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Private equity calling the shots on hiring in portfolio firms On a dusty October day in Allahabad more than 200 sales executives queued up for an interview for the post of regional sales manager at a non-banking financial company. The person who interviewed them was not a company official, but a principal of a private equity fund that had recently invested in the NBFC. Private equity has come a long way in the country, from fund management and investing to micro managing businesses, and their influence is not limited to the CXO level but increasingly extend to senior and middle management.PE funds such as Kedaara Capital, TrueNorth and Advent International are extensively engaged in hiring mid-senior to CXO level talent for their portfolio companies, industry insiders said. Principals, managing directors and investment teams at these funds are the first line of filters for hiring at the investee companies. Others like Sequoia Capital, Multiples Asset Management, Everstone Capit

Banks set norms to select bidders for troubled assets Banks, stung by fear of investigative agencies disrupting their lives even if they follow the bankruptcy process, have evolved a common set of evaluation criteria to short list potential buyers to be admitted in the bidding for assets put on the block under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, said two people familiar with the developments The ability of the bidders to bring in equity funding, future potential to borrow, past track record of turning around projects are among the criteria evolved after weeks of deliberations, said the people who did not want to be identified. The other criterion that could go in favour of bidders are: higher amount of sustainable debt, shorter duration of the repayment schedule, equity upside for the lenders, allotment of redeemable instruments to lenders and the optional cash flows at the disposal of the bidder. “As a bank I am interested in getting most of my money back in the short- est pos

Power firms top fundraising via IPOs After remaining muted between FY12-FY15, the number and size of initial public offerings (IPOs) is on the rise. State Bank of India in its recent Ecowrap report highlighted that FY18 has witnessed a significant interest in the IPO market with Rs49,175 crore being raised in just a seven-month period. Interestingly, this is more than the amount raised between FY12-FY16 put together. Among sectors, between FY10 and FY18 (up to 31 October 17), a maximum amount of Rs43,921 crore has been raised by power firms, followed by insurance, mining, minerals and metals, finance, and construction. The insurance sector has come to the market in FY18 with four firms alone raising Rs31,320 crore, said the report. It expects the current upsurge in fundraising via the IPO route to last as long as the upswing in market continues. Further, the performance of firms which got listed in recent years will determine the future course for the IPO market, it added. Th

Real estate companies in churn mode after GST and Rera The real estate sector is slowly catching up after being affected by the goods and services tax (GST) and Real Estate Regulation And Development Act (Rera). It has, however, seen a lot of churning among senior management roles, especially in finance roles At least half a dozen senior executives, including chief executive officers (CEOs) and chief finance officers (CFOs), have quit and joined rivals or started as independent professionals in the last couple of weeks “After the GST and Rera, finance, compliance and legal roles have become very critical and are in great demand. Finance heads are also important today to make the right investment decisions,” said Shishir Baijal, chairman, at Knight Frank India, a property consultant Last month, Hari Prakash Pandey, senior vice-president (finance) and investor relations at Mumbai-based real estate company HDIL, quit and joined privately-held developer Runwal group in Mumbai as

New direct taxes code aims for lower rates, wider base Task force on new direct taxes code likely to submit report after six months Lower income tax rates, and more taxpayers—that’s the overall aim of the new direct taxes code being put in place by a panel appointed by the Narendra Modi government, according to an official familiar with the matter. It is unlikely individual taxpayers will get to celebrate anytime soon, although the official, who asked not to be identified, mentioned a timeline of 2019. The committee, set up in November, has been given six months to submit its report, but the understanding in the government is that it could take longer, a senior finance ministry official had said in November on condition of anonymity. Still, it is significant that the government is thinking of lower tax rates because current tax rates and tax slabs are already more liberal than the ones suggested in an earlier draft direct taxes code prepared by a panel under the earlier Unite

RBI seen keeping rates unchanged RBI may seek to wait and?watch amid?concerns of rising inflation The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is likely to keep interest rates on hold for a prolonged period starting with its policy meeting this week on concerns of rising inflation, economists surveyed by Mint said All 15 economists surveyed expect the central bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC) to keep the key repo rate—the rate at which it infuses liquidity in the banking system—unchanged at 6% when it announces its decision on Wednesday “We are expecting a prolonged pause at this point of time because inflation is expected to trend higher and crude oil prices have further increased the upside risk. Additionally, given the fact that the economy is seeing a cyclical recovery in growth, RBI would rather wait and watch on how these factors play out before moving rates in either direction,” said Upasna Bhardwaj, vice-president and senior economist at Kotak Mahindra Bank. Since the last

Sebi may consider exchanges’ foray into unrelated businesses A Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) panel headed by R Gandhi, former deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India, will consider allowing Indian stock exchanges to enter into unrelated businesses, said two persons close to the development. At present, stock exchanges are allowed to provide only trading platform and promote clearing corporation and depositories. “Exchanges want more sources of income. Now, their revenue is from regulatory function such as listing fees etc.,” said one of the persons mentioned above.“Stock exchanges won’t be able to attract investments from investors if it’s not into other businesses. So, they want to carry out unrelated activity through subsidiaries.” On October 16, Sebi constituted a committee under Gandhi to review the norms for market infrastructure institutions such as stock exchanges, depositories and clearing corporations.Stock exchanges recently met the panel and soug