COMPANIES | PAGE 4 ECONOMY | PAGE 2 Only4%ofcentralgovtstaff optforguaranteedpension BACK PAGE | PAGE 24 Focusingongreenhydrogen, ammonia: L&TdeputyMD MUMBAI, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2025 Chinawidens focus on tech self-reliance in 5-year plan FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL LXV NO. 251, 24 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 SENSEX: 84,556.40 ▲ 130.06 NIFTY: 25,891.40 ▲ 22.80 NIKKEI 225: 48,641.61 ▼ 666.18 HANG SENG: 25,967.98 ▲ 186.21 `/$: 87.85 ▲ 0.08 `/€: 101.85 ▲ 0.70 BRENT: $65.64 ▲ $3.05 GOLD: `1,26,854 ▼ `2,974* *Prv close HERO MOTOCORP ON Thursday said that it has entered the UK market through a partnership with MotoGB, marking its 51st international presence, reports Nitin Kumar. The move boosts its growing European footprint. ■ PAGE 4 FE S P EC I A L S Having a good innings With record viewership, women’s cricket is no longer a sideshow ■ BRANDWAGON, P9 How Atlas makes online search smarter Atlas is reimagining browsing as a dialogue rather than the traditional ‘sequence of clicks’ ■ EXPLAINER, P9 1.5 1.0 4 0 2022 2023 2024 2025* *2025 data as of October 23 Soure: Kpler/Bloomberg Crude prices on the rise 2 0 Brent crude prices ($ per barrel) Sept 2023 66.08 Oct 2025* *October import volumes are till date Source: Kpler/Bloomberg »INSIDE« RUSSIAWILL NEVER BOWTO US PRESSURE: PUTIN P7 EU BOOSTS ALLIES’ PUSH TO HIT RUSSIAN ENERGY P7 OPEC READYTO RAISE OUTPUT, IF NEEDED P6 renewed threat of disruption to Russian supplies galvanises a global oil market that has been bracing itself for a dramatic supply glut. Continued on Page 7 1,465 1,448 1.17% 64.23 Open RIL stock sees a fall IST 9.45 PM Oct 21 (close) Oct 23 (close) TataTrusts proposes to No Modi-Trump meet: PM to reappoint joinASEAN summitvirtually Mistry for life PRIME MINISTER NARENDRA Modi will not travel to Malaysia for the ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) leaders’ summit, but will attend the meetingvirtuallyonOctober 26 instead. This precludes anypossible meeting between Modi and US President Donald Trump, who were widely anticipated to meet on the sidelines of the summit (October 26-28) in Kuala Lumpur.The possible meeting was seen as key to a thaw in the bilateral ties between the two countries, where chillhassetinovertheimposition of 50% tariffs by the US on Indian goods. —ENS CiplatomarketEliLilly’sweight-lossdrug MANU KAUSHIK New Delhi, October 23 GLOBAL DRUG MAJOR Eli Lilly has signed an agreement with Cipla allowing the Indian company to sell its popular weight-loss drug tirzepatide under a separate brand in the country, the two companies said on Thursday. Under the agreement,Lilly will manufacture and supply the drug to Cipla which will market it under the brand name Yurpeak. Yurpeakwill be available to Indian patients as a onceweekly pre-filled injector pen, same as Lilly’s Mounjaro Kwikpen, and at the same price. Each pen contains four WIDER ACCESS ■ Tirzepatide belongs to a class of therapies that help control blood sugar and slow digestion ■ India has about 101 million people with diabetes and nearly 100 million adults with obesity fixed doses, and it will be available in six dose strengths, allowing healthcare professionals to personalise treatment plans to better suit individual patient needs. WINSELOW TUCKER, PRESIDENT & GM, LILLY INDIA Broader availability of tirzepatide will ensure that more patients can benefit from this innovative therapy Thearrangementwillallow broader access to the drug across the country beyond citieswhereLillyalreadyhasan established presence. Lilly is already selling the drug in India under the Mounjaro brand name which was launched in March this year. “With India facing a growing burden of type 2 diabetes and obesity, broader availability of tirzepatide will ensure that more patients can benefit from this innovative therapy. The introduction of a second brand of tirzepatide in India through our commercial agreement with Cipla furthers Lilly’s commitment to expanding access to innovative treatments for chronic conditions,” said Winselow Tucker, president and general manager at Lilly India. Continued on Page 7 TATATRUSTS HAS circulated a proposal to reappoint Mehli Mistryasatrusteeforthreeofits philanthropic bodies, a move thatwould make him a lifetime trustee, according to people familiarwith the development. The circular, issued by the CEO of Tata Trusts to other trustees on Thursday, seeks Mistry’s reappointment to the SirRatanTataTrust,SirDorabji TataTrustandBaiHirabaiJamsetji Tata Navsari Charitable Institution. The development comes amid reported internal divisions in the organisation. Mistry was first appointed to Tata Trusts in 2022. His three-year term ends on October 28. When contacted, Tata Trusts declined to comment. Earlierthisweek,TataTrusts had unanimously reappointed VenuSrinivasanasatrusteefor life.According to sources, Mistry and three other trustees — Pramit Jhaveri, Jehangir HC JehangirandDariusKhambata —whileapprovingSrinivasan’s reappointment,had put a condition that all renewals of trustees in future be approved unanimously, failing which their approval for Srinivasan would be withdrawn. Tata Trusts holds a 66% stake in Tata Sons — the holding companyof theTata Group. —PTI 2,690 HINDUSTAN UNILEVER (HUL), the country’s largest consumer goods company, will focus on four key areas — consumer cohorts, modernising brands,transforming its marketing and sales machinery, and investment in future channels such as quick commerce — to drive its next phase of growth under the leadership of CEO & MD Priya Nair. In her first post-results media briefing on Thursday, Nair,who took over the role in August, emphasised that the companywouldconcentrateon volume-led growth to boost overallsalesgrowthasprice-led growthwaslikelytobesoftwith commoditypricesbeingbenign andgoodsandservicestax(GST) cut on 40% of its portfolio. HULreported a 3%year-onyearriseinstandalonenetprofit forthesecondquarterofFY26to `2,690crore,cushionedbyonetime gains. Excluding these gains,profitfell5%,whilestandalone revenue was flat at `15,585 crore and Ebitda mar- 2,612 Others 15,585 3,563 Lukoil 3,647 Rosneft 2.0 Net profit Ebitda margin (%) 0.5 -2.3 3.0 23.5 Source: Company 22.9 Q2FY25 % chg, y-o-y Q2FY26 PRIYA NAIR, CEO & MANAGING DIRECTOR, HUL HULwillconcentrate onvolume-led growthtoboost overallsalesgrowth ginsnarrowedby60basispoints. Nair’snewstrategycomesat a critical juncture as HUL preparestoharnessthebenefitsof favourable macro-economic fundamentals including GST cuts, and lower income tax, food inflation and repo rate,as well as good rainfall. “The consumer products business in India is not a zerosum game. Having come back to India after four years (from Unileverin London),what I see here is that the consumermarket is constantly evolving. We will continue to evolve as India evolves,”she said. Continued on Page 7 Marketsrisefor6 sessions in a row BENCHMARK EQUITYINDICES extended their winning streak to a sixth straight session onThursday, driven by optimism over a potential trade deal with the US. Over this period, the Sensex gained 2,526.42 points (3.08%) and the Nifty rose 745.90 points (2.97%). — Compiled by Kishor Kadam Sensex 84,5 84,556.40 close Intra-day, Oct 23 ct 85,154.15 5 130.06 points 0.15% Open 84,426 26.34 84,426.34 Previo close vious Previous p oral Top sectoral gainers (% gain) 2.26 IT 1.17 TECK Bank Metal FMCG 1.17 0.16 0.14 Net equity investments (in ` crore) Oct 15 Oct 16 FPIs DIIs Oct 17 Oct 20 3,894 Hero MotoCorp to make UK foray with Hunk 440 Other suppliers Q2FY26 Ebitda -1,166 BEGINNING NEXT MONTH, bank customers can opt for up to four nominees in their accounts with a view to ensuring uniformity, and efficiency in claim settlement across the banking system, reports PTI. ■ PAGE 6 (in million bpd) Russia 6 Q2FY25 Revenue 97 -607 Bank customers can now opt for up to 4 nominees (in million barrels/day) VIVEAT SUSAN PINTO Mumbai, October 23 (` cr) 2,485 DIGITAL TRANSACTIONS IN most categories have grown consistently over the last three-and-a-half years, according to the Payment Systems Report released by the Reserve Bank of India for the half year ended June on Thursday, reports fe Bureau. ■ PAGE 6 REFINERS IN INDIA — in particular Reliance Industries (RIL) — are poised to sharply reduce imports of Russian oil after the Donald Trump administration announced sanctions on state-run oil giants Rosneft and Lukoil.The two companies account for about 60% of the volumes purchased by Indian refiners. RIL, sources said, will have to stop importing oil under its long-term deal to buy nearly 500,000 barrels per day of crude from Rosneft. RIL, India’slargestbuyerofRussian crude, accounting for roughly half of the country’s 1.7 million barrels per day of imports from Moscow, has no option but to recalibrate its imports. “Reliance will be fully aligned to GoI (Government of India) guidelines,” a Reliance spokesman said in response to a query by Reuters on whether the company plans to cut its crude imports from Russia. The RIL stock ended 1.17% lower at `1,448.05 on the Bombay Stock Exchange. Nayara Energy, in which Rosneft holds a 49.13% stake, is the other big private sector buyer of Russian oil. The company,which operates a 20-million-tonne-a-year oil refinery atVadinar in Gujarat, has already been sanctioned by the European Union and it may have to recalibrate its purchases. Oil prices immediately spiked in response to the sanctions,with Brent advancing as much as 5.50% at 9.45 PM on Thursday to trade above $66 a barrel. The Rosneft, Lukoil are India’s top Russian crude suppliers HUL standalone financials 764 RBI report maps shifting consumer payment trends FE BUREAU & AGENCIES New Delhi, October 23 Russia has been India’s largest oil supplier since 2023 EVOLVING MARKET 882 1,527 INDIAAND THE US hope to enter into a “fair and equitable” trade deal in the near future, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday, reports Mukesh Jagota. ■ PAGE 3 bill may go up by less than 2%: Icra SQUEEZING MOSCOW’S WAR CHEST Q2 profit rise 3%, expects better H2 2,152 4,076 India-US trade deal in near future: Goyal ● India’s import ● FMCG firm sees 4,650 THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT, which has been working on a compact version of a credit guarantee scheme for MSMEs similar to the Covidera financial relief package, may roll it out only in the next quarter as modalities are taking time to be worked out, sources said, reports Prasanta Sahu. ■ PAGE 2 Russian oil imports set to plunge after US sanctions Consumerproductsbiznot zero-sum game: HULCEO 15,508 ‘Compact’ credit cover scheme for MSMEs likely by Q4 RELIANCE MAYHALTPURCHASES FROM ROSNEFT,LUKOIL 696 IN THE NEWS Oct 21 Oct 23 Growing wealth management industry creates demand for relationship managers Salaries soaring,yet seasoned RMs hard to come by NESIL STANEY Mumbai, October 23 INDIA’S $1.1-TRILLION (`88 lakh crore) wealth management industry, which is expected to more than double to $2.3 trillion (around `200 lakh crore) byFY29,iswitnessing an unparalleled high demand for experienced relationship managers (RMs). Sample this: Bhupinder Singh, founder of InCred Group, says he wants 300 RMs in the near term. The demand is similar at 360One and ASK Wealth, while Gautam Kalia,head of investment solutions and distribution at MiraeAsset Sharekhan,wants to hire 400 RMs immediately. “Wealth management is more profitable than mutual funds’specialised investment funds (SIFs), growing significantly faster and no firm in the business is able to get enough RMs,” laments Kalia. Ajay Menon, whole-time director & CEO of wealth management business at Motilal Oswal Financial Services (MOFSL), is also on the RM hunt,particularly in Tier2 and Tier-3 cities where his firm is expanding. According to industry players, top wealth management companies have built a war chest of over `3,000 crore to hire top-rung RMs. “Top RMs are not just sales people but mini-chief investment officers (CIOs) to clients,” said Feroze Azeez, Joint CEO,Anand Rathi WAGE WAR ■ The number of high networth individuals rose by ■ Top wealth management companies have built a war chest of over 5.6% `3,000 cr to hire top-rung RMs, industry players say ■ A Deloitte India report to 378,810 ■ India witnessed a significant wealth boom in 2024, adding more than in 2024 ■ Number of family has underlined significant unmet demand for wealth management services 33,000 amillionaires in single year Wealth.The additional benefit that these RMs provide is a ready book of clients, which firms see as a faster and more cost-effective route to shore up theirassetsundermanagement. The rise in the number of new millionaires (investible assets between $1 million to $5 million) has been quite staggering. India witnessed a significant wealth boom in offices has risen from 45 in 2018 to 300 by 2024 2024, adding more than 33,000 millionaires in a single year, according to the World Wealth Report 2025 by Capgemini Research Institute. The number of high networth individuals rose by 5.6% to 378,810, up from around 345,000 in 2023.The number offamilyofficeshasrisenfrom 45 in 2018 to 300 by 2024, according to an E&Y report. According to the latest Deloitte India report, the demand for wealth managementservicesintermsofassets under management (AUM) is expected to more than double, climbing from US$1.1 trillion in FY24 to US$2.3 trillion by FY29. The report underlined significant unmet demand for wealth management services. In this backdrop, the high demand for RMs is not at all surprising, neither are the whopping salaries. A upper middle or senior level RM can easily attract annual salaries of `1 crore,excluding bonuses for exceeding targets. “Firms increasingly pay richer variable components, long-term incentives including deferred bonus, retention bonus, ESOPs, and clienttransferfees to protect against churn and to align RMs with AUM growth,” said Anuj Kapoor, MD & CEO of private wealth at JM Financial. Newer and smaller wealth management firms are also under intense pressure to offer even higher packages to hire and retain.“That’s creating intense competition for experienced RMs, upward pressure on the pay — large lateral hikes and sign-on bonuses,”he added. Continued on Page 7
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