Business
OPPO fastest-growing with 14% growth in Q3 among top 5 vendors in India

Global smart device brand OPPO on Thursday revealed it has emerged as the fastest-growing vendor (year-on-year) among the top five vendors in India, according to the Q3 2022 shipment report by market research firm Canalys.
OPPO India has showcased sustained momentum throughout the year with 14 per cent (YoY) growth and 7.1 million shipments in Q3 2022.
“In keeping with our brand proposition of ‘Inspiration Ahead’, we at OPPO are proud innovators in smartphone technologies. We have expanded our connection with our customers through a product ecosystem that makes their life convenient,” said Damyant Singh Khanoria, Chief Marketing Officer, OPPO India.
“Our YoY steady growth is a testamentofour consumers love for what OPPO brings to its products. We will continue to push the boundaries in technology and innovation to build cutting-edge devices for the Indian market,” Khanoria said.
Over the years, OPPO India has launched a strong portfolio of devices across price segments featuring best-in-class technology to ensure that users stay ahead of the curve.
A testimony of this is the exceptional response received for Reno8 Pro 5G and Reno8 5G, which achieved a target of 105 per cent and 124 per cent, respectively, within the first three days of sales, according to the company.
“Further, the F Series offering a premium experience at an affordable price has become a fan favourite among millennials. A perfect example of this is the 68 per cent growth clocked by F21 Pro in 2022,” the company added.
With the vision to make best-in-class tech more accessible, OPPO’s K series has won the hearts of consumers across the country, and its K10 5G has become one of the country’s most loved 5G devices.
With the promise to give consumers the perfect smartphone experience, OPPO India has worked towards ensuring all their users experience 5G immediately after its implementation in India.
The brand has built a robust ecosystem of 5G devices across different segments which support 5G on a non-standalone network. OPPO India also started working on updating the F21 Pro 5G and the K10 5G devices to support a standalone network since the beginning of September 2022 and complete the OTA update in line with the 5G rollout.
Backed by a strong manufacturing unit in Greater Noida, OPPO India has also been declared a leader for ‘Make in India’ product shipments for two quarters consecutively in 2022.
The brand also launched the ‘Vihaan’ Project to empower SMEs and MSMEs to amplify their operations and, in turn, strengthen the local supply chain to build a robust smartphone ecosystem in India. Under this programme, OPPO India will be investing $60 million in the next five years.
Business
Adani Groups Repays Loans Worth $2.65 Billion, Along With Interest Payment Of $203 Million

Embattled Adani Group on Monday said it has repaid loans aggregating USD 2.65 billion to complete a prepayment programme to cut overall leverage in an attempt to win back investor trust post a damning report of a US short seller. In a Credit Note released on Monday, Adani Group said it has made a full prepayment of USD 2.15 billion of loans that were taken by pledging shares in the conglomerate’s listed firms and also another USD 700 million in loans taken for the acquisition of Ambuja Cement.
Interest Payment of $203 Million
“The prepayment was done along with interest payment of USD 203 million,” it added. Further, the credit update states that the promoters completed the sale of shares in four listed group entities to GQG Partners, a leading global investment firm, for USD 1.87 billion (Rs 15,446 crore).
“The deleveraging programme testifies to the strong liquidity management and capital access at sponsor level even in volatile market conditions, supplementing the solid capital prudence adopted at all portfolio companies,” Adani Group said in the credit update. US short-seller Hindenburg Research in January released a damning report alleging accounting fraud and stock price manipulation at Adani Group, triggering a stock market rout that had erased about USD 145 billion in the conglomerate’s market value at its lowest point.
Adani Group’s Comeback Strategy
Adani Group has denied all allegations by Hindenburg and is plotting a comeback strategy. The group has recast its ambitions as well as prepaid some loans to assuage investors. The credit update further highlights major improvements in key financial metrics – the portfolio’s combined Net Debt to EBITDA ratio has decreased from 3.81 in FY22 to 3.27 in FY23, run rate EBITDA surged from Rs 50,706 crore in FY22 to Rs 66,566 crore in FY23.
The credit update further states that the banking lines of Adani Group continue to show confidence by disbursing new debt and rolling over existing lines of credit. Moreover, rating agencies both domestic and international rating agencies have reaffirmed their ratings in all the group companies.
Debt Service Cover Ratio (DSCR) has improved to 2.02x during FY23 from 1.47x during FY22. Gross Assets increased to Rs 4.23 lakh crore, up by Rs 1.06 lakh crore. Gross Asset / Net Debt cover has improved to 2.26x in FY23 from 1.98x in FY22.
Continued investments in core infra projects
Continued investments in core infra with gross assets of Rs 3.77 lakh crore (89 per cent of the portfolio) provide long-term multi-decadal visibility of cash flow, it said, adding cash balance was higher by 41.5 per cent at Rs 40,351 crore against Rs 28,519 crore. Free Flow from operations – FFO – (EBITDA less finance cost less tax paid) was Rs 37,538 crore.
Cash Balance and FFO (together at Rs 77,889 crore) are much higher than debt maturity cover for FY24, FY25 and FY26 of Rs 11,796 crore, Rs 32,373 crore and Rs 16,614 crore, respectively, at the combined portfolio level.
Business
How Ruias are reinventing the Essar Group

For the last three years, the Mumbai headquartered Essar Group, founded by Shashi and Ravi Ruia, has deliberately kept a low profile. They were busy putting into action their deleveraging and monetisation strategy to free the group of all its debt and start on a clean state.
And they managed to do just that by monetising assets worth $25 bn by selling Essar Oil, Essar Steel, Essar Power and Essar Ports. Perhaps, for the first time in the country such huge debts have been paid off by a business house.
Leading from the front is the 54-year old Prashant Ruia, director, Essar Capital. He is working at a feverish pace to take the group to the next level. Between June 2022 and March 2023 the group made several big announcements. The group, it seems, is now approaching all its businesses with the mindset of a PE player.
According to sources, “The group has paid off 100% debt. Basically, the group has put in place the strategy of deleveraging and monetisation of assets, consolidation of operating companies, and getting into a new growth cycle.” And that is paying rich dividends.
Now with all debts paid, the mood at the Essar House is upbeat. The group has chalked up ambitious plans to be in the same areas where they have domain expertise. It will be Energy, Infrastructure & Logistics, Metals & Mining, and Technology & Retail.
To go with it, the group has identified three themes: Decarbonisation, Decentralisation and Digitisation. For instance, decarbonisation means the group wants to move away from fossil fuel to green fuel. To make this happen, Essar Oil UK, a 10 MTPA refinery acquired in 2011 which serves 16% of UK’s road fuel demand has entered into an agreement with Vertex Hydrogen. Vertex is part of Essar Energy Transition which is planning an investment of $3.6 bn in India ($1.2 bn) and the UK ($2.4 bn) to develop a range of low carbon energy transition projects which would include blue and green hydrogen, biofuels, battery storage, solar PV etc.
The investment in the UK will play a key role in supporting their government’s decarbonisation strategy.
Essar 2.0 sees the group focusing on transitioning existing assets to green businesses, while investing in creating new-age ESG-centric sustainable businesses.
Besides oil refineries and storage terminals in the UK, it has exploration and production facilities in Vietnam; Iron ore plant in USA, coal mine in Indonesia. It has entered into an agreement with Saudi Arabia to set up a 4 MTPA greenfield steel plant in Ras Al-Khair. In India, it has plans to set up 14 MTPA iron ore pellet plants close to Paradip port, Odisha and triple its CBM productions in West Bengal.
Essar Group which currently has a turnover of $15 bn and $1 bn profit will see most of its new initiatives becoming operational by December 2025 or early 2026. Looks like the second innings of the Ruias will be better than the first.
International
Tom Cruise ‘would love to meet someone special’ after three failed marriages

Hollywood star Tom Cruise has been married to Hollywood stars Mimi Rogers, Nicole Kidman and Katie Holmes, with the actor most recently being romantically linked to Shakira.
The unlikely pair met at the Formula 1 Grand Prix and while it seems Tom was “very interested in pursuing” the singer, she wasn’t so keen, reports
A source has revealed Tom’s friends have now given him some dating advice as he searches for “the one.”
The comments come after it was revealed Shakira “begged” Tom to “stop flirting with her” as the situation became “too much” for her following her painful split with Gerard Pique.
The 46-year-old singer and Barcelona defender, 36, announced their shock breakup in June last year after 12 years together.
Gerard has since moved on with Clara Chia Marti, 24.
“She doesn’t want to embarrass or upset him, but there’s no attraction or romance on her part – she was just being friendly. She’s flattered but not interested,” an insider told Heat Magazine.
The insider added that Tom has been searching for the right woman for years and said he has “the highest standards” and won’t settle for “second best” in a potential lover.
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