MARKETS | PAGE 6 COMPANIES | PAGE 4 MFI stress erases group life cover for 50 mn in FY25 INTERNATIONAL | PAGE 7 Re-releases accounting for 8.5% ofPVR Inox's revenue CHENNAI/KOCHI, SATURDAY, JUNE 28, 2025 SoftBank chief Son hints at succession plans FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL NO. XLVI 45, 28 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: 84,058.88 ▲ 303.01 NIFTY: 25,637.80 ▲ 88.80 NIKKEI 225: 40,150.79 ▲ 566.21 HANG SENG: 24,284.15 ▼ 41.25 `/$: 85.49 ▲ 0.22 `/€: 100.11 ▲ 0.40 BRENT: $68.22 ▲ $0.49 GOLD: `95,398 ▼ `1,335 FE S P EC I A L S Mahindra BE 6: Driving an EV to edge of India Are electric cars only for cities? We took one on a 500-km journey — and in a single charge. ■ MOTOBAHN, P9 Pay additional taxes now on FY25 income This will help save on interest outgo when filing the ITR later. ■ PERSONAL FINANCE, P9 ■ The White House spokesperson has, however, hinted that the deal deadline could be extended for “some kind of an agreement”before the 90-daypause ontheUS’reciprocaltariffsthat ends on July9,even though the WhiteHousespokespersonhas hinted that the deadline could be extended. The US signed a deal with China on Wednesday — it would allow export of rare earths from China while the US would reduce its restrictions on Chinese imports. The US has been quitevocal onhightariffsbyIndiaonautomobiles and agriculture products, apart from other barriers to trade, while demanding greater access through lower duties.Indiahasprotectedagriculture and dairy products in all its trade agreements and Indian officials have said that theyarenotdesperateforadeal and that national interests would be protected. The farm products where the US is seeking lower duties include ethanol, almonds, walnuts, apples, raisins, avocados, olive oil,spirits,and wine. Continued on Page 5 RBIdrains`84,975croreviaVRRR CHRISTINATITUS Mumbai, June 27 THE RESERVE BANK of India (RBI) drained `84,975 crore from the banking system through its seven-dayvariableratereverse repo (VRRR) auction on Friday. It accepted all the bids at a cut-off yield of 5.49% and the weighted average rate was 5.45%, the RBI said in a release. The central bank’s move likely aimed to anchor short-term rates with the repo rate, according to market participants. After the cumulative policy rate cut, repo rate is currently at 5.5%. The inter-bank call rate and tri-party rates were near the lower end of liquidity adjustment facility corridor REINING IN LIQUIDITY ■ In June, ■ RBI announced on Tuesday a seven-day VRRR amounting system liquidity averaged `2.74 lakh crore `1 lakh crore ■ It reached `3.62 lakh crore to suck out excess liquidity from system on June 13, the highest in 3 yrs ■ Liquidity surplus expected to hover around `2-2.5 lakh crore in July due to ample liquidity in the system.The weighted average call rate ended at 5.38% on Friday, while tri-party repo rate was 5.42%. Despite the spike in money market rates on Friday, traders anticipate inter-bank call money rate to settle down in the range of 5.30%-5.35%. On June 26,the liquidity in the banking systemwas in sur- plus of around `2.71 lakh crore, according to RBI data. “Considering the month-end as well as quarter-end pressure, along with a couple of larger IPOs, I think `85,000 crore is a reasonable subscription at the auction,”said a treasury head with a private bank. He added the impact on overnight market rates was a bit higher than what he had expected,but itwas because of the month-end pressure plus initial public offerings (IPOs). On Tuesday, the central bank announced a seven-day VRRR amounting `1 lakh crore to suck out excess liquidity from the banking system,its first such operation in seven months. Continued on Page 7 Investors richer by `12.4Lcr this week BENCHMARK INDICES LOGGED their best weekly gains in six weeks, as they overcame early jitters — triggered by the entry of the US into the Israel-Iran war — to register a four-day rally. Sensex and Nifty surged 2% and 2.09%, respectively, reports Kishor Kadam. The Bank Nifty hit an all-time closing high of 57,443.90, rising 2.12%.Investor wealth increased by `12.4 lakh crore over the week. ■ PAGE 6 84,058.90 SENSEX (close) (Intra-day, Jun 27) 0.36% 83,774.45 (Open) BANK NIFTY NIFT IFTY 57,234.7 (Open) 57,443.9 (close) 83,755.87 (Previous close) NET EQUIT INVESTMENTS EQUITY IN ` CRO CRORE FP FPIs DIIs Previous close: 57,206.7 Credit growth picks up after steep decline THE BANKING SECTOR'S creditgrowthrose9.62%yearon-year and stood at `183.14 lakh crore as on June 13, according to fortnightly data releasedbytheReserveBankof India on Friday, reports fe Bureau.Onafortnightlybasis, the credit growth was up 0.15%. At the end of May, credit growth of the banking sector had fallen to a threeyearlowat 8.97% onyear.Several analysts said that the credit growth had bottomed outandthattheyexpecteditto be at 12-13% FY26. ■ PAGE 6 Groww tops 100 mn app downloads STOCK BROKING FIRM Groww has crossed 100 million app downloads,becoming the first Indian investment platform to achieve this milestone, industry sources said, reports PTI.The development places Groww ahead of its competitors in the country’s fast-growing retail investment segment, they added. According to app store data, Groww’s download numbers have outpaced other players likeAngel One,which has over 50 million downloads, and Zerodha and Upstox,with over 10 million each. 52 Asian Paints 18 12 1,341 4,000 JSWPAINTS OF the Sajjan Jindal-led JSW Group on Friday said itwas acquiring a 74.76% stakeinAkzoNobelIndia—the owner of Dulux — for `8,986 crore, following months of negotiations. The deal, at an estimated enterprise value of `12,000 crore, will make JSW Paints the fourth-largest paints maker in the country, after Asian Paints, Berger Paints and Kansai Nerolac. The share purchase from Dutch multinational Akzo Nobel NV and its affiliates, which has been announced at a price of `2,762.05 apiece, is at a 13.48% discount to Akzo Nobel’sThursdayclosing price of `3,192.60 on the BSE. After the acquisition, JSW Paints’estimated market share willgoupto9.2%fromcurrent 3%, according to industry experts. Asian Paints, Berger and Kansai Nerolac have market shares of 52%, 18% and 12%, respectively. The Aditya Birla Group’s Birla Opus — the latest entrant to the paints segment — has gained a market Revenue (` crore) Market share (%) 2,000 VIVEAT SUSAN PINTO Mumbai, June 27 Paints firms’ current standing 11,544 fourth-largest paints maker PAINTING BIG PICTURE 33,855 ● Firm to become 4,091 aiming for an interim agreement before 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs of the US ends on July 9 CHINA SAID IT has further confirmed details of a trade framework with Washington, echoing US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick’s earlier comments about a USChina agreement that stabilised ties. The deal with China,Lutnick said, had been signed two days ago. ■ PAGE 7 JSWsealsAkzo Nobel deal for `8,986 crore 7,962 ■ India and the US are Jun 27 IMPORTS OF RUSSIAN crude oil in June are expected to touch a two-year high of 2.13 million barrels per day, supported by significant pricing advantages, according to provisional data from Kpler, reports Arunima Bharadwaj. ■ PAGE 2 Wearehaving somegreat deals.Wehave onecoming up,maybe withIndia. Thatisabig one.Weare goingtoopen upIndia 10,663 -195 1,397 -589 Imports of Russian oil likely to touch 2-year high in June negotiations on the Bilateral Trade Agreement in Washington for two days US-China pact inked Jun 26 INDIA’S CURRENT ACCOUNT balance recorded a strong surplus of $13.5 billion, or 1.3% of the GDP, in Q4 of FY25, driven by strong net services receipts and a moderation in net outgo on primary income account the RBI said on Friday, reports fe Bureau. ■ PAGE 2 US PRESIDENT -854 2,373 Current account surplus at 1.3% on services receipts DONALD TRUMP, ■ Indian and US negotiators conducted Jun 25 PRIME MINISTER NARENDRA Modi will embark on a five-nation tour beginning July 2 to participate in the BRICS Summit in Brazil and expand India's ties with several nations of the Global South. Besides Brazil, the Prime Minister will visit Ghana, Trinidad & Tobago, Argentina, and Namibia during the eightday trip, reports PTI. AS THE LAST round of negotiations for an India-US interim trade agreement was under way in Washington , US President Donald Trump said on Friday that a “big deal” was coming and it would open up Indian markets for American goods. “Everybody wants to make a deal and have a part of it… we just signed with China yesterday.We are having some great deals.We have one coming up,maybe with India.That is a big one. We are going to open up India,”Trump said at a White House event. Hiscommentscameevenas the Indian team led by special secretary Rajesh Agrawal, the chief negotiator for the Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA), was holding meetingswith the US side led by the Assistant United States Trade Representative (USTR). The two-day engagements were to end on Friday. Both sides are aiming ON THE HORIZON -4,337 5,210 Modi to attend BRICS Summit in Brazil next week MUKESH JAGOTA New Delhi, June 27 Jun 24 THE INITIAL SHARE sale of HDB Financial Services, a subsidiary of HDFC Bank, got subscribed 16.69 times on the closing day of bidding on Friday, amid encouraging participation from institutional buyers. Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs) part garnered 55.47 times subscription while the category for noninstitutional investors got subscribed 9.99 times. Retail Individual Investors (RIIs) portion attracted 1.41 times subscription. The mega offer got fully subscribed on the day two of bidding on Thursday. ■ PAGE 6 'Bigdeal'coming,toopen upIndianmarket:Trump -1,836 5,592 HDB Fin’s `12.5K-cr IPO subscribed nearly 17 times INDIANTEAM NEGOTIATES INTERIM PACTFOR SECOND DAY Jun 23 IN THE NEWS 3 6.2 Berger Kansai Akzo Paints Nerolac Nobel 7 2 JSW Paints* Birla Opus* Indigo Paints *JSW Paints and Birla Opus are unlisted players; the rest are listed Source: Analysts/Industry »INSIDE« RISING COMPETITION BEHIND SELL CALL PAGE 4 shareofnearly7%withinayear of its launch. The JSW PaintsAkzoNobeldealwillboostcompetition in India’s paints market,whichiscurrentlyvaluedat `80,000 crore,sayanalysts. “Industry dynamics and market share of players will continue to get redrawn, as competition is set to growwith the latest deal,”Amnish Aggarwal,head of research at brokerage Prabhudas Lilladher, said. He said the deal happened at a significantdiscount,giventhat Akzo Nobel was trading lower than its peers on the bourses. SharesofAkzoNobelIndiawere up8%intra-dayontheBSE,following the announcement. It closed at `3,414.75 apiece, up 6.96%versusThursday’s close. Paints will emerge as the third-biggest pillarforthe JSW Group,after steel and cement, helpingitleveragedistribution synergies across these verticals,analysts said. Continued on Page 5 Stepuplendingto productivesectors, FMexhortsPSBs FE BUREAU New Delhi, June 27 FINANCE MINISTER NIRMALA Sitharaman on Friday urged public sector banks (PSBs) to take advantage of the Reserve Bank’s 50-basis point rate cut to increase lending towards productive sectors of the economy. Undertaking a review their financial performance, she also called upon these banks to proactively identify emerging commercial growth areas for the next decade, which could aid their profitability and growth. Stating that PSBs are wellcapitalised with their capitalto-risk weighted assets ratio standing at 16.15% as of Mar-2025, the minister called for a strong focus on maintaining robust underwriting and risk management standards. Besides, the banks were also advised to work on ways to garner more low-cost deposits. Lending to the energy sector, particularly in renewable and sustainable areas,was underscored as a priority to advance India’s green growth agenda. In line with the Budget 2025-26 announcement KEY SUGGESTIONS ■ Identify emerging commercial growth areas for the next decade ■ Focus on maintaining robust underwriting and risk management ■ Maintain FY25 credit growth level or increase it during current financial year ■ Strengthen implementation of new credit assessment model for MSMEs to develop indigenously designed small modular nuclear reactors (SMR),banks were advised to develop credit models to support this critical sector. According to sources, the minister directed the PSBs to maintain the FY25 credit growth level or increase it during the current financialyear. Continued on Page 7 Evolving travel trends, 'big fat Indian wedding' and high-profile events drive surge in hotel demand Luxuryroom rates climb,but there’s scope formore SWARAJ BAGGONKAR Mumbai, June 27 THE LUXURY HOSPITALITY sector seems to be experiencing an unprecedented boom, with EIH, which operates the Oberoi and Trident hotels, reporting its best-ever financial performance in FY25. Riding on a steady rise in demand for premium stays, the company’s income per available room surged 70% in the last two years, touching nearly `21,000 a night. Despite the record growth, Vikram Oberoi, CEO of EIH, said luxury hotel tariffs still haveroomtogrow.“(Given)the quality of hotels in India, both with our hotels and others,we are significantlyunder-priced, particularly in Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru,” Oberoi said during a recent earnings call. Driving this surge in demand are a mix of evolving travel trends and high-profile events. From destination weddings and IPL games to corporate retreats and global summits like the G20 meet and fintech festival, luxury hotels are finding themselves booked months in advance. Even family holidays and quick weekend getaways are contributing to the squeeze in availability. “There are significant changes that are taking place in the Indian economy where wealth and affluence is PREMIUM PLAY ■ Of 199,000 branded hotel rooms in India, only ■ Luxury hotel room demand will register a CAGR of ■ China boasts seven times more luxury rooms and Thailand 10.6% 17% 1.5 fall in luxury bracket through FY28, while supply is expected to expand at just times as many ■ The supply pipeline has been slow: Less than 100 luxury hotels opened in India in the past decade increasing and a desire for quality accommodation that provides exceptional services to guests is rising,” Oberoi noted. Still, luxury inventory remains under-equipped. Of the 199,000 branded hotel keys in the country, only 17% fall in the luxury bracket. In comparison, China boasts seven times more luxury rooms, and even Thailand has 5.9%, according to IDBI Capital 1.5 times as many.The supply pipeline has remained slow, with fewer than 100 luxury hotels opening in the country overthepastdecade,according to data from HVS. Mandeep S Lamba, president and CEO (South Asia) at HVS Anarock, highlighted a change in traveller priorities as a catalyst for this growth. “The post-pandemic mindset shift,where travellers increasingly prioritise quality, exclusivity,wellness,and meaningful experiences, has accelerated demand in this space.The big fat Indian wedding has also become a major contributor,” he said. Hotel chains are responding. Marriott International, which has the largest footprint among hotel companies in the country, has over 20 new luxury properties under development. These include JW Marriott resorts in CHENNAI/KOCHI Shimla, Pahalgam, and Ranthambore, as well as The Ritz-Carlton Udaipur and The Mumbai Edition. Monisha Dewan, VP sales and distribution, South Asia, Marriott International, said, “India’s luxury hospitality market is experiencing remarkable growth.The market’s momentum is evident in the unprecedented surge of luxury hotel signings in India, with over 20 new properties in the pipeline.” However, construction timelinesofthree-to-fiveyears mean new supply will be slow to arrive. Meanwhile, demand continues to race ahead. Continued on Page 7