A majority of South Korean companies expect the country to undergo significant economic difficulties this year due to deteriorating business conditions, a poll showed on Thursday.

In the survey conducted by the Korea Enterprises Federation (KEF) on 508 companies with over 50 employees in January, 96.9 percent of responding firms said they expect the country to experience economic difficulties in 2025, reports news agency.

Among the respondents, 22.8 percent expected the level of economic woes to be more severe than during the 1997 financial crisis, while 74.1 percent expected significant economic difficulties, though not on the same level as in 1997.

When asked about the negative economic impact of the country's ongoing political instability, 47.2 percent cited weakened export competitiveness due to increased foreign exchange volatility, followed by deterioration of consumer sentiment at 37.8 percent and investment uncertainty 26 percent.

Adani Portfolio stocks saw a sharp rally on Wednesday as the stock market rebounded, with shares across its businesses, from ports to energy, witnessing significant gains.

The surge was led by Adani Green Energy, which jumped up 10.59 per cent, or Rs 81.40, to close at Rs 849.95. During the intra-day session, the stock touched a high of Rs 857.90 and a low of Rs 769.

Adani Energy Solutions also registered strong gains by climbing 9.33 per cent, or Rs 60.35, to end at Rs 707. The stock traded between Rs 731.50 and Rs 646 during the day.

Adani Total Gas rose 6.41 per cent, gaining Rs 35.05 to close at Rs 582.20, after reaching an intra-day high of Rs 600 and a low of Rs 544.35.

The total coal production from captive and commercial mines in the country for the financial year 2024-25 has jumped by 32.53 per cent to 167.36 million tonnes (MT) as of February 2025 from 126.28 MT during the same period of the previous financial year, according to official data released on Wednesday.

Coal dispatch has also witnessed a significant surge, with total dispatch for the financial year reaching 170.66 MT, surpassing the 128.45 MT recorded in the previous year. This marks a 32.86 per cent year-on-year growth, ensuring a stable and uninterrupted coal supply to key sectors such as power, steel, and cement, according to a Coal Ministry statement.

Bhaskarpara Coal mine of M/s Prakash Industries Limited has also commenced coal production on February 15, 2025, with a Peak Rated Capacity (PRC) of 15 MT, the statement said.

About 93 per cent of women entrepreneurs exhibit a strong financial discipline, actively managing their finances, keeping meticulous records, and ensuring timely payments, a new report said on Wednesday.

Women entrepreneurs believe that financial awareness and smart decision-making are vital to the success of their businesses. According to the report by NeoGrowth, 81 per cent of women business owners operate independently, without relying on others. This trend is especially prominent among those over 40 years of age, who have built confidence over time.

However, younger entrepreneurs, particularly those in the 21-30 age group, tend to seek support from their families or peer networks as they grow their businesses.

India will play a key role as a manufacturing hub in achieving Hyundai Motor Company's aim of selling 20 lakh electric vehicles in the global market by 2030, according to the company’s president and CEO Jose Munoz.

Addressing Hyundai Motor India employees at a town hall meeting in the company’s headquarters in Gurugram on the outskirts of Delhi, he said the company’s new factory that is coming up at Talegaon in Maharashtra would not only help meet domestic demand but also position HMIL as a global manufacturing hub.

HMIL aims to reach a total annual production capacity of 1.1 million vehicles when its facility at Talegaon becomes fully operational. The company HMC will continue to support HMIL to expand its EV offering and invest in the necessary infrastructure to support this shift, he added.

Telecom gear major Nokia is now exporting up to 70 per cent of its production from India, in a further boost to the ‘Make in India’ initiative.

According to Tarun Chhabra, Senior Vice President and Country Head, Nokia (India), the company’s export varies from 30 per cent to 70 per cent and last year, exports stood at 50 per cent, chiefly radio equipment.

On Wednesday, the company announced to support Vodafone Idea with its latest 5G and 4G baseband and radio modules as the operator is gearing up for the phased rollout of 5G services in key markets.

Nokia is also expanding Vi’s 4G network rapidly, as it rolls out new sites along with technology addition, and spectrum bandwidth expansion on existing sites.

South Korea's economy grew 2 percent last year, matching an earlier estimate, amid slowing export growth, sagging domestic demand and a political crisis, central bank data showed on Wednesday.

The country's real gross domestic product (GDP) -- a key measure of economic growth -- increased 2 percent last year, in line with the central bank's estimate in January.

The 2024 growth accelerated from a 1.4 percent advance in 2023, reports news agency.

The data also showed the country's per capita gross national income (GNI) stood at US$36,624 in 2024, marking a 1.2 percent increase from a year earlier.

In terms of the Korean won, the GNI climbed 5.7 percent to an all-time high of 49.96 million won amid the strengthening of the dollar and the won's weakness.

As it continues to struggle on various fronts amid job cuts, Ola Electric Mobility has now failed to kick off cell manufacturing at its Gigafactory on time.

According to a stock exchange filing by the company, “We would like to inform you that we are in receipt of a letter dated 3 March 2025 from IFCI Ltd. 'Subject Non-Achievement of Milestone-1' according to Schedule M of the Programme Agreement dated 28 July 2022.”

“The company is actively engaged with the relevant authorities in this regard and is in the process of filing an appropriate response,” said Ola Electric.

IFCI is the project management agency for the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for advanced chemistry cells (ACCs). Ola Electric's subsidiary — Ola Cell Technologies Pvt Ltd — is a beneficiary of the PLI scheme.

According to industry sources, Ola Electric has essentially missed the deadline to start cell manufacturing operations at its Gigafactory.

The government is drawing up schemes to provide credit on easy terms to MSME exporters, and offer assistance to deal with non-tariff measures imposed by other countries which have emerged as a barrier to India’s merchandise exports, a senior Commerce Ministry official said on Tuesday.

Addressing a post-Budget webinar, Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) Santosh Kumar Sarangi said, the Commerce, the MSME and the Finance Ministries are working on these schemes.

The government is framing schemes to provide credit on easy terms to MSME exporters, promote alternative financing instruments through strengthening factoring services for them, he said.

These schemes are being formulated under the export promotion mission, announced in the Union Budget for 2025-26. The Budget has also announced the setting up of BharatTradeNet as a unified platform for trade documentation and financing solutions.

Sarangi highlighted that e

The National Stock Exchange (NSE) announced on Tuesday that it has shifted the expiry days for the futures and options (F&O) of Bank Nifty, Fin Nifty, Nifty Midcap Select, and Nifty Next50 to the last Monday of the expiry month.

According to an official NSE circular, the changes will take effect from April 3. Currently, the expiry day is the last Thursday of the specific month.

"Last Thursday of the expiry month. If the last Thursday is a trading holiday, then the expiry day is the previous trading day," the circular said.

It further stated that the new serial weekly options contract shall be introduced after expiry of the respective week's contract.

Additionally, the exchange has shifted the expiry days for Nifty's monthly, quarterly, and half-yearly contracts from Thursday to Monday.

The NSE has also moved the expiry days for Nifty weekly contracts from Thursday to Monday.