The Supreme Court approved Binani Cement Ltd.’s sale to UltraTech Cement Ltd. today, upholding the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal’s verdict on the insolvency bids, BloombergQuint reported. The two-judge bench headed by Justice RF Nariman quashed Dalmia Bharat’s plea challenging the verdict, saying there was no infirmity in approval granted by the NCLAT, Bloomberg reported. The appellate tribunal had on Nov 14.
Nissan announced this morning that it planned to remove Mr. Ghosn as its chairman, saying an internal investigation had found that for years he underreported his salary by millions of dollars and committed other acts of “misconduct,” the International New York Times reported. Nissan said it was working with the Japanese authorities. According to news reports, prosecutors are preparing to arrest Mr. Ghosn. The developments could bring about a swift fall for Mr.
A weak set of finance data points to a deepening Chinese growth slowdown into 2019, highlighting the government’s challenge in getting loans to private companies and other cash-starved parts of the economy, the Financial Times reported. The data were released amid a debate within the bureaucracy about how best to encourage the banking system to overcome its reservations and lend more to the private sector.
India’s central bank has given ground to government pressure and agreed to reassess its management of reserves and treatment of troubled banks, as prime minister Narendra Modi seeks to reinvigorate the economy ahead of a general election, the Financial Times reported. The moves were announced by the Reserve Bank of India following a nine-hour meeting of its board of directors, the first since differences between the RBI and the government burst into the open last month.
Shares in Noble Group Ltd, once Asia’s top commodity trader, were suspended from trading from Monday, as the company seeks to transform into an Asia-focused coal-trading business following a $3.5 billion debt restructuring deal, Reuters reported. Singapore-listed Noble said last week it had obtained the required approvals, including getting a go-ahead from courts for its restructuring and payment to creditors, clearing the final hurdle to completing its controversial debt-for-equity swap.
India’s biggest gas utility is considering acquiring all of the wind energy assets held by a subsidiary of a troubled shadow bank, according to people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg News reported. GAIL India Ltd. is looking to buy 775 megawatts of wind energy assets from IL&FS Energy Development Co., a unit of Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Ltd., and has approached investment bankers to advise on a possible deal, the people said, asking not to be named as the talks are private.
India house prices will rise at half the rate of consumer price inflation next year, hit by dwindling credit supply, according to a Reuters poll of housing market experts who said Delhi, the national capital, will be hit hardest, Reuters reported. House prices have risen at almost double-digit rates for over a decade in a country of 1.3 billion people, where for many, owning a home is still a dream. Major cities in India have become some of the most densely populated in the world.
India’s top hedge fund is exploring opportunities in state-run banks, a sector shunned by most investors till now, as valuations turn attractive and the backlog of bad loans that have riddled lenders start to dwindle, Reuters reported. State-run banks will also benefit if the economy continues to grow at about 7 percent, Andrew Holland, chief executive of Avendus Capital Public Markets Alternate Strategies LLP, said at the Reuters Global Investment 2019 Outlook Summit.
Jaguar Land Rover Automotive Plc’s bond risk quadrupled this year as the automaker plays catch-up on electric vehicles and is hit by weakened demand in China. Moody’s Investors Service is warning of more tough days ahead, Bloomberg News reported. Moody’s on Nov. 13 cut its rating on Jaguar, owned by India’s Tata Motors Ltd., to Ba3, three levels below investment grade. Jaguar’s weak operating performance “will likely continue over at least the next 12-18 months” and it will weigh on the parent’s performance too, it said.
An Indian tribunal has ruled that UltraTech Cement Ltd’s more than $1 billion bid for the cement unit of Binani Industries Ltd was valid, UltraTech said on Wednesday. UltraTech offered to buy Binani Cement in March after its parent Binani Industries approached UltraTech to arrange funds for paying-off bank debts and other liabilities, in a bid to terminate the insolvency proceeding against its unit, Reuters reported.
