"Indian entities in the existing corporate as well as upcoming startup space are increasingly venturing out overseas to identify new frontiers for growth. The FEMR regulations of RBI are targeted to give desired clarity in terms of an Indian entity extending debt and financial commitment to any foreign entity including its step down subsidiaries."

“The pace of buybacks continuing in H2 would be largely dependent on the market. My sense is that you may see a deeper correction and Nifty might fall down to around 15,500 or even 15,000. So, if there is a further correction, certain companies will continue to correct further and management will continue to announce buybacks.
There has been a correction in the broader markets predominantly on account of concerns relating to inflation and rising interest rates, which has led to a good amount of correction in the share price for a lot of these companies. Further, companies are sitting on a lot of cash”

"Amidst rising concerns on the ability of global asset classes to deliver satisfactory returns over a longer tenure, global investors have placed their bets on the Indian infrastructure market time and again.

May it be CPPIs deal with Brookfield, or Actis buying out Welspun’s USD 775Mn portfolio of road assets, both the deals are a positive sign for all the stakeholders. In conjunction to this, developers might look forward towards bundling and positioning under-development projects to global investors as a potential investment for their portfolio to seek access to an affordable pool of development finance."

“Prolonged geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine could lead to further inflationary pressure, compelling policy makers globally to accelerate raising interest rates at the cost of economic growth. From an Indian economy standpoint, the economic impact is likely to be more short term in nature as its economy will continue to be driven by its long-term fundamental growth prospects"

Avener Capital, has constructed a check dam at Vartha Pada Shensari Village in Palghar, Maharashtra. Built in collaboration with Diganta Swaraj Foundation, the 15m long and 3m tall check dam with its storage capacity of 10,000 cubic metres will transform lives of over 200 families and almost 2000 people living in the vicinity by supplying water for domestic and agricultural use.

”India’s push to allow retail investors to co-own infrastructure assets could transform the sector. By reforming policies like InvIT reclassification and enhancing governance, the country aims to create a transparent, investor-friendly ecosystem. This approach fosters local capital flow, offering long-term, inflation-hedged returns and empowering investors to actively contribute to India's growth, paving the way for a self-reliant future.”

“While over the years, India's financing market has evolved, there is significant room for further innovation particularly in the domestic bond markets. If we look at the infrastructure financing market globally, innovative financing structuring is better understood and issuers have access to cheaper and longer duration capital”

"This is a huge market play with only currently 4-5 large players leading the space. Given there is enough growth opportunity, the outlook for the industry looks better with potential consolidation opportunities." 

"Infrastructure giant IRB Infrastructure Developers Limited achieves financial closure for its stretch of the Ganga Expressway – one of the largest greenfield BOT projects in India. The project cost stands at INR 6,538 crores with a debt quantum of INR 2,659 crores, equity commitment of INR 2,133 crores and the balance to be funded by way of VGF."

In an interview to ET Infra, Shivam Bajaj, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Avener Capital outlined that InvITs or Infrastructure Investment Trusts should be made more open to retail investors for directing people’s savings into infrastructure investments.

“Most of the new-age companies have not been able to generate returns for capital market investors because of high valuations, prevailing geo-political conditions, liquidity tightening, and the not-so-clear path to profitability”.

"This may also prompt the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to reassess its policy stance during the next meeting, believed analysts. “The rate hike by Fed was on the expected lines due to high inflation risk coupled with geopolitical tensions. The US treasury yields had shown an immediate spike after the FOMC announcement but stabilized thereafter. The current rate hike along with anticipated monetary tightening indicates the Fed’s stance of controlling the high inflation prevalent in the US. Asian markets have reacted positively on account of Russia-Ukraine situation entering the resolution phase which was further supported by stabilisation of crude prices. Taking this into account, the RBI may reassess its accommodative stance in the next month’s policy meeting”

Institutional Investors investing in under-construction projects and domestic retail capital participating in operating and stabilized projects is key to infrastructure development.

"In the next 12-18 months, companies will increasingly look at achieving profitability, unlike the earlier strategy of capturing market share at all costs."

Pleased to announce that Avener Capital acted as an exclusive financial advisor to IRB INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPERS (I) LTD for investment by GIC Affiliates amounting to ~INR 1045 Crores (for a 49% stake) in IRB Infra’s Ganga Expressway Project (Pkg I – Meerut to Budaun). Avener Capital was also the exclusive financial advisor for achieving financial closure of this project by arranging debt of INR 2659 Crores with leading banks and institutions in record time of 3 months in June 2022.

This investment comes as a watershed moment for the #Roads / #Highways sector as this is one of the largest investments by a sovereign wealth fund in a greenfield road BOT project. This transaction reaffirms Avener Capital’s credentials as a pioneer in structuring breakthrough investment models in the infrastructure space.

"Once listed on the exchanges, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) is expected to be pinned on global portfolio watchlists, said financial services provider Avener Capital. The insurer's long-awaited Initial Public Offering (IPO) is likely to open for investors on May 4 and will remain open to subscription till May 9. It will be the largest and landmark public issue in the history of the Indian capital market."

"For investors and market participants investing in LIC means investing in the growth of India”

"Amidst the volatile environment, the revision in the LIC IPO valuation demonstrates the keenness of the government to deliver on the IPO"

“Before making a strategic acquisition or setting up an India vertical, it is imperative that MNCs gain a sound understanding of the local regulatory and operational aspects of the industry they operate in. Hence, they should look at partnering with domestic players and understand the environment better, get the right local talent and then potentially take sole control”

The rate hike by the MPC was on expected lines. The rate hikes by the fed and soaring food and energy prices pose a challenge to emerging economies including India. Withdrawal of the accommodative stance is an indication of the fact that the bigger challenge for the RBI is controlling inflation and keeping it within the tolerable range.

“There have been increasing concerns that rapid rate hikes by central banks have been a major driver for recent failures in small banks of the US and EU. Thus, RBI will have to balance its commitment towards taming inflation while ensuring that India’s financial system is not exposed to extraordinary shocks. The expectation around Fed revisiting its aggressive stance on inflation will also be a consideration for RBI.”

"Fed has already communicated last week that it would now follow a balanced approach between containing inflation and fostering growth. This is an indication that we might be nearing the rate hike cycle. With RBI also now choosing to moderate the rate hike from 50 bps to 35 bps, it is a clear signal that India's central bank is aligned to its global counterparts. This gives India Inc and its capital markets a strong foundation to plan the capex cycle which is critical for ushering into the next phase of growth".

"Start-up promoters shall be able to demonstrate viability, scalability and return prospect convincingly to the investors who have of late become cautious while writing cheques"

"The packaging industry has been clocking exponential growth in India on account of the booming e-commerce and logistics landscape. With this deal, Brookfield is looking to tap into this opportunity by partnering with an established business house in this sector”

"The budget reiterates the government’s vision for long term economic growth through increased capital expenditure and enhanced consumption. Growth in capital expenditure while maintaining fiscal consolidation will have a cascading impact on the economy in terms of strong corporate earnings, growth stimulus to all core sectors and employment generation. The focus on infrastructure development will eventually increase private investments into roads, power, urban infrastructure, etc. In addition, the budget has proposed effective measures to boost the entrepreneurship and start-up ecosystem which is currently growing though a subdued fund-raising phase".

On its mission to curb domestic inflation, the RBI has increased the repo rate by 50 bps in the MPC meeting today to 5.4 per cent. The ultimate impact of this decision on the inflationary pressure might be equally dependent upon the supply-side performance of the economy, where the recent dropdowns in the GDP growth estimates by IMF of 80 bps to 7.4 per cent might be seen as a challenge. Hence, it will be interesting to see, how these consecutive rate hikes, keeping in mind the concerning global economic indicators, iron out the path to long term growth for India.

“With CPI forecasts at 6.7% from 5.7%, RBIs rate hike of 50bps came in line with market expectations and was taken into account by the market in the previous trading sessions. In an attempt to curb inflation, the expectations of this rate hike had been factored in the form of increase in bond yields, which might result in expensive borrowing for corporates. However, a consequent correction expected in raw material prices as a result of this announcement might provide a stable long term growth plan for the overall economy"

“With an emphasis on inflation target of 4% and withdrawal of accommodation, RBI has kept a non-committal stance on such pauses in the forthcoming meeting. With lagged impact of cumulative 250 bps hike on inflation and persisting global financial uncertainties, repo rate is expected to remain at the current levels going forward as well.”

Two critical factors would determine the monetary policy committee’s stand on rates in this meeting, whether Inflation continues to remain beyond RBI’s comfort zone and GST collections as well as whether PMI is looking up even after successive rates hikes by RBI in the initial part of this year which would give it the confidence to continue its “hawkish” stand. This might align market expectations towards a rate hike by around 30 basis points.

“Indian markets continue to trade at a premium when compared to the emerging market peers, while private market and technology stocks witnessed a significant correction”.

Startup Investment Through Convertible Notes Has Waned

"With equity investors tightening their purses, start-ups looking for growth capital should explore a diversified pool of resources consisting of an optimal mix of investments from venture debt companies, family offices, HNIs, and revenue-based financing companies. The best part of such a broad-based approach can help founders raise funds that complement their business model as well as avoids any excess equity dilution."

"Russia is one of the largest exporters of steel and the sanctions imposed on it will result in a curtailed supply, globally. Post clarity on the Russia-Ukraine situation, steel prices may cool off to sustainable levels"

“We saw these IPOs get subscribed 100-200x. People were not even looking at the business models; they were investing on the back of euphoria. They were outliers in terms of the amount of liquidity available, but if you fast forward to today and ask me if some of these tech companies would be able to go public today, I would cast my doubts”

With Fed leading the pack in hiking rates and other central banks following suit this month, the stage seems set for RBI to hike rates in upcoming MPC by 35 bps to protect the rupee as well as contain inflation, said Rohin Agarwal, Vice-President at Avener Capital. RBI will have to evaluate the impact of rate hikes going forward and play a balancing act, he added.

"The rate hike by Fed was on expected lines due to high inflation risk, coupled with geopolitical tensions. The US treasury yields had shown an immediate spike after the FOMC announcement but stabilized thereafter. The current rate hike along with anticipated monetary tightening indicates the Fed's stance of controlling the high inflation prevalent in the US"

Zomato’s acquisition of Blinkit for Rs.4,447 crore in an all-stock deal marked its entry into the emerging sector of “quick-commerce”. This deal shall provide cross-selling opportunities to Blinkit by gaining access to the 15mn active monthly users of Zomato and vice-versa. Further, the merger might yield synergies in terms of better utilisation of Zomato’s hyperlocal delivery fleet and consequently reducing their cost of delivery. However this high cash burning sector houses fierce competition from the likes of Zepto, Dunzo, Swiggy Instamart BigBasket, etc and it will be interesting to see how this expensive investment by zomato pans out in the future. Moreover, whether Ola’s decision to exit food delivery space to focus on its core streams of strength amidst the current market conditions should have been a learning lesson for zomato too, is a question which might be answered in the near future.