Budget 2018-19

  The funds raised would be used for international expansion and collaborations, sales and marketing along with product development and enhancement Enterprise conversational AI platform,  ORAI  has raised Rs 3.6 cr in a pre-Series A round from Inflection Point Ventures, an angel investment network, marking ORAI’s thirteenth deal in 2021. The funds raised would be used for international expansion and collaborations, sales and marketing along with product development and enhancement. With over 50 clients from small and mid-size businesses (SMB) and enterprise segment, ORAI has also been expanding its clientele globally. Some of the marquee names ORAI is working with include GMR Delhi, Group Landmark, BMW Munich Motors and Sayaji Hotel. Vinay Bansal, founder & CEO, Inflection Point Ventures, said, “Conversation AI and chatbot support is now a necessity. Many globally leading brands are already on this path. ORAI’s tech platform is robust and covers top public platforms l...

  The company has raised over Rs 50,000 cr ore since Apr-2019, through several equity transactions leading to inflows of over Rs 18,000 cr Piramal Capital  & Housing Finance, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Piramal Enterprises Limited (PEL), on Monday said it raised Rs 4,050 crore through issuance of long-term, five-year non-convertible debentures (NCDs) in two tranches. The first tranche of the NCD issue amounting to Rs 2,000 crore opened on March 10, 2021 with a pay-in on March 12, 2021. The second tranche of the remaining Rs 2,050 crore opened on March 18, 2021 with a pay-in on March 19, 2021. Rating firm CARE Ratings has assigned an ‘AA’ rating for both the issuances, it said Rajesh Laddha, executive director, Piramal Enterprises. said, “Since the beginning of FY20, we have significantly transformed the liabilities profile towards more stable, long-term sources of funds. The company has raised over Rs 50,000 crore since Apr-2019, through multiple long-term borrowings and ...

  Companies plan to hire more, expect staff to return to offices in new year With a tumultuous year behind them, chief executive officers (CEOs) in India are eyeing the 2021 Budget to help kick-start the next wave of the investment cycle, which was hit by the pandemic. Backed by several steps taken by the government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) including the debt moratorium scheme, the CEOs are expecting the economy to show growth next fiscal year if India succeeds in its vaccination drive. A survey of 33 CEOs across India in December shows that almost 73 per cent of the respondents plan to invest more in the new year even because they expect their employees to return to work as the country rolls out vaccination in January. The Budget will be the key as CEOs are expecting the government to dole out more incentives. “The government was prompt in listening to industry after the outbreak of the pandemic, and its multi-billion-dollar economic package will be helpful in long-term...

  This is the second such investment by General Atlantic in a Reliance venture following a Rs 6,598.38 crore investment in Jio Platforms announced earlier this year General Atlantic, a leading global growth equity firm will invest Rs 3,675 cr in Reliance Retail Ventures Limited, RIL said in a BSE filing on Wednesday. General Atlantic’s investment will translate into a 0.84% equity stake in RRVL. The deal values Reliance Retail at a pre-money equity value of Rs 4.285 trillion, said RIL in a media release. Reliance Retail Ventures Limited is a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited, and holding company of all the retail companies under the RIL Group. It reported a consolidated turnover of Rs 162,936 crore ($ 21.7 billion) and net profit of Rs 5,448 crore ($ 726.4 million) for the year ended March 31, 2020. General Atlantic had also invested Rs 6,598.38 crore in another RIL subsidiary, Jio Platforms earlier this year. ALSO READ: Mubadala in advanced talks to invest up to $1 bn in R...

A gauge of capacity utilisation is also provided by the RBI data on working capital loans   There are early signs of an uptick in capacity utilisation in select sectors, which could be a precursor to an investment revival.Utilisation rates are on the rise in cement, automobile ancillaries, engineering, casting and sheet metals, industry players told Business Standard.A gauge of capacity utilisation is also provided by the RBI data on working capital loans. In line with the trend of rising capacity utilisation rates, working capital loans grew 6.4 per cent in the July-September quarter of 2017-18, up from 4.8 per cent in the preceding quarter. It had plummeted to a low of 1 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2016-17.“Our order intake has risen 20 to 25 per cent in 2017-18, signalling 80 per cent capacity utilisation in certain sectors like cement. Some of the sectors with high orders included food processing, alcohol and the carbon black industry,” said M S Unnikrishnan...