Seven weeks into 2019, two dozen companies led by technology major Infosys Ltd. have announced or completed plans to buy ₹170.5 billion ($2.4 billion) of their own stock, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. This compares with about ₹545 billion for all of 2018, which was the highest in at least six years, the data show. Infosys, Asia’s second-largest software exporter, last month said it would buy ₹82.6 billion of its own stock. Both companies have made the offers for a second time in as many years. Buybacks allow cash-rich state firms to return excess funds to the government in a tax-efficient manner than paying out dividends, which attract a distribution tax, Target’s Kalra said.

Source: Mint February 17, 2019 06:00 UTC