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Central govt counts on divestment to deliver A sit tries to meetatight fiscal deficit target for 201718, the government hopes that the proceeds from disinvestment would not only be met but exceeded, by as much as Rs 20,000 crore.This will compensate for some of the expected short fall in other revenue heads, officials have told Business Standard. The divestment target for FY18 is Rs 72,500 crore, the highest fixed so far for any year.After successful launch of the government´s Bharat22 exchange traded fund last month, the proceeds so far are Rs 52,500 crore, already ahead of 201617´sRevised Estimate of Rs 45,500 crore. The finance ministry´s department of investment and public asset management has options (Dipam) which, it is hoped, will take stake sale proceeds even beyond Rs 90,000 crore.“We are sure the target will be met. Given the pipeline of stake sales Dipam is working on, it could be exceeded comfortably,” said an official involved in the Budget making process. “Even a Rs 2

CBEC calls for reality check to boost GST mop-up Amid concerns over slowing goods and services tax (GST) collections, the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) has sought detailed field reports with a special focus on the top taxpayers.Finance secretary Hasmukh Adhia will review the revenue position with senior officials in the department on December 9. Field officers have been asked to submit a detailed analysis comparing tax payments, before and after GST was imposed, of the top 100 taxpayers in their jurisdictions as the government seeks to understand the reasons for collections slowing. The officials have been authorised to contact the assessees personally or even visit their premises. India’s GST collections in October fell to Rs 83,346 crore from a high of over Rs 92,000 crore in September. Moreover, the Centre’s share has been low after payment of compensation cess to states. The total central GST collection in the first four months of the new tax — July, August, Se

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