Tag: Business

  • Congress asks if Adani’s business model is 100% ethical, retweets Rahul’s old tweet

    Congress asks if Adani’s business model is 100% ethical, retweets Rahul’s old tweet

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    In light of the revelations of the Hindenburg report, the Congress party on Saturday retweeted party MP Rahul Gandhi’s old tweet from 2020 and said that the country has the right to know what Gautam Adani’s business model is like and if it is 100 percent ethical.

    “Do you remember this tweet? Now, the important question is, how has he managed to multiply his wealth over the years? What is his business model? Is it 100% ethical? India has the right to know,” the grand old party asked.

    Back in 2020, when Adani beat Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos in the list of the wealthiest people in the world amassing 16.2 billion dollars to his net worth, Rahul had asked people if their wealth has increased in 2020.

    “How much did your wealth increase in 2020? Zero. You struggle to survive while he makes Rs 12 Lakh Cr and increases his wealth by 50%. Can you tell me why?” he asked.

    What is Hindenburg’s report?

    Hindenburg Research, a well-known short seller in the United States, disclosed short positions in the Adani Group on Wednesday, accusing the conglomerate of the improperly wide use of businesses established in offshore tax havens and expressing worry about excessive debt levels.

    The revelation, which comes just days before Adani Enterprises’ (ADEL.NS) $2.5 billion share sale, sent Adani group businesses’ shares tumbling.

    It also said that seven Adani listed firms had an 85% downside on a fundamental basis because to what it dubbed ‘sky-high valuations’.

    Hindenburg stated key listed firms in the group headed by billionaire Gautam Adani have ‘significant debt’ which had put the entire company on a ‘precarious financial footing’.

    The firm published an investigative document titled ‘Adani Group: How The World’s 3rd Richest Man Is Pulling The Largest Con In Corporate History‘ and revealed findings of their two-year investigation presenting evidence that the Rs 17.8 trillion worth Adani group has engaged in a brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud scheme over the course of decades.

    According to the report, Gautam Adani, the Adani Group’s founder and chairman, has a net worth of about $120 billion, which he has increased by more than $100 billion in the last three years, primarily as a result of stock price growth in the group’s seven most important publicly traded companies, which have increased by an average of 819 percent during that time.

    Adani has frequently downplayed worries about debt. Adani’s Chief Financial Officer Jugeshinder Singh told the media on January 21 that “Nobody has raised debt concerns to us. No single investor has.”

    “Even if you ignore the findings of our investigation and take the financials of Adani Group at face value, its seven key listed companies have 85% downside purely on a fundamental basis owing to sky-high valuations,” said Hindenburg Research in its report.

    The key listed Adani firms have also accrued enormous debt, most notably by pledging shares of their inflated stock as security for loans, putting the group’s entire financial status in jeopardy.

    According to reports, the Adani Group has been the focus of four big government fraud investigations totaling US$ 17 billion, including charges of money laundering, tax evasion, and corruption.

    In its report, Hindenburg Research said that the Adani family members allegedly cooperated to create offshore shell entities in tax-haven jurisdictions like Mauritius, the UAE, and Caribbean Islands, generating forged import/export documentation in an apparent effort to generate fake or illegitimate turnover and siphon money from the listed companies.



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    #Congress #asks #Adanis #business #model #ethical #retweets #Rahuls #tweet

    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

  • UK business and financial circles describe Indian Budget as very encouraging, stabilising

    UK business and financial circles describe Indian Budget as very encouraging, stabilising

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    London: The Union Budget tabled by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday has been widely welcomed in the UK business and financial circles as “very encouraging” for the bilateral partnership and also India’s attractiveness as an investment destination.

    The highlights flagged by many include the enhanced infrastructure spending focus, which offers great opportunities for foreign investors, and a focus on green growth. A series of measures to tackle the ease of doing business in the country is another aspect of the Budget that has received a big thumbs up.

    “The hallmark of the Budget is continuity, stability and fiscally responsible growth,” said Loknath Mishra, MD & CEO of ICICI Bank UK Plc and Chair of the Financial Services Committee of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) UK Council.

    “The significant increase in capex allocation will set the country on a sustained growth path. India will emerge stronger as a destination for investment by non-resident Indians (NRIs) and foreign investors,” he said.

    Anuj Chande, Partner and Head of South Asia Group, Grant Thornton LLP in London, dubbed the Budget as “very encouraging”, particularly from a foreign investor point of view.

    “The message is that private investment must step in and there’s a big opportunity there for foreign investors, particularly UK investors to participate in the building of that infrastructure. The UK has some terrific expertise and talent in the area of road building, railways and airports which can help India achieve the earmarked spend,” said Chande.

    The adviser for many UK corporates going into India also welcomed the ease of doing measures unveiled in the Budget, such as plans for 39,000 compliances being reduced.

    “As it is, India has been creeping up on the World Bank Doing Business rankings and all these measures will help improve that ranking further,” he said.

    “The 7 per cent growth rate that was announced in the Budget is remarkable by any means. UK investors, particularly in the SME and mid-market, have not necessarily focused on India and looked at the market opportunity, both in terms of market access and talent access and the ability to help India in its growth plans. My overall message would be: please do consider India as being a great destination to either trade or invest in,” he added.

    Steve Harvey, Director of global services provider Sannam S4 and Chair of the Education Committee of the FICCI UK Council, hailed advances in the skills development sector.

    “There are many good reasons to be excited about India’s economy in 2023 and beyond. This year, as India hosts and chairs the G20, there is much for India to be proud of, not least of which are the changes in the education landscape in recent years – including the National Education Policy and the implementation of increased technology-enabled learning, setting the pace for significant skills development for India’s young people,” said Harvey.

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    #business #financial #circles #describe #Indian #Budget #encouraging #stabilising

    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

  • Get prepared for deeper layoffs in 2023, predict business economists

    Get prepared for deeper layoffs in 2023, predict business economists

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    San Francisco: Deeper layoffs are coming in 2023 as most business economists have predicted that their companies will cut payrolls in the coming months, media reports said.

    According to a report in CNN citing a new survey, only 12 per cent of economists — surveyed by the National Association for Business Economics (NABE) — anticipate employment will increase at their firms over the next three months, “down from 22 per cent this fall”.

    This is the first time since early days of the Covid pandemic that more business leaders anticipate jobs shrinking at their firms.

    The findings indicate “widespread concern about entering a recession this year”, according to NABE President Julia Coronado.

    With more Big Tech companies like Microsoft and Google joining the ongoing layoff season, about 3,000 tech employees are now being laid off per day on average in January globally, including in India.

    According to the survey, a little more than half of the business economists feel the risk of a recession over the next year at 50 per cent or higher, which means more layoffs in the offing in 2023.

    More than 65,000 employees have been sacked by 166 tech companies to date.

    Google’s parent company Alphabet announced to lay off 12,000 employees, or about 6 per cent of its workforce.

    Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella last week said the company will be “making changes that will result in the reduction of our overall workforce by 10,000 jobs through the end of FY23 Q3 (third quarter)”.

    Amazon earlier announced to lay off 18,000 employees globally, including nearly 1,000 in India.

    Music streaming giant Spotify on Monday announced to slash 6 per cent of its workforce, or about 600 staffers, globally.

    In 2022, over 1,000 companies laid off 154,336 workers, as per the data by layoffs tracking site Layoffs.fyi.

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    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

  • Why are energy companies forcing their way into people’s homes?

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    With energy bills soaring, many people are struggling to pay their bills – and those in the most difficult situations say they are having to skip meals to keep the heating on. But some people have found that their energy companies have taken drastic action if they fall behind on their payments – entering their homes to switch them to prepayment meters, or doing it remotely through their smart meters.

    With prepayment often more expensive than paying energy bills monthly or quarterly, and companies using it to claw back debt, is this exacerbating the problems vulnerable customers face? Alex Lawson tells Hannah Moore that campaigners have found customers have been forced to “self-disconnect” – with 3 million unable to top up their pre-payment meters some point last year.

    Will a fall in wholesale gas prices mean the situation improves – and what action are politicians taking to ease the problem?

    A person in dressing gown and gloves holding a water bottle.

    Photograph: Michael Heath/Alamy

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    ( With inputs from : www.theguardian.com )