India, UAE central banks discussing trade in rupee, dirham

Currencies
Representative image (Source: ShutterStock)

Representative image (Source: ShutterStock)

TVS Supply Chain Solutions, seeking to raise around Rs 4,000 crore through a share sale, on Friday submitted an addendum to the DRHP that was filed with the markets regulator Sebi in February.

TVS Supply Chain, present in over 25 countries and serving over 60 Fortune 500 companies, is among the largest player in terms of revenue.

In the first six months of the current fiscal, its revenue jumped 27.8 per cent to Rs 5,419 crore from which it earned a net profit of Rs 38.05 crore against a loss of Rs 57.8 crore in the year-ago period, according to the addendum filed with the Sebi.

Its operating profit continued to show a strong trajectory, generating Rs 332 crore in H1FY23 and Rs 613 crore in FY22.

Revenue for FY22 was Rs 9,250 crore, which jumped 33.4 per cent from Rs 6,934 crore in FY21 and recorded losses to the tune of Rs 44.9 crore and Rs 73.9 crore, respectively.

It further said revenue from domestic operations grew 52.3 per cent to Rs 1,627 crore, while global revenue jumped 19.6 per cent to Rs 3,792 crore despite the slowdown in global markets.

The company had filed the DRHP in February to mop up at least Rs 4,000 crore from the market. The addendum includes financial information for FY22 and H1FY23.

For the past 15 years, the company has managed large and complex supply chains across multiple industries globally and in select global markets through customised tech-enabled solutions.

The IPO consists of a fresh issue of shares worth Rs 2,000 crore and an offer-for-sale of up to 5.95 crore of shares. Existing financial investors such as Tata Capital and Gateway Partners, and select individual investors will be offering their shares in the OFS.

The central banks of both countries will discuss the standard operating procedures and modalities, he told reporters in New Delhi.

The objective of the exercise is to reduce the cost of transactions, he added.

The exercise will help in enhancing the utilisation of the free trade agreement, implemented by both countries on May 1.

“We are in the process of discussing rupee-dirham trade since we are very large trading partners. UAE is our 3rd largest trading partner and our second-largest destination for exports. Surely the number would go up further and in that growing sense, if we are able to transact business in our two currencies, its very very desirable because the cost of transacting business will come down very effectively,” Sudhir told reporters here.

The Ambassador said the issue was first discussed in September.

The development was followed after in July, the Reserve Bank asked banks to put in place additional arrangements for export and import transactions in Indian rupees in view of the increasing interest of the global trading community in the domestic currency.

India’s exports to the UAE rose by 17.6 per cent to about USD 18 billion during April-October this fiscal, according to the commerce ministry’s data.

However, exports in October dipped by 18 per cent to about USD 2 billion.

Following the trade pact, bilateral trade is expected to increase from the current USD 60 billion to USD 100 billion in the next five years.

The ambassador also said that the UAE has shown a lot of interest in UPI, a technology-based solution for payments. “Right now we are in the process of discussion,” he added.