Latest news with #Mumbai
Reuters
2 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
Indian fund managers line up long-short equity funds for wealthy
MUMBAI, July 16 (Reuters) - At least ten Indian and foreign asset managers plan to launch higher-risk, long-short equity funds to wealthier investors after the regulator approved the strategy earlier this year, according to executives at these firms and public filings. The new category of investment funds were first announced last year as a way to offer sophisticated investors a wider range of options. Under the new rules, which kicked in on April 1, Indian mutual funds can now offer long-short equity funds - where fund managers take both long- and short-positions - under a new category called "Specialised Investment Fund" (SIF) with a minimum investment size of 1 million rupees ($11,663.51). ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund, Quant Mutual Fund, SBI Mutual fund and ITI Mutual Fund are already approved to launch the product, according to public disclosures and spokespeople of these firms. The CEOs of Edelweiss Mutual Fund and Mirae Asset Investment Managers, a unit of South Korea's Mirae Asset Financial Group, are awaiting approval to launch a hybrid long-short fund and an equity long-short fund respectively, they confirmed to Reuters. Nippon India mutual fund is awaiting approval to launch a long-short fund. "We see a lot of potential in this category similar to what we have seen in alternative investment funds who have been able to amass assets with these long-short strategies," said Jatinder Pal Singh, CEO of ITI Mutual Fund. India's 48 asset managers manage 72.20 trillion rupees in assets. Hedge funds and quant firms such as AlphaGrep Investment Management, Abakkus Asset Management, Carnelian Capital, and Ask Investment Managers have applied for mutual fund licences, a prerequisite for launching SIFs, executives at these firms said, declining to be named. The funds did not respond to Reuters emails seeking details. SIFs allow fund managers more independence to structure their funds, said Ashish Gupta, chief investment officer at Axis Mutual Fund, also awaiting regulatory approval to launch SIFs. These funds are also permitted to trade derivatives and could help increase institutional participation in the derivatives market, where the regulator is seeking to widen the investor base and reduce speculation. "Potentially this could help in reducing the speculative nature of options trading but would depend on strategies being rolled out and how much assets they get," Gupta said. Global trading firms have increased their presence in India's growing derivatives market in the last year, but institutional participation from Indian funds is limited. Proprietary traders made up 52.3% of total derivatives traders as of April, with retail at 33.6%, while domestic institutions - which include mutual funds - made up only 0.2% of total derivative traders, NSE data showed. ($1 = 85.5450 Indian rupees)
Reuters
2 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
Jio Blackrock gets Indian markets regulator nod to launch four passive funds
July 16 (Reuters) - Jio Blackrock has received approval from India's markets regulator to launch four passive index funds, the Securities and Exchange Board of India's website showed on Wednesday. The funds will mirror four indices, namely, Nifty Midcap 150 (.NIMI150), opens new tab, Nifty smallcap 250 (.NISM250), opens new tab, Nifty Next 50 (.NN50), opens new tab and the benchmark index tracking Indian government bonds with 8–13 years maturity (.NIFGS813), opens new tab. Jio BlackRock, a joint venture between billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Jio Financial Services ( opens new tab and BlackRock (BLK.N), opens new tab, plans to launch nearly a dozen equity and debt funds in India by year-end, Reuters reported last week. The asset manager is entering the country's 72.2-trillion-rupee ($844 billion) mutual fund market with a mix of active and passive offerings, aiming to leverage its digital reach to sidestep traditional distributor networks. The asset manager has raised over $2.1 billion across three debt mutual fund schemes, attracting investments from 90 institutional investors and 67,000 retail investors so far.
The Independent
4 hours ago
- Automotive
- The Independent
Tesla debuts in India with a whopping $79,000 Model Y variant
Tesla Inc. has opened its first showroom in India, marking the vehicle maker's long-anticipated debut in the world's third-biggest automotive market. Located in the Bandra-Kurla Complex, an upscale business center in the financial capital of Mumbai, the showroom will serve as Tesla 's flagship retail and experience outlet as the company introduces its EV lineup to Indian customers. Tesla's entry to India comes after years of delays and policy friction, marking a pivotal expansion in a fast-growing consumer base while global sales are plunging and the company faces challenges in its two core markets, China and the US. Tesla launched its Model Y in India as the US automaker, grappling with slowing sales, bets on prospects in a country that company boss Elon Musk has long criticised for its high import tariffs. Tesla has begun accepting orders for its Model Y on the company website. For India, Tesla's entry signals rising investor confidence and strengthens its move towards clean mobility. Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, while inaugurating the store, said: 'This is not just the inauguration of an experience centre but a statement that Tesla has arrived, in the right city and state, that is Mumbai, Maharashtra. Mumbai stands for innovation and sustainability.' With deliveries estimated to start from the third quarter, Tesla is targeting a niche electric vehicle segment in India that accounts for just 4 per cent of overall sales in the world's third-largest car market. The base price of the Y model is Rs6.78m or $79,000 for the long-range, rear-wheel drive vehicle, according to a presentation by the company. By comparison, the price tag is around $44,990 in the US without a federal tax credit. The government wants to change that and increase the electric vehicle share to 30 per cent by 2030. Sales of Tesla electric cars fell sharply from April to June as boycotts over Musk 's political views continued, keeping buyers away. Tesla will compete mainly with German luxury giants such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz rather than domestic mass-market EV players such as Tata Motors and Mahindra. The company will import cars into a country where tariffs and related duties can exceed 100 per cent, driving up the price for consumers. Grappling with excess capacity in global factories and declining sales, Tesla has adopted a strategy of selling imported vehicles in India, despite the duties and levies. The EV maker has long lobbied India for lower import tariffs on cars, and prime minister Narendra Modi's officials remain in talks with US president Donald Trump's administration to lower the levies under a bilateral trade deal. Musk invited Indians in April 2016 to preorder the upcoming Tesla Model 3. Several customers placed an order but the cars never arrived and the booking amount had to be refunded. Despite his earlier enthusiasm, in 2019 Musk expressed concern in a post on his social media platform X that import taxes could double prices of Tesla cars, making them 'unaffordable'. Tesla pressed Indian authorities to cut import taxes on EVs to be able to test the local market, but New Delhi wanted Tesla to set up manufacturing facilities so a comprehensive policy could benefit all the players in the sector. The dynamics changed after Modi and Musk met in the US in February during the prime minister's state visit.
Reuters
4 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
Tariff-tinged US inflation boosts dollar, set to weigh on rupee
MUMBAI, July 16 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee is set to open weaker on Wednesday after June U.S. inflation data hinted at tariff-driven price pressures, prompting markets to scale back bets of Federal Reserve rate cuts and pushing the dollar and U.S. yields higher. The 1-month non-deliverable forward indicated an open in the 85.96-85.98 range versus 85.81 on Tuesday. The rupee has repeatedly avoided breaching the 86 level the last three sessions. The question is whether the USD/INR can finally break through the 86–86.10 zone and push higher, said a currency trader at a Mumbai-based bank. "There's little doubt that stop losses - both corporate and interbank - will be triggered if we see a decisive break past 86." The dollar index rose 0.5% to its highest in three weeks on Tuesday, while the 30-year Treasury yield inched past 5% after U.S. inflation data indicated evidence of tariff impacts. Prices increases across an array of goods drove inflation higher in June in what economists see as evidence of the Trump administration's increasing import taxes passing through to consumers. U.S. consumer prices rose 0.3% in June, a roughly 3.5% annual rate, after a 0.1% increase in May. In its daily market update, Morgan Stanley said that U.S. inflation is beginning "to show signs of tariff pressure". Markets have digested tariff inflation effects and appear to "seemingly brace for the Fed to remain on hold for longer", it added. Odds of a Fed rate cut in September fell after the data, with markets now pricing in 44 basis points of cuts this year, down from more than 50 bps before the data. Expectations of a July cut, already minimal, declined further. "The increased uncertainty about tariffs and the extension of the trade talks deadline to 1 August suggest the Fed will need a few more months of data before cutting the policy rate," ANZ Bank said. KEY INDICATORS: ** One-month non-deliverable rupee forward at 86.08; onshore one-month forward premium at 10 paise ** Dollar index up at 98.60 ** Brent crude futures up 0.3% to $68.9 per barrel ** Ten-year U.S. note yield at 4.48% ** As per NSDL data, foreign investors sold a net $91.8 million worth of Indian shares on July 14 ** NSDL data shows foreign investors sold a net $30.7 million worth of Indian bonds on July 14
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Jio Blackrock gets Indian markets regulator nod to launch four passive funds
(Reuters) -Jio Blackrock has received approval from India's markets regulator to launch four passive index funds, the Securities and Exchange Board of India's website showed on Wednesday. The funds will mirror four indices, namely, Nifty Midcap 150, Nifty smallcap 250, Nifty Next 50 and the benchmark index tracking Indian government bonds with 8–13 years maturity. Jio BlackRock, a joint venture between billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Jio Financial Services and BlackRock, plans to launch nearly a dozen equity and debt funds in India by year-end, Reuters reported last week. The asset manager is entering the country's 72.2-trillion-rupee ($844 billion) mutual fund market with a mix of active and passive offerings, aiming to leverage its digital reach to sidestep traditional distributor networks. The asset manager has raised over $2.1 billion across three debt mutual fund schemes, attracting investments from 90 institutional investors and 67,000 retail investors so far. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
