The continuing effects of the Covid-19 pandemic are providing an impetus to companies to focus on divesting non-core assets, with 74 per cent of the surveyed companies planning to divest in the next 24-months, says the EY India Corporate Divestment Study 2021. The survey highlights that one of the biggest challenges faced by CEOs today is identifying the right time to divest assets as 70 per cent of surveyed companies said that they held on to assets for too long. Companies acknowledge the importance of divestments as it allows them to focus on long term value opportunities in the core business.

'As valuations of large-caps appeared to be out of whack, investors started lapping up quality mid-caps and small-caps, which were available at relatively comfortable valuations.'

'While the country has been hit hard from a strong second wave of Covid, we believe the markets are willing to look through that.'

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has deferred the diktat requiring foreign investors to disclose their mobile number, email addresses and income details to depositories, a move believed to be aimed at curbing practices such as round tripping and money laundering. "Based on the representations received from MIIs (market infrastructure institutions), Sebi has decided to extend the deadline for making 6-KYC attributes mandatory for new accounts opened by 1 month to July 1, 2021. "Participants are accordingly requested to take note of the above and ensure compliance," NSDL said in a note on Tuesday. The regulator is also meeting custodians this week to thrash out a solution and address investors' concerns.

'It is critical that the Covid curve does not have a fat tail and the chain is broken quickly.'

Industry players estimate the average payouts to be in the range of 50-75 per cent of the bankers' annual salaries. For the top performers, the bonuses could be 100-125 per cent.

Operational and compliance challenges foreseen for fund houses in deducting tax at source, resulting in possible TDS mismatches and disputes with investors.

The Nifty Bank index has come off 15 per cent from its peak in February, underperforming the benchmark Nifty which is down 6%.

Debt funds typically held 0-5 per cent of their portfolio in cash and cash equivalents before this Sebi diktat.

The SME segment has been grappling with lack of liquidity and lacklustre institutional participation.

'Start-ups that generate a majority of their income in India are likely to opt for an Indian listing.'

Experts believe the new norms may be an indirect way for Sebi to apply the brakes on dividend option plans in MFs.

Mutual funds (MFs) are set to be net sellers of Indian equities for the first time in the past seven financial years, having sold stocks worth about Rs 1.27 trillion so far in 2020-21 (FY21), making it the highest net sales on record in a financial year. MFs had been net buyers in the previous six financial years, including purchases of over Rs 1.41 trillion in FY18, Rs 88,152 crore in FY19, and Rs 91,814 crore in FY20. The last time they offloaded Indian equities was in FY14, when they net sold stocks worth Rs 21,159 crore. In contrast, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have ramped up buying in FY21, purchasing more than Rs 2.6 trillion worth of shares.

Sebi has asked intermediaries to stagger the offerings as much as possible, said people in the know and ensure adequate capacity building.

Ultra-long term equity investments have been a lot more rewarding than debt, a study published by Credit Suisse Research Institute in collaboration with London Business School shows. "Over the last 121 years, global equities have provided an annualised real return (in dollar terms) of 5.3 per cent versus 2.1 per cent for bonds," shows the study, which has looked at returns for 23 countries since 1900. In the Indian context, equity returns are even more favourable. Since 1953, equities have generated annualised returns of 6.5 per cent and government bonds only 0.4 per cent.

The regulator typically meets overseas investors in the US and UK in the first half of a financial year, and had opted for a virtual meet last year too.

As per the Budget proposals, migration of a fund to a fund in IFSC will not be regarded as transfer if done on or before March 31, 2023. Transfer of units will be tax neutral. Grandfathered investments of the fund to continue to enjoy capital gains exemption on future sale by the IFSC fund. There is no impact on carry forward of losses for the investee company.

Companies wanting to consider treaty benefits and deducting tax at a lower rate will have to examine the qualitative factors. They will have to consider whether FPIs are liable to tax and whether they are the beneficial owner of dividend income.

While the market may remain volatile this year, analysts expect equities to deliver positive returns by outperforming inflation and government bonds, supported by the fiscal stimulus in the US.

'Rationalising TDS on dividends for FPIs to reduce it to treaty rates ranging from 5 to 15 per cent, depending on the country of residence of FPIs from current rate of 20 per cent will provide a big cash flow relief for FPIs.'