Rahul Bajaj’s plan to create a separate holding company for Bajaj Hindusthan Ltd. is facing opposition not only from his brother Shishir Bajaj, but also from the other minority stakeholders in Bachhraj & Co Pvt. Ltd.

“We will have to take legal advice to see if mere creation of a separate holding company for Bajaj Hindusthan can ensure the interest of minority stakeholders when the sale of the shares take place,” said Hemant Ruia, a 2.5% stakeholder in Bachhraj & Co.

Ruia is clear that he is opposed to the move to sell the shares of Bajaj Hindusthan to Shishir at the negotiated price of Rs6.7 per share as compared to Wednesday’s closing market price of Rs172.75.

“We want the Rahul Bajaj camp to sell their stakes in Bajaj Hindusthan to Shishir at the prevailing market price and not at the pre-decided market price of Rs6.7 a share, as it will affect the interests of minority stakeholders,” said Ruia.

Rahul and his cousins— Shekhar, Madhur and Niraj —together control 79.13% stake in Bachhraj & Co. even though Shishir is the chairman of the company. Rahul and his associates have been increasing their hold over the investment company by buying out the stakes of some of the Birla factions.

Ruia said that he too has been approached by the Rahul Bajaj camp. “I have been approached for selling my stake but we could not reach an agreeable price for such a sale,” he added.

Bachhraj owns 24.54% of Bajaj Hindusthan Ltd. Rahul, along with his three cousins, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with brother Shishir in June 2003 to settle a family dispute over ownership. Ruia and the Pittie family, another minority stake holder with a 10% stake in Bachhraj & co., wrote letters to the director of the company in mid-2006 urging them to protect the interest of minority stakeholders by not selling Bajaj Hindusthan shares at the pre-decided price.

In return, both factions of the Bajaj family promised to safeguard the interests of minority stake holders. However, the Shishir Bajaj camp still wants the Rahul Bajaj side to sell the stakes at the pre-decided price and compensate the minority stakeholders for their losses, something Rahul Bajaj is not open to.

On the other hand, the Rahul Bajaj camp is proposing that it create a separate holding company for Bachhraj & Co., which will own the shares of Bajaj Hindusthan. Rahul Bajaj proposes to transfer the family’s stake in this company to the Shishir Bajaj camp.

The Pittie family, a 10% stakeholder in the company, refused to comment on the issue when contacted.

“We are friends with all the members of the Bajaj family and we would not like to comment at it at this moment,” said Madhav Pittie.

The Aditya Birla group and the Basant Kumar Birla group are the two other minority stake holders in Bachhraj & Co with holdings of 6.5% and 1.87%, respectively.

New Delhi [India], July 21 (ANI): Large private banks showed resilience in the first quarter of FY26, while mid-sized banks felt pressure on margins and rising slippages, according to a report by Equirus Securities.

The report highlighted mixed trends in net interest margins (NIMs). Large private banks, which have a higher share of repo-linked loans, performed better than expected.

This was supported by interest earned on investments and IT refunds, along with relatively stable cost of funds.

On the other hand, mid-sized banks such as AU Small Finance Bank (AUBANK) and RBL Bank (RBK) reported weak NIMs, mainly due to higher interest reversals and limited benefits from lower funding costs.

However, as per report these banks did manage to book significant treasury gains.

Asset quality trends were broadly stable across the banking sector, but some segments faced stress. AU Bank reported higher slippages in its affordable housing loan portfolio, particularly in southern India. RBL Bank faced asset quality pressure in its business banking segment.

While stress in already impacted sectors like microfinance (MFI) and credit cards moderated slightly, overall concerns remained.

The report also projected that AU Bank's profit estimates for FY26 and FY27 were reduced by 1.1 per cent and 1.0 per cent respectively, reflecting higher stress in MFI and mortgages. HDFC Bank's FY26 profit estimate was cut by 2.3 per cent, but its FY27 projection was raised by 2.1 per cent due to improving operating leverage.

ICICI Bank saw a small 0.4 per cent downgrade for FY26 earnings, but a 5 per cent upward revision for FY27, anticipating margin normalization. RBL Bank faced the steepest downgrade, with FY26 and FY27 profit estimates lowered by 6.1 per cent and 6.7 per cent respectively due to continued slippages.

Union Bank also saw its earnings forecast cut by 6.1 per cent for FY26 and 2.9 per cent for FY27, citing slow business growth and weak non-interest income

Overall, the Q1FY26 earnings season delivered a mixed picture. Large banks like HDFC and ICICI held firm, supported by better margin management and strong provisioning buffers.

In contrast, mid-sized banks like AU Bank and RBL Bank remained under pressure, impacted by weak margins and asset quality challenges, even as treasury gains offered some cushion. (ANI)

(Bloomberg) -- Mozambican President Daniel Chapo said he expects to soon conclude talks with TotalEnergies SE over the restart of a $20 billion natural-gas project that halted four years ago because of an Islamist-militant insurgency. 

Chapo recently met with Total Chief Executive Officer Patrick Pouyanne to discuss resuming the project that has the potential to transform the economy of one of the world’s poorest countries, he said in a July 19 interview.

“I was with Mr. Pouyanne two weeks ago and things are going well,” Chapo said. “In August, we will close our talks” about when to restart the project, he said.

Total halted work on Mozambique LNG, located in the northeastern Cabo Delgado province, evacuated workers and declared force majeure in 2021 after an escalation in attacks in the area by Islamic State-linked militants. 

The raids by the insurgents — which have since prompted the deployment of troops by both Rwanda and, for a while, Mozambique’s neighbors to assist — drained momentum from the development of $50 billion worth of liquefied natural-gas projects, with Eni SpA and Exxon Mobil Corp. also developing plants. 

“We have the small problem of jihad, terrorism,” Chapo said. In an earlier interview with Bloomberg in Spain, the president said that the while the region is more stable than four years ago, it isn’t “heaven,” but urged a restart nevertheless.

Chapo was scheduled to meet Pouyanne in Maputo, Mozambique’s capital, on July 10. Companies working on the construction of Total’s plant have begun preparing to resume operations, according to people familiar with the matter, while Eni is said to have awarded a contract to Samsung Heavy Industries Co. to build its Coral North floating plant, adding to its $7 billion Coral South facility, which is already operational. 

The gas reserves discovered 15 years ago off Mozambique’s northeastern coast are among the world’s biggest.

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--With assistance from Matthew Hill and Paul Burkhardt.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com

©2025 Bloomberg L.P.

Malaysia will look into a report that fugitive Low Taek Jho, wanted in connection with the multibillion dollar collapse of state fund 1MDB, is living in China. 

The country has not received information on the whereabouts of Low, better known as Jho Low, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Saturday, state news agency Bernama reported. Anwar said he would need to check with the home ministry, which didn’t respond to calls early Monday. 

Bradley Hope and Tom Wright, whose book Billion Dollar Whale: The Man Who Fooled Wall Street, Hollywood, and the World chronicled Low’s role in the rise and fall of 1MDB, said in a recent YouTube video that he has been residing in Green Hills, an upscale neighborhood in Shanghai. The two former Wall Street Journal reporters said Low was using a forged Australian passport under the name Constantinos Achilles Veis.

In the wake of the two reporters’ claims, Puad Zarkashi, a senior member of the ruling coalition’s United Malays National Organisation, called on authorities to bring back the fugitive financier, Malaysiakini reported. 

Malaysia has been working for years to repatriate Low, who was first charged in absentia in 2018 by a local court with eight counts of money laundering. He was previously reported as having been in hiding in the Chinese special administrative region of Macau, and has publicly said he is innocent. 

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has also accused Low of stealing $1.42 billion from three bond transactions that Goldman Sachs Group Inc. arranged for the Malaysian wealth fund, formally known as 1Malaysia Development Bhd. 

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak is in prison in connection with 1MDB, while ex-Goldman banker Tim Leissner was also sentenced to prison for his role.

Some $4.5 billion was misappropriated from 1MDB. Low, who previously said he did consulting work for the fund, has been portrayed by some global investigators as the mastermind behind the scheme.

©2025 Bloomberg L.P.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.

United Arab Emirates (UAE)- based airline company Air Arabia announced on Sunday, 20 July 2025, that it has received approval from Saudi Arabia to establish a new low-cost carrier, according to an official social media post.

The company also disclosed that the new low-cost carrier will be based in Dammam, a major city in the eastern region of Saudi Arabia. 

“We're proud to announce that Air Arabia has been awarded to establish a new low-cost airline based in Dammam by Saudi Arabia’s @ksagaca. We thank #GACA for their trust and support. Stay tuned for more updates on this exciting new venture!” said the company in a social media post on platform X.

A low-cost carrier is a stripped-down version of a traditional full-service airline. The service provider does not include additional services in the ticket fare, resulting in cheap flight booking rates. This business model is used in the aviation sector around the world, helping airlines connect people from one city to another at an affordable rate.

A low-cost carrier usually has stricter baggage policies, and food and drinks are not complimentary or included in the ticket price. If a passenger wants to opt for one or more services, this extra service comes at an added cost. 

Fleet Size Plans

The local news portal Gulf News reported that Air Arabia plans to launch a 45-aircraft fleet by the year 2030.

The report also cited the Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation, which stated that the UAE-based carrier was among an alliance of three other companies that won the bid to operate the new low-cost airline. 

Media reports suggest that the new low-cost carrier will operate both domestic and international flights to and from the King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. The flight operator aims to cater to 24 domestic routes and 57 international routes and transport 10 million passengers every year.

The local news portal also reported that the launch of the low-cost airline is expected to create more than 2,400 direct job opportunities and raise the service quality across the Saudi Arabian aviation market.

India-based IndiGo, Air India Express, SpiceJet, Akasa Air, and the European Ryanair are a few other examples of popular low-cost airline operators around the world who transport millions of people at an affordable rate in comparison to a full-service carrier, which comes at a premium cost.

The internet’s latest obsession, an awkward “kiss cam” moment featuring Astronomer CEO Andy Byron and HR Chief Kristin Cabot at a Coldplay concert has garnered massive attention — not just from netizens but also from several top brands.

What began as a cozy moment between the two colleagues, captured by the concert’s kiss cam and magnified by Coldplay’s lead vocalist, Chris Martin’s playful commentary has now inspired a wave of cheeky corporate homages.

Brands capitalise on the scandal

Global giants like Tesla and IKEA are leading the charge, cleverly fitting the “Don’t get caught” narrative into their own marketing campaigns, proving that even an HR-adjacent scandal can be turned into marketing gold.

Several other companies have also used the “kiss cam” scandal to their advantage and released some hilarious advertisements of their products.

IKEA and Tesla’s take on the incident

Furniture retail brand, IKEA posted a picture of a stuffed panda hugging an orangutan from behind, mimicking the ‘viral colleagues’ on their Instagram page. The caption read, "Don't get caught... without these! Drama-free cuddles guaranteed." The phrase "HR approved" was placed in the image.

On the other hand, Elon Musk-owned brand Tesla posted on X, humorously stating “Posting a pic of you enjoying your loaner Tesla while your own one is in service is the equivalent of taking it to a Coldplay concert. Your car will know.”

Other companies too join the trend

Frido, a popular pillow and mattress company, photoshopped Andy Byron onto their cuddle pillow with the caption, “Bro could've just used our Cuddle Pillow and avoided all that embarrassment.”

Even airlines did not miss out on the trend as Private jet charter service GlobeAir reposted the viral clip by adding a twist. "The quickest escape after a Coldplay concert," the text read, featuring a Boston-to-Hawaii escape.

Mixed opinions

While most of the comments on the brands' marketing campaigns have been full of jokes and praises for the companies' marketing teams, some also showed concern about humourising a serious incident of adultery and broken families. 

Commenting on the Frido's satirical post based on the viral incident, an X user said, “You and your team should be ashamed of this,@ganeshunwired. It's a new low, taking someone's personal life to hawk a product.”

Another user commented, “Pathetic to make fun of someone’s relationship to sell your stuff.”

What is the buzz all about ?

The Astronomer CEO Andy Byron faced widespread backlash after a video involving him with his colleague, Kristin Cabot went viral.

In the footage, he was seen sharing an intimate moment with the company’s Human Resources (HR) head in a Kiss Cam segment during a Coldplay concert, despite being married to Megan Kerrigan Byron, who has mostly avoided social media after the “work affair” surfaced.

Kristin Cabot is the Chief People Officer of Astronomer and also reportedly married to a separate person named Andrew Cabot, who is a Harvard graduate.