Did Jane Street manipulate Indian market or exploit its shallowness?
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
18 minutes ago
- Time of India
Aster DM Healthcare sets sights on smaller cities to expand play, grab top spot
Mumbai: Aster DM Healthcare has set an ambitious goal of becoming the country's largest healthcare chain, surpassing Apollo Hospitals , through an over 30% increase in bed capacity and forays into new markets, said a senior executive at the Bengaluru-based company. Aster emerged as the second-largest healthcare chain following a recent merger with US private equity giant Blackstone-backed Quality Care India. The combined entity reported more than ₹9,000 crore in revenue in FY25, trailing Apollo Hospitals' ₹22,027 crore, showed data from ET Intelligence Group. Fortis Healthcare ranked third with ₹7,861 crore revenue. It marked a sharp rise for Aster DM which ranked fifth in FY24 with ₹3,730 crore in revenue. "When Stephen Schwarzman (global CEO of Blackstone) was here recently celebrating 20 years of Blackstone in India, the only thing he told us is we have to make this the number one healthcare organisation in India," Alisha Moopen, deputy managing director at Aster DM told ET. She did not say when the company aims to attain the number one position. In terms of bed capacity, Aster may be leading by a whisker with a total of 10,300 beds after the merger, compared with Apollo Hospitals which has 10,187 beds. The combined entity Aster DM Quality Care India surpassed Fortis Healthcare which has a total capacity of about 4,750 beds. In the next few years, Aster is looking to add 3,300 beds, taking the total to 13,600 beds. Apollo Hospitals , on the other hand, plans to invest ₹6,000 crore to add 4,300 beds. Aster recorded adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) of ₹1,661 crore and 20.5% Ebitda margin in the last fiscal year. The multispecialty hospital chain is considering organic and inorganic routes for expansion in next 4-5 years, Moopen said. It operates 40 hospitals, employing 50,000 healthcare professionals, across 27 cities in India. While Aster will continue to bolster its presence in strongholds in Kerala and Karnataka, the company aims to expand operations in central India with a focus on non-metros such as Indore, Raipur, Aurangabad, and Bhubaneshwar. Aster specialises in areas like cardiology, oncology, transplant program, paediatrics, and neurosciences. Blackstone will be the largest shareholder in the new company with a 30.7% stake. Aster promoters will get about 24% while TPG-an early investor in Quality Care India-will hold 10.22%. The rest will be held by the public and other shareholders. Explaining that the full benefits of the merger will be felt in 18-24 months, Moopen said one of the key areas of synergy will be procurement and supply chain optimisation. According to her, the purchasing power of the combined entity will enable better supply terms, cost efficiencies, and streamlined inventory management, helping reduce material costs and boosting margins. "About 10-15% benefit on things like material cost should be applicable, thus enabling margin we are operating at a 20.5% margin as a consolidated group entity, we should be moving to a 23-24%," said Moopen. In terms of capacity utilisation, at a blended level, Aster DM's bed occupancy is at 58-60%. "There's room to improve occupancy in some of the assets and then there's a pipeline of beds that's coming," she said.
The Wire
an hour ago
- The Wire
At BRICS Summit, India Warns Against ‘Weaponising' Critical Minerals Supply
New Delhi: With China continuing to restrict rare earth exports, triggering global shortages, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday (July 7) told the BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro that critical mineral resources must not be 'weaponised' by any country. Speaking during the third session of the summit, Modi said, 'We need to work together to make supply chains for critical minerals and technology secure and reliable. It's important to ensure that no country uses these resources for its own selfish gain or as a weapon against others.' China, a founding BRICS member along with India, Brazil, Russia and South Africa, was represented this year by Premier Li Qiang, as President Xi Jinping skipped the summit for the first time since taking office in 2013. The grouping had expanded last year to include six new members, significantly increasing its global weight. In April, China imposed curbs on rare earth exports in response to tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump, contributing to a shortage of critical inputs used in everything – from cars and consumer goods to advanced weapons systems. China currently accounts for nearly 90% of production of global rare earth minerals – a group of 17 elements that are vital for a wide array of industries. Last month, India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had said that it was engaging with Beijing to resolve the April 4 export restrictions on rare earth magnets, which have disrupted India's supply chains. 'The Chinese Ministry of Commerce and General Administration announced export controls in early April on certain rare-earth-related items,' MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had said. ' We remain in touch with the Chinese side, both in Beijing and Delhi, to bring predictability to the supply chain in line with international practices.' According to Delhi-based think tank Global Trade Research Initiative, China has increasingly used trade restrictions to undercut India's industrial ambitions, limiting access to raw materials and technical support essential for growth in electronics, EVs, and defence manufacturing. Since mid-2023, Beijing has imposed curbs on critical minerals such as gallium and germanium. In late 2024, those restrictions were extended to graphite, affecting India's clean energy and battery industries. The Indian automotive industry has raised concerns that continued delays could severely hamper electric vehicle production. The BRICS declaration issued on Sunday adopted a cautious middle ground, calling for reliable and diversified supply chains for critical minerals, while also stressing the sovereign rights of states to regulate access to their resources 'to pursue legitimate public policy objectives'.
New Indian Express
an hour ago
- New Indian Express
Sebi chief rules out banning weekly expiries
Securities and Exchange Board (Sebi) chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey on Monday ruled out barring weekly expiries in the wake of the ban on the US-based quant trader Jane Street last week and reiterated that Sebi will not allow anyone to engage in market manipulation. The regulator also justified the interim order issued against the Jane Street saying the regulator has all the powers to act against manipulative and fraudulent activities, and the interim order speaks for itself. Pandey further said Sebi will continue tightening surveillance on the derivatives market but ruled out curbing weekly index expiries at this stage. In his first comment on the matter, Pandey had last Saturday said the Jane Street scam was an issue of surveillance and that as the regulator it will not allow anyone to manipulate the market. The Sebi had last week barred US-based quant firm Jane Street from local markets for alleged manipulation of index levels and also ordered it disgorge Rs 4,843.5 crore of illicit gains. Pandey said, 'Sebi is focused on retail investor protection" and surveillance is tightened on both Sebi and exchange level, adding that the regulator was "working towards upgrading its surveillance tools.' Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a function at the NSE on Monday, he also said Sebi does not see 'many other risks' like the manipulations done by Jane Street. 'I don't think there are very many other risks," he said, replying to a specific question on whether there are other funds or investors who may have manipulated the markets in a similar way.
