INDIA’S FUEL DEMAND ROSE 8.7% IN JUNE

NEW DELHI: India’s fuel demand rose 8.7% in June compared with the same month last year. Consumption of fuel, a proxy for oil demand, totalled 17.99 million tonnes, data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) of the oil ministry showed. Sales of gasoline, or petrol, were 14.9% higher from a year earlier at 2.38 million tonnes. Cooking gas or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) sales increased 2.6% to 1.93 million tonnes, while naphtha sales surged 11.0% to 1.07 million tonnes. Sales of bitumen, used for making roads, were 28.6% up, while fuel oil use edged lower 2.7% in June.

Govt task force to identify ways to reduce imports

NEW DELHI: The government has set up a high-level task force under the chairmanship of cabinet secretary PK Sinha to identify various items and policy interventions to reduce dependence on import, an official said. The task force includes secretaries from departments of commerce, industrial policy and promotion, skill development, revenue, defence production, steel, petroleum, electronics and telecommunications. It would suggest ways to cut import of those items which can be manufactured or explored in the country, the official added.

IDFC arm may club infra platforms under one firm

MUMBAI: IDFC Alternatives, the investment arm of IDFC Ltd, is planning to club its platform investments in the infrastructure space under one umbrella to ensure smooth exits for its investors, two people close to the development said. IDFC Alternatives will be the first fund to set up a company with a diversified business profile, which will include its platform investments in roads, renewables, logistics and telecom.

HCL Tech board approves ₹4,000 cr share buyback

MUMBAI: The board of IT services firm HCL Technologies Ltd on Thursday approved a share buyback plan worth ₹4,000 crore, the company said in a stock exchange filing. On July 9, the company had informed the exchanges that the board would consider a share buyback plan in its meeting on July 12. The company will buy back the shares at ₹1,100 per share. The buyback is at a premium of 9.4% to the closing price of the stock on Thursday. Shares of HCL Technologies closed the day at ₹1,005.3 per share on BSE, up by 1.03%, while the benchmark Sensex closed at 36,548.41 points, up by 0.78%.

Broadcom buys software firm CA for $18.9 billion

SAN FRANCISCO: Semi-conductor giant Broadcom, which recently failed in a bid to buy US rival Qualcomm, announced a cash deal to buy software and services firm CA Technologies for $18.9 billion. Broadcom described CA as a major provider of information technology management software, in an acquisition that would help the chip maker diversify its offerings. “This transaction represents an important building block as we create one of the world’s leading infrastructure technology companies,” Broadcom CEO Hock Tan said.

COMPILED FROM MINT REPORTERS AND AGENCIES