BRANDWAGON, P9 INTERNATIONAL, P18 BACK PAGE, P20 LIGHTS, CAMERA, INTEGRATION 'INDENTURED SERVITUDE' CAPITAL INFUSION DELAYED In-film placements can be powerful for brands if done right White House aspirant Ramaswamy vows to end H-1B programme Vodafone Idea’s ringtone is fading by the minute KOLKATA, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2023 FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL 32 NO. 272, 20 PAGES, `12.00 (NORTH EAST STATES & ANDAMAN `12.00) 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 APPLE SUPPLIER FOXCONN aims to double its workforce, FDI and business size in India by next year, V Lee, Foxconn's representative in India, said on Sunday in a LinkedIn post to mark Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 73rd birthday. ■ PAGE 5 PSBs BULLISH ON MSME SEGMENT LOAN GROWTH LARGE PUBLIC SECTOR financial institutions are fast-tracking exposure to the MSME sector as per senior bankers, reports Piyush Shukla. SIDBI and SBI alone are likely to extend nearly `1 trillion of MSME loans each, while Bank of Baroda and Union Bank of India are looking to grow their book by 10-14%. ■ PAGE 6 FE S P E C I A L Course set for greater NavIC adoption The govt wants smarpthones to support NavIC from end-2025. How does NavIC compare against GPS? ■ EXPLAINER, P6 Total (124 companies) Value (` cr) 7,684 1,367 1,083 824 701 560 490 298 259 238 14,663 Source: BSE Sensex 15 Mar 31, ‘23 Nifty BSE Midcap Smallcap 35.1 40.3 16.3 INDIA'S RETAIL MARKET: SALES TREND (During festive season) 2019 2022 2023 (` crore) VIVEAT SUSAN PINTO Mumbai, September 17 310,000 Retailers expect 25% jump to `4 trillion Where is it going ($ bn) 2022 2030 600 Food & grocery Consumer durables 1,230 85 90,000 TATASONSWILLhavetomergeasubsidiary with itself to shed its upper-layer NBFC tag or launch an IPO by 2025 to comply with existing rules, reports Rajesh Kurup. Another option before the investmentholding arm of Tata group companies is to seek an extension to the existing Reserve Bank of India regulations.The upper-layer NBFCtagcomeswithahigh-degreeofcompliances and disclosures. ■ Page 4 76,000 PRIME MINISTER NARENDRA Modi on Sunday launched the `13,000 crore ‘PM Vishwakarma’scheme,sayingthatthegovernment aims to integrate artisans with domesticandglobalsupplychains,reports Prasanta Sahu.According to analysts,the scheme has the scope to make the Indian craft sector a multi-billion dollar marketplace with the right support and business environment. ■ Page 2 50,000 Tata Sons look to shed Centre mulls rejig of upper-layer NBFC tag flagship agri schemes 250,000 PM launches `13k-cr scheme for artisans 200,000 sweets and confectionery. The estimates have been made bycompanies, consultancies including Deloitte and Redseer, Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) and the Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI). On Friday, consultancy Redseer indicated e-commerce platforms would Offline 175 75 Apparel & footwear 160 70 Gems & jewellery 145 Online INSIDE Mumbai retailers gear up for Ganesh festival PAGE 4 Source: Redseer, CAIT, CMAI, Deloitte India clock a gross merchandise value (GMV) of around `90,000 crore, higher than the `76,000 crore seen during the 2022 festive period. Mrigank Gutgutia, partner at Redseer StrategyConsultants,saidtherewasaclear trend of enhanced GMVcontribution this year versus previous festive sale periods, driven by higher consumer confidence, interest rates peaking out and strong economic growth. Continued on Page 2 Sep 15, ‘23 37,829 Returns (%) 269,57 FOXCONN AIMS TO DOUBLE INDIA JOBS, INVESTMENT Coforge Rail Vikas Nigam DLF GMM Pfaudler Shyam Metalics SJS Enterprises Inox Wind Shivalik Bimetal Sapphire Foods VRL Logistics Mn shares 16.27 111.76 21.59 6.09 16.09 9.16 24.00 5.48 1.91 3.50 Bumper festive season likely RETAILERS ARE ESTIMATING consumer spends of close to `4 trillion this Dussehra and Diwali with shoppers expected to splurge on a range of products. This would be a jump of 25% over last year, when consumer spends were around `3.2 trillion and 60% higher than the `2.5 trillion seen in 2019,across online and offline channels. Spending during the Independence Dayand Onam sales inAugustwas strong, led by premium products. Durables, electronics,fashionandlifestylesawayear-onyear sales growth of 15-20% during the Independence Day weekend. During Onam,celebrated in Kerala, sales were up 23-25% year-on-year, according to top industry executives. Categories that could be big beneficiaries during the coming festive season are durables, electronic products, apparel, fashion and lifestyle goods,jewellery,toys and other gifting items, kitchen appliances, beauty and personal products, and IN SELL MODE 32,505 INDIAAND BRAZIL are close to settling their long-standing disputes on the sugar industry, with the latter offering to share technology on ethanol production, reports Mukesh Jagota. The decision came about during official level talks and a ministerial meeting. ■ PAGE 3 INDIA INC’S PROMOTERS, particularly those of small and mid-sized firms, have been cashing in on the stock market rally by paring theirholdings. Thebulkofthenearly`15,000croreworth of promoter stake offloaded between July and nowwasfrombiggerfirms.However,ofthe124 companies for which data has been used, as manyas 121 are mid- and small-tierones.The threebigfirmsonthelistareDLF,InfoEdgeand Pidilite Industries. Since April, mid and small cap stocks have been on a tear. While the Sensex has put on 15%, the BSE Mid Cap and BSE Small Cap indices have rallied a much stronger 35% and 40% respectively. Promoters were of course selling equity holdings even before July. In the April-June quarter, for instance, they offloaded shares worth `13,100crore across 148 companies. Market expert Ambareesh Baliga said promoters are selling just a part of their stake, whichisunlikelytocauseanyjitters.Heexpects the momentum to continue with stocks rallying furtherbefore a majorfall. “Early birds have made money. Retail investors and HNIs make buys based on dips andmarketmomentum,notsomuchonvaluations. Mid-sized funds sitting on large amounts of SIP money also have to invest.The momentum is clearly there, and it’s a smart move as they’ve finally got a chance to take some moneyhome,” Baliga noted. Interestingly,while promoter selling has seenarisequarter-onquartertherehasbeenno substantial transaction involving promoters buyingtheircompanies’sharesintheJuly-Septemberquartersofar.Promotersboughtshares 24,066 BRAZIL OFFERS ETHANOLTECH TO SETTLE DISPUTE SIDDHANT MISHRA & KISHOR KADAM Mumbai, September 17 20,192 ON THE EVE of the five-day special session of Parliament which begins on Monday, there was no clarity on whether the government would take up the contentious Bill to put in place a mechanism to appoint the chief election commissioner and other election commissioners. ■ PAGE 3 17,360 SPECIAL SESSION BEGINS TODAY, NO CLARITY ON EC BILL Promoters cash in on strong rally 67,839 NEWS SURGE IN MID, SMALL CAPS 58,992 IN THE FYTD return (%) in 106 companies for `865 crore.Three firms sawshares of over`100 crore being bought by promoters,withtwobeingAdanigroupentities. Continued on Page 2 THE GOVERNMENT MAY announce an overhaul of its flagship schemes for the farm sector,ahead of the general election that is due by April-May next year, reportsSandipDas.TheUnionagriculture ministryhascommissionedaseriesofsurveys of PM-Kisan, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana and interest subvention scheme,toassesstheirimpactonthefarming community. ■ Page 2 Jeep plans new models, eyes India as export hub SWARAJ BAGGONKAR Mumbai, September 17 ADITYA JAIRAJ, JEEP, THE WORLD’S most popular sports utilityvehicle(SUV)brand,isplanningabusiness overhaul in India. In an effort to accelerate growth amidst rising premiumisation, itplanstoenternewproductsegments,make India an export base and shore up local content in its vehicles. In addition,the company,part of the Stellantis group (formed after the merger of the Fiat Chrysler and PSA Group), is also exploring electric and hybrid vehicle options. In one of his first interviews since taking charge as the deputy managing director of StellantisIndiaandheadofJeepIndia,Aditya JairajtoldFE,“Mymandateisverysimple;put in the elements needed for growth because Jeep has great potential in India.” Jeep is an SUV-only,US-based auto brand which sells four models in India. On Saturday, the company lowered its entry price to `20.49 lakh (ex-showroom) with the launch of the 4X2 version (manual) of its best-seller model Compass. The automatic 4X2 variant now starts at `23.99 lakh compared to nearly `30 lakh. “Thelaunchofthe4X2ispartofoureffort to strengthen the base and we will see more Deputy MD, Stellantis India & head, Jeep India We are evaluating ‘what’ and ‘when’ (on electrification). It can be hybrids, plug-in hybrids, or battery electric vehicles… the customers are asking for it of this in the next couple ofyears.We have to be competitive,add value and use India very strategically,” Jairaj added. The company expects volumes to double over the next quarterto1,200-1,600unitspermonthwith the launch of the new Compass 4X2 and the Meridian Overland,which was also unveiled on Saturday. Continued on Page 2 LIKELY DEFAULTERS TO GET VISITS WITH CHOCOLATES SBI to send borrowers a sweet reminder for timely repayment PRESS TRUST OF INDIA Mumbai, September 17 STATE BANK OF India (SBI) is adopting a novel way to ensure timely repayments, especially by its retail borrowers — turning up at the doorstep of those likely to default on monthly instalments with a box of chocolates. Accordingtothebank,aborrowerwhois likely to default generallywill not answer a reminder call. So the best way is to meet them at theirhomes unannounced. The move,aimed at ensuring bettercollections,comes amid a rising level of retail lendinginthesystemcoupledwithincreasing delinquency levels on the back of the upward movement in interest rates. SBI's retail loan book grewover16.46% to `12.04 trillion in the June 2023 quarter from`10.34trillionintheyear-agoperiod, making it the largest asset class for the lender;thebank’stotalbookstoodat`33.03 SURPRISE CHECK ■ Representatives to show up unannounced at defaulters’ homes, as they may ignore reminder calls `33.03 trn `12.04 trillion total loan book for the lender, 13.9% higher on-year ■ Fintechs using AI helping SBI ensure repayments, identify likely defaulters trillion,growing at 13.9% on-year.For the entiresystem,thedouble-digitloangrowth of around 16% has been led byretail loans. “With two fintechs which use artificial intelligence,we are piloting a novel way of reminding our retail borrowers of their repayment obligations.While one is doing SBI's retail loan book as of June, up 16.46% from `10.34 trn a year ago conciliation with borrowers, the other is alerting us on the propensity of a borrower to default,”Ashwini KumarTewari,managing director in-charge of risk, compliance and stressedassets at SBI,said. Continued on Page 2 Kolkata