Indian equity markets experienced a significant boost, mirroring positive global cues, as SEBI relaxed investment rules and India Exposition Mart received IPO approval.
Mumbai: Indian equity markets rallied, marking a second consecutive day of gains, spurred by positive sentiments following U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen's comments dismissing an imminent U.S. recession. The S&P BSE Sensex soared, while the NSE Nifty 50 also saw substantial gains, driven by bargain buying in PSB, Metal, and Energy sectors.
In corporate news, Noida-based India Exposition Mart received the green light from SEBI to launch its initial public offering (IPO). The IPO will consist of a fresh issue of equity shares worth ₹450 crore and an offer-for-sale of up to 1.12 crore equity shares by existing shareholders. The allocation breakdown reserves 75% for qualified institutional buyers, 15% for non-institutional investors, and 10% for retail individuals. The company's draft prospectus was filed in March, with SEBI's approval granted on June 16, 2022. The stocks are slated for listing on both BSE and NSE.
SEBI also announced the reinstatement of mutual funds' ability to invest in foreign stocks, subject to an aggregate limit of USD 7 billion for the industry. This decision comes after a major correction in global markets reduced the valuation of international stocks. An earlier directive in January had restricted fresh subscriptions to overseas stock schemes after the industry exceeded the investment limit. AMFI has been tasked with ensuring that each AMC's utilization remains capped at February levels.
In other news, PwC India is set to acquire Bengaluru-based Venerate Solutions Private Limited, a Salesforce consulting firm, to bolster its digital transformation capabilities. While the financial details of the acquisition remain undisclosed, Venerate's team will integrate with PwC India's Salesforce practice.
Additionally, the government is preparing to appoint merchant bankers to manage the disinvestment of its remaining 29.54% stake in Hindustan Zinc Ltd (HZL) in tranches. The stake sale, estimated at around ₹32,000 crore at current market prices, follows Cabinet approval on May 25. Vedanta may bid for a 5% stake in HZL during the government's stake sale.
However, Industry body Broadband India Forum on Tuesday termed telcos’ arguments on a level playing field between public and captive private 5G networks as “absurd and impractical”, and asserted that the two are separate sets of services on a completely different footing and not competing with each other. The age-old and time-tested concept of ‘level playing field’ cannot apply in the case of captive private 5G networks, as they have several distinctive traits, which distinguish them from public networks, with whom they are being compared “without any logic or basis”, Broadband India Forum said in a statement. The suggestion that private networks should not be given spectrum in bands, which are possible for telcos to use for offering services is “unjustified”, as the telcos’ businesses depend on economies of scale, while that of enterprise businesses having private networks does not, BIF said. Regulations, Ramachandran said, are applied to mature players in the competition, who have significant market share and can abuse it.
