ET NEWS

Mumbai: ICICI Bank is under fire for allegedly coaxing minority shareholders of ICICI Securities (I-Sec) to support the private lender's proposal to delist the broking and investment banking arm.Shareholders of ICICI Securities claimed on social media that the bank's executives contacted them directly, asking them to vote in favour of the resolution that proposes to delist the broking subsidiary. Lawyers and market participants said such alleged actions could result in regulatory scrutiny of the voting process.The e-voting for the delisting of ICICI Securities, which started on March 22, ended on March 26.Under the scheme of arrangement, ICICI Bank aims to delist ICICI Securities, through a share swap deal. As per the terms, for every 100 shares held, public shareholders in ICICI Securities would receive 67 shares of ICICI Bank. The share swap ratio for delisting the brokerage has been opposed by a section of minority shareholders.On Tuesday, various shareholders of ICICI Securities took to social media, claiming they received phone calls from ICICI Bank executives in this matter. These individuals shared screenshots of call details and WhatsApp messages from bank staff with some of them alleging that executives asked them to share the one-time password (OTP) in the voting process.Some said the bank executives also asked ICICI Securities shareholders to share the screenshots of their voting.An ICICI Bank spokesperson did not respond to ET's queries on the matter."The fact that mid-level and junior-level executives of ICICI Bank are personally calling ICICI Securities shareholders over the weekend is a reflection and almost blatant acceptance of the injustice being inflicted by the bank on minority shareholders of ICICI Securities," said Manu Rishi Gupta, founder of MRG Capital, a Bengaluru-based investment fund, which has been one of the most vocal opponents of the delisting plan. "We have sufficient evidence to demonstrate the unlawful actions of ICICI Bank, which we will share with all regulatory authorities."Securities lawyers said rules do not explicitly bar players from influencing such decisions, but ICICI Bank may be treading in the regulatory twilight zone."PFUTP (Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices) Regulations, which prohibit deceptive practices in securities markets, and the LODR Regulations, enforcing transparent disclosure of information that impacts investor decision-making, are the key regulations that play a key role in market integrity," said Sonam Chandwani, managing partner at KS Legal & Associates. "Furthermore, the Sebi Regulations, designed to ensure fair procedures in acquisitions or delisting, and the Prohibition of Insider Trading Regulations, which guard against the misuse of confidential information, are also significant."Some said there is a possibility of market regulator Sebi looking into the matter."Seeking support for voting in a specific manner isn't explicitly regulated or forbidden but is grounded in corporate governance principles and ensuring fairness in the process," said Sumit Agrawal, founder of Regstreet Law Advisors. "Sebi possesses extensive authority to investigate such practices and, in response to any complaints, can implement heightened scrutiny on the voting process.""Omnibus provisions of SEBI Act, LODR Regulations, and Delisting Regulations are usually interpreted in favour of transparency and fairness," he added.According to a news report, ICICI Bank's largest public shareholder, Norges Fund Investment Bank, voted in favour of the resolution. Quantum Mutual Fund said recently it voted against it.On Tuesday, shares of ICICI Securities fell 1.75% to ₹738. ICICI Bank closed 0.6% lower at ₹1,084.

Mumbai: Shriram Housing Finance will receive flows worth $260 million as part of its inclusion into the Nifty on March 28, according to a brokerage Nuvama Research. UPL, which is being excluded from the benchmark index, could see outflows to the tune of $95 million. The rejig will take place on March 28, but the adjustment would happen on March 27.The weights of Mahindra & Mahindra, Bharti Airtel, and Axis Bank in the Nifty could move up as part of the index rejig, leading to a cumulative inflow of $86 million, said Nuvama. Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and Infosys are likely to see outflows worth $ 94 million on account of weight reductions.The NSE is bringing changes to indices including Nifty, Nifty Bank, CPSE Index, and Nifty Next 50 from March 28. The total inflows on account of the inclusions and weight increases would be $652 million, while the outflows could be to the tune of $456 million."The final changes in the indices will take effect on March 28, while the adjustments and resultant flows will occur in the last 30 minutes of trading on March 27," said Nuvama's head of alternative & quantitative research Abhilash Pagaria in a note.The highest inflows across all indices are expected from Shriram Housing Finance, HDFC Bank, and Jio Financial Services. The highest outflows are expected to be from SBI, UPL, and ICICI Bank. NTPC could see an inflow of $ 71 million due to an increase in weightage in the Nifty CPSE Index. NHPC and NLC India are also expected to witness an increase in weightage on the index. On the other hand, ONGC, Coal India, and Bharat Electronics Limited could see a reduction in weightage as part of the rejig.

BALTIMORE - Six workers were missing and presumed dead from a bridge that collapsed in Baltimore Harbor early on Tuesday after a massive cargo ship crippled by a power loss rammed into the structure, forcing the closure of one of the busiest ports on the U.S. Eastern Seaboard. With dive teams facing increasingly treacherous conditions in the darkened, wreckage-strewn waters, active search-and-rescue operations were suspended about 18 hours after the accident, U.S. Coast Guard and Maryland State Police officials said. Coast Guard Rear Admiral Shannon Gilreath said there was no hope of finding the missing workers alive due to the frigid water and the length of time elapsed since the accident. State Police Colonel Roland Butler said authorities hoped to return divers to the water after sunrise on Wednesday in an effort to recover the workers' remains. The Singapore-flagged container vessel named Dali, heading out of Baltimore Harbor bound for Sri Lanka, plowed into a support pylon of the Francis Scott Key Bridge over the mouth of the Patapsco River at about 1:30 a.m. (0530 GMT). A trestled section of the of the 1.6-mile (2.57 km) span almost immediately crumpled into the icy water, sending vehicles and people into the river. Rescuers pulled two survivors to safety, one of whom was hospitalized. They and the six missing were part of a work crew filling potholes on the road surface of the bridge, officials said earlier. BIGGER DISASTER AVERTED The ship reported a power failure before impact, which enabled officials to stop traffic on the bridge before the collapse. "By being able to stop cars from coming over the bridge, these people are heroes. They saved lives last night," Maryland Governor Wes Moore said at a midday news briefing. The bridge was up to code with no known structural issues, Moore said. There was no evidence of foul play, officials said. Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott described a scene of twisted metal shooting into the sky. "It was something out of an action movie. It was something you never thought you'd see," he said. Video footage on social media showed the vessel slamming into the bridge in darkness, the headlights of vehicles visible on the span as it crashed into the water and the ship caught fire. U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said closure of one of the country's busiest shipping lanes until further notice would have a "major and protracted impact to supply chains." The Port of Baltimore handles more automobile cargo than any other U.S. port - more than 750,000 vehicles in 2022, according to port data. General Motors and Ford Motor will reroute affected shipments, but the companies said the disruption would be minimal. The 948-foot (288.95 m) vessel had experienced a momentary loss of propulsion and dropped anchors as part of emergency procedures before impact, its management company, Synergy Marine Pte Ltd reported, according to the Singapore Port Authority. The Dali, owned by Grace Ocean Pte Ltd, rammed into one of the pillars of the bridge, according Synergy. All 22 crew members aboard the vessel were accounted for, it said. Besides impacts to auto shipments, the port closure could force shippers to divert Baltimore-bound cargo from containers to bulk material. It could create bottlenecks and increase delays and costs on the Eastern seaboard, experts say. President Joe Biden said the U.S. Coast Guard responded quickly to the mayday call and commended the fast action of Maryland transportation officials who closed the bridge before it was struck. Biden promised to visit Baltimore, 40 miles (64 km) away, as soon as possible and said he wanted the federal government to pay to rebuild the bridge. "I'm directing my team to move heaven and Earth to reopen the port and rebuild the bridge as soon as humanly possible," Biden said. The bridge, named for the author of the Star-Spangled Banner, opened in 1977. 'SHOCKING SIGHT' National Transportation Safety Board chair Jennifer Homendy said a team of 24 investigators and other agency personnel were on the scene but held off boarding the ship during search-and-rescue operations. She said personnel from Singapore safety agencies would arrive in Baltimore on Wednesday. Jayme Krause, 32, was working a night shift on shore when the cart of packages in front of her shook violently in what sounded like an intense thunderstorm. A co-worker at an Amazon logistics facility told her the bridge had collapsed and she ran out to look. "I went over there, and sure as anything, it was gone, the whole bridge was just like, there was nothing there," she told Reuters. "It was a shocking sight to see." The bridge serves as the main thoroughfare for motorists between New York and Washington seeking to avoid downtown Baltimore. It was one of three ways to cross the harbor, with a traffic volume of 31,000 vehicles per day, or 11.3 million a year. The same ship was involved in an incident in the port of Antwerp, Belgium, in 2016, hitting a quay as it tried to exit the North Sea container terminal. An inspection in 2023 carried out in San Antonio,Chile, found "propulsion and auxiliary machinery" deficiencies, according to data on the public Equasis website, which provides information on ships. Tuesday's disaster may be the worst U.S. bridge collapse since 2007, when the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis collapsed into the Mississippi River, killing 13 people. The Dali was chartered by shipping company Maersk at the time of the incident, the Danish company said in a statement. More than 40 ships remained inside Baltimore port including small cargo ships, tug boats and pleasure craft, data from ship tracking and maritime analytics provider MarineTraffic showed. At least 30 other ships had signalled their destination was Baltimore, the data showed.

NEW DELHI/BENGALURU: Birds of a feather flock - and nest - together.Altamount Road, the SoBo Billionaires' Row that's home to Mukesh Ambani, appears to have company in India's other metro cities, such as Bengaluru and Delhi-NCR, for the uber-rich tech and startup czars to stay connected and network with one another - from the comfort of their drawing rooms or gyms and club houses for that matter.In Bengaluru, houses in the Billionaires' Street (Koramangala), Epsilon Villas or Adarsh Palm Retreat (APR) are owned by the likes of Sachin and Binny Bansal, Flipkart cofounders, and its CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy along with a few Infosys co-founders and the Raveendrans. The owners of several new-age firms such as Unacademy's Gaurav Munjal, PhonePe's Sameer Nigam, Meesho's Vidit Aatrey, the Zetwerk founders dot the palm tree and Mercedes-lined APR. 'India's CTO' Nandan Nilekani, Wipro owners - the Premjis, and Rahul Dravid also own homes in Koramangala, where property rates have already built a formidable moat of exclusivity.Up north, the landscape is a carbon copy of the southern Silicon Valley. The joke is that should a CEO need to raise funds, s/he need not step out of DLF's The Camellias, where rates are not far from touching the Rs 1-lakh/sq feet mark.Business Meetings, Brainstorming SessionsThe Camellias in Gurgaon or Adarsh in Bengaluru are places where business meetings, brainstorming sessions and deal talks are concluded during morning runs and evening walks. There's a 'network effect' that attracts more and more such individuals as these communities start building up, Sandeep Reddy, co-founder of real estate sales digital platform Zapkey, told ET."A specific set of people attracts more similar people to the area. Venture capitalists and founders go to Epsilon. Koramangala third block (popularly known as Billionaires' Street) has the traditional company leaders, conglomerates, and first generation of internet entrepreneurs," Reddy said. "New-age founders are largely going to Adarsh Palm Retreat or Epsilon."Rich & FamousDocuments accessed through CRE Matrix, a real estate data analytics firm, showed some of the prominent names who own apartments at The Camellias include Varun Alagh, founder of Mamaearth parent Honasa; Anita Lal, founder of Good Earth; Lokvir Kapoor, executive chairman and co-founder of Pine Labs; Ashneer Grover, former managing director of BharatPe; Kartik Bharat Ram, joint managing director of SRF Ltd; JC Chaudhry, founder of Aakash Educational Services; Ravish Kapoor, managing director of realty firm Elan Group; and Smiti Agarwal, wife of Hemant Agarwal, CMD of V-Bazaar Retail.Executives of more than two dozen companies and startup founders such as Peyush Bansal, co-founder of Lenskart, Aman Gupta, founder of boAt, and several other judges of popular reality show Shark Tank India have made The Camellias their home.Sources said some other high-end buyers include Cars24 co-founder and CEO Vikram Chopra, while many CEOs including TPG Capital's Puneet Bhatia and Arvind Mendiratta of Hippo Stores also live there.