Stocks to Watch: Paytm, Reliance, Tata Chemicals, Adani Green

Paytm: In its first financial results since listing, One97 Communications Ltd., the operator of the brand Paytm, said that revenue from operations grew to ₹1090 crore for the fiscal quarter ending September, this year. This is a 64% growth since the second quarter (Q2) ending September, last fiscal year (FY’21), the company said as a part of its latest disclosure on the Indian exchanges.

Reliance: Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd on Sunday said it will raise its prepaid tariffs by 21%, matching hikes by rivals Bharti Airtel Ltd and Vodafone Idea Ltd, and formally ending the bruising price war that started with the entry of the Mukesh Ambani company in 2016. Jio’s new plans will take effect on 1 December. The move comes days after rivals Airtel and Vodafone Idea raised tariffs by 20-25%, citing the need for higher revenues to make their operations sustainable.

Adani Green Energy: A Mauritius-based promoter entity has acquired about 5% of equity shares in recent months in Adani Green Energy, indicating a doubling down on the renewables bet by group chairman Gautam Adani. The purchase of shares by Infinite Trade and Investments Ltd has taken the promoter shareholding in the company from 56.29% as of March to 60.14% in November. Adani Green Energy currently has a market capitalization of ₹2.14 trillion.

Tata Chemicals: The company is in talks to buy the battery materials business of London-based Johnson Matthey in a deal that can provide an edge to the Tata group in the fast-growing electric vehicle market, two people with direct knowledge of the plan said. The Tata group company is one of the frontrunners in the race to buy this key business from Johnson Matthey, the people said, requesting anonymity. A deal could be struck at a valuation of $500-700 million, they added.

Lodha Group: Realty firm Macrotech Developers, which has projects in Mumbai and Pune regions, is looking to enter the Bengaluru market to tap huge property demand in the IT city and it plans to invest ₹3,000 crore equity capital for growth as it aims to increase its annual sales bookings by almost three times to ₹20,000 crore by 2025-26, a top company official said. The Mumbai-based company, erstwhile Lodha Developers, is one of the leading real estate firms in the country and markets its properties under ‘Lodha’ brand.

Voltas: Leading domestic air-conditioner maker Voltas plans to set up a compressor manufacturing unit in partnership with an international partner and will invest around ₹500 crore, said a top company official. The Tata Group firm is planning to invest in a joint venture company, with an international partner, which requires PN3 (Press Note 3) approval, said its managing director and chief executive officer Pradeep Bakshi.

PNB: State-owned Punjab National Bank (PNB) has put up a Madhya Pradesh-based steel and agriculture company for sale to recover its outstanding dues of nearly ₹200 crore. The National Steel and Agro Industries Ltd (NSAIL) has a balance outstanding of ₹199.90 crore to the bank.

Coal India: The dispatch of coal to the power sector by state-owned CIL rose 22.7% to 291.72 million tonnes (MT) in the first seven months of the ongoing fiscal year. The company had dispatched 237.75 MT of coal to the power sector in April-October period of 2020-21, according to monthly summary for the cabinet for October. The supply of coal to the power sector by CIL during the last month also increased 21.7 % to 47.67 MT, over 39.17 MT in the year-ago period, it said.

IndusInd Bank: The billionaire Hindujas brothers are looking to increase their stake in IndusInd Bank Ltd., the lender they founded, now that the Reserve Bank of India has eased ownership rules for the country’s private sector banks. Ashok Hinduja, who chairs founding firm IIHL, said in a statement Saturday he’s waiting to act until details of the new rules are spelled out by the RBI, which is also the nation’s banking regulator.

Mahindra & Mahindra: Mumbai-based automotive-to-technology major Mahindra & Mahindra has entered the World Index list of companies in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) 2021. Interestingly, of the 5 Indian companies that have featured in the World Index this year, two are Mahindra Group companies – Mahindra & Mahindra and Tech Mahindra of which M&M is the first Indian ‘automobile and components’ company to enter the World Index of DJSI, a recently published article said.