Daily Market Analysis – 11th Feb 2021

IRDAI annual report: LIC’s claim settlement ratio deteriorated in FY20 to 96.6%

LIC saw its claim settlement ratio deteriorate marginally in FY20 to 96.6% from 97.7% in FY19 even as private insurers increased their settlement ratio to 97.18% from 96.6% in this period. Private sector life insurer Max Life had the highest claim settlement ratio for the industry at 99.2% followed by HDFC Life and TATA AIA – with a settlement ratio above 99%. Edelweiss Tokio Life and Sahara Life had among the worst settlement ratios at 83.4% and 89.4% respectively. Private insurer, ICICI Prudential was in the tenth spot with a settlement ratio of 97.8%.

Government plans to sell 20% of its stake in National Fertilizers Ltd through ‘offer for sale’

The GoI intends to disinvest 20 percent paid-up equity capital of NFL out of its shareholding of 74.71%, through the ‘Offer for Sale’ (OFS) method of shares by promoters through the stock exchanges. The Centre is also considering allotting shares to eligible and willing employees of NFL at a discount on the issue or discovered price. Incorporated on August 23, 1974, National Fertilizers is a Mini Ratna company with an authorized capital of ₹1,000 crores and a paid-up capital of ₹490.58 crores out of which the Government of India (GoI) holds 74.71 percent shares and 25.29 percent shares are held by financial institutions and others.

Also read: Government issues guidelines for interest waiver on loan

Geotagging of warehouses in works for location tracking

The government is working on geotagging all warehouses, cold storage and refrigerated vans in the country for real-time tracking of the location and status of space availability. The data will be captured in a mobile app, which can be used by the government as well as farmers to locate the nearest warehouses and store their produce, reducing the risk of wastage. As per an estimate, we lose Rs 44,000 crore every year due to harvest rot. Even if there are storage facilities available in the vicinity, farmers don’t know about them. With the mobile app, they will have access to information.

Spat between builders, cement makers ramp up over price hike

The tussle between manufacturers of construction inputs such as cement and steel and builders is intensifying, with both sides trading charges of faulty trade practices. The South India Cement Manufacturers Association (SICMA) alleged that builders were spreading “misinformation” on cement prices to take advantage of the economic recovery and increase real estate prices, which are already at unaffordable levels.

CCI actions on Cement & Steel Industry

The Competition Commission of India had come down heavily on cement companies, many of whom saw their offices being raided in December 2020. In 2016, the CCI had slapped a fine of Rs 6,700 crore on 11 cement makers, including UltraTech, Ramco, ACC and Lafarge. Offices of some of these companies were raised in December 2020, as part of a fresh probe against price cartelization. Steel companies have maintained that domestic prices, despite the hikes, remained lower than international rates. Prices in China, Europe, and the US – the three biggest markets – were higher than those in India.

Five-fold spike in BoI’s Q3 net at Rs 541 cr as NPA provisions dip

Public sector lender Bank of India’s (BOI) net profit rose by 412 percent to Rs 541 crore in the third quarter ended December 2020 (Q3FY21) on a sharp dip in provisions for bad loans. It had posted a net profit of Rs 106 crore in the third quarter ended December 2019 (Q3FY20). The bank’s deposits grew by 0.72 percent to Rs 6,11,879 crore in December 2020 from Rs 5,22,138 crore a year ago. The lender’s Capital Adequacy Ratio stood at 12.51 percent with tier-I of 9.44 percent in December 2020. The bank raised Rs 750 crore Basel-III-compliant AT-1 bonds in January 2021.

Mastercard to allow cardholders to transact in cryptocurrencies

Mastercard has partnered with some of the biggest cryptocurrency firms including Wirex and Bitpay. The company will begin allowing cardholders to transact in certain cryptocurrencies on its network, becoming the latest to embrace digital assets. Mastercard isn’t recommending to start using cryptocurrencies. It is enabling customers, merchants and businesses to move digital value.

Delhivery plans to raise $800 million through IPO

In 2019, Delhivery raised $415 million in a Series F financing round led by SoftBank, which valued the Gurugram-based company at $1.5 billion. It is looking to raise up to $800 million through an initial public offering (IPO) that might value the company at $3.2-4 billion.

A financial planning platform where you can plan all your goals, cash flows, expenses management, etc., which provides you advisory on the go. Unbiased and with uttermost data security, create your Financial Planning without any cost on: http://bit.ly/Robo-Fintoo

To Invest and keep regular track of your portfolio download: Fintoo App Android http://bit.ly/2TPeIgX / Fintoo App iOS http://apple.co/2Nt75LP‘

Disclaimer: The views shared in blogs are based on personal opinion and does not endorse the company’s views. Investment is a subject matter of solicitation and one should consult a Financial Adviser before making any investment using the app. Making an investment using the app is the sole decision of the investor and the company or any of its communication cannot be held responsible for it.