City Venture Financial News

MK Ventures Capital declared their Q3 FY24 results on 14 Feb, 2024. The topline decreased by 39.82% & the profit decreased by 45.59% YoY.

At first glance, India looks like a digital star, with inexpensive bandwidth, rising enthusiasm for e-commerce, and a fast-growing cluster of innovative companies. Our public digital infrastructure is getting broader and deeper by the day, and the number of internet users is fast approaching 900 million, more than double the figure of 2016. And yet, we still have a lot of catching up to do.

telecom department is facilitating a Shark Tank India-like funding mechanism for startups, particularly in next-gen technologies, as part of the country's efforts to create domestic technology majors. As per officials aware of the details, the DoT is acting as a mediator to introduce startups with the venture capitalists (VCs). «We want to provide exposure and funding opportunities to the MSMEs and startups to scale up. If the idea is good, the VCs will provide the requisite support,» an official privy to the details told ET.

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone and Adani Electricity Mumbai to stable from negative on signs of robust cash flow in the next 12 to 24 months. Adani Ports' ratio of adjusted net debt to earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization — a measure of its ability to pay off liabilities — is expected to be in the range of 3x to 4x over the next two years, S&P said.

The fund will close on 5 April.

CCI on Tuesday cleared the proposed combination involving the merger of various entities of the Shriram Group. The proposed combination relates to the amalgamation of Shriram GI Holdings Pvt Ltd with Shriram General Insurance Company Ltd. Shriram General Insurance Company is a joint venture between Shriram Capital and Sanlam Ltd (South Africa). It is an Irdai-licensed company, offering a wide range of general insurance solutions.

SLCM) Group has launched physical “Krishi Quality Janch Kendra” an AI ML-empowered solution that is set to facilitate food grain quality checks (QC) in India. Aimed at helping farmers, traders, FPOs as well as corporate entities involved in QC of food grain, a total of 31 centres have been opened in the initial phase of the initiative across Delhi and Madhya Pradesh. SLCM intends to establish at least 600 more Krishi Quality Janch Kendra Centre’s across different parts of the country till the end of February 2024.

VC Funding Winter: After years of record-breaking growth, global venture funding crashed in 2023, hitting a six-year low of $248.4 billion. This represented a staggering 38 per cent decline year-over-year and the lowest level since 2017. Venture capital (VC) funding investment in Indian startups decreased by almost one-third in comparison to the funding received in CY22, which amounted to USD 20.6 billion and constituted 4.8 per cent of the global total, according to CB Insights' global data.

Demand from women learners is soaring, not just from the top metros but also Tier 2/3 towns and cities, fuelled by the need to enhance employability in a job market that is becoming increasingly competitive, unpredictable, and demanding.

PwC India survey report on tax transparency in ESG released on Tuesday, 93% of the corporate respondents surveyed believe tax incentives are relevant or very relevant for the adoption of ESG practices and nearly 60% believe that there is a need for policy makers to incentivise ESG practices. 86% agree that preserving the environment will be a key focus area where companies would like to invest if they receive tax incentives. There is also significant interest in using tax incentives for inclusion and diversity initiatives (54%) and addressing social vulnerability (37%) The report titled 'Tax transparency in ESG: Insights into Indian businesses and their sustainable practices' is based on a market survey of nearly 250 tax heads, sustainability leaders, CFOs & CXOs of Indian businesses conducted between April and July 2023. It analyses how Indian businesses are weaving tax considerations into their overarching ESG framework and to assess their awareness and perception in this regard.

BENGALURU : Digital tech-focused Arkam Ventures has included electric vehicles and manufacturing as areas of focus for its second venture capital fund, in addition to fintech, skilling, software-as-a-service, logistics, and food agriculture, a top executive said. The second fund, thematically, has a multi-fund thesis, said Bala Srinivasa, managing director at Arkam Ventures. “In this fund, you will see a mix of sectors connected by the digitization thesis.

Data shared by Deloitte shows that 75% of the 250 companies surveyed are considering gig workforce for their open positions in 2024, as against 61% last year. Data from freelance platform Flexing It shows a similar trend, with more than 30% year-on-year increase in the number of projects in the tech sector.

Insurtech startup Riskcovry has raised around $4.5 million in a bridge round of funding led by Dubai-based business-to-business fund Morphosis Venture Capital. Indian financial services player IIFL also participated in this round. The round has a small secondary component which offered liquidity to some of its employees and exit to early investors.

Dave, a fintech firm specializing in financial services through its mobile application, is set to acquire a $100-million convertible promissory note previously issued to FTX Ventures, the venture capital arm of bankrupt crypto exchange FTX. 

Gen Z consumers attach more value to brands with social causes, with 63 per cent of these consumers more likely to buy from such brands that talk about a purpose, said a new report by youth impact organisation Yuvaa, on Gen Z. According to the report released on Saturday, 71 per cent Gen Z consumers prioritise brands that are environment-friendly.

The average age of a new partner at the Big 4 firms has fallen to 33-35, from 38-40 just 4-5 years ago, according to estimates. An average 35-40% of all partners in these firms are below 45 years compared to 30% 2-3 years back. The starting salary of a first-year partner at the Big 4 is in the range of ₹1.25-1.40 crore, the estimates suggest.

Spacetech startup Bellatrix Aerospace on Thursday said it will start commercialising its proprietary propulsion systems that help satellites generate the thrust for a transfer and stabilisation into orbit. The company achieved a significant milestone with the launch of its propulsion systems – Rudra and Arka – on board the national space agency’s PSLV C-58 launch vehicle on January 1. This gives the company its first space qualification.

Such discriminatory demands may be illegal in many countries, but in India, the above-mentioned bank-backed fund house is one among many employers subjecting female jobseekers to increased scrutiny based on perceived biases against women in a tightening job market, company officials and recruiters told ET.

Many big names of India Inc, from Hindustan Unilever to ICICI Bank to LIC, have received tax demand on the eve of new year as authorities sought to meet the deadline to raise claims. Even many smaller GST taxpayers have also received tax demand. The notices range from mismatch of input tax credit, mismatch in turnover for various returns to demand for non-payment of tax on payments made to expats (in case of MNCs) for which demand has been raised. For instance, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has been slapped with two demand notices recently. One notice of Rs 806 crore for alleged short payment of GST for 2017-18 for Maharashtra, the insurer said in a regulatory filing. The insurer shall file an appeal before Commissioner (Appeals), Mumbai against the said order within the prescribed timelines, it said.

Indian equity markets will be looking towards in 2024. The Indian equity market has been an outperformer and a safe haven in 2023 largely on account of good policies and political stability. That is key. Personally, I am very bullish on India. But India needs trained manpower to truly leverage its demographic dividend. So I would emphasise skill development centres nationwide.

Gautam Adani's sprawling conglomerate has raised over USD 5 billion (Rs 41,500 crore) in equity and a double of that in debt this year as the apples-to-airport group made a comeback since being hit by a bombshell short seller report. Adani, who was the world's second-richest man at the start of the year, saw almost USD 60 billion of his personal wealth erased after Hindenburg Research in a January 24 report accused his group of market manipulation and accounting fraud. The group denied all allegations and reworked its strategy, fueling a comeback that now has the tycoon some USD 36 billion short of where he started the year and two notch and USD 12 billion shy of rival billionaire Mukesh Ambani.