Global Business News Daily Updates

Mukesh Ambani's Reliance buys Shri Kannan Departmental Store for ₹152 cr

Reliance Retail Ventures, a unit of Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries, has acquired Shri Kannan Departmental Store (SKDS) for ₹152 crore. SKDS currently operates 29 stores across Coimbatore and nearby areas with a retail area of over 6 lakh square feet. The department store chain reported revenue from operations of ₹415 crore and a profit of ₹2 crore for 2018-19.
read more at VCCircle

Yes Bank customers cannot withdraw more than ₹50,000, RBI takes control

The government has placed India's fifth-largest private lender Yes Bank under moratorium until April 3 and capped withdrawals at ₹50,000 per depositor. Further, RBI has superseded the bank's board for 30 days "owing to a serious deterioration in its financial position". Yes Bank has been struggling to raise capital for months as it battles high levels of bad loans.
read more at Livemint

Facebook employee in US tests positive for coronavirus

Facebook has said that a Seattle worker has been diagnosed with coronavirus, the first known infection within the company. The employee, a contractor, was last in Facebook's Stadium East office in Seattle, US on February 21. Facebook alerted its employees on Wednesday night and said the Seattle office will be closed to all employees until March 9.
read more at Hindustan Times

Zoho asks all 7,000 employees in 9 countries to work from home

Chennai-headquartered cloud services firm Zoho has asked all its 7,000 employees worldwide to work from home as a coronavirus precaution. Zoho has offices in 9 countries including Japan and Singapore and Australia. "Our employees are encouraged to come to the office only when absolutely essential. We'll continue this policy until the virus threat passes," Founder and CEO Sridhar Vembu said.
read more at Twitter

Interest rate on employee provident fund reduced to 8.5% for FY20

The rate of interest on the employees' provident fund (EPF) has been lowered to 8.5% for the current financial year, announced Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar. The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) had provided 8.65% rate of interest on EPF for 2018-19 to its around six crore subscribers. The Labour Ministry now requires the Finance Ministry's concurrence on the matter.
read more at ANI

US monitoring potential drug shortages as India limits pharma exports

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is watching for potential drug shortages after India restricted exports of some medicines. The list of 26 restricted ingredients and medicines includes paracetamol and several antibiotics, such as tinidazole and erythromycin, the hormone progesterone and Vitamin B12. In the US, Indian imports accounted for 24% of medicines and 31% of ingredients in 2018.
read more at Deccan Herald

We go beyond our limits for govt: Tax officials threaten to stop overtime work

Tax officials have threatened to end overtime work and stop search and seizure operations in protest over working conditions. Two unions representing 97% of tax officials sought better working conditions, including resolution of "pay anomalies". "We go beyond our limits and work for the government. There should be some recognition at least for that," Income Tax Gazetted Officers Association said.
read more at Reuters

Rupee may fall to record low of 75 per dollar on coronavirus fears: ING Bank

The rupee may fall to as low as 75 per dollar, surpassing the record low hit in October 2018, according to Dutch lender ING Bank. "We can't rule out the risk of rapid spread of the disease (COVID-19) in India," said Prakash Sakpal, an economist at ING in Singapore. The rupee fell to a 16-month low of 73.23 on Wednesday.
read more at Hindustan Times

Govt approves plan for SBI-led group to buy stake in Yes Bank: Reports

The government has reportedly approved a rescue plan for Yes Bank involving a capital injection by a consortium led by State Bank of India, according to reports. An announcement is expected soon while SBI has been authorised to select other members of the consortium, reports added. Yes Bank has been struggling to raise capital since the middle of last year.
read more at Deccan Herald

Hackers try to steal ₹200 crore from Tata Sons a/c, held from mall parking lot

Seven persons, including an IndusInd Bank employee, were arrested on Tuesday from the parking lot of a mall in Maharashtra's Palghar district minutes before they could hack into a Tata Sons account to steal ₹200 crore. An iPad, nine mobile phones and a bank statement were seized from them, police said. The bank employee allegedly provided data to other accused.
read more at PTI

Airlines could lose $113 billion due to coronavirus: Industry body

Airlines could lose up to $113 billion in revenue this year because of the coronavirus epidemic, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has said. "There are lots of airlines that have got relatively narrow profit margins and lots of debt, and a cash flow shock like this could certainly send some into a very difficult situation," the industry body added.
read more at Reuters

India may airlift components from China to help tech industry: Report

India is planning to airlift components from China to help the electronics sector amid coronavirus outbreak which has impacted Chinese supplies, a report said. The government asked the industry to make a list of components made in China that can be airlifted. India's imports of Chinese goods fell to lowest levels in nearly four years in February, government data showed.
read more at Reuters

Bombay HC dismisses Kochhar's plea against termination as ICICI Bank CEO

The Bombay High Court dismissed former ICICI Bank MD and CEO Chanda Kochhar's plea challenging her termination and clawback of bonuses received by her until March 2018. The court accepted bank's contention that Kochhar's plea was "not maintainable" as the dispute was contractual and concerns a private body. Kochhar has been accused of irregularities while granting loans to Videocon Group.

ED books Jet Airways' Naresh Goyal for money laundering; conducts raids

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a criminal case against Jet Airways Founder Naresh Goyal under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The agency conducted raids at his Mumbai residence on Wednesday. The ED was taking cognisance of an FIR filed against Goyal and his wife Anita for allegedly cheating a travel company to the tune of ₹46 crore.
read more at India.com