COMPANIES | PAGE 4 BRANDWAGON | PAGE 9 INTERNATIONAL | PAGE 11 Telcoslikelytobuyunder 40%ofspectrumsale RimZim’sethnicdrinksbet needsmorethannostalgia AHMEDABAD, MONDAY, MARCH 2, 2026 Nvidiaformsalliance forAI-powered6G FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL NO. XX 229, 26 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 THE NEWS T20 WORLD CUP: INDIA BEAT WI, STORM INTO SEMIS SANJU SAMSON STRUCK a magnificent unbeaten 97 as India beat West Indies by five wickets in a must-win Super 8 clash to book their semifinal berth at the T20 World Cup. India face England in the semifinals at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on March 5. Bangladesh govt not to scrap pact with Adani Power THE NEW GOVERNMENT in Bangladesh said it will not cancel the power purchase agreement with Adani Power signed during the tenure of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, reports Raghavendra Kamath. ■ PAGE 5 Amazoncutsseller feesonproducts under`1,000 AMAZON INDIA HAS announced a major cut in the fees it charges sellers, stepping up its challenge to local rivals, reports Ayanti Bera. From March 16, itwill waive referral fees on products priced below `1,000. ■ PAGE 4 War in West Asia, worry in markets Ayatollah,topleaderskilled:Defiant Brent prices flare up; Russian focus Iranunleashesdeadlyretaliation cargoes come back inOpec+agrees ● Every $10 rise to ARSALAN SHAHLA & PATRICK SYKES March 1 up annual import bill by $14 billion THE US SAID the first Americans have been killed in a war withIranthat’sspreadtoseveral countries in West Asia, while threatening to upend energy markets.ThreeUSservicemembers were killed and five “seriously wounded”during operations against the Islamic Republic,USCentralCommand said on Sunday. President Donald Trump said in a social media post earlier that Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had been killed.Iran confirmed the newshourslater,sayingthegovernmentwillobserve40daysof national mourning for the 86year-oldruler,whowaskilledin his office compound. “Heavy and pinpoint bombing, however, will continue uninterrupted throughout the week or as long as necessary,” Trump said. Iran President Masoud Pezeshkian, in his first address to the country said that the country’s military “will leave enemies hopeless.” The war spread across the regiononSunday,adayafterthe US and Israel started attacks on the Islamic Republic,drawing a swiftandwidespreadresponse. SAURAVANAND New Delhi, March 1 Government supporters gather in mourning after state TV officially announced the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in Tehran on Sunday DONALD TRUMP, MOHAMMAD BAQER QALIBAF, They better not do that (retaliation by Iran), however, because if they do, we will hit them with a force that has never been seen before! I say to Trump and Netanyahu and their agents and proxies...you have crossed our red line, and you must pay the price for it PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES SPEAKER, IRAN'S PARLIAMENT Continued on Page 13 THE WAR THAT erupted in West Asia on February 28 has triggered an oil shock that is now rippling through global markets and straight into India’s economic calculus. Brent crude prices had surged from around $65 per barrel to $72-73 on Friday,the highest since July, buoyed by growing concern over the potential attacks that arrived a day later. On Sunday, prices jumped 10%toabout$80abarrelover the counter, oil traders told Reuters,joltingenergymarkets and placing the Strait of Hor- OIL TURMOIL Brent crude prices ($ per barrel) 75 70 72.48 .48 REUTERS London/Moscow,March1 60.75 65 60 55 Jan 2 onmodestoil outputboost Feb 27 Source: Investing.com muz—thenarrowarterycarrying nearly half of India’s crude imports — underthe spotlight. Continued on Page 2 OPEC+ AGREED A modest oil output boost of 206,000 barrels per day forApril on Sunday just as the US-Israeli war on Iran and Tehran's retaliation disrupted oil flows from key members of the producer group in West Asia. Opec+ has a history of raisingoiloutputtocushion disruptions but analysts saidthegroupcurrentlyhas littlesparecapacity. Continued on Page 11 Stock markets on the edge; Rupeelikelyto openweak,yield bullion prices set to surge THE ESCALATING CONFLICT in the West Asia is expected to hurt Indian stock markets which have already been bruised due to tariffs, believe experts. While the likelihood of a prolonged, full-scale conflict remains uncertain, the situation continues to be marked by fragile ceasefire efforts and persistent strategic tensions. For India, a country heavily dependent on crude oil imports, the immediate fallout will be mounting inflationary pressures, driven by surging energy prices. PAGE 7 torise:Experts THE RUPEE AND the bond market are gearing up for a turbulent Monday as the sudden escalation of the Iran–US conflict triggers a global flight to safety, pushes crude oil higher. PAGE 7 Freshexportbookingsputonhold ●Govtcallsmeeting ofplayersinvolved inexportlogistics MUKESH JAGOTA New Delhi, March 1 THE WAR IN West Asia has sparked panic among exporters and trade logistics providers, as fresh bookings and loading have been put on hold and ships on a major sea route are suddenly stranded. West Asia has major routes throughwhichIndia’sexportsto thebiggestmarketsoftheUnited StatesandEuropepass.Together, these three regions account for 56% of India’s merchandise exports.Thefreshthreattoestablished supplychains emerged as exportershopedtostepupshipments to the US,taking advan- » INSIDE « SHIPMENT FREEZE EDIT: OIL PRICES ARE BOUND TO SPIKE WITH A FULL-BLOWN CONFLICT IN WEST ASIA PAGE 8 ■ The US, Europe, West Asia export routes crippled by conflict ■ Fresh threat to supply chains emerges as US tariff cut boosted exporters' hopes ■ FIEOkeepsfingers crossed,awaits clarityonfreight, routes,insurance tage of the replacement of the 50% country-specific US tariff on Indian goods with a 10% globalbaselinetariff. “There are no freight carriers available to book the shipments.The ships that have not ~$240 bn exports to US, Europe and West Asia face immediate blockade crossed the Red Sea are stuck and undecided whether to move or not,” said Rajaraman DC, chief operating officer (COO) of STEER Engineering. Continued on Page 2 INDIA MUST AGAIN WALK DIPLOMATIC TIGHTROPE, WRITES HARSH V PANT PAGE 8 INDIAN CARRIERS CANCEL 750 FLIGHTS IN 2 DAYS PAGE 6 IMPORTED FERTILISERS, LNG MAY TURN COSTLIER PAGE 6 INDIA INC BRACES FOR PRICE HIKES PAGE 6 Sebi has removed all key hurdles forFPIs: Pandey ANJANATHERESE ANTONY & JOYDEEP GHOSH Mumbai, March 1 THE SECURITIES AND Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has addressed several issues that foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) had perceived as impediments over the past year, Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey said. In an interview with FE, Pandey said the regulator held 77 meetingswith FPIs in small groups, besides several larger interactions,overthepastyear. The feedback, he said, has largelybeenpositive,reflecting investors’past experiencewith the Indian market. Sebi has acted on a number of long-standing FPI requests, including concerns relating to registration timelines, digitisation, digital certificates, streamlining the India market access portal, the block deal framework and the closing auction mechanism. “They had also sought a netting mechanism — allowing offsetting of same-daybuy TUHIN KANTA PANDEY, CHAIRMAN, SEBI FPIflowsmustbeviewed inthecontextofinvestors optimisingpost-taxreturns. Theymoveacrossmarkets dependingonrelative valuations,currency movementsand sectoralopportunities and sell cash-market Pandey said FPI transactions — which flows must be viewed is currently under in the context of consultation and will investors optimising be implemented,” post-tax returns. As Pandey said. ON PAGE 20 nimble capital, they The reforms come move across markets amid turbulence in equity depending on relative valuamarkets,with FPIs turning net tions, currency movements sellers in recent months.“We and sectoral opportunities. have to keep our heads down At present, he noted, and focus on where we can investors are looking at marimprove — whether it is mar- kets such as Taiwan and ket infrastructure, credibility, Korea, driven by sectors like technology, enforcement or silicon, artificial intelligence surveillance,”he added. and electronics. “These sec- & tors are now being built in India as well. In a few years, they should be represented in our public markets,” he said. He also emphasised that FPI flows are not a one-way story. While investors have been selling in the secondary market, they have remained active participants in the primary market. Between April and January, FPIs sold equities worth about $9.5 billion in the secondary market,but were net buyers of $7.2 billion in the primary market.As of end-January, FPI equity assets under custody (AUC) stood at $775 billion,up from $285 billion at the end of FY16.Includingdebtandother instruments, total AUC aggregated to $853 billion. To deepen market participation, curb cybercrime and boost initial public offerings, Sebi plans to open eight additional offices to ensure greater on-ground presence and closer coordination with stakeholders.“Not everything can be done online,” Pandey emphasised. Ahmedabad