Citi Financial News

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.More than a decade into Xi Jinping’s rule, China’s military has grown more formidable, its factories dominate global manufacturing and its technology pioneers are closing the gap with Silicon Valley.Yet big parts of its economy are a mess. A colossal property bust has destroyed trillions of dollars in wealth, consumer confidence has been gutted and the job market has grown bleak.The disconnect shows how Xi has made China’s security a priority over its economy.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.It was 2-3 hours into my bus journey from Tokyo to Takayama when I opened my eyes and looked out of the window. The landscape had changed. The tall buildings of the city were nowhere to be seen and instead the bus was slowly driving past hills packed with alpine cedar, the trees covered in fresh snow.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Iran had just opened up e-visas for Indian travellers, but ours quickly got rejected. I read on forums that it was common to get an e-visa rejection, no reasons given. So we set about charting the archaic, long-winded route to get a physical visa at the embassy: get a visa code through an Iranian travel agency, file an application with travel documents at the Iranian consulate in Mumbai and submit medical test results for TB and HIV.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.BENGALURU: Godrej Properties Ltd (GPL), the country’s highest-selling residential developer, is stepping up its push into high-value housing, lining up a series of premium and luxury launches across key markets as part of a ₹48,000 crore pipeline for fiscal year 2027 (FY27), executive chairperson Pirojsha Godrej said Wednesday.GPL is targeting ₹39,000 crore of sales bookings this year, on the back of a strong launch pipeline and demand for branded developers.The planned launches span prime micro-markets, including Golf Course Extension Road in Gurugram, Ashok Vihar in Delhi, and Bandra Bay in Mumbai, underscoring a clear tilt towards higher-ticket projects.The shift follows a year of aggressive land acquisitions in top locations and marks a more pronounced move into luxury, even as GPL has previously developed such projects.In Gurugram, now emerging as one of India’s key luxury hubs, GPL will develop a project on an 11.36-acre land parcel acquired earlier this year, with a revenue potential of about ₹4,500 crore. In Delhi, the company plans to launch a much-awaited project spread over around 27 acres in Ashok Vihar, where apartments are likely to be priced at ₹5 crore and above.In Mumbai’s Bandra Bay, where developers such as Adani Realty and others are preparing luxury launches, GPL is planning a project with apartments priced at over ₹15 crore each, as per analyst estimates.“The launches this year will reflect the kind of business development GPL has done last year, where it has acquired land in key micro-markets within the cities it operates in.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) plans to let online bond platform providers (OBPPs) offer products from Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City), but early signals suggest platforms may move cautiously.In a consultation paper issued on Tuesday, the markets regulator recommended changes aimed at easing business conditions for OBPPs while widening the range of products they can offer. Mint explains what these changes are and whether OBPPs are likely to tap the opportunity.Sebi has proposed allowing OBPPs to offer products regulated by the International Financial Services Centre Authority (IFSCA), such as overseas debt investments, that aren’t easily accessible to most Indian investors using digital platforms.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Fashion retailers are speeding up deliveries to keep pace with instant-gratification shopping driven by quick-fashion startups, with established players and newer brands taking sharply different approaches.For example, brands such as Biba and The House of Rare have adopted a more calibrated, infrastructure-led strategy rather than a rapid overhaul of existing store networks. “We’ve been doing this in a very soft way but not necessarily from the same stores because that affects the customer experience,” said Siddharth Bindra, managing director of Biba.Bindra said using retail stores as fulfilment hubs for rapid delivery creates operational constraints, particularly given store sizes and layouts.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.U.S. cities are facing huge liabilities that remain invisible on their books: dilapidated roads, bridges and buildings.A new study aims to put a dollar figure on the total wear and tear on the country’s urban infrastructure, and arrives at $1.03 trillion.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Private equity firm Recognize, which closed its second fund at $1.7 billion in June 2025, is scouting for bets in India that are niche-specific service providers for large-scale enterprises in the US, according to a top executive.“We're not only looking for these niche companies and seeking to scale them,” said Muthu Kumaran, partner and head of India operations at Recognize. “These companies can have a seat at the table with Fortune 500 companies because in cases, they have specialized offerings that are deeper than what traditional IT services providers would do.”The New York-based firm was founded by former Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp chief executive officer Francisco D'Souza alongside David Wesserman and Charles Philips.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Infosys Ltd is accelerating its push into global capability centres (GCCs), leaning into a structural shift that otherwise threatens its core outsourcing business and that of the broader IT industry.The Bengaluru-based IT major has mandated dedicated GCC offerings with embedded AI capabilities across its delivery centres, while also setting aside capacity within its campuses to incubate client-owned tech hubs.The push comes as multinational companies increasingly set up their own capability centres to directly leverage India’s skilled talent and low costs, insourcing work that would have otherwise gone to IT services firms like Infosys, and potentially crimping their revenues.India currently has about 1,760 GCCs. Nasscom estimates India to have 2,200 GCCs by March 2030, with the sector reaching $105 billion by March 2030.To be sure, Infosys is not alone in trying to build a business from a trend that also poses a threat.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Four angry women, in Bengali writer Kabita Singha’s eponymous novel, decide to go “out flying for a whole day” one winter in Calcutta (now Kolkata), most likely in the 1950s. Suman, Bulan, Renu and Chuni are fashionably bedecked as they walk from Dalhousie towards Park Street.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.On 27 April, when weather-monitoring platform AQI reported that 97 of the world’s hottest cities are in India, it felt like a ringing validation of the way I have been feeling since I set foot in my hometown a week ago to vote in the assembly elections.With temperatures crossing 30 degrees Celsius, the heat and humidity in Kolkata has been unbearable this April. If you are lucky to have the option of working from home, you could avoid the worst of the heat.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.When France opens their World Cup campaign on 17 June against Senegal at the Metlife Stadium in New Jersey, they will do so as one of the firm favourites to lift the greatest prize in the game. Winners in 2018 and finalists in 2022, France will arrive on US soil brimming, as usual, with some of the finest players on the global stage right now.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Benne dosa for ₹99”, reads a board outside Maa Annapurna, a small eatery tucked between coffee shops and snack joints in a residential neighbourhood in Mumbai’s western suburb of Andheri. The menu has the usual idli-vada, chaat and pav bhaji. But the real draw is the benne dosa. With the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan campus a few blocks away, it has, in just a couple of weeks, become a favourite among students and those in nearby PG accommodations.Even as his small eatery clocks over 100 benne dosas daily, owner Animesh Shah says he is perplexed by the long queues at a popular dosa spot in the city.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.GANDHINAGAR: Six listed companies have applied for licences to set up corporate treasury centres in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City, or GIFT City, said Kalyanaraman Rajaraman, chairperson of the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA).The applications signal rising interest in India’s offshore financial hub as large companies look to centralize global cash and risk management. While the regulator declined to identify the applicants, Rajaraman said demand is likely to rise over time.“We have issued 10 authorizations till date… we are talking to almost every MNC (multinational company).

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.New Delhi: Luxury retailer Burgundy Brand Collective aims to cross ₹200 crore in revenuein FY27, as the Mumbai-based company bets on rising premium consumption beyond India’s top metros.The company, which has introduced brands such as Royce’ Chocolate, Onitsuka Tiger, Jacadi Paris and Ligne Roset to India, plans to invest about ₹100 crore to scale its multi-category portfolio, cofounder Samir Gadhok told Mint.Burgundy, which reported sales of ₹120 crore in FY24, also plans to nearly double its store count over the next three years to about 65 stores.The expansion comes as India’s luxury consumption story broadens to newer cities where affluent consumers are spending more across categories from fashion and food to home and lifestyle.Burgundy’s approach has been to build across categories rather than deepen a single vertical. "We want to be everything to one customer, rather than one thing to everyone,” said Gadhok.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The India Meteorological Department's (IMD) seasonal outlook for summer 2026 warns of above-normal heatwave days, with rising nighttime temperatures compounding daytime heat stress across east, central, northwest India, and the southeast peninsula.Latest data showed that 19 of the world's 20 hottest cities were located in India.With multiple cities across Bihar, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, and Maharashtra logging temperatures around 44°C, well above seasonal norms, large parts of India are in the grip of an intense and widespread heatwave.Crucially, rising nighttime temperatures are a growing concern. Warmer nights reduce recovery from heat stress, driving up energy demand significantly.As summers grow longer and hotter, the demand for cooling is no longer seasonal.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.In hotels across India, not much looks different at the first look. The check-ins are the same, the wedding crowds have not gone away and the weekend rush in Goa or Jaipur continues.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The Union road transport and highways ministry is recalibrating its highway-building strategy to focus on decongesting urban India, with plans to prioritize ring roads and bypass corridors around nearly 50 cities with populations exceeding one million, two people aware of the development said.The shift marks a departure from the earlier emphasis on long inter-city corridors under programmes such as Bharatmala, towards integrating highways with urban mobility needs.According to the first person quoted above, the new approach of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) will ensure that long-distance highway traffic is diverted outside dense city cores, enabling seamless freight movement while reducing congestion within cities. The broader objective is to lower logistics costs and support investment and growth.As per government estimates, the country’s logistics cost has already fallen from 13–14% of GDP a few years ago to close to 8% now, driven by GST reforms, FASTag, e-way bills, digital tracking systems, and the expansion of highways and freight corridors under PM Gati Shakti.Queries mailed to MoRTH and NHAI remained unanswered till press time.“The new highway construction strategy would keep at least around quarter of annual highway construction target of about 10,000 km for building bypasses and ring roads around cities with higher vehicle density.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.BENGALURU: Urban Company Ltd plans to launch an air-conditioner-cum-air purifier ahead of Diwali this year, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter, as the quick-services platform expands beyond its home and beauty services business and deepens its presence in its consumer durables vertical.Urban Company entered the consumer durables segment in October 2023 with the launch of its Native brand, starting with water purifiers. Since then, the company has added electronic door locks and is now looking to scale up with air-conditioner-cum air purifiers.“Urban Company can only make so much profit from its services business because that depends heavily on manpower and day-to-day operations.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Quick home services startup Snabbit has raised $56 million as part of its Series D round, co-led by Susquehanna Venture Capital, Mirae Asset Venture Investments' (MAVI), Unicorn Growth Fund, and Bertelsmann India Investments (BII).New investors on the company’s captable include MAVI, global marketplace investor FJ Labs and Susquehanna VC.“This round is really a mandate to build for the long-term,” said company founder and chief executive Aayush Agarwal in an interview with Mint. “It's about deepening our presence in existing markets, launching in new micro markets in cities we're live in and experimenting and launching new categories that increase the customer's wallet share.”India’s home services market was estimated at around $60 billion in FY25 and is projected to grow to nearly $100 billion, according to Redseer Strategy Consultants.