Worst of inflation is behind us: RBI Guv Das

New Delhi: PhonePe, one of India’s largest fintech platforms, on Friday said it has raised an additional $200 million (around `1,649 crore) in primary capital from Walmart, at a pre-money valuation of $12 billion. This new funding comes as a part of PhonePe’s ongoing fundraise of up to $1 billion in capital, following its domicile shift to India last year. With this tranche, the company has raised $650 million (around `5,360 crore) from several global investors, PhonePe said. —PTI

MAIDEN FORGINGS

TO LAUNCH IPO, AIMS TO RAISE `24 CRORE

New Delhi (PTI): Reserve Bank governor Shaktikanta Das on Friday cautioned banks against any build-up of asset-liability mismatches, saying both are detrimental to financial stability and hinted that the ongoing crisis in the US banking system seems to have emanated from such mismatches. The governor was quick to acknowledge and assure that the domestic financial sector is stable and the worst of inflation is behind us.

Amid the continuing volatility in exchange rates, especially due to the excessive appreciation of the US dollar, and its impact on the external debt servicing ability of nations, Das said, “We have nothing to fear as our external debt is manageable and thus appreciation of the greenback does not pose any problem to us”.

The governor focused most of the speech on India’s G20 presidency and in this context, he called for more coordinated attempts by the group of the world’s 20 largest economies to help those countries with high external debt risks due to the US dollar rise.

He also said the grouping must provide climate change financing to most affected countries on a war footing.

On the US baking crisis

London Lord Mayor

where two mid-sized banks (Silicon Valley Bank and First Republic Bank) with over $200 billion in balance sheets each went belly up last week, he said the ongoing crisis drives home the

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z Reserve Bank governor Shaktikanta Das on Friday cautioned banks against any build-up of asset-liability mismatches, saying both are detrimental to financial stability and hinted that the ongoing crisis in the US banking system seems to have emanated from such mismatches tal currencies, said the ongoing US banking crisis also clearly shows the risks of private cryptocurrencies to the financial system. He said that the biggest monetary dilemma of our time is to tame inflation while minimizing a hard landing for the economy. Das also said that the worst of inflation is behind us, hinting at pausing the rate hike cycle.

New Delhi: Steel bars and wires manufacturer Maiden Forgings on Friday said it will launch IPO to raise `24 crore. The IPO will open on March 22 and close on March 24, Maiden Forgings said in a statement. Out of the total 37,84,000 equity shares on offer, not more than 17,97,000 equity shares have been reserved for QIB. A total of 5,39,100 shares have been reserved for Non-Institutional Investors (NII) and the rest for retail individual investors. —PTI

GOLD CLIMBS `400 PER 10 GM; SILVER TUMBLES `430/KG

New Delhi: Gold price climbed `400 to `58,040 per 10 gram in the national capital on Friday amid a rise in the precious metal prices globally, according to HDFC Securities. The yellow metal had settled at `57,640 per 10 gram in the previous trade. Silver, however, tumbled `430 to `67,600 per kilogram. “Spot gold prices in the Delhi markets traded at `58,040 per 10 gram, up `400 per 10 gram,” Saumil Gandhi, Senior Analyst - Commodities at HDFC Securities, said. In the overseas markets, gold was quoting higher at $1,928 per ounce. —PTI

AIRTEL’S UNLIMITED 5G DATA IN 4G PLANS FROM `239

New Delhi: Bharti Airtel on Friday said it has rolled out unlimited data offer for 5G users in 4G plans starting from `239 onward. “This introductory offer is in line with the philosophy of wanting our customers to be able to surf, stream, chat and enjoy multiple benefits at blazing speeds without having to worry about data limits. We hope our customers enjoy the power of world-class Airtel 5G Plus,” Bharti Airtel official said in a statement. —PTI importance of robust regulations that focus on sustainable growth and not excessive build-up either on the asset side or liability side.

Das, without naming the

Digital services to benefit from India-UK FTA

London (PTI): Ahead of the next round of free trade agreement (FTA) talks set to take place later this month between the UK and Indian government representatives, the Lord Mayor of London will arrive in Mumbai on Saturday for a five-day visit to India to explore bilateral investment opportunities.

Alderman Nicholas Lyons, the 694th Lord Mayor, said the prospect of greater cooperation in the field of digital and legal services is

IDBI Bank privatisation on track: DIPAM

New Delhi (PTI): The government on Friday said the disinvestment of IDBI Bank is on track as per the defined strategic sale process. Debunking media reports which indicated a possibility of deferment of IDBI Bank disinvestment, the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) said the stake sale is in the post-EoI stage.

"The transaction continues to be on track as per the defined process in post-EoI stage following receipts of multiple EoIs," DIPAM Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey tweeted.

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z The United Kingdom and India have been in discussions for an Free Trade Agreement (FTA) since January last year tives, my role as Lord Mayor of the City of London is really around financial and professional services and the city can see particular interest in three areas: investment, digital and legal services,” he said.

US bank, said that on the face of it, one of them had unmanageable deposits in excess of their assets side business.

Das, who has been an open critic of private digi-

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among the expected outcomes of an FTA.

The UK and India have been in discussions for an FTA since January last year and, according to official estimates, the bilateral trading relationship worth GBP 34 billion in 2022 is expected to get a significant boost with such a deal.

“While free trade agreements are negotiated by government representa-