Stocks to Watch: RIL, M&M, ONGC, GMR Airports, Cipla

Reliance Industries: The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Tuesday said that it has approved Reliance Industries Ltd’s ₹2,850 crore acquisition of German firm Metro AG’s wholesale operations in India. Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd (RRVL), a subsidiary of the oil-to-telecom conglomerate, signed definitive agreements to acquire a 100% equity stake in Metro Cash & Carry India Pvt Ltd for a total cash consideration of ₹2,850 crore as the conglomerate run by billionaire Mukesh Ambani seeks to strengthen its dominant position in India’s mammoth retail sector.

Mahindra & Mahindra: Mahindra & Mahindra on Tuesday said its wholly-owned unit Mahindra Bangladesh Pvt Ltd has ceased to exist. Mahindra Bangladesh Pvt Ltd (MBPL) convened the final extraordinary general meeting of its shareholders on March 14, 2023, and approved the final voluntary winding up, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) said in a statement. Hence, MBPL has been liquidated and has ceased to be in existence with effect from March 14, 2023, it added.

ONGC/IOC/OIL: State-run energy firms, including ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL), Bharat Petro Resources Ltd, Indian Oil Corp. (IOC) and Oil India Ltd (OIL), are unable to access around $400 million in dividend payments stuck in Russia as Western sanctions have made it harder to transfer money out of the country, three people aware of the development said. This stuck dividend income is on account of the Indian firms’ stakes in Russia’s CSJC Vankorneft and LLC Taas-Yuryakh.

GMR Airports Infrastructure: A subsidiary of GMR Airports Limited and a step-down subsidiary of GMR Airports Infrastructure Limited, formerly known as GMR Infrastructure Limited (GIL), GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHIAL) announced that it had effectively raised funds on March 13, 2023, through the issuance of 10 years Listed, Rated, Redeemable, Secured Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs) in the amount of INR 8.40 billion through a private placement. On BSE Limited, the NCDs will be listed.

Cipla: Drug major Cipla on Tuesday said it has inked a pact with Africa Capitalworks to sell a 51.18 per cent stake in Uganda-based Cipla Quality Chemical Industries Ltd. The company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Cipla (EU) Ltd and Mauritius-based Meditab Holdings Ltd, have entered into a share purchase agreement with Africa Capitalworks on March 14, Cipla said in a regulatory filing. Subsequent to the sale, Cipla Quality Chemical Industries (CQCIL) will cease to be a subsidiary of the company, it added.

Coal India: In a bid to meet the anticipated high power demand in the upcoming summer season, Coal India Ltd (CIL) plans to supply 156 million tonne of coal to power plants during April-June. In a statement on Tuesday, the state-run company said that a buildup of 68 million tonne coal stock is expected at the pitheads by the end of March. The coal mining major also said that the company would be scaling up its production into a higher orbit maintaining the pace on the back of an unprecedented 700 million tone output, which is likely to be achieved by the end of FY23.

Hindustan Construction Company: A joint venture of Hindustan Construction Company Ltd (HCC) and Megha Engineering & Infrastructures Ltd has won an order worth ₹3,681 crore from National High-Speed Rail Corp Ltd (NHSRCL) for the construction of Bandra-Kurla Complex Station as part of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail project. Shares of HCC surged 4.2% to ₹14.95 apiece on the National Stock Exchange following the news of the order. The stock had touched a high of ₹15.40 apiece during the day.

Bharat Electronics: The government of India’s Ministry of Defence oversees Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), a Navratna PSU that develops electronic equipment and commodities for the nation’s defence industry. For the Financial Year 2022–2023, the corporation has established a record date for the second interim dividend. Bharat Electronics has announced an equity dividend of 450.00% at a face value of ₹1, or ₹4.5 per share, for the fiscal year that ended in March 2022. With the share price as it is right now, this generates a dividend yield of 4.85%.

PNB Housing Finance: PNB Housing Finance has received the capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (SEBI) approval to raise up to ₹2,500 crore through the rights issue of shares. The housing finance firm had filed draft papers with Sebi in December 2022 regarding the rights issue. In March 2022, PNB Housing Finance’s board approved the ₹2,500-crore rights issuance and in November last year, the board cleared the draft letter offer that was to be filed with the Sebi.

GAIL India: The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has approved the state-owned GAIL’s ₹2,079 crore resolution plan for JBF Petrochemicals, which owed ₹7,918 crore to a consortium led by IDBI Bank. “We being satisfied approve the resolution plan submitted by GAIL (India) Limited…..the resolution applicant shall obtain necessary approvals required under any law for the time being in force within a period of one year from the date of approval of the resolution plan,” the order issued by the NCLT Mumbai said on Monday.