COMPANIES | PAGE 5 Plum Goodness: Unburdened by legacy INTERNATIONAL | PAGE 3 Smaller deals to hit IT firms due toAI effect MUMBAI, MONDAY, MAY 5, 2025 Won't remove Jerome Powell before term ends:Trump FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL LXV NO. 105, 16 PAGES, `12 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 IN A FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND initiative, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has developed the country’s first genome-edited, climateresilient rice varieties aimed at boosting yields and conserving water, reports Sandip Das Unveiling the breakthrough, agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said the rice varieties could potentially increase grain yields by 25–30%. ■ PAGE 2 Adani Group flagship guides for `36,000 cr capex in FY26 ADANI GROUP FLAGSHIPAdani Enterprises (AEL) has guided for a capital expenditure (capex) plan for FY26 that is lower than its average annual capital spend it forecasted previously. In a post Q4FY25 earnings call,AEL’s senior management said that capex for FY26 will be `36,000 crore, reports Swaraj Baggonkar. ■ PAGE 4 No breakthrough on India-UK FTA as trade ministers meet again THE INDIA-UK FREE trade agreement (FTA) may take some more time to wrap up as some differences still remain. A second visit to Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal within a week had raised hopes of a breakthrough, but no formal announcement came,reports Mukesh Jagota. ■ PAGE 2 Zelenskyy: Ceasefire with Russia possible at any moment UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR Zelenskyy said on Sunday that a ceasefire with Russia in its more than three-year-old warwas possible at any moment and called on Kyiv's allies to apply greater pressure on Moscow to put the measure in place. ■ PAGE 3 India considers tax breaks for Saudi sovereignwealth fund ● Waivers,treatment similar to ADIA likely for PIF PRASANTA SAHU New Delhi, May 4 THE CENTRE IS considering tax reliefs for Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund,as a means to facilitate the proposed $100-billion investments by the West Asian Kingdom in the country’s infrastructure and energy sectors. According to official sources,the proposals under consideration include a tax holiday of up to 10 years for Saudi Public Investment Fund(PIF)andfurtherstreamlining of procedures to make it easierforit toclaimtaxexemptionondividend, interest, and long-term capital gains (LTCG) on investments in infra-assets. PIFmaybegivenatreatmentsimilartoAbuDhabiInvestmentAuthor- RED CARPET ■ PIF may be given a treatment similar to Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) ■ The proposals under consideration include a tax holiday ■ PIF, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world, presides over assets worth of up to 10 years for Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) $925 billion ■ The plan entails further streamlining of procedures to make it easier for the fund to claim tax exemption on dividend, interest, and long-term capital gains ■ Saudi Arabia wants tax exemption for their investments in infrastructure assets in India, including refineries ity (ADIA), which gets specific tax benefits underthe IncomeTaxAct. During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Riyadh, talks were held on the Gulf country’s investment plans for India, as it steps up investments across the world, and diversifies into sectors other than petroleum. PIF, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world,presides over assets worth $925 billion. Despite being such a big source of long-term patient capital,its exposure to India is currently limited to a few ventures, including $1.5 billioninJioPlatformsand$1.3billion in Reliance Retail Ventures. “Saudi Arabia wants tax exemption for their investments in infrastructure assets in India, including refineries. It is likely to get wider exemptions, the details are being worked out,”an official aware of the matter said. Continued on Page 5 SamsungcitesRILin$520-mntaxfight ADITYA KALRA & ARPAN CHATURVEDI New Delhi, May 4 SAMSUNG HAS ASKED Customs Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal to quash a $520-million tax demand for allegedly misclassifying imports of networking gear, arguing officials were aware of the practice as Reliance imported the same component in a similar manner for years, documents show. Samsung becomes the second major foreign company in recent months to challenge an Indian tax demand. Volkswagen has sued the Centre incourtforarecord demand of$1.4 billion for misclassifying its component imports. LEGAL TUSSLE ■ In the Samsung case, tax authorities in January asked the tech major to pay $520 million ■ Samsung's India unit says it discovered during an investigation that Reliance had been warned about the practice way back in 2017 for evading the 10-20% tariffs ■ Reliance did not inform the South Korean company about it and tax officials never questioned Samsung ■ The South Korean giant then sold it to Reliance Jio, from 2018 to 2021 In the Samsung case, tax authorities in January asked the tech major to pay $520 million for evading the 10-20% tariffs by misclassifying imports of a key mobile tower equipment,which it then sold to Reliance Jio, from 2018 to 2021. In its 281-page challenge at the Mumbai tribunal, Samsung criticises authorities for being "fully aware" of the business model as ● YEMENI MISSILE GROUNDS ISRAELI FLIGHTS MCA to remove 3,300 companies from official records Reliance had a "long-established practice" of importing the same equipment without any tariff payments for three years until 2017. Samsung's India unit says it discovered during an investigation that Reliance had been warned about the practice way back in 2017,but Reliance did not inform the South Korean company about it and tax officials never questioned Samsung. "The classification adopted by the appellant (Samsung) was known to the authorities, however the same was never questioned ... Department was fully aware," Samsung says in its April 17 filing, which is not public but was seen by Reuters. Continued on Page 5 Air India halts TelAviv flights tillTuesday PRESS TRUST OF INDIA New Delhi, May 4 THE MINISTRY OF corporate affairs (MCA) will soon strike off names of 3,300 companies from the official records after the registrar of companies (RoC) received requests for the removal of their names. The RoC had issued public notices in April to seek objections on the proposed removal of names. ■ PAGE 2 FE S P E C I A L S Israeli security forces inspect the site where the military said a projectile fired by Yemen's Houthi rebels landed in the area of Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv on Sunday AP ANAIRINDIAflightfromthenational capitaltoTelAvivwasdivertedtoAbu Dhabi on Sunday as there was a missile attack near the airport in the Israelicity,accordingtosources. The airline has also suspended the Tel Aviv flights till May 6. Theattackhappenedlessthanan hour before the Air India flight AI139, operated with a Boeing 787 aircraft, was to land at Tel Aviv, the sources said. "Air India flight AI139 from Delhi to Tel Aviv of 4 May 2025 was diverted to Abu Dhabi after an incident at Ben Gurion airport this morning. "The flight has landed normally in Abu Dhabi and willsoonreturntoDelhi,"theairline said in a statement. Index launches by exchanges surge ● In FY25,BSE and NSE collectively launched 41 schemes MORE OPTIONS ANANYA GROVER Mumbai, May 4 WITH THE STOCK market hitting newhighs and participation of retail investors rising significantly, exchanges are also doing their bit by giving investors more options to investthroughlaunchofnewindices. Sample this: Last Friday, NSE launched the NSE Waves Index, which will include 43 companies from media and entertainment industry. And both the exchanges have already launched three indices in FY26. InFY25,BSEandNSEcollectively launched 41 indices — over three a month. In comparison, NSE had launched just seven in FY23 and FY24whileBSEhadn’tlaunchedany index,accordingtoitssubsidiaryAsia Index’swebsite. Accordingtoindustryexperts,the surge in the number of indices, and effectivelyslicinganddicingthemarket has happened primarily because fund houses are seeking to attract more moneyin thepassive business. Anexchangeinsideradmittedthat fundhousesapproachthemonaregularbasistocreatenewthemes,something like the‘flavourortheme of the season’ — like NSE Waves that will attract investor attention and help fundhousestolaunchnewfundoffers. In addition, this also gives exchanges a new line of business, as they are able to earn around a per- Total indices launched FY23 India unveils 'world's first' genome-edited rice varieties $100-BILLION INVESTMENTPLAN 7 6 FY25 IN THE NEWS FY24 THE BIG IDEA | PAGE 16 41 Funds mobilised through NFOs Thematic Nos (FY25) Funds raised (` crore) Total Nos (FY25) Funds raised (` crore) 52 73,633 247 1,08,494 centage point of the assets collected byschemes,based on theirindices. Thissurgealsocomesasanaftermathofthecategorisationnormsof the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) that restrict fund houses from launching schemes of the same nature. Continued on Page 5 ● RAJAN AMBA, MANAGING DIRECTOR, JLR INDIA ‘Bespoke vehicle demand to surge in next two yrs’ InFY25,JLRIndiareporteditshighestever annual sales in the country, logging 40% year-on-yeargrowth,while the luxury market posted 4% growth. In this interview, Rajan Amba, managing director, JLR India, talks to AlokanandaChakraborty about the shifts taking place in the luxury car market and in the category consumer's buying behaviour.Excerpts: Jaguar Land Rover logged its best sales numbers in India in FY25, when the luxury segment grew at 4% and overall car market saw its slowest growth in four years. What are the factors that workedforyou? The new product launchesresonatedstrongly ❝ WHEN A CARMAKER FOCUSES ON TECHNOLOGY, DELIVERABLES ARE MULTIFACETED Continued on Page 5 with our clients.We kicked off FY25 with great launches, including the locally manufactured Range Rover and Range Rover Sport, which received an unprecedented response, more than doubling our business.This was followed by the launch of Range Rover SV Ranthambore Edition, the first ever limited edition crafted for India,thatwassoldoutwithinaweek. The year culminated with the launchofDefenderOCTA,thetoughest,most powerful and most capable Defenderever,thatbolsteredtheportfolio,generatingsurgingdemand. In FY25,JLRIndia reported its highest-ever annual sales,with 6,183 retail sales,representing a 40% year-on-year growth, while the luxury market grew by only 4%. Our best-selling models included Defender, which grew 90%, and the locally manufactured Range Rover and RangeRoverSport, which saw growth of 72% and 42%, respectively. & Continued on Page 11 Aside from his work experience,Abel is known for his love of hockey ■ BRANDWAGON, P9 Energy drinks, the new cola for beverage firms De-premiumisation gathers steam as brands chase volumes ■ PERSONAL FINANCE, P7 Drive green with a battery rider Take battery protection cover when buying insurance for electric vehicle Who is GregoryAbel,Warren Buffett’s successor? MICHAEL J DE LA MERCED May 4 INVESTORS HAD SPECULATED in recent years that Warren Buffett might eventually retire. But the 94-year-old billionaire still surprised many on Saturday,when he announced that he planned to step down as chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway after nearly six decades. Less surprising is who he said he intended to succeed him as the leader of the $1.1 trillion conglomerate he built: Gregory Abel, his yearslong heir apparent. Since 2018, Abel, 62, has been vice chairman of Berkshire’s noninsurancecompanies,the189operating businesses that include the NEW REGIME ■ Since 2018, Abel, 62, has been vice chairman of Berkshire’s non-insurance companies ■ Abel’s vast responsibilities came after a steady rise through Berkshire’s ranks ■ Buffett has praised his heir apparent as an effective executive whom he trusted to make big decisions. BNSFrailroad,oneof the nation’s largest; Berkshire Hathaway Energy, a giant power utility; restaurant chains and retailers like Dairy Queen and the Borsheims jewelry chain; consumer brands such as Fruit of the Loom underwear, Brooks running ■ Abel has assumed more public duties in recent years, including sitting onstage for hours with Buffett at Berkshire’s annual meetings to answer investors’ questions ■ The strengths of Buffett's successor lie more in running businesses shoes and Justin Boot; NetJets, the private jet service; and more. Abel’s vast responsibilities came after a steady rise through Berkshire’s ranks. A native of Edmonton, Alberta, and an accountant by training, he joined the conglomerate in 2000 when Buffett bought a controlling stake in what was MidAmerican Energy, where he was president. Abel was named vice chairman of Berkshire in 2018, anointing him as a potential successorto Buffett, a status that Buffett confirmed in 2021.“The directors are in agreement that if something were to happen to me tonight, it would be Greg who’d take over tomorrow morning,” Buffett told CNBC at the time. Aside from his work experience,Abel is known for his love of hockey, which he played as a child: He is a volunteer coach for his son’s team in Des Moines, where he lives and where Berkshire Hathaway Energy is based. The relatively low-profile Abel has won praise from Buffett and others in the Berkshire orbit over the years for two key qualities. The first is his operating expertise.Hehelpedleadastringofacquisitions that turned MidAmerican — renamed Berkshire Hathaway Energyin2014—intoamajorpower producer. Since his elevation in 2018, he has overseen a much broadercollectionofbusinessesthat together reported more than $5 billioninoperatingearningsinthefirst three months of thisyear. 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