Posts in category: business

High-performing customer loyalty programs, while complicated to operate, have proven to be well worth the effort. Several successful airline loyalty programs have a higher valuation than the underlying airline. A recent Bain & Company survey of nearly 870 US consumers found that 63% of respondents said they make buying decisions based on loyalty programs they participate in. And since very small businesses resemble consumers in many aspects, loyalty programs have begun to spread in business-to-business markets, such as AB InBev’s program for small- and medium-sized food and beverage retailers.

ZEE and SPNI agreed to merge on December 22, 2021. | Photo: Bloomberg

“Accordingly, this Bench allows the withdrawal of the Scheme of Amalgamation and hereby recalls order dated 10.08.2023 in C.P.(CAA) No. 209 of 2022,” said NCLT order, a copy of which was shared to bourses by Zee on Thursday.

Zee, which applied for withdrawal, submitted the Composite Scheme of the Merger Cooperation Agreement executed to give effect to this scheme stands terminated and accordingly the closing date has not occurred and the scheme has not attained any effectiveness.

Earlier on August 27, ZEE Entertainment and Sony Pictures Networks India announced settling their six months long dispute related to the failed USD 10-billion merger and agreed to withdraw all claims against each other.

As part of that, both had mutually agreed to withdraw all respective claims against each other in the ongoing arbitration at the SIAC and all related legal proceedings initiated in the NCLT and other forums, a joint statement stated.

Both Zee and Sony had claimed a termination fee of USD 90 million (around Rs 748.7 crore) from each other for not complying to the Merger Cooperation Agreement (MCA) signed in December 2021.

In January this year, Sony had pulled out from the proposed USD 10.5-billion merger with ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Ltd citing failure to meet certain “closing conditions” by the Indian firm.

ZEE and SPNI agreed to merge on December 22, 2021.

First Published: Sep 14 2024 | 6:57 PM IST

Mohammed Shami. Photo: ANI

It is understood that Shami will play either one or two of Bengal’s opening Ranji matches against UP (October 11) and Bihar (October 18).

The 34-year-old hinted at the possibility of playing domestic matches before making his international return.

“If I need to play domestic cricket to test my fitness, I will. What matters most is that I am fully ready for whatever comes next, regardless of the opposition or format,” Shami added.

Shami is expected to be a key figure in India’s preparations for the upcoming five-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia.

“I often say I was born in UP but made in Bengal. This is a journey of over 20 years, and I am grateful for the love and support Bengal has shown me,” Shami said.

During the ceremony, several other Bengal cricketers were also honoured for their achievements.

Anustup Majumdar was given the ‘Cricketer of the Year’ award, while Abishek Porel was named the ‘Gentleman Cricketer of the Year’. Suraj Singh Jaiswal received the ‘Best Fast Bowler of the Year’ award, while Chandrahas Dash was given the ‘Best Under-19 Cricketer’ award.

Deepti Sharma and Saika Ishaque were among the women cricketers felicitated for their outstanding performances in the Senior Women’s T20 and One-Day tournaments.

A total of 200 awards were given away during the event.

First Published: Sep 15 2024 | 1:46 AM IST

Two recent Supreme Court decisions produced sweeping changes to how regulation works in the United States, shifting power from agencies to the courts. Investment will now take place against the backdrop of the “judicial veto,” where a wide range of potential litigants and sympathetic judges will decide which regulations actually go into effect, and when. According to conventional wisdom, scaling back the regulatory state will help businesses. However, the court’s rulings will suppress business investment in three unintended ways. The judicial veto doctrine 1) multiplies the number of decision-makers and discounts the value of expertise, 2) increases the timeframe of unpredictability, and 3) tips the scales in favor of incumbent businesses and their shareholders over new entrants and early-stage investors. The overall effect of this will be less innovation and reduced competitive advantage for U.S. businesses.

The company may file a prospectus with India’s stock market regulator as early as next month. Image: Bloomberg

Deliberations are ongoing, and details including the size of the offering and timing could still change, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information isn’t public.

The company may file a prospectus with India’s stock market regulator as early as next month, the people said. It may add more banks, including local ones at a later stage, they added.

Representatives for LG, Bank of America, Citigroup and JPMorgan declined to comment, while a representative for Morgan Stanley didn’t respond to requests seeking comment outside of regular business hours.

India has turned into a hotspot for deals as global investors seek to tap into the country’s growth potential. Hyundai Motor Co. is planning to sell shares in its local Indian unit this year in what could be one of the biggest-ever listings in the South Asian country, Bloomberg News has reported.

The IPO of LG’s Indian unit is one of the options the South Korean company is weighing as it seeks to hit a target of $75 billion in electronics revenue by 2030 and revitalize its consumer electronics business, Chief Executive Officer William Cho said in a Bloomberg Television interview in August.

First Published: Sep 14 2024 | 1:35 PM IST

Developed in a record time of two years for high altitude areas of Ladakh, the tank is testimony to Indian progress in indigenous manufacturing. Image: X@ani_digital

During the field trials conducted in the desert terrain, the Light Tank demonstrated exceptional performance, efficiently meeting all the intended objectives. In the initial phase, the tank’s firing performance was rigorously evaluated and it achieved the required accuracy on designated targets, the Defence Ministry stated.

Zorawar has been successfully developed by the Combat Vehicles Research & Development Establishment (CVRDE), a unit of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), in collaboration with Larsen & Toubro Ltd (L & T).

“Numerous Indian industries, including Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), contributed to the development of various sub-systems, showcasing the strength of indigenous defence manufacturing capabilities within the country,” Ministry of Defence stated in the release.

Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh lauded DRDO, the Indian Army, and all associated industry partners for the successful trials of the Indian Light Tank. He described the achievement as a significant milestone towards India’s goal of self-reliance in critical defence systems and technologies, as per the Ministry of Defence.

Learning from the Russia-Ukraine conflict, DRDO and L & T have integrated USV and loitering munition in the Zoravar tank.

Initially, 59 tanks will be given to the army. Weighing 25 tonnes, this tank can move at high speed in mountain valleys and two tanks can be transported at a time by the Indian Air Force’s C-17 aircraft.

First Published: Sep 14 2024 | 1:49 PM IST

C-level technology roles have proliferated over the past few decades. Chief information officers first appeared in the early 1980s. Next, chief technology officers became common in high-tech firms, and then spread to other types of businesses. These roles were followed by chief information security officers, chief data officers, chief analytics officers, and chief digital officers. Most recently, chief artificial intelligence officers have appeared. Their numbers have greatly increased with the rise of generative AI over the past few years.

First Published: Sep 14 2024 | 12:39 AM IST

Another trader KG Jhalani said that no damage was seen in the groundnut crop yet. He further informed that the main reason for damage is believed to be rotting, staining, and lack of beans in the crops.

“But this rain will be very beneficial in the upcoming rabi season. Due to excess rain, filling of dams, and the overflowing of rivers, the level of water in the ground has increased. The biggest problem in Rabi crops was irrigation, which will now be reduced,” Jhalani said.

Talking about sowing, on 4th September, the Agriculture Department of Rajasthan released the final list of kharif sowing. According to this, in the state, rice has been sown in 2.97 lakh hectares over 145 per cent of the target, jowar in 6.60 lakh hectares 108 per cent of the target, millet in 43.24 hectares 98 per cent of the target, green gram in 23.15 lakh hectares 92 per cent of the target, moth in 10.39 lakh hectares 106 per cent of the target, groundnut in 8.54 lakh hectares around 105 per cent, soybean in 11.23 lakh hectare 97 per cent of the target, guar in 27.20 lakh hectares or around 98 per cent of the target.

Agriculture and allied sectors contribute around 27 per cent to the state’s GDP. 

First Published: Sep 13 2024 | 11:43 PM IST

In the past, awareness and engagement of the supply-chain function was the key expectation for CEOs. But in the wake of a series of global events, including the Covid-19 pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and disruptions in the Middle East and the Panama Canal, is it now time for CEOs to be supply-chain-management experts themselves? A close examination of S&P 500 CEO career trajectories, as well as an analysis of financial performance metrics, suggests that CEOs with prior experience in high-level supply-chain roles might be the key to building more resilient supply chains and weathering unanticipated disruptions.

Bullish trends: Representative Image | (Photo: Shutterstock)

The company has committed an investment of over Rs 1,000 crore to set-up a joint venture with Optiemus Infracom, Bharat Innovative Glass (BIG) Technologies, in Tamil Nadu to make finished cover-glass parts for mobile consumer electronics.

Corning is also setting up a borosilicate glass unit to produce vials and tubes for the life sciences sector with an initial investment of Rs 500 crore in Hyderabad.

Corning, managing director and president for India, Middle East and Africa, Sudhir N Pillai said that the company’s Hyderabad plant will become operational in the first half of 2025 and BIG Technologies will be operational in the second half.

“The BIG Tech is for Gorilla Glass finishing. This plant will create 500-1000 jobs. The SGD Corning facility to make Velocity Vial will employ around 500 people,” Pillai said.

He said that the company has started its Global Capability Centre in Pune which has a capacity of 100 people.

“The GCC Pune should have around 50 people this year and by the end of next year it should be ready with full capacity,” Pillai said. He said that all the businesses of Corning in India are at different stages of maturity.

Pillai said that automotive and optical fibre verticals are the biggest contributor to Corning’s business in India while mobile consumer electronics and life sciences are going to be the fastest growing verticals for the company in the country.

First Published: Sep 12 2024 | 11:54 PM IST

Kylian Mbappe,Kylian, Mbappe(Photo: reuters)

First Published: Sep 13 2024 | 10:08 AM IST