NewsletterAdani's green deal, Bain gets Mannapuram, and Rupee recovery.
āļø Good morning, the weekend was short.
Markets just wrapped up a blockbuster week. The Nifty jumped over 4%, marking its best week in more than four years.
The real MVP however was the Midcap Index, which surged nearly 8%, logging its biggest weekly gain since April 2020.
š” Spotlight: Defence stocks rallied up to 6% after the government approved ā¹54,000 crore worth of military procurement deals.
The Nifty India Defence Index rose for the seventh straight day, with Bharat Forge, HAL, and BEL leading the charge.
Letās hit it!
1 Big Thing: Reliance is OpenAIās latest partner š
If thereās innovation and money to be made, you best believe Motabhai already has a plan around it.
Reliance Industries is in talks with OpenAI and Meta for a potential partnership to expand AI offerings in India, per The Information.
The discussions revolve around making ChatGPT more accessible in India, with a potential 75ā85% price cut from the current $20 per month.
The plan: Reliance is exploring selling OpenAIās models via Jio and even hosting them locally to keep customer data within India, because why just use AI when you can own the pipes it runs on?
Meanwhile, Meta is sniffing around for a similar deal, setting up a full-blown AI bidding war.
Worth noting: Relianceās ambition in AI isnāt isolated to this news. Theyāre also building one of the worldās largest data centers in Jamnagar, Gujarat, a three-gigawatt behemoth that could power AI operations at scale.
Bottomline: India is OpenAIās second biggest market, with its user base 3xāing last year. Relianceās distribution can further accelerate mass market adoption.
2. Hindalco is flexing some metal muscle š©
Hindalco, part of the Aditya Birla Group, is investing ā¹45,000 crore over the next four years to expand its aluminium, copper, and specialty alumina businesses.
The deets: Hindalco is one of Indiaās largest metals companies, producing aluminium and copper. The goal is to enhance production capacity and develop advanced metal products for industries like electric vehicles, renewable energy, semiconductors, and aerospace.
And as part of this expansion into emerging segments, the parent Birla Group has outlined a comprehensive strategy:
- ā¹2,000 crore for India's first copper & e-waste recycling plant in Gujarat
- Developing EV battery enclosures for two-wheelers & cars
- Partnering with ISRO on Chandrayaan & Mangalyaan components
- Setting up Indiaās first copper foil facility for EVs
Zoom out: the Birla Group has been in expansion mode for a while. UltraTech Cement recently entered the cables and wires business, and Birla Opus made its debut in paints last year.
Hindalcoās pivot into high-growth, high-tech applications fits right into this broader play.
3. Private Equity wants a piece of Mannapuramš„
US-based private investment firm, Bain Capital, is acquiring an 18% stake in Manappuram Finance for ā¹4,385 crore. This makes it the biggest-ever deal in the gold loan sector.
The deets: Manappuram is one of Indiaās largest gold loan NBFCs, offering short-term loans against gold jewelry. Bain is buying 9.29 crore shares at ā¹236 per share, a 30% premium to the stockās recent average price.
The move: Bainās investment makes it a joint promoter alongside founder V.P. Nandakumar and gives it a board seat. The deal also triggers a mandatory open offer for an additional 26% stake, which could take Bainās total holding beyond 40%.
Worth noting: Manappuram reported a sharp 51.6% drop in Q3 net profit to ā¹278.5 crore. While gold loans account for ā¹24,500 crore of its business, its microfinance, vehicle loans, and housing finance divisions are also expanding steadily.
The deal offers further evidence of global capital striving for exposure to Indiaās fledgling consumer class.
4. Stocks that kept us interested š
1. Adani expands green energy footprint ā”
Adani Energy Solutions secured a ā¹2,800 crore power transmission project in Gujarat to support Green Hydrogen and Ammonia production.
The deets: the project includes upgrading the Navinal (Mundra) substation and building a 75 km, 765kV double-circuit transmission line to the Bhuj substation.
Stock was up 4.1% on the news.
2. VA Tech Wabag seals $100M water infra deal š§
VA Tech Wabag jumped 9% after announcing a $100 million platform for municipal water treatment projects.
The deets: VA Tech Wabag is a leading water treatment company specializing in sustainable water and wastewater management solutions.
Wabag will provide technical expertise, EPC services, and operations & maintenance.
Shares of Wabag were up over 7.2% on Friday, nearing a 52-week high.
5. Story in data: Power paradox š
Indiaās renewable energy sector is growing fast, but coal isn't going anywhere just yet.
With rising industrial demand and energy security concerns, coal production has hit an all-time high.
Part of the reason is a power hungry economic expansion. Another, is a slower than expected build out of clean energy assets.
What else are we snackinā šæ
š M&A surge: Indiaās mergers and acquisitions hit $99.9 billion in FY25, up 26% from last year, driven by private equity deals.
š° Forex boost: Indiaās forex reserves rose by $300 million to $654.2 billion for the week ending March 14.
š HUL goes green: Hindustan Unileverās is acquiring a 14.3% stake in Lucro Plastecycle, a recycling company.
š Rupee rally: the rupee closed at 85.9 against the US dollar, marking its best weekly performance in two years with a 1.2% gain.
š Price hike: Mahindra & Mahindra will increase vehicle prices by up to 3% in April, citing rising costs and import duties.
š°ļø Space collab: Japanās Astroscale is teaming up with Indiaās Digantara and Bellatrix to offer orbital services in Asia-Pacific, with proposals expected in 1-2 years.
Thatās a wrap! Donāt let the weekday blues get to you.
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