BACK PAGE | PAGE 24 COMPANIES | PAGE 4 HarperCollins to publish Sonia Gandhi’s memoir INTERNATIONAL | PAGE 10 Kenya’s tougher terms put Indian firms under pressure NEW DELHI, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2026 VWflags50,000jobcuts; Indiaunittoaxe12%jobs FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL LII NO. 162, 42 PAGES, `12 (PATNA & RAIPUR `12, SRINAGAR `15) P U B L I S H E D F R O M : A H M E D A B A D , B E N G A L U R U , C H A N D I G A R H , C H E N N A I , H Y D E R A B A D , K O C H I , K O L K ATA , L U C K N O W, M U M B A I , N E W D E L H I , P U N E SENSEX: 76,515.43 ▲ 362.57 NIFTY: 23,897.70 ▲ 24.25 NIKKEI 225: 65,020.94 ▲ 806.46 HANG SENG: 25,650.87 ▲ 437.56 `/$: 94.50 ▲ 0.00 `/€: 109.77 ▼ 0.11 BRENT: $94.10 ▼ $1.42 GOLD: `1,54,425 ▲ `1,258 Sebigivesgo-ahead donotwanttolockupfundsfor longertenors,”said a dealerat a state-owned bank. The sheer scale of the surplus, however, is making it increasinglydifficultfortheRBI to keep overnight rates anchored to its policyrate. The weighted average call rate(WACR),theRBI’soperating targetformonetarypolicy,eased to4.94%onFridayfrom4.95% in the previous session,remaining significantly below the 5.25% repo rate.Collateralised overnightrateshavefalleneven further,intothe4-4.5%range. `508 while Amazon Now is well behind at `518 `400-450 SBI TOP SELLER, LIC TO SKIP ■ At prevailing prices of `1,975-2,050, the OFS could be valued at `29,40030,500 crore NEARLYA DECADE after first applying for an initial public offering (IPO), the National Stock Exchange (NSE) received final regulatory approval on Friday,paving the way for what could be one of India’s biggest IPOs. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) issued an observation letteron Friday, which is effectively an approval for the NSE to proceed with the issue. The issuewill be entirelyan offer for sale (OFS), with 10 shareholders selling a com- Continued on Page 10 bined 148.9 million shares, equivalent to about 6% of NSE’s 2.47 billion outstanding shares. At prevailing unlistedmarket prices of around `1,975-2,050 per share, the 55,384 20,742 1,986 24,196 281 1,705 13,130 11,067 13,731 7,780 197 102 95 701 161 540 10,385 6,781 17,165 165 3,349 49 34,642 (in ` crore) Total 3,316 entirely an OFS, with 10 investors selling a combined 148.9 million shares (SBI) will be the biggest seller, offloading 24.75 million shares, equivalent to 1% of NSE’s equity 21,511 OFS-SE ■ The issue will be ■ State Bank of India PROMOTERS STEPUPSHARE SALE INAUG Via block deals* Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug 2025 2026 *Deals excluded where Seller as well as Buyer both are promoter; OFS-SE - Offer for sale via stock exchange Source: PRIME Database OFS could bevalued at roughly `29,400-30,500 crore.At that size,itwould surpass Hyundai Motor India’s `27,900-crore IPO in October 2024, currently the country’s largest. State Bank of India (SBI) QUICK PICKS Forex reserves hit fresh high INDIA'S FOREX RESERVES jumped $11.475 billion to a new all-time high of $740.803 billion during the week ended August 28, the RBI said on Friday. ■ PAGE 7 Adobe names new CEO ADOBE HAS NAMED Anil Chakravarthy as its new president and chief executive officer (CEO), succeeding Shantanu Narayen, who will move to the role of executive chair after leading the US software major for more than 18 years. ■ PAGE 4 CONSUMERBRANDSGETANEWPOWERCENTRETONEGOTIATEWITHASSWIGGYTURNSTOINVENTORYMODEL Q-comm’s retail reset redraws FMCG playbook ANEES HUSSAIN & VIVEAT SUSAN PINTO Bengaluru/Mumbai, September 4 QUICK COMMERCE IS shedding its middleman skin. Swiggy’s decision to move Instamart to an inventory-led modelwillchangenotjusthow the business reports revenue but how investors read its economics — bringing it a big step closer to a conventional retailer. For FMCG companies, this confirms what their sales data has been whispering for months: the 10-minute channel is now a mainstream,profitable route to the consumer. The path cleared on August 18,when Swiggy shareholders approved a 49.5% cap on MARGIN PUSH ■ Swiggy shareholders approved a 49.5% cap on aggregate foreign ownership last month which will allow Instamart to move towards owning inventory ■ Experts say inventory-led operations could strengthen quick commerce’s proposition for FMCG companies by giving platforms greater control over assortment, pricing and availability ■ The change is significant because a ■ Rival Blinkit marketplace records only the commission it earns, while an inventory-led business records the full value of goods sold aggregate foreign ownership, the main hurdle to qualifying as an Indian-owned and controlled company. Swiggy says thetransitiontoowninginventory could take two to four Continued on Page 6 average net order value is ■ Blinkit's average net order value in Q1FY27 stood at KUSHAN SHAH Mumbai, September 4 32 A SURGE IN oil tankers crossing the Strait of Hormuz with tracking systems switched off is masking the scale of Persian Gulf supply recovery, with Goldman Sachs estimating actual exports at 15-16 million barrels per day (mb/d) against visible flows of only around 10 mb/d, even as tensions continue to disrupt one of the world’s key energy routes, reports Saurav Anand. ■ PAGE 3 ● Marketsregulator »INSIDE« BESTWEEK IN OVER A MONTH FOR RUPEE PAGE 7 PROMOTERS SOLDA record `55,384 crore worth of shares through block deals and offers for sale (OFS) on the stock exchanges inAugust, according to data sourced from Prime Database. Promoter share sales through block deals reached a 12month high of `20,742 crore, while the OFS segment recorded a record `34,642 crore worth of sales, largely driven by the Centre's stake sale in LIC. — KISHOR KADAM Continued on Page 10 ■ Instamart’s Flipkart is now using the platform to draw customers into its ecosystem for fresh, beauty and personal care and other immediate-use categories, reversing a migration in which shoppers had increasingly turned to standalone quick commerce apps for such purchases,the report added. quarters; analysts expect it to begin in the third quarter,with margin gains visible over the following two. Rival Blinkit made the same move in September last year. transitioned to an inventory-led model in September last year The accounting change alone is dramatic. A marketplace books only its commission — typically 20-35% — while an inventory-led business books the full value of goods sold. Analysts estimate Instamart's reported revenue could rise four to five times without a single extra order. Instamart posted quick-commerce revenue of `1,232 crore intheJunequarterofFY27ona netordervalueof`5,817crore. At Blinkit, the same transition helped drive parent Eternal's consolidated FY26 revenue up 168.5% to `54,364 crore. For consumer goods makers, however, the shift is less about accounting and more about leverage."Delivery and servicing costs tend to be higher with e-commerce marketplaces versus quick commerce.Themovetowardsowning inventory will make q-commerce even more costefficient, prompting a bigger shift from e-commerce to quick commerce as dark store networks expand and assortments grow," said Mohit Malhotra,global CEO,Dabur. The numbers back him up. Daburgets10%ofoverallsales from online channels — with quick commerce, at 5-7%, alreadyaheadofe-commerce's 3-5%—andtheq-commbusiness is growing 50% year-onyear against 20-30% for ecommerce. The CEO of a top FMCG company,who declined to be named, said quick-commerce margins run 200-300 basis points higher than on conventional e-commerce marketplaces,withhistorically lower servicing costs. Continued on Page 6 VIVEAT SUSAN PINTO Mumbai, September 4 will be the biggest seller, offloading 24.75 million shares, equivalent to 1% of NSE’s equity.Mauritius-based MS Strategic, an entity linked to Morgan Stanley, and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board will be the nextlargest sellers,offering 16 million and 11.88 million shares, respectively, representing stakes of about 0.65% and 0.48%. Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), NSE’s largest shareholder with a 10.72% stake, will not participate in the OFS. The IPO could translate into a substantial windfall for NSE’s long-standing shareholders. `500-530 value of `400-450, despite growing from `260-300 in UBS' April 2026 checks, the report added. But UBS stated that Amazon Now’s is a gross figure, and would fall further on a net basis,making the gap wider than it appears. Minutes'category mix was more mobile-heavy in its first year but has since broadened. HULlines up higher capex for its ‘new India’ bet HINDUSTAN UNILEVER (HUL) plans to raise capital expenditure to about 3% of topline in the next five years from 2% in thepreviousfiveyearsasIndia’s largest consumer-goods company bets on rising consumption, premiumisation and new categories to drive volume-led growth. At its Capital Markets Day on Friday, HUL widened its medium-term earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) margin range to 22-24%,from its earlier guidance of 22.5-23.5%. The company reported an Ebitda margin of 23.6% in FY26. The higher capex intensity marks a step-up in investment as HUL seeks to capitalise on whatitcalls‘newIndia’—amarketofferingararecombination of scale and rising per-capita consumption. The company said more than 85% of its capex over the past five years was directed towardsgrowthandsavingsinitiatives,while more than 75% of future spending is expected togotowardssimilarpriorities. The higher capex will also be part of a broader capital allocation framework that includes reshaping its portfolio towards high-growth spaces, making bolt-on acquisitions and providing shareholder payouts, while maintaining its focus on 100% cash conversion. “Structural shifts in new India present an attractive FMCG opportunity,” HUL said, addingthatitwouldleverageits portfoliotounlockcompetitive volume-led growth. HUL reported FY26 turnover of `63,763 crore, operatingcashflowof`10,999 crore and an Ebitda margin of 23.6%. Its return on capital employed stood at 110.9%. In locations where Minutes is live, 40-45% of customers visiting Flipkart also visit Minutes. Metro markets contribute 60-65% of demand, with north India accounting for slightly under a third and south India scaling rapidly, it added. Continued on Page 6 NSE’sdecade-longwaitforIPOends conducted overnight and term VRRR auctions with a combined notified amount of `41 lakh cr 306 11,306 ‘Dark’ tanker traffic surges in Hormuz despite blockade ■ Over the week, the RBI 4,312 THE SECURITIES AND Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has started hearing representations as it seeks to recover gains from trades it suspects benefited from prior knowledge of Hindenburg Research's scathing report about Adani Group, two people with knowledge of the matter ■ PAGE 7 said. and `1.5 lakh crore phones, Minutes' net order value stands at 31,645 Sebi hearing on trades linked to Hindenburg begins two three-day VRRR auctions with notified amounts of `7 lakh crore 6,993 ALIQUIDITY MISMATCH FOR CAS,WRITE RAJAREDDY BUJUNOORI, SUMITSAURAV &VPANCHAPAGESAN PAGE 8 ■ On Friday, it conducted ■ Including mobile phones, Minutes' order value is higher than Blinkit's ■ Excluding mobile 31,641 » INSIDE « has sharply increased its absorption operations 3 STATES' AGGREGATE CAPITAL expenditure (capex) likely grew at half the pace in April–July of the current financial year compared with the yearago period, partly due to a monsoon-induced slowdown, reports Prasanta Sahu. ■ Faced with surplus, RBI 1,047 STATES' CAPEX GROWTH HALVES IN APRIL-JULY 792 255 PAGE 2 THE RESERVE BANK of India (RBI) sucked out `6.02 lakh crore from the banking system through variable-rate reverse repo(VRRR)auctionsonFriday. It stepped up its liquidity absorption operations as surplus funds hit a fresh high and overnight rates remained well belowthe policyrate. Banking-system liquidity surplusstoodatanall-time-high of `10.3 lakh crore as of Thursday,setting a record for the secondstraightday.Thesurplushas averaged `7.05 lakh crore over thepastweek,nearlydoublethe `3.67 lakh crore average in Augustandmorethansixtimes the`1.07lakhcrorerecordedin July,RBIdatashowed. Facedwiththeliquiditydeluge, the central bank has sharply increased its absorption operations. On Friday, it conducted two three-day VRRR auctions with notified amounts of `7 lakh crore and `1.5 lakh crore,attracting bids worth `5.4 lakh crore and `60,419 crore, respectively. Theauctionwasconductedata cut-off rate of 5.24%. Overtheweek,the RBI conducted overnight and term VRRR auctions with a combined notified amount of `41 lakh crore, against which banks offered `23.74 lakh crore. It will conduct a 30-day VRRR of `7 lakh crore on Monday, the RBI said in a release on Friday. “The liquidity surplus is likely to touch `12 lakh crore beforeeasingoncetaxoutflows kick in. The RBI will mostly manage this throughVRRRs as of now. Banks typically prefer overnight auctions since they QUICK RISE FLIPKART'S QUICK COMMERCE arm Minutes has narrowed the gap with market leader Blinkit on order value, with its strength in mobiles and electronics pushing its overall basket above the market leader, according to latest channel checks by UBS. Excluding mobile phones, Minutes' net order value stands at `500-530, marginally below Blinkit's average net order value of `518 in Q1FY27, the checks showed. Including mobile phones, Minutes'ordervalue is higher than Blinkit's,reflecting Flipkart's established position in mobiles and electronics. Swiggy's Instamart reported a net average order value of `508 in Q1FY27, leaving all three platforms clustered within a narrow band. Amazon's quick commerce arm Amazon Now seems to be lagging well behind, at an average order AUCTIONS SPIKE 11,115 ECONOMY CHRISTINATITUS Mumbai, September 4 FE BUREAU Bengaluru, September 4 9,762 HOURS AFTER THE AAIB said in a preliminary probe that sought action against the pilot-in-command of the Phuket-New Delhi Air India aircraft that lost altitude, the airline on Friday terminated the services of the pilot with immediate effect, reports Akbar Merchant. RBI mops up `6L cr via VRRRs 1,353 AIR INDIA SACKS PILOT OVER PHUKET FIASCO 21,596 PAGE 24 20,799 BACK PAGE FlipkartMinutesridesonmobilesto leaveBlinkitbehindonordervalue AS SURPLUSTOPS `10 LAKH CR 797 IN THE NEWS Telcospushback onTrai’sproposed 5Gslicingnorms OJASVI GUPTA New Delhi, September 4 TELECOM OPERATORS HAVE pushed back against the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (Trai) proposed norms for 5G network slicing,stating that the regulatoris seeking to regulate internal network parameters rather than the actual quality of service experienced by consumers. Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel andVodafone Idea (Vi),in their responses to Trai’s consultation on amendments to quality-of-serviceregulations,have raised concerns over the proposed framework for managing network slices, saying it could constrain the development and commercialisation of differentiated 5G services. Network slicing allows operators to createvirtual networks over the same physical infrastructure, with different slices configured for specific requirements such as higher speeds,lowerlatencyorgreater reliability. The technology is expected to be important for monetising 5G beyond conventional mobile broadband. Trai has proposed that operators take corrective action when a 5G cell records more than 80% physical resource block (PRB) utilisation during peak hours on five days in a month. If congestion continues for 30 days,the regulator has proposed that the operator disable priority slices on that cell until additional capacity is deployed. New Delhi NET LOSS ■ Telcos say Trai seeks to regulate internal parameters rather than actual service quality ■ They say the move could impact the development of differentiated 5G services ■ Network slicing allows operators to create virtual networks over the same physical infrastructure The operators have questioned the use of PRB utilisation as the trigger for regulatory intervention. Jio has said that PRB utilisation is aninternal network metric and does notnecessarilyindicatedeterioration in the experience of customers using the network. The companyhas therefore sought an outcome-based approach, under which intervention would be linked to measurable consumer-facing parameters rather than network engineering metrics. Continued on Page 10