South Asia

The Information, a technology news website, reported that OpenAI and Meta Platforms held separate talks with India's Reliance Industries about potential partnerships to increase their artificial intelligence offerings within the country. According to The Information which cited sources with knowledge of the subject, a possible relationship was being discussed between Reliance Jio, OpenAI and ChatGPT to distribute ChatGPT. According to the report it was also revealed that OpenAI discussed price reductions with its employees. The price of the ChatGPT subscription could be reduced to a few dollars per month instead of the usual $20. It is unclear if OpenAI had...

According to a letter obtained by The Hindu, the Indian government asked a court in its jurisdiction to serve a summons from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on billionaire Gautam. Adani for alleged securities fraud and $265 million bribery. Indian lawyers stated that the summons was issued in accordance with the Hague Service Convention, which does not permit the service of legal documents directly on defendants in India. Adani or his legal representative would be required to appear before the court in the United States. Adani Group denied the allegations and called them "baseless". They also promised to pursue...

Three merchant bankers confirmed on Thursday that India's Jio Finance (a unit wholly owned by Jio Financial Services) has tapped into the debt market through its first commercial paper (CP), ahead of its debut Bond sale later this month. Bankers with direct knowledge of the situation said that the non-banking financial company issued three-month CPs for a 7.80% yield and accepted bids totaling 10 billion rupees (114.95 millions). They all requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak with the media. One of the bankers stated that "as expected, Jio Finance started its funding by issuing CP bonds of...

Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio has signed a deal to bring Starlink satellite Internet services to India. This is a surprising move by the billionaires who had been at odds with each other for months about how India should allocate spectrum to them. This deal comes on the heels of a similar announcement made by Starlink with India's No. 2 telecom player Bharti Airtel a day before. Starlink will be available in the retail stores of Indian telecom operators, giving Starlink direct access to thousands of outlets in India. The two deals are contingent upon Starlink receiving government approval for operations...

A person with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Friday that Bharat Petroleum Corporation, the Indian state refiner, plans to launch a four-month tender to purchase U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI), as it seeks cheaper oil from the top producer in the world. Source: The refiner is looking for one million barrels of WTI each month to arrive in May or June, for a period of four months. BPCL has not responded to a request for comment. Last year, the Indian refiner awarded a similar contract to BP, a major European company. BPCL buys U.S. crude oil to...

Nayara Energy is a private Indian refiner that is majority owned by Russian companies, including Rosneft. It will offer a $217.5-million share buyback to assist its minority shareholders in leaving the delisted company. Rosneft, along with its partners, closed the acquisition of Nayara Energy (formerly known as Essar oil) for nearly $13 billion in 2017. Before the closing of the deal, Essar Oil shares were delisted. Nayara announced that it has decided to make an offer of 731 rupees each ($8.39), totaling 18.94 billion rupees, to over 200,000 minority investors who have not participated in previous delisting or exit offers....

The Indian two-wheeler manufacturer Ola Electric was sent a letter by the federal government for failing to meet a critical milestone in setting up its battery "gigafactory". Ola has been selected for the 2022 government production-linked incentive scheme (PLI). This will allow the company to build a local battery manufacturing plant of 20 gigawatts in Tamil Nadu, a southern state. The 181 billion rupees ($2,07 billion) scheme required that companies set up manufacturing plants within two years. Ola Electric had previously stated that it would start commercial operations at its manufacturing facility by April. The company's statement on Tuesday said...

India's benchmark indices reversed initial gains on Monday as global trade worries kept investor sentiment on edge. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries also fell the most since five months. The BSE Sensex fell 0.36% at 72,903.31 by 10:34 a.m. IST. Indexes rose up to 0.6% in the opening after data revealed that India's economy grew by 6.2% during the quarter October-December, boosted by increased consumer and government spending. Hardik Matalia is an analyst at Choice Broking. He said that the markets are cautious due to the uncertainty surrounding U.S. Tariffs, in the absence any positive domestic trigger. Investors were waiting anxiously...

Economic Times reported that India's Tata Group, and Bharti Group, are on the verge of merging their satellite television businesses. The merger will create a $1.6 billion entity, with the goal of stemming the steady migration of subscribers towards digital streaming. Sources said that the merged entity will be managed by Bharti Airtel, who is likely to hold between 52%-55%, with the remainder held by Tata play shareholders, including Walt Disney. Bharti Airtel Tata Play, and Disney have not responded to comments immediately. A government report states that Tata Play (a 70/30 joint venture between Tata Sons, Disney and Airtel)...

The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre, or IN-SPACe, launched on Wednesday a fund of 5 billion rupees ($57.58 millions) to assist early-stage technologies in becoming commercial and to reduce the reliance on imported goods as the country strives to increase its market share within the global space industry. In a press release, the space regulator stated that the Technology Adoption Fund would also link government agencies with the private sectors, in order to position India as an important partner on a market that is becoming increasingly competitive. The fund offers financial support up to 60% for small and...

L.R. Jain, chief executive of Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd (ISPRL), said that India has begun to look for oil storage facilities overseas and is currently in talks with Oman about leasing a facility capable of holding approximately 5 million barrels crude oil. Jain, CEO of Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd. India, which is the third largest oil consumer and importer in the world, imports more than 80% of its oil requirements and is increasing its strategic reserve capacity to protect itself against any disruptions to global oil supply. Jain said that if the talks with Oman are successful, it...

Reliance Consumer products, an Indian company, launched Campa Cola in the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday. This was the first time the brand had entered the global market, which is dominated by the U.S. beverage companies PepsiCo, and Coca-Cola. The FMCG arm Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Group announced that it had partnered with UAE food and beverage company Agthia Group to launch the product, but refused to disclose any financial details. This is the first international expansion for Campa Cola since Reliance Industries revived it in 2023. In the 1970s and 80s, it was a popular brand. However, its popularity waned...

India has discontinued a part of a scheme which encouraged households and institutions in India to deposit gold as a form of interest payment. Gold deposits were available for 1 to 3 years, 5 to 7 years, and 12-15 years under the gold monetisation program, which was introduced in 2015. The Finance Ministry announced late Tuesday that the 5-to-7-year and 12-to-15-year deposits had been discontinued. It cited the changing market conditions and the performance of the scheme. The ministry stated that banks can continue to provide short-term gold deposit based on their commercial viability. This move will reduce future government...

Maros Séfcovic, the European Union's Trade Commissioner, was scheduled to meet with Donald Trump's top officials in charge of trade on Tuesday. The goal is to avoid U.S. tariffs that could be imposed on EU products as soon as next week. Sefcovic has had two prior discussions with U.S. trade representative Jamieson Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick that have not altered Trump's plans for raising U.S. tariffs to match those charged by major trading partners, and to counter their non-tariff barriers. The USTR and Washington's EU delegation office did not immediately comment on the discussion. The meetings take place...

India's benchmark indices rose on Monday, led by heavyweights in information technology and finance, amid foreign capital flows and eased tariff concerns. The NSE Nifty50 was up 0.56% to 23,790.2 at 10:33 am IST. Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex gained 0.60%, reaching 78,444.19. With the recent correction, Nifty is trading at 17,8x forward earnings for one year. Sweta JAIN, research analyst of Anand Rathi Share and Stock Brokers, said that this is a discount from its median 5-year and 10-year earnings, which offers value opportunities to investors. Both benchmarks have recovered their losses for the year, but they are still down...

This week, gold discounts in India reached a record-high of more than eight months as the demand for gold fell after spot prices soared past records. Indian dealers offer a discount Up to $41 per ounce compared to official domestic prices. The domestic gold price hit a record of 89 796 rupees for 10 grams this week. It has risen by over 15% this year. The price is constantly rising. It's reaching new heights every week. "Customers are waiting, just sitting there and watching for a dip," said New Delhi bullion dealer. India's gold exports will drop 85% from the...

Manappuram Finance in India announced on Thursday that Bain Capital will invest 43.85 billion rupies ($508m) to purchase an 18% stake. This comes at a time when gold prices are at record highs, making it attractive for the company to offer loans. The asset manager is going to subscribe for Manappuram shares and warrants, at 236 Rupees each. This represents a 30% premium on its average six-month trading price. Bain Capital is classified as a promoter post-investment, and it will control the company jointly with its existing promoters. India's households, which are the second largest gold consumers in the world,...

The shares of Indian steel companies increased on Wednesday, after a government agency recommended a temporary tariff on certain steel products to reduce imports. This raised hopes that their earnings could be boosted. Early trade saw metal shares rise as high as 1.6%. JSW Steel, the industry leader in steel production, and Tata Steel ranked among the top 10 gainers of the benchmark Nifty50 index. The index rose by 0.2%. JSW Steel and Tata Steel shares rose about 3%, while SAIL's SAIL stock grew 3.5% and Jindal Steel and Power's Jindal Steel and Power shares gained 1%. India has launched...

State news agency SPA reported that the Saudi Industry and Mineral Resources Ministry awarded mining exploration licences on Tuesday to several local as well as international firms. Licenses were granted to Indian miner Vedanta, and a consortium including local Ajlan & Bros as well as China's Zijin Mining. The first mineralized belts of the Kingdom are located in Madinah at Jabal Sayid and Aseer, Al Hajar. Both are rich in precious and base metals including gold, silver, copper, zinc and other precious metals. According to SPA, the licenses cover a combined area of 4,788 sq km (1,849 sq mi). The...

India's Commerce Minister said that a proposed free-trade agreement with New Zealand would significantly strengthen bilateral ties. He suggested that trade could increase 10-fold within ten years. After a ten-year hiatus, India and New Zealand resumed FTA negotiations following a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Christopher Luxon from New Zealand, who was visiting India. At a meeting of business leaders, Trade Minister Piyush Goyal stated that the deal could increase trade ties for farm products, essential minerals, pharmaceuticals and tourism. The talks are being held against the backdrop of rising global trade tensions after U.S. president Donald Trump...

Rusal, the Russian aluminium giant, announced on Friday that it has agreed to purchase a 26% share in an Indian alumina refining company for $243.75 millions and will acquire up to 50% over time. This move should help reduce Rusal's reliance on third party raw materials. Rusal is the largest aluminum producer in the world outside of China. Although the sanctions against Moscow for the conflict in Ukraine have not directly targeted Rusal, it has lost 40% of its alumina supply after Australia stopped exports to Russia, and Rusal closed its alumina refining plant in Ukraine. Rusal reduced its deficit...

The gold discounts in India reached their highest level in almost eight months this week, due to the record-high prices and customers staying away from other major hubs. Jewelers are reporting fewer sales. The rising price of bullion has caused a significant drop in demand. On Thursday, the domestic gold price reached a new record of 87.886 rupees for 10 grams. This week, Indian dealers offered a discount Up to $39 per ounce, including import duties of 6% and sales taxes of 3%, compared to a discount from $10 to $21 the previous week. A Mumbai-based dealer from a bullion...

Tata Steel Nederland, the Dutch arm for the Indian steel giant Tata Steel, announced on Wednesday that some of its U.S. customers, particularly from the automotive industry, are lobbying to have the supplier exempted of U.S. steel import tariffs. TSN's spokesperson said that the exemptions were the most important factor in reducing the effect of tariffs. He added that it was still too early to make any comments on the effects for the industry. "We've been closely in touch with our customers for some time, and have assessed the implications of the recent change in the government in the U.S....

Stephen Schwarzman, Blackstone's Chief Executive, said that the tariffs imposed by Donald Trump can increase manufacturing in the United States - the largest economy in the world. Since Trump took office in January, his focus on tariffs has shaken investor confidence. Consumers and businesses have also expressed concerns about a U.S. economic recession that could affect the global economy. Schwarzman, who has been a Trump donor for many years, told reporters in Mumbai, at an event marking Blackstone's twentieth anniversary in India that he thought the India-U.S. trade negotiations would be easier than with other countries, following a recent meeting...