Live: PM Modi invites businesses to India's booming EV market at Singapore Business Leaders' Summit

BMW aims to bring its first hydrogen-powered vehicle onto the market in 2028, using fuel cell technology developed with Toyota Motor Corp, the German carmaker said on Thursday. The company said the vehicle would be an existing model with a hydrogen fuel cell drive option, without giving further details. It also did not give details on price or production volume. BMW CEO Oliver Zipse said in a statement the vehicle would "highlight how technological progress is shaping the mobility of the future". Its partnership with Toyota will allow the groups to cut costs and to develop a passenger car drive unit whose technology will also have applications for commercial vehicles, they said.

Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das on Thursday said he expects new external members of the monetary policy committee to be appointed in time. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the annual Fibac event here, Das said the meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) -- scheduled to take place from October 7 -- can only take place when the members are in place. "New members obviously have to be appointed then only we can hold the meeting. It should happen. We expect the new members to be in place in time," the governor said. The four-year term of three external members -- Ashima Goyal, Jayanth Varma and Shashank Bhide -- is coming to an end on October 4. The appointments to the panel are made by the government.
 

The Odisha government has so far provided a subsidy of Rs 154.27 crore to electric vehicle owners since the 2022-23 financial year, a minister said on Thursday. The sale of EVs has also shown an increasing trend in Odisha, after the government started giving subsidies from September 1, 2021, Transport Minister Bibhuti Bhusan Jena said. Jena said this in a written statement in the assembly.

SBI Chairman CS Setty on Thursday flagged the limited supply of cybersecurity professionals as a "big challenge" for the future. Speaking at the annual Fibac here, Setty said banks' investments in cybersecurity have been going up steadily, given the need to protect the entire system. "But we also feel that the professional support for many of the cyber security activities is limited one. I think that's going to be a big challenge going forward," said Setty, who took over as the chairman of the country's largest lender late last month. HSBC's country chief executive Hitendra Dave said the global lender faces 1 lakh cyberattacks a day.
 

 Jindal Stainless on Thursday said that it has supplied stainless steel for the Vande Bharat sleeper coaches. "Jindal Stainless has supplied high-strength tempered 301LN grade austenitic stainless steel for this prestigious government project," the company said in a statement. Apart from providing better performance and durability, the stainless steel used to manufacture these coaches ensures lower life-cycle costs due to its corrosion resistance characteristics, resulting in long-term reliability. It also enhances passenger safety with its superior crash and fire resistance properties, maintaining the safety standards in railway transport.

Max Ventures Investment Holdings, a promoter entity of Max Financial Services, on Thursday divested a 3.18 per cent stake in the company for Rs 1,218 crore through an open market transaction. Analjit Singh promoted Max Financial Services Ltd (MFSL), a part of the Max Group, is the holding company for Max Life Insurance. According to the bulk deal data available on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), Max Ventures Investment Holdings sold a total of 1,10,00,000 shares amounting to a 3.18 per cent stake in Noida-based Max Financial Services. 

Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das headed the Sub-Committee of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC-SC) on Thursday reviewed global and domestic macroeconomic and financial developments. It also reviewed issues relating to inter-regulatory coordination in the Indian financial sector, the RBI said in a statement after the 31st meeting of the FSDC Sub-Committee. "Members shared their assessments of potential risks to financial stability and discussed various issues that may have financial stability implications," it said.

Plastic waste management firm Race Eco Chain on Thursday announced that it will form a joint venture with Ganesha Ecosphere to set up washing plants for producing pet flakes. Ganesha Ecosphere Ltd is one of the major PET recycler in India. The board has provided its in-principle approval to enter into a joint venture with PET recycler firm Ganesha Ecosphere, Ghaziabad-based Race Eco Chain said in a stock exchange filing. The joint venture agreement is yet to be finalised and executed, it added.
 

India’s leading luxury auto manufacturer, Mercedes-Benz India launched the EQS in a more luxurious avatar, the EQS 680 Maybach SUV at Rs 2.25 crore (ex-showroom) in India. The EQS 680 gets a 56-inch MBUX hyperscreen, a 15-speaker Burmester sound system, and a range of 611 km. The rear passengers are offered features such as executive seating, massage function, four-zone climate control, and customisable ambient lighting. It is the first all-electric SUV from the Maybach in India.

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Prime Minister Narender Modi on the second day of his visit to Singapore made announcements about electric vehicles (EVs), the scrappage business of old vehicles, and enhancing the infrastructure of ambulances in India at the Singapore Business Leaders’ Summit. During his visit to Singapore, the Prime Minister talked broadly about his plans to develop a strong semiconductor ecosystem in India. 

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Union Minister Pralhad Joshi on Thursday said the rapidly growing renewable energy sector will provide momentum to the Indian economy in the years to come. Addressing the BNEF Summit here, the New & Renewable Energy Minister highlighted the steps being taken by the Modi government to promote the renewable sector. "A sector growing so rapidly will definitely provide momentum to India's growing economy. India has created a competitive industry structure in renewables," the minister said. He noted that the cost of solar power in India is among the cheapest in the world, saying that this is also because we get a good number of sunny days.

Travel booking platform EasyMyTrip.com on Thursday announced it is venturing into the electric bus manufacturing market through its new subsidiary Easy Green Mobility. Easy Green Mobility will manufacture EV buses, with YoloBus (another subsidiary of EaseMyTrip) serving as its operating arm. EaseMyTrip is investing Rs 200 crore for extensive R&D, product development, and setting up a manufacturing plant over 2-3 years.

Singapore has already invested about $150 billion in India (about Rs 12 lakh crore) and the island country is ready to invest probably five times that amount in the coming years, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday.

He also said that India and the four-nation European bloc EFTA have signed a free trade agreement under which New Delhi has received an investment commitment of $100 billion over the next 15 years.
 

The Board of Trade meeting to be chaired by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal is likely to be held on September 13 in Mumbai. Headed by the minister, the board includes participants from various states, Union territories, and senior officials from the public and private sectors.
 

US private employers hired the fewest number of workers in 3-1/2-years in August and data for the prior month was revised lower, potentially hinting at a sharp labor market slowdown.

Private payrolls increased by 99,000 jobs this month, the smallest gain since January 2021, after rising by a downwardly revised 111,000 in July, the ADP National Employment Report showed on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast private employment would advance by 145,000 positions after a previously reported gain of 122,000.

The number of Americans filing new applications for jobless benefits declined last week as layoffs remained low, which could help to allay fears that the labor market was deteriorating. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 227,000 for the week ended August 31, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 230,000 claims for the latest week.

US stock index futures were flat on Thursday ahead of a series of economic data as investors scoured for clues to determine the size of the Federal Reserve's interest rate cut that is expected later this month.

The S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq closed lower for the second straight session on Wednesday after a drop in job openings in July and a Fed survey fanned worries of slowing economic activity. Traders' bets for a 25-basis point reduction in interest rates at the Fed's September meeting stand at 57%, according to the CME Group's FedWatch Tool. Bets for a larger 50-bps cut rose to 43% from 34% a week earlier.

 Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a two-day visit to Singapore. During his visit to the country, the Prime Minister talked extensively about India's plans of developing the semiconductor ecosystem. During his conversation with the business leaders of the country, he also talked about the growth of startups in smaller towns and cities in the country.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi touted Singapore as a model for developing nations on Thursday and said India wanted to create "several Singapores" of its own. During his talks with Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, Modi expressed confidence in the city-state's fourth-generation leadership.

Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday said there is no need to provide subsidy to electric vehicle makers as consumers are now choosing EVs or CNG vehicles on their own. Addressing BNEF Summit, Gadkari said initially costs of manufacturing electric vehicles were high, but as demand has increased, production costs have dropped, making further subsidies unnecessary.
 

Tesla shares rose 2.5% on Thursday after the electric automaker stuck to its plans to roll out the Full Self-Driving (FSD) advanced driver assistance software in China and Europe pending approval from regulators in the regions. This comes about a month ahead of the company's unveiling of its robotaxi product, "Cybercab", underpinned by the technology that helps drivers accelerate, brake and steer in cities and highways with human supervision.

After opening with a positive momentum on Thursday, the domestic bourses erased all gains and ended lower amid uncertainties in global markets persists. 

The National Stock Exchange’s Nifty 50 ended 53 points or 0.21 per cent lower at 25,145.10 while the Bombay Stock Exchange’s 30-share Sensitive Index (Sensex) settled 151 points or 0.18 per cent lower at 82,201.16. 

Amid the mixed sectoral movement, the market was buoyed down by Auto, Pharma and Oil & Gas stocks while Information and Technology (IT) stocks staged a substantial recovery after Wednesday’s dip. 

Social media giant Meta on Thursday announced a two-year partnership with the Telangana government aimed at enhancing e-governance and citizen services using artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. According to a release, the strategic partnership will empower public officials and citizens with the latest emerging technologies like AI to enhance e-governance and citizen services.

Jewellery retail chain P N Gadgil Jewellers Ltd on Thursday fixed a price band of Rs 456-480 per share for its Rs 1,100-crore initial share sale and proceeds will be used for expansion plans and pare debt. The Initial Public Offering (IPO) will open for public subscription on September 10 and conclude on September 12 and the bidding for anchor investors will open for a day on September 9, the company announced.
 

 Adani Group is in talks with more than 10 global banks to raise at least $1.5 billion through dollar bond sales, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the plans. The bonds would be issued mainly under Adani Green Energy and Adani Energy Solutions, the group's renewable energy and power transmission units, and through special purpose vehicles, the report said.

Commercial vehicle maker Ashok Leyland on Thursday said it has tied up with Bandhan Bank for vehicle finance. The memorandum of understanding was signed between the entities to offer customised financial solutions to customers.
 

The government will soon roll out the much-awaited 'INDIAsize' initiative, which aims to establish standardized measurements designed to better suit the Indian body types, Union Textiles Minister Giriraj Singh said on Thursday.

Presently, international and domestic brands available in India use measurements from the US or the UK for garments, having 'small', 'medium' and 'large' sizes. However, Western body types differ from Indians in terms of height, weight or specific measurements of body parts, which sometimes causes fitting issues.
 

Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das on Thursday said the Indian growth story remains intact with consumption and investment demand growing in tandem, and emphasised that past reforms need to be augmented by reforms in land, labour and agricultural markets. The governor also asked financial institutions to create tailored products to suit businesses promoted by women and MSMEs without diluting underwriting standards.
 

Despite the moderation seen in India's first-quarter gross domestic product growth (GDP), the South Asian economy is likely to achieve full-year growth of 7.2 per cent as projected, the Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das said on Thursday.

India's economic growth slowed to 6.7 per cent year-on-year in the April-June quarter, below the polled estimate of 6.9 per cent and the RBI's projection of 7.1 per cent, as a decline in government spending during national elections weighed.
 

Swedish automaker Volvo Cars expects to outgrow the premium car market until 2026, it said on Thursday, but lowered its profitability target for that year and scrapped its sales goal. The group, which is majority-owned by China's Geely, lowered its target for operating profit margin excluding joint ventures and associates to 7-8% from above 8% and scrapped a sales goal of 550-600 billion Swedish crowns ($53.5-58.4 billion).

Indian apparel maker Raymond Lifestyle, carved out of Raymond , notched a $2.19 billion valuation in its stock market debut on Thursday, before shares fell by the maximum allowed 5% as investors booked profits.

The nearly 100-year-old Raymond had spun off its lifestyle business this year to simplify its group structure, attract more investors and help the carved-out entity gain better access to capital. Shareholders received four shares of Raymond Lifestyle for every five held in Raymond.

Stung by leftover inventory and unsure about consumer spending, India's auto dealers are worried about having to discount more to boost demand in the upcoming festive season, a representative of the dealers' body said on Thursday.

The double-whammy of higher inventory costs and deeper discounts are a nightmare for auto dealers as that has a direct impact on their profit margins.

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals has agreed to pay USD 25 million as part of a settlement with the US Department of Justice regarding a case related to the pricing of a generic drug. Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Inc, USA, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Mumbai-based drug maker, has agreed to pay the amount in six installments over five years, with interest on the settlement amount at a rate of 4.25 per cent per annum from May 28, 2024, the company said in a late night regulatory filing on Wednesday.
 

Japanese government bond yields sank on Thursday, tracking declines in US Treasury yields after more soft economic data stoked bets the Federal Reserve may cut interest rates by a super-sized 50 basis points (bps) this month.

The 10-year JGB yield dropped 2 bps to 0.865% as of 0441 GMT, after dipping to a two-week low of 0.860% earlier in the session.

Realty firm Prestige Estates Projects Ltd has raised Rs 5,000 crore by selling equity shares to institutional investors through private placement.

On August 29, the company launched its Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP) issue to raise funds.

 Indian government bond yields were little changed in early trading on Thursday ahead of the crucial US non-farm payrolls data due a day later, which will help determine the quantum of rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. The benchmark 10-year yield was at 6.8525% as of 10:15 am, compared with its previous close of 6.8579%.

Passenger vehicle retail sales in India witnessed a 5 per cent on-year decline in August on account of delayed customer purchases, poor consumer sentiment and persistent heavy rains, industry body FADA said on Thursday. The overall passenger vehicle (PV) registrations last month stood at 3,09,053 units, as compared to 3,23,720 units in August 2023.

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 Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, visited AEM, a Singaporean semicon and electronics major. During the visit, the leaders were briefed on AEM's role in the global semiconductor supply chain, its operations, and its plans for India. 

The Singapore Semiconductor Industry Association also provided an overview of Singapore's semiconductor ecosystem and explored opportunities for collaboration with India.

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Domestic benchmark indexes opened higher on Thursday, tracking a rebound in Asian peers after a steep sell-off in the previous session.

The Nifty 50 index rose 0.16 per cent at 25,238.15, while the S&P BSE Sensex was up 0.16 per cent at 82,490.14 as of 9:18 am.

Japan's Nikkei share average fell on Thursday, weighed down by a stronger yen and losses in semiconductor-related stocks, while investors awaited US non-farm payroll data due on Friday to gauge the strength of the world's largest economy.

The Nikkei .N225 was down 0.35 per cent at 36,917.44 by the midday break after sliding more than 1 per cent earlier in the session. The benchmark was on track for a third straight session of falls.

During the two-day visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India and Singapore signed an MoU on cooperation in digital technologies in what is said to be a major impetus to bilateral relations in the technology sector.

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 Bank of Japan board member Hajime Takata said on Thursday the central bank must keep raising interest rates if it can confirm that companies would continue to increase spending and wages.

"The stock and currency market saw big volatility in early August and the fallout continues. As such, we need to scrutinise market developments and their impact for the time being," Takata said in a speech to business leaders in the city of Kanazawa.

Australia's surplus on trade goods widened in July, helped by a rise in exports of rural goods while oil imports dipped, data showed on Thursday.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported the balance on goods widened to A$6.0 billion ($4.04 billion), from a downwardly revised A$5.43 billion in June and above market forecasts of A$5.0 billion.

Johnson & Johnson plans to pay an additional $1.1 billion to resolve tens of thousands of legal actions alleging its baby powder and other talc products caused cancer, two people familiar with the matter said.

The increase would boost the size of the settlement to more than $9 billion paid over 25 years. J&J on Wednesday said it reached an agreement with a plaintiffs' lawyer representing 12,000 clients to recommend the settlement offer to them, adding to support already received from other claimants.

The dollar dipped on Thursday as traders ramped up bets for a supersised rate cut from the Federal Reserve later this month, with the yen a notable outperformer on safe-haven demand as concerns over the US economy's growth outlook resurfaced.

Global markets have been on edge and stocks, in particular, badly bruised, after softer-than-expected US data out this week reignited concerns that the growth outlook of the world's largest economy was less rosy than earlier thought and that the labour market could be slowing more sharply than expected.

Jeep's parent company Stellantis STLAM.MI is pressing pause on making two of its top-selling US models, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

Factories temporarily stopped producing the Jeep Wrangler and Grand Cherokee SUVs in the past week, the report added citing people familiar with the matter.

Japan's inflation-adjusted wages rose for two consecutive months in July thanks to a bump in summertime bonuses, government data showed on Thursday.

Real wages in the world's fourth-largest economy grew 0.4 per cent in July, rising at a slower pace than June's 1.1 per cent growth when it turned positive for the first time in 27 months, data from the labour ministry showed.