India

Canara Bank has filed a fresh insolvency petition against Hyderabad-based engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) company Gayatri Projects, increasing pressure on the debt-laden borrower that owes lenders more than ₹6,000 crore, the Economic Times of India reported. A failed restructuring plan first initiated in 2015 and subsequent default have marked the account as a non- performing asset in the books of banks.

India's central bank is unlikely to extend a Friday deadline for businesses to set up an additional layer of security for consumers' credit card data even after some concerns remain over payments failing and revenue losses, say bankers and merchants, Reuters reported. Despite a demand by smaller merchants to delay the compliance date, there has been no indication so far by the central bank that there is likely to be an extension in deadline, three banking and merchant sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

The draft Indian telecom bill has cleared the air on spectrum ownership for companies undergoing insolvency proceedings and around regulating OTT communication services, analysts said, the Economic Times of India reported. They added that the draft telecom bill also offers a robust regulatory framework within the federal structure to obtain right of way (RoW) approvals in a uniform, non-discriminatory manner, for establishing telecoms infrastructure and expediting the rollout of 5G networks.

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has dismissed an appeal by Siemens Ltd against the invocation of its bank guarantees by Meenakshi Energy. Meenakshi Energy Ltd (MEL) which is presently facing insolvency proceedings, was setting up a 700 MW thermal plant, in which Siemens was a sub-contractor for the project, the Economic Times of India reported.

Regulatory agency Insolvency & Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) has allowed splitting of companies to attract more participants into the corporate resolution process as it seeks to provide flexibility and increase realisation, the Economic Times of India reported. The move to split assets is seen to be beneficial in cases involving real estate players and other entities with multiple projects, all of which may not be viable, or there may be some assets which will generate higher value, a senior government official said.

Lenders of Future Enterprises have appointed forensic auditor J C Kabra & Associates, in line with a finance ministry mandate to audit non-performing loan accounts with over Rs 50 crore exposure, the Economic Times of India reported. Central Bank of India, the lead bank for Kishore Biyani-promoted Future Enterprises, appointed the forensic auditor on September 12, according to a stock exchange filing by the company late Monday evening. The troubled retailer, which defaulted on its loans, has outstanding loans of Rs 6,700 crore, said a lender.

According to research, insolvency case recoveries increased slightly from 26% in Q1 of the previous fiscal to 30.6% in Q1 of the current fiscal, although the number of insolvency cases filed/admitted increased by 23.5% during this time, India Infoline News Service reported. The total amount of financial creditors' acknowledged claims increased from Rs6,84,901.3 crore in March 2022 to Rs7,67,384.9 crore in June 2022, although the liquidation value of these cases remained essentially the same at Rs1,31,447.9 crore and Rs1,31,468.6 crore, respectively.

State-owned Central Bank of India has opened a new front to recover dues from the Biyanis, promoters of the debt laden retail conglomerate Future Group that is facing bankruptcy proceedings, the Economic Times of India reported. The bank has filed a personal insolvency case against promoter Kishore Biyani, his elder brother Vijay Biyani and cousin Sunil Biyani with total claims of Rs 1,047 crore. The claims were filed in the Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) a few days ago and are yet to be admitted by the court, documents seen by ET show.

Lenders to Reliance Capital (RCap) received 14 resolution plans on Monday as part of the Anil Ambani-founded holding company's insolvency proceedings. A Piramal Group-led consortium, Oaktree Capital, Torrent Investments, IndusInd International and Cosmea Financial Services are among bidders who have either offered to acquire the entire company or submitted plans for select clusters, the Economic Times of India reported. Advent International and Zurich Insurance have bid for 100% stake in Reliance General Insurance (RGI), the people said.

Union Bank of India (UBI), the second largest creditor to KSK Mahanadi Power, has put its ₹2,077 crore outstanding loan to the company on the block, according to an auction notice seen by the Economic Times of India. Other lenders including State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda (BoB) and Axis Bank have already sold their debt in the company that owns a 3,600-mw power plant and has been under a prolonged insolvency process. UBI has set a reserve price of ₹919 crore in cash for its exposure.