Newsmakers: Sebi widens Mallya probe, SBI leads in mobile banking and more

Bharti Airtel, ATC ink tower sale pact in Tanzania
Bharti Airtel has entered into an agreement with American Tower Corporation (ATC) for the sale of about 1,350 mobile towers in East African country Tanzania. Under the agreement, ATC may acquire up to approximately 100 additional sites currently in development for an additional consideration, Airtel said in a BSE filing, without disclosing the financial details of the transaction. "The transaction is expected to close during the first half of 2016, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals," Bharti Airtel said.

Indian economy to grow 7.7% in 2016-17: ICRA
Rating agency ICRA on Monday projected Indian economic growth to improve to 7.7 per cent in next fiscal, led by domestic consumption demand on the back of implementation of 7th Pay Commission and OROP recommendations. The agency, in its Macroeconomic Update, however, said that although the fresh project pipeline appears robust, commencement of work will lag announcements, given moderate capacity utilisation in some sectors.

Jindal brothers near $782 mn power plant deal
Billionaire Sajjan Jindal's JSW Energy is nearing a deal to buy a 1,000 megawatt coal-fired power plant from his brother's debt-laden firm, Jindal Steel and Power, for around $782 million, two sources familiar with the matter said. A deal could be announced as soon as Wednesday, the sources said, although it could be delayed until next week as details, including the final price, were still to be settled.

Oct-Dec current account deficit falls to 1.3%: RBI
Current account deficit in the October-December quarter narrowed to $7.1 billion, or 1.3 per cent of gross domestic product, from $8.7 billion, or 1.7 percent of GDP a quarter earlier, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Monday. The balance of payments surplus in October-December was $4.1 billion, compared to a deficit of $856 million in July-September, according to RBI.

SBI leads in mobile banking with 38% market share
State Bank of India, the nation's largest lender, is also the leader in digital banking in the country in both volume and value terms, handling over 38 per cent mobile banking transactions a month. The bank, quoting the Reserve Bank data for December 2015, said in December 2015, SBI accounted for 38.44 per cent of total mobile banking transactions in terms of volume and 35.97 per cent market share in terms of value.

Sebi widens Mallya probe, finds prima-facie lapses
Finding prima facie evidence of non-compliance to various norms including on insider trading and corporate governance, Sebi has widened its probe into dealings of Vijay Mallya-led UB Group, including in its own shares and with UK-based Diageo and other foreign players. The capital markets watchdog may also seek information from other regulators in India and abroad, as also from the stock exchanges, as it seeks to de-clog the complex transactions Mallya had entered into, including for sale of stake and transfer of rights in his various group companies.