Jan 11 | Daily Top News
FinMach
Pine Labs files a 'confidential' US IPO
On January 5th, we covered the story on SBI pumping in ~ $20 Mn in the fintech. Lately, the company has filed an initial public offering (IPO) ~ $500 Mn with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Wait, what’s confidential?
An IPO filing requires the company to disclose full information regarding its business. While a ‘confidential IPO’ allows it to withhold its financial information and other details from rivals for a relatively longer period of time compared to the traditional S-1 filings in the US.
Dreaming big..
Pine Labs is serving merchants across India, Southeast Asia and the Middle east. backed by Sequoia Capital, Temasek Holdings, Actis, PayPal and Mastercard among others.
The Noida-based firm is one of the highest valued fintech startups in the country after Paytm, PhonePe and Razorpay.
The company had acquired Fave, a consumer fintech platform last year.
No-vaxx Djokovic is back!
Novak Djokovic, the anti-vaxxer was released from Australia was released from Australian immigration detention on Monday after winning a court challenge to remain in the country in view of the Australian Open 2022.
The visa saga..
Few days back, we covered a turnaround of events surrounding the tennis great, as initially he was given a medical exemption from the tournament organizers (on grounds of having developed natural immunity after being infected with Covid-19 in December) and allowed to participate in the tournament. However, the government later cancelled his visa and denied entry.
Even though he’s released from detention, could still face deportation.
Indian shoppers desperately look for Choppers
The Indian Coast Guard’s has another halt in it’s ongoing procurement process for ~14 new twin-engine heavy helicopters. The Coast needs larger helicopters to cover more distances for faster reaction during operations and other surveillance operations.
Now just Airbus is the single vendor as Russia has withdrawn from the contest, with US surprisingly not participating.
The Coast Guard currently operates ageing Chetaks as well as indigenous Advanced Light Choppers for patrolling, search and rescue and casualty evacuation.
Trying a lot…
The Coast Guard has been trying to procure the choppers since 2012. The last such attempt was in 2018 after the contest was withdrawn amid allegations of leak of confidential documents.
Cargill opens Innovation Center in Gurugram
The group has opened its first innovation centre in India in Gurugram to develop solutions for the food and beverage market. .
What’s cooking here?
Cargill aims to promote a healthy and nutritious diet and help customers reformulate products that are lower in fat, salt and sugar, while maintaining the tastes with help of food specialists/scientists for research and innovation.
The center will use Augmented Reality (AR) to live-stream practical demonstrations remotely to its customers.
About Cargill
In India, Cargill started operations in refined oils, food ingredients, grain and oilseeds, cotton, animal nutrition, etc.
Cargill India markets leading consumer brands of edible oils such as Nature Fresh, Gemini, Sweekar, Leonardo Olive Oil, Rath and Sunflower brand of hydrogenated fats. It sells wheat flour under the 'Nature Fresh' brand.
Karnataka HC disposes of Google petition seeking details from CCI
The Karnataka High Court on Monday disposed of a petition filed by Google India challenging an order of the Competition Commission of India, which is investigating its Play Store payment policy which has affected app developers and startups.
CCI is in talks with these guys know the impact of Google’s payment policies on their balance sheets. It will also ask them to suggest alternative payment mechanisms if possible.
Google’s googly..
Under the tech giant’s new payments policy, certain app categories will be restricted to using only the Google Billing System (GBS) to accept payments from users, for which Google would charge a 30% commission, compared to around 2% by other payment gateways.
That’s a lot!!!
A large section of India’s app developer ecosystem, including players such as Paytm, have protested Google’s move. Google has since reduced the commission to 10-15% for app developers.
Read more
MeitY preparing cabinet note on proposed Data Protection Bill
The Ministry of Electronics and IT is preparing a formal note for the Union Cabinet on the proposed Data Protection Bill. It will then be discussed by the cabinet before being placed for discussion in the upcoming Budget Session of the Parliament.
Yes, but: The Budget Session, which typically begins in the last week of January, with the Union Budget presented on Feb. 1, could be postponed this year owing to the exponential rise in Covid-19 cases.
As curfews kick in, online food delivery spikes again
Restaurants and cloud kitchens are once again seeing an increase in demand for online food delivery as curfews kick in and people stay indoors amid the third wave of Covid-19 in India.
The restaurant industry, which has been hit hard by the pandemic, is staying afloat thanks to online delivery. The current spike in online demand should be temporary as things tend to normalize once the restrictions end.
Foxconn’s India plant to reopen
Foxconn will re-open the Chennai plant after it assured Apple and the Tamil Nadu government that it has taken corrective actions in its hostels.
The Taiwanese company will see around 400 workers and 2,000 technical staff begin work from January 12 and is set to resume production in phases.
Did Covid shut down the plant?
Not really. The plant, which makes Apple iPhones, was shut down last month after a food poisoning incident affecting around 200 women workers.
Apple had placed the plant on probation and Foxconn apologised for the incident. Apple said through a statement assuring 'corrective actions' were being implemented at the site.