Corporate news live: Intense heatwave in north India drives ice cream, cola sales

Toshifumi Suzuki, the Japanese businessman credited with building 7-Eleven into a global convenience-store giant, has died at the age of 93. Seven & i Holdings said Suzuki died of heart failure at his Tokyo home on May 18. Suzuki founded the Japanese arm of 7-Eleven in 1973 under a franchise agreement with the US chain. The first Japanese store opened in 1974. Under his leadership, 7-Eleven expanded into Japan’s largest convenience-store network and later grew into a global retail empire with more than 80,000 stores worldwide. Suzuki became chief executive of 7-Eleven Japan in 1978 and was widely credited with reshaping Japanese retail through technology-driven convenience stores offering food, bill payments, ATMs and banking services. He also led Seven & i’s expansion into department stores and specialty retail, including the acquisition of Barney’s Japan in 2015. The company said funeral services were held privately with family members. Corporate news live: BlackRock’s Larry Fink calls for trillions in US infrastructure, AI investment Larry Fink said the US will need trillions of dollars in infrastructure and artificial intelligence investments to maintain its technological leadership and prevent China from overtaking it. Speaking at an event, the BlackRock chairman and CEO said demand for electricity and digital infrastructure is rising rapidly as AI adoption accelerates. “If we are going to be the leader in AI, which we presently are, it’s just going to require trillions of dollars of investments,” Fink said. He added that much of the funding would come from private sector sources including savings accounts, pension funds and insurance companies. Fink also said the US economy needs to grow above 2%, and ideally closer to 3%, amid rising federal deficits. “The whole world is in need of improving the infrastructure,” he said. Corporate news live: Singapore inflation cools to 1.8%, Q1 GDP growth revised up to 6% Singapore reported lower-than-expected inflation of 1.8% for April, below Reuters estimates of 2%, as the impact of higher energy prices from the Iran conflict is expected to be felt only from the third quarter. Core inflation, which excludes private transport and accommodation costs, came in at 1.4%. Separately, Singapore sharply revised its first-quarter GDP growth higher to 6% from an earlier estimate of 4.6%. The revised figure also exceeded Reuters estimates of 5.1%. The Ministry of Trade and Industry said Singapore’s full-year growth is expected to come in between 2% and 4% in 2026 despite energy-related disruptions linked to the Strait of Hormuz. Corporate news live: India’s premium spending boom widens as food loses wallet share, says Kotak MF Kotak Mahindra Mutual Fund said India’s consumption story is increasingly being driven by affluent households spending more on premium products, experiences and digital lifestyles, even as mass consumption remains uneven. In a report titled The Great Consumption Shift cited by ANI, the fund house said Indian household spending has structurally shifted away from staples towards discretionary and premium categories over the past two decades. “Food is out, everything else is in,” the report said, noting that spending on automobiles, mobile phones, eating out and rent has steadily gained share in household budgets. According to the report, rural households’ food expenditure share fell from 59% in 1999-00 to 46% in 2022-23, while the urban share declined from 48% to 39% during the same period. The report added that mobile phones saw a 3.6 percentage point rise in wallet share, automobiles rose 3.1 percentage points and rent increased 2.1 percentage points. Kotak MF said premiumisation trends were visible in smartphone sales as well, with premium phones growing at a 5.9% CAGR between CY20 and CY25, while the mass-market segment contracted 1.2%. Corporate news live: Hindalco sees stronger Q1 aluminium EBITDA as weak rupee boosts margins Hindalco said rupee depreciation is benefiting the business as most costs are rupee-linked while aluminium sales are dollar-denominated. Speaking to CNBC-TV18, the company said aluminium EBITDA per tonne in Q1FY27 will be higher than Q4FY26. Hindalco said average aluminium LME prices are expected to rise to $3,500 per tonne in Q1FY27 from $3,150 per tonne in Q4FY26. The company said its immediate focus is restarting the Oswego unit before moving ahead with the Bay Minette expansion. Hindalco added that it aims to maintain EBITDA per tonne of $500 at Novelis. Aluminium Midwest premium has now risen to $2,000, the company said. The company also said copper EBITDA in Q1FY27 is expected to remain at least as strong as Q4FY26, while its net debt-to-EBITDA ratio currently stands at 1.83x. Corporate news live: Minda Corp says Toyodenso JV ramp-up on track from next fiscal Minda Corp said the financials of Minda VAST have now been consolidated with the company as part of its broader 2030 growth roadmap. Speaking to CNBC-TV18, the company said the Toyodenso joint venture remains on track and is expected to see a ramp-up from the next financial year. Minda Corp added that the consolidation of Minda VAST was aligned with its long-term 2030 targets. Corporate news live: Hindalco sees aluminium at $3,500/t in 2026 as West Asia supply tightens Hindalco said nearly 2.5-3 million tonnes of aluminium supply from West Asia has gone off the global market amid ongoing geopolitical disruptions. Speaking to CNBC-TV18, the company said it expects aluminium prices to remain around $3,500 per tonne in 2026. Hindalco added that the Street is currently factoring in aluminium prices of around $3,000 per tonne for 2027 Corporate news live: EAC-PM backs priority sector lending, warns against excessive directed credit Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister said India’s priority sector lending (PSL) framework has helped address credit market gaps and improve financial inclusion, but cautioned that indiscriminate expansion of directed lending may not necessarily boost economic growth. According to ANI, in a working paper titled Economic impact analysis of Priority Sector Lending, the EAC-PM said the policy has been in place for nearly five decades and requires banks to allocate at least 40% of total credit to priority sectors. The report said the framework was introduced to improve credit access for small and marginal farmers, micro enterprises and weaker sections. According to the paper, earlier studies showed that priority sector advances were linked to lower rural poverty and higher agricultural and firm-level investment and performance. Corporate news live: Narayana Health sees Cayman growth boost, aims to retain NHS business in UK Narayana Health said operational efficiencies across hospitals supported performance during the quarter, while its Cayman Islands business saw growth driven by fresh capacity addition and improving momentum in the insurance segment. Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Sandhya J said the company expects more balanced growth in the current financial year without any inorganic contribution. She added that Narayana Health wants to retain work from the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) and has multiple plans lined up for its insurance business. The company also said its UK operations are currently running at EBITDA margins of 10-10.5%, with scope for further improvement. Global PE firms remain positive on India despite West Asia crisis Global private equity giants are staying constructive on India despite the uncertainty unleashed by the Iran conflict and volatile oil prices, with several firms continuing to raise larger Asia-focused funds and bet on infrastructure, digitalisation and hard assets, according to their latest quarterly earnings commentary. At the same time, the firms acknowledged that the conflict in West Asia, disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz and fears of prolonged inflation have made dealmaking and exits more difficult in the near term. Intense heatwave in north India drives ice cream, cola sales Amid an intense heatwave in north India, while fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) firms see out-of-consumption taking a back seat, the sales of summer-centric products like colas and ice creams remain robust. “On quick commerce platforms alone, ice cream volumes have more than doubled over the last 10 days compared to the preceding 10-day period, while fresh dairy products have registered growth of over 30 percent during the same timeframe,” said Jayatheertha Chary, managing director at Mother Dairy. Indian bonds open seven basis points higher on easing Brent crude prices Indian bonds opened seven basis points higher on May 25, as Brent crude prices traded below $100 per barrel for the first time in two weeks, after investors' sentiment was propped up due to a potential war-ending deal between the US and Iran. The benchmark 10-year bond yield was trading at 7.0219 percent, as compared to 7.0917 percent in the previous trading session. Bond yields and prices move inversely. Read here for more . RBI feels rupee maybe undervalued now Reserve Bank of India Governor Sanjay Malhotra said the Indian rupee is not overvalued and may, in fact, be undervalued after its recent slide. The RBI Governor's statement comes in the backdrop of the currency approaching the psychologically-significant 100-per-dollar mark amid the ongoing war in West Asia. “With the recent depreciation, it would be reasonable to think that rupee is not overvalued. If anything, one could argue that rupee has become undervalued, both in nominal as well as in Reer (real effective exchange rate) terms,” Malhotra said. He reiterated that the RBI does not target any specific exchange-rate level and would intervene only to curb abnormal and high volatility or undue speculation. The governor also sought to allay concerns over India’s external position. Despite rising crude prices due to the West Asia conflict, he said the balance of payments (BoP) situation was “not an undue concern yet”. Qatar quietly exports LNG through Hormuz destined for key buyers Three tankers loaded with liquefied natural gas appear to have crossed the Strait of Hormuz in recent days, as suppliers in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates attempt to get fuel out to key buyers despite the near-total closure of the waterway. LNG exporters in the Persian Gulf are stepping up efforts to ship out fuel that’s been trapped in the region since the war started in late February. Read here for more . Rising fuel costs spark fresh momentum for electric buses in India’s travel market The fallout of the US-Iran conflict is making travel more expensive—from soaring airfares to rising diesel costs. But amid the turbulence, one corner of India’s travel ecosystem could quietly emerge as a winner: electric buses. India’s online bus booking platforms are expecting to see a sharper rise in electric buses on their platforms as fuel price volatility pushes operators to seek more predictable operating economics. With diesel prices rising amid geopolitical uncertainty, travel executives say the economics of electric buses are beginning to look far more compelling. Read here for more . Centre says BJP-governed states have kept diesel VAT below petrol VAT Talking about the increase in diesel prices, the Centre said since diesel is the fuel used for freight, public transport, agriculture, and rural irrigation, the BJP-governed states have consistently kept diesel VAT meaningfully below petrol VAT. "Diesel in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana retails at around Rs 87.6 to Rs 87.8/litre; in Telangana it crosses Rs 103 and Rs 101 in Kerala," it said. "The opposition-state premium on diesel runs at Rs 15-16 a litre against the lowest-VAT BJP states... The working-class fuel is taxed hardest where the opposition governs," said the Centre. According to the government, when the central excise duty was cut on March 27 this year by Rs 10/ litre on petrol and diesel, the BJP-ruled states passed the full cut through to the pump. The Congress-ruled, INDIA-bloc, and TVK–Congress allied states did not separately reduce VAT. "The same opposition leaderships that ask the central government to cut excise duty for the relief of the consumer have at no point cut the value added tax their own state governments levy on the same litre of fuel," said the Centre. Petrol retailing at Rs 112/litre in Telangana, Kerala, both ruled by Congress, says Centre According to the Centre, the two states with petrol above Rs 112/litre after the latest revisions are Telangana and Kerala, both of which are currently ruled by the Congress. "Both levy the highest VAT rates in the country, with Kerala adding a social security cess on top of its base VAT. Tamil Nadu, under the TVK state government allied with the Congress, has retained the legacy high VAT regime," said the Centre in a notification. According to the Centre, six states-- Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Goa, and Assam -- all of which are ruled by the BJP, are retailing petrol at or below Rs 102/litre. Centre blames state VAT for fuel price gap, says Opposition-ruled states charge more for petrol and diesel Reiterating a previous stance that the central excise component of the petrol and diesel price is the same in every state of the Union, the Centre said the pump price diverges because of the Value Added Tax (VAT) that each state government separately levies. According to the Centre, the states with the highest VAT impose effective rates of 30% and more, layered with per-litre additions and infrastructure cesses. The states with the lowest VAT impose rates closer to 20%, no per-litre addition, and no further cess. Attributing the increase in fuel prices to India's 'political map of divergence', the Centre explained that the petrol retail price in states governed by the Opposition--Congress, INDIA-bloc allies including the TVK government in Tamil Nadu (with Congress as a coalition ally), and AAP — were higher compared to the states ruled by the BJP or its NDA partners. Centre says India's fuel price hike smallest in the world The Centre issued a notification on Monday stating that through the 78 days from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz on account of the US-Iran war that started on February 28 till the price revisions in four rounds on May 15, 19, 23, and 25, India held petrol and diesel prices essentially unchanged while the rest of the world raised prices by 10, 20, 50, and in some cases 90%. The cumulative revision across May takes the headline movement on the Indian retail price to roughly seven and a half per cent — equivalent to Rs 7.35/litre on petrol and Rs 7.53/litre on diesel, said the Centre. The government said India had one of the smaller percentage increases.