Alibaba unveils latest AI service for images in push for users
The Hangzhou-based company introduced Qwen VLo, part of a series of AI services under the company's Qwen brand. The new model is an upgrade from Qwen2.5-VL and is now able to generate text-to-image and image-to-image results. It also has a technology called progressive generation, meaning users can see the process as an image is created.
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Economic Times
6 minutes ago
- Economic Times
RBL Bank shares rally 3% as Dubai-based Emirates NBD Bank eyes up to 20% stake
Shares of RBL Bank rose 2.7% to Rs 266.95 on Wednesday after reports said Dubai government-owned Emirates NBD Bank is in talks to acquire up to a 20% stake in the private lender through a significant capital infusion. ADVERTISEMENT The stock, which has rallied more than 21% in the past month and over 64% in the past six, rose for an eighth time in nine sessions. It closed Tuesday at Rs 259.95, up 4.6%, with a market value of Rs 15,831.21 crore. The Emirates NBD Bank PJSC is in advanced discussions to acquire a minority stake in RBL Bank through a preferential allotment. This would mark a primary capital infusion into RBL and help the Dubai-government-owned lender deepen its Asia strategy. The deal, still under negotiation, could be similar in structure to the recent SMBC-Yes Bank investment. Emirates NBD may end up holding around 15–20% of RBL's expanded capital base, just below the open offer threshold, pending regulatory approval. That would translate to an investment of approximately Rs 3,166.24 crore. 'However, the deal is likely to take place at a premium to the current price,' people familiar with the matter told The Economic Times. RBL Bank is entirely publicly owned, with several domestic institutions holding modest stakes. Quant Mutual Fund owns 6.65%, Nippon Life India 3.11%, ICICI Prudential Life 1.06% and LIC 1.19%. Mahindra and Mahindra acquired a 3.48% stake in 2023, while Zerodha holds 1.24%. British International Investment exited its 3.82% holding in April. ADVERTISEMENT The Reserve Bank of India in May granted in-principle approval to Emirates NBD to convert its existing Indian branches in Chennai, Gurugram and Mumbai into a wholly owned subsidiary. The Dubai-based bank also recently launched investment banking operations in India.'There is a deep connect between UAE and India, both diplomatic and commercial. The bank has been eyeing opportunities but has not been very keen to buy into NBFCs (non-banking finance companies) unlike some of their peers,' an industry executive told The Economic Times. 'There is also a lot of synergy in wealth and other product distribution.' ADVERTISEMENT RBL Bank, originally set up 70 years ago in Maharashtra, transformed itself into a national player beginning in 2010, focusing on credit cards and microfinance. However, its differentiated asset strategy is considered cyclical and exposed to stress in unsecured the March quarter, RBL Bank's net profit fell 80% sequentially to Rs 68.7 crore, despite a rise in other income to Rs 1,000 crore. Net interest income dropped 2.3% year-on-year to Rs 1,563 crore. ADVERTISEMENT 'Business growth is gaining traction and slippages are expected to normalise by 2QFY26,' Nitin Aggarwal, analyst at Motilal Oswal told The Economic Times. 'Margins will be flattish to lower before it will claw back up. The trajectory is expected to improve starting FY26. The cards business is expected to grow in the mid-single digits.' Despite the stock's recent rally, analysts say it still trades below book value and remains among the most affordable banking stocks in India, with a P/E ratio of over 21. However, sources caution that talks may not result in a deal. The lender is also exploring a capital raise from institutional investors as a fallback. ADVERTISEMENT If successful, Emirates NBD's move will mark the second major investment from West Asia into an Indian bank this quarter. In April, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Warburg Pincus committed Rs 7,500 crore to IDFC First Bank. Also read | Emirates NBD eyes RBL Bank stake for India, Asia play (Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of the Economic Times)
Indian Express
11 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Nothing Phone (3) available for pre-order from July 4: Check price, specs and other details
London-based smartphone maker Nothing, on Tuesday, July 1, unveiled the Phone (3), its first-ever premium flagship phone in India. The newly launched phone ditches the company's iconic Glyph interface in favour of Glyph Matrix, a circular micro-LED screen on the back. Featuring a 10-bit 6.67-inch OLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate and outdoor brightness of 1,600 nits, the Nothing Phone (3) is powered by the newly launched Snapdragon 8s Gen 4, a powerful chipset that can be found on some mid-range phones like the Poco F7 and the iQOO Neo 10. Compared to its predecessor – the Phone (2), Nothing claims that its newest device sports a 36 per cent faster CPU, 88 per cent faster GPU and performs AI tasks about 60 per cent faster. The back of the phone carries over Nothing's transparent design language with geometric patterns. You also get a triple camera setup that consists of a 50MP primary sensor in addition to a 50MP ultrawide shooter and a 50MP telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom. The front of the phone also houses a 50MP selfie shooter. And while the rear cameras can capture videos in 4K resolution, for reasons unknown, the selfie camera can only record in Full HD (1080p). Apart from the volume rocker and the power button, you also get the Essential Key, which was introduced earlier this year with the Nothing Phone 3a series. The Nothing Phone (3) comes with Nothing OS 3.5 based on Android 15 out of the box, with the company promising 5 years of OS updates and 7 years of security patches. As one would expect from a flagship device, you also get IP68 dust and water resistance, with the front and back of the phone protected by Gorilla Glass 7i and Gorilla Glass Victus, respectively. All of this is backed by a 5,500mAh battery that supports 65W wired and 15W wireless charging. The Nothing Phone (3) is available in two colourways – Black and White. The base variant of the phone – which comes with 12GB RAM and 256GB storage, is priced at Rs 79,999, while the 16GB RAM and 512GB version can be purchased for Rs 89,999. The company is also offering a special introductory offer where customers who pre-order the device will get one more year of warranty.
Mint
16 minutes ago
- Mint
Mid-cap IT companies set to outpace larger peers in Q1
India's mid-sized IT services firms, with annual revenues between $1 billion and $5 billion, are expected to outgrow their larger peers in the first quarter of FY26, driven by large deal wins, limited exposure to tariff-hit sectors, and better adoption of Gen AI. Companies, including LTIMindtree Ltd, Mphasis Ltd, Coforge Ltd, Persistent Systems Ltd, and Hexaware Technologies Ltd, are expected to report a sequential revenue growth between 0.6% and 9% for the three months ended June, according to at least five brokerages. In contrast, larger players like Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys, HCLTech, Wipro, and Tech Mahindra are expected to grow around 3.5%. Wipro is likely to report up to a 2.5% decline due to weak European demand and subdued client spending. Infosys is expected to outperform its top peers. Coforge is expected to lead the midcap pack, buoyed by its $120-million annual contract with Sabre Corp., signed in March. Persistent Systems is projected to post 4.1% sequential growth, Kotak Institutional Equities said in a 30 June note. 'We believe that the quarter will be a mixed one, with mid-tier IT services companies reporting strong growth, while large IT companies and ERD (engineering, research and development) names will disappoint," said Kotak Institutional Equities analysts Kawaljeet Saluja, Sathishkumar S, and Vamshi Krishna. 'Smart deal structuring, share gains and favorable portfolio (low manufacturing exposure) will drive strong growth for mid-tier, with Coforge (+6.4% qoq) and PSYS (+4.1% qoq) leading the way," said the Kotak analysts. PSYS refers to Persistent Systems. Mid-caps capitalised on their ability to shape large deals and get higher revenue from banks and financial institutions. 'Key reasons for this outperformance of mid-caps vs. large-caps include: 1) the ability to proactively shape large deals and quickly tap into high-growth areas; and 2) a larger revenue share from the BFSI vertical, which seemingly is not as singed by the tariff-led macro friction," said ICICI Securities analysts Ruchi Mukhija, Aditi Patil, and Seema Nayak, in a note dated 1 July. Building momentum Analysts' optimism in mid-cap tech service providers comes on the back of stronger performance last fiscal year. Five of the country's eight mid-caps earning between $1 billion and $5 billion reported double-digit revenue growth last year, led by Coforge, which reported a 31% jump in revenue. This was in contrast to the top five, which reported a growth of 4.3% at best. Mid-cap companies scored big on deals wins, which eluded their larger peers in FY25. LTIMindtree landed its largest contract with US-based food processing and commodities trading company Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. (ADM) in May, while Coforge secured the Sabre deal in March. Leadership stability has further helped the mid-caps shine. CEOs at Coforge, Persistent, and Hexaware have each been in their roles for over five years, having previously worked at larger peers they now outperform. In contrast, TCS, Wipro, and Tech Mahindra have all seen recent leadership changes, with new CEOs serving for less than two years. Faster integration of GenAI is also giving mid-caps an edge. As reported by Mint on 7 May, these firms are more adept at embedding GenAI into services agile teams and better ability to change their business processes to clients' needs. Meanwhile, engineering R&D firms are bracing for a challenging quarter. At least two brokerages expect each of the ER&D firms including L&T Technology Services Ltd, Cyient DET, KPIT Technologies Ltd, Tata Elxsi Ltd, and Tata Technologies Ltd, to report a sequential revenue decline. These companies rely on business from carmakers. 'Auto ER&D are likely to face the brunt of tariff-led pauses," said JM Financial analysts Abhishek Kumar, Nandan Arekal, and Anushree Rastogi, in a note dated 30 June. The analysts added that these companies reflected 'elevated levels of uncertainty in their demand outlook." A tariff war sparked by US President Donald Trump has impacted companies and supply chains across sectors. Higher tariffs have made it tougher for companies, including car makers, to source raw materials for their businesses. A double whammy for global carmakers comes from cheaper Chinese vehicles, which are eating their market share.
