Business
Swiss family office Infinitas, Christian Angermayer’s Apeiron team up to fund more Swedish IPOs
Key Points
- Investors are increasingly drawn to Europe amid tariff uncertainty, but startups face still obstacles going public on European exchanges.
- Swiss real estate heir Robin Lauber and German billionaire Christian Angermayer are joining forces to get startups to go public in Sweden.
- Lauber told CNBC about their startup pipeline and why Sweden is a bright spot for ambitious firms in Europe.
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Yes Bank shares rose after the CCI approved Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation’s plan to acquire up to a 25% stake in the lender.
Yes Bank SMBC Deal
Yes Bank Shares Rise: Shares of Yes Bank gained 2 per cent to Rs 20 on September 3 after the Competition Commission of India (CCI) approved Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation’s (SMBC) plan to acquire up to 24.99 percent in the private sector lender.
In its release, the CCI confirmed that the deal “relates to the acquisition of share capital and voting rights of Yes Bank by Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation.” SMBC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG), is Japan’s second-largest banking group with total assets of around $2 trillion as of December 2024 and a significant global footprint.
This clearance follows the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) approval last month for SMBC’s proposal to pick up nearly a quarter of Yes Bank’s equity. The transaction originates from Yes Bank’s May 9, 2025, announcement that SMBC would acquire a 20 per cent stake via a secondary purchase. The deal involves buying 13.19 percent from the State Bank of India (SBI) and 6.81 per cent collectively from seven other lenders, including Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bandhan Bank, Federal Bank, and IDFC First Bank.
Once completed, the transaction will make SMBC the single-largest shareholder in Yes Bank, marking a significant milestone in the bank’s turnaround journey following its restructuring in recent years. Market participants see the entry of a global player like SMBC as a boost to Yes Bank’s capital strength and credibility.
In a separate development, the RBI has cleared the reappointment of Rama Subramaniam Gandhi as part-time Chairman of Yes Bank. Gandhi, a veteran central banker with 37 years of experience, previously served as RBI Deputy Governor between 2014 and 2017. His new tenure will run from September 20, 2025, to May 13, 2027.
Aparna Deb is a Subeditor and writes for the business vertical of News18.com. She has a nose for news that matters. She is inquisitive and curious about things. Among other things, financial markets, economy, a…Read More
Aparna Deb is a Subeditor and writes for the business vertical of News18.com. She has a nose for news that matters. She is inquisitive and curious about things. Among other things, financial markets, economy, a… Read More
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New Delhi: GST Council Meeting Today: The 56th meeting of the GST Council will kick off on Tuesday. The 2-day meet between September 3-4 is expected to start at 11 am today. The GST Council will decide on the Group of Minister’s (GoM) proposal to retain two slabs — 5 percent and 18 percent.
As per Indian GST rules, currently a four-slab GST system is followed — 5 percent, 12 percent, 18 percent, and 28 percent — along with an additional cess on sin and luxury goods.
(Also Read: 45% Of Indian Midle-Class Salaries Gone In EMI)
Under the new structure, ‘merit’ goods and services will attract 5 per cent GST, while most other items (standard) will come under an 18 per cent standard rate. A higher 40 per cent levy will remain on a small set of so-called sin goods. Examples include alcohol, tobacco, drugs, gambling, soft drinks, fast food, coffee, sugar, and even pornography.
A sin tax is a special tax that the government puts on such goods. The purpose is to discourage people from using them and to reduce the harm they can cause.
Marking his 12th Independence Day address, Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised a “double Diwali” for citizens this year, hinting at a major economic announcement.
(Also Read: A Few Allowance May Be Abolished In 8th Pay Comission– Here’s Why)
GST Council Meeting: GST Rate Rationalisation 2025
Key areas identified for next-generation reforms include the rationalisation of tax rates to benefit all sections of society, especially the common man, women, students, middle class, and farmers.
Reforms will also seek to reduce classification-related disputes, correcting inverted duty structures in specific sectors, ensuring greater rate stability, and further enhancing ease of doing business. These measures would strengthen key economic sectors, stimulate economic activity, and enable sectoral expansion.
Key Pillars of the Centre’s Proposed GST Reforms:
Pillar 1: Structural reforms:
1. Inverted duty structure correction: The correction of inverted duty structures to align input and output tax rates so that there is a reduction in the accumulation of input tax credit. This would support domestic value addition.
2. Resolving classification issues: Resolve classification issues to streamline rate structures, minimise disputes, simplify compliance processes, and ensure greater equity and consistency across sectors.
3. Stability and Predictability: Provide long-term clarity on rates and policy direction to build industry confidence and support better business planning.
Pillar 2: Rate Rationalisation:
1. Reduction of taxes on common: man items and aspirational goods: This would enhance affordability, boost consumption, and make essential and aspirational goods more accessible to a wider population.
2. Reduction of slabs: Essentially move towards simple tax with 2 slabs – standard and merit. Special rates only for select few items.
3. Compensation Cess: The end of compensation cess has created fiscal space, providing greater flexibility to rationalise and align tax rates within the GST framework for long-term sustainability.
Pillar 3: Ease of Living:
1. Registration: seamless, technology-driven, and time-bound, especially for small businesses and startups.
2. Return: Implement pre-filled returns, thus reducing manual intervention and eliminating mismatches.
3. Refund: Faster and automated processing of refunds for exporters and those with inverted duty structure.
Finance Ministry has said that GST Council meets will deliberate on the recommendations of #GoM, and every effort will be made to facilitate early implementation so that the intended benefits are substantially realised within the current financial year.
Shoppers at the Walmart Supercenter in Burbank during Walmart’s multi-week Annual Deals Shopping Event in Burbank Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024.
Allen J. Schaben | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images
Holiday shoppers expect to trim the tree and their spending this upcoming season, according to a survey by consulting firm PwC.
Across generations, consumers said they plan to spend an average of $1,552 on holiday gifts, travel and entertainment — which represents a 5% drop from the planned holiday spending average in the year-ago period.
Yet the sharpest decline comes from Generation Z, whose members said they plan to spend 23% less on average than a year ago. That’s the biggest drop of any generation and a significant swing from last year when they said they expected to spend 37% more. Their pullback is also contributing to the overall decline in holiday spending.
“Price is Gen Z’s love language,” said Ali Furman, the U.S. consumer markets industry leader for PwC. “They’ve been raised in an era of rising costs. They’re laser-focused on value and cost transparency. For them, dupes aren’t a downgrade. They’re proof of smart shopping.”
For retailers, Gen Z customers — who span in age from 13 to 29 and have an average age of 22 — are both an opportunity and a challenge, Furman said. As they enter adulthood, they tend to have smaller salaries, new expenses and debt to pay down, she said. Plus, she said, they are experience-driven, often prioritizing concert tickets, hotel stays and plane trips over buying new items, and they’re feeling the pinch as those experiences cost more.
“Entertainment and vacations are taking up more of their wallet than they have, and therefore they have less to spend on holiday,” Furman said.
It’s also been hard for retailers to keep up with young shoppers, who “are the fastest generation to adopt trends and abandon trends,” she said.
For retailers, the survey’s findings highlight the uncertain backdrop for a holiday season that could be shaped, at least in part, by price sensitivity as companies debate how much to absorb and pass on higher tariff costs.
All other generations’ holiday spending expectations were roughly flat compared with a year ago — with the exception of baby boomers, who plan to spend 5% more on average, according to PwC’s survey, which included a representative sample of 4,000 U.S. consumers and was conducted in late June and early July.
Consumers who have already grown weary of the rising cost of living, such as higher utility bills, are also wary of potential price increases from higher tariffs, Furman said. That’s made shoppers pay closer attention to price tags and intensified their resolve to delay or shop early to get the best deal, she said.
“It’s not necessarily the tariffs themselves that are driving sentiment and behavior,” she said. “It’s the threat prices may go up, and people have a consciousness around that.”
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Yes Bank Rises 2% After CCI Nod For Sumitomo Mitsui’s 25% Stake Buy
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