Reliance makes a beverage bet
SaaS IPO, Nippon bags US Steel, and Meme stock goes viral.
🗓 Morning, folks!
🔻 Markets ended with cuts amid the ongoing Israel-Iran tensions. The Nifty & Sensex declined for the third straight session, with all sectors closing in the red except auto.
Top global story: the US Fed kept interest rates steady amid expectations of higher inflation & lower economic growth ahead, while signaling no urgency in cutting rates.
Trump yesterday after Powell kept rates steady:
In commodities, crude oil prices continue to rise, with Brent hovering around $77 per barrel.
💡 Spotlight: India’s gold game is shining brighter than ever.
The RBI has been quietly stockpiling gold, and it's not alone. Central banks across the globe are doubling down on the yellow metal, as they hedge against dollar dominance and rising geopolitical uncertainty.
According to the World Gold Council’s 2025 survey, 95% of central banks expect global gold reserves to rise over the next year, while 73% believe dollar holdings will decline within five years.
That’s a massive vote of confidence in gold and a not-so-subtle signal of diversifying away from US monetary unpredictability.
The ECB notes that global central bank gold holdings now stand at 36,000 tonnes, inching toward the Bretton Woods peak of 38,000 tonnes. Gold now makes up 20% of global reserves, overtaking the euro’s 16% share.
India’s RBI is riding that trend hard as its gold stash jumped from 822.1 tonnes to 879.6 tonnes in FY25 alone. Over the past five years, India’s gold reserves surged by 218 tonnes, nearly doubling the growth seen in the prior five-year period.
Let’s hit it!
1 Big thing: Reliance’s ₹8,000 cr beverage bet 💰
Reliance Consumer Products is set to invest ₹6,000-8,000 crore over the next 12-15 months to ramp up its beverage manufacturing capacity across India.
The deets: this also marks its largest investment in consumer products to date. The massive outlay will fund 10-12 new manufacturing units, including greenfield plants & co-packing facilities in partnership with local players.
Why it matters: Reliance is going head-to-head with global giants like Coca-Cola & PepsiCo, and upping its game against regional beverage brands. This investment signals it’s not just entering the market, it’s reshaping it.
Zoom out: launched in 2022 as a wholly owned arm of Reliance Retail, Reliance Consumer Products has crossed ₹11,450 crore in sales in under two years.
At the end of FY25, it emerged as India’s fastest-growing FMCG business, riding high on nostalgia-driven brands like Campa Cola, Spinner, and RasKik.
2. Meme stock goes herbal 🍃
A Hong Kong-based traditional medicine company with no revenue, no regulatory approvals, and just 12 employees is now worth more than Kraft Heinz.
Regencell Bioscience, listed on Nasdaq, has surged over 60,000% this year, briefly hitting a market cap of $39 billion, all without launching a single commercial product.
The deets: Regencell develops liquid formulations based on Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for conditions like ADHD and autism. But nothing’s FDA-approved, and the company has reported $10.4 million in losses over the past two years.
What triggered the madness? A 38-for-1 stock split in early June sent shares flying. Add to that a tight float (only 6% of shares publicly traded), a founder holding 86% ownership, and Reddit-fueled hype, and you’ve got a classic meme stock cocktail.
Big picture: the global alt-health market is booming, India’s Ayurveda market alone could 4x by 2033, but Regencell is a reminder that valuation and reality often live on different planets. The stock dropped 18% intraday on Wednesday, but it’s still up nearly 49,000% year-to-date.
3. Capillary Tech files to go public ☁️
Capillary Technologies, a Bengaluru-based SaaS player, has filed to go public, aiming to raise ₹430 crore through a fresh issue and an offer for sale.
This includes an OFS of 18.3 million shares by early backers like Filter Capital, Trudy Holdings, and Capillary’s own promoter, Capillary Technologies International.
JM Financial, IIFL Capital, and Nomura are managing the issue.
The company plans to use the fresh capital to fund cloud infra, R&D, and potential acquisitions.
This marks another tech listing in a surprisingly resilient IPO market, investors have shown renewed interest in SaaS and enterprise tech, especially those with global footprints and sticky business models.
Yes, but: Capillary is not just another software company. It’s a category leader in loyalty management platforms, servicing enterprise clients in 46 countries. In FY25, it turned profitable with ₹481 crore in revenue and ₹13.2 crore in profit, bouncing back from a loss in the previous year.
4. Nippon bags US Steel, finally 🇺🇸
After months of political drama, Japan’s Nippon Steel has finally closed its $14.9 billion acquisition of US Steel. The deal caps off one of the most contentious foreign takeovers in recent memory.
The deets: Nippon bought 100% of US Steel shares at $55 apiece.
But the real clincher was a national security agreement granting the US government a rare golden share, a veto over big decisions like job cuts, plant shutdowns, or relocating HQ from Pittsburgh.
Background: both Biden and Trump had earlier opposed the Nippon-US Steel deal, largely due to political pressure in battleground state Pennsylvania.
Biden blocked it on national security grounds, prompting Nippon to sue. Then came Trump who had hinted of support during a May rally, he officially approved the deal days later through an executive order.
The approval not only spares Nippon a hefty $565 million breakup fee but also clears the path for $11 billion in planned US investments, firmly securing the Japanese giant’s role in America's steel future.
5. Stocks that kept us interested 🚀
1. Vi taps AST SpaceMobile to bridge India’s connectivity gap 🌉
Telecom provider Vodafone Idea has announced a partnership with AST SpaceMobile for satellite connectivity.
AST SpaceMobile is a U.S.-based company building the world’s first space-based cellular broadband network, accessible directly by smartphones for both commercial and government use.
The why: Vi aims to bring direct-to-device broadband connectivity to India's remotest regions, supporting the government’s Digital India vision.
The deets: the two companies will collaborate on the SpaceMobile Satellite System, a space-based broadband ecosystem that links standard smartphones directly to satellites.
2. Tata Elxsi, Infineon partner for India EV tech ⚡
Tata Elxsi and German chip giant Infineon Tech are teaming up to create made-for-India electric vehicle tech that’s safer, smarter, and ready to roll.
The deets: together, they’ll build core tech that powers EVs from fast chargers and battery management systems to high-voltage inverters that run electric motors.
Think of it as the brain and nervous system of an EV. This collaboration is aimed at all kinds of EVs including two-wheelers, three-wheelers, passenger cars, and even trucks. Down the line, they also want to tap into flying taxis (eVTOLs), off-road EVs, and green energy grids.
The idea is to make EV tech that’s not just made in India but tailor-fit for Indian roads, traffic, and weather without cutting corners on global safety standards.
Zoom out: EV sales in India jumped 25–30% in 2024, with two- and three-wheelers leading the charge.
As India moves rapidly towards cleaner transport, this partnership between a homegrown design powerhouse and a global semiconductor leader is set to turbocharge the EV ecosystem making the vehicles safer, cheaper, and more reliable.
6. Story in data: SUV Rush 📊
SUVs now account for 65% of all passenger vehicles sold in India, up from just 17% in FY16.
This steady rise reflects a clear shift in consumer preference, from small hatchbacks to larger, more versatile vehicles.
Compact SUVs, in particular, have found a sweet spot in pricing, features, and perceived value.
Improved road infrastructure and rising urban incomes have also played a role.
Hatchbacks, once the default choice for first-time buyers, are steadily losing ground.
What else are we snackin’ 🍿
👋 Leadership shift: Nestlé Chairman Paul Bulcke to step down in April 2026 while Vice Chairman Pablo Isla proposed as successor.
🛩️ Under the scanner: Air India to cut international widebody flights by 15% for a few weeks. This comes after it plans to improve operational stability, efficiency, & reduce passenger inconvenience.
📈 IPO rush: India’s IPO street is heating up, with four companies lined up to raise ₹15,000 crore next week which is the busiest spell for primary markets this year.
🇮🇳 Amazon’s India boost: Amazon will invest ₹2,000 crore in India in 2025 to boost delivery speed, expand logistics, and improve support for employees and delivery partners.
💪 Back in the game: LG Electronics plans to list its India unit likely by September after pausing earlier in April due to market uncertainty.
And that’s a wrap. Pour yourself an extra one this weekend.
We’ll be back like clockwork on Monday!
Hit that 💚 if you liked this issue.