Indian power companies find themselves financially powerless against rising cyber sabotages.

Remember the October 2020 power outage that paused India’s financial capital for six hours?

A short thread. Read ahead.

(1/8)
While the government denied claims that an external state had a hand it is, Industrial security experts believe otherwise.

Experts state that the outage could have been The outage could have been triggered by cyber manipulation.

(2/8)
At the height of the border tensions with China, Power ministry officials in India were worried.

Several power generation and transmission and distribution companies, both from the public and private sectors, use Chinese equipment.

(3/8)
“The ministry feared that if there were trojans embedded in the equipment in the grid, China might activate them at an opportune time,” said an official who has worked closely with the ministry on security matters.

(4/8)
Thus, in the light of rising cyber sabotages, India introduced new cybersecurity rules for energy companies last month. These rules nudge energy utilities to allocate separate budgets on security.

However, this is easier said than done.

(5/8)
The power sector is reeling under massive financial stress. Analysts estimate the sector’s overall debt to surge to Rs 5,30,000 crore (~$70.7 billion) in the year ending March 2022.

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Also, with most of the contracts won by private companies in transmission and generation based on ‘Tariff-based competitive bidding’, it is unclear who will bear the increased cost for these companies.

Will the increased costs be transferred to customers?

(7/8)
In case you missed it in our story, published a week ago, @PratapVikramSin reports why implementation of the new rules is nothing short of a herculean feat for this troubled sector:

(8/8)

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More from @TheKenWeb

9 Nov
Remember the PayPal mafia?

A 2007 article by Fortune magazine referred to a group of former PayPal employees and founders, including Elon Musk and Peter Thiel, who have since founded and developed successful tech companies of their own, as the PayPal mafia.

(1/5)
Come the end of 2021 and Southeast Asian superapp Grab will go public on Nasdaq.
With 307 of its former employees now founders of their own companies. @kakayy in today’s article writes about how this ‘Grab Mafia’ is forging its future in SE Asia:

(2/5)
the-ken.com/story/from-sil…
It is a growing alumni network reminiscent of the well-known PayPal Mafia. They've founded startups across a gamut of sectors, from food-tech and fintech to bookkeeping and workflow management and even cybersecurity.

(3/5)
Read 5 tweets
8 Nov
Baby food manufacturers love profits more than babies.

A long-time sales executive of French food-products major, Danone has made serious allegations accusing the company of flouting India’s laws by aggressively marketing its baby food products.

(1/9)
The allegations include sponsoring overseas trips and alcohol-fuelled parties for doctors and even offering them financial inducements and gifts to get them to prescribe its baby food products.

Such activities are in violation of India’s Infant Milk Substitute (IMS) Act

(2/9)
The Act prohibits companies involved in manufacturing baby milk formula and food for babies up to two years of age from indulging in promotional activities such as distribution of free infant food samples and feeding bottles or offering discounts.

(3/9)
Read 9 tweets
12 Jul
Last month, @sumanthr wrote that Zomato’s management & investors could be hoping for an IPO valuation higher than that of the last private funding round & will eventually get it to the coveted decacorn valuation milestone of $10 billion.
🧵#Thread
the-ken.com/story/the-non-…
Zomato's IPO is lined up for this week.

While it may see high valuations and profits in the listing phase, its journey to profitable gains, in the long run, is not without hurdles.
Unlike private markets, the public market values companies on numbers rather than narratives.

Metrics around profitability, growth, and free cash flows are critical. These aren’t necessarily Zomato’s greatest strengths.
Read 5 tweets
19 Aug 20
Imagine a world, (hopefully) in the near future, that’s just emerging from a pandemic.

🏢 You need to start going to work again daily

🚌 Public transport is risky

🚕 Ride-sharing is even more risky

🚗 A car is out of your reach

⛽️ Fuel prices are on the up

#Thread
If you’re looking to buy a 🏍️🛵 in a post-Covid world, an electric one is increasingly becoming attractive.

There's almost a price parity between petrol and electric scooters. You’ll also be doing your bit for the environment.

That’s exactly what Hero Electric is betting on.
Covid has brutally hit India’s $118B auto industry. But Hero Electric is in a relatively better position compared with other manufacturers. Despite the general slump across the sector, Hero Electric’s sales crossed 1,000 units in March 2020, with a 36% market share.
Read 8 tweets
29 Jun 20
- Paragon Mall
- Capitol Students
- The Clementi Mall
- Orange Valley nursing home
- Westfield Marion Shopping
Centre
- Student Castle

These are all brands that belong to one Singaporean company.

Its name?

Singapore Press Holdings.

Confused? 🤔

#Thread
Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) is one of Asia’s leading media organisations. It has a sprawling media business, including newspapers, magazines, and radio stations.

In the last two decades, however, SPH has started looking more like a property company.
Along with marquee newspapers The Straits Times and The Business Times, SPH’s portfolio also includes seven shopping malls across Singapore and Australia, three student accommodation brands in the UK and Germany, and five nursing home operators in Singapore and Japan.
Read 7 tweets
11 Jun 20
Today's story is about employee stock ownership plans, or ESOPs, which have failed to live up to expectations in India.

#Thread
For a good part of the last decade, ESOPs offered the promised land of riches. First Infosys, and then Flipkart set benchmarks. For listed and acquired companies.

But no other company has come close to replacing them in the ESOP hall of fame.
ESOPs have emerged as an unlikely tool of leverage among startups after the onset of #Covid19.

The likes of Zomato, Bounce, Grofers, and OYO are compensating their employees for pay cuts with ESOPs.

They’re also being used as a tool to acqui-hire companies on the cheap.
Read 8 tweets

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