Piramal and CPPIB to launch India's maiden Renewable Energy focused InvIT.

CPPIB has committed $360 million while Piramal will provide $90 million

Piramal Enterprises Limited (“PEL”) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (“CPPIB”), a Canadian pension fund, to co-sponsor a renewable energy-focused Infrastructure Investment Trust (“InvIT”). With an initial corpus of US$ 600 million, and the option to scale further, the InvIT would seek to acquire up to 1.5-2GW of stable and cash generating renewables assets on a hold-to-maturity basis, with a firm focus on diversification of both asset type as well as off-taker profile.

"Piramal is pleased to partner with CPPIB on the launch of the first ever InvIT in India, focused on renewables. The foundation of this partnership is based on a shared ethos and values that leverage CPPIB’s global track record of value creation in the infrastructure space with PEL’s long term strategy and goodwill in India. We are enthusiastic about the opportunity as it is truly scalable and continue to remain committed to creating value for our shareholders." - Ajay Piramal, Chairman, Piramal Group.

Mumbai based Piramal Enterprises Limited (PEL) is one of India’s large diversified companies, with a presence in Financial Services, Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Insights & Analytics with a consolidated revenue of over US$1.9 billion in FY2019, with ~40% of revenues generated from outside India.

Headquartered in Toronto, with offices in Hong Kong, London, Luxembourg, Mumbai, New York City, São Paulo, and Sydney, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board is governed and managed independently of the Canada Pension Plan and at arm's length from governments. In mid-2018, CPPIB announced that it would foray in Green Bonds.

Both PEL and CPPIB will act as Co-Sponsors of the proposed InvIT and hold up to 75% of the units (with CPPIB committing US$360m and holding up to 60%; PEL committing US$90m and holding 15% ) and seek to raise capital from other like-minded investors for the remaining 25%. In the interim and prior to its launch, PEL and CPPIB will jointly warehouse seed assets for the proposed InvIT. PEL would act as the sole Investment Manager as well as Project Manager for the proposed InvIT.

The renewable energy sector is at an inflection point and is witnessing significant consolidation, the pace of which is likely to increase in the near future.  The timing of the issue is therefore opportune for aggregating assets in this sector given that the existing players are willing sellers in light of a constrained capital market environment - both debt and equity. This is the first truly neutral ‘white-label’ InvIT – led by a fiduciary and supported by patient capital with a strong record of corporate governance. Renewable InvITs can serve as a strong catalyst for the Green Energy sector as a whole.

BHEL and LIBCOIN to Build India’s First Lithium Ion Giga Factory.

Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) and Libcoin are in dialogue to form a world class consortium to initially build 1GWh lithium ion battery plant in India. Its capacity will be scaled up to 30GWh in due course. With this, India has finally taken steps into its energy security and clean energy commitment to the world.

BHEL will be sending a team of senior officers for the study of the facilities, R&D infrastructure and other techno-commercial issues soon. Based upon the evaluation and recommendations of the team, further process towards the formation of Joint Venture will be carried forward.

This project will bring energy independence by replacing oil imports with abundant renewable. This project also includes “Made by India, for India”, with focus on core-cost components manufactured domestically. It will also create an integrated manufacturing ecosystem resulting in self-reliance and lower cost.

A holistic view of the supply chain in combination with cutting edge digital technologies to replace high CAPEX and high OPEX processes will be the highlight of this project in India. 

Various Indian cities including Delhi have been struggling to cut down their pollution level for the last several years and electric transportation has been considered as one of the viable approaches to cut down emission. The number of electric cars in the world already hit million-mark last year and the International Energy Agency has projected almost 140 million electric cars globally by 2030, if countries meet Paris climate accord targets, in which India has already committed to actively participate.

Source: PIB.

Amazon Pay launches P2P payments through UPI in India.

NPCI's United Payments Interface is widening in footprints in India through Indian and International apps and services. In its continuous effort make payments more convenient and foster everyday habits, Amazon Pay today announced the launch of person-to-person (P2P) payments for Android users. 

Amazon customers can now make instant bank-to-bank transfers using UPI platform on the Amazon app. Customers can use this functionality to settle bills/expenses with friends, lend/return money to family, pay rents, pay for services like house-help, newspaper bills, milk subscription and more. Customers can also make payments from their bank account to local stores nearby or to Amazon delivery associate at doorstep by scanning UPI QR codes using the Amazon app. Built on the Govt. of India backed UPI platform, customers can send or receive P2P payments by simply selecting a contact from their phone contact book or entering UPI ID or Bank Account of the recipient. Money transfers have never been more easy and convenient.

Customers can now send or request money instantly directly from the Amazon Mshop app. Further, Amazon Pay has made it easier for customers to make repeat payments by displaying recent transactions. The customers can easily access their phone contact book and initiate payments by simply tapping on the contact. Amazon auto-detects if the contact is a registered Amazon Pay UPI customer and enables instant bank to bank transfer. If the contact is not registered for Amazon Pay UPI, the customer has the option to pay using any another BHIM UPI ID or contact’s bank account. After selecting contact, the customer inputs the amount and enters UPI PIN to confirm payment. All P2P payments are secured through multi factor authentication involving customer’s phone, SIM details, and UPI PIN. The money is transferred instantly and both customer and receiver are notified through SMS alerts and in-app notifications.

Amazon customers can make instant bank to bank transfers through the ‘Send Money’ or ‘Request Money’ link on through their Amazon Android app. As a launch offer customers can get up to Rs 120 cashback on Sending Money through UPI.

TCS will digitally transform India Post's 1,50,000 post offices with ERP solutions.

Indian MNC Tata Consultancy Services has received an order to digitally transform India Post's 1,50,000 e-postal network with next-gen ERP solutions. TCS has partnered with the Department of Posts in its multi-year transformational journey to become a multi-service digital hub, modernize the delivery of mail and packages, enhance customer experience, and launch innovative services that will drive new revenues.

At the heart of this transformation is the Core System Integration (CSI) program designed and implemented by TCS. This involved deploying an integrated ERP solution that caters to mail operations, finance and accounting, and HR functions, and connects its vast network of more than 150,000 post offices, making this the largest distributed ePostal network in the world.

The integrated solution is built to cater to the Department’s immense scale, and future needs. It supports the HR needs of over 500,000 employees, services over 40,000 concurrent users, and processes over 3 million postal transactions a day, making this one of the largest SAP implementations in the world.

On the front-end, TCS has implemented its Point of Sale (PoS) solution across 24,000 post offices with over 80,000 PoS terminals, making this amongst the largest such implementations in the world. Additionally, TCS has built a web portal with consignment tracking capabilities, and set up a multi-lingual call center for customer support.

To enable India Post to benefit from the burgeoning ecommerce opportunity, while fulfilling a vital social obligation, the web portal has an e-marketplace to help rural artisans, self-help groups, and women entrepreneurs reach out to buyers throughout the country.

An important objective of the transformation is to use the Department’s nation-wide reach to drive financial inclusion and accessibility of citizen services in remote areas. This is being accomplished through over 130,000 DARPAN hand-held devices that Gramin Dak Sevaks use to provide postal, banking, insurance, and cash management services in remote villages, even those without network connectivity.

Salim Haque, Member, Postal Services Board, said, “A program of this scale, spread and complexity, required meticulous planning and adroit execution. The TCS team has shown sheer rigor, passion, dedication and attention to detail, which have been commendable. Their maturity in understanding the requirements of India Post has been par excellence, yielding a robust design, which makes the solution state-of-the-art and adaptable to future needs.”

Department of Posts is pioneering in an initiative to build a world class, future-ready digital platform that the nation can be proud of. With the implementation of Enterprise Resource Planning solutions, the department can offer smart postal services, enriched customer experiences, and innovative value-added services to the citizens of India.

Philippines based Atlantic Gulf and Pacific company bags 9 licenses in 10th City Gas Distribution bidding.

Atlantic Gulf & Pacific Company of Manila (AG&P), a leading global gas logistics company, has emerged as a dominant LNG player in South India, securing nine licenses in the 10th round auction of City Gas Distribution (CGD) concessions by the Petroleum & Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB). AGP will provide piped gas in 9 districts of South India and will establish more than 1000 CNG stations.

AG&P is only one of two foreign companies to secure the coveted agreements to deliver natural gas directly to the residential, commercial, industrial and transport sectors in some of India’s most densely populated states. AG&P’s 25-year exclusive rights cover natural gas pipelines to residential users, supply for commercial establishments and CNG stations for cars, buses and trucks in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Rajasthan.

The districts are home to the automobile, chemical, fertilizer, glass, steel, ceramics, food and pharmaceutical industries as well as major commercial centres. AG&P will build compressed natural gas stations, supported by steel pipelines and delivery of LNG by truck. Through its CGD networks, AG&P will bring significant foreign direct investment and generate direct and indirect employment across the country. The construction and operation of AG&P’s CGD networks will create thousands of local jobs. Like all AG&P employees, these workers will be trained to the highest international standards of safety and technical excellence.

The cheaper supplies of natural gas will be made available by the Honourable Government of India for domestic and vehicular needs. The commercial and industrial sector needs will be secured through uninterrupted imported LNG supplies, channelled through commissioned and upcoming LNG terminals.

“AG&P Group, a 119-year young multinational, with operation headquarters in Manila, Philippines has arrived in the Indian sub-continent with a vision of supporting the growth and development of India’s ever-growing energy needs and to touch the lives of millions of people. As a global player, we understand and value the responsibility and commitment entrusted to us for shouldering the infrastructure development to meet these energy needs with international best practices in safety, technology, conserving the environment, efficient and cost-effective energy solutions,” - Mr. PPG Sarma, Managing Director, City Gas Distribution & Logistics.

List of cities/districts

Andhra Pradesh: Anantapur, Cuddapah, Nellore, Chittoor.

Karnataka: Kolar, Bagalkot, Kopal, Raichur, Chikmaggaluru, Hassan, Kodagu, Gulbarga, Vijaypura, Mysure, Mandya, Chamarajnagar, Uttara Kannada, Haveri, Shivamogga.

Tamil Nadu: Vellore, Ramanathapuram, Kanchipuram.

Kerala: Alapuzzha, Trivandrum, Kollam

Rajasthan (North West India): Barmer, Jaisalmer and Jodhpur.

Once operational, AG&P’s CGD networks will accelerate industrialization, drive further economic development and overall, improve the quality of life of millions of Indians, while helping lay the foundations for the delivery of India’s goal of a clean energy future. 10th CGD bidding will bring clean cooking fuel and cheap CNG in 50 districts of India which would further enhance safe cooking and viable transportation.

- Press Release.

BRICS funding agency New Development Bank plans to double its loan book to $16 billion

The New Development Bank (NDB), a multilateral finance institution established by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) in 2014, plans to almost double its loan book to USD 16 billion this year and increase its impact, as the Bank seeks to broaden its global development partnerships and mobilise more institutional and private capital. These announcements were made at the 4th Annual Meeting of the NDB in Cape Town, South Africa which brought together senior government officials from BRICS countries, leaders of multilateral and national development institutions, distinguished scholars, prominent commercial bankers, captains of industry and representatives of civil society organizations.

NDB is headed by renowned Indian banker Shri KV Kamath. In his keynote speech, he mentioned that in the year 2019 New Development Bank will build on the strong momentum in its operations with an aims to double its loan approval book to about USD 16 billion. The Bank will ramp up its hard currency financing from the international capital markets.

The NDB was established to mobilize resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in member states as well as other emerging economies, and the Bank is strongly committed to supporting the sustainable development agenda of its member countries.

In 2018, the NDB approved 17 loans totaling about USD 4.6 billion, building on its base of 13 loans worth USD 3.4 billion as of the end of 2017. That brought the total loan book of the bank to 30 projects worth approximately USD 8 billion by the end of last year.

The NDB has approved five additional projects with loans aggregating to approximately USD 1.2 billion, two in China and three in South Africa, taking its total loan book to USD 9.2 billion as of today. These five new projects include RMB 825 million (USD 123 million) for the Shengzhou Urban and Rural Integrated Water Supply and Sanitation Project (Phase II); USD 300 million for the Guangxi Chongzuo Urban Water System Ecological Restoration Project; USD 480 million to Eskom for the Environmental Protection Project at Medupi Thermal Power Plant; ZAR 1.15 billion (USD 80 million) to the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) for its Renewable Energy Sector Development Project; and ZAR 3.2 billion (USD 220 million) to South Africa's Trans Caledon Tunnel Authority (TCTA) for work on the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (Phase II).

In India, the New Development Bank has financed an ambitious Mumbai Metro Line 2B (DN Nagar - Mankhurd) prItst. It's loan book to India include Rural Road, Bridges and Water Supply projects in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan. NDB has also approved a Renewable Energy Financing Scheme of USD 250 million with Canara Bank.

New Development Bank has principally approved a loan to Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority for the financing of Mumbai Metro Line 8 (Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport - Navi Mumbai International Airport), Line 10 (Gaimukh - Shivaji Chowk) and Line 11 (Wadala - GPO). Other proposed loans to India include USD 224 million for 8km Brahmaputra bridge in Guwahati, Assam.

"The share of the BRICS countries in world GDP in PPP terms has grown from 30% to 36% since 2010. This growth has put increased pressures on natural resources and the environment. Fortunately, however, our members have explicitly recognized these pressures and are increasingly investing in undoing some of the past damage. Our members are also focusing on implementing development strategies aimed at minimizing adverse impacts in the future. In both these endeavours, the Bank is being called upon to assist," said Mr. Kamath in his keynote speech.

The NDB now plans to open additional regional offices in Brazil and Russia and is considering opening an Indian regional office in due course.

- Chaitanya Kulkarni.

India will remain one of the fastest-growing major economies in the world - Asian Development Bank

Gurugram, India.

Global lender, Asian Development Bank has predicted 7.2% GDP Growth for India in the fiscal year 2019. Strong domestic demand would ensure that India will be the fastest growing economy in the world.

Recent policy measures by the Modi government will improve the investment climate and boost private consumption and investment will help India to lift economic growth in the next two fiscal years, according to a new report from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

In its Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2019, ADB projects gross domestic product (GDP) growth in India to rise to 7.2% in fiscal year (FY) 2019 and reach 7.3% in FY2020, reversing two years of declining growth as reforms to improve the business and investment climate take effect.

“India will remain one of the fastest-growing major economies in the world this year given strong household spending and corporate fundamentals,” said ADB Chief Economist Mr. Yasuyuki Sawada. “India has a golden opportunity to cement recent economic gains by becoming more integrated in global value chains. The country’s young workforce, an improving business climate, and a renewed focus on export expansion all support this.”

Income support to farmers, hikes in procurement prices for food grains, and tax relief to tax payers earning less than Rs 500,000 will boost household income. Declining fuel and food prices are also expected to provide an impetus for consumption. An increase in utilization of production capacity by firms, along with falling levels of stressed assets held by banks and easing of credit restrictions on certain banks, is expected to help investment grow at a healthy rate.

Downside risks to growth include a higher-than-expected moderation in global demand and a potential escalation of trade tensions. Lower-than-targeted tax revenues or a delay in strengthening bank and corporate balance sheets could also undermine economic expansion.

Consumer price inflation is expected to rise to 4.3% in FY2019 and 4.6% in FY2020 as food costs increase slightly and domestic demand strengthens. Given that inflation is expected to average around 4.0% in the first half of FY2019, the central bank would have some room for lowering policy rates.

Imports are expected to rise mainly due to stronger domestic demand while a growth slowdown in India’s key export destinations would dent export growth. The current account deficit is expected to widen a bit to 2.4% of GDP in FY2019 and 2.5% of GDP in FY2019. The deficit is expected to be financed comfortably by capital flows, given that India has emerged as an attractive destination for foreign investment.

A key factor driving India’s persistent current account deficit is its tepid export performance compared to other East and Southeast Asian economies. India’s export performance could benefit from greater participation in global value chains (GVCs). Lower trade costs, improved infrastructure quality, and enhanced worker skills could help India integrate more with GVCs. Global experience suggests that enhanced GVC participation is also associated with other development goals that India strives to achieve such as higher economic growth, an increase in the share of manufacturing in GDP, and faster job creation.

Popular schemes like PM Kisan Yojana may enhance domestic consumption further. India is today a bright spot in the world economy and it would continue to remain so with a high GDP growth rate.