Yes Bank Raises US$600 Million for 5 Year Tenor Under Their US$1 Billion MTN Program

YES BANK, India’s fourth largest private sector bank has successfully completed issuance of its maiden US$ 600 million bond issue in the international debt markets. The Bond issuance is for a tenor of 5 years and is rated Baa3 by Moody’s Investors Service. The Bond will be listed on the London Stock Exchange International Securities Market (LSE ISM), the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading SGX), and the India International Exchange IFSC at GIFT City, Gandhinagar.

Having initially launched the deal at 150 basis points over the treasury yield, the Bank was able to achieve a final pricing of 130 basis points over equivalent 5 year U.S treasury yield which is the lowest spread over Treasury for a debut fixed rate International bond issuance by an Indian bank with a minimum issue size of US$ 500 million. CLSA Ltd, HSBC, JP Morgan Securities, Merrill Lynch International, Nomura, Standard Chartered and YES BANK (IFSC) acted as Joint Book Running Lead Managers (BRLM’s) for the offering.

BSE’s India International Exchange (“India INX”)  welcomes YES BANK’s maiden USD 600 million bond issue on its Global Securities Market (“GSM”), India’s first capital raising platform for international investors in any currency, located at the Gujarat International Finance Tec City (“GIFT City”) IFSC.

The bonds received an overwhelming response from international investors and saw a final order book, at a spread of 130 basis points, being oversubscribed by >1.83x from over 90 accounts. In terms of investor type, the split was 46% to asset managers, 38% to banks, 11% to insurance companies and 5% to private banks. In terms of geographic distribution, Asian accounts received 58% of the allocation, EMEA received 41% and offshore US accounts received 1%.

The proceeds will be used to fund the bank’s IFSC Banking Unit (IBU) in Gift City and expand IBU’s rapidly growing business opportunities. The bond issuance is aligned to the Government of India’s commitment to building a high-tech financial hub in the country.

V. Bala, MD and CEO, India INX said, “YES BANK was the first Bank to set up at GIFT IFSC and India INX the first International Exchange. Our partnership is in line with the Prime Minister’s IFSC vision to make IFSC world class and to drive the mission to become a price setter in derivatives and to become a fund raising destination. We are glad and excited that our listing rules and process efficiency have been appreciated by issuers and has been one of our key differentiators.  My heartiest congratulations to YES BANK on raising USD 600 million and the diversity of investors they have attracted.”

Commenting on the bond issuance, Rana Kapoor, MD & CEO, YES BANK, said, “This landmark issue is the first foreign currency bond offering by YES BANK under our newly established MTN program, and the significant over-subscription as well as high quality investor base is testament to the commitment reposed by global investors in the Bank. I am sure this will further strengthen India’s position as the preferred investment destination for global investors. As the 1^st Bank to have begun operations at GIFT, we remain committed to expanding our operations at the IBU, Gandhinagar.”

YES BANK has continued its leadership at GIFT City IFSC as the 1st IBU to have started operations in October 2015. With this, the Bank has demonstrated its ability to leverage newer geographies and currencies to fund the bank’s expanding franchise at GIFT City. YES BANK’s IBU also continues to be the largest amongst the operational IBUs with Balance Sheet size crossing US$2 Billion as on December 2017.

Harman Unveils JBL Boombox in India: Delivering Epic Sound from Sunrise to Sunrise

HARMAN International, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. focused on connected technologies for automotive, consumer and enterprise markets, has launched the JBL Boombox speaker in India.

A portable Bluetooth speaker delivering exceptional sound and hard hitting bass, the JBL Boombox keeps the music experience going for up to 24 hours, thanks to a powerful, long-lasting battery. JBL Boombox is priced at Rs 34,990 and will be available at HARMAN’s ecommerce platform – www.harmanaudio.in, various online and retail channels and at 350 key Samsung brand stores across in India. 

“JBL Boombox is an exceptionally exciting and popular product from the house of HARMAN. It provides epic, long-playing sound, setting the standard for power in all future portables in the industry. We’re excited to give consumers in India yet another way to have a powerful audio experience, now in a massively portable package,” said Sumit Chauhan, Vice President - Lifestyle Audio Division, HARMAN India.

The newest member of the JBL portable speaker family packs a serious punch, enhancing the overall sound quality and Bluetooth streaming experience. It’s also the biggest portable speaker available, weighing in at over 11 pounds (5.25 kg) and nearly 20 inches (50 cm) long. The speaker’s large frame is equipped with four active transducers and two bass radiators, providing powerful sound and bass in a substantial—but portable—package.

The JBL Boombox brings new meaning to “party around the clock,” thanks to a massive 20000mAh battery that provides 24 hours of continued playtime. With the addition of a dual charge out, music lovers won’t have to worry about missing a beat, as their smart devices can be simultaneously charged while the music plays.

The portable speaker also features an IPX7 rated waterproof design. Whether stopping by a legendary pool party, shooting hoops with friends, or hitting the beach, the Boombox is rugged enough to withstand any weather conditions. For those looking to make the party even bigger, the Boombox can connect to more than 100 JBL Connect+ enabled speakers within Bluetooth range, taking the sound experience to an entirely new level with a touch of a button.

KEY FEATURES

·         Wireless Bluetooth Streaming: Wirelessly connect up to two smartphones or tablets to the speaker and take turns playing impressive stereo sound.

·         High-capacity 20,000mAH rechargeable Battery: Built-in rechargeable Li-ion battery supports up to 24 hours of playtime and charges devices via dual USB ports.

·         IPX7 Waterproof: Take Boombox to the beach or pool without worrying about rain, spills or submersion in water.

·         JBL Connect+: Amplify your listening experience and rock the party by wirelessly connecting more than 100 JBL Connect+ enabled speakers.

·         Sound modes: Enjoy deeper bass and richer sound in indoor mode; switch to outdoor mode for expansive sound with strong bass and longer playtime

·         Monstrous Sound and Bass: Incorporated with four active transducers and two JBL bass radiators, JBL Boombox delivers monstrous sound along with hard hitting bass that listeners will not only hear but also see.

·         Available in Black

Goa Carnival, Food & Cultural Festival at Four New Routes from February 9-13, 2018

The Department of Tourism, Government of Goa presents the highly anticipated, Goa Carnaval from February 10 to 13 and the Goa Food & Cultural Festival from February 9 to 13 at D.B. Bandodkar Grounds, Campal, Panaji - Goa. The float parade will be flagged off on Saturday, February 10 in the capital city of Goa – Panaji. For the first time, a new route has been selected and the parade will take place along the Miramar – Dona Paula Route.

The stage is all set to herald Goa’s biggest celebration – the Goa Carnaval, and thousands of tourists are expected to flock in to witness this grand spectacle. The streets across Goa will be adorned with colourful buntings, banners, masks and themed décor. During the vibrant 4 day Carnaval, float parades will take place at major cities in Goa; Panaji (February 10), Margao (February 11), Vasco (February 12) and Mapusa (February 13).

This year, Bruno Azaredo (57) from Utorda, South Goa has been chosen to lead the Carnaval Parades as ‘King Momo’. Azaredo has been in this industry for several years and has participated in previous carnaval festivities as a dancer. King Momo is a mythological figure, who is symbolic when it comes to carnaval celebrations and he will declare the decree of “Eat, Drink and Make Merry” during his 4 day reign. The parade will showcase diverse participants under various categories, displaying different themes and messages. The total prize money for the four-day event has also been increased.

The Goa Food & Cultural Festival will be inaugurated on Friday, 9 February. Celebrate five days of fun, flavor and fiesta, as the Food & Cultural Festival brings together a host of professionals from the tourism & hospitality industry; hoteliers, restaurateurs, beverage brands and lifestyle outlets to showcase their premium offerings. The five day festival promises an exciting line-up of performances, activities and events. Some of the festival highlights include food & lifestyle stalls, performances by popular national bands including Agnee, Lagori, Ravi Chary with Gino Banks & Troupe, live music by top Goan Bands – Crimson Tide and Rahul with Raagas 2 Riches, international dance performances, fashion show by Anusha Shaikh, sand sculpture workshop, Chef de Goa Cooking Contest, and much more.

The Chef de Goa competition is an excellent platform for those with culinary knowledge and expertise to showcase their flair. The competition celebrates the rich cuisine of Goa, and contestants will have to participate in a series of rounds to win the coveted title. The final will take place on 13^th February at the festival venue.

Gavin Dias, General Manager - Goa Tourism Development Corporation Ltd. stated “Goa Tourism extends a warm welcome to everyone to be a part of these exquisite celebrations. The Carnaval is a much awaited festival which celebrates the spirit of revelry for 4 days and the 5 day Goa Food & Cultural Festival will showcase a vibrant mix of live performances, food stalls, music and culture.  This year we promise a bigger and exciting lineup of festivities.”

The Food & Cultural festival is open to all and will commence at 6 pm every evening.

India’s Largest Natural Stone Expo – STONA 2018 – From February 7-10, 2018 at BIEC, Bengaluru

The International Granites & Stone Fair – STONA found its existence in the year 1987 and since then it is one of the most preferred platforms in the stone and granite related industry. Being the first of its kind exhibition in Asia, STONA is the pioneer in this field and is a perfect podium that showcases the best in the industry and connects directly with the natural stone trade and industry.

STONA serves as a great single window that projects India’s natural stones, products & the creative ability to make and supply anything to everything. From Slab, Tiles, Artifacts, Landscaping, Paving, Dimensional Blocks, Cylindrical Pillars, Machinery, Equipments, Vases to showcasing the latest technology, know how and the new areas to be sought.

This exhibition is being applauded by the visitors and the exhibitors and has been a big reason for the growth of Indian stone and granite industry.

Major processors and exporters of stones from worldwide. Exhibits Range includes: granite, marble, tiles, special-shaped materials, slabs and blocks, stone-carved crafts, tomb stones, garden stones, artificial stone products; stone-mine exploitation equipments, stone processing machinery, polishers, crocuses and abrasives, chemical technologies and equipments for stone maintenance, scientific research, professional magazines.

Uber, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways Join Hands to Drive Road Safety Awareness

Uber, the world’s largest on-demand ride-sharing company, reinforced its commitment to road safety today in the presence of Nitin Gadkari, Minister for Road Transport and Highways by announcing a slew of measures/ initiatives.

As part of its ongoing efforts to encourage road safety awareness, Uber will be jointly promoting road safety messaging on the Uber app and social media through Ministry of Road Transport & Highways co-branded materials and mediums. Several advertisements and videos targeting prevention of drunk driving and promotion of rear seat belts and hands on the wheel among other themes, will be prepared and disseminated across the country as part of this safety campaign.

Another key initiative towards impacting road safety awareness and education among lakhs of budding drivers both on and off the Uber app is the decision to jointly develop learning aids and informational tools that shall guide the driver training program in driving schools across the country. The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways and Uber will jointly be preparing the learning materials which will be shared and utilised by over 200 driving schools including many of the govt’s Drivers Training Institutes (DTIs) across the country.

Speaking on the occasion, Nitin Gadkari, Minister for Road Transport & Highways pointed out, “Ensuring road safety is key priority for the government as India witnesses around 5 lakh accidents and 1.5 lakh deaths every year. We are committed to reducing fatal road accidents by 50 percent by 2020, being a signatory to the UN Decade of action for road safety. This effort to make our roads safer has to be a collaborative multi-pronged initiative that needs joint action from policymakers, civic authorities, automobile industry, civil society and commuters in general. Sensitizing the public about their roles in ensuring road safety is as vital as placement of curbs, under-passes and safety features for pedestrians.”

Appreciating the Ministry’s targeted focus on building road safety awareness, Pradeep Parameswaran, Head, Operations, Uber India & South Asia, shared, “Uber India is committed to promoting road safety and our association with the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways aims to focus on reducing road traffic violations and casualties across the country. By jointly promoting road safety messaging among lakhs of riders and by guiding lakhs of driver partners on road safety measures through learning aids, as a part of this alliance, we are focussed on empowering people to make better, safer choices and playing an enabling role in making our roads safer.”

The announcements were made in the presence of Nitin Gadkari, Pradeep Parameswaran and Prabhjeet Singh, Regional General Manager, Uber India & South Asia. Commemorating the occasion, 15 top rated driver partners from amongst the driver partner community in Delhi NCR were felicitated with the Service Quality Excellence Award. The awardees were singled out for their dedication and willingness to go above and beyond the call of duty towards providing riders a superlative experience.

Safety is a key priority for Uber. Through a combination of technology and two-way feedback, we endeavor to improve safety for riders and driver partners before, during and after a ride. Riders can access driver name, vehicle make and registration details before getting into an Uber while drivers undergo a stringent background and license verification process before joining the platform. During a ride, features like share your status, GPS, Emergency button are aimed at creating strong deterrents against unacceptable behavior. Finally, two-way feedback for riders and driver partners through the rating system as well as in-app support help strengthen the safety paradigm after a ride.

Every day in India 16 people are killed in road accidents. That’s one person every 90 minutes. According to the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, some of the deadliest nights on the road due to drunk driving occur unsurprisingly, during the holiday season when people are out celebrating.

At Uber, we’re changing the way people think about drinking and driving. Since our launch, we’ve worked hard at empowering people to make better, safer choices by providing a reliable ride at the tap of a button — no matter the time or place.

Cloud Traffic to Represent 95% of Total Data Center Traffic by 2021

Today, Cisco released the seventh annual Cisco Global Cloud Index (2016-2021). The updated report focuses on data center virtualization and cloud computing, which have become fundamental elements in transforming how many business and consumer network services are delivered.

According to the study, both consumer and business applications are contributing to the growing dominance of cloud services over the Internet. For consumers, streaming video, social networking, and Internet search are among the most popular cloud applications. For business users, enterprise resource planning (ERP), collaboration, analytics, and other digital enterprise applications represent leading growth areas.

Strong Multicloud Traffic Growth Projected

Driven by surging cloud applications, data center traffic is growing fast. The study forecasts global cloud data center traffic to reach 19.5 zettabytes (ZB) per year by 2021, up from 6.0 ZB per year in 2016 (3.3-fold growth or a 27 percent compound annual growth rate [CAGR] from 2016 to 2021). Globally, cloud data center traffic will represent 95 percent of total data center traffic by 2021, compared to 88 percent in 2016.

Improved Security and IoT Fuel Cloud Growth

In the past, security concerns have been a major barrier to cloud adoption. Improvements in data center governance and data control have helped to minimize enterprise risk and better protect consumer information. Security innovations coupled with tangible cloud computing benefits, including scalability and economies of scale, play key roles in fueling the cloud growth projected in the study. Additionally, the growth of Internet of Things (IoT) applications such as smart cars, smart cities, connected health and digital utilities requires scalable computing and storage solutions to accommodate new and expanding data center demands. By 2021, Cisco expects IoT connections to reach 13.7 billion, up from 5.8 billion in 2016.

Hyperscale Data Centers Doubling

The increasing need for data center and cloud resources has led to the development of large-scale public cloud data centers called hyperscale data centers. In this year’s forecast, it is expected that by 2021 there will be 628 hyperscale data centers globally, compared to 338 in 2016, 1.9-fold growth or near doubling over the forecast period. By 2021, hyperscale data centers will support:

·         53 percent of all data center servers (27 percent in 2016)

·         69 percent of all data center processing power (41 percent in 2016)

·         65 percent of all data stored in data centers (51 percent in 2016)

·         55 percent of all data center traffic (39 percent in 2016)

“Data center application growth is clearly exploding in this new multicloud world. This projected growth will require new innovations especially in the areas of public, private and hybrid clouds,” said Kip Compton, Vice President of Cisco's Cloud Platform and Solutions Group.

Global Cloud Index Highlights and Key Projections:

1.    Data center virtualization and cloud computing growth 


·         By 2021, 94 percent of workloads and compute instances will be processed by cloud data centers; 6 percent will be processed by traditional data centers. 


·         Overall data center workloads and compute instances will more than double (2.3-fold) from 2016 to 2021; however, cloud workloads and compute instances will nearly triple (2.7-fold) over the same period.

·         The workload and compute instance density for cloud data centers was 8.8 in 2016 and will grow to 13.2 by 2021. Comparatively, for traditional data centers, workload and compute instance density was 2.4 in 2016 and will grow to 3.8 by 2021.

2.    Growth in stored data fueled by big data and IoT

·         Globally, the data stored in data centers will nearly quintuple by 2021 to reach 1.3 ZB by 2021, up 4.6-fold (a CAGR of 36%) from 286 EB in 2016.

·         Big data will reach 403 exabytes (EB) by 2021, up almost 8-fold from 25 EB in 2016. Big data will represent 30 percent of data stored in data centers by 2021, up from 18 percent in 2016.

·         The amount of data stored on devices will be 4.5 times higher than data stored in data centers, at 5.9 ZB by 2021.

·         Driven largely by IoT, the total amount of data created (and not necessarily stored) by any device will reach 847 ZB per year by 2021, up from 218 ZB per year in 2016. Data created is two orders of magnitude higher than
data stored. 


3.    Applications contribute to rise of global data center traffic

·         By 2021, big data will account for 20 percent (2.5 ZB annual, 209 EB monthly) of traffic within data centers, compared to 12 percent (593 EB annual, 49 EB monthly) in 2016.

·         By 2021, video streaming will account for 10 percent of traffic within data centers, compared to 9 percent in 2016.

·         By 2021, video will account for 85 percent of traffic from data centers to end users, compared to 78 percent in 2016.

·         By 2021, search will account for 20 percent of traffic within data centers by 2021, compared to 28 percent in 2016.

·         By 2021, social networking will account for 22 percent of traffic within data centers, compared to 20 percent in 2016.

4.    SaaS most popular cloud service model through 2021

·         By 2021, 75 percent (402 million) of the total cloud workloads and compute instances will be SaaS workloads and compute instances, up from 71 percent (141 million) in 2016. (23% CAGR from 2016 to 2021).

·         By 2021, 16 percent (85 million) of the total cloud workloads and compute instances will be IaaS workloads and compute instances, down from 21 percent (42 million) in 2016. (15% CAGR from 2016 to 2021).

·         By 2021, 9 percent (46 million) of the total cloud workloads and compute instances will be PaaS workloads and compute instances, up from 8% (16 million) in 2016. (23% CAGR from 2016 to 2021).

For the purposes of the study, cloud computing includes platforms that enable ubiquitous, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction. Deployment models include private, public, and hybrid clouds.  Cloud data centers can be operated by service providers as well as private enterprises.

Infinix’s New HOT S3 Advanced Selfie Smartphone in India Available Only on Flipkart from February 1-12, 2018

Betting big on the booming India smartphone market, Infinix Mobile, the online smartphone brand from TRANSSION Holdings, launches yet another forward-looking and contemporary product HOT S3. With this launch, Infinix brings in its fourth global product series ‘HOT S’ to India. It is designed in 2 variants viz. 3GB+32GB, which is priced at Rs 8,999 and 4GB+64GB storage, priced at Rs 10,999.  Underpinning its USP, the HOT S3 is the first smartphone that sports the Full View display with 20 MP Selfie camera with a capability to take great selfies even in low light.

Adding a unique flavor to the launch event, INFINIX invited some of the Key players of Mumbai City Football Club to co-celebrate the launch. INFINIX is the Official Smartphone partner of Mumbai City FC in the current season of the Hero Indian Super league, which is a key part of Infinix’s vision to connect stronger with its young fans in India.

Infinix entered India in August 2017 with Note 4 and Hot Pro 4 & later launched its flagship Zero5, to strengthen its premium portfolio. All the products have been very well received by the consumers and response has been great in terms of feedback.

Speaking on the occasion, Anish Kapoor, CEO, Infinix India said “India is an extremely significant market for Infinix and HOT S3 is getting launched in ‘India first’ before getting launched in other markets. With 40% Indian population below 20 years of age (source: Published media reports) & to this younger generation social media is a broadcasting tool to express themselves through selfies, “HOT S3” is made for them. We believe that the youth demands for a device that represents them and syncs well with their youthful and fashionable personality and Infinix Hot S3 resonates well with these demands with its brand persona “Express Yourself”. We are delighted to offer our latest innovation, Hot S3, which will change the game under 12K segment by offering the hottest combination of features such as 20MP Selfie camera with Full View display, latest Android Oreo Operating System, 4000mAh battery & powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 Octa-Core processor. HOT S3 would be a vital cog in the wheel bolstering Infinix’s India growth story and we look forward to Indian market contributing to a significant share of our global business this financial year.”

To celebrate the launch of HOT S3 on Flipkart, Ayyappan Rajagopal, Senior Director - Mobiles at Flipkart said, “The Infinix Hot S3 combines the best-in-class display with aggressive specs in the mid-range phone segment. This time, they have taken it a notch higher with higher screen resolution and one of the finest selfie cameras in this price range.  We have seen an overwhelming response for previous Infinix phones on Flipkart, and this exclusive offering is sure to delight customers. As the market leader, Flipkart continues to innovate to ensure our customers have the widest selection of smartphones, at the most affordable prices"

Apart from that the product is a perfect amalgamation of functionality and aesthetics, owing to its simple and sleek design that perfectly fits in the palms of a user, making the HOT S3 experience absolutely comfortable. HOT S3 comes with 5.65 inches’screen in 5.2” phone’s body size, the smartphone offers the impeccable grip in the palm of your hand.

Featuring a 5.65inch HD+ full view display, the front part has 2.5D curved edges and a fingerprint scanner at the rear.

On the camera optics, the HOT S3 ships with a 20-megapixel front camera with 4-in-1 low light selfie camera mode, dual soft LED flash, which helps in capturing the perfect selfies even in the low light condition.

The HOT S3 comes with a unique feature called Full View selfie mode, which lets you capture the selfies on full view screen. The Smartphones lets you take Bokeh shots, where you can blur the background and make the subject standout.

Whereas the 13-megapixel rear camera supports PDAF and F2.0 aperture with features like touch focus, HDR, panorama and professional camera setting for enhancing the overall photography experience.

It is powered by an Octa-core 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 processor with latest Android Oreo operating system and customized XOS 3.0 user interface. Infinix Hot S3 has massive 4000mAh battery that provides great battery life for 2 days on normal usage.

HOT S3 will be available in two memory variants, 3GB+32GB & 4GB+64GB. It is a dual SIM smartphone with dedicated microSD card slot, which can support upto 128GB memory card. HOT S3 will be available in two colors of Sandstone black & Brush Gold.