BHARTI AIRTEL SAID TO BE IN TALKS TO BUY TELKOM KENYA

NAIROBI: India’s Bharti Airtel is in talks to buy Telkom Kenya, the East African nation’s smallest telecoms operator, to create a stronger challenger to market leader Safaricom, three industry officials told Reuters on Monday. London-based Helios Investment, which owns a 60% stake in Telkom, is looking to partly cash out of the investment which it entered in 2015, the people aware of the matter said. Airtel, currently Kenya’s second-biggest telecoms operator, declined to comment. Number three Telkom was not immediately available to comment. The move comes after the two firms held merger talks last year, only for them to abandon the plan. Telkom made the approach that time. “Airtel is in the driving seat. They are leading the talks. Helios is partially cashing out,” said one of the people.

Finmin wants PSBS to bring down govt equity to 52%

NEW DELHI: In a bid to align with the best corporate practices, the finance ministry has asked the public sector banks to gradually bring down the government’s equity to 52%, a top official said. “The government is essentially a major shareholder. So, this need to be aligned to the best corporate practices. The shareholding needs to come down to at least 52% in the first phase. As and when market condition allows, banks will take step in that direction. They have all the permission in hand,” financial services secretary Rajiv Kumar told PTI. Dilution of government stake will help banks to meet 25% public float norms of market regulator Sebi. Some of the state-run banks have government’s holding beyond 75%.

Sensex declines over 150 points on weak IIP data

MUMBAI: The benchmark BSE Sensex ended over 150 points lower on Monday as foreign investors cut down bets on disappointing IIP data and weak trend in other Asian markets. After a volatile session, the 30-share index settled 156.28 points, or 0.43%, down at 35,853.56, while the broader NSE Nifty fell 57.35 points, or 0.53 %, to finish at 10,737.60. The rupee on Monday plunged by 43 paise to close at nearly one-month low of 70.92 against the US dollar. A weak US dollar against major global currencies and fall in crude oil prices, however, capped losses of the domestic currency. At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (forex), the rupee opened on a firm note at 70.50 and touched a high of 70.44 per US dollar in early trade. But it pared early gains later and fell to an intra-day low of 70.95 against the US dollar.

Oyo Rooms plans centre of excellence in Kolkata

KOLKATA: Hospitality firm Oyo Hotels and Rooms on Monday said it is planning a centre of excellence for training and capacity building in the city. The company has also made an offer to the West Bengal government to maintain a realtime data repository for ‘Digital Arrival and Departure Register’. “We are looking to set up an Oyo Centre of Excellence (Oyo Skill Institute) towards the end of the year, as we continue to scale our business further in the state. The government has extended support with space,” CEO, India and South Asia, Aditya Ghosh said here on the sidelines of CII Bengal Tourism Global Meet 2019.

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