Hiring activity witnesses 4% sequential growth in July: Report

2021年5月25日 SHLF 0 Comments

Hiring activity witnessed an overall 4 per cent sequential growth in July and the uptick was mainly spread across metros, according to a report. Compared to June, July 2021 saw a notable overall monthly growth of 4 per cent in hiring across all metros, as per Monster Employment Index by Monster.com. Overall job postings have also improved by 8 per cent year-on-year in July, indicating a continued optimistic outlook for the coming months, it added. Monster Employment Index is a comprehensive analysis of online job posting activity conducted by Monster India. The report further revealed that job postings witnessed a positive uptick in industries that were previously in a slump due to the pandemic like travel and tourism, office equipment and automation, and real estate sectors. Job postings in travel and tourism saw a steep month-on-month rise at 16 per cent, a welcome relief to the industry that has been facing challenges since the onset of COVID-19, it noted. Other industries such as shipping\/marine (14 per cent), office equipment\/automation (9 per cent) and real estate (9 per cent) have also witnessed a month-on-month growth in postings in July 2021. However, industries such as the government\/PSU\/ defence (1 per cent) and media and entertainment (3 per cent) witnessed a decline in hiring activity, it added. Meanwhile, sequential job postings grew in Delhi-NCR by 8 per cent, Pune (7 per cent), Hyderabad (7 per cent), Chennai (6 per cent) and Bengaluru (6 per cent) in July. Monthly hiring activity was low or muted in certain locations like Ahmedabad (2 per cent), and Baroda (1 per cent), while Jaipur remained stable. Recruitment activity across all job levels witnessed optimistic or neutral month-on-month growth, the report said, adding hiring for entry-level jobs (0-3 years) saw a growth of 5 per cent. Hiring in intermediate roles (4-6 years), mid-senior professionals (7-10 years) and senior professionals (11-15 years) increased 7 per cent, 7 per cent and 4 per cent, respectively. The hiring of top management professionals (over 16 years) witnessed muted monthly growth, the report said. Despite the challenges of Covid-19 and its impact on the hiring landscape, we have seen positive growth in job postings across most cities. Jobs in certain sectors such as tech and IT are booming, as companies come forward to boost their tech enablement and improve workforce efficiency. While some industries are doing better than others, we can be confident of seeing improvement in the coming months, given the active vaccination drives currently underway, Monster.com CEO Sekhar Garisa said.

Moody’s assigns Ba3 rating to AGEL’s proposed USD notes

2021年5月25日 SHLF 0 Comments

Moodys Investors Service has assigned a Ba3 rating to Adani Green Energys proposed USD senior secured notes. According to Moodys scale of ratings, obligations rated Ba are judged to be speculative and subject to substantial credit risk. It has assigned a Ba3 rating to the proposed USD senior secured notes to be issued by Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL), a statement by Moodys said adding that the outlook is stable. AGEL will primarily use the proceeds from the USD notes to on-lend to its direct and indirect subsidiaries for them to fund the development of utility-scale renewable power projects. The Ba3 rating assigned to AGELs proposed notes reflects the companys predictable cash flow backed by long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) that are supported by its large and diversified portfolio of solar and wind generation projects, significant capital spending plans, demonstrated capacity to deliver on growth projects, backed by its experienced management team, and very high financial leverage, says Abhishek Tyagi, a Moodys Vice President and Senior Credit Officer. AGELs operating cash flows are stable, given the geographic diversification of its generation fleet reduces its exposure to potential fluctuations in the availability of solar and wind resources, it stated. Most of AGELs projects have long-term PPAs with either central government-owned or state government-owned utilities, with predefined tariffs for the duration, of the contract. As of June 2021, AGELs PPAs for operating projects had an average remaining life of around 20 years, which provides visibility over the companys long-term cash flow, it stated. AGEL has outlined a long-term target to grow its generation capacity to around 25 gigawatts (GW) by the end of the fiscal year ending March 31, 2025. This is around 5x its current operational capacity, it stated. The Ba3 rating also considers AGELs very high financial leverage, primarily driven by additional debt to fund its development commitment of around 20GW, it said. Over the next two to three years, AGELs financial leverage as measured by its consolidated cash flow from operations pre-working capital (CFO pre-WC)\/debt will be very high at about 2 per cent to 3 per cent, it stated. Moodys leverage metrics captures AGELs consolidated debt balance, including the debt extended by Total Energies Group (Total, A1 stable) to Adani Green Energy Twenty Three Limited, a joint venture between Total and AGEL. Moodys expects AGELs financial metrics to gradually improve over time, because its projects, once completed and operational, will start contributing to group earnings, it said. The extent and timing of such improvements will depend on AGELs growth plans and the incremental debt that will be required for new development projects, it added. AGELs credit profile is supported by its substantial shareholders – Adani Group and Total Energies SE. Adani Group has a track record of supporting the group companys funding requirements through equity infusions or providing deeply subordinated loans. Such support provides AGEL flexibility in managing its capital or unforeseen external events, it stated. AGELs credit profile factors in Moodys assumption that any funding shortfall for AGELs capital spending plans that cannot be covered by more senior debt due to covenants, will be met by deeply subordinated shareholder loans or equity from sponsors. In terms of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors, AGEL benefits from positive macroeconomic and sectoral trends in renewable energy and has low exposure to carbon transition risk, it said. AGELs business is aligned with Indias target to reduce its carbon footprint to meet nationally determined contributions. The Ba3 rating of the notes factors in moderate governance risk given the concentrated shareholding of AGEL, it stated. However, this risk is partially mitigated by the experienced management team, which has demonstrated its strong commitment and ability to manage solar projects, it explained. The stable rating outlook reflects Moodys expectation of AGELs stable cash flows from long-term PPAs over the next few years and delivery of new projects. Upward rating momentum is unlikely over the next 12-18 months based on AGELs business profile and financial strategy, it said. Nonetheless, Moodys could upgrade the rating over time if AGEL sustains a higher consolidated (CFO pre-WC)\/debt of above 6 per cent, it stated. The rating could come under downward pressure if AGELs credit profile deteriorates on a sustained basis, potentially because of weaker operational performance, a delay in the commissioning of new projects or aggressive acquisitions and capital spending beyond Moodys expectations.

Taliban takeover and implications for Southwest Asia

2021年5月25日 SHLF 0 Comments

By Md. Muddassir Quamar The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan has wider ramifications for the world. Among the key questions that have come to the fore are the shifting US priorities in Asia and the Middle East and the fears about the Taliban harboring global jihadi-terrorist groups. Both these questions are intricately linked to geopolitics in the broader Southwest Asia region. Developments in Afghanistan have historically echoed in the wider region because of Afghanistan Besides geography, cultural linkages and religious networks have played their part. For example, the ripple effects of the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan were felt across the region for long. One of the outcomes of the Soviet invasion was the Afghan jihad which was planned, funded and orchestrated covertly by the US, Pakistan and the Arab Gulf countries.Though Afghan jihad succeeded in reversing the Soviet advances, it eventually led the rise of Taliban and Al-Qaeda pushing Afghanistan Into a civil war and giving birth to global jihad. Al-Qaeda The 9\/11 terrorist attacks and the disastrous The Arab Spring protests and its ramifications further worsened regional competition with Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar jostling for greater influence and power. The global jihadi-terrorism evolved post-2011 in the form of Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), also known as Da Now the Taliban takeover has again raised questions about the future of Afghanistan and how it will impact the wider Southwest Asia region. So far as the US policy is concerned, it is clear that Washington is more interested in focusing on domestic rejuvenation and on the Indo-Pacific. This means that the vacuum created by the US exit will be filled by regional countries including Russia, China, Pakistan, Iran and Turkey who have already begun engaging the Taliban and who will try and hope for a degree of stability to set in. Nonetheless, there are wider cleavages so far as the regional countries are concerned. While Iran and Pakistan are immediate neighbors of Afghanistan, hence more vulnerable to security threats, Russia, China and Turkey are more interested in the economic opportunities. All these countries will be eyeing more influence, and in that respect Qatar has a head start because of its role as the facilitator of Taliban Pakistan too has come to the fore because of its deep links with the Haqqani Network. Turkey, which has close strategic relations with both Pakistan and Qatar, thus has an advantage over its regional rivals. Iran Tehran will also be worried about a greater role for Ankara in running the day-to-day activities in Kabul. Among the important regional actors who have become sidelined in the new dynamics are Saudi Arabia, UAE and India. All three have vital interests in Afghanistan but find themselves outmaneuvered not least because of their proximity with the US but also because other regional actors are not keen for them to play a significant role. The initial reaction from Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are indicative of what might be in store in the future. Both Turkey and Iran are keen to engage the Taliban to not only secure their interests but also to expand their regional influence. Saudi Arabia and the UAEare cautious and have kept the cards close to heart. They might use their influence in Islamabad to seek a role in Afghanistan and try to develop contacts with non-Taliban factions. The downward trajectory of Saudi-Emirati influence in Afghanistan is notable because during the previous period during 1996 and 2001 the two were among the handful of countries that had recognized the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Their influence on the Taliban has gradually weaned because they have distanced themselves from radical Islam, and are remolding their politics and foreign policy to moderate Islam. They have also begun to see Islamism and radicalism as security threats leading even to frictions with Turkey and Qatar. Besides, the non-state actors in the region including Shia and Sunni militant groups in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen, Somalia and Libya have reacted enthusiastically to the Taliban takeover celebrating it as a defeat of the US. For states fighting these groups this is not good news, as the militant and terrorist might be inspired to redouble their efforts in fighting the regimes or other regional powers. The events in Afghanistan are not good news for Southwest Asia. None of the regional countries want further instability, hence have joined forces to work with Taliban and ease its return to Kabul. Nonetheless, this is easier said than done because of both Taliban proclivity for radical Islam and the geopolitical cleavages among the regional actors. Only time will tell what the future has in store for Afghanistan but the reactions from regional countries show the anxieties and fears of Afghanistan becoming a failed state. (The author is Associate Fellow, Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies Analyses, New Delhi. Views expressed are of the author and not of MP-IDSA or Government of India nor do they reflect the official position or policy of Financial Express Online. Twitter: @MuddassirQuamar)

Carol Furtado to take charge as Ujjivan SFB’s OSD from today

2021年5月18日 SHLF 0 Comments

The board of directors of Ujjivan Small Finance Bank on Wednesday approved the appointment of Carol Furtado as the officer on special duty (OSD). Furtado, who will be handling day-to-day operations from August 26, will be serving as the OSD until outgoing MD CEO Nitin Chugh is in office. Furtado will take charge as the interim CEO, subject to RBI approval, after September 30. She was the CEO of Ujjivan Financial Services, the promoter of Ujjivan SFB. Talking to FE on August 20, Ujjivan founder Samit Ghosh had said Furtado is the top candidate to become the interim CEO of the bank. In a stock exchange filing on Wednesday, the bank said its board The board of Ujjivan SFB, in parallel, will evaluate Ghosh, the common director on Ujjivan SFB and Ujjivan Financial Services, said, I am sure she will lead us out of this Covid crisis with flying colours. We do not foresee any near-term major issues in the portfolio quality of the bank. With the provision coverage ratio of 75%, the highest in the industry, we are very well positioned. We are confident of strengthening the organisation and emerge as a stronger Ujjivan.\u201d

Jammu and Kashmir: Infiltration bid along LoC foiled in Poonch, one terrorist killed

2021年5月18日 SHLF 0 Comments

A terrorist was killed as Army troops foiled an infiltration attempt along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmirs Poonch district early on Monday, a defence spokesman said. Jammu-based Defence Public Relation Officer Lt Col Devender Anand said that an operation is still in progress in the area. In the early hours of August 30, terrorists from across the Line of Control made an attempt to infiltrate in the Poonch Sector. Alert Army troops detected the infiltration bid by effective use of the integrated surveillance grid in Poonch sector in the early hours of Monday, the spokesman said. On being challenged by Army troops, a fierce fire fight ensued and one terrorist was killed. His body along with an AK-47 rifle has been recovered. This action by alert Army troops displays the resolve of the Indian Army to thwart any misadventure along the LoC, Lt Col Anand said.

Amazon plans to hire 8,000 direct workforce in India this year

2021年5月18日 SHLF 0 Comments

Amazon is planning to hire more than 8,000 direct workforce across 35 cities in the country this year across corporate, technology, customer service and operations roles, according to a top company official. We have more than 8,000 direct job openings across 35 cities in the country, including cities like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Gurgaon, Mumbai, Kolkata, Noida, Amritsar, Ahmedabad, Bhopal, Coimbatore, Jaipur, Kanpur, Ludhiana, Pune, Surat. These job opportunities are spread across corporate, technology, customer service, and operations roles, Amazon HR Leader – Corporate, APAC, and MENA Deepti Varma told PTI. She further noted that were also hiring for machine learning applied sciences. We are hiring in support functions like HR, finance, legal. quite a lot of them, which are there, she added. She said the company aims for 20 lakh job openings, both direct and indirect, by 2025, and has already created 10 lakh direct and indirect jobs in India. Even during the pandemic, Amazon gave jobs to 3 lakh people, both direct and indirect, and made the entire hiring process virtual, she stated. Meanwhile, as Amazon is growing in India and has plans to hire in big numbers, the company plans to showcase itself as an exciting place to work through its first-ever Career Day in India on September 16. This virtual and interactive event will bring together Amazon leadership and employees to share what makes Amazon an exciting workplace, what it is like to work here and how the company is steadfast in its commitment to help India unleash its true potential in the 21st century, Varma said. Besides, she said, the multiple global and India-focused sessions in the event, 140 Amazon recruiters will conduct 2,000 free, one-on-one career coaching sessions with job seekers across the country. The recruiters will offer advice on how to approach the job search process effectively, resume-building skills, and interview tips that will help candidates in their search for right jobs, she said. Currently, Amazon employs over 1 lakh professionals across diverse areas like engineering, applied sciences, business management, supply chain, operations, finance, HR to analytics, content creation and acquisition, marketing, real estate, corporate security, video, music and many more, Varma said. India is the second-largest technology hub for Amazon with Indian talent innovating for not just India, but also globally, noted Varma. We are just getting started, and we are seeking passionate builders out there to join us in this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to digitally transform India. This Career Day, we look forward to sharing our long-term commitment to tapping into Indias potential in the 21st century, and career opportunities to empower and enable this legacy, Amazon India Global Senior Vice President and Country Head Amit Agarwal added in a statement.

Adani Green Energy raises $750 million to fund equity of under construction projects

2021年5月11日 SHLF 0 Comments

Adani Green Energy (AGEL) has raised $750 million through its maiden ListCo senior issuance under the 144A\/Reg S format. The format allows issuers to broaden their investor base and to access large, highly capitalised US institutional investors in the private placement market. The renewable power producer said that the funds will be utilised to finance the equity part of the capex for underlying renewable under construction projects. 7 billion (including the present issuance) over the course of time subject to the covenants of the structure, Earlier this year, the power producer had completed the tie-up of a $1.35 billion revolving credit facility for debt funding of its construction stage projects. The joint lead managers (JLMs) for the issuance were Axis Bank, Barclays, BNP Paribas, DBS Bank, Emirates NBD Capital, IMI-Intesa Sanpaolo, MUFG, Mizuho Securities, SMBC Nikko and Standard Chartered Bank. The notes were rated Ba3 (stable) by Moodys and were oversubscribed by 4.7 times. Adani Green has around 19.8GW of projects, under various stages of operation, under-construction, awarded and assets under acquisition catering to investment-grade counterparties, according to the company.

Stocks to buy: Nifty may head to 17275, support at 16980; Tech Mahindra, Grasim, others look strong on charts

2021年5月11日 SHLF 0 Comments

By Shrikant Chouhan The benchmark indices witnessed a spectacular rally rallying over 200\/600 points and hit a fresh all-time high of 17153.50 On Tuesday, post muted opening the market hovering in the range of 16915\/55676 to 16995 But in the afternoon the Nifty successfully clear 17000\/57200 psychological mark and after that intraday breakout, it rallied over 150\/600 points. Among sectors, Consumption, Metal and IT witnessed buying interest whereas, some selling pressure was seen in Media and selective Auto stocks. Technically, post-breakout the market continues the bullish continuation formation which is broadly positive. But in the last three trading sessions, the Nifty rallied over 580\/2300 points, and due to an overstretched rally, the day traders may take a caution stance near the 17200\/58200 resistance level. We are of the view that, as medium term trend is still into the positive side and likely to continue in the near future. Hence the ideal strategy for day traders would be to buy on dips and sell on rallies. 16980\/57100 would be a sacrosanct support level for the swing traders, above the same uptrend momentum likely to continue up to 17200\/58200 further upside may also continue which could lift the index up to 17275 On the flip side, a strong possibility of one quick intraday correction up to 16900\/56800 is not ruled out if the index succeeds to trade below the 16980\/57100 support level. Technical stocks to buy Tech Mahindra BUY, CMP: Rs 1,447.65, TARGET: Rs 1,520, SL: Rs 1,414 The stock had presented a remarkable up move with the bullish continuation chart patterns continuously, after a breather of few trading sessions the counter is ready for further upward movement from the current levels. Grasim Industries BUY, CMP: Rs 1,500.4, TARGET: Rs 1,575, SL: Rs 1,470 Post formation of the double bottom chart pattern, the reversal is evident in the counter with rising volume activity on the daily chart, additionally, the stock has given a breakout of the sloping trend line which validates reversal of the trend for further up move. Bharat Forge BUY, CMP: Rs 767.2, TARGET: Rs 805, SL: Rs 750 The counter has formed a drop base and rally structure from its demand zone with the increasing volume; moreover, close above the short term moving averages on the daily chart are suggesting a bullish trend in the coming horizon. Tata Chemicals BUY, CMP: Rs 844.65, TARGET: Rs 888, SL: Rs 825 Post recent correction from the highs of around 890 the stock went into a consolidation phase, eventually, it has formed a rounding bottom chart formation with rising volume and retreated from the lower levels for a fresh leg of uptrend in coming trading sessions. (Shrikant Chouhan is the Executive Vice President, Equity Technical Research at Kotak Securities. Views expressed are the author Please consult your financial advisor before investing.)

It’s raining ads! Spends to go up by 10-15% to Rs 27,500-34,500 this festive season

2021年5月11日 SHLF 0 Comments

As festive season began with Onam, so has the advertising blitzkrieg, add to that the upcoming second leg of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in UAE and ICC T20 Cricket World Cup. In all, advertisers are expected to spend anywhere in the range of Rs 27,500 – Rs 34,500 crore, this is a 10-15% increase from the last festive season. Sporting events, elections, coupled with big ticket properties such as Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC), Bigg Boss, Saregama, among others, will enable growth of the TV medium. Meanwhile, OTT platforms will be the key driver for the growth of digital as many shows are being launched on these platforms first, However, last year was a tad different. The lockdown between March to June, last year forced advertisers to shift the spending to the second half of the year. This resulted in 55-60% of the overall budget being spent during the second half of 2020. This year too, the second half will see anywhere around 60% of the overall ad spends for the year, Dwibedy said, adding that advertisers from telecom, food, e-commerce, e-pharma, edtech, fintech, and digital wallet payments are expected to up their spending. Interestingly, BARC India To give perspective, June 2021 registered six percent growth in ad volumes over June 2019 with a total of 1,839 advertisers and 3,074 brands advertising on television. H1,2021 too witnessed higher growth with 12% and 37% increase in ad volumes when compared to 2019 and 2020, respectively. Last year, post the first wave, the ad revival was primarily driven by the large FMCG clients, however this time around it Also with the pricing holding strong, I expect ad revenues to grow in strong double digits while volume growth would be in mid single digit, Compared to 2019 For Shashi Sinha, CEO, IPG Mediabrands, broadcasters will benefit if they start selling TV and OTT together. As for digital, when compared with Onam last year, this year ad insertions have grown by 44%. As per industry experts, digital ad spends are estimated to see a rise of anywhere between 25-30% on the back of IPL, ICC T20 World Cup as well as the OTT first premium properties. The equity driven campaigns largely ride on premium properties such as IPL and Bigg Boss OTT while the sales driven advertisers will opt for e-commerce space such as Amazon, Flipkart, Currently, e-commerce commands close to 25-30% of total digital spends but during the festive season it is likely to increase to 40-45%. The rest will be directed towards video platforms including social media platforms. From a broader perspective, e-commerce and video platforms will account for 80% of the total digital ad spends while the remaining 20% will be spent towards content or display ads. Read Also: Beauty e-commerce platforms and brands take the next step towards digital transformation; posts a rise in sales Follow us on Twitter,Instagram,LinkedIn,Facebook

Jabra revamps true wireless earbuds lineup with launch of Elite 7 Pro, Elite 7 Active, and Elite 3 models

2021年5月11日 SHLF 0 Comments

Jabra true wireless earbuds: Jabra is set to give a comprehensive makeover to its lineup of true wireless earbuds as it has announced three new models – the Elite 7 Pro, Elite 7 Active, and Elite 3. The company is also phasing out Elite 65t and Elite 75t by the end of 2021, while the Elite 85t would continue to be a part of the line up. The company has said that its new products have been built on its This has led to the company creating each of the models for a specific scenario. Also read | Bose launches QuietComfort 45 headphones with better noise cancellation, battery life and more The Elite 7 Pro buds, which cost $199, have been created for call clarity, as it has been equipped with a new This model also includes active noise cancellation, and has been redesigned to be smaller than Elite 75t. This redesign has been undertaken after the study of thousands of unique ear scans, the company said. What is also impressive, if the earbuds indeed stay true to the company This is much better than the roughly five hours of battery life that most of the competing products offer. Meanwhile, the Elite 7 Active earbuds have been designed from a fitness perspective, making them suitable for activities that require a lot of movement. The earbuds, which cost $179, are being touted to have a similar sound experience as that of the Pro earbuds, even as they are devoid of the MultiSensor Voice technology. But it makes up for it with its Elite 3 is the cheapest true wireless earbuds that the company has offered up till now at $79. With 6mm drivers and four-mic array for calls, the company has also equipped the earbuds with Qualcomm aptX HD. The earbuds are expected to offer a seven-hour battery life, which can go up to 28 hours with the case. This model does not have active noise cancellation, but it does have a noise isolation feature, with which the company has even added in a transparency mode. Purple, light beige, navy blue and dark gray are the four colour options that the earbuds would come in, and it would also have less obvious microphone holes. The Jabra Elite 3 would be the first to be shipped, becoming available starting Wednesday September 1, while the remaining two models would become available exactly a month later on October 1.