ECONOMY | PAGE 2 COMPANIES | PAGE 5 RILgets US concession to buy oil from Russia INTERNATIONAL | PAGE 7 IndiGo:Backtoflying1mn customersevery3days MUMBAI, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2025 Khaleda son tipped to be next PM of Bangladesh FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL LXV NO. 304, 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 SENSEX: 85,408.70 ▼ 116.14 NIFTY: 26142.10 ▼ 35.05 NIKKEI 225: 50,344.10 ▼ 68.77 HANG SENG: 25,818.93 ▲ 44.79 `/$: 89.78 ▼ 0.12 `/€: 105.94 ▼ 0.19 BRENT: $62.38 < > $0.00 GOLD: `136,139 ▲ `289 — DELHIMETRO:CABINETOKAYS `12K-CREXPANSIONPAGE 3 MARKETS PAGE 6 SME KEY FOCUS AREA FOR GENERALI CENTRAL INSURANCE, SAYS MD & CEO ANUP RAU 6%ofBJPdonations fromindividuals, shareofCong26% INDIVIDUALS ACCOUNT FOR just 5.6%of the total donations to the BJP, with the remaining amount coming from electoral trusts, corporations and other businesses, while the Congress got 26% of its contributions from individual donors, the parties’ annual contribution reports of 2024-2025 show. ■ PAGE 3 manufactures ACs, refrigerators, televisions, etc from its two facilities in Pune and Greater Noida INDUSIND BANK ON Tuesday received a letter from the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) seeking information as part of an investigation into accounting irregularities. The probe is linked to internal derivativetrades, certain unsubstantiated balances under “other assets” and “other liabilities”,and the recognitionofmicrofinance interest and fee income. The bank said it had earlier informed exchanges that the SFIO had interacted with its officials and that a written communication seeking specific details was awaited. “Thebankcontinuestogive fullcooperationandsupportto thelawenforcementagencies,” itsaidintheexchangefilingon Wednesday. The probe follows disclo- W OF THE YEAR ■ Over the past seven years, the company has delivered a compound annual growth rate of around 25% in India »INSIDE« STONEPEAK, CPPIB LOOKTO BUY CASTROLINDIASHARES PAGE 4 In a joint statement, the partners said the strategic collaboration would accelerate HaierIndia’sgrowthandexpansionbycombiningHaier’sglobal capabilities in product innovation with Bharti’s domestic standing and networks, alongsideWarburgPincus’experience inscalingconsumerbrandsinto marketleaders.Thecapitalinfusion is expected to strengthen Haier India’s competitiveness acrossthevaluechain,including manufacturing, distribution, productdevelopmentandafter- IndusIndslip-ups underSFIOprobe FE BUREAU Mumbai, December 24 NEWSMAKERS ■ Haier India sures made in March,when an internal review flagged accounting discrepancies in the derivatives portfolio. The bank later reversed `1,959.98 crore of accumulated notional profits arising from internal derivatives transactions carried out between FY16 and FY24. IndusIndBank also set off `595 crore of unsubstantiated balances under “other assets” and “other liabilities”. Separately,errorsin income recognition in the microfinance portfolio led to reversals and higher provisions,contributingtoanetloss of `2,329 crore in Q4 FY25. The private sector lender reported last month accounting lapses in the derivative portfolio, estimated to have an adverse impact of approximately 2.35% of the bank’s net worth as of December 2024. sales service. The domestic consumer appliances market has been growing steadily,supported by rising disposable incomes, changinglifestylesandincreasing penetration of white goods beyond large urban centres. Haier India currently ranks among the top three consumer durables companies in the country across several categories. Over the past seven years, the company has delivered a compound annual growth rate of around 25% in India, one of the fastest in the sector, driven by broad-based demand across product segments and geographies. Continued on Page 7 RICH PICKINGS Promoters, private equity and venture capital players have cashed in on the strong appetite in the primary market in 2025 to sell stakes at lofty valuations. Of the total funds raised via IPOs in 2025, the share of OFS (offers for sale) was a shade over 63%, the highest in three years. Compiled by Kishor Kadam 2025 IPOs: CATEGORY-WISE SELLING SHAREHOLDERS IN OFS (in ` crore) TOP PROMOTERS SELLING IN IPOs 11,607 LG Electronics Individuals 846 Prudential Corporation Holdings Indian Company HDFC Bank 3,479 Others 10,603 10,000 8,752 CA Magnum Holdings 3,644 Tata Sons FI/Banks 7,498 Tenneco Mauritius Holdings 3,600 PE/VCs 20,644 3,858 79,035 Promoters Embassy Buildcon Kapur Family Trust Total 2,294 2,000 Orkla Asia Pacific 1,501 Canara Bank 1,460 1,11,506 Source: Primedatabase.com STARTUP PROMOTERS SELLING IN IPOs Alakh Pandey Peyush Bansal 190 (in ` crore) Sanjeev Kumar 178 (in ` crore) Ankit Garg 151 824 Swapnil Babanlal Jain 31 US-built communications satellite India's heaviest commercial launch till date Isrolaunchessatellitefordirect-to-phonebroadband POULOMI CHATTERJEE Bengaluru, December 24 INDIA ON WEDNESDAY carried out its heaviest commercial satellite launch till date, placing a US-built communications satellite into low Earth orbit in a mission that underscores the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (Isro’s) expanding role in the global commercial launch market and its ability to handle high-value foreign payloads. The mission involved the launch of BlueBird Block-2, a next-generation mobile broadband satellite developed by US-based AST SpaceMobile, aboard Isro’s LVM3 rocket from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre. Weighing about 6.5 tonne, the satellite is designed to NARENDRA MODI, PM, ON X India continues to soar higher in the world of space! »EXPLAINER« WHATMAKES BLUEBIRD LAUNCH SIGNIFICANT PAGE 9 Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) Chairman V Narayanan (fourth from left) with other scientists after the successful launch of LVM3-M6 carrying BlueBird Block-2 communication satellite from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on Wednesday deliver direct 4G and 5G connectivity to unmodified smartphones, particularly in remote and under-served regions where terrestrial mobile networks are limited or absent. Once fully deployed in PTI orbit, the satellite will unfurl a phased-array antenna spanning around 223 square metres, making it the largest commercial communications antenna ever flown in low Earth orbit. According to AST SpaceMobile,the system can generate thousands of cellular beams and support peak download speeds of up to 120 Mbps, enabling voice calls,messaging and data services, including video streaming, without reliance on ground-based infrastructure. Isro said the satellite was injected into its intended orbit with precision and that all stages of the launch vehicle performed as planned. “The mission has been executed successfully and the satellite has been placed into the desired orbit,” the space agency said, adding that post-launch operations were proceeding normally. For Isro, the launch marks a new benchmark in its commercial operations. Continued on Page 7 Minorupticklikely inrailways’capex to`2.75lakhcrore MANU KAUSHIK New Delhi, December 24 BUDGETARY SUPPORT FOR Indian Railways'capital expenditure(capex)islikelytowitness modestgrowthinFY27withthe transporter likely to get `2.75 lakhcrore,upjust3.7%fromthe Budget Estimate forthe current year, an official told FE. The freeze on use of extra Budget resources (EBR) to meet the transporter's investment requirements will continue,the sourceadded. The marginal increase in budgetaryallocation(grossbudgetary support) for next fiscal willcomeinthebackdropofthe railways achieving a record capex utilisation of 56.5% or `1.42 lakh crore in the first half ofFY26. Afterarecordbudgetaryallocation of `2.62 lakh crore in FY25, the ‘outlay in FY26 was kept the same largely owing to significant under-utilisation of theFY25funds’. The official said that despite therobustcapexspendinginthe firstsixmonthsofFY26,thefullyearspendingwilllikelybeinthe rangeof80-85%oftheBE. “Nearly10-15%ofthecommitted expenditure is expected to remain unutilised because projects get stalled due to clearanceissues,etc.Autilisationrate of over80% is common in large infrastructuresegmentslikethe railways. The railways is also focusing on attracting significant investments through PPP (public-private partnership) UTILISATION LAGS Gross budgetary support Extra budgetary resources Total capex (` lakh cr) 1.9 2.0 2.6 2.7 2.7 3.0 2.5 2.0 0.1 FASTER CHEQUE CLEARANCE DEADLINE POSTPONED PAGE 6 `15,000 cr FY26* 2.55 » INSIDE « 49% DEMONISEDFORTOOLONGISNOWTHE BULL-ELEPHANTREMAKINGEVERYTHING 0.1 THE BOND MARKET rallied on Wednesday, with the yield on benchmark 10-year government securities falling 9 basis points to 6.54% on the back of unexpectedly large liquidity measures by the RBI, which provided the much-needed boost, reports Christina Titus. 49% Bharti + Warburg not disclosed but Haier India’s enterprise value is pegged at FY25^ 2.55 RBI BONANZA: YIELDS FALL 9 BPS TO 6.54% Haier Employees Group 2% ● THEELEPHANTINTHEROOMIGNOREDOR ■ The deal value was 0.16 PAGE 6 BHARTI ENTERPRISES, LED by Sunil Bharti Mittal and global privateequityfirmWarburgPincusonWednesdayannounceda strategic investment in Haier India,the Indian arm of China’s HaierGroup,markingoneofthe largestrecenttransactionsinthe consumerdurablessector. Following completion of the transaction,Bharti Enterprises and Warburg Pincus will collectivelyhold a 49% stake in Haier India.Haier Group will retain a matching 49% stake,while the remaining 2% will be held by employees.The companies did notdisclosethedealvalueorvaluation,though industry executives estimate Haier India’s enterprise value at around `15,000crore,underscoringthe scaleofthebusinessbuiltbythe Chinese major since entering Indiatwodecadesago. HaierIndiamanufacturesair conditioners,refrigerators,televisions,washing machines and kitchen appliances from two production facilities located in Pune and Greater Noida. The companyhassteadilyexpanded localmanufacturingandsourcing as part of its Made in India, Made for India strategy,even as competition in the consumer durablesmarkethasintensified amidaggressivepricingandfrequentproductrefreshcycles. MULTIPLE BIZ BET FY24 2.45 MARKETS OJASVI GUPTA New Delhi, December 24 0.41 THE US DECISION to end the H-1B lottery system and move to a wage-weighted selection framework is expected to disproportionately benefit large US-based technology firms that recruit specialised talent and are willing to pay higher salaries, according to industry experts, reports Urvi Malvania. Bharti,Warburgbuy Chaos & calm in 49%inHaierIndia a world of churn 1.5 1.0 0.5 0.0 FY23 1.62 H-1B LOTTERYEXIT TO BENEFITBIG USTECH FIRMS were wrong again. Those watching from the margins of everything, though, can see everything. The difference in how young Americans reacted to 2016 and 2024 is stark. In November 2016, people in the Bay Area wept. The first woman president did not happen on their watch and on their vote. In November 2024, the reaction was strangely subdued.Was it resignation? Relief? Reluctant acceptance? VAMSEE JULURI Whatever the inner reasons for this quiet indifference, it HEN DONALD seemed reality was back in TRUMP charge.Whatever one saw and announced his said in their glass screen fancandidature to tasies and social media silos, run for president a second in real life, on street corners, time, it seemed improbable for campus lawns, cafes and many Americans that he could malls, one had to learn to live be re-elected. Since then, once again – with 'difference', much has changed. as they say.Your neighbour, What has disappeared friend, family member could most of all is a sense have voted for him. of certainty that the But you could not HEADLINES carry what you had next day would be like the previous one. in your mind or your OF THE YEAR Trump, it is said, heart across a limit. ON PAGE 16 has upended the You had to accept world order.Alliances and reality. agreements have been And for the realities that remade.Tariffs and visa-barri- are still, glaringly, unaccepters erected. Friends and eneable, there are words one mies and ‘frenemies’ from dreams of — hope, change, jusaround the world shown their tice. For this, there are posters, places brashly on live streams, classes, opportunities, spaces like faces in a hall of mirrors. and all that – still. But it canIn 2016, serious men and not be the protest seasons of women thought the US elec2017 or 2020 anymore. tions would pass like a circus Patience, it seems, is the going through town.They lesson life has taught everywere wrong. In 2021, they body,while both chaos and thought the act of 'cancelling' calm seem to exist in the same a former president on live TV place and time. and social media would mean Continued on Page 7 he would never return.They 0.71 PAGE 4 DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE US FY22 1.19 COMPANIES CONGLOMERATELINESUPFORBIGPLAYINAPPLIANCES SHYAM KR PRASAD IN THE NEWS Extra budgetary resources include market borrowing & PPPs; *Budget estimates ^Revised estimates; Source: Budget documents RUN-UP TO THE BUDGET 2026-27 mode in FY27, especially to expand track capacity,” the officialsaid. Continued on Page 7 QUICK PICKS Adanitoraise Gold, silver hit `1KcrviaNCDs fresh highs ADANI ENTERPRISES PLANS a public issue of secured, rated and listed NCDs worth up to `1,000 crore, including a `500 crore base issue with a green shoe option, the company said in an exchange filing on Wednesday, reports Bloomberg. GOLD BROKE ABOVE $4,500 an ounce for the first time on Wednesday while silver hit an all-time high of $72.70 and platinum scaled new highs of $2,377.50, as safe-haven demand and expectations of further US rate cuts fuelled interest in precious metals, report agencies. ■ PAGE 6