Good morning. Don’t you just love how Tuesday rhymes with due date? Meanwhile, robots are making a scene for better and for worse, and we’re here to tell you all about it.

In this edition:

• 💵 $36B gains for Indian banks

•  🛏️ Oyo considers 2/3 IPO reduction

• 👿 How ChatGPT is being used to spread malware

MARKETS

*Stock data as of market close. Source.

• Markets: India's Nifty has formed a Doji pattern after experiencing volatility in recent weeks, signaling that the market may continue on a bearish trend. While the Doji pattern could also be an indicator of a potential trend reversal, technical analysts caution that the index's weak position may persist. With rising inflation and global uncertainty, they’re not too far off from calling it right.

TAX

Indian banks set to rake in $36 billion

A Taxing Opportunity

India's decision to tax fixed-income mutual funds works in favor of lenders, who are set to reel in a stunning $36 billion in deposits. This move provides relief for financiers facing a widening gap between credit off-take and deposits, which was causing risks of asset-liability mismatches and driving up funding costs.

Credit Growth vs. Deposit Collection

• Rising loan demand has boosted annual credit growth to 15.7%, while deposit collection lags behind at just over 10%.

• Investors had preferred more attractive options like debt mutual funds, which offered better yields due to a favorable tax regime.

Inflation and Returns

With February's inflation at 6.44%, real returns on bank deposits remained low, making the tax change a welcome boost for Indian banks.

STARTUP

Mamaearth’s mega IPO is hanging on SEBI’s green light

Mamaearth's IPO: Pause for a Cause

• Mamaearth's much-anticipated IPO finds itself in a holding pattern as the startup awaits SEBI's approval for its DRHP (Draft Red Herring Prospectus).

• No need for alarm bells, though. This is just a standard regulatory pit stop on the road to going public.

A Growing Empire. Mamaearth's skyrocketing growth has made it a startup to watch in India's personal care space. Offering toxin-free, environmentally friendly products, the brand has gained a loyal following among eco-conscious consumers and new-age parents. Mamaearth has raised a total of $111.6M in funding over 8 rounds, last valuation was $1.2 billion. 

Looking ahead. While Mamaearth's IPO may be on hold for now, it's poised to make a splash in the market once the regulatory green light comes through. It's only a matter of time before Mamaearth joins the ranks of other Indian startups hitting the public market.

HOSPITALITY

Oyo considers IPO reduction amid market conditions

🛏️ India's largest hospitality company, Oyo Hotels and Homes Pvt Ltd, is considering a reduction in the size of its initial public offering (IPO) amid the recent tech industry rout.

What’s going on in tech? The global tech industry has recently experienced a sharp downturn, with stock prices of major tech companies plummeting. This has resulted in a challenging environment for tech companies looking to go public, with many investors showing reluctance to invest in new offerings.

Cutting by how much? According to close sources, the Softbank-backed Indian hotel aggregator is reducing the number of shares it expects to sell via IPO by around two-thirds as tech valuations fall.

The sense of wariness

• The business sought to go public in October 2021, however the share offering was postponed owing to market circumstances.

• The firm has continued to disclose losses and announced 600 job cuts in its corporate and technology areas in December.

Pushing on with it. According to the source, Oyo is prepared to submit a new IPO filing as soon as this week.

INDIA EDITION: WHAT ELSE IS ON THE BIRDWATCH

• 💸 Aditya Birla Capital to sell entire stake in ABIBL. The company announced that the transaction includes transferring all 25.65 lakh shares, each worth Rs. 10, accounting for 50.002% of ABIBL's issued and paid-up share capital, to Edme Services Private Ltd. Edme is a member of the Samara Capital Group and is affiliated with Samara Alternate Investment Fund.

• 🚗 Schaeffler’s new plan to build more car parts. Schaeffler India is set to accelerate with a Rs 1,500 crore capacity expansion plan over the next three years. To this end, the German auto parts maker is ramping up production of bearings and engine components at its plants in Pune and Vadodara.

• 🛰️ India’s new 5G milestone. India is racing ahead in the world of 5G and reaching a major milestone with 50 million customers within its current network. The country now accounts for 5% of the world's 5G users, signaling a significant step forward in India's digital revolution.

FUNDING DEALS

Catch up on the Indian funding flows from the past 24hrs:

• Prop Money, a proptech start-up, has managed to secure seed funding from India Accelerator, to enhance its suite of professional real estate services.

• Gynoveda, a women's healthcare-focused company, just received an unclosed sum from Wipro Consumer Care Ventures. The brand-new investment will be used to help them address women's healthcare concerns including gynecological and lifestyle-related illnesses like infertility, PCOS, and ovarian cancer.

WORLD

Headline Explorer

🤝 First Citizens seals the deal to acquire SVB. It’s official. First Citizens will be the proud (?) new owner of the now-collapsed Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). Following the acquisition from the FDIC, First Citizens will control all of what remains of SVB's assets, in a move aimed at turning the tides to calmers waters. First Citizens stock price has rallied to as high as 49% after the acquisition.

👿 ChatGPT posers are spreading viruses. Malicious Facebook ads are reportedly exploiting ChatGPT’s popularity to spread malware. Cybercrime intelligence firm CloudSEK said it found at least 25 websites imitating OpenAI.com to trick users into installing dangerous software. Eek.

🐦️ Twitter’s source code leaked. Remember when Twitter said it would make some of its tweet recommendation code open-source? This is not that. On Sunday, the social media giant reported in a legal filing that a GitHub user had leaked some of its sensitive source code on the developer resource platform. GitHub has since taken down the post and is complying to help identify the infringer.

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