China's market regulator has fined food delivery platforms a combined 4.87 billion yuan ($671 million) over so-called 'ghost' deliveries, transactions recorded on platform logs but never physically fulfilled. The legal representatives of the implicated companies were separately fined a total of 19.7 million yuan, adding personal liability to corporate penalties. The State Administration for Market Regulation did not name specific platforms in the available details, but the scale of the fine signals coordinated enforcement across multiple operators in China's highly concentrated food delivery sector, dominated by Meituan and Ele.me. The mechanism behind the violation involves platforms inflating order volumes to boost apparent market share, advertiser metrics, or revenue recognition, practices that distort competitive data and mislead merchants and investors. Personal fines against legal representatives are a notable escalation, indicating regulators are moving beyond corporate-level penalties to deter individual executives. Investors in Chinese consumer platform stocks and merchants relying on delivery data for sales planning will be watching closely for further enforcement actions or mandated operational audits.
HDFC Bank's board has approved Rajiv Kumar, former Chief Election Commissioner and financial services secretary, as its Part-time Non-Executive Chairman from June 30, 2026. His chairmanship still requires RBI approval, but the move ends the bank's prolonged search for a permanent board leader.
Indian startups raised $1.1 billion across 16 deals in the week of June 21-26, 2026, up 2.5 times from the prior week, with CRED's $900 million Series H led by Meta accounting for most of the total. Square Yards became India's 131st unicorn after closing a $95 million round.
Jet fuel costs dropped sharply after a US-Iran interim peace deal, but airlines are expected to use the savings to rebuild margins rather than cut fares. Tight capacity, aircraft delivery delays, and weak budget carriers give major carriers unusual pricing power heading into the second half of 2026.
Meta is investing $900 million in CRED at a $4.5 billion valuation, the largest Indian startup round of 2026, as founder Kunal Shah moves to a global leadership role at WhatsApp. Miten Sampat takes over as interim CEO, and a major employee stock buyback is expected within weeks.
