Foxconn Signs ₹ 1,600 Crore Deal To Set Up Plant In Tamil Nadu

CHENNAI, July 31: The Tamil Nadu government has signed a deal with tech giant Foxconn for a ₹ 1,600 crore investment to manufacture mobile phone components in the state.

The facility would be set up by Foxconn International Internet (FII) according to well-informed sources at Guidance Tamil Nadu, the nodal agency that draws investments to the state.

"The new manufacturing facility would be set up in Kancheepuram district of Tamil Nadu. This would create 6,000 jobs. Foxconn Chief today met with Chief Minister MK Stalin.

Foxconn already has an Apple iPhone manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu at Sriperumpudur outside Chennai employing 35,000 people.

Calling this a major achievement, Industries Minister Dr T R B Rajaa, in a statement said "Foxconn's repeated investments and expansion plans in Tamil Nadu are a testament to the state being the top choice for manufacturing in India for major companies across the world. This is a major achievement for the state".

Tamil Nadu ranks No.1 in export of electronic goods with exports in 2022-23 crossing $5.3 billion. Chief Minister Stalin has set a target of turning the state into a trillion-dollar economy by 2030. Rajaa added "With this proposed investment, and many more to come, Tamil Nadu is poised to not only remain the top electronics exporter in the country, but also significantly increase its electronics exports in the coming years. This will play a critical role in attaining our Honourable Chief Minister's ambition of #OneTrillionUSD economy in Tamil Nadu."

Called the 'Detroit of India' with a concentration of automobile companies, Tamil Nadu has also emerged to be the EV capital of India as many electric vehicle manufacturers, including Ola Electric and other battery manufacturers, setting shop in the state.

"Tamil Nadu's talent pool and political stability are key assets. Our plug-and-play model is attractive. The state delivers on incentives and ensures jobs for its people and revenue for the state," Mr Rahaa had told NDTV recently.

Foxconn Proposes To Set Up ₹ 8,800 Crore Manufacturing Plant In Karnataka

BENGALURU, July 17: Foxconn, a major iPhone assembler for Apple, has proposed to set up a ₹ 8,800 crore supplementary plant to that of the unit at Devanahalli Information Technology Investment Region (ITIR) in Karnataka, the state's Large and Medium Industries Minister MB Patil said on Monday.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah chaired a high-level meeting with the delegates of Foxconn Industrial Internet (Fii), headed by its CEO, Brand Cheng, in this regard, he said.

As per the proposal, Fii, a subsidiary of Foxconn (formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. Ltd), has a plan to invest ₹ 8,800 Crore. "This would create 14,000 jobs and the land required for the project is about 100 acres," Patil said.

The delegates of the Fii would be taken to Tumakuru to examine the available land at Japan Industrial Township near the district headquarters town.

The Information Technology Minister Priyank Kharge and Chief Secretary Vandita Sharma were also present in the meeting.

"Fii will engage in manufacturing screens, and outer coverings apart from making mechanical components needed for phones. This would operate as a supplementary plant to the 'end assembly' unit at Devanahalli (ITIR)", the Minister said in a statement.

"The state is ready to provide full support, offering land required to set up the manufacturing unit, in the 100 acres of land available in the Japanese Industrial Park near (the district headquarters town of) Tumakuru", Patil said in a tweet.

Patil said on Thursday the process of handing over land to Apple Inc supplier and Taiwanese electronics manufacturing giant Foxconn, for its mobile devices manufacturing unit at Devanahalli ITIR is in "final stages."

"Foxconn is coming up in about 300 acres. The process of handing over land is in final stages, there were some issues, so I have personally held meetings four times in this regard, as we did not want to lose the project. Foxconn, which manufactures Apple phones, is very prestigious for us," the Minister had said.

"Foxconn will invest USD one billion, which is ₹ 8,400 crore, and will create 50,000 employment in the first phase (at the Devanahalli ITIR)," Patil had said.

'Aim To Double Every Four Years': HDFC Bank Managing Director After Merger

MUMBAI, July 1: Having successfully executed the merger with parent HDFC, HDFC Bank's managing director and chief executive, Sashidhar Jagdishan, said on Saturday that the country's largest lender aims to double every four years.

In a letter to the over 4,000 employees from HDFC who joined the bank's rolls on Saturday, Jagdishan said the future is bright and the work on realising the potential of the merger starts now.

"The runway for financial services and mortgages, which are so underserved and under-penetrated, is going to be very large. HDFC Bank, the combined entity, with a large and growing distribution and customer franchise, more than adequate capital, healthy asset quality, and profitability, will be best positioned to capture growth. At the pace at which we aim to grow, we could be creating a new HDFC Bank every 4 years," he said.

HDFC Bank began the day after the merger with a rebranding exercise, wherein it is putting up its colours at all the over 500 branches and offices of HDFC Ltd.

The erstwhile HDFC's corporate headquarters at Ramon House already sports the HDFC Bank branding, and officials estimated that the entire exercise will be over in the next 24 hours.

It can be noted that dedicated teams have been put in place to make the merger as seamless as possible, right since its announcement on April 4 last year. As part of the USD 40 billion all-share deal, the biggest in Indian corporate history, HDFC Bank committed to absorb all the over 4,000 employees of its parent.

"Our work starts today, in realising the potential of what this merger holds for us," Jagdishan wrote.

To realise its growth aims, Jagdishan said the bank will be adding about 1,500 branches every year for some years to better serve the middle class and upper segment of the country.

It will continue investments on the digital front as well, which, Jagdishan said, will make HDFC Bank a 'technology company into banking", and added that the same will get unveiled over the next three years.

The bank will be assessing its people on the basis of how they conduct governance and compliance, teamwork, and their ability to delight customers, he said.

The canvas being offered to the HDFC Ltd employees is large, both professionally and personally, the email said, adding that an external expert was appointed to arrive at the right formula for inducting people into the bank and deciding their role in the hierarchy.

Jagdishan said the cost-to-revenue ratio of HDFC at 0.04 percent was the lowest for any mortgage company in the world, and thanked its leadership, including Deepak Parekh, Keki Mistry, and Renu Karnad, for creating such an institution.

He said that from a customer perspective, the home loan is a very emotional product that establishes a great bond between the financier and borrower, and he added that HDFC Bank would like to harness the same bond.

"The penetration levels of the home loan product in its (HDFC Bank's) customer base and the extent to which the distribution has been leveraged are quite low. This is an opportunity! The runway for growth is going to be large for a long time to come," Jagdishan said.

HDFC Bank will move from a sales management model to a relationship management model because of the opportunity to cross-sell that exists within the franchise after the addition of mortgage finance, insurance, and asset management subsidiaries, Jagdishan said.

"The velocity of product sales and the reduced touch points to serve the customer will be a game changer with this 'power of bundling'," he added.

HDFC Ltd, the parent of the country's largest private sector lender, merged into HDFC Bank on Saturday, with the boards of both entities clearing the plan first presented on April 4 last year. HDFC Ltd, the largest pure-play home financier, ceases to exist 44 years after it was founded.

The USD 40-billion merger, the largest such deal in Indian corporate history, was driven by a changing regulatory landscape, which limited the advantages of HDFC continuing as a non-bank lending entity.

Post-merger, HDFC Bank will become the fourth most valued lender in the world, and narrow the gap by asset size with state-owned SBI to become the second-largest Indian bank.

The total business of the merged entity stood at ₹ 41 lakh crore at the end of March 2023. With the merger, the net worth of the entity would be over ₹ 4.14 lakh crore.

The combined profit of both entities was to the tune of about ₹ 60,000 crore at the end of March 2023.

With the deal becoming effective, HDFC Bank will be 100 percent owned by public shareholders, and existing shareholders of HDFC will own 41 percent of the bank. Every HDFC shareholder will get 42 shares of HDFC Bank for every 25 shares they hold.

The board of directors of HDFC Bank, in consultation with the board of directors of HDFC Limited, has fixed July 13, 2023, for determining the shareholders of HDFC Ltd. who would be issued and allotted the shares of HDFC Bank, it added.

Besides, July 13 has been fixed for the continuation of warrants issued by HDFC Limited in the name of HDFC Bank.

The board has fixed July 12, 2023, for the transfer of non-convertible debentures and July 7 for the transfer of commercial papers of HDFC Ltd. in the name of HDFC Bank.

The merged entity brings together significant complementarities that exist between both entities and is poised to create meaningful value for various stakeholders, including respective customers, employees, and shareholders of both entities, through increased scale, a comprehensive product offering, balance sheet resiliency, and the ability to drive synergies across revenue opportunities, operating efficiencies, and underwriting efficiencies, a statement said.

Public Sector Banks' Profit Tripled To ₹ 1 Lakh Crore In 9 Years: Nirmala Sitharaman

NEW DELHI, July 1: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said the public sector banks' profit in the last nine years has tripled to ₹ 1.04 lakh crore due to initiatives taken by the government and underlined the need for continuing the momentum to fuel economy.

The net profit of public sector banks (PSBs) has almost tripled to ₹ 1.04 lakh crore in FY23 from ₹ 36,270 crore in FY2014.

Inaugurating the corporate office of Punjab and Sind Bank in Delhi, the minister said that banks need to "build on laurels" by following the best corporate governance principles.

"Banks should not sit back and revel in success. They should follow best corporate governance practices, adhere to regulatory norms, ensure prudent liquidity management and continue to focus on having robust asset-liability and risk management," she said, stressing that the Indian economy has moved away from the 'twin balance sheet problem' to 'twin balance sheet advantage'.

The finance minister said that there was a time when the Indian economy faced the problem of twin balance sheets -- stress on the balance sheets of banks and corporate at the same time.

Before the Modi government came to power in 2014, difficulty in the Indian banking system actually started because of irrational 'Phone Banking', which happened during the tenure of the UPA government, she said.

Back then, Ms Sitharaman said, the priority in lending was given to not-so-worthy customers in an unprofessional manner. As a result, they became NPAs.

"As a result (of various initiatives of the government), I'm glad to say the problems of twin balance sheets have gone away," she said, adding that as per the Reserve Bank, it is a twin balance sheet advantage that is benefiting the Indian economy.

Observing that combined profits of the public sector banks tripled to ₹ 1.04 lakh crore in 2022-23 against ₹ 36,270 crore in FY14, Ms Sitharaman said the banks "need to build on laurels".

"At this stage, it is our duty towards the people of India to ensure that the banks can build on the strength and not lose this momentum that we have achieved," the minister noted.

She said that the performance of the public sector banks has improved on account of various initiatives taken by the Modi government since 2014.

There was an improvement in all critical parameters like return on asset, net interest margin and provisioning coverage ratio, she added.

The 4R strategy followed by the Modi government to revitalise the state-owned banks has yielded results, she said.

The 4R strategy refers to recognising the problem of non-performing assets, recapitalising the banks, resolving their problems, and reforming them.

Ms Sitharaman further said the banks should endeavour to adopt a proactive approach in reaching out to people to achieve optimum utilisation of financial inclusion schemes.

There should be a focus on credit outreach in states where the credit offtake is lower than the national average, particularly in the northeast and eastern parts of the country, she said, adding they must aim to increase brick-and-mortar banking presence in border areas, particularly in the those covered in the Vibrant Village Programme.

The minister also recalled the story of the Punjab and Sind Bank, which had suffered due to partition in 1947. Only two of the ten branches remained in India, while the rest went to Pakistan.

Starting from just two branches in 1947, the Punjab and Sind Bank has 1,553 branches, and the 1,554th at Karimganj in Assam was inaugurated remotely by the minister on Saturday.

HDFC Bank, HDFC Merge; Biggest Transaction In History Of India Inc

NEW DELHI, July 1: Housing finance major HDFC has merged with its subsidiary HDFC Bank on Saturday as their respective boards have cleared the proposal on Friday.

Following the reverse merger, the 44-year-old institution HDFC Ltd would cease to exist from July 1 onwards. HDFC Ltd, the country's first home finance company, will lose its identity on Saturday.

"Saturday, July 1, 2023, to be the 'Effective Date' of the composite scheme of amalgamation, on which date the certified order of the NCLT sanctioning the Scheme will be filed by HDFC Investments, HDFC Holdings, HDFC Limited and HDFC Bank with the RoC," HDFC Bank said in a regulatory filing.

The board of directors of HDFC Bank in consultation with the board of directors of HDFC Limited has fixed July 13, 2023, for determining the shareholders of HDFC Ltd who would be issued and allotted the shares of HDFC Bank, it added.

Besides, July 13 has been fixed for the continuation of warrants of HDFC Limited in the name of HDFC Bank.

The board has fixed July 12, 2023, for the transfer of non-convertible debentures while July 7 for the transfer of commercial papers of HDFC Ltd in the name of HDFC Bank.

Termed as the biggest transaction in the history of India Inc, HDFC Bank on April 4, 2022, agreed to take over its parent, which is the largest pure-play mortgage lender, in a $40-billion all-stock deal, creating a financial services titan with a combined asset of over ₹ 18 lakh crore.

The total business of the merged entity stood at ₹ 41 lakh crore at the end of March 2023. With the merger, the net worth of the entity would be over ₹ 4.14 lakh crore.

The combined profit of both entities was to the tune of about ₹ 60,000 crore at the end of March 2023.

The combined shares of the HDFC twins will have the highest weighting on the indices at close to 14 per cent, much higher than the present index heavyweight Reliance Industries with a 10.4 per cent weightage.

The merger of HDFC Bank and HDFC creates a lender that ranks fourth in equity market capitalisation, behind JP Morgan Chase & Co, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd (ICBC) and Bank of America Corp, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It's valued at about $172 billion.

With the deal getting effective, HDFC Bank will be 100 per cent owned by public shareholders, and existing shareholders of HDFC will own 41 per cent of the bank. Every HDFC shareholder will get 42 shares of HDFC Bank for every 25 shares they hold.

The merged entity brings together significant complementarities that exist between both entities and is poised to create meaningful value for various stakeholders, including respective customers, employees and shareholders of both entities from increased scale, comprehensive product offering, balance sheet resiliency and ability to drive synergies across revenue opportunities, operating efficiencies and underwriting efficiencies, a statement said.

Speaking on the completion of the merger, HDFC Bank CEO and Managing Director Sashi Jagdishan said the combined strength will enable to create a holistic ecosystem of financial services.

"We're truly happy to welcome the talented team of HDFC Ltd into the HDFC Bank family. I believe our journey will be defined by agility, adaptability, and a relentless pursuit of excellence. As we navigate the path ahead, we will embrace challenges as opportunities, learn from our experiences, and strive to be the benchmark of success and integrity in the financial services industry," he said.

It also marks the transformation of HDFC Bank into a financial services conglomerate that offers a full suite of financial services, from banking to insurance, and mutual funds through its subsidiaries, the bank said.

So far, the bank was a distributor for these products.

The merger of India's largest housing finance company HDFC Ltd with the largest private sector bank in India combines the strengths of a trusted home loan brand with an institution that enjoys a lower cost of funds.

The larger net worth would allow a greater flow of credit into the economy, it said, adding it will also enable the underwriting of larger ticket loans, including infrastructure loans and contribute further to nation-building and employment generation.

All employees of HDFC Ltd as of the effective date become HDFC Bank employees.

Over the past months, the bank has been preparing for smooth integration not only of systems and processes but also of all aspects that will make HDFC Bank a welcoming place of work for the employees from HDFC Ltd.

Post-merger, the key HDFC Bank subsidiaries include HDFC Securities Ltd, HDB Financial Services Ltd, HDFC Asset Management Co Ltd, HDFC ERGO General Insurance Co Ltd, HDFC Capital Advisors Ltd and HDFC Life Insurance Co Ltd.

Apple's Market Value Breaches $3 Trillion Mark Again

NEW YORK, July 1: Apple Inc's market capitalization on Friday breached the $3 trillion mark for the first time since January last year, as investors bet on the iPhone maker's ability to grow its revenue even as it explores new markets such as virtual reality.

Shares of Apple, which is also the world's most valuable- listed company, were up 1.3% at $191.99 in morning trading.

Apple's market value briefly peaked above $3 trillion in intra-day trading on Jan. 3, 2022, before closing the session just below that mark.

The latest gains in Apple shares come as technology stocks rebound on bets that the Federal Reserve may be slowing its pace of interest rate hikes as well as on the buzz around artificial intelligence.

Apple's better-than-expected iPhone sales during its second quarter and the introduction of new products, including an augmented-reality headset called the Vision Pro in June, highlight the tech giant's resiliency in an uncertain economy.

Currently, four other US companies have a valuation of more than $1 trillion - Alphabet Inc, Microsoft Corp, Amazon.com Inc and Nvidia Corp.

Apple shares have jumped nearly 46% this year, while those of Tesla and Meta Platforms have more than doubled.

A near 180% gain in shares of Nvidia in 2023 has catapulted the chipmaker into the trillion-dollar club.

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