AIR INDIA REVIVAL PACKAGE MAY BE READY IN A MONTH
HYDERABAD: The centre is likely to finalise a revival package for the ailing Air India in a month, a top official of the civil aviation ministry said on Tuesday assuring “need-based” support to the debt-laden carrier. Civil aviation secretary, RN Choubey also said the safety audit that the director general of civil aviation ordered on domestic airlines “did not find any backlog of any safety steps that they should have taken.” “Whenever there is a need for financial support to Air India, it will be examined on need basis and such financial support on need basis will be provided. I only wish to tell you that all support will be provided. Air India’s competitiveness and efficiency will not be compromised. We have nearly finalised the package and there will not be any problem for Air India. Within this month yes.”
Gold sparkles on festive demand, rises by ₹200
NEW DELHI: Gold prices spurted by ₹200 to ₹31,850 per 10 grams on increased buying by jewellers and retailers at the bullion market Wednesday following beginning of auspicious week of ‘Navratri’. A weak trend overseas, however, capped the gains. Silver remained weak and traded ₹50 lower at ₹39,200 per kg due to slackened demand from industrial units and coin makers. Bullion traders said increased buying by local jewellers as well as retailers, driven by beginning of festive demand in domestic spot markets led to the rise in gold prices. Globally, gold fell by 0.10% to $1,188.90 an ounce and silver by 0.03% to $14.45 an ounce in Singapore. In the national capital, gold of 99.9 and 99.5% purity surged by ₹200 each to ₹31,850 and ₹31,700 per 10 grams, respectively. It had lost ₹250 in the previous two days.
Softbank in talks to buy majority stake in Wework
NEW YORK: Softbank Group Corp. is in talks to take a majority stake in Wework Cos. as the co-working start-up raises additional capital to accelerate its expansion, according to a person familiar with the matter. The Japanese conglomerate is likely to invest several billion dollars on top of the $4.4 billion that Softbank and its Vision Fund put in last year, said the person, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. The deal may total $15 billion to $20 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported earlier. Wework, whose most recent fundraising round valued the company at about $20 billion, was seeking to raise more funds at a $35 billion valuation, Vision Fund chief Rajeev Misra said in June.
PE/VC investments drop 23% in Julsep to $6.7 bn
NEW DELHI: Private equity and venture capital (PE/VC) investments in India declined 23% to $6.7 billion in the third quarter of this year as investors adopted a cautious approach, says a report. According to EY India’s Private Equity Deal Tracker, the July-september period was also the most under-performing quarter in 2018 in terms of investments. The largest deals in the July-september quarter include Softbank, Sequoia, Lightspeed and others investing $1 billion in OYO Rooms, KKR’S $530 million buyout of Ramky Enviro and AION-JSW’S $400 million buyout of Monnet Ispat. Macro headwinds like rising crude oil prices and depreciating rupee have increased uncertainty. COMPILED FROM AGENCIES