SAT reserves order on Prime Focus offer pricing
NEW DELHI: Prime Focus said the Securities Appellate Tribunal has reserved its order in a case where shareholders of the company have appealed against the pricing of shares in an open offer.
Reliance Mediaworks Financial Services Pvt Ltd and Reliance Capital Ltd, and a shareholder of the company had moved the tribunal, stating that the fair value of the company's shares was not computed correctly, the company said in an exchange filing.
The promoters of Prime Focus, Namit Malhotra family, had reportedly set 44.15 rupees as the open offer price.
The shareholders had filed the appeal against the Securities and Exchange Board of India, IDBI Trusteeship Services Ltd, Credit Suisse A.G, Keynote Financial Services Limited--the merchant banker to the open offer--A2R Holding, which is the acquirer in the open offer, amongst others.
The appellate tribunal, gave a direction that the open offer will be subject to the final outcome of the appeals, the company said.
As the year 2021 was about to set in, the global trade ecosystem faced a unique roadblock. While world economies were trying to recover, the pace was uneven from one country to another. It created an issue of container shortage. The one that the world had never seen before.
How did it all start?
Post pandemic, China was the first major economy to recover. The country accelerated its pace and resumed its export activities while the rest of the world was still reeling under the covid impact. The condition was particularly severe in Europe and North America.
Due to the factory closures and supply constraints, these countries were not in a position to honor their export obligations. As a result, the containers that headed out of China did not return as quickly. These containers remained stuck for a prolonged period at ports. The impact was especially significant for Asian traders.
How did it impact India?
Around the same time, India witnessed a slump in imports from China as the government imposed restrictions on China due to geopolitical tensions. China being the largest importer to India, curbed activities automatically translated to a lower number of containers coming into the country. On the other hand, demand from Indian exports was constantly rising. With this demand-supply mismatch, freight charges on almost all routes increased manifold. And, even if an exporter was willing to bear this burden, container availability was not ensured as the waiting period went up from a few days to weeks and even months.
What's the solution?
India has embarked on a journey of Selfreliance in the post-pandemic world. Under this change of dynamics, export and manufacturing sectors are finally getting the attention that they deserved. Commerce and Industr y Minister Piyush Goyal recently suggested that India is on track to achieve the $1-trillion export target by 2025.
For that, manufacturing is a crucial sector that the government is focusing on.
As per CII, the government is looking to increase the share of manufacturing to 25% in 2025 from ~17% currently.
Af ter the recent container crisis, the Ministr y of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways is examining the feasibility of manufacturing containers at Bhavnagar in Gujarat. While other locations are also being studied upon, Bhavnagar is already a major hub for the ship-breaking industr y.
Closing Comments :
Like many aspects of the trade, India is dependent on China even for the availability of containers. Incoming Chinese containers play a crucial role to cater to the demand from Indian exporters.
And, if India wants to present itself as an alternative to China, India will need to reduce this dependency.
With an increase in manufacturing, India will also need to create a strong base for its exporters. Currently, the Shipping corporation carries the majority of work to cater to India's need for containers.
However, the countr y continues to rely upon incoming vessels for its growing needs. This shortcoming came to the fore during the recent container crisis. And, by creating a manufacturing base, India could get rid of such dependency.
There were no visible signs of progress on the DMK-Congress alliance front on Thursday even as the Dravidian major inked a six-seat deal with the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), a Dalit outfit with considerable presence in north Tamil Nadu. The CPI is expected to sign a pack for a similar number on Friday, while the CPI (M) and MDMK continue to be upset with the offers made to them.
“The DMK has not increased its offer from the initial 18 seats it pitched for us,” said a Tamil Nadu Congress Committee leader dismissing speculative reports that the Dravidian party has agreed to allot 27 seats in addition to the promise of a Rajya Sabha berth.
Although Congress leaders are posturing that they would not hesitate to quit the Secular Progressive Alliance if it does not get a “dignified” treatment, in private they admit that it is a tough call to take as elections are just a month away.
The options before the national party are also limited with the DMK managing to convince some smaller parties to stay on.
“We can exit the alliance for pride’s sake but it would reflect poorly for a grand old party like ours to play second fiddle in an alliance led by actor Kamal Haasan, a newbie to politics,” a leader said.