivenby a favourable base. Whileameaningfulrebound is expected in the next fiscal (most agencies projected real growth to range from 7% to 9%), private consumption, the principalpillaroftheeconomy, remainssubduedandprivate investments have flowed into onlyselect sectors. As the Centre and the states were forced to step up spendingtosavebothlivesand livelihood during the unprecedented crisis, general government debt shot up to about 90%of GDP. LIFE INSURANCE CORPORATION'S IPO is being fasttracked in consultation with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) and the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) being filed with the regulator in the first week of February would be as flawless as possible, department of investment and public asset management (Dipam) secre- Since we have been in touch with the regulator during the preparation of DRHP (for LIC IPO), it is unlikely that there will be very many regulatory queries on it. That is how one can save time. —TUHIN KANTA PANDEY, DIPAM SECRETARY tary Tuhin Kanta Pandey told FE, reiterating the govern- EPIC BATTLE Dozens of US states say Apple stifles competition through its app store PARESH DAVE Oakland, California, January 28 APPLE IS STIFLING competition through its mobile app store, attorneys general for 34 US states and the District of Columbia said on Thursday, as they appealed against a ruling that let the iPhone maker continue some restrictive practices. While dozens of state attor- neys general have filed recent antitrust lawsuits against other big tech companies, including Facebook owner Meta Platforms Inc andAlphabet’s Google, none had so far taken aim at Apple. Thursday's remarks, led by the state of Utah and joined by Colorado, Indiana, Texas and others, came in a lawsuit in an appealscourtagainstappstore fees and payment tools between“Fortnite”video game Appeal is against a ruling that let the iPhone maker continue some restrictive practices ■ Action comes after a US district judge in Oakland, California, mostly ruled against Epic last year ■ While lawsuits Lawsuit has come in an appeals court against app store fees and payment tools between Epic Games and Apple have been filed against others like Facebook and Google,Apple has none so far maker Epic Games and Apple. “Apple’s conduct has harmedandisharmingmobile app-developersandmillionsof citizens,”the states said. “Meanwhile,Apple continues to monopolise app distribution and in-app payment solutions for iPhones, stifle competition,andamasssupracompetitive profits within the almost trillion-dollar-a-year smartphone industry.” The action comes after a US district judge in Oakland, California, mostly ruled against Epic lastyear. That decision found that commissions of 15% to 30% which Apple charges some app makersforuseofanin-apppayment system the company forced on them did not violate antitrust law. Epic challenged the ruling in the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals. Continued on Page 2 Pune