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The finance club at IMT Ghaziabad is engaged in a constant endeavor to provide you with a practical exposure to the world of finance and the latest emerging trends in the related fields of Risk Management, Banking, Investments and non-finance topics.
Do write to us at: finniche.imt@gmail.com
Term of Week
In Focus
Opinion
Personality
Tech World
Hedge Funds | 7
FlashBattery |13
Rajeev Chandrasekhar |12
Investor Activism | 4
MARCH 15, 2015 | A FINNICHE INITIATIVE
Reducing Import Duty
On Gold | 2
Disclaimer: FinXpress takes no responsibility for the opinions expressed in the magazine.
With the whole IMT is preparing for Convocation 2015 which is scheduled on 18th of this
month, the students are also eagerly waiting to listen to Mr. Rahul Bajaj who would be
chief person for this years’ convocation.
Club FinNiche releases its weekly magazine FinXpress, with the In Focus talking about
the ‘Reducing Import Duty on Gold’. The Opinion gives an overview of ‘Investor
Activism’.
The term of the week describes ‘Hedge Fund’, a process to decide which long term
investment to make. Do have a look at the market section, Tech world which brings to
you about Flash Battery and Personality of the week, Rajeev Chandrasekhar.
Club FinNiche welcomes any comments, suggestions or criticism regarding the
magazine. Please do write to us and share your ideas.
Happy Reading!
Regards
The Editorial Team
Club FinNiche
March 15, 2015 | Volume 38
Reducing Import Duty on
Gold
Investor Activism
Hedge Funds
Rajeev Chandrasekhar
Flash Battery
- By Shikha Sharma
As per data released by the
Commerce Ministry this month,
The gold shipments in
February jumped 48.78
percent on a year-on-year
basis.
India is the largest importer
of gold, which is mainly
utilised to meet the demand
of the jewellery industry.
Government cuts import levy on gold and
amid the first fortnight of the month, the tax
esteem on transported in gold was altered at
USD 393 every 10 grams and on silver at USD
549 every kg. The import levy quality is the
base cost at which traditions obligation is
resolved to counteract under-invoicing.
The administration has sliced import tax
esteem on gold to USD 375 every 10 grams
and silver to USD 512 every kg taking after
powerless worldwide value patterns. Amid
the first fortnight of the month, the duty
esteem on foreign gold was altered at USD
393 every 10 grams and on silver at USD 549
every kg. The import tax worth is the base
cost at which traditions obligation is resolved
to anticipate under-invoicing. It is modified
on a fortnightly premise considering
worldwide costs. The abatement in duty
esteem on transported in gold has been
advised by the Central Board of Excise and
Customs, as per an authority proclamation
discharged toward the end of last night. Gold
in New York, which regularly sets value
incline on the residential front, declined from
a high of USD 1,162 every ounce and is as of
now controlling at USD 1,158.60 every ounce.
Silver excessively has dropped, making it
impossible to USD 15.64 every ounce. In
February, gold imports had bounced by 49
percent to USD 1.98 billion when contrasted
with the year-back period, while silver
shipments shrunk by 60.47 percent to USD
121.42 million in the same period.
Gold is the second-biggest import thing for
India after petroleum. Higher gold import bill
unfavorably influences the nation's present
record shortage (CAD). The legislature has
been more than once asking individuals to
stop from purchasing gold and rather put
resources into other sparing instruments. In
spite of facilitating in gold import standards,
the shipments had dropped strongly in
December 2014. The December import figure
remained at USD 1.34 billion, around one-
fourth of the amount in November. According
to information discharged by the Commerce
Ministry not long from now, the gold
shipments in February bounced 48.78 percent
on a year-on-year premise. India is the biggest
shipper of gold, which is basically used to
take care of the demand of the adornments
business.
In November 2014, the RBI had facilitated
confinements on gold imports by scrapping
the dubious 80:20 plan. Under the 80:20
standard, put set up in August 2013 to check
high gold inflows that was augmenting the
current record shortfall, no less than 20
percent of the foreign gold must be
obligatorily sent out before getting new parts.
Government has been more than once asking
individuals to halt from purchasing gold and
rather put resources into other sparing
instruments. Higher gold import bill
antagonistically influences the nation's present
record shortfall (CAD).
The information further uncovered import of
silver shrunk by 60.47 every penny in
February to USD 121.42 million. Imports of
petroleum, unrefined and its items shrank
55.49 percent. Gold request in the nation is
relied upon to ascend to 10% this wedding
season, which commences not long from now
and proceeds till ahead of schedule June
contrasted with a year-back period, helped by
a critical fall in its costs, exchange insiders say.
Bachhraj Bamalwa, executive at All India Gem
& Jewelry Trade Federation, said the business
expects gold request in the gems portion to
climb 5-10% over a year ago. "Value fall will
unquestionably be a driver for adornments
deals," he told ET.
Costs of the yellow metal fell by Rs 1,000
every 10 gm in the previous one week to
around Rs 26,400 on March 9. Goldsmiths feel
Indian buyers have ended up flexible to high
import obligation administration and are no
more sitting tight for a cut in obligations.
Diamond setters began restocking for the
wedding season after a fall in imports in
February as the exchange was expecting a
drop in import obligation from 10% to no less
than 4% in the Union Budget. The exchange
now expects this repressed interest to be
unleashed as buyers no more expect a
diminishment in the import obligation soon.
In spite of the fact that figures are yet to be
declared, exchange appraisals gold imports of
40 ton in February, down from around 60 ton
in January. Strict import controls and high
obligations cut down India's gold request by
13.5% in 2014 to 842.7 ton as gold venture
interest dove by more than half, as indicated
by the World Gold Council. Gold adornments
request in the nation climbed 8% last year to
662 ton from 612.7 ton in 2013. Speculation
request, then again, drooped to 180.6 ton from
362.1 ton amid the same period, in sharp
complexity to the worldwide pattern of 2%
general development. Bamalwa of All India
Gem & Jewelry Trade Federation said the
speculation interest will stay less as
universally gold costs have fallen. On
Monday, however, gold edged up in
worldwide markets, yet it stayed close to a
three-month low as the US dollar hit a 11-year
high after solid US employments report
helped desires that the Federal Reserve would
soon build premium rates.
Somasundaram PR, MD (India) at World Gold
Council, said the basic driver of gold request
in India is the social fondness towards gold
coupled with a rich local shrewdness about
the financial aspects of gold in a family unit
portfolio. Social changes and new resource
classes have on a very basic level strengthened
the part of gold as a key diversifier and as a
long haul support against expansion. "Interest
of this nature can't be reshaped by supply
checks and higher duties. While India can't
expand its nearby supply through mining, it
unquestionably can build supply through
reusing," said Somasundaram. "Presently just
0.5% of aggregate stocks are reused in India,
yet the late strategy declaration presenting a
standard India gold coin, securities and
another monetisation conspire rightly try to
address fluctuated purchaser inclination
connected to gold, which are likewise liable to
effect reusing," he said.
- By Mukul Gupta
"We believe the best way to ensure improved
performance at PepsiCo is to separate global
snacks and beverages, putting the future of
each business in the hands of empowered and
focused management". This was written in the
letter posted to the management of Pepsico by
Trian Partners headed by the Activist Investor
Nelson Peltz. Investor activism, which started
in 1980s - then called ‘Corporate Crusaders' -
has grown in importance with more and more
companies targeted every year, be it Bill
Ackman’s public failure at JC Penney, or Carl
Icahn’s argument for a buyback at Apple, one
of America’s most loved and successful
companies.
An activist shareholder uses equity stake in a
company to put pressure on its management.
The trick is simple. Buy upto 5% stake in the
company and get a seat at the Board. Once
comfortable, make demands that would in all
belief increase shareholder value. In case the
Board refuses, fight a proxy battle. If the
demands seem legitimate to other
shareholders, chances of winning are high
post which a new 'friendly' Board would be
appointed. In case the proxy fight is lost,
nevermind. Liquidate and look for another
target. This is the standard way an investor
activism exercise works.
While much of investor activism is practiced
outside the public eye, there has been a
consistent increase in public actions, whereby
activists' play a key role in changing either the
strategy or the governance of companies they
have invested in. This has resulted in growing
acceptance of the many policy changes that
the activists are seeking to effect. Post the
financial crisis of 2008, activist activity has
increased, and new money is beginning to
flow into activist funds mostly in search of
returns which are uncorrelated with other
asset classes. The Assets Under Management
(AUM) of this asset class are quickly growing
and returns are consistently outperforming
the average hedge fund. In 2013, according to
Schulte Roth & Zabel, public actions of
activism were launched at a total 237
companies worldwide including giants like
Apple, Hess and Proctor & Gamble.
What Attracts Activist Shareholders?
N o t u n e x p e c t e d l y , f u n d a m e n t a l
underperformance is the most likely
weakness that triggers an activist investor
campaign. Activists most often focus on
underperformance relative to competitors,
rather than absolute declines in performance.
Other factors include poor revenue growth,
lagging shareholder returns vis-a-vis the
industry peers in the previous two years, and
an increasing gap in margins relative to
competitors. Recurring restructuring charges
and large cash balances are also strong
indicators of looming activism. According to
McKinsey & Company however, company’s
gap in consensus earnings and executive
compensation are not significant indicators of
activist interest. In certain sectors, it has also
been observed that those companies where
the breadth of the corporate portfolio has a
market value which is lower than the sum of
independent businesses are attractive targets.
An activist shareholder uses
an equity stake in
a corporation to put public
pressure on its management.
Financial Goals (increase of
shareholder value through
changes in corporate policy,
financing structure, cost
cutting, etc.)
Non - financial Goals
(disinvestment from
particular countries, adoption
of environmentally
friendly policies, etc.).
Major Activist Trends in FY 2013
According to Schulte Roth & Zabel, the year
2013 saw an increase in activism activity with
237 companies being targeted worldwide as
compared to 218 in 2012. Out of these, more
than 70% of the total cases were observed in
the United States, followed by 18% in Europe
and only 6% in Canada. Sectors like
Technology, Services and Basic Materials were
the most preferred and comprised of around
75% of the total investor focus. Also, 2013 saw
twice the number of companies targeted with
a market capitalisation of more than $10
billion than the previous year. A total of 42
such big size investments including UBS and
Celesio were made in 2013 compared to only
23 a year ago. This is leading to an increased
perception that size no longer matters for
activism.
According to consultancy firm McKinsey &
Company, three out of every four activism
campaigns start collaboratively, but half of
those eventually turn hostile. This suggests
that management teams should focus not just
on whether to accept activist proposals but
also on how they engage with an activist.
On the performance side, activist hedge funds
enjoyed a strong year in 2013. They beat the
MSCI World Index by over five percentage
points in the period of bullish growth.
According to Activist Insight’s Activist Index,
which is made up of 30 activist funds, a return
average of 21.7% was achieved over the first
three quarters of 2013, which compared
favourably to S&P 500 Index’s 17.9% and
MSCI’s 16.3%. Therefore, there is plenty of
evidence to suggest that with investors closely
watching the performance of activists, money
will continue to increasingly flow into activist
funds in FY 2014. Gregg Feinstein of Houlihan
Lokey believes that activism has been grossly
undervalued by the market in general.
According to him it has been proven to
increase value for shareholders.
Defence Techniques to Counter Activism
Accompanying the rise in activism has been a
burgeoning defence industry in the US which
is experimentation with new bylaws designed
to frustrate activists. Although bylaws vary
widely from organization to organization,
they generally cover topics such as how the
Board is elected, how the meetings of
Directors are conducted, officers the
organization will have and description of their
roles and responsibilities. However, it remains
to be seen how long lasting their impact will
be. Some of these defence mechanisms include
the following:
13D Pills: In US, an investor is required to file
either form 13D or 13G when an ownership
threshold of 5% shares in a publicly traded
corporation is reached. An activist investor
files a 13D whereas a passive investor who
does not intend to influence the management
or wage a proxy contest is required to file 13G.
However, many companies now include a
special clause with filing a 13D which
prevents activist investors from increasing
their holdings beyond 10%. The same
threshold is 20% for passive investors who file
13G. This clause prevented Bill Ackman from
taking a significant ownership position at Air
Product & Chemicals.
Tax Pills: This is a slightly more obscure use
of poison pills. It takes advantage of tax
regulations and helps companies keep activist
ownership below the 5% threshold. These tax
pills trigger increased burdens for investors at
this level, rather than the traditional 10%. This
is because a change of ownership would mean
tax-beneficial operating losses are abandoned.
In order to avoid an activist campaign,
company executives should run a pre-emptive
audit to evaluate their company’s
performance and review their strategic and
operating plans in that light.
An unbiased and rigorous pre-emptive audit
that helps in identifying weak spots and
evaluates all alternatives can help in keeping
activists at bay and bring forth many
opportunities for value creation.
The Road Ahead
In 2013, many big name activist funds
including Pershing Square, Third Point,
Clinton Group and ValueAct saw their stock
picks work well for them. All saw their stock
choices increase by an average annualized
value of 75% or more. Analyst forecasts
suggest strong growth in activism activity in
the US, but a continuing weakness in Japanese
and eurozone equity markets. Activists are
testing these markets with certain optimism
and also because of the growing acceptance of
increase in shareholder value via this asset
class. In case these regions enjoy an upswing
in growth, the activists will be the first to
enjoy the benefits. In India also, anecdotal
evidence suggests that activism by both
foreign and domestic investors is on the rise.
However, so long as the Government has
large interests in companies and the legal
system is slow and onerous, activism would
continue to remain hindered in India.
The fundamental question however still
remains – do activist investors save companies
by influencing incompetent management and
increasing shareholder value or do they play
corporate crusaders who intend to make short
term gains by shaking things and finally
exiting at attractive multiples. As a follow up
to the discussion however, it certainly seems
the trend is moving from the latter to the
former. It also seems highly likely that this
year will prove to be ‘the end of the
beginning’ phase of an invigorated age of
investor activism.
Hedge Funds are the alternative investments
consisting of pools of underlying assets that
are used for hedging, speculation and
arbitrage. They use derivatives of high
leverage in International as well as domestic
market to earn active returns or alpha for
their investors. They are setup as private
investment limited partnerships and are
mainly applicable for sophisticated investors
like institutions or individuals with
significant assets and are not offered to
general public.
Hedge funds are similar to mutual funds on
the grounds of possessing similar kind of
pools of underlying assets. But unlike Mutual
Funds, they are relatively unregulated and
can be invested on a wider scale of securities.
They can be considered as mutual funds for
super rich.
Hedge Fund managers tries to invest on
securities that have a higher rate of return and
that mitigates or hedges maximum amount of
risk, but they have to also foresee the risk
whether the security will be able to perform
as per expectation, failing to which may cause
huge losses. Fees charged by managers is 1 to
2% of the amount invested, plus 20% of the
profit earned.
Some of the Hedge Fund strategies are—
Equity Market Neutral
Identification of overvalued and
undervalued stocks, in turn
neutralizing portfolio’s exposure to
market risk by undertaking short and
long positions.
Convertible Arbitrage
Exploitation of mis-pricings in
convertible securities.
Fixed Income Arbitrage
Identification of overvalued and
undervalued FI bonds.
Distressed Securities
They are applicable to companies
tending towards bankruptcy.
Merger Arbitrage
Takes advantage between the current
market price and price after merger of
the security.
Hedge Equity
They are mainly used for assets under
management.
Global Macro
Trades in currencies, futures, options
in line with global market
Emerging Markets
Focuses on emerging and less mature
markets.
Funds of Funds
Is a fund invested in number of
underlying hedge funds.
Once the Investment strategy is formulated
by the Hedge fund manager, he generally
tries to measure the risk to which the fund is
exposed. Based on this, he decides which of
the risks are acceptable and which needs to be
hedged. On a later stage he uses derivatives
to mitigate the unacceptable risks.
- By Shreyans Dhariwal
A fund, usually used by
wealthy individuals
and institutions, which is
allowed to use aggressive
strategies hat are unavailable
to mutual funds,
including selling short,
leverage, program trading,
swaps, arbitrage and
derivatives.
They have low regulations
as compared to Mutual
funds
Have wider range of
securities for investment.
Investment done with prime
motive to gain higher rate of
return with mitigation of
maximum amount of risk.
Different hedge fund
strategies are used.
INDIAN MARKETS
With the selling pressure intensifying during the closing stages, indices in the Indian
equity markets went further down and closed the day deep in the red. Thus, the BSE-
Sensex ended lower by around 427 points (down 1.5%). Similarly, NSE-
Nifty succumbed to all round selling and was quoting lower by 128 points at closing, or
1.55 %. S&P BSE Midcap and S&P BSE. Small cap indices were hurt relatively lesser but
still closed 1.3% and 1.6% lower respectively. Prominent losers that dragged down the
key indices were FMCG, banking and capital goods sector.
BSE SENSEX
CNX NIFTY
Open High Low Close
SENSEX 29134.93 29,183.76 28,448.48 28503.30
NIFTY 8,844.05 8,849.75 8,631.75 8647.75
COMMODITIES
EXCHANGE RATES
INTERNATIONAL MARKETS
Commodity Unit Rs / Unit % Change
Gold 10 grams 25890 0.91
Silver 1 kg 35533 0.59
Crude Oil 1 bbl 2866 -4.05
INR/ 1 USD 62.67
INR /1 EURO 66.42
INR/ 100 JAPAN YEN 51.60
INR / 1 POUND STERLING 93.16
Open High Low Close
NYSE Comp 10,784.09 10,784.09 10,677.59 10751.02
NASDAQ 4,885.54 4,904.47 4,842.80 4871.76
S&P 500 2,064.56 2,064.56 2,041.17 2053.40
FTSE 100 6,761.07 6,777.77 6,713.50 6740.58
CAC 4,997.94 5,010.80 4,969.47 5010.46
DAX 11,845.90 11,903.33 11,744.93 11901.61
NIKKEI 225 19,119.58 19,335.80 19,042.25 19254.25
SSE 50 2,494.34 2,532.15 2,477.40 2495.28
Hang Seng 23,808.97 23,918.71 23,790.83 23823.21
Land Acquisition Bill passed in Lok Sabha; faces sterner test in Rajya Sabha
The contentious bill was passed by the lower house of Indian Parliament on Tuesday. There
were nine official amendments made to the original bill that was proposed by the ruling
government( BJP). This was done in order in to win over allies such as Akali Dal and Shiv
Sena. The opposition which is led by the congress party staged a walk out when their
proposed amendments were not accepted by the BJP. The bill has been labelled as “Anti
Farmer” by the opposition. How the industry reacts to the nine amendments which have
been made, remains to be seen.
The government agreed to include mandatory employment to at least one member from the
affected families of a “farm labourer”, which was one of the proposals by the opposition. The
government rejected amendments to consent clause and social impact assessment. Rural
Development Minister, Birender Singh, dismissed allegations made by the opposition and
said that “ By bringing the bill, my party and our government want to make sure that the
farmers get a chance to progress and be a part of the overall development of the country.”
IMF revises India’s growth forecast to 7.2% for current fiscal year
The International Monetary Fund labelled Indian Economy a “bright spot” on the
international economic landscape. It asked India to take steps to revive the investment cycle
and accelerate the structural reforms promised in order to achieve 7.2% growth. The new
forecasts have been made on the basis of revised methodology adopted by India earlier in the
year. The new method was termed as “Puzzling” by RBI governor, Raghuram Rajan, who
has worked with IMF in the past. The IMF believes that the revival of Indian Economy has
been helped by positive policy actions of the government and lower prices of oil in the global
market. IMF also said that the country is well equipped to cope with volatility of
international markets( External Shocks).
RBI Issues new norms for NPA sales
In a move that would give boost to banks which are facing issue of rising NPA’s, the central
bank has allowed such lenders to reverse the extra provision on sale of bad debts to their
P&L account. This is valid only for transactions that took place before 26 February,2014.
Most of the banks, including private players, have been dealing with non-performing assets
and lower profits since they have to make space for bad loans. This move by the RBI would
look to give incentives to the bank to recover fair value in respect to non-performing assets.
The notification also said that “ The quantum of excess provision reversed to profit and loss
account will be limited to the extent to which cash received exceeds NBV of the NPA’s sold.
Shiv sena abstained from
voting while TRS and BJP
staged a walkout. Government
does not have a majority in
Rajya Sabha. Reaction of
Analysts and Industrialists
remains to be seen.
Previously IMF had predicted a
growth of 5.6% for the current
year.
Government Expenditure on Aadhaar project is Rs 5630 crore
The parliament was informed on Friday that the public expenditure on the UID project
currently stands Rs 5630 crore. In total 78.65 crore Aadhar numbers have been generated till
date under the scheme. The approved budget for the UID scheme for the period 2009-2017 is
Rs 13,633.22 crore. The UID project came into existence in January 2009. One of the main
objectives of the project was to eliminate fake and duplicate ID’s.
Planning minitser, Rao Inderjit Singh, also said that people can register their complain on the
official website of UIADAI and there is also the facility of downloading E-Aadhar from the
website. The planning minister also said that a bill ,introduced on December 2010, regarding
providing legal status to UIDAI project is pending in Rajya Sabha.
Foreign Firms producing in India might get to sell online
Foreign companies who decide to set up manufacturing facilities in India, would be given
access to the fast growing online market in India. This initiative is a part of government’s
plan to attract foreign capital in the manufacturing sector. The Department of Industrial
Policy and Promotion, has floated a cabinet note to implement the policy announced by the
government in it’s first full budget. The cabinet note that has been floated explicitly defines
manufacturing in order to prevent any misuse of the policy. To ensure consistency and to
avoid tax issues in future, government would use the same definition of manufacturing as
given in the income tax law.
Once this policy is implemented, manufacturers would be able to sell directly to the
customers through the online platform. This will be provide a significant incentive to foreign
players to invest in India. The policy is in line with government’s vision that a manufacturer
should be able to sell his goods to the customer in whatever way he wants. This move will
help players like FabIndia, which manufactures 70-80% of the merchandise it sells to the local
Indian local market but it is registered as a single brand retailer. Though 100% FDI is allowed
in B2B E– Commerce, foreign direct investment is not allowed in companies selling directly
to the consumers.
Ratan Tata picks up stake in Paytm
Paytm revealed this week that Ratan Tata has invested an undisclosed amount in the mobile
commerce company. The investment in the firm is in his personal capacity. Analysts have
said that though Ratan Tata’s investment in companies like Paytm, Snapdeal and Urban
Ladder is not substantial but it shows the perspective which the investors have towards the
growing E-commerce market of India.
An engineering graduate, Mr. Chandrasekhar
is a product of Manipal College of
Engineering, he has done his masters from
Illinois Institute of technology, United States.
He is currently the member of parliament
from Karnatka.
Entrepreneur
He is first and foremost a Venture Capitalist,
being an engineering graduate, he pioneered
a startup in college called Softtech. He then
developed his own venture capitalist reform
called Jupiter Capital which has more than
$600m of investments in diverse fields such as
media, infrastructure and aviation. In terms
of investment in the relative investment
scenario in the current venture capitalism
scenario, Jupiter Capital stands out and is one
of the poles in the industry. His own venture
which he founded in 1991 is called BPL
Mobile, which was valued at $1.1billion in
2005.
Mr. Rajeev Chandrasekhar was also awarded
an honorary doctorate degree by
Visveswaraya Technological University,
Belgaum, Karnatka.
Member of Parliament
In April 2012, he was re-elected to the Rajya
Sabha for a second six year term as an
Independent Parliamentarian representing
Karnataka. He has advocated for governance
reforms, institution building, Internet
freedom, national security, welfare of the
Armed Forces Personnel and sustainable city
building of Bangalore and Karnataka. He has
also served as the President of FICCI in 2007.
He initiated a series of seminars on
Governance reforms including a Conference
on Administrative Reforms and Ethics in
Governance which brought the Government
and industry together.
He is an outspoken critic of the recent
proposal to the UN for control of the internet
through a 50 member inter-governmental
body.
Personal Life
He was born in Ahmedabad, Gujarat,
to Indian Air Force Officer, Air Commodore
M. K. Chandrasekhar and Mrs. Valli
Chandrasekhar. He is married to Anju
Chandrasekhar, daughter of BPL
Group patriarch TPG Nambiar. They have a
son, Ved, and a daughter Devika.
1964
Manipal Institute of Technology
Illinois Institute of Technology
Indian
1994: Founded BPL Mobile
2005: Founded Jupiter Capital
2007: President of FiICCI
2013: Awarded the honorary
doctorate by VTU.
Every person using a smartphone should
have experienced how their phone’s battery
have troubled them. In fact the biggest
bottleneck the technology wasn’t able to solve
till today is smartphone’s battery. Israel-based
start-up Storedot is saying that they can
change this. No, they did not create another
battery which will last for a week or so.
Strictly speaking they are not at all working to
increase the battery life. They are working on
the other side of the problem i.e. the charging
time. The battery life of these batteries is
similar to old batteries but the changing time
i.e. the time taken by the battery to charge
fully in drastically reduced. It just takes 30
seconds now.
At Microsoft’s Think Next Conference in Tel
Aviv, StoreDot unveiled its battery charging
prototype. StoreDot used a very popular
phone to give a demo on their new battery
technology, Samsung Galaxy S4. Galaxy S4’s
battery was charged on 30 seconds—an
exceedingly brief time in a world dominated
by chargers that can take hours to replenish
battery life.
It uses the technology called super capacitor
technology, it charges faster than any other
traditional Li-Ion battery (LiB) battery. This
combination of fast charging and high power
has paved the way for the new-generation
FlashBattery.
Despite the technology's seeming promise, it
won't be available anytime soon.. The
company hopes to start producing consumer
ready chargers in late 2016.
It's not clear when the devices might actually
hit store shelves.
- By Mohana Krishna Kummara
According to StoreDot’s CEO
and founder Dr Doron
Myersdorf, the fully functioning
prototype that fits inside the
phone for commercialization
will be ready the second half of
2016 and by early 2017, it will
be on the market.
Recommended