Quantcast
Channel: BusinessWire India.com - Banking & Financial Services
Viewing all 4382 articles
Browse latest View live

Axis Bank Announces Waiver on Merchant Discount Rate

0
0
Business Wire IndiaIn support of Government’s demonetisation scheme and to offer ease and convenience to its merchants and customers, Axis Bank, India’s third largest private sector Bank today waived Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) transaction fees on debit card usage. The bank has waived the service charges on the use of debit cards at Axis Bank terminals (merchant acquiring) effective tonight up to December 31, 2016. Additionally, the bank has partnered with merchants to allow customers to withdraw cash at POS terminals. The bank will also leverage its contact-less technology at POS terminals for faster transactions.

Axis Bank is consistently educating the stakeholders to adopt to digital banking channels. The bank has enabled the local kirana stores, autorickshaws, vegetable & milk vendors and other small ticket size vendors to accept payment digitally through QR code. This digital initiative is offering convenience to the customers and facilitating small vendors to make cashless transactions. The bank has additionally deployed micro ATM facility for cash withdrawal across corporates, Police, Airports & Housing societies.

About Axis Bank

Axis Bank is the third largest private sector bank in India. Axis Bank offers the entire spectrum of services to customer segments covering Large and Mid-Corporates, SME, Agriculture and Retail Businesses.

With its 3,106 domestic branches (including extension counters) and 13,448 ATMs across the country, as on 30st September 2016, the network of Axis Bank spreads across 1,920 cities and towns, enabling the Bank to reach out to a large cross-section of customers with an array of products and services. The Bank also has nine overseas offices with branches at Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai (at the DIFC), Shanghai and Colombo; representative offices at Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Dhaka and an overseas subsidiary at London, UK. The Bank’s website www.axisbank.com offers comprehensive details about its products and services.

CORRECTING and REPLACING SES Prices Hybrid Bond Offering of EUR 550 Million

0
0
Business Wire India

Subhead of release should read: NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO OR FROM AUSTRALIA, CANADA, JAPAN, SOUTH AFRICA OR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION WHERE IT IS UNLAWFUL TO DISTRIBUTE THIS ANNOUNCEMENT

 

This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161122006149/en/
 

 
SES Prices Hybrid Bond Offering of EUR 550 Million (Photo: Business Wire)

SES Prices Hybrid Bond Offering of EUR 550 Million (Photo: Business Wire)

The corrected release reads:

 

SES PRICES HYBRID BOND OFFERING OF EUR 550 MILLION

 

NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO OR FROM AUSTRALIA, CANADA, JAPAN, SOUTH AFRICA OR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION WHERE IT IS UNLAWFUL TO DISTRIBUTE THIS ANNOUNCEMENT

 

SES S.A. (Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG) announced the pricing of a second hybrid bond offering, complementary to the first hybrid offering completed in June 2016. This brings the total quantum of hybrid debt to EUR 1.3 billion.

 

SES has agreed to sell:

 
  • EUR 550 million of Deeply Subordinated Fixed Rate Resettable Securities with a first call date on 29 January 2024
  • Coupon of 5.625% (Yield of 5.75%)


The transaction is also fully consistent with SES’s commitment to maintaining its investment grade credit rating (BBB/Baa2).

 

The Securities will be guaranteed on a subordinated basis by SES Global Americas Holdings GP. SES intends to use the net proceeds from the offering to repay certain existing indebtedness of the group (including the remaining existing indebtedness of O3b) as well as for general corporate purposes.

 

The hybrid bonds issued by SES are non-dilutive instruments that are expected to receive 50% equity treatment from each of Moody's and Standard & Poor’s and be classified as equity under IFRS.

 

Padraig McCarthy, Chief Financial Officer of SES, commented: “The successful completion of SES’s second hybrid issuance in benchmark size is another important milestone and is an important element of SES’s financing strategy. The transaction was strongly supported by a wide range of high quality existing and new investors.

 

A substantial part of the proceeds will be used to complete the refinancing of the entire O3b debt in 2016, allowing SES to increase the amount of financial synergies realised from 2017. These synergies will complement O3b’s continuing strong operational performance."

 

J.P. Morgan acted as sole Global Co-ordinator and Structuring Agent & Joint Bookrunner. The other Joint Bookrunners were Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs International and HSBC. BBVA and Commerzbank also participated as Co-Lead Managers.

 

The securities referred to in this announcement have not been, and will not be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) or the securities laws of any other jurisdiction and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons unless pursuant to an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act and any other applicable securities laws. No public offering of securities will be made in the United States of America or in any other jurisdiction where such an offering is restricted or prohibited. This announcement does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy the securities, nor shall it constitute an offer, solicitation or sale in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

 

This announcement does not constitute and shall not, in any circumstances, constitute a public offering nor an invitation to the public in connection with any offer within the meaning of Directive 2003/71/EC of the Parliament and Council of November 4, 2003 as implemented by the Member States of the European Economic Area (the “Prospectus Directive”). With respect to the member States of the European Economic Area which have implemented the Prospectus Directive (each, a “relevant member State”), no action has been undertaken or will be undertaken to make an offer to the public of the securities requiring a publication of a prospectus in any relevant member State. As a result, the securities may only be offered in relevant member States: (a) to qualified investors (as defined in the Prospectus Directive, including as amended by directive 2010/73/EU, to the extent that this amendment has been implemented by the relevant member State); or (b) in any other circumstances, not requiring the issuer to publish a prospectus as provided under article 3(2) of the Prospectus Directive (as amended by directive 2010/73/EU, to the extent that this amendment has been implemented by the relevant member State).

 

With respect to the United Kingdom, this notice is only directed at (i) persons who are outside the United Kingdom, (ii) to investment professionals falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the “Order”) or (iii) high net worth entities, and other persons to whom it may lawfully be communicated, falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order (all such persons together being referred to as “relevant persons”). Any securities will only be available to, and any invitation, offer or agreement to subscribe, purchase or otherwise acquire such securities will be engaged in only with, relevant persons. Any person who is not a relevant person should not act or rely on this document or any of its contents.

 

Follow us on:

 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SES_Satellites

 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SES.YourSatelliteCompany

 

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/SESVideoChannel

 

Blog: http://www.ses.com/blog

 

SES Pictures are available under: http://www.ses.com/21472913/Our_Pictures

 

SES White papers are available under: http://www.ses.com/18681915/white-papers

 

About SES

 

SES (Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG) is the world-leading satellite operator, with more than 50 geostationary satellites (GEO) and, through its subsidiary O3b Networks, 12 medium Earth orbit satellites (MEO). Focusing on value-added, end-to-end solutions in four key market verticals (Video, Enterprise, Mobility and Government), SES provides satellite communications services to broadcasters, content and Internet service providers, and mobile and fixed network operators, as well as business and governmental organizations worldwide. SES's fleet includes the ASTRA satellite system, which has the largest Direct-to-Home (DTH) reach in Europe. Through its ownership of O3b Networks, SES significantly enhances existing data capabilities, and is the first satellite provider to deliver a differentiated and scalable GEO-MEO offering worldwide. Another SES subsidiary, MX1, is a leading media service provider and offers a full suite of innovative digital video and media services.

 

Further information available at: www.ses.com

 

 
MULTIMEDIA AVAILABLE :
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161122006149/en/

Razorpay First Payment Gateway to Announce Zero Transaction Fees on Debit Cards

0
0
Business Wire IndiaRazorpay, an online payments platform, announced today that it is waiving off all service charges on Debit Card transactions for all of its 10,000+ merchants, from 12 PM on Nov 24 till December 31, 2016. This move is aimed at helping businesses affected by demonetization and encourage users to transact online. While some banks are still deciding upon the waiver proposed by RBI, Razorpay has taken initiative and is the first payment gateway to remove all charges for debit cards.
 
Debit cards are the most popular mode of online payments. In July 2016, a total of 25.94 million credit cards and 697.22 million debit cards were in operation, according to the Reserve Bank of India. In July 2016, total number of transactions through credit cards were 79.44 million while the figure for debit cards was 129.07 million. The number of transactions for debit cards rose by 36% whereas growth in credit card transactions was just 22.6% for the year ending July 2016. Now, with 0% transaction fee on receiving payments with debit cards, businesses will have additional incentive to encourage their customers to go cashless.
 
 “Though we have not received confirmation regarding the waiver from all our partner banks, we have decided to launch zero transaction cost for debit cards across all our merchants. We acknowledge and support the effort by RBI to promote online transactions. This move fits in perfectly well in the long term vision of a Digital India and will incentivize merchants to go cashless,” said Harshil Mathur, CEO & Co-Founder, Razorpay
 
Last week, Razorpay launched Razorpay POS app for brick and mortar businesses and eCOD payments. The mobile based seller POS App which is already available on Android Play Store allows businesses to accept digital payments in physical world. The end user can now chose to pay through variety of non-cash modes like credit/debit card, net banking, UPI or digital wallets like OlaMoney, Mobikwik, PayUmoney and Freecharge, while transacting offline at stores.
 
Amuleek Singh, CEO & Founder at Chai Point commented - “At Chai Point, we have always pushed for smart use cases of using online transactions in our offline stores as well. As the average purchase size is smaller for us, debit cards account for a large chunk of our business and with this push we expect them to grow even further. This swift initiative from Razorpay will ensure greater penetration of digital transactions across all our stores.”
 
Razorpay is the second company from India to be selected by the world's most prestigious startup accelerator Y Combinator, with over 10,000 merchants including the likes of Nykaa, Papa John’s, Runnr, Chai Point, Nestaway, Eatfresh, among others.
 
About Razorpay

Razorpay is a payments platform for online businesses in India. Razorpay helps businesses accept online payments via Credit Card, Debit Card, Net banking and Wallets from their end customers. Razorpay is known to be a developer oriented payment gateway and focuses on essentials such as 24x7 support, one-line integration code and superior checkout experiences. Razorpay’s investors include MasterCard, Tiger Global, and Matrix Partners.

AiMeD Applauds Government's Move of Asking RBI to Examine Foreign Investments in Medical Devices Sector

0
0
Business Wire India
  • Industry also reiterates its demand for separate legislation and separate department for medical devices
  • The move comes in the wake up of Finance Ministry urging RBI to undertake an audit of all investments made in medical device sector over policy loopholes and confusion over definitional distinction between medical device and pharma sector leading to increased vulnerability of Indian pharma companies and no real gains for domestic medical device manufacturing
  • Government should also investigate how much FDI has gone into manufacturing and how much into promoting trading activities behind the garb of domestic labeling as the purpose was to drive make ‘Make in India’ not drive out what little manufacturing was there in India – Rajiv Nath
 
The Association of Indian Medical Device Industry (AiMeD) has applauded Govt’s move that comes in the wake of Finance Ministry urging RBI to undertake an audit of all investments made in medical device sector over policy loopholes and confusion over definitional distinction between medical device and pharma sector leading to increased vulnerability of Indian pharma companies and no real gains for domestic medical device manufacturing.
 
A procedural oversight in the FDI policy governing investments in the sector as well as the definition of medical devices, has prompted the move.
 
“Government should also investigate how much FDI has gone into manufacturing and how much into promoting trading activities behind the garb of domestic labeling as the purpose was to drive make ‘Make in India’ not drive out what little manufacturing was there in India,” said Mr Rajiv Nath, Forum Coordinator of AiMeD, the foremost voice of Indian medical device manufacturers.
 
“It is high time that the government undertakes a thorough review of its FDI policy in medical device sector as it has failed to achieve the stated objectives and it is also clear now that its loopholes are being exploited for nefarious gains,” said Mr Rajiv Nath.
 
The Indian Medical Device industry has urged the government to undertake a complete and thorough review of its FDI policy for medical device sector. The FDI policy for medical device sector announced in January 2015 with the aim to attract foreign investments in medical device manufacturing within India is now feared being used to augment foreign ownership in pharma companies way above permissible limits. The policy also appears to have done little to boost domestic manufacturing of medical devices, an area where we are critically dependent on imports.
 
The call from the industry comes close on the heels of finance ministry asking the RBI to undertake a review of all foreign investments made in the medical device and pharma sector post the announcement of new FDI policy as due to definitional and procedural overlap, increased foreign investments in pharma sector is presumed or feigned to be allowed under the policy or simply being misused to justify increased ownership of foreign investors in Indian pharma entities.
 
The new FDI policy for medical devices had permitted 100% FDI in greenfield project as well as brownfield projects. Government’s decision to permit 100% FDI in brownfield had come under scathing criticism from the Indian medical device manufacturers as they had feared a severe dip in domestic manufacturing as MNCs were more likely to takeover Indian companies and then use the old Indian entity just for an Indian address to use it as an import and labeling hub. In due course, this would also have resulted in severe competitive disadvantage for Indian owned medical device units as they would not be able to compete with cheap imports.
 
The government last year to give a boost to ambitious ‘Make in India’ programme, had pushed forwarded a half-baked and ill-conceived FDI policy without undertaking regulatory reforms or closing the policy loopholes, the pitfalls of which we are now witnessing. Industry also believes that no real foreign investment has poured into manufacturing as many importers masquerading as manufactures are simply importing and labeling devices here to enjoy double benefits while the genuine domestic manufactures continue to suffer in silence.
 
However, as things have unfolded, it appears that the policy has also given birth to an unexpected and flip side to the entire scheme. Currently and historically, medical device and pharmaceutical industry in India has been governed by the same set of legislation and regulatory framework i.e Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940. The proposed Drugs and Cosmetics (Amendment) Act, 2013 which was withdrawn in June this year, had also not made a any distinction between medical device and medicines despite strong, reasoned and persistent case made by the medical device industry to emphasize the fact that the two industry had vastly differing regulatory and definitional requirements.
 
In every major country, a clear distinction has been made pharmaceuticals and medical device and they are governed by different set of legislation and regulatory framework. But government in India has for reasons best known to itself has shown remarkable resistance to reform and migrate to globally accepted norms.
 
Little wonder, India’s regulatory and definitional confusion has resulted in dwarfing the growth of domestic medical device industry and has made the country hugely import dependent. Due to government’s reluctance to undertake remedial measures, PM Modi’s ‘Make in India’ plan is also being jeopardized at the altar of inexplicable policy and regulatory stubbornness.

TRUSTECH 2016, The Most Innovative Companies of the Trust-Based Technology Industry Meet in Cannes

0
0
Business Wire India

SESAMES Awards, focusing on innovation

 

Each year at TRUSTECH, the SESAMES Awards are given to the best innovations in the fields of payments, identification, digital security and wireless technologies.

 

18 exhibiting companies have been selected as finalists by a jury made up of 18 international experts. The selection was based on three fundamental criteria: the innovative characteristics of the product/service submitted, the market suitability and the strength of the pitch.

 

It's on the Main Stage of TRUSTECH that the 6 SESAMES winners will be rewarded on 29 November in the categories of e-transaction, retail and manufacturing; then on 30 November in the categories of IoT, e-government and cyber security.

 

The 18 finalists of the SESAMES awards

 

Company

 

Name of project

 

Category

AUVERCLOUD SAS (FR)  

Passwordless Remote Authentication

  Cybersecurity
BioSSL ltd (UK)  

BioSSL

 
Spire Payments (UK)  

Spire Mobile Framework

 
FEITIAN TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD (CN)  

Fido BLE Card

  eGovernment
Vision Box (PO)  

Happy Flow Smart Cities

 
IMPRIMERIE NATIONALE/SPS (FR)  

The Nautilus

 
MeReal Biometrics (HK)  

MeReal Biometrics

  eTransactions

FAMOCO, by World Food Programme & FAMOCO (FR)

 

SCOPECARD, a digital solution for humanitarian food assistance

 
TableSafe (USA)  

TableSafe RAIL pay-at-the-table payment platform

 
KEOLABS (FR)  

IoTize

  IoT

SHANGHAI HUAYUAN ELECTRONIC Co.,LTD (CN)

  RFID / NFC Anti-Counterfeit Solution  
SMARTRAC TECHNOLOGY GROUP (NL)  

SMARTRAC dLoc System

 
COMPRION GmbH (DEU)  

COMPRION Network Bridge

 

Manufacturing and
Tests

COMPRION GmbH (DEU)  

TraceCase

 
SPS (FR)  

Innovative Dual interface "Heavy Metal" card

 
VirtuCrypt (USA)  

VirtuCrypt Elements - Remote Key Loading Service

  Retail
TableSafe (USA)  

TableSafe RAIL pay-at-the-table payment platform

 

TAS Group (IT)

 

EasySelf

 


Major players and start-ups brought together by innovation

 

The Main Stage of TRUSTECH will also be dedicated to the 40 start-ups in the Fintech, IoT, payments and digital identity sectors, invited to participate in the pitch sessions.

The exhibitors and sponsors will also present their latest products and services on the Main Stage.

 

Focus on a few highlights

 

Connected objects
Wetech has developed a range of connected accessories and jewellery (watches, bracelets, rings, necklaces, etc.), using wireless technology to be used as POS. The company has also created apps paired to their wearables, in order to control and secure them.

 

Payments
Companies such as TAS Group is helping to bring down barriers which exist in the field of cross-border payments by simplifying the validation and processing of this type of operation by taking into account the local regulations and commercial practices. As for Snapswap, the company combines mobile messenger app functions (such as Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp) with digital wallet and peer-to-peer transactions (such as PayPal) into a single app called Gloneta.

 

Biometrics
Another field where innovation is particularly impressive is biometrics; companies such as Flexenable and Innovatrics both integrate digital fingerprint readers on smart cards in order to increase security and broaden their functionalities.

 

Point of sale terminals
The main stakeholders on this market, such as Spire Payments, XAC Automation and Verifone with "Carbon" will present the latest generation of point of sale terminals. These latest products now include advanced functionalities, access to the cloud and the availability of various apps.

 

More information and registration at www.trustech-event.com

 

About TRUSTECH (Incorporating Cartes): Created over 30 years ago under the name CARTES SECURE CONNEXIONS to promote the new-born technology of smart cards, it has been re-named TRUSTECH (incorporating CARTES), to better reflect the way the industry and the event have evolved, and its focus on trust-based technologies.

 

About COMEXPOSIUM: The COMEXPOSIUM Group, one of the world’s leading event organizers, is involved in more than 170 B2C and B2B events across 11 different sectors, including food, agriculture, fashion, security, digital technologies, construction, high tech, optics and transport. COMEXPOSIUM hosts more than 3 million visitors and 45,000 exhibitors in 26 countries around the world. COMEXPOSIUM operates globally with a presence in over 30 countries.

 

The original source-language text of this announcement is the official, authoritative version. Translations are provided as an accommodation only, and should be cross-referenced with the source-language text, which is the only version of the text intended to have legal effect.

 

 

 

 

Taro Announces New $250 Million Share Repurchase Authorization

0
0
Business Wire India

Taro Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE:TARO) announced today that its Board of Directors has approved a new $250 million share repurchase authorization of its ordinary shares. This authorization follows the successful completion of the previous $250 million share repurchase program in August 2016.

 

Repurchases may be made from time to time at the Company’s discretion, based on ongoing assessments of the capital needs of the business, the market price of its stock, and general market conditions. No time period has been set for the repurchase program, and any such program may be suspended or discontinued at any time.

 

The repurchase authorization enables the Company to purchase its ordinary shares from time to time through open market purchases, negotiated transactions or other means, including 10b5-1 trading plans in accordance with applicable securities laws or other restrictions.

 

About Taro

 

Taro Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. is a multinational, science-based pharmaceutical company, dedicated to meeting the needs of its customers through the discovery, development, manufacturing and marketing of the highest quality healthcare products. For further information on Taro Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., please visit the Company’s website at www.taro.com.

 

SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT

 

Certain statements in this release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.Although the Company believes the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements to be based on reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurances that its expectations will be attained, including without limitation statements in this press release regarding Taro's intention to repurchase its ordinary shares under the share repurchase programs.Factors that could cause actual results to differ include the market price of Taro’s stock, the nature of other investment opportunities presented to Taro, cash flows, general domestic and international economic conditions, industry and market conditions, changes in the Company's financial position, litigation brought by any party in any court in Israel, the United States, or any country in which Taro operates, regulatory and legislative actions in the countries in which Taro operates, and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company’s SEC reports, including its Annual Reports on Form 20-F.Forward-looking statements are applicable only as of the date on which they are made.The Company undertakes no obligations to update, change or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, additional or subsequent developments or otherwise.

 

 

OT Provides a Unified Transportation Payment Card in the Philippines

0
0
Business Wire India

OT (Oberthur Technologies), a leading global provider of embedded security software products, services and solutions, today announced its partnership with AF Payments Inc. (AFPI) to provide multi-purpose smart cards in the Philippines to allow end-users to have one single card to commute and pay in Manila.

 

This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161124005108/en/

 
OT's transportation payment card (Photo: Business Wire)

OT's transportation payment card (Photo: Business Wire)

There are a lot of unbanked people in The Philippines. In order to allow them to easily use transportation in Manila and in the same way be able to pay, AFPI decided to offer them a single card. To do so, OT provides the multi-purpose smart cards enabling commuters to connect from one train line to another without the hassle of changing tickets. The card can also be used in select bus lines and toll ways. In addition to transportation, cardholders will soon be able to pay for goods via a stored value account loaded in the smart card.

 

We are privileged to be the certified partner of AFPI and to support them in offering a multi-purpose card to Filipinos that will enable to have one single card to transit and pay for goods. This will also help in the development of urban transport in Manila. OT has demonstrated its expertise in transportation and payment markets worldwide, so we were able to meet stringent technical requirements from AFPI” said Mark Garvie, Asia Financial Services Institutions Managing Director at OT.

 

OT has a strong local presence and excellent reputation in the Philippines so they are an ideal partner to provide a smart card which enables end-users to commute easily and pay securely. We have our hearts set on offering payment means to the unbanked segment and offering a payment service via a stored value smart card is the best solution. AFPI is extending this functionality to banks and other financial institutions to make the “beep” cards accessible to all Filipinos” said Peter Maher, President and CEO at AFPI.

 

ABOUT OBERTHUR TECHNOLOGIES

 

OT is a world leader in embedded digital security that protects you when you connect, authenticate or pay.

 

OT is strategically positioned in high growth markets and offers embedded security software solutions for “end-point” devices as well as associated remote management solutions to a huge portfolio of international clients, including banks and financial institutions, mobile operators and governments, as well as manufacturers of connected objects and equipment.

 

OT employs over 6,500 employees worldwide, including almost 700 R&D people. With a global footprint of 4 regional secure manufacturing hubs and 39 secure service centers, OT’s international network serves clients in 169 countries. For more information: www.oberthur.com

 

FOLLOW US
Twitter
LinkedIn

 

Download The M World,
All you need to know about the latest trends of the Mobility world, available on AppStore and Google Play
www.oberthur.com/themworld

 

 
MULTIMEDIA AVAILABLE :
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161124005108/en/

India Hosts its First Ever Blockchain Summit on 6 Dec 2016 with Vitalik Buterin - by Fintech Storm

0
0
Business Wire IndiaMs. Arifa Khan, CEO of Zero Field Labs and Founder Fintech Storm is hosting the first ever Blockchain India Summit on 6 Dec 2016 in New Delhi bringing together visionary leaders in Blockchain such as Vitalik Buterin, Founder Ethereum, Cryptographers, academia from IIT Madras, Tech industry titans such as Microsoft, Tech Mahindra, IBM to explore the Blockchain potential and to pave way for adoption in India.

 
Vitalik Buterin , Peter Thiel Scholar said "I am excited to see the growing interest in Ethereum and blockchain technologies coming from India; the world is finally waking up to the great potential that the technology has particularly in emerging markets, and I look forward to seeing developments with the technology grow in the months and years to come.”
 
Blockchain or Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) is the technology behind bitcoin. DLT has seen more than $1.4 billion invested in three years and 2,500 patent filings. It is predicted 80% of banks will have initiated DLT projects by 2017. Most DLT investments have been made by marquee names as Goldman Sachs, Barclays, J.P. Morgan, UBS, Credit Suisse, Visa, Mastercard, NASDAQ etc.
 
Many bitcoin pioneers like Vitalik Buterin, Adam Back (Founder of Blockstream), and Wences Casares (Founder of XAPO), Roger Ver, Chandler Guo - believe in India’s massive potential.
 
ICICI, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Axis Bank have announced their early Blockchain experiments in India.
 
A World Economic Forum report noted that DLT would replace the existing global financial infrastructure, but that it would be a big undertaking that requires collaboration between multiple players. Ms. Arifa Khan who combines domain expertise in Blockchain technology as well as Banking, having started her investment banking career with UBS in 2004, and trained extensively in New York and London post her MBA from Wharton, is now leading efforts for Indian banks to form an independent regional blockchain consortium.
 
Ms. Khan engaged with RBI’s Working Group on Fintech and contributed to RBI’s understanding of scope and challenges of bitcoin & blockchain. Cryptocurrencies impact the economy and many functions of central banks - currency stability, economic stimulus through monetary supply, inflation control, monitoring taxation etc. 
 
The long-held view that central banks have no competitors for issuing currency has been challenged by bitcoin. Vitalik Buterin’s “ether” is the second most prominent cryptocurrency valued close to $1bn, after bitcoin which is valued at $10bn. Dr. Raghuram Rajan, former RBI Governor stated that bitcoin is “fascinating”, and that RBI could release its own digital currency, but that such an issuance could take years to undertake if attempted, perhaps 10-20 years. “Virtual currencies will certainly get much better, much safer and over time will be the form of transaction. That’s for sure.” – Dr. Rajan
 
Most RBI revenues are generated from senorage - holding currencies free of interest. So what would RBI do for revenues when holding currency is no longer their function? “Effect of virtual currencies on fiat money, and effectiveness of Monetary Policy - these are some questions that the Finance Ministry and Central Bank have to ponder, in the face of possibility of worldwide adoption of cryptocurrencies & blockchain,” said Ms. Arifa Khan on a panel discussion with Ripple at a Payments International in London last week.
 
Bitcoin’s promise for India

Gates Foundation is exploring blockchain’s potential to reach 200 mn unbanked in India. Reaching the last mile financial inclusion is a game many corporate houses are keen to play in India. The Payment Bank licenses are a great step to pave way for unbundling banking.
 
Though the ruling party introduced Jan Dhan Yojana and opened bank accounts for remote populations, more have been cash-stripped and rendered destitute in the current currency-ban chaos, which is now being dubbed by the disenchanted as Jan Nidhan Yojana. Bitcoin is immune from vagaries of arbitrary Govt. control, as it is a peer to peer network which does not depend on any central authority for its functioning.
 
UPI and Blockchain

Unified Payments Interface (UPI) from NPCI revolutionises all kinds of payments through real time direct debits of bank accounts. If enough players integrate UPI and build applications on top, it will disrupt PAYTM Visa MasterCard and Swift. Blockchain can cause even bigger disruption in micro finance, crowd funding, cooperative loans, peer to peer insurance, loyalty reward schemes, education, healthcare and governance.
 
Blockchain India Summit will feature Vitalik Buterin, Founder Ethereum, Andrew Keys - ConsenSys, Cale Teeter - Microsoft and thought leaders from Banking & tech industry such as Synechron, IBM, IDFC Bank etc. Fintech Storm hosted 2 large conferences in Mumbai and Delhi last year, and will be hosting Global Blockchain Summits in Zurich, Dubai in early 2017.

Microsoft is excited to be partnering with Fintech Storm/Blockchain Storm to host the first ever Blockchain India Summit 2016 as a Global Blockchain Partner.
 
Richard Knight of Microsoft Asia said ”The Microsoft Azure platform with its Blockchain as a Service capabilities provides customers and partners the ability to create private, public and consortium based Blockchain environments very quickly in a single click manner, using industry leading frameworks, distributing their Blockchain products with Microsoft Azure’s worldwide distributed platform.
 
The global availability of Microsoft Azure, with it’s hybrid cloud capabilities, extensive compliance certification portfolio, and enterprise-grade security, help to enable blockchain adoption, especially in highly regulated industries like financial services, healthcare and government.”
 
Bitcoin and blockchain would present numerous interesting propositions and use-cases, which Blockchain India Summit will explore. Zero Field Labs, the Summit Sponsor is focused on building Blockchain applications for Indian Banks, FIs & other industries. IIT Madras will be hosting Vitalik Buterin’s special lecture on crypto economies on 9 Dec in Chennai.
 
"We are proud and excited to be the Sponsor of "The FIRST EVER - BLOCKCHAIN INDIA SUMMIT" to lay a strong foundation & further accelerate the growth of this next-gen "Blockchain Technology" in India and worldwide." says Mr. Subash George Manuel of CryptoCarbon, a new generation Crypto Currency which has been backed up by a cashback platform. 
 
Blockchain India Summit

When: 6 December 2016 9:00am to 5:00pm

Venue: Shangri La Hotel, Connaught Place, New Delhi

Event website: http://europeindiaconclave.com


Press Release: Fintech Storm India Summit 12-13 May Mumbai Concludes Successfully, Stirs up Interest in Banks, FIs and Regulator in Blockchain
 

Ticket site for foreign delegates: http://blockchainindia2016.eventbrite.com
 
Ticket site for Indian delegates: https://in.explara.com/e/blockchain-india-summit
 

Photo Caption: India hosts its first ever Blockchain Summit with Vitalik Buterin on 6 Dec 2016 - CEO Zero Field Labs

Max Financial Services Announces Embedded Value (EV) for Max Life at Rs. 6,204 Cr.*; Return on EV (RoEV): 22%

0
0
Business Wire India
  • Operating RoEV: 17%
  • Value of New Business during first half of FY2017 (H1 FY2017): Rs. 183 Cr.
  • New business margin (before cost overrun): 19.2%

Max Financial Services Limited (MFS) today announced the Embedded Value (EV) for its life insurance business, Max Life, at Rs. 6,204 Cr. as at 30th September 2016, based on Market Consistent methodology. The annualised growth in EV for H1 FY2017 is an impressive 22% before accounting for interim shareholder dividend. The Value of New Business (VNB) written during H1 FY2017 is Rs 183 Cr. with the new business margin at a strong 19.2%, before cost overrun, and 18.5%, after cost overrun. The improvement in the new business margin to 19.2% from 18.3% reported as at 31st March 2016, is primarily due to an increase in the proportion of non-participating products.

Commenting on the growth in EV, Mr. Rahul Khosla, President, Max Group said, “The robust EV and new business margin reflect strong fundamentals both on the existing business as well as a continued focus on profitable new business, further strengthening Max Life’s position as the best-in-class provider of long-term savings and protection products.”

Mr. Mohit Talwar, Managing Director, MFS said,“The EV and Value of New Business are important metrics for the valuation of any life insurance business as the company is generally valued at a multiple to its EV.  A robust growth in Value of New Business was the primary driver of the increase in Max Life’s EV. It was also aided by gains from favourable equity and interest rate movements.”

The EV of a life insurance company comprises two key elements — a) Net Asset Value or the Net Worth of the company, which represents the market value of the company’s assets attributable to the shareholders, and b) the Present Value of the company’s future expected profits from its existing business portfolio as at the date of valuation.

Max Life had transitioned its EV calculation to a Market Consistent methodology from the earlier traditional approach (Traditional Embedded Value – TEV) in FY2015. This follows market practice in developed markets, where life insurers have moved to adopt market consistent methodologies.

A market consistent methodology approach better reflects the embedded value of an insurance company by explicitly and specifically allowing for insurance and economic risks rather than using an implicit overall allowance for risks through a Risk Discount Rate (RDR) in the traditional approach. In addition, the market-consistent approach is more objective where asset and liability cash flows are valued using assumptions consistent with those applied to similar cash flows in the capital markets, thus more accurately reflecting the health of the business.

About Max Group

The Max Group is a leading Indian multi-business conglomerate with a commanding presence in the Life Insurance, Health & Allied businesses and packaging sectors. In FY 2016, the Group recorded consolidated revenues of Rs 14,237 Cr. It has a total customer base of 9 million, nearly 240 offices spread across India and people strength of 22,500 as on 31st March 2016.The Group’s investor base includes marquee global financial institutions such as Goldman Sachs, KKR, IFC Washington, Fidelity, Ward Ferry, New York Life, Wasatch and Invesco.

The Max Group comprises three holding companies, namely Max Financial Services, Max India and Max Ventures & Industries.

About Max Financial Services Limited

Max Financial Services Limited (MFS), a part of the US$ 2 billion Max Group, is the parent company of Max Life, India’s largest non-bank, private life insurance company. MFS actively manages a majority stake in Max Life Insurance Company Limited, making it India’s first listed company focused exclusively on life insurance. Max Life is a joint venture with Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance (MSI), a Japan headquartered global leader in life insurance.

For further information, please visit:
Max Group: www.maxgroup.net                      Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/themaxgroup
MFS: www.maxfinancialservices.com             Twitter : https://twitter.com/maxgroup

Aditya Birla Financial Services Group Puts "Health First" into Health Insurance

0
0
Business Wire India 
  1. Aditya Birla Health Insurance Co. Ltd. Launched with a differentiated business model
  2. Comprehensive Incentivized Wellness to be introduced to Indian consumers - Get Rewarded for staying healthy
  3. Despite being a late entrant, ABHICL aims to expand the 27000 crore category, making it relevant to the young and health conscious, in addition to those dealing with chronic lifestyle conditions
  4. ABHICL aims to be the most preferred customer partner by 2020 with significant market share
 
Aditya Birla Financial Services Group (ABFSG) today announced the launch of its standalone health insurance arm under the brand Aditya Birla Health Insurance (ABHICL). ABHICL is a joint venture between the Aditya Birla Group and MMI Holdings Ltd. (MMI), a large and diversified financial services leader in South Africa.
 
ABHICL enters the Indian health market with a differentiated business model when compared to that of any existing health insurance player, offering health insurance to a wider set of customers by driving awareness and changing existing consumer attitudes in health insurance.
 
ABHICL would serve as an enabler and influencer of health and healthcare choices that customers make, in addition to being a payer of healthcare expenses. Thus, ABHICL would act like a much needed catalyst to grow the prevalent health insurance landscape in India through product innovations and a wider choice of consumer relevant products. ABHICL has connected solutions to the role a customer thinks health plays in their own life – be it as an enabler of good things or as a barrier to achieving life goals, empowering and motivating families to prioritize “Health First”, in keeping with ABHICL’s core business philosophy. 
 
Customers will be able to select their own healthcare providers from an extensive network, manage health care expenses through informed choices and will be given ample opportunities to improve their overall health. While ABHICL will target an existing captive consumer base of several million ABFSG customers, it plans to grow rapidly given its product philosophy that expands health insurance to a newer category of fit and healthy customers. ABHICL will also introduce a chronic care management programme to cater to the unmet needs of a growing Indian population of those suffering from 5 chronic lifestyle conditions.
 
Announcing the launch, Ajay Srinivasan, Chief Executive – Financial Services, Aditya Birla Group said, “We are very excited about the launch of ABHICL in partnership with MMI. In keeping with our vision of being a well-diversified financial services conglomerate that builds leadership through solving customer problems, ABHICL will seek to grow in a competitive market by making a positive impact on individuals and families. We are very bullish on this sector and our business model as health is a core necessity for the ambitious India.”
 
“Our partner brings a vast amount of knowledge and IP in this area which we think will be invaluable to our customers,” he further added.
 
Nicolaas Kruger, Group CEO of MMI Holdings said, “We look forward to extending our health insurance solutions to the Indian market and are excited about the growth potential in India. We aim to continually work together with ABHICL, to better understand customer needs and enhance our product offerings in line with what they need the most at any given point of time in their life.” 
 
Mayank Bathwal, CEO, Aditya Birla Health Insurance Co. Limited added, “With the launch of ABHICL, we want to focus as much on ‘Health’ as on ‘Insurance’. Through our full range of retail and group health insurance offerings, we will look to expand the category as it will find relevance among a wider set of customers, including the young, health conscious and others dealing with the most common chronic lifestyle diseases. We aim to enhance consumer convenience leveraging the power of digital.”
 
ABHICL has invested considerable time and effort to understand existing correlations between good health and individual health choices. ABHICL’s product philosophy aims to combine understanding of this science with an assessment of unaddressed needs of large customer segments, which presently remain unfulfilled. This philosophy can be summed up in 4 simple points -
 
  • Rewarding healthy behaviour with incentives that make efforts worthwhile
  • Safeguarding health by guiding customers to manage chronic lifestyle conditions better
  • Protecting health needs with dignity 
  • Providing easy access to a holistic health and wellness ecosystem in a personalized, efficient and cost-effective manner through digitized processes 
 
On the distribution front, ABHICL will have a multi-channel distribution model across agency, broking, bancassurance, direct marketing, online channel and more. The agency channel will start with 9 branches across top 7 tier-1 cities and will expand reach in the next couple of years.
 
Aditya Birla Financial Services Group
 
Aditya Birla Financial Services Group (ABFSG) ranks among the top 5 fund managers in India (excluding LIC) with an AUM of INR 217,840 Crore as on 30th September 2016 and has a lending book of Rs 31,823 Crore. Having a strong presence across the life insurance, asset management, private equity, corporate lending, structured finance, general insurance broking, wealth management, equity/currency/commodity broking, online personal finance, housing finance, pension fund management and health insurance business ABFSG is committed to serve the end-to-end financial services needs of its retail and corporate customers.
 
 As on 31st March 2016, ABFSG reported aggregate revenue from businesses at Rs.9,299 Crores and profit before tax from established businesses, in excess of Rs.1,110 Crore. Anchored by about 13,000 employees and trusted by over 9 million customers, ABFSG has a nationwide reach through over 1,350 points of presence and more than 125,000 agents / channel partners. For more information, please visit www.abfsg.com.
 
Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd.
 
Aditya Birla Nuvo is a USD 3.6 billion conglomerate with leadership position across its businesses. Its Financial Services business ranks among the top 5 fund managers in India. Its Telecom venture, Idea Cellular, ranks among the top 3 cellular operators in India. It is a leading player in Linen, Agri, Rayon and Insulators businesses. ABNL has recently ventured into the Solar Power and Health Insurance businesses. It has also received an in-principle approval from RBI to set up a Payments Bank in joint venture with Idea Cellular.
 
Aditya Birla Nuvo is a part of the Aditya Birla Group, a USD 41 billion Indian multinational. The Aditya Birla Group is in the league of Fortune 500. Anchored by an extraordinary force of over 120,000 employees, belonging to 42 nationalities, the Aditya Birla Group operates in 36 countries across the globe. About 50 per cent of its revenues flow from its overseas operations.
 
About MMI Holdings
 
MMI Holdings Limited (MMI) is a South African based financial services group listed on the South African stock exchange, the JSE. The group operates in the market through multiple client-facing brands including insurance and investment brands Metropolitan and Momentum, South Africa’s number one cell captive insurer Guardrisk and wellness & rewards programme multiply. MMI operates in 17 countries across the globe: 13 in the African continent, Hong Kong, Indonesia, United Kingdom, and India through a direct presence, strategic partnerships and joint ventures. Visit us at www.mmiholdings.co.za.

Photo Caption : L-R - Nicolaas Kruger, Group CEO of MMI Holdings, Mayank Bathwal, CEO, Aditya Birla Health Insurance Co. Limited, Ajay Srinivasan, CEO - Financial Services, Aditya Birla Group

INOX Pioneers the Initiative to Make Multiplexes Become ATMs

0
0
Business Wire IndiaINOX Leisure, India’s premier multiplex chain, has launched a new initiative to ease the process of cash withdrawal for the common man while supporting the demonetization drive of the Government. The company has partnered with State Bank of India (SBI) to facilitate this transaction at the nearest INOX multiplex using a debit card.

Citizens can simply swipe their debit cards, enter their PIN number and take upto Rs. 2000 in cash per card per day. All applicable guidelines of the Reserve Bank of India with regard to cash withdrawals shall be followed. The facility will be available across 17 properties starting today, and will be made available at the remaining 89 properties over the course of the weekend.

Commenting on this unique initiative, Mr. Siddharth Jain, Director, INOX Leisure Ltd., said “We, at INOX Leisure, believe that the current demonetization will have a positive impact on the Indian economy. We want to serve the nation at large by assisting the government in achieving their objectives of building a progressive economy. Through this effort, we are attempting to ease any difficulties that are currently being faced by people due to demonetization. INOX Leisure is proud to be the first multiplex in the country to launch this initiative and make a contribution towards achieving the objectives of the demonetization drive by the government.”

Commenting on this tie-up, State Bank of India (SBI) said, “We are glad to partner with INOX Leisure for the initiative that they have undertaken during this phase. At SBI, we provide support to customers and this association with INOX coincides with our offering.”

'ENJOY THE CONVENIENCE OF CASH WITHDRAWALS AT INOX'
  
About INOX leisure Ltd.
 
INOX Leisure Limited (INOX) is amongst India’s largest multiplex chains with 113 multiplexes, 446 screens spread in 57 cities, making it a truly Pan India multiplex chain. For easy and convenient ticket booking, INOX offers online booking on www.inoxmovies.com and through its smartphone applications. For movie updates and various offers, one can follow us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/INOXLEISURE) Twitter (www.twitter.com/INOXMovies) and Instagram (www.instagram.com/inoxmovies).

Follow (www.twitter.com/@JainSiddharth_) for industry insights.

CASHe Records A 80% Surge in Loans Taken Post Demonetization Policy

0
0
Business Wire IndiaCASHe, India’s premier app - only instant personal loan technology platform currently available on Google Play and funded by technology start-up TSLC Pte Ltd., offers multiple loan products ranging from 15,30 & 90-day duration. With loan amounts starting from Rs. 5,000 to up to Rs. 1 lac, CASHe witnessed a huge demand with customers seeking immediate monetary assistance during the demonetization drive launched by the government. CASHe has witnessed an impressive 80% growth in customer base during the month of November alone from customers across the country. The total loans disbursed during the month stood at over 10 crores. This trend will continue in the future since all informal lending channels have dried up and the organized sector hitherto dominated by banks has not really altered its cumbersome processes of verification and approval.

The smart phone mobile app offers instant short-term unsecured loans to help young salaried professionals to cater to their dynamic lifestyles. Within nine months of its operations in India, CASHe has successfully garnered over 60,000 customer base and over 90,000 app downloads on Google Play. With over 15,000 active customers, CASHe has disbursed over 30 Crores of loans to young urban professionals PAN-India.

Through its user-friendly digital interface, CASHe enables faster loan application and quicker loan disbursals. This is bolstered by the proprietary technology algorithm called the Social Loan Quotient (SLQ). The SLQ takes mobile data and social networking data upon which complex artificial intelligence algorithms are applied to create a creditworthiness quotient for every individual. It is an algorithmic based loan giving app, with zero human bias setting itself apart from conventional ways of lending in India. CASHe is the only completely app based service that provides sophisticated technology to analyse customer data and providing a seamless hassle free experience. CASHe’s SLQ ranking is a human centric algorithm that is the next step in credit valuation as it redefines the way credit worthiness can be calculated. While other lending institutions use standard ranking techniques coupled with human intervention, CASHe’s SLQ engine considers everyone to be part of a giant community. Thus it not only focuses on individualistic aspects but also on how everyone is connected to people around them, avoiding being a traditional preconditioned ranking system.

Raman Kumar, Founder, Chairman & Chief Evangelist, CASHe states, “Keeping the requirements of our target audience in mind, we are smart, digital, instant and intelligent in our approach to lending to the young urban professionals. We are the first and the only company that has developed an app that truly caters to a generation that believes in availing services and products at the click of a button. At CASHe we believe that with the dynamic nature of today’s millennial generation their credit worthiness depends not only on credit history but also on their individual behaviour in the digital environment and their potential to repay in the future. The digital footprint leaves traces of the diverse facets of an individual’s persona, which if harnessed correctly provide a more realistic picture of his trust worthiness than mere financial records. To meet the challenge of this transformation, our research scientists have developed Social Loan Quotient (SLQ), our very own advanced ranking engine based on Artificial Intelligence.”

Customers need to log in using their Facebook, LinkedIn or Google Plus accounts, enter their basic details, click a selfie, upload their identity proof such as a PAN Card, AADHAR number along with latest salary slips and bank statements using the app itself. Once registered, the system analyses the data by using a proprietary algorithm and the eligibility is confirmed within minutes. The SLQ score is agile and takes into account all the developments in the individual’s records to create the most relevant understanding of the loan requestor. Once the credit is approved; the requested amount is credited to the user’s bank account within minutes. The repayment process too is as simple as applying for a loan. The customer can directly credit the amount back through bank transfer on the designated due dates.

For more information on CASHe, visit www.cashe.co.in. Download CASHe here.

V.Raman Kumar: Founder, Chairman & Chief Evangelist

Raman Kumar is a successful tech entrepreneur and private equity investor. He is the founder & former Chairman/CEO of NASDAQ listed M*Modal Inc., a leading voice recognition, healthcare document technology company that he took from a start-up to a unicorn, sold to One Equity Partners for over a billion dollars in 2012. Since then, he has actively invested in a number of ventures across India, Middle East and USA. He is also a limited partner in three large international private equity funds. He recently joined the board of THub- the Hyderabad based tech incubator and accelerator sponsored by government of Telangana. Raman was Ernst and Young's Entrepreneur of the Year 2007 award winner for Maryland, USA, and was also honoured with Maryland International Leadership Award by World Trade Centre Institute, Baltimore in the same year. Raman is currently the chairman and managing director of Aeries Group of companies and TSLC is his most ambitious venture after MModal.

Promoters Acquire 3.6% Stake in Max Ventures and Industries Limited

0
0
Business Wire IndiaThe Promoters of Max Ventures & Industries Limited (MaxVIL), led by Chairman Mr. Analjit Singh, today announced that they have acquired an additional 3.33% stake in MaxVIL from Goldman Sachs on 29th November at a rate of Rs. 50.5 per share, and another 0.27% stake from the open market in creeping acquisition between 25-28 November 2016 at prevailing market prices. The Promoters’ shareholding in the Company now stands at 44%.

MaxVIL was listed on the National Stock Exchange and the Bombay Stock Exchanges earlier this year in June.

MaxVIL is one of the three new holding companies formed after the demerger of the erstwhile Max India Limited, and was the second company to start trading after Max Financial Services.

The Company manages the investment in its manufacturing subsidiary, Max Speciality Films (MSF), which is an innovation leader in the Speciality Packaging Films business. It also aims to evaluate new ideas in the ‘wider world of business’, including but not limited to sectors such as education, real estate and technology taking cues from the economic and commercial reforms agenda of the present Government, including ‘Make in India’, ‘Skill India’, ‘Digital India’, among others.

In addition to MSF, MaxVIL has announced plans around 3 new business verticals as well. The first, Max Estates, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of MaxVIL and will lead the Company’s projects in the real estate space. The second business is MaxVIL’s fully-owned and recently incorporated subsidiary Max I. Limited, which will facilitate intellectual & financial Capital to promising and proven early-stage organizations across identified sunrise sectors. The final business vertical planned under MaxVIL will operate in the Education space and was incorporated as Max Learning Limited in August 2016.

Explaining the rationale for the stake purchase, Analjit Singh said, “We have full conviction in the underlying strength of Max Ventures & Industries as our vehicle to pursue path-breaking formats in areas which either have adjacencies to our existing businesses of life or where we have long-standing experience. These sunrise businesses offer immense potential of growing multifold in profits as well as valuation.”

Disclaimer: Certain statements in this “Press Release” may not be based on historical information or facts and may be “forward looking statements” within the meaning of applicable securities laws and regulations, including, but not limited to, those relating to general business plans & strategy, future outlook & growth prospects, competitive & regulatory environment and management's current views & assumptions which may not remain constant due to risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied. The Company assumes no responsibility to publicly amend, modify or revise any statement, on the basis of any subsequent development, information or events, or otherwise. This “Press Release” does not constitute a prospectus, offering circular or offering memorandum or an offer to acquire any shares and should not be considered as a recommendation that any investor should subscribe for or purchase any of the Company’ shares.

IBKR Unveils More Upgrades to Its Award Winning Trading Platform

0
0
Business Wire India

Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:IBKR) has released its November IB Communiqué to inform clients worldwide about the latest enhancements to its Trader Workstation platform (TWS) and new product offerings.

 

IB Announces Greenwich Compliance

 

Interactive Brokers recently announced the launch of Greenwich Advisor Compliance Services Corp. as a new resource for experienced investors and traders wishing to start their own investment advisory firm. Greenwich Compliance professionals have regulatory and industry experience who are able to assist investment advisors trading on the IB platform with their registration and compliance needs. Learn more here.

 

New Financial Products Launched

 

Interactive Brokers expanded its product offerings this quarter. IB now offers Forex Contracts for Difference (CFDs). Eligible clients can also now trade Forex CFDs using IB’s FXTrader. CFDs are derivative trading instruments that offer opportunities to trade on the price movement of various financial assets.

 

Natural Language Interface

 

IB recently rolled out IBot, which lets customers easily enter commands in Trader Workstation in simple text. With IBot, users can access quotes and charts and even enter orders and trades. IB’s developers are working on more IBot enhancements, including voice recognition for mobile devices. Read more about IBot.

 

PortfolioAnalyst Enhancements

 

Now you can view sector performance at a glance. This popular tool has expanded reporting capabilities, with heat maps to show sector and symbol performance. IB also added a new color-coded bar chart to show performance by asset class. Read more about recent enhancements to PortfolioAnalyst.

 

Keep Informed with IB FYIs

 

Customers can keep abreast of upcoming events that could impact their investments with IB FYIs. Notifications are customized based on each customer’s trading activity and portfolio. For example, the recently released Options Exercise FYI can notify you about the last trading date for options positions you hold, so you’re always up to date on your options. Learn about IB’s FYIs.

 

IB Feature Explorer Makes Finding Features Fast

 

To help people quickly locate all the tools and information IB offers, we created the IB Feature Explorer. Accessible from the home page and every menu on IB’s website, the Feature Explorer helps customers easily find information. You can learn more about over 500 of IB’s top features, such as our trading and risk management tools and custody and clearing services. Try the Feature Explorer.

 

Custom Workspace Layouts

 

IB’s newest Layout Library is a browser that enables you to customize your own layout or select from our Layout Library. Create your own or choose from over 20 different layouts so you can see exactly what you want in your personalized workspace. Learn more about Custom Workspace Layouts.

 

Read the entire November IB Communiqué here.

 

About Interactive Brokers Group, Inc.

 

Interactive Brokers Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, is an automated global electronic broker that specializes in catering to financial professionals by offering state-of-the-art trading technology, superior execution capabilities, worldwide electronic access, and sophisticated risk management tools at exceptionally low costs. The brokerage trading platform utilizes the same innovative technology as the Company's market making business, which specializes in routing orders and executing and processing trades in securities, futures, foreign exchange instruments, bonds and funds on more than 100 electronic exchanges and trading venues around the world. As a market maker, we provide liquidity at these marketplaces and, as a broker, we provide professional traders and investors with electronic access to stocks, options, futures, forex, bonds and mutual funds from a single IB Universal Account™. Employing proprietary software on a global communications network, Interactive Brokers is continuously integrating its software with a growing number of exchanges and trading venues into one automatically functioning, computerized platform that requires minimal human intervention.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Angel Broking's Innovation that Enables Personalization from Day Zero

0
0
Business Wire IndiaIn its continuous effort to provide the best investment experience to its customers, Angel Broking, India’s top retail-focused brokerage house, has introduced the ELMS, an innovative Lead Management System that enables the firm to engage more intelligently with customers by acquiring unique insights.

Angel Broking’s ELMS handles entire life cycle of a customer – right from the lead generation to conversion and beyond through different channels of interaction across Web (using “Digi-Web”), or Smartphone (using “Digi-App”) or a Face-to-Face interaction (using “Digi-Tab”).

Explaining the rationale behind introducing an innovative Lead Management System, Mr. Ketan Shah, Chief Business Officer (CBO), Angel Broking says, “Organizations as well as customers benefit from long-term associations, and for a long-term association, a customer must consistently receive the best service even without her explicitly demanding it. At Angel Broking, we strongly believe that converting leads into customers and converting customers into lifetime relationship require careful nurturing. Our new innovative ELMS platform is designed to enable us to develope meaningful long-term association with the customers through better understanding of the customer profiles. The ELMS system acquires unique insights of customers’ profiles based on their online presence/footprint, and these insights are used to offer customized advice to them.”

Elaborating further on the features, Mr. Gagan Singla, Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) says “The ELMS engages with the client even before the customer is approached for business. The ELMS categorizes all leads received by the firm. One of the most innovative features of the ELMS is ‘Leads Scoring’ or Lead Rating’, which is essentially the rating of the lead/customer, based on the information received at the first stage of interaction. The categorization helps the firm understand the level of hand-holding needed for respective set of customers and accordingly a relevant resources is assigned the job”.

While the system has several features that contribute to the larger enhanced customer experience, key highlights are Intelligent Profiling Engine, Forecasting Engine & Insight driven Recommendations.

Intelligent Profiling Engine: This is a unique feature where the customer’s basic information gathered from over 300 Social Media and other networks. With this feature, the firm gets category-wise information such as professional profiles, business profiles, background reports, preferences & choices, public records or personal web pages (if the customer has any), etc. even before even meeting the customers.

Forecasting Engine: This feature records the navigation pattern and journey of the customer. Angel Broking’s website which has rich educational content. The content is tactically designed to engage with the customer. This innovative feature also helps the firm to gauge the interest level of the customer or if the customer unable to take a decision. A call is made immediately to guide him till he gets a satisfactory resolution.

Insight driven Recommendations: It is a computerized system where the pitch changes as per the profile of the customer. For instance, if it is a high net-worth client, the pitch will change accordingly.

Moving further, Based on the data captured by the ELMS, telecallers use different pitches for the new investors and the experience investors. In the telecon, if a customer appears interested, the call is passed on to the FOS executives. Based on the interaction of the FOS executive with the prospect, an appointment is fixed.

For better insights on customer profiling, the ELMS captures the entire digital journey of the customer through his e-mail id. The entire communication history gets fed into the system as multiple FOS executives or telecallers deal with one customer.

Angel Broking has been re-inventing itself as a technology-driven retail brokerage with “Digital” as the central theme of its transformation. The company’s recent successful roll-outs include digital initiatives such as D-KYC, Digi-Pitch, Trade-in-1hr, #CustomerService on Twitter and Facebook, all aimed at making the organization more customer-friendly, agile and efficient. While some of these initiatives are focused on Customer Acquisition, Servicing and Marketing, the company has also launched digital initiatives aimed at strengthening its Human Resources.
 
About Angel Broking

Angel Broking Pvt. Ltd., is today one of the leading Indian stock broking houses, with a focus on retail business and a commitment to provide “real value for money” to its clients. The Angel Broking Group is a member of the BSE, NSE and the country’s two leading commodity exchanges, the NCDEX and MCX. Angel Broking provides a wide range of personalized wealth-management and investment services to its retail clients. These include Stock and Commodity Trading, Portfolio Advisory and Management Services, Investment Advisory Services, Distribution of Mutual Funds, IPOs, Personal Loans and Insurance, as well as E-broking & Depository services – all supported by intensive research and a six sigma-backed Quality Assurance program. Angel Broking Group provides its value-added services to over 9 lakh individual retail investors through its nationwide network of 132 branches, including 17 regional hubs 8400+ registered sub-brokers/business associates and an all India employee strength of 3500+. Angel Broking has one of the largest trading terminal bases (16,308 terminals) in the country, and the largest sub-broker network on the NSE, clocking one of the largest volumes in the industry. The company’s shareholders include International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private investment arm of the World Bank.
 

Get Free Airline Vouchers Worth Rs. 12,000 with Personal Loans from Bajaj Finserv

0
0
Business Wire India
  • Flash sale valid online for limited period only
  • Airline vouchers range from Rs. 5,000 - Rs. 7,000

Bajaj Finance Ltd., the lending arm of Bajaj Finserv Ltd., is offering free airline vouchers worth Rs. 12,000 on a personal loan. This limited offer comes with the dual advantage of availing a loan with a free airline voucher to the destination of the choice of customer.

The promotional scheme, called ‘November 2016 SOL Promotion’, is valid only in select Indian cities. Bajaj Finserv is offering three types of airline vouchers based on the amount of Personal Loan, applied for. Under this scheme, customers have to apply anytime between 12:00 am on November 28, 2016 to 11:59 pm on December 4, 2016.

An Airline Voucher will be given to those customers who have applied for an online Personal Loan amounting Rs. 4 lakh or above, in a single loan application from Bajaj Finserv during the ‘Scheme Period’ and where the loan is disbursed before December 14, 2016. Those who have applied for an online Personal Loan amount of Rs. 8 lakh & above will be given an airline voucher worth Rs. 12,000. While those who have applied for an online Personal Loan of Rs. 5 lakh to Rs. 7.99 lakh will be given a voucher of Rs. 7,000. Whereas a Rs. 5,000 airline voucher will be handed to those customers who have applied for an online Personal Loan amounting to Rs. 4 Lakh up to Rs. 4.99 lakh in a single loan application during the ‘Scheme Period’.

To participate in this scheme, the customer should have submitted all the documents to the satisfaction of Bajaj Finance Limited. This will be followed by an allocation of a loan account number on or before December 8, 2016 for the online Personal Loan applied for, by Bajaj Finserv during the Scheme Period.

A Processing Fee at the rate of 2.25% of the loan amount will be charged on all loans applied under the Scheme.

About Bajaj Finance Ltd.
 
Bajaj Finance Limited, the lending arm of Bajaj Finserv group, is one of the most diversified NBFCs in the Indian market catering to more than 7 million customers across the country. Headquartered in Pune, the company’s product offering includes Consumer Durable Loans, Lifestyle Finance, Personal Loans, Loan against Property, Small Business Loans, Home Loans, Credit Cards, Two-wheeler and Three-wheeler Loans, Construction Equipment Loans, Loan against Securities and Rural Finance which includes Gold Loans and Vehicle re-financing Loans. Bajaj Finance Limited prides itself for holding the highest credit rating of FAAA/Stable for any NBFC in the country today.

To know more please visit www.bajajfinserv.in/finance        

Promoters Acquire Additional 1.11% Stake in Max Ventures and Industries Limited

0
0
Business Wire IndiaThe Promoters of Max Ventures & Industries Limited (MaxVIL), led by Chairman Mr. Analjit Singh, today announced that they have acquired an additional 1.11% stake in MaxVIL on 1st December from the open market at prevailing market prices. Coupled with the 3.6% stake acquired over a three-day trading period from 25-29 November, the promoters have now acquired a total of 4.71% in the Company through creeping acquisition. The Promoters’ shareholding in the Company now stands at 45.11%.
 
MaxVIL was listed on the National Stock Exchange and the Bombay Stock Exchanges earlier this year in June.
 
MaxVIL is one of the three new holding companies formed after the demerger of the erstwhile Max India Limited, and was the second company to start trading after Max Financial Services.
 
The Company manages the investment in its manufacturing subsidiary, Max Speciality Films (MSF), which is an innovation leader in the Speciality Packaging Films business. It also aims to evaluate new ideas in the ‘wider world of business’, including but not limited to sectors such as education, real estate and technology taking cues from the economic and commercial reforms agenda of the present Government, including ‘Make in India’, ‘Skill India’, ‘Digital India’, among others.
 
In addition to MSF, MaxVIL has announced plans around 3 new business verticals as well. The first, Max Estates, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of MaxVIL and will lead the Company’s projects in the real estate space. The second business is MaxVIL’s fully-owned and recently incorporated subsidiary Max I. Limited, which will facilitate intellectual & financial Capital to promising and proven early-stage organizations across identified sunrise sectors. The final business vertical planned under MaxVIL will operate in the Education space and was incorporated as Max Learning Limited in August 2016.
 
Explaining the rationale for the stake purchase, Analjit Singh had earlier said, “We have full conviction in the underlying strength of Max Ventures & Industries as our vehicle to pursue path-breaking formats in areas which either have adjacencies to our  existing businesses of life or where we have long-standing experience. These sunrise businesses offer immense potential of growing multifold in profits as well as valuation.”
 
Disclaimer: Certain statements in this “Press Release” may not be based on historical information or facts and may be “forward looking statements” within the meaning of applicable securities laws and regulations, including, but not limited to, those relating to general business plans & strategy, future outlook & growth prospects, competitive & regulatory environment and management's current views & assumptions which may not remain constant due to risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied. The Company assumes no responsibility to publicly amend, modify or revise any statement, on the basis of any subsequent development, information or events, or otherwise. This “Press Release” does not constitute a prospectus, offering circular or offering memorandum or an offer to acquire any shares and should not be considered as a recommendation that any investor should subscribe for or purchase any of the Company’ shares.

Murex Tops Two Categories in the Chartis RiskTech100® Rankings

0
0
Business Wire India

Murex, the leading provider of trading, risk management and processing solutions has been named Category Leader for both Sell-side and Enterprise Collateral Management in the Chartis RiskTech100 Rankings. Murex is positioned seventh in this year’s Top 100 Chart, moving up from eighth spot last year, and climbing a total of five positions in the past two years.

 

Murex’s continuous investment to offer clients market leading solutions specialized in collateral management and risk management, is recognized by the high positioning in the RiskTech100 ranking. Our MX.3 cross asset, cross function, open platform supports multiple solutions including Market Risk, Credit Risk, Risk Control, xVA Management and Collateral Management, as well as regulatory compliance for FRTB, SA-CCR and Non-cleared OTC Margining.

 

“The RiskTech100 Ranking is a reference for the global risk technology market and Murex leads the market in key sub-segments such as sell-side and collateral management. Their positioning in the ranking has improved thanks to continuous R&D investment that has enabled the company to respond to key regulatory and business shifts facing the entire trading book value chain said Peyman Mestchian, Managing Partner at Chartis.

 

Stella Clarke, Chief Marketing Officer at Murex, commented “Murex is honored to receive such a high level of recognition in the RiskTech100. Now more than ever, capital markets players need to partner with a technology vendor that can adapt to the fast pace of regulatory and technological change. We are committed to investing in R&D to offer a solution that supports our clients’ current, and future, business objectives.”

 

About Murex (www.murex.com)

 

For more than 30 years, Murex has been providing enterprise-wide, cross-asset financial technology solutions to capital markets players. Its cross-function platform, MX.3, supports trading, treasury, risk and post-trade operations, enabling clients to better meet regulatory requirements, manage enterprise-wide risk, and control IT costs. With more than 45,000 daily users in 65 countries, Murex has clients in many sectors, from banking and asset management to energy and commodities.

 

Murex is an independent company with over 2,000 employees across 17 countries. Murex is committed to providing cutting-edge technology, superior customer service, and unique product innovation.

 

About Chartis Research(http://www.chartis-research.com)
RiskTech Quadrant®, RiskTech100® and FinTech QuadrantTM are registered trademarks of Chartis Research.

 

 

 

 

CashNoCash Reports 50 Minute Average Wait Times at ATMs Across India

0
0
Business Wire IndiaCashNoCash, an initiative by Quikr, launched a fortnight ago to help citizens find cashpoints nearest to them, has captured trends of cash availability and wait times at ATMs across India. This information has been analysed based on crowdsourced updates provided by its users to help map the status of ATMs.
 
CashNoCash data indicates:
 
  • About 60% of the ATMs in India have reported cash availability, of which, 50% of the ATMs which had cash also had wait times.
  • Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi have reported cash availability in about 40% of the ATMs
  • Bangalore reported no cash in about 30% of the ATMs closely followed by Delhi and Chennai
  • While 70% of the ATMs are reported with cash availability at least once a day, they run out of cash quickly.
 
Wait times across India have increased over the last week averaging at 50 minutes. Mumbai still has the longest wait times at ATMs while Chennai has the shortest.
 
While endless queues at banks and ATMs seem to be the norm, in the second half of the day wait times tend to peak and there are longer queues at ATMs.
 
CashNoCash has helped over 11 million users, a majority of them from Delhi, Pune, Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai and Ahmedabad. The crowdsourced platform has mapped data across 2lakh+ ATMs. It has also introduced convenient features like map views, directions to the nearest ATM and status history of cash availability at ATMs. It also has an email alert option which can be set up for a particular ATM or pin code that sends the user an email as soon as cash is reported as available. 

Ruchi Soya Launches 'Kisan Kalyan Ayojan' in Partnership with SBI

0
0
Business Wire India
  • To support farmers in availing the benefits of digital banking post demonetization
  • Organises farmer awareness seminar in Indore to mark the launch of  ‘Kisan Kalyan Ayojan’
  • Ruchi Soya associated with 10 million farmers across India plans to expand this initiative across the country
 
Ruchi Soya Industries Limited, India’s leading Agri and Food FMCG company in association with State Bank of India (SBI) today announced the launch of ‘Kisan Kalyan Ayojan’- an initiative aimed at supporting farmers in availing the benefits of digital banking post demonetization.
 
To mark the launch of ‘Kisan Kalyan Ayojan’, a farmer awareness seminar was conducted which was attended by close to 100 farmers and agricultural labours from villages near the city. Shri Rajesh Sonkar, MLA along with Shri Varad Murti Mishra, Additional Collector & CEO Zila Panchayat graced the occasion with their presence and addressed the farmers. Renowned Indian journalist, writer and sports commentator – Padma Shri awardee - Mr. Sushil Doshi was also present at the launch ceremony.
 
Shri P.K. Balaji – Deputy General Manager, SBI in his key note address highlighted the need for farmers to come into the banking fold and said that in the long run, farmers will be greatly benefitted by demonetization and digitization.
 
Mr. Dinesh Shahra – Founder & Managing Director, Ruchi Soya Industries Limited said, “We are delighted to be partnering India’s largest bank – SBI which has a large rural reach to launch this banking initiative for farmers. Our Hon’ble Prime Minister’s demonetization move to eradicate black money is a great step as increased transparency and credit access will go a long way in developing India's agricultural sector which accounts for employment of over 50% of the Indian population. Access to banking system will provide necessary credit for investment in agrarian sector which will create more jobs and opportunities in India's hinterlands.” He further added “I’m hopeful that more corporates and institutions will come forward and participate in the process of educating and empowering the rural farmers and make them truly ‘DigitalKisan’.

Ruchi Soya & SBI’s Kisan Kalyan Ayojan initiative will help the farmers in the following ways:-
  • Opening of Bank Accounts of Farmers/Agricultural Labours
  • Procuring produce directly from farmers at the right price 
  • Ensuring Farmers receive their payment immediately through internet banking
  • Maintaining banking helpdesks for farmers coming to sell off their produce in mandis
  • Educating farmers on the banking process through awareness seminars
 
To start off, banking assistance will be provided to soybean farmers in Indore, Samwer, Manglia and Ujjain mandis in Madhya Pradesh. Ruchi Soya further plans to expand this programme across the country encompassing other states like Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat.
 
Ruchi Soya is associated with 10 million farmers across the country through crops like soybean, mustard and palm.
 
About Ruchi Soya Industries Limited

Ruchi Soya is India’s leading Agri and Food FMCG company with a turnover of USD 4 billion. It enjoys Number 1 position in cooking oil and soy foods categories of the country. Its leading brands include Nutrela, Mahakosh, Sunrich, Ruchi Star and Ruchi Gold. An integrated player from farm to fork; Ruchi Soya is also among the pioneers of oil palm plantations in India. It is one of the highest exporters of value added soybean products like soy meal, textured soy protein and soy lecithin. Ruchi Soya has also diversified into renewable energy and is committed to environmental protection. 

Photo Caption: Mr. Rajesh Sonkar, MLA (centre) with Mr. Sushil Doshi (to his left), followed by Mr. Varad Murti Mishra, Additional Collector & CEO Zila Panchayat and Pradeep Koolwal, Global Head of Crushing, Ruchi Soya Industries Limited. Also in the photograph are SBI & Ruchi Soya officials; including a few farmer leaders from MP
Viewing all 4382 articles
Browse latest View live




Latest Images