Archive: January 25, 2023

Nium’s Tech Talent Networking Event a big success

Bangalore 25th Jan 2023: Chief Technology Officer of NIUM, the global platform for money movement, Ramana Satyavarapu addressed a packed gathering of tech talent in Bangalore. Talking about future trends in fintech, he said that the real competition in fintech is sourcing the right talent and empowering the industry to do better.

Further, he explained, “Regulations, licensing, significant capital, and lack of domain expertise is what makes becoming a fintech a tough road, even though the benefits are proven- such as instant money transfer with transparency, cost optimization, and global penetrations in emerging markets.”

An engaged audience responded by asking several questions, such as what would be the focus of future innovation in fintech.

Nium’s VP of Technical Services, Song Chin responded by highlighting the need to amplify the customer’s voice. He said, “Nium keeps customers at the center of whatever we do. It is important to focus on customer experience at all levels.”

Further discussing the subject of fraud detection and new-age KPIs, Ankit Gupta, Chief Architect, Nium stressed the need to ‘measure what matters’ and focus on network analysis.

In a nutshell, the tech talent networking event stressed on the market’s inherent need to progress toward perfection, for which customer experience would be the defining factor. NIUM’s team stressed a data-driven, innovation-centric approach to fintech, inspiring the crowd to believe in themselves.

NDTV and 100 Pipers Glassware celebrate ‘True Legends: The Future of Young India’

New Delhi, January’23: With ‘True Legend -The Future of Young India’, NDTV & 100 Pipers came together to honor, acknowledge & felicitate individuals who have gone beyond the material markers of success to create a positive impact on the world. Seagram’s 100 Pipers have always believed in leadership with purpose and strived to be true to its core philosophy of ‘Be Remembered for Good’. The ‘True Legend – The Future of Young India’ initiative with NDTV, in complete synergy with the brand’s purpose, seeked to celebrate inspiring individuals who are driving real, positive impact in the world.

As a culmination of this impactful initiative, NDTV premiered an exclusive show on January 20th where these ‘champions of good’ from different fields like Start-up Tech, Business Innovation, Music, Sports, Medicine, Environment, and Social Work were felicitated.

The exclusive premiere was a culmination of the 3-months long initiative, wherein through multiple levels of evaluation, nominees across these categories had been selected as potential ‘True Legends’ based on the positive impact they have created on the world. One ‘True Legend’ from each of these categories was ultimately felicitated with the help of public voting and selection by the esteemed Jury of this initiative.

As part of this initiative, 100 Pipers also created a dedicated ‘Be Remembered for Good’ category to empower and engage participants. In this category, the brand encouraged consumers to share stories of the hidden, passionate beacons of change and ‘champions of good’, who deserve to be recognized for their positive impact on society.

A special honorary category (‘Defence’) had also been introduced to celebrate the countless inspiring acts of men and women in uniform who have selflessly and bravely served India for 75 years – protecting our borders, our seas, our skies, our people & the very idea of India.

Actor Sonu Sood, who was felicitated as the ‘True Legend: Humanitarian of the year’ said, “I’m an engineer who came to Mumbai having a dream to become an actor. Being a part of a 100 or 500-crore film does not give you the kind of happiness as compared to when you manage to make a change in some unknown person’s life. For me, the best role I have ever played is the one where I stood up and started helping the migrants during the covid period. Almighty was the director of this film and I hope this film never ends.”

On being named the ‘True Legend’ in the entertainment category, actor Ram Charan said,” The reason I have become an actor today is all because of my dad. The word ‘Sankalp’ has always been very close to my heart as my father always said ‘no matter what you do, always put your heart and soul into it. I’m honored to be part of this initiative and thank you so much for recognizing me for my efforts.”

Neha Kakkar, who was felicitated as the True Legend in the music category shared, “I started off when we did not even have food to eat. Life was most difficult at that point. Jahaan se hum aaye hain, we understand the pain that people go through when they don’t have money. I had to help the people in need because they deserve happiness.”

In the one-hour show, the felicitation ceremony was hosted by Rohan Joshi and NDTV anchors – Sonia Singh, Nidhi Razdan, Vishnu Som, and Gargi Rawat. The jury comprised individuals who inspire the aspirations of young India and are ‘True Legends’ themselves including Kunal Kapoor – Actor, Model & Co-founder of Ketto, Ghazal Alagh – Co-founder of Mamaearth, Bhaichung Bhutia – India Football Legend, Rabbi Shergill – Iconic Musician and Taran Chabbra – Founder Neeman’s.

Book Now, Stay Later with Royal Orchid & Regenta Hotels

Bangalore, 25 th January 2023: Royal Orchid & Regenta Hotels Limited (ROHL), the fastest-growing Indian hospitality chain on the back of a regional expansion and brand diversification of the Regenta by Royal Orchid brand across India, ROHL is offering two exciting stay and food & beverage offers for travellers.

The hotel chain has rolled out the ‘book now stay later’ package. The newly launched packages will offer a 50% discount across the hotel’s existing portfolio. Guests can book any participating hotels across India and get up to 50% discount on rooms and 5050 points on the Wanderlust Loyalty Program. The booking period for this package is until 31 st  January 2023 while the stay period is until 30 th  June 2023. Terms and conditions apply.

Guests can also enjoy a 50% discount on the bill for food and beverages at any of the participating restaurants across India. The package is valid for a maximum group of six adults until 31 st  January 2023. Terms and conditions apply.

Tata Motors Partners with ICICI Bank to Offer Financing for Electric Vehicle Dealers

Bengaluru, January  2022: As an effort towards encouraging Electric Vehicle (EV) adoption in the country, Tata Motors, India’s leading automotive manufacturer, has announced its partnership with ICICI Bank to offer an EV Dealer Financing solution to its authorised passenger EV dealers. Under this scheme, ICICI Bank will provide inventory funding to the authorised passenger EV dealers of Tata Motors. This inventory funding is in addition to the Bank’s funding to dealers for diesel and petrol models. Under this facility, EV dealers can avail of flexible repayment tenures.

The MoU for this partnership was signed by Mr. Shailesh Chandra, Managing Director, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd., Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Ltd., and Mr. Rakesh Jha, Executive Director, ICICI Bank Ltd.

Commenting on the partnership, Mr. Shailesh Chandra, Managing Director, of Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd., and Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Ltd. said, “As the pioneers of EVs in the country, we take responsibility for their successful adoption. In our aim towards achieving complete electrification and promoting green mobility, we are happy to partner with ICICI Bank to assist our authorized passenger electric vehicle dealer partners with an exclusive financing program. Our dealer network forms a part of our core support pillars, and through their constant effort, we ride the electrification wave in India. We are confident that through this tie-up, we will make EVs more accessible and the EV purchase process a seamless and memorable experience for our customers.”

Speaking on this partnership, Mr. Rakesh Jha, Executive Director, of ICICI Bank, said, “Electric vehicle industry is growing at a rapid pace with the rising consumer demand for environment-friendly electric vehicles. The launch of EVs is one of the significant innovations in the automobile space. ICICI Bank has a legacy of supporting innovative technological initiatives. In line with this philosophy, we are delighted to partner with Tata Motors to offer an electric vehicle financing program for the authorized dealers of the country’s leading automotive company. This reflects our continued participation in India’s journey towards a sustainable future.”

Tata Motors has been pioneering the Indian automotive market with its groundbreaking efforts and is currently leading the e-mobility wave in India with a commanding market share of 85.8%, with over 57,000 EVs produced to date in personal and fleet segments.

Budget Expectation from Alok Dubey, Chief Finance Officer, Acer India

“Budget 2023-24 would probably be the most challenging one that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman would be a table on February 1, 2023. I think that this year’s budget should give digital infrastructure and skills a high priority. Although India may have a positive view of “digital” and technology, more needs to be done to support the country’s digital-first strategy as it aspires to become a USD 5 trillion economy. The government’s commitment to digital skill development and its alignment with the IT Tech sector, and the PLI scheme targeted at helping manufacturers of IT hardware and computer servers need to receive equal weight in this year’s budget. Government policy could be changed to promote the development of talent and skills. The tech industry requires a talented and skilled workforce. The government may provide funding for programs to modernize educational buildings with state-of-the-art R&D capabilities.”-Alok Dubey, Chief Finance Officer, Acer India

Ezeepay launches “Digital Sadi ka Digital Bharat” campaign

Ezeepay, a renowned fintech company has recently launched its first digital campaign to increase digital payment awareness in rural India to make digital payments more trustworthy with their brand face Jimmy Shergill. The company intends to contribute to the Indian government’s goal of promoting financial and social inclusion in rural India through this campaign.

“Digital Sadi Ka Digital Bharat” strives to make digital banking simple, convenient, and accessible in every village across India, and Ezeepay contributes to this goal by offering all banking services to their customers at one stop, including Aadhar Pay, cash collection, micro ATM, digital money transfers, along with all e-governance services. The campaign launched on social media platforms. “EzeePay hai Sabse Easy” the line of the campaign denotes how common people can now ease their all regular banking needs with the platform to build the largest branchless banking network with multiple services at one stop.

Stating on the campaign launch, the brand ambassador, Mr Jimmy Shergill, said, “I’m delighted to be a part of the digital revolution of Ezeepay throughout the nation. Through the launch of the first digital campaign, the company is addressing the lack of awareness of financial access in rural India.

Being from a village, I understand how difficult it is to get financial services in town, where people do spend half of their everyday life managing their money, from money transfers to bank inquiries. Ezeepay is here to make village people’s lives easier by providing simple payment solutions under one roof. By expanding quality learning and reaching out to the rural areas, the fintech company is doing an excellent job of empowering rural India with digital payment innovation.”

On the launch of the first digital campaign, the founder and CEO of EzeePay, Mr. Shams Tabrej, said, “We are excited to launch our first campaign to educate rural populations about how, owing to fintech solutions, they can now access their banking services from anywhere. They no longer have to stand in long queues to deposit, withdraw, and transfer their valuable money. With our campaign “Digital Sadi ka Digital Bharat,” we aim to provide rural people with simple and convenient ways to fulfill all of their regular banking needs.

Mr. Rashid Ali, MD of EzeePay, stated on the occasion: “We are excited with the new campaign launch and aim to target the rural people through this digital campaign. We at EzeePay offer our audience the best financial solution and enable rural people to manage their own finances through our simple and secure service alternatives. With this campaign, we hope to build trust among our people and promote social and financial inclusion among common people.” This campaign will aid us in our mission to bring banking to every rural household and solve the problem of rural banking across the country.”

HCLTech namedas Leader in Avasant Oracle Cloud ERP Services 2022-23 RadarView Assessment

HCLTech, a leading global technology company, has been positioned as a Leader in the Avasant Oracle Cloud ERP Services 2022-23 RadarView Assessment.

The Avasant Oracle Cloud ERP Services 2022-23 RadarView Assessment is a detailed review of 26 top-tier providers supporting the enterprise adoption of Oracle Cloud ERP. Service providers’ ability to offer solutions with minimum or no disruption was an important criterion that HCLTech excelled in.

According to the report, HCLTech provides its clients with an integrated environment with real-time data visibility, reduced turnaround time of business processes, and optimized and automated workflows. This is a testament to the longstanding HCLTech-Oracle partnership that focuses on a customer-first approach.

“HCLTech and Oracle are aligned on their consistent focus on enabling clients’ cloud transformation journeys. We work symbiotically to create joint cloud solutions that optimize business processes. This report highlights HCLTech’s expertise in offering a frictionless integrated environment to fully move from on-premises solutions to the cloud. Our endeavor toward building future-proof digital enterprises continues every day,” said Anand Birje, President, Digital Business, HCLTech.

“Enterprises are transitioning from legacy systems to Oracle Cloud ERP to tackle multiple business challenges. This transition enables organizations to collect relevant data from various systems with enhanced reporting capabilities and helps them with better decision-making,” said Gaurav Dewan, Research Leader, Avasant LLC.

“HCLTech’s ProVantage™ solution provides a monitoring dashboard that processes real-time performance data for Oracle Cloud ERP and Oracle E-Business Suite. The solution measures analyze and displays business KPIs for enterprises. HCLTech’s expertise in driving business transformation through its proprietary solutions and strengthening its offerings through collaboration has placed HCLTech as a Leader in Avasant’s Oracle Cloud ERP Services 2022–2023 RadarView,”he added.

HCLTech’s ADvantage SPADE solution helps reduce the implementation timeline of Oracle software-as-a-service applications. HCLTech’s COMIT consists of a self-extracting script that helps install applications in different customer environments.

Learn more about the HCLTech-Oracle partnershipat hcltech.com/oracle

SBI Card PAT Grows 32% YoY to ₹509 Cr in Q3 FY23 Vs ₹386 Cr for Q3 FY22

Hyderabad, January 2023: The Board of Directors of SBI Cards and Payment Services Limited approved the Company’s results for the Q3 FY23 and 9 months ended December 31, 2022, at their meeting held on Tuesday, January 24, 2023.

Performance Highlights Q3 FY23

Total Revenue increases 16% YoY to ₹3,656 Cr
ROAA at 4.8% for Q3 FY23 vs 5.0% for Q3 FY22
ROAE at 22.0% for Q3 FY23 vs 21.2% for Q3 FY22
Capital Adequacy Ratio at 23.3%; Tier 1 at 20.6%

Key Metrics

New accounts volume at 1,634K accounts for Q3 FY23 up by 62% vs 1,008K accounts for Q3 FY22.
Card-in-force grew by 21% to 1.59 Cr as of Q3 FY23 vs 1.32 Cr as of Q3 FY22.
Spends grew by 24% at ₹68,835 Cr for Q3 FY23 vs ₹55,397 Cr for Q3 FY22.
Market share 9M FY23 (available till Nov’22) – Card-in-force at 19.3% (FY22: 18.7%). Spends at 18.0% (FY22: 19.2%).
Receivables grew by 33% to ₹38,626 Cr as of Q3 FY23 vs ₹29,129 Cr as of Q3 FY22.
GNPA at 2.22% as of Q3 FY23 vs 2.40% as of Q3 FY22; NNPA at 0.80% as of Q3 FY23 vs 0.83% as of Q3 FY22.

Profit & Loss Account for the Quarter ended December 31, 2022

Ø Total income at ₹3,656 Cr for Q3 FY23 vs ₹3,140 Cr for Q3 FY22. This movement was a result of the following key factors:

· Interest income increased by ₹336 Cr to ₹1,609 Cr for Q3 FY23 vs ₹1,273 Cr for Q3 FY22.

· Income from fees and services increased by ₹213 Cr to ₹1,670 Cr for Q3 FY23 vs ₹ 1,457 Cr for Q3 FY22.

· Other income decreased by ₹101 Cr to ₹149 Cr for Q3 FY23 vs ₹250 Cr for Q3 FY22.

Ø Finance costs increased by ₹187 Cr to ₹464 Cr for Q3 FY23 from ₹277 Cr for Q3 FY22.

Ø Total Operating cost increased by 15% at ₹1,974 Cr for Q3 FY23 from ₹1,719 Cr for Q3 FY22.

Ø Earnings before credit costs increased by 6% at ₹1,217 Cr for Q3 FY23 vs ₹1,144 Cr for Q3 FY22.

Ø Impairment losses & bad debts expenses decreased by 15% at ₹533 Cr for Q3 FY23 vs ₹625 Cr for Q3 FY22.

Ø Profit before tax increased by ₹166 Cr or 32% to ₹684 Cr for Q3 FY23 vs ₹519 Cr for Q3 FY22.

Ø Profit after tax increased by ₹124 Cr or 32% to ₹509 Cr for Q3 FY23 vs ₹386 Cr for Q3 FY22.

Profit & Loss Account for the 9 months ended December 31, 2022

Ø Total income increased by ₹ 2,087 Cr or 25% to ₹ 10,372 Cr for 9M FY23 vs ₹ 8,285 Cr for 9M FY22.

Ø Finance costs increased by ₹ 380 Cr or 50% to ₹ 1,140 Cr for 9M FY23 from ₹ 760 Cr for 9M FY22.

Ø Total Operating cost at ₹ 5,472 Cr for 9M FY23 from ₹ 4,268 Cr for 9M FY22, increase is driven by higher business growth.

Ø Earnings before credit cost at ₹ 3,760 Cr for 9M FY23 from ₹ 3,258 Cr for 9M FY22.

Ø Impairment losses & bad debts expenses for the period at ₹ 1,529 Cr for 9M FY23 vs ₹ 1,865 Cr for 9M FY22.

Ø Profit before tax increased by ₹ 838 Cr or 60% to ₹ 2,231 Cr for 9M FY23 vs ₹1,393 Cr for 9M FY22.

Ø Profit after tax increased by ₹ 627 Cr or 61% to ₹ 1,662 Cr for 9M FY23 vs ₹ 1,035 Cr for 9M FY22.

Balance Sheet as of December 31, 2022

Ø Total Balance Sheet size as of December 31, 2022 was ₹42,987 Cr as against ₹34,648 Cr as of March 31, 2022.

Ø Total Gross Advances (Credit card receivables) as of December 31, 2022 were ₹38,626 Cr, as against ₹31,281 Cr as of March 31, 2022.

Ø Net worth as of December 31, 2022 was ₹9,530 Cr as against ₹7,824 Cr as of March 31, 2022.

Asset Quality

The Gross non-performing assets were at 2.22% of gross advances as on December 31, 2022 as against 2.40% as on December 31, 2021. Net non-performing assets were at 0.80% as at December 31, 2022 as against 0.83% as on December 31, 2021.

Capital Adequacy

As per the capital adequacy norms issued by the RBI, Company’s capital to risk ratio consisting of tier I and tier II capital should not be less than 15% of its aggregate risk weighted assets on – balance sheet and of risk adjusted value of off-balance sheet items. As of December 31, 2022, Company’s CRAR was 23.3% compared to 24.2% as of December 31, 2021.

The tier I capital in respect of an NBFC-ND-SI, at any point of time, can’t be less than 10%. Company’s Tier I capital was 20.6% as of December 31, 2022 compared to 21.3% as of December 30, 2021.

Rating

CRISIL Long Term – AAA/Stable

CRISIL Short Term – A1+

ICRA Long Term – AAA/Stable

ICRA Short Term – A1+

Summary Profit and Loss Statement (Rs Cr)

Summary Balance Sheet (Rs Cr)