Data recap: Panic in China, Musk’s self-goal

Funding Reset

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The year 2022 is set to end on an alarming note for startups as mass layoffs make the headlines. One underlying reason was that funding dried up after an exuberant 2021. However, while large venture capital investments are seeing a reset and optimism is down, deals are still at higher levels than in preceding years, suggests a howindialives.com analysis of Tracxn data of large deals. This suggests 2021 was the exceptional year, and not 2022.

China’s Alarm

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An alarming covid wave has struck China after it bowed to public pressure to lift ‘zero-covid’ restrictions. Crematoria are crowded and ordinary citizens in the 1.4-billion-strong country are reporting that most others they know have a fever. It doesn’t reflect in data as China has changed testing rules and covid counting this month. The wave is attributed to the BF.7 sub-variant of Omicron. India has recommended masks in crowded places but there may be no need to panic yet.

Musk’s Self-Goal

That’s the share of Twitter voters who said Elon Musk should step down as the head of the social media company. Musk ran a Twitter poll to seek views, and promised to abide by the results. The poll got 17.5 million votes. The billionaire later said he would resign as chief executive officer as soon as he found “someone foolish enough to take the job”. Twitter has been going through a tumultuous period since Musk took over in October.

Airports’ Burden

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India’s top airports have faced large crowds this month ahead of the holiday rush. However, the share of Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru in all airport footfalls has declined in the last seven years from 50% to 42%, a Mint analysis showed. That can be attributed to the surge in tier-2 airports, which have created their own demand. Proposed airports in satellite towns such as Jewar and Navi Mumbai could help ease the burden on metro airports in the coming years.

Fare Freeze

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The upcoming Union budget is likely to keep railway passenger fares and freight rates unchanged for the ninth straight year, Mint reported, quoting unidentified officials.

The Railways had last raised passenger fares in December 2019, but that was outside the budget. Stagnant fares force the Railways to rely on government support and extra-budgetary resources to fund capital expenditure.

Protecting Nature

The year by when countries have committed to protecting 30% of land, inland water, and coastal and marine areas in an effort to protect biodiversity. The landmark framework, known as “30 by 30″, was struck at COP15, a United Nations biodiversity summit that was held in Canada. Rich countries will be required to pay $20 billion in annual aid till 2025, rising to $30 billion by 2030, for developing nations to save their ecosystems.

Back in Vogue

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The initial public offer (IPO) market is expected to see a revival from its slump soon. Out of the offer documents filed by firms with the capital markets regulator, 55 have received approval for raising a total of ₹83,481 crore, while 32 looking to raise ₹54,415 crore are awaiting approval, Mint reported, citing Prime Database. The ones that have got approval include Aadhar Housing Finance, TVS Supply Chain Solutions, Macleods Pharmaceuticals and Bharat FIH.

Chart of the week: Stock Hours

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Speaking at a recent event, National Stock Exchange chief Ashish Chauhan advocated the need for longer trading hours in India. The country’s bourses work for less than 7 hours/day, which is paltry compared to the US, Russia and others, data compiled by Mint showed.

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