Content Development Team, Chennai 1 Vol -1, Issue-30

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GENERAL INSURERS MAKE LARGE PROFITS THRU SALE OF EQUITIES Bucking the turbulent trend in the financial markets, the four public sector insurance companies have made large profits in equity trading in

In the process, the four non-life insurers have booked profits of anywhere between Rs. 250 crore and Rs. 300 crore during the period. ( The Hindu Oct 20, 2008) (922) CANARA BANK Q2 NET UP 32% AT Rs.

1 GENERAL INSURERS MAKE LARGE PROFITS THRU SALE OF EQUITIES Bucking the turbulent trend in the financial markets, the four public sector insurance companies have made large profits in equity trading in the first six months of the current year. Sources said that the four PSU insurers sold some of their equity holdings, including in some blue chips. In the process, the four non-life insurers have booked profits of anywhere between Rs. 250 crore and Rs. 300 crore during the period. ( The Hindu Oct 20, 2008) (922) CANARA BANK Q2 NET UP 32% AT Rs. 529 CRORE Public sector bank, Canara Bank reported a 32% surge in net profit for the second quarter ended September 2008 at Rs. 529 crore, up from Rs. 402 crore for the corresponding quarter in the last financial year. ( The Financial Express Oct 21, 2008) (923) REPO RATE REDUCED TO 8% RBI announced a 100- basis point cut to 8% in the repo rate the rate at which it lends to banks soon after the stock markets opened. Since banks peg their lending rates to this benchmark, it is certain to lower rates across the board. This is the first reduction in the repo rate since ( The Financial Express Oct 21, 2008) (924) CREDIT CRISIS AN APPORTUNITY, SAYS PNB CHAIRMAN The global financial meltdown is a blessing in disguise for the banking sector as assets are available at a cheaper price. This provides banks a good opportunity to take forward their expansion plans, Punjab National Bank (PNB) Chairman K.C. Chakrabarty said today. ( Business Standard Oct 21, 2008) (925) RAJSHREE GETS HIGH COURT STAY IN DERIVATIVES CASE Coimbatore-based Rajshree Sugars and Chemicals today managed to get a stay from the Madras High Court in the derivatives case involving Axis Bank. A Division Bench of the Madras High Court today granted the stay, which is valid till November 6. Granting the stay, the Bench said: The defendant bank (Axis Bank) herein shall be at liberty to work out their remedy in a manner known to law. ( Business Standard Oct 21, 2008) (926) GOVT PAVES THE WAY FOR LIMITED LIABILITY PARTNERSHIPS The Minister for Corporate Affairs, Mr. Prem Chand Gupta, on Tuesday introduced in the Upper House the Limited Liability Partnership Bill (LLP), 2008, that provides for the formation and regulation of limited liability partnerships firms. The Minister said, The advantage of the LLP form would be that it will not impose detailed legal and procedural requirements intended for large widely held companies on such enterprises. In this way it will also be useful for small enterprises. ( The Hindu Oct 22, 2008) (927) 'IPO GRADINGS NOT AN INDICATION OF TRADING PRICES' The IPO grading introduced by the rating agencies some time ago appears to have a little or no influence on the share price of the newly listed shares (whose IPOs were rated) on the bourses. According to rating agencies Crisil, CARE and ICRA, IPO gradings have nothing to do with the share pricing. ( The Hindu Oct 22, 2008) (928) WGC, HDFC BANK TIE UP TO EXTEND PERSONAL LOANS In an effort to boost gold sales in India, the local arm of the World Gold Council (WGC), has engaged the country's second largest private sector lender, HDFC Bank, to provide personal loans to gold buyers. The service is likely to be launched in the country within a few days. WGC is a gold body funded by global mining companies to promote gold sales across the world. ( Business Standard Oct 22, 2008) (929) RBI POLICY RATES LAST ( ) CURRENT RATES THIS ( ) BANK RATE 6.00% 6.00% EXCHANG E RATES (As On) LAST ( ) THIS ( ) REPO RATE 9.00% 8.00% 1U.S $ Rs Rs REVERSE REPO 6.00% 6.00% 1 EURO Rs Rs RBI RESERVE RATIOS 1 POUND Rs Rs CRR 6.50% 6.50% 1 YEN Rs Rs SLR 25.0% 25.0% 1 YUAN Rs Rs INTEREST RATE SPECTRUM ( ) ( ) 10 YEAR GOVT. PAPER 7.71% 7.57% CALL RATE 7.00% 6.10% PLR RANGE (TOP 5 BANKS) % % US $ LIBOR (6 MONTHS) SOURCE: RBI & BUSINESS STANDARD ( & ) Content Development Team, Chennai 1 Vol -1, Issue-30

2 IDBI PLANS Rs. 2,000-CR BOND MOP-UP State-owned IDBI Bank plans to raise up to Rs. 2,000 crore through upper tier-ii bonds to shore up its capital base and support its business. Rating agency Crisil has assigned a rating of AA/Negative to the upper tier-ii bonds. The rating on the bonds is driven by the banks' weak financial risk profile, marked by a modest tier-i Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) ( Business Standard Oct 22, 2008) (930) INDIAN BANKS REFUSE LCs FROM PAKISTAN Fearing that Pakistan is on the verge of a financial meltdown, Indian banks are refusing to accept any Letter of Credit (LC) issued by the banks there. This in turn has led to a sharp fall in Indian exports to Pakistan. (Business Standard Oct 22, 2008) (931) RBI's M-BANKING NORM SPARKS FURY The guidelines on mobile banking by the RBI regarding compulsory inclusion of banks as financial intermediaries for transactions on the mobile platform is attracting ire from the mobile value-added-services (VAS) and internet industry, which maintain that both banking and non-banking entities should be encouraged to offer this service. Says Subho Ray, president, Internet & Mobile Association of India (IAMAI): The present set of guidelines will only encourage people who have a bank account to use mobile banking as an additional facility to ATM or Netbanking. It does not address the larger issue of (financial) inclusion of a large number of population which does not have a bank account. ( The Economic Times Oct 22, 2008) (932) LIC TO LAUNCH CREDIT CARD WITH CORPORATION BANK After parting ways with GE, state-owned Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has decided to tie up with Corporation Bank for launching a co-branded credit card. LIC already holds a 27% stake in Corporation bank. (The Financial Express Oct 23, 2008) (933) REDEMPTIONS FORCE MFs TO CUT COSTS Mutual fund houses are on a cost-cutting drive as their profit margins are under pressure following a dip in the assets under their management (AUM). As redemption pressures, following the global credit crisis, is taking a toll on AUMs, fund houses are planning to reduce staff and put off expansion plans. ( The Financial Express Oct 23, 2008) (934) PEs SHIFT LOYALTY TO NOT-SO-HOT SECTORS NOW The uncertain future of the equity market seems to be paving the way for newer investment opportunities. Private Equity (PE) players have been quick to recognise these. Of late, their appetite seems to have shifted from the most talked about sectors like real estate and financial services, which were the flavour of the season till some time ago, to sectors like education, healthcare, defence, logistics, warehousing and infrastructure. These not-so-talked -about sectors are now attracting big private equity players. ( The Economic Times Oct 23, 2008) (935) HC RAPS ICICI FOR PESKY CALLS Coming down heavily on ICICI Bank for making unsolicited calls to mobile phone users, the Delhi High Court today declined to stay the contempt proceedings initiated against it in the State Consumer Commission on a cell-phone user's complaint. Citing their own experience of receiving pesky calls from the bank about personal loans and other banks schemes, a Division Bench comprising Justice Vikramjit Sen and Justice S L Bhayana strongly observed: At all times of the day, we get calls from ICICI Bank You think you are above the law. ( Business Standard Oct 23, 2008) (936) GOVT MAY PUMP Rs CR INTO 7 BANKS The government is likely to infuse Rs crore into seven public sector banks to shore up their capital adequacy ratio to 12 per cent to improve market confidence in the banking sector. ( Business Standard Oct 23, 2008) (937) BANK OF INDIA PROFIT JUMPS 79 PER CENT Bank of India (BoI) reported a per cent rise in net profit to Rs crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2008, compared to Rs crore in the corresponding quarter last year on improvement in margins and non-interest income. ( Business Standard Oct 23, 2008) (938) BANKS GEARING UP TO REDUCE RATES Yes Bank today said it was looking at a 100- basis point reduction in lending rates by December, but public sector bank chiefs, who met Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on Monday are expected to move faster. ( Business Standard Oct 23, 2008) (939) Content Development Team, Chennai 2 Vol -1, Issue-30

3 CREDIT-DEPOSIT RATIO SHOOTS UP TO 238% Here's reason why banks did not have funds to lend last fortnight. Incremental credit-deposit ratio surged to 238% during the fortnight ended October 10. While the surge in lending is typical before the closing of half-yearly books of account by banks, this year, there were other reasons as well. These include a freeze in overseas credit markets and increased borrowing by oil companies, among others. ( The Economic Times Oct 24, 2008) (940) NORWEGIAN FUND TO INVEST $2 BN IN INDIA In some good news for the Indian financial market, the world's third largest sovereign welfare fund, the Norwegian Pension Fund, will invest $2 billion in the next three months in Indian bonds and equities. ( The Economic Times Oct 24, 2008) (941) ULIP HOLDERS SWITCH FROM DEBT TO EQUITY DESPITE FALLING MKT SBI Life Insurance says that holders of unitlinked insurance plans (Ulips) are bucking the trend and increasingly shifting allocations to equity from debt even as stock market indices post sharp declines. Ulips have been witnessing rapid growth and are overshadowing the sale of conventional products such as money back, whole-life and endowment schemes. ( The Economic Times Oct 24, 2008) (942) ICICI TO GO SLOW ON CREDIT CARD BIZ ICICI Bank, the country''s largest credit card issuer, has decided to put the brakes on its credit card business. Facing a general economic slowdown like everybody else, the bank has now tightened the noose in preventing unbridled expansion of its credit-card clientele and also in respect of improving the overall client quality. ( The Economic Times Oct 24, 2008) (943) HUGE DEBT REDEMPTION PRESSURE COULD LEAVE RUPEE A LOT WEAKER With the $89-billion worth redemptions of shortterm debt between July 2008 and July 2009, the rupee could come under further pressure. Most economists have forecast that rupee is set to breach the Rs. 50 mark soon. ( The Economic Times Oct 24, 2008) (944) SBI FIAT ON KYC NORMS State Bank of India on Thursday asked its customers to immediately comply with the know-yourcustomer (KYC) guidelines, failing which their accounts would be frozen. ( The Hindu Oct 24, 2008) (945) MORE FLEXIBILITY FOR CORPORATE BORROWERS The overall annual ceiling for external commercial borrowings (ECBs) has been enhanced to $35 billion from a level of about $21 billion earlier, according to Mr. Ashok Chawla, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs (DEA). Mr. Chawla told reporters here on Thursday that the latest liberalisation in the ECB policy would provide enough flexibility for anybody wanting to raise money through this window for permissible activities. ( The Hindu Oct 24, 2008) (946) STANDING COMMITTEE TO DELIBERATE ON COS BILL The much-awaited Companies Bill, 2008, which intends to modernise the structure for corporate regulation, was introduced in Lok Sabha on Thursday. Once passed by the Parliament, the new law will replace the existing Companies Act, The Bill, introduced by the Minister for Corporate Affairs, Mr. Prem Chand Gupta, is now expected to be referred to the department related standing committee for further deliberations. ( The Hindu Oct 24, 2008) (947) VIJAYA BANK SEEKS Rs. 800 CR FROM GOVT Public sector Vijaya Bank has approached the Government for capital funds amounting to Rs. 800 crore. Speaking to reporters here on Thursday, Vijaya Bank Chairman and Managing director, Mr. Albert Tauro, said, The bank would like to have minimum CRAR of at least 12 per cent. ( The Hindu Oct 24, 2008) (948) CREDIT CARD DUES, LOANS TO NBFCs ZOOM The growth in personal loans, comprising housing, advances against fixed deposits, consumer durables finance and credit card receivables, has moderated on a year-on-year (y-o-y) basis to 17.4 per cent at the end of august this year from 21.4 per cent at the end of August But the 86.3 per cent rise in credit-card receivables is a cause for concern for bankers as delinquencies in the segment too are rising. Higher credit card receivables are also attributed to card-holders rolling over their dues. ( Business Standard Oct 24, 2008) (949) INDIA TO TIDE OVER GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS: WORLD BANK The World Bank report on Global Financial Crisis: Implications for South Asia released on Thursday shows that even as India is relatively more exposed to the contagion effects of global financial markets, risks associated with it are countered by a Content Development Team, Chennai 3 Vol -1, Issue-30

4 fundamentally strong macro economy including prudent foreign debt management, high savings rate, solid financial sector health, and a pro-active monetary policy management. These steps will allow India to ride the crisis without destabilizing the financial sector. ( Business Standard Oct 24, 2008) (950) SBI LIFE FORAYS INTO HEALTH INSURANCE SBI Life Insurance today made its foray into health insurance through the launch of its maiden critical illness product SBI Life Group Criti9. SBI Life's group health plan is a hospital cash product, where a policy holder would be paid a lump sum on diagnosis of any covered critical illnesses. ( Business Standard Oct 24, 2008) (951) FIIs CAN NOW INVEST IN UNLISTED BOURSES Stock exchanges can now look forward to a new set of investors- foreign institutional investors (FIIs). The government has now clarified the stance and mentioned that FIIs can now also invest in stock exchanges that are not listed. Both the primier exchanges BSE and NSE are corporate bodies that are not listed at the moment. ( Business Standard Oct 24, 2008) (952) KARNATAKA LAUNCHES BIOMETRIC SMART CARDS The first phase of financial inclusion (opening of no frills accounts to every household) has been completed in Karnataka with the launch of a biometric based smart card project on a pilot basis in three districts by select public sector banks. ( Business Standard Oct 24, 2008) (953) CREDIT INSURANCE DRIES UP FOR EXPORTERS With the global financial crisis hurting more companies in developed countries, Indian insurance firms have hiked premium rates by per cent for export credit insurance covers and have imposed a host of restrictions such as maximum liability and credit limit in case of single buyers.fearing huge losses, insurance firms have also stopped covering pre-shipment risks as a slowdown in developed markets may lead to cancellation of orders placed with Indian exporters, insurance company sources told Business Standard. ( Business Standard Oct 24, 2008) (954) ICICI HIKES HOME LOAN RATES BY 1% ICICI Bank, the country's second largest lender, has raised its home loan rates by 100 basis points for new borrowers. The bank raised its floating rates from 12 per cent to 13 per cent, while the fixed rates were hiked to 16.5 per cent with effect from October 10. The bank clarified that the new home loan rates are not applicable to its existing customers. ( Business Standard Oct 24, 2008) (955) RBI MAY EASE CAPITAL NORMS FOR FOREIGN BANKS The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has started a comprehensive review of the operational guidelines applicable to foreign banks in India. To start with, RBI may take into account the overall capital of the parent foreign banks for measuring the capital adequacy, prudential norms and exposure to various sectors. At present, the capital base of the foreign banks' local subsidiary is taken into consideration, which poses various problems for the expansion of foreign banks. ( Business Standard Oct 24, 2008) (956) BEGIN 'BRISK LENDING', FM TELLS BANKS Noting that there is adequate liquidity in the system now, Finance Minister P Chidambaram today expressed the hope that banks will begin brisk lending. The finance minister also said inflation which dropped to per cent, a fall for the fourth straight week, is still high but added that the rate of price rise will moderate further as global commodities and fuel prices continue to soften. ( Business Standard Oct 24, 2008) (957) CUSTOMMERCE TO FOCUS ON CUSTOMER CARE Ramesh Venkateswaran, member of the board of custommerce, said the coming together of various top level management from different industry segments and sharing ideas on how to treat the customer as the most important link in a business has made formulation of strategies aimed at customer satisfaction possible. Going forward, we plan to work on two premises-collection and distribution of knowledge as well as measuring the magnitude of service delivery, he said. ( Business Standard Oct 24, 2008) (958) CYBERCRIME, PHISHING FLOURISH AS FINANCIAL MARKETS FALTER Cybercrimes and phishing - s aimed at stealing your online banking passwords-are on the rise on the back of the global financial meltdown. Sample this. Five cyber-thieves, allegedly part of a network that hacked into the account of a Noida businessman, were nabbed today for a Rs crore cyber hack. They used internet banking to transfer the money from the businessman's account with the Punjab National Bank's Noida branch to their own account. ( Business Standard Oct 24, 2008) (959) Content Development Team, Chennai 4 Vol -1, Issue-30

5 TELECOM SUBSCRIBER BASE REACHES 354 MILLION The total telecom subscriber base in the country reached million in September, up from million adding a 9.03 million connections during the month, according to the latest subscriber figures released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. With this tele-density in the country has reached 30.64% against the 29.83% registered during August. ( The Financial Express Oct 25, 2008) (960) YEN CLIMBS TO 13-YEAR HIGH Vs $ The yen climbed to a 13-year high against the dollar as the prospect of a global recession prompted investors to dump higher-yielding assets funded in Japan. The dollar rose to a two year high versus the euro. ( The Financial Express Oct 25, 2008) (961) WOES TURN DEEPER The bull market from 2003 till early 2008 was unprecedented, and indications so far are that the ongoing bear phase too promises to be one. The Sensex and Nifty fell 11-12% on Friday- the third largest single day fall in percentage terms-as signs of pain in the real economy are becoming evident. The talk is no longer about slowing in corporate earnings; in fact the biggest fear now is corporate defaults, which will then hit the banks that have lent to them. ( The Economic Times Oct 25, 2008) (962) REVENUE, FISCAL DEFICITS MAY EXCEED BUDGET ESTIMATES: GOVT The Government has admitted that the final figures of fiscal deficit and revenue deficit for the current fiscal might exceed the budget estimates, following the perceived slowdown in the global economy and its possible impact of India. ( The Hindu Oct 25, 2008) (963) BORROWED MONEY FLEES, TRIGGERING MELT- DOWN Though the fundamental worries triggering the meltdown in stock prices can be many, it is deleveraging that appears to be the prime reason behind this melt -down. ( The Hindu Oct 25, 2008) (964) Re AT ALL-TIME LOW OF 50/$ The rupee fell to its all-time low when it touched 50 per dollar intraday after local shares plunged per cent to their three-year lows in keeping with falling markets everywhere from Tokyo to New York. The rupee closed at per $1, against per $1 on Thursday. In the morning trade, it fell to a low of per $1 as markets braced for steep fall in share indices. ( Business Standard 25/26, 2008) (965) RBI LETS CLEARING CORPORATION TO GUARANTEE FORWARD CURRENCY DEALS The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has allowed Clearing Corporation of India (CCIL) to provide guarantee to inter-bank currency forward transactions. The move will help banks use their capital optimally and bring more safety in the currency forward market. At present, currency forwards are settled on CCIL. The central bank's approval will enable CCIL to start providing guarantee for currency forward deals between banks within a month. ( Business Standard Oct 25/26, 2008) (966) SENSEX LEADS GLOBAL COLLAPSE The rupee slide is an aberration arising out of dollar outflows and stocks sold by FIIs'. Foreign institutional investors sold over Rs. 1,400 crore worth of stocks today against buying by domestic institutions of just over Rs. 500 crore. The selling in the Indian market is part of the global sell-off by hedge funds and FIIs to meet redemption pressures. This is an auction of shares and not normal market activity, said Vallabh Bhansali, Chairman, Enam Group. ( Business Standard Oct 25/26, 2008) (967) UNION BANK Q2 NET RISES BY 31% Union Bank of India's net profit surged by per cent to Rs. 362 crore for the quarter ended September 30, aided by a 49 per cent increase in its net interest income. ( The Hindu Oct 26, 2008) (968) FEE-BASED INCOME BOOSTS CORPORATION BANK PROFIT The growth in fee-based income has helped corporation Bank to register a growth of per cent in net profit during the second quarter of the current financial year. The bank registered a net profit of Rs crore in the second quarter against Rs crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal. ( The Hindu Oct 26, 2008) (969) GOVT BONDS ELIGIBLE FOR COLLATERAL In a move that will bring relief to many investors, Reserve Bank of India has said that even government tax savings bonds sold by banks in recent years are eligible for loan collateral. The government has issued the necessary notification to allow pledge or notification of the savings bonds. ( The Economic Times Oct 26, 2008) (970) Content Development Team, Chennai 5 Vol -1, Issue-30

Equity Update October 2018

Equity Update October 2018 Market Overview (as on September 28, 2018) Flows Sept-18 Aug-18 July-18 FIIs (Net Purchases / Sales) (Rs cr) MFs (Net Purchases / Sales) (Rs cr) Domestic Markets Macro Indicators GDP (YoY%) IIP (YoY%)