BACK PAGE, P14 COMPANIES, P6 INTERNATIONAL, P9 DRIFTING AWAY FROM BLUEPRINT ‘FOCUS ON GLOBAL MARKETS TOO’ ‘POOR THINGS’ UPSETS ‘BARBIE’ What’s the problem if Rohit and Kohli feature in India’s T20 team? Our defence business has taken off in a big way: Baba Kalyani 'Oppenheimer' starts Oscars march with 5 Golden Globes wins CHENNAI/KOCHI, TUESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2024 FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL NO. XLIV 208, 14 PAGES, `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 SENSEX: 71,355.22 ▼ 670.93 NIFTY: 21,513.00 ▼ 197.80 NIKKEI 225: 33,377.42 ▲ 89.13 HANG SENG: 16,224.45 ▼ 310.88 `/$: 83.14 ▲ 0.03 `/€: 90.94 ▼ 0.18 BRENT: $76.22 ▼ $2.54 GOLD: `62,018 ▼ `295 IN THE NEWS BAJAJ AUTO OKAYS `4,000-CR BUYBACK AT `10,000 A SHARE THE BOARD OF directors of Bajaj Auto on Monday approved the share buyback of up to `4,000 crore at `10,000 per share through a tender offer, reports Geeta Nair. The price is at a premium of 43% to Monday's closing price of `6,985.70. ■ PAGE 8 ADANI GREEN TO REDEEM $750 MN BONDS DUE IN SEPT ADANI GREEN ENERGY on Monday announced plans to fully redeem bonds worth $750 million due in September, eight months ahead of their maturity date, reports Rajesh Kurup. ■ PAGE 8 NBFCs CAPITALISE ON ROBUST DEMAND FOR USED CARS NON-BANKING FINANCIAL companies (NBFCs) are capitalising on the robust demand for used-cars, reports Ajay Ramanathan. The outstanding credit for used cars stood at close to `5,000 crore at the end of September 2023. ■ PAGE 8 LITTLE GAINS FROM FTAWITH EFTA POST SWISS TARIFF MOVE AS INDIAAND the European Union Free Trade Association enter the final rounds of FTA talks, Switzerland’s move to cut its import tariffs on industrial goods to zero has limited the gains that can be derived from the deal for New Delhi, reports Mukesh Jagota. ■ PAGE 2 FE S P E C I A L Why many Boeing Max series planes have been grounded Airlines across countries have grounded Boeing 737 Max planes. We take a look at the reasons behind Boeing's troubles ■ EXPLAINER, P11 SIP CONTRIBUTIONS AT ALL-TIME HIGH MF assets top record `50 trn in December Equity funds see 34th straight month of inflows MILESTONE MAKER Assets under management (` trillion) 50 Continued on Page 9 Large & mid cap 40 SIDDHANT MISHRA Mumbai, January 8 INDIA’S MUTUAL FUND assets crossedthe`50-trillionmarkforthe first time in December2023,hitting `50.77trillion,datafromtheAssociationofMutualFundsinIndia(Amfi) showed.In a sign of howmuch more comfortable Indians are investing theirmoneytoday,ratherthansaving it,inflowsintosystematicinvestment plans (SIPs) touched fresh high of `17,611crore in December2023. Rashesh Shah, chairman, Edelweiss group,observed that even at a level of $50 trillion,we are less than 1% of the global AUM. “We have a long way to go but the success of the SIP should sustain,” Shah told FE.He believes there should be further sachetisation with the `100 ticket size going down to double digits. “We should overtake the `100trillion mark in the next seven years or so,”A Balasubramanian, MD and CEO,Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC,told FE. Small investors, he said, had realised that over a ten-year period MFschemesprovidethebestreturns. CY23 equity flow share (Top 5) net inflow `1.62 trillion Multi cap 30 10 May 2014 Aug 2017 12 20 Nov 2020 Nov 2022 Jan 2024 19 Source: Nuvama Alternative & Quantitative Research; AMFI Yearly SIP flows (` trillion) 0.67 FY17 25 (%) Mid cap Sectoral/ 14 Thematics Source: AMFI 0.44 Small cap 12 FY18 0.93 1.00 0.96 FY19 FY20 1.25 FY21 1.56 1.43 FY22 FY23 9M FY24 Source: Nuvama Alternative & Quantitative Research; AMFI RASHESH SHAH, CHAIRMAN, EDELWEISS GROUP A BALASUBRAMANIAN, MD & CEO, ADITYA BIRLA SUN LIFE AMC WE HAVE A LONG WAYTO GO BUTTHE SUCCESS OF THE SIPs SHOULD SUSTAIN. WE SHOULD OVERTAKE THE `100-TRILLION MARK IN SEVEN YEARS OR SO. Sony, Zee yet to break ice Japanese firm plans DEAL-BREAKER to file notice before ■ Standoff is ■ The agreement signed in 2021 whether January 20 deadline overCEO was that Goenka Zee ANTO ANTONY & PREETI SINGH January 8 SONYGROUP IS planning to call off the merger pact with Zee Entertainment Enterprises,said people familiarwiththematter,cappingtwoyears ofdramaanddelayincreatinga$10billion media giant. The Japanese conglomerate is looking to cancel the deal due to a standoff over whether Zee’s chief executive officerPunit Goenka,also its founder’s son, would lead the merged entity,the people said,asking not to be named as the information is not public. While the agreement signed in 2021 was that Goenka would lead the new company, Sony no longer wantshimasCEOamidaregulatory Punit Goenka would lead the merged entity would lead the new company probe,the people said. Sonyplanstofilethetermination notice before a January 20 extended deadline for closing the deal, saying some of the conditions necessaryfor the merger had not been met,one of thepeoplesaid.Goenkahasstoodhis ground in wanting to helm the ■ However, Sony no longer wants him as CEO amid a regulatory probe ■ Scuttling of the deal will leave Zee vulnerable to possible defaults ■ Also, it’s coming at a time when Reliance is seeking a merger with Walt Disney’s India unit mergedentity,asagreedinitially,over prolonged meetings in the past few weeks,according to anotherperson. Discussions are still ongoing between the two sides and a resolution can still emerge before the deadline. Continued on Page 9 Bloomberg may include India gilts PRASANTA SAHU New Delhi, January 8 BLOOMBERG INDEX SERVICES on Monday proposed including Indian government securities (Gsecs) in its emerging market (EM) local currency index from September, a move that could lead to billions of dollars of capital inflows into the country.This development comes fourmonths after the inclusion of Indian G-secs in JPMorgan’s EM index. After JPMorgan's announcement in September last year, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said that the action could channelise $23 billion in foreign capital flows into India. The additional inflows in G-secs might augment forex reserves,help finance the current account and potentially lead to an appreciation of the rupee against the dollar,analysts have noted. Continued on Page 9 COME SEPTEMBER ■ Bloomberg proposes including India G-secs in its EM local currency index from September ■ This comes four months after the inclusion of Indian gilts in JPMorgan’s EM index DIAL wins `2,300-crore arbitration against AAI FE BUREAU New Delhi, January 8 ON THE RUNWAY THE GMR GROUP-OWNED Delhi InternationalAirports (DIAL) has won an arbitration against state-owned Airports Authority of India (AAI) over revenue sharing during the pandemic period of March 19, 2020, to February 28,2022. Sourcessaidthetribunal’sdirective,which is in favour of DIAL,entails a refund of `500 crore from AAI and a waiver of `1,800-crore payment to the authority. According to a regulatory filing by the GMR Group, the tribunal has also ruled that the concession agreement,which gives it the right to operate the airport till 2036,shall be extended byoneyearand eleven months.AAI is likely to challenge the award. Under the terms of the privatisation agreement established in 2006, Delhi Airport pays 45.99% of its annual revenue as concession fees to AAI. DIAL, which operates the airport, had invoked a force majeure clause to suspend the revenue share agreement, saying the Covid pandemic has impacted traffic flows and revenue. ■ Directives entail a refund of `500 cr and a waiver of `1,800-cr payment from AAI ■ Under the privatisation pact in 2006, Delhi Airport had committed to paying 45.99% of its annual revenue as concession fees to AAI ■ But DIAL sought suspension of revenuesharing agreement temporarily citing pandemic impact ■ Now, DIAL has been excused from making payments for the period between March 19, 2020, and February 28, 2022 InJanuary2021,theDelhiHighCourtprovided an interim relief to the airport for paying the revenue share to AAI until the settlement of arbitration. BOOKINGS FALTER BUT AIRLINES TO CONTINUE FLIGHTS #boycott Maldives gains speed FE BUREAU New Delhi, January 8 THEREHASBEENarisingcalltoboycottthe Maldives as a travel destination by Indians acrosssocialmediaplatforms,butdomestic airlines are not looking to reduce flights to the island nationyet. BookingstothepopulartouristdestinationforIndians,however,havetakenamajor hit after'derogatoryremarks'bysome Maldives ministers made against India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But there has not been any cancellations of flights by the domesticcarriers. Full-service carrierVistara’s chief commercial officer Deepak Rajawat said on Monday that the airline has not cancelled any flight to the Maldives so far and will monitorthedemand.“Thesituationisevolving right now.We will have to monitor in a week orso,” he said in a response to queries. Similarly,sourcesinIndiGosaidthatthe airline has not cancelled flights to the Maldives and has not seen a trend of cancellations byIndian tourists,even though bookings have fallen in the past 36 hours. According to IndianAssociation ofTour Operators(IATO),nonewenquiriesarecom- ALL IN A DAY ■ EaseMyTrip halts flight bookings to the Maldives ■ Indian Chamber of Commerce issues appeal to boycott the island nation ■ MakeMyTrip observes a 3,400% rise in searches for Lakshadweep ■ Ixigo sees a surge of 2,900% in queries for Lakshadweep FLIGHT PLAN ■ Indian carriers to operate 48 flights to the Maldives this week ing for travel to the island nation,but there were no cancellations. OnlinetravelaggregatorEaseMyTriphas halted flight bookings to the island nation, PrashantPitti,CEOandco-founder,said on ■ IndiGo has ■ Air India has Vistara and SpiceJet have seven flights each ■ Maldivian carriers to operate another 10 flights between the two countries 28 flights, six flights to the island nation X.Also, the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC)hasissuedanappealtoallIndiantrade associationsto boycott the Maldives. Continued on Page 9 CHENNAI/KOCHI