Kani Kusruti on her film’s Cannes win; Helping cos meet sustainability goals

There’s light at the end of the tunnel.

Major developing economies, including India, are expected to see net capital inflows this year rise by a third to $903 billion, according to the Institute of International Finance. This is expected to be driven by foreign direct investment and cash directed at equity portfolios.

Meanwhile, coworking solutions company Awfis made a modest debut on the stock market, opening at Rs 435 per share on the NSE against its issue price of Rs 383. It ended the trade at Rs 415.95 per share—up 8.6% over the issue price.

In other news, the number of internet and card-based banking frauds quadrupled to over 29,000 in FY24, the RBI noted in its annual report. The amount involved in the digital payment frauds jumped 5X to Rs 1,457 crore—which is 10% of the total fraud.

Speaking of banking, Jio Financial Services launched the financial services app JioFinance in a market dominated by PhonePe and Google Pay. Currently in beta mode, the app integrates digital banking, UPI transactions, bill settlements, and insurance advisory.

ICYMI: 3D-printed rockets, like one Agnikul Cosmos successfully launched from Chennai, are a great way to save up on tooling and part count, and can fuel quick innovation. 

Oh, and did you hear? We may just be nearing the end of the era of smartphones. 

Next up are ‘IntelliPhones’—designed using AI models, chatbots and other AI-powered applications that would make our current smartphones obsolete. 

Bank of America Securities analysts say that context awareness will be the key differentiator for these devices.

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Kani Kusruti on her film’s Cannes win
• Helping cos meet sustainability goals
• OYO reports maiden profit year

Here’s your trivia for today: Which is the only country in the world with three capitals?

Celebrity

Kani Kusruti on her film’s Cannes win

At the recently concluded 77th edition of Festival De Cannes, filmmaker Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine as Light—starring Kani Kusruti and Divya Prabha—won the Grand Prix. 

Premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, the film received an eight-minute standing ovation from the audience.

“It all feels so surreal. I did not expect such a long-standing ovation. It felt very overwhelming,” Kusruti tells HerStory.

Limelight:

• Kusruti, an actress and model from Kerala, comes from a solid theatre background, having completed her theatre education at L'École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq.
• She began getting noticed after appearing in the anthology film Kerala Café, and went on to essay roles in mainstream movies such as Shikkar and Cocktail. She became popular after her role as Teresa in the Malayalam series Eswaran Sakshiyayi.
• Kusruti carried a clutch in a watermelon design on the red carpet at Cannes; the watermelon slice is a symbol of Palestinian resistance.

<Funding Alert>

Startup: Libas 

Amount: Rs 150 Cr

Round: Undisclosed 

Startup: Gramiyaa

Amount: Rs 9.5 Cr

Round: Equity and debt

Startup: Jaipur Watch Company

Amount: Rs 2 Cr

Round: Undisclosed 

Sustainability

Helping cos meet sustainability goals

A decade-long career as a sustainability consultant helped Arjun Vijayaragavan envision a technology platform that could help companies track and achieve their sustainability goals and reduce their carbon footprint.

In 2023, he launched the sustainability startup KarbonWise.

Go green:

• The Mumbai-based startup aims to provide comprehensive solutions across the entire decarbonisation journey.
• Indian companies’ decarbonisation efforts are part of a larger ambition. At COP26 in 2021, India set a net zero carbon emissions target, requiring the top 1,000 listed companies to report on their ESG (environment, social, and governance) goals.
• The startup provides services such as automating carbon accounting, assisting in setting realistic targets, reducing emissions, and streamlining reporting requirements to ensure compliance with global ESG standards. 

Hospitality

OYO reports maiden profit year

Oravel Stays, which operates the hospitality chain OYO, posted a profit after tax (PAT) of nearly Rs 100 crore in FY24, marking the eighth consecutive EBITDA-positive quarter for the company. 

The company recorded its first-ever profitable financial year in 2023-24.

Positive note:

• In the company's recent townhall, founder Ritesh Agarwal mentioned OYO clocked an adjusted EBITDA of Rs 888 crore ($107 million) for the full fiscal year, up from Rs 274 crore ($33 million) in FY23.
• Earlier this week, global rating agency Fitch upgraded OYO's long-term foreign and local currency issuer default rating to 'B' from 'B-'.
• The rating agency has also upgraded OYO’s senior secured term loan facility, citing the company's improving financial profile, driven by sustained EBITDA growth and a recent $195-million debt buyback.

News & updates

• In trouble: China is poised to impose a record fine on PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and suspend some of the global auditor’s local operations over its role in one of the nation’s biggest alleged financial fraud cases, Bloomberg reported. The government may announce penalties of at least $138 million on PwC over its auditing work for China Evergrande Group
• Record-breaking: Sony Music is reportedly in talks to buy the music catalogue of the rock band Queen, including hits like Bohemian Rhapsody, Radio Ga Ga, and Another One Bites The Dust. Sony is reportedly working with another investor on the transaction, which “could potentially total $1 billion”.
• Caution: Banks and investment firms in the European Union cannot shirk boardroom responsibility and a legal obligation to protect customers when using AI, the European Securities and Markets Authority said. While AI holds promise in enhancing investment strategies and client services, it also presents inherent risks, and the potential impact on retail investor protection is likely to be significant, it said.

Which is the only country in the world with three capitals?

Answer: South Africa. Pretoria is the administrative and executive capital, Cape Town is the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein is its judicial capital.

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