The Chatter: Moves and Motives
Edition #25
Welcome to the 25th edition of The Chatter — a weekly newsletter where we dig through what India’s biggest companies are saying and bring you the most interesting bits of insight, whether about the business, its sector, or the wider economy. We read every major Indian earnings call and listen to the interviews so you don’t have to.
We're always eager to improve—please share your ideas on how else we can innovate "The Chatter" format to better serve your needs.
In this edition, we have covered 25 companies across 9 industries, along with some international features.
Retail
BlueStone Jewellery and Lifestyle Ltd
RBZ Jewellers Ltd
Jos Alukkas
FMCG
Avanti Feeds
Financial Services
Sammaan Capital
Chemicals
All Time Plastics
GHCL Ltd.
Healthcare
Apollo Hospitals
Dr Reddys Laboratories Ltd
Biocon Ltd
Real Estate
Sri Lotus Developers & Realty Limited
Engineering & Capital Goods
EMS Ltd
KEI industries
MTAR Technologies
Vikram Solar Ltd.
Texmaco Rail & Engineering Ltd
Metals
Jindal Steel
Auto Ancillary
Suprajit Engineering
Hero MotoCorp
Olectra Greentech Ltd
International
Figma, Inc.
Salesforce, Inc.
GitLab Inc.
Oracle Corporation
VinFast Auto Ltd.
Retail
BlueStone Jewellery and Lifestyle Ltd | Small Cap | Retail
BlueStone is a leading omni-channel jewellery brand in India with stores across multiple cities. Offering diverse collections, it serves customers aged mid-twenties to mid-forties via online and offline channels. Backed by strong tech, design, and nationwide presence.
[Concall]
The management said marketing costs halved as repeat customers and scale efficiencies improved.
“We have seen significant reduction in our advertising and marketing cost from 12.2% of revenue in Q1 FY25 to 6.9% this quarter. This is driven by operating leverage from scale, a rising repeat customer ratio, and a step-down in promotional schemes like the old gold exchange.”
- Romit Dugar, CFO
Management revealed that 70–90% of store buyers browse online first, highlighting digital funnel strength.
“When we do this matching [online browsing to offline purchases] the match is very high. Our ballpark sense is 70% to 90% of buyers had browsed the website prior to buying from the store. The browsing window is typically about one month.”
- Gaurav Singh Kushwaha, CEO
Management noted stable stud mix and rising AOV driven by design focus, not gold price.
“Our general endeavor has been to be more stud-focused and a 64–69% stud ratio is just behavioral movement. On average order value, it’s a mix of price and product; our 38% gross margin means customers aren’t buying coins or chains, but design-led jewelry. We also see AOV rise even when gold is flat.”
- Gaurav Singh Kushwaha, CEO
RBZ Jewellers Ltd | Micro Cap | Retail
RBZ Jewellers Limited is a leading organized manufacturer of gold jewellery in India, specializing in Antique Bridal Gold Jewellery. They design and distribute a wide range of jewellery, including jadau, Meena, and Kundan work, to retailers nationwide.
Harit Zaveri explained why the company is expanding retail stores in Gujarat instead of large metros like Delhi or Mumbai, citing strong pilot success in Ahmedabad and community-driven demand.
“So, we have tested our pilot store in Ahmedabad. Ahmedabad store, we grew very significantly in terms of volumes. Our marketing channels and are very much showing us data that, our jewellery has been liked by the Gujarati market. Just to give you an example, like, just to give you a very base level example of the industry, every -- like how every state has differentiated food and differentiated in terms of textile, jewellery is also very fragmented, very diversified. So, the data clearly shows that in Gujarat, we are attracting this Patel community, Jain community, Marwadi community, which are very predominant in the state of Gujarat, be it Surat, Baroda, Rajkot. Patels are dominantly there seeing the demographics. So that is the reason we are wanting to spread in the state of Gujarat and not otherwise. It's a more safeguarded plan. Ahmedabad has proven. Ahmedabad is the major economy of India, the seventh biggest economy of India, the first best economy of Gujarat. And if we get good success in that, it clearly shows that we should expand into at least the four major cities and capture the unaddressed market.”
– Harit Zaveri, Joint MD & CFO
He highlighted how the company will balance its manufacturing strength with retail expansion to ensure uniqueness and margin stability.
“Okay. Yeah. So, Akash, with the business model going forward, we are into manufacturing, we would be wanting to expand into retail by maintaining also the uniqueness of the manufacturing that we are having. So with this kind of uniqueness, I think B2B or the job work that we are doing will be still remaining with us. It is a -- but it's a slow transition that the expansion will happen into different cities of Gujarat, at least the four major cities of Gujarat.”
– Harit Zaveri, Joint MD & CFO
Zaveri emphasized that the company’s transition is essentially forward integration—leveraging manufacturing cost advantages to support brand-building in retail.
“Going forward, you can take it up as a jeweller, who is originally a manufacturer and getting into forward integration by maintaining its uniqueness also. So the margins can help us. And the expense that the brand will take can be set off by the manufacturing cost that we have an advantage of. So -- because a retail expansion would need that brand has a lot of, brand expense and everything. And that has to be taken care by the cost advantage that...”
– Harit Zaveri, Joint MD & CFO
Finally, he outlined the timeline for Gujarat store expansion and the long-term goal of becoming a balanced B2B and B2C business.
“So you should see us as a manufacturing player getting into a forward integration, expanding retail showrooms in four major cities of Gujarat. And I think three of them, Ahmedabad, Surat and Rajkot should be operational in the quarter -- last quarter of this fiscal or the quarter 1 of the next fiscal year. And Baroda, the fourth city, should be -- we will understand how fast we can open that. But going forward, yes, it is going to be a B2C prominent company. Volumes coming 50-50 from B2C and B2B as well. So B2B are low margin business. The volume can really be high, but B2C are high margin business and scalable.”
– Harit Zaveri, Joint MD & CFO
Jos Alukkas | Unlisted | Retail
Jos Alukkas is a major Indian jewelry brand specializing in gold, diamond, and platinum jewelry, with a strong presence in South India and expanding into other markets.
Varghese Alukkas described how gold prices hitting five digits created a rush in the market and influenced customer behavior.
“Today we have seen the price which has gone up to five digit where usually the jewels have only four digit in their mode which has come up to more than 10,150. So in the morning time all are in a hurry to change this board price into five digit and we have crossed 10,150 selling rate in the south and we see the customers are always inquiring why these prices are going higher and higher. So there is a confidence that gold price will stay as it is like for some more time and we feel customer inquiry has come a lot on buying coins and bullions even though the wedding season have started and we have festival season which is coming up in October November. So there is a positive side and at the same time people are still thinking whether the gold price can have a small correction for last 3–4 months where we were seeing a gold price which was around 3,300 which has gone up to 400500 now 3,650 per ounce and the dollar price also has shot up to 88.17 something like so overall we see that there is a slowness in the market that customers still thinking but again the prices are going high.”
– Varghese Alukkas, MD, Jos Alukkas
He pointed out that much of the jewelry demand is being supported by customers exchanging old gold rather than fresh cash purchases.
“There are some jewelry which is sold against the scrap gold like old gold exchange is being done because as a requirement as some wedding requirement people see that they can buy new ornaments by estranging their old jewelry. So most of the jewelers has more than 60% has come as a estrain jewelry to buy a new new jewelry. So still people are buying thinking that they can change their jewelry to a new jewelry and again the prices are going up for both platinum jewelry, silver jewelry. So overall expectations of customers as they think that it will not go very low like earlier days but thinking they need to buy. So the buying is also happening.”
– Varghese Alukkas, MD, Jos Alukkas
He explained how South Indian demand is holding up despite price volatility, largely supported by exchange-driven buying.
“Overall if you look into south Indian jewelry market more are selling 22 karat jewelry which is not fully sted jewelry but plain gold jewelry. So sometimes when the prices are going such fast like daily if you say 100 rupees per gram or 150 sometimes 75 rupees which is going up as I said 60% of them are trying to estry which is not being used for some time can be estranged with the new jewelry by only paying the making charges. So there is a size that customers are keep buying with the exchange facilities what most of the jewelers are offering them. So that is one way we are able to sell. But till then there is if you look into last 6 months alone we see a price which has been gone up by more than 2,200 rupees per gram. If you look into 2020 the gold price was 4,500 in 5 years it has come up to 10,150 which is more than double the price. The one who has been earlier buying have a good chance of getting more money but still then there are little slowness as I said 25% still there is a less in volume then we can cover it with the revenue what each jewelers are making.”
– Varghese Alukkas, MD, Jos Alukkas
He also noted that some customers are selling old gold for cash due to personal needs, though exchange remains the bigger driver.
“There are some selling is also happening in the market because last when you see three four days when the prices are rising then there is a small stay in that because people again think the prices are going up but some who want to buy land or some of the marriage some of the immediate requirement people are thinking people are having 10–15 years which was brought for 1,000 rupees 2,000 rupees which has gone up to 10,000. So there is selling is also happening but if the prices keep on rallying or keep on going up there is also a waiting.”
– Varghese Alukkas, MD, Jos Alukkas
Finally, he explained Jos Alukkas’ policy on buybacks and exchanges, stressing that they only buy back their own jewelry and recycle it into new ornaments.
“We have both the policies for estranging and we buy the one which we have been selling and all we don't buy from outside gold but we buy the jewelry what we have sold or we can give the facility to estrange so people who have brought from us for years they're selling but so we can source it from them and we can reuse it by recycling it with MMT and by getting it back into bul and again making into ornament. So whenever customers want to exchange or sell it for cash, we are giving all the guarantee to them that we buy it and cash or we exchange it with the jewelry, gold jewelry.”
– Varghese Alukkas, MD, Jos Alukkas
FMCG
Avanti Feeds | Small Cap | FMCG
Avanti Feeds Limited is a prominent manufacturer of prawn and fish feeds as well as a shrimp processor and exporter based in India. The company has formed a joint venture with Thai Union Frozen Products PCL, a renowned seafood processor from Thailand. With multiple manufacturing units and processing facilities certified with international standards, Avanti Feeds is a leading player in the aquaculture industry.
Profitability improved this quarter due to softer fish meal and soybean meal prices, though volatility remains
“The major raw materials are fish meal, soybean meal and wheat flour. The noticeable development in this quarter is softening of two major raw materials that is fish meal and soybean meal, resulting in improvement in the profitability. The prices of these raw materials are fluctuating since their production is based on agriculture and fish catches from the ocean.”
- D. V. S. Satyanarayana, CFO
Despite a strong H1, management warns H2 margins face pressure from rising raw material costs and U.S. tariffs.
“While on one hand, the raw material prices are instrumental in determining the margins, on the other hand, the status of aquaculture activity conditions such as climatic changes, diseases, etc., determine the consumption of feed in terms of volume, which will have an impact on the overall performance. As you noticed, the first half of the year 2025 has been a good profitable period. However, the forecast for the second half of this year is challenging due to factors like gradual increase of raw material prices and levy of reciprocal tariff by U.S. at the rate of 50%, which will have a significant impact on the performance of the company, particularly the second season.”
- D. V. S. Satyanarayana, CFO, Avanti Frozen Foods
Avanti is diversifying exports beyond U.S. while banking on Indian government support for tariff-hit sectors
“That having realized the reality, then we have now working and we have been in fact working for some time to develop our markets to other destinations like Japan, Europe, and Canada and other countries where we want to expand and we have been able to achieve reasonably good results over the past one year. Gradually, we are increasing and decreasing dependence on the U.S. market that is a positive development. And also, we are expecting the government also would come in for help of the industries, particularly the three sectors which have been severely affected by this 50% tariff, that is textiles, gems & jewelry and aquaculture”
- C. Ramachandra Rao, CFO
Tariff impact will hit reported revenue with a Q4 lag due to accounting recognition.
“I think as of now, if the tariff continues at this rate, I would feel that the impact would be seen not in Q3, but probably in Q4 because according to our accounting, whatever we're shipping today, only when it delivers into the warehouse of the customer, we recognize it as revenue. So, it would take a lead time of 50 days. So, I don't think there'll be significant impact in Q3, but you would see more impact in Q4 if the tariff continues to hold this way.”
- A. Nikhilesh, Executive Director
India’s labour and product quality give it an edge, though 50% tariffs threaten demand.
“Generally, in the market, Indian product is very good for food service. So, this means that when a restaurant chef picks it up, they really enjoy Indian product because of the workmanship, the quality parameters, and the overall quality control over the other peers. So, I wouldn't say that it's a moat, but I would say that there's definitely a preference. That's why India accounts to more than 40% of the exports to the U.S. market.
Second, shrimp processing, itself is a highly labour-intensive process. So, like, think about a country like Ecuador with probably, like, I think the population is about 50 million or 60 million and ours is about 1.4 billion. So, there's a lot more manpower that's available to do those higher-value products compared to competing nations.
But that said, at a 50% tariff, definitely, there is going to be a shift in the consumer preference on consumption or even the restaurant's buying decisions”- A. Nikhilesh, Executive Director
Financial Services
Sammaan Capital | Small Cap | Financial Services
Sammaan Capital is in the business of providing home loans and loan against property. It also provides corporate mortgage loan - lease rental discounting and residential construction finance.
RBI revised co-lending directions to include non-priority sectors and reduced minimum retention from 20% to 10%.
“In August 2025, the Reserve Bank of India revised the co-lending arrangement directions, significantly expanding the framework beyond priority sector lending to now include non-priority sector segments as well. The new directions broaden eligible participants to include besides banks, NBFCs, HFCs, all India financial institutions and permit arrangements such as NBFC to NBFC co-lending. Key changes also include a reduced minimum retention ratio from 20% to 10%. The guidelines move to a unified borrower level asset classification requirement, enhance customer transparency through key facts, statement and detailed loan agreements and mandate quarterly and annual disclosures on the scale, pricing and performance of the co-lending portfolios.”
– Gagan Banga (Vice Chairman, MD & CEO)
Chemicals
All Time Plastics | Small Cap | Chemicals
All Time Plastics specializes in manufacturing plastic consumerware products for everyday household needs. They offer white label manufacturing for customers to market products under their own brand names and also sell products under their 'alltime' brand directly to consumers.
Management confirms total plastic processing capacity will expand from 33,000 MT to 52,500 MT via Khatalwada plant capex.
“Yes. So, that is already in the plan. So, as given in the presentation, 4,000 additional capacity is being installed at the Khatalwada plant. So, that is there. And apart from that, there is another CAPEX plan, which already we have mentioned in the prospectus. So, the total capacity will go from 33,000 to 52,500.”
- Manish Gattani, CFO
Management admits 60% revenue reliance on IKEA is not backed by formal contracts—only long-standing relationship.
“So, there is no long-standing contract with the customer. It is a relationship of 28 years. So, there is no such contract. It’s just the relationship of 28 years and we are doing continuous business with them from last so many years. We will be continuing that way only. But to answer your question, we are not having any agreement or any contract.”
- Manish Gattani, CFO
Management explains that shifting US sourcing away from All Time Plastics is difficult due to mold dependency, so tariff costs fall on customers, who must decide how much to absorb or pass on to end consumers.
“Shifting is their choice, but shifting is not that easy to shift anything, which you are sourcing from such a long period of time. In our industry, there is a requirement of mold manufacturing also. Without mold, you can’t produce the product. So, it can’t be that overnight you can shift, you think and you can shift it. But then definitely impact might be there. So, that’s why we are exploring other markets also and everything and then the cost is on the customer part. And when you say that we are shipping it from here at $1 and it will be $2 there, then when we are shipping it, it’s a cost. And then they are selling at MRP price. So, what is the cost impact that they need to work out and they need to think what they want to increase to the customer or to the consumer, how much they want to pass on. That is their thing to do.”
– Manish Gattani, CFO
GHCL Ltd. | Small Cap | Chemicals
GHCL Limited was incorporated on October 14, 1983 and since then, it has established itself as a well-diversified group. It has ascertained its footprints in chemicals, textiles and consumer products segments.
The management highlighted near-term challenges for the soda ash industry due to Chinese capacity additions.
“In the short term, we do see implications of the China factor on the overall soda ash business, and that will have an impact on the Indian industry as well.”
– R.S. Jalan, MD, GHCL
He expects the next couple of quarters to remain under pressure, but maintains optimism over the medium to long term.
“Q2 and maybe one or two more quarters will be challenging for the industry. But if you see a longer time horizon, we expect things to pick up.”
– R.S. Jalan, MD, GHCL
Jalan acknowledged China’s dominant position in the global soda ash industry, while noting that demand continues to be strong despite capacity expansion.
“China has around 45% of global capacity. It has a major role to play in the global market. Although they have added capacity, the demand has been very high.”
– R.S. Jalan, MD, GHCL
Healthcare
Apollo Hospitals | Large Cap | Healthcare
Established in 1983 by Prathap C Reddy, Apollo Hospitals is a leading integrated healthcare services provider in Asia. They offer a wide range of services including hospitals, pharmacies, primary care clinics, telemedicine facilities, e-learning platform, health insurance services, and more. With a global presence, Apollo Hospitals is dedicated to providing comprehensive healthcare solutions.
Apollo will stop disclosing ARPOB and use ARPP
“From this quarter, we propose to discontinue [reporting] ARPOB… Unfortunately, stakeholders were sometimes misrepresenting ARPOB growth as price or tariff growth… Instead, we draw your attention to ARPP, which we believe is a more accurate measure of our realization”
— Suneeta Reddy (MD)
Apollo to add 700 beds in FY26, targeting Rs. 25,000 crore revenue run-rate with 7% EBITDA margin by FY27
“We are making good progress on our hospital capacity expansion plans, our dedicated women's oncology center in Delhi, multi-specialty hospital in Pune, acquired hospital in Bangalore, and our multi-specialty hospital in Kolkata will be operational in FY26, a capacity addition of 700 beds. Plans on others and ongoing projects remain on track with phased operationalization in the coming quarters.
The strategic reorganization of our omni-channel pharmacy and digital health business is proceeding as planned, and we expect to complete all steps within 18 to 21 months, a timeline that we had earlier announced. The scheme is expected to conclude by the end of FY27, by which time the business is expected to achieve a run rate of Rs. 25,000 crore of revenue with 7% EBITDA margin on a combined basis.”
— Suneeta Reddy (MD)
Existing hospitals to deliver 13–14% growth, new beds add 10% more; margins targeted at 25% with limited losses.
“I think you can look at existing delivering close to 13%, 14%. An additional 10% coming over a period of three years from the new facilities because there is headroom for growth in the existing. So, definitely, we can look at 13% to 14% on existing and additional 10% coming from new beds in the next two to three years.”
— Suneeta Reddy (MD)
Dr Reddys Laboratories Ltd | Large Cap | Healthcare
Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Limited is a leading India-based pharmaceutical company that started its generics business in India in 1986.
On recent investments and cost-saving measures, he explained how the company used lenalidomide tailwinds to fund future growth.
“We used the time in which we enjoyed the backing, the tailwind that came with lenalidomide, and we boosted some investments for the future, including abatacept; including the creation of the franchise of the GLP-1; including the build-up of the facilities for that; including the acquisition of the NRT Business. So, all of that was done because we had access to more financial capacity, and we used it.”
– Erez Israeli, CEO
On the long-term outlook for GLP-1 products, Israeli stressed that this is not a short-lived opportunity but a decade-long growth story.
“First of all, I see that as many, many years of opportunity. Actually, we are entering a decade of GLP-1 products. Obviously, it's going to change and evolve… We believe that this segment will grow significantly. We will add capacity, there will be more volume, obviously, lower prices. And we are going to see brands – branded play, whether consumer care play like in the obesity, or differentiated devices and stuff like that. So, actually, just the beginning of the journey. More products will be added… The full portfolio of GLP-1 for the company is 26 products. Obviously, semaglutide as well as the Eli Lilly product will be the biggest, and we are trying to get for each one of them to be first to market, as well as to create some differentiated play. So, it will evolve. 2026 is just the first year that we will significantly deal with these products.”
– Erez Israeli, CEO
Biocon Ltd | Mid Cap | Healthcare
Biocon Limited is an innovation-led global biopharmaceuticals company that manufactures biotechnology products and research services. It focuses on enhancing affordable access to therapies for chronic conditions like diabetes, cancer, and autoimmune diseases.
Mittal outlined the expected approval and launch timeline for Semaglutide in Canada, noting Health Canada’s cautious stance on GLP-1 approvals.
“I just mentioned that best case would be by end of calendar '26. We'll be filing this quarter. And so far, let me remind you, Canada has not approved a single GLP-1, whether it is generic liraglutide as well. So Canadian health regulator is taking its own time to approve the GLP-1. So even with Liraglutide filing done by many other companies, at least 5, 6 years back, there's not a single approval, and there's not a single approval yet for Semaglutide. So we have been interacting with Health Canada on a Liraglutide file. We, of course, understand a little bit better in terms of what they are expecting. And our teams are addressing proactively now for Semaglutide as we file that drug this quarter. And the review cycle, while is short in Canada, it's post filing, it's 8 to 9 months, if it's a first cycle approval. But as I mentioned that given Health Canada has not approved a single generic GLP-1, we do best case, expect an approval by end of calendar '26, but more likely in calendar '27, followed by the launch.”
– Siddharth Mittal, CEO & MD, Biocon
He explained why Biocon has focused on the synthetic route for GLP-1s rather than the biologics route, emphasizing regulatory considerations and cost competitiveness.
“So as cost of manufacturing, but you also have to look at the regulatory part figure. If you look at GLPs today, in the generics, whether it's in Europe or U.S., comes under the synthetic part. Of course, the recombinant route of making drug substances there, Biocon does have recombinant API as well. And we, of course, look at the time to develop a drug and the regulatory part to get it approved versus the cost of manufacturing the drug substance. And we are very competitive in terms of manufacturing our drug substance. We are vertically integrated. We know what the Chinese companies, who are supplying to a few other generic companies, what cost what selling price they're supplying the drug substance, and we know our own costs. So we think we are very well placed compared to our competitors as far as the costing is concerned. The recombinant API is definitely going to be required for the Oral Semaglutide. Because there, the cost of goods sold is primarily influenced by a drug substance cost, unlike injectable where drug substance does have an important influence, but not that it's not going to make a big difference, whether it's synthetic or recombinant as far as injectable is concerned.”
– Siddharth Mittal, CEO & MD, Biocon
Mittal shared Biocon’s plans to file in multiple international markets this quarter, including Canada and Brazil, while also announcing the India launch of Liraglutide through partners.
“So as I addressed the previous question that we will be filing in Canada, Brazil and many other markets this quarter, and with an expected best-case approval by end of calendar '26, but more likely launch in '27. And India, just to close your question on India. We will be launching liraglutide also in India this quarter through our partners. And of course, there's a limited opportunity before Semaglutide is commercialized sometime in calendar '26. But still, we believe that given the whole availability of drug from innovators, whether if it's for Ozempic or from Mounjaro in India, there is a huge market that can be created by our partners in India before Semaglutide comes in.”
– Siddharth Mittal, CEO & MD, Biocon
Real Estate
Sri Lotus Developers & Realty Limited | Small Cap | Real Estate
Sri Lotus Developers and Realty is a Mumbai-based real estate developer specializing in residential and commercial properties, with a focus on Redevelopment Projects in the Ultra Luxury and Luxury Segments in the western suburbs.
Management expressed confidence in the sustained demand for ultra-luxury housing, noting that aspirations are driving people upward in the housing pyramid.
“The demand is, I would say, for our kind of product, demand is constantly going up because everyone wants to move from lower strata of the pyramid to above strata of pyramid. People who were living in just ordinary building, they want to go for ultra-luxury only. So, ultra-luxury and luxury, those products are becoming very, very popular and everyone aspires for that. So, being in that niche player in ultra-luxury, I think we do not have any issues of any slowdown or maybe in future slowdown. So, we are very confident about it.”
– Anand Pandit, MD, Sri Lotus Developers & Realty Limited
Engineering & Capital Goods
EMS Ltd | Small Cap | Engineering & Capital Goods
EMS Limited is a company specializing in providing sewerage solutions, water supply systems, waste treatment plants, electrical transmission, and distribution services. They are also involved in roadworks and maintenance of wastewater and water supply scheme projects for government authorities.
Mr. Kansal clarified that EMS Limited has no exposure to the Jal Jeevan Mission but explained why that program is facing funding issues across the country.
"Actually, this is a confusion with the Jal Jeevan Mission. Though we are not executing any work of Jal Jeevan Mission. Even then. I would like to explain something about Jal Jeevan mission also. What happened in Jal Jeevan mission basically, there is an allocation of the mission from the central government. Around 3 lakh crores rupees for the mission. What happened, they estimated that in every district there will be a work of Rs. 300 crores, Rs. 400 crores for all villages. But when the real estimates framed, they appreciated quite higher side. Say around Rs. 1000 crores per district or even Rs. 2000 crores per district. So, in all over India this is the scene that the standard amount of the work was much much higher than the allocation for the funds. So, what happened, the execution also happened and receivables of the companies have increased because funds were having the cap from the central government and the state government. So, this happened in Jal Jeevan Mission which is giving something unwanted scenario type of thing. That there is a shortage of fund in Jal Jeevan Mission and all that."
– H.K. Kansal, Consultant – Engineering Operations, EMS Limited
He stressed that EMS works only on centrally funded schemes like AMRUT and Namami Gange, where funds are pre-approved and hence, there are no liquidity issues.
"As far as we are concerned, we are not at all doing any work of Jal Jeevan Mission. We are concerned only with the Central Government Funded Schemes like AMRUT, Namami Gange, that is NMCG and JICA and ADB funded schemes, which are given only on the basis that there are funds available for that. So, we are not having any crisis of fund whenever the work is executed. Because all tenders are done as a mission by the state mission director and that is sent to the central government for the consent of the funds. After the consent of the fund, tender is done and tender is accepted. So, there is no issue of funds in AMRUT."
– H.K. Kansal, Consultant – Engineering Operations, EMS Limited
On the medium to long-term outlook, Mr. Kansal underlined the huge untapped potential in water supply and wastewater projects, estimating ₹15 lakh crore worth of opportunity in urban areas alone.
"So, let me tell you that about Rs. 15 lakh crores potential of the work is there only in urban cities like Municipal Corporation, municipalities and town area committees. So, we have only done 3 lakh crores in AMRUT. So, you can understand that the four AMRUT up to 20 years we will have the same flow of the funds because this is now the mission taken by the central government. As a water act, the responsibility lies with the municipal corporation for supplying drinking water and dispose of wastewater from every household. So, the scope is tremendous."
– H.K. Kansal, Consultant – Engineering Operations, EMS Limited
Looking ahead, he pointed out that projects will increasingly focus on reuse of treated wastewater, driven by water scarcity and new regulations.
"And the further enhancement of the work is reuse of wastewater basically. Because we are going to become a water crisis country. And so many places in India are dark places, brown places and we are having water scarcity. So, we are now making schemes which are based on the reuse of the water. Means wastewater is treated through stringent parameters. Fit for the either for agriculture or for washing or for gardening or even for the use in boilers of NTPC, BHEL. And there are so many regulations, so many acts which are working for that. So, now the scope of work, quality of work, quality of wastewater treatment is continuously increasing. So, there is no second thought that we will be any time losing the scope of work for us."
– H.K. Kansal, Consultant – Engineering Operations, EMS Limited
KEI industries | Mid Cap | Engineering & Capital Goods
Established in 1968, KEI Industries Limited is a leading manufacturer of cables and wires in India. They offer a wide range of products from housing wires to Extra High Voltage cables, and also provide EPC services for power and transmission projects. KEI is renowned for being one of the few manufacturers of EHV cables in India.
On GST rationalization and its impact on housing wire demand.
“GST rationalization will definitely have impact on improvement in the buyers market especially the home buyers market in the long run as it will have more cash in the hands of the people to spend on the houses. However, on the wires, there is no reduction in GST. But there are lot of items of consumption where GST has been reduced which relates to the home consumption and that will help boosting the consumption and the wire market because of the cash availability. So far as cable market is concerned, I don't think it will have any impact. However, I think that the demand boosters are different – the capital expenditure by the government and the private sector and also the export potential which we have from India.”
– Anil Gupta, CMD, KEI Industries
On potential demand boost from higher consumer spending.
“It is too early to say any ballpark number because I said that the impact will be only on the housewire market not on the cables. However, I think it may impact the market size or demand by 5 to 10% because of the higher availability of spending power with the people.”
– Anil Gupta, CMD, KEI Industries
MTAR Technologies | Small Cap | Engineering & Capital Goods
MTAR Technologies Limited is a precision engineering solutions company specializing in manufacturing precision components with close tolerances and critical assemblies for projects of high national importance. With expertise in precision machining, assembly, testing, quality control, and specialized fabrication, it caters primarily to customers in clean energy, nuclear, space, and defense sectors.
MTAR Technologies recently received fresh orders worth approximately ₹400 crore from Bloom Energy, a US-based clean energy company. These will be fulfilled over the first half of the next calendar year.
"The orders we announced are for the next calendar year — that’s from January to June. In six months, we have to execute close to ₹400 crores worth of orders."
- Parvat Srinivas Reddy, MD
He added that the clean energy segment alone is set to double its revenue contribution:
"Compared to this year, next year we’ll see close to 100% more revenues being generated only in the clean energy segment."
- Parvat Srinivas Reddy, MD
On the question of future revenue mix between clean energy, nuclear, defense, and aerospace, he clarified:
"With 100% growth in clean energy, you can’t expect similar growth in other segments. But we are doing extremely well in nuclear as well. We're expecting huge orders from the nuclear division."
- Parvat Srinivas Reddy, MD
He emphasized that their long-term innovation in clean energy is now yielding results:
"We have been working on this segment for the last 10–12 years... the kind of development and innovation we’ve done over the years — you are seeing the results now."
- Parvat Srinivas Reddy, MD
Unlike many capex-heavy businesses where revenue is spread over years, Reddy pointed out that the short-cycle nature of clean energy orders enhances profitability:
"These orders have to be executed within 6 to 12 months... it’s not spread over 4 or 5 years. That itself gives you a lot of operational leverage in terms of improved margins."
MTAR is already executing projects for Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL), including critical mechanical systems for nuclear reactors:
"We are executing some projects — we’re doing it for the Gorakhpur project right now (700 MW), and we are in discussions for Kaiga 5 and 6."
- Parvat Srinivas Reddy, MD
On what they supply:
"It’s the entire nuclear island — the most critical equipment for the nuclear reactor. We don’t do civil work, but on the mechanical side, we specialize in supplying key systems for the reactor."
- Parvat Srinivas Reddy, MD
Despite the US imposing 50% tariffs on Indian exports in certain segments, MTAR’s supplies to Bloom Energy will continue to be subject to those duties:
"Nothing is excluded right now. The components that we ship — they will, for now at least — attract 50% tariff."
- Parvat Srinivas Reddy, MD
However, he stressed that MTAR’s engineering capabilities and high entry barriers still drive demand:
"Because it’s on the technology side and the entry barriers are tough... it takes 3–4 years or 10 years to build such capacity. Where there is demand and precision engineering, the products are going — even at 50% tariff."
- Parvat Srinivas Reddy, MD
Vikram Solar Ltd. | Small Cap | Engineering & Capital Goods
Vikram Solar and its subsidiaries specialize in manufacturing and selling solar photovoltaic modules and systems. Their product portfolio includes a variety of monocrystalline silicon-based modules such as PERC modules, N-Type modules, and HJT modules, available in bifacial or monofacial configurations.
[Concall]
On raw materials, Chaudhuri highlighted that China’s polysilicon market has moved into balance after recent regulatory engagement.
“Polysilicon supply and demand scenarios in China are now stabilizing, and we are seeing a much more balanced and sustainable equilibrium. Following the recent July meeting between China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and 14 leading PV manufacturers, polysilicon prices briefly spiked but have now normalized, supported by production discipline and self-regulatory agreements, significantly reducing the price volatility going forward.”
– Gnanesh Chaudhuri, Chairman
Jindal explained that margin expansion outpaced revenue growth due to structural efficiencies across operations and finance.
“Increase in overall profitability vis-à-vis growth in revenue was additionally fueled by reduced cost of manufacturing, optimized finance cost, and efficient tax planning. We are pairing our growth plans with one of the largest capex programs in the sector: a 4x increase in the module capacity to 17.5 gigawatt, coupled with a backward integration through a 12 gigawatt cell line in FY27. Investment in these capex plans will be supported by incentives from both the Central and the State Government.”
– Ranjan Jindal, CFO
Texmaco Rail & Engineering Ltd | Small Cap | Engineering & Capital Goods
Texmaco Rail & Engineering Ltd. is an engineering and infrastructure company involved in several core areas, including the manufacturing of rolling stock (wagons, coaches, and EMU components), hydro-mechanical equipment, heavy steel structures (bridges, flyovers), and steel castings.
Management expects new railway tender requirements soon alongside renewed private sector demand.
"One is railway. I mean, if we talk about the domestic market, we feel that we are in the execution mode of the last long-term contract. And in between, there have been many small, small contracts came in. But very soon, railway is coming up with their new requirements. So that momentum will continue. And we will we expect to see renewed demand from the private sector investment in the domestic market."
– Sudipta Mukherjee (Managing Director)
Secured 20-year maintenance contract in Africa for wagon manufacturing and supply.
"On the international front, Texmaco continued to expand. We have secured a major 20-years maintenance contract in Africa for the manufacture and supply of wagons, along with traction-related orders in the Middle East. These contracts are expected to enhance Texmaco's presence in the international markets, aligning with its broader strategy for global expansion."
– Indrajit Mookerjee (Executive Director and Vice Chairman)
Received RDSO approval for India's first double-decker wagon capable of carrying SUVs to tractors.
“I am happy to let you know that we have received the order. And at that time, we used to make one type of automobile wagon. I had started it. And I had hinted to you, perhaps in the last call, that we are bringing more designs. So, in the last quarter, we got approval from RDSO for our own design for prototype manufacturing. And the beauty of this is that it is going to be the first double-decker wagon in the country which can carry an SUV from a luxury car to a tractor."
– Sudipta Mukherjee (Managing Director)
Metals
Jindal Steel | Large Cap | Metals
Jindal Steel & Power Limited (JSPL) is a leading integrated steel manufacturer in India, excelling in steel, power generation, and infrastructure sectors.
Naveen Jindal set a long-term vision for India’s steel capacity as the country progresses towards becoming a developed nation.
“We have to take our capacity to 500 million tons by 2047. So when India becomes a developed country, the per capita steel consumption is going to be around 300 kgs. So we will need more steel to be able to provide a better quality of life to the people, better infrastructure, houses, cars. So all these things cannot be done without steel. So steel has a great future in India and that’s why steel industry is very very enthused and we are contributing our best to the making India of our dreams.”
– Naveen Jindal, Chairman, Jindal Steel
On US tariffs, he downplayed the impact, pointing instead to domestic demand and other global opportunities.
“As far as tariffs are concerned, say if USA slapped 50% tariff on Indian steel anyway we weren’t exporting much steel to USA. We can export to the rest of the world and we ourselves, we are a 1.4 billion strong population. And there are a lot of possibilities of increasing the steel consumption within the country.”
– Naveen Jindal, Chairman, Jindal Steel
On decarbonization, Jindal emphasized the transition is gradual but inevitable, supported by government and global initiatives.
“Decarbonizing, government of India also is encouraging the steel industry to decarbonize, to reduce its carbon footprint. It’s a journey that we all have to go through. We cannot do it overnight and not only India, all over the world the steel companies are making efforts to achieve it. It’s not something very easy but in the times to come as technologies develop we will also achieve that.”
– Naveen Jindal, Chairman, Jindal Steel
On opportunities, he highlighted India’s unique growth trajectory compared to other large steel-producing nations.
“Steel has a very bright future in India and amongst all the large economies or all the large steel producing countries, say China has a negative growth rate and India is growing at in double digits. So India is the only bright place for steel I would say in the world and we are confident in the next two decades also it will continue to be so.”
– Naveen Jindal, Chairman, Jindal Steel
On new sectors like shipbuilding and construction, Jindal pointed out areas for value addition and demand creation.
“There are lots of opportunities like the honorable minister spoke about ship building… there’s huge demand for ships and ship building is very labor intensive also. There’s a lot of potential for making more ships in India because we already do make high quality steel that is required for ship building. That is one area and there can be many other areas also like in buildings… if we have more and more prefabricated, we’ll be able to do the construction whether it’s of homes, high-rise buildings, office buildings, etc much faster and in a much more environment-friendly manner.”
– Naveen Jindal, Chairman, Jindal Steel
Auto Ancillary
Suprajit Engineering | Mid Cap | Auto Ancillary
Suprajit Engineering Limited is a leading manufacturer of cables and instruments in India, catering to major OEMs in the automotive industry.
On GST reduction for auto components and its impact on margins and pricing.
“The GST reduction from 28% to 18% is a godsend for the industry. Most of us would be passing on the benefit completely to the consumers… thereby there will be a good improvement in the overall growth of business and economy as such. As far as we are concerned we are clear that we will pass on all the benefits. I think the margin expansion would be limited. It probably would, if at all, come from the larger volumes that may be offtake by the customer both at the OEM level as well as in the aftermarket.”
– K. Ajith Kumar Rai, Chairman & Executive Director, Suprajit Engineering Ltd
On aftermarket demand versus OEM demand post-GST changes.
“We saw a dip in the offtake from our distributors and dealers because once they got the wind of the fact that the GST will be reduced, nobody wanted to buy at a higher GST product. From 22nd of September everybody is placing an order for a shipment after that date, so that would be a big boost on sales in the aftermarket. Whereas OEMs have been buying on a regular basis. They have not really changed any of their schedules… In fact we have seen good traction in August and September with the festival around the corner and we expect a good festival season largely due to the GST reduction as well.”
– K. Ajith Kumar Rai, Chairman & Executive Director, Suprajit Engineering Ltd
On revenue growth guidance despite global industry slowdown.
“The double-digit growth that we have projected, or 5 to 10% above the global industry, continues to hold good. Please understand that globally industry is actually not growing, both in Europe and US the markets are flat, and despite that our controls division [is] at some 6–7% growth. So that means that we are outperforming industry. Considering also SCS, I think we will have a comfortable double-digit growth in revenues. In terms of margins we have given a 12 to 14% guidance, I’m hoping that it would be more towards the higher end by end of the year.”
– K. Ajith Kumar Rai, Chairman & Executive Director, Suprajit Engineering Ltd
On the impact of US tariffs on exports.
“On the second 25% [tariff] which has been of a recent origin, we don’t have much of an effect… some of the categories have exemptions. We have made a statement that the overall impact of these additional 25% tariff, if at all, would be not more than 500–600,000 US. We have no much impact at all because of this and even this we are under discussion with the customer to pass it on. Overall impact will be very minimal for us.”
– K. Ajith Kumar Rai, Chairman & Executive Director, Suprajit Engineering Ltd
Hero MotoCorp | Large Cap | Auto Ancillary
Hero MotoCorp is a leading two-wheeler manufacturer dominating the domestic market. It has been a transformative force in the global two-wheeler industry, focusing on value, trust, and innovation to enable personal mobility at scale.
Kausalya Nandakumar explained the core idea behind introducing Battery-as-a-Service with the VIDA V2 and VX2 electric scooters.
“At a very simple level, it's a pay-per-kilometer battery subscription model that allows customers to look at the total cost of ownership in a different way. It allows them to finance the 2 elements separately.”
The objective, she said, was to remove key adoption barriers and offer flexibility based on usage.
“We looked at some of the key barriers for people to enter the electric category and addressed quite a few of them... It’s a highly differentiated industry-leading offering.”
She added that the company is seeing early traction from new-to-EV customers, driven by curiosity and the flexibility of the BaaS pricing.
“We've seen new consumers walking in, people who are looking at the segment in a different way and with the improved access, there is a lot of curiosity that we actually built in here.”
“Again, early days, but a lot of green shoots. The portfolio is now robust with offerings in both categories, and we are seeing healthy offtake.”
The BaaS service is currently offered on both the VX2 Go and VX2 Plus models, with different tenure options based on usage patterns.
“On the VX2 Go, we have 2 plans in terms of 2 years and 3 years. And on the VX2 Plus, we are offering it for 2 years, 3 years and 5 years.”
“We are building the usage pattern of consumers and catering to that basis consumer insights that we got in.”
She also highlighted that the BaaS model is a key part of Hero's broader EV growth strategy, which has already shown strong early momentum.
“Our EV business expansion is gaining significant momentum, achieving a share of 7% during the quarter, which further improved to 10% in July.”
“We launched the VIDA VX2 pioneering Battery-as-a-Service model. Our market presence is evident from achieving over 20% market share in 27 towns and securing a top 2 position in 54 towns.”
Vikram, another company executive, addressed industry-wide challenges around rare earth metal availability, which affect both ICE and EV vehicles.
“It is a challenge, no doubt on that... But we are covered for the quarter 2 FY ’26 for both ICE and EV vehicles and continue to work on alternatives.”
Olectra Greentech Ltd | Large Cap | Auto Ancillary
Olectra Greentech Limited, formerly known as Goldstone Infratech Limited, is a leading Public Limited Company in India specializing in the production of composite polymer insulators and electrical buses.
On Blade Battery technology showcased at Bharat Mobility and its efficiency benefits.
“As of now, we have not reached that stage of pricing. But only thing in terms of efficiency, this is 30% better in terms of lightweight batteries as well as in terms of efficiencies, mileage. So, overall scheme of things, the costings and all still not yet finalized. So, hopefully once we have more clarity, we will revert back. In appropriate time, we will make necessary disclosures.”
– B. Sharat Chandra, CFO, Olectra
On Olectra’s relationship with BYD and Blade Battery introduction.
“Our contract with BYD has been extended till December 2030. And in January 2025, with partnership, with support from BYD, we have basically showcased our Blade Battery platform in Bharat Auto Mobility in Delhi. And obviously our relationship, both Olectra and BYD started the journey in India and delivered the first e-bus in India. And our relationship is very strong and it is mutual. And we do have access to the strong R&D technology they have. That is precisely the reason how Olectra is able to initiate the process of showcasing the Blade Battery platform in the Bharat Mobility. So, I think, this sufficiently clarifies your queries with regard to our relationship with BYD. And we are hopeful that we overcome whatever challenges we had in Financial Year '25 and hopeful of delivering 2,000 numbers in Financial Year '26.”
– B. Sharat Chandra, CFO, Olectra
On geopolitical risks around sourcing batteries from China.
“As far as the geopolitical part is concerned, we have been talking about this for the last seven years. Right from the time we started our e-vehicle journey, this talk was there. So, as you are aware, China has invested a huge amount into this technology, and they are very much advanced compared to any other country in the world. And globally everybody, including Tesla, depends on China, on import of battery technology. So, we do not foresee any constraints till now, because we have been going through this journey for the last five years.”
– B. Sharat Chandra, CFO, Olectra
On future supply for Olectra’s second plant.
“Yes, we have a relationship with BYD agreement till 31st December 2030, and recently we have showcased our Blade Battery technology, which we are going to introduce by the end of this financial year.”
– B. Sharat Chandra, CFO, Olectra
International
Figma, Inc.| International
Figma is a collaborative, cloud-based platform for designing and prototyping digital products like websites and apps, but it also includes tools for creating presentations (Figma Slides), brainstorming (FigJam), turning designs into code (Dev Mode and Figma Make), and publishing live websites directly (Figma Sites)
[Concall]
Figma doubled product portfolio with four new launches plus dev mode MCP server.
“At Config, we launched four new products, doubling our product offering. These products are Figma Make, Figma Draw, Figma Sites, and Figma Buzz. We also launched our dev mode MCP server, which speeds up developer workflows by bringing context from Figma design into any surface that consumes MCP.”
– Dylan Field (CEO)
Figma plans to add a consumption-based revenue model alongside subscriptions.
“Today, our revenue base consists of seat-based subscriptions with the majority of our pro tier on monthly subscriptions and our org and enterprise tiers on annual subscriptions. We intend to complement the existing seat-based model with a consumption model meeting the needs of our evolving product platform.”
– Pier Malwani (CFO)
Salesforce, Inc.| International
Salesforce is a cloud-based platform and software company that provides a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, allowing businesses to connect with customers and manage sales, service, marketing, commerce, and IT using a unified view of customer information.
[Concall]
Salesforce deepens government foothold with major US Army deployment.
“This quarter, we finalized an incredible agreement with the US Army, a fast pass that enables Army teams to quickly access and deploy Salesforce. Already we’re helping the Army operate more efficiently, streamlining how they identify and elevate leaders, simplifying congressional reporting, powering Amazon-like marketplaces for tactical gear. The Army is planning to launch a digital front door for its human resource command, providing 24/7 powered service and support to all soldiers and personnel and millions of veterans.”
– Mark Benioff (CEO)
Salesforce entering ITSM market with Slack-first agentic platform.
“Next month we’re launching our own Agentic IT service platform. It’s agent first and it’s Slack first. With Agentic IT service, every request is becoming a conversation where agents work hand-in-hand with IT teams proactively fixing problems. It’s going to be an incredible driver for the company. No one else is delivering this level of agent capability and digital labor scale.”
– Mark Benioff (CEO)
Support headcount cut ~40% through AI agents; productivity gains redirected into sales.
“We have reduced support headcount by close to 40%. The Agentic Enterprise is not just a radical technology transformation but also an organizational transformation. Our own sales agent had conversations with tens of thousands of inbound leads, setting appointments with human SDRs and helping close deals. We see Salesforce reducing everyone’s support costs and making sales more productive.”
– Mark Benioff (CEO)
GitLab Inc. | International
GitLab is an all-in-one DevSecOps platform that helps teams manage the entire software development lifecycle in one place. It combines source code management, CI/CD pipelines, security testing, and project management into a single application, allowing developers to plan, build, test, secure, and deploy software efficiently. With both cloud and self-hosted options, GitLab is widely used by organizations that want seamless collaboration, automation, and security integrated into their development workflow.
[Concall]
GitLab will shift from pure seat-based pricing to a hybrid seat plus usage model via Duo.
“GitLab’s monetization opportunity doesn’t end with seat growth. With the Duo agent platform, we are enabling engineers to collaborate with AI agents and do many tasks automatically and in parallel instead of manually or one at a time as they do today. We plan to charge for all of this work done via usage charges where that work is done by our agents or our partners’ agents hosted and integrated into our platform. This means our business model will evolve from a purely seatbased model to a hybrid seat plus usagebased model.”
– Bill Staples (CEO)
GitLab partnered with Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Amazon, Cursor for AI integrations.
“With GitLab 18.3, we announced Agentic partnerships with Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Amazon, and Cursor and shipped native integrations with claude code, codex, Amazon Q, Gemini CLI, and open-source agents.”
– Bill Staples (CEO)
Oracle Corporation | International
Oracle Corporation develops and sells database software, cloud-based applications (like ERP, HCM, CRM), and cloud infrastructure (IaaS) services for businesses. They also provide hardware systems, middleware, and integrated cloud solutions, helping enterprises migrate workloads and build cloud-native applications.
[Concall]
Multicloud database revenue exploded 1,529% with Oracle expanding to 71 data centers embedded within competitor clouds.
“Autonomous database revenue was up 43% on top of the 26% growth reported in Q1 last year. Multicloud database revenue where OCI regions are embedded in AWS, Azure, and GCP grew 1,529% in Q1. We are also seeing our industry-specific cloud applications drive customers to our back office cloud apps. We now have 34 multicloud data centers live inside of Azure, GCP, and AWS. And we will deliver another 37 data centers for a total of 71.”
– Safra Catz (CEO)
Oracle introduces AI database with vectorization capabilities, uniquely offering all major LLMs in its cloud for enterprise data analysis.
“Oracle is by far the world's largest custodian of high value private enterprise data. With the introduction of our new AI database, we added a very important new way for you to store your data in our database. You can vectorize it and by vectorizing all your data, all your data can be understood by AI models. Then we made it very easy for our customers to directly connect all their databases, all their new Oracle AI databases and cloud storage OCI cloud storage to the world's most advanced AI reasoning models: ChatGPT, Gemini, Grok, Llama, all of which are uniquely available in the Oracle”
– Larry Ellison (CTO)
Oracle offers complete private cloud deployment for $6 million, less than 1% of competitors' costs, winning major enterprise deals.
“We have gotten the entire Oracle cloud, the whole thing, every feature, every function of the Oracle cloud down to something we can put into a handful of racks, three racks we call it Butterfly that cost $6 million. So we can give you a private version of the Oracle cloud with every feature, every security feature, every function, everything we do for $6 million. I think the cost for the other hyperscalers is more than 100 times that. We can actually give our customers cloud at customer, the full cloud at customer, and we have companies like Vodafone buying basically their own Oracle cloud regions.”
– Larry Ellison (CTO)
Oracle received unprecedented request for all available global capacity for AI inferencing, highlighting massive unmet demand.
“Someone called us, we'll take all the capacity you have that's currently not being used anywhere in the world. We don't care. And I've never gotten a call like that. That's very unusual call. That was for inferencing, not training. There's a huge amount of demand for inferencing. And if you think about it, in the end, all this money we're spending on training is going to have to be translated into products that are sold, which is all inferencing. And the inferencing market again is much larger than the training market.”
– Larry Ellison (CTO)
Oracle's new applications are entirely AI-generated agents linked by workflow, claiming leadership over other application vendors.
“The latest applications that we are building, we're not building them. They're being generated by AI and we think we're far ahead of any of the other application companies in terms of generating the applications. The new ones that we're building, they're nothing other than a bunch of AI agents that we generate that are linked together with workflow. That's all they are. How do you charge separately for that? That's every application that we have. But the applications are better and hopefully we'll sell more and that's the way we'll get paid for them.”
– Larry Ellison (CTO)
VinFast Auto Ltd. | International
VinFast is an emerging Vietnamese automotive company focused on making electric vehicles (EVs) accessible. The company is a subsidiary of Vingroup JSC, one of Vietnam's largest conglomerates.
[Concall]
Vietnam EV penetration reaches 30% with major cities planning to phase out gasoline motorbikes.
“Since 2022, EV friendly incentive including lower special consumption tax for EVs, registration fee exemption until 2027 and 0% import duty on green auto parts have been implemented. In second quarter 2025, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have announced plans to phase out gasoline motorbikes in the urban areas, further accelerating the shift to electrification. Together with public private investment in charging infrastructure, Vietnam is emerging as one of the most ambitious EV adopters in Southeast Asia with EV penetration already around 30% as of June 2025.”
– Madame Tui (Chairwoman)
VinFast inaugurated Tamil Nadu facility in August with 13 dealer partnerships, expecting modest initial volumes in India.
“We open for pre-booking of our VF6 and VF7 in mid July followed by the inauguration of our CKD manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu this August marking a significant milestone in our entry into Indian market. VinFast India has signed strategic agreements with 13 dealership groups to launch dealerships across cities. This partner will carefully selected to deliver full service 3S support sales service and spare parts. In line with our customer first philosophy as an early pure player EV engine in India, we are taking a discipline approach. Initial volume are expected to be modest as we focus on delivering strong customer satisfaction and protecting dealer profitability in a competitive market.”
– Madame Tui (Chairwoman)
Founder to acquire VinFast's completed R&D assets for $1.6 billion cash while VinFast retains technology access.
“VinFast transfer a portfolio of completed R&D asset into a new entity, Novatech, which our founder, Mr. Pham Nhat Vuong, agreed to acquire for $1.6 billion in cash. The transaction is expected to close in Q3 and highlight Mr. Pham's continue commitment to supporting VinFast long-term growth. VinFast will maintain access to all technologies transferred through licensing agreements ensuring continuity in our innovation and product development roadmap.”
– Madame Tui (Chairwoman)
India factory has 50,000 initial capacity scalable to 250,000 units, producing VF6/VF7 for domestic and export markets.
“In India, our factory in Tamil Nadu with the initial capacity of 50,000 units per year and scalable to 250,000 units per year, we are producing the VF6 and VF7 for India as well for export from the factory. In Indonesia the construction at Subang factory is progressing well and we target to open by the end of the year as well.”
– Madame Tui (Chairwoman)
That’s it for now! Your feedback will really help shape how The Chatter evolves. Drop it down in the comments below!
Quotes in this newsletter were curated by Meher, Vignesh & Krishna.
Disclaimer: We’ve used AI tools in filtering and cleaning up these quotes so there maybe some mistakes. Now, if you are thinking why we are using AI, please remember that we are just a small team of 5 people running everything you see on Zerodha Markets 😬 So, all the good stuff is human and mistakes are AI.
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