Restaurants are in a soup; IPL ads on sticky wicket
Welcome to Top of the Morning by Mint, your weekday newscast that brings you five major stories from the world of business. It's Friday, March 22, 2024. My name is Nelson John. Let's get started:
Indian benchmark indices surged on Thursday, riding the wave of optimism from global markets. This uptick came after the Federal Reserve maintained its outlook for three rate cuts within the year, sparking a rally. Both Nifty and Sensex rose more than 0.75 per cent by the end of the day’s trading on Thursday.
Money x Power = ? Have you ever heard of a plutocracy? It's a scenario where the wealthiest individuals not only hold the purse strings but also the reins of governance, turning financial might into political power. A similar trend is unfolding in India. As per the World Inequality Lab's latest study, income and wealth inequality are breaking records, even outpacing countries like China and Brazil. The elite one percent in India aren't just wealthy; they're earning 23 times more than the average Indian. If left unchecked, this imbalance could lead to India's future being shaped by a plutocracy.Mint’s national writer Sayantan Bera takes a closer look at this pressing issue in today's Mint Primer.
Ola Electric, steered by Bhavish Aggarwal, is on the brink of a significant move in India's electric vehicle landscape with its initial public offering drawing near. The electric scooter-maker known for its S1 series is drawing investor interest. People close to the matter told Mint’s autocorrespondent Alisha Sachdev that Singapore’s Eastspring and UK-based Pictet are lining up as anchor investors, signalling favourable market sentiment. Dominating over 40 per cent of India's electric two-wheeler market, Ola Electric's battery division, Ola Cell Technologies, is set to boost efficiency and profitability. Ola's ambitions are clear: expanding its cell factory capacity and venturing into advanced battery technologies, including bidding for lithium resources.
The Indian Premier League, Indian cricket’s biggest spectacle, begins today, kicking off a summer of high octane action in the game’s shortest format. Cricket fans are excited, but the advertising scene this year tells a different story. Star Sports and Jio, the custodians of broadcast and digital rights, have seen ad rates stagnate. Major sectors like automotive, e-commerce, telecom, and fintech are yet to jump into the advertising fray. Mint’s assistant editor Varuni Khosla reports on the mood of the advertisers around this year's biggest television event. Varuni also spoke to advertising experts who noted a peculiar reluctance towards the IPL among clients this season, pointing to a broader market slowdown rather than the tournament's appeal.
Seems like restaurants are in a bit of a soup. The stock market isn't serving up good news for restaurants lately. Case in point: Devyani International Limited, the company operating your local KFC and Pizza Hut outlets. Over the past year, Devyani's shares climbed just 10 per cent, a stark contrast to the Nifty Midcap index's 57 per cent surge, indicating rough weather for the sector. And it's not just Devyani feeling the heat. Westlife Foodworld, which runs McDonald's in India, also saw its stock rise by merely 10 per cent over the same period. So what's behind this industry-wide slump? Mint's national editor Abhishek Mukherjee dug into the issue. Abhishek spoke to Siddhanth Chhabaria of Mirae Assets who blamed the downturn on dwindling demand and a broader consumption slowdown.
Right before Russia made its move on Ukraine in February 2022, their hackers unleashed malware on Ukrainian military comms by targeting routers connected to Viasat, a major American satellite and internet provider. Things got tense and Ukrainian leaders called out for help. Elon Musk, who owns Starlink responded and Ukraine got its internet back. Fast forward two years, and Starlink has become a lifeline, keeping Ukraine's military and civilians connected through the chaos. This satellite internet service, brought to life by SpaceX, is changing the game with thousands of satellites zooming around in low Earth orbit. Meanwhile, back in India, there's a scramble to catch up. The Indian government tweaked some rules to make it easier for satellite broadband services to set up shop without the usual auction requirements. This is a big deal for companies like Bharti Group's OneWeb, Reliance's Jio Satellite Communications, Musk's Starlink, and Amazon's Kuiper, paving the way for them to offer their services across India's vast and varied landscape. Mint’s telecom correspondent Gulveen Aulakh takes a deep dive into the emerging industry of satellite communications or SatCom in India. A subset of India’s 8.5 billion dollar space economy, the satcom industry is set to close in on 2 billion dollars by 2030. According to ratings agency Icra, by 2025, India's satcom industry could be serving up to 2 million users and raking in revenue between 5,000 to 6,000 crore rupees a year.
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That’s all for today. Thank you for listening.
We'll be back on Monday with a fresh episode of Top of the Morning. Have a wonderful weekend!
Show notes:
Mint Primer | Mind the income gap: Is India becoming a plutocracy?
Ola Electric holds a battery secret on road to IPO
Cricket spirits soar, but IPL's ad rates are flat
Restaurants in the soup as weak consumer sentiment bites
Leos, Meos and Geos: Broadband from the stars is coming soon