UK Archives

UK has become the first country to license a vaccine against Covid-19. Pfizer’s vaccine had a 95% efficacy rate from their clinical trials and it has now been authorised for emergency use by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Authority (MHRA). The MHRA in UK was given the power to approve the vaccine by the government under special regulations. The vaccine will be available in Britain as early as next week, according to a government statement.

Britain’s vaccine committee will decide which priority groups will get the first shot such as health care staff and workers, and people who are in high-risk of contracting the virus. However, it is not much news to cheer for India as the vaccine would not be available in India because Pfizer’s vaccine require an ultra-cold chain of minus 70 degree, currently India has no such facilities available.

There could also be an outflow of money of Foreign Institutional Investors from India to European markets. So be cautious while entering into trades. To know more about the stocks that could gain from the approval of vaccine in India, click here.

UK’s Standard Life has launched a fresh $260-million block deal, the second in a single day, to sell around 2 percent stake in HDFC Life Insurance. The offer price range of the stake sale is between Rs 490 a share and Rs 501 a share and the block trades will be executed tomorrow on 4^th of June. Bofa Securities is the sole advisor to Standard Life on the deal. Earlier in the day, in a separate block deal, Standard Life sold 1.3 percent stake in HDFC Life Insurance.

What this means

As of March 31, 2020, Standard Life, which falls in the promoter category held 12.25 percent stake in HDFC Life. HDFC holds 51.44 percent in the insurer. The UK-based firm has been consistently trimming its stake in the Indian insurer through a series of back to back transactions. In October, Standard Life sold 4.96 per cent in HDFC Life Insurance to a clutch of institutional investors at Rs 575.15 a piece to mop up Rs 5,750 crore. In August, the firm sold 3.2 per cent in HDFC Life via block deals. Before that, it had sold 1.78 per cent stake for Rs 1,400 crore. In March, it divested 4.93 per cent stake in the life insurer to raise about Rs 3,600 crore.