Don't be startled — you're still listening to Top of the Morning by Mint, your weekday newscast that brings you five major stories from the world of business. I'm Devina Sengupta, deputy editor at Mint. I write about careers, workplaces, and higher education. I am your host for this special episode and will be substituting for Nelson John. It's Friday, March 8, 2024. Let's get started:

Markets ended flat on Thursday, as Sensex maintained its position above the 74,000 mark. The benchmark indices showed marginal gains across the board, although oil companies in particular performed poorly. Bharat Petroleum, Indian Oil, and Reliance Industries fell by more than a percentage point each.

The market has maintained its bull run for a few weeks now. Retail investors have reason to be delighted, but so do multinational companies. Startups and new economy reporter Priyamvada C writes that multinational companies have been selling their stakes in Indian companies. Companies like America's Conagra Brands, British American Tobacco, and Japan's Sumitomo Wiring offloaded their holdings in Indian companies to take advantage of high share prices and pay off debt in high interest markets.. The multinationals will use these proceeds for a host of purposes, using this moment to effectively manage their treasury and investments, notes Priyamvada.

One such deal took place just yesterday evening: Singapore's telecom giant Singtel sold 0.8 percent of its stake in Airtel to investment firm GQG Partners. The value of the transaction was just above 700 million us dollars, or 4,888 crore rupees. Even after this deal, Singtel remains the largest stakeholder in Airtel — even more than Airtel's promoters, the Bharti Group. Mint's telecom correspondent Gulveen Aulakh reports that Singtel hopes to equalise its stake with Bharti over time through such deals. GQG Partners, an investment firm based in the US, has steadily increased its bets in India. It bought large chunks of Adani Group companies last year. It also invested in GMR Infrastructure, IDFC First, and JSW Energy.

The markets regulator Sebi barred financial services company JM Financial from acting as a lead manager for any public issue of debt securities.  The order came after Sebi found some serious lapses in a case where JM Financial acted as a lead manager for a public issue.. During a routine examination, Sebi found some inconsistencies with this debt offering. Mint's legal correspondent Priyanka Gawande explains Sebi's 22-page order, which is likely to have consequences for JM Financial's share price when markets open tomorrow.

If you're a woman, today is as good a day as any to learn about your rights. Mint Money's Aprajita Sharma writes about some key financial laws every woman should be aware of. Aprajita speaks to legal experts about Indian laws surrounding inheritance, insurance, and loans. They are structured differently for men and women, and differ across religions. It also points out contradictions in our system: for example, how the laws have exemptions for women to encourage them to buy properties — but how it's also more difficult for women to get loans. 

It's not easy being a woman in corporate India — or in India, for that matter. I teamed up with my colleagues Suneera Tandon and Madhurima Nandy to bring you stories of four women at various stages in their careers. What's been their journey so far? Why is working from office a dealbreaker? Why do you carry a swiss army knife in your purse?  Special thanks to Shakshi, Rohini, Alisha, and Arudhati for sharing their stories. These are stories of determination and success. I hope you have as great of a time treading this piece as we had reporting and writing it.

In addition to writing such stories, I'm also the host of The Working Life, a podcast on workplace practices. I'm currently working on season 2 of the podcast, but you can listen to any episode from season one. I'd like to think they're evergreen, and come in handy for any employee of India Inc navigating their professional life. 

We'd love to hear your feedback on this podcast. Let us know by writing to us at [email protected]. You may send us feedback, tips or anything that you feel we should be covering from your vantage point in the world of business and finance.

That’s all for today. Thank you for listening.

Nelson will be back on Monday  with a fresh episode of Top of the Morning. Have a nice day!

Why MNCs are on a selling spree in India 

Singtel sells 0.8% stake in Airtel to GQG Partners

Sebi bars JM Financial from taking new mandates amid lapses in debt issue

The key financial laws that every woman should know 

Swiss knife to Lucknow diaries: Four women executives on guilt and success

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