Headquartered in America, the globally leading automaker and automotive tech firm, Rivian has broadcasted the news about the closure of its highly anticipated investment round worth a whopping sum of $1.3 billion. The fundraising event was led by T. Rowe Price Associates Inc., online retail giant Amazon.com Inc., renowned automaker firm Ford Motor Company, and BlackRock, which serves as one of the world’s biggest asset management platforms.

It seems that Rivian is striving hard to give a tough competition to its ruling competitor in the field of EV manufacturing industry, Tesla Inc. The concluded funding round was the fourth initiative undertaken by the company this year and is likely to strengthen the position of Rivian in the automobile sector. The firm has not disclosed any strategically important details about the funding round to the public. However, the reports suggested that there has been no increase in the members of the board.

This investment demonstrates confidence in our team, products, technology and strategy – we are extremely excited to have the support from such strong shareholders,

stated RJ Scaringe, who serves as the honorable CEO of Rivian.

Post this crucial announcement, Rivian had pooled in $2.2 billion from worthy investors who made its value reach the mark of an approximate figure ranging between $5 billion to $7 billion. The facts were revealed by the reports furbished by the investor website, PitchBook. The firm is gearing up to launch an all-electrically managed pickup truck named R1T and R1S SUV in the later part of the approaching year 2020. The two projects will be based on a Rivian-designed “skateboard.” The highly anticipated projects will be a perfect combination of electric motor, batteries, and controls and will be capable of supporting various body styles.

The current year had been quite fruitful for Rivian as it entered into several strategically important partnerships with the biggest names of varied industrial domains. In February, the firm broke the news about a $700 million worth funding investment round, which was chaired by Amazon Inc. Later in April, the firm stated that Ford Motor Company is making an investment of $500 million in the project. Further, in September, Rivian announced its team up with Amazon to build an electric delivery van. The firms have aimed to deliver 100,000 vans in 2021.

HDFC Bank Ltd has crossed the $100 billion mark in terms of market capitalization. With this, it has become the 3rd firm in India to achieve this landmark. The Bank ranks 26th on the list of the most valued banks and financial firms in the world, having a market capitalization of more than $100 billion. By crossing the $100 billion mark, HDFC Bank has also secured a place in the list of “world’s most valued companies” and ranked 110th on this list.

As per Bloomberg data, there are presently 109 companies featuring on this list, all of which have secured a market cap of more than $100 billion. The other two Indian companies that have made their way to this list are: Reliance Industries Ltd, having a market capitalization of $140.74 billion, and Tata Consultancy Services with a market cap of $114.60 billion.

Investors continued to purchase the shares of HDFC with a hope that it will show consistency in its earnings performance, clock a steady profit growth of 20%, will have the stable quality of the asset, and healthy growth of advances.

Analysts are of the view that there is a high probability of HDFC Bank delivering high credit growth. The prediction is in view of the bank, registering capital much higher than regulatory requirements and due to its focus being more on the retail segment. It is also thought that the bank is going to have better profit growth as they are concentrating on strengthening their productivity and digitization in addition to rationalizing the cost.

According to a survey, it was seen that HDFC Bank is targeting India’s semi-urban and rural population; therefore, the concentration of branches in these areas is higher with earning higher revenue and profit.

India’s biggest car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki has got into a partnership with private lender Federal Bank to provide dealer loans and retail car loan financing. The retail loan financing is going to be tailored according to the customers’ needs and offer customized solutions.

Earlier this year in August, Federal Bank had been inducted as an approved companion by Maruti for dealer inventory funding. The latest development carries forward the relationship further.

Maruti is confident that the new partnership is going to be a big help for its customers. The Executive Director of the company, Shashank Srivastava, said,

We are extremely delighted and confident that our collaboration with Federal Bank for providing retail financing solution will further benefit our customers.

In a securities filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange, Maruti Suzuki stated that the new partnership would allow the company to offer “comprehensive loan access facilities” to its customers. The auto sector in India is in the middle of a slowdown for several months now and many auto manufacturers have struggled to boost sales adequately.

Indian bank HDFC Bank’s subsidiary HDB Financial is raising $300 million in overseas loans. It is going to be the unit’s first-ever syndicated overseas loan and marks a shift in business strategy. According to a source close to the developments, the firm is trying to diversify its source of borrowing.

Reports suggest that the loan is going to mature in three years, and it is going to be priced 133 basis points higher than the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR). LIBOR is an international standard for such loans. The source also added that HDB Financial has also started its syndication program, and it is going to conclude soon.

HDB Financial is being assisted by the State Bank of India, HSBC and the Bank of Baroda in its quest to raise this loan. That being said, dealers have revealed that even on a fully hedged basis, the loan should be on parity with domestic borrowings. Earlier on in March this year, it had been reported that HDB was going to sell its shares to raise $1.4 billion.

2019 has been a tough year for Non-Bank Financial Companies (NBFC) due to defaults from one of the biggest companies in the industry, IL&FS. It has resulted in many of the companies in the sector to seek foreign loans.

The rating agency CRISIL has prepared a note on HDB back on August 21 and stated that the company might be looking to expand into other services. The note stated, “HDB Financial has emerged as one of the larger players in the retail financing space, over the past few years. HDB Financial is now expanding into consumer durable financing, digital products loans, and other related segments.”

Members of The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and those outside it are meeting in Vienna, Austria, today to finalize further cuts in the production of oil. It is believed that Saudi Arabia, the most powerful member of OPEC and Russia, the most influential nation outside the body, is going to lead the talks.

Saudi Arabia is primarily leading the move, and according to reports, the other members of OPEC have already agreed with the cuts yesterday. Sources suggest that production could be cut by as much as 500,000 barrels per day, and it is a measure that is going to be in place up until March next year.

While it is true that production cuts were expected, the quantum of cuts has left many analysts stunned. The move is aimed at stabilizing the price of oil, and it is expected to be finalized today post discussions with non-OPEC partners like Russia, among others. As the news broke, oil prices started rallying as well in the latest trading sessions.

Stephen Brennock, an oil analyst with PVM Associates, stated that the potential cuts had left the market a bit confused. He said, “It is fair to say that this agreement has left market players with mixed feelings.” He went on to explain his position in the note. He added,

On the one hand, the extent of these extra supply curbs surprised to the upside. On the other hand, there is concern that there was no mention of an extension to cuts beyond the current March 2020 deadline.

At one point, it was not clear whether the OPEC members had managed to agree with the cuts on Thursday after a joint press conference was canceled. It has emerged that Saudi Arabia, which has cuts if production, has asked nations like Nigeria and Iraq from overproducing.