China, Turkey may take the shine off India’s festivities by bagging lion’s share of gold supplies

China, Turkey may take the shine off India’s festivities by bagging lion’s share of gold supplies

The gold in vaults of India’s top three suppliers is down by 10 per cent. |
More than 75 per cent Indian families have invested in gold as an asset in some form, and 56 per cent of the precious metal is bought by Middle-Income people. Gold has traditionally been seen as a safe investment vehicle, and bulky safes at home are now being replaced with trading accounts where Indians can buy and store gold in electronic form. But despite the allure of gold among Indians, banks that supply gold are prioritising China and Turkey over India as markets for the commodity.Safe investment in times of economic uncertaintyDemand for the glittering investment vehicle and status symbol was already high in July due to weddings, and is set to surge further during the festive season, after prices dipped in September. But the latest move by banks to divert gold away from India will mean that people will have to pay a higher price, and that can dent the finances of middle-income groups. The demand for gold will be highest during Dhanteras, when people will buy gold bars and jewelry as part of an age-old tradition, but the scarcity might spoil celebrations.Pay more to keep festivities litJP Morgan, ICBC, and Standard Chartered are the top three banks that import the most gold in India right before the festive demand picks up, and then store it. But currently, their vaults have 10 per cent less gold, and the low premium paid by Indians on international prices may be a factor. Since Indian traders were offering gold at discounted rates after importing it as a lower-tariff alloy of platinum, Indians are only paying $2 above global prices. But Chinese buyers are paying $45 as a premium, while in Turkey, it goes as high as $80.Turns out gold only glitters for those willing to pay a hefty price on top of the global rates, and that’s where Indians are lagging behind Chinese and Turkish counterparts. On top of this, while India’s gold demand was down by 30 per cent last month, China saw a 40 per cent uptick and Turkey’s gold imports jumped by more than 500 per cent.Spoiling the festivitiesApart from the annual Diwali gold rush, the precious metal is also a valuable cushion against inflation, and can be a safe bet for the impending recession. But with India’s festive markets may not shine as bright as every year this time around.

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maharashtra: Maharashtra govt to study, consider stamp duty reduction, says CM Shinde

maharashtra: Maharashtra govt to study, consider stamp duty reduction, says CM Shinde

The government of Maharashtra is looking to study and consider a reduction in stamp duty charges for registrations of property transactions, said Chief Minister Eknath Shinde while batting for a slum-free city with a push for affordable housing.
As a minister of Urban Development in the previous government, Shinde had already provided concessions on premium to the real estate industry that helped its revival to a large extent and is willing to extend support to the industry even now, he said.
The minister has asked real estate developers to send their detailed suggestions with respect to lower stamp duty, which will be discussed and reviewed in consultation with the finance department before taking any decision.

On Friday, the Reserve Bank of India hiked the repo rate by 50 basis points to 5.9% with immediate effect, much higher than the pre-pandemic level of 5.40%. This is the fourth successive hike in rates since May.
With the reversal in interest rate cycle, concerns over its likely impact on slow demand patterns have started to worry developers who are seeking government’s intervention.
Shinde was speaking at a property exhibition organised by realty developers’ body the National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO) Maharashtra. He was responding to a suggestion of NAREDCO, Maharashtra President Sandeep Runwal with respect to a reduction of stamp duty once again so that the benefits could be passed on to the homebuyers.
Rajan Bandhelkar, President of NAREDCO, India suggested that the government can reduce the stamp duty by 50% and the balance 50% could be borne by the industry.
Following the imposition of the metro cess, stamp duty on property registration in Pune and Mumbai, which are the country’s most expensive and largest real estate markets, have increased by one percentage point. In Mumbai, the stamp duty is now 6% of the asset’s value while it has risen to 7% in Pune, Nagpur, and Thane.
Mumbai, the country’s commercial capital, has been setting new benchmarks with property transactions over the last two years after the state government announced a limited-window stamp duty reduction.
With an objective of kick-starting the real estate sector and nearly 260 linked industries by encouraging housing sales, the state government had announced a reduction in stamp duty charges to 2% from 5% from September 2020 till the end of December 2020. Stamp duty was charged at 3% of the agreement value between January 2021 and March 31, 2021.
The significant but limited-period stamp duty reduction window that ended in March 2021, was a catalyst for the city’s residential market. While stamp duty rebates are not available now, the deals have continued to flow in.
The state government’s revenue collection through stamp duty charges has recorded its all-time high so far in 2022. The implementation of an additional 1% metro cess, combined with price increases and the sale of larger ticket size units, resulted in a 57% increase in revenue collection from January to September of this year, totalling Rs 6,658 crore.

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Qaadu eyes expansion; releases across 200+ stores in India and UAE

Qaadu eyes expansion; releases across 200+ stores in India and UAE

India, 14th September 2022: Qaadu, a premium brand specializing in plant-based cruelty-free beauty and wellness products, has picked up the pace and forayed onto the shelves of popular pharmacies, hypermarkets and malls. This is in addition to its strong presence across several standard eCommerce platforms.The move comes within 6 months of its inception. Qaadu products are now available at the modern trade outlet Lulu hypermarket across Kochi, Trivandrum, Lucknow and Bangalore.

Qaadu was officially launched with 18 SKUs aimed at the wellness of the entire family – from children to the elderly to pregnant mothers.
Qaadu was officially launched with 18 SKUs aimed at the wellness of the entire family – from children to the elderly to pregnant mothers.

Qaadu, which translates to ‘forest’ in most of the south India languages, bases all its formulas on herbal and natural remedies. The carefully curated products have a holistic approach to personal care and good health for the whole family. In order to garner maximum outreach for its products, it partnered with several pharmacies across India and UAE.Its collaboration with Aster pharmacy, one of the largest retail pharmacy groups in the Middle East and now present in India, has helped the brand scale its presence by a huge margin. Qaadu products will be available across 200+ outlets of Aster pharmacy, with 20 outlets already launched in Kerala. Additionally, Qaadu is also available across 100+ pharmacy stores of DOCIB Group, Medseven Healthcare, Marina pharmacy and Aster Pharmacy in the UAE.Qaadu products are extensively available on the brand’s website, Amazon.in, Flipkart, Tata 1mg, HealthKart, OrganicandReal.com, BeVegan.ae, shofon.com, Carrefour UAE online store, Amazon.au, Amazon.com, Amazon.sa, Amazon.ca, and ebay. Qaadu products will soon be available on Nykaa, Bigbasket & MyntraThe brand is currently discussing listing its products on Tata 1mg’s offline store in Delhi NCR.Founded by Shafin Kalathingal, Qaadu was officially launched with 18 SKUs aimed at the wellness of the entire family – from children to the elderly to pregnant mothers.Shafin’s family has been in business across diverse industries for more than 60 years. After being an investment banker in the Global Markets and Treasury for 15 years, Shafin along with his wife Shehnaz Ibrahim, who is a director of a well-known pharmacy group in UAE, and his cousin Rahbaz established Qaadu.“I believe it was only natural for me to delve into business sooner or later. We became a part of the beauty and wellness industry, despite it being a competitive segment because we identified several gaps. The market lacked an all-inclusive brand with properly certified products. The vision and mission of Qaadu are to bridge this gap”, said Shafin.The first products to be formulated by the brand were kid’s gummies. From there on Qaadu diversified its portfolio and created face, body, hair, wellness, kids and Mother & Child products. One of its unique products is Milk Tea for nursing mothers. Post-pregnancy women need exceptional care. The Milk Tea offers a natural blend of herbs to support a nursing mother during breastfeeding. It is caffeine-free and made with fennel, alfalfa, and fenugreek to enhance well-being and breast milk quality.Products by Qaadu have been certified by top-notch organizations. It received its Vegan certification from The Vegan Society of the United Kingdom, the oldest and No 1 Vegan certification. All its products are manufactured from GMP certified facilities. Nutraceuticals and ayurvedic wellness products are manufactured by USFDA registered facilities.The premium product with premium packaging falls under the mid-segment pricing range, the fastest growing segment in India.“Our unique and authentically green concept was designed to ensure that Mother Nature is never harmed when we develop our products. We have gone to extreme lengths to make sure the ingredients go through a rigorous quality control process to ensure efficacy and safety. The brand is only 6 months old and we have been on track with our targets. We look forward to creating a strong niche in the beauty and wellness segment”, added Shafin.Qaadu has received a sizable investment from an Angel Investor in the oil and gas industry which will be used for inventory management, product development and marketing initiatives. The brand is also collaborating with NGOs to kickstart its CSR initiatives. With the heart of the brand woven in Mother Nature, Qaadu plans afforestation and reforestation of degraded lands. It also plans to work towards the education of underprivileged children.To know more visit: https://www.qaadu.com/To buy Qaadu products visit:https://www.amazon.in/stores/QAADU/page/443EFF69-3EE8-4EF3-AA3C-2A659C4CBEC1?ref_=ast_blnDisclaimer: This article is a paid publication and does not have journalistic/editorial involvement of Hindustan Times. Hindustan Times does not endorse/subscribe to the content(s) of the article/advertisement and/or view(s) expressed herein. Hindustan Times shall not in any manner, be responsible and/or liable in any manner whatsoever for all that is stated in the article and/or also with regard to the view(s), opinion(s), announcement(s), declaration(s), affirmation(s) etc., stated/featured in the same.

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Tilaknagar Industries launches a premium variant of Mansion House Brandy

Tilaknagar Industries launches a premium variant of Mansion House Brandy

Tilaknagar Industries today announced the unveiling of Mansion House Reserve French Style Brandy, the premium variant of its flagship brand, Mansion House.
The unique feature of the exclusive Mansion House Reserve French Style Brandy is its blend which is made from special kind of ‘Ugni Blanc’ grapes handpicked from the Sahyadris in India that impart a slightly sweetish and lingering taste to the blend. This premium launch comes right after the unveiling of India’s first premium flavoured brandy by TI under its renowned Mansion House brand.

The unique feature of the exclusive Mansion House Reserve French Style Brandy is its blend which is made from special kind of ‘Ugni Blanc’ grapes handpicked from the Sahyadris in India that impart a slightly sweetish and lingering taste to the blend. This premium launch comes right after the unveiling of India’s first premium flavoured brandy by the company under its renowned Mansion House brand.
Powered by Capital Market – Live News(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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Beam Suntory on the importance of travel retail for India business success

Beam Suntory on the importance of travel retail for India business success

Beam Suntory owns multiple premium liquor brands in India, from the award-winning Teacher’s whiskey to Jim Beam bourbon, and its focus in this area has meant that it has had to face multiple challenges from alcohol taxes to travel bans in the past two years.Its travel retail business has been hit especially hard, not only due to a general lack of travellers due to border closure but also liquor excise changes having affected travel retail pricing.Previously, liquor being sold in travel retail had a price arbitrage over liquor being sold in the domestic market, which attracted local consumers even with a lack of foreign travellers.However, since 2021, several areas in India such as Delhi changed liquor excise policies causing some travel retail prices to become even more expensive than domestic retail.“Travel retail is incredibly important to Beam Suntory as it is our premium connection to global consumers, and is a very strategic channel for growth [as it] allows us to build our brands at scale both globally and locally,” ​Beam Suntory Global Travel Retail Managing Director Ashish Gandham said at the recent Tax Free World Association APAC Conference.“It is a very massive priority in India as we already know that the Indian traveller is going to rise in prominence, looking at the numbers in terms of scale – by 2026,we anticipate the Indian traveller numbers to be in the top five in the world globally; and it must also be noted that there’s a generally younger demographic growing here which means more travel as well.​“Our numbers show that 77% of Indian shoppers will go to a store every time they travel, which is 1.8 times the global average; and 49% of these duty free visitors buy something every time they make a trip, which is 2.2 times the global average – it’s such a massive, massive opportunity and expected to keep growing further, [so in India] it’s extremely important to Beam Suntory to revive this sector.”​Important trends for growth​Further research data has also shown that the pandemic has changed the way Indian consumers are approaching their alcohol purchasing decisions, and a lot of this change has to do with technology.“We know that compared to a miniscule 4% before, nowadays some 40% of Indian passengers will see advertisements online and base purchasing decisions or interest off of those; and that pre-planned purchases make up 50% of all purchases,”​ said Gandham.“In addition, there is also added demand for a personal experience when buying alcohol, particularly spirits now – 75% of buyers have been buying exclusive items after COVID-19 hit, compared to 43% previously.”​Beam Suntory believes that capitalising on these consumer trends is key, which will mean adjusting various aspects of retail from product assortment to presentation.“When premium liquor is mentioned, this used to be connected mainly with just upper-middle class consumers, but now we know that our reach needs to be broader and we must innovate to provide offerings for various shopping groups,”​ he added.“There is also a need to elevate shopper experiences particularly in making things as connected as possible, e.g. providing a seamless digital to in-store experience, and then making the in-store experience as experiential and immersive as possible.​“It should also be noted that more importance must be placed on training up sales staff, as 24% of shoppers in India have claimed to have their purchasing decisions influenced by a sales staff member, which is 1.5 times the global average.”​That said, he acknowledged that there are still multiple challenges that Beam Suntory will need to overcome in India from COVID volatility to logistical hurdles to regulatory challenges and geo-political or economic shocks, but that the firm is committed to making the relevant improvements.“In a nutshell, we have a traveller who’s more aware and has really, really high expectations set for us to deliver on [and] these are things is the work we need to do to [to grow], but this is really a massive growth opportunity led by a vibrant economy and expanding passenger base with a shopper that is absolutely engaged, so we will go for it,”​ he said. .