Latest news with #DDM
Economic Times
25-05-2025
- Automotive
- Economic Times
Metros' snub may force e-bus sops shift to intracity service
The Centre is considering subsidizing nearly 4,000 electric buses for interstate or intracity routes after Chennai, Mumbai, and Kolkata opted out of the PM e-DRIVE scheme. While Delhi awaits 2,800 e-buses pending compliance with scheme norms, the heavy industries ministry has allocated buses to Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, and Surat. Bids for 10,900 e-buses are expected soon. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads With three metros opting out of the PM e-DRIVE scheme , the Centre may subsidise nearly 4,000 electric buses (e-buses) for use on interstate or intracity routes, a senior official heavy industries ministry received requests for around 10,900 e-buses under PM e-DRIVE, lower than the target of 14,028 e-buses. These buses are meant for large cities to improve their internal public transportation networks."Chennai, Mumbai, and Kolkata have refused to participate for their own reasons," the official told ET, adding that the remaining around 4,000 buses can be considered for intercity, or interstate uses if the Centre doesn't get additional demand from more Chennai and Mumbai are said to be planning their own e-bus procurement schemes. Also, the West Bengal government is said to have refused PM e-DRIVE e-buses since it is yet to receive units promised under earlier the Delhi government's request has been received, its wait for around 2,800 new e-buses may get a little longer with the state yet to fully comply with PM e-DRIVE scheme norms. The state needs to create a direct debit mandate (DDM) with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which would allow the Centre to recover dues if case of delay in payments to e-bus suppliers.A DDM ensures the Centre is able to pay e-bus suppliers if states or their transport utilities delay releasing funds. Irregular payments had spooked e-buses suppliers, leading to a tepid response in earlier tenders. Under the PM e-DRIVE scheme, the Centre procures e-buses on behalf of states, who then make payments to suppliers."Delhi government has started the process of creating an account with the RBI for facilitating the DDM. They will get e-buses after complying with these norms," the official heavy industries ministry has allocated around 4,500 e-buses for Bengaluru, 2,000 to Hyderabad, 2,800 to Delhi, 1,000 to Ahmedabad, and 600 to Surat under the current phase of the PM e-Drive scheme. Bids for these 10,900 e-buses are expected to be called by the Convergence Energy Services Ltd (CESL), a central government-controlled entity, in a few Centre has earmarked ₹ 10,900 crore over a two-year period through March 2026 for deploying e-buses in urban areas.
Time of India
25-05-2025
- Automotive
- Time of India
Metros' snub may force e-bus sops shift to intracity service
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel With three metros opting out of the PM e-DRIVE scheme , the Centre may subsidise nearly 4,000 electric buses (e-buses) for use on interstate or intracity routes, a senior official heavy industries ministry received requests for around 10,900 e-buses under PM e-DRIVE, lower than the target of 14,028 e-buses. These buses are meant for large cities to improve their internal public transportation networks."Chennai, Mumbai, and Kolkata have refused to participate for their own reasons," the official told ET, adding that the remaining around 4,000 buses can be considered for intercity, or interstate uses if the Centre doesn't get additional demand from more Chennai and Mumbai are said to be planning their own e-bus procurement schemes. Also, the West Bengal government is said to have refused PM e-DRIVE e-buses since it is yet to receive units promised under earlier the Delhi government's request has been received, its wait for around 2,800 new e-buses may get a little longer with the state yet to fully comply with PM e-DRIVE scheme norms. The state needs to create a direct debit mandate (DDM) with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which would allow the Centre to recover dues if case of delay in payments to e-bus suppliers.A DDM ensures the Centre is able to pay e-bus suppliers if states or their transport utilities delay releasing funds. Irregular payments had spooked e-buses suppliers, leading to a tepid response in earlier tenders. Under the PM e-DRIVE scheme, the Centre procures e-buses on behalf of states, who then make payments to suppliers."Delhi government has started the process of creating an account with the RBI for facilitating the DDM. They will get e-buses after complying with these norms," the official heavy industries ministry has allocated around 4,500 e-buses for Bengaluru, 2,000 to Hyderabad, 2,800 to Delhi, 1,000 to Ahmedabad, and 600 to Surat under the current phase of the PM e-Drive scheme. Bids for these 10,900 e-buses are expected to be called by the Convergence Energy Services Ltd (CESL), a central government-controlled entity, in a few Centre has earmarked ₹ 10,900 crore over a two-year period through March 2026 for deploying e-buses in urban areas.
Forbes
09-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Game Industry Dealmaking Tops $7.8 Billion In Best Quarter Since 2023
The frigid investment and M&A climate for the video game industry continued to thaw in the first quarter of 2025, topping $7.8 billion in the most active quarter since late 2023. Initial public offerings also spiked, to $2.2 billion, according to the DDM Games Investment Review's latest quarterly report 'There's no doubt that 'survive til 2025' became a defining mantra for the games industry during recent turbulent years," said Mitchell Reavis, the report's director. "While DDM anticipates ongoing layoffs, strategic pivots, and the divestiture of non-core business offerings throughout 2025, the data reveals genuine signs of recovery with investment and M&A trends moving in the right direction.' A mixed first quarter produced a strong uptick in investments and IPOs in the game industry, ... More according to DDM Games Investment Review The most consequential contributor to the latest improving numbers was a 370% increase, to $4.4 billion, in 190 investments in the quarter, according to DDM While mergers & acquisitions dropped more than a third, 55 such deals still generated $3.3 billion. As with Hollywood's media companies – where a brutal 2024 was filled with layoffs, restructuring and the impacts of a fading theatrical exhibition business and an epochal shift from traditional cable and television to online streaming video – the game industry faced different but equally serious challenges. FEATURED | Frase ByForbes™ Unscramble The Anagram To Reveal The Phrase Pinpoint By Linkedin Guess The Category Queens By Linkedin Crown Each Region Crossclimb By Linkedin Unlock A Trivia Ladder The game industry's blues were driven by a post-pandemic hangover, as people who'd flocked into games of many kinds during the lockdown and afterward began doing nearly everything else they used to do. Premium AAA titles became increasingly high-risk, several-year, nine-figure bets that could fail quickly, as happened with Warner Interactive's Suicide Squad title a year ago. Mobile games, another big driver of revenues, faced an oversaturated market where relatively few of the 1.4 million games in app stores were able to stick out and truly thrive. No surprise, then, as interest rates rose and the cost of money increased, investors backed off the game sector for lower-risk alternatives. Now, that seems to be easing, amid a shifting interest-rate environment and new approaches to game-making, as numerous speakers at the recent Los Angeles Games Conference detailed. Artificial intelligence tools and much more modest approaches are helping smaller companies compete, and find needed funding. 'As the industry trudged through 2024, we saw positive signs, and with one quarter in the books, it certainly seems that things are trending in the right direction,' according to the report. One sign of the improving climate: 'a major surge' in announcements of new investment funds, totally a whopping $21.8 billion across 43 funds, up more than double the last quarter of 2024 in value. It was the biggest quarter for new fund announcements since mid-2022, when capital had come rushing into the sector. The biggest drivers of investor enthusiasm continue to be companies providing blockchain- and particularly AI-based tools to game developers, the latter generating $3.1 billion across 32 deals. Only one IPO, Grand Centrex's SPAC-based reverse merger, happened during the quarter. DDM's figures track only the amount raised in the deal, in this case $2.2 billion, and not the company's resulting enterprise value. One major question for the industry was answered in recent weeks: will the long-awaited next version of Grand Theft Auto arrive later this year, in what is widely expected to be the single most lucrative release in the history of entertainment of any kind. The answer: No. Publisher Take-Two Interactive finally acknowledged what was becoming obvious, delaying the GTA VI release from sometime this fall into early next year. That should open up opportunities for other major publishers during the holiday season, traditionally the biggest business period of the year. DDM's methodology includes only Western investments in game development, publishing and tech, and only those that have officially closed. Parent organization Digital Development Management provides consulting, development and publishing services.
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Analysts updated target price for Šiaulių Bankas
Following the publication of Šiaulių Bankas' Q4 2024 and full-year results, Swedbank's independent equity analyst Andrej Radionov raised the target price to EUR 1.2 per share and reiterated a buy recommendation. Separately, sponsored equity research analysts at Estonia's Enlight Research, raised fair value to EUR 1.11 per share, while analysts at Norne Securities, a Norwegian investment bank, maintained their valuation range at EUR 1.03 to EUR 1.28 per share. Company Analyst Target price Updated on Swedbank Andrej Rodionov 1.20 EUR 2025-03-03 Enlight Research Mattias Wallander 1.11 EUR 2025-03-12 Norne Securities Žilvinas Jusaitis 1.03–1.28 EUR 2025-02-21 Enlight Reaserch key takeaways: 2024 was epic for Šiaulių Bankas (soon to be renamed Artea Bankas) with the partial change of anchor stakeholders. Dividend policy payout doubled to minimum 50% from minimum 25%, which, at the time of announcement, almost doubled estimated dividend yield to net 6.4%. This also signified a return to Šiaulių Banks being a dividend stock. Buyback program launched with goal to become more capital efficient and achieve a fair valuation of the share. In 2024, the yield from buybacks was 0.7% for a total yield (incl. dividends) of 8.1%. Management of the Bank has announced that the buy-back program could be resumed in May this year. Šiaulių Bankas share has rallied 39% (excluding 8.1% dividend/buyback yield) since the completion of stock aquisition agreements on 31 May last year, widely outperforming the Baltic Benchmark Index 9% gain (including dividends). This might be the beginning of a long-term positive trend. Valuation is still not demanding with a 2025E P/BV of 1.08x, corresponding to a 37% discount to Baltic peer LHV (1.72x). Given our forecast 2025 ROE of 13.7% (adjusted for extraordinary costs), a fair P/BV multiple for Šiaulių Bankas could be 1.25x, according to our DDM based model. This implies a share price of EUR 1.11, indicating a 16% upside. Also worth noting is that bank multiples in other Eastern European markets are higher. Norne Securities key takeaways: The Bank has revised its guidance for the 2025–2029 period, signaling a more ambitious growth outlook. Loan book and deposit targets have been raised compared to previous projections, reflecting greater confidence in the bank's ability to expand its lending and funding base. Fee and total operating income expectations have also been revised upward, indicating a stronger anticipated contribution from non-interest income streams. The implied NIM is projected to remain above 3% throughout the forecast period. The upgrades in financial targets are largely driven by better-than-expected 2024 results, which transmit in long-term targets. On the cost side, the bank has introduced adjusted figures to reflect a strategic shift in expense recognition. IT-related costs will now be fully expensed rather than capitalized as long-term intangible assets. The bank's minimum payout policy remains unchanged at 50%. Equity research by analysts is provided on Šiaulių Bankas Investor Relations website. If you would like to receive Šiaulių Bankas' news for investors directly to your inbox, subscribe to our newsletter. Additional information:Tomas VarenbergasHead of Investment Management in to access your portfolio
