KOLKATA, MONDAY, JULY 14, 2025 FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE VOL 34 NO. 215, 22 PAGES, `12 (NORTH EAST STATES `12 & ANDAMAN `20) 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 WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD POINTERTO INDIAINC’S RELUCTANCE ON CAPEX Over300firmsturndebt-free, cashreservesdoubleinFY25 ● Hoarding cashnot idealforlong-term growth: Experts KISHOR KADAM & VIVEAT SUSAN PINTO Mumbai, July 13 AS MANY AS 303 companies turned debt-free in FY25, doubling the cash on their books, in a sign that India Inc remains reluctant to make substantial new investments. The cash on the books of these companies touched `50,463 crore, up from `21,478 crore in FY24. Their debt,at an aggregate level, stood at `28,007 crore in FY24. The data has been collated from a universe of nearly 3,500 listed companies tracked by Capitaline. While the number of debt-companies accounts for just 9% of IN THE NEWS AI crash points to possible Boeing failure: UK lawyers INTERNATIONAL LEGALEXPERTS representing families ofvictims in theAir India crash are pointing fingers at Boeing, stating that preliminary findings suggest a potential failure in its aircraft systems, reports Swaraj Baggonkar. ■ PAGE 4 Inter-state agri trade on e-NAM fails to take off INTER-STATE TRADE on the electronic National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) has declined by nearly 70% in the first quarter of FY26, reports Sandip Das. ■ PAGE 3 Lodha Developers eyes 43% growth in bookings LODHA DEVELOPERS IS looking at bookings of more than `46,000 crore in the next two years, over 43% higher than what it did in the previous two years, reports Raghavendra Kamath. ■ PAGE 5 Sebi’s proposal for AMCs to support foreign flows SEBI’S PROPOSAL TO remove restrictions on MF business expansion under Regulation 24 is being seen as a positive development by the industry, reports Ananya Grover. ■ PAGE 6 FLUSH WITH FUNDS Net debt (in ` cr) FY24 FY25 Company Nagarjuna Fertilizers PTC India Chambal Fertilizers Sobha Developers SignatureGlobal BF Utilities Tata Consumer Premier Energies Welspun Corp Ind-Swift Laboratories Total of top 10 Total of 303 3,231 2,134 1,741 1,266 1,197 1,103 1,023 998 877 844 14,414 28,007 -59 -312 -138 -625 -649 -24 -425 -49 -152 -415 -2,848 -20,511 Cash (in ` cr) FY24 FY25 30 2,193 133 673 736 195 2,454 403 1,072 18 7,907 21,478 78 3,274 236 1,809 1,498 35 2,818 2,002 1,255 432 13,438 50,463 Source: Capitaline the sample, the trend of hoarding cash hardly augurs well for these companies or India Inc in general, experts said. G Chokkalingam, founder at Mumbai-based Equinomics Research, observed that post Covid-19, there has been a growing trend to increase cash reserves as a buffer against future shocks. Continued on Page 18 VIPpromotergroupfirms tosell32%staketoPEs FE BUREAU New Delhi, July 13 STAKE SALE A CLUTCH OF investors, including Multiples Private Equity Fund IV,Multiples Private Equity Gift Fund IV, Samvibhag Securities, Mithun Sancheti and Siddhartha Sancheti, will together acquire a 32% stake in VIP Industries, the company said in a late evening notification to the stock exchanges on Sunday. A total of 45.4 million shares will be acquired from a group of promoters,including Dilip Piramal, and entities such as DGP Securities, Kemp and Company,PiramalVibhuti Investments, Alcon Finance and Investments, DGP Enterprises and Kiddy Plast. The price at which the transaction will take place has not been disclosed. Post the stake sale, Dilip Piramal and group shareholding in the company will come down to 19.73% from 51.73%. ■ The buyers will make a mandatory open offer for an additional 26% stake in the firm ■ It will acquire up to 45.4 mn shares of the firm from group of sellers ■ The price at which the transaction will take place has not been disclosed ■ Post the stake sale, Dilip Piramal and group shareholding in the company will come down to 19.73% from 51.73% The buyers will also make a mandatory open offer to minority shareholders,under the Sebi guidelines, for an additional 26% stake in the company. Shares of VIP Industries ended Friday’s session at `456. 40, on the Bombay Stock Exchange,up 1.7% over Thursday’s close. The stock has gained more than 10% in the last one month. Post the stake, the group shareholding and that of Dilip Piramal and others will come down to 19.73% from 51.73%. Media reports have indicated that the promoters of VIP Industries have been exploring a stake sale for some time now. GSTrate rejig: Shah to forge consensus LIZ MATHEW & AANCHAL MAGAZINE New Delhi, July 13 WITH THE GOVERNMENT keen to impart urgency to overhauling the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, Union home minister Amit Shah has been roped in to coordinate with all stakeholders — states as well as Central ministries — to resolve contentious outstanding issues. Amongst the manyproposals on the table, one to do away with the 12% slab has been hanging fire for long. This involves shifting some items to the lower 5% slab, and some others to the higher 18% slab. Though this would simplify the multiple ratestructure,itisestimatedto result in significant revenue losses of `70,000-80,000 crore for the Centre and states combined, top sources said. “Any tweaks in GST structure right now, especiallywhen it has stabilised after eight years of rollout, are not going to be easy.Alot of factorswillbeinconsideration, and revenue loss is a big factor. No state, whether Opposition or BJP, will accept the proposals easily.Therefore, the home minister plans to hold discussions with states beforehand,” the source said. “Therearecertainimportant and sensitive decisions coming upandthestateshavetobeconvinced. So it’s important the home minister is in the loop. Whenever there’s a third-party evaluation beyond the finance minister, the home minister is ropedin,”saidasource. Continued on Page 18 Players discount a 100 basis points fall in returns Margin squeeze forpvt credit MAHESH NAYAK Mumbai, July 13 MUTED SENTIMENTS INDIA’S PRIVATE CREDIT market, a high-yield safehaven for investors, is now grappling with return expectations. As the asset class matures and attracts a broader mix of players from institutional stalwarts to wealth managers to mutual fund-led AIFs, the competitive intensity has surged, compressing yields and reshaping the economics of deal-making. Over the past year, the internal rate of return (IRR) in performing credit has declined by nearly 100 basis points,with many funds now operating in the 13–14% range, down from the earlier 15–16% benchmark.Priyam ■ Over the past year, the internal rate of return (IRR) in performing credit has declined by nearly 100 basis points ■ Many funds now operate in the 13–14% range, down from the earlier 15–16% benchmark ■ Analysts attribute it to a strategic recalibration due to softer consumption trends and export volatility Kedia,senior fund manager at Vivriti Asset Management, said,“It’s a strategic recalibration due to softer consumption trends and export volatility. In our third generation of funds, we are targeting 15.5% IRR, compared to 16-16.5% in our second fund,as our thesis has moved from cash flow to cash flow plus security for downside protection.” Kediasaidit'sbacktobasics, protectingyourdownsidewith collateral and accepting slightly lower returns amid concerns over cash flows.“This ■ Distributors now command 60–65 bps out of the typical 150 bps fee pool, leaving fund managers with limited room to invest in diligence and governance ■ The proliferation of funds, many targeting similar midmarket borrowers, has led to a crowded pipeline of deals, often closed within 10–15 days erosionisnotmerelycyclical,it reflectsastructuralshiftdriven by aggressive underwriting, fasterclosures,andadilutionin covenant discipline, said a senior fund manager from the domestic alternative fund. Continued on Page 11 Kolkata