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The Monetary Authority of Singapore maintains current policy settings, following policy easing in January and April.
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Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
L&T to raise Rs 500 crore via ESG bonds
Infrastructure major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) on Friday said it will raise Rs 500 crore through ESG bonds. An ESG bond is a debt security that funds an environmental, social, or governance goal. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Loja de Teresina faz promoção de azeites Azeites Saiba Mais Undo "Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has announced a Rs 500 crore ESG bond issuance deal, becoming the first Indian corporate to do so under the Securities and Exchange Board of India 's (Sebi's) newly introduced ESG and sustainability-linked bond framework," the company said in a statement. HSBC is acting as the sole lead arranger in the transaction, it said. As part of the ESG bond deal, the company said it is committed to environmental targets, including a decrease in intensity of fresh water withdrawal and emissions of greenhouse gases. Live Events These initiatives are in line with the company's long-term sustainability goals of achieving water neutrality by 2035 and carbon neutrality by 2040. The issuance is compliant with Sebi's regulatory framework announced on Thursday, which is designed to promote transparency, accountability, and alignment with international ESG standards. The framework outlines key requirements for issuers, including the disclosure of sustainability objectives, mandatory external assessments such as second party opinions, and post-issuance reporting. It also mandates clear key performance indicators and targets to measure ESG outcomes, crucial steps in supporting country's net-zero and climate-resilient growth agenda.


Mint
2 hours ago
- Mint
IPL 2025: Restaurants see strong delivery growth driven by cricket fever
New Delhi: The just-ended 18th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) continued to drive growth for restaurants, especially those doing deliveries. The eateries business grew by up to 20% as late evening matches kept the order tap flowing. With record viewership annually, the boom was in line with growth seen during previous editions. The importance of IPL has only grown for restaurant chains, especially as they have struggled with tepid demand in the December quarter and the early part of the March quarter. Also read: United Spirits is on a high after RCB's IPL win, JP Morgan upgrade and UK FTA. Can it keep buzzing? The Twenty20 cricket tourney began on 22 March and ended on 3 June. Jasper Reid, entrepreneur and founder of International Market Management Ltd (IMM), a London-based firm that brings international consumer brands to India and operates Jamie's Italian and Jamie's Pizzeria in the country, said IPL continues to be a valuable part of their delivery marketing playbook. 'We prioritize IPL in our delivery marketing calendar because it has a proven track record of driving orders. In April, delivery was up 39% and dine-in rose 6%. In May, delivery growth slowed to 5%, while dine-in increased by 30%, partly because of the India-Pakistan situation which led to the IPL being paused briefly. For us, the key challenge is to maintain and improve margins even as we compete for customer attention during such high-traffic periods," he said. 'IPL continues to be a strong growth period for us, with this year's season delivering a 7–10% uptick in overall business. Interestingly, 60–70% of this growth has been driven by dinner orders, underlining how match timings align perfectly with peak delivery hours. Our top 10 cities are leading the charge, contributing to 60% of the growth of our total business," said Aayush Madhusudan Agrawal, Founder and Director, Lenexis Foodwork. Also read: Piyush Chawla, IPL third highest wicket taker, announces retirement from all forms of cricket "We've also seen a surge in new customer acquisitions across both dine-in and delivery formats during the tournament and our focus now shifts to retaining this expanded base. Notably, three of the four weeks in May were our best-performing weeks in terms of business, making this IPL season one of the most impactful for us so far." The company operates over 235 restaurant outlets and over 200 cloud kitchens; it operates a portfolio of distinct brands—Chinese Wok, The Momo Co. and Big Bowl. Rising viewership As per JioStar, the official broadcaster of the IPL, the reach of both TV and digital crossed 450 million each by the time the tournament was suspended on 9 May following the conflict between India-Pakistan. It resumed on 17 May. Restaurant booking platform EazyDiner Private Ltd reported a 35% increase year-on-year in dine-in bookings across cities like Bengaluru, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Pune where the matches were being screened live, according to Sachin Pabreja, its co-founder. Some restaurants claimed a significant surge in late-night orders during the season. Wow! Momo experienced a 12-14% increase in IPL-driven orders, primarily through deliveries, with late-night deliveries seeing a particular surge. 'IPL basically precedes a lean period for us, i.e., the period between February and March isn't a high demand generating period for the industry. In that sense, IPL is a big consumption booster. However, this year, the conflict between India-Pakistan also dampened sales for a few days, but it picked up later. IPL is a self-sustaining event now with companies not ramping up marketing spends significantly. It's a ready-made occasion since people tune in to watch matches almost daily. So it's organic growth for us," said Sagar Daryani, chief executive officer (CEO) and founder, Wow Momo! Also read: Vijay Mallya reveals why he picked Virat Kohli for RCB: 'My instinct told me he was special…' Food ordering platforms Zomato and Swiggy did not comment on their IPL stats for the season. Meanwhile, bars and cafes said IPL had less impact on sales, with people opting to view matches at home—the trend that helped fuel demand for online orders. "Our dining business did not grow so much because we don't screen matches but we saw a good spike in our delivery business, that's really helped us grow during this time," said Amit Bagga, co-founder of food chain, Daryaganj, which saw a 9% jump in the delivery business during the IPL.


Time of India
3 hours ago
- Time of India
DeepDive: India's green hydrogen journey starts at ₹397 per kg
Mumbai: India's recent green hydrogen price discovery through Indian Oil Corporation 's (IOCL) landmark tender has drawn mixed reactions from industry experts, reflecting both optimism about market potential and concerns over long-term competitiveness. The final price — ₹397/kg which is about $4.67/kg — discovered in the reverse auction process is being seen as a turning point for India's emerging green hydrogen sector. India's bid seen as globally competitive According to Ravi Shekhar , managing director of Eninrac Consulting, L&T's $4.67/kg green hydrogen bid is globally competitive, lower than EU imports and close to Middle East prices. 'India, led by players like L&T Energy Green Tech , is emerging as a competitive hub for green hydrogen production. With a price of $4.67/kg (₹397/kg), L&T's hydrogen offering is already aligned with global low-cost producers such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE, whose prices range between $4.50–$6.00/kg,' he said. He added that when factoring in logistics and import costs, Indian green hydrogen was cheaper than most EU imported hydrogen, which landed at ₹500/kg to ₹600/kg. This cost advantage is further reinforced by India's ultra-low solar tariffs of ₹2.5 to ₹3 per unit, among the lowest globally, which significantly reduce the cost of electrolysis-based hydrogen production. However, not all stakeholders are as optimistic. Green v/s grey Prashant Vasisht, senior vice-president and co-group head at ICRA, said that the prices discovered recently were in line with current trends and almost double the price of grey hydrogen derived from natural gas and therefore not very competitive. He said that economics and technology were yet to refine further for green hydrogen to become competitive. 'The price of green hydrogen is still some time away from attaining parity with grey hydrogen. Importantly, renewable electricity prices have to reduce substantially along with the capex of electrolysers among other things for green hydrogen to become competitive,' he said. In contrast, Nitin Yadav, head of hydrogen - India at Gentari, a clean energy company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Petronas, called the price discovery a 'significant milestone' and said that their initial assessment suggested the prices were 'quite competitive'. 'The price discovery through the IOCL tender sends a strong signal to project developers that green hydrogen has a viable business case in India. The finalisation of this tender has instilled much-needed confidence in the market and laid the groundwork for scaling the hydrogen economy,' said Yadav. He added that the price discovery should lead to an increased demand for in-situ green hydrogen projects in India. Shekhar said that between 2024 and 2027, early industrial adopters, particularly in refineries and fertilizer production will drive initial demand for green hydrogen. 'This foundational uptake will be critical for de-risking investments, with $2–3 billion expected to flow into domestic electrolyzer manufacturing. By 2030, deeper decarbonization in hard-to-abate sectors like steel and transport will take shape, positioning India to capture 5-10% of the global electrolyzer market,' he added. Impact on offtake Regarding impact on offtake, ICRA's Vasisht added that as prices were significantly higher, offtake agreements would remain limited. 'If we aim for competitive pricing, the offtake must be firm and committed for the full 25-year term,' said Gentari's Yadav. He added that there should be more competition in this sector amongst project developers, which would help the green hydrogen ecosystem as well as the consumers. On offtake, Shekhar added that the Panipat project's 25-year offtake deal at ₹397/kg with IOCL would secure price certainty and enhance project bankability, setting a credible pricing benchmark for future bids. With scale-driven efficiencies and larger capacities, prices might fall below ₹350/kg, he added.