Indian startups raised up to $63 billion since 2016, spawn 27 unicorns

 The startups ecosystem has raised as much as USD 63 billion in growth capital between 2016 and 2020, when they spawned 27 unicorns, according to the data collated by the Indian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association and Praxis Global Alliance.

According to them, this makes India the third largest tech startup ecosystem in the world. Of the total inflows, nearly half came in 2019 alone -- USD 34 billion and USD 17 billion in 2020 till May.

The time period also created as many as 27 unicorns in the country. Unicorns are those with USD 1 billion or more valuation.

Tech-enabled players continue to drive investors' interest and have dominated the early stage funding landscape here.

According to Rajat Tandon, the president of Indian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association, "This is a great report covering data and insights on our booming tech startup ecosystem, carrying a fresh perspectives about developers and service demand.

"The growth stage startup and venture capital ecosystem is poised for the next leap with an increasing number of unicorns, soonicorns and minicorns, even amidst the pandemic.

Madhur Singhal, managing director of Praxis Global Alliance said, "The domestic startup ecosystem is primed for a renewed phase of growth. Ecommerce and tech startups have shown resilience during the pandemic fundamentally altering their unit economics to become more sustainable.

Praxis Global is a next-gen management consulting and business research services firm delivering practical solutions to business problems by combining domain practitioner expertise, AI-led research approaches, and digital technologies.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Forex reserves up by $3.378 bn to lifetime high of $545.038 bn: RBI

 The country's foreign exchange reserves increased by USD 3.378 billion to touch a lifetime high of USD 545.038 billion in the week ended September 18, RBI data showed.

In the previous week ended September 11, the reserves had declined by USD 353 million to USD 541.660 billion

During the reporting week, the forex kitty rose mainly due to an increase in foreign currency assets (FCA), a major component of the overall reserves.

FCAs swelled by USD 3.943 billion to USD 501.464 billion in the reporting week, the central bank data showed.

Expressed in dollar terms, the foreign currency assets include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units like the euro, pound and yen held in the foreign exchange reserves.

Gold reserves were down by USD 580 million in the reporting week to USD 37.440 billion.

The special drawing rights with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) were up by USD 1 million to USD 1.483 billion.

The country's reserve position with the IMF rose by USD 14 million to USD 4.651 billion during the reporting week, as per the data.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Dueling over diamonds: LVMH says Tiffany not worth buyout as spat gets ugly

 It's an ugly spat for such a glamorous industry: French luxury powerhouse LVMH and US jeweler Tiffany & Co. are blaming each other for the collapse of what would have been the sector's biggest-ever buyout deal.

Paris-based LVMH had announced Wednesday it was abandoning the USD 14.5 billion takeover plan because the French government had requested a delay to assess the impact of proposed U.S. tariffs. Tiffany sued to enforce the deal, and on Thursday LVMH lashed back.

The Paris-based conglomerate whose holdings including Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton, Moet & Chandon, Bulgari and Sephora issued a statement threatening legal action of its own, accusing Tiffany of mismanaging the financial crisis prompted by virus lockdowns.

LVMH criticised Tiffany for issuing dividends even as it was losing money, and Tiffany's performance in the first half of this year was significantly worse than that of other LVMH brands during the period. "LVMH confirms that the conditions are not met" to close the deal, it said.

Even before Wednesday's announcement, the deal's value had been eroded by wider industry troubles caused by the coronavirus pandemic, which has caused retail sales to plunge around the world. Tiffany, based in New York, said LVMH's argument for halting the buyout has no basis in

French law, and that LVMH hadn't attempted to seek the required antitrust approval from three jurisdictions. LVMH disputed that, and said the necessary approvals were expected in October.

Tiffany, known for its delicate jewelry, distinctive blue boxes and an Audrey Hepburn movie, had been trying to transform its brand to appeal to younger and more digital shoppers. LVMH, had thought the deal would strengthen its position in high-end jewelry and in the U.S. market.

The pandemic threw all those assumptions and plans in doubt, and the threat of new tariffs between the U.S. and Europe was cited as a further complicating issue.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Forex reserves surges by $4.24 bn to touch a record high of $437.83 bn

The country's foreign exchange reserves surged by USD 4.24 billion to touch a record high of USD 437.83 billion in the week to October 4, according to the latest data from the Reserve Bank of India.
In the previous week, the reserves had surged by massive USD 5.02 billion to USD 433.59 billion.

The increase in reserves in the reporting week was on account of rise in foreign currency assets (FCA), a major component of the overall reserves.
FCA increased by USD 3.99 billion to USD 405.61 billion in the week ended October 4, the RBI said.
Expressed in US dollar terms, the foreign currency assets include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units like the euro, pound and the yen held in the foreign exchange reserves.
During the week, gold reserves increased USD 232 million to USD 27.17 billion.
The special drawing rights with the International Monetary Fund was up by USD 1 million to USD 1.43 billion during the week.
The country's reserve position with the IMF also increased by USD 9 million to USD 3.61 billion, the data showed.

October trade deficit widens to $17.13 bn; exports up 17.86% at $26.98 bn

India's exports rose by 17.86 per cent to USD 26.98 billion in October compared to the year-ago month, according to the commerce ministry data.
Imports during the month also rose by 17.62 per cent to USD 44.11 billion, leading to widening of trade deficit to USD 17.13 billion.

The deficit widened despite a steep decline of 42.9 per cent in gold imports to USD 1.68 billion during the month under review.
The trade gap was USD 14.61 billion in October 2017.
During the April-October period of the current fiscal, exports grew by 13.27 per cent to USD 191 billion.
Imports were up by 16.37 per cent to USD 302.47 billion, leaving a trade deficit of USD 111.46 billion during the first seven months of the current fiscal. It was USD 91.28 billion in April-October 2017-18.
Oil imports in October increased by 52.64 per cent to USD 14.21 billion. The non-oil imports rose by 6 per cent to USD 29.9 billion in the month.
In September, exports had contracted by 2.15 per cent.

India's forex reserves rise $503.6 mn to record high of $424.864 bn

The country's foreign exchange reserves rose by USD 503.6 million to touch a life-time high of USD 424.864 billion in the week to April 6, aided by increase in foreign currency assets, the Reserve Bank said on Friday.
In the previous week, the reserves had surged by USD 1.828 billion to USD 424.366 billion.

It had crossed the USD 400-billion mark for the first time in the week to September 8, 2017, but has since been fluctuating.
In the reporting week, the foreign currency assets, a major component of the overall reserves, rose by USD 657.7 million to USD 399.776 billion.
Expressed in the US dollar terms, the foreign currency assets include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of the non-US currencies such as the euro, the pound and the yen held in the reserves.
After remaining stable for past few weeks, gold reserves decreased by USD 130.7 million to USD 21.484 billion in the reporting week, the central bank said.
The special drawing rights with the International Monetary Fund declined by USD 10 million to USD 1.534 billion.
The country's reserve position with the IMF also decreased by USD 13.4 million to USD 2.070 billion, the apex bank said.