Digital Financial News

Franklin Templeton has stepped into the digital asset arena with the launch of its spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF).

BEIJING — Chinese augmented reality glasses and software company Rokid this week announced it raised 500 million yuan ($70 million) in a funding round led by the government of Hefei city.

Every property buyer, being a resident individual, is required by law to deduct tax from the amount (price) he pays to the seller. However, where the seller is a tax resident in India, the TDS compliance is applicable only if the sales consideration exceeds Rs 50 lakh.

Union Budget 2024-2025 is expected to have a significant impact on the MSME sector, which is considered the backbone of India’s economy as it contributes to about 30% of our GDP, 48% of exports, and employs over 11 crore people. “Allocation of more funds for the ‘Raising and Accelerating MSME Performance’ (RAMP) scheme would provide major financial and technical support to MSMEs.

Ajay Bagga, Market Expert, says “some of the NBFCs have a lot going in the rural economy where the demand has still not picked up. So, I am a little circumspect on this NBFC segment. I think margins will come down and the growth trajectory of revenues as well as profits will come into single digit this year. I think that is the anticipation.” Fundamentally, how is Shriram Finance looking? Where do you see it headed from here on now? Ajay Bagga: I do not talk about particular stocks, but I will take it to the broader NBFC sector. We are expecting revenues and margins to go down over the year. The growth trajectory to go down. Single digit growth in profits. So, the kind of run up today we are seeing in some select NBFC counters, we should be cautious about it. The cost of capital is increasing and the margins are under pressure. RBI has been putting pressure as well on certain segments of the NBFCs.

As we step into the new year, the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting offers corporate leaders, policymakers and other stakeholders a chance to assess the year gone by and take stock of challenges and opportunities, extending to geopolitical developments, climate exigencies and economic hurdles. India has long had a significant presence at Davos and Indian industry has put together a formidable agenda aligned with the WEF’s theme of ‘Rebuilding Trust’ this year.

Q3 results today: Despite speculations about a global slowdown, Indian companies reported strong quarterly results in the April to June 2023 quarter. The performance improved further in the July to September 2023 quarter after a better-than-expected recovery in the Indian economy. The Indian economy has managed to keep inflation under control throughout the year, which is expected to fuel industrial and other demands in India.

Garena Free Fire Max is the revamped version of the popular battle royale game Garena Free Fire. The game started gaining popularity in India after the original Free Fire game was banned by the Indian government. Notably, Free Fire Max also brings many improvements over its predecessor including better graphics, sound effects, lighting and more.

ETFs) saw $4.6 billion worth of shares trade hands as of Thursday afternoon, according to LSEG data, as investors jumped into the landmark products approved by the US securities regulator on Wednesday. The products mark a watershed moment for the cryptocurrency industry that will test whether digital assets — still viewed by many professionals as risky — can gain broader acceptance as an investment.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) said its consolidated net profit rose 2% on-year to Rs 11,058 crore in the December quarter even as its closest rival Infosys recorded a 7.3% decline at Rs 6,106 crore, due in large part to an unprecedented cyber-attack as well as hefty wage hikes. The muted YoY numbers found an echo in the sequential performance, with TCS reporting a 2.5% QoQ drop in profits in the third quarter of fiscal 2024, while that of Infosys declined 1.7%. Meanwhile, revenue dropped 0.4% sequentially for Infosys, while it rose 1.5% for TCS.

Now that buying and selling bitcoin has evolved to encompass exchange-traded funds that invest in the digital asset, broker-dealers will inevitably ponder the Shakespearian question about a bitcoin ETF: to sell or not to sell?

Bitcoin, the world’s largest digital cryptocurrency, recently witnessed a significant surge, exceeding $47,000. This remarkable increase is attributed to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approving 11 new Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), marking a pivotal moment in the mainstream acceptance of cryptocurrencies as viable investment options.

BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust took an early lead in trading volume as 11 spot bitcoin ETFs open their doors to the investing public. The nine trillion dollar asset manager attracted trading volume of $17.9 million in the first hour.

A federal appeals court has directed a lower federal court to consider the merits of a challenge to Maryland’s first-in-the-nation digital advertising tax on First Amendment grounds

National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday seized several illegal arms and ammunition, along with incriminating documents, digital devices and cash in a massive multi-state crackdown in connection with cases relating to conspiracies and activities of the banned Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) and the Lawrence Bishnoi crime syndicate. A total of 32 locations in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi, as well as the Union Territory of Chandigarh, were raided by NIA teams as part of the mega operation that began early Thursday morning, a spokeswoman of the agency said.

PepsiCo's senior vice president and chief commercial officer at its AMESA (Asia, Middle East and Africa) region, Jagrut Kotecha, is now the frontrunner to head India operations, multiple executives aware of the developments said. «Kotecha is a top contender for the role of president and chief executive officer for its India business now, as his decades-plus experience in PepsiCo's snacks business is being preferred by the global leadership,» one of the executives said.

NEW DELHI, MUMBAI : Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) Ltd and Infosys Ltd on Thursday reported their lowest attrition in more than two and three years, respectively, indicating a muted job market in the growing shadow of artificial intelligence (AI). In the December quarter, Infosys’s attrition rate at 12.9% was the lowest in 12 quarters, while TCS’s at 13.3% was the lowest in nine quarters. Their highest rates were 28.4% (Q1FY23) and 21.5% (Q2FY23) respectively.

₹6,106 crore in the third quarter of FY24. Despite a significant decline in its net profit, the Infosys shares, listed on the US stock market, jumped as much as 4.9% during the opening trade on Thursday, January 11. India's second-largest IT firm fell below market expectations and reported 1.7% sequential fall in its net profit to ₹6,106 crore on sluggish demand from clients and cut its annual sales forecast.

gaming ecosystem in the country benefits from efforts like that by Krafton, creator of Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI), to address GoI's concerns to have a ban on the popular game lifted. These concerns are broadly over data localisation and public order, apart from drawing more capital into online gaming, which is a key driver of digital engagement globally. The ban was imposed when India had neither data localisation nor gaming rules.

By Manya Saini, Niket Nishant and Hannah Lang

In a short statement confirming the filing, Circle says the number of shares to be offered and the price range for the proposed offering have not yet been determined. The IPO is expected to take place after the SEC completes its review process, subject to market and other conditions.In December 2022, Circle pulled the plug on a planned $9 billion Spac deal with Concord Acquisition Corp, the blank check firm run by former Barclays bigwig Bob Diamond.