Stocks to Monitor: ITC, SBI, Vedanta, ZEE, HCC, RIL, Dr Reddy's

On Wednesday, March 13, global markets may continue to be listless without any significant triggers. At 7:30 AM, Gift Nifty futures were up by 14 points at the 22,461 level.

ITC: The Indian division of British American Tobacco has planned to sell its 3.5 percent stake in ITC to institutional investors. They are looking to sell up to 43.69 crore ITC shares, potentially raising as much as Rs 16,775 crore. The accelerated book-building process will take place at a price range of Rs 384-400.25 per share. The share sale is priced at a 5 percent discount to Tuesday's closing price at the lower end of the price band. The block trade in ITC will reduce the stake of its largest shareholder from approximately 29 percent to about 25.5 percent. BAT will not be able to sell any further stake in ITC for a period of 180 days.

SBI: On March 12, the State Bank of India complied with the Supreme Court's order from March 11 and submitted data on electoral bonds to the Election Commission of India (ECI). The Supreme Court has instructed the ECI to make all this data available to the public on its website by March 15, 2024. The ECI has confirmed the receipt of this data from SBI.

Vedanta: The Securities and Exchange Board of India has instructed Vedanta India, formerly known as Cairn India Ltd (CIL), to pay Rs 77.62 crore along with an annual simple interest of 18 percent to Cairn UK Holdings Ltd (CUHL) due to a delay in dividend payments. In addition, the SEBI has directed Navin Agarwal, the Chairman and Managing Director, Tarun Jain, a Whole-time Director, Thomas Albanese, a Whole-time Director and Chief Executive Officer, and G.R. Arun Kumar, a Whole-time Director and Chief Financial Officer, to avoid participating in the securities market for a period of two months.

Zee Entertainment Enterprises: The company has refuted the suggestions made by IiAS, a proxy advisory firm that had called on investors to reject the appointment of two out of three recently appointed independent directors. IiAS had advised investors to oppose the appointments of Venkata Ramana Murthy Pinisetti and Uttam Prakash Agarwal, citing purported conflicts of interest and existing criminal charges, respectively. However, a representative from Zee has informed Mint that the recommendations made by IiAS were misleading.

HCC: Hindustan Construction Company Ltd. (HCC) announced on Tuesday that its board had approved the issuance of fully-paid equity shares to raise Rs 350 crore via a rights issue. The rights issue had been approved during board meetings held in August of the previous year and February of this year and the specifics were finalized on Tuesday. As part of the rights issue, HCC plans to release 16.66 crore fully paid equity shares at a rights issue price of Rs 21 per equity share, which is a 40 percent discount to Tuesday's closing price of HCC's shares.

Reliance Industries: Tankers carrying fuel from Reliance Industries' refineries in western India are increasingly choosing to navigate via the Cape of Good Hope, rather than the Red Sea. This decision is largely due to the heightened risk of attacks by Yemen's Houthi group in the Red Sea, as reported by shipping sources and ship tracking data. To ensure the safe transportation of fuels to buyers, Reliance is offering flexibility in its chartering contracts, allowing tanker owners to choose between the Red Sea and the Cape of Good Hope. The Red Sea is a crucial route for east-west trade, but this flexibility is helping to mitigate the risks of attacks in the region.

Dr Reddy's Laboratories: A pharmaceutical company has announced that it has been fined for incorrect utilization of input tax credit. The company received an order from the Additional Commissioner of Central Tax, Hyderabad GST Commissionerate, which included a penalty and interest. According to the order, the company had improperly used input tax credit or failed to reverse the input tax credit as per the provisions of the CGST/TGST/IGST Act, 2017. The total tax demand is Rs 67,47,37,495, and the interest will be calculated based on applicable rates. The penalty is Rs 6,74,73,752.

Vodafone Idea: According to an investor presentation filed on the BSE, the financially constrained telecom company, Vodafone Idea (Vi), has completed its minimum 5G deployment obligations in four circles. To enhance its 4G coverage in its 17 priority markets, the company is focusing on repurposing its spectrum in the 900 MHz and 2100 MHz bands. Vi aims to generate 40 percent of its revenue from its 5G operations within 24 to 30 months after launching its next-generation mobile broadband service.

Paytm: Sources cited by Reuters suggest that the National Payments Corp of India (NPCI) is planning to grant Paytm, also known as One 97 Communications, with a third-party application provider license by March 15. Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is not expected to extend the deadline for Paytm Payments Bank, a banking division of Paytm, to cease its operations by the same date. According to Reuters, the third-party application provider license will allow customers to continue using the Paytm app for transactions through UPI even after the banking segment has ceased its operations.

FSN E-Commerce Ventures: Nykaa-KK Beauty is a joint venture between Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif, Nykaa, and Matrix India Entertainment. According to a recent interview with ET, Kaif revealed that the company has ambitious plans to expand its presence in foreign markets, particularly in the Gulf region, over the next year. The company has already begun operations in Dubai and has a comprehensive expansion strategy for the Gulf region. Additionally, the company plans to enter two new markets, but the details have not yet been disclosed.